My Testimony of a True Prophet
http://www.artbulla.com/zion/Aaron's%20Page.html
The Gospel is the most important thing in my life. It gives us the meaning and purpose of life. Meeting Art Bulla was an incredible experience because for the first time I met a true prophet of God. Since being baptized back on March 2002 and ordained into the Church of Jesus Christ I have had the Holy Ghost continually striving with me so my faith is unshakable. While the rest of apostate Christendom is lost in false doctrines, I am satisfied knowing that I am in the one true church. Over a 30 year period, Art has received volumes of revelations called the Revelations of Jesus Christ. They can be downloaded for free at
(http://www.artbulla.com/zion/order.html) or the book can be purchased at (http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0-595-28287-3). First on how I discovered Art.
I first learned about Art Bulla from my brother, Jong in July 2000 when he returned home from Tennessee to where I was living with our family in Gardena, CA. While he living in TN, he learned about the Mormon Church from an old lady, a member, who had sold him the land he was living on. (I noticed Jong started studying Christianity in late 1998. He seemed particularly interested in where the apostolic authority for baptism described in the Book of Acts had gone.) He was baptized into the Church but started to notice inconsistencies between the modern Church under the Presidencies of Spencer W. Kimball up till Gordon B. Hinckley and the early Church established by Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and John Taylor. In early 2000 he read a post written by Art on a Mormon newsgroup. His testimony can be read : (http://www.artbulla.com/zion/jong'spage.html). So when he returned home, he discussed with me Mormonism. I was a bit overwhelmed at first and did not believe. However, over time I thought about it and progressed in knowledge, reading Art's website and finally a couple years later was baptized into the Church on March 2, 2002. But first a little background on me on how I first discovered Jesus. Around the time I dropped out of college at UC Riverside due to lack of interest in early 1999 and moved to Lomita,CA just south of Torrance and started to work at AT&T Worldnet with Jong commuting to Burbank, I started to desire to believe in God. I started to build a faith that God is existed and that the Bible was his revealed word. Why did I believe ? It just seemed true to me I thought. I mean for 2000 years people have accepted Jesus as the Only Begotten Son of God. Millions of people accepted Christianity, how could the Bible be wrong I thought. That and the Gospel had an appeal to my soul because it had a certain purity about it, a certain ring of divinity and truth about it. But could I say for 100% certainty that Jesus is real ? No, I could not. I mean it sounded like it could be true but I never saw Jesus myself although historically I knew he existed. So for several months that year I thought about it and had a more or less blind faith in it. The scriptures say we need a testimony by the Holy Spirit in order to know for certainty if the Gospel is real.
26 Even so, come unto me and learn of my ways, and I will give unto you, even as many as shall come, that peace which surpasseth understanding, and if ye shall inquire of me concerning these things, will I the Lord manifest by the influence and power of the Holy Ghost that these things are verily true and are of me, saith the Lord.
Revelations of Jesus Christ sec. 6:26
27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves--It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
(Alma 32:27-28)
So around the middle of October '99 around the time I quit working at AT&T, one morning I believe around 6:30 in my room at the Lomita apartment I shared with my family, I got on my hands and knees on the floor facing the window that overlooked the street on Narbonne Ave. I still remember it like it was yesterday I started by praying, "Father in Heaven, I pray in the name of Jesus that you will forgive me for my sins..." and right after those exact words suddenly the words started to pour out of my mouth uncontrollably at the same time I could feel the Spirit physically flowing through my body like a jet of water! So then I knew that the Gospel is real! That Jesus did really exist and He truly was the Only Begotten Son of God. I now had a testimony which I wonder if so many so called Christians have the same witness. I also had a couple more memorable experiences after that within around a 3 day period where I was just completely engulfed by the Spirit almost to the point where I don't think I could be impressed anymore if an angel had appeared in front of me or so it felt that ways anyways. No man could shake me from testimony, no one, no Darwinist scientist or anyone. However, following those experiences, I never felt the Spirit again. It stopped communicating with me. It was like a water hose was shut off. The problem was I didn't know the scriptures better or I would have known the answer. You see, you can have all the signs and wonders you want, dreams, visions, angels, the Holy Spirit, all of that will not save your soul. You need to be baptized by a legal administrator just like Paul was baptized by Ananias after seeing Jesus in a vision on the road to Damascus to persecute the Saints (Acts 9:1-18).
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
(James 2:19)
Here is what the scriptures say in order to be saved:
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
(Mark 16:16)
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water, and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
( John 3:5)
37 Now when they heard [this], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men [and] brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(Acts 2:37-38)
So in order to be saved you MUST be baptized. So if you agree with scriptures above, the questions that remains to be asked is which Church is authorized to perform baptism. With so many different Christian sects, the Catholics and Protestants which is the true Church. How can so many different churches with different doctrines, various interpretations of the scriptured co-exist ? Would God allow such chaos to exist ? Did not Paul write in Ephesians 4:5 there is "one faith, one baptism" ? Aren't we to come to the "unity of the faith" ?
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
(Ephesians 4:11-13)
The Prophet Joseph Smith the founder of the Mormon Church when a boy of 14 years old in 1819 was living with his family on a farm in Palymra, New York. At the time there was a great deal of religious excitement in the United States with all the different denominations competing with one another to claim themselves as the correct Church. His family had joined the Methodists but he still was unsure so he prayed to God and this is his personal account of what happened:
(Joseph Smith-History 1:14-21):
14 So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.
15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction--not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being--just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!
18 My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)--and which I should join.
19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof."
20 He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, "Never mind, all is well--I am well enough off." I then said to my mother, "I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true." It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy?
21 Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before mentioned religious excitement; and, conversing with him on the subject of religion, I took occasion to give him an account of the vision which I had had. I was greatly surprised at his behavior; he treated my communication not only lightly, but with great contempt, saying it was all of the devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased with the apostles, and that there would never be any more of them.
I learned that the Mormon Church was the restored Church of Jesus Christ but they had apostatized and the keys belonged in the hands of Art, a former Apostle of the Church. On April 7th, I was ordained a Seventy Apostle. After I was ordained a 70 Apostle, I was given a command by Art by revelation of the Lord that I should move down to San Diego with Jong who was already living here so that the brethren could be living more closer together. So after having found a job, I moved down here to San Diego to live with my brother in late May. On May 23rd, I was ordained in the Quorum of Twelve.
Who is Art Bulla ? The following is the account of his first vision.
