FREEDOM

     Most Christians recognize that God has granted ALL of His children the right (and responsibility and accountability) to choose for themselves. He gives advice through prophets and the Holy Ghost, but He does not force any of us to make any choices. He wants each of us to be who it is we have decided to be, on our own. The flip side of that is that He is sometimes silent when we approach Him for guidance. It is important for our development to try a little on our own. He may give hints through events or people around us, but mostly He wants us to try our wings. As I walked home from the temple today, I was thinking about the feeling of "freedom"; that thrill in a child's heart (and the teachers, too!) when school is out for the day and even more when it is out for vacation, or the thrill when the adult's work day is over or the weekend comes. We each treasure "freedom", except when faced with hard choices or dreaded inevitabilities. Then we prefer freedom with a little assistance. I wondered about what assistance God gets. He is in charge of a LOT! Does anybody ever offer Him counsel? Does our puny efforts at praise suffice to keep Him going with the confidence He needs? Since we are made in His image, do we have the potential to know enough to have the determination He has to forge ahead- eternally?
     There is a saying, something about identifying a person's true character by what they do when they don't HAVE to do anything. In other words, how do you use your "free" time? I don't think the implication is that we all need to work relentlessly or we're simply, deeply lazy. I think there is something to be said for pondering or meditating. Creativity is only developed through minds allowed to wander a bit. When a child has "free" time, they often will watch a butterfly or throw pebbles in a puddle. They are viewing elements of the world to learn how things work and to simply feel wonder. As we grow older, rather than seek wonder or understanding, we too often resort to seeking mindless "entertainment". When we are simply spectators to the works of others, we advance very little. When we spend much of our communication with others simply describing the works of others, without gaining insights or stretching our understanding, we are mentally standing still.
     The Lord has told us that whatever principle of intelligence we gain here will go with us beyond mortality. Those who gain more intelligence, which has nothing to do with memorized trivia, will have so much the advantage in eternal life. Part of the use of our God-given freedom is choosing to think more. This would eliminate time spent gossiping (talking about and judging others for no purpose other than to pass along information- usually destructive), playing video games, repeatedly reading novels well-below our ability to understand, watching endless hours of games played by people we don't know personally, and especially any form of destruction of people or property- littering, breaking things (vandalism), pulling wings off flies, and similar activities.
     The Lord is not going to have a list of required accomplishments for each of us. We can't "earn" our way into His presence. What He is hoping for is the development of our character. He is hoping we will want to spend eternity learning at His feet, gaining endless wisdom and knowledge. How we spend our "free" time on earth is our choice. We are developing our eternal character and will be housed in mansions accordingly. It's not about pass/fail or some kind of grading system. Our eternity will be decided by ourselves. We get what we want.

