Lance M.

Richardson -- Zion Visionary

Lance M. Richardson shares his near death experience and speaks of his visit among various cultures
whose ancestors experienced a Zion society.

Introduction

H ere in Manti we have the privilege of meeting some fascinating people and hearing them tell their

stories. Vicky Tate has been wonderful to open her home on many occasions for such visits, inviting her
friends to come and listen to this or that person, usually preceded by a cordial pot-luck dinner.

Such was the case this past Wednesday afternoon, March 7, 2001. We got together to listen to Lance
Richardson tell of his near death experience and the things he has learned about preparing for the city of
Zion. I had not yet had the opportunity to listen to the tape recording of one of his presentations that was
being circulated in preparation for his visit, but my wife had, and she said it was very good.

What I realized later was that most of what he shared with us is contained in either the books he has
written or in the two-cassette tape publication "They Saw Our Day."

He spoke again that evening in the basement of Manti City library, and repeated much of what he had
shared earlier in the day, though with some variation. I had to wonder how he could tell his story over
and over and not grow tired of it. When I heard it the first time Wednesday, it seemed as though most of
what he was sharing with us was not something he would share with many audiences. In other words,
there was sense of freshness about the way he presented it. Yet that evening it became clear that this is
just the way Lance is. Each time is a first. Each audience is special.

In fact, I was so amazed by what I was hearing, and felt that it was so significant an event, that about
fifteen minutes into the presentation I ran home and got a tape recorder to record the remainder of his
presentation. (Unfortunately only one side recorded.)

Lance Richardson's Presentation

The Call
I pulled out a sheet of paper and began taking notes when Lance told of a time his spirit left his body
briefly when he had severe septicemia. If I understood correctly, this was not the major near death
experience (NDE) he had a couple of years ago, but was a brief incident prior to that time. Personages
from the city of Enoch came to him and told him that they wanted him to tell their story -- to teach the
principles of Zion. "It's almost time to build it on earth, but first people need to prepare in their mind,"
they told him.

There was one individual in particular from the city of Enoch, Robinel, who wanted his story told, from
the time he was a successful business man in Shum to the time he heard of Enoch the prophet, how his
life changed, and then how he struggled along with others to overcome the wickedness of the society
around them and how they were ultimately taken up as a city into heaven because of their righteousness.
As Lance received this commission, he was puzzled as to how to proceed. But then things began falling
rapidly into place for him, both by way of inspiration in his thoughts as well as locating individuals who
were prepared to assist in the task. He would end up drawing heavily from things found in the Dead Sea
Scrolls as well as from oral histories of the Hopis and other cultures who the Savior visited around 2,000
years ago. These would provide the substantive documentation for the principles that needed to be
taught.

When Lance had his main near death experience, an Indian Chief came up to him, gave him a hug (that is
how all greetings were made there, at least in Lance's experience) then held him by the arms and said,
"you are seed of my seed, blood of my blood," and told him that the story of his people needed to be
shared. There are many cultures who were privileged to have a visit from the Resurrected Jesus Christ
following his crucifixion, and it is time for their stories to come forth.

This was where I got up to go get a tape recorder.

Four Sets of Stone Tablets

When I returned, Lance was telling of his visit to Hopi Land in Northern Arizona's Old Oraibi. They tell
of how when the "Massau" [Messiah] appeared to them, he gave them a set of stone tablets. Apparently
there are four of these on the earth -- perhaps representing the 'four winds' from which the tribes of the
earth will be gathered from whence they were scattered. Lance has been able to locate all four,
interviewing three of the cultures who are current custodians of the tablets. But one of the cultures -- the
one located in Sion in the Alps -- has been obliterated so far as we know.

The Hopi Story

I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's begin with the Hopis.

I've been to visit them too, so I have a special respect for how much time Lance was able to spend with
the elders there, confirming their story as it was told to him by other people such as Zula Brinkerhoff,
who I have also had the privilege of meeting.

