Being a Menace to Society: 25 and Single in the LDS Church

Being a Menace to Society:

                I just turned 25 years old today and got to thinking about my current status of being “single”. So, what is it like to be 25 years old and not married? Well depends on whether you are part of the world or a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. If you are part of the world, you are still young and have PLENTY of time to get married. No rush, No worries!

However, I, being a member of the LDS faith can now be classified as a “menace to society”! Brigham Young once said… “Any young man who is unmarried at the age of twenty five is a menace to society”.

                But wait… did he REALLY say that? I searched the web and came back empty handed! Sure the quote exists, but it uses any age from 21-30 in place of “25”, however it does seem as if “25” is the most popular age used in the quotes… the problem? There is never a source to any of the quotes!

                I did find one interesting piece of the “puzzle”… On May 31, 1963, speaking at the Commencement Exercises as President of Brigham Young University, Ernest Wilkinson stated:

                "Of the men graduating tonight, 62 per cent are married; 38 per cent unmarried. Of the 472 women graduating, 23 per cent are married; 77 per cent single. As to the single men, I need merely to repeat the admonition attributed to Brigham Young, “Every man not married and over twenty-five is a menace to the community.” I asked Dr. Lyman Tyler yesterday if he would document this for me, but he said he had been trying to document it for years; he had given up, so you will have to accept it either on faith, or as apocryphal."

                So there you have it! It might have never been said by Brigham Young, but is it encouraged in the LDS church to be married by that age? Not exactly, but the principle is the same…. MARRIAGE is important and is not something that should be put off forever!

                Upon careful research I found a little more into the statement,  and something that can actually be verified as being true! George Q. Cannon, a church apostle, said in 1878: “I am firmly of the opinion that a large number of unmarried men, over the age of 24 years, is a dangerous element in any community.…”

                So wait, I have already been a menace for a year?!?! So confusing! But now I can really reflect on how it is to be 25, Single and LDS. Let me tell you that the feeling is not great. The church pushes marriage so much, because without marriage so many blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be forfeited. While being single in the LDS church is not easy, and makes the entire experience an extreme test of faith… I must remember that…

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace… He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the workthat God maketh from the beginning to the end… I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him… for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-17)

For now I just have to stay positive and know that God has a purpose for everything, and sometimes things don’t go the way you want them to go. But in the end God will reward those who were faithful in this life or the next.

Jeremiah 23-24

Jeremiah 23-24

Chapter 23: False Prophets

Woe to those that have scattered the sheep of the Lord’s pasture. A king shall arise from the branch of David, and he shall be called the King of Righteousness (Jesus Christ). Jeremiah writes; “Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man…” (Jeremiah 23:9) The priests and prophets of Judah are wicked, and divine vengeance is hanging over them. The people should not listen to their false promises: they will face destruction if they do.

Jeremiah continues to write about the land being filled with evil and “…swearing…” (Jeremiah 23:10) which goes to show that keeping your words clean is important to God. Jeremiah writes that “…both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness…” (Jeremiah 23:11) The so called prophets of the Lord have “…caused my [God’s] people Israel to err.” (Jeremiah 23:13) But the Lord counsels the people that are hearing the false prophets; “…Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say… unto them… Ye shall have peace; and they say unto you everyone one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.” (Jeremiah 23:16-17)

The world today is filled with prophets/pastors who say that as long as you profess the name of the Lord you shall be saved. It doesn’t matter what you do! But in reality, it does matter what you do! If you don’t make proper choices, like following all of God’s commandments, your calling of the Lord in your heart is in vain.

Jeremiah tells us that “…in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.” (Jeremiah 23:20). Jeremiah was right! We are in the latter days and we are seeing it happen, perfectly, all around us. I hear you can’t do wrong, and if for some reason you do… confess the name of God in your heart, accept Him as your Savior and you will be freed from sin! Do you realize what kind of lies are being taught? The people are being misled and because of the false teacher/preacher/pastor/prophet they are causing the Lord’s people to err.

