I'm going to speak today about a bad word. This word has been used in every language, every time period, and every place in the world, to the consternation of all. It is hardly spoken out loud because everyone cringes. It is hateful, hurtful, and terrible. People frequently die for using it; indeed it has caused the death of many of the greatest men and women in the world, it even caused the death of God, the greatest of all. The prophets and apostles tiptoe around this word so as not to offend; even from the pulpit it is only spoken in euphemisms. It is found in nearly every scripture written by every prophet, but nobody knows what it means; and they don't ask. It's meaning is kept well-hidden, even from the righteous! Nobody wants to hear it, or understand it. When used properly even the faithful will walk out. Sailors who pepper every sentence with all sorts of foul gutter language will gasp and be angry if they hear this word. It's bad. Really bad. In fact, I think it's the only truly bad word that is found in every language. What is this terrible, horrible, hateful, hurtful, bad, mean, ugly, awful, and deadly word? It's a command:
Repent!
Today, I will boldly use this word, and give you the full meaning. I expect you all will either walk away, or stone me. Peter was crucified upside-down for preaching repentance to gentiles. Jesus was crucified right-side up for the same offence to His own faithful family. Jonah ran the other way! Many prophets were cast out, stoned, burned, and imprisoned for telling their own or other people to repent. So, do to me what you will, I'm going to tell you anyway.
"It's for you"
Nobody wants to hear that repentance applies to them; everyone wants to feel like they are OK. Repentance only applies to those people, out there. Rather than apply the principle of repentance to ourselves, we prefer to point the finger, either actually, or in our hearts, at others, even those we love. "He needs to change." "She needs to change." "They need to change." We will not acknowledge our own need to change. Couples who go to counseling invariably are pointing the finger at each other. Neither wants to repent. Neither wants to make the sacrifice, even for love. The heart of stone is stronger. Every religious and secular community is filled to the brim with people who use their own religion to justify themselves while pointing the finger of repentance at others.
We all want to feel like we are good just as we are. Only those who are humble will be able to see their own need to change. They look inward, like the apostles of Jesus, when revealed that one of them would betray Him, they asked, "Is it I?" They didn't look around the room, trying to guess which one of the others would do the dirty deed.
Even in church we are taught about the five steps of repentance and avoid actually learning what it means to repent:
1. Recognize that you shouldn't have stolen that candy from the store.
2. Feel sorry
3. Make restitution -- give it back... or pay for it!
4. Ask for forgiveness
5. Never do it again
I always thought that this was really cool! I never stole anything from the store so I had no need to repent! Ha Ha! Repentance wasn't for me, it was for all those shoplifters out there! I didn't commit adultery so I don't need to repent. I'm good! This is how I passed half a century going to church every week and never learning about repentance. Since none of my teachers had repented, they couldn't teach me about it. I had to start from scratch, on my own, first learning why we need to repent, or what we need to repent of.
"Look at me!"
From the very young to the elderly it seems that all have a basic need to be noticed. Parents are constantly being pulled in one direction or another to notice the work, words, play, or accomplishments of a child. The book "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie begins with this step. People need to be acknowledged. We need to hear our name. We need to feel like we're a part of something bigger than ourselves. We are born with a foundation of what we are inside. We experience the world and become able to express ourselves in the various ways, through art, language, music, work, and so forth.
One of my professors in medical school was older and very wise. He talked about healing, basing his lecture on a song by The Who called Listening to You:
See me,
Feel me,
Touch me,
Heal me.
His philosophy was that a doctor needed to be able to do more than listen in order to heal, he or she needed to experience the patient in other ways, to notice, or to acknowledge who they are and give them significance, and then the healing would begin.
Life is vain
However, all of this that we do, our natural foundation, is not solid because in the world everything is constantly changing. We have to live with loss of all kinds. I know many who live in the past, their "glory days" because their present is not good for them. We are very unstable because we are in a world of corruption, a world "where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal." (3 Nephi 13:19) We could die any minute, we don't know when. Moreover, whatever we created could easily be destroyed, lost, or stolen. Any foundation of our hearts, whatever we have our hearts set on will be lost at some point. Thus, the existentialist philosophers have noted that without the concept of eternity, life is simply a cruel irony.
