My name is Elaine Harmston, and I have a conviction that the gospel of Jesus Christ as Joseph Smith restored it contains the fullness of the Gospel. I also believe that most of the plain and precious truths that he delivered have been distorted, changed or lost to such a degree in the LDS Church that it has become necessary for God to reestablish those truths; and out of the hearts core of the Latter-day Saints have come those who are willing to stand up for God and prepare a society that will live those principles that the early saints lived and died for, to a degree of righteousness that Christ will have that Zion people to return to. In my ears ring those irrefutable words; “The hottest corners of hell are reserved for those who, during a moment of crisis, maintain their neutrality.” I cannot maintain neutrality when I see the principles that my ancestors and other saints gave all that they had to establish and preserve, compromised by men who claim inspiration and revelation but would at the same time vomit on those very principles. They have done so even recently to all the world. I know God lives and that one day I will have to be accountable before him, regardless of what men may say; and I will be standing by my self on that judgment day.
I come from 4 generations of good LDS stock. My family came from England to Nauvoo and then west. They settled in Cache County, Utah. Some of them were polygamists. I was raised by wonderful and very active LDS parents. I have brothers and sisters that are still very active LDS. I had a normal LDS life-style. I graduated from seminary and high school and then from college with a B.S. Degree from Utah State University. I don’t think of myself as especially gifted in any way nor am I deprived.
I was married in the Logan Temple in 1963 to James Dee Harmston. We had grown up together as very good friends in a small community called Harrisville. He was an outstanding young man that I had always admired, mainly, because he was not influenced by the ordinary peer pressure that most young people face. He was an Eagle Scout, a Silver Explorer, a Student Body Officer in high school and then he went on a mission to the Northern States. (He never had a police record nor did he indulge in any teenage nonsense as he has been accused. I was there, I know.) His parents were wonderful people, loved by all who knew them. They were killed in a car crash in 1975 when they were hit by a drunk driver.
After we were married, Jim finished his education at the University of Utah with an MBA and we started pursuing his career in the world of corporate management in Chicago. Eventually, we moved back home to start his own business. Jim taught at Weber State College and then he eventually built his own real estate and construction company.
We were devoted parents of five children. We had a beautiful home and associated with very fine people. Jim served as gospel doctrine teacher many of those years and in various other capacities in the LDS Church. I served in women’s leadership positions. In 1976 we were called to work in the Ogden Temple and served there for 3 years.
We both had strong testimonies of Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and all of the Standard Works. We believed that the presidents of the church were true prophets of God. Jim was a diligent student of the Gospel. He had a strange constitution that only required 3-5 hours of sleep a night, and so the rest of the night he would spend studying the gospel.
During those years Jim had unique opportunities to become personally acquainted with many of the general authorities of the LDS church. In the mission field, he was supervising elder over the Nauvoo area and Howard Hunter was then beginning the restoration project. They spent many hours together. Brother Hunter introduced him to the doctrines of Celestial Marriage and Calling and Election while spending nights in the upper room of the Times and Seasons Building.
He worked for Franklin D. Richards while getting his MBA. His office was next door to Joseph Fielding Smith’s apartment, and they had many occasions to talk about the gospel. Lunch time during those years was in the Lion House with these brethren. While he was an officer of the Utah State Realtors Association he did some lobbying in Washington D.C. President Benson became a frequent associate. Spencer Kimball put his arms around him one day in a loving gesture and expressed his love for him. He felt of their testimonies and knew of their desire for truth and righteousness. I too loved these men but did not have the close association that Jim had.
About 1985, President Benson was preaching about the condemnation the Church was still under since 1832 and the need to take seriously the Book of Mormon. He called the elders of Israel to “Awake and Arise”. It was like a bolt of lightning that struck Jim and me. We were no longer satisfied with the warm fuzzies and the “all is well in Zion” attitude that we and others had in the Church.
We obediently took the Book of Mormon seriously and wanted to really understand the deeper messages of the Book of Mormon. Moroni said in Mormon 8, after describing our day very succinctly:
Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing. And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts. (Mormon 8:35-36)
I could feel the finger pointing to me, to us, to our church. We were guilty. We wanted to be a part of that few who were humble.
We began to ask questions of our leaders, Stake Presidents, Bishops, General Authorities, and Temple Presidents. These were, what I considered at that time, the “hard questions” that were paramount to my understanding of the nature and reality of God and His doctrine and my relationship to Him:
1. Who was my God? Who was I praying to?
2. If Brigham Young was a prophet and he said for 30 years over the pulpit in General Conference that Adam was our God, then why did Spencer Kimball, Bruce McConkie and others say that was a false doctrine?
3. If God is the same yesterday, today and forever, why is he not the same God that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young taught the people to worship?
4. The scriptures warn us of that day when the leaders would preach “all is well in Zion”. Why should I not heed the warning when I can hear those very sermons? I was hearing in General Conference that big money and big membership were the proof of righteousness. I seldom if ever heard the same warnings that the scriptures give of our day.
