He also has experience in going into companies and figuring out ways to expand and or improve their businesses. He has done this at Staples, Sports Authority, Ampad and others.

These companies are part of the few companies he and Bain actually helped.  In so many other cases, he and Bain bought companies only to bleed them dry, charging excessive management fees, then chopping up some of them and forcing some of them into bankruptcy.

It is a given that Romney did have some successes and the skills he learned could be used to pump new energy into the Postal Service – streamlining operations – expanding some locations where appropriate and closing some locations or having some post offices offer fewer services, after all, some people only want to mail envelopes and packages and they do not need other services like post office boxes or passport services – some would not even have to carry a large variety of postage stamps for collectors.

The hell with philatelists anyway, they all are probably part of the 47 percent Americans who pay no taxes, while expecting  handouts – so the freeloading stamp collectors can figure out other ways to buy their damn stamps.

Romney, from what I have read, stepped up when asked to help make the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City a success.  He almost makes it sound like he was a one man band but as we all know it takes a village and not just one person.  But, let’s give him credit for helping make the games a success.  Another factor in helping the games being successful was that there was a tremendous infusion of money from our Federal Government, something that Mitt does not talk about much.

Mitt is not a people person – just look at him the past 3 – 5 weeks where he has fumbled in Europe and Israel and even during a secretly recorded fundraiser in Florida, but that is okay for a person hired to run the Postal Service as Postmaster General.

Another good thing is that Mitt does not appear to have any military experience – and from what I understand his father, his grandfather, nor his sons have any military experience – so having a title that includes “General” on the front of his office door will make him feel he is doing a civic duty.  Who knows, maybe our government can come up with some kind of military looking uniform he can wear as Postmaster General – like those in charge of the Salvation Army and also the uniform our Surgeon General wears.  Mitt would look smashing in a classy military looking uniform.  Maybe our president could even come up with a “Distinguished Mormon Service Medal” that Mitt could pin above his left coat pocket.

Our President could even authorize new stamps commemorating famous Mormons like Joseph Smith, Jr., Brigham Young, Ezra Taft Benson, and Spencer Kimball, as well as the current President Thomas S. Monson.

The only conflict I see is Mitt’s predisposition to charge excessive management fees when he is trying to help a company improve their business model.

But again, management fees will not be a factor if he runs the Postal Service because the Postal Service is already losing millions, if not billions, every year, so Mitt will not be able to squeeze any management fees out of the Postal Service.

In fact, with all the money Mitt has, I am sure he will refuse to accept a salary because he will be permitted to still function as the president of Bain Capital on a part-time basis.

Maybe the Postal Service, in return for Mitt working for free, can give Mitt, Bain Capital, and Mormon Temples across the country, discount rates on everything they ship via the Postal Service.  That would result in a win-win situation for Bain and Mitt’s church as well as the Postal Service because every company that Bain and Mitt forces into bankruptcy will ship all the products and supplies and equipment via the Postal Service – increasing the volume and revenues while Bain saves money on postage.

I will go one step further – let Bain, under Mitt’s guidance, purchase the Post Office and give them a couple of years to either turn it around and make it profitable or let Bain force the Postal Service into bankruptcy – selling off all Post Office’s across the country – with Bain getting 15 percent on the sale of the assets, like the buildings, the land, the regional distribution centers, and their fleet of vehicles.

Bain, then could open up mini post offices inside all Staples locations, Sports Authority locations, Dunking Donuts locations, all Domino’s Pizza locations, and all Toys R’ Us locations.

Considering Bain is or was invested in all the above companies, it would increase business for them as well as getting seniors out of the house to visit different places instead of the one Post Office they go to on a regular basis.

Imagine mailing a package and having a donut and coffee or mailing a package and getting a Domino’s pizza, or again, mailing a package and making some copies of your tax forms at Staples. A family could even combine a trip to mail letters or packages with a trip to Burger King.  The drive up window at Burger King could even add pictures of stamps on their take out menus so people could buy them while driving thru to pick up their burgers, fries, sodas and shakes.

The person taking the order could ask, “Would you like any stamps with your order?”

“Yes, I would like a sheet of Mitt “Almost President” Romney stamps, thanks!”

“Oh, do you have that new stamp showing Ann Romney in her driveway in front of her three Cadillac’s?”

The cashier would reply back,

“We don’t have any more Ann Romney stamps – they sold out the first day – we might have more the next time you visit.”

“We do, however, have the new Paul “I lied” Ryan marathon stamp showing him coming across the finish line clearly in over 4 hours – would you like a few of those?”

For those not familiar of the term “NCO”, it stands for Non Commissioned Officer – which also means wearing stripes on the upper sleeves of the uniform instead of officer emblems on the shoulders.  At the time I was a Master Sergeant, which was one of the top three enlisted ranks in the military at the time.