Please share with me your thoughts

     I was remembering that our church units used to do projects to earn money for our budgets. At the time we often complained about having to spend so much time doing "non-church" things just to earn money. (We now have our individual unit budgets totally funded through tithing.) However, it wasn't long before we found ourselves reminiscing about the hours spent on those projects, going over memories of experiences together. Now, unless you serve in a calling (church position) with someone, you only see them in passing going into church, going from class to class, or sitting in meetings together listening to a speaker or teacher and making occasional comments.
     I then considered welfare, starting with the simple act of giving something to my own child. If a child works hard to earn something they want, they generally take better care of it and appreciate its value more than when it is just handed to them. Most long-term or multi-generational welfare recipients have little appreciation for the value of what they are given without requirement of work.
     I then thought about scriptures like Matthew 7:14, "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." And John 6:60, "Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" And I wondered- WHY is it that it's so important for things to require our effort? Why is that anything worthwhile has to be hard? Really, if you could purchase an Olympic gold medal or forge one yourself, would you be as excited about having it as the Olympian who has worked countless hours to win one through great effort?
     I have been pondering this for several days and have brought it up to a couple of people who I thought might be interested in seeking a greater understanding, too. It's not really a searchable subject in the scriptures. I'm sure some sociologist or anthropologist has studied this issue and derived at least one theory about the cause and effect. God knows that much of mortal life is hard. He said to Adam, "cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread..." (Personally, I believe the phrase for thy sake refers not to a punishment like God felt Adam deserved to suffer but a consequence of Adam's choice to know good and evil. God wanted him to understand fully what the consequences of evil would be. Slothfulness, greed, and gluttony are all sins too easily embraced by mortal beings!)
      I would really appreciate any input on this issue. Here are the thoughts I have come to:
First of all, humility is essential for education. You simply cannot teach anyone who thinks they already know everything. But humility is not a natural characteristic for most mortals. That's why we have so many warnings about PRIDE. It's our knee-jerk reaction. If someone criticizes us we are much more likely to be offended than to consider we might have some improving to do. If someone tries to teach us something we are more likely to tune them out as boring, thinking we have sufficient knowledge already. When things are hard, when we have to actually struggle to accomplish something, we are brought down a peg to being more humble. Then we can finally learn. God, as our Father, wants us to learn. He will be teaching us for eternity, if we make that our choice.
Secondly, when things are hard, we feel weak and alone which usually causes us to reach out for help. The Lord has sent prophets who have kept records (scriptures) to let us know He is there willing to help us any time. All we have to do is ask. There are words in a hymn that say, "God will force no man to heaven." He also will not force Himself on us. He may reach out to smite evil people to try to get their attention but He does not force us to accept His Son's atonement, to follow His Son, or to love Him. "Seek and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you." God wants to be a part of our life, just as any loving parent feels toward their child.
A similar result is reaching out to others. The Lord wants us to love one another. One of the best ways to develop that love is to serve and to be served. Most people will automatically feel love toward someone who thankfully receives help. Most people (unless they have a pride issue!) will feel love toward someone who helps them. If we are to be one as the Father and Son are one, we need to be willing to open up to each other- acknowledge weakness and a need for help then give and/or receive help.
     I don't have God's wisdom but I'm striving to gain tiny parts of it. I don't want to just acquire knowledge of earthly matters. What I gain in knowledge and wisdom, along with relationships, is all I will take with me when my mortal probation is over. It won't matter if I can quote movie dialogue or dates of major world events or the names of big sports stars. I'm 65 and I figure I have about 20 years left, unless the Savior returns sooner which would be alright with me. I don't want to waste any time on stuff that doesn't matter. I want to learn how to be like Jesus. I want to learn how to truly help people and not just bake them bread or a casserole. I want to learn how to overcome those elements of the natural man (which is an enemy to God) so I will not be His enemy.

Random??

