The Internal Struggle

"From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?"  (James 4:1)

What is this "war in your members?"  There is a gap between the way we see things, or the way we want them to be, and the way things are.  The struggle of life comes down to one thing: I WANT vs. REALITY.  This is the ongoing war that has no beginning and no end.  All other wars have a foundation in this struggle. 

From the child who wants comfort and convenience at all times to the scientist who wants his theory to be true.  This is the conflict every single person lives with on a daily basis.  We feel things "should" be a certain way because our senses are limited so we interpret the vicissitudes of life incorrectly.  Reality is really outside of our experience.  A few examples might explain.

Justice

We want equality of outcome.  We see some are rich, and some are poor, some are in bondage, and some are free, some are happy and others are miserable.  This causes a sense of injustice in us.  Some wish they could create a powerful entity, like a government, to redistribute wealth so that all will be equal.  It seems that "stealing from the rich and giving to the poor" would make everyone equal -- and happy.  The problem is that it never works because it is against reality.

Those who see the big picture understand the reality of equality of opportunity.  Everyone starts in the same place and has the same opportunity to progress, learn and grow.  There are differences in man because they have agency.  Alma explained that the differences among men are due to choices they make.  All men start in the same place.  "In the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren."  (Alma 13:5)  However, those who are more obedient receive more light and truth, becoming more intelligent than the others.  Thus, men become unequal.  The outcomes are very different because of the choices that are made along the way.

For example, a family with two brothers, twins, start out in the same place: the same house, the same educational opportunities, the same food, and so forth -- they have the same upbringing.  However, in the end you will almost always find differences in all areas.  One goes to college and becomes a professional, while another works at a local grocery store.  One gets married and has children, and the other doesn't.  One travels the world and the other doesn't.  One takes drugs and the other doesn't.  Their outcomes in life may vary widely due to the choices they make.  This is reality.

Love

People often wonder why they fall in love with inappropriate people.  Some marry and aren't happy because they don't share their lives or their needs aren't being met by the relationship.  Others end up in the same abusive situation multiple times.  One of my friends, in the middle of her second "nasty divorce" said, "I know I'm not going to get married again because my picker's busted." 

The reason people fall in love with inappropriate people is because they want one specific thing.  If they see that quality in a person they see it as "this person can fill my needs.  They want to believe that the person they want is good for them so thy look for the good points and ignore the ways in which they aren't compatible.  They literally don't see that their beloved is seriously flawed, they see him as "perfect."  However, this belief goes against reality.  The saying goes that a woman marries hoping he'll change -- and he doesn't, while a man marries hoping she won't change -- and she does. 

Men most often fall in love with a woman they find attractive.  Because she looks beautiful to him he only sees the ways in which she is like him.  He looks for her admirable qualities to support his belief that she could fill his needs because he wants her.  However, at the same time, he ignores her weaknesses and incompatibilities.  She is "perfect" to him.  Reality usually strikes sometime after marriage when he finds her difficult to live with.  She didn't really change, rather his eyes were closed to the truth of who she was before they were married.

Women most often want to "fix" a man they fall in love with.  The woman sees the flaws and believes they aren't important -- or that they're fixable.  She isn't in tune with the reality that we can't change others.  Men can change, but only if they decide it's necessary.  Thus, many women are unhappy with their choices, believing their "picker is busted."

Reality requires that we come to know a person before falling in love with him or her.  Knowing and understanding all of their strengths and weaknesses helps us to be rational and truthful so we can find happiness in our relationships.

Science

We want our ideas to be truth.  A hypothesis is an idea that seems to describe reality.  A good scientist will test his hypotheses for evidence of truth, but this is not easy.  Just as a woman falls in love with a man because she "believes" that he will fill her needs, we fall in love with all our beliefs and make the same mistakes.  We see what we're looking for, and automatically filter out what we aren't.  Negative evidence is overlooked, downplayed, or ignored.  Even against overwhelming odds people maintain their pet beliefs.  For this reason, the history of science is not a search for progress, but rather "conventional wisdom," which has a very poor track-record of describing reality.

It is clear that all we know in science is infantile.  As we are just beginning to understand quantum physics we can see that all of our pet theories of light, matter, motion, energy, and so forth are going to go out the window.  All of our chemistry, physics, astronomy, biology and even math will be supplanted by new theories that explain truth better.  The only limit to this change is the experts who war on the side of the status quo.  They want reality to be what they think, and refuse to conform to what it is.

This is the process of science -- and the ongoing war within.  The "professors" hold the old ways in high esteem and do not give them up easily.  Their beliefs overcome the truth because they wield the power of degrees and licenses, indeed, they have achieved "expert" status.  Thus, the "expert" is nearly always on the opposite side of truth because he as a stake in being an expert.  If his theory is questioned, so is his expert status.  This prevents progress.  Perhaps it is for this reason that progress rarely, if ever, comes from experts.  Most who change the world are not accepted as tops in their fields until after their deaths.  During their lives they are persecuted by established experts. 