We had no aircraft and no active runway but we had thousands of Air Force officers who were computer systems professionals, scientists, and engineers who worked with the hundreds of high tech companies nearby.

One of the Airmen who worked in my unit was married to a very lovely lady and I believe they had five kids – maybe six.  My personal impression of him was that he was a great husband and a wonderful father – his whole life was centered on his family and sometimes his dedication at home adversely affected the quantity, quality and timeliness of his work at the base.

I am intentionally not referring to this young Airman by name – so let’s just say that Airman “X” was a Mormon who was very active in his church.  I found him very challenging because I was never sure if what he was telling me was entirely true.  I never caught him in an outright lie, but he sometimes said things that were not entirely true.

The base we were stationed at had a small medical clinic, a small commissary and a small Base Exchange but there was an Army base about 25 – 30 miles away that had a large Army hospital, a beautiful well stocked commissary, and a large modern Post Exchange.

Needless to say, Airman “X” preferred to do his grocery shopping at the Army base.  He also preferred doing this shopping during the week so he would have more time to devote to his family on the weekend.

Being active in his Mormon church, the last thing he wanted to do was spend hours driving back and forth to the Army base on the weekend.

This posed a dilemma for him because I was not okay for people working for me taking hours away from their work to visit the Army base unless it was absolutely necessary for reasons such as medical appointments.  Once in a blue moon to go there and shop was fine – but not on a regular basis.  If anyone had a medical appointment at the Army base it was perfectly okay to do a little shopping while there.

One day he told me that he had an appointment the next day over at the Army base and I thought nothing of it because of his large family and their medical needs.

During his absence, one of his customers came into our office to pick up some computer listings and I told him that Airman “X” was not available because he went to the Army base to a medical appointment.  One of the other Airmen in the unit chuckled and said, “Medical, Schmedical, he is doing his bi-weekly grocery shopping at the Army commissary and the PX.  I was told that he uses the, “I have an appointment at the Army base” as an excuse because he knew that I would not pry into the details of any appointment he was “sorta kinda” hinting that was medical in nature.

The real appointment he was referring to was a commitment he and his wife made together to do a major grocery shop because the Army Commissary was less crowded during the week.

The next day when he returned I confronted him about his appointment – he acted surprised that I was even questioning him and said, “Well, I told you I had an appointment – I never said it was a medical appointment.”  He sincerely felt his excuse was perfectly okay and he did not believe he deceived me with his original comment about an appointment.

Moving on… I have read numerous articles about Mormons “Lying for the Lord.”  The crux of this subject is that Mormons have no problem stretching the truth – even avoiding the truth by omission, skirting an issue, or even talking around the subject at hand.

Do individuals of other faiths or those who are Atheists or even Agnostics stretch the truth or even lie – absolutely.

So, why am I focused on Mormons?  Because they take it to a whole new level.  They are so very careful not to lie that they have earned a PhD in stretching the truth to a point that most individuals would not even think they are being deceived.

Here is another story about deception, misstatements, untruths and possibly outright lies regarding the Mormon Church.

Since the beginnings of the Mormon Church in 1830, the church has taught and educated its members that blacks were inferior and would never be eligible for priesthood in the Mormon Church.

The reason, supposedly to those in charge of the Mormon Church, goes back to Cain and Abel, where Cain killed his brother Abel and God changed Cain into a black man and thus began “The Mark of Cain” which visually included Cain having black skin, a flat nose, and kinky hair.  Cain, a white man, was changed by the Lord instantly into the first “negro.” (Per the Mormon Church)

The Mormon Church also taught that Cain married his sister and she became the second Negro.

All male Mormons over the age of 12 hold the priesthood and they need that to get into the highest Heaven.

It was further taught that anyone with one drop of Negro blood was banned from the Mormon Temple and from Mormon priesthood.

These teachings continued to 1978 – for a period of almost 150 years.  So, what changed and what caused the change?

President Jimmy Carter was rumored to threaten the religious community of loss of their tax exempt status if they discriminated against blacks and other people of “color”, including American Indians.

In 1978, Bob Jones University was deeply involved in a tax case regarding exclusion of black applicants.  It is generally thought that the Mormon Church saw the handwriting on the wall – so on June 8^th, 1978, Spencer Kimball, the 12^th President of the Mormon Church wrote to his followers telling them that he had just received a revelation from God that he should now allow blacks priesthood in the Mormon Church.

The letter, from Spencer Kimball, containing this revelation was signed by three individuals – Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner, and Marion G. Romney – a cousin of Mitt Romney’s father George W. Romney.  Marion G. Romney died in Salt Lake City in 1988 – almost 10 years after the revelation allowing blacks priesthood in the Mormon Church.

I do not know if God gave Spencer Kimball a revelation or not, but I find it interesting that this revelation happened in 1978 when all the dust was kicking up about educational institutions and religious organizations being threatened with losing their tax exemption status because of discrimination issues.

