Conferences in the Sawtooth Mountains

After I published the post about the Anor Stone being 'smoked' this past Friday night, I visited a site that had a blogroll with a few other Mormon-type blogs.  On the list of recent blog posts, there was the name "Denver Snuffer" with a post titled simple "Zion".

Mr. Snuffer has come up on this blog just once before, when I mentioned his religious movement that I believe is known by as The Remnant.  Snuffer is the spiritual leader and recognized prophet or God's messenger for that group.  In my post, I referenced that group's conference in New York during the Solar Eclipse last month.  There were quite a few things going on with "Eclipse" symbolism at that time, and I noted a few things relative to the logo the group was using for their conference, as well as the timing of the Eclipse itself.

Anyway, I saw "Zion" and I became curious as to what Snuffer might say on the topic.  His group, I believe, is actively working to establish Zion, has published new scriptures, and wants to build a temple.  But I haven't read any of Snuffer's books, and don't know anyone in that movement, so I am sure if I tried to explain more than that, I would have some things wrong.

So, I clicked on his blog link.  The post is fairly short, and it turns out he is sarcastically shooting down rumors of all sorts of places that people have, I guess, recently identified as places for Zion's restoration (all on this Earth, of course - way off!).  I am assuming the list comes from various sources within his own organization, but I don't know.

It got interesting, though, when I saw a reference to the Sawtooth Mountains!  After listing several places in what is loosely the Mormon Corridor, he says:

But, the absolutely most likely, clearly inevitable place must be in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho where there have been conferences in the past and one planned for next month. So Challis is the place… maybe.

I did a search for a Remnant conference in the Sawtooth Mountains and found what he must be mentioning:

So here we have a mention of good old Stanley, Idaho, and the conference is called "Top of the Mountains Conference", featuring a picture of what is likely the Sun behind the mountain peak.

The imagery itself stood out to me since in my story we have a few things that can fit in with it.  First, we have the Sawtooth Stone itself, which would be a ball or circle like the Sun (actually described by the Beings, if you remember, as being "Brighter than the Sun"), and which would have emerged from the Sawtooth Mountains (Williams Peak specifically, it seems).

Second, we have explored that by "Top of the Mountains", in referencing the passage of Isaiah where the "Mountain of the Lord's House shall be established in the top of the mountains", this could actually mean a planet that has the Lord's house upon it being restored to its former position at the top of the stack of planets, or at least linked back to them.  To support this imagery and situation, I've used a few things, such as Philo Dibbles' drawing to show stacked worlds:

I've also, however, used the introduction to the video game Myst, which shows a globe or world (as I see it) literally appearing to be situated at or behind the peak of a mountain:

 

Similar imagery, as you can tell, with the idea behind this group's conference.

Snuffer will go on to conclude his post by implying that Zion isn't really about a specific location, but rather about finding people that can actually create Zion, and then you can just create Zion wherever.  I think he is wrong on multiple counts, by the way, with one count being quite damaging in my own opinion.   His specific quote is this:

Well, maybe the idea is far less a matter of geography and far more a matter of people of one heart and one mind who can live together in peace. Maybe if you could find those folks you could just set it up right there… If only.

Well, in my story, Zion is most definitely about the location, and we have highlighted Two Holy Places located on Valinor and Eressea (Jerusalem and New Jerusalem, respectively) and gathering to those places really does matter.  There are specific places set aside, but they aren't on this world and it will require divine intervention and miracles to reach them.  That is just how it is, I think.

The underlying message that he closes with, however, blames people for the lack of Zion. People can't be found to live together in peace, and so no Zion.  So be better!  Try harder!  Don't you know Mr. Snuffer, God's Messenger on Earth, says that Zion is possible for you here and now if you will just be nicer and just stop being a bad person?

The problem is that this just isn't so.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  We live in Asshat's world, where there are devils aplenty, and in bodies that, in many ways, just don't allow us to be what we might wish we could be.  We are sick and we are broken.  You don't ask the sick to set up Zion, or to build their own hospital.  They don't have the strength for such a task just yet, I don't think, even if it is what they really, really want.  I think you make things worse, potentially, by doing so.

Meaning, I don't think it is about trying harder or not being able to find people who want to live in peace.  Preachers of this nonsense give impossible tasks to people, and then make them feel like they have failed when they couldn't live up to those lofty expectations and establish Zion.  It is an easy thing for preachers to lay on their people, and it is a fairly well-worn path.

Anyway, just some thoughts as I thought more on Snuffer's post.  I originally was going to just comment on the interesting mention of the Sawtooth Mountains, but then I thought more on his closing statement and wanted to express a few of my own thoughts on it.

I also feel like someone should tell this group, though, that the Sawtooth Stone was already recovered back in 2020 and then moved to France in 2021, so there really isn't any reason to gather in Stanley anymore.  The Stone and the Holy Beings who were there are all gone.  Maybe just a defeated Balrog and some demons loitering around, would be my guess.  France would seem like a better location for a conference as things currently stand, if we could just narrow a few additional things down...

Also, I looked at the speakers, and saw that Leo's partner from the polygamy debate series that he took part, Jeremy Hoop, is one of the featured speakers.  William Tychonievich also spent some time watching those debates and putting together a post or two that mentioned them.  Here is our man:

When I watched the debate, it took me a minute to recognize him, but I was finally able to remember where I had seen him.  He is an actor and starred in the Mormon Church's movie The Testaments, which is a historical fictional movie of Book of Mormon events surrounding the visit of Jesus to Lehites.  I didn't recognize him at first, by the way, because he was totally in brownface for the role (the movie portrayed the events happening in the jungles of Guatemala or something... not, as we now know, on Eressea).  Here is Jeremy meeting Jesus with his father and girlfriend:

Mr. Snuffer himself is the concluding keynote speaker (seen below holding his new set of scriptures):