Halloween and Entertainment

Get rid of satanic-inspired Halloween. Analyze your holidays and entertainment.

 

 

The Book of Mormon was written for our day. The only people that read the Book of Mormon are generally just Mormons. It mentions repenting of murders. It is easy to look at worldly people who commit violent crimes. Is it possible that within the faith, some people are connected to murder without even realizing it? It is not easy to be 100% righteous in today's modern society. It takes courage and humility to take a look at this issue.

Sometimes things creep into our minds or habits. Light and Dark comes in shades. Violent acts are criminal, and simulated violence in media or entertainment, is never recommended. The Sixth Commandment says, Thou shalt not kill. Killing is prohibited in Exodus 20, Deut. 6, Mosiah 13, 3rd Nephi 12, and D&C 42. A person who watches a violent show or game has mentally participated in it, even if it seems to be like really small seeds put into dry soil, in the mind. Will those seeds ever be watered by unfortunate circumstances and temptations down the road?

Then there's Halloween. The whole month of October on TV and other entertainment media is geared towards spooks (unclean spirits) and horror (simulation of fear, dark, violence, and murder), witches, and witchcraft "sorcery" (which the Book of Mormon and Old Testament condemn). Halloween celebrates graves, spider webs, decay and death. The excess of candy rots the teeth and makes the dentist richer; it weakens the immune system, causes inflammation inside the body, leading to disease. It causes mood swings and behavior problems (ask a school teacher about the day after Halloween). Some costumes are bad also. I can't imagine the Savior embracing or suggesting the holiday as okay.

There are other dark aspects to Halloween, such as crime, violence, witchcraft-Satanism, human trafficking, depression or worse. LDS Missionaries are instructed to stay indoors at home also for various reasons.

Observance of Halloween also may make a person more likely to choose abortion either in their personal life, or with their vote (pro-choice) or with their words. This is because of the dark spirit of this holiday.

 

If and when there comes a day when the world is sick and dying with much worse plague than how Covid-19 is now, ...or war and violence is widespread, will the surviving populace look with happiness upon a holiday which celebrates fear, horror, death, evil spirits, and tricks?  No, they will run far, far away from it, because the reality of fear, the reality of horror and death, is something very terrible.  Peoples' eyes will be opened to the folly of this holiday.   Why do people have to choose darkness?  Why not choose light?

Please pray about these topics. Meditate upon general entertainment and music choices and try to make changes. This ministry will not support Halloween.

Other information which may very well point to Halloween:  October. Octo = eight.  Halloween used to be on the full moon of the eighth month of the old calendar.

Sept = 7, Oct = 8, Nov = 9, Dec = 10.  

Halloween was standardized later on, to October 31st.

In the Bible, the 14th or 15th day (the middle of the lunar month), was a Full Moon.

In the Old Testament: 1 Kings 12: 28-33, The rebellious Ephraimite King Jeroboam, instituted an idolatrous worship on that day, the full moon of October (15th day of the eighth month). 

 

Not a lot was said about it, except that it was calf worship, a feast, incense, and that the King made it up, but it may have been a predecessor to something related eventually, to Halloween. Ba'al is connected to Samhain (ancient Halloween) and Baal was one of the false dieties of the Old Testament.

Some people now do absolutely nothing on Halloween except stay home.  However, others feel like it needs to be substituted, not just eliminated:

 

Some have a party at home for friends (eat food or do something fun), some go bowling, others celebrate Reformers Day (Martin Luther and his 95 Theses) or Shekinah holiday of light.

Others go to the temple or honor their ancestors in some healthy way.  You can find ideas online about what to do with October 31st.

 

Consider saving tasteful costumes for Purim which is around February.

p.s. Several decades ago, research was done and it was found out that subliminal programming was used in the movies and/or TV, visual images inserted into the picture frames at various intervals. There is a reason why things are called "programs." Are we being programmed as people? Satan is called the Prince of the Air in the New Testament. Airwaves to the mind. We all need entertainment but should take a look at our choices. It gets difficult of course when your loved ones aren't "on the same page." Satan is using media to get us to do things we shouldn't, and to lower our spirituality.

