Who's in charge?

     Since arriving here in Nauvoo to serve as a missionary in the temple, I have been constantly reminded that the Lord is in charge and is hastening His work preparatory to the return of the Savior to the earth. (See old posts starting July 2015 "Doing my part") I have continued to witness amazing things happen- WAAAY too many to be called "just coincidence". As I experienced today a tender mercy of the Lord's intervention, I was pondering how it works so well inside the temple when the "eyes of my understanding were opened" and I realized that the Lord is in charge in the temple, not because it's His house although it is or because Satan doesn't have as much influence in this holy building which he doesn't but because of the choice of obedience. As a child of the 60's so to speak, obedience was not a popular thing nor was it something I was really good at in my younger days. Actually, most generations have their form of rebellion because when we humans reach the ripe old age of 13 we begin to think we're pretty capable. We tend to want to question all established rules in our homes, schools, and general community. The problem with everybody rebelling is that it creates chaos. You simply cannot get things done smoothly and effectively if everybody is doing their own thing. Nobody who enters the temple is perfect (except the Master who most of us don't get to actually SEE) but everybody who is allowed to enter the temple is worthy which means they have made covenants to obey God and are striving to keep those covenants. I can imagine our Heavenly Father smiling and shaking His head over the stubbornness and pride of His children, similar to the way a parent smiles and shakes their head at their teenager who insists on doing things a different way. For centuries, His children have questioned every moral standard, every rule or commandment He has given. He has provided prophets to give us help and guidance,  but they get stoned or at least ignored. He has given the Holy Ghost in the form of a still, small voice which we usually drown out with the chaos of the world. He has tried to tell us how much He loves us and wants to give us ALL that He has, but we only want it all on our own terms because we're so much smarter than He is.....
     God will not force any of His children to love Him. He knows that doesn't work. He will also not force any of us to obey Him. That only causes us to resent and hate Him. He pleads, scolds, threatens, teaches, and gives rules but, ultimately, He gives us the choice. Satan thought he had a better idea than God's plan of salvation. He was willing to rebel, causing a war in heaven before we even got the chance to try having bodies. Without obedience, you have chaos. Without trust, you don't obey willingly. How can we trust? Well, that's up to our choice, too. Our Father has told us "by their fruits ye may know them" which is telling us to look at the evidence. From the wars, abortions, murder, theft, riots, hatred, greed, sex with anyone anytime, etc.- I would say the evidence is clear. His children are NOT wiser than He is. We need His guidance. He will only guide us if we choose to want it. We can read, study, ponder, pray, and request His guidance. He'll give it. It sure would be nice if the world was as peaceful and efficient as it is in the temple.

So, what is sin??

     There is a saying that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. It's not enough to just be aware of a problem. If you aren't working on how to fix it, you are simply another part of the problem. It's important for us to not only be aware of the problem of sin but to have an idea exactly what it is so we can avoid doing it. To many, the word conjures up murder or orgies or robbery. That is a very narrow definition of sin. God is pretty clear about not wanting His children to sin although He is also very aware that we do exactly that all day every day. A concise definition of "sin" could be anything that interferes with eternal progression toward being like God. That includes a LOT! The Ten Commandments were just the kindergarten level of what God expects of His children's behavior. Many Jews were dismayed (at least those who believed Jesus Christ was truly the Son of God) to hear that Jesus came to declare a higher law than the law of Moses. They were having a hard enough time trying to follow all the little rules their rabbis had developed over the centuries. God's expectations for His children are really not about how many steps you take on the Sabbath or how much effort you put into preparing your food on the Sabbath or what you eat or wear to church. Our Heavenly Father isn't as interested in what we do as who we are. We show who we are in our thoughts, words, and deeds. The intents of our hearts are what He is concerned about. He is aware that we lack a lot of understanding and we haven't yet learned the kind of self-control He has and wants us to have. That's okay. He wants us to be perfect------eventually. For now, we just need to make the decision that we want to head in that direction.
     Each of His children was born into mortality with the "light of Christ" which is also known as a conscience, a basic awareness (without being specifically taught) of right and wrong. Through our actions and experiences, we figure out what makes our conscience feel good and what makes us feel bad. He has given us the right as well as the responsibility to make our own choices as to which direction to take. There are consequences for every thought, word, and deed. We can't change the consequences but we can decide to change direction. That's what God calls "repentance". Repentance isn't just, "Gee, I'm sorry I didn't do that well." It's more like, "I recognize that I could do and be better and I will diligently try." Sin can be something we think, say, or do. It can also be neglecting to think, say, or do what we should! Sin can be a different thing for different people under different circumstances. God's expectations of each of us increases as we advance, similar to the way the exam for a doctorate requires more than a test to pass kindergarten. Just as the kindergarten teacher would not want the student to be overwhelmed and discouraged by a test he/she could not pass, God will not give us more than we can bear. He wants us to succeed, not fail. He says repeatedly that He delights not at all in the punishing of the wicked. He also says He doesn't delight in the meaningless show of piety when a person's heart is not in it. Lying is a sin. Hypocrisy is a kind of lie therefore a sin. Being slothful is a sin, most especially when we could and should have done good but chose to serve ourselves or seek pleasure instead. It's not that God wants us to endlessly suffer and never take delight in anything during our mortal years. Jesus enjoyed the company of friends. He ate, he slept, he admired the beauty of the earth. God knows that the things of this earth are temporary, except for our relationships and our character. He knows that if we only find pleasure in things of this earthly existence, we will never be happy with Him once we leave this existence. He also knows that there is a dark side to everything of this life. Whether it's addiction, greed, lust, or any other such thing, the things of "Babylon" will only bring momentary pleasure then endless suffering. He doesn't want that for us.
     The greatest gift from our Heavenly Father is His only begotten Son. He allowed His Son to suffer  as an atonement for us, to die to be the first Resurrected, and to show us a perfect example to follow. We get to be forgiven for mistakes. We get to be comforted when injured by the mistakes of others. We get to be guided by the Holy Ghost (if we want and seek it) so we can try to avoid some of the pitfalls. However, some things like patience, long-suffering, forgiveness, compassion, understanding, and self-sacrifice can only be learned through some form of discomfort on our part. God has done all that He could for us. He loves us beyond our ability to comprehend. Now He is giving us the chance to make our own choice as to whether we want to accept His invitation to spend eternity with Him----  or not.

