The Iron Rod Podcast
The Iron Rod Podcast
Iron Rod 086 - Alma 54-63
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The stripling warriors fight battle after battle and are preserved by their faith while thousands of Nephites perish. Moroni and Pahoran join forces to re-establish the government in Zarahemla.

Ephesians 2:8

D&C 112:24-26

James 5:16

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9 comments on “Iron Rod 086 – Alma 54-63

  1. I didn’t get around to commenting last week, but I have always assumed the war chapters were especially relevant to us today as a warning. I think a really important thing to realize that I’m glad you guys emphasized, is the difference between offensive and defensive wars, and also the treatment of prisoners. Renae asked on last week’s page about events going on right now in the US. I think they are very applicable, but not in the way many would assume. Firstly most americans would assume that the people behind Antifa/BLM and Trump are on different sides. I don’t believe that’s the case. Most people backing Antifa/BLM and most people backing Trump surely think they are opposed to each other, but the combinations behind the scenes are using the situation to give the feds more power to use their unconstitutional secret police whenever they want to within the US. They already have secret prisons around the world, where people are deprived of rights, but now in the name of national security they can round up and detain Americans indefinitely without charges or trial. So, I don’t think any of us should be happy about anything going on in Portland or anywhere else in the country right now, it’s all just a giant power grab, as always, by the feds. And the people cheer for it. Whereas the people in Antifa/BLM think they will affect positive change, they are simply pawns being used to further the police state, rather than dismantling it. Also, the reinstatement of the death penalty at the federal level should also trouble us all, as I don’t trust either of the two parties with that power. So where does that leave the US in the war chapters of Alma? I would say we’re most like the Lamanites. We fight wars of aggression, and murder and pillage smaller countries. God certainly isn’t inspiring anyone in government as far as I can see. And the secret combinations are firmly in charge, thus we should, “awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.

    25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.”

    On a lighter note grapes are indigenous to the Americas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitis_labrusca

    • Capital (as in money) by Lyapis Trubetskoy (a Belarusian band singing in Russian)

      For lunch I eat gold bars,
      A diamond dessert, petroleum cream
      I’m called Beelzebub, master of the stratosphere
      I’m unbelievably cool, my respect is beyond measure

      Chorus:
      In my left hand a “Snickers”, in my right hand a “Mars” (the candybars)
      My PR manager is Karl Marx
      In my left hand a “Snickers”, in my right hand a “Mars”
      My PR manager is Karl Marx
      Capital! Capital! Capital! Capital!

      I eat cities, wash them down with seas
      My beard blots out the sky
      Thunder and lightning, fog and rain
      Ministers and leaders lay at my feet

      Chorus

      In my left hand a “Snickers”, in my right hand a “Mars”
      My PR manager is Karl Marx
      My face is Madonna, inside is a rotting pear
      Everyone on your knees! Orchestra, flourish!
      Capital! Capital! Capital! Capital!

    • Ranae Jul 28, 2020

      Paul, you said you think we can identify most closely with the Lamanites. How do you figure that? We don’t have a record of their history, and they were a nation that had never known about Jesus Christ who would come to save them from their sins. I agree that we have people in the USA who might fit the description, but who do you think the Book of Mormon is meant to warn if not the Christian nation living on this continent about the destruction that will come if they turn their back on God?

      I completely agree with you on the dangers of unchecked government power. However, do you see Trump as being part of the cabal in the same way his predecessors were/are? If so, why are they fighting him so vigorously? Why do both republicans and democrats criticize his efforts to pull troops from foreign lands? And why is he limiting his exercise of power to what is allowed the executive branch by the Constitution and legal precedent? I am sure his job would be much easier if he just created new laws by executive order (like the governors seem to be doing) and ignoring the courts instead of working through the legal processes every time his orders are put on hold by a district judge.

      I actually think the Pahoran section was really timely this week. Now is a time when certain cities in our country are compared to war zones (and the hot spots also seem to be located on the borders of the land rather than in the central part of the country). The governors in many states are treating their citizens as captives, not allowing them to open businesses, schools, or to freely assemble while people are threatened with fines and/or imprisonment for going to a beach or not wearing a face covering. Some of the people in power in these cities appear to be in collusion to not defend the life and property of the law-abiding citizens, refusing to allow the police to keep the peace in the face of violent riots.

      Meanwhile, the federal government is largely impotent to help free the citizens because the opposing factions in the nation’s capital seem more intent on holding things hostage than sending relief to the suffering citizens. There is a coup taking place and it ties the hands of the leader to do what he was elected to accomplish for the regular people in the borders of the land. I predict that the details of the coup will come to light in the next couple months, along with indictments for those who tried to take over the government and remove the elected leader.