 

Let's raise our spirituality and our choices up to a higher level.

Christmas. Jewish-Hebraic concerns about this holiday

 

Christmas also has pagan roots, just like Easter does. It was a Winter Solstice holiday. During this season, the pagans celebrated Saturnalia and Sol Invictus. Aspects of these two festivals were merged and cleaned up somewhat by Christianity. You can read about these festivals on the internet.

The main problem with current Christmas, is that it has become super commercialized with billions of dollars worldwide going to the merchants; money is not always used for good in this world, but sometimes, it is. Unfortunately, it isn't a happy time for everyone due to poverty/debt, illness, isolation, work or family problems. However, there are many beautiful things about Christmas. 

 

It is hard to undo a cultural celebration with centuries of traditions built up around December 24-25th. Some Mormons do somehow recognize that Jesus/Yeshua was born on April 6th (see D&C 20). We would be interested in hearing how it is observed by those few, in April. 

 

There are different opinions about when Jesus - Yeshua was born. It was lambing season when he was born (which suggests Spring). Also, when Jesus went to the temple at Passover, he was twelve.  He met with the teachers and elders of the Law. This suggests something similar to a Bar Mitzvah type event. The Bar Mitzvah is typically on one's (Hebrew) birthdate or near that date. Maybe boys' Bar Mitzvahs were at age 12 back then. They were not lavish back then.

Some Hebraic minded people reject Christmas trees for this reason:

Jeremiah 10:1-5

1 Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:

2 Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

 

What was Jeremiah, receiving through God, objecting to?  Was it the super commercialization which would come into Christmas?  The trees themselves are beautiful, and when the tree is real, the home smells wonderful and memories are made.  Even Hanukkah has become more commercialized in response to Christmas.

***

People really love their celebrations.  It is hard when there are people "not on the same page" within one's own household.  It is important to not have celebrations destroy relationships, if that can helped.  Some compromise may be needed.  You decide.

Easter. Jewish concerns regarding the Date and Customs of Easter

 

Easter is wonderful.  It is around Spring.   There are so many colors coming to life, and sunshine and warmer air.  If a person is a believer in Christ, this can be a very uplifting time of appreciation, and time to enjoy family or friends.

From a Jewish perspective though, Easter has pagan roots, with pagan, non-kosher Ham food.  It has also become too secular and commercialized.  From a Jewish perspective, Easter is also on the wrong date, making it hard for Jews to recognize the fulfillment of prophecy in the life and death of Jesus the Messiah.

 

Easter was always supposed to be celebrated in conjunction with Passover. Yeshua - Christ died on the evening observance of Nisan 14, at the Spring Passover. He rose on First Fruits, 3 full days later, on the 17th of Nisan. He was the first to be resurrected from the grave. See 1 Corinthians 15:20. Good Friday, being only a day and a half away from Easter morning, is another reason why the Jews find contraindications in Christianity. They are looking for things to line up on their criteria list. If the Gentiles are in error in so many ways, why should they look even further?

Restore the House of Israel through Scriptures

 

How to help restore the House of Israel through scriptures?

Include Old Testament familiarity with all the rest of your scripture studies.  Some of the focus should be on understanding covenants with God (a Biblical perspective); also it's great to find the Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, and then see the fulfillment of those, in the New Testament and other modern-day scriptures.

Are Nephi and Ezekiel connected?  See the scriptural references listed below from the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon.

The Family of Lehi reads the Brass Plates, circa 600 BC -589 BC.

 

Public domain source for Mormon scriptures:  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures?lang=eng

 

 

EZEKIEL 37: 16-20

16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

18 ¶ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?

19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.

20 ¶ And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

Please Read 2 Nephi 29: 10-14 also. We will eventually have all scripture. It sounds like a complimentary version of Ezekiel 37; it will touch your heart!

 

1 Nephi 5: 14-19 implies that we will have the Brass plates with the pre-Babylonian captivity Old Testament -- oldest copy!!  