I remember Church Lady of Saturday Night fame saying, ““Well, isn’t that SPE-CIAL?!”, “How con-VEEN-ient!”, and “Could it be…SATAN?”

So, was the Mormon Church reversing its’ long standing “White Only priesthood status” to insure the continuity of tax exemptions?  I, for one, believe that was the motivation behind the so called “Revelation.”

My personal guess is that Spencer Kimball thought something like “Heavens to Purgatory, we might lose our tax exempt status – I better have a revelation – and soon!”

Just a couple of years ago a black couple was visiting Salt Lake City and was part of a large group of tourists wanting to visit the Mormon Temple.  When they approached the entrance to enter, a Mormon representative welcomed them by saying it was “okay for you to enter because we let you in.”

I find it fascinating that whites are escorted in with no comment or exception, while blacks are told that they are being “allowed” to enter.

Does the Mormon Temple act like a place that in 1978 changed a 100 plus year old policy of discriminating against blacks – by telling black tourists, “we let you in?”

I wonder…. If Romney ends up getting elected to the White House, will there be some sort of tax reversal policy dealing with tax exempt organizations and then the Mormon Church will rescind all the “black” priesthoods and become a White Only Club again?  We will see.

Let’s move on to Mitt “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire” Romney – the primary focus of this blog to begin with.

I believe Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for President, constantly tells untruths, aka lies, and that he does everything possible to word things in a way that are “technically” and maybe even “legally” correct simply because of a missing noun or adjective or adverb.

Just to clarify, I do not resent Mitt Romney for his wealth, his assets, his holdings, or even the monies he has offshore in the Cayman Islands or even in Swiss bank accounts.

What I do resent, however, is how he chopped up perfectly fine companies – putting thousands of individuals out of work while he was making tens of millions in the process.

Bain Capital, the company that Romney founded is physically dismantling a manufacturing company machine by machine, conveyer belt by conveyer belt and will soon be shipping all of it to China and in the process Bain will profit significantly.

This company is a profitable company but not profitable enough in Bain’s eyes.  Not only is Bain shipping the jobs overseas, they are shipping the whole company to China – piece by piece.

Not only are Sensata employees training their Chinese counterparts, they are also disassembling and packing up their own company to ship it, in its entirety, to China.

See for yourself.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/22/sensata-jan-schakowsky-bain-outsourcing_n_1819483.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012

Please keep in mind that Sensata Technologies is a productive and profitable company that makes quality products for the auto industry.

Bain purchased Sensata in 2006 and now is choosing to ship the entire company, part and parcel, to China.

Some reading this can defend Romney by saying that Romney is not actively involved in Bain any longer so he cannot be responsible for what Bain is currently doing to companies like Sensata.

To those naïve individuals I would respond with this – Romney set the standard – he developed the model – and even though he no longer manages Bain on a daily basis, they are doing things he taught them all to do and part of the profits that Bain is making during Romney’s absence are going into a trust for Romney that he will be able to claim when, hopefully, he loses the election this fall and returns to run Bain early in 2013.

Enough about Sensata Technologies – let’s get back to Romney’s Tax returns.

In addition, there are questions on how revenues, income, and other financial transactions were booked.

Another thing that bothers me is if Romney is tithing to his Mormon Church with money he duped from tens of thousands of hard working Americans, this should be brought to the attention of voters.

If Romney, through his Bain Capital, misstated earnings and deceived the IRS by hiding funds offshore and overseas, he should be held criminally liable for his actions and if he knowingly violated the law, he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of tax law.

The bottom line is this:  If Romney is deceiving the IRS on his tax forms, he is underpaying taxes.  In addition, if he is supposedly tithing based on those same tax forms, i.e. giving, let’s say,  10 percent or 15 percent to his church, he is also lying to his Lord and his Church, which by the way is one in the same.

I believe those two reasons are why he will not release the additional 5 – 6 years of tax returns.

Back to how Mormons deceive others – regarding Romney – he is acting just like the Airman who worked for me.  Mitt Romney is careful, when talking about what he paid in taxes to carefully not use the word “income” when talking about taxes.

He said that he paid 13 percent or 13.5 percent in taxes – and that might be correct – if you include sales taxes and even Social Security tax – but if he adds the word “income” in the sentence, that would probably make his comment an outright lie – so he chooses to deceive Americans while insisting that he “just looked” at his tax forms for the past ten or so years and he wants to assure everyone that he never paid less than 13 percent in taxes.

Could you imagine police letting an accused murderer saying that he just tested his own hands and clothing for gunshot residue and there is none?  Could you also imagine police believing an accused murderer who says that he just checked his gun and it has not been fired in years?  Surely not.

So why would anyone believe Romney when he talks in generalities about how much he paid in taxes.  The proof is in the pudding, Mitt, so do the right thing and turn over your tax returns just like your father did – unless, of course, you have something to hide – like something illegal or something highly questionable or unethical.  But, you are a Morman, Mitt, and I am sure you would not do anything illegal, immoral, or unethical, so do the right thing and cough up your returns.

