From what I understand, Special Forces (like Navy Seals) go through incredibly vigorous training where they learn self-control and obedience in the process of gaining strength and skills. They are generally considered "elite" due to their abilities to get a job done. With the exception of people who are intense about being pacifists, it seems that people usually respect and admire these highly trained individuals.
Those who seek to truly follow Jesus Christ, not just believe in Him but try to emulate Him, also learn self-control and obedience. The commandments given urge us to avoid anger, curb our tongues, eschew material possessions and appearance, love our enemies and do good to those who may hurt us, forgive endlessly, etc. Somehow, this kind of self-control is too often ridiculed. Rather then being admirable, it is considered foolish, uptight, self-righteous, prudish, and generally not to be admired. The One we seek to obey is far superior in wisdom, goodness, and righteousness than any armed service officer or government representative could ever be.
So, why is it that being obedient to God and Jesus Christ is derided as being a blind follower? Why is it considered "losing individuality" so it's more desirable to pick and choose what things we might want to obey rather than obeying with exactness and striving our very best to understand and obey ALL God's commandments? If we are ever going to be able to have a peaceful society where we no longer need Special Forces, trained soldiers to sabotage and destroy enemies, we must find a leader under whom we can unite and resolve to follow and obey. It's the only way! We can all enlist to be Special Forces to unite and defeat our common enemy- Satan. We destroy him by refusing to follow him. That's all we need to do.
Friday, April 12, 2019
Tuesday, April 02, 2019
Using what we have
Much as I see how it could appear otherwise, I don't post blogs to be preachy, to judge others or demand that people see things my way. I earnestly pray every day that I will gain wisdom, not simple knowledge but the wisdom to discern right from wrong and truth from error. I ponder actions I witness and words that I hear and examine within myself what to emulate and what to avoid in my efforts to be more Christlike.
This morning I noticed a younger woman at the gym that I have seen quite a bit. I don't know anything about her other than that she has amazing strength and determination. As I admired her physical prowess, I remembered how our son, in his younger teenage years, was involved in wrestling and body building. He would brag about the weights he could lift. Yet, when we were cleaning up the garden after the harvest was over, he didn't seem to have the strength to pull up dead plants. I asked him what good his great strength did if all he used it for was to lift weights so he could brag about the number of pounds.
We love to watch Jeopardy and Russ has always enjoyed playing Trivial Pursuit. I have, at times, wondered what the benefit is of having a head full of trivia. What does one do with a knowledge of who played what role in what movie or who won what Grammy or even capitals of countries or political figures?
It's certainly a worthy goal to be strong and healthy, to be smart and knowledgeable. In the Bible there is a parable of talents where a master gives three servants each a different number of talents then goes away for awhile. When he returns, he questions them about what they did with those talents. The only one he was really displeased with was the third one because he only buried his talent. We are to understand that every one of us is blessed with an ability and it doesn't matter exactly how we use it, as long as it's for accomplishing good, and definitely NOT to just be buried and never shared or used to benefit others. Strength is wonderful when used to help other people when they pack or unpack in moving, when helping to clean up a public space, when helping a disabled person.... Intelligence is wonderful when used to find solutions to problems, share information by teaching others, and generally helping to make the world a better place. I sure hope that in what ever time I have remaining on this planet I can use whatever is left of my abilities (as I grow old and feeble) to make the world a little bit better because I was here.
This morning I noticed a younger woman at the gym that I have seen quite a bit. I don't know anything about her other than that she has amazing strength and determination. As I admired her physical prowess, I remembered how our son, in his younger teenage years, was involved in wrestling and body building. He would brag about the weights he could lift. Yet, when we were cleaning up the garden after the harvest was over, he didn't seem to have the strength to pull up dead plants. I asked him what good his great strength did if all he used it for was to lift weights so he could brag about the number of pounds.
We love to watch Jeopardy and Russ has always enjoyed playing Trivial Pursuit. I have, at times, wondered what the benefit is of having a head full of trivia. What does one do with a knowledge of who played what role in what movie or who won what Grammy or even capitals of countries or political figures?
