Blog # 4 – By the Testimony of Two or Three Witnesses - The Law that God Operates On!

God’s revealed justice system requires that there be at least 2 or 3 witnesses against a person to bring them to trial. 

1 Timothy 5:19  Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses...

2 Corinthians 13:1   "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses."

Hebrews 10:28      Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses...

Deuteronomy 17:6     On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness...

Matthew 18:16     But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses'...

Deuteronomy 19:15      One witness is not enough to convict anyone ... A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. ... The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses...

Revelation 11:3      And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will ...  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days [1260] clothed in sackcloth...

Revelation 11:11       After 3 1/2 days the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood ... And after three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered into ...  

You may have read my blog on my three perplexing experiences concerning Bro. Ly.nn [blog #3].  But do those experiences bring forth enough evidence to call into question the reputation of a good man?  Absolutely not !

So what constitutes a “witness” and what is needed to help us get to the bottom of this Bro. Ly.nn matter?  How do we come to a just closure, and not more cover-up?  Obviously I would not be blogging about this if I even thought it was remotely possible to obtain justice from the council, now after more than 30 years of let down, without applying great pressure externally to them.  I’ll let you theorize on why they have, over the years, done virtually nothing in these matters, until forced to do so by outside demands.

I wrote, what some are calling, 2 controversial  “essays,” about the evil I was again viewing among us as a people.  Right after this last Work Conference 2014, I simply asked 95 Martin Luther style hard hitting questions.  The first paper is called: “95 Questions That Still Need Answering [Blog # 6]” and it was only handed out to the apostles and to a few who asked me for a copy. In the second paper, I was projecting ahead, and searching for answers to how this sick-state-of-affairs could possibly be continuing to happen in the Work of God.  This second essay was only distributed to the apostles and a few select others.  This second paper was handed out 2 weeks after the first essay, and is called:  “Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely and Destroys Justice [Blog # 7].” Within a few days after writing the second paper, I was whisked away to the “guillotine,” publicly humiliated, and "beheaded" by “the council” without so much as one council member talking to me personally before the execution, as John 7: 24 and 51 commands.  I guess there is a very limited, “freedom of the press” here in the Work. What spirit is it that motivates a lynch mob and what is such a spirit doing among our leadership?  Who is the main pusher of such unjust proceedings on the council?  Does it increase your confidence in them?  None have even hinted at being sorry for the gross injustice inflicted upon me and that still remains.  Is it beneath an apostle to say I was wrong, even a little  bit? 

        “Judge not according to appearance [“to your traditions” - alternate translation], but judge righteous judgment…."                    

"Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth?” Or consider an alternate translation:  "Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?" he asked."

Because of several serious problems I inherited through my family, I have been compelled, before Bro. Ly.nn's case, to summon or to participate in 5 priesthood hearings on members of the council.  Sad to say, I do have some experience in these fecal matter like problems.  Bro. Ron has summed up my efforts to bring winked at evils among our priest.hood leadership, into the light of day, “offenses.” [see Blog # 8]  Thus are we to conclude that crying repentance among us is an "offense"?

Challenging the staying power of these evils within our ranks, proclaiming that they must not be any longer allowed among us, has brought the wrath of the council upon me several times as well as a few offended others. The council has not, for some reason, policed itself much in this area, but has had to have a junior apostle insist that justice must be established in this, the Work of God. This has been embarrassing, I am sure, but I have taken great pains, over the years, to describe, and teach the truths of the Gospel that have shed true light on such abominations and should have provoked some courageous action by those presiding ones.  After many meetings and sermons, I have felt compelled, in each case, to proceed in demanding justice be established and that, sins not repented of, must have consequences that are real.  Obviously these actions have not been welcomed or positively extolled by our leaders and a few well meaning others, so far.  Why not?  Aren't there many others imbued with the Godly attribute of justice among us?  Establishing justice is a very serious matter and should not be a spectator sport, should it?

