Upward Thought

I was excommunicated from the LDS church in 2015 or thereabouts. The evening after the trial, I wrote my best attempt at recalling the questions I was asked and the answers I provided.  Q: Do you believe that Thomas Monson is the sole mouthpiece of the Lord on the earth today, and if the Lord wants to speak to the world, he will do so through President Monson? A: I believe the Lord can and does speak through whomever he chooses. I do not believe he will only speak through President Monson, and I certainly do not believe that everything President Monson says or does qualifies as God’s word or approved by God. Any who believe that are guilty of idolatry. You would be hard pressed to find a more textbook definition of the word. Q: Do you believe President Monson is a prophet? A: What do you mean by prophet? If you mean a title, I think he has the right to adopt any title he wants, whether it be prophet or grand dragon or whatever else, but that doesn’t necessarily mean any...

The lion languishes in pain, Prostrated in exhaustion. A shadow of his former glory, Shrunken, emaciated and forlorn. His moanings for help, Fall to the ground unanswered. His allies are likewise impotent.

I saw myself in a very large, open building. It was immaculately beautiful. Everything was either white marble or gold. There were people moving around as if they had some important errand, and they wore robes that were white and gold. I noticed that a very long and tall wall made up the side of this great building. Beside the wall ran a great hall on which the busy people were walking up and down. This wall had a beautiful carved mural. It was probably 20 ft tall and much wider. It depicted scenes of a great lion fighting off enemies and sitting in glory. The characters in the engraving all faced east, which was away from the great foyer I had seen and out of my vision. I could tell this lion was very important to this people. Just then, I saw a lion jogging down the hall adjacent to the wall. He came from the east and was headed west toward the foyer. Instantaneously, I marveled at the majesty of this lion. He was easily 3 times larger than a common lion, but he was also much more ma...