It's certainly a worthy goal to be strong and healthy, to be smart and knowledgeable. In the Bible there is a parable of talents where a master gives three servants each a different number of talents then goes away for awhile. When he returns, he questions them about what they did with those talents. The only one he was really displeased with was the third one because he only buried his talent. We are to understand that every one of us is blessed with an ability and it doesn't matter exactly how we use it, as long as it's for accomplishing good, and definitely NOT to just be buried and never shared or used to benefit others. Strength is wonderful when used to help other people when they pack or unpack in moving, when helping to clean up a public space, when helping a disabled person.... Intelligence is wonderful when used to find solutions to problems, share information by teaching others, and generally helping to make the world a better place. I sure hope that in what ever time I have remaining on this planet I can use whatever is left of my abilities (as I grow old and feeble) to make the world a little bit better because I was here.
Monday, April 01, 2019
Remembering my own needs
Women, by nature, are nurterers. They put band-aids on skinned knees and take casseroles or bread to the sick and hug with joy or for support to the grieving. But just like the old image of a well, you can't supply to someone else if your well is running dry. It doesn't take a lot to replenish most women's supply. Talking to a caring friend, walking outdoors when and where it's warm and lovely, reading an uplifting book- all these can give most women enough energy to continue for quite awhile. As I was reminded recently, our first spiritual priority is to maintain our own physical and spiritual strength and welfare. I am sometimes amazed at how much stronger I feel after receiving only a drop of encouragement and support. This isn't referring to a passing casual smile and "good luck" kind of offering. Only a few minutes spent listening or a few words of genuine caring can shore up someone else. Don't misunderstand- I don't advocate anyone demanding everyone around them give constant sympathy and offers of support. We do have to stand on our own. But even the most resilient of us occasionally finds ourselves fading a bit.
God knows all this. Just as any good parent would, He watches us hoping we'll be able to figure out things on our own, be able to move forward on our own. He also knows when we start to falter or grow weary. A wise man once said that God answers every prayer but it is often through another person that the prayer is answered. He wants us to learn how to give help as well as receive help. He knows that it is a very effective way to build inter-relationships. We all feel stronger when we're linked with others. We can accomplish so much more. But we do need to be able to stand on our own. The ideal is for us to be able to weather any storm but it's acceptable, even desirable, to link arms to face the wind. I am grateful for the males and females in my life that help me to feel like I can do anything because they are behind me to help push when I lose steam.
God knows all this. Just as any good parent would, He watches us hoping we'll be able to figure out things on our own, be able to move forward on our own. He also knows when we start to falter or grow weary. A wise man once said that God answers every prayer but it is often through another person that the prayer is answered. He wants us to learn how to give help as well as receive help. He knows that it is a very effective way to build inter-relationships. We all feel stronger when we're linked with others. We can accomplish so much more. But we do need to be able to stand on our own. The ideal is for us to be able to weather any storm but it's acceptable, even desirable, to link arms to face the wind. I am grateful for the males and females in my life that help me to feel like I can do anything because they are behind me to help push when I lose steam.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Balance
Today as we discussed in church the attributes of our Father in Heaven and pondered how to go about becoming like Him, as we are commanded to do, the foremost thought I had was to pray for wisdom to know limits and boundaries. I'm not really worried about temptations to be some kind of evil person, but I do often wonder when to help others and when to stay back and encourage them to fight their battles. I also want to know how to see myself clearly enough to know what aspects to keep and what I need to change. It's hard to look at ourselves truly objectively. All human beings are constrained by their own experience and knowledge in developing perspective on everything. I can't see things as a young boy in Bolivia would see things because his life experiences are very different from mine. I can't understand what a microbiologist would understand because he/she has very different knowledge from what I have. In the same way, I can only see in myself what I can see. I am where I am from a lifetime of making my own choices from my own perspective. At times I have wondered if I could be a "fly on the wall" to hear a conversation about me, what would I hear? What positive or negative things would be shared? How much weight would I give to them? If I feel someone is narrow in their awareness or tending toward unpleasant characteristics, I wouldn't be as concerned about their opinion of me as I would that of someone I love and respect.