      I don’t know if anyone else accepts my theory that the book of Alma seems to be a mirror of the Trump presidency, but if it turns out to be true, there is a lot of hope to come in the next couple years. It seems that Moroni and Pahoran were able to restore order to the central government, at least long enough to unite the Nephite forces against those who sought to overthrow the liberty of the people and win a decisive victory. Many Lamanite prisoners wanted to go live with the people of Ammon instead of going back to what they had left behind, and learned to become industrious, and productive members of society. The tide of war quickly turned to a decisive victory, and everyone got to live in peace for a few years.

      • Renae, the BOM states that it was primarily written to the Lamanites. According to recent DNA studies the average white American has, “512 slots in your family tree nine generations ago (two to the ninth power). The 23andMe numbers suggest that for the average white American, 1 of your 512 ancestors nine generations ago was black and 1 of 512 was Native American.” Source: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/12/genetic-study-reveals-surprising-ancestry-many-americans

        So technically, all people living in the US probably have one “Lamanite ancestor” somewhere in their ancestry. We also obviously have majority gentile ancestry, and a lot of that gentile ancestry is Josephite in origins. So the BOM is warning us who are a mixture of all the branches that were broken off plus the gentiles. The US really is a melting pot of all nations and tribes. My point about us being most similar to Lamanites, is that our politics seems to most like theirs nowadays concerning foreign policy. Also our nation is becoming less and less Christian every year, in October it was down to 65%: https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/

        No I think Trump is part of a rival cabal, I think I mentioned before he has interesting ties to the Italian and especially Russian/Ukrainian mafias. Although in my research some people have speculated he might be an FBI informant, like one of his close Russian Mafia associates turned out to be. Who knows though, but he’s definitely despised, or seemingly despised, by the Neolib/Neocon ruling elite. I agree with the following essayist here: https://consentfactory.org/2020/07/29/the-white-black-nationalist-color-revolution/

        He suggests they’re not fighting Trump so much as the idea of Trump, namely, a populist uprising opposed to their global capitalist empire. So, Trump isn’t the threat per se, it’s that he has given people hope that we can vote someone in who will actually do something for the people. Hence they had to goad him into becoming a dictator and unleashing the police state in order to delegitimize what he stands for. The essay in the link above really summarizes most of what I think is going on right now quite well. The guy who rights it is actually pretty hard core leftist, and despises both parties. So he’s no fan of Trump.

        As to indictments, I seriously doubt it. Once Trump loses the election, which looks highly likely at this point, Biden will most like “die of corona virus” so the VP handpicked by the cabal can take over, and implement their “new new deal” which will restructure society how the elites want it. And then covid will be cured by a vaccine, and everyone will rejoice while they get their new monthly digital dollar UBI. And then populism will be forever discredited and the corporate masters can go back to waging war and stealing resources from poor countries to enrich themselves even more.

        Our only hope is God. He’s the only one that can save us from this nightmare of a combination, that rules not only this land but most lands. And I believe the marvelous work will begin to come forth in the next four years. But we’re going to have to be a little more patient and put our trust solely in God and not look to any politician or person to save us. Because at this point the cabal is too entrenched only the power of God can root it out.

        • Ranae Jul 29, 2020

          I read the satire piece you linked to. It says basically that populism is what the globalists seek to destroy. My question is how did the populism reach the point where it could thwart the plans of the rich and powerful globalist puppet masters? Did the spirit of freedom move upon the nations? Brexit came before Trump, and managed to hang together even when the Tory leadership in power tried to undermine it completely. Trump was elected and has faced non-stop opposition from within his own government, yet he is still going strong and getting stronger by the day.

          What makes you so sure that God hasn’t already begun that marvelous work? When in history has he rescued a nation without sending someone to lead them out of bondage? I think I understand where you are coming from with your political skepticism. I was there 4 years ago, but since the 2016 election something grabbed my attention and said “watch what comes next”. So I have been watching and seeing the pieces put into place. The Book of Mormon reading we are doing this year is a big part of that, watching the book of Alma unfold in the daily events. That’s why I try to take my theories back to the standard works and see if they hold up. I used to believe in the apocalyptic scenarios I grew up with, but it didn’t match the description of Jacob 5, so I let them go for something more optimistic. I was politically disillusioned but watching the Trump presidency knock down obstacle after obstacle gave me hope again. Now seeing events play out in Alma indicates maybe I am really on the right track.

          In any case, if I am wrong, I will know soon enough. You believe Trump will lose to Biden who will be replaced with another puppet. I say, based on my observations of current events and the Pahoran story that Trump will win in a landslide and clean up the mess he inherited before passing the reins of government to a successor. Even before my current observations about the book of Alma, I felt that the window of repentance for the nation lay between the two solar eclipses that cross our country, both of which fall within the 2016-2024 election time frame. What was a trickle of matching events when I started watching for them a few months ago has turned into a flood of connections.