5. While in Liberty Jail, Joseph Smith said, “If anything should have been suggested by us, or any names mentioned, except by commandment, or “Thus saith the Lord,” we do not consider it binding,” (DHC 3:295) and yet the brethren claimed revelations that were never delivered in this manner to the congregation for their witness and sustaining vote. Who should I listen to? The Manifesto and the Revelation on the priesthood are just such “revelations.” Where were the words “Thus saith the Lord,” or the commandment?
6. Joseph Smith said that the ordinances cannot be changed:
Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles. (TPJS, pg 308)
I don’t need a degree in theology to tell me that nearly all of the ordinances, especially the endowment, have been altered and changed since Joseph’s day. Isn’t this what he was talking about?
7. Joseph said If you change the ordinances you change the priesthood (TPJS, pg 158, 308). Satan has many priesthoods; God has one true priesthood. What gives these men the right to change that which God has ordained?
8. Isaiah 24:5 says, speaking of our day, “…they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant,” then Malcolm Jeppson condemned those who studied the words of Isaiah. Christ himself commanded us to study the words of Isaiah, “Great are the words of Isaiah” (3 Nephi 23:1). Should I not get suspicious of men who speak directly against Christ?
9. I was told by my Stake President to leave the mysteries alone. This is in direct opposition to the scriptures. Should I believe a man or God?
10. How can women wear the priesthood garment, receive the keys of the priesthood, give the keys of the priesthood, perform ordinances of the priesthood in the temple of God, and not have priesthood?
11. The original garment pattern was revealed by an angel. Did another angel change it?
12. Why did Joseph, Brigham, and John Taylor teach about the Calling and Election ordinances very fervently, and today many LDS members have never heard of them?
13. I have been in many weddings in the temples and have heard the brethren tell the newly weds that this is all there is. That is not true. Section 132 is very plain about it. Why would men who are supposed to be so knowledgeable give this false information?
14. D&C 132:3-4 says:
Therefore, prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same. For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.
Where is the commandment from God that contains all of the qualifications of true revelation that changes this commandment?
15. How did Jesus Christ become a God before He came into mortality if we have to come into a mortal probation to receive the ordinances that are necessary to become a God? That must mean there is another way to become a God. What is it?
16. If a man in Mormondom spends 16-20 hours a day amassing great wealth and possessions pursuing the occupations of this world, gives his 10% to the church, gives honor and esteem to his brethren who are doing likewise, gives lip service once or twice a week in High Priest Quorum and Gospel Doctrine class, checks off his 15 minutes a day of scripture reading in his day planner, sacrifices his 2.5 hours at the temple once a month and gets 100% in his home teaching on the last day of the month as he rushes from door to door, and teaches his children this same philosophy of men, he is rewarded with high esteem and great position in the church and is called righteous–a man of example. But if that same man or another leaves this life style and chooses to leave the riches and the honor among men behind and seeks the Kingdom of God 16-20 hours a day, leaving his life in God’s hands, seeking to warn his neighbor, searching diligently the scriptures and the word of God, and then bears testimony that God lives, provides, and honors him with truth, I see he is rewarded with criticism, chastisement, warning, excommunication, is called a religious fanatic, and all men are warned to stay away from him as “he will lead them to hell.” Should I then conclude the following: that Lehi was just a business man in financial trouble and so he chose religion as a “cause”? After all, he ended up a fugitive from justice with delusions of grandeur. Was Jeremiah just a frustrated religious fanatic whose ego was bigger than life? Was Abinadi delusionary and fanatical? Did Alma take up his cause because he was lacking status among the “brethren”. Joseph Smith was just another fanatic that lied to the world, his wife and the brethren, and died because he really could not save himself using the priesthood he claimed to have. Christ too was quit a fanatic. He had no wealth, or good name among men, hanging on a cross was a bit extreme perhaps. Why didn’t he just leave town? Is this what I am to conclude?
17. If all men are judged after this life for eternity and only a few have been found perfect, the majority of people coming to this earth will be sent to hell or a Telestial world. Why does a God of love want to fill up the universe with Telestial Worlds?
18. If redemption means to come back into the presence of God and God will only bring those who can live Celestial law into His presence, then how can He redeem ALL except the sons of perdition as he stated in D&C 76:32-44, because most of us will forever be in a Telestial world–that is the only law we can or will live.
We had many more such questions. The answers from the brethren were: “You don’t need to know,” “I don’t know,” “Follow the Brethren,” “The Brethren know better than we do,” “Follow the living Prophet not the dead ones,” “don’t question, just follow,” “Times change,” “We understand more than Joseph Smith and Brigham Young,” or “The scriptures don’t really mean what they say.”
We felt like Joseph Smith did. What is true? Who is right? Have we been deceived? Is the true church now in apostasy? What shall we do? How can we resolve the very obvious conflicts between the scriptures, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and John Taylor’s words that are consistent with each other, and the words of the modern prophets that are in conflict with them and seem to fulfill the warnings for our day?