"Dostoevsky once wrote: “If God did not exist, everything would be permitted”; and that, for existentialism, is the starting point. Everything is indeed permitted if God does not exist, and man is in consequence forlorn, for he cannot find anything to depend upon either within or outside himself." (Jean Paul Sartre)
Even Biblical philosophers, David and Solomon, noted the same:
"Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity." (Psalm 39:5)
"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh..." (Ecclesiastes 1:2-4)
When we maintain a life based on our own hearts, our own wants, needs and desires, we can find no foundation, no rest, no peace, no love -- and we see that all our efforts are useless. Feelings change. People change. People die. We change. All we are inside is as passing as the sandcastles we built as children on the beach -- no matter how awesome they were. All is lost. All is worthless. Everything is nothing.
Seeking Eternity
When we come to realize the vanity of what is in our own hearts, that "all we are is dust in the wind," and all we have is temporary, then we may start to look outside of ourselves for something more permanent. To repent is to let go of what is temporary, and take on those things of Eternity. All the things we sacrifice are not really a sacrifice because they don't exist in eternity anyway. They will all be lost, sooner or later. Inscribed on the wall of the chapel at Stanford University is the following:
"An eternal existence in prospect converts the whole of your present state into a mere vestibule of the grand court of life; a beginning, an introduction to what is to follow; the entrance into that immeasurable extent of being which is the true life of man. The best thoughts, affections and aspirations of a great soul are fixed on the infinitude of eternity. Destined as such a soul is for immortality, it finds all that is not eternal too short, all that is not infinite too small."
What we gain through repentance is wonderful beyond imagination. It is real. It is solid. It is good. We go into a world of light, truth, and love. All things become possible. Life becomes full, rich, and fulfilling. There is value, huge value in life that is so far beyond anything the world has to offer. It is a foundation that is built on bedrock, the Rock of Eternity that lasts forever and ever, and will never be lost or shaken. We can have all that is eternal only as we give up all that is temporary.
"What is real?"
Alma preached repentance to a fallen people; "And it came to pass after he had made an end of speaking unto the people many of them did believe on his words, and began to repent, and to search the scriptures." (Alma 14:1) What were they searching for? The words of Eternal Life. The real process of repentance is giving up all that is temporary, and replacing it with things that are eternal in nature. It is the sacrifice of the heart. Nobody wants to hear about repentance because the sacrifice is too great, it's too hard. People will do all the performances, rituals, and sacrifice others such as friends, enemies, or their own children before they will sacrifice what is in their hearts. Instead of being recognized for our contribution, we must be humble and let go of all that we do, all that we are, and all that we ever hope to accomplish. False religion sacrifices others, while true religion is the sacrifice of our own heart, all we know and love, on the altar of God.
Preach repentance
The Lord told His disciples in the latter days, "I command you that you preach naught but repentance." (D&C 19:21) Some of them understood, and were hated and persecuted, driven and killed. Others didn't. We still don't really understand if we haven't repented ourselves. We will instead be found pointing the finger at the obvious need for others to repent. We don't want to be the bearer of bad news. We don't want to use the dirty word, the only bad word that nobody likes. We don't want to even know what it really means. However, it is the single most important word in the world. Without it, we are lost and fallen forever.
Without repentance we cannot reach our potential, or power, nor can we live. We can have nothing permanent; all we have and all we are is temporary without repentance. We will die with all that is in the world. All that we seek to receive recognition will be lost with us. The significant life has nothing to do with being a great artist, philosopher, philanthropist, or businessman, rather it is finding our eternal destiny.
Thus, this most important word is not just spoken by all the holy prophets down through the ages, not only Jesus, but the God the Father Himself said it: "the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent!" (3 Nephi 11:32) How do we do this? I understand four steps are required.