I know God loves me- not just in the scripture-based general sense. I have had my own personal message, more than once, that He loves me. I'm not so worried about whether or how much God loves me. I worry a little about "pleasing" Him but not because I fear being punished. I know He is just and wise and I want to be like He is. As I try to self-analyze, I want to appreciate in myself whatever worthy characteristics I have managed to develop. I also want to recognize anything that is an obstacle to my being like God and my Savior. I am grateful that I have eternity to learn and grow. It's going to take that long but I'm on the right path.
I know God loves me- not just in the scripture-based general sense. I have had my own personal message, more than once, that He loves me. I'm not so worried about whether or how much God loves me. I worry a little about "pleasing" Him but not because I fear being punished. I know He is just and wise and I want to be like He is. As I try to self-analyze, I want to appreciate in myself whatever worthy characteristics I have managed to develop. I also want to recognize anything that is an obstacle to my being like God and my Savior. I am grateful that I have eternity to learn and grow. It's going to take that long but I'm on the right path.
Friday, March 22, 2019
Interesting information.........
The Church, which administers the gospel, and the Saints who have received the gospel, must be independent of all the powers of earth, as they work out their salvation- temporally and spiritually- with fear and trembling before the Lord!
Be it remembered that tribulations lie ahead. Peace has been taken from the earth, the angels of destruction have begun their work, and their swords shall not be sheathed until the prince of Peace comes to destroy the wicked and usher in the great Millennium...
We must maintain our own health, sow our own gardens, store our own food, educate and train ourselves to handle the daily affairs of life. No one else can work out our salvation for us, either temporally or spiritually.
We are here on earth to care for the needs of our family members. Wives have claim on their husbands for their support, children upon their parents, parents upon their children, brothers upon each other, and relatives upon their kin.
It is the aim of the Church to help the Saints to care for themselves and, where need be, to make food and clothing and other necessities available, lest the Saints turn to the doles and evils of Babylon. To help care for the poor among them the Church must operate farms, grow vineyards, run dairies, manage factories, and ten thousand other things- all in such a way as to be independent of the powers of evil in the world.
We do not know when the calamities and troubles of the last days will fall upon any of us as individuals or upon bodies of the Saints. The Lord deliberately withholds from us the day and hour of his coming and of the tribulations which shall precede it- all as part of the testing and probationary experiences of mortality. He simply tells us to watch and be ready.
We can rest assured that if we have done all in our power to prepare for whatever lies ahead, he will then help us with whatever else we need... We do not say that all of the Saints will be spared and saved from the coming day of desolation. But we do say there is no promise of safety and no promise of security except for those who love the Lord and who are seeking to do all that he commands.
Bruce R. McConkie, April 1979
Some of those commandments from recent prophets include spending purposeful time with our families in a weekly family home evening and daily prayers and scripture study; storing as much as a year's supply of food, water, and even fuel; worshiping in the temple and searching out our kindred dead to do ordinances for; serving others and being a "light" to show a better way to live in a determined effort to follow the Savior's example; and listening for further instructions from living prophets and the Holy Ghost. This isn't about doomsday hysteria- quite the opposite. "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear."
Be it remembered that tribulations lie ahead. Peace has been taken from the earth, the angels of destruction have begun their work, and their swords shall not be sheathed until the prince of Peace comes to destroy the wicked and usher in the great Millennium...
We must maintain our own health, sow our own gardens, store our own food, educate and train ourselves to handle the daily affairs of life. No one else can work out our salvation for us, either temporally or spiritually.
We are here on earth to care for the needs of our family members. Wives have claim on their husbands for their support, children upon their parents, parents upon their children, brothers upon each other, and relatives upon their kin.
It is the aim of the Church to help the Saints to care for themselves and, where need be, to make food and clothing and other necessities available, lest the Saints turn to the doles and evils of Babylon. To help care for the poor among them the Church must operate farms, grow vineyards, run dairies, manage factories, and ten thousand other things- all in such a way as to be independent of the powers of evil in the world.