     I realize much of the country and even the world is really intent on politics and the Olympics. I'm sorry but I think of them as only temporary issues in the eternal scheme of things. Eventually there will be no United States or any other country for that matter. We are all God's children and have just made up boundaries between us. The Father and His Son would prefer that we love each other and work together for good rather than compete or attempt to beat each other. (Lest there be misunderstanding, I realize that many athletes only have it in mind to do the best they can and actually feel a bond with other excellent athletes no matter where they come from. ) I continue to be amazed here in Nauvoo by "coincidences" which are not really just coincidences at all. I have wondered how it is that there are so many experiences of what my son calls "small world" incidents. Is it really just a random coincidence that 50 years ago a man visits some friends of his parents in Utah that he really doesn't know, then finds out over a dinner conversation in Illinois 50 year later that he and his wife are working in the temple where the daughter of that family he visited is serving as a temple matron? Is it just coincidence that a man born and raised in Germany, later immigrating to the US, works in the temple and happens to be assigned to an area where he meets a young woman who happens to be visiting from the small town where he was born and raised in Germany? I understand that coincidences truly do happen to lots of people all over the world. However, if there could be such a study, I would guess that a study of such "coincidences" would show that there are more of them among LDS Church members than in most places among most people. Why?
     As I read the scriptures in the temple today, I came across what could be an answer to that question. I read in John 10: "The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep... My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.... I and my Father are one." Most people in the LDS Church to whom these experiences happen are fully aware they are orchestrated by a higher power. We call them "tender mercies" of the Lord, using a term coined by a modern-day apostle. It makes sense to me that when you have a group of people who are focusing on obeying and serving the Lord, trying to be "one" with Him as He is with the Father, they are going to be where He wants them to be when He wants them to be there. And that loving Father wants us to know each other and love each other so we are put in circumstances where we are brought together. He wants us to realize in a world that can be scary and chaotic that we are not alone. Hearing the still, small voice of the Comforter can be pretty difficult when the world is shouting in your ears and flashing in your eyes and inside your head you have mounting doubts and fears. If we take the time to read about Him so we can be reassured of His love for us and His promises that things will be alright, like for the sparrows of the air and lilies of the field, we can receive comfort. But sometimes we just don't take the time to try to make contact with Him. He tries to send us messages but we don't always get them. It's not that He doesn't try to contact us, it's that we don't listen and receive.
     I know that those I love have the freedom to make choices just as I have. I know I can't force them to pay attention to or follow the Lord. My heart just aches with the desire that they could ALL feel His love and could choose to be among His sheep, listening for His voice. He truly does bring peace and goodwill for ALL of us- if that's what we choose.

The great conflict

     I have made no secret of my disdain for conflict, whether arguments, fights, abuse, or war. I don't even like stories involving scaring innocents! Mortals fear death a great deal. The greatest threat a human can give is to end life, "I'm gonna kill you!" Those who recognize God and our immortal souls know that death is NOT the worst thing that can happen in mortality. Actually, pain is the worst. Whether physical pain, mental anguish or emotional pain- having to go on with pain is the worst part of being mortal. Death causes an end to mortal experience and a temporary disruption in relationships, which can be deemed a great tragedy.

     Before any of us came to this earth, we were with our Heavenly Father and there was a conflict about how our mortal experience should go. God didn't want to force any of us to return to live forever with Him under perfect rules. He knew forcing us wouldn't work. He wants us to be happy. Satan had the idea that we could all live our mortal lives and be guaranteed to return to God. We could have the chance to get a body but not be accountable for how we use it. Then Satan wanted the credit for bringing us all back. Jesus offered to come to earth, live as a sinless mortal, and give His life as a sacrifice so we would have the opportunity to return to live with God. All we would have to do is accept His gift of the atonement, acknowledge our sins and repent, and be willing to take His name upon us (not be ashamed to be called Christians). 

     In the temple today I was reading how it will all end:

And Michael, the seventh angel, even the archangel, shall gather together his armies, even the hosts of heaven. And the devil shall gather together his armies; even the hosts of hell, and shall come up to battle against Michael and his armies. And then cometh the battle of the great God; and the devil and his armies shall be cast away into their own place, that they shall not have power over the saints any more at all. For Michael shall fight their battles, and shall overcome him who seeketh the throne of him who sitteth upon the throne, even the Lamb. This is the glory of God, and the sanctified; and they shall not any more see death. (D&C 88:112-116)

     This final battle, just like the first conflict, will not involve guns, knives, warships, planes, or even nuclear weapons. These beings cannot be killed in the mortal sense. The "death" referred to is a permanent separation. The conflict is over ideals. We either choose to live righteous laws or we choose to live according to our rules, whatever they may be. The outcome of the battle has already been decided. God is superior but Satan is determined to keep trying to gain more strength. We cannot affect the outcome but we do have the right and responsibility to choose what side we want to be on. It's not simply deciding that we don't like the Mafia or people like Hitler. It also means deciding we don't like the natural man in ourselves. It means we want to overcome even the slightest desire to live by our own lusts: greed, laziness, hatred, sex outside marriage as ordained by God, covetousness, or anything that causes conflict with other beings. There WILL be conflict and we each must choose what side we want to be on.

