It's just the end of February so in most of the northern hemisphere, it's still winter. By this time of the season, most people are looking forward to spring and are tired of the cold with the inherent dead looking plants and trees. Maybe we're just all grumpy. I know the current political rantings in the United States aren't helping. I just have to wonder- are people never grateful? I mean, just plain grateful without exceptions for things they wish were different?
Recently I was talking to someone about ironing. I really don't mind ironing. In fact, several decades ago, I earned a little boost to our young family's income by "taking in ironing" for people who disliked doing it. The woman I was talking to mentioned that she was feeling a little annoyed that the steam feature for her iron wasn't working properly then she stopped to realize that ironing used to involve a very heavy cast iron that was heated on a wood stove- no steam and extra time needed to reheat it regularly to say nothing of the fact that nearly ALL clothing and home furnishings needed to be ironed in order to look decent. There wasn't any perma-press or polyester fabric choice.
I was also talking about chores for kids these days. When I was young, chores included washing and drying dishes. Today all kids have to do is rinse the dishes, load the dishwasher, then unload it when it's done. But that is a reason to complain. We probably would have complained as kids even if we had enjoyed the luxury of a dishwasher. Kids no longer need to keep the wood box full to heat the house, the iron, or cook food.
We bought a pineapple, a melon, and some strawberries a few days ago. As we tasted them after getting them home, we weren't really pleased with the quality. This is February! This is winter and we're buying fruits that are certainly not in season, in fact maybe not even available at all locally even if it were the right season! Our complaints even include wishing we could afford the calories to further indulge our gluttony. We lick our lips at pictures or videos of all kinds of food. We even have critics who decide which foods are really up to par, just so we can be sure to only indulge in the very best.
People in "Western countries" spend lots of time reading books, magazines, and watching movies. This is truly a luxury which many people in the world never enjoy. Do we appreciate it? There are plenty of complaints about wishing there was even more time to indulge in self-entertainment and wishing there were even more choices and perhaps better quality according to our own particular standards. Did we write a book or make a movie to contribute to the selection? Why do we feel these things are such an essential element in our lives that we deserve more of what we personally want?
Not so long ago, people died even at a very early age from all kinds of diseases which no longer exist in more developed countries. We can see tragic photos of malformed children in Third World countries. Our hearts go out to them and many people are willing to donate money so somebody can learn enough about medicine then be willing to travel to those primitive places to treat those suffering people. Meanwhile, we complain there isn't yet a cure for cancer. (Cancer is tragic when in children or even young adults.) Death is inevitable so something is going to cause it. We complain that the doctor isn't giving us something to completely eradicate our discomfort from whatever our particular ailment may be, even if only small and troublesome. Do we really expect to NEVER suffer discomfort? Is it realistic to think we can have an earthly body and never require surgery or never experience illness? Should we live forever in these deteriorating tabernacles and never die because dying is tragic? True it is that dissatisfaction at some level is the catalyst for discovering advancements in medicine and technology. Is our search for more or better an excited exploration or a desperation to achieve nirvana?
It seems that no matter how our civilization "advances" technologically, our transportation is never fast or efficient enough, our medicine is never thorough or satisfying enough, we never have enough of the foods we most want in the quality we want and we can't afford to fully satisfy our greed for food. At what point will we be grateful for what we have? When is it enough or good enough? Can we resist expecting the government or richer people or parents or whoever to share with us because we don't yet have ENOUGH??
Friday, February 26, 2016
Wednesday, February 03, 2016
Assessing motivation
It has occurred to me that determining motivation is essential to understanding others as well as ourselves. Motivation is identifies what drives you and what you really want. There are many scriptures (I would be more than happy to give you specific references if you want.) that warn us about having the correct motive. If we give a gift grudgingly, it's like not giving it at all. If we pray or mourn to impress others, it means nothing. I think it's a well-known universal truth that all humans are different- even identical twins! There is no-one like you, or me. In order to take even the tiniest step, you need a motivation. Even lesser creatures (animals) can be caused to react when given motivation: positive motivation in the form of a treat or praise, negative motivation in the form of a threat or punishment. What motivates us is a window to our hearts.
