Thanks
4.9.11
Forgiving
Willingness to assume another's sin is an expression of sinlessness. To be Christian means to be like Christ, and what Christ did was take responsibility for all of the imperfection and sins of everyone that would come to mortality. By owning our sins, He owns our salvation. He gives it to us as we repent.
As He is the Author and Finisher of our salvation, we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling before God. We are at His mercy. In this position we are told by God to forgive all men. Since we are at the mercy of God, we aren't in a position to withhold mercy from others. If we seek justification by our obedience, we are fools because there are none that are perfect and thus no one can claim that they are deserving but God is merciful.
The Lord has made it possible for all to be forgiven, so when we withhold our forgiveness, we are saying that someone is unworthy of it. By what grounds do we have to with hold forgiveness? Let he that is without sin throw the first stone. We cannot judge others as anything but Christ Himself, as He said that what we do to the least we do it unto Him. So, when we withhold forgiveness we are withholding it from Christ, even though He was perfect, He still pleads with us to forgive all men as if it were He who was responsible for their sins, because He is, as the Lamb of God a sacrifice for the sins of all.
We lose ourselves if we save ourselves. If we withhold charity to others, we are withholding blessings from ourselves. It is liberating to forgive. Carrying the burden of a bitter grudge can only weaken our hearts because we are sinning when we don't forgive and sin keeps us from God which means we are ensnared by Satan. Ensnared by Satan means we are following Satan and thus nonredeemable by Christ as He won't force salvation upon us. Numbered among Satan means we have the total weight of our sin upon ourselves, instead of Christ. We must then suffer as Christ suffered for Mercy cannot deny Justice. Leaving Christ means leaving Mercy and thus left to suffer under the law which we broke and it is just as we are all sinners. Christ pleads with us to come unto Him so we can avoid hell and Justice. As he satisfied the demands of Justice by being the great sacrifice, He can offer us Mercy and salvation.
The second most important commandment is to love others and as we break it by being unforgiving that makes us guilty of a greater sin than whatever trespass against us. No grudge or trespass against us is more valuable than keeping the first and second commandments of God, which simply say to love and serve.
This also means we shouldn't think ourselves beyond His capacity to forgive. We need to forgive ourselves as much as others and seek favor with God. That is how our peace
comes.
As He is the Author and Finisher of our salvation, we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling before God. We are at His mercy. In this position we are told by God to forgive all men. Since we are at the mercy of God, we aren't in a position to withhold mercy from others. If we seek justification by our obedience, we are fools because there are none that are perfect and thus no one can claim that they are deserving but God is merciful.
The Lord has made it possible for all to be forgiven, so when we withhold our forgiveness, we are saying that someone is unworthy of it. By what grounds do we have to with hold forgiveness? Let he that is without sin throw the first stone. We cannot judge others as anything but Christ Himself, as He said that what we do to the least we do it unto Him. So, when we withhold forgiveness we are withholding it from Christ, even though He was perfect, He still pleads with us to forgive all men as if it were He who was responsible for their sins, because He is, as the Lamb of God a sacrifice for the sins of all.
We lose ourselves if we save ourselves. If we withhold charity to others, we are withholding blessings from ourselves. It is liberating to forgive. Carrying the burden of a bitter grudge can only weaken our hearts because we are sinning when we don't forgive and sin keeps us from God which means we are ensnared by Satan. Ensnared by Satan means we are following Satan and thus nonredeemable by Christ as He won't force salvation upon us. Numbered among Satan means we have the total weight of our sin upon ourselves, instead of Christ. We must then suffer as Christ suffered for Mercy cannot deny Justice. Leaving Christ means leaving Mercy and thus left to suffer under the law which we broke and it is just as we are all sinners. Christ pleads with us to come unto Him so we can avoid hell and Justice. As he satisfied the demands of Justice by being the great sacrifice, He can offer us Mercy and salvation.
The second most important commandment is to love others and as we break it by being unforgiving that makes us guilty of a greater sin than whatever trespass against us. No grudge or trespass against us is more valuable than keeping the first and second commandments of God, which simply say to love and serve.
This also means we shouldn't think ourselves beyond His capacity to forgive. We need to forgive ourselves as much as others and seek favor with God. That is how our peace
comes.
24.8.11
Jonah 2:8-10
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
17.8.11
Proverbs 28:27
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
14.8.11
Malachi 3:10
Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Faith
Faith is to trust in what we believe is true without a perfect understanding. To act against the opposition, the odds, the establishment, in essence to swim upstream is only possible by faith that what you're doing is right. The consequences are often far reaching and may take a very long time before people appreciate the faith of such individuals. Christianity didn't die with the crucifixion. Joseph Smith said that a religion that doesn't require the faith to sacrifice all things wouldn't last. Abraham had to prove he was willing to sacrifice Isaac for God, not so God would know but so Abraham could be strengthed by that exercise in faith. After that Abraham knew that no matter what God asks, He will return you a hundredfold if not more for whatever you offer.
Light versus Dark
The Gospel is one truth that illuminates in different spheres. Exactly as the light of the sun is reflected by the many things it touches.
Look at the beautiful landscapes, plants, animals, oceans, seas, and most of all- the children of God. The same sun shines on all of the distinctness of their shapes and forms and helps us to see things as they are in the temporal world. Just as the Gospel of Jesus Christ shines in one unified power of light and truth versus darkness and error.
The light always has dominion as the dark only enters once the light leaves. "For the spirit of God shall not always strive with man..." and once that light leaves our spiritual life begins to darken and we are as lost sheep and the good Shepherd cannot save us from the wolves, unless we cry out to Him for help.
The allegory of Lehi's dream showed that we all must press on through darkness. Many fell away in the darkness and finally arrived in a great and spacious building representing the pride of the world. Not unusual that the people in this place were pointing and mocking those that didn't wander. But, those that kept the commandments are represented those that stayed on the path and were able to enjoy the most precious of all gifts, the love of God. If we don't live God then God's love is something unenjoyable. The same light that sanctifies the righteous will damn the wicked. Our secret works will be found out when we are judged by Him who is all knowing and our final state will be set. Today is the day to start putting the house in order for when Christ arrives we will be able to say we were faithful over a few things, watchful and diligent, waiting on the Lord, despite those that ridiculed, we pressed forward and did not procrastinate our repentance.
Look at the beautiful landscapes, plants, animals, oceans, seas, and most of all- the children of God. The same sun shines on all of the distinctness of their shapes and forms and helps us to see things as they are in the temporal world. Just as the Gospel of Jesus Christ shines in one unified power of light and truth versus darkness and error.
The light always has dominion as the dark only enters once the light leaves. "For the spirit of God shall not always strive with man..." and once that light leaves our spiritual life begins to darken and we are as lost sheep and the good Shepherd cannot save us from the wolves, unless we cry out to Him for help.
The allegory of Lehi's dream showed that we all must press on through darkness. Many fell away in the darkness and finally arrived in a great and spacious building representing the pride of the world. Not unusual that the people in this place were pointing and mocking those that didn't wander. But, those that kept the commandments are represented those that stayed on the path and were able to enjoy the most precious of all gifts, the love of God. If we don't live God then God's love is something unenjoyable. The same light that sanctifies the righteous will damn the wicked. Our secret works will be found out when we are judged by Him who is all knowing and our final state will be set. Today is the day to start putting the house in order for when Christ arrives we will be able to say we were faithful over a few things, watchful and diligent, waiting on the Lord, despite those that ridiculed, we pressed forward and did not procrastinate our repentance.
When we realize that God is seeking to change us, sometimes we seek to change God to a less demanding God and in effect begin to worship a false god known as pride and selfishness.
It's the same Satanic view of justifying our sin while disregarding the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We are not saved IN our sins but through repentance FROM our sins. We are the ones who must repent. We are the imperfect and unprofitable servants that God wants to bless but can only after all we can do, through His grace.
His love for us never falters. His trust in us varies in our trust in Him. He cannot give us something we refuse to sacrifice for, and that is why the Savior has always only taught repentance to our investigative hearts. If we seek Him, we must be willing to not seek for ourselves but truly leave ourselves and come unto Him.