This is not what I want

     Whatever the opposite of evolution is, we're doing it. As we advance technologically, we humans are regressing emotionally, socially, and spiritually. People have made mistakes and done mean or stupid things since humans began. However, generally society-at-large recognized things that just "weren't right". The increase in advanced education over the centuries has not created more advanced beings. We no longer throw rocks and spears at each other, we have more effective weapons that more efficiently destroy life without requiring us to dirty our hands. We don't seek to understand others but to judge them and hate them when they are different from us. Even in more primitive societies there have been standards of accepted morality. Drunkenness was frowned upon as irresponsible behavior. Sex outside of marriage was kept secret knowing it was not accepted. Leaders were criticized when their dishonesty was disclosed. People disrespected anyone who lived on hand-outs rather than doing all they could to provide for themselves. It was expected that responsible adults would take care of possessions they had worked hard to gain. Immorality was the label for any of such behaviors.
     Today, the best we can do for being high on drugs or alcohol is discourage people to not drive when they're compromised. As long as you can manage to do whatever minimum responsibility you have, being drunk or high is not criticized. "Everybody does it."
     Today, not only do you not have to be married, but you can have sex with whomever you want whenever you want. You can even complain if anyone criticizes your sex drive because you are being "discriminated against". Having sexual relations is simply a biological drive and we are approaching being allowed to do it in the street like I have seen dogs do or like the drunks at Mardi Gras.
     Politicians' words and actions are tolerated much as royalty has been for centuries. When someone is a "leader" we only need to be concerned about how well their subjects or constituents are eating. Whether they are a leader worthy of respect and obeissance is no longer considered.
     It has been deemed "unfair" when anyone doesn't have what their neighbor has no matter what they may deserve. It is all too easy to cry foul without any effort to make a place for one's self. Society no longer demands responsibility for one's actions. It's "judgmental" to call anyone lazy.
     Today, the phrase "he who dies with the most toys wins" is the motto to live by. We live in the age of disposability. If something is worn, broken, or just boring it gets thrown out and replaced. There are very few repair shops, very few sewing machines, very few craftsmen who can make something last longer and most people don't care enough to figure it out for themselves. It just isn't economically sound to bother with old stuff. Although our cars are better engineered to last longer, we get bored with them or don't bother to even clean them out. We just buy new and continue to create mountains and mountains of garbage.
     So, basically, it seems we have gone from having segments of our society considered guilty of immoral behavior to being a society that promotes amorality. We seem to prefer not having any kind of standard. That way we can do, or neglect to do, whatever we want and just complain if someone else doesn't like our choice. Then the criticizer gets chastised rather than labeling any action or person as wrong or "immoral". There will be a price to be paid. We will suffer the consequences.

While I'm thinking.........

