Man's lifespan length changed?

Adam, the first man, lived to be 930 years old. Methusalah, in the bible was the son of Enoch, and was the father of Lamech, and the grandfather of Noah, lived to be nine-hundred-sixty-nine years old (969). He was the longest life recorded in the bible. However, in Genesis 6:3 we are told that, "And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years" and in the Book of Mormon we read in the book of 2 Nephi, chapter 2, verse 21, "And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation⁠, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men."

Is there a contradiction in that?

If Genesis 6:3 is a countdown to the flood, Methuselah's long life ends right before or when the flood begins (some believe the exact year). After the flood, lifespans significantly shortened. Noah's son, Shem, for example, lived for 600 years, a considerable decrease from his father's 950, Abraham's father, Terah, lived to be 205, and Moses only 120. From Shem (600) to Peleg (239): lifespan is nearly cut in half. By the time of Joseph (who only lived for 110 years!), lifespans are well below 120. Around the time of Eber to Peleg (5–6 generations after the Flood), lifespans fell below 500 years and never rose again. The nine disciples of Jesus Christ, in third Nephi in the Book of Mormom, other than the three Nephites who desired to live on Earth until the Savior returns, lived only to "the life of a tree", or in 3 Nephi 28:3 or seventy two years old. Today, in the year 2025, the life expectancy of man is 73-74 years old. The decline in human lifespans after the Flood is gradual, not immediate.

So, the truth is: each and every man or woman lives until they've been fully tested, that they can then finish preparations in Spirit prison or Paradise (see Alma chapter 42)...

And, there you have it...

JPS

Jesus Christ’s compassion and mercy

It is easy to feel sorry for those that have sinned; they are essentially sick (and who doesn't or can't feel sorry for anyone who's sick?)! No matter what they've done or are even continually choosing to do, they are just choosing or have chosen to be sick/infected... "Bigotry manifests itself, in part, in unwillingness to grant equal freedom of expression to another", Elder Dale G. Renlund. We must understand and emulate our Heavenly Father's eternal separation between the sin and those who commit sin. As we become closer to Jesus Christ, "... we learn to treat others as He does, regardless of any outward characteristic or behavior." Look at Elder Renlund's analogy from April 2017 to Les Miserables: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/our-good-shepherd?lang=eng Jean Valjean is the sick/sinner and the Bienvenu Myriel, the bishop of Digne, is Christ. “All the same, should the scabs of the sheep cause the shepherd to recoil?” The bishop asks, metaphorically! "The Savior’s mortal ministry was indeed characterized by love, compassion, and empathy. He did not disdainfully walk the dusty roads of Galilee and Judea, flinching at the sight of sinners. He did not dodge them in abject horror. No, He ate with them. He helped and blessed, lifted and edified, and replaced fear and despair with hope and joy. Like the true shepherd He is, He seeks us and finds us to offer relief and hope. Understanding His compassion and love helps us exercise faith in Him—to repent and be healed." "... our genuine conversion brings 'meekness, and lowliness of heart,' which invites 'the Holy Ghost [and fills us with] perfect love,' an 'unfeigned love' for others." We need to go to those who need help--rest-homes, care-centers, homeless-shelters, soup-kitchens... We need to be willing seek-out missionary opportunities as directed by the Spirit--also need to remember that we're not full-time missionaries or general authorities... Be out-of-comfort-zone!!! Till it becomes our comfort zone... "Understanding His compassion and love helps us exercise faith in Him—to repent and be healed... Our role is also to help and bless, lift and edify, and replace fear and despair with hope and joy." We can motivate people to change by our compassion and mercy, just as the Savior did! "The Savior’s compassion, love, and mercy draw us toward Him... [And] through His Atonement, we are no longer satisfied with our sinful state. As we understand His role, through doing as He has done, we become more like Him and naturally do more of His work, which helps us become more like Him. ... The fastest way to become like our Savior is to do His work--as we do His work, we will repent more and understand Him and our Heavenly Father more... “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” "She was motivated to change because of His compassion and mercy." "And the woman glorified God from that hour, and believed on his name.” JST John 8:11 "God is clear about what is right and acceptable to Him and what is wrong and sinful. This is not because He desires to have mindless, obedient followers. No, our Heavenly Father desires that His children knowingly and willingly choose to become like Him and qualify for the kind of life He enjoys." "Our role is also to help and bless, lift and edify, and replace fear and despair with hope and joy." JPS

Covenant Power

How do we access God's Power through making and keeping our covenants?