On the door to heaven it reads "Abandon all selfishness and despair to enter" and it is a hard thing He asks but He knows it is hard and knows we can do it. We have to trust that He knows more than we do.
It's the same Satanic view of justifying our sin while disregarding the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We are not saved IN our sins but through repentance FROM our sins. We are the ones who must repent. We are the imperfect and unprofitable servants that God wants to bless but can only after all we can do, through His grace.
His love for us never falters. His trust in us varies in our trust in Him. He cannot give us something we refuse to sacrifice for, and that is why the Savior has always only taught repentance to our investigative hearts. If we seek Him, we must be willing to not seek for ourselves but truly leave ourselves and come unto Him.
On the door to heaven it reads "Abandon all selfishness and despair to enter" and it is a hard thing He asks but He knows it is hard and knows we can do it. We have to trust that He knows more than we do.
8.8.11
To Be or Not to Be
As Latter Day Saints, we are admonished and encouraged by our leaders to participate in politics. To vote and stay informed. But, from Mormon history we learn that the system doesn't always work. The petition to the government for aid from the early Saints was met with disregard for the political implications of being associated with the controversial Mormons. So, we left town and went to make a Zion for ourselves.
Today's political landscapes have moved as well. But, its the same spineless leaders who promise and then give way to special interests. We can take comfort in the Lord as our salvation during all these onslaughts of demagoguery and manipulations.
The system to me is like an old arcade game. Sometimes the quarter works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes you have to hit the machine and sometimes you just have to walk away. We don't always get what we invested in.
But, we are still encouraged to play the game. Once the game starts working we might still lose. The idea is that politics is a game of chance and favors the skilled orators and cheaters rather than the virtuous and good natured. Luckily, we can take comfort in the Lord as our salvation.
Its not our lot to have everything be perfect, but it is our lot to try.
We have to remember the parable of the Talents that the Lord gave. It talks of servants being given talents and then having to account for their stewardship to the master. The faithful servants weren't afraid to use their talents. The master then said "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." The unfaithful servant said "I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth." and the master replied "Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents."
The struggle to have faith in sharing our gifts with the world is one we have to undertake. We can't be afraid to do share our gifts or participate with what we've been given or how we feel on a subject. Anything the Lord has endowed us with, we must share for the edifying and building up of the kingdom of God on the earth. We must play the politic game as well as any other game that involves us returning good for evil. Remember the wicked servants were the ones who thought to save themselves from the hassle of dealing with an ungrateful or indifferent world.
Knowing that the chance to succeed also has the chance to fail, we must take comfort as the faithful servant and remember the Lord is wise and will sanctify our performance for our good. All these things shall give us experience. We must try because the Lord told us to, and we must remember Nephi's example and faith when he said "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
We must go forth as the pioneers and make do with what we have and the Lord will open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessings so much we won't be able to receive them.
The Great I Am answers the Shakespearean question of "to be or not to be" by His admonition to be, even as He is. Let us take courage and faith in believing Him that our sacrifice for His sakes will not be in vain, but the least vanity we can do.
22.7.11
Family and the Book of Mormon
The beginning of the Book of Mormon is about a family. As well as the middle and end.
When Lehi left Jerusalem, his family was together. As Lehi grew older, Laman and Lemuel grew more prideful. Eventually, Nephi and his family decided it best to leave the group as it was getting too dangerous and corrupt. The very same reason Lehi and his family left Jerusalem.
Every time the people are righteous, the family or group of people live in peace and happiness and function as a whole. When pride arises the family is torn and like a fire kindled, war is inevitable. Its not a war between Nephites and Lamanites, but righteousness and wickedness. The war takes place in the heart of the people first and eventually spreads to damaging the lives of many. Spiritual decay proceeds physical damage. The application to our days is very accessible. We may not go to war but we have relationships that can grow or diminish as sensitivities and communication are neglected out of selfish pride.
Not all relationships are repairable. Many times the righteous have to flee and start anew in an environment where they can practice their religion freely and without persecution. The early Latter Day Saints made the voyage across the plains as a great family of believers. We see that many were lost along the way, but those that keep the faith are never lost in Christ.
When Lehi left Jerusalem, his family was together. As Lehi grew older, Laman and Lemuel grew more prideful. Eventually, Nephi and his family decided it best to leave the group as it was getting too dangerous and corrupt. The very same reason Lehi and his family left Jerusalem.
Every time the people are righteous, the family or group of people live in peace and happiness and function as a whole. When pride arises the family is torn and like a fire kindled, war is inevitable. Its not a war between Nephites and Lamanites, but righteousness and wickedness. The war takes place in the heart of the people first and eventually spreads to damaging the lives of many. Spiritual decay proceeds physical damage. The application to our days is very accessible. We may not go to war but we have relationships that can grow or diminish as sensitivities and communication are neglected out of selfish pride.
Not all relationships are repairable. Many times the righteous have to flee and start anew in an environment where they can practice their religion freely and without persecution. The early Latter Day Saints made the voyage across the plains as a great family of believers. We see that many were lost along the way, but those that keep the faith are never lost in Christ.
The Book of Mormon is a testament of the unifying power of Christ and the destroying power of pride. Humility and Pride are moving trains that we can't be stagnate on. The people in the book of Mormon show us that we must avoid the flattering words of false prophets, the carnal desires of the natural man, the desire for superiority over others, the love of money and hatred of the poor, and the idea that life has no consequence or purpose.
Its a warning that these mentioned philosophies of men will lead to destruction, as Christ said "a house divided cannot stand." The Savior also said that if we are not one we are not His. His first commandment upon arriving in the Americas was that there should be no more contention and disputes among them (3 Nephi 11). As we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must seek to uplift, edify, and forgive as we associate with one another.
Its a warning that these mentioned philosophies of men will lead to destruction, as Christ said "a house divided cannot stand." The Savior also said that if we are not one we are not His. His first commandment upon arriving in the Americas was that there should be no more contention and disputes among them (3 Nephi 11). As we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must seek to uplift, edify, and forgive as we associate with one another.
The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles wrote in "The Family: A Proclamation to the World"-
Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.
Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.
I believe true success, progress, unity, happiness, prosperity, and victory over all things in the world is completely tied to, and relies wholly upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Great Redeemer of mankind, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the cornerstone and stumbling block, the true and everlasting God.
29.6.11
Home
Home is a strange concept. When you're there you know it. Seems like its not only familiar surroundings of walls and furniture but feelings of acceptance and love. The Gospel has a real unspoken acceptance and love for those within its reach. The Savior says that His sheep recognize the Shepherd's voice and follow. The Shepherd not only knows the way home but is home. Although we may wander and feel that we are beyond the reach of acceptance and love we are not, for the Lord waits for us like the father of the Prodigal Son, who ran with open arms to meet the son when the son returned. We're not that far from home if we merely look, as those that wandered with Moses in the desert looked at the raised snake. Look to the Savior and we'll feel the acceptance and love of something that feels familiar.
25.6.11
Repentance, Obedience, Agency, Faith, Hope, and Charity
Repentance is the only real thing that Christ and the prophets taught. All the information supplemental to keeping the commandments was probably only given to give us more reason to keep the commandments.
Obedience is the key to avoiding repentance, but as we are all sinners and weak, there is much to be learned and experience the hard way. Obedience is also the key to repentance, because if we are not obedient to the commandments then we haven't repented fully.
Agency is the key to obedience. If we choose to obey of our own free will and determination, then we are on a path of eternal progression. Not one minute of our lives is empty of decision. We have to decide what to do with our time and talents. Our desires are to be given to the Lord for Him to make them come to fruition, as He is our Gardner.
Faith is the key to using agency correctly. Believing in His will over ours, frees us of the weight of the world and gives us the power to overcome. We must realize that it is His grace by which we keep breathing. He can let us go of this burden of breathing at any time. He lets us live on so that we might learn faith in Him and repent. By our relinquishing our wills to Him, He can give us what we righteously desire. But, if our desires are His desires then vice versa and that is the way to happiness, as He knows whats best for us.