For example, Louis Pasteur developed the "germ theory of disease" through his own observation.  Prior to this time people were thought to get sick from "bad air," bad thoughts, or bad humors.  The establishment tried to protect their theories by saying, "Are you trying to tell me that people get sick and die from an animal that is so small it can't even be seen?  That's preposterous!"  Pasteur came into the war head-on, and eventually won because of economics.  Farmers didn't care about the theory, all they cared about was that their sheep and chickens weren't dying.  We continue to hold this theory today, but at some point we will have to give it up as well because we know that "microbial illnesses" don't all fit Koch's Postulates -- not every person exposed to the "germ" gets sick.  There are more variables, and when we understand them all we will truly be able to prevent and cure illness.

Growing up

We want a smooth, easy life, but life is more like a roller-coaster.  If we're trying to stop it, we only get sick, whereas when we accept the reality of change it can be fun.

Just like in science, our individual growth is dependent on accepting what happens instead of what we want to happen.  Life changes.  People change.  Things change.  People die.  People are born.  Change is the only constant, and there is no foundation.  Children think their parents are a foundation, but this must change.  Children grow up; parents divorce or die and the children are uprooted.  Some accept and conform to the reality of the change quite easily, while others want it to be the way it was.  Many people are "looking back" throughout their lives, remembering the way things were and wishing they could always be that way.

I had one patient who was crying over the loss of her boyfriend partly because she was now in her fifties and didn't think she could ever find someone else.  As a young woman she was very pretty and could attract a lot of attention from men, however, now that she wasn't young and supple she didn't think men would want her.  A large proportion of our economy is based in the search for the "fountain of youth" because people who want to be "forever young"  have a hard time accepting the reality of growth and change.

Part of happiness is accepting and embracing the reality of change.  There is no going back.  We can only take where we are at this moment and go forward.

Peace

The moment we begin to accept reality as different from our experience we start down a different path.  We are no longer plagued with the pain of "beating our head against a wall," or inappropriate relationships and theories.  Life actually gets smoother as we accept the changes, and even welcome them.  We look for the truth instead of evidence for our worn-out theories.  We can listen to and accept others.  We stop seeing the world as a constant battle-ground defined as "us" against "them."  "They" Become our allies because it's the only way we are able to see opposing views and possibly arrive at truth.

Ultimately, this road leads to the same place for all.  The only salvation that exists, the only reality, and the foundation of all truth is found in the Lord, Jesus Christ.  "He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and ever."  (D&C 88:41)  This is the truth, and all other truths are founded upon it.  Without accepting this truth, nothing can be known and we can only have our pet theories, philosophies and ideas.  The truth is very different from the way we want things to be.  For this reason Jesus told His disciples, "the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  (John 14:26-27)  The Holy Ghost leads us to truth, the truth of Christ, and we find peace -- not as the world, on the outside, but rather peace on the inside -- in our hearts.  This is how we can have "smooth sailing over rough seas."

Pain is brief. Joy is forever.

The problem of pain is not found in the actual discomfort we experience, but rather in the way we deal with it.  The Scriptures are clear that we are to endure suffering while in the tabernacle of clay.  Part of the test of mortality is to experience evil, and turn to God.  Salvation is what we seek, from whatever torment we have.  Loneliness, death, disability, physical pain, emotional suffering, and loss of all kinds are things we naturally want to avoid.  The avoidance of pain keeps us from growing so those who cannot take pain cannot experience joy.  However, if we turn to the Lord in our sorrows He will comfort us and help us to endure to the end, find Eternal life, and have joy forever.

Avoidance of pain

Those who try to avoid pain, avoid joy -- and experience more pain.  Being in an imperfect world we must "pass through sorrow," as Eve said, and she should know, she started the whole thing.  Adam would have avoided pain, and thus never known good and evil.  They would have never progressed, learned, and obtained joy.  Lehi explains this concept thoroughly: "if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.  And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin."  (2 Nephi 2:22-23) 

The fear of pain and suffering always brings on pain and suffering.  In fact, most often it is the very thing that we fear that we must experience, as Job: "the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me."  (Job 3:25)  We cannot avoid pain.  The world is in a constant state of change.  People die. Wars happen.  People get sick.  Disasters happen.   People get hurt.  Evil happens.  We cannot be immunized against these, nor can we avoid them forever.  However, even if we could, it would only bring sorrow, because, as Lehi noted above, if we don't experience misery, we cannot experience joy.

It is natural for us to complain to our peers when we suffer.  I have had many patients who only want someone to understand how they suffer.  But humans cannot truly understand the suffering of another.  We can't truly experience their pain, even when we have had a similar experience because we all feel the same pain differently.  Those who complain about their suffering never grow up and learn from their experience, but rather become bitter and angry.  On the other hand, those who turn to the Lord find comfort.

Once we experience pain we try to get rid of it, or dull it.  Modern Medicine has a myriad of drugs and surgery to reduce or eliminate pain and suffering.  We believe medicine can save us from our pain.  I have seen many use prescription drugs for years, always suffering with pain in spite of the drugs.  "They only take the edge off," is what I hear most.  Most often, in spite of all the doctors can do, the patient continues to suffer -- hopelessly and needlessly.

