Your Title of Liberty

Our nation was not founded by the hearts of hateful, mean, or insulting men. Rather these men were brave, in love with their fellow men in the purest sense of the word and fearful of meeting with their God should they not comply with their conscience. While our nation did indeed come to a situation of all out war in order that our freedoms could be secured again and again, no machine of war would be strong enough to win were it not for the influence and support of the citizens it aimed to protect and the support of our God to direct. We, the citizens of this nation can only protect ourselves now and our future, as well as right the wrongs of the past, through by a concerted, conscious effort by making our voices heard by our government leaders. In doing so we are actually well armed with the fact that our Lord desires it. We actually have ideal “weapons” if you will do make our voices heard as well. We can play on the fact that our leaders A) either lust for power of which they will have none if they are not re-elected of B) truly do want our freedoms restored to our land. Either way our voices must be heard. Write letters. Send faxes. Keep abreast of the issues. Your freedom is truly as risk otherwise.

The Lord’s commandment to us concerning our responsibilities to preserve the government He caused to be established are just as binding as any other commandments of the gospel. It was necessary that the Lord establish a government of freedom before He could restore His Church to the earth and establish it in this land (3 Nephi 21: 4). Is it not just as critical now that we fight for the sustainment of freedom in this land that the gospel may remain in full force?

Consider your letters, blogs, emails, faxes, and proactive voices as your modern-day Title of Liberty. Who can read Alma, chapters 48 through 58 of the Book of Mormon and not be stirred with admiration for such a leader as Captain Moroni? But even more importantly, how can we not be stirred with the same desire to protect our lives, our liberties, our wives, our children and our freedoms when reading of how much Moroni sacrificed unflinchingly under such dire and antiquated circumstances. Surely this part of the scriptures was not preserved for us by the loss of many lives that we may simply sit back in admiration. Surely we are to apply the scriptures to our day and act accordingly? While we have all of the beautiful amenities of modern technology, let us not be lulled into apathy, compliance, and ignorance as the result of such blessings, Let us use them to wave our Title of Liberty tall and proud and EARN the blessings of this nation which He has afforded us. Are we simply waiting for someone else to heed the call, or to give the signal that now is the time? What if that is what Moroni had done?

Pray for knowledge. Pray for guidance. Pray to see the true state of our nation and our freedoms clearly, and then “go and do” as prompted by the Spirit. I am certain that as you are prompted, and as you heed to such promptings, that you will see and hear clearly and be provided with the strength to comply exactly as you have been endowed to do.


Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Go and Do

Each of us has formed a “political” opinion about what is going on in the nation around us. However, in Doctrine and Covenants 29:34 it reads “Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal.” This scripture thus lays the foundation for us so that we should not be surprised when we receive the following guidance from the First Presidency.

In a letter read during sacrament meetings throughout the U.S. in January of 1998 the First Presidency encouraged the member of the Church to be “full participants in political, governmental and community affairs.”
“We wish to reiterate the divine counsel that members ‘should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness,’ while using gospel principles as a guide and while cooperating with other like-minded individuals. (D&C 58:27)
Through such wise participation as citizens, we are then in better compliance with this scripture:
‘Governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them.’ (D&C 134:1)
Therefore, as in the past, we urge members of the Church to be full participants in political, governmental, and community affairs. Members of the Church are under special obligations to seek out and then uphold those leaders who are ‘wise,’ good,’ and ‘honest.’ (See D&C 98:10)
Thus we strongly urge men and women to be willing to serve on school boards, city and county councils and commissions, state legislatures, and other high offices of either election or appointment, including involvement in the political party of their choice.”

Given that the law of this land (aka the Constitution is held to be sacred by the Lord, and that those who lead us and our opinions are responsible for assisting us in upholding the freedoms and rights as noted in the Constitution, then is it not reasonable to believe that we must come to our political conclusions via a diligent study of the scriptures and the words of our modern-day prophets rather that forming such opinions solely on the words given to us by the media, misguided neighbors and friends? Are we even aware that the Lord has given us explicit and clear instructions in the scriptures relating to our government today in His Holy scriptures, specifically the Book of Mormon?

“…They have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.
Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.” (2 Ne. 28:14)

The very essence of this land is formed strictly upon a belief in God. This land will tolerate no such beliefs if we do not uphold this “heavenly banner.” But how can we uphold this sacred Law which the Lord has seen fit to establish and protect over and over again that we might have the freedom to be joyful and to worship him appropriately, if we know not the Law is?