I believe that if the mainstream media called him on his wording that it would make him finally fess up and show how he is deceiving the IRS and lying to his church at the same time.

Romney also moved money from one of his accounts to a blind trust for his wife so that he would not have to disclose this money on financial disclosure documents when he ran for Governor of Massachusetts.  This is just some more trickery on his part.

In 2010 and 2011 Romney “earned” $42.5 million and paid $6.5 million in taxes – and on the surface it shows that he paid a tax rate of just shy of 15 percent.  All that seems fine, but…

Numerous tax attorneys are questioning certain compensation during those years and how it is categorized because if it should have been booked as a “fee charged” instead of “carried interest” and, if so, should have been taxed at the rate of 35 percent and not at the lower max of 15 percent.

It is one thing to hide money overseas but to also report certain monies in one tax category instead of another to avoid paying a higher rate of income tax is considered tax fraud.

I believe this is the reason Romney is not showing his returns back to the same 12 years that his father did.

Ann Romney said in an interview that she cries every time she writes her tithing checks to her church – I bet she does.

Maybe the reason behind her tears is because she and her husband might not be able to buy or build one more mansion or that she might not be able to buy another Cadillac or two.

Her husband has a team of tax attorneys who look for every loophole to minimize taxes for the Romneys and that is fine with me – because looking for legitimate tax loopholes is perfectly legal.

But if his attorneys are using trickery along with deceptive practices to illegally lower Romney’s tax obligation – that is criminal.

So, some reading this might say, “What is the big deal – 15 percent rate or 35 percent rate?”

Let’s say that $20 million of Romney’s “declared” income was really “fees” that should be taxed at 35 percent instead of being declared as “investment income” at 15 percent, the tax consequences is huge.  The difference on the $20 million is $4 million. ($7 million versus $3 million)

My taxes are simple – I have very little interest income or dividend income and I do not own a home – my taxes are cut and dry.  Because my income and my expenses are clear cut and I do not have millions to hide here and there – I do not need an armful of tax attorneys and accountants to figure out ways to either legally or illegally decrease my tax obligation.

In case anyone reading this thinks I am bashing Romney because he is a Republican or because he is rich, here are a few links that quote noted professors and tax attorneys who  go into more technical detail than I ever could.

The articles go into how revenues and expenses in companies like Bain should be reported on tax forms.

Please keep in mind that loopholes are not the issue – I am concerned with how the money has been reported on Romney’s tax forms.

Another way of looking at this is when you go out to eat and at the end of the meal you need to compute the tip to the waiter or the waitress.

Some people, right or wrong, do not want to tip on the entire check – some deduct out the taxes and then compute the tip.

Sure, some people might consider a person doing this as being cheap, but on the other hand, the restaurant – and not the waiter or waitress – is collecting the tax amount to later pay the city, county, and state – so why should waitpersons get a higher tip based on the tax amount that is being collected for the government?

Using restaurants as an example only affects the 7 or 10 percent tax amount but the difference between earned income and investment income is 20 percent. (35 percent versus 15 percent).

http://www.businessinsider.com/law-professor-says-one-of-romneys-tax-avoidance-schemes-was-illegal-2012-8

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/23/1123513/-Quote-Mitt-Romney-has-not-paid-all-the-taxes-required-under-law

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/us/politics/documents-show-details-on-romney-family-trusts.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.sbhonline.com/St-Barts-bb/showtopic.php?tid/35842/

Most people who follow my blogs know that I am a registered Democrat – but one who NEVER votes straight ticket.  I look at all races and vote for the person I believe will do the best job.  If that person is a Republican, an Independent, or a person affiliated with one of the minor parties, I will vote for that person.  If I am not versed in candidates running for a particular office, I will not vote for that race.

I will make one promise here.  If Romney releases a minimum of six additional years – not even the 12 like his own father did – and tax attorneys and tax accountants determine that all the loopholes are valid and legal and that his income and dividends are reported correctly, I will pull the lever for Mitt Romney.

On the other hand, if Romney does not release at least 6 additional years or worse yet, tax attorneys and tax professors and tax accountants determine that Romney has illegally or improperly reported monies incorrectly on his tax form, I will not vote for him – even if he is the only person running.

Keep in mind that if Romney is lying to his church and he is lying to the IRS, and he is lying to the media, the next person he will lie to will be YOU.

Note: Just below the last poll is a link for YOU to leave a comment.  Please share your thoughts about this blog.

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“There is one crucial test of repentance.  This is abandonment of the sin… the saving power does not extend to him who merely wants to change his life… nor is repentance complete when one merely tries to abandon sin… to ‘try’ is weak.  To ‘do the best I can’ is not strong.  We must always do better than we can.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 163-165, emphasis mine).