Suffer the will of God

People often tell me that it is the Devil that gives us pain, that pain is evil and should never be.  However, I have come to see that it is the Lord that gives us pain.  To "suffer" is to "allow" the will of God to prevail in our lives.  If God gives us pain, we suffer (allow) it.  I Proverbs we read, "Despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."  (Proverbs 3:11-12)

The Scriptures tell us that Christ is "in all things."  All means all and all is all all means.  That means our pain, as well as our joy, come from God.  Job's friend counseled him, "happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole."  (Job 5:17-18)  Faith in Christ requires that we do as He did -- suffer the pain that we are given, knowing that He is mighty to save.  King Benjamin paints a picture of what it takes to be a child of Christ, he says that every man must be "willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."  (Mosiah 3:19)  Submission to the pain God gives to us is not to try to avoid it, numb it, or even dull it, but rather endure it, and turn to Him for salvation, for He is our hope.

Hope

Christ has the power to take away our pain.  However, as long as we are focused on our own pain, and seek something or someone in the world to save us, we cannot have hope.  Hope comes as we exercise faith in Christ and look to Him for salvation.  There are many who suffer physical, mental, emotional and other pains of mortality, who don't turn to the world, but rather to God.  Often, He doesn't immediately remove their pain, but allows the pain to transform them from weak and immature children to strong and confident adults.  Those who turn to the Lord grow up, as Eve indicated: "It is better for us to pass through sorrow..."  and Lehi explained why -- "that they might have joy."

When we turn to the Lord in our sorrows He may not remove the pain, but rather comfort us as we suffer.  As a mother can only comfort her injured child who has a skinned knee, the Lord comforts us in our sorrows, as He did when Joseph Smith was imprisoned: "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."  (D&C 121:7-8)  I am convinced that all can have this comfort when we turn to the Lord.

The Lord tells us that we will have affliction, and that we must endure our suffering to the end, "Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days."  (D&C 24:8)  Endure pain; endure suffering; endure heartache, grief and torment.  Endure to the end.  This means the end of the suffering, perhaps even the end of our lives.  "Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."  (2 Nephi 31:20)

The Three Loves

The Ancient Greeks had three words for love: eros, philia, and agape.  Eros is love of a sexual nature.  Philia is brotherly love or friendship.  And agape is mostly regarded as the "higher" love of God or family.  These are based on the feeling itself, like naming a disease based on symptoms.  I believe there are better ways to characterize three different kinds of love based on the reason why, or the foundation of the feeling of love.  The three foundations of a feeling of love seem to be need, desire, and unselfishness.

I see these as progressive.  The most immature is a need-based love, like an infant who needs his parents.  The middle is desire-based like a spouse who desires to be with, follow, and care for their partner.  And the highest is unselfish love where sacrifices are made for the benefit of another.  The first is completely self-centered, the second has elements of being both self- and other-centered, whereas the last is other-centered.

Filling your bucket

The first is love based on need.  Immature love is how children love their parents; or how couples "fall in love."  It is also the love of casual friendships, and business acquaintances.  When we love someone based on a need they fill inside us, or a mutual arrangement our love is conditional, depending on our needs.

We "fall in love" because we perceive or imagine that the other has the ability to fill a need in us.  We don't have to know someone to imagine that they could fill a need.  This is especially true with men as they are very visual so they automatically feel that a beautiful woman could fill a sexual need in them.  For this reason Jim Morrison could say to a pretty woman, "Hello, I love you, won't you tell me your name."  Women often have similar feelings for a man, mostly because he is wealthy and they perceive that he could fill their need for security, and other times because he is strong or good-looking. 

This kind of love easily becomes a quid pro quo arrangement where each is giving to the other on conditions of getting what they need.  Many (and I think most) get married based on this love.  For this reason they will have problems and go to a marriage counselor complaining that they aren't getting their needs filled.  The man is saying, "fix her" so he will get what he needs, while at the same time the woman is saying, "fix him" because her bucket is empty and she has nothing to give.  This would also be true of friends who love each other because of filling a need.  If you no longer have the need, or the other is not filling it, you "lose touch."

Desire

I use desire in the sense of "worship."  The foundation of the love of desire is not that the other can fill your needs, but rather you desire to know, be with, or follow this person.  There may be no need to fill. Friendship, married couples who have passed the "need" stage, parents who desire to be with their children, and those who worship God often have a desire-based love.  This love has two facets: the first is that there is a feeling in each, and the second is that it seeks the other.  Because of this it has the elements of selfishness and selflessness.  I don't love you in order for you to give me what I need, but rather I have feelings for you and I want to bless your life.

This is the progression of love often found between married couples.  Because of the feelings they share, they are willing to make sacrifices, and give to one another.  As long as they desire the other they will continue to share this love.  However, when the feelings of love die, there are two ways they can go.  The first is to seek divorce because without that feeling of desire they are no longer willing to make sacrifices.  The other option, however, is to progress to selfless love.

