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| NOTE: This site is undergoing
a major shift in emphasis. It originated as a forum for one
person's writings and discoveries. However, it is growing into a
general gathering place for the many
others who are also involved in bringing forth greater things.
This page needs
yet to be revised to reflect this shift.
-- Site Manager, S.D.A. 7/20/01 |
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Steve Henderson's Chapter on Greater
Things in His Pending Master's Thesis
The
following text is what Steve Henderson sent to Sterling Allan for review on
April 21, 2001. It is posted here with his permission. The
original text is in black, the strike-through and red
text were added by Sterling. The [bracketed hyperlinks] are added
here for your convenience.
Greater Things
In 1990, a man by the name of Sterling D. Allan founded the
American Study Group [link]
in Midvale Provo
Utah, several branches of the group were formed throughout
the Rocky Mountain West and it seemed that the future was bright for
this predominately LDS, Christian patriotic group. Mr. Allan became well known
amongst survivalist and Christian Patriot groups for his writings and speeches
concerning worldwide conspiracies and the threat of Socialism/Communism
to the American way of life. However, leaders of the Church insisted that the
group’s union of church doctrine and prophecy and
with conservative politics went too far, and the
American Study Groups broke up not wanting to cause “division and contention
in the Church.” In early 1993, Allan made headlines for attempting a
reconciliation with his local LDS Church leaders by tempering his involvement
in the Christian patriotic movement. [There
is more to this story that did not make headlines.] He closed down his
magazine [link] and took a
break from his speaking engagements. However,
the reconciliation was short-lived, and soon after he was excommunicated from
the LDS Church. [Notwithstanding these
measures, he was still excommunicated, and after three years, the attempt to
reconcile and seek rebaptism was abandoned, though his general hope for the
LDS Church to serve as a groundwork for the utopic Zion continues.]
Since his excommunication, Sterling D. Allan has
constructed a web site, www.greaterthings.com,
named after his former magazine Greater Things, and
has been significantly involved in an organization called Patriot Saints and
the Church of the Firstborn. [My
involvement in in the 'Church of Firstborn,' [link]
is not accurately described as its being an 'organization' as if it were a
club or a church I regularly attend. It consists of that body on earth and in
heaven who are called after the Holy Order of God, and so far as I know, it
does not hold 'meetings' nor is there an earthly 'membership' list. Its
earthly 'membership,' if you want to peg it somehow, is composed of sanctified
people from all over the planet, from most all religions and races, who are
seeking to build the church and kingdom of God on earth. The same is basically
true of Patriot Saints. It is a term that describes a person who is seeking to
establish God's gospel and government on earth. As a 'organization' per se,
there is not really anything to speak of. But as a description, I try to live
my life in such a way that everything I do is to this end. So far as the
'organization' is concerned, e.g. the www.patriotsaints.com website, [link]
the group is basically dormant other than that a few people who use that
e-mail address. Its main function is just to make a statement about our
two-fold responsibility: toward gospel and toward government.] He
has also written Prior to his
excommunication, he wrote a book called The Vision of All: Our Past,
Present and Future as Foretold in Book of Mormon History, [link]
which is his treatise on the parallel nature of the Book of Mormon concerning
our time. Allan presents his view of how the Book of Mormon should be a guide
for both our spiritual and temporal lives. Through these sources he
demonstrates a distinct zealous nationalistic view of the past, present, and
future of the US and the world.
His ideas parallel much of what has been demonstrated in
the previous chapters of this thesis. However,
as has been seen with the TLC, Mr. Allan feels that the LDS Church has failed
to fulfill its political mission. In
contrast to the view of the TLC, [link]
who feel that the LDS Church has failed to fulfill its political
mission, Mr. Allan sees the LDS Church as falling far short at present, but
believes there will be a "hearts core" who will step forward at a
crucial moment. He argues that “the Work of God has both a spiritual
and a temporal application.”
The gospel pertains to the spiritual well-being of the individual. The
government of God pertains to the temporal well-being of society. When Zion
is finally achieved here on earth, these two facets will function
harmoniously like husband and wife. [link]
The gospel was the first step in the process. The gospel was to create the
spiritual environment necessary for the creation of the Kingdom of God. Allan
believes that LDS Church restored the true gospel to the earth. However, he
feels that in general it has
failed is neglecting to take the
next crucial step; that is to “establish His righteous government.” The
restoration of the gospel as essential as it was, is incomplete. It is only a
preparatory stage that must be followed by the creation of the Kingdom of God.
The Latter-day Saints, according to Allan have become so focused on the gospel
that they has failed
are neglecting to take this next step.