We do not know when the calamities and troubles of the last days will fall upon any of us as individuals or upon bodies of the Saints. The Lord deliberately withholds from us the day and hour of his coming and of the tribulations which shall precede it- all as part of the testing and probationary experiences of mortality. He simply tells us to watch and be ready.
We can rest assured that if we have done all in our power to prepare for whatever lies ahead, he will then help us with whatever else we need... We do not say that all of the Saints will be spared and saved from the coming day of desolation. But we do say there is no promise of safety and no promise of security except for those who love the Lord and who are seeking to do all that he commands.
Bruce R. McConkie, April 1979
Some of those commandments from recent prophets include spending purposeful time with our families in a weekly family home evening and daily prayers and scripture study; storing as much as a year's supply of food, water, and even fuel; worshiping in the temple and searching out our kindred dead to do ordinances for; serving others and being a "light" to show a better way to live in a determined effort to follow the Savior's example; and listening for further instructions from living prophets and the Holy Ghost. This isn't about doomsday hysteria- quite the opposite. "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear."
Thursday, March 21, 2019
New Normal
When we start out in life with no experience or knowledge of the world and other people, everything and everybody is "strange" to us because no one is just like us (the only person we really know and that's limited). Through the years of elementary and even middle school, we come to expect things within limitations of what we know. We are sometimes surprised by aspects of the way life is in homes other than our own. I remember spending the night at a friend's house and for part of Saturday morning I was expected to stay in the house where I watched out the window as my friend had her "fencing" lesson. I had never seen anyone who fenced and it certainly wasn't within the expertise of anyone in my family. My dad had a hunting rifle and had once killed a bear- something my friend's father (a doctor) had never done. Through those years we usually become aware of styles and behaviors, slowly moving away from the way things are in our families and toward our peers. By the time we reach high school, the way we wear our hair, the clothes we choose, the way we speak all become very crucial in our efforts to "fit in". Then as we spread out from our high school life, we further expand our expectations of the way things are done and slowly come to realize, at least most adults, that there are as many opinions as there are people in the world. What is expected for dinner in Sri Lanka is nothing like what is expected in Seattle. Hairstyles in Haiti are pretty different from those in Ireland. Even socially acceptable behavior can be very different in different places. So, what is "normal"?
As I approach the ripe old age of 70, I'm finding that "normal" for me is changing nearly every day. Sometimes it's a little startling, even scary. I try to open a bottle and am surprised to find that the arthritis that is developing in my hands makes it nearly impossible. By 5:00 pm I am surprised to find myself looking forward to going to bed rather than other, more exciting activities that might have attracted me 50 years ago. I have been fairly intelligent- had a college scholarship that I ended up not using but it was awarded to me, and I have continued to pursue education and been fairly adventurous about trying new things and loved going to new places. Yet, I am sometimes stunned when I can't think of a simple word or remember the name of a person I know fairly well. I look in the mirror and identify more with my parents or grandparents than with Mary. My eyes and ears don't work as well as they once did and I'm sure that's only going to continue in that direction. I am at a loss as to what to expect at all! I suppose all this is within the "normal" range for my age. Somehow I guess I thought I would have gained enough wisdom and experience by now to not be so much taken by surprise. I just wake up every day wondering how everything is going to go. I no longer assume the people I love will always be there. I no longer take for granted that I will be able to do whatever I might have planned. I guess nobody really knows exactly what "normal" is because it's different for everybody everywhere throughout their life.
As I approach the ripe old age of 70, I'm finding that "normal" for me is changing nearly every day. Sometimes it's a little startling, even scary. I try to open a bottle and am surprised to find that the arthritis that is developing in my hands makes it nearly impossible. By 5:00 pm I am surprised to find myself looking forward to going to bed rather than other, more exciting activities that might have attracted me 50 years ago. I have been fairly intelligent- had a college scholarship that I ended up not using but it was awarded to me, and I have continued to pursue education and been fairly adventurous about trying new things and loved going to new places. Yet, I am sometimes stunned when I can't think of a simple word or remember the name of a person I know fairly well. I look in the mirror and identify more with my parents or grandparents than with Mary. My eyes and ears don't work as well as they once did and I'm sure that's only going to continue in that direction. I am at a loss as to what to expect at all! I suppose all this is within the "normal" range for my age. Somehow I guess I thought I would have gained enough wisdom and experience by now to not be so much taken by surprise. I just wake up every day wondering how everything is going to go. I no longer assume the people I love will always be there. I no longer take for granted that I will be able to do whatever I might have planned. I guess nobody really knows exactly what "normal" is because it's different for everybody everywhere throughout their life.