Selflessness

The third kind of love does away with the feeling altogether.  It's not that the feeling doesn't exist, in fact, they are stronger by far than the love of desire, but they don't provide the motivation for what we do.  This love is entirely selfless and self-sacrificing.  It gives but has no expectation of return.  Not that there will be no hope of return, but there is no need or desire to receive.

The two elements of the highest love are sacrifice and benefit.  We simply make a sacrifice that benefits another.  Only these two elements need to be present, and there is nothing else, no act or feeling that improves it. 

These two elements are defined perfectly in the mother-child relationship.  A mother sacrifices everything in her life to nurture her children.  The sacrifice is what the mother does -- getting up with them at all hours of the night, giving her time and energy and all she possesses, and the benefit is the growth -- physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and other areas.  "Sacrifice," then, is giving up our own desires, time, talents, and possessions, and "benefit" is growth, maturity, knowledge, or improvement.

Selfless love has a progression.  Less sacrifice and/or benefit indicate less love, whereas greater sacrifice and/or benefit indicate greater love.  Either one alone is not love.  Sacrificing your life in a way that benefits no one isn't love, like suicide.  By the same token, providing a great benefit that is no sacrifice such as the tokens given at Christmas don't show this love.

The Greatest Love

Jesus Christ demonstrated this kind of love.  He gave of Himself knowing that many would reject his offer.  He loves them anyway.  In His case, this love has a special name, "charity."  Charity is the selfless love that He had for all mankind, as the Prophet Moroni states: "This love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity."  (Ether 12:34)  Though we can demonstrate a token of Charity, we do not give it because it is the greatest love, as Jesus explained to His disciples: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."  (John 15:13)  Notice that He included both elements of selfless love: sacrifice and benefit.  He did lay down His life in the greatest act of love in all of the Universe because it provides the greatest benefit that can be given -- Eternal life.  So, Jesus was speaking about His own love, the greatest of all, that He would have for His friends, or those who obey His commandments: "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."  (John 15:14)  However, those who are given this gift will never even comprehend it because they will never have to experience the depth of the sacrifice that was made, or the pains of hell.  This is the greatest of all loves.

Paul, after telling the Corinthians about all the gifts of the Spirit clearly tells them that charity is the greatest gift of all.  "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."  (1 Corinthians 13:13)  The three gifts that continue beyond this life are faith, hope and charity, but charity is the greatest of all.  Mormon repeats this concept to his people: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail -- but charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."  (Moroni 7:46-47)  Mormon says it is a possession that we can bring with us to the resurrection, or judgment bar "at the last day."  In fact, it is the only thing that will save us at that moment.  Nothing we have done will spare us from Eternal suffering; if we don't possess the love of Christ we are "nothing" so we are doomed. 

It seems like this love is important to have so there must be a way to obtain it.  Mormon explains: "My beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."  (Moroni 7:48)  It seems like charity is the end result of all those who follow Christ -- true Christians.  Then after we have become disciples, we can pray for this love, and the Father bestows it on us.  This is the most important of all possessions we can obtain on the Earth.

We can progress, then, from a need-based love, through a desire-based love, to a selfless love.  We possess the principle of love, or the gift of love, when we sacrifice ourselves for the benefit of those who don't care about us, or even hurt us.  This is Christian love, or the gift of love, which becomes the motivation for everything we do.  Those who love in this manner are true followers of Jesus.  The final step is to pray for the gift of Charity, which is what Jesus Christ did for us so we can receive the gift of Eternal life.

Opposition

We choose the good, and the evil just happens because we live in a world outside of the presence of God.  Opposition comes in equal amounts to the amount of good that we are able to accomplish.  If you want no opposition, you must choose to do no good.  The farther out from "0" you get on the good scale, the equal amount of evil you will experience.  Lehi explains:

"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad."  (2 Nephi 2:11)

You can't experience "good" if you don't experience "bad."  Moreover, there is a gradation to the amount that you experience "bad" you are able to be "good."  Lehi explains further, speaking of Adam and Eve:

"They would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin."  (2 Nephi 2:23)

If they didn't have children, they couldn't have known misery, and if they didn't know misery, they couldn't have experienced joy.  Apparently, children are required for misery -- and joy.

"0"  The easy life

"If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen!"  Those who want no opposition in life only need to choose to do no good.  Life is easy when you have no opposition.  Most people want a quiet and easy life.  They are constantly trying to "get out of the kitchen."  Some are successful, but many are not.  Those who opt out of "the good life," meaning "doing good" are paradoxically seeking "the good life," meaning "without opposition."  However, you are left without the ability to experience joy, because you know no misery.

"10"  The greatest good - and evil

To do good, and experience joy, you must be willing to bear the burden of evil as well.  The Saints in all times have shouldered opposition so they could do more good.  Prophets do not have lives without opposition, on the contrary, they experience a great deal of evil.  The Prophet Joseph Smith explains:

"I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me?"  (JS-History 1:20)

From Adam to President Thomas S. Monson, the good prophets do are balanced by evil that surrounds them.  This will be true of all those who try to become "a disturber and an annoyer of [Satan's] kingdom."

