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.
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