1. Humble yourself -- be willing to give up everything that is required of God.
2. Believe in Christ -- though I don't have the power to change, He can change me.
3. Let go of your wants, needs, and desires that are temporary.
4. Search for all that is Eternal, and hold fast to it!
Humility is hard-won
One important lesson I learned is that we don't choose our sacrifice, God does. I have sought repentance for many years. I realized that I needed to start with humility so I prayed for it and was soon in the middle of a lawsuit that I lost, and subsequently lost my medical licence, the business I had worked so hard to build from the ground up, and my income to feed my family. I was devastated! However, rather than "curse God and die" I decided to accept the lesson in humility and learn how to forgive, and let go. Later, my wife asked for a divorce and I even lost my family. I tried to put the pieces back together, but it was useless fighting. I had lost everything! I had no control. There was only one thing that the Lord actually asked me to sacrifice of my own will -- the house I had built with my own hands! The sacrifices I was asked to make just happened in the course of life. I didn't choose them, and all I could really do was to let go and accept the will of God as it unfolded.
All I had to do, really, was to see the hand of God in answering my prayers, and helping me to repent, and be grateful for the loss, for the pain, and for all I had to suffer because of it. Looking back, I can see that I had to give up all that I had my heart set on of the world so that I could begin to learn the things of eternity. In a short period of time, I had lost everything that was important to me. All the things that made me what I was. My art, my creativity, my uniqueness, my accomplishments, the very heart of me. I was broken. He broke my heart. Acceptance of the circumstance we are given is the process of letting go of control, our hearts, and the things of the world.
The story of repentance
I love The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, because it tells the story of repentance so well. Pi hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ and wants to be baptized. Subsequently he goes through a process of losing everything, even his "tiger," and ends up with an incredible story to tell. These are the real stories of life. Everyone who has sought the Lord and repented has an amazing story. I think it is instructive that Pi had important decisions to make along the way, but mostly he had to let go and trust in God.
The greatest story of all is that of our Lord because He is our perfect example to follow. Most don't realize that He had to go through the process of letting go of the things of the world. "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." (Hebrews 5:8) Satan tempted Jesus with satiating His flesh, recognition, and power, but He had learned to submit to His Father.
Jesus explained His final submission, "I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." (3 Nephi 11:11) To "suffer" means to "allow." In the Garden of Gethsemane he allowed the pain of all mankind to come to Him. He didn't cause it, He allowed it, "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39)
Because He did this, we can repent. We can change. We can leave our hearts on the altar of God, and take His heart. We can trust in Him, letting go of all that is temporary, and search for all that is Eternal. We can stop seeking our own, "look at me!" and start seeking His glory. It is a process.
Repent!
OK. Here goes. You can stone me if you want, but you need to repent! If you are a child (over 8) you need to repent. If you are poor you need to repent. If you have never done anything wrong you need to repent. If you are an ordained minister you need to repent. If you are Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, or atheist you need to repent. No matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter what you believe, no matter what you think, you NEED to repent! I join the voices of all the holy prophets who every lived: Believe in Jesus Christ, have faith in Him, put your trust in Him, and REPENT!
Repentance is not about stealing, lying, or committing adultery. It is about getting rid of all that is temporary and replacing it with Eternal things. It's sacrifice. This is like birth. There is suffering, there is travail, and, yes, it's hard! No woman says, "I'm not interested in the baby, I'm just looking forward to labor and delivery!" That's why repentance is a bad word. However, on the other side of repentance is life, Eternal Life. Paul explains, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9) It's good! It's really good! Those who have never had a child can never know the pain, nor can they know the joy of bringing a new life into the world. Don't focus on the pain of a broken heart, look instead to the joy of Eternal Life!
I commend all who read this to repent, to seek life, to make the change, to make the sacrifice. Search the Scriptures for all that is Eternal, and then allow the will of God to take over. Pray for repentance. Let go of your desires, or your heart. Allow the temporary to crumble, and build on the Rock of Eternity. Do only those things that are Eternal. Seek only things that are forever. Live life to the fullest. It's worth it! If you do, the universal bad word will become the greatest, most wonderful and glorious word ever spoken!
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Monday, April 13, 2015
Finding Truth
My brother, Chas, was telling me that the difference between Christianity and New Age religion is found in the truth. New Age religions teach that all of us have our own inner reality that is truth, and we live by our own truth, or how we feel inside. It's all selfish. We take all we feel and know, and allow others the same privilege, accepting them for the reality they have inside. It is entirely inward thinking. Namaste is a term that means: I accept your reality for you, and you accept my reality for me. "Live and let live." "I'm OK, you're OK." We all go to Heaven after this life, where we receive all of our deepest desires, each getting his own things. We are gods. We are powerful, if that's what we want. We are each the center of the Universe. We have the power within to make our own dreams come true. We can have all we want.