Now after more than 30 years of bobbing up and down [mostly down] in the waters of our common cesspool, I am taking up the pen [actually my computer] once again, to try and help establish a semblance of justice among our people by disclosing some of what I have experienced, and learned over the years, in these matters.  Again I am not authorized to set this Work in order, but I am authorized to cry repentance fearlessly when I perceive something to be grossly out of order.  Even an  Aaronic Teacher is also charged with that duty :  "The teacher's duty is to ... see that there is no iniquity in the 'church' [assembled believers in Greek] ... neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking [see Blog # 19]... and see that all the members do their duty."  D&C 20:53-55  

I am also authorized to teach the truth, the best that I can understand it.  I fully expect after these blogs come out that the council, will, if they are not careful, childishly lash out once again, and brand me as an apostate much like a leper to be avoided at all cost. If I could discern a better way to assist in getting this mess cleaned up, I certainly would do it!

Webster’s 1828 dictionary says of the word witness: 

Witness – attestation of a fact or event.  That which furnishes evidence or proof.  A person who knows or sees anything; one personally present; (s)he was an eyewitness.  One who gives testimony; as, the witnesses in court agreed in all essential facts.”

So, how many witnesses do we have to date, revealing more of Bro. Ly.nn’s alleged deeds?  The best I can determine, is we have   3 written testimonies from ab.used women, plus one questionable one that I was asked to video tape, a few years ago.  The DVD was passed around by the council throughout the Work and caused quite a stir and much anger.  Annie’s testimonies seemed exaggerated, to me also.  So I accompanied and sat in on the counseling sessions with my wife, who had also been ab.used by some of her loved ones.  We went to Annie’s therapist on two occasions.  After 2 sessions, we both agreed not to go back as the therapist was leading the mind in the creation of images building upon what was already there.  I am positive that something very terrible happened to Annie but because of the therapist's adverse influence, Annie’s testimony can’t be fully trusted.  We also have, at least 2 others, so far, that are waiting in the wings of the stage, for the right time, to face the intense pressure of family and friends before they reveal their personal tragic experiences which they’ve been forced to endure. 

There are also many secondary witnesses who have heard from victims throughout their growing up years within their families.  Several have courageously tried, over the years, to bring out of the closet, knowledge of the mur.der of their inno.cence.  Why is it accurate to call it the mur.der of inno.cence?  Even a little se.xual awakening of a child does handicap them the rest of their mortal life.  The effects are passed down or are entailed onto their children unto the 3rd or 4th generation until the Lord powerfully intervenes and begins to heal the damaging effects.  This entailing is not in any way the children’s fault, but they do suffer the effects which are almost always entailed, as I said, to some degree onto their children also.  I believe this is what Isaiah is trying to teach us in his first chapter verse 4. 

“The offspring of wrongdoers [ab.users], perverse children… [if they pass on the ab.use overtly]”   Gileadi’s Commentary:  ‘Here it is becoming generational already. It’s not just all happening in one generation; it’s happening over several generations.  It’s kind of a national or a group phenomenon.  Everybody is involved, except a few individuals.’"  “Isaiah Illustrated” p. 24.

Over the years many have tried to reveal to their parents or friends what has happened to them, but were generally so roughly rebuffed that it actually heaped insult, injury and further ab.use upon them, so much so, that rage is the only civilized response we should feel against these people called priest.hood leaders, as well as fathers and mothers which have been overcome by fear and ignorance in ostrich like denial!

“Sweetheart, who have you told about this? 

“Just forget it!  It will cause too many problems to even mention it among our people.” 

Or consider other cowardly, cover-up responses: 

“Don’t you ever say such a thing to me again about your father, or your brother, or the neighbor boy, or your uncle, your grandfather or brother so-and-so now on the council.”

“Do you hear me?” 

“You must be crazy!” 

“What’s the matter with you?”

“What will happen to our good name and reputation?”   