The Law, as in the law which ensures our freedom, rights, liberties, and abilities to posses property is addressed over and over again in the Book of Mormon. Is it any wonder then that the “whole church” is “under condemnation” which “condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all. And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them not only to say but to do according to that which I have written.” (D&C 84: 55-57)

As I have read this passage of scripture over the years of seminary, church, a mission, being a teacher at the MTC, and church classroom teaching I have often wanted to know more of what is was that “the church as a whole” was doing so that the condemnation could be lifted. I was anxious to find out more of what I could do so that my hands were at least clean in this regard. I used to think that it was simply that we were not appreciating the Book of Mormon sufficiently in our lives and so I pressed on to read it more often. But I was missing the boat…big time. Now that I’ve come to actually read AND ponder AND study the Book of Mormon and allow myself to be taught by it and the Spirit, specifically about the state of the government and our dealings with such in order to ensure our freedoms, I have come to understand that the condemnation comes not simply from setting the Book of Mormon at naught, or a position not fitting of it’s importance in our lives, but more importantly the contents therein. (I know. For those of you are more mature spiritually than myself, that may sound like a big fat DUH!) Everything we are struggling with today with our government, the constitution and what we should do about it is clearly covered in the Book of Mormon with miraculous specificity for our day. (Particularly 3 Nephi as a whole.)

If you read 3 Nephi and substitute the Gadiantons as “the government” which we have today, you will discover with surprisingly clarity just how much the Lord knew of our time, our ways, the corruption of men, the perilous state of freedoms in the land, and exactly what we are to do about all of this. I find the message and prophecies in 3 Nephi to be imploringly redundant in this matter, from a very loving Heavenly Father. “Prepare. Pray. Protect the Law.” This is especially clear in the dealings of the people of Lachoneus against the Gadiantons and their leaders, Giddianhi. (3 Nephi chapters 2 thru 7)

Referencing D&C 84: 57 again, I make a special note of the instructions that we “not only to say but to do…” I hear many say “we must take our country back,” “we cant’ let them get away with this,” “I pray that He will save our country,” when all that really does is contribute to the “saying” and not the “go and do” contrary to the consistent example we have from Nephi the son of Lehi.

This country is a great gift to all of us. And it is indeed a massive ship to be built and cared for that we might all arrive to the Promise Land with as many of our brothers and sisters as is possible. However, many of us must indeed “go and do” and pray for direction as to “how to build the ship” and indeed “he (will) nourish (us) and strengthen (us) and provide the means whereby (we) can accomplish the thing which He has commanded (us). (1 Ne. 17 3)He will indeed be our light in these matters, however we must open the way for him to influence us even in matters which may appear to be political or temporal unto the rest of the world that we may form wise and true conclusions as to what is really going on around us and what we must truly do to overcome.

Yours in Freedom,

Kellene

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

The IRS (Illegal Revenue Service)

Whenever I speak ill of the Internal Revenue Service with my friends (members and non alike) I usually get this look like I’ve got 4 heads. I admit, it does seem quite radical. 10 years ago I still thought my parents were some kind freak hippies to want to home school their children. I also thought that firearms were only used by bad men, and I that FDA was always acting in the best interest of our nation. Fortunately, I’ve come a long ways in the last decade. And I’ve done so with getting real information and then acting on it.

So today I’m going to provide you with some information that you have most likely just been too busy to garner. Ultimately I’m going to request that you use your gift of conscience to determine if what I’m sharing with you is accurate or not. If it is accurate, then you will obviously need to take action on it in order to ensure your support of the U.S. Constitution—Remember “when an individual of an unjust government measure and uses all of his influence against it, no blame should be attached. Justice demands that each be held only for those acts which have his approval or support.”

There is this myth which states that the 16th Amendment of our Constitution is what gives the authority of our government to tax us on our income. Please note that the Supreme Court ruled on this issue already stating that “the 16th Amendment does NOT give our government any additional authority or power to tax us” than did the 5th Amendment already. The Constitution states that all direct taxes are required to be apportioned among the states according to population. The federal income tax is a direct tax that is NOT apportioned, and thus illegal. Additionally, we are told that the 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913 by 3/4ths of the states. This is also incorrect. If you go to the state house records directly you will see that UT, CT, RI, FL, and NH did not support the 16th Amendment. VA and PA were never heard from. VT and MA later did ratify after the declaration, but did so without following their own state constitution procedures. And KY, OK, TX, TN, MI, OH, AR, MN, NM, WV, IN, NV, NC, ND, CO, CA, and IL all violated their own constitutional procedures to attempt to ratify the Amendment and thus their ratifications cannot be counted. This brings us to only 20 states which legally ratified the 16th Amendment. Not anywhere near the required three-fourths majority.