So if there are so many False Prophets, how do we know which ones are TRUE messengers of God? Well this is where we get into a very unique LDS Doctrine. In the past God has called prophets, like Jeremiah for instance, but God knew that they would not believe him, so He gave Jeremiah “fruits” to prove that he was a messenger of God. Jesus speaks of these False Prophets and gives a formula for proving their truthfulness… “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-17)

Jesus tells us that good prophets (men who are called of God, and given His authority to act and speak in His name) will bring forth good fruits, and bad or FALSE prophets will show forth evil or rotten fruit. It goes on to say “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruity… Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:18,20)

In the LDS church, we have a church that was RESTORED. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the RESTORE church of Jesus Christ. God restored HIS church through the hand of Joseph Smith and continues on this day with a living Prophet and Apostles. No other church on earth has this, the Authority and power of God is back on the earth! How can you know this to be true? God gave Joseph Smith a “Fruit” to prove that he was truly called of God. This fruit is known as the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is the Ancient record of the people of the Americas, which was buried for thousands of years! God told Joseph Smith the location of this ancient buried record and had him translate it from an ancient language. The Book of Mormon is the fruit. If anyone wants to know the truth of these statements they must read the Book of Mormon and ask God themselves to manifest the truthfulness of this message.

A FREE copy of the Book of Mormon can be ordered here: http://mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon

Chapter 24: Jews shall be scattered and cursed

A vision after Jeconiah had been taken away captive: good figs and bad figs. The good figs symbolize those the Lord shall preserve in captivity, and the bad figs Zedekiah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem, and those that dwell in Egypt. A scattering of people will occur.

Isaiah 33-34

Isaiah 33-34

Chapter 33: The Stakes of the Church

                Apostasy and wickedness precede the Second Coming of Jesus Christ… The plundering Assyria will itself be plundered. Zion will be filled with wisdom and righteousness. The earth will mourn and lay waste. The breath of the Lord will devour like fire. Sinners shall be afraid, but the righteous will see the king in his beauty.

“He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high…” (Isaiah 33:15-16)

Zion, the city of appointed feasts, will be blessed and delivered.

In verse 20 it says “…not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed…” (Isaiah 33:320) This is the reason why the LDS church has Stakes; they are what hold down the church all over the world. (See Also: Isaiah 54:2)

Chapter 34: The Second Coming

                The indignation of the Lord is against all nations. The sword of the Lord will make a great slaughter in Edom. The land will be inhabited only by animals of the wilderness.

Isaiah 3-4

Isaiah 3-4

Chapter 3: Judah and Jerusalem are Punished

                The Lord will take away all people of status from Jerusalem and Judah, and give babes to rule over them. The Lord will punish pride, including that of the daughters of Zion, who are wanton and mincing, and wear all manner of finery. The Lord will smite them with scabs and other afflictions. The men and the mighty shall fall in war.

Chapter 4: Zion Shall be Cleansed

The calamities of war will be so great that seven women shall be left to one man. These people were purged of filth, the Lord will bless the remnant, and the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night will be created in every dwelling place, and in all the assemblies.

“And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” (Isaiah 4:1) This is very similar to the “Polygamy” that occurred in the LDS Church in the early days. Because of the oppression and persecution by the people and the government, many LDS members who were men were killed or imprisoned. Because of this, many women (in a time when women were not given rights without men) were forced to “marry” men in the church for legal purposes to continue to have respect and power as women. Majority of the marriages of plural wives were still monogamous in nature.

Isaiah 1-2

Isaiah 1-2

Chapter 1: Zion and the Restoration

                This is the vision of Isaiah and what saw through what I see as the Lord’s eyes; “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.” (Isaiah 1:4) God is no doubt, upset and very angry with what He sees. The Lord compares Israel to Sodom and Gomorrah for its apostasy and evil.