Hope in a better world is often lost when we look at all the injustice, lack of charity, and lack of obedience to God. We find it hard to see the world as anything but hostile in such a state. But, the Savior did come to earth and did show us the way out of all of the turmoil and despair. Hope in Him and His resurrection gives us a motivation to do good, as it is possible to overcome all things as He has done. Hope that humanity can change and be better. Hope that virtue and integrity are not vain but eternal. Hope that there is purpose to love.
Charity is the key to our success. Without it, we are nothing. Charity is the purpose of all that we do in the church. It is the "pure love of Christ" and those that serve Christ are those that serve others. Its neither convenient, nor easy but is the only thing that counts. Blogs, tweets, pictures, possessions, foods, electronics, buildings, all are subject to annihilation by force but Charity withstands any force as the Savior proved in His agonizing atonement, where He withstood all the combined force of the world because He loved us.
10.6.11
Is there room for doubt?
You know, it is a special kind of belief that can exist despite one's logic or complete understanding. There is a faith that is so strong that great opposition and sacrifice does not effect the determination to choose to follow it.
Many assume that faith is not logical or unreasonable as it requires us to walk a bit in the dark. Scientists would rather call this act, a hypothesis or in layman's terms, a hunch. But, it is faith to believe in something without all the evidence.
For me, the act of faith means that sometimes my mind isn't smart enough to keep up with what is right and wrong. I can easily summon thoughts of justifying or reasoning my way out of anything. But, I know that as long as I believe in God, there is an accountability of my deeds and thoughts.
So, is there room for doubt? Always. There is always somewhere we can doubt. Should we? Maybe, a little doubt is good in that we must seek to get rid of this doubt by working to dissolve it. Doubt is like dust, its always going to accumulate with time if we aren't constantly seeking to clean it up.
Two ways to get rid of doubt are to clean it up or simply ignore it. I'm afraid there are times when I think ignoring it is the best solution, and what I mean is to have patience with this concern but move on in what you do know. Many times those little moles of doubt can eventually destroy our mountains of faith. Vice versa, as well.
If we can then, there are times we must seek to rid ourselves of doubt. This requires diligence in obedience to the commandments, fasting, and sincere prayer. The Lord promises us His grace "after all we can do."
Many assume that faith is not logical or unreasonable as it requires us to walk a bit in the dark. Scientists would rather call this act, a hypothesis or in layman's terms, a hunch. But, it is faith to believe in something without all the evidence.
For me, the act of faith means that sometimes my mind isn't smart enough to keep up with what is right and wrong. I can easily summon thoughts of justifying or reasoning my way out of anything. But, I know that as long as I believe in God, there is an accountability of my deeds and thoughts.
So, is there room for doubt? Always. There is always somewhere we can doubt. Should we? Maybe, a little doubt is good in that we must seek to get rid of this doubt by working to dissolve it. Doubt is like dust, its always going to accumulate with time if we aren't constantly seeking to clean it up.
Two ways to get rid of doubt are to clean it up or simply ignore it. I'm afraid there are times when I think ignoring it is the best solution, and what I mean is to have patience with this concern but move on in what you do know. Many times those little moles of doubt can eventually destroy our mountains of faith. Vice versa, as well.
If we can then, there are times we must seek to rid ourselves of doubt. This requires diligence in obedience to the commandments, fasting, and sincere prayer. The Lord promises us His grace "after all we can do."
29.5.11
Life is in the Doing
The problem I see for myself on the Internet is this false sense of accomplishment. Inside our minds we can look back on our actions and that inspires us to do something that will make a difference. Online, its a false sense because online its this world that is created, like a video game where you think by posting something you have somehow accomplished something but back in real life, the day to day daily grind, you haven't accomplished it. There are exceptions of course. But, in the blogosphere, the twitterverse, the facebook world, we are diminished in our participation. Not that participating makes us worse but when we start to really believe in the persona we're creating online is something more than it is. If I have a million hits, or book deals, or people that I am connecting with then that is something but updating statuses, giving a new tweet for nobody, and generally blogging about crap doesn't equal a life.
Life is in the doing. We act, therefore we are. To not be is to not do. So, as we are doing great things we must remember that in a video game or online the chances of life being lived is greatly diminished.
Right now, I feel I've accomplished something. Its a personal breakthrough, but nonetheless will be vain, if I do not have a greater resolute to walk the walk. I feel like the difference here is similar to the difference that is between the pundit and the politician. One is just a critic and one is actually striving to practice what they believe. The critic although may be giving a performance or artistic showing in their critique, they pale in comparison to what they actually contribute to the world. The performer actually is the one who puts themselves out there, who acts. Without acting or doing we are just a shallow two dimensional image of what we want people to see. As thin as our computer monitors.
The narrative in our minds shouldn't be the updates on Facebook, the Tweets, the blogs, but the achievements of being the real person we want so desperately for others to believe we are online. We have to balance our ideal selves with reality and strive to live up to this great challenge that is living our lives.
The Lord has counseled us many times through prophets that we must live for Him and we will have a life. An eternal life. Its a very rigorous time for us to deal with identity as we have a seemingly endless amount of outlets for affirmations today. Our need for validation and expression is a not completely centered around narcissism but definitely can lead to it, as we start believing the images of ourselves we create online.
Many experts are convinced though that this generation is somehow all about ourselves and entitlements. I believe its not our fault if it is true. We have a bombardment of advertisements trying to make us align our identities with our the capacities of our checking accounts. We have constant huge personalities thrown at us that have no substance behind them; reality T.V. stars, Donald Trumps, Lady Gagas, and whoever the press want to milk for headlines that week or whatever we decide we want to look at. In this atmosphere we all want to have our opinions heard as much as others opinions are thrusted upon us by the media and advertisements. Ads tell us to be happy we should do this, while those that are seemingly happy do nothing but model in front of us with their status symbols on their clothes and faces. Its a world where status is everything, a world where this amount of pressure from society leaves us innocuous toward what will truly help others and ourselves feel happy.
We are going through a phase of experimenting with our emotions and technology and there is still so much humanity world. To sum up some of my emotions on this concept-
Life is in the doing. We act, therefore we are. To not be is to not do. So, as we are doing great things we must remember that in a video game or online the chances of life being lived is greatly diminished.
Right now, I feel I've accomplished something. Its a personal breakthrough, but nonetheless will be vain, if I do not have a greater resolute to walk the walk. I feel like the difference here is similar to the difference that is between the pundit and the politician. One is just a critic and one is actually striving to practice what they believe. The critic although may be giving a performance or artistic showing in their critique, they pale in comparison to what they actually contribute to the world. The performer actually is the one who puts themselves out there, who acts. Without acting or doing we are just a shallow two dimensional image of what we want people to see. As thin as our computer monitors.
The narrative in our minds shouldn't be the updates on Facebook, the Tweets, the blogs, but the achievements of being the real person we want so desperately for others to believe we are online. We have to balance our ideal selves with reality and strive to live up to this great challenge that is living our lives.
The Lord has counseled us many times through prophets that we must live for Him and we will have a life. An eternal life. Its a very rigorous time for us to deal with identity as we have a seemingly endless amount of outlets for affirmations today. Our need for validation and expression is a not completely centered around narcissism but definitely can lead to it, as we start believing the images of ourselves we create online.
Many experts are convinced though that this generation is somehow all about ourselves and entitlements. I believe its not our fault if it is true. We have a bombardment of advertisements trying to make us align our identities with our the capacities of our checking accounts. We have constant huge personalities thrown at us that have no substance behind them; reality T.V. stars, Donald Trumps, Lady Gagas, and whoever the press want to milk for headlines that week or whatever we decide we want to look at. In this atmosphere we all want to have our opinions heard as much as others opinions are thrusted upon us by the media and advertisements. Ads tell us to be happy we should do this, while those that are seemingly happy do nothing but model in front of us with their status symbols on their clothes and faces. Its a world where status is everything, a world where this amount of pressure from society leaves us innocuous toward what will truly help others and ourselves feel happy.
We are going through a phase of experimenting with our emotions and technology and there is still so much humanity world. To sum up some of my emotions on this concept-
Retired pastor knows why people don’t like Christians any more
Retired pastor Kirk Minor remembers a time when working with his church was centered around people, and not rhetoric – and he’s wondering where those days went.
