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Biography
As I have reflected on the need for some kind of bio of myself in support of this website and my work as a writer, I have encountered an issue that I wish to be transparent about. I have tried to avoid the polar opposite extremes of a ‘tell all narration’, which may prompt negative perceptions and a ‘selective review’ leaving out so much that mere image management appears to be my aim. My hope is to strike a balance that provides sufficient honesty and context to enable readers to evaluate for themselves the value of the offerings I make.
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I was raised from childhood in a semi-rural part of a city adjacent to Vancouver British Columbia in a non-church family of British immigrant parents. My parents, from separate family circumstances, came out of the great depression years, before meeting and getting married three months into the Second World War. Through relentless hard work, sacrifice and love they made a home and a family. They did this concurrently with and despite their own sources of distress. I love and honor my parents for their sacrifices and efforts to provide a home and family for me.
One of my earliest memories as a young boy is of running through the forest, jumping over logs, reveling in my motor skills and suddenly coming to a stop at the edge of a large bowl like depression in the earth, covered with vines and with maple trees arching above. I stopped suddenly and for no apparent reason. Standing at the edge of this bowl-like depression on the forest floor, a great stillness fell upon me. An awareness of my surroundings enveloped me, and I felt a sense of oneness with the leaves, the earth, the streams of sunlight arching above. The stillness continued for some time, and I was enwrapped in this sense of oneness with all creation. At the time, I had no intellectual or verbal tools or religious or doctrinal training to categorize this experience. Nevertheless, as the years passed, I came to know this was an experience with the spirit of God (the Light of Christ) and that this experience made a significant and ultimately a life-saving impression on me.
Eventually, we moved closer to the city center where two local beer parlors and the delinquent social environment that accompanied them existed within one block of my home. I went through the early teenage years with foibles likely common to young boys, when at about the age of fourteen, I had two remarkable experiences with the spirit, which I have come to believe were the Holy Ghost. In these experiences it was made known to me first, that I had existed with God before this life and secondly, that all people were journeying from God, through this life and back to God. These were definite ‘revelations’ direct to me with no religious practices or doctrinal teachings remotely connected to LDS beliefs. I had no ‘teachers’ to call for help with this circumstance, no wider doctrinal context in which to place them, no explicit ‘plan of salvation’ perspective, no Church affiliation or programs, no understanding of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and virtually no understanding or experience with prayer. I spoke to no one about these experiences and no missionaries turned up for me at this time of my life.
Fairly quickly after these spiritual experiences, I became deeply distressed by the sharp contrast between the spiritual reality I had become aware of and the delinquent, immoral, often drunken and at times violent ‘street life’ around me. To my young and inexperienced mind this contrast defied explanation and caused me severe distress. This distress grew and grew within me until one day, I made a silent vow, silent and never spoken and never written down. I vowed – feeling a great depth of emotion rising from a deep place within me – that when I met God, if he did not have an explanation for all this ‘suffering’ I saw around me, I would make a seriously rude gesture to him. It has always seemed to me that from that moment, the lights went out in my life, as if someone turned a switch and the lights went out.
They did not come on again for about five years.[1]
During these years, (which I have come to refer to as the nightmare years) I became attached to a negative peer group, quit school, joined in with the alcohol, the partying, violence, crudeness and immorality and effectively lost my way. This went on for about five years, with many very serious, harmful and damaging associations and episodes.[2] In the summer of my twentieth year, I was introduced to so called ‘soft drugs.’ For several months my life went horribly downhill, a friend died of drug overdose, and I began to wake up to the horrifying reality that my life was about to be flushed down the toilet. I tried to quit two or three times but could not. Then I had a life-changing experience.
I was walking along the street near my home painfully reflecting on the frightening reality dominating my life. I was about thirty yards from my home. Directly across the street from me to my left was the local beer parlor where much of the drunkenness, drugs and violence was concentrated and directly beside me on my right was our local library. I was in a state of severe distress. I seemed to look up, and it was as if the clouds parted and light came shining through (though as I recall, it was not a cloudy day) and I remembered that as a child playing in the forest, I knew there was a God, an infinite spirit. At that precise moment I committed and dedicated my life to ‘finding God’. From that instant forward I never again participated in the ‘drug culture’ which had invaded and taken over our neighborhood.