Vomit like stench, isn’t it?! 

But can the Lord heal us of such past fearful responses?  I know He can and when better to start on that healing path than right now!  Do something right now to move forward.  Start the healing process, and help support others in their healing through the power of Jesus Christ!

Bro. Steve

 






1 response
10. Comments, Blog 4. Presenting 3 Witnesses, or By the Testimony of Two or Three Witnesses 1. Text para. 3. This event puts one in mind of the abbreviated justice that bears the name, but not the process. Examples of “judicial” proceedings formed to accomplish determined ends appear all through recorded history. To recount them would be to fill this blog with loose ends. It is a reflection, of course, of the authority it represents, just like when you point your finger at someone, three fingers point back at you and the thumb is clenched downward. I am minded of the volksgericht (people’s court) of Roland Freisler, active in the latter Third Reich period, 1933-1945. To intimate briefly, the executioner, axe in hand, was waiting in the courtroom to the right of the judge, just behind a curtain. The jurisprudence that fed Madame La Guillotine in 18th century Paris was accompanied by dramatic outbursts from the mob who treated the process as a public recreation and brought snacks of bread, wine, and cheese if it could be had. The “kangaroo courts” held at the Old Bailey in London, served the function of clearing the streets of undesirables who were fed into box-stall bleachers, looked at, charged and promptly sentenced to transportation to Australia, then in need of population. 2. Text para. 2. In brief, men do nothing about these things because it suits them. A more disturbing question is why does it suit them? The question that should be most alarming of all is, does this this action by inaction suit the Lord? The fruit of allowing the cry of the injured to be unresolved by a process and open pronouncement that involves those afflicted (the victims) and those affected (us) is and will be continuing darkening among the prominent and darkening among the people in consequence. Either we are a people together growing in light and knowledge and friendship with the Lord (“I have called you friends.” Jn. 15:15), or we have contented ourselves not to seek the Lord and his righteousness overmuch. By ceding to man our responsibility to make our sphere of stewardship safe and sure (for all our sakes) in the face of grave and manifest concerns, we join ourselves to them and their standard of righteousness – and this before the Lord of Life. 3. Text para. 2. In the aftermath of the abfall of Nazi Germany, the victorious Allies held a great show-trial at Nuremburg in pursuit of justice for the most enormous war crimes then known. The most typical defense of the prisoners was that they were only following orders from lawful superiors and that an order was necessarily sacred and inviolable. In the interest of building overwhelming, unassailable strength as a defensive conqueror-nation, they had given to Hitler and his subordinates-in-authority godlike identity in the place of God. This, they called the fuehrerprincip, or leader-principle. Almost to a man, they denied knowledge of and responsibility for the atrocities carried out by others. The tribunal found, however, the traces of responsibility connecting each to the inhuman horrors committed by and in behalf of the government in which they were a contributing part. 4. Text para. 2. Can we, called the elect of God, the priesthood of the Most High, divorce ourselves from the deeds of our “brethren,” whether perpetrators or harborers of the guilty, or deniers? The legal term for those in the chain of responsibility for criminal activity is accessories after the fact. Jesus calls Himself our Advocate with the Father. In what way can He stand up for us when we have made no effort to stand with Him for justice? 4-1 5. Text para. 2. “Father, they felt under obligation to take the word of their authorities and look away. They had been told from childhood, secrecy was the highest virtue and obedience their supreme duty and they obeyed and kept silent.” Will Jesus advocate for us in this way? Fine. Not all the defendants at Nuremburg received the supreme penalty – all the rest, except three, received prison sentences. Here is a point to ponder: The motto of those entrusted by Hitler to do his wickedest deeds, the infamous schutztaffel (protection squadron) was “Meine Ehre Heißt Treu.” The translation is, “My honor is named loyalty.” Loyal to what, loyal to whom? In fact, their loyalty was more important than honor (which comes from the Light of Christ) and that suits authoritarian masters just fine. The question before us is: “Is loyalty to office holders more important than loyalty to the honor (personhood) of