Not that it matters, but today is the last day of the month of October.
Actually, it should matter to the TLC membership, for two reasons:
But don’t give up now! Surely November will be different.
I know that the most recent failed prophecy is on everyone’s mind, so you’ve probably already forgotten about June 26th, 2011. The details don’t really matter – it’s pretty much the same story, only the dates have changed.
After the disappointing no-show last June, a post was presented here to help those who might feel confusion about their revelations, Jim’s prophecies, how it can all still be true even when it isn’t (here in the realm of reality, anyway) and how to keep believing even when you’ve been proven wrong.
Here it is again — as it seems just as apropos now is at it was then (almost prophetic, some would say, though I wouldn’t dream of mimicking Jim’s hubris). Only the dates have been changed, everything else has been left exactly as it was written last year.
———–
The 26th of June 1st of April has come and gone… and the question on everyone’s mind is “What now?”
We’re still in that “space of time” right after the failed event in which many still expect it to happen at any moment (i.e., “Immediately after the Solemn Assembly”). This can go on for several days, weeks or even months.
I have a little challenge for you: check back here in one year [
June 26th, 2012April 1st, 2013]… and another year will have gone by without “it happening.” Impossible for you to believe now… but when the year has come and gone, many will have convinced themselves that “of course, because we now know x, y and z!”
This is an interesting time. There’s a lot of scrambling going on, lots of people trying to make sense out of the insensible. But I’m here to help you navigate through the quagmire and help you keep your faith in Jim (even though you shouldn’t).
You have lots to choose from, but you are really looking for one you can believe in. This does not necessarily need to be the one you publicly embrace – that’s determined by what eventually becomes the party line (hint: ask Matt, Chris, Gale or Amandah what you “should” believe. Don’t ask Elaine, though). No, you’re looking for something that you can hold onto in your heart and believe even if it goes against the official version. Here are some examples:
(More will be added to this list as time goes on, so if you’re feeling confused and that doubt is starting to creep in, just come back and choose another!)
If you cannot find anything in the list above that will help you justify the failure of false prophecy, here is the mother of all reasons to continue to believe (even if you don’t):
It’s not true – but this kind of self-talk will keep you there in Manti (and doing as your told), even when all other excuses and justifications are no longer convincing.
You’ve got to have something to hold on to, or you might just (shudder) start thinking about leaving, living your life, and being responsible for your own decisions… and who wants that?
————–
The good news is that soon enough you’ll be caught up in preparing/hoping/waiting/sacrificing for the next “window of opportunity” and you’ll (mostly) forget all about the discomfort, confusion and disappointment that you’re feeling right now. April 1st, 2012 will become “just another date”, one of many conveniently tucked away in the back recesses of your mind, and you can tell yourself that “It may not make sense, but it doesn’t matter because I feel peace about it.”
Just like last time. And the time before. And the time before that. And the time before that… ad nauseum.
So now what? Just keep on keepin’ on… because there’s nothing worse than admitting you were wrong.
Is there?
Here we are again… another March 25th.
Yes, nothing has happened for twelve years, so one might be justified in thinking nothing will happen today, either.
But this one is different, because:
I’m going to put my Magic 8-Ball to the test again, and see how it stacks up against Jim’s ability to prophesy:
JMO: Magic 8 Ball, will Jim receive deliverance and empowerment today? Will the three Nephites (or even just one of them) appear? Will he be given translation? Will there be any event that exists outside of the “mind’s eye” today that will confirm anything that Jim has declared and that the people have given up so much for?
Magic 8 Ball:
JMO: Ok, what about between now and April 1st, 2012? Won’t Jim and his followers appear to the LDS General Conference cloaked in glory and power? Won’t the LDS leadership finally see that Jim was right and they were wrong? Jim has labored so long and so hard for this public, visible and ego-gratifying “I told you so.” Won’t this happen just as Jim has prophesied?