FIRST VISION
While journeying on foot about 10:00 P.M. in the east, being inducted into the armed forces the next day, being on the way to the bus station to travel to the armed forces induction station in Raleigh, N.C, I received the following vision, while on the road on foot at night:
"December 29, 1969, while enwrapted in a heavenly vision, It seemed that I, Art Bulla, was removed out of my body, or whether in the body or out of it I could not tell, and I beheld his face, and He spake unto me face to face as one man speaks unto another for forty-five minutes or an hour, and whether in the body or out of it, I could not tell, for I beheld his glory, which surpasses all understanding, and spake while in the vision, in a much better tongue than any spoken by man at this time, which I supposed to be the Adamic Tongue, my understanding being quickened by such might and intelligence and power that it is beyond the mind of man unaided by the Spirit of Revelation which dwells yet within me, to comprehend, and indeed no words can convey, for it seemed that I was transfigured before Him of whom I speak, my God in whom I bear record as others have before me, that He lives, for I too have seen Him. And tongue cannot express his matchless might, glory, power and intelligence, and I shall forever adore his glory, for having once beheld his face and felt of his love and might and power and beheld things which I cannot convey, for there is no language, I must, I MUST obtain his presence, and I shall not be content with anything else, this world or its allurements. And having been ordained unto the Holy Order of God which is after the Order of Melchizedec, even the Holy Apostleship, the keys of which I hold, I bear record of my Father, for I have seen Him and conversed with him, and I testify that He shall return in this the Latter Day as soon as my people are straightened from this crooked and perverse generation which shall be destroyed by the might of his power, and that they be gathered out according to the Revelations which are being given unto me, almost daily at this time, which is one of the darkest periods and most wicked because of unbelief in the history of the earth, that Zion may descend and that the heavens and the earth mingle and become One, as prayed by the Only Begotten, even my brother Jesus of Nazereth. Yea, my Father, I pray that thy will be done and thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Even so. Amen."
In July of 1971 Art was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, TX studying to become an advance medical lab technician ( medical technologist). His wife Cathy introduced him to the Book of Mormon and as he read the first paragraph of Nephi, he had a powerful testimony by the Holy Spirit. Soon afterwards, he was baptized into the Mormon Church. In 1974, he was ordained a Seventy Apostle by Rex D. Pinegar (http://www.artbulla.com/zion/about.html). A few months after the Church under President Spencer W. Kimball reversed the ban on giving blacks the Priesthood on June 9, 1978, Art received his first two written revelations from the Lord one of which rebuked the Mormons for giving the negro the Priesthood. He showed them to his home teacher Randy Olsen who attacked him and broke his nose. The Stake wanted Art to apologize and summoned him to appear at Stake High Council Court but he would not apologize and was excommunicated. Due to the Church apostatizing by giving the negro the Priesthood despite Brigham Young's prophecy warning them of the grave consequences, the keys of the Priesthood was taken from the Church. (More on Art's background can be read on "A Tale to Tell" at http://www.artbulla.com/zion/tale.html )
"Let this Church which is called the Kingdom of God on the earth. We will summons the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Council, the Bishopric, and all the Elders of Israel, suppose we summons them to appear here, and here declare that it is right to mingle our seed, with the black race of Cain, that they shall come in with us and be partakers with us of all the blessings that God has given to us. on that very day and hour we should do so, the Priesthood is taken from THIS CHURCH AND KINGDOM and god leaves us to our fate. The moment we consent to mingle with the seed of Cain, the Church must go to destruction. We should receive the curse which has been placed upon the seed of Cain, and never more be numbered with the children of Adam who are heirs to the Priesthood until that curse be removed."
Brigham Young Addresses, Ms D, 1234, Box 48, Folder 3, dated Feb. 5, 1852, located in the LDS Historical Dept. SLC, UT.
The Lord has wrested the keys of the Priesthood from the Church and given it to Art who as a Seventy has the requiste Priesthood authority required to be the Lord's Anointed. Jesus Himself was an Apostle.
“The Seventies are Apostles; and they stand next in authority to the Twelve...If through the providence of God the First Presidency and the Twelve were taken away, then it would be the duty of the Seventies to preach the Gospel, build up the Church , and ordain every officer requisite in order to establish the Church, and ordain High Priests, Bishops, High Counselors, Patriarchs, and set in order the whole church in all the world. This is according to the revelations given to us...I suppose I ordained hundreds of Seventies in early days. Brother Joseph Smith has come to us many times, saying, ‘Brethren, you are going to ordain Seventies. Do not forget to confer the high priesthood (Melchizedec priesthood) upon them. Ordain each of them to the High Priesthood, and to be one of the Seventy Apostles.’ This was my language in the ordination of the Seventies, and that is the way I ordain them now. Brigham Young, Des. News, June 6, 1877, p. 274.
Despite the false beliefs of the Mormons, the Priesthood is not limited to the Church but stands apart from the Church.
Read http://www.artbulla.com/zion/andruskog.htm :
A cogent, analytical, and historically accurate as well as correct analysis of the relationship of the political Kingdom of God to the Church and the Priesthood by Hyrum Andrus, Professor Emiritus, Brigham Young University.
“I will say to you with regard to the kingdom of God on the earth, Here is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints., organized with its rules, regulations and degrees, with the quorums of the holy Priesthood, from the First Presidency to the teachers and deacons; here we are, an organization. God called upon Joseph, he called upon Oliver Cowdery, then others were called through Joseph, the Church was organized, he with his two counselors comprised the First Presidency. In a few years the Quorum of the Twelve was organized, the High Council was organized, the High Priests' quorum was organized, the Seventies' quorums were organized, and the Priests' quorum, the Teachers' quorum and the Deacons'. This is what we are in the habit of calling the kingdom of God. But there are further organizations. The Prophet gave a full and complete organization to this kingdom the Spring before he was killed. This kingdom is the kingdom that Daniel spoke of, which was to be set up in the last days; it is the kingdom that is not to be given to another people; it is the kingdom that is to be held by the servants of God, to rule the nations of the earth, to send forth those laws and ordinances that shall be suitable and that shall apply themselves to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; that will apply themselves to the mother Church."
For an illustrated diagram of the structure of the Kingdom of God see: http://www.artbulla.com/images/kingdom.gif
The fact is even before the Church was organized on April 6, 1830, almost a year before on May 1829, the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored when Peter, James, and John returned and laid hands on Joseph Smith. This in itself proves that the Priesthood and the Church are separate. Joseph Smith ordained as Apostles Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris even before the existence of the Church.
"God chooses prophets, you (the Church) do not do this." Brigham Young
Brigham Young; Journal of Discourses, 26 vols., 1:, p.133
"Perhaps it may make some of you stumble, were I to ask you a question-Does a man's being a Prophet in this Church prove that he shall be the President of it? I answer, no! A man may be a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and it may have nothing to do with his being the President of the Church. Suffice it to say, that Joseph was the President of the Church, as long as he lived: the people chose to have it so. He always filled that responsible station, by the voice of the people. Can you find any revelation appointing him the President of the Church? The keys of the Priesthood were committed to Joseph, to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth, and were not to be taken from him in time or in eternity; but when he was called to preside over the Church, it was by the voice of the people; though he held the keys of the Priesthood, independent of their voice."
