In proposed section 183 (27 Oct 2024), the inspired prayer (and blessing) offered on behalf of those who accepted the Covenant of Christ, Denver used the phrase “rise up.” I can say that I have listened to Denver speak and read his discourses hundreds of times over the past fourteen years. This phrase ALWAYS enters deep into my heart. It means something.
Denver Snuffer employs the phrase “rise up” in various contexts, often urging individuals or groups to elevate their spiritual commitment or to embrace divine covenants. Below are specific instances from his writings:
- Embracing Covenants:
- In a discussion on the covenant God made with Noah, Denver emphasizes that it is up to each generation to “rise up to receive” these covenants. He notes that scriptures do not predict large numbers will repent, highlighting the personal responsibility to embrace divine truths.
https://denversnuffer.com/2019/04/64-noah/
- Personal Spiritual Aspiration:
- Reflecting on his initial impressions of the Latter-day Saint community, Denver expressed a desire to “rise up to [their] glorious level,” indicating his aspiration to attain a higher spiritual experience akin to what he perceived among the members.
https://denversnuffer.com/2018/11/44-breaking-the-chains/
- Call to Spiritual Awakening:
- In a blog post titled “Awake and Arise,” Denver conveys a sense of urgency for spiritual awakening, suggesting that individuals need to “rise up” from complacency to engage more deeply with their faith.
https://denversnuffer.com/2010/04/awake-and-arise/
These examples illustrate that Denver uses “rise up” to encourage individuals to elevate their spiritual state, embrace divine covenants, and actively pursue a deeper connection with the divine. The phrase serves as a call to action, urging personal responsibility in one’s spiritual journey. Every time I hear him use the phrase, I think of my personal prayers, my daily efforts to do better and what I am trying to do to make my spirit holy with the Divine.
As Used to Explain Why we do not Need a Strongman
“You can’t have a model of Zion in which there is ‘some big Strongman’ leading you. Moses is the perfect example of one of the greatest Strongmen in history. And Zion failed in his day precisely because they wanted him to go speak to God for them, rather than they going to speak to God directly. Zion requires a people to rise up, and it cannot come otherwise.”
“I don’t think that the pretenders in the Strongman model have any clue what it would take to bring again Zion, because they do not kneel down to serve and elevate the least. The only way to bring again Zion is if you—you—rise up; is if you come to know the Lord! Not me! The only way is if you comprehend the Gospel of Christ, accept the invitation, prepare your heart, prepare your mind, prepare your soul, clean yourself up, leave behind your sins, and come and face the Lord.”
“For you, why can that not be a beginning that starts now? For you, why can you not, from this beginning—at this moment, in this place—go forward saying that you will follow the will of the Father in all things, from this beginning? Why will you refuse to rise up and to receive grace for grace?”
https://denversnuffer.com/2022/06/161-comprehending-part-2/
As Used to Explain Cycles of Creation
“Long before the Lord assumed the role and responsibility of descending here and being the Redeemer of this world, He qualified by grace—doing things that proved, while He was behind a veil (as you presently find yourselves situated), that demonstrated graciousness and faith by obedience to the commandments of God, even though it would be a great while yet before He (and now you) would rise up to that level—still, He lived his life with such grace that He qualified to receive more and to develop and move up.”
“Therefore, among other things, the purpose of the Holy Order is to put in place a mechanism by which God can reveal from heaven what is necessary for the salvation of man on earth, in every generation, in order to fix what is broken; in order to restore what has been lost; in order to repair, heal, forgive, and reconnect those who are willing to give heed to the message sent from heaven, so that they can rise up to become sons of God.”
https://denversnuffer.com/2018/10/42-cycles-of-creation/
As Used to Explain the Promise of His Return
“Moses saw God face to face, and he talked with Him. God gave Moses a work to do. Satan tempted Moses to instead worship him, even declaring to Moses, I am the only begotten, worship me. When Moses rejected this demand, his message from God was opposed by sorcerers and magicians who did in like manner with their enchantments, duplicating signs shown through Moses over and over again in the record in Exodus. Even after delivering Israel from Egypt, the Israelites wished they had died in Egypt rather than being delivered and freed. And of course, what might have happened, given the qualification of Moses to bring it about, did not happen because the people that he led were unwilling to rise up as they were invited.”