God?” 6. Text para. 2. For us, there remain lingering questions for review: “What is the standard for admission to the Celestial Kingdom? In what way do we merit a Celestial reward? Do we even come close? How would we be comfortable in the company of Celestial citizens and before the Man of Holiness? Aside from entering into covenants given us in which we pride ourselves, in what spirit do we live them? 7. Text para. 3. Freedom of expression is managed by the people among themselves and self-censorship does the rest. The virtue is to align thought and speech to a standard deemed in keeping with a people worthy to be in the presence of God. Deviation from the accepted is not forgotten. Freedom to petition for redress of grievances, as evidenced in the justice-seeking journey of Bro. Steve, seems to be arduous at times for him and more than inconvenient for his hearers. 8. Text para. 3. Maximilian Robespierre (a trained lawyer), who made himself Chief Executive and Lord High Executioner of the Reign of Terror in Revolutionary France of the late 18th Century, was determined to purify the revolution and safeguard it by eliminating the voice of dissent through the weighted blade. The last voice silenced, thereby, was his own. Governments of men under dictatorship, such as that of Josef Stalin in the show-trials of the 1930s, applied the same principle. Today, Kim Jong Un, potentate of North Korea, visibly exercises this sort of authority, now and then. Violating the rules of due process from one setting to another is merely a question of degree. The source, men; the purpose, self-benefit; the result, denial of liberty is the same. (Being unable to exercise liberty is to be in a state of damnation.) 9. Text para. 4. An old Russian folk saying has it, “Where there is no prosecutor, there is no condemnation.” As men would have it, “Where there is no condemnation, there is no sin.” 10. Text para. 5. The purpose of having real consequences is amendment and if it be possible, protection from further harm to the innocent victims, as well as vindication to those recovering from violation. If “the keys” hold any meaning, they must be held in righteousness as they can only be exercised thereby. Other than that, we have no more than the keys to the executive washroom among us. 11. Text para. 6. Do we want to stand clean and untainted before God? Just what is the nature of our striving for holiness? How can we walk away from the car of mortality to the Savior’s presence with the skirt of our coat stuck in the door due to allowing sins we wouldn’t let our children watch at the cinema to occur unchecked anywhere wherein we have say? And if we don’t have say, then what are we doing here? We are not saved by the trappings of holiness (endowments, covenants, ordinances), but by endowing ourselves, incorporating into ourselves the virtues they are supposed to inspire in us. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” Don’t just play-act. 4-2 Comments, Blog 4 12. Text para. 6. Apostasy can be viewed as a ship leaving its moorings on the quay (pronounced “key”). From a vantage point on shore, it looks like the ship is foundering into the depths at the edge of the horizon. From the ship, it looks like the city is sliding away opening a greater and greater expanse of ocean. Apostasy is, then, a matter of where you stand (and what you stand for). “Who’s on the Lord’s side, who?” 13. Text para. 6. Lord Grey, British Foreign Secretary (Minister) on hearing news of the outbreak of World War I: “The lights are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our time.” If the Work through the agency of its designated representatives continues on the path it has taken with Bro. Steve, this is not a difficult prophecy to make for them. 14. Text para. 7. We have all been made witnesses to Bro. Steve’s petition. We are involved. Where do our interests lie? Do they lie solely on earth with terrestrial things? I wonder who represents the ox imbedded in the mire in our midst. 15. Text para. 8. Concerning the course of cover-ups: I imagine a river, swollen with torrential runoff. Suddenly the current stops. A dense thicket of mud and debris has formed. Men are laboring to cover a margin with earth from a truck. Bystanders are warned to get out of the way. Elsewhere, teams are undulating to fill and place sandbags. Who will have the way, man or river? How many miles of water is backing up behind the dam as the level rises and the racing water spreads out to go around the obstacle? The late Richard M. Nixon made the typical choice of man when faced with the unraveling of the great scandal of the Watergate break-in. “I am not a crook,” he famously said (there is no crook). 