“We’re finding more and more that there are a lot of people out there doing a lot of talking and protesting and bellyaching, but fewer people actually walking the walk,” said Minor, author of Journey Across The Tiber: My Many Rooms. “We have extremists protesting funerals of gay soldiers, pundits decrying the use of abbreviations for the word Christmas and activists campaigning for prayer in public schools. These are all very divisive issues, and have little to do with the good works the Bible wants the faithful to perform.”
Minor bemoans that the Bible has become a book with which to bludgeon people.
“Too many people are using religion as a sword to fight those with whom they disagree, instead of as a plowshare to help their fellow neighbors tend the land and form a community,” said Minor, who retired as a United Methodist Church pastor after 23 years.
The key to reversing the trend, according to Minor, is to use actions more than words, and for people of faith to quietly go about the good works and charity that is at the essence of the Bible’s teachings.
“Shouting louder than the other guys only results in more shouting, which never gets anything done,” he said. “The key is to go about your life, as one of the faithful, and to make sure you actually do at least one thing each day that reflects the faith in which you believe.”
27.5.11
A Life with God
So, lets get a few things straight as to our purpose-
God's purpose as stated in Moses 1:39 is: to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
In John 17:3 it states that life eternal is to know God. Which is echoed by Doctrine and Covenants 132:24
In John 17:3 it states that life eternal is to know God. Which is echoed by Doctrine and Covenants 132:24
A few other definitions, along with that of eternal life is:
to be spiritually minded 2 Nephi 9:39
believe in him, and to endure to the end 2 Nephi 33:4
believe in him, and to endure to the end 2 Nephi 33:4
We can draw more conclusions on what eternal life means by the constant reference to it by the prophets and the Savior. Basically, its heaven. A life with God.
So, from God's purpose we can deduce our purpose. If He is working to bring us back, then we must also be working, to return back to our heavenly home.
Very simple, really, but very demanding in execution. We must keep the commandments, and there by doing, repent of our wrong doings. To repent we must value eternal life more than our burdensome sins.
The invitation is clear, that we are invited to "the feast" with the Father, in His many mansions. We are only to arrive if by the sacrificing of ourselves, for His will. By giving up our will for His, we give up the reward of our actions, for His reward. Whether we do good openly as a beacon of light or secretly under dark of night, we are rewarded openly.
The invitation is clear, that we are invited to "the feast" with the Father, in His many mansions. We are only to arrive if by the sacrificing of ourselves, for His will. By giving up our will for His, we give up the reward of our actions, for His reward. Whether we do good openly as a beacon of light or secretly under dark of night, we are rewarded openly.
I've never regretted keeping the commandments. The Holy Ghost doesn't ever give you a feeling of regret. By we are keeping the commandments, we are entitled to the fruits of the Spirit, as mentioned in Galatians 5:22. None of these fruits are bitter but are as Lehi accounts in his dream of partaking of the fruit- I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit. (1 Nephi 8:11-12).
Keeping the commandments with real intent gives you this joy. Keeping the commandments with an absence of sincerity, gives you an absence of great joy. Not keeping the commandments separates you further from God, as Adam and Eve fell, so we all have fallen from God.
The way back to God is Jesus Christ as we all have sinned, He redeems us of our mistakes, as we follow His example. I know that God lives, and that the way to happiness and eternal life is through the following of Jesus Christ.
22.4.11
Why are we here?
We left the throne of God for this. A planet thats heating up with not only pollution but corruption. A place so evil that altruism is crucified, power steps on the meek, and lust for gratification rapes purity and innocense. Why did we leave? Why did we choose this path? It was probably the smartest thing we did up to that point. We chose to come to the Earth to be endowed with a knowledge and power that could only come through this experience, this trial of faith, this refiner's fire, this probation.
Its pretty bleak but the good far outweigh the bad. The bands of death were broken by the Savior. The good news is preached from prophet to prophet of the glorious day of the Lord. We have so much to shout hallelujahs for as we are given a chance at eternal life and at-one-ment with God. "And this is life eternal, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3).
As the prodigal son left home and came to himself after adventuring the bleakness of the world, we too must come to ourselves and return to our Father in Heaven. We are in the same state of that prodigal son. As we return to God we are forgiven for our sins and blessed with a great joy and peaceful state, away from the dark and dreary world. As the parable shows, the family is the brightest part of this dark world.
The heart of everything we do is to promote the happiness and betterment of our souls. "Men are that they might have joy" said Lehi. President Packer recently said in a talk that the "ultimate end of all activity in the church is that a man and his wife and his children can be happy at home." So, we get to keep the commandments as they are precious to our happiness and betterment.
There are many doctrines that distinguish us from other churches. But, one that is great is the idea that we take very seriously the linking of family relationships. We build great temples that are marvelous in design but the inner part is the most impressive as it deals solely with spirits. We don't go to the temple for any physical benefits, only to use our physical presence for a spiritual purpose of linking families together from generation to generation. It is the whole purpose of an atonement being needed by the one and only God to bring us into His presence. Christ was one with His Father at all times. From birth to death to resurrection, He was not one of us but we can be linked to His greatness through our faith and love for Him and the great family that is mankind.
David O. McKay said that no amount of success outside the home can compensate for a failure inside the home. Our great reason for working and all these activities in our lives should be centered around building a strong bond with God and His children. Those that carry these relationships have many waiting beyond the veil to meet them. Just as temple would be vain without the inner beauty of spiritual ordinances, so would we without these connections to God and our families.
Jacob 5 is a huge allegory of an olive tree field. When it is growing righteously it yields great fruit and when it is growing wild it yields wild fruit. It is an example of keeping the righteousness in our lives from generation to generation, showing signs of fruit and increase over time. This is the work and glory of God, to bring to pass the immortality of men. God is not one to judge us by our possessions but by our priorities. We need to see those in view as not property but our priority. We can't let this time of probation and preparation go to waste on fruitless endeavors that prove vain with time. The Lord is the way to happiness and eternal life.
Its pretty bleak but the good far outweigh the bad. The bands of death were broken by the Savior. The good news is preached from prophet to prophet of the glorious day of the Lord. We have so much to shout hallelujahs for as we are given a chance at eternal life and at-one-ment with God. "And this is life eternal, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3).
As the prodigal son left home and came to himself after adventuring the bleakness of the world, we too must come to ourselves and return to our Father in Heaven. We are in the same state of that prodigal son. As we return to God we are forgiven for our sins and blessed with a great joy and peaceful state, away from the dark and dreary world. As the parable shows, the family is the brightest part of this dark world.
The heart of everything we do is to promote the happiness and betterment of our souls. "Men are that they might have joy" said Lehi. President Packer recently said in a talk that the "ultimate end of all activity in the church is that a man and his wife and his children can be happy at home." So, we get to keep the commandments as they are precious to our happiness and betterment.
There are many doctrines that distinguish us from other churches. But, one that is great is the idea that we take very seriously the linking of family relationships. We build great temples that are marvelous in design but the inner part is the most impressive as it deals solely with spirits. We don't go to the temple for any physical benefits, only to use our physical presence for a spiritual purpose of linking families together from generation to generation. It is the whole purpose of an atonement being needed by the one and only God to bring us into His presence. Christ was one with His Father at all times. From birth to death to resurrection, He was not one of us but we can be linked to His greatness through our faith and love for Him and the great family that is mankind.
David O. McKay said that no amount of success outside the home can compensate for a failure inside the home. Our great reason for working and all these activities in our lives should be centered around building a strong bond with God and His children. Those that carry these relationships have many waiting beyond the veil to meet them. Just as temple would be vain without the inner beauty of spiritual ordinances, so would we without these connections to God and our families.
Jacob 5 is a huge allegory of an olive tree field. When it is growing righteously it yields great fruit and when it is growing wild it yields wild fruit. It is an example of keeping the righteousness in our lives from generation to generation, showing signs of fruit and increase over time. This is the work and glory of God, to bring to pass the immortality of men. God is not one to judge us by our possessions but by our priorities. We need to see those in view as not property but our priority. We can't let this time of probation and preparation go to waste on fruitless endeavors that prove vain with time. The Lord is the way to happiness and eternal life.