God has an infinite amount of love for His children. Because Our Heavenly Father's love is infinite, He can and does have an infinite love for each one of His children. He wants to share the infiniate power that He has, as God of the Universe, with us. How can He share that power with us? The only way that we can share in and be able to use that power is through the covenants that He makes with us infividually and as families.

In his talk, given in October of 2011, then Elder Russell M. Nelson, explained: "It is a sacred promise with God. He fixes the terms. Each person may choose to accept those terms. If one accepts the terms of the covenant and obeys God’s law, he or she receives the blessings associated with the covenant. We know that 'when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.'"

The most obvious example of this principle is when God, throughout the ages has made covenants with His children. His covenants occur throughout the entire plan of salvation and are therefore part of the fulness of His gospel. For example, God promised to send a Savior for His children, to be acle to return to live with Him, and He has asked us, in turn for our obedience to His law.

What about day-to-day power and blessings? It, actually, comes through the exact same method: His Son. We are given access to His power, through that blessing of Jesus Christ!

What power do they give us?

Through His atonement, we are each given Power over Death, Power over Sin, and Power to Do-More-than-we-otherwise-would-be-able-to-without-His-Power. So, we would each be resurrected in the final judgement and given perfect, immortal bodies--never to die again. We would be given the blessing of forgiveness and thus be able to become clean and able to enter into reive forgivness for our sins and mistakes as we show our Savior and Redeemer that we have repented and ask for His forgivenes.

The third power is what is oftentimes called "grace" in this world (although, each and every gift that is given to us by our Heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, can be called, "grace": Power over Death, through the grace of Jesus Christ, Power over Sin, through the grace of Jesus Christ, and Power to Do-More-than-we-otherwise-would-be-able-to-without-His-Power, through the grace of Jesus Christ).

Way back in 2014, Elder David A. Bednar gave a memorable talk regarding a friend who had decided he would cut and haul a supply of firewood for their home from a nearby forest with a newly purchased truck. Remember that talk? It is one of my favorites!

I quote from the talk:

"... [My] friend wanted to demonstrate the utility of the truck and validate his reasons for wanting to purchase it. So he decided he would cut and haul a supply of firewood for their home. It was in the autumn of the year, and snow already had fallen in the mountains where he intended to find wood. As he drove up the mountainside, the snow gradually became deeper and deeper. My friend recognized the slick road conditions presented a risk, but with great confidence in the new truck, he kept going.

Sadly, my friend went too far along the snowy road. As he steered the truck off of the road at the place he had determined to cut wood, he got stuck. All four of the wheels on the new truck spun in the snow. He readily recognized that he did not know what to do to extricate himself from this dangerous situation. He was embarrassed and worried.

Can't we all see ourselves in this or a similar situation? I know that I can!

My friend decided, “Well, I will not just sit here.” He climbed out of the vehicle and started cutting wood. He completely filled the back of the truck with the heavy load. And then my friend determined he would try driving out of the snow one more time. As he put the pickup into gear and applied power, he started to inch forward. Slowly the truck moved out of the snow and back onto the road. He finally was free to go home, a happy and humbled man."

It was the weight from the load that enabled the friend of Elder Bednar to escape his dire predicament. Without the weight from the wood that he'd just cut down from the trees, his truck would not have and could not have found the traction needed to move forward, to drive out of the forest, and to get back onto the road that would take him home.

I quote again from the talk: "Our individual load is comprised of demands and opportunities, obligations and privileges, afflictions and blessings, and options and constraints."