1 Nephi 13:23 says it has more prophecies than the book that came from the Jews {Bible}.

 

This will settle some disputes over the texts, and also it probably will have missing books which will help bring the House of Israel to the True Messiah and message!!! These may be Jews here in the West. How great it will be if Jewish believers in the Messiah and the Book of Mormon help translate the Brass Plates!

 

My understanding is that the Brass Plates will be in old Hebrew, and any additional Nephite scriptures will be in Reformed Egyptian (which is a Hebrew grammar structure combined with Egyptian lettering). Ancient Egyptian had several styles, not just the famous hieroglyph style on monuments. Is anybody willing to learn the old Egyptian script also?

 

These two links briefly explain the old Egyptian alphabets 

http://arabicbookofmormonlds.blogspot.com/2016/07/while-i-am-waiting-for-arabic-book-of.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieratic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demotic_(Egyptian)

Special Note: We would like to see people with understanding of both the Mormon doctrine and Jewish teachings and culture, write discussions for teaching Jews who are willing to listen. It's our belief that others' (in Official positions) hands are tied by certain issues, and so this mission of reaching Jewish people needs to be done by regular people who act independently. Mormons familiarizing themselves with Hebrew teachings will better be equipped or suited for sharing the Gospel with Jewish people.

Work on getting to know God for yourself like you are similar to Moses standing on Holy Ground:

Many Jews and Muslims who get converted to Jesus Christ, find that supernatural experiences are key to them being converted to the Messiah Jesus Christ/ Yeshua Hamashiach.   Having your own vibrant experience with God will be of great help to yourself and to others.   Most Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and most Muslims do not believe that Jesus was divine.  Neither believe that he was resurrected.   If through your testimony you know He Lives, you can make a big impression if they are willing to listen.

Become One Nation in Their Own Land..and really Be the People of God

 

 

Mosaic of the 12 Tribes of Israel

Becoming an undivided nation of "Gentilish" Israelite believers + the Jewish believers is part of the process of reunited the two ancient kingdoms of Israel into One.

EZEKIEL 37: 21-24

21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will GATHER them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

22 And I will make them ONE NATION in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:

23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

24 And David {i.e. beloved one} my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

 

Who is the Holy One of Israel, their God?  Who is the Davidic Servant?

Matthew 3:17 And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 

 

In the Greek, for "beloved" it uses the word agapetos, relating to the highest word for love. 

 

However, beloved son in the Orthodox Jewish Hebrew Bible, is written in Aramaic, "Bar Enosh/Enash" {Son of Man}. Bar Enosh is used also, for example in Daniel 7:13-14, when the Son of Man with the clouds comes to the Ancient of Days on His throne.

(This information came from Biblehub.com) 

 

In Hebrew, Son of Man means Son of Man or Son of Adam.

 

These scriptures (with an understanding of the Ancient prophecies and the New Testament) show that the exalted Yeshua (who came into human form and later was, and is, exalted King) who leads us to God Heavenly Father.

Remember the Jews and Prepare to Teach Them; Jews (and Arabs) need to be taught, lest the earth is hit and all flesh dies.

Young Jews praying by the Western Wall in Jerusalem

GOAL:  Open your heart with concern for them.  Study the basics of their religion to understand them better.  Build your testimony and courage in order to approach them in friendship.  

  

Book of Mormon scriptures (LDS referencing).

2 NEPHI 29: 5  O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.

 

2 Nephi 21:12-13 the enmity between the two houses of Israel will depart. We are already seeing Isaiah's prophecy partly fulfilled!

12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

13 The envy of Ephraim also shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

 

D&C 98: 16-17

16 Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children;

17 And again, the hearts of the Jews unto the prophets, and the prophets unto the Jews; lest I come and smite the whole earth with a curse, and all flesh be consumed before me.

 

Compare Malachi 4! Wow!

{Later in section 98 it talks about terms for war vs. peace}.

 

A big part of reaching the Jews will be to understand what the Gentiles lost, the Ten Tribes, after they went into captivity. The Great and Abominable Church that came out of the Old Roman Empire removed teachings, removed covenants, removed understanding, removed practices that our ancient ancestors and Original Apostles and members once knew. How will the Jews recognize us as part of the "family" if we spiritually look too Gentile?