18.4.11
Spiritual experiences, although life changing, are quite easily lost in the fray of the white noise and distractions of our lives. Those sacred things get lost and forgotten so fast. We can't hold on to the river that is the Spirit of God, that comes and goes in our lives, but we can follow it. We can study God's commandments, stories of faith, try to connect and have a real give and take relationship with God, seeking always to do His will knowing that He knows whats good for us.
Keep the Focus
Like sandcastles to the ocean waves, we cannot keep our sins from God. Lucky for us, God doesn't seek retribution. He seeks the happiness of His children. In essence, the Lord seeks our salvation. Repenting, though, is quite difficult. The steps of repentance are easier to follow if we realize that the end result will be worth it. How do we maintain this enlightened view of our time of probation and preparation?
We have to remember Christ. The sacrament prayer spoken every Sunday in LDS chapels around the world echo the same sentiments for blessing the bread and water:
O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this water to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
The focus of our lives must be Jesus Christ or we will not be able to endure to the end. Our repentance process will plateau and we'll increasingly cover our sins. Darkness creeps in when light diminishes.
We have to remember Christ. The sacrament prayer spoken every Sunday in LDS chapels around the world echo the same sentiments for blessing the bread and water:
O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this water to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
The focus of our lives must be Jesus Christ or we will not be able to endure to the end. Our repentance process will plateau and we'll increasingly cover our sins. Darkness creeps in when light diminishes.
10.4.11
Downloading Honesty
Today, the lesson was on Honesty. Being somewhat prideful in my honesty, I was sure that I'd have no problem with this one. Each lesson can be like going to the dentist to find out you have cavities and going through the process of yanking those suckers out. Well, I found out that "copying music, movies, pictures, or written text without the permission of the copyright owners is dishonest and a form of theft" and felt bad. Mainly because I always have downloaded music. I always would burn mix CD's for other people. I've probably burned over 200 mix CD's in my life.
So, you can imagine that I didn't like the sound of this strange new doctrine called Honesty.
Upon learning about honesty, I felt impressed by some ideas concerning revelation. It seems that revelation isn't necessarily downloading something new out of nowhere but rather learning about something new that had been there all along, hidden to me by my ignorance.
This idea of revelation leads me to understand then that all truth is available and there but that we just aren't ready or seeking enough to receive it. All these great things are hidden to us. Revelation is the key to great things being thrust upon our lives and we just need accept them to live happily ever after. Its a great puzzle that comes together with every piece revealing one giant truth. This truth is there all along and will be there forever. This truth frees us from the burdens of sin's entanglement. This truth lights our paths and gives us hope. This truth is the firm foundation where on if men build they cannot fall. This truth is Jesus Christ.
I had the misfortune of seeing the light on the subject while reading chapter in the Gospel Principles book. This seemingly small detail wasn't mentioned in the class but just in text.
I had always thought this was a grey area that wasn't specified by the Church as to whether it really constituted as stealing, seeing how me having a copy didn't take away from the original person who bought it. But, of course this life of crime had to come to an end eventually.
Growing up I often heard stories of people getting arrested by SWAT teams for downloading the new Britney Spears. Once it was a 70 yr old grandma, another time a 12 yr old girl. The music industry was trying to make an example out of people. But, I wasn't afraid. I continued to download music. This isn't one of those doctrines that will be hammered into our minds every conference talk like tithing or pornography. But, it's still now an "official church stance" on the subject to which my grey area is now dispersing into the black.
I'm relieved by this revelation, to be honest. There was always a sliver of doubt concerning it for me. Now, I can put it aside and move on. I used to feel a false sense of accomplishment when I'd get that new album on my iTunes. But, just like the junkie, it was always one more fix that I needed next.
Upon learning about honesty, I felt impressed by some ideas concerning revelation. It seems that revelation isn't necessarily downloading something new out of nowhere but rather learning about something new that had been there all along, hidden to me by my ignorance.
This idea of revelation leads me to understand then that all truth is available and there but that we just aren't ready or seeking enough to receive it. All these great things are hidden to us. Revelation is the key to great things being thrust upon our lives and we just need accept them to live happily ever after. Its a great puzzle that comes together with every piece revealing one giant truth. This truth is there all along and will be there forever. This truth frees us from the burdens of sin's entanglement. This truth lights our paths and gives us hope. This truth is the firm foundation where on if men build they cannot fall. This truth is Jesus Christ.
27.3.11
The Great Apostasy
Apostasy is when the people turn away from God. No communication from God, leads people into strange paths marked with tradition and false doctrines. The only thing that keeps people from apostasy is following the revelations of God given to His prophets. A testimony of God's truth is the way to salvation. When tradition overtakes testimony then it is an apostasy. Its as if the telephone line gets cut, and the clarity of the message and will of God gets reduced, distorted and lost in a game of telephone.
The Pharisees and Sadducees who crucified the Savior, were huge fans of tradition, because it meant that they didn't have to be righteous on the inside. With the Lord's demonstration of the cursing of the fig tree for not having fruit, it was an object lesson to those that have the outward appearance of righteousness but show no fruit (Matthew 21). We must offer ourselves to the Lord and He will bless us with fruits of righteousness.
Cain offered fruit to the Lord instead of an animal sacrifice and it was rejected. We have to offer the kind of sacrifice the Lord demands in order to be blessed for it. The Lord demands we offer our whole selves and not just the outward appearance, or it will be rejected and we'll be cursed for mocking the Lord.
The Pharisees and Sadducees who crucified the Savior, were huge fans of tradition, because it meant that they didn't have to be righteous on the inside. With the Lord's demonstration of the cursing of the fig tree for not having fruit, it was an object lesson to those that have the outward appearance of righteousness but show no fruit (Matthew 21). We must offer ourselves to the Lord and He will bless us with fruits of righteousness.
Cain offered fruit to the Lord instead of an animal sacrifice and it was rejected. We have to offer the kind of sacrifice the Lord demands in order to be blessed for it. The Lord demands we offer our whole selves and not just the outward appearance, or it will be rejected and we'll be cursed for mocking the Lord.
26.3.11
How to Progress Spiritually
Blessings are interesting things. The scriptures say as we are obedient to the commandments of God, we are "instantly" blessed. Perhaps the instant blessing is the spirit's liberation of the sin. Just as all things were spiritual before physical, I believe our spiritual blessings come first or at least each blessing we get is spiritually based. Physical blessings such as being healed, or food, or blessings of safety are easier detected but still have spiritual blessings to them.
The scriptures, (I say that so vaguely, you know those scriptures say a lot of things) talk about when we have any blessing, responsibilities are given to use properly. The lesson being- if we misuse our blessings they are turned into curses.
An example is the use of our physical bodies. We have these physical things that are given for spiritual progress. Misusing our bodies by using drugs, being sexually promiscuous, unhealthy eating habits, tattoos, piercings, etc. constitutes a misuse of given blessing and therefore a sin, which is then something that becomes an obstacle to spiritual progress.
Nobody has been a perfect steward over all that has been given, except the Son of God. Each blessing we have is a representation of God's trust. He loves us without condition but does not trust us unconditionally. We have to earn God's trust- "His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things." (Matthew 25).
Everything we're given is on loan from God as it is He that gave it to us. We show that we love Him by being responsible over our gifts through keeping His commandments. When we take good care of what He's given, then we are blessed with more and trusted with greater things.
The scriptures, (I say that so vaguely, you know those scriptures say a lot of things) talk about when we have any blessing, responsibilities are given to use properly. The lesson being- if we misuse our blessings they are turned into curses.
An example is the use of our physical bodies. We have these physical things that are given for spiritual progress. Misusing our bodies by using drugs, being sexually promiscuous, unhealthy eating habits, tattoos, piercings, etc. constitutes a misuse of given blessing and therefore a sin, which is then something that becomes an obstacle to spiritual progress.
Nobody has been a perfect steward over all that has been given, except the Son of God. Each blessing we have is a representation of God's trust. He loves us without condition but does not trust us unconditionally. We have to earn God's trust- "His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things." (Matthew 25).