We all know that the obstacles of death and sin will keep us from returning to live with our families and with our Savior and Heavenly Father. All will be resurrected. All who want and have faith enough will receive forgivness as they ask for it. The power of Jesus Christ is essential and necessary for that. Elder Bednar reminds us or maybe points-out another obstacle that would keep us from returning to God, Christ, and our families, though (and for me, this was the first time I had actually recognized this obstacle): Christ's atonement gives me Power to Do-More-than-I-otherwise-would-be-able-to-without-His-Power!

In Matthew 11:28–30, the Savior said:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”.

Haven't we all, me included, felt our individual loads of demands from school and work and family obligations and financial stresses other obligations, afflictions from stress, other mental illnesses or fatigues, and even the weight that comes to us from our blessings and options? The weight that comes from constraints and even opportunities and privileges? Social weight?

Elder Bednar says, again,

A yoke is a wooden beam, normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals that enables them to pull together on a load. A yoke places animals side-by-side so they can move together in order to accomplish a task.

Consider the Lord’s uniquely individual invitation to “take my yoke upon you.” Making and keeping sacred covenants yokes us to and with the Lord Jesus Christ. In essence, the Savior is beckoning us to rely upon and pull together with Him, even though our best efforts are not equal to and cannot be compared with His. As we trust in and pull our load with Him during the journey of mortality, truly His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

How have you felt power from your covenants in your own life?

JPS

Are you fluent in the language of the Spirit; the language of God?

In first Nephi, chapter 11, verse 11, we read, "And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another."

Nephi had already learned the language of the Spirit and knew how to communicate with him... And, now, in a dream or vision, they are able to speak and have a conversation just as you would have in person, on Earth (or in person on God’s planet [Kolob?]).

JPS

Can man see more than one member of the Godhead at the same time?

Sure, in cases like John the baptist at Christ's baptism or with Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove... Or in verse 1 Nephi 11:27 where Nephi sees Christ and the Holy Ghost (with the Father recognizing the Son--which is exactly like John the Baptist...). But what about 1 Nephi 11:12 (where the Holy Ghost had gone before Nephi's presence when the Virgin was with child...) or how the disciples aren't given the Holy Ghost till after Christ is no longer with them! -- in the economy of God, I just don't think that man needs more than one member of the Godhead there at once (redundant?)!

Just as scriptures are not re-translated if it's possible to get your hands on the already-existing copy! Is there another reason why no more than one member of the Godhead is usually seen at once?

Later, in that same chapter, chapter 11 of 1 Nephi, in verse 21, it says, "21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father⁠! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?" Which First time Nephi calls the Spirit or refers to an “angel”... which coincides with what I say about God can’t be at the same place at the same time—God the Father, God the Son, or God the testator...

The Holy Ghost was talking to Nephi till this verse, when Christ is in the picture, and now “the angel” is used... may still be The Holy Ghost, but Nephi refers to him as “the angel”...

And in verse, 12 of 1 Nephi, chapter 11, we read, "And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence."

As if both thr Spirit and the Son of God both be in the same place, both being seen by the same mortal being on a mortal plane

Who can tell me why?

Actually, I think I know why... It is because Jesus is going to come-on-the-scene in thr next verse and then stay for the duration of the chaoter... Can't have two Gods in the same place, at the same time, for no special teason... Must have something to do with the economy of God!

Actually, every time that Jesus Christ or God the Father reveal themselves to man, the Holy Ghost will also be there, and, God the Father often or always makes an introduction of His Son when the second comforter is given...

JPS

Sins of Omission

Probably, even though not much is said about sins of omission an omission is not the same as a comission...

For example, letting someone die because you don't do all you can to save them is not the same as killing them... Or is it? Neither of them is murder because there was no intent to kill them, but negligence could be considered like unto murder or something like it.

I guess the bottom line is: just don't do it (or just don't not do it in the case of omission...).

I frankly don't want to be involved! I don't want to be a judge in this situation... Put me through law school, heal my brain from the affects of the traumatic brain injury first, appoint me an elect me to be a judge, and put this case on trial and I'll gladly be the judge, but not right now...