In fact, Joseph Smith wanted his brother Hyrum to be the President of the Church in order to alleviate some of the pressure of leading the people but the people wanted Joseph as President.
In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah was the Lord's Anointed and Alma was the President of the Church.
8 Now king Mosiah had given Alma the authority over the church.
(Mosiah 26:8)
1 AND now it came to pass that the persecutions which were inflicted on the church by the unbelievers became so great that the church began to murmur, and complain to their leaders concerning the matter; and they did complain to Alma. And Alma laid the case before their king, Mosiah. And Mosiah consulted with his priests.
(Mosiah 27:1)
''An assumption frequently made is that the authors of the prophetic books of the Old Testament were the constituted authorities of the Church in their eras. This, however, was not always the case. Some of them were even considered rebels by the religious leaders of Israel in their days. Jeremiah was one such prophet who stood outside of the Church. The established Church, through its Priests, even attempted to put Jeremiah to death. Micah, Amos, Hosea, and Zephaniah were also prophets who were critical of corruption within the Church.
"These Old Testament prophets did not speak as representing the Church, but as representing the Lord. Though the prophets may have held the higher Priesthood authority, there is no Biblical indication that the general Church membership of that time was aware of it." Thus Saith the Lord; Duane S. Crowther, p. 148.
8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD's house.
11 Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
(Old Testament | Jeremiah 26:8 - 11)
4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
(Old Testament | Zephaniah 3:4)
11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
(Old Testament | Micah 3:11)
The scriptures clearly prophesize about an individual who the Lord would send in the latter days, during a new dispensation of the Gospel, to gather Zion. The whole point of the Gospel is to build up the Kingdom of God (diagrammed on the link http://www.artbulla.com/images/kingdom.gif) on earth. That was the whole goal of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and the early Mormons.(Unfortunately, they gave up polygamy because of persecution from the US government, received the last "Thus saith the Lord" revelation in 1889 written by President Wilford Woodruff right before the Manifesto of 1890, and assimilated themself with the rest of the Gentile United States.) They no longer believe in the literal gathering of Zion or the political Kingdom of God safe in their belief that attending Church on Sundays is all that is necessary.
The Kingdom of God is a real literal government and is spiritualized away by Christians as some place in space or a figurative reference. The Lord's prayer says,"Our Father in Heaven, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven...". Jesus said in 3 Nephi 13:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Jesus was trying to gather the Jews but they rebelled against him and hung Him on a cross between two common thieves. And where is the Kingdom of God ? It is where there is a legal administrator receiving direct revelation from God.
"Whenever men can find out the will of God and find an administrator legally authorized from God, there is the kingdom of God; but where these are not, the kingdom of God is not. All the ordinances, systems, and administrations on the earth are of no use to the children of men, unless they are ordained and authorized of God; for nothing will save a man but a legal administrator; for none others will be acknowledged either by God or angels."
(Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith, p.274)
Ogden Kraut's "The Gathering of Israel":
The doctrine of the gathering of the people of God, including Israel, is one so clearly predicted by the inspired writers, that it seems almost superfluous to refer to the numerous passages relating to it. (Orson Pratt's Works, p. 9)
Every true prophet has advocated this principle; and usually the only people who were saved from various calamities were those who gathered out from the rest of the world. It is an evidence of inspired leaders, i.e.:
* Enoch gathered a few faithful to his city so they could be righteous enough to be saved and translated.
* Noah could only gather a few faithful from his own family, but they were saved from the flood.
* Abraham gathered a few righteous souls out of Sodom and Gomorrah.
* Lehi had to gather his family away from the wicked to save them from destruction in Jerusalem.
* Moses sought to gather Israel to save them; when they were scattered, they were cursed.
* Jesus sought to gather Israel again, but they disobeyed His command.
* The Prophet Joseph Smith gathered Saints to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois.
* Brigham Young gathered the Saints to the Salt Lake Valley.
The Prophet Joseph explained how gathering is for the salvation of Israel in all ages.
All that the prophets that have written, from the days of righteous Abel, down to the last man that has left any testimony on record for our consideration, in speaking of the salvation of Israel in the last days, goes directly to show that it consists in the work of the gathering. (TPJS, p. 83)
God has called His people to gather out of the wickedness and corruptions of Babylon, just as He would call a righteous soul from out of a den of thieves, a saloon, or a diseased area. God seeks to have His people gather to one place and form a community and society of their own. It was a doctrine taught by Jesus and His disciples at Jerusalem. He declared:
He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad.
(Luke 2:24)
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
(Ezekiel 36:24)
The spirit and power of gathering filled the souls of all the prophets of God. It seems that those prophets who were the most spiritual felt that power the most.
The Importance of Gathering in This Dispensation
One of the basic tenets of the restored Gospel was to be gathered together. It was even specifically mentioned in the Articles of Faith:
We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this the America continent. . . . (Article 10)
[100] But to have a gathering, there must first have been a scattering-which condition does not come from God:
You have heard brother Brigham preach it here time and time again, and other men, that a scattering spirit was not the spirit of God; and I know it is not. (Heber C. Kimball, JD 4:362)
(end)
Before discussing the prophesized Prophet who will gather Israel, it is necessary first to discuss some historical information. After King Solomon died, Israel was divided into the nations, the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom was comprised of Ephraim and eight other tribes and the Southern was made up of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. However, Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom was invaded by Assyria around 750 BC and taken captive, scattered through Europe, completely losing their identity. Judah, the Southern Kingdom experienced the same situation when they were attacked by Babylon around 600 BC and taken into bondage in Babylon for 70 years. Unlike their brethren Ephraim a few thousand Jews (short for Judah) returned and restored their nation. Jesus was sent to the Jews as their Messiah and is the Only Begotten. However, the Lord did not forget Ephraim, regathering them on the New World of North America and establishing the United States of America. The prominent role of Judah and Ephraim is clearly delineated in the scriptures.
1 NOW the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he [was] the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him [came] the chief ruler; but the birthright [was] Joseph's:)
(1 Chronichles 5:1-2)
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which [is] in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, [even] with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
(Ezekiel 37:19)
13 The envy of Ephraim also shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
(2 Nephi 21:13)
34 Behold, this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes of Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim and his fellows.
