Don't want to dwell on this topic (or him) for much time at all... But, we know that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ will progress eternally and that all of their children can progress eternally after having succeeded in making celestial-like choices during this life... never mind--figured it out or it came to me. All those that are banished to outer-darkness will suffer the same fate--banished to a lightless eternity.
JPS
Yesterday, in Elder's Quorum we had a lesson on a talk given by Elder Alexander Dushku called, "Pillars and Rays." He talked about receiving light continually by God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and how that light comes to us, among other ways, through rays of light or by a larger pillar of light. We shouldn't be discouraged, though, if we haven't received giant pillar of light, like Joseph Smith did in the Sacred Grove, because "we too can have our own pillar of light—one ray at a time." As in, a cumulative effect.
The prophet Alma, in the Book of Mormon, book of Alma chapter 36 is recounting his testimony to his son, Helaman, in verse 18:
18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
Recounting the experience when he had been knocked-out for three days and three nights:
23 But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been born of God.
24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
25 Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors;
Which reminded me of a short phrase used by Joseph Smith, recounting his "First Vision" (or as Truman Madsen prefers to call it, his first "Visitation"), where Joseph says, "and my soul was filled with love and for many days I could rejoice with great Joy and the Lord was with me." Joseph was able to feel the joy in his soul for many days because the Lord was with him.
Seems to me that, even though we can receive a continual stream of light, though they seem to almost be fleeting, when once we receive that pillar of light, we can enjoy it and feel that the Lord is with us for days!
So, those pillars con't come in continual streams, like the rays can, but the rays can add-up to a pillar and so, we can have those continual rays add-up to a pillar and thus be able to rejoice with great joy because the Lord is with us! It seems to me that, besides continual prayer, which we are all commanded to do by Jesus Christ and His apostles (1 Thesalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing."), we can be buoyed-up by the Spirit of the Lord at all times and in all places that we may be in. Joseph Smith told George Albert Smith, his cousin, that, "I should never get discouraged, whatever difficulties might surround me. If I was sunk in the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I ought not to be discouraged but hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage and I should come out on the top of the heap at last.”
JPS
So, it all comes down to being honest with yourself and with your Maker, right? I’m not saying that it’s possible to never sin (unless you are the Christ), but it all starts with self-betrayal or lying to yourself, and then lying to others. Satan, the enemy of all righteousness, will lead you down the path—the soft and silky path—until he catches you in his snares.
That’s why it intrigues me to hear the phrase, “well, if I’m being honest with myself…”, as if is has become the prefix for anything that in some way is not being honest with yourself (will nobody realize that they’ve been duped by a lying phrase that makes some people feel better about themselves while they are telling a bold-faced-lie?). It’s like putting a little foundation or base or facial make-up on their face, trying to hide the fact that they have actually turned green or red or a different color than their natural skin color…
Just tell the truth when presented with a choice between telling the truth and telling a lie, and then keep telling the truth every time the choice is presented to you!
Seems so simple, right? It’s just a simple choice.
JPS
I think it’s sometimes easy for me to see what I think others may need so I pray for others to find the gospel and be converted. I often overlook myself.
Am I praying for myself to be converted? Do I have a willing heart? Am I praying for a willing heart to seek and do his will or do I think it’s for others because I see all the stuff they need to fix?
I believe I need to clean my own side of the street (or worry about myself...) and pray for the courage to not only hear his will but to have the courage to put into action what I hear.
Mosiah 2:36-37 says, in part, that “… if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord … that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.”
The active words that are central to this verse are, “if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken”. Transgression is what drives the Spirit away (a sin of omission can also be a sin of commission, and both are transgressions…).
So, to choose to act (or possibly not act [sin of omission…]) contrary to the Lord’s Will is to lose the Spirit which is sin. Why else would the Spirit withdraw from you? You are unclean…
Stay on the strait & narrow path, though, and be clean.
If you start on the strait and narrow, you are clean, and you have the Holy Ghost and Spirit of Christ to guide you and make good choices—now just never step off the path—and stay true till the end!
Any and every time you are tempted to leave the path or act contrary to that which you’ve been commanded to do, the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost will remind you of what Christ would have you do and the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ will strengthen you so that you can stay on the path of righteousness.
