Some More Musings on a Gathering
Besides Julie Rowe and Hector Sosa, there are others who have had dreams and visions of the last days, specifically with an invitation to gather, which many refer to as the call-out.
I find it interesting that more of these dreams and visions have been made known since about 2007/8. Yes, there were some published before, but there are more now. Maybe it's the prevalence of the internet, making it easier to find information (both right and wrong).
I read another account of the invitation to gather, the person being referred to as the "Temple Dreamer." The dream was apparently had in 2007, and many of the posts in the LDSFreedomForum were dated in 2008.
The summary of the various dreams seem to be combined in this post:
But you can also find the dreams posted in:
There are parts of the Temple Dreamers account that don't sit right with me, but much of it is comparable to other accounts.
I have two big issues with these "Temple Dreamer" dreams. My first is that only those with their year's supply of food will be invited to the meeting and to gather:
"Finally, on one critical Sabbath day, as the normal meeting block nears its end, the bishop of my ward (and presumably bishops throughout the church on the same day) stands at the pulpit, and gives a rather strange announcement. He asks that those who have their year's supply of food and other necessities ready at home stay behind at the end of meeting block. All others (including curiosity seekers) are pointedly asked NOT to attend. This is strictly enforced."
It could be that the Temple Dreamer felt that the invitation to gather was only for those who had their food supply, or it could be the result of editing as these are apparently summaries of the dreams (as posted on LDSFreedomForum). However, I know there are those who feel strongly that only those who have a year's worth of food storage and other supplies will be invited to gather.
It could also be that some local priesthood leaders might take it upon themselves to only invite those who have a year's worth of food storage, when there might not actually be such a stipulation. Expanding on that, there are some in leadership positions who might think that only those who have food storage would be worthy to be invited to gather, even if the instructions they received from the first presidency said to invite all members. They would then make their own judgment, and invite only those they felt were worthy. There have certainly been accounts where some leaders have felt like they "know better" or decide to make their own judgment on what should happen. A bad case in point is Haun's Mill.
My second big issue is with how those who don't follow the rules are dealt with in the camps:
"Those
who refuse to work, or who do not adhere to the rules of the camps are dealt
with severely. Banishment without supplies or tools is used as punishment in
most cases. In extreme instances, these individuals are eliminated."
While banishment may be a viable option, I do not see "elimination" as an option that any Church leader should take. The only "leaders" who might do this are those who have set themselves up as essentially tyrants and exercising extreme unrighteous dominion. And, it would not surprise me if there ended up being a few instances where this might become the case. This would also be applicable as I believe there will be some initial camps, where people are essentially weeded out, before gathering into more law of consecration oriented groups and forming what some have referred to as places of refuge, or cities of light, instead of just tent cities.
Other than those two big issues, as I mentioned, I found most of the related dreams to be comparable to the dreams and visions of others I have read.
It's interesting that the person who had the dreams was asked to remain behind, presumably because of some responsibilities with the temple. While Spencer, in Visions of Glory, does not relate any specifics regarding an invitation to gather, he is in the Salt Lake City area when the mega-quake happens, and he does mention a tent city in the Cardston, Canada, area. The fact that Spencer apparently also has some duties with regards to a temple might indicate that he was asked to remain behind as well.
A "call out", or more appropriately an invitation to gather, is a pattern the Lord uses frequently in the scriptures before great judgments fall on the wicked. It is how the wheat is separated from the chaff. If you note in the scriptures, the corrected versions always have the wheat gathered out first, before the chaff is burned.
I've already mentioned that I don't believe the "call out" will be an exclusive invitation, where only those with a year's worth of food and supplies will be allowed to attend the meeting or to go to the places of refuge.
Other accounts do not include this exclusivity of the invitation.
But, it does seem that most of those who do choose to gather are those who are prepared. However, not even all of those who do have food storage will choose to leave if such an invitation is given. And there are some who think they would leave, but, if that time comes, they may decide they know better and will choose to wait to leave when it's more convenient.