I then spent the next three to four years investigating, searching, visiting, practicing various religious and church faiths. I took up eastern meditation, read the Upanishads and the New Testament, became a member of a clairvoyant-oriented Church etc. As I approached my 24th year, I had been about six months involved in a meditative quest to find God. I had an alcove off my bedroom in which I had a meditation rug, a picture of Jesus and a picture of Sri Ramakrishna, (the reported latest incarnation of God in India) and copies of the New and Old Testament, the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita etc, which I was studying assiduously. I had been in correspondence with an Indian guru[3] and was ‘all in’ for several years, searching for the God I had known as a child in the forest. During these years I also became aware of and participated in the pioneering work of human behaviorist David Pellin’s educational facility on fourth avenue in Vancouver.[4]
One day, my mother looked into my room, looked at me in my alcove, and asked me what I was doing and something like, what are you going to do with your life, though I cannot remember her exact words. I said to my mother, ‘I am trying to understand what Jesus meant when he said we should become like little children to get close to God.’ My mother then said to me, ‘Why don’t you go to the neighborhood house (a community center nearby) and volunteer to work with the children. Maybe you will find out that way.’ Pretty quickly I found myself agreeing to this idea.[5]
I volunteered to the management of the center, was interviewed by someone in the city school board and began to work as a volunteer alongside paid Early Childhood Education teachers who were in charge of the children of the day care. (There were no men working in the ECE field at this time) My volunteering was a very pleasing experience, as the children would often throw their arms around my legs and say ‘Mr Flagg, Mr Flagg, play with me. Play with me!’
Time passed and other ‘spiritual’ events occurred which convinced me that my seeking was recognized by God (as I then conceived) and having real results and that I should continue.[6] During this time, my volunteering continued until after a while the management came to me and said they would like to hire me for a full time paid position with one condition, which was that I enroll in ECE classes at night. Pretty quickly. I agreed to this. Proceeding with this arrangement, I began attending night school in ECE classes.
After a while I found that an instructor in one of my classes seemed to radiate a certain aura of spirituality. I noticed this distinctly and I wondered about it. At the conclusion of the course, we were all invited to the instructor’s home to celebrate completing our training.
As it turned out, this instructor was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a short time, this person and her husband introduced me to the missionaries. The missionaries taught me the Four Steps of Prayer[7] which I applied concerning the message of the restoration they presented to me. I gained a strong and vibrant testimony of the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Testimony I received was very definite and unmistakably a revelation of the Holy Ghost, as if I was standing on the edge of the sacred grove and peering in as Joseph beheld the Father and the Son.
Once I had this experience, and shared it with the missionaries, I then began to ask myself, “ok, Joseph Smith had this marvelous experience, but why does that mean I should join this Church….the Church just grew up from his experience…why do I need to join ‘this’ Church?” I took that to the Lord in prayer (as the missionaries encouraged me to do) and as I did so, I felt a presence standing near to me, as if an invisible personage and a voice spoke to me saying “Brother Flagg, do you wish to be a member of the Lord’s Church?” Realizing, the source of these words, I of course said, ‘Yes.’[8] This was followed by further prayers and similar witnesses of the Holy Ghost concerning the visitation of the Angel Moroni and the translation of the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God. By these and other inspirational experiences, I obtained a strong and vibrant testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ through the mighty works of God’s End Times Prophet Joseph Smith. The husband of my ECE teacher Baptized me and these two wonderful people became life-long friends. At long last, after years of seeking, I felt I had ‘found God!’[9]
Many positive and beautiful experiences followed including sharing of testimony with other members, service opportunities such as hometeaching, acceptance of Church callings, partaking weekly of the sacrament, participating in Church programs etc. One of the salient moments of my new church experience occurred when a wonderful man – the ward mission leader – taught myself and another new convert that we should never place our testimony on the behavior or example of another member of the Church. This wise counsel became crucial for me, as I experienced a few instances of unkindness and prejudice in my early years as a member, which though few and far between, nevertheless impacted me.[10]
Having received a definite revelation from God (the Holy Ghost) and exercising my conscience and reasoning (The Light of Christ) I was able to place these experiences and their negative impact upon me in a learning perspective and ultimately – with the passage of time – I benefited from this trial of my faith.[11]
As the years and decades have passed, I have remained consistently active in and with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and accumulated many positive and beautiful experiences. I have done this despite my own mistakes (serious enough to necessitate Church discipline), divorce, unemployment, serious illness, financial difficulties and an array of other distracting experiences common to all of us journeying through mortality.