Failure to take this necessary step is further complicated by the fact that
secret combinations [link] are
presently working to thwart the plan of God. The Church has been sufficiently
warned by past Church leaders and prophets. Allan states that, “Modern
prophets, especially Ezra Taft Benson and David O. McKay have spoken clearly,
fervently, and frequently concerning this secret combination prophesied to
come in our day. The have identified it as the Communist/Socialist conspiracy.”
He further states that these two prophets of the Church warned that “this
movement was deceiving even the very elect.” Allan believes that this is the
state the LDS Church is in today. He quotes the Book of Helaman in the Book of
Mormon, which states that the “more part of the righteous…[would] join
with them in their secret murders and combinations.” Allan sees a parallel
between the actions of the Church in the Book of Mormon and the Church here in
the latter-days. Regrettably, according to Allan, the LDS Church has,
inadvertantly, participated in the creation of “Satan’s New World Order of
forced benevolence and contrived peace.” He claims that the Church has
fallen prey to the deceptions of the Communist/Socialist movement. Socialism:
… claims as its goal…a peaceful, united world in which all the needy
are taken care of and there is no inequality. Everything they do, they do in
the name of achieving these ends. These aims, of course, are good. They lie
at the root of the gospel…Is it, perhaps the means of achieving this aim
that can be evil?”
Allan sees “faithful latter-day Saints…involved in legislating
socialists programs.” He states that “forced philanthropy” of communism
and socialism has the effect of diminishing the Saints desire of providing
charity through the use of their own agency. In turn, the supposed good
intentions of socialism hinders the development of this vital aspect of the
Saint’s spiritual evolution. In 1962, President Benson declared that the US
government was promoting instead of striving to “impede communism.” Now
Allan believes the LDS Church is doing the same.
[Not only are they not fulfilling their role toward
sustaining a free form of government, but they are standing as a hindrance to
a subset of saints such as himself who are actively seeking to carrying out
this responsibility. Hence they are actually opposing this work of God as the
Jews opposed Jesus and his disciples. Mr. Allan believes that this rejection
by the people of God of their assigned mission will play a similarly
miraculous role as the Jews rejection of Christ did in regards to the
atonement and triumphant resurrection. Out of the Mormon's rejection of the
Lords servants [link]
who are cast out from among them and persecuted by them will come a miraculous
deliverance from the New World Order beast that will have trodden down all the
earth. And as Judaism of old was superseded by Christianity, Mormonism will be
superseded by the Church of the Firstborn in our day, which will bring heaven
and earth together both pertaining to the gospel and the government of God
being implemented in their ideal fashion here on this planet, beginning at the
New Jerusalem.
Allan argues that world government is necessary for our survival. The only
significant question is what
what world government will be established.
[link] He offers his
suggestion for the temporal salvation of the earth:
What the world needs is a viable government of God, administered by
universally-recognized and time-enduring principles of rectitude: i.e.
truth. Patterning that world governing body after the principles embodied in
the Constitution of the United States as originally framed, would provide on
the world level the same checks and balances of power, limiting the
jurisdictional powers of that world body to only those few tasks which
cannot be addressed at a lower level.
A government based on the inspired principals of the
US Constitution is the only world government that would properly protect the
free agency given man by God himself. [This
is not really a good representation of my view -- it is a small subset of the
vision I see for the future. I do not see a 'fall back to the Constitution' to
be the answer, though the Constitution will provide part of the framework for
the improved form of government we create. By the time such a government as I
envision is put in place, the people that are left to live by it will not only
be a 'moderately virtuous people' as the Constitution required, but they will
be a people who have received the mighty change of heart (implementing the
gospel). The government will be able to take an even smaller role than it did
under the Constitution, and most things will be taken care of on the most
local level, for example, of ten families who look after each other.
Individual responsibility, combined with virtue will take care of most
problems that arise.] Mr. Allan maintains that many individuals who
presently work to construct Satan’s Socialist
New World Order, would gladly abandon this evil plan, [the
problem is, they don't usually see it as being that evil] and work
toward the creation of God’s worldly
earthly kingdom if only they saw an open effort
to begin its implementation. The question, Mr. Allan
says, is "will it take massive destruction, as the consequences of our
current decisions come crashing down on our heads, to bring us to our senses
before we will turn to the Lord and seek his ways, or will we awaken to a
sense of our awful situation and turn to him without having to first go
through such terrible circumstances?" He believes that "the
repentance clause of prophecy can be evoked, and has already been evoked to a
significant extent, but that we still are in a terrible predicament if we
don't continue to awake and arise to the glorious destiny that is ours."
Zion will be established. Whether or not we will be a part of it is up to
each of us individually. And the extent to which we will have to go through
tribulations to see it come forth as a people will be up to us as a people.
What will we choose?
[e-mail
Steve Henderson]
[e-mail
Sterling Allan]
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