     I noticed I haven't posted very frequently lately so I decided it might be okay to compose another post on the same day. Our Sunday School lesson today was basically a discussion about sharing the gospel. There was a gang of young men whose fathers were really important men in their society and were not happy about the behavior of their sons. They had tried to teach them correct principles and reason with them to no avail so they prayed mightily that the Lord would help to change their behavior. As a result, an angel visited them which caused a mighty change in their hearts. They repented and were so grateful for their knowledge of God's plan including the Savior's atoning sacrifice that they wanted to tell everybody about it. (I know that feeling!) So they even turned down the opportunity to be king preferring to spend more than 10 long years traveling around with only what food they could find or hunt in an effort to spread the "good news" of the gospel. They fasted and prayed much. "And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted. And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls." (Alma 17:10,11) Now I can imagine desiring the Lord to comfort them but I don't know that I would be very comforted by the "long-suffering and afflictions" promise! So, what kind of comfort is that??
     We are told that there "must needs be opposition in all things". We certainly appreciate good health more after a bout with illness or injury. We appreciate food more when we're really, truly hungry and not just craving a taste of something. We appreciate knowledge more when we recognize our ignorance of something and truly want to understand.
     If we want physical strength, we know it doesn't work to gain it by being relaxed and comfortable in a lounge chair. If we get heavy so it's an effort to do things, we aren't going to lose weight by eating whatever we feel like whenever we want in amounts available to us.
     So, I guess it makes sense that we need to suffer a little. But what about the "show forth good examples" part? Since every mortal being experiences suffering, we tend to seek relief by wanting the suffering to be over quickly but even if we have the wisdom to try to gain insight through our suffering, how do we endure it? We have established support groups. Aha! When we can witness others who have gone through, not just suffering, but a pain very similar to our own, it gives us hope that we can manage to endure, too. The flip side is, if we can endure our own suffering well, we can be a light to others to encourage them. We all have known people who keep going through all kinds of suffering: divorce, cancer, death of a loved one, rebellious child, special needs child or other family member who needs constant care, bankruptcy, serious injury- the list goes on and on. Those who manage to endure while offering sympathy to others are "good examples" who might choose to be "instruments" in the Lord's hands. Long ago, I gave a Christus statue to Ammon that got knocked off a table, breaking the hands off. He said he was going to glue them back on but decided to leave it without the hands as a reminder that we are the Lord's hands. A prophet once said that the Lord always hears our prayers but He often answers through another person. I hope I can be a good example and manage to bring others to Christ as I suffer well whatever afflictions I may suffer during my mortal probation.

About lions and choices

     Several times I have watched videos on the internet about a lion or other wild beast that was nurtured by a human for an extended period in their life then returned to the "wild". Later the human visits the beast and is recognized and shown affection. It's so exhilarating! I have always thought it might be nice to hug a big cat or be hugged by a bear. However, warnings abound concerning trying to make a friend of a wild animal. Remember Sigfreid and Roy with the lovely big cats in Las Vegas? They basically live with them yet one was mauled by one of their tigers a few years ago. So, why does an animal turn on a human they have had a very pleasant relationship with? Does the animal have some kind of hatred or resentment hidden inside? I don't think so. Animals are not on the same level as human beings when it comes to intelligence or capability of emotions. Animals respond according to instinct. If they are well-fed and comfortable, they become fairly placid. If they are "bored" they may become more violently playful than we would like. And if they feel pain, even if the human near them is not the cause for their pain, they are likely to respond by lashing out. If they feel threatened, they will defend themselves. This does not mean they set out to harm someone else because they're having a bad day. Only humans do that. Humans will be annoyed at someone, even an innocent child, who disturbs them when they are resting or occupied in a manner they don't want disrupted. Humans will set out to hurt, even just a little bit, someone else who simply reminds them of someone they don't like or harbor resentment towards. THIS is what the Lord calls the "natural man" and says that he is the enemy of God. It's totally natural for us to act in ways that God and even Ghandi have labeled "sins"- greed, sloth, lust, hate, etc. What God hopes for His children is that we will, first, want to overcome those natural tendencies because we see how much they hurt others and ourselves, then, be willing to work to fight those "instincts" toward actions (or even thoughts) that can lead to hurting others and ourselves. Lions, bears, and wolves cannot be taught to love others as they would want to be loved. You cannot explain work ethic to an animal. Most animals will have sexual relations with any other (usually of their own kind) who is available when they have the urge, as long as there isn't a stronger animal who might hurt them for doing so.
     There are humans who consider us to be just another animal with a more advanced brain. We certainly can behave in that way if we choose. God would really prefer His children to have a desire to elevate themselves above the beasts He created over whom we are to be stewards. He hopes we will care for the lovely Earth He created for us. But the Earth in this form is not to be our eternal dwelling place. We are God's children, His offspring- not just one of His creations. He wants us to be like Him but He will not force us to do that. He wants us to choose to be like Him. We are here in mortality to learn the consequences of choices, the pain of suffering, and the desire and hope of something better than animal instincts.