Once I was a yes-man, but then I got a brain. I was raised with Confucian-like filial piety. The Mormonism I was taught, was strongly rooted in respect for elders, including my family, and the hierarchy of the LDS Church. It was a twin pillar system of obedience to church and home. I was taught by my father to not question these pillars; only to sustain and follow. So, I became a yes-man; “Yes” to every assignment I was asked to fill; “Yes” to every leader who asked me to do something. These men, were my vicars of Christ. Yet I learned, that to play follow the leader, only dumbs people down, and prevents them from doing and becoming the good they ought to.
“We can’t support all these people you keep bringing to church, elders. We don’t have the funds to do so.” I shift uncomfortably in one of the leather chairs in my ecclesiastical leader’s mansion. His blue and white striped business shirt is rolled up to the elbow, so I can clearly see his watch, which cost more than my budget for the month. The light reflecting from his chandelier onto the face of his hand clock, causes me to squint, but it’s not why I’m wincing. “We need you to start finding some nice families, elders. Do you understand what I’m saying? We need some kingdom builders. I want you to baptize the next bishop; and that’ll start by finding some nice families.”
We understood him. The families we were bringing to church, were not nice. Plain, even dirty clothing, stinking project housing, needing rides to Sunday meetings; These are not nice things. Heaven knows, the Kingdom of God cannot be built by people without cars; or that smell bad; or may need some financial help. Poor families are not very nice, nor do they help build up the kingdom. But, I suppose that depends on whose kingdom is being labored for (Matthew 6:24).
For the first time in my life, while listening to one of my church leaders, I thought, “You are wrong”. I had never even conceived the possibility that such a high church leader could be wrong! My dad spoke scripture. My leaders only said things that were true. But, this wasn’t true. It was wrong. Despite his office, he was not representing the God I served. As the jewels on his hands sparkled, my eyes glanced to the left and saw the beautifully carved railing to his staircase, winding up like a ladder to heaven. Everything was spotless, pristine. Every vase was flawless. The floor shined. But inwardly, his house was naught but a cemetery to me, reeking of dead men’s bones. A little bread and water could not be spared for those who lived in the slums. Not from him. It was clear, he had nothing to spare. I felt nauseated, repulsed by this man I had respected so much.
Even so, I said “yes” to his direction, but I left with a confused conscience. Me and my companion, in obedience to our leader, spent the next few weeks trying to find some “nice families” in the wealthier neighborhoods. We found a lot of “religious” people who wanted nothing to do with us. With uncertainty if we were doing wrong in God’s sight, we decided to disregard our leaders counsel, and went back to our un-nice families. They all got baptized and are faithful to this day.
As a member of the Mormon Church, I have prided myself in a book of scripture we believe in, known as the Book of Mormon. Within this text, I read about a group of people known as the Zoramites. I used to think this was about all the other churches, but Mormon was warning us about ourselves.
The Zoramites were a dedicatedly religious people. They met in their synagogues each week, bearing their testimonies to each other that they had the true church, and were a righteous people. They had a strict dress policy, and everyone came in their Sunday best to the Zoramite worship service. But, if you didn’t match the Zoramite “nice policy”, you weren’t allowed in. “…the poor class of people… were cast out of the synagogues because of the coarseness of their apparel- Therefore they were not permitted to enter into their synagogue to worship God, being esteemed as filthiness, therefore they were poor; yea, they were esteemed by their brethren as dross;” (Alma 32:2-3). No respectable Zoramite would want to pick up or sit next to one of those poor stinky people. We are the Zoramites, or rather, I was a Zoramite; until I started saying, “no”.
It was hard at first. I used to think, good Mormons always fall in line with what their leaders say. However, the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, said, “Mormonism is truth”. If I really wanted to follow Mormonism then, I would follow whatsoever is true, regardless of what my leaders may say which is false. What was Jesus Christ like regarding his leaders? Christ rebelled against his ecclesiastical leaders, and chose to do good. He rejected their traditions as being contrary to scripture. He called them children of hell. He did only those things which his Father taught him, much to the dismay of those who thought he owed them reverence. He told them “no”; and for that, they killed him.