These concepts are so pervasive in our society, they can even be seen in many churches who call themselves "Christian." The heresy that God loves us so He accepts us into Heaven just the way we are is leading astray masses of people. The world is becoming more wicked because of these teachings that do not seek and do the will of God. It's not that there are more murders, lying, cheating, and so forth, but rather that people, even in the "church" are seeking their own internal reality. The Lord told Joseph Smith, the Prophet, in 1830,
"They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall." (D&C 1:16)
Seeking External Truth
True Christianity, on the other hand, is just the opposite. We only become Christian by rejecting our inner knowledge, understanding, and feelings. One foundation of Christianity is that we are lost and fallen, and that our very nature is evil. We are born in sin, natural enemies to God and all truth. "The natural man is an enemy to God." (Mosiah 3:19) We must repent. Therefore, we have to "crucify the flesh" and be baptized, burying the old creature. We have to give up our thoughts, words, works, and feelings. We sacrifice the deepest desires of our hearts on the altar of God in order to do His will. All truth is external to us, it comes from God. Every thought is from Him, and to Him. We are not our own, but are bought with a price. The essence of Christianity is that we need to sacrifice all inward things in order to find the truth that is outside of ourselves.
Moreover, we are instructed to teach others to make this same sacrifice. We tell everyone, everywhere, that they must repent. We do not accept their inner reality, but rather teach the truth of God, and help them to sacrifice themselves on the same altar. Thus, those who are of the worldly religions consider Christians to be "forcing their religion on others." They feel judged, and rejected. Christians are thought to be hateful for not accepting others as they are. Whereas Christians say, "I can't even accept my own inner reality, much less yours!"
Repentance is hard!
A friend of the family was raised to know God. She served a mission for eighteen months, helping others to come to know the truth about God. However, she felt inside that she was not being true to herself because she is attracted to other women. After struggling with this for a few years, she finally gave up and decided that God would have to change because she wouldn't be able to; He would just have to accept her inner reality, to accept her just the way she is. She decided that her inner feelings were the truth so she began dating women. She expected God to change her feelings, not understanding that the real sacrifice of the heart often requires that we follow Him in spite of how we feel.
In reality her situation is not different from another friend, a young man, in a similar situation. He also was raised to know God, and also served a mission for two years, helping others to come to know Him. However, his inner reality included a need for comfort in sexual relations. He was caught up in pornography and would use women for his comfort whenever and wherever he could. He also gave up seeking external realities to "walk after the image of his own god." The gods we worship are supposed to save us from suffering, pain, loneliness, and death; but these internal gods are not true, they only bring brief respite from suffering, at best. It's like eating; no matter how much we eat, we will get hungry again, and most of our "comfort foods" cause us to feel worse afterwards.
The philosophies of the world are alluring because they teach that we are acceptable just the way we are and don't need to change. Repentance is a terrible word. Nobody wants to change. Change is hard. Change hurts. We want to hear that we are good, that God loves us, and accepts us just as we are. We can have anything, and everything, we want, our hearts' deepest desires. When I was a missionary in Venezuela a man stumbled up to my companion and I and slurred, "I'm not going to join your religion, do you know why? Because my religion lets me do anything I want!" He knew we would teach him about the need to sacrifice his desire for liquor in order to find God. In reality, he will not find God as long as he depends on alcohol for comfort. This is the problem with all religions taught by man, internal reality isn't true, and always leads to failure.
Love and Acceptance
The confusion mostly comes in our concept of "love." When we are told that "God is love," and that he loves us unconditionally, we assume that means He accepts us as we are -- but that is most assuredly not true! Love is one thing, acceptance is completely different. The Scriptures assure us that "no unclean thing can dwell with God." (1 Nephi 10:21) He does not accept any who are seeking their own inner reality, and not His. Only those who have completely submitted to His will are acceptable. The altars that have always existed with true worship represent sacrifice, and submission. Indeed, to worship God requires repentance. We must change, or we are not acceptable and cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven, in spite of His love for us.