The Hopis are very guarded in what they share, having been burned so many times by their smooth-
talking white brothers. They decried the desecration of their land, mentioning specifically the New Agers
who leave their crystals and other paraphernalia hanging about as if it belonged.

Where The Hopi Came From

According to their oral history (which they are as fastidious to keep pure as the Jews have been in
transmitting the Torah), they did not migrate to this land but came in ships, arriving in what is now
Central America. They were a bloodthirsty people, continually at war with their brother tribes. Then
came a time when they decided to change their ways. They buried their weapons in the ground, and
make a covenant to not shed blood any more. Because they had such a long history of violence, their
enemies did not believe their change and came upon them, slaughtering them. But as they saw their
sincerity in their conviction, that they would not lift up their swords to defend themselves, many of their
brothers joined with them. They moved to a new location further North and their brother tribes made a
pact with them to protect them, and they in turn gave them food.

They eventually moved North until they came to where they are today. If I remember correctly, it was
there that the 'Messau' appeared to them and taught them skills of living and told them prophecies of the
future.
Hopi Prophecy
They describe three 'shakings' that are obvious references to World Wars I, II and III. The third would
not happen if the people turned to God, learning from the first two; but if not, it would be far worse than
either the first or the second. The first two were as if with 'one hand,' while the third shaking would be
'with both hands.'

I would like to write up an account of their prophecies separately as it is deserving of more full attention.
For now I will just touch on some highlights.

The nation that dropped the 'gord of ashes,' destroying everything where it landed, during the 'second
shaking,' would in turn have a 'gord of ashes' dropped on it during the third. They were instructed to not
become too dependant on the marvels of technology including electricity and running water that these
people would bring forth because during this third shaking these conveniences would be taken away.
They were told to store enough food and water to last 'three seasons.' Then, when it would look as
though this great country would be completely taken over, their 'white brothers from the West' would
save the country from destruction. Then the Messiah would come to them and join them with their white
brothers and they would build the city of Zion.

Hopi Ceremony Parallels

One of the things Lance enjoyed sharing was an account of some of the ceremonies held by the Hopi that
hold remarkable parallels with ceremonies held in the LDS Church but which are not usually found in
other Christian churches. I am a little cautious in taking Lance's account here at face value, as I get the
impression he is taking some liberties in interpreting what he heard to make it fit better the way he wants
it to, though I am not surprised that there are some parallels. I would be curious to hear the verbiage
used by the Hopi in describing these various things.

According to Lance, in the Hopi 'Kiva' they hold what they call 'washings' and 'anointings.' They are also
given a new name and a new garment, though their wearing of this is now only during ceremonies. They
even have a marriage ceremony that binds the couple not just for time but for eternity. They also perform
what amount to baptisms for the dead, though they do not perform such for the living, hence the 'in' for
LDS missionaries. However, because of inconsistencies between the teachings and the actual way of
living among the church members in general, the Hopi don't have that great of affinity for the church
structure, though they recognize that there are a few of their true brothers among them. Nearly 25% of
the Hopi have joined the LDS church, but of those only 10% are active.

Tibetan Cousins
Lance also spoke of his three-day interview with the second assistant to the Dalai Lama. They tell a story
as well of a visit of a 'Great White Brother,' though the person Lance interviewed did not personally
believe that this visitor was God in the flesh, though others do believe that. There was about a 200 year
period of peace following that visit.

According to their legends, their final destination is not Tibet, but in the West where they will go after a
time of destruction to join their true brothers. They (paraphrasing) 'will fly on birds with metal wings to
another land to build the city of Zion.'

If I remember correctly, these Tibetans also have one of the stone tablets.

The African Kokuyus

Another place Lance was directed to visit where a set of these stone tables is found is called the 'Komoros
(sp?) Islands,' just off the coast of Kenya. Komoros is plural for Kumorah. The capital city is called
Morini. These people tell of a time when their people came by boat from another land to inhabit this
land.