Having discussed this particular quote with a number of members of the LDS church, it is apparent that what Kimball says here is not fully agreed on by current members of the church.  Partly this is because of the LDS belief in the authority of the living prophet, which apparently means that whatever a prophet may say, after he dies his authority dies with him.  And partly this is because in speaking against “doing the best I can,” Kimball raises an impossible standard.  In my discussions, I have yet to find any person who believes it possible to permanently abandon all their sin.  As a result, members of the LDS church do not believe that this level of repentance is actually necessary. 

The question that must be answered then is this.  Members of the LDS church argue that repentance is necessary, that a person must repent of all their sin, and that the test of repentance is that you do not repeat the sin.  But then it is argued that this does not require a person to permanently abandon all their sins.  So then, what level or degree of repentance is necessary in order for the atonement of Christ to be fully applied in one’s life? 

The most common answer I get to this question is, that a person must do the best they can.  And this naturally breaks down into a subjective kind of “who’s to say” discussion.  So, say we grant that this answer is correct, even though it clearly contradicts what President Kimball said.  If we grant that a person must do the best they can anyway, then we have to ask, what person does the best they can?

You might be tempted to answer that God will be the judge, and I can’t judge anyone else and whether or not they are doing their best.  And that is fine.  Let’s don’t judge anyone else.  Consider only yourself.  What about you?  Are you doing the best you can?  All the time?  Do you take a day off now and then?  Do you rationalize away some areas where you clearly are not doing your best? 

And then, answer this: does that even matter?  Assuming that you are honest and admit that, no, you are not doing your best, does that matter?  Is God fine with that?  If He is fine with that, then repentance must not really matter.  If repentance matters, then God probably isn’t fine with it that you aren’t doing your best all the time. 

If you answer that “God doesn’t require perfection,” that is fine.  But still, you believe that he requires repentance, and we still haven’t pinned down exactly what that is.  Does God require repentance or not?  If not, then don’t worry about your sin, or about being worthy, or about doing your best.  But if He does require repentance, then how much?  If you say that He requires you to do your best, and then admit that you are not doing your best, then you are in trouble.

My Family at the Grave of President John Taylor

All to often we forget the true meaning of Memorial Day.  The day was originally set aside to remember the fallen of the Civil War and become a national holiday in 1971,

We owe much to the brave men and women who fought and died for our freedom.  Christ taught, “ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” 

We should honor those who died before us on battlefields.  We should also remember our other heroes who died before us.

I have given my children at least one name (usually a middle name) of someone I greatly admire.  Hoping they will emulate the characteristics of that individual.

This is what I would like my children to remember:

Joseph Smith. I gave my oldest son the middle name of Joseph in honor of the first prophet of this dispensation.  Joseph is a prime example of what God can do with your life if you will turn your life over to him.  He was also someone whom I admire for standing by his word, regardless of the consequences.  He knew he had seen our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  He suffered tremendously for that testimony, but he never denied it.  Ultimately he gave his life for that testimony.

I believe the words, “Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world than any other man that ever lived in it.”

John Taylor.   I gave my second son the first name of Taylor.  It is the maiden name of my wife whose great great grandfather was John Taylor the third President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Like Joseph, he was not afraid to stand for what is right.  This earned him the title of “Champion of Liberty” and “Defender of the Faith”.  He was a loyal friend to Joseph Smith and suffered at his martyrdom.

Ezra Taft Benson. My second son was given the middle name of Benson, after Ezra Taft Benson.  Benson gave us warnings for our day.  He was a great patriot, who wasn’t afraid to stand for freedom.  He reminded me that freedom simply wasn’t about going to parades and singing the Star Spangled Banner; it was a real thing that needed to fought for every day.  On matters of freedom their could be no compromise. His work, “The Proper Role of Government” framed my political ideology.

Spencer W. Kimball.  My third son was given the name of Kimball after President Kimball.  President Kimball was a humble man who served with humility.  He taught us to love every one; and encouraged us to be better people.  I choose the name after reading his address, “The False Gods We Worship”.  It was a reminder that we need to put God first in our life.  I loved this counsel, “We are a warlike people, easily distracted from our assignment of preparing for the coming of the Lord. When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel—ships, planes, missiles, fortifications—and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When threatened, we align ourselves against the enemy instead of aligning ourselves with the kingdom of God; we train a man in the art of war and call him a patriot, thus, in the manner of Satan’s counterfeit of true patriotism, perverting the Savior’s teaching, “

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:44–45.)”

David O’ McKay.  My fourth son received the middle name of McKay.  I loved President McKay’s teachings.  He taught us the important role that parents play.  ”No other success in life can compensate for failure in the home.”

I choose the name after reading this quote, “Great men have the ability to see clearly into the heart of things. They discern truth. They think independently. They act nobly. They influence strong men to follow them, but the critics die and are forgotten, and the great man lives on forever.”