JPS
1 Nephi (in the Book of Mormon—the keystone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), chapter 13, verse 9, says:
And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.
I ask myself why do they seek to destroy the saints of God…
I believe the answer is part of the oldest stories of all:
In the Pre-mortal existence, Lucifer’s plan (which was in direct opposition with the plan of God and daughter to destroy the agency of man) was rejected by God the Father and the plan of our eldest brother, Jehovah (who would have the name Jesus on Earth and He would become our Savior and Redeemer!) would be accepted and adopted as The Plan of Salvation or The Plan of Happiness (after all, it was the Father’s Plan, and His Father’s Plan, and His Father’s Plan…).
Lucifer and the third of the host of heaven that followed him, were enemies to God. Enemies to Jehovah and they hated God the Father and God’s Well-Beloved Son. They still hate God and His Plan. Hate Jesus Christ who championed that Plan and everyone who follows that plan…
One way, the easiest way, they can beguile mortals into carrying-out their hate-filled rebellion is through the mortal weekends of pride. Make man feel that pride through the praise of the world or through that which they feel pride over already…
“… And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.“
JPS
This verse seems to be important for section 88 and for building Zion:
The revelation was given after [we] at a conference prayed “separately and vocally to the Lord to reveal his will unto us concerning the upbuilding of Zion.”
I was thinking about my daughter, who just went-over to a neighborhood friend’s house, and wondered why now, and none of the other 3650 days (ok, she couldn’t have when she was a baby and wouldn’t have been able to until she was five or six [unless Claire’s parents were friends with my wife and I]), but hadn’t even wanted to during the two years that they were in pre-school together… But it dawned on me: They are now in the same school class together!
So, add age (maturity) + likes/dislikes + tastes + same grade + same class + the fact that we are in the same neighborhood = fast friends!
Age didn’t do it… being in the same school didn’t do it… being in the same class didn’t do it… either dislikes/likes… add those all together and the fact that they live so close to each other, and voila!
Proximity
Speaking of proximity, just realizing that the same thing is true with our relationship to our Heavenly Father and God. In fact, it'll work backwards on that list of fast friendship, in fact, if you look even more closely through the first 88-or-so sections of the Doctrine & Covenants, you'll see that there is a progression (not that it always is this progression...): servant, son, friend. You can be any of those at any time, but it becomes harder to become friends if you are always at a big distance from each other. In other words, once you are friends, you can simultaneously be any or every of the other types of relationships as well: Friend & Son, Friend & Servant, etc. But, it is less likely that you can be a friend just because you're a son or a servant. Again, though, once you are a friend, you can also be any of the other types of relationships (daughter = son, in the case that you are a woman or a girl).
In fact, I would posit that our relationship with our Heavenly Father becomes deeper and more sure as you become and remain together for longer periods of time--more scripture reading, more prayers, more time with your family learning together (all requiring the presence of the Holy Ghost [the third member of the Godhead] to become effective), more weeks in Sacrament Meeting, more time studying the Gospel, more time in the temple, more time spent with your spouse and family (and the more time spent with your spouse "established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities").
In other words, the closer you are to those you love, the closer you'll be--the more time you spend together doing the things that are intended to bring you closer together (and eventually make you one), the more time the Spirit is with you and the more united you will become, and the more you will become one.
Frequency
Proximity & Frequency = Fast Friends with God
JPS
I usually write in my journal at home, but I wanted to record, here, something of my gratitude and recognition of the bounteous blessings that pour down on and around my head. My family and my relationship with both My Heavenly Father and my Eldest Brother, Jesus, first and foremost—my sons, Addison, Quentin, and Calvin and my daughter Samantha, as well as my wife jill. I sometimes worry that I am grateful to and for her more than I should be… in the report about a personal interview with the Savior, given by David O. McKay, we read about our first responsibility, “
First, he will request an accountability report about your relationship with your wife. Have you actively been engaged in making her happy and ensuring that her needs have been met as an individual?” I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father, My Savior Jesus, and my wife, jill. May I learn to love them all better and more perfectly! JPS  | |
