Marvelous Work and a Wonder® Testimonials

In the summer of 2007, I opened an email from my church’s local leadership and noticed at the top of the email a Google Ad link for a website not related to the church, which promised I could read a once-lost-now-found manuscript portion of “scripture” not included in the modern-day version of the Book of Mormon as now presented by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I immediately scoffed and mockingly chuckled, muttering something like, “Uh-huh….  Right….  I can ‘Read the Book of Lehi‘ right now?!  This oughta be good!”

I had been taught since I was a child and teenager in the 1960s and ’70s in Church about an ancient American Scripture (the Book of Mormon) on engraved gold plates (of which the BoM was only a third of such plates) and also the “lost 116 pages” or missing Book of Lehi (initially included in the earliest unpublished versions of BoM manuscripts, but allegedly stolen in the 1830s).

Arriving at the website, after clicking on the link within the email mentioned above, I was presented with information unlike any information I previously had consumed through countless sermons, classes, seminars, audio/video recordings, various paper and online books and texts, in my entire life, including what I had embraced in the Church in which I was born and raised and in which I then believed, with every fiber of my being!

Much of the newly-consumed information from this website seemed to directly conflict with the religious and philosophical beliefs and doctrines I had come to embrace due to my profoundly religious upbringing since infancy!

YET,…

My logical mind could not rationally dispute this new information!  It made more sense than ever to my skeptical and frightened mind than anything else (which in hindsight, ironically seemed subconsciously eager to accept).

THIS NEW INFORMATION UNDENIABLY JUST MADE MORE SENSE!

It was also accompanied by the “spiritual burning of the bosom” which I had become accustomed to and which often accompanied what I had learned to be spiritual confirmations of various perceived truths as a devoted member of the Church.

Over the decades, I had painstakingly and carefully crafted through the what-I-then-firmly-believed power of The Holy Spirit and had subsequently acquired a powerful and unbreakable ‘testimony’ of the Church, its ‘gospel of Jesus Christ’ and its ‘priesthood authority’ (through diligent scripture-reading, prayer, fasting and other religiously-based activities a ‘devoted disciple of Christ’ might participate in to become a prime specimen of religious adherent or devotee).  Through the years, I had also consumed all kinds of anti-Mormon literature out of curiosity and to strengthen my own Testimony of the LDS Church’s truthfulness.  To that point, I had successfully discounted all such falsehoods about the church I belonged to (or so I thought).

BUT THIS?!  HOW COULD I DISCOUNT IT?!  IT MADE TOO MUCH SENSE!!  I HAD NEVER ENCOUNTERED SUCH A PARADOXICAL DILEMMA!

Without immediately realizing it (in hindsight, now understanding how and why), my belief system or religious paradigm began almost unnoticeably, to be systematically disassembled in the recesses of my mind as I consumed and digested this overwhelmingly logical, rational and eye-opening stream of intelligence.

In retrospect, I now recognize that because of the religious filters installed into my mind over my lifetime, I became frightened–even terrified–at times because the information was so different, albeit quite logical!  What a conflict with my current religious convictions and filters!  Not knowing what was at the end of this new ‘rabbit hole’ I had jumped into, or the Red Pill vs. Blue Pill equivalency I was faced with, I took the Blue Pill.  I gave up pursuing this new information because I was too afraid it would uproot my entire life and perhaps deal irreparable damage to everything about it.  (Cliché though it may be, if only I had known then what I know now, I would not have struggled so much with what are now to me, obviously trivial matters!)

Feeling discouraged and alone, I tried to resume my life, albeit with incredible difficulty.  I did my best to rebuild the religious paradigm damage that had already been dealt to me from reading ‘The Sealed Portion’ (the other two-thirds of the gold plates) and a few other online books and texts on the website.  I began trying with all my might to pretend I had never come across this new INCREDIBLY LOGICAL (but conflicting) information.  I eventually succeeded with my self-administered brainwashing, albeit temporarily, as I would eventually discover, to forget this incredibly logical information and rebuild my Mormon-based ‘Testimony’.

My thought processes became ‘hungry’ in a way I had never experienced.  Yet, because of fear, I managed to distract myself and stave off the nagging hunger until a few years later, when I could no longer ignore it.

Eventually, I found the information again, on a revised and restructured website, under the name Marvelous Work and a Wonder®.  New texts and recordings of information were available to consume and digest.  I was once more faced with the fact that the information made supreme sense and was undeniably logical, despite its conflicts with the religious and philosophical filters constructed in my mind throughout my life by sources claiming to know God’s truths!

Once again, I became frightened and abandoned my pursuits.  However, within a year or two, my insatiable hunger for this new and logical information compelled me to seek it again.

Meanwhile, I continued to participate in my religious affiliations by attending church meetings and other activities with fellow church members.  I kept this newly acquired knowledge to myself.  However, life became even more of a struggle, trying to reconcile my new evolving belief system with my current religious affiliation.

For the sake of my higher-profile entertainment career, its business associates and fans, family members, relatives and prominent friends, I continue to this day with my religious affiliation, allowing my name to be kept on church records.  However, I am significantly less active than I was as a staunch church member.  I also rarely attend any church-sponsored meetings or extracurricular activities.

While many followers of this Work, according to their conscience, have left religion altogether, I found it necessary to reconcile the differences this new paradigm may have with my church affiliations.  As I said before, I make it work for the sake of those who depend on my life for whatever reasons may serve them.

I don’t mind noting again, at this point, that depending on the visibility of this post, my life and everything about it could wind up blowing up, anyway.  My business associates and I could be ‘Canceled’ and subsequently lose our career and the living it affords us, in which case I can only say, “I fear what God can do more than I do, what [wo]man can do.” (KJV Hebrews 13:6; Galatians 1:10)

I have often asked myself, “WHY do I embrace this marvelous, incredible and profoundly logical work?!”

Firstly, as I previously mentioned, it makes more sense than anything else I have encountered during my six decades on Earth.

Secondly, it has made me a less judgmental, kinder and more patient person with less stress overall.

Thirdly, this is the ONLY WORK I have come across that has real solutions for the problems plaguing Humanity.  It solves world hunger, poverty and human trafficking, along with providing, free of cost, the five basic necessities (FBNL) of life (which are: food, clothing, shelter, medical care and education) to all, regardless of race, creed, religion, financial status while avoiding burdening governments financially, causing sky-high inflation or sending taxes through the roof.  See www.humanityparty.com for a description of the solutions.

Fourthly, the Marvelous Work and a Wonder®’s Humanity Party® has the solutions to save Humanity the way I believe ‘God’ would save Humanity because we are, after all, God’s One Big Family.  It can set up a perfect form of government that does not serve itself but serves its citizens and maintains their freedom to live life according to what makes each one of them individually happy without interfering with the free will of another human trying to do the same thing.

Again, the Marvelous Work and a Wonder® has, most importantly, helped me be a little more loving and forgiving and to become a better-acting human towards my fellow humans.  It has also provided me with a makes-perfect-sense understanding of human existence and its purpose here on this earth, currently unexplainable by ANY religious leaders, scientists and philosophers.

I believe with all my heart and mind the Real Truth® taught by this Work because, as I already stated: NOTHING I have come across in my lifetime (of associating with and studying humans, consuming thousands of hours of classes, lessons, seminars, lectures, books, scriptures, other paper and online texts and audio/video recordings) including the religion I maintain membership in and in whose doctrines and tenets I could not have been pulled away from by anything else (heaven knows people and things tried), makes more sense to my mind than those things taught by the Marvelous Work and a Wonder®.

Cheers,

—

Barry Knudsen

barryknudsen@gmail.com