Light comes as we seek it, and in ways we may not expect. All knowledge comes from God so we must turn to Him to find all truth. There are steps to be taken.
Acknowledge that we don't know anything.
Be willing to give up all we have.
Read, study, and ponder on the words of Christ, including Scripture, the words of prophets, and our personal revelation.
We do this not because we feel like it, not because it is part of our inner desire or feeling, but rather because we want to know truth in spite of our own feelings and desires. Both the young woman who was attracted to women and the young man who wanted comfort in sex gave up searching because they thought God would remove their natural desires, that they would automatically feel differently. Truth, however, is knowable in spite of how we feel. The internal sacrifice for the external truths may mean that we continue to feel the needs of the flesh, but cease to believe that it will bring us to light, understanding, love, wisdom, and freedom. In other words, we must continually reject our carnal desires, repenting and accepting instead the will of God for us. Paul explains this concept from his own experience,
"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
Paul was told that he would continue to have weaknesses while he lived, but that as long as he didn't give in to them, he would have grace through Jesus Christ. He didn't become "good" and "acceptable" as long as he lived, in spite of his knowledge, wisdom, and service to God. He didn't become strong inside himself, rather God made him strong.
I'm not OK, and you're not OK. None of us are acceptable. We are all guilty. We all need repentance. We all need the Lord, Jesus Christ, to make us fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. All reality is outside of ourselves. We must be completely and totally unselfish. Each must make the same sacrifice of the heart where he "yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, 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) The truth is not to be found inside of us, but rather outside, in God.
The truth is out there!
In the early 1800's there was a man, Oliver Cowdery, who had a visit from an angel sent from God. He tells of his experience, explaining the difference between the internal and external realities:
"Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind. The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior's goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I hope to adore in that day which shall never cease."
(Joseph Smith-History, Oliver Cowdery's account)
As soon as we see the light of truth, then darkness is dissipated and we know. Truth is not inside us. What we are is not reality, but rather darkness that keeps us from learning all of the truth that exists outside of ourselves, our experiences, our knowledge and understanding. Instead of being helpful in learning truth, what we know actually prevents it so we must give it all up in order to be able to see in the light. When we see the light it is marvelous, wonderful, and awesome!
The doctrine of Christ is the opposite of all other religions. "And this is my doctrine... that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me." (3 Nephi 11:32) He is the external reality. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) We are not acceptable, nor can we ever be by ourselves. We only become acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. We need to change and become like Him, making the sacrifices He made, and doing the will of the Father in all things, in spite of our inner feelings, wants, needs, and desires. Repentance is the real difference between Christianity and all other religions. Only by rejecting our inner reality can we come to know truth.
These concepts are so pervasive in our society, they can even be seen in many churches who call themselves "Christian." The heresy that God loves us so He accepts us into Heaven just the way we are is leading astray masses of people. The world is becoming more wicked because of these teachings that do not seek and do the will of God. It's not that there are more murders, lying, cheating, and so forth, but rather that people, even in the "church" are seeking their own internal reality. The Lord told Joseph Smith, the Prophet, in 1830,
"They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall." (D&C 1:16)
Seeking External Truth
True Christianity, on the other hand, is just the opposite. We only become Christian by rejecting our inner knowledge, understanding, and feelings. One foundation of Christianity is that we are lost and fallen, and that our very nature is evil. We are born in sin, natural enemies to God and all truth. "The natural man is an enemy to God." (Mosiah 3:19) We must repent. Therefore, we have to "crucify the flesh" and be baptized, burying the old creature. We have to give up our thoughts, words, works, and feelings. We sacrifice the deepest desires of our hearts on the altar of God in order to do His will. All truth is external to us, it comes from God. Every thought is from Him, and to Him. We are not our own, but are bought with a price. The essence of Christianity is that we need to sacrifice all inward things in order to find the truth that is outside of ourselves.
Moreover, we are instructed to teach others to make this same sacrifice. We tell everyone, everywhere, that they must repent. We do not accept their inner reality, but rather teach the truth of God, and help them to sacrifice themselves on the same altar. Thus, those who are of the worldly religions consider Christians to be "forcing their religion on others." They feel judged, and rejected. Christians are thought to be hateful for not accepting others as they are. Whereas Christians say, "I can't even accept my own inner reality, much less yours!"