Of course, the greatest example would be the One who did the most good, and experienced the most Evil.  Rejected by His own people, Jesus still carried-out the Atonement for them.  They arrested, mocked, and killed Him because, as Peter tells us, "He went about doing good."  He is the only one to reach a "10" on the scale -- both scales.

Therefore, one way to know if you are doing good is by how much opposition you experience.  It's very unlikely that you do much good if you don't experience evil.  Perhaps it is for this very reason that Paul said: "We glory in tribulations." (Romans 5:3)  Therefore, rejoice in opposition, the more the better because it means you are doing good.

Diversity IS Life

It is only in diversity that there is existence.  Contrasts create life on all levels.  If everything is the same there is nothing.  Lehi explains this concept:

For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.  (2 Nephi 2:11)

That which is all the same is "a compound in one" and can have no life.  If the entire Universe were made of one element there would be nothing.  If the "big bang" theory holds that all matter was condensed to a single dense football then there is nothing.  It is only in differences that anything exists.  There must be differences in temperature, light, sound, and every form of matter.  The differences in salt content of the blood compared to the cells allows for sensation, movement, and all the functions of life.

Energy is only energy when there are different levels, pressures, or amounts.  Water flows down from the mountains under the force of gravity.  Its power can be harvested by creating a gradient.  A dam is built to stop the flow, hold back the water, then force it out through pipes that have turbines that turn dynamos that create an "electron flow" that we can use as electricity to power our lights and machines to do our work.  Each step of the way we take advantage of pressure differences, allowing the high-pressure area to flow into the low, to do our work.  Without these differences there is no energy, no life, no sense, no existence -- nothing.

Followed to its logical conclusion, this concept means that all of existence is dependent on energy differences.  But, those differences will naturally flow together creating "sameness."  Differences between hot and cold will come together and create warm.  Electrical potentials will flow together and disappear.  Light disperses and is absorbed into nothingness.  Gravity and all of the atomic and sub-atomic "forces" will fall together and find their lowest energy state.  This is entropy -- the process of everything becoming nothing.  Eventually, all that exists will be just the same -- the same color, temperature, potential, flow, gravity -- the same energy.  At this point there is nothing because nothing moves or has existence.

Spiritual gradients
Spiritual differences are also essential to existence.  If there is no good, then there is no bad.  If there is no sadness then there is no happiness.  It is in the contrast of the spirit that God exists and creates.  Lehi further explains:

And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.  (2 Nephi 2:13)

Diversity is right and wrong.  There are choices, these choices are like an energy gradient.  There are sentient beings that have made these choices, that represent the "high pressure" and the "low pressure" areas.  God is the "source" of all spiritual energy, whereas the Devil is the "vacuum" that sucks up all light and truth.  Moreover, there are sentient beings that make choices between the two.  They are given energy from God, for they are His children, and they decide what to do with it.  The "natural" course is to follow the gradient from the high energy to the low.  It's a downhill course that flows easily and quickly into nothingness.  The other choice is to harness the energy given, using it to improve and increase in knowledge, light, truth, wisdom, intelligence, or spiritual energy.  This takes, as all improvement in the Universe, effort -- both the effort to plan, and the effort to carry-out the plan.

As the children of God, the One who plans and builds all that is, harnessing the gradients of the Universe and forming them into clusters, galaxies, stars, and worlds, we are the pinnacle of His existence.  We are His re-creation, His reproduction.  He gave us the one thing that can allow us to reach up -- agency, or the ability to choose.  Choice is what allows that spiritual gradient, without it there is no existence because everything, and everyone, is the same.  That which is the same is not discernable, and essentially ceases to exist.

It is our diversity, our uniqueness, that makes us alive.  This is why NOTHING God creates is the same.  No two snowflakes, leaves, plants, animals, people, worlds, stars, galaxies, or anything God creates is the same.  God is not boring, nor can He get bored with the same work even though "His path is straight, and His course is one Eternal round," because each of His creations, from the smallest to the grandest, is unique.  This is life.

The power to choose
The agency we are given allows us to choose our level or type of existence.  Some will choose to be in the vacuum of Hell, always borrowing light that they cannot give back, and sucking the life out of everything by creating entropy; others will choose to become sources of light, and life and creation by organizing matter and directing the flow of energy in the Universe.  Our potential is that diverse. 

There is a plan laid out to accomplish the impossible -- to overcome entropy, go against the spiritual energy gradient, and become a director, creator, king and priest.  When our Father gave us choice, He also provided a plan for us to be able to make that choice.  To follow His plan requires that we use our energy to act, whereas the choice NOT to follow Him means we will automatically be acted-upon by the forces around us.

It's like God creates us and sets us on the side of a mountain.  He tells us to go uphill to the top to find Him.  The top is where all the potential is: light, energy, power, creation, love, hope, faith, priesthood, intelligence, and so forth.  However, it's easier to go downhill to the bottom to find Hell.  The bottom is the vacuum of nothingness into which all the energy from the top flows.