Magic 8 Ball:
JMO: I see. So when Jim’s prophecies fail yet again (and a Magic 8-Ball is proven to be more accurate at predicting the future than Jim is), will anyone realize that they have once again been duped? Will they finally stop allowing Jim to dictate to them in every area of their lives? He tells them what to eat, what to wear, that they can’t have employment, to cut off ties with their families (including their own children), and even what they should be thinking… all because they believe he is God on Earth.
I guess what I’m trying to ask you, Magic 8-Ball, is this: after all the times Jim has given them false hope in Christ and proven to be a false prophet, will this latest fiasco bring anyone to their senses? Will anyone dare stand up and say to him, “Where is your glory, why should I worship you?”
Will anyone dare say out loud what they must already know deep down in their hearts: that the self-declared “Emperor” has no clothes?
Magic 8 Ball:
JMO: I see. Today will be the 11th day since the Solemn Assemblies started. Jim declared that he would receive divine messengers and be translated on the night of March 15th, but it did not happen.
Each day has seen the continuation of the Solemn Assembly, and each day has brought disappointment and yet more “reasons” it hasn’t happened yet. I expect the cycle will continue through April 1st (hope/anticipation, disappointment, reasons/excuses/scapegoating, and then back to hope/anticipation).
Around April 2nd, I would expect that some will begin wondering why they quit their jobs and put their families in such danger… and yet it was all for nothing. Do you have any comments?
Magic 8-Ball:
And [the priests] called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
The 26th of June has come and gone… and the question on everyone’s mind is “What now?”
We’re still in that “space of time” right after the failed event in which many still expect it to happen at any moment (i.e., “Immediately after the Solemn Assembly”). This can go on for several days, weeks or even months.
I have a little challenge for you: check back here in one year [June 26th, 2012]… and another year will have gone by without “it happening.” Impossible for you to believe now… but when the year has come and gone, many will have convinced themselves that “of course, because we now know x, y and z!”
This is an interesting time. There’s a lot of scrambling going on, lots of people trying to make sense out of the insensible. But I’m here to help you navigate through the quagmire and help you keep your faith in Jim (even though you shouldn’t).
You have lots to choose from, but you are really looking for one you can believe in. This does not necessarily need to be the one you publicly embrace – that’s determined by what eventually becomes the party line (hint: ask Matt, Chris, Gale or Amandah what you “should” believe. Don’t ask Elaine, though). No, you’re looking for something that you can hold onto in your heart and believe even if it goes against the official version. Here are some examples:
(More will be added to this list as time goes on, so if you’re feeling confused and that doubt is starting to creep in, just come back and choose another!)
If you cannot find anything in the list above that will help you justify the failure of false prophecy, here is the mother of all reasons to continue to believe (even if you don’t):
It’s not true – but this kind of self-talk will keep you there in Manti (and doing as your told), even when all other excuses and justifications are no longer convincing.
You’ve got to have something to hold on to, or you might just (shudder) start thinking about leaving, living your life, and being responsible for your own decisions… and who wants that?
There is a group predicting that the world is going to end on May 21st, 2011 (tomorrow, as of the time of this writing). It won’t, of course, but when the day has come and gone with no apocalypse, most of them will only be strengthened in their belief in their leader and his “divine” calling.
(Sound familiar?)
This is normal, this is predictable, and the psychological forces at work are keeping these people trapped in their false beliefs.
The more invested in a prophecy/prophet you are – the more you sacrifice, the more you tell others about it, the more you foolish you look when it doesn’t happen – the more likely you are to alter your own perceptions to justify your belief in the prophecy (and the source of the prophecy).
No one likes being a sucker, so you convince yourself that you weren’t.
Read this now, as it’s an excellent explanation of how you keep yourself captive to failed belief systems:
What accounts for this “irrational” behavior? Shouldn’t the failure of a very precise prediction for which they had made extreme sacrifices have prompted disillusionment and disgust — not greater commitment?
Not according to Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance, which predicts that the more we have given and invested in a particular point of view, the less likely we will be to abandon it in the face of contrary evidence.
Interesting date: March 25th, 2000.
