A while back I was reading in a book published from my mother's recordings of her father, Patriarch Charles R. Woodbury, sharing his testimony concerning the things which were revealed to him, or which he experienced as a Patriarch, and among those things he shared, and she recorded, is this experience which he had while in the L.D.S hospital in 1954, recorded as follows:
"While I was in the L.D.S. Hospital in 1954, I was very weak. One day I saw a real bright light, brighter than noonday. In the light I saw people, men and women, dressed in light clothing. Everyone was so happy, but all busy. A voice said to me, "This is the Celestial Kingdom, the highest degree of glory. This is the reward of those who in mortal life complied with the new and everlasting covenant of marriage in the Temple of the Lord, and kept those covenants sacred, and if you and your wife continue as faithful as you have been, it shall be your privilege and joy to dwell together in the Celestial Kingdom, in the highest degree of glory, with your loved ones and the Father and the Son forever."
When this scene closed, the curtain dropped and what I saw before me was heart rending. I saw men and women, all dressed in dark clothing. Contention and strife existed there. They were searching for something they couldn't find. A voice said to me, "This is what is spoken of in the Bible as Hell, or the bottomless pit. This is the reward of those who in mortal life disobeyed the laws of God, and the laws of the land, and created appetites and took things into their bodies which were contrary to the teachings of the Lord and detrimental to their physical health. In mortal life they could get things to satisfy this appetite and craving. Here they cannot get anything to satisfy it. In this condition they'll remain for the 1000 years during the Millennium, before their bodies are resurrected from the grave.
I was happy when this scene closed. I sure feel sorry for people in that condition. I hope and pray that myself or any of my loved ones will never be in that group . . . that they'll all be worthy to enjoy the blessings of the Celestial Kingdom." Patriarch Charles R. Woodbury.
After pondering his experience, and knowing as I do, that my grandfather was a very humble and loving man, and had served as a Patriarch for many years, and was loved by everyone, and many who had come to him for blessings, even as I did at the age of 14, knew that he was a man of God, who always spoke the truth, I penned this poem in my spiral notebook to remind me of his vision of the Celestial Kingdom, and the things which were revealed to him that day back in 1954. My poem is dated 25 October 2010.
I have hesitated for some time to share this with you, my friends and family, but when I awakened this morning, a scripture came to me which is contained in the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of revelations which the Prophet Joseph Smith received from the Lord to help reestablish His Church on the earth again in these latter days, and Section 88, which was revealed to him on December the 27th and 28th of 1832, while in Kirtland, Ohio, which reads in part, starting with verse 76,
76. "I give unto you a commandment that ye shall continue in prayer and fasting from this time forth.
77. And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.
78. Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;
79. Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms -
80. That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you.
81. Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.
82. Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are on their own heads."
I wish I could write more from Section 88, but this sufficeth me to share what I felt compelled to share with you this day. Here is what I recorded from Grandpa Woodbury's vision which he shared with my mother, Jennie May Woodbury Lee, and I share it with you, my dear friends and family, as a warning to each of us, as to what was and is to come to those who are disobedient to the laws of God.
And if there is anyone reading this, whom I may have offended in any way, I humbly ask for your forgiveness, and with tears flooding my cheeks, I express my sorrow for having offended you, because I love each of you, and am doing my best to share the messages of my heart which have come to me through the years, to help me to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to do all that I can in my power to share the messages of my heart with you so that you will come to know the things which I know are true, many of which have been given to me from someone on the other side of the veil, some from the Lord, and some from Heavenly Father, and perhaps even from Patriarch Charles R. Woodbury and from my great-grandfather, William Green Bickley who was a poet and musician, and wrote many poems and songs during his lifetime.
A Thousand Years
25 October 2010
A thousand years of pain and tears is what the scriptures say
Will be the punishment for those who fail to here obey
The teachings of the Father, and His Beloved Son,
The Holy One of Israel, The Only Begotten One.
Although the Savior bore our sins and burdens long ago,
In the Garden of Gethsemane, and God had willed it so,
He left it up to us to choose His gift of love divine,
To repent where it's needed, our souls to here refine.
And learn while here to follow His teachings and His ways,
Forsaking sins and past mistakes and singing Father's praise.
For only through repentance, may we become as He,
Who is our Lord and Savior, who died on Calvary.
So we must not procrastinate the day of our repentance,
Lest we shall find at eventide we've signed our own soul's sentence,
And end up spending a thousand years in pain and misery,
Before we're resurrected, and reach our destiny..
God help us to repent today, and not wait till tomorrow,
So we may find forgiveness, instead of pain and sorrow,
And may we live the Gospel, and strive each day to be
The kind of children He would want with Him eternally.
May we do so I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Your friend and brother
Jim
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