Is it really fair?

      A wise father once said to one of his sons, "And now, my son, I perceive there is somewhat more which doth worry your mind, which ye cannot understand- which is concerning the justice of God in the punishment of the sinner; for ye do try to suppose that it is injustice that the sinner should be consigned to a state of misery." (Alma 42:1) This is a problem for many people. They feel more like it should be "God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God." That would be more unjust. If there are children of God who, using their agency to choose, decide to prefer living with their own versions of law and refuse to acknowledge a superior wisdom, or in other words, the glory of God, why would they be content to live after this life in a world based on God's law? And why would it be fair for those who strive to be humble and obedient to have to endure eternal rebels who question and challenge rather than live peacefully? Our purpose here in mortality is to choose what kind of eternal life we would prefer. We do that without force from God who definitely has the power to make anyone do whatever He would want. He doesn't work that way. He lives according to eternal law, natural law. We may not understand it as well as He does, but that doesn't mean we are exempt from the consequences of that law. In fact, that is why He allowed His precious Firstborn Son to suffer so undeservedly as He was spat on, derided, insulted, whipped, mocked, and finally nailed to a cross. Jesus Christ paid the price of justice for those who accept His atonement- who acknowledge His gift, their sins, and desire to fully repent. This whole plan was discussed and decided on before the earth was created. It is called the plan of salvation or the plan of mercy or the plan of redemption of the plan of happiness. We are shown mercy and can acquire salvation and redemption because God wants us to be happy and "wickedness never was happiness". It doesn't matter what mortals may call "political correctness". We lack wisdom and spiritual maturity to judge what God has decreed. It would be so much easier for everyone if we could just be humble, pray to know what God wants us to know, then listen.

Being sober

     My main purpose in being zealous about understanding our purpose and our relationship to God is to be a "watchman on the tower". I only want to warn of the pitfalls that will result in pain, sorrow, or regret. I have had plenty of those and don't relish having more, although I acknowledge that some are unavoidable. So my latest thoughts are about "being sober".
     Here is Alma talking to one of his sons (Alma 38:15) And may the Lord bless your soul, and receive you at the last day into his kingdom, to sit down in peace. Now go, my son,...Be sober.
     Peter says something similar in his first epistle (1Peter 5:8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
     To those who aren't in the habit of reading scripture, the reference to the devil and a roaring lion devouring may sound a bit extreme. However, if you pause and consider the experience of either of these men, you can understand why they are so adamant. They both experienced and saw the extremes of joy in the Lord and the agony of remorse over sin. They are not referring to being without influence of drugs or alcohol, although that is certainly a means of being sober. They are not referring to being only serious and without humor, though there are certainly moments to be more reverent and contemplative. Through the prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord said (D&C 88:69) Cast away your idle thoughts and your excess of laughter far from you. Also He said (D&C 59:15) And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances, not with much laughter, for this is sin, but with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance... There is important counsel here for anyone striving to follow the Savior and be like Him, as He commanded. He wants us to happy- enough that He fulfilled His mission to the end, enduring pain both physical and spiritual that none of us could ever comprehend, so that we might not have to feel such pain ourselves. (D&C 19:16-19)
     For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit- and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink- Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.
     And further clarification of this characteristic is in more of the words of Alma to his son (Alma 38:12) See that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness.
     If we want to feel God's love for us and feel as He feels toward others, our own passions must be bridled. If we are focused on "having a good time" with loud laughter and idle thoughts, we are focused on the "pleasures of Babylon" which will provide their own reward---- if that's what we want. If our deepest desire is to laugh hysterically or have our minds altered to be out of our control due to a potential addiction to any mortal experience or substance (sex, food, money, power) or simply "recreational" chemicals in alcohol or drugs- then the resulting "high" is the reward we can expect. We won't be any closer to ability to deal with watching a loved one suffer in pain or dealing with a rebellious child who yells at us that they hate us or endure the death of a loved one or loss of marriage through divorce. The temporary high is what we'll have- then it will be gone. We must be vigilant in realizing that Satan's counterfeit offerings to deal with the inevitable trials of mortality- instant gratification- will never be enough. They simply don't work. All they do is distract us from the source of true healing- our relationship with our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. So, I would repeat and repeat, obey the commandments, especially to pray, search the scriptures and love others as you want them to love you.

Watch yourselves

     I have recently gone through a harrowing experience with a dishonest person having nefarious intentions, also known as an internet scammer. Within the ensuing couple of days, while still trying to recover, I witnessed an incident which was not obviously related. Upon further analysis, I have identified a similar motivation. The guy who lied to me about wanting to "fix" my computer and representing a known anti-virus company was basically just trying to get money using a technical knowledge greater than mine (which doesn't take much). The second incident was just a guy getting gas for his car. He basically inconvenienced several people who were at the same station, all wanting to get gas, too. I guess he thought he had justification for budging in ahead to fill up his car, despite causing other people to have to make adjustments and be further delayed. As I tried to figure out why anyone would want to do such things, it was obviously greed. But how could they justify what is so glaringly inconsiderate, rude, and even cruel to others? The gas-line budger thought he was more clever in the way he maneuvered around others who patiently waited. He figured that if he thought of a way to avoid waiting in line even when causing unsuspecting people to move out of the way thereby prolonging their own wait, so much the better. If the others wanted to get ahead, they should just be smarter. (A similar thing happens on the highway in traffic tie-ups when someone drives along the shoulder or uses an exit lane then relies on the goodness of people to let him in further up the line.) The attitude of someone using his technical knowledge to take advantage of others with less knowledge is similar. They justify their use of "superiority" by saying that if others were just as smart or smarter, they wouldn't be victims. I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them. But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God...... ye must perish. (Mosiah 4:29-30) The point of this scripture is that not all sins can be specifically listed. "Being clever" is not recognized as a sin, but what you may justify in your thoughts, words, or deeds because you consider yourself clever can be a serious sin. Members of the mafia are often very focused on "loyalty". Loyalty is certainly not a sin, depending on what or to whom you are loyal. Any time we feel our chest puffed out because we beat someone else in some game, or stayed true to a promise even if that promise leads to a sin, we are headed for trouble. I don't think anybody starts thinking they will steal from someone (whether as small as a place in line or as large as a person's savings or even mortal life). They get to that action by taking small steps in that direction. What keeps us on that path? Pride. Pride is a great sin. Sin is identified by interfering with any person's eternal progress whether one's own or someone else's. If you kill someone, they no longer have an opportunity to learn or accomplish whatever they might have in their mortal life. If you steal from someone, you cause them to disrupt their ongoing life to recoup enough to carry on to say nothing of the mental, emotional, spiritual damage. When you can justify such damage because you consider yourself somehow superior, that's pride. I have never been a fan of practical jokes because, to me, they are taking advantage of someone's trust or even lack of awareness to provide someone else with a chance to laugh, to feel superior even for just a minute. I suppose there are truly "harmless" practical jokes, but that would only be if the person on the receiving end of the joke gets the same chuckle out of it as the one perpetrating the joke.
     Basically, we do need to watch ourselves; we need to catch ourselves at the beginning of the path to prevent heading in a direction that can lead us to a place we didn't really intend to go. The time to be concerned about who we are becoming is not when we are sitting in a prison cell or standing at the bar of God. We need to be concerned every single day. It doesn't have to be a source of constant fear and trembling- unless you are truly tempted to hurt others and/or yourself ALL the time. Once you decide where you want to end up, it's a simple matter of deciding what steps to take and in what direction.