All we could do is do as Joseph did–Ask God, who gives wisdom and will not upbraid. This Jim and I resolved to do. We had received the keys of the priesthood in our endowments in the Logan Temple. Even though we never knew anyone who had used them outside the temple, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young had taught the people to use these keys to commune through the veil (in the sacredness of their own homes). Why would we be any different than those people, if all men are to be saved on the same principles as Joseph taught?
So, we dressed in our priesthood robes, used the keys of the priesthood and knelt at an altar that we constructed out of a piano bench. We had faith that God would hear our prayers. If we were in severe violation, we would feel chastised. We were ready for either.
As we knelt together in that special way, we experienced the opening of the heavens to us and the Lord answered our prayer. Never had I had such an experience with prayer in my life nor had Jim. We were so overwhelmed by the power of God that we knew we had indeed spoken with God and He had spoken to us. Our questions were answered!
The LDS Church is indeed in severe apostasy. It will soon be destroyed as prophesied in the D&C, Isaiah, Book of Mormon and the Old and New Testaments. The Church of Jesus Christ will be set in order following that pattern in the Book of Mormon that is repeated more than 30 times–the rise, the fall, a remnant called out.
Maybe God is trying to tell us something in the Book of Mormon. Never has God taken an old bottle and put new wine into it. He always takes a remnant of the faithful–Lehi, Alma, etc.–and begins again. We did not realize that day as we asked those questions that we were chosen to be a part of that remnant. How God would do this “Strange Act” was not revealed to us at first. He began taking us a step at a time–the line upon line thing.
Many wonderful things began to happen and information began to flow to Jim. Documents came into his hands that he had never had access to in the past. Serious revelation began to flow and we were led a step at a time. Then the opposition began to come. Rumors began to fly and many of them came out of the offices at 47 E. South Temple. We were astonished at the amount of persecution we were receiving. We were still “card carrying” members. Still God did not tell us that we were his instruments for “His strange Act of the last days”.
We were led to Manti in February of 1990. We did not know why. Then we found many who had come here seeking the same thing that we were seeking. They too had used the keys of the priesthood to receive their answers. We were accused of calling a gathering to Manti. It was God’s calling, not ours. Most of the people who came here had never known us previously.
In April of 1990 the keys of the priesthood were changed significantly in the endowment. This completed the apostasy. In November of 1990, over a period of 5 days, the apostolic authority was re-restored by the four angels spoken of in Revelation 7:1 and the D&C 77:8. I was there and felt the power of the presence of heavenly beings so strong that I was forced to my knees and surrounded by such glory that I cannot describe the feelings. Jim saw their presence and received their hands on his head. Satan made his attempt to destroy him, but by the power of the priesthood he was cast away.
The authority to begin again was re-restored. Another remnant was being called out by the Lord Himself–those who took President Benson’s admonition seriously to “awake and arise.” I bear my solemn testimony that this is true.
Since then I have learned of a prophecy in the Millennial Star 42:584-1880.
Before the great day of the Lord shall come and the day of righteousness and peace dawn upon this fair creation, two potent cleansing processes shall be in active operation. The first of these is the preparation of A CHOICE PEOPLE, purified by an application of their lives as individuals and a community, of the principles of the Gospel of peace. Such a body WILL EVOLVE FROM THOSE CALLED LATTER-DAY SAINTS,…out of this community…will emanate the nucleus or foundation from which will spring the righteous Millennial population of our globe. (These Millennial people will have had to be living all the restored laws of the FULLNESS.)
I bear testimony that this is the gathering of the remnant of Israel prophesied for the very last days. We will be that choice people. The Latter-day Saints were warned of the condemnation and given 4 generations to repent and they would not listen to the prophets who warned and warned, therefore, the Gospel was taken from the Gentiles (LDS Church) and has been given to another as prophesied (3 Nephi 16:10). We have been taught the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it was restored to Joseph Smith in its purity. The mysteries of Godliness have been delivered and continue to be delivered. “Thus saith the Lord” is once again upon the earth . The principles of a Zion society are being lived so that the Lord will have a people to come to when he returns. We are being tried and perfected in living these principles, and Satan is waging war against us.
The destruction of the wicked is about to happen. It will happen by the power of the priesthood in ways that no man will say “this is man’s doing.” God will deliver those who seek Him. The warnings of impending destruction are upon us and few will see and obey the warning.
I bear testimony that God has the answers to the “hard questions” and that He speaks to men and women who seek him with real intent. He is Adam our Father and this is a family affair, the family of Israel. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. All men must be saved on the same principles and ordinances regardless of the dispensation of time in which they live. Joseph Smith was and is a true prophet of God as was Brigham and others in this dispensation of time. Jesus is the Christ, and He will soon be coming in glory to men on the earth. I bear this testimony in His Holy Name; I have been in his presence.