(D&C 133:34)
The Gospel was restored on the United States through Mormonism when the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored in May 1829 through Joseph Smith. Unfortunately, Zion wasn't redeemed in his time or Brigham Young's time. Joseph Smith said, "the redemption of Zion has been left to other hands, and to other times. But that its redemption will come no one doubts who believes in the firm decrees of God." The Mormons gave up polygamy, did away with the Seventies (ordaining them High Priests a lower Priesthood office which is contradictory since the superior cannot be ordained by the inferior), gave up the literal gathering of Israel, and the stake in the heart was giving negroes the Priesthood. Third President John Taylor gave limited authority to Lorin Woolley to seal plural marriages but to not hold any meetings until the One Mighty and Strong was to arrive. And who is the One Mighty and Strong ? He is Prophet prophesized by Joseph Smith to come in the last days:
7 And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of the saints whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God;
(D&C 85:7)
Isaiah saw a vision of the last days when the One Mighty and Strong would arrive :
1 WOE to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand (referring to the keys of the Priesthood).
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
(Old Testament | Isaiah 28:1 - 5)
(The Lord revealed to Art that he was the One Mighty and Strong in 1980 in Greensboro, NC and at the time had been receiving revelations for a year. He had prayed to find out his calling from God. He knew by earliler revelation that he was an Apostle and that he held the keys and he wanted to know what title he held. So around May, 1983 it was snow from winter time all the way till May. Art remembered thinking that it was very late for it to snow. Around May the temperature spiked up and it became hot all at once turning from winter to summer all in one day and all the snow pack melted at once and flooded the valley. It was a river down State St. in SLC in fulfillment of Isiaiah 28 the advent of the One Mighty and Strong. It happened the very day that Art had published the first type written revelations Revelations of Jesus Christ and hand carried them to those who wanted it including Sam Weller's Zion's Book Store, the Church Historical Department and Jim Wardel's Barber Shop purchased the revelations as well.
Brigham Young was revealed that the One Mighty and Strong would come in a day of apostasy:
"Brethren, this Church will be led onto the very brink of hell by the leaders of this people, then God will raise up the one `Mighty and Strong' (spoken of in the 85th Section of the Doctrine & Covenants) to save and redeem this Church." Brigham Young (Attested to by Joshua Jones who made a minute of it at that time and now has it in his diary.)
This is confirmed in Journal of Joseph W. Musser: September 28, 1938. ... Brother Peay also told of hearing Joshua Jones of Provo tell of hearing Brigham Young say, "The time will come when this people are led onto the very brink of apostacy." Jones made an entry of it in his Journal. The speech was made in the Old Bowery at Provo. Learned through Lorin C. Woolley, that his father, John W. Woolley, attended the above meeting, and upon arriving home at Centerville he told Lorin and his mother of the incident. He related it thusly: "President Young, being filled with the Holy Ghost, said, `The time will come when this people will be led onto the very brink of hell by their leaders, then the one mighty and strong will come to set the house of God in order.'"
The Lord has revealed to Art that the One Mighty and Strong is the same individual as the Root of Jesse:
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
(verses 6-9 refer to the Millineum when Jesus returns in power and glory and the trumpet of angels and there will be absolute peace)
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
(Old Testament | Isaiah 11:10)
5 What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter?
6 Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days.
(D&C 113:5-6)
Also:
15 Behold, I say unto you, the redemption of Zion must needs come by power;
16 Therefore, I will raise up unto my people a man, who shall lead them like as Moses led the children of Israel.
17 For ye are the children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham, and ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched–out arm.
18 And as your fathers were led at the first, even so shall the redemption of Zion be.
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 103:15 - 18)
The Lord has sent another Messiah, this time to Ephraim ! There is only one Only Begotten Son who is Jesus Christ. Messiah means "Lord's Anointed". The One Mighty and Strong is none other than Messiah to Ephraim. John the Baptist ordained Joseph Smith and Olivery Cowdery the Aaronic Priesthood (precursor to the restorel of the Melchizedek Priesthood) on May 15, 1829 near Harmony, Pennsylvania.
1 UPON you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.
(D&C 13:1)
Notice that John the Baptist said, "in the name of Messiah" not "the Messiah". If Jesus was the only Messiah, he undoubtedly would have said "the Messiah". I've noticed there are other scriptural passages where the same unmistakable wording is used:
19 And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world.
(1 Nephi 1:19)
4 Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews--even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world.
(1 Nephi 10:4)
Again, I testify that the Holy Spirit which continually strives with me that Art is the One Mighty and Strong, the Messiah to the Gentiles (non Jews).
Again I repeat:
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
(Old Testament | Isaiah 11:10)
17 And those who receive even my servants in the flesh receive me, saith the Lord, for he is that One prophesied that he should come unto thee, O Israel, and all power is his in me, for are we not sons of God, saith the Lord?
18 And these things are to them who are full of humility and the devil taketh advantage of the humble that they, even they are they not afraid of being humble before me because of the trickery of the devil?
19 But ye must judge, saith the Lord, and by what judgment ye judge, that shall ye receive.
20 Even so, I am Jesus of Nazereth who was slain for the sins of the world and came unto mine own and mine own received me not.
(Revelations of Jesus Christ 25:16 - 20)
Account of a Miracle
I'd like to also share with you a miracle that happened one night when I pulled into the parking lot of a Starbucks Coffee Shop close to where I live. I made the mistake of driving too far into the parking space and driving my car over the concrete block so that these two metal poles sticking out from the top of the block caught my car somewhere underneath my car. I tried to reverse my car and stepping on the gas but it remained stuck. I then put the car in neutral and tried pushing the car from the front but it wouldn't budge. I tried both thing again but with no success.
So I was left with the option of walking back home and walking back with a jack or asking help from a friendly passerby. I decided to give prayer a shot. I prayed according to section 67 of Revelations of Jesus Christ:
1 Thus saith the Father, from henceforth and forever I give unto you a New Covenant, and a new name, that by it ye shall gain communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn and the fullness of the Father, which is exaltation in my presence; Sons of God, not begotten by man, nor the will of man, without father, mother, beginning of days nor end of years, abiding a Priest forever after the Order of Melchizedec.
2 And by it, saith the Father, even this new name, that of Art Bulla, who is that One Mighty and Strong, ye shall command and the angels shall respond to thy defense, the heavens shall shut themselves that it shall not rain, the earth shall move in thy defense, the mighty waters shall be dried up that ye walk over, the sick shall be healed instantly, saith the Father, and this because ye use the name of my well-beloved, my second born among all my children, even my servant who is that One who should come unto thee as anciently, O Zion."
After having prayed in the name of the One Mighty and Strong, Art Bulla that my car would be freed from its attachment, I put the car in neutral and pushed the car from the front. What do you know, the car started to roll back a bit as the concrete block rising off the ground. With every push, the car would react in that manner. The whole time I was thinking to myself how incredible and marvelous the whole experience was. I could not push it hard enough for it to be freed though so finally, I stepped behind the wheel of my car, put my car in reverse, stepped on the gas and in a few moments the car pulled itself free.
