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Ed Decker
Updated from Ed's book
"My Kingdom Come: The Mormon Quest for Godhood"
The very ethos of the Mormon faith is built around the anticipated return of Jesus to Independence, Missouri, for his thousand-year millennial reign. It is here that he will assign godhood to the worthy. However, it cannot take place until the U.S. Constitution falters and is saved by the LDS church. The nation will become a Mormon theocracy. During the build-up to the 2008 elections, Mitt Romney had raised Mormon speculation that he may be the one to lead the way as both U.S. President and LDS high priest.Almost 30 years ago, the late BYU Professor and LDS author Cleon Skousen founded the Freemen Institute (later to be called The National Center for Constitutional Studies). The name came from The Book of Mormon.
And those who were desirous that Pahoran should remain chief judge over the land took upon them the name of freemen; and thus was the division among them, for the freemen had sworn or covenanted to maintain their rights and the privileges of their religion by a free government. (Alma 51:6-7)
Skousen joined forces with Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority on some major political issues in the late 70s and early 80s, and I was prompted to study both the public, and the LDS insiders' positions on government, the U.S. that the LDS Church says is a divine document constitution. Using that research, I produced a study called "The Mormon Plan for America."
When George Romney, Mitt's father, made his aborted run for President in 1968, there was a lot of internal LDS talk about prophecies of the last days when the U.S. Constitution would hang by a thread to be saved by the elders of the LDS church. Many felt that the day had finally arrived for the actual "Kingdom of God" to be established.
This pure form of theocratic, prophet-led government would prepare the way for the ushering in of the Millennium, the time when Jesus would return to earth, sit in his temple in Missouri to reign over the earth, with the center of His government operated as the "Kingdom of God" on earth.
The actual background for all these whispered conversations came from much of the historical documents of the church and the speeches of many of the early church authorities.
They were resurrected again, and gained momentum as his son Mitt appeared to be in line to be the GOP candidate for the presidency in the 2008 elections. It didn't work out that way, but the Mormons made great headway in just having him in the mix.
The prophetic plan for an American theocracy goes something like this: Joseph Smith implemented a program called the United Order in the church. It was a plan of sharing everything in common--all properties and wealth turned over and owned by the church and dispersed by the Brethren to the people on an as-needed basis with a requirement for good stewardship or loss of use.
The Mormon Kingdom of God
It was called the "Kingdom of God." It was people living as God ordained under the United Order. However, it failed. It was later determined that it could only work when both the secular and ecclesiastic functions operated under one authority, with an LDS prophet ruling over a theocratic government where eternal commandments like the United Order and plural marriage and blood atonement would function within "The Kingdom of God."
That Theocracy would come into existence when the U.S. Constitution would hang by a thread and the Mormon elders would be there to save it and the country, thereby ushering in The Kingdom of God, the prophesied Mormon theocracy.
On December 7, 1968, Elder Hugh B. Brown presided over the groundbreaking of the LDS Washington D.C.Temple. It was dedicated in November 1974 by the prophet, Spencer W. Kimball.
The unique thing about this temple that struck me as singularly important was the design and furnishing of a large room on the upper floor. A photograph of this room is in the film, "The God Makers." It was set to house a presiding governing body, led by the prophet.
It is my own personal belief that it was designed as the place where the theocratic government of God would conduct its business, with the prophet in His place of authority.