Anne Rowley.  I gave my only daughter the middle name of Anne after my great great great grandmother Anne Jewell Rowley.  She was a woman of great strength and moral conviction.  She was a widow her took her seven children from Great Britain to the Salt Lake Valley as part of the Willie Handcart Company.    The company suffered greatly during blizzards in Wyoming. On the journey she had this experience:

“There came a time, when there seemed to be no food at all.  Some of the men left to hunt buffalo.  Night was coming and there was no food for the evening meal.  I asked God’s help as I always did.  I got on my knees, remembering two hard sea biscuits that were still in my trunk.  They had been left over from the sea voyage, they were not large, and were so hard, they couldn’t be broken.  Surely, that was not enough to feed 8 people, but 5 loaves and 2 fishes were not enough to feed 5000 people either, but through a miracle, Jesus had done it.  So, with God’s help, nothing is impossible.  I found the biscuits and put them in a dutch oven and covered them with water and asked for God’s blessing, then I put the lid on the pan and set it on the coals.  When I took off the lid a little later, I found the pan filled with food.  I kneeled with my family and thanked God for his goodness.  That night my family had sufficient food.  The men returned with buffalo meat, and what wasn’t eaten right away by the Saints, was dried into jerky.” 

The miracle was portrayed in the movie “17 Miracles”

I am grateful for my ancestors who came before me.  From their stories, I have learned about faith, honesty, hard work and what is important in life.

I hope my children will remember those who went before them, and honor their legacy each and every day.

Mormonism agrees with Evangelical Christianity in that repentance is a requirement for salvation (Mormon 7:3, D&C 1:32-33, 19:3-4). Certainly to turn from the ways of the world involves a sincere change of heart and mind. But the agreement ends there. As explained a previous post, repentance of Mormonism is a process that requires one to stop sinning and never sin again. Some Latter Day Saints, once acknowledging that meeting LDS standards of repentance in this life is unlikely and too heavy a burden to bear, direct their confidence to possible opportunities in their immortal existence after this life.

Repentance Now or Never

While this “repent later” concept  is a fairly common perspective of Latter Day Saints, it cannot be supported by using Mormon scriptures or any teachings of the presidents (as far as I can tell). Alma 11:32 says in regards to repentance that “this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God” and continues on through verse 35 telling us NOT to “procrastinate the day of [our] repentance until the end” or else – be sealed to Satan. Alma 42:4 recognizes this life as being a special “probationary time, a time to repent and serve God”. Also, we must remember that verse 33 of Alma chapter 34 says, “if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed”. Notice it does NOT say “some labor can be performed” or “it will be more difficult if you wait” but that there is a sure problem with a definite result. Spencer W. Kimball recognized this as he wrote, “the burden of the prophetic warning has been that the time to act is now, in this mortal life. One cannot with impunity delay his compliance with God’s commandments” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 9-10) and a few pages later…“This earth life is the time to repent. We cannot afford to take any chances of dying an enemy to God” (p. 15).

And without dragging this out too long, I’ll leave this with yet another man who held the highest priesthood authority, 10^th president Joseph Fielding Smith, who said in regards to “a great many people upon the earth, many of them perhaps in the [LDS] Church”  that “think they are going to repent, perhaps in the spirit world…the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ…will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 2:195-196). Note that this teaching lines up completely with the consequences set in Alma 34.

100 Times Harder Than Impossible = LDS Repentance

In one instance, Hartman Rector Jr. (a member of the First Council of the Seventy ) mentions that, “President Brigham Young said it is a hundred times easier to repent here on the earth than it is in the spirit world.” I could not find this source however. If this were true, this would be the only time we see a president even hinting that there is a chance of repentance in the spirit world. This is a shocking statement. Considering that many cannot even see themselves completing all six steps of repentance (including never sinning again) in THIS life, “a hundred times” more difficult is certainly not reassuring…or perhaps that was exactly the point. What’s “a hundred times” more difficult than impossible – super impossible?

Is there anyone out there who thinks they can ever meet this Mormon standard of repentance, and thus, fulfill the requirements of salvation? Keep in mind that I am not judging Mormon beliefs based on the Bible or Evangelical Christian beliefs yet, but only by its own standards.

Read More:

Repentance of Mormonism: Now or Later? Part 2

What is Repentance in Beliefs of Mormonism?

What is Repentance in Mormonism?

While Mormonism adopts many terms from Evangelical Christianity, they generally have very different meanings. “Repentance” and what it means to “repent” is one of these areas. I have found that even Mormons themselves tend to misconstrue what repentance is in their own religion. The Church doesn’t make it easy. In order to get past the vagueness of the Encyclopedia of Mormonism and lds.org, we have to start digging into the teachings of the 16 prophets since its founding.