I hope you will pray about these things to receive a testimony for yourself like I have.James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
The Gospel is the most important thing in my life. It gives us the meaning and purpose of life. Meeting Art Bulla was an incredible experience because for the first time I met a true prophet of God. Since being baptized back on March 2002 and ordained into the Church of Jesus Christ I have had the Holy Ghost continually striving with me so my faith is unshakable. While the rest of apostate Christendom is lost in false doctrines, I am satisfied knowing that I am in the one true church. Over a 30 year period, Art has received volumes of revelations called the Revelations of Jesus Christ. They can be downloaded for free at
(http://www.artbulla.com/zion/order.html) or the book can be purchased at (http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0-595-28287-3). First on how I discovered Art.
I first learned about Art Bulla from my brother, Jong in July 2000 when he returned home from Tennessee to where I was living with our family in Gardena, CA. While he living in TN, he learned about the Mormon Church from an old lady, a member, who had sold him the land he was living on. (I noticed Jong started studying Christianity in late 1998. He seemed particularly interested in where the apostolic authority for baptism described in the Book of Acts had gone.) He was baptized into the Church but started to notice inconsistencies between the modern Church under the Presidencies of Spencer W. Kimball up till Gordon B. Hinckley and the early Church established by Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and John Taylor. In early 2000 he read a post written by Art on a Mormon newsgroup. His testimony can be read : (http://www.artbulla.com/zion/jong'spage.html). So when he returned home, he discussed with me Mormonism. I was a bit overwhelmed at first and did not believe. However, over time I thought about it and progressed in knowledge, reading Art's website and finally a couple years later was baptized into the Church on March 2, 2002. But first a little background on me on how I first discovered Jesus. Around the time I dropped out of college at UC Riverside due to lack of interest in early 1999 and moved to Lomita,CA just south of Torrance and started to work at AT&T Worldnet with Jong commuting to Burbank, I started to desire to believe in God. I started to build a faith that God is existed and that the Bible was his revealed word. Why did I believe ? It just seemed true to me I thought. I mean for 2000 years people have accepted Jesus as the Only Begotten Son of God. Millions of people accepted Christianity, how could the Bible be wrong I thought. That and the Gospel had an appeal to my soul because it had a certain purity about it, a certain ring of divinity and truth about it. But could I say for 100% certainty that Jesus is real ? No, I could not. I mean it sounded like it could be true but I never saw Jesus myself although historically I knew he existed. So for several months that year I thought about it and had a more or less blind faith in it. The scriptures say we need a testimony by the Holy Spirit in order to know for certainty if the Gospel is real.
26 Even so, come unto me and learn of my ways, and I will give unto you, even as many as shall come, that peace which surpasseth understanding, and if ye shall inquire of me concerning these things, will I the Lord manifest by the influence and power of the Holy Ghost that these things are verily true and are of me, saith the Lord.
Revelations of Jesus Christ sec. 6:26
27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves--It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
(Alma 32:27-28)
So around the middle of October '99 around the time I quit working at AT&T, one morning I believe around 6:30 in my room at the Lomita apartment I shared with my family, I got on my hands and knees on the floor facing the window that overlooked the street on Narbonne Ave. I still remember it like it was yesterday I started by praying, "Father in Heaven, I pray in the name of Jesus that you will forgive me for my sins..." and right after those exact words suddenly the words started to pour out of my mouth uncontrollably at the same time I could feel the Spirit physically flowing through my body like a jet of water! So then I knew that the Gospel is real! That Jesus did really exist and He truly was the Only Begotten Son of God. I now had a testimony which I wonder if so many so called Christians have the same witness. I also had a couple more memorable experiences after that within around a 3 day period where I was just completely engulfed by the Spirit almost to the point where I don't think I could be impressed anymore if an angel had appeared in front of me or so it felt that ways anyways. No man could shake me from testimony, no one, no Darwinist scientist or anyone. However, following those experiences, I never felt the Spirit again. It stopped communicating with me. It was like a water hose was shut off. The problem was I didn't know the scriptures better or I would have known the answer. You see, you can have all the signs and wonders you want, dreams, visions, angels, the Holy Spirit, all of that will not save your soul. You need to be baptized by a legal administrator just like Paul was baptized by Ananias after seeing Jesus in a vision on the road to Damascus to persecute the Saints (Acts 9:1-18).
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
(James 2:19)
Here is what the scriptures say in order to be saved:
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
(Mark 16:16)
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water, and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
( John 3:5)
37 Now when they heard [this], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men [and] brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(Acts 2:37-38)
So in order to be saved you MUST be baptized. So if you agree with scriptures above, the questions that remains to be asked is which Church is authorized to perform baptism. With so many different Christian sects, the Catholics and Protestants which is the true Church. How can so many different churches with different doctrines, various interpretations of the scriptured co-exist ? Would God allow such chaos to exist ? Did not Paul write in Ephesians 4:5 there is "one faith, one baptism" ? Aren't we to come to the "unity of the faith" ?
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
(Ephesians 4:11-13)
The Prophet Joseph Smith the founder of the Mormon Church when a boy of 14 years old in 1819 was living with his family on a farm in Palymra, New York. At the time there was a great deal of religious excitement in the United States with all the different denominations competing with one another to claim themselves as the correct Church. His family had joined the Methodists but he still was unsure so he prayed to God and this is his personal account of what happened:
(Joseph Smith-History 1:14-21):
14 So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.
15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction--not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being--just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!
18 My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)--and which I should join.
19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof."
20 He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, "Never mind, all is well--I am well enough off." I then said to my mother, "I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true." It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy?
21 Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before mentioned religious excitement; and, conversing with him on the subject of religion, I took occasion to give him an account of the vision which I had had. I was greatly surprised at his behavior; he treated my communication not only lightly, but with great contempt, saying it was all of the devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased with the apostles, and that there would never be any more of them.
I learned that the Mormon Church was the restored Church of Jesus Christ but they had apostatized and the keys belonged in the hands of Art, a former Apostle of the Church. On April 7th, I was ordained a Seventy Apostle. After I was ordained a 70 Apostle, I was given a command by Art by revelation of the Lord that I should move down to San Diego with Jong who was already living here so that the brethren could be living more closer together. So after having found a job, I moved down here to San Diego to live with my brother in late May. On May 23rd, I was ordained in the Quorum of Twelve.
Who is Art Bulla ? The following is the account of his first vision.