More about choices

     I have spent considerable time discussing with others what "reality" is. I have given a scriptural definition of truth, which could be considered the same thing. "Truth is the knowledge of things as they were, as they are, and as they are to come." Last night Russ and I watched a documentary about Glen Campbell and his family as he received the diagnosis of Alzheimer's and went on his farewell tour. It is so difficult watching someone slip away from reality. My mother developed dementia which is not far from Alzheimer's. I know others, personally, who have difficulty recognizing what is real. Schizophrenia results in the same difficulty. It even becomes difficult for the "normal" people to figure out when a person with such mental challenges is just having delusions and when they have real concerns. Often older people claim people are stealing their things. If you're not with them all the time, you may wonder if it's really happening. I have often used the example of multiple witnesses to an accident as an example of "reality" being different for different people. So, as I have asked before, how do you know what is REAL??
     I continue to claim that reality is what you choose it to be. You can choose to believe someone likes you, loves you, hates you, envies you, resents you- anything. They could even dispute or deny whatever you claim but you choose whether to believe them. You can claim that there is no absolute right or wrong. People decide for themselves what is right or wrong. However, there is evidence that there is a basic moral standard that everyone could come to if that's what they wanted to do. My husband often quotes the philosopher Kant, "No person has the right to do that which, if done by all, would destroy society." Without making a lengthy list of rules, this could guide any thinking person in establishing a standard of right and wrong. Often criminals will justify their actions by claiming it's the only way to settle a problem, poverty, competition, fear, etc. They have chosen to believe that an action that is destructive to a successful, peaceful society is the only option. Sometimes people claim that they "didn't know better". However, there are countless examples of people who saw authority figures in their life make choices they could see were destructive so they purposely looked for alternative behaviors. The African boy soldiers who hated violence and destruction escaped to seek a better life. The children of alcoholics and drug addicts often choose to never drink alcohol or indulge in any drugs.Those who have personally experienced abuse make a vow to themselves they will never perpetrate such misery on others. Those who grow up with one parent often look for a stable relationship to have a strong, united family to raise their own children in. On the other hand, there are also examples of people who have made not-so-good choices as they caved in to temptation. Then, despite a good example from their parents or other authority figures, they choose to question those good examples and start off on a path looking for alternatives which invariably end up causing more problems than solutions. Truth is reality and reality is truth. You choose how you want to live and what you want to be true or justifiable or right. But an absolute right and wrong exist and everyone will eventually come to recognize it. It can either be a long, tortured search or a fairly quick find with a guide to help. You choose your guide and your path.
      Personally, I wholeheartedly recommend looking into accepting the idea that God exists. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing, and very loving. He gave His only Begotten Son because He knew we would struggle on our path to finding right and reality, making lots of mistakes on the way. To ever be "good enough" to live in the presence of these totally righteous beings, we need justification. We have that through the Atonement suffered by a perfect being who took the straight path to righteous reality. He loves every one of us and invites us to follow Him.