The Lord speaks about the prayer of the hypocrite; “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.” (Isaiah 1:15) But there is a remedy to this sin and evil… “Wash you, make you clean… Learn to do well… reason together… though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as now; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

If we repent, the Lord will forgive us! But we must be willing to make changes and make ourselves clean from those sins. If are willing, we will “…eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured…” (Isaiah 1:19-20)

Chapter 2: Temples in the Last Days

                Isaiah sees a vision of the latter days…

                “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the tops of mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:2-4)

                Essentially Isaiah sees a vision of the last days, where God’s church would be restored and the Temples would be built and shortly following that the Second Coming of Jesus would happen, where there would be 1,000 years of peace in the World.

                The most interesting part of this, to me, is the following: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the tops of mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it…” (Isaiah 2:2) The reason this is so fascinating to me, is because the “tops of mountains” is a translation of a meaning of the word “Ute” which was the Indian Tribe of Utah, where the state was named and one of the most famous Temples in the world… the Salt Lake Temple has visitors from ALL around the world flock there on a daily basis. Isaiah was speaking of the Latter-day Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

                In the last days, the proud and the wicked will be brought low and the judgement will occur for everyone during the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I suggest anyone reading this and wanting to know more, would watch the movie "Mountain of the Lord"

Ecclesiastes 11-12

Ecclesiastes 11-12

Chapter 11: We Know Not the Works of God

                “As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.” (Ecclesiastes 11:5)

I find it interesting how fast people can denounce God and say He does not exist! Some people believe that we know everything and that God never has, and never will exist. We as humans do understand a lot about the world, but there is so much that we are still learning… the reason? Because God knows all, not us.

Because life has no guarantees, we should seize available opportunities and not play it safe. Even though life is uncertain, it doesn't mean that you should let it pass you by. Don't wait for conditions that many never exist. We should enjoy everyday but remember that the afterlife is eternal.

“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.” (Ecclesiastes 11:9)

I find it very interesting how we are supposed to follow our heart and do what we want… after all we get one life on earth to live, right? So we need to make it the best one we can! But God warns us that we are still to be held accountable for what we do, so YES we do have agency and we are encouraged to explore the world and learn, but we must know that our desires and our passions are within the bounds… the LORD sets!

Chapter 12: After Death and the Plan

                “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

                Everyone will return to God as a spirit and the body will be turned into dust. Until of course the resurrection.

                “And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether is be good or whether or be evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:12-14)

Solomon concludes the book by giving his antidotes for the two main ailments that he talked about. People who lack purpose and direction in life should fear God and keep his commandments first. The people who think that life is unfair should remember that God will go back and look and everyone's lives and make his judgment.

It is interesting that it says there is not end to many books… this means that the Bible is NOT the ONLY word of God! The Book of Mormon, if read diligently and prayed about earnestly can be manifest as truly Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

2 Chronicles 3-4

2 Chronicles 3-4

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 3: Solomon Builds a Temple

                Solomon begins the construction of the temple on the threshingfloor or Ornan. He begin construction on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

                In this chapter we learn again about the dimensions of the temple which could be found in previous books and chapters of the Old Testament. It mentions that Solomon used many precious stones and gold of Parvaim. He made images of cherubims and overlaid them with gold. Solomon also made a veil for the temple made of purple and crimson and all manner of fine linen. In the inner sanctuary he made chains and put a hundred pomegranates on the chains. The pillars of the temple on the left he called Boaz and on the right hand he called Jachin.

Chapter 4: Solomon’s Temple
               

                Solomon makes a molten altar of brass and a molten sea of brass (this is the baptismal font) which had oxen underneath it, 3 looking north, 3 looking west, 3 looking south and three looking east. The sea (baptismal font) rested upon their back and represent the twelve tribes of Israel. (the picture below is the baptismal font in the Salt Lake City, Utah LDS Temple.

                He made 10 lavers (washing stations), 10 candlesticks of Gold and 10 tables and put 5 on the right and 5 on the left. The baptismal font was set on the right side of the east end against the south. Everything in the temple was of gold.