FIRST VISION
While journeying on foot about 10:00 P.M. in the east, being inducted into the armed forces the next day, being on the way to the bus station to travel to the armed forces induction station in Raleigh, N.C, I received the following vision, while on the road on foot at night:
"December 29, 1969, while enwrapted in a heavenly vision, It seemed that I, Art Bulla, was removed out of my body, or whether in the body or out of it I could not tell, and I beheld his face, and He spake unto me face to face as one man speaks unto another for forty-five minutes or an hour, and whether in the body or out of it, I could not tell, for I beheld his glory, which surpasses all understanding, and spake while in the vision, in a much better tongue than any spoken by man at this time, which I supposed to be the Adamic Tongue, my understanding being quickened by such might and intelligence and power that it is beyond the mind of man unaided by the Spirit of Revelation which dwells yet within me, to comprehend, and indeed no words can convey, for it seemed that I was transfigured before Him of whom I speak, my God in whom I bear record as others have before me, that He lives, for I too have seen Him. And tongue cannot express his matchless might, glory, power and intelligence, and I shall forever adore his glory, for having once beheld his face and felt of his love and might and power and beheld things which I cannot convey, for there is no language, I must, I MUST obtain his presence, and I shall not be content with anything else, this world or its allurements. And having been ordained unto the Holy Order of God which is after the Order of Melchizedec, even the Holy Apostleship, the keys of which I hold, I bear record of my Father, for I have seen Him and conversed with him, and I testify that He shall return in this the Latter Day as soon as my people are straightened from this crooked and perverse generation which shall be destroyed by the might of his power, and that they be gathered out according to the Revelations which are being given unto me, almost daily at this time, which is one of the darkest periods and most wicked because of unbelief in the history of the earth, that Zion may descend and that the heavens and the earth mingle and become One, as prayed by the Only Begotten, even my brother Jesus of Nazereth. Yea, my Father, I pray that thy will be done and thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Even so. Amen."
In July of 1971 Art was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, TX studying to become an advance medical lab technician ( medical technologist). His wife Cathy introduced him to the Book of Mormon and as he read the first paragraph of Nephi, he had a powerful testimony by the Holy Spirit. Soon afterwards, he was baptized into the Mormon Church. In 1974, he was ordained a Seventy Apostle by Rex D. Pinegar (http://www.artbulla.com/zion/about.html). A few months after the Church under President Spencer W. Kimball reversed the ban on giving blacks the Priesthood on June 9, 1978, Art received his first two written revelations from the Lord one of which rebuked the Mormons for giving the negro the Priesthood. He showed them to his home teacher Randy Olsen who attacked him and broke his nose. The Stake wanted Art to apologize and summoned him to appear at Stake High Council Court but he would not apologize and was excommunicated. Due to the Church apostatizing by giving the negro the Priesthood despite Brigham Young's prophecy warning them of the grave consequences, the keys of the Priesthood was taken from the Church. (More on Art's background can be read on "A Tale to Tell" at http://www.artbulla.com/zion/tale.html )
"Let this Church which is called the Kingdom of God on the earth. We will summons the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Council, the Bishopric, and all the Elders of Israel, suppose we summons them to appear here, and here declare that it is right to mingle our seed, with the black race of Cain, that they shall come in with us and be partakers with us of all the blessings that God has given to us. on that very day and hour we should do so, the Priesthood is taken from THIS CHURCH AND KINGDOM and god leaves us to our fate. The moment we consent to mingle with the seed of Cain, the Church must go to destruction. We should receive the curse which has been placed upon the seed of Cain, and never more be numbered with the children of Adam who are heirs to the Priesthood until that curse be removed."
Brigham Young Addresses, Ms D, 1234, Box 48, Folder 3, dated Feb. 5, 1852, located in the LDS Historical Dept. SLC, UT.
The Lord has wrested the keys of the Priesthood from the Church and given it to Art who as a Seventy has the requiste Priesthood authority required to be the Lord's Anointed. Jesus Himself was an Apostle.
“The Seventies are Apostles; and they stand next in authority to the Twelve...If through the providence of God the First Presidency and the Twelve were taken away, then it would be the duty of the Seventies to preach the Gospel, build up the Church , and ordain every officer requisite in order to establish the Church, and ordain High Priests, Bishops, High Counselors, Patriarchs, and set in order the whole church in all the world. This is according to the revelations given to us...I suppose I ordained hundreds of Seventies in early days. Brother Joseph Smith has come to us many times, saying, ‘Brethren, you are going to ordain Seventies. Do not forget to confer the high priesthood (Melchizedec priesthood) upon them. Ordain each of them to the High Priesthood, and to be one of the Seventy Apostles.’ This was my language in the ordination of the Seventies, and that is the way I ordain them now. Brigham Young, Des. News, June 6, 1877, p. 274.
Despite the false beliefs of the Mormons, the Priesthood is not limited to the Church but stands apart from the Church.
Read http://www.artbulla.com/zion/andruskog.htm :
A cogent, analytical, and historically accurate as well as correct analysis of the relationship of the political Kingdom of God to the Church and the Priesthood by Hyrum Andrus, Professor Emiritus, Brigham Young University.
“I will say to you with regard to the kingdom of God on the earth, Here is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints., organized with its rules, regulations and degrees, with the quorums of the holy Priesthood, from the First Presidency to the teachers and deacons; here we are, an organization. God called upon Joseph, he called upon Oliver Cowdery, then others were called through Joseph, the Church was organized, he with his two counselors comprised the First Presidency. In a few years the Quorum of the Twelve was organized, the High Council was organized, the High Priests' quorum was organized, the Seventies' quorums were organized, and the Priests' quorum, the Teachers' quorum and the Deacons'. This is what we are in the habit of calling the kingdom of God. But there are further organizations. The Prophet gave a full and complete organization to this kingdom the Spring before he was killed. This kingdom is the kingdom that Daniel spoke of, which was to be set up in the last days; it is the kingdom that is not to be given to another people; it is the kingdom that is to be held by the servants of God, to rule the nations of the earth, to send forth those laws and ordinances that shall be suitable and that shall apply themselves to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; that will apply themselves to the mother Church."
For an illustrated diagram of the structure of the Kingdom of God see: http://www.artbulla.com/images/kingdom.gif
The fact is even before the Church was organized on April 6, 1830, almost a year before on May 1829, the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored when Peter, James, and John returned and laid hands on Joseph Smith. This in itself proves that the Priesthood and the Church are separate. Joseph Smith ordained as Apostles Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris even before the existence of the Church.
"God chooses prophets, you (the Church) do not do this." Brigham Young
Brigham Young; Journal of Discourses, 26 vols., 1:, p.133
"Perhaps it may make some of you stumble, were I to ask you a question-Does a man's being a Prophet in this Church prove that he shall be the President of it? I answer, no! A man may be a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and it may have nothing to do with his being the President of the Church. Suffice it to say, that Joseph was the President of the Church, as long as he lived: the people chose to have it so. He always filled that responsible station, by the voice of the people. Can you find any revelation appointing him the President of the Church? The keys of the Priesthood were committed to Joseph, to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth, and were not to be taken from him in time or in eternity; but when he was called to preside over the Church, it was by the voice of the people; though he held the keys of the Priesthood, independent of their voice."