Just do the right thing in every case! Just do it!

We all know when we'e done solething that's a sin. But what about not doing something or ignoring a prompting or forgetting about a prompting you should have followed immediately? A sin of omission is a doing too, remember...

I wonder how merciful the Lord will be on sins of omission and if there is some cut-off about what counts as a "prompting from the Holy Ghost"... and I feel ok about repenting for sins I've COMMITTED, but if I don't know about the will of God then I can't intentionally choose to do it--right? Or is that just a plea of ignorance?

I am essentially saying that I am not accountable for not obeying a prompting I was not aware of... I am saying that I can't follow a prompting that I never felt! Doctrine & Covenants section 131:6, says, "It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance⁠." What’s the deal there? Learn to feel the promptings of the Spirit more clearly in your life!

*** look at "We Can Do Better and Be Better”, April 2019 talk by President Russell M. Nelson! (metanoeo)

A thought: the finer the “grading” will be in the Celestial Kingdom—we all know what sort of sins of commission we will have done, but when the sin is recognizable only by you, God the Father&Son, & the Holy Ghost, it comes down to acting on promptings or not, and that determines how much Spirit you have in life and your obedience, and where you will be in the Celestial Kingdom, right?

Christ will be the perfect judge but couldn’t we just say, broadly, that the more obedient you are, the more Spirit you have and the more Spirit you have the better you’ll be able to follow finer spiritual promptings… also, the more spirit you have the harsher the penalty will be for not following the Spirit! And, so, you can loose it all for making some choices—fall far-down the stairs/ladder/slide from your choice and need to climb back-up the ladder/stairs. Could be seen as a one-for-one grading system when perfectly seen and understood…

Sin grades: action, words, thoughts Celestial grades: promptings for actions, words, thoughts

JPS

Is “real intent” really an important ingredient for answered prayers?

Doesn't real intent have to do, directly, with faith?

If faith, as we learn from the epistle written to the Hebrews, is the substance or assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, and we learn from Joseph Smith that faith is the moving cause of all action from his first lecture in his Lectures on Faith, and we learn from Moroni, in the Book of Mormon that we can know that the same book is true, from God, our Heavenly Father, when we ask Him if that book is true,

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

So, now let's combine this idea with my previous blog about faith, called "Spiritual Event Horizon" and Joseph Smith's assertion that faith is both belief and action and marry that idea with Moroni's promise that real intent is needed to receive a testimony of the Book of Mormon. What you have, now, is the knowledge that in order to have miracle happen that was being prayed for you must have faith coupled with real intent--why would you have that prayer answered if you have no faith and why do you think you have faith with no real intent.

Joseph Smith went into the Sacred Grove, in Upstate New York, to pray...but not only to pray to find out which church was true or God's church on the Earth, but which church was true, so that he would join himself to that church! It wasn't simply a spiritual exercise and it wasn't a prayer to find out his curiosity, it was a prayer, that once answered, would provide Joseph with a blueprint as to what to do next! Once Joseph knew what church to join, he was going to be baptized in that church and act on his newfound knowledge. Joseph was praying do that he would know what to do next! That was why he was able to pray with such faith...

Just think about it: If you are asking a question so that you will have your next action informed by the answer to your question (which is exactly why Joseph was praying!), what are the chances that God is going to answer that question more fully and set you on the path that is going to lead to the most action or see you do the most good in your life and others? Not to put a utilitarian spin on the the whole prayer discussion, because God will answer each of our prayers if made in faith, regardless of the outcome or number of things or people affected or the good done by that parayer being answered...

Nevertheless, the prayer of faith will necessarily be made with real intent! Not only will such a prayer be acted upon but will lead to more prayers and more faith...

JPS

Receiving our Heavenly Father’s gift(s) of life

Can you redefine how you see yourself, once you realize how much Our God and Our Father thinks of us considering that He has endowed us with the gift of life? Before that, how did He think of us as He endowed us with a spirit?

In the Book of Abraham, chapter three, verse 21, we read:

"I dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee the works which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.