For instance, I am often motivated by not wanting to be a bother or be in someone's way. I would prefer to wedge myself in a corner, no matter how uncomfortable, than to be in the way of people trying to get through to somewhere. It stems from my desire to help others. I do my best to be aware of others' needs and do what I can to supply those needs, if they are what I can determine would be in their best interest. (I will not go to a store to buy cigarettes or alcohol for someone because I do not consider that a "need" nor do I think it's in their best interest to supply it for them.) If someone were to misinterpret my actions as avoiding someone, they would misunderstand me. A similar thing happens all the time when someone is shy and is misunderstood as cold and aloof. It's easy to misinterpret fear, especially in children, as insolence, anger, or disobedience. It's so important to recognize that we need to do our best to understand why others do or say what they do or say. Until we do, we can't understand them as individuals. We simply ascribe to them what our own motives might be or label them according to our own perspective, however inaccurate that may be. (A reckless driver might be drunk or might be having a heart attack.)Very shortly after the tragic death of his father (our son), one of my grandsons was shockingly insistent on trying to control his younger brother despite my repeated admonitions to leave him alone and reassurances that I was aware of the situation. It all resulted in a major meltdown when I held him on my lap so he couldn't go after his brother. He wanted his dad. He felt that because his dad was gone, he was responsible to take care of his younger siblings and he was trying to do that. He was not just being "naughty". He was being a very young child trying to take on a grown-up job. I'm glad I didn't punish him without finding out what his motivation was.
It takes time to discover others' motives. It's often easier to just make a quick judgement and go with it. We have to be willing to ask questions without pre-determined expectations and listen openly. It also requires honesty on the part of those who explain their motives. It's a common thing for kids who want to stay up longer to claim they want a drink of water or have to go to the bathroom. Sometimes it's difficult to identify our own motives. We may be annoyed by something or someone but not be able to put our finger on why. We may be reluctant to do something but can't really explain why. If we cannot explain our motives honestly, it's impossible for others to understand us when we don't even understand ourselves. Being misinterpreted is the inevitable result.
One who is most commonly misunderstood is God. So often people have an idea how they think things should be and when it's not, they think God is punishing them or unfair. He would prefer that we get to know Him by reading His word and praying for the Spirit to help us understand. When we don't take the time to do that, misinterpretation is inevitable. We resent it when others misunderstand us. It's uncomfortable when someone ascribes a false motivation to our actions. We can make an effort to turn that around and try harder to understand others rather than just judge them on our gut reaction. There could be fewer arguments or even wars. I really don't see peace as a possibility if we cannot each have the personal motivation to understand what motivates others. Sometimes their motives may actually be evil, but sometimes we may be very wrong. I hope I can manage to keep an open dialogue with those I contact each day and "give them the benefit of the doubt". It's important to be aware in order to avoid harm but, so far, those who truly mean to harm others are still a minority.
For instance, I am often motivated by not wanting to be a bother or be in someone's way. I would prefer to wedge myself in a corner, no matter how uncomfortable, than to be in the way of people trying to get through to somewhere. It stems from my desire to help others. I do my best to be aware of others' needs and do what I can to supply those needs, if they are what I can determine would be in their best interest. (I will not go to a store to buy cigarettes or alcohol for someone because I do not consider that a "need" nor do I think it's in their best interest to supply it for them.) If someone were to misinterpret my actions as avoiding someone, they would misunderstand me. A similar thing happens all the time when someone is shy and is misunderstood as cold and aloof. It's easy to misinterpret fear, especially in children, as insolence, anger, or disobedience. It's so important to recognize that we need to do our best to understand why others do or say what they do or say. Until we do, we can't understand them as individuals. We simply ascribe to them what our own motives might be or label them according to our own perspective, however inaccurate that may be. (A reckless driver might be drunk or might be having a heart attack.)Very shortly after the tragic death of his father (our son), one of my grandsons was shockingly insistent on trying to control his younger brother despite my repeated admonitions to leave him alone and reassurances that I was aware of the situation. It all resulted in a major meltdown when I held him on my lap so he couldn't go after his brother. He wanted his dad. He felt that because his dad was gone, he was responsible to take care of his younger siblings and he was trying to do that. He was not just being "naughty". He was being a very young child trying to take on a grown-up job. I'm glad I didn't punish him without finding out what his motivation was.