In fact, Joseph Smith wanted his brother Hyrum to be the President of the Church in order to alleviate some of the pressure of leading the people but the people wanted Joseph as President.
In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah was the Lord's Anointed and Alma was the President of the Church.
8 Now king Mosiah had given Alma the authority over the church.
(Mosiah 26:8)
1 AND now it came to pass that the persecutions which were inflicted on the church by the unbelievers became so great that the church began to murmur, and complain to their leaders concerning the matter; and they did complain to Alma. And Alma laid the case before their king, Mosiah. And Mosiah consulted with his priests.
(Mosiah 27:1)
''An assumption frequently made is that the authors of the prophetic books of the Old Testament were the constituted authorities of the Church in their eras. This, however, was not always the case. Some of them were even considered rebels by the religious leaders of Israel in their days. Jeremiah was one such prophet who stood outside of the Church. The established Church, through its Priests, even attempted to put Jeremiah to death. Micah, Amos, Hosea, and Zephaniah were also prophets who were critical of corruption within the Church.
"These Old Testament prophets did not speak as representing the Church, but as representing the Lord. Though the prophets may have held the higher Priesthood authority, there is no Biblical indication that the general Church membership of that time was aware of it." Thus Saith the Lord; Duane S. Crowther, p. 148.
8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD's house.
11 Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
(Old Testament | Jeremiah 26:8 - 11)
4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
(Old Testament | Zephaniah 3:4)
11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
(Old Testament | Micah 3:11)
The scriptures clearly prophesize about an individual who the Lord would send in the latter days, during a new dispensation of the Gospel, to gather Zion. The whole point of the Gospel is to build up the Kingdom of God (diagrammed on the link http://www.artbulla.com/images/kingdom.gif) on earth. That was the whole goal of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and the early Mormons.(Unfortunately, they gave up polygamy because of persecution from the US government, received the last "Thus saith the Lord" revelation in 1889 written by President Wilford Woodruff right before the Manifesto of 1890, and assimilated themself with the rest of the Gentile United States.) They no longer believe in the literal gathering of Zion or the political Kingdom of God safe in their belief that attending Church on Sundays is all that is necessary.
The Kingdom of God is a real literal government and is spiritualized away by Christians as some place in space or a figurative reference. The Lord's prayer says,"Our Father in Heaven, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven...". Jesus said in 3 Nephi 13:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Jesus was trying to gather the Jews but they rebelled against him and hung Him on a cross between two common thieves. And where is the Kingdom of God ? It is where there is a legal administrator receiving direct revelation from God.
"Whenever men can find out the will of God and find an administrator legally authorized from God, there is the kingdom of God; but where these are not, the kingdom of God is not. All the ordinances, systems, and administrations on the earth are of no use to the children of men, unless they are ordained and authorized of God; for nothing will save a man but a legal administrator; for none others will be acknowledged either by God or angels."
(Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith, p.274)
Ogden Kraut's "The Gathering of Israel":
The doctrine of the gathering of the people of God, including Israel, is one so clearly predicted by the inspired writers, that it seems almost superfluous to refer to the numerous passages relating to it. (Orson Pratt's Works, p. 9)
Every true prophet has advocated this principle; and usually the only people who were saved from various calamities were those who gathered out from the rest of the world. It is an evidence of inspired leaders, i.e.:
* Enoch gathered a few faithful to his city so they could be righteous enough to be saved and translated.
* Noah could only gather a few faithful from his own family, but they were saved from the flood.
* Abraham gathered a few righteous souls out of Sodom and Gomorrah.
* Lehi had to gather his family away from the wicked to save them from destruction in Jerusalem.
* Moses sought to gather Israel to save them; when they were scattered, they were cursed.
* Jesus sought to gather Israel again, but they disobeyed His command.
* The Prophet Joseph Smith gathered Saints to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois.
* Brigham Young gathered the Saints to the Salt Lake Valley.
The Prophet Joseph explained how gathering is for the salvation of Israel in all ages.
All that the prophets that have written, from the days of righteous Abel, down to the last man that has left any testimony on record for our consideration, in speaking of the salvation of Israel in the last days, goes directly to show that it consists in the work of the gathering. (TPJS, p. 83)
God has called His people to gather out of the wickedness and corruptions of Babylon, just as He would call a righteous soul from out of a den of thieves, a saloon, or a diseased area. God seeks to have His people gather to one place and form a community and society of their own. It was a doctrine taught by Jesus and His disciples at Jerusalem. He declared:
He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad.
(Luke 2:24)
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
(Ezekiel 36:24)
The spirit and power of gathering filled the souls of all the prophets of God. It seems that those prophets who were the most spiritual felt that power the most.
The Importance of Gathering in This Dispensation
One of the basic tenets of the restored Gospel was to be gathered together. It was even specifically mentioned in the Articles of Faith:
We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this the America continent. . . . (Article 10)
[100] But to have a gathering, there must first have been a scattering-which condition does not come from God:
You have heard brother Brigham preach it here time and time again, and other men, that a scattering spirit was not the spirit of God; and I know it is not. (Heber C. Kimball, JD 4:362)
(end)
Before discussing the prophesized Prophet who will gather Israel, it is necessary first to discuss some historical information. After King Solomon died, Israel was divided into the nations, the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom was comprised of Ephraim and eight other tribes and the Southern was made up of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. However, Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom was invaded by Assyria around 750 BC and taken captive, scattered through Europe, completely losing their identity. Judah, the Southern Kingdom experienced the same situation when they were attacked by Babylon around 600 BC and taken into bondage in Babylon for 70 years. Unlike their brethren Ephraim a few thousand Jews (short for Judah) returned and restored their nation. Jesus was sent to the Jews as their Messiah and is the Only Begotten. However, the Lord did not forget Ephraim, regathering them on the New World of North America and establishing the United States of America. The prominent role of Judah and Ephraim is clearly delineated in the scriptures.
1 NOW the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he [was] the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him [came] the chief ruler; but the birthright [was] Joseph's:)
(1 Chronichles 5:1-2)
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which [is] in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, [even] with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
(Ezekiel 37:19)
13 The envy of Ephraim also shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
(2 Nephi 21:13)
34 Behold, this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes of Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim and his fellows.