For example, in one online conversation I had, the individual told me that he takes comfort in knowing that he can repent and be forgiven of his sins every day – a very Evangelical Christian point of view. This person didn’t just come up with this, it is taught in the church from an early age. This lesson plan from lds.org teaches young children that they can repent and be forgiven once they try the best they can to not do the bad thing again – leaving out mention of the crucial and quite harsh requirements. I this person I was talking to was confused when I responded with words from the founding prophet Joseph Smith: “Daily transgression and daily repentance is not that which is pleasing in the sight of God” (History of the Church 3:379).

As I mentioned, even for Latter Day Saints themselves, clear information is not easily found. Many turn to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, which is freely accessible online. The popular reference work explains repentance by saying that “for repentance to be complete, one must abandon the sinful behavior. A change of heart begins the process; a visible outward change of direction, reflected in new patterns of behavior, must complete it” (3:1217).

While this vague description does work with the teachings of the prophets of the church, Mormons tend to struggle with the exact meaning of “abandon”. At this point, this entry in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism is simply not specific enough. While most are quite familiar with the 5^th step of LDS repentance being Abandonment – it is still often considered a temporary action that can be done again and again. This is false. In actuality, Abandonment of sin – a requirement of repentance, which is a requirement for salvation (exaltation/eternal life) and must be completed in this life – Requires Sinlessness. There is a very specific concept of repentance that can be derived from Mormon teachings, so to get the most accurate meaning of this term, we should consult the teachings of the latter day prophets of God over time.

Repentance in Mormonism Requires Maintaining Perfection

Repentance requires forsaking sin (D&C 58:43) – which involves never returning (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, pp. 71-72). In other words, one must completely stop sinning in order to actually repent. The prophet Joseph F. Smith said on page 100 of Gospel Doctrine that “it involves the necessity of turning away from [sin], a discontinuance of all evil practices and deeds…”. In line with that, the 11^th President Harold B. Lee stated that “repentance means turning from that which we have done wrong…never repeating that mistake again” (Ye Are the Light of the World: Selected Sermons and Writings of Harold B. Lee, 1974, p. 321).

Even though this has been covered above, to be clear, true repentance involves ALL sin. One Latter Day Saint explained to me that there is a difference between completing the lifelong process of repentance and “being repentant”. Actually there is not. A Mormon cannot be repentant until the process has been completed. “True Repentance” goes hand in hand with “being repentant”. This is clearly seen when considering the implications of Spencer W. Kimball as he says, “A reforming adulterer who drinks or curses is not repentant…God cannot forgive unless the transgressor shows a true repentance which spreads to all areas of his life” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 203). These are just a few of many quotations from those with the highest level of priesthood authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that allow us to conclude that Repentance in the world of Mormonism requires an individual to whole heartedly turn away from all of their sins – and never sin again.

Is there anyone out there who believes they can accomplish this massive work that is necessary for salvation? Does anyone know anyone who they believe has accomplished this?

Does this process of perfection /repentance need to be completed in this life?

Repentance of Mormonism: Now or Later? Part 1

Repentance of Mormonism: Now or Later? Part 2

For a very thorough run through of Mormonism Repentance references, this blog is a great resource.

How Mormonism Views Grace:

“…an enabling power which makes available to us, salvation” that is “eternal life and exaltation…after they have expended their own best efforts.”(LDS Bible Dictionary, p. 697). “After we have done all that we can do, after we have denied ourselves of ungodliness and worldly lusts, then is the grace of God sufficient for us…” (Joseph Fielding, McConkie, and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon 2:258).

How Evangelical Christianity Views Grace:

Grace is a free gift that cannot be earned by following commandments (Rom 3:23-24, Eph 2:8-9 Rom 11:33-36) which runs in line with Jesus’ “come as you are” teachings that shocked the Pharisees. It is the grace of God that teaches us how to deny ungodliness and wordly lusts in the first place (Titus 2:11-14). Meriam-Webster defines “grace” as “unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification”. For more areas that the two worldviews disagree on, check this out.

So in Mormonism, denying ungodliness and worldy lusts is a requirement for grace, whereas in Evangelical Christianity, denying ungodliness and worldy lusts is a product of grace.

Stories in The Book of Mormon like that of Enos, tell of forgiveness (available to us through grace –  Eph. 1:7). On the other hand, we also know from The Book of Mormon that grace (and thus, forgiveness) is something that must be diligently earned by:

• Denying “all ungodliness” Moroni 10:32
• Loving God with “all your might, mind and strength” Moroni 10:32
• Doing “all we can do” 2 Nephi 25:23
• Not being “in your sins” Alma 11:37

While talking about the differences between unmerited biblical grace and the grace of Mormonism, Mormon Missionaries have pointed me to this passage to prove to me that grace is just around the corner. In order for stories of forgiveness and grace such as that of Enos to NOT contradict with the rest of LDS scripture, we must assume that reading between the lines is necessary. For instance, while it is not written in The Book of Enos, the star character – Enos, must have already stopped sinning/denied all ungodliness prior to Enos 1:5 where he receives forgiveness. Because forgiveness only comes through grace, and in order to be worthy of grace we must “deny all ungodliness” and do “all we can do”, we can safely assume that Enos had been a busy man prior to the cleansing.