          I know the board owners don’t really want their religious based podcast board turning into a forum on politics. That isn’t my intention either. All I am trying to do is to show that we might be in the middle of watching a hidden prophecy from the Book of Mormon play out in real time. If that proves to be the case, we still have plenty of time for political assassinations and the dissolution of the nation into tribes before Christ returns. If I am wrong, we can go back to where we were before, waiting for God’s servants to come and save us from the mess we have allowed to grow up around us.

          • See I think the plans weren’t thwarted per se, but just set back, and now they are trying to co-opt the populist movements and de-legitimize them. For example William Barr worked for the CIA, and is rumored to have helped cover up the CIA drug smuggling in Mena, Arkansas. His father was also instrumental in starting Epstein’s career and wrote some creepy book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Relations So I don’t think any justice will be coming while he’s in charge. Also in the cabinet is Mnuchin who is a skull and bones member.

            So, sure I find it heartening that people on the right, center, and left of the political spectrum are trying to rise up against their masters, they just are still trusting in the arm of flesh.

            We know what signs to look for for the marvelous work. Namely, new scripture and the return of the servants to lead them out of bondage. One thing they’ll do is issue the proclamation to the president elect. So sure you could argue God is working among the nations by turning Babylon and the combinations against themselves. But the marvelous work isn’t yet.

            I think the two eclipses are also important as well as the 2027 and 2034 near Israel. Interestingly 10 saros cycles from Joseph’s death is Monday, 14 October 2024 which is 6 months after the 2024 eclipse and also three days after Yom Kippur that year. It’s also right before the election. So you’re right we need to be paying attention.

        • One of the biggest paradigm shifts for me, after having my eyes opened to the true nature of the founding and the status of the fallen church, was that those of us who grew up with the Salt Lake LDS traditions are most like the Lamanites. We are all sinning, not because we are dissenting from God’s instructions and His Nephite followers, but because we are blindly following the traditions of our fathers.

          In an interesting way, with the BoM being written to the Lamanites, and we see them literally being those who were living in the Americas prior to the Europeans arriving, if we shift it to include those who find themselves lost due to the false traditions of their fathers, it’s quite clearly written to us!

          As to the politics, I think Trump has given hope to a great many that a reformation of the government can take place. I think that’s possible – the returning servants aren’t coming to fix the US government – but I think the effort will ultimately fail. And when the servants return they will be establishing Zion, which will be governed by God’s laws and not man’s.

          Interestingly, one of the more conservative sites I monitor is hoping the truth of the corruption comes to light quickly and is seeing how the current events have demoralized and depressed a great many this nation. As they are trying to rally people to shake off that mindset and have hope, here’s what they said:

          https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/07/29/perspective-you-are-in-fort-mchenry/
          “Which is really the point of writing all this. Our nation needs more people like you, right now. Don’t wait… engage life, get optimistic however you need to do it. Then let that part of you shine right now… This is how we fight. Hold up that flag; give the starter smile… rally to the standard you create and spread fellowship again. God knows we need it.”

          That call to rallying to the standard was really interesting at the same time as this week’s podcast. There are people who are putting their faith in God and hoping that He will save this nation. Whether Trump is the instrument He will use or not, we will see.

          My own views are that we should be positive, faithful, and hopeful – not that the US government will be salvaged, but that God’s plan is working and will work and we will have an opportunity to be part of it. How all this politics plays out isn’t as important to me as how God’s work unfolds. If some of it appears in current political events, that’s great but I think there’s an even bigger picture to it.

  2. I was unaware of these sorts of writings until recently:

    http://zionspath.com/?p=133
    The Book of Hagoth

    It’s a pretty interesting read which claims to be a record of the people who settled northward with Hagoth. It doesn’t feel like inspired writing to me, but rather somewhat of historical fiction based upon the Book of Mormon. The biggest problem I have with writings like this is something you mentioned a while ago in a podcast. The geographical descriptions in the BoM all come from the time before Christ’s death and the destruction that happened then. The whole face of the land was changed. These accounts seem to follow quite accurately with current face of the land. John Pratt has a map of how he tracks the descriptions in this book with the current face of the land (http://johnpratt.com/items/docs/2020/hagoth.html).

    It seems to me that we are seeing a lot more of these types of things coming out lately. A lot of people are starting to recognize the darkness we are in, but are having a hard time grasping onto the iron rod.

    • Searcher Aug 12, 2020

      Very well said, Mike. The only sure foundation is the word of God. There is so much speculation that is going on around end-times prophecies and people trying to force narratives around current events. I think we all need to be careful not to jump to conclusions and stick with the Iron Rod.