(D&C 133:34)
The Gospel was restored on the United States through Mormonism when the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored in May 1829 through Joseph Smith. Unfortunately, Zion wasn't redeemed in his time or Brigham Young's time. Joseph Smith said, "the redemption of Zion has been left to other hands, and to other times. But that its redemption will come no one doubts who believes in the firm decrees of God." The Mormons gave up polygamy, did away with the Seventies (ordaining them High Priests a lower Priesthood office which is contradictory since the superior cannot be ordained by the inferior), gave up the literal gathering of Israel, and the stake in the heart was giving negroes the Priesthood. Third President John Taylor gave limited authority to Lorin Woolley to seal plural marriages but to not hold any meetings until the One Mighty and Strong was to arrive. And who is the One Mighty and Strong ? He is Prophet prophesized by Joseph Smith to come in the last days:
7 And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of the saints whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God;
(D&C 85:7)
Isaiah saw a vision of the last days when the One Mighty and Strong would arrive :
1 WOE to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand (referring to the keys of the Priesthood).
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
(Old Testament | Isaiah 28:1 - 5)
(The Lord revealed to Art that he was the One Mighty and Strong in 1980 in Greensboro, NC and at the time had been receiving revelations for a year. He had prayed to find out his calling from God. He knew by earliler revelation that he was an Apostle and that he held the keys and he wanted to know what title he held. So around May, 1983 it was snow from winter time all the way till May. Art remembered thinking that it was very late for it to snow. Around May the temperature spiked up and it became hot all at once turning from winter to summer all in one day and all the snow pack melted at once and flooded the valley. It was a river down State St. in SLC in fulfillment of Isiaiah 28 the advent of the One Mighty and Strong. It happened the very day that Art had published the first type written revelations Revelations of Jesus Christ and hand carried them to those who wanted it including Sam Weller's Zion's Book Store, the Church Historical Department and Jim Wardel's Barber Shop purchased the revelations as well.
Brigham Young was revealed that the One Mighty and Strong would come in a day of apostasy:
"Brethren, this Church will be led onto the very brink of hell by the leaders of this people, then God will raise up the one `Mighty and Strong' (spoken of in the 85th Section of the Doctrine & Covenants) to save and redeem this Church." Brigham Young (Attested to by Joshua Jones who made a minute of it at that time and now has it in his diary.)
This is confirmed in Journal of Joseph W. Musser: September 28, 1938. ... Brother Peay also told of hearing Joshua Jones of Provo tell of hearing Brigham Young say, "The time will come when this people are led onto the very brink of apostacy." Jones made an entry of it in his Journal. The speech was made in the Old Bowery at Provo. Learned through Lorin C. Woolley, that his father, John W. Woolley, attended the above meeting, and upon arriving home at Centerville he told Lorin and his mother of the incident. He related it thusly: "President Young, being filled with the Holy Ghost, said, `The time will come when this people will be led onto the very brink of hell by their leaders, then the one mighty and strong will come to set the house of God in order.'"
The Lord has revealed to Art that the One Mighty and Strong is the same individual as the Root of Jesse:
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
(verses 6-9 refer to the Millineum when Jesus returns in power and glory and the trumpet of angels and there will be absolute peace)
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
(Old Testament | Isaiah 11:10)
5 What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter?
6 Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days.
(D&C 113:5-6)
Also:
15 Behold, I say unto you, the redemption of Zion must needs come by power;
16 Therefore, I will raise up unto my people a man, who shall lead them like as Moses led the children of Israel.
17 For ye are the children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham, and ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched–out arm.
18 And as your fathers were led at the first, even so shall the redemption of Zion be.
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 103:15 - 18)
The Lord has sent another Messiah, this time to Ephraim ! There is only one Only Begotten Son who is Jesus Christ. Messiah means "Lord's Anointed". The One Mighty and Strong is none other than Messiah to Ephraim. John the Baptist ordained Joseph Smith and Olivery Cowdery the Aaronic Priesthood (precursor to the restorel of the Melchizedek Priesthood) on May 15, 1829 near Harmony, Pennsylvania.
1 UPON you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.
(D&C 13:1)
Notice that John the Baptist said, "in the name of Messiah" not "the Messiah". If Jesus was the only Messiah, he undoubtedly would have said "the Messiah". I've noticed there are other scriptural passages where the same unmistakable wording is used:
19 And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world.
(1 Nephi 1:19)
4 Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews--even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world.
(1 Nephi 10:4)
Again, I testify that the Holy Spirit which continually strives with me that Art is the One Mighty and Strong, the Messiah to the Gentiles (non Jews).
Again I repeat:
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
(Old Testament | Isaiah 11:10)
17 And those who receive even my servants in the flesh receive me, saith the Lord, for he is that One prophesied that he should come unto thee, O Israel, and all power is his in me, for are we not sons of God, saith the Lord?
18 And these things are to them who are full of humility and the devil taketh advantage of the humble that they, even they are they not afraid of being humble before me because of the trickery of the devil?
19 But ye must judge, saith the Lord, and by what judgment ye judge, that shall ye receive.
20 Even so, I am Jesus of Nazereth who was slain for the sins of the world and came unto mine own and mine own received me not.
(Revelations of Jesus Christ 25:16 - 20)
Account of a Miracle
I'd like to also share with you a miracle that happened one night when I pulled into the parking lot of a Starbucks Coffee Shop close to where I live. I made the mistake of driving too far into the parking space and driving my car over the concrete block so that these two metal poles sticking out from the top of the block caught my car somewhere underneath my car. I tried to reverse my car and stepping on the gas but it remained stuck. I then put the car in neutral and tried pushing the car from the front but it wouldn't budge. I tried both thing again but with no success.
So I was left with the option of walking back home and walking back with a jack or asking help from a friendly passerby. I decided to give prayer a shot. I prayed according to section 67 of Revelations of Jesus Christ:
1 Thus saith the Father, from henceforth and forever I give unto you a New Covenant, and a new name, that by it ye shall gain communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn and the fullness of the Father, which is exaltation in my presence; Sons of God, not begotten by man, nor the will of man, without father, mother, beginning of days nor end of years, abiding a Priest forever after the Order of Melchizedec.
2 And by it, saith the Father, even this new name, that of Art Bulla, who is that One Mighty and Strong, ye shall command and the angels shall respond to thy defense, the heavens shall shut themselves that it shall not rain, the earth shall move in thy defense, the mighty waters shall be dried up that ye walk over, the sick shall be healed instantly, saith the Father, and this because ye use the name of my well-beloved, my second born among all my children, even my servant who is that One who should come unto thee as anciently, O Zion."
After having prayed in the name of the One Mighty and Strong, Art Bulla that my car would be freed from its attachment, I put the car in neutral and pushed the car from the front. What do you know, the car started to roll back a bit as the concrete block rising off the ground. With every push, the car would react in that manner. The whole time I was thinking to myself how incredible and marvelous the whole experience was. I could not push it hard enough for it to be freed though so finally, I stepped behind the wheel of my car, put my car in reverse, stepped on the gas and in a few moments the car pulled itself free.
I hope you will pray about these things to receive a testimony for yourself like I have.James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
Labels: Bible, Book of Mormon, joseph smith, religion, scripture
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