Our choice to act doesn't mean we have to find our way in the dark.  The intelligence to form the plan is provided by Him, as are the steps to get there.  He has blazed the trail, paved the road, lights the way, and provides the energy for us to go up to the peak of the mountain.  All we need to do is choose to follow it.  In a way it's hard because it requires effort, as it must to overcome entropy, or the flow of energy downhill.

Good needs bad
Both sides are needed.  There must be a top and bottom, and a right and wrong.  There must be a source of energy, and a vacuum into which it flows.  Without both there is no gradient, no flow, no change, no life, no existence -- nothing!  God must have a Devil.  Heaven must have a Hell.  There must be a choice, a difference, two ways to go.  There must be a flow of light and energy.  In order to act we must be able to choose to act, or not choose and be acted-upon.

The default is always entropy, or to be acted-upon by the forces around us.  Thus, a failure to choose to act always leads to loss.  The choice not to follow the plan of God is to follow the gradient to the lowest energy state, allowing entropy to act on us.  As in all energy gradients, there is a flow downhill from the high-pressure to the low.  It's easy, it's fun.  We can ride the wave of Gods energy to it's logical stopping point -- the bottom.  It requires no effort, neither to plan nor to build.  Most don't intend to arrive at that bottom, and when they do it is a shock and surprise to them.  Floating downstream requires no effort to arrive at the sea.  In the sea there is no current and no wind because everything has reached its lowest state.  Therefore, there is no power to act in any way, it's just nothing -- a vacuum that sucks in all the rivers of the Universe, but goes nowhere -- endlessly floating with no power to move up, and nowhere left to go down.

In contrast, Eternal Life is the ultimate power to act.  It is all power, or being at the top of the mountain.  Nobody gets there accidentally.  There is only one way to get up there, by following the road paved by Jesus Christ.  He lights the way to the top -- all the way to the top.  Each choice we make to move closer to God gives us more power until we reach the peak.  The top is to be "joint heirs with Christ."  These "shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths... and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.  Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.  (D&C 132:19-20)  They become a source of energy -- all energy.

The Kingdom

The Lord has shown me what He's doing.  A large part of the plan for us here is to prepare for Eternal Life in the world to come, as we know, but what I never realized is that God Himself is preparing His Kingdom.  He is in the process of choosing his rulers and captains, as well as those who do the work.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not just a mass of people shouting praises to God forever and ever.  It is organized.  There is work to do.  Nothing is arbitrary or left to chance; everything is planned.  In order to carry-out the work there must be order, which requires organization.  It's not a democracy, a theocracy, or even a republic -- it's a kingdom.  There are those who rule, dictating the work that is to be done and who is to accomplish it.  There are kings, or the governing bodies chosen by God: 

Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.  (Abraham 3:22-23)

The Children of God are divided into families, or tribes.  Then there are those who are captains, as Moses organized Israel: "So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes."  (Deuteronomy 1:15)

The organization doesn't begin after this life, it started before we even came to Earth, as the Lord instructed Abraham.  It continues here on the Earth as we make choices who we are going to follow.  We are tested and tried to see what we are made of.  Though we may be "among the noble and great ones" before we came to Earth, and called to be rulers by God, we may not be chosen for that work in the life to come if we aren't faithful to Him. 

"There are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?  Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson --That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.  (D&C 121:34-36)

The Kingdom of God was put on the Earth to prepare for the Kingdom of Heaven.  What we have is just a training ground.  Each comes to Earth to choose his place in the Kingdom of Heaven.  The decisions we make every day -- what we eat, wear, say, do and think -- in short, every single little choice we make determines the nature of our continued existence.  There are no insignificant choices.

This is the test.  We are tested until we fail, at which point we have chosen our place in the hierarchy of Eternity.  If we are selfish and disobedient we will be "worker bees" who are told what to do at all times.  Those who are obedient, but not "valiant" become the captains over fifties and hundreds.  However, those who are valiant and pass all tests as Abraham become gods.  These are rulers and creators.  King David, a man after God's own heart, failed the test of Abraham and lost his kingdom.  He may be, however, a captain in the kingdom of another.  Joseph and Emma Smith, as well as many of the saints in this dispensation passed the test of Abraham and will be heirs to his legacy.

In the middle of all this is the Anointed One, even Jesus Christ.  The test cannot even be carried out without Him passing His test of mortality.  The most succinct definition of His Gospel is found in the Book of Mormon: "Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you -- that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.  And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil -- And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.  (3 Nephi 27:13-15)  This scripture says it all.

Your works -- everything you say, do, and even think -- is judged by His standard.  Did you "come into the world to do the will of the Father?"  Did you follow Christ in all things, passing your tests as He did?  What He did allows us to repent and try again, but at some point there is no more repentance, you have reached your level of obedience, and this will determine your place in the hierarchy of the Kingdom of Heaven.

FORCE

"I don't go to church anymore because my parents forced me to go as a kid.  I didn't have a choice.  They 'shoved religion down my throat!"  Thus goes the most common excuse for rebellion.  But, it's not true.  It's only an excuse.