It once frustrated me, for my father to appear so blindly loyal to his religious leaders, and his desire to instill that on his children; but my grandfather died when his firstborn, my dad, was a baby. My dad wanted a father and family so much, he would lie in bed and whimper as the tears rolled down, marking rivers of sorrow on his boyhood cheeks. “You could find me a dad if you really wanted to”, he told his mother. Seeking for a father’s care and a family’s love, the church became his family; and the brethren, his father. To disrespect them, was to disrespect his father. He never had to deal with his father’s weaknesses, only the whitewashed sepulcher of his life. That same idealism he attributed to his father, was applied to the institution that became his father, the LDS church.
My berosheit was substantively different from my fathers. I still respect my father, and my elders. I still attend Latter-Day Saint services. I listen to what they tell me. I still believe my father to be a great man, and that the LDS church has a divine purpose to fulfill, but I no longer accept every request made of me. I tell them I will think and pray about it. This doesn’t mean I condemn and throw aside all things brought to me by my father or church leaders. I take it all in. I then use scripture, Gods revelations, and my discernment to determine the truth of what I hear. I will still say “yes” to the church leaders, though I may also say “no”. I will still obey my father, however, sometimes I won’t. I’ve been told this is pride, but it seems only to be intelligence. If they speak a lie, or require something that is wrong, I respectfully disagree, and disregard that point. Obedience to truth is the ultimate manifestation of love to God. I have continued to choose disobedience to error in favor of obedience to truth, no matter the consequences or presuppositions of public opinion.
Being a yes-man, means you don’t think critically. It means you let other people do the thinking for you, and trust their brain is sufficient to dictate your life, and bring you unto salvation. I wouldn’t say I’ve become a no-man, I’ve just become a man who thinks
By a son and brother of some of the most memorable mothers of Mormondom
“Behold thy Mother!” (John 19:27)
I write this letter to you, mothers, because this is the gift I have to give this Mother’s Day. Some may be blessed to give gifts of money or merchandise, others of talents like dancing or drumming or drawing, but my gifts are not those. This is my gift, to share what I have learned, in praise of the Royal Order of Creators. For that is what Motherhood is. Mother- a giver and nurturer of life. Hood- an order to which one belongs. Thus, Motherhood, is the Order of Mothers; just as Priesthood, is the Order of Priests. In the Book of Mormon, the most common name for the Priesthood, is the Order, or the Holy Order. You mothers, who have received your endowment, have been clothed in the robes and received the keys of the Priesthood.
What is Priesthood? It is a fellowship, an order of beings who have been raised to a higher degree of sociality. The keys of the Aaronic Priesthood enable sociality with Angels. You have access to that fellowship. The keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood enable sociality with Jesus Christ, and God the Father. Joseph Smith taught that every man and woman has the right to enter Gods presence in this life. It is only dependent upon your faith and purity, for God is no respecter of persons. The endowment is not a ticket to the Celestial Kingdom, nor is the sealing. If you suppose that, you suppose amiss. The endowment is a formal ritual, offering the invitation and map on how to enter the presence of God. Now. In this life. The sealing is a is a formal ritual inviting you to make your Calling and Election sure. To make your Calling and Election sure, is to have God declare to you that you are clean, and are sealed in the heavens. It is, to receive that word, from God Himself, that you are sealed to Him, and have eternal life. Joseph taught this was the central goal of our whole religion. If you are not working towards these 2 blessings, you do not understand what Joseph Smith restored. God wants this for all of us. And it begins with the mothers, the teachers of the family.
As I prayed this morning, the Lord put it on my heart, that I ought to write a letter to the mothers in my life. As I prayed further to what I should write, I was told by the Spirit,
“The best way to humble someone, is not by cutting them down, but by getting them to look up, and see how high God is.”
This is what I intend to do, for humility is the key to the throne room of God. Faith is the door. And please don’t misrepresent what I mean when I say ‘humble’. To humble someone is simply to help them to see something they did not see before. I hope only to serve in that way. I write only as your son or brother. I write not to impress, but that I might bless. I write to serve you, for this is how God has blessed me to serve others. This is my gift to give. I cannot give birth to a child, I don’t possess that ability to serve. But all of you have that gift, for which I praise you. To give birth, is an ordinance. A child is born of the water, with a spirit, by the blood. We all must be reborn in the same way. We are born again of water by baptism of immersion. We are born again of the Spirit by receiving the baptism of fire. All Mormons have been confirmed, but few have actually received the baptism of fire. The baptism of fire is an event, which when one receives, they have power to prophesy, speak in angelic tongues, heal the sick, and so forth. Search the scriptures, you will see that whenever individuals receive the baptism of fire, they manifest such gifts. Finally, is the baptism of blood, which is to receive the Testimony of Jesus. Joseph Smith taught that the Testimony of Jesus, is the more sure word of prophecy. It is to have your Calling and Election made sure. It is to have Jesus Christ, bear his testimony to the Father, that you are clean, and that he claims you as his own by his own blood.
“Sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean; That I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation;” (D&C 88:74-75)
What does this have to do with Motherhood? EVERYTHING! To understand either Motherhood or Fatherhood, we must understand what the gospel really is, or in other words, who Jesus Christ really is, and what he did and offers us. Let me take you back to the travail of Mary, and the birth of our Lord. When the wise men brought their 3 gifts to the young Jesus, they brought gifts worthy of a king, a priest, and a god. There were of course more than 3 of these prophets; scripture does not record how many there are, but there would have been a whole caravan of them. They came from the east, recognizing the sign Jehovah gave in the heavens, that His son was born. They were the astronomer descendants of Daniel, who was shown when the Messiah would be born, and had amassed more treasure in his lifetime than almost any but the kings of Babylon and Persia. The sign God gave at the time of His son’s birth, is the same sign He has given again, that His son is about to return. This is the sign.
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered… And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne (Revelation 12:1-2,5).
The preface, ‘a great wonder in heaven’, means this sign is being fulfilled in the heavens. All the early Patriarchs were great astronomers. Adam, Enoch, Abraham; these men and others were all shown the cosmos and the meaning of it by God. This was not just because it was interesting. They were shown to understand the constellations, so they could watch the night sky, and see when the stars and planets aligned in certain ways, fulfilling prophecy. It was Gods sign to those who watch, that something great has just happened. The worldly, are those who do not understand the signs God put in the heavens, nor do they watch the stars to perceive when prophecy has been fulfilled. The children of light, are those who watch the lights, waiting to know when Christ will return. I don’t have time to explain it in depth here, but you can find more information on this by looking up online, the fulfillment of the Revelation 12 sign. 
In short, this sign was fulfilled on 23 September 2017, on Gods holy day of Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets). This sign being fulfilled, shows that Gods word is true, and that the 2nd Coming of the Lord Jesus is soon at hand. This is why God gave us signs to watch for, so that we are not deceived into thinking his coming is going to happen sooner than it will. If we know the signs, and watch for them, we will not be deceived. Those who don’t know the signs, may suppose the 2nd Coming can happen anytime, but this is folly. There are prophecies clearly laid out in scripture that must occur before the 2nd Coming. This is but one.
The reason this is significant, and how it relates to motherhood, is that this Revelation 12 sign, fulfilled last year, is the exact same sign given on the day of our Saviors birth, over 2,000 years ago. It is also the same sign given on the birth of our Father Abraham, and the same sign given at the time of the Fall. If you reverse calculate the constellation movements (for this sign occurs only once about every 2,000 years), you will find it occurred at Abrams birth, and at the Fall. The Book of Jasher confirms that at Abram’s birth, the Chaldean astronomers in the court of Nimrod, saw a new star in the east, and recognized the constellations as telling of the coming of a great ruler; same as the Chaldean astronomers at the time of Christ recognized. At the time of the Fall, when God curses Satan, and proclaims that Christ will come to crush his head, his imagery is related to the very same sign given in Revelation 12. If you wish for the full context of this, you’ll need to read all of Revelation 12, and look up how it was recently fulfilled, and you will begin to see how Gods perfect calendar lets those who are watching, know with precision, the events unfolding. No man will know the day nor hour of the Lords coming, but if we know the signs, and watch for them, we may know the year and even the month. Christ isn’t coming this year, or next, or even in 3 years.
We commonly hear that Christ will come as a thief in the night, “but ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thess. 5:4). Only those who are in darkness, will not be watching or recognizing the signs such as these, and will be overtaken as by a thief. We are supposed to be children of light. We ought to know these things. This is milk. Knowing the signs concerning Christs return, is all very basic stuff. The devil conceals these simple truths, and makes them out to be mysteries, even the mystery of iniquity, which Paul spoke of. So again, this sign, occurred at the Fall, with the mortal birth of the great ruler of the human family, Adam. This sign occurred at the birth of Abraham, the great ruler of all Israel. This sign was fulfilled at the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the greatest ruler of all. And this sign was again fulfilled only last year, warning the wicked, and giving hope to the righteous who look for his coming; that his return is not far distant.