Repentance is hard!
A friend of the family was raised to know God. She served a mission for eighteen months, helping others to come to know the truth about God. However, she felt inside that she was not being true to herself because she is attracted to other women. After struggling with this for a few years, she finally gave up and decided that God would have to change because she wouldn't be able to; He would just have to accept her inner reality, to accept her just the way she is. She decided that her inner feelings were the truth so she began dating women. She expected God to change her feelings, not understanding that the real sacrifice of the heart often requires that we follow Him in spite of how we feel.
In reality her situation is not different from another friend, a young man, in a similar situation. He also was raised to know God, and also served a mission for two years, helping others to come to know Him. However, his inner reality included a need for comfort in sexual relations. He was caught up in pornography and would use women for his comfort whenever and wherever he could. He also gave up seeking external realities to "walk after the image of his own god." The gods we worship are supposed to save us from suffering, pain, loneliness, and death; but these internal gods are not true, they only bring brief respite from suffering, at best. It's like eating; no matter how much we eat, we will get hungry again, and most of our "comfort foods" cause us to feel worse afterwards.
The philosophies of the world are alluring because they teach that we are acceptable just the way we are and don't need to change. Repentance is a terrible word. Nobody wants to change. Change is hard. Change hurts. We want to hear that we are good, that God loves us, and accepts us just as we are. We can have anything, and everything, we want, our hearts' deepest desires. When I was a missionary in Venezuela a man stumbled up to my companion and I and slurred, "I'm not going to join your religion, do you know why? Because my religion lets me do anything I want!" He knew we would teach him about the need to sacrifice his desire for liquor in order to find God. In reality, he will not find God as long as he depends on alcohol for comfort. This is the problem with all religions taught by man, internal reality isn't true, and always leads to failure.
Love and Acceptance
The confusion mostly comes in our concept of "love." When we are told that "God is love," and that he loves us unconditionally, we assume that means He accepts us as we are -- but that is most assuredly not true! Love is one thing, acceptance is completely different. The Scriptures assure us that "no unclean thing can dwell with God." (1 Nephi 10:21) He does not accept any who are seeking their own inner reality, and not His. Only those who have completely submitted to His will are acceptable. The altars that have always existed with true worship represent sacrifice, and submission. Indeed, to worship God requires repentance. We must change, or we are not acceptable and cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven, in spite of His love for us.
Light comes as we seek it, and in ways we may not expect. All knowledge comes from God so we must turn to Him to find all truth. There are steps to be taken.
Acknowledge that we don't know anything.
Be willing to give up all we have.
Read, study, and ponder on the words of Christ, including Scripture, the words of prophets, and our personal revelation.
We do this not because we feel like it, not because it is part of our inner desire or feeling, but rather because we want to know truth in spite of our own feelings and desires. Both the young woman who was attracted to women and the young man who wanted comfort in sex gave up searching because they thought God would remove their natural desires, that they would automatically feel differently. Truth, however, is knowable in spite of how we feel. The internal sacrifice for the external truths may mean that we continue to feel the needs of the flesh, but cease to believe that it will bring us to light, understanding, love, wisdom, and freedom. In other words, we must continually reject our carnal desires, repenting and accepting instead the will of God for us. Paul explains this concept from his own experience,
"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
Paul was told that he would continue to have weaknesses while he lived, but that as long as he didn't give in to them, he would have grace through Jesus Christ. He didn't become "good" and "acceptable" as long as he lived, in spite of his knowledge, wisdom, and service to God. He didn't become strong inside himself, rather God made him strong.
I'm not OK, and you're not OK. None of us are acceptable. We are all guilty. We all need repentance. We all need the Lord, Jesus Christ, to make us fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. All reality is outside of ourselves. We must be completely and totally unselfish. Each must make the same sacrifice of the heart where he "yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, 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) The truth is not to be found inside of us, but rather outside, in God.
The truth is out there!
In the early 1800's there was a man, Oliver Cowdery, who had a visit from an angel sent from God. He tells of his experience, explaining the difference between the internal and external realities:
"Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind. The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior's goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I hope to adore in that day which shall never cease."