Children will use the word "force" when they are required to do something that they don't want to do.  From their point-of-view parents "force" them to do everything good -- clean their room, brush their teeth, eat broccoli, work in the yard, and go to school.  Most children whine and complain about all these things.  Church is just one other thing that is good that parents want their children to learn.

Having been "forced" to do something they didn't want to do isn't the issue, the issue is that they don't want to do it.  When they get out on their own and make their own decisions they don't have to go to church.  They don't have to obey the commandments of God.  They don't have to brush their teeth, go to school, or clean up after themselves, either.  All those things they were "forced" to do are now at the mercy of their own desires.

As well might they say, "I never eat broccoli because my parents 'shoved it down my throat'."  Or, "I never clean up my room because my parents forced me to do it."  They may decide never to bathe because they were forced as children.  Are they going to quit school as soon as they get a little freedom?  Many do, but again, it's not because they were forced to go, it's because they didn't want to in the first place.

The truth is, we do exactly what we want to do, irrespective of what our parents did, said, or "forced" us to do when we were children.  When a child rebels he is simply following his own desires, doing what he wants, no matter what excuse he gives for being rebellious.  He makes his own decisions and will never be able to blame his parents for the consequences that come to him because of them.

There are consequences to every decision we make.  The boys have a friend, Conner, who doesn't like vegetables, fruit or whole grains.  He lives on pasta, and little else.  His parents offer good food, but he refuses to eat it.  Now, as a youngster, he doesn't see the difference between him and his friends who are "forced" to eat good food, but in ten or twenty years there will be a HUGE difference.  He may have diabetes, arthritis, or any number of indulgent illnesses meaning he'll be in pain all the time, or blind or on dialysis.  He will have no energy, and thus no power to "do what he wants" anymore.  Misery awaits.  Is there anything that can be done?  Only if he decides to eat things he doesn't like, the sooner, the better because it will take a long time to undo the damage to his metabolism.

Likewise, the people who rebel against God and don't go to church see no difference between those who do and those who don't.  While there are "good roads and good weather" they don't feel the need for spiritual nourishment.  They play and laugh.  But as time goes on the inevitable problems arise, and when things are really hard they ask, "Where is God when I need Him?"  They then say there is no God because He doesn't help them in their hour of need.  Just like a sprig of broccoli isn't going to help Conner in ten years when he's sick, a few prayers in their hour of need aren't going to help the rebellious come to know God when they've been denying Him for years.  Parents need to "force" their children to learn how to connect with God so they have the option of choosing life.

Should we "force" our children to do good?  Yes.  They need to know what is right and what is wrong.  They need to be taught how to choose the right.  This is how they are taught by precept and example.  They must experience some things or they will never know.  They need to learn to like broccoli, studies with children indicated that it takes about ten times of being exposed to a food that they don't like for them to eat it willingly.  They need to be in school and learn the things of the world, even if they hate their English teacher.  They need to experience the joy of hard work and a job well-done even when they would rather be watching TV.  They need to feel the Spirit of God and see the hand of the Lord in their lives even if going to church is "torture."  Yes, we make them do things they don't want to do because if we don't the only other option is a life, and an eternity, of pain and suffering.

The Epicurean or the Gospel

Part of the training of the Gospel is to take us away from our feelings.  Instead of acting on feelings, like a child, we grow up and act on principles and rules.  We learn to use our brains instead of our hearts, to think instead of feel.

When we’re immature we act based on how we feel.  If we're hungry we need to eat.  If we're tired we need to sleep.  We don't feel like working so we get lazy.  We feel sexual so we seek a partner.  If we feel like eating chocolate, we eat it.  The ideal for the Epicurean is "I do what I want."  But whatever their age, these are still children chained to their feelings.  Their actions are based on how they feel not on what they think so even when they think something is right they can't do it if they don't feel like it.  Because of this, they need to find ways to make themselves feel differently so they can do what they want.  They want to be thin, but they feel like eating so they take drugs or have surgery to stop them.  They want to quit smoking so they do all sorts of things to change how they feel about cigarettes.  These measures don’t work in the long run.

The Word of Wisdom is part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it takes us out of this hedonist world and helps us to grow up and have independence, courage, strength, and health.  We aren't chained to vices that keep us dependent and cause us to slide down the slippery-slope of feelings.  Our feelings become subject to our brains, not the other way around.  This 180-degree turn is essential and basic for all who desire to be free.

Independence

Coffee, tea, and other pick-me-ups have been around for centuries.  They contain substances that make people feel more awake so they can "get through the day."  Those who must act on feelings who feel tired must either go to bed, or find a way to feel more energy.  This, though, is a deception.  People only briefly feel more energetic; one study showed that an apple gave more energy and worked longer than a cup of coffee.  Over time of using stimulants, people become more and more lethargic.  The number one reason for consulting a doctor is fatigue.

The Gospel, on the other hand, takes us out of this merry-go-round of feelings and helps us to act based on our desires.  We are given principles that dictate what we do.  Rules help us to accomplish what we want, not just what we feel like doing.  We go to bed early, and get up early so we have energy and mental clarity.  We eat good food in moderation.  We aren't driven like a dumb-ass by our feelings.  We don't need a pick-me-up drink to be able to function.  We use our brains instead.

