Zion's Refuge: Escape From Babylon

Zion's Refuge.
Escape From Babylon (Volume 1)

Author: Roger K. Young
Publication Date: October. 2009, 2nd Edition, 1st Printing.
Format: 8.5 x 11, 381 Pages
Binding: Perfect Bound, Paperback
Photos / Illustrations:0
ISBN 13:978-0-9821946-6-9

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Table of Contents

DEDICATION & PURPOSE
A NEW SERIES
This fictional series follows several fictional characters as they experience, first hand, the events of the last days, leading up to and including the gathering of the righteous, the miracles, wars and destruction of the last days, the places of refuge, the changes in the earth, the great false prophet, the building of Zion, the great Holy City, the rapture, the 144,000, the Boys from the Mountain, the attack & defeat of the invading armies into America, the return of the lost ten tribes, the return of the Savior in power and great glory, the final destruction of the wicked which is the end of the world

INTRODUCTION
I have always wanted to try to do a fiction book because I thought it would be fun, but earlier attempts always ended in about three pages because I could not do dialogue. My wonderful wife Susan says I am a very good teacher, but not a very good conversationalist. (The answer came with the convincing of her to assist in the project primarily in fixing the dialogue and making the book so that it doesn�t read like a lesson manual.)

Over a year ago I started in earnest on this project. Part of the motivating reason was that there were a few fictional novels on the last days that I felt were fun little books, but which trivialized or missed most of the tremendous events that had long been prophesied. Others were essentially survival guides for gun and military enthusiasts.

Though I was intrigued with the idea of using this approach as a teaching tool, I also wanted to do something that made the events of the last days come alive, while at the same time have a good story line that engaged the reader. In other words make it fun and educational at the same time. Something like what the great author Gerald Lund has done for Church History with his past historical novels, but with these being potential �future� historical novels.

One of the problems has been that as I tried to imagine events happening in the near future, as in two or three years or more in the future, many of the events I outlined for happening in the future started occurring real time. This has forced me to try and forecast even more into the future. It has been an interesting exercise.

Overall, it has been a fun and a very different project and who knows, if I keep at it, perhaps one day I actually might become a good writer. Anyway it has been something that while I have been traveling a lot, has kept my mind occupied and me from falling asleep. And since lately I have been traveling even more, book two in the series is well under way already.

Please understand that the events portrayed in the book are my personal interpretations of some of these future events and their possible sequences/timing. Even though most of the events used in the story are based upon scriptural, prophetic, or dreams and visions of many people... this is still a fictional book.

Characters are made up, though I have to admit they are based a lot on, or are a combination of different people I know. Also, some possible events and their
potential timing have been adjusted a little to make the story line run a little better.

I hope you enjoy it.
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PROLOGUE
The �New� Dollar, as it was called, had come about with the world wide devaluation of the old federal reserve note. Basically, one day, the rest of the world just wasn�t buying it anymore. Hyperinflation started quickly, with prices dramatically increasing almost weekly. That was when the federal reserve, in conjunction with the administration, came up with the brilliant idea of using currency cards instead of actual cash and coins. In that way they could automatically change the value of the dollars that the card represented to keep up with the ever increasing official rate. It made everything easier and eliminated the need to print and issue new paper currency. There was a small but very vocal opposing group that protested the cash cards vehemently, but they were appeased with the printing, issuance, and continued circulation of a trivial amount of the new currency.

The past winter had been a hard one, but finally it seemed to be over. Spring had come, though it was almost two months late because of a sudden arctic front that had arrived from Canada in the middle of May. It was unusual weather, but over the last five years everyone had come to expect �unusual� weather as the norm.

Regardless, it was a time of hope. The harsh and early winter, along with the nationalization of most of the agricultural system of the US, had thankfully put an end to the food riots. Food riots, brought on in most of the cities because of the tripling of basic commodity prices even after the introduction of the new currency, had prompted the administration to declare the food situation a national emergency and gave them the excuse they were looking for to take over distribution of food to the populace. The next step was an easy one. Wide spread crop failures spawned by the floods, droughts and disease allowed the government to take over food production as well.

The first step taken by the Federal government was to curtail all food shipments out of the country, a long overdue decision which, while desperately needed, fueled the already prevalent anti-American sentiment in the world .

After the takeover, FEMA started handing out free food that now, mysteriously appeared in abundance. Food rioting and anti-government protests drastically slowed until, across most of the country, they came to a dramatic end. Of course it didn�t hurt that a very large, and very brutal mass of arctic air, unexpectedly came down and seemed to hover over most of the country for several weeks in late October. Freezing rain, snow and sub-zero temperatures have a way of dampening even the most enthusiastic protests.

The early, extreme and widespread Arctic cold blast had helped in another way as well, prompting the Feds to move most of the FEMA tent city inhabitants of the Northern states, to the much larger encampments in the warmer southern states. Ultimately over four million people were relocated to warmer climates, including Arizona, Texas, and Florida.

Volunteering to be relocated was simple if not painless. A person had only to turn their New Currency Card in for a tiny computer chip that was inserted just under the skin on the top of their right hand. It was essentially the same chip that had been in the card, but this new application just made it easier to keep track of everyone. An additional bonus was that it was almost impossible to steal...which had been a growing problem with the Currency Cards even with the biometric safeguards.

When the government offered added benefits with the �inserted� chip, including free food, relocation to a warmer climate with better tents and facilities, and finally a bonus of extra welfare monies, automatically deposited into the �chipped� persons account, people lined up by the millions. Many stores now also refused to handle the new cash, only selling to those who had been chipped or who used the Currency Cards. Being �chipped� became the latest fad.

Now that the harsh winter and a severe flu epidemic that swept the country was finally past with the welcomed arrival of spring and the announcement that Martial law would be relaxed everywhere in the US, there was hope in the air. Except of course, for those who were on the wrong side of Homeland Security...

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AUTHOR BIO

In 1995 Roger K. Young's first book “AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT” became an instant LDS best seller, selling over 9,000 copies the first year it was publicly printed, being advertised primarily by word of mouth. This is something of a modern day miracle in LDS publishing in that brother Young was an unknown author (ie. not a General Authority, nor a BYU professor, nor a CES lecture personality) and his book was not published or promoted by an established LDS publisher. However, in 1996 it was one of the few non-Deseret published books honored as a Deseret Book Club book-of-the-month selection. “AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT” continues to be the # 1 selling LDS book on the events of the last days, being highly recommended by Church members and leaders alike.

Building on the imense popularity of “AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT” , brother Young has since written seven additional books, each becoming in its turn, best sellers. His books (over 100,000 copies) are in demand all over the world, being sold in North America, Europe, Australia, South and Central America, even though they are still only printed in English. The State of Utah has also made an abbreviated audio version of “AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT” for use in its blind program.