Think about it this way. Those who have not made the effort to follow the counsels of the prophets to become prepared will be unlikely to heed an invitation to gather, especially if such an invitation comes when everything around them seems to be doing okay, maybe things (such as the economy) are looking good. Maybe even the outlook is more positive than it's been in a long time. Such an invitation will also be against the traditions of the Church that they are used to, and it will appear unusual, extreme, and even cult-like.
Most of those who have made the effort--in time, money, and other sacrifices--to heed the prophetic counsels to become prepared have experienced the peace and assurance that comes with following the prophet. Preparations help reduce anxiety (fears) about an uncertain future, and also tend to help people avoid normalcy bias or change blindness. These are those who will be most likely to heed an invitation to gather.
But to think of the invitation as being only exclusive to those who are prepared with a year's worth of food storage and other supplies is not Christlike. There will be those who have done the best they could, but have not been able to become fully prepared with a year's supply of food. They may be new converts, newly married, or others in exceptional circumstances. Still, there will be few of them who will heed the first call.
Should an invitation to gather be made, it would match one of John Koyle's prophesies where he supposedly said:
"In the end there will be a great apostasy in the Church. A rift in leadership will cause many members to leave. Something will happen to make members congregate in and around the churches, and at various other locations to discuss and ponder the great disturbing changes occurring. This will mark the commencement of the time of problems for the Church, as well as the time of apostasy."
A "call out" wouldn't be the only such cause for disturbing the members, but it certainly would cause a lot of issues.
I can imagine after a meeting, during which Church members were invited to leave their homes, work, and everything and to gather in designated camps, or places of refuge, there would be a lot of discussion, even some arguing, about what just happened. There were be members congregated "in and around the churches, and at various other locations to discuss and ponder" the announcement. Most of the truly faithful will be leaving quickly, with little discussion, in order to quickly pack and ready their things.
Even after those who have chosen to leave have left, members will gather to discuss what happened. It will be reported on the news, about members leaving and gathering at undisclosed locations.
There could become "rifts" in the leadership of the Church. Probably not among the apostles and most of the seventy, but there will likely be some members of the seventy, stake presidencies, and bishoprics who will be opposed to such a gathering, and they may become very vocal against it. I don't think there would be very many of these opposing leaders, but there will be some. And the news outlets will likely make it seem like there are a lot more than there really would be.
And there would definitely be rifts in the general membership. A lot of people would probably leave the Church, accusing the Church of becoming a cult. There would probably be statements that the prophet is misleading the Church and should step down. There may even be members who start forming their own Restored Church. In any case, it would be the final straw that many disaffected members will use to justify leaving the Church. Many will actively persecute the Church and those who are still active in the Church (but who were not faithful enough to gather with the other saints).
In the meantime, things will probably begin to get tighter economically. Gas prices will probably go up quickly. Within a short time (probably a month or two) is when the first wave of the various plagues will likely wash through the nation. Severe natural disasters will probably strike in various places around the nation. Few will correlate the faithful saints leaving to the increased number of calamities.
Members of the Church will probably blame the Prophet for not warning them about the plagues and disasters that have struck the nation. Apostatized members will point at the Prophet and other Church leaders as being fallen prophets, and unable to receive revelation or guidance for the Church. Only a few will realize they had been warned, and warned for many years to become prepared.
During this time, I believe the second gathering of saints will make their way to the places of refuge. These numbers will be few as most will believe things will improve and return to normal.
Not until after several plagues have wiped out huge numbers of the population, a mega-quake has struck the west coast and Utah, other monstrous natural disasters have disabled the nation, an economic collapse has begun, EMPs have rendered much of the infrastructure useless, nuclear explosions have wiped out key targets, and foreign military forces have invaded the nation will a majority of the surviving members (and many apostatized members) realize they missed the boat.
Those who are able, will flee on foot, most with little more than what they are wearing. They will hear of places of refuge and they will seek them out. Most probably won't make it. Those who do will be pass through greater trials than those who chose to follow the prophet. That's not to say those in the camps won't have trials, because they will and I mention a few in this post http://fulnessoftimes.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-gathering.html.
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