Encountering these difficult and sometimes dark experiences and knowing my own actions have at times harmed others, has brought me face to face with an emptiness that could have dampened, drained and destroyed my faith. However, by exercising faith, engaging the repentance process, and through the grace of God I have learned that we can rise above even dark and negative experiences and influences. Our Savior Jesus Christ can turn even negative experiences into growth and blessing. With faith and repentance, He can turn our emptiness into His fulness.
In the April 2026 general conference President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave an address titled Encounter at the Empty Tomb, in which he taught us:
“We must encounter the empty tomb, experience the reality of what it means, and, in turn, share that witness with others….The Savior has entrusted each of us personally with sacred spiritual experiences and knowledge. Because of those experiences, we can see for ourselves the meaning of the empty tomb: that Jesus Christ lives and is actively blessing all who seek Him. We too can rise to Jesus’s challenge and spread the glorious news of the empty tomb…We can feel a renewed determination and embrace the challenge of becoming lifelong missionaries and disciples of Christ through courageous and humble acts of discipleship in our daily lives.” (emphasis added)
As an imperfect but striving disciple of Jesus Christ, I have had and continue to have many positive and beautiful experiences in my faith journey. These experiences include sacred moments of receiving answers to prayer. With experiences such as these reassuring me, I have remained active and as fully engaged in the faith as possible. Prayers, scripture study, fasting, sacrament attendance, the privilege and blessing of paying tithing, acting as a ‘member missionary’, ministering and accepting callings of service to others, (primary and Gospel Doctrine Teacher, Elders Quorum President), three years as a regional storehouse manager, and healing and building relationships, (including a second marriage to my lovely wife Maria) has provided me with a robust spectrum of experience with the restored Christianity Latter-day Saints embrace. This is particularly so regarding the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which is the supreme truth, as Jesus, under the Father, is the Supreme being.
Years of continued spiritual testimony coupled with thorough and intense faith-based experiences tested and trialed over decades have prompted me to take stock regarding the state of the world around us from the perspective of end-times prophecy.[12] It is my conviction that prophecy is being fulfilled every day and every hour, likely on every square foot of planet earth.[13] This conviction has compelled me to speak out and endeavor to alert and awaken people to the true context of what is happening :
The times we are living in are the End Times. Signs are given that the time to prepare for the Second Coming of our Savior Jesus Christ is now. Our Heavenly Father and our Savior stand with open arms, with perfect knowledge and love for each of us as individuals and as families. They are calling, inviting, teaching, persuading and warning us to repent and prepare for the great day of the Lord. They long to embrace us, each and all and welcome us back to their presence.[14]
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Sometimes I am asked if I write and publish my thoughts to fulfill promptings of the Holy Spirit, or to make money or to receive recognition? The answer is yes! There is a large LDS publishing market for literature, music and art. We all have a calling in our talents and are bound by covenants to magnify that calling in service to others.[15] Sometimes, compensation and recognition are part of that calling and service. President Jeffery R. Holland has said “Can a person publish, get pay for continuing education, or take advantage of other opportunities and not be involved in priestcraft?[16] Yes, they can. It is a matter of the heart.”[17] In my efforts as a writer, I strive to direct the attention of my readers to our Savior Jesus Christ and his Prophets and to have the Lord and the welfare of my fellow beings first and foremost in my heart.[18]
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[1] I do not recommend anyone ever do this. I have often wondered why the severe consequences to a silent vow made by a fourteen-year-old boy suffering a spiritual crisis and without support of a church context. The only answer I have had to many prayers about this – and it is not certain – is an inkling that this may have been something I entered into agreement to in the pre-mortal life. Possibly I ‘volunteered’ to experience this crisis and all that followed in order to obtain a greater testimony and knowledge of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I do not know this and I acknowledge some may say its ‘self-serving’, but it’s the only instance of a possible answer to many prayers.
[2] These ‘episodes’ included falling off a third or fourth story fire escape (I had ascended to help a drunken friend) bouncing off telephone lines and landing on a friend and breaking many bones (including my jaw in two places) and being in a coma for ten days. As time has passed, I have realized that the mental, emotional and spiritual harm I experienced during the ‘nightmare years’ brought greater harm and damage to me than the physical fall ever did. I believe I suffered long term ptsd from this and other early traumas. I also believe the Lord intervened to spare my life during this terrible event and at least one other exceedingly dangerous event.