Why is it interesting?
There were a lot of promises made… and it was a real “make or break” time for Jim (or “James”, as he likes to be called now).
The revelations had been received by Jim himself, read over the pulpit, confirmed in high-level priesthood meetings, reiterated in Solemn Assemblies, and required reading for members of the “Church of the Firstborn” (careful records being kept as to who faithfully read them, and who did not).
These revelations were not conditional on the worthiness of the people, unspecific as to “when”, vague in their meaning, or allowed to be questioned. They were delivered as “Thus Saith the Lord” pronouncements from Jim, purporting to act as God’s spokesman on earth (and as “God” to his people).
In fact, Jim specifically declared that God had told him that his prophecies would come true in exactly the way Jim expected them to – no room to wiggle, there! No surprises, “Alfred Hitchcock” twists, or misunderstandings – at least, according to Jim’s “Thus Saith the Lord” revelations. (We’ll get to that in a moment).
So when the prophecies failed – all of them, not just some of them – those who had believed in them (for whatever reason: obedience, herd mentality, their own “witness”) had two choices:
A) Face the awful truth that the prophecies were false (and by extension, the prophet).
or
B) Employ excuses, rationalizations, rhetoric and selective memory to maintain faith in the prophet
Many of you still in the TLC were too young at the time to fully understand what was going on. Most, however, have found some way to accomplish option “B”.
Here’s an interesting account of an exchange during a Quorum of 12 meeting, one or two weeks before the fateful March 25th, 2000 date had arrived:
Scott K: “My witness is that these events (Jim’s deliverance/translation, the destruction of the Wasatch Front, the destruction of the LDS church, etc.) could happen, but that they won’t for at least another year.”
Jim: (Angrily jumps up from his seat, and slams his papers and books down onto the stool in front of him). “Well, that is NOT the revelation I have! My revelation is that IT WILL happen, and I will stack my revelation up against yours right now! We will SEE WHO’S GOD IS GOD, and it’s NOT YOURS! I am laying it all out on the line, we will see on the 25th whether I am a prophet, or not!
“How about the rest of you? Who here has received the witness of heaven, as I have, that these things WILL HAPPEN on the 25th? MIGHT isn’t good enough! COULD isn’t good enough! My God has told me that this IS GOING TO HAPPEN! Where is your revelation, brethren? Where is your faith? Whose revelation will you support? If you don’t KNOW by now that this is going to happen, just as I’ve said, in every detail, you can just leave right now! God will NOT BE MOCKED!”
Hmm….
It has been said that Jim did not make such bold pronouncements… that he left things vague, and therefore it can’t be said that they didn’t happen… that the promises were contingent upon the worthiness of the people… and so on and so on. (Maybe you say this sort of thing to yourself… maybe you don’t want to remember the full truth?)
A lot of build-up to March 25th, 2000 occurred… and Jim’s actions and sermons of the time reflected the very same attitude that he expressed to Scott K: this was no ambiguous prophecy, to be fulfilled in some unlikely/unexpected manner, at some unspecified far-off date. No – this was nothing less than an absolute, black-and-white TEST of Jim’s claims of divine authority and status as a prophet. In his own words, he declared it so: If things didn’t happen exactly how, and exactly when he had said they would, he was a false prophet.
No wonder, then, that the faithful and believing members of the TLC turned their lives upside-down in anticipation of this event – either way things went, it would be the end of “life as usual”, and they’d finally know for sure whether they were actually following “Joseph Smith in the flesh” or not.
According to Jim’s own revelation (delivered to him by one or more of the “3 Nephites”, and then verified by “Father Adam”, here is what he expected and prophesied for March 25th, 2000:
1. CFB Meeting: Saturday, 25 March 2000, Manti Assembly Hall, 7:00 pm. We intend to present to the Lord ourselves and our records of our activities and efforts for His acceptance. We will do this in the True Order of Prayer and ask for a witness of the same. If approved, then we will ask for the three of you to step through the veil into our presence and speak to us. If not approved, we will ask for complete specifics as to why – who – what; then we will fix the same on the spot, if possible. Then we will ask for you to step through the veil and speak to us.