“… if we don’t have the tabernacle of God where He comes to dwell with His people (which He does when He has a family on earth), then the prophecies are not going to be fulfilled. Then the promises that were made to Enoch will not be realized. Then the statements of what will happen in the last days through Moses will not be vindicated. Then Adam’s prophecy concerning his descendants to the end of time will not be realized. All of these things point—so we know it is going to happen. The question is not, is it going to happen? The question is, Will we rise up, or will we not? Because what He’s offering is, in fact, a legitimate opportunity for that to indeed happen.”
https://denversnuffer.com/2019/02/57-abraham-part-4/
The Atonement Isn’t Like Tinkerbell
“You’re going to have to rise up. If you expect to be in His presence when He returns—and He is coming in judgment—then you’re going to have to be like Him; because if you are not like Him, you will not be able to endure His presence. Take it seriously. Study it through. Seek to be like Him whom you worship.
It is possible—not while you’re carrying a load of sins that trouble you and worry you and distract you, but that’s what the Lord will remove from you. He can take all of that away, but it is entirely up to you to choose then to do something to draw nearer to Him. He can’t do that because that would violate your free will.
You have to choose to be like Him. Although He may remove all of the stains upon you, you have to go forward and not stain yourself again, because He can’t stop you from doing that. You’re free to choose. Therefore, choose the better part.
The atonement isn’t like Tinkerbell spreading some magic dust that will make you rise up. The atonement will erase your sins and mistakes, but you must rise up. You must acquire those virtues.”
As Used to Understand Receiving Priesthood
“And wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood… (D&C 84:42, emphasis added) So, there is a “wo” associated with that. It is not: “wo, wo, wo.” It’s not a threefold condemnation. It is not a dreadful, despicable, wretched outcome. It’s simply disappointment because the invitation has been extended to you, and if you do not rise up to receive that invitation, then you will suffer disappointment. You will come to the point in which your condition is woeful, because there’s something that you know that you might have obtained, and you did not.”
https://denversnuffer.com/2023/09/186-suffering-part-3/
As Used to Encourage us to Come Into His Presence
“The prophecies that were delivered to Joseph Smith—both by Christ in the first vision, and by Moroni on the night of the first visit … are a rallying cry for us to rise up and lay hold upon things. It’s a rallying cry, a prophecy that does not fulfill itself. It gets fulfilled by what you do. Whether or not you fulfill those prophecies is dependent upon whether you will, like the ancient Israelites, elect not to go up. Or, whether you, like Moses, like Joseph, like Hyrum, choose instead to forsake your sins and to move forward even in the face of your own weakness and unworthiness.
There isn’t one of us in this room that should not kneel before the presence of a just and holy being. There isn’t one of us who, if instructed to stand before Him, would not keenly feel the inadequacy of doing so. Not one of us. But there are some here who have been in His presence, myself included. There are a number who, like me, have a witness of our resurrected Lord. It can and it does happen, and hopefully as we get through this material today, you’ll have confidence in your own ability to rise up.”
I’m assuming that to be a follower of Denver one needs to be a believer in the Restoration, as started by Joseph Smith, believing in the foundational events of Mormonism and the historicity of the BOM. One then believes that either Jseph Smith himself, or his successors who continued to lead the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints became disconnected from the Divine Source that started the movement and began steering the Church towards its current predicament. Along came Denver Snuffer to point this out and aright the course of the Restoration. So now we have to believe that Denver has the keys of the Kingdom. By pure coincidence while living in Christchurch, New Zealand about 14-15 years ago, I met a missionary couple serving as CES Missionaries. The husband was a partner with Denver in a legal firm. This brother was considerate in his remarks about Denver, even though they disagreed on which organisation currently represented the True Church. It was as if Denver’s work life was completely separate from his church life. The latter rarely came up in discussions. Frankly, I don’t know who, or what to believe these days, but I measure my progress by how my experiences improve my spiritual progression.
I think the important thing is not to be overly concerned about Denver since he is a mere mortal like you. But rather, I would consider the message, the fruit which comes from that, as well as petitioning The Lord and seeing if He’s the source of the Covenant of Christ, the answer to prayer for covenant, etc. Connecting with the true vine is vital, and He will lead each of us in the best possible way. He is the way, the truth, and the life.