It takes time to discover others' motives. It's often easier to just make a quick judgement and go with it. We have to be willing to ask questions without pre-determined expectations and listen openly. It also requires honesty on the part of those who explain their motives. It's a common thing for kids who want to stay up longer to claim they want a drink of water or have to go to the bathroom. Sometimes it's difficult to identify our own motives. We may be annoyed by something or someone but not be able to put our finger on why. We may be reluctant to do something but can't really explain why. If we cannot explain our motives honestly, it's impossible for others to understand us when we don't even understand ourselves. Being misinterpreted is the inevitable result.
One who is most commonly misunderstood is God. So often people have an idea how they think things should be and when it's not, they think God is punishing them or unfair. He would prefer that we get to know Him by reading His word and praying for the Spirit to help us understand. When we don't take the time to do that, misinterpretation is inevitable. We resent it when others misunderstand us. It's uncomfortable when someone ascribes a false motivation to our actions. We can make an effort to turn that around and try harder to understand others rather than just judge them on our gut reaction. There could be fewer arguments or even wars. I really don't see peace as a possibility if we cannot each have the personal motivation to understand what motivates others. Sometimes their motives may actually be evil, but sometimes we may be very wrong. I hope I can manage to keep an open dialogue with those I contact each day and "give them the benefit of the doubt". It's important to be aware in order to avoid harm but, so far, those who truly mean to harm others are still a minority.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
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.
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.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
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.
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.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
It just makes sense.
As we become more aware of chaos in every part of the world, most people begin to wonder what can we do to avoid further bloodshed, anger, and conflict? Religion, which used to be thought of as a way to try to understand chaos and figure out how to avoid it, has become a major source of conflict itself. If there are nearly as many concepts of religion as there are people, how do we find peace?
Nearly a century before the birth of Jesus Christ, a man named Korihor traveled about on the American continent preaching dissension from the religious beliefs held by the majority of people. He is referred to as "Anti-Christ" because he preached against the belief in Jesus Christ. John, in the New Testament warned: "as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are many antichrists.." As long ago as Jeremiah the Lord warned: "The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart." Followers of the mortal Jesus Christ heard Him warn: For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:24) John in the book of 1 John 2:22 says, "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son." The most extensive description of religious conditions in our times is given by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1-17. I won't quote the whole thing but it's worth examining. Another prophet, Nephi, in the Book of Mormon quotes Isaiah and explains more about our day in 2 Nephi 25. Again I won't quote the whole thing but he says, "Wherefore, he shall bring forth his words unto them, which words shall judge them at the last day, for they shall be given them for the purpose of convincing them of the true Messiah, who was rejected by them; and unto the convincing of them that they need not look forward any more for a Messiah to come, for there should not any come, save it should be a false Messiah which should deceive the people; for there is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who should be rejected of the Jews."
I have no intention of adding to the contention surrounding religion. My purpose in composing this little essay is to give guidance or reassurance to anyone who sincerely wants to know if anybody is right about religion and who that might be. It makes no sense to me that God would punish people for not being able to discern truth from error. It makes sense to me that God has wisdom and if He cares at all for any of us (which I believe He does), He wants to share with us what He knows. It makes sense to me that He would not force us to follow Him because everybody knows that a militant, demanding dictator is hated and eventually loses all followers.It makes sense to me that more than one person at a time on the earth would have some awareness of His existence and His preferences for our behavior. Again I would refer to some words of Paul in the New Testament, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Christ..."(Ephesians 4:11-15) God appoints those He wants to teach us. Our job is not to train anyone for this ministry but to find those God has appointed. We have an inert ability in us to recognize good and evil. We may not always behave accordingly, but even little children will shout, "That's not FAIR!" Even children will reach out to try to comfort or save from harm others around them. We know what makes us feel good. Sometimes we try to find artificial means to gain a good feeling: drugs, alcohol, spending money, beating someone else in some kind of competition, sleeping too much, eating too much, too much sex, and on and on. Many people actually gain wisdom enough to stop those behaviors recognizing they will not make them feel good or truly happy. God is wiser, more powerful, and more advanced than any of us. He can show us a better way. He's just waiting for us to WANT to know a better way, then ask Him. We don't have to compete with each other. This is not a big court of law where the one with the best argument will win. God wants everyone to know. He wants everyone to win. We have to stop trying to compete and just seek and be willing to listen and learn. God will answer when we really want to know.
