#34 "And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong... to set in order the house of God"

Ogden Kraut is perhaps the best known and most prolific LDS fundamentalist of modern times. He has written countless books and has been a champion of the principle of plural marriage.

He refused to associate himself with the Allred Group, the Short Creek Group or any of the other LDS fundamentalist groups. He is what we refer to as an independent fundamentalist.

Thousands of people from all over the world would come to get counsel from Ogden regarding the principle of plural marriage. His story is an interesting one that I don't have time to go into.

I had several conversations with Ogden and had him and his second wife Anne over to my home once or twice and came to appreciate him as a man of integrity. Unfortunately he has passed away a few years ago.

Needless to say, my views differ with his and other LDS polygamists regarding the so-called doctrine of plural marriage.

Some day I am going to do a post regarding the difference between "biblical polygamy" and the "spiritual wife" doctrine. They are two very different things.

I am willing to debate any Mormon Fundamentalist publicly or in private on this most important topic... but I digress from the topic at hand so I will get back on track here

As you can well imagine, Ogden came in contact with many very interesting people in the LDS fringe. Years ago he submitted a paper to Sunstone on "The One Mighty and Strong". In his paper he gave a summary of... if my memory serves me correctly, over 50 people he personally knew over the years who claimed to be the One Mighty and Strong.

The phrase "one mighty and strong" comes from a prophecy uttered by Joseph Smith contained in section 85. The doctrine is an outgrowth of a prophecy of Isaiah contained in Isaiah 28.

"Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest, saying:

And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of the saints whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God;While that man, who was called of God and appointed, that putteth forth his hand to steady the ark of God, shall fall by the shaft of death, like as a tree that is smitten by the vivid shaft of lightning." (D&C 85)

"Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet..." (Isaiah 28 gosh.. I wonder who the drunkards of Ephraim are? and what is the crown of Pride? )

I highly encourage you to study Isaiah 28 and all of section 85 to get a better understanding of this prophecy... you will probably live to see it fulfilled. It is part of the great test that is coming.

Sunstone invited brother Kraut to present his paper at a symposium.

For those of you not familiar with Sunstone, they seem to be composed mainly of liberal "intellectuals" who publish a periodical with the latest papers generated from their community and have symposiums where they invite "credentialed" scholars and book writers to speak about various topic pertaining to the LDS community.

Ogden Kraut was the opposite of the typical Sunstone presenter however, they allowed him to participate because he was a very high profile and very controversial person that represented a view that needed to be heard.

One day Kurt Bench told me about the paper Ogden would be reporting on at the symposium and invited me to be the respondent. (The respondent is the one who follows the speaker and gives a critique of the paper.. often times with an opposing view.)

Kurt Bench once managed the rare books department for Deseret Book and now owns Benchmark Books.

I had known Kurt in the mission field..

I asked Kurt why in the world he would want an un-credentialed, non-intellectual, conservative, nobody like me to be the respondent to a paper being delivered at a Sunstone Symposium. As it turns out, none of the intellectuals associated with Sunstone had any interest in the topic so Sunstone was scraping the bottom of the barrel and...

Semwa! there I was!

I told them I was very familiar with the topic and would love to read the paper and be the respondent.

A really good respondent is one that takes a differing view and can provide some stimulating thought contrary to that which is presented in the paper.

After reading the paper I called Kurt Bench and told him I would make a very poor respondent for Odgen Krauts paper because I totally agreed with the conclusion the Ogden had come up with...

...you guessed it, Odgen believed that Joseph Smith will be the One Mighty and Strong that come to set the house of God in order...

So do I.


Isaiah 28 and section 85 and countless related scriptures indicate that in the end times God will send someone with the scepter of priesthood power to usher in the dispensation of the fulness of times and resume the Marvelous Work. During this time, that man of sin that tried to steady the ark of God will be "smitten" and those that don't repent will be cast down.

Praise the Lord God for the Marvelous Work that is about to begin.