Joseph Smith the prophet, did not fully complete the Restoration in his day. His full potential would have been to live until at least 85 years old--it is implied, according to D&C 130. His life was cut short due to the Saints not being able to bear his departure for the Rocky Mountains, which led to his martyrdom a few days later.

 

Prepare spiritually to reach out to Jews.  Prepare by learning some of their religious vocabulary and concepts.  Learn some Hebrew.  Open your heart to them.  

 

The bonus that you will get by learning, is a much greater understanding of Christianity and Mormonism.  You will get a greater understanding of your own covenants and teachings.  It has the potential to bring you closer to God.

 

The LDS Church's relationship with the Jewish Officials

First of all, we need to look at what the current proselytizing laws are in Israel.

Additionally, Covid19 has thrown a monkey wrench into everything, and now, no non-Israeli Citizen may enter Israel, without full vaccination, unless special permission is granted.  (As of Nov. 2021)

1.  ISRAELI LAWS RE: SHARING {NON-JUDAISM} BELIEFS

There are a couple of links below if you would like to read more about Israeli laws in regards to Missionary work in Israel. They do have limitations, but it's not illegal to share your beliefs as long as it is within certain parameters. There is also freedom of religion in Israel. Note that, the United States is not Israel. Thus, people or organizations which are independent of the LDS Church, theoretically could share the gospel with Jews or other people in Israel, within the parameters of what Israeli laws allow.  The LDS church has signed agreements in the past to not proselytize, and to restrict most Temple ordinance work for deceased Jews.  These LDS-BYU agreements last for years.

There are groups in Israel that "share" the Good News and gain interested Jewish and Arab people, more than 30,000 souls now have come to Yeshua - Christ. However, it is this ministry's hope that American Mormons will get prepared on their own, to share with their Jewish friends, wherever they may be, here or abroad.

https://lawoffice.org.il/en/missionary-activity-in-israel/

https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2001/5697.htm

 

 

2. WHAT IS THE LDS/BYU AGREEMENT WITH ISRAEL?  TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE BYU CENTER IN JERUSALEM.

 

 

https://jerusalemcenter.ce.byu.edu/sites/jerusalemcenter.ce.byu.edu/files/non-proselytizingagreement.pdf

https://byu-jc.org/

Yes, it is a beautiful complex. Ultimately it is the Word and Spirit of God, which bring a soul to higher spirituality.  Not the building itself.

https://www.ldsliving.com/How-the-BYU-Jerusalem-Center-Nearly-Caused-the-Collapse-of-the-Israeli-Government/s/4399

https://www.deseret.com/1988/5/18/18766373/byu-leases-israel-center-for-49-years

 

1988 + 49 years =2037 CE. Nothing in terms of the Mormon restored gospel via the LDS Church, officially shared, for another 16 years (as of 2021). If they renew the lease, then it will be even longer with no direct sharing of the message, ...or else the Israeli government needs to change their mind about proselytizing.  This would include other Jewish authorities too. 

If you wish to read about the BYU Center situation from a Jewish perspective (from the 1980s), read

https://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/mormon.htm

 

The LDS Church used to have a not-well-known pilot missionary program in just a few areas in the USA-- it abruptly ended around the time that the BYU Center was built.  They also discontinued printing of a Hebrew Book of Mormon, likely sometime in the last 10 years.  The LDS Church does engage in some interfaith activities with Jews, such as inviting Jewish leaders to LDS temple open houses.  There is also some scholarly exchange, mainly BYU research, and things like that.

 

The facts speak for themselves.  Those are the agreements that the LDS leadership made in light of Media/Political/Religious Jewish response (or threats of lawsuits). 

Here's a link to the 1995 agreement made in terms of proxy baptisms for Jewish deceased.  

https://www.avotaynu.com/mormons/MormonAgreement.pdf

Do you think that the Lord wants us to wait until circumstances are perfect to share the fullness of the gospel with the Jews?  Regular Mormons can choose to share their beliefs.  Regular Jews can make their own decisions too.  Free choice is given to human beings.