The ratification of the 16th Amendment was not simply an error. It was a bold faced fraud on the American people perpetuated by Secretary of State Philander Knox. (See the following link for more details. http://www.givemeliberty.org/features/taxes/notratified.htm)

Do we truly have freedom in this nation if the whistle blowers have the peace and sanctity of their lives threatened simply for asking serious questions? With so much power held by this one agency which refuses to allow legally permissible discovery and questioning,(and gets away with it) do we believe that our judges are safe to make just decisions behind the bench? Is it possible that the livelihood of these judges, their career, their home and their family can be seriously threatened and at risk by the “untouchable” IRS? The only people who should have anything to fear in this nation are those who break the law. Simply asking repeatedly for the IRS to produce the law by which they believe they are acting fairly should not merit a threat of life and livelihood. And yet it occurs frequently. Using one’s free speech to encourage and enlighten other law abiding citizens to stand up to this atrocity should not result in fear of indefensible retribution. And yet as I write this, I realize that I may now be audited mercilessly, or can even be thrown into jail without charge as an enemy combatant of the U.S., when in fact it is the majority of our government leaders who are traitors to this nation.

Not only is this particular tax illegal, it is also IMMORAL. It is the government who takes from one to give to another such as those who have not justly handled their own finances, or those who got in over their heads with credit card and mortgage debt, or those who struggle with getting a job because they have not learned our language and have come here illegally.

President Ezra Taft Benson said: We have accepted a frightening degree of socialism in our country. The question is, how much? The amount of freedom depends upon the amount of federal control and spending. A good measurement is to determine the amount, or percentage of income of people that is taken over and spent by the state…They now advocate throughout our economy that we ‘redistribute wealth and income’, a good definition of socialism.”

These men and women in who act with unrighteous dominion and power, which we have given to them freely, not only steal this levy of money, but they also have burdened us beyond our ability to ever being relieved of this debt through these enormous sums of bail out monies and “stimulus” monies. We fought an entire revolution over taxation without representation. And yet this stimulus bill was passed without representation because it was not even READ by those who voted on it. That’s not only a lack or representation of “we the people,” but an abandonment of even their own conscience since they acted in willful ignorance.

Do you realize that even if we were all taxed at over 50% we would still never pay off this debt just from the interest alone? Do you realize that the federal income taxes that we DO pay do not go towards anything else but the INTEREST on the money we have received from the Federal Reserve? No. Your monies do not go towards the repair of highways. Your gasoline tax pays for that, and yet now you’ve been double taxed by the “stimulus” packaged adding an earmark to the stimulus package for highway repairs and expansion. Your property taxes pay for education and yet we’ve now been double taxed because the stimulus package has been earmarked with money to go towards this cause as well. I could go on and on with this, but I think you get my point. With yet another proposal for more of this illegally gained money to be spent, it’s clear that our government has no respect of the sanctity of this nation or its freedoms. Reread what President Harold B. Lee stated about us partaking of government subsidies. Perhaps you are hurting financially right now and the prospect of having some money spent in this manner is appealing to you so that you can have some relief. But it is clearly IMMORAL for us to TAKE from one person to give to another. That’s not charity folks. That’s theft.
Well there you have it. I’ve attached some other links to this topic for your perusal for additional information. You can read of the IRS Whistleblowers and what their life has been like in doing so. http://www.irs-armory.com/read/wistleblowers.htm
You can also read of one instance in which a former IRS agent actually WON his case which the IRS brought against him to decimate him and his livelihood. http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44956

You can also read of the doctor who was assaulted in his office and put into jail immediately for not paying a small sum of taxes. http://newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd25.htm

I’m wondering if Wesley Snipes was actually legal in his tax actions, but the judges were under threat from the IRS if they ruled in his favor since he was such a high profile figure??

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Are We Accessories to a Crime?

(In the interest of full disclosure, for today’s topic I have drawn heavily from the scriptures, H. Verlan Anderson’s book “Many Are Called, Few Are Chosen” and President Benson’s talk, “The Constitution—A Heavenly Banner.”)

In Doctrine and Covenants 104: 17 it reads “For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea I prepared all things, and have given unto children of men to be agents unto themselves.”