Let’s go back to the 3 gifts brought by the Magi (the wise men), and the birth of the Lord. We know they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Why? The key to intelligence is not how much you know, it’s how much you care to know. Those that know more than others, are those who want to know more. They are curious, and ask questions. Sometimes questions cannot be answered by any man, and so they will tell you it doesn’t pertain to your salvation so don’t worry about it. That is the mindset of ignorant prideful fools. The humble and intelligent person, when they find no mortal can answer their question, will then ask God, and He will reveal all mysteries to them. We don’t know as much as we ought to, simply because we don’t care that much. God always grants according to our desires.
So, why gold, frankincense and myrrh? Practically speaking, these are all valuable items, but there is more to it. God never has something occur without layers of purpose. The book, The Life of Adam and Eve 1, gives an interesting answer. We know from the Pearl of Great Price, that Adam and Eve were taught about the coming Savior. This Apocryphal text confirms. Adam and Eve are living in a cave, directly after the Fall, and angels come to them from time to time to teach them how they may be redeemed. In one of these visits, an angel teaches them that the coming Redeemer, will be given 70 rods of gold, 12 lbs. of frankincense, and 3 lbs. of myrrh at his birth. He then explains what these signify.
Gold: The 70 rods of gold, signify Jesus’ kingship. Gold is an emblem of royalty. 70 is the number of the house of Israel that went into Egypt, and so, signifies the nation of Israel, over which Christ is to rule as king. 70 is the original number of nations which God divided after the tower of Babel scattering. Thus, the very number of Israel, is equivalent to the number of the whole world, symbolizing that it is Israel’s duty to take the gospel to all the world. The rod signifies the rod of iron with which Christ will rule the world during the Millennium, which is the word of God.
Frankincense: The 12 lbs. of frankincense symbolizes Christ’s priesthood. Frankincense was a common incense used in priestly rituals. It was used as an ingredient in anointing oils, and was also burned in the bowl of incense before the veil in the temple. 12 is the number of the princes of Israel, which number represents Gods authority, the priesthood.
Myrrh: The 3 lbs. of Myrrh represents Christ’s 3 days in the tomb, following his suffering, before his triumphant rise. Myrrh was a common ointment used for anointing the dead. Perhaps some of the very Myrrh he was given as a child, upon leaving his mother’s womb, was the same ointment put upon him by his devoted women, as he was placed in the womb of his mother earth.
It was while Jesus hung on the cross, that he said those words unto John, “BEHOLD THY MOTHER!” (John 19:27). When someone is being crucified, they are suffocating. The weight of their body, pulling down on their lungs, makes it nigh impossible to breathe. This is the reason most people die from crucifixion, because they can no longer keep pulling themselves up to breathe. Losing all strength, they finally submit, exhausted, and suffocate. In the process of this agony, dying, when most would just be trying to survive; our Messiah, with concern for his dear mother, made sure she was taken care of, before he finished his mortal mission.
About 30 years prior to this, beloved Mary had born the Christ child, on the first day of Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles). The Word was made flesh and took a tabernacle of clay among us, on the Feast of Tabernacles. He took up a temporary dwelling among us, even a tabernacle in the desert, until he returns as conquering king, to dwell in a permanent structure, even as the temple at Jerusalem. The Saviors birth, on the Feast of Jehovah, was in the early fall. Most Mormons think Jesus was born on April 6th, but that isn’t true.
The reason most Mormons think Jesus was born on April 6th, is because of a misunderstanding of Doctrine and Covenants 20:1,
The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh, it being regularly organized and established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and commandments of God, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month which is called April—
First of all, this is just a fancy way of saying the date. You will find this type of language elsewhere in the Saints early writings, as well as those of other faiths at that time. Second and most importantly, Joseph Smith did not write that introduction as part of the revelation which is section 20. John Whitmer, the Church Historian, wrote this introduction later as a preface to the revelation Joseph Smith gave. In summary, Jesus Christ was not born on April 6th. A simple study of the history of the revelations shows this. Jesus Christ was born on the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall, as a preparatory fulfillment of taking up his tabernacle amongst us, and is to be ultimately fulfilled during the Millennium, as Christ’s tabernacle will dwell amongst us for 1,000 years.