“That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins…” (D&C 76:52). “The blood of Christ was shed as a free gift of wondrous grace, but the Saints are cleansed by the blood after they keep the commandments” (Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie, p. 77). Here we see again, that we must meet the requirements of grace to be forgiven.

Another catch to forgiveness of sin can be seen in Doctrines and Covenants 82:7. It reads, “…go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return…” So after looking at the conditions prior to the forgiveness we can safely say that the sweeping away of sins of verse 5 is likely only temporary. Unless Enos never sinned again, the burden of each sin he was just forgiven of would inevitably return upon his next slip-up.

For Mormons “Trying is not sufficient”

Throughout discussing this issue with Latter Day Saints I have noticed a common misconception:“It’s about TRYING to be sinless – more of a concept of “striving” than actually being perfect. God knows our hearts.”

This is completely false in the realms of Mormonism. First of all, Moroni 10:32 does NOT say to “try to deny all ungodliness”, it DOES say “if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you”. It is an If-Then statement with clear conditions. Likewise, Alma 11:37 makes it clear that we cannot be saved in our sins. So in that case, what condition must we be in? Of course, it is “out of our sins” where we must be. If one has sin in their life, would they be considered “out” of their sins? No.

The founding prophet Joseph Smith himself wrote that “the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth”. If we are to accept his own words here, how can we take meanings from these verses that cannot be interpreted without physically adding words to them? Mormon Missionaries say that the main purpose of The Book of Mormon is to clear up the issues in the Bible that are – according to them, lost in translation. What good is The Book of Mormon if we now have to worry about interpretation problems?

Also, to respond to the “striving” rationale – in regards to repentance (a requirement of forgiveness, and thus, a requirement for grace – D&C 1:32), 12^th President and Prophet Spencer Kimball wrote that “Trying Is Not Sufficient. Nor is repentance complete when one merely tries to abandon sin” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 164).

When a Latter Day Saint is explaining forgiveness or grace, they are talking about something that they must earn, although  the Bible teaches we can never earn.  To be forgiven Mormons must be worthy of grace. In order to be worthy of grace, they must be clean.  Salvation in Mormonism requires repentance (which requires sinlessness), which produces forgiveness and is also required to be worthy of Grace. As far as I can tell, by the time that a Mormon is found worthy of grace, there is no need of it. If we can deny the world and become godly before ever coming to Christ, why would we need Christ? Does anyone out there feel that they can ever meet this standard? As far as I can tell, the hopelessness of Mormonism can be proven without even leaving Mormon scriptures and teachings of the prophets.

Up to now, I’ve pretty much restricted my reasoning to LDS sources. This grace of Mormonism becomes even more hopeless when we compare it to the message of hope in the Bible. Any effort to earn the grace of God is futile (Romans 11:33-36). Who are we to be able to pay something back to God? He is the creator of all things. There is not any one thing that does not already belong to him.  If we can earn grace through works, then God becomes a debtor who owes US something.

We all deserve to rot for eternity and it is only by the gift of God (Eph. 2:8-9, that is through grace – apart from works) that we can receive salvation through faith in Him. We must remember what Jesus taught us: “for without me ye can do nothing”. There is no bearing of fruit unless it is through Him (John 15), and we can only live through him by accepting his gift of salvation (Rom 3:24-25).

Do you feel that you have denied all ungodliness and become worthy of Christ’s grace? Regardless of your faith or whether you agree or disagree, I would love to hear your thoughts on what has been communicated here. Please excuse my brushing through of “Repentance” and “Forgiveness”. I will be placing a greater emphasis on these in the next editions.

We Love Mormons – which is exactly why we feel a responsibility to answer the Biblical mandate to address LDS doctrine and defend the True Gospel. We are told, “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thess. 5:20-21). Please join us in this discussion by “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

Have you ever realized that there is no magic in death, that ceasing to breathe does not make angels of careless people, does not make believers of disbelievers, does not bring faith where there was skepticism?

This says to me, “be good right now.”  If I can’t bother to find faith today, dying isn’t going to make it happen.  Do it now (like Grandma says).

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Casa Kimball owner, Google software engineer Spencer Kimball, found Jasmit Rangr via Google when he needed a designer for his New York loft. That cooperation led to the next project, the beach house in the Dominican Republic. Casa Kimball’s lovely features include huge windowss and doors that pivot on ball bearings and have extremely thin and light frames made of a South-American hardwood as strong as steel. Floors and ceilings are covered with local coral stone. The 20,000 square-foot casa has eight suites.