Sion of the Alps

Lance then told of his opportunity to attend the recent International Convention for the Family, which
was held to counter the anti-family agenda of the United Nations. He said there was an good spirit there
as people from such wide diversity of cultures and religions came together under the common purpose of
strengthening the family.

While they were there, Lance thought it would be good to try and locate where a historic utopian group
had existed in the Alps. They had no idea where to go. They pulled out a map to try and get some kind
of a 'sense,' perhaps a nudge by the Spirit. Then Lance' father pointed to a small town near the Italian
border called 'Sion.'

"No, would it be that obvious?" they asked each other?

"Why not?" came the quiet reply.

So they packed up and drove to Sion. There was a fog so thick when the arrived that they had to stop
their car. When Lance's father got out and stretched, looking upward, he gasped, for there, poking
through the fog, was a cathedral high up on a hill with lights shining on it. It was an image one might
expect to see upon arriving in heaven.

As they then began asking around, no one seemed to know the history of that town between the time
period of 0 and 300 AD. Finally, they found an archeologist who said he knew of the people who lived
there during that time. Apparently, Paul had come among them and they established a communal way
of living that began to exert so much of a positive effect on the surrounding peoples that Rome began to
fear their influence, so in 269 AD they came in and destroyed them. Where the cathedral now sits was
once a temple. The archeologist also showed them a set of stone tablets on display in a museum there.

I'm thinking that if they are indeed the 'fourth' group of the four who represent the four winds of the
earth, by virtue of being guardians of one of the four stone tablets, then they most likely also were
privileged to receive a visit from the Resurrected Lord among them as the other three had -- though these
peoples were certainly not the only who received such a visit.

Later in his presentation, Lance told of his interview with some Peruvians. In their account, the words of
the Resurrected Savior to them were couched in vernacular they could understood: "Other Llamas I have
which are not of this flock."

Lance's Son Miraculous Healing

As Lance began telling us the story of his near death experience his son came into the room, a bandage
dangling from his neck. Lance took the opportunity to digress and tell us about what had happened to
his son just recently. He had developed a tumor on his neck and shoulder. Several doctors said that
there was a 99% chance that the boy would die, and that there was nothing they could do at this point.
The boy was given a priesthood blessing, and within two days the solid mass as hard as bone turned to
liquid and began draining. The lump is almost completely gone now.
Lance Dies and Visits the 'Other Side'
Lance died when one of his lungs burst after being clogged several days with blood clots, stemming from
an operation of his hip following a motorcycle mishap.

His spirit came and went actually several times while his body was in a coma for many days. He was
told his spirit needed to be inside his body during certain phases to facilitate the healing process.

Meanwhile he was able to get the royal tour of the Spirit world as well as review what he was to do with
his life once his spirit returned to his body.

As he told of the huge mountain and waterfall that he saw upon arrival, his first comment was that the
place was probably 'every bit as big as our world,' hence the tremendous variety of experiences that are
relayed by people who die and then come back. Each person's experience is going to be a little different
from another.

In Lance's experience, one thing held in common by everyone he met was a belief in Jehovah, the Son of
God, the Savior and Redeemer, who came in the flesh to die that all mankind might live.
Notwithstanding the tremendous diversity of cultures and beliefs that he saw, they all held this belief in
common. He was the primary personage there, whose love radiated in and through everything and
everyone. The Father was called Elohim, but very few people actually spurred the desire to behold him
because of their lack of preparation to do so.

Lance did not speak of his experience with either, being told that these were too sacred and that he must
not share them with the world.

He described how when we pray to God, he sends those who love us the most and who are sufficiently
qualified to answer those prayers -- usually through our family members who have departed. He said
that genealogy is very important there as well in helping to create and unbroken link to join the family of
man together, for, he said, we are ultimately all one large family.

But there are others as well such as departed friends or even the great men and women of history who
might be sent to address times of particular need. He was amazed at the extent to which these angels
unseen by men help them, planting thoughts in their mind, protecting them.