Everything we're given is on loan from God as it is He that gave it to us. We show that we love Him by being responsible over our gifts through keeping His commandments. When we take good care of what He's given, then we are blessed with more and trusted with greater things.
17.3.11
Things We'll Always Need
"People spend because they want to capture the excitement shown in advertisements. When you are satisfied with what you have and your life (not trying to live like those on TV), your finances will be in a lot better shape."
Just read a great article on being more fiscal with money. As you may remember from my earlier post, I indeed need to capture a few lessons from monetary dealings. The article was a top ten list of characteristics that make you money richer. Sounds cheesy but cheese is a slang word for money in some circles. I did like the list as it was praiseworthy and true. See 13th Article of Faith. Theres plenty of gems out there, we just need to savour them up.
"The true path to financial freedom, however, is to work hard to earn money while educating yourself to continue to have more value and increase your salary."
The path to prosperity is that very thing. Hard work, diligence, education and hope. Thats what the righteous in the Book of Mormon were always doing, when they weren't righteous they turned into classes and contentious and proud which lead to mafiaosos known as the Gadiaton Robbers.
We need to be responsible and discern what is of value and what isn't. The scriptures constantly evoke imagery or lessons from money. How hard is it for a rich man to get into heaven? Pretty much impossible. But, not because he's rich but because he loves money more than God. Anybody who doesn't love God will have a hard time returning to God for eternity. God simply complies with our desires.
One thing I've learned on this journey out of debt, is that I'll always need money down the road. Let me make this clear, money isn't evil, the love of money is evil. But, just as I know I'll need food and shelter and clothes the rest of my life, I'll need money. If not money than some way of acquiring food, shelter, safety, etc. Since I know that money is always going to be a good resource, I must not waste it foolishly. One thing the Lord doesn't respect is our lack of responsibility and recklessness with opportunity.
Christ told the parable of the servants who were given some form of money and told to use it. When the master returned for an accounting of the servants use of it, the trouble came from those that didn't have faith to use it. We too can see parallels here between money, gifts, or any sort of power that is allotted us by God. Those that were scared to use it, were chastised and lost their gifts. Those that used their time wisely, received a reward for their trust in God.
Jacob in chapter 2 of self titled book, goes on about how we shouldn't pray for riches unless we are praying with a responsible/righteous cause- to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and help the less fortunate.
Isn't responsibility so Christ like? He took responsibility for all of our sins and why? Out of love. How do you we show love? Taking responsibility for what we're given. Christ took responsibility and was given all that the Father has. We too have that opportunity. When we seek it upon ourselves to help build up others, we are essentially taking responsibility for their well being and being a savior. Definition of a Savior is anyone who does for someone else what they can't do for themselves. The Lord is offended when we ask Him to do what we can do for ourselves. He doesn't help us in our sins but from our sins.
We'll always need His help but fortunately He knows the line between what we can and can't do and acts accordingly with our faith. He can have us move boulders or build mansions but he won't do anything without our faith to take a step toward and as we go, we find the Lord continually ahead of us and leading us. We won't stop on this path till He welcomes us into His arms of mercy and we are in heaven.
Just read a great article on being more fiscal with money. As you may remember from my earlier post, I indeed need to capture a few lessons from monetary dealings. The article was a top ten list of characteristics that make you money richer. Sounds cheesy but cheese is a slang word for money in some circles. I did like the list as it was praiseworthy and true. See 13th Article of Faith. Theres plenty of gems out there, we just need to savour them up.
"The true path to financial freedom, however, is to work hard to earn money while educating yourself to continue to have more value and increase your salary."
The path to prosperity is that very thing. Hard work, diligence, education and hope. Thats what the righteous in the Book of Mormon were always doing, when they weren't righteous they turned into classes and contentious and proud which lead to mafiaosos known as the Gadiaton Robbers.
We need to be responsible and discern what is of value and what isn't. The scriptures constantly evoke imagery or lessons from money. How hard is it for a rich man to get into heaven? Pretty much impossible. But, not because he's rich but because he loves money more than God. Anybody who doesn't love God will have a hard time returning to God for eternity. God simply complies with our desires.
One thing I've learned on this journey out of debt, is that I'll always need money down the road. Let me make this clear, money isn't evil, the love of money is evil. But, just as I know I'll need food and shelter and clothes the rest of my life, I'll need money. If not money than some way of acquiring food, shelter, safety, etc. Since I know that money is always going to be a good resource, I must not waste it foolishly. One thing the Lord doesn't respect is our lack of responsibility and recklessness with opportunity.
Christ told the parable of the servants who were given some form of money and told to use it. When the master returned for an accounting of the servants use of it, the trouble came from those that didn't have faith to use it. We too can see parallels here between money, gifts, or any sort of power that is allotted us by God. Those that were scared to use it, were chastised and lost their gifts. Those that used their time wisely, received a reward for their trust in God.
Jacob in chapter 2 of self titled book, goes on about how we shouldn't pray for riches unless we are praying with a responsible/righteous cause- to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and help the less fortunate.
Isn't responsibility so Christ like? He took responsibility for all of our sins and why? Out of love. How do you we show love? Taking responsibility for what we're given. Christ took responsibility and was given all that the Father has. We too have that opportunity. When we seek it upon ourselves to help build up others, we are essentially taking responsibility for their well being and being a savior. Definition of a Savior is anyone who does for someone else what they can't do for themselves. The Lord is offended when we ask Him to do what we can do for ourselves. He doesn't help us in our sins but from our sins.
We'll always need His help but fortunately He knows the line between what we can and can't do and acts accordingly with our faith. He can have us move boulders or build mansions but he won't do anything without our faith to take a step toward and as we go, we find the Lord continually ahead of us and leading us. We won't stop on this path till He welcomes us into His arms of mercy and we are in heaven.
14.3.11
True Individuality is through Obedience to God
"When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, then God will endow us with power from on high."
-Ezra Taft Benson
So, I have this new job where I have free flights. I won't say which airline. Anyway, I finally was able to get a time and day where I could use these seemingly simple benefits. Lack of planning ensued and we were off to our grand adventure. To make a short story even shorter, we ended up having to spend a lot of money we didn't have due to poor oversight.
What seemed so simple became so much of a debacle. Ended up in debt and had to keep paying overdraft fees to the bank. Our simple decision became a seemingly never ending hole of despair.
This ties to obedience because it seems to me that every time I try to "get away" with something, I end up getting in this long caught up web of consequence. When we try to do the least possible just to satisfy the letter of the law, we end up like the wealthy who threw in of their abundance and missed the better part. When we try to keep our lives from the Lord, He is unable to make that part of us better. When we withhold or try to serve and keep ourselves from the Lord, we are doing ourselves the biggest disservice imaginable.
Only when we take on our lots and tasks with full willingness is when we are blessed with added strength from the Lord. When we try to shy or shirk our obedience, we find ourselves in an ongoing stressful situation that we will eventually have to repent of and slowly get out of the debt we accumulated.
Of course, there is no time when we aren't subject or deserving of the consequences of our choices. We are helpless creatures that the Lord in perfect mercy sustains us from day to day.
-Ezra Taft Benson
So, I have this new job where I have free flights. I won't say which airline. Anyway, I finally was able to get a time and day where I could use these seemingly simple benefits. Lack of planning ensued and we were off to our grand adventure. To make a short story even shorter, we ended up having to spend a lot of money we didn't have due to poor oversight.
What seemed so simple became so much of a debacle. Ended up in debt and had to keep paying overdraft fees to the bank. Our simple decision became a seemingly never ending hole of despair.
This ties to obedience because it seems to me that every time I try to "get away" with something, I end up getting in this long caught up web of consequence. When we try to do the least possible just to satisfy the letter of the law, we end up like the wealthy who threw in of their abundance and missed the better part. When we try to keep our lives from the Lord, He is unable to make that part of us better. When we withhold or try to serve and keep ourselves from the Lord, we are doing ourselves the biggest disservice imaginable.
Only when we take on our lots and tasks with full willingness is when we are blessed with added strength from the Lord. When we try to shy or shirk our obedience, we find ourselves in an ongoing stressful situation that we will eventually have to repent of and slowly get out of the debt we accumulated.