There is so much in this one verse that is relevant to many of the policies and laws that we are seeing today. And as they relate to the Constitution I felt that it was important to discuss.

The elements of freedom which we must possess in order to accomplish our purposes are 1) life, 2) liberty, 3) property and 4) knowledge.

Wealth, or organized raw materials, is an essential ingredient of freedom: First, because our very survival depends upon access to such things as food, clothing, and shelter; secondly, because the right and control of property permits us to increase our physical and mental powers almost without limit. By utilizing tools, machinery, equipment, and harnessing electrical, nuclear, and other forms of energy, our ability to achieve our purposes is raised to the ‘nth’ power.

If you deny a person access to the necessities of life, of course he will die. If you deny him these necessities unless he does what you say, you can make him your slave because most of us will obey nearly any command to remain alive. As Alexander Hamilton has said: “A power over a man’s subsistence amounts to a power of his will.” –Federalist Papers No. 79

The Lord makes it clear that we have plenty on this earth for ALL and even some to spare. Considering that our Creator loves us more than we can ever fathom, has unfathomable mansions and kingdoms prepared for us, and desires us to be happy, stating that He has enough for us ALL and them some is not to be taken lightly. It is clear that the right to and the control of property is a basic element of freedom and is vital as life and liberty, neither of which are of any value without it.

When we deprive another of this element by stealing, destroying, or otherwise denying him the right to control what he owns, we have to this same extent diminished his freedom and violated the laws of God and man. On the other hand, when we use the strength of our minds and bodies to organize wealth and provide ourselves and others with the necessities of life, or the means of achieving life’s goals, we are obeying God’s commandments to work and be charitable with what we produce.

So, do WE as members of the Church of Jesus Christ deprive another of one of the most basic elements of freedom, that of the control of that which he owns? As stated in my post this past Monday, the prophets have made clear that we cannot be neutral with regards to the behavior of our government. If we can elect our leaders then we are responsible for their actions which protect and endorse freedom or destroy it. As such, if there are actions which we do not endorse, we must use “all our influence” to wash our hands clean of such actions. So, as long as our government is not stealing, destroying, or otherwise denying our citizens the right to control and protect what he owns, we’re innocent. The problem, such actions are being perpetuated by our elected officials, and unless each and every one of us has made it perfectly clear with all our influence that we do not endorse such actions, then the sin is upon our individual heads. In fact freedom IS the power and opportunity to affect the freedom of others.

I realize that this is indeed an inconvenient truth for us to embrace. There is so much that we would rather be doing other than “babysitting” our government. But who will contend that the Lord uses one moral law when the individual acts alone and still a different law when he acts jointly with other whether in a gang, a mob, OR a government.

Doctrine and Covenants 134: 2 reads: “We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.”

Property is derived from labor. Moral man has always recognized that the wealth produced by a person belonged to him. (At least that’s what Apostle Verlan Anderson says, but I’m afraid that there are very few government leaders who truly believe that now.) Theft, robbery, arson and all other forms of TAKING or DESTROYING another’s property have always been regarded as both evil and criminal. If government uses force to accomplish the immoral purposes of depriving another of his property, and we do not stand up to promote an act to the contrary, then our hands are not clean before our Lord.

While I had intended to explore some examples of our government leaders stealing and plundering, I found that each instance required an entire synopsis on it’s own. Thus it was far too lengthy to be a “part” of this exploration. Instead I have chosen to provide you with the fundamental counsel from our prophets and simply allow you to connect the dots. As you do so, consider this… If there is an instance in which the lawful possession and protection of property of any kind is being compromised, then it is indeed a criminal act. So consider certain taxes, threats to eliminate possession of guns or any other like property, actions of The Federal Reserve, funds allocation for “bail outs,” not protecting our borders from incoming criminals which would rob us of our safety, property or lives, etc. Decide what you need to voice your opposition or support on an issue and then “go and do” in order that your hands may be clean.

The right and duty of self-government provides a rare opportunity to labor for the cause of freedom, to learn firsthand the operation of the law of retribution and to cooperate with the Lord in enforcing it.

If the Lord is going to hold each of us morally accountable for every coercive act of government of which we approve, it is of the utmost important the we be able to accurately discern the good from the evil in government action. We accomplish this through a test of conscience.

On of the most approved and righteous of all callings is to INCREASE freedom by disseminating truth, thereby increasing men’s ability to reach their goals. Are you willing to accept such a calling?

Yours In Freedom,

Kellene

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.