16. Text para. 9. To this, let us add the dismay, confusion, disaffection and disgust held by those children whose families are sundered by the release-from-sealing of their mothers. Since this is such a bed of barbed-wire for so many, I am reluctant to comment, but it is a part of the secret suffering endured in silence by our people in “living the gospel.” It not only breaks the eternal bond between husband and wife, it tatters and in some cases severs the bond between parents and child. The wound to the heart is stronger than all the preachments from the pulpit or tender words at a mother’s knee for those who walk away from this Work as soon as they are able. How many releases have been undertaken without due regard for both sides? One is too many. 17. To these “good men” who preside over us, is the suffering of our women and children under their government to be ignored in public and dismissed in private as the equivalent of occupational hazards and “it goes with the turf?” The mea culpa (my sin) like this one or a chorus is like a poorly set plaster job on a cratered wall. Since when is living the Principle more sacred than living it in righteousness? Isn’t “Am I my brother’s keeper” referring to a Christian principle? 18. Text para. 9. On the subject of murder, “Where is Abel, thy brother?” “And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” (Gen. 4:9, 10) How must God feel when He has to decide which spirit children to assign to certain of our families? 4-3 Comments, Blog 4 19. Para. 10. What about the concept that women are sacred vessels of the Lord with the gift and responsibility to grow and nourish a righteous seed? Lakota Lamanite tradition teaches this. The highest aspiration of our Western Tradition taught this before the accelerated deconstruction of our civilization after the Second World War. Are our little children expendable? Is the rhetoric about the value of our eternal companions nothing more than a lie to their experience within the donjons (central towers) of some families? Is a woman nothing more than a thing of use? Who dishonors womanhood dishonors God. A word to the discerning: “To wrest judgment is to deny justice.” * * * Here’s from the standard for conducting trials and matters of dispute from the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 102. Joseph Smith Jr. was present, the meeting was convened by revelation (vs. 1) and this text says enough so that if it were adopted and employed there would be little need to go to the membership via the world’s forum of the Internet. 13. Whenever this council convenes to act upon any case, the twelve councilors shall consider whether it is a difficult one or not; if it is not, two only of the councilors shall speak upon it, according to the form above written. 14. But if it is thought to be difficult, four shall be appointed; and if more difficult, six; but in no case shall more than six be appointed to speak. 15. The accused, in all cases has a right to one-half of the council, to prevent insult or injustice. 16. And the councilors appointed to speak before the council are to present the case, after the evidence is examined, in its true light before the council; and every man is to speak according to equity and justice. (Lawyer-craft tricks are not welcome, such as leading the witness, badgering, drama, etc.) 17. Those councilors who draw even numbers, that is, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12, are the individuals who are to stand up in behalf of the accused, and prevent insult and injustice. 18. In all cases the accuser and the accused shall have a privilege of speaking for themselves before the council, after the evidences are heard and the councilors who are appointed to speak on the case have finished their remarks. 19. After the evidences are heard, the councilors, accuser and accused have spoken, the president shall give a decision according to the understanding which he shall have of the case, and call upon the twelve councilors to sanction the same by their vote. 23. In case of difficulty respecting doctrine or principle, if there is not a sufficiency written to make the case clear to the minds of the council, the president may inquire and obtain the mind of the Lord by revelation. See the fairness in the intent of the framing in these proceedings. See the respect with which all parties are held. Read the whole thing and see the layers of safeguards, the opportunity for a rehearing. Let this be the rod by which to measure how our cases have been handled of late, when decisions have been given the clothing of a trial. What spirit emanates from Sec. 102? What spirit emanates from the proceedings experienced by Bro. Steve? To me, this speaks for itself as to our impaired condition. Among men who exercise power in Europe they have this saying in various permutations: “I invite you to draw the appropriate conclusions.”
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