"I have been upon the watch towers..." Anguish of a dying civilization.

The Book of Jeraneck has many passages focusing on the anguish felt by those who saw their civilization collapsing around them. Here's a brief example:

“I have been upon the watch towers I have seen the destruction and the death that covers the whole land. I have heard the cries of the children and the mothers and the fathers. I have heard them beg for their lives. I have heard them cry for mercy. And I have cried and I have wept, for this land is now desolate and all our great buildings are gone.” Book of Jeraneck 17:29-3

"The Prophet Hadjaneck exercised faith..."

A recent sermon by Matthew Gill, Prophet of the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ and translator of the Book of Jeraneck, said something profound about faith that was said by Book of Jeraneck Prophet Hadjaneck and I wanted to share it with you.

"In the Book of Jeraneck the Prophet Hadjaneck exercised faith and the Lord bore him up to speak to the people and in doing so, he said this about his faith: “It is only through his power and the faith of my heart that I am able to stand here today ... The Lord has promised though revelation that if we his people are faithful and obedient the we shall become one with him” (Jeraneck 5:9-10) We, too, can show faith just as Hadjaneck and stand with God, having faith, and God will bare us up unto the end just as he did with one of his ancient Prophets."

A message we need to hear today from God, written in the Book of Jeraneck

I was stuck by a recent quote from the BOJ on the LDCJC blog recently in which Jeraneck relates how Almighty God had been forced to allow the destruction of the People of Light (the temple builders) because they had turned away from Him. This is truly heartbreaking but it's a message WE need to hear:

"I returned to the great temple, and I went unto the holy room of the temple and I cried unto the Almighty. And while I was crying unto him for the sake of my people, the Spirit came upon me and it bore witness to me that the Almighty Jesus the Lord would stretch forth his hand in an instant and save us, but the people would not listen and they would not return to him; and because of this, he is bound by the Almighty law to fulfill that which he had revealed to his many Prophets concerning the destruction of my people. For the people had been warned that if they left the paths of righteousness they would be wiped from this sacred land." (Book of Jeraneck 16:117-118)

A Hero in the Book of Jeraneck: Linker

Today, I want to blog about a hero in the Book of Jeraneck named Linker, who had been captured during the Second Great War among the ancient Britons, who were all descendants of the People of Light who came to that Isle under the guidance of Almighty God. Bear with me, because this is a long-ish selection, from the fourteenth chapter:

“Now the people of Christ who had stayed behind made themselves known unto the forces of Odinon. And they gave them battle, and their number was two hundred and they fought well and they gave the forces of Odinon a sore battle and the fight was bloody and fierce, and upon the defeat of the people of Christ, a soldier of the forces of Odinon brought forth a prisoner whose name was Linker. Now he brought him unto the captain of their forces. 

Now the captain of the forces was Aktar and he commanded to know where the people had gone.  And he commanded to know where the forces commanded by Zinon had fled. And the prisoner Linker, who the records say was a priest among the people, would not tell Aktar. And with this, Aktar brought before Linker the women of the people of Christ and he commanded that his men defile the women.

With this, Aktar forced Linker to watch and with this, Linker called upon the Lord of Heaven to deliver him from his enemy and the Lord did indeed listen to him and he gave unto Linker great strength so that he could overpower his captors, and with this, the Lord did indeed deliver him from his enemies.

And Linker fled before Aktar and he fled into the wilderness around about the city of Ridnon and he did make his way unto  the forces of Christ and he did tell them of the death and the destruction and he did tell them of the murder of the children and the  defiling of their women.” BOJ, 13:119-125

First of all, have no fear. This extremely evil Aktar, in the following chapter, drowns in a river, still calling out (in vain, it turns out) to his false god, Odinon.

Secondly, the escape of Linker, after enduring the torture of witnessing the rape and murder of his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, was a God-ordained event, which allowed him to get word to the People of the Light exactly where and how many were the enemy. In this case, escaping to live another day was indeed the better part of valor, just as those who may have escaped from prison camps in recent decades would have surely gotten word back to their troops that aided them in their battles.

The final battles of the Second Great War in the Book of Jeraneck are incredibly inspiring also, and they show every man, woman and child who could hold a sword and fight doing so to preserve their way of life.

Heroism is so rare today, and it’s rarer still that a nation takes up arms so courageously to fight off invaders. But just two generations ago, the nation of Great Britain did once again stand up to invaders who sought their eradication.

Virtue encouraged by the Book of Jeraneck

I love how the Book of Jeraneck encourages virtuous living, especially in its "appendix," which outlines the religious practices of the people of light, the story of which the entire book records. This selection is typical:

"My son, think upon virtue and do not turn your thoughts to sin, for man lives eternally and the things of the spirit are more greatly to be desired. Put out of your mind what is past and do not fret and worry about what has not yet come to pass."

This so beautifully sums up not only the teachings of Jesus, but reflects all of the Book of Jeraneck's leading figures' relationship with God - a spirit of virtue, hope, and inner peace through Jesus Christ, who appeared to Ancient Britons, Israelites, Romans, Ancient Americans, and us, today!

Zinon's Prayer of Dedication in the Book of Jeraneck

During the "Second Great War" in ancient Britain, as recorded by the Book of Jeraneck, the armies of the pagan military leader Rendanoneck were arrayed against the armies of Almighty God, who were fighting for their very survival. Below is an entry from the Book of Jeraneck (chapter 13:75-80) in which the captain of the armies, Zinon, prays to Almighty God and devotes himself to His cause. It is truly moving and beautiful:

"Now the armies of Rendanoneck started to beat their swords upon their shields and they started to sing unto Odinon and at this time the armies of God became afraid and the captain of the armies of God rode forward on his horse and his horse was arrayed with all manner of armour and upon the armour was written these words: “We fight for our God, our Prophet and our Religion.” and this was the standard by which the armies of God fought.

For they were not fighting for riches or gold or for their own edification but they were fighting for their belief and for their God. It mattered not to them whether their houses were burned or their fields destroyed because they knew that the Almighty was with them and he would stand by them for they were fighting for him. And the captain of the armies of God was called Zinon and Zinon rode forward to the centre of the field of battle and he held aloft his sword and he cried saying “Oh God of Heaven oh God of Earth bless thy people that we may be victories on this day that we may have our Religion restored and our Freedom restored. For we fight for thee, we fight for the Religion that you have given us and we fight so the honour may be yours."

The Prophet Jeraneck's beautiful prayer

The Prophet Jeraneck's beautiful prayer for the Lord's guidance before he led a perilous journey across the seas to Britain:

“I cry unto you as your servant, and as thy servant and thy Prophet, I bless this land in thy name, for we have been faithful and we have erected many stone monuments unto thee, just as you have commanded us to do. And we have done this not for our own edification but for yours, Oh, Lord, and we have done this so that those that follow after us will know that we were the People of Light and that we followed thy teachings and thy principles and I ask, Oh, Lord and Saviour, that you will guide us on our journey, that you will guide us across the seas to our new land, that you have promised us."  - from the Book of Jeraneck, 6:6