Of course, there is no time when we aren't subject or deserving of the consequences of our choices. We are helpless creatures that the Lord in perfect mercy sustains us from day to day.
King Benjamin said-
I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.
Any moment we reject Christ, we are subject to justice. Justice in this case is not on our side as we are without merit to reach godliness on our own. We only receive this grace "after all we can do" and even then its still mercy through the merits of Christ.
How unforgiving Satan is of our sins as he makes his case to God against us! He does not sustain those that choose him but rather lets them wreak the consequences of choosing selfishly. While the Lord is the only forgiving choice we have and fortunately He makes sure that we do not pay for our sins ourselves. He only asks us to "sin no more" and "rejoice" because of His great love. What an astounding difference it is to choose obedience to God over our own will.
Neal A. Maxwell said-
Besides, there is more individuality in those who are more holy. Sin, on the other hand, brings sameness; it shrinks us to addictive appetites and insubordinate impulses. For a brief surging, selfish moment, sin may create the illusion of individuality, but only as in the grunting, galloping Gadarene swine! (See Matt. 8:28–32.)
I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.
Any moment we reject Christ, we are subject to justice. Justice in this case is not on our side as we are without merit to reach godliness on our own. We only receive this grace "after all we can do" and even then its still mercy through the merits of Christ.
How unforgiving Satan is of our sins as he makes his case to God against us! He does not sustain those that choose him but rather lets them wreak the consequences of choosing selfishly. While the Lord is the only forgiving choice we have and fortunately He makes sure that we do not pay for our sins ourselves. He only asks us to "sin no more" and "rejoice" because of His great love. What an astounding difference it is to choose obedience to God over our own will.
Neal A. Maxwell said-
Besides, there is more individuality in those who are more holy. Sin, on the other hand, brings sameness; it shrinks us to addictive appetites and insubordinate impulses. For a brief surging, selfish moment, sin may create the illusion of individuality, but only as in the grunting, galloping Gadarene swine! (See Matt. 8:28–32.)
Sameness is the word he chose for those that reject God's will for their own. Like that quote "Unique, just like everybody else." The Lord always brings out in us things we didn't know we were capable of and this is why we're here. To live up to our potential of being like God. Being beings of immense greatness and love. Not bitter creatures that seek only their own well being to consume it upon their lusts.
A talk I saw on BYUTV once gave an interesting point on the dangers of pornography. The speaker said that those who engage in pornography have a much more closed and desensitized view of the world. Their eyes much like Gollum, seeking wholeness in something that continually takes rather than gives. This sort of outlook is reflected in all of sin. All appeasement of our natural man appetites over the will of God is sin and keeps us in the dark. Just as Gollom or any addict that wastes away all the beautiful things of their lives for one more fix that continually breaks them down, deeper and deeper.
A talk I saw on BYUTV once gave an interesting point on the dangers of pornography. The speaker said that those who engage in pornography have a much more closed and desensitized view of the world. Their eyes much like Gollum, seeking wholeness in something that continually takes rather than gives. This sort of outlook is reflected in all of sin. All appeasement of our natural man appetites over the will of God is sin and keeps us in the dark. Just as Gollom or any addict that wastes away all the beautiful things of their lives for one more fix that continually breaks them down, deeper and deeper.
The speaker went on to describe the opposite images that open up the soul and bring light into it. She said the natural world is beautiful and keeps us in touch with our true selves. We feel a love from the earth in nature and it is a striking view to see what the Lord has done on this planet. Our souls are opened up by the natural world, but closed down by the natural man.
We must live as Christ like as possible if we are to be our true, open, loving and lighted selves and stand as a "city upon a hill".
Interesting to note that individuality and identity is achieved by giving up ourselves to the Lord while the opposite leads to sameness and darkness. One step further on that note, the Lord always wills that we serve others as ourselves because when we do that we are serving the Lord. True individuality is through giving up ourselves for others. I doubt the collective world at large will ever grasp this idea.
12.2.11
Our Gardner
There are two scriptures in the Book of Mormon where it talks about the Lamanites to scourge Nephites to stir them up in remembrance (1 Ne. 2:24, 2 Ne. 5:25).
What does the Lord use today to scourge us to remembrance of Him?
Before answering that, its important to know how a scourge might help us to remember God. From the Book of Mormon we see time after time of when the righteous were prosperous and then felt as if they were untouchable. Its the same iceberg of pride that sank the Titanic. When we enter that mode of thought that we're immune to failure or beyond the reach of danger, then we are straight for a course into an iceberg.
The Lord uses these scourges to keep us on our toes, to keep us watchful, diligent and humble. We don't have these scourges to keep us in grief or despair. The Lord's purposes are always to edify us, even if that means tearing down pride from time to time.
Helaman 5:12
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
The reason we fall is because we're not built on the sure foundation. We can't sustain ourselves through the storm without an anchor of faith in Christ. We'll lose ourselves in the storm that is guaranteed to come our way.
Here in Utah, many talk of the sheltered lives Mormons live. "The Bubble" they say. As if to say a large population of active Mormons are ignorant to the outside world. Could be true. Doesn't matter though really. I mean when we start to evaluate and judge we seem so easily persuaded to start thinking we're better than so and so or that so and so thinks they're better than us. Its real easy to make the wrong things the enemy and real easy to take comfort or pride in the distorted views.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not easy. It is never ending and it is demanding of all that is you. How is one expected to give so much?
Satan always sets up his kingdom in opposition to the Lord. He does that through a false justification of our imperfection. Where Christ turns our imperfections into perfection through our repentance, Satan tells us that we need not repent because our sins aren't sins. In other words, Christ changes us by us accepting His laws and gospel, Satan changes the laws to be more accepting of us in our sins. Its kind of confusing but lets try it again- The Lord wants us to accept Him so that He can make us happier, stronger, cleaner, and all around perfect and He does this by showing us our weaknesses so that we can see the need for our repentance and thus turn to Him for our source of life which helps us begin to live a new life with a new heart from the Lord. Satan just wants us to be miserably enslaved to our passions and pleasures so that they overpower our morality and we become lifeless and shallow in our sins.
Which is why in the verses before Helaman 5:12 it read:
...for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins.
And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls.
The Lord's work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. He is a Gardner. Trimming the hedges, pruning the trees, working the fields etc. all in order to make sure we have every chance to grow spiritually. He doesn't want us to grow in our sins but in our righteousness. The message of the scriptures is always to repent of our sins and come unto the Lord. We must repent and become better or we are as the salt that lost its flavor or the fruit that went bitter and just good for nothing but to be hewn down.
Its our duty to repent and turn to Christ to help us change who we are into something greater. If we aren't doing that then we aren't repenting and we are losing our flavor.
Back to the original question, what are the scourges of today? Our weaknesses. We have plenty to choose from. Nothing to grieve about. The Lord uses them so we remember we aren't perfect but vulnerable and in His hands.
Ether 12:27
And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
If we are humble about our weaknesses and seek not to justify them as Satan would have us do, then we are in a position to gain strength and mercy from the Lord and He will then help us to make these weaknesses be replaced with strengths. Whenever the Nephites were righteous, a group of them would go and preach the word of the Lord to the Lamanites in hopes of helping them have peace and prosperity together. I can imagine the burden they felt living next to an idolatrous people that knew not the Lord. When they were humble they faced this burden with the word, when they were wicked they faced it with the sword. Which way is more effective?
Alma 31:5
And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.
How we choose to deal with our righteous responsibilities will determine so much of our spiritual growth. We can hide from it, attack it, justify ourselves, or simply stand vulnerable before the Lord and accept His will over ours. Until we do that, we cannot call ourselves Christians.
What does the Lord use today to scourge us to remembrance of Him?
Before answering that, its important to know how a scourge might help us to remember God. From the Book of Mormon we see time after time of when the righteous were prosperous and then felt as if they were untouchable. Its the same iceberg of pride that sank the Titanic. When we enter that mode of thought that we're immune to failure or beyond the reach of danger, then we are straight for a course into an iceberg.
The Lord uses these scourges to keep us on our toes, to keep us watchful, diligent and humble. We don't have these scourges to keep us in grief or despair. The Lord's purposes are always to edify us, even if that means tearing down pride from time to time.