[3] The pioneering Indian Guru I wrote to was Swami Nikhilananda the founder of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York. I expressed to him my desire to come to India and become a Sannyahasi (a wondering monk). He counseled me to make a choice of who should be my Master, Sri Ramakrishna or Jesus Christ. I chose Jesus Christ and wrote back and informed him. Swami Nikhilananda wrote to me and counselled me to adopt a mantra, repeating to myself frequently the words ‘Lord Jesus, have mercy on my soul’. This I did, which I am sure helped prepare me for the next step in my faith journey, even the Lord’s intervention in my life. I look forward to throwing my arms around this wonderful man and thanking him in the next life.
[4] A full account of my experience with David Pellin can be found in my essay titled The Light On Fourth Avenue.
[5] I am forever indebted to my mother for this life changing counsel she gave me at a crucial moment.
[6] One of these events occurred when I was reading the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi titled The Story of My Experiments with Truth and noted that Gandhi had said that to discover truth you had to be as humble as the dust which lets us walk on it. I had a distinct impression from the spirit about this being true and I believe it encouraged me to continue my quest to ‘find God’ with a humble perspective. It also prepared me to fend off negative and dark forces which soon followed. I experienced a direct attack by Satan during sleep in which when I awoke, I was paralyzed and a dark power was taking over my body. I surrendered my soul to the infinite spirit of God as I understood it and light appeared and freed me from this dark power and returned control of my body to my conscious self. I knew I had been attacked from the unseen world and even though I did not fully understand these events, they convinced me that I had a mission and purpose in life that was divinely recognized.
[7] The ‘four steps of prayer’ applied with a ‘sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ’ will change a person’s life and I recommend to all people to apply this formula in their spiritual and faith journey. See also Moroni 10:4-5. See also my essay titled The Four Steps of Prayer.
[8] I now believe this was an instance of the ministering of angels. President Holland has written: “Usually such beings are not seen. Sometimes they are. But seen or unseen, they are always near. Sometimes their assignments are very grand and have significance for the whole world. Sometimes the messages are more private. Occasionally the angelic purpose is to warn. But most often it is to comfort, to provide some form of merciful attention, guidance in difficult times.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2008/10/the-ministry-of-angels?lang=eng
[9] Perhaps it would be more accurate to say I had ‘found the covenant path’ which enables me – all of us – to progress and fully engage our relationship with God. I use the phrase “found God”, because for me, it was the culmination of my commitment years earlier to escape the dark place I was in.
[10] Very early in my membership I attended an evening fireside at which the speaker delivered a message focused on the Church’s truth claims, which by that time I was certain of. At conclusion of his message the speaker asked if there were any questions. I raised my hand and asked if Gandhi had any truth worth considering. The speaker made a scowling face at me and went on to other person’s questions. I immediately felt the gnawing emotions of abuse in his response. Fortunately for me, I not only had a definite testimony from the Holy Ghost of the Church truth claims, but I had read the 13th article of faith which states: “We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” I knew that the speaker was seriously mistaken in his response to me and offended not only me but offended the spirit. Despite these rare negative experiences my testimony from the Holy Ghost and the application of my reasoning and conscience (Light of Christ) saved me from what could have been a shattering and faith destroying experience. Over fifty years of active membership in the Church has also made me familiar with the teaching of God through the Prophet Joseph Smith that: “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.” (D&C 121:39) Those called to preside in the Church are generally the very best of people and they and their families labor, sacrifice and serve (unpaid) with marvelous faith. Exceptions do occur and while this happens rarely, such exceptions are harmful and need to be navigated with care, honesty and inspiration.
[11] In one of the many times, I took this ‘trial of faith’ to the Lord in prayer, I received an answer I believe worth sharing. I had knelt by my bed and poured out my soul yet again about the distressing issues I had experienced. I finished my prayer and turned around and sat down on the floor. Then, a feeling came over me and words as clear thoughts appeared in my mind, as if the Lord were speaking to me and said “Vic, if you did not have these experiences how could you ever appreciate in even the tiniest infinitesimal way, how I the Lord felt, when I was plotted against and conspired against by the religious authorities of the day, even those who claimed to be the heirs of the Priesthood according to the flesh?” (i.e. lineage). This was the Lord’s answer to me. I share this intimate moment in the hope that it acts as a kind of ‘spiritual immunization’ assisting people who may be experiencing a degree of faith crisis to see there is a way and sufficient reason to stay in the good ship Zion (the Church) despite any negative experiences they may have had.