(Joseph Smith-History, Oliver Cowdery's account)
As soon as we see the light of truth, then darkness is dissipated and we know. Truth is not inside us. What we are is not reality, but rather darkness that keeps us from learning all of the truth that exists outside of ourselves, our experiences, our knowledge and understanding. Instead of being helpful in learning truth, what we know actually prevents it so we must give it all up in order to be able to see in the light. When we see the light it is marvelous, wonderful, and awesome!
The doctrine of Christ is the opposite of all other religions. "And this is my doctrine... that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me." (3 Nephi 11:32) He is the external reality. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) We are not acceptable, nor can we ever be by ourselves. We only become acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. We need to change and become like Him, making the sacrifices He made, and doing the will of the Father in all things, in spite of our inner feelings, wants, needs, and desires. Repentance is the real difference between Christianity and all other religions. Only by rejecting our inner reality can we come to know truth.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Fear of God and Man
In the Scriptures I find a remarkable contradiction. We are told to fear God, but we are told not to fear. Those who fear are damned.
"I, the Lord, have said that the fearful... shall have their part in that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (D&C 63:17)
This is a scary thought. As I read more carefully, it seems to me that there are two kinds of fear:
1. The fear of man
2. The fear of God
Those who are fearful of man are afraid of the suffering in the body. Pain, loss, suffering, hunger, fatigue, hatred, reprisal, shame, and all the attendant repercussions that come with them are a motivating force for action. If we base our actions on the fear of the things that are in the world, we will suffer in the spirit all that we want to avoid in the flesh. This is because the fear of the world is always based on a false premise.
Ignorance brings fear because we don't know what will happen, or even the possible outcomes. "Fearing the worst" is the result of our lost and fallen state. We cannot see, so we guess -- and when we fear we always guess wrong. Some common fears, and their realities include:
Loss of life -- we will all live forever.
Reprisal of others -- they are not our judges.
Loss of status -- we are all in the same boat.
Failure -- we cannot fail in the things of the world.
Loss of control -- God is in control.
Pain -- Jesus Christ has taken on all pain and suffering.
Loss of loved ones -- we are all eternal beings and cannot lose each other.
"Fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."
D&C 122:9
"Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth."
Luke 21:26
"Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings."
2 Nephi 8:7
There is even a false fear of God: "Forasmuch as this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men..."
2 Nephi 27:25
Fear God. (1 Peter 2:17)
As Peter said, we are commanded to fear God, and not to fear man. Fear of God is based on the truth. When we know who we are in relation to God, we will come to Him in fear and trembling. We need Him for everything, being totally dependent on Him for all things. Nothing good can come to us without Him. Without him all is lost, fallen, hopeless, lonely, and worthless.
Without Him we really are lost.
Without Him we really are fallen.
Without Him we really have no power.
Without Him we really are nothing.
Without Him we will lose everything.
Without Him we will die every death.
Without Him we are alone.
Without Him we will suffer untold and immeasurable pain.
Without Him we can only fail, no matter how much effort we expend.
Fearing God, then, is fearing the reality of what we are, lost, alone, powerless, and suffering. These are the real things to fear. God has all power over every sense of our salvation so it is logical and reasonable to fear Him, to fear His judgment. All the things we fear in the world are really under the control and power of God. It's His judgment we need to fear.
"I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me." (D&C 76:5)
The antidote for the fear of the world, is knowledge. We don't need to know everything that will happen, only that God knows, and He loves us and will care for us. If we understand in our hearts the truth of our own situation, where we stand before God and man, we would never fear man, but rather we would fear God. Our concerns would be to Him, asking, "What does God think of me?" The fear of God would drive all of our actions, and we would come to know Him and love Him. Even in love we maintain that fear, knowing that He would never let us down, but that we may fall by our own volition. By remaining fearful we continually submit to His will, giving up our own, "even as a child doth submit to his father." (Mosiah 3:19)
One of the most intelligent children I have ever met is Ethan Daniel Hughes. I became his step-father when he was four years old. He had lived his life during a time of great difficulty in the family because his father had cancer and was slowly dying. He was a child that needed guidelines, but all the different caretakers had no consistency, and he was left without a foundation. Several times I had to use brute force to restrain him, or move him. One time I picked him up and put him in his room. He sat there and looked at me, and I could see what he was thinking, "This guy is stronger than me, and I cannot win a fight with him..." This impeccable logic led him to submit. He has since become an amazingly obedient and happy child.