22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;"

You were among the among those intellingences that God came down amongst, before the world was...

23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good..."

You were amongst these good and noble intelligences that were made spirits, to come down to this Earth and do those things that would help us become more like the Father of Lights; the Father of our spirits!

Refine yourself! Think of yourself in a higher, holier light and way!

Now, redefine how you see others

Does that change the way we will treat each other, knowing that we are one of those spirits that God gave a spirit body to or knowing that he or she that we are conversing with it one of those spirits?

How fully have you internalized this gift?

JPS

Is the most populated eternal kingdom, the Celestial Kingdom?

I thought that I had always been told that the Telestial Kingdom would be the most populated... why? Is the world of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that pessimistic or that afreaid of rapists and murderers?

Let's think about this for a minute... Ok, maybe a minute more...

I personally think that there will be more people born on this Earth who will inheret the Celsestial Kingdom! Why? Is the world of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints diagreeing with me? No... I just don't think that they are wondering about it! And, why should you wonder? I'm positive that some do, and I just do too!

So, if we all concede that there have been about 117 to 121 billion people born on this Earth, up until the year and including the year 2025, roughly 40–50% are believed to have died before the age of 5, most of them as infants (under 1 year old), then given conservative estimates that about there will have been about 45 billion infant deaths (under age 1) and a broader estimate including child mortality (under age 5), 50–60 billion deaths.

Now, since we know that all children who die before the age of eight will inherit the Celestial Kingdom (as the scripture reads in the book of Doctrine & Covenants, section 137, verse ten: "And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven."), that adds-up to about half of the deaths in this world...

Now, if we add to the population of the Celestial Kingdom every single person that is preached to in the spirit world and accepts the Gospel and their Savior and accepts their posthumous and vicarious baptism, and add every single member of the church who is baptized and is valient, as well as include every person who is mentally challenged to the point that they are not capable of choosing right and wrong (which is becoming more and more prevalent with births as of late...), we easily have a Celestial Kingdom that is more populous than the other two kingdoms--even combined! Even knowing that the Telestial Kingdom, according to the seventy sixth section of the Doctrine & Covenants, verse 109, "But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore", the Celestial Kingdom will be bigger than both the Telestial and the Terrestrial Kingdoms combined.

Now that's a whole-lot-of-bessed children of God!

JPS

Why is there a premium on unsupported faith?

 

Truman G. Madsen says, in one of his lectures on Joseph Smith the prophet, that God seems to put a premium on unsupported faith rather than actual faith in something you’ve seen with physical eyes—alluding to the fact that both having faith while seeing with your physical eyes plus seeing with spiritual eyes is better than simply seeing with your physical eyes.

I have a few ideas why the unsupported faith might be better than actual faith... Notice that I didn't say "unsupportable faith", just, an initial undupported faith.

Faith is the first principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We learn that from the fourth article of faith, found in the Wentworth Letter, penned by Joseph Smith, jr. and since then published as the Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We learn what "faith" is, from many documents and letters, but maybe the first place that we see it is in the creation story: God the Father has faith that He and His Son can organize an Earth, whereon "these may dwell" (Abraham 3:24), speaking of the spirit children that He's tutored and educated that He now will give the opportunity to progress to having physical bodies and living on an Earth, that They may see if they will do all things that are commanded them (Abraham 3:25).

Paul, the New Testament Apostle, writes that, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Actually, I know that some may doubt that Paul actually wrote the epistle to the Hebrews, but I believe he did and the King James translation of the New Testament states that, "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews".

I think that he is describing unsupported faith... It is hoped for and not seen--unsupported!

So, I think we can agree that unsupported faith is true faith! Bare-bones faith! Nothing but the bare minimum that can call upon the power of God and have nothing mixed-in or deluting it in any way, faith!

JPS

Denial! Hold your tongue...

 

Moroni 1:2 says, “For behold, their wars are exceedingly fierce among themselves; and because of their hatred they put to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ.”

