An Eternal Family

The senses of our bodies are one- or two-dimensional; we perceive only what is in front of us at the moment. The brain is really only one-dimensional because we can only have one thought at a time. Because of this, our ideas, concepts, and philosophies are severely limited. Our brains cannot conceive of anything that it has not experienced. We are really, really limited, even handicapped by our own perceptions.

One consequence of this is to limit our relationships of family. Our worldly concept of family is a mother, father and their children. This is a very fixed idea from childhood that doesn't allow for substitutes. We even have to work up to the concept of adoption, and we accept that as a second-class "family." Those who have children who are adopted know the difference. Children who are adopted also feel the difference. Step-parents, step-children, or step-siblings are also second-class. I feel that this is very short-sighted, and the true concept of family is not at all that narrow. One passage of Scripture may help illustrate. Jesus is speaking to a group of disciples:

"While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." (Matthew 12:46-50)

I believe in this passage Jesus is expanding our perception of family. On the Earth we are limited to a mother