Courage

When people feel anxiety, fear, or are overstimulated they can drink alcohol to feel better.  This is to trick themselves into doing things their feelings wouldn't normally let them do.  If they can calm the nerves they could speak in public, ask a girl out, feel strong, or sleep.  Alcohol is multi-purpose and thus has been the drug of choice for all societies from the beginning of time.  The primary benefit of alcohol is to ward off fear, and all of its attendant negativity.  It works.  I received an email recently that explains:

A real woman is a man's best friend. She will never stand him up and never let him down...

She will reassure him when he feels insecure and comfort him after a bad day...
She will inspire him to do things he never thought he could do; to live without fear and forget regret...  

She will enable him to express his deepest emotions and give in to his most intimate desires... 

She will make sure he always feels as though he's the most handsome man in the room and will enable him to be the most confident, sexy, seductive and invincible guy around...

No! Wait... I'm sorry... I'm thinking of beer...  It's beer that does all that...

Never mind the above message...

If you notice all the things beer does for a man is to make him feel differently than he is inside.  He is really insecure, scared, and lacks confidence.  The alcohol takes away those feelings so he can pretend to be "confident, sexy, seductive and invincible."  But it's still make-believe.  When the effect wears off, he will be back to reality -- loneliness and insecurity.

The Gospel, on the other hand, removes us from the counterfeit world of alcohol, and makes us deal with our real feelings.  By doing hard things, things we don't feel like doing, and not doing things we do feel like doing we are empowered with real courage and confidence.  Self-esteem comes from doing things we didn't think we could do.  We actually gain courage as we overcome our insecurities, not just cover them up.  This is the way of the Lord.

Strength

We often think of illegal drugs as bad, and FDA-approved drugs as good.  However, in the larger sense, they are all in the same category.  Drugs that don’t prevent or cure disease are chemical substances that make us feel differently and prevent us from acting on principle, using instead our feelings.  If I have a headache and I don't want to deal with the cause of the headache, I can take a drug to feel better.  This allows me to continue acting on my feelings, I don't have to act on principle.  I can avoid dealing with the real reason I get the headache, and put off growing up.  The stated purpose of drugs is to relieve the symptoms of whatever ails us, as is written on the bottle: "for temporary relief of the symptoms of..."  This helps is to avoid dealing with the cause of our illnesses.

The Gospel, on the other hand, makes us strong.  We don't use drugs to mask the symptoms, instead we find the root cause and deal with it.  This makes us strong and healthy. 

Health

The greatest problems in health today are caused by food.  Those who are stuck in childhood eat what they feel like eating instead of what’s good for them.  They eat for taste instead of nutrition.  Since food can be made to taste good that isn't nutritious people get more and more unhealthy.  There are four things that taste good:

1) fat

2) salt

3) sugar

4) umame, or savory (MSG)

Restaurants and all prepared foods use these four, or combinations of them to make their food taste good.  Whatever other ingredients they use is secondary.  Taste is king.  If you go to a restaurant you will not find healthy food because people only go to restaurants if the food tastes good; if it doesn't taste good they won't go back.  Thus, healthy restaurant food is an anomaly; we can't expect to be healthy while eating prepared foods.

Those who eat for taste get all the diseases of modern life: obesity, diabetes, hypertension, gout, arthritis, heart disease, cancer, and so forth.  These were, in olden times, considered "the diseases of kings," because only kings could afford to eat for taste -- and feast daily.  Now, everyone is in a continual feast of good taste, or the "feast of fools."

The Gospel, on the other hand, teaches us the concept of "feast and famine."  We feast periodically, and we fast frequently.  There is no single thing better for your health than fasting.  Fasting is universally beneficial for body and spirit.  This requires that we subject our feelings to our brains; we can choose not to eat even though we are hungry.  Thus, fasting is also an excellent starting point for those who wish to grow in other ways.  I’m amazed at how many of those who seek my help have never in their lives gone one day without eating.  That’s why they need my help.

Moreover, the Word of Wisdom is based on "moderation” and "wholesome."  Foods are to be eaten "in the season thereof."  Meat is to be eaten “sparingly.”  Gluttony, taste, and desire aren't recommended.  We learn that the fruit of the Tree of Life is bitter, while that of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is sweet.  The first brings life, while the second brings death.  The Gospel has rules that limit what, when, and how much we eat.  Thus, we remain healthy and free from disease.  As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Health is the greatest wealth.”

Control

God gives rules to help us to grow up, leave behind our selfish desires and use our brains instead.  Control is freedom so rules make us free and give us power.  By following the rules we are no longer chained by our feelings.  The Gospel teachings prevent us from covering-up our immaturity and weaknesses with chemicals that only bind us down to continual usage, but never really work.  It is reality versus fantasy.  We leave behind the fantasy world of feelings and move into reality.  Putting aside feelings helps us to gain mental power where we can decide what we do at every moment.  This brings "use your head" to reality, along with true freedom, health, strength, courage and independence.