I thank God for his blessed mother Mary, who bore the holiest child of all; that death, hell, and the devil may be destroyed! Have you ever stopped to consider what his mother went through, all her life? She was probably the noblest woman ever to be born, though Dad would say, Mom makes a close second. Despite this, all her life, people thought Jesus was a bastard. The Jews believed that Mary had played the harlot, and had an illegitimate child. Joseph also, had to bear that shame all his days. None knew the true extant of that birth, which child was fathered by the holiest being in the universe. The Pharisees told Christ, “We be not born of fornication” (John 8:41), for they believed he was. They ridiculed him and his mother, for a sin she did not commit, “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). 
Unfortunately for the Jews, I do not think God will take kindly to those who disrespected the mother of His holy child. And He did not. After the Jews rejected Christ, God rejected them. He destroyed their temple (when God destroys a temple built unto His name, it means he has rejected those people). He destroyed their nation, and scattered them all over the world. They have been murdered by the millions. It’s a heavy price to kill the Son of God.
Mary is blessed though. She has her place in the Grand Order of Mothers. There are 4 Grand Orders of Mothers, typified by persons in scripture.
1. Eve (Mother of All Living): The Mother of a World
2. Sarah (Princess): The Mother of the Covenant
3. Zion (Raised Up): The Mother of Heaven
4. Mary (Wished-for Child): The Mother of The Anointed
There are many women in scripture who are types and members of one or multiple of these Grand Orders of Mothers. The parenthesis next to each name, is the literal meaning of what those names are. You will find, through study and contemplation, that no truer definitions could be given. There are Eves amongst us, and Sarah’s, and Zions, and Mary’s. There are sub-orders within these orders, but these are the 4 grand heads the other mothers lead unto. Perhaps you are a little of each of them.
I do not understand the pain Mary went through, as she saw her beloved child, suffocating on the cross, dripping in half torn flesh and blood. I do not know what sorrows she felt, as amid this agony, he called out for her to be taken care of. Jesus had other brothers born through Mary. Why did not they care for her? Perhaps they did not all believe in him. I do not know, but he only entrusted John with that ministry. I don’t know what Mary felt, but I do know what I have felt, for I have seen him. In addition to him speaking to me, I was shown a vision, of his sufferings on the cross. I saw him there, supported by nails ripped through his flesh. His head drooped in sorrow, the crown of thorns mocking his domain.
The suffering of our Lord is real. It happened. In addition to him on the cross, I saw him being whipped, mercilessly, and he opened not his mouth. 
Sometimes we focus too much on the resurrection, and we pass over what it took to get there. It was messy. It was painful. And we did that to him. We killed him. Are we even going to use what he did for us?
Many months ago, the Lord Jesus told me, that the reason he gives me the experiences he does, is so that I can share them with others, so that they may know the record of scripture is true. He wants me to share these things so there is another witness that HE IS THE CHRIST! I know it, by experience. I have seen his face, and felt his hands. He lives! He lives! THE GREAT REDEEMER LIVES! And his invitation to all of you, is that you can know him too. 
My mothers in my life, you who know my weakness; My sisters, sister-in-law’s, mothers of friends and so forth, God be praised for you women, and women like you. God be praised for the Hannah’s, who as Mary, received a miracle child who was a savior unto Israel; For the Rebekah’s, who as Sarah, was told by God to lay hands upon Jacob, and blessed him through her matriarchal authority that he would be the heir of promise (Book of Jubilees); For the Shelley’s, who as Eve, raised a large and righteous posterity, to live the Gospel in all the world; For all righteous mother’s everywhere. I am not but your son, your Andy, your brother and friend. Yet to all of you I am indebted, for a portion of the light I have received to this present day. You are the mothers of the covenant; the mothers of Israel. I thank you for your righteousness, your purity and tenderness. Oh, may you rise to the great gifts God has made available to you all, to be prophetess of God, high priestesses of His holy temple! Oh, may you rise in the authority of faith, and cast out demons, heal your children, pray in the tongues of angels, and commune with all the hosts of heaven. Rise up oh daughters of Zion, we have a fight yet to be fought. And may all your children call you blessed.
I leave upon you the priestly blessing, which God commanded His priests to give unto the people of Israel (Numbers 6:22-27), and may all who read, receive it,
Yahovah bless you and keep you. Yahovah make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. Yahovah lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. By the authority of Yeshua, the Messiah, I bless you, Amen.