 

There was a time in my life when I would have said, “What difference would it make if I said those words…  I absolutely know that Jesus is the Christ and my Savior, and so, even if I said those words, I know they wouldn’t be true--so, what's the big idea if I say those things, because God knows what I think regardless of what I say...”

But, words have power and meaning.  Not only that, but we will be judged by our words (and other things…).  Even though, one may save his or her life by saying something that they wouldn’t otherwise ever say, by saying those words (or even thinking those words) changes who you are—not only will others be affected by the words you speak, but you, yourself will be everlastingly affected by the words that come out of your mouth or that go through your mind.

The librarian (Constance K. Lundberg) at the J. Reuben Clark law school, during my short stint studying there, wrote an article entitled, "Words of Hate, Words of Love" (very close title used by C. Terry Warner's book manuscript title, "Bonds of Anguish, Bonds of Love", which eventually became, "Bonds that Make Us Free" and an article that could be used at an introduction to his book).  Constance wrote that:

Elder Charles Didier of the First Quorum of the Seventy [of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints] taught us to remember that our “words are a form of personal expression. They differentiate us as well as fingerprints do. They reflect what kind of person we are, and tell of our background, and depict our way of life. They describe our thinking as well as our inner feelings.”

Elder Didier went on to say:

Language is of divine origin. Only man speaks (and women do even better), and he does so because of the purpose for which he was created."

We also read, in the Book of James of James, talking about the tongue, in the Bible's New Testament, chapter three, verses nine and ten, “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be”.  

The words of a marriage ceremony binds the man and woman together, and if performed in a one of the temples of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, by one holding and exercising the power and authority of the priesthood of God that binds the two, together, forever, their marriage will continue throughout all eternity (Doctrine & Covenants section 132, specifically verse 19, "And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever).

Words of a judge can condemn or commit a person to a certain sentence of time or free that person from an ill-fated sentence.  A contract or law or agreement can be binding after a word if spoken or written.  

Now, after years of experience and gaining perspective and understanding, words do matter!  Anything that is spoken is proof that you have thought-about (or are thinking about) and are proof that I, or anyone else, thinks about a given subject or question or idea or about a person, place, thing, or idea.  A word can be damning or exalting.  A "yes" or a "no" (even a tacit no, shown by actions) can be the difference between two different things or ways of being--even existences!

JPS

As a grain of mustard seed

 

Although, one of my most favorite topics to write about is faith and how we need to have faith to accomplish God’s will in this life, the Lord reminds me and us that our faith needs to be “as a mustard seed”.

Does that mean that your faith needs to be minuscule?  I actually think that He meant that all that we need, in order to activate the atoning power of Jesus Christ in our lives or to activate our growth is faith—active belief and power.

In Matthew 17:20, we read, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain⁠, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.”

JPS

Can you be unrighteousness AND wise?

 

Fine question: can someone be both unrighteousness (choosing to go against their inner-sense of right and wrong [go against the spirit of God]) and at the same time make wise choices?

I suppose we’ll need to give a definition or two to find out.  Wisdom = the righteous use of knowledge.  In the New Testament we also learn that if you choose to act contrary to the Spirit of God, you are sinning.  Sin = an unrighteousness act.  Therefore, one cannot make righteous choices and simultaneously be wise (making right choices) and at the same one.

JPS

A new corruption?

 

So, I was briefly talking with my mother-in-law, as recently as this morning,  about the state of the world and she always frames her global politics in terms of the cold-war alliances mixed with the new alliances -- Russian Communists/US old money/liberals, Marxists, new communists = deep state--US/capitalism/ground-roots/conservatives = true democracy bearers, which isn't a wrong way to see the polarization of the world.  I enjoy talking with her about politics as I can easily see the two parties and what they represent.  