He watched in the Idaho Senate floor as a spirit personage leaned over to his father, who is a senator,
whispered in his ear that his son needed a blessing and he had 20 minutes to catch his plane, and how his
father, intent in the debate at hand, then suddenly looked at his watch and went running from the floor
and was able to catch his plane with the assistance of the angels because usually the trip would take at
least 25 minutes under ideal circumstances.

It was the blessing given by the father that turned the course in Lances' body's struggle with death, when
he began a rapid recovery. (The doctors said his recovery would take at least a year in the hospital. He
was out in a month.) Lance was able to share this experience later with his Dad, who was astonished that
Lance knew every little detail of what transpired for a few minutes that day.

Lance was also given a view of our pre-mortal life in what is called 'the council of heaven.' He said that
each person who would be born to the earth went in front of the bar of God, one by one, with arm raised
to the square, agreeing by covenant to endeavor to accomplish certain things uniquely suited to their gifts
and talents while in mortality. Each person was known individually to God, and is accountable
individually to God.

In the Spirit world there is no idleness, but neither is it a rat race like we see often here on earth. There is
a balance in life with time spent in a variety of endeavors, including diversions such as golf -- yes golf . . .
in heaven. "You wouldn't believe the courses they have here," one departed friend excitedly said to him.

About 1/3 of their time is spent there, 1/3 spent working with mortals, and 1/3 is spent laboring with the
spirits in 'spirit prison,' which Lance saw only briefly as though a dense fog. That is where departed
spirits reside who "haven't figured it out yet," having turned their backs on God and refusing to go to the
light.

One friend Lance visited with sent him back with a message to his wife that "everything is the way it is
supposed to be," for she had become very bitter toward God. But he had agreed beforehand to pass on
early so as to be able to help his son from the other side of the veil to accomplish what he needed to
accomplish in mortality.

At this point, a person in the room asked Lance if all deaths are foreordained. He did not have
recollection of instruction from the other side on this matter, but gave his opinion that the most important
gift God gives us is our agency, and if we choose a lifestyle that is detrimental to our health and
longevity, then he will allow that.

While in the Spirit World, Lance was shown many things regarding both the history and prophetic
destiny of this nation. He was shown a group of men who were assembled together with the explicit
purpose of bringing the destruction of this nation so that it could be integrated into a world dictatorship.
He said that some men are set on taking away that which is God's most precious gift to us -- liberty.

Satan targets the United States because it is foreordained to become the base of operations in establishing
the New Jerusalem -- God's government of peace. Lance spoke of how the Founders knew they were
laying the foundations for Zion.

While he was in the Spirit World, he was taken to a group of men who founded this nation. They were
dressed in battle fatigues, to symbolize the sacrifice of blood they paid in establishing this as a free land.
They were both disappointed and hurt by the many false stories and twisted portrayals being made of
them and their intentions in laying the groundwork for the freedoms we now take for granted, and which
we are on the brink of losing. Their sobering statement to him, that he was to pass on to us as one of the
conditions for his return, was that "This country stands on the brink of self destruction. They have
allowed morals to be destroyed. They say that truth is relative, but that is false. Truth is absolute and
eternal." They said that we must turn to God or we will be destroyed. And the way that we do this most
effectively is by serving one another. Free will service is the most important principle behind every Zion
society that has ever existed. When we start serving one another, then our country will change.

He said that as various prophets from times past spoke to him, they were envious that he would be able
to be living in mortality during this most pivotal time when the kingdom of Satan would fall and Zion
would finally be established on the earth.

The feeling of unsurpassed peace, love, and joy that he felt there in the Spirit World is going to be
achieved here on the earth. And many of us are going to live to see this brought about.
That is one of the things that was so hard for Lance in coming back was the 'homesick' feeling he had for
the heaven he had experience. But he is motivated by the thought that this heaven is going to be
established on earth too.

Let us help him make this dream come true.

Sincerely,

Sterling D. Allan
March 9,10, 2001