2. I expect to be called to my Father’s presence, the Lord Jesus Christ, to have my own Calling and Election Ratified and to be Delivered to the Terrestrial Order through Translation and to be given the full powers of the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God. I expect to receive instructions necessary to perform my assigned tasks.
Here’s what actually happened:
1. There was a CFB (Church of the Firstborn) meeting held at that time and place. Jim placed several books of church records on the altar, and prayed and asked whether the offering was acceptable. Jim’s said he received by revelation that the offering was accepted, that the people were accepted, and that nothing further needed to be done: the promises were now going to be fulfilled. Jim then asked for the 3 Nephites to step through the veil and speak to him.
2. Nothing…….. a whole lot of………… nothing.
Here’s the full text from Jim’s March 17th, 2000 revelation:
Prayer Meeting with the Three Nephites
Friday, 17 March 2000Q. Jim: Jeremiah are you here with me today?
A. Jeremiah: Yes, I am here.
Q. Jim: I am a little tired this morning as I had to take a sleeping pill in the middle of the night to get back to sleep. It seems that my mind is so intent upon doing all of the things needed that I have a hard time sleeping. I apologize for being a bit groggy and late.
A. Jeremiah: You will soon be over those problems and I understand your situation now. I am just glad of heart to be here with you and support you.
Q. Jim: I want you to know that the more I talk with the saints in the CFB interviews and read their testimonies and revelations, the more I get excited that at last we have come to the level of faith, commitment and confidence to go ahead with these events. The gathered saints are all expecting you three to step through the veil and visit with us at the CFB meeting on the 25th of March. I am so appreciative and grateful for all you do and for the goodness of the gathered saints. We have come a long way in our understanding, faith, commitment and unity. I believe that we are as ready as we can and ever will be to bring on the events. I would like to outline for you our combined expectations:
1. CFB Meeting: Saturday, 25 March 2000, Manti Assembly Hall, 7:00 pm. We intend to present to the Lord ourselves and our records of our activities and efforts for His acceptance. We will do this in the True Order of Prayer and ask for a witness of the same. If approved, then we will ask for the three of you to step through the veil into our presence and speak to us. If not approved, we will ask for complete specifics as to why – who – what; then we will fix the same on the spot, if possible. Then we will ask for you to step through the veil and speak to us.
2. I expect to be called to my Father’s presence, the Lord Jesus Christ, to have my own Calling and Election Ratified and to be Delivered to the Terrestrial Order through Translation and to be given the full powers of the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God. I expect to receive instructions necessary to perform my assigned tasks.
3. Plague: Sunday, 26 March 2000, on the hill behind the Manti Temple while accompanied with some of my brethren of the Church of the Firstborn, I expect to invoke the “plague” of cleansing upon the Sanpete Valley. We expect that there will immediately be those who have been “marked” that will pass away and this will cause panic and chaos. It will become so wide spread that those yet alive will flee the valley.
4. Temple: Sunday, 26 March 2000, I expect to take my faithful sons and walk to the Temple from the Manti Assembly Hall. We will be met there by Brother Dan Jones at the doors of the Temple and we shall take possession of it by the power of the Fullness of the Holy Priesthood. Any who are not a part of us that are still in the valley will not even care that we have taken possession of the Temple. We will do what is necessary to prepare for the Solemn Assembly in which we are to meet Christ.