Sunday, March 03, 2019
Not as the world giveth........
Today (Sunday) we discussed in church how to have "lasting happiness" and just what that is. One of the elements in my life that brings me "lasting happiness" is being a part of a group of people who have high ideals and strive to achieve them while encouraging the same in those around them. I love being part of "God's Army"! As I ponder what keeps me going, what provides for me a feeling of peace, contentment, and assurance- I realize that it truly is just the opposite of what the world would promote. God's ways are not man's ways; they're higher. As we discussed how things don't always go the way we think they ought or the way the world would identify as successful or pleasant, we made a list of how to achieve lasting happiness. Nowhere on that list is a certain income, a certain house or car, a college degree or occupation, family size, well-toned muscular or slim body. None of those things will bring lasting happiness. They're all temporary and shallow. Jobs can be lost, houses can be burned, bodies can be injured or diseased. Everything the world would use to measure how good your life is- fame, fortune, power- are not sustainable and come to individuals randomly and disproportionately. You can't even really rely on other people to maintain your happiness, especially anyone who does not choose to obey an authority above the flesh. A friend, spouse, child, or other relative can betray and hurt you.
When the mortal Jesus walked the earth, He tried to explain what He had to offer in terms the people could identify with- water, bread, light, and life. Too often they just didn't get it and we still don't get it despite our "advancements" in science and technology. As the saying goes, "We are not mortal beings having a heavenly experience, we are heavenly beings currently having a mortal experience." This experience is not at all about acquiring physical goods, honors of men, or a desirable physical appearance. We are here to experience opposition, which can mean sorrow and joy or pain and pleasure but also whether we want to find fulfillment in power, fame and fortune OR choose to pursue kindness, humility, wisdom, and love; whether to compete to be top dog or strive to share equally so everyone benefits (not just money as in socialism but all aspects of existence). It's more obvious and easily understood to make lots of money and contribute to charities but the more meaningful is to simply do our best to work as hard and honest as we can and share whatever we have (which, by the way, only works when everyone around you is doing the same). Being top dog will not bring lasting happiness because you will ALWAYS be beat out at some point by someone younger, stronger, prettier, and more endowed in some way. Until we understand what Jesus was offering and make the choice to pursue it, any "happiness" will never last. We may have momentary thrills but they can easily be destroyed. The peace that passeth all understanding and lasts eternally can only come from developing the God-like potential within each and every one.
When the mortal Jesus walked the earth, He tried to explain what He had to offer in terms the people could identify with- water, bread, light, and life. Too often they just didn't get it and we still don't get it despite our "advancements" in science and technology. As the saying goes, "We are not mortal beings having a heavenly experience, we are heavenly beings currently having a mortal experience." This experience is not at all about acquiring physical goods, honors of men, or a desirable physical appearance. We are here to experience opposition, which can mean sorrow and joy or pain and pleasure but also whether we want to find fulfillment in power, fame and fortune OR choose to pursue kindness, humility, wisdom, and love; whether to compete to be top dog or strive to share equally so everyone benefits (not just money as in socialism but all aspects of existence). It's more obvious and easily understood to make lots of money and contribute to charities but the more meaningful is to simply do our best to work as hard and honest as we can and share whatever we have (which, by the way, only works when everyone around you is doing the same). Being top dog will not bring lasting happiness because you will ALWAYS be beat out at some point by someone younger, stronger, prettier, and more endowed in some way. Until we understand what Jesus was offering and make the choice to pursue it, any "happiness" will never last. We may have momentary thrills but they can easily be destroyed. The peace that passeth all understanding and lasts eternally can only come from developing the God-like potential within each and every one.
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