Helaman 5:12
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
The reason we fall is because we're not built on the sure foundation. We can't sustain ourselves through the storm without an anchor of faith in Christ. We'll lose ourselves in the storm that is guaranteed to come our way.
Here in Utah, many talk of the sheltered lives Mormons live. "The Bubble" they say. As if to say a large population of active Mormons are ignorant to the outside world. Could be true. Doesn't matter though really. I mean when we start to evaluate and judge we seem so easily persuaded to start thinking we're better than so and so or that so and so thinks they're better than us. Its real easy to make the wrong things the enemy and real easy to take comfort or pride in the distorted views.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not easy. It is never ending and it is demanding of all that is you. How is one expected to give so much?
Satan always sets up his kingdom in opposition to the Lord. He does that through a false justification of our imperfection. Where Christ turns our imperfections into perfection through our repentance, Satan tells us that we need not repent because our sins aren't sins. In other words, Christ changes us by us accepting His laws and gospel, Satan changes the laws to be more accepting of us in our sins. Its kind of confusing but lets try it again- The Lord wants us to accept Him so that He can make us happier, stronger, cleaner, and all around perfect and He does this by showing us our weaknesses so that we can see the need for our repentance and thus turn to Him for our source of life which helps us begin to live a new life with a new heart from the Lord. Satan just wants us to be miserably enslaved to our passions and pleasures so that they overpower our morality and we become lifeless and shallow in our sins.
Which is why in the verses before Helaman 5:12 it read:
...for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins.
And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls.
The Lord's work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. He is a Gardner. Trimming the hedges, pruning the trees, working the fields etc. all in order to make sure we have every chance to grow spiritually. He doesn't want us to grow in our sins but in our righteousness. The message of the scriptures is always to repent of our sins and come unto the Lord. We must repent and become better or we are as the salt that lost its flavor or the fruit that went bitter and just good for nothing but to be hewn down.
Its our duty to repent and turn to Christ to help us change who we are into something greater. If we aren't doing that then we aren't repenting and we are losing our flavor.
Back to the original question, what are the scourges of today? Our weaknesses. We have plenty to choose from. Nothing to grieve about. The Lord uses them so we remember we aren't perfect but vulnerable and in His hands.
Ether 12:27
And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
If we are humble about our weaknesses and seek not to justify them as Satan would have us do, then we are in a position to gain strength and mercy from the Lord and He will then help us to make these weaknesses be replaced with strengths. Whenever the Nephites were righteous, a group of them would go and preach the word of the Lord to the Lamanites in hopes of helping them have peace and prosperity together. I can imagine the burden they felt living next to an idolatrous people that knew not the Lord. When they were humble they faced this burden with the word, when they were wicked they faced it with the sword. Which way is more effective?
Alma 31:5
And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.
How we choose to deal with our righteous responsibilities will determine so much of our spiritual growth. We can hide from it, attack it, justify ourselves, or simply stand vulnerable before the Lord and accept His will over ours. Until we do that, we cannot call ourselves Christians.
19.1.11
Nothing in Return
C.S. Lewis quote from the Screwtape Letters-
"I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula. It is more certain; and it's better style. To get the man's soul and give him nothing in return—that is what really gladdens our Father's heart."
I can't believe it took me this long to quote the great C.S. Lewis. Probably the most quoted non Mormon by Mormons.
This quote is from a the evil Screwtape in regards to how to capture men's souls. I find it quite insightful into the process of losing our souls.
Its an interesting distinction between losing our souls and losing ourselves. The Lord calls for us to lose ourselves in the service of others. The Adversary whispers to us to lose our souls in the service of ourselves.
By pleasure, does the devil work. He lures us with the promise of it. We sin a little and feel instant pleasure and then we are in debt. The only one with a credit card to pay it is Jesus Christ. We have no way of accumulating any credit to pay for our own sins. Only He can remove the stain of sin. But, He will only remove it, if we promise to not sin again. Thats repentance.
The Satan has tricks to make us think that we are in control and happy, but they are just tricks. After the smoke is cleared we are left without a soul and in debt. The scriptures refer to it as being in the "gall of bitterness" or in the "chains" of the Devil.
The distinct between Christ again is a solid opposite of the Devil. We willfully choose to serve others and not ourselves. We chain ourselves to the will of God and we are free. We have our souls and lost ourselves. What I mean by having a soul is that we have all we need and then some.
Another illustration of how Satan works is when we choose evil we seek after all we want but end up being a slave to those things rather than a master. When following Satan, we are surrounded by a great deal of waste. Why? Because we sought happiness in that which cannot sustain or fulfill our souls.
The Lord knows what we need and by giving up our will for His, He will bless us with all we need and then some. Usually though we just need to suffer through the hard part and then realize all the Lord has done and all the blessings we have after converting to the Lord's will. Its a process of repentance that is hardly an easy feat for the mortal man.
Through the subjecting of ourselves to God, we gain through suffering. We have to kill the natural man within us and make the spirit conqueror. We rejoice in sacrifice for God's sake, as we know that the Lord is way to eternal life. No other way can one achieve the potential of the human. We have to unlock this potential through faith. He will remake in us something great and noble and eternal. Its a process of giving up the now, for the eternal. The Lord doesn't forget His promises. He will glorify Himself in us.
Satan seeks to mock God through destroying us. He seeks to cause pain to God through our disobedience and then will accuse us before God. The Savior will be our advocate and pay for our wrong doings. The Lord cannot deny Justice and we will be grieved for our sins unless we repent and turn to Christ to pay for our sins. Then we will receive mercy and the Savior will present us clean before the Father and He will say "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." -Matthew 25:21
"I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula. It is more certain; and it's better style. To get the man's soul and give him nothing in return—that is what really gladdens our Father's heart."
I can't believe it took me this long to quote the great C.S. Lewis. Probably the most quoted non Mormon by Mormons.
This quote is from a the evil Screwtape in regards to how to capture men's souls. I find it quite insightful into the process of losing our souls.
Its an interesting distinction between losing our souls and losing ourselves. The Lord calls for us to lose ourselves in the service of others. The Adversary whispers to us to lose our souls in the service of ourselves.
By pleasure, does the devil work. He lures us with the promise of it. We sin a little and feel instant pleasure and then we are in debt. The only one with a credit card to pay it is Jesus Christ. We have no way of accumulating any credit to pay for our own sins. Only He can remove the stain of sin. But, He will only remove it, if we promise to not sin again. Thats repentance.
The Satan has tricks to make us think that we are in control and happy, but they are just tricks. After the smoke is cleared we are left without a soul and in debt. The scriptures refer to it as being in the "gall of bitterness" or in the "chains" of the Devil.
The distinct between Christ again is a solid opposite of the Devil. We willfully choose to serve others and not ourselves. We chain ourselves to the will of God and we are free. We have our souls and lost ourselves. What I mean by having a soul is that we have all we need and then some.
Another illustration of how Satan works is when we choose evil we seek after all we want but end up being a slave to those things rather than a master. When following Satan, we are surrounded by a great deal of waste. Why? Because we sought happiness in that which cannot sustain or fulfill our souls.
The Lord knows what we need and by giving up our will for His, He will bless us with all we need and then some. Usually though we just need to suffer through the hard part and then realize all the Lord has done and all the blessings we have after converting to the Lord's will. Its a process of repentance that is hardly an easy feat for the mortal man.
Through the subjecting of ourselves to God, we gain through suffering. We have to kill the natural man within us and make the spirit conqueror. We rejoice in sacrifice for God's sake, as we know that the Lord is way to eternal life. No other way can one achieve the potential of the human. We have to unlock this potential through faith. He will remake in us something great and noble and eternal. Its a process of giving up the now, for the eternal. The Lord doesn't forget His promises. He will glorify Himself in us.
Satan seeks to mock God through destroying us. He seeks to cause pain to God through our disobedience and then will accuse us before God. The Savior will be our advocate and pay for our wrong doings. The Lord cannot deny Justice and we will be grieved for our sins unless we repent and turn to Christ to pay for our sins. Then we will receive mercy and the Savior will present us clean before the Father and He will say "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." -Matthew 25:21
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