[12] For an in-depth review of Book of Revelation prophecy concerning the end times, see my book The Seventh Seal – Key to End Times Super Events.
[13] For a fulsome account of prophecy being fulfilled in ‘the last days’ I urge readers to review Elder Ronald A. Rasband’s April 2020 General Conference address titled Fulfillment of Prophecy. My own observations include Isaiah 3:5 which tells of a time when “the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.” Political correctness fulfills this prophecy every day. One can hardly speak without being attacked by some offended ‘neighbor.’ Then there is this in 1 Nephi 14:11 where Nephi sees in vision our day and records: “And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.” (see also Revelation 17:1-6 and D&C 88:94) I add this from my book The Seventh Seal: “The phrase ‘sitteth upon many waters’ is found in each of the three witness accounts we have consulted. Here I will relate an experience I had some years ago when I was privileged to visit the great city of Auckland New Zealand. On one occasion I was down at the harbor, and I came across a massive yacht. I had never seen anything like this. It had a heliport on the top for a helicopter to land and places for two large, motorized boats. I could look into the inside and saw fabulous furniture and décor. It was amazing and I walked up and down the side of it several times wondering who on earth would need such a thing, and what purpose could it serve. Then the spirit brought to my mind the Book of Mormon prophecies about the whore of all the earth, the great mother of abominations that ‘sitteth upon many waters.’ It seemed the spirit quickened my understanding for I realized that ‘many waters’ could be interpreted to mean ‘international waters’, waters that bordered on many nations but were themselves beyond any nations law enforcement agencies, waters where vast criminal plans and agreements could be set and planned. I am confident the spirit provided that witness to me. I recently read in the news that a massive yacht worth 700 million dollars was anchored off a certain country and it belonged to the person who recently launched a horrific, unjust and globally threatening war …. and some nations were trying to figure out how to confiscate it. No surprise there as prophecy is fulfilled every hour and every day in every nation.” (see the Seventh Seal p. 59-63) I need not review the many prophecies of ‘wars and rumors of wars..’ D&C 45:26-28.
[14] President Russell M. Nelson has spoken with great earnestness about our need to gain our own testimony and the faith to take action to secure peace and joy in time and eternity. In this regard he has said: “Do the spiritual work to find out for yourselves, and please do it now. Time is running out.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/46nelson?lang=eng)
[15] “The Savior taught the parable of the talents and the parable of the sheep and the goats to help His disciples know how to be ready for His Second Coming.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/new-testament-seminary-teacher-manual-2023/matthew-25-14-46?lang=eng “In the Prophet Joseph Smith’s inspired translation of the Bible, the Prophet made it clear that these parables refer to the last days. (see Joseph Smith Translation, Matt. 25:1).” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2003/08/parables-of-jesus-the-parable-of-the-talents?lang=eng
[16] In the gospel of Jesus Christ, we espouse, there are teachings and even warnings about ‘priestcraft’. (2 Nephi 26:29, 2 Nephi 22:23, Mormon 8:32-41, 2 Nephi 10:5, Alma 1:19, 3 Nephi 16:10). In reviewing the scriptures about priestcraft, it is worth noting the frequency and placement of the word ‘and’ in those passages. When we keep in mind the Lord is identifying something that has several characteristics that are joined by the word ‘and’, we arrive at a clearer understanding of what is meant by ‘priestcraft’. The word ‘and’ joins such characteristics as hypocrisy, murders, deceits, mischiefs, lyings, pride, enforcing it, iniquities, pollutions, ashamed, secret abominations, get power, seek the lusts, filthy lucre and on and on. Recognizing the function and placement of the word ‘and’ in describing the composite characteristics of priestcraft, is the only reasonable and conscience guided way to fully appreciate this frightening reality present in all ages of history and intensified by the end-times circumstances we now face.
[17] https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teaching-seminary-preservice-readings-religion-370-471-and-475/the-dangers-of-priestcraft?lang=eng
[18] My writing includes my book The Seventh Seal, the topical essays on this website and other media.