Nearly a century before the birth of Jesus Christ, a man named Korihor traveled about on the American continent preaching dissension from the religious beliefs held by the majority of people. He is referred to as "Anti-Christ" because he preached against the belief in Jesus Christ. John, in the New Testament warned: "as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are many antichrists.." As long ago as Jeremiah the Lord warned: "The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart." Followers of the mortal Jesus Christ heard Him warn: For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:24) John in the book of 1 John 2:22 says, "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son." The most extensive description of religious conditions in our times is given by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1-17. I won't quote the whole thing but it's worth examining. Another prophet, Nephi, in the Book of Mormon quotes Isaiah and explains more about our day in 2 Nephi 25. Again I won't quote the whole thing but he says, "Wherefore, he shall bring forth his words unto them, which words shall judge them at the last day, for they shall be given them for the purpose of convincing them of the true Messiah, who was rejected by them; and unto the convincing of them that they need not look forward any more for a Messiah to come, for there should not any come, save it should be a false Messiah which should deceive the people; for there is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who should be rejected of the Jews."
I have no intention of adding to the contention surrounding religion. My purpose in composing this little essay is to give guidance or reassurance to anyone who sincerely wants to know if anybody is right about religion and who that might be. It makes no sense to me that God would punish people for not being able to discern truth from error. It makes sense to me that God has wisdom and if He cares at all for any of us (which I believe He does), He wants to share with us what He knows. It makes sense to me that He would not force us to follow Him because everybody knows that a militant, demanding dictator is hated and eventually loses all followers.It makes sense to me that more than one person at a time on the earth would have some awareness of His existence and His preferences for our behavior. Again I would refer to some words of Paul in the New Testament, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Christ..."(Ephesians 4:11-15) God appoints those He wants to teach us. Our job is not to train anyone for this ministry but to find those God has appointed. We have an inert ability in us to recognize good and evil. We may not always behave accordingly, but even little children will shout, "That's not FAIR!" Even children will reach out to try to comfort or save from harm others around them. We know what makes us feel good. Sometimes we try to find artificial means to gain a good feeling: drugs, alcohol, spending money, beating someone else in some kind of competition, sleeping too much, eating too much, too much sex, and on and on. Many people actually gain wisdom enough to stop those behaviors recognizing they will not make them feel good or truly happy. God is wiser, more powerful, and more advanced than any of us. He can show us a better way. He's just waiting for us to WANT to know a better way, then ask Him. We don't have to compete with each other. This is not a big court of law where the one with the best argument will win. God wants everyone to know. He wants everyone to win. We have to stop trying to compete and just seek and be willing to listen and learn. God will answer when we really want to know.
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Christmas with Nauvoo Missionaries
One of the Christmas traditions I recall most fondly was baking cookies with my sisters, brother, mother, and families. We would gather annually on a Saturday close to Christmas to bake cookies so we could have a wide variety and they would all be fresh. I spent hours ahead of time planning it so we could manage to keep everybody busy and get them all baked in only one regular oven, plus the stove top and microwave for candies. The last year we were together in Dryden, New York, we managed to make 100 dozen cookies which we then divided up so everybody had treats to take home then disperse to teachers, mailmen, friends, etc. as well as some to eat for themselves. Because of our complex schedules, I knew that getting together with other missionaries to bake cookies would be impossible but we did the next best thing- a cookie exchange. Avoiding the complexity of contacting all 22 couples then knowing our apartments were too small for that many people anyway, I just mentioned an appointed time and place to a few people. It was delightful to have just 5 other couples and quite a variety of cookies- no duplicates and we didn't even discuss it ahead of time!
The temple was closed Christmas Eve day but we didn't lounge around in the morning. At 8:45 Russ and I walked to the nearby chapel to help set up tables, chairs, and decorations for the missionary Christmas dinner. I have mentioned numerous times how refreshing it is to be among people who are always willing to help anybody anytime. This dinner was on Christmas Day and included all of the Nauvoo temple missionaries and the missionaries who serve in the historic sites. I think there were about 126 people altogether, most in their 70's, some a little more, some a little less. The man whose face is nearly hidden by the branch on the table (sitting on Russ's right), is 85 years young.
The tables were cleaned off in a matter of minutes with NO complaints! The entire event lasted less than 2 hours which was nice because Russ and I got to spend most of the day in our casual clothes putting together a puzzle, opening a couple of presents, and Skyping with loved ones. It was very nice!
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