I wonder, though, actually see it literally coming quickly, how differently the new good and the new evil will be seen and called.  In the end, whether talking about the old and the new (as far back as Jesus Christ's new church [and even before, back to Cain and Abel or back to before this world, as Lucifer plotted against the Father's plan of Salvation and His champion, Jehovah, who would make it all possible...] of Joseph Smith jr. and the New Jerusalem in Jackson County, Missouri verses the armed mob with blackened faces and Governor Lilburn Williams Boggs who killed him in Carthage, Illinois and their extermination order that was legal and in force until 1976.  Boggs claimed that the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, then called, "Mormons" had committed "open and avowed defiance of the law" and had "made war upon the people of Missouri".^[2] Governor Boggs directed that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace—their outrages are beyond all description".

What will the new parties/allegiances/families/people be called and how differently will they be seen by the others living on the Earth or by the book writers?  Their philosophies will be different in what ways, as the time/language/philosophies/theologies will be different from one another.  In the end, though, we always start with Good (God and His Christ, called Jesus) vs. Evil (Lucifer called Satan).

In the Book of Mormon, we read about Alma, son of Alma, and four of his friends (who each was a son of Mosiah), who sought to destroy the church of God who was miraculously saved and converted, and the church was not destroyed at that time.  It, likewise, won’t be destroyed at this time, though, its members will be tried and tested.

 And how will these new groups be called?  Gog vs. Magog?

JPS

Deny—stemming from a multi-generational collusion?

 

In the small book of 4th Nephi (which has only a single chapter), in the 27th verse, we read:

And it came to pass that when two hundred and ten years had passed away there were many churches in the land; yea, there were many churches which professed to know the Christ, and yet they did deny the more parts of his gospel, insomuch that they did receive all manner of wickedness, and did administer that which was sacred unto him to whom it had been forbidden because of unworthiness.

By “deny” we are to understand that they chose to or refused to follow Christ’s Gospel or keep all of His commandments—chose to do something other than to follow in Christ’s footsteps exactly or simply decided to leave-out essential parts or practices of the Gospel... Which we are always in danger of doing, not as a church, but as we individually follow our Lord—we might choose to NOT do the thing(s) that is/are hard for us to do or replace it with something else; add our own little ritual or covenant/commandment-breaking practice. It’s easy to do and hard to recognize it and admit that it’s not following Christ or His church, especially when we learned it from a trusted loved-one...

Part of the reason that it's so difficult to not fall into the trap of not doing (omission) or doing (commission) what we've been taught or shown to do by Jesus the Christ is because we've learned or grown-up doing one thing or another over and over and it's become a tradition.  It's something we've always done or something we've always seen done and now it's just the way that one acts, right?

It's easy to not do something that we've never seen done (by our mother and/or father or older siblings, not to mention our grandfather or grandmother...) and so don't feel it's expected of us to do it, even though we've read about it in the scriptures and heard about it over the pulpit.  We almost feel like it's really all right by the examples we've continually and constantly seen.  It's become a multi-generational collusion--almost like all involved have said, by their looks and winks and "understandings" that, "I won't do it" or "Will do it" if you won't do it or will do it, and then neither of us will say anything to anyone about it and act like it never happened!

Hello, Gadianton robbers!  Hello, Large and Spacious Building dwellers!  Deniers...

 

JPS 

Closer

 

As we literally and figuratively (and spiritually) are “spread out” and are far from each other, we become spread-out and distant and our flames of love for each other and for our beliefs start to fade and are more easily extinguished or naturally become extinguished...

But, if we remain close to each other, our flames and coals re-ignite each other as the strength of our love and trust waxes and grows stronger! If you want to rekindle your love, get closer—both physically and in ideas and in thoughts, but if you move apart from each other, your love and thoughts and ideas will fade until they become cold and burned-out...

JPS

Why does Jesus love us enough to perform the Atonement for us?

1) We know He loves the Father and emulates Him in every way—wants to become exactly like Him! (see King Follet discourse)

2) Part of becoming like His Father, He wants to love and be a father to His younger brother and sisters.

3) We are His younger brothers and sisters and so He is our elder brother who acts as our mediary with the Father.

4) Jesus is one with the Holy Spirit, which gives Him omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence—through this, He knows us perfectly through the spirit.

5) Through His and through the power of the atonement, He knows us perfectly through His experiential sufferings and atonement!

JPS