To "put the fear of God" into another is to show them how useless it is to resist His love. Pride only brings the very things we fear -- sorrow and suffering. The humility of a child submitting to his father is the relationship between man and God that brings happiness, peace, and complete fearlessness. The fear of God removes all fear of the world, allowing us to fearlessly face all the vicissitudes of life.
"I, the Lord, have said that the fearful... shall have their part in that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (D&C 63:17)
This is a scary thought. As I read more carefully, it seems to me that there are two kinds of fear:
1. The fear of man
2. The fear of God
Those who are fearful of man are afraid of the suffering in the body. Pain, loss, suffering, hunger, fatigue, hatred, reprisal, shame, and all the attendant repercussions that come with them are a motivating force for action. If we base our actions on the fear of the things that are in the world, we will suffer in the spirit all that we want to avoid in the flesh. This is because the fear of the world is always based on a false premise.
Ignorance brings fear because we don't know what will happen, or even the possible outcomes. "Fearing the worst" is the result of our lost and fallen state. We cannot see, so we guess -- and when we fear we always guess wrong. Some common fears, and their realities include:
Loss of life -- we will all live forever.
Reprisal of others -- they are not our judges.
Loss of status -- we are all in the same boat.
Failure -- we cannot fail in the things of the world.
Loss of control -- God is in control.
Pain -- Jesus Christ has taken on all pain and suffering.
Loss of loved ones -- we are all eternal beings and cannot lose each other.
"Fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."
D&C 122:9
"Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth."
Luke 21:26
"Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings."
2 Nephi 8:7
There is even a false fear of God: "Forasmuch as this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men..."
2 Nephi 27:25
Fear God. (1 Peter 2:17)
As Peter said, we are commanded to fear God, and not to fear man. Fear of God is based on the truth. When we know who we are in relation to God, we will come to Him in fear and trembling. We need Him for everything, being totally dependent on Him for all things. Nothing good can come to us without Him. Without him all is lost, fallen, hopeless, lonely, and worthless.
Without Him we really are lost.
Without Him we really are fallen.
Without Him we really have no power.
Without Him we really are nothing.
Without Him we will lose everything.
Without Him we will die every death.
Without Him we are alone.
Without Him we will suffer untold and immeasurable pain.
Without Him we can only fail, no matter how much effort we expend.
Fearing God, then, is fearing the reality of what we are, lost, alone, powerless, and suffering. These are the real things to fear. God has all power over every sense of our salvation so it is logical and reasonable to fear Him, to fear His judgment. All the things we fear in the world are really under the control and power of God. It's His judgment we need to fear.
"I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me." (D&C 76:5)
The antidote for the fear of the world, is knowledge. We don't need to know everything that will happen, only that God knows, and He loves us and will care for us. If we understand in our hearts the truth of our own situation, where we stand before God and man, we would never fear man, but rather we would fear God. Our concerns would be to Him, asking, "What does God think of me?" The fear of God would drive all of our actions, and we would come to know Him and love Him. Even in love we maintain that fear, knowing that He would never let us down, but that we may fall by our own volition. By remaining fearful we continually submit to His will, giving up our own, "even as a child doth submit to his father." (Mosiah 3:19)
One of the most intelligent children I have ever met is Ethan Daniel Hughes. I became his step-father when he was four years old. He had lived his life during a time of great difficulty in the family because his father had cancer and was slowly dying. He was a child that needed guidelines, but all the different caretakers had no consistency, and he was left without a foundation. Several times I had to use brute force to restrain him, or move him. One time I picked him up and put him in his room. He sat there and looked at me, and I could see what he was thinking, "This guy is stronger than me, and I cannot win a fight with him..." This impeccable logic led him to submit. He has since become an amazingly obedient and happy child.
To "put the fear of God" into another is to show them how useless it is to resist His love. Pride only brings the very things we fear -- sorrow and suffering. The humility of a child submitting to his father is the relationship between man and God that brings happiness, peace, and complete fearlessness. The fear of God removes all fear of the world, allowing us to fearlessly face all the vicissitudes of life.
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