5. Solemn Assembly in the Manti Temple: Monday, 27 March 2000, we hold the Solemn Assembly to dedicate the Manti Temple for its real purposes. This will be done on the 164 anniversary of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple which was the first temple dedicated in this last effort. The Manti Temple will be the last temple to be dedicated in the Telestial environment as all other temples to be yet dedicated with be done under the Shekinah in a developing Terrestrial environment. We expect the Father, Son and Witness Testator to then do the ordinance that will cause the Manti Temple to emit light. We expect the Resurrected Christ to suddenly come to His Temple then and we shall greet Him with shouts of joy and love. We expect that those who are worthy have been called there to have their Calling and Election Ratified and to be lifted through Translation to the Terrestrial Order. We expect that the Risen Lord will greet all those there in the Assembly Room on the top floor of the Temple and the children to be received and given Translation. We expect that the Heavens are to be opened and a great Reunion of both sides of the Veil to take place. We expect to unitedly give shouts of everlasting joy and praises to the Father and the Son. We expect the Lord to put the Holy Shekinah into place to isolate and protect the newly emerged Zion and the Nation of Gathered Israel.
6. Instruction: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the 27, 28 and 29 of March we expect to be fully instructed on our duties and to become acquainted with our new environment and co-workers from the other side of the veil.
7. LDS General Authorities: About the Thursday, 30th of March 2000 we expect to visit, appear, before the gathered LDS general authorities in the Salt Lake Temple and rebuke them for their apostasy, rebellion to God and deception of God’s children. It is to be overwhelming and then we will let them suffer until they meet in their general conference.
8. LDS General Conference: We expect to appear as a body of brethren with our counterparts from the other side of the veil before the assembled LDS members in their general conference they finally release their wicked leadership and collapse the entire structure of the LDS church before their very eyes and the television viewers from around the world. We expect this to cause complete bewilderment to the LDS and the world.
9. Destruction on the Wasatch Front: We expect within 24 hours to take up our assigned places along the Wasatch Front and openly in view of the inhabitants to execute the Priesthood Ordinances that will destroy by “natural calamity” their “Babylonian Empire” which will destroy any and all of their idols and false hopes.
10. Return to Shekinah: Immediately after the destruction upon the Wasatch Front, we will return within the Shekinah and begin the work of the containment areas and bringing survivors to Christ.
Q. Jim: Jeremiah, that is what we as a gathered people expect. That is what we believe. That is what we are working forward to. Have I given to the gathered saints a correct picture of these events?
A. Jeremiah: Yes and it is the same for us on, what you call, this side of the veil. We are now unified in understanding. Both sides of the veil have the Spiritual witness of these things as well. As you know when the spiritual is coupled with understanding then we have the basis of knowledge and can act out our roles with complete confidence. We intend to openly visit with you in the Church of the Firstborn meeting on the evening of the 25th of March to help you prepare them for the events of the next few days. We are so excited and the thoughts keep coming to mind about how very long we have waited for this very day.
Q. Jim: Yes, those thoughts keep flooding over me. Also, I keep thinking about how these, for us, are the end of Telestial days upon this earth and that we will be living in a higher order and environment. Of course, we must leave the Shekinah to do work in the Telestial world but only to change it to the terrestrial. Is there more that you can tell me?
A. Jeremiah: You left out that in this “time” period, you will pay a visit to the records and antiquities vault to become familiar with those things. You will need the knowledge that you gain from that visit as well as what you gain from the reunion and instruction to carry on. This is to be such a pleasant and exciting event.
Q. Jim: I find myself trying to rid myself of the words like “time” to describe things in this new order. It is difficult because we are so attached to time. Anyway, I suppose that we will get over our Telestial conditioning as we are able to comprehend in new and different ways.
A. Jeremiah: Yes, that is true. However, until the whole earth is changed at the Coming in Glory of the Master, you will still be aware of the time element and have to deal with it since everything going on outside the Shekinah is still time driven.
Q. Jim: Yes, I understand that but it will give us the “time” we need to fully develop a whole Terrestrial Zion Society environment and adjust to having no time at all. Still, the realization that we are at the end of “time” and that we are about to depart the wickedness that engulfs this Telestial order is so exciting. I have felt somewhat the weight of what will happen to so many people captured by what the Telestial world has become. It is time to end wickedness and to bring a better world to live and raise up righteous posterity. God the Father and the Son are to be praised that this change has finally arrived. I do want to thank you brethren and others of the Holy Order for all you are doing to strengthen the faith of the gathered saints. I asked for you to do so and you have been faithful in doing this for them. It has made a very big difference in how they perceive and feel about things. They are really enthused, excited and ready. Thank you so much.
A. Jeremiah: You are welcome. It is our assigned task to help you in every way possible to bring these final things on. We rejoice with you in the rise in faith in the saints. Just let us rush onward as the goal is well in sight. Together we are doing what is expected and we will soon see the fruits as these events will transpire. God be praised!
Q. Jim: Oh yes! Do you have something else that you would like to convey to me today?
A. Jeremiah: Just keep on and I expect because of your interview schedule that we will not meet again until next Monday morning at 9:00 am.
Q. Jim: That is right. I have a family meeting in the morning. Then I begin a long interview session that will take up the afternoon. It is Elaine and my 37th wedding anniversary tomorrow and then we will meet with my wives at the Pink Palace tomorrow night. It will be a busy day for all of us.
Sunday, I will share all that I can with the saints at our general meeting and then in the afternoon we have some New Names to change, sealings to do and a wedding of xxxxxx and xxxxxx.
I expect that you brethren will be about observing and report to me on Monday. It is getting late in our preparations and I plead with you and all the other Holy Order to help me not let anything fall through the cracks and not get done.
A. Jeremiah: We will do all we can to help. Again, love to you and the saints. Let us charge forward to victory my dear friend and leader. Amen and Amen.
Q. Jim: Thank you and I pray God’s blessings upon you for your faithful service.
Q. Jim: Father Adam, is the time table of these final events that I outlined to Jeremiah correct?
A. Father Adam: Yes and My witness to you is that they verily shall happen as you have recorded them. Now sprint to the finish line and victory is sure. I bless you this very day with all that you need. I love you so and bless you my son. Amen.
Eleven years is a long time…
Where will you be after eleven more years have passed?
How about 5 more years…
What about just one more year?
How long are you going to wait to be honest with yourself about what actually happened?
The date was March 24th, 2000: 11 years ago, to the day.
What were you doing? Do you remember?
Had you quit your job?
Had you run up your credit cards?
Had you donated extra money for the prime rib feast to be held in the LDS Manti Temple?
Had you promised your children that they would be meeting Christ in person, within the week?
Do you remember what Jim had promised?
Do you remember believing his promises?
…Do you still?
Another “date” (or in the TLC vernacular, “timing mark”) has come and gone, and once again, nothing happened.
The full story of how Jim (or in the reverential lingo of the TLC, “James Mahonri”) convinced Sarah K. to “marry*” him will be told elsewhere, but woven into the conspiracy was a very specific prophecy: that the baby that would be born to Jim and Sarah K. would be born in the Millennium (you know, the actual “after deliverance” one, not the “we-have-a-millennium-all-around-us” type of babble).
Interestingly, this prophecy not only helped convince Sarah K. to share Jim’s bed, but was also a catalyst in convincing another young woman to do the same. Wait, make that two. (More on that at a later time).
So, for months, the TLC eagerly anticipated the arrival of Deliverance and THE Millennium, knowing that it had to happen by the end of summer 2010 at the very latest (because of Sarah’s due date).
In the early morning hours of August 19th, 2010, Sarah K. gave birth to Luke William H*******. The (wait – make that, yet another!) promised baby had been born – but was he born in the “Terrestrial venue” as prophesied?
Well… take a quick look around.
How many decisions did you make (or delay making!) because of this failed prophecy?
How many times have you gone through this?
What is the next “timing mark” Jim is going to hold out in front of you, and then quickly sweep under the carpet once the day has come and gone?
When will you finally say, “Enough!“?
(And what young girl will Jim “convince” to share his bed next?)
*A word about “marriage” – impregnating a young woman, and then leaving her to raise your child on her own (supporting herself financially, perhaps with assistance from state welfare) is not a marriage. Even if you do manage to sleep with her every now and then as the mood strikes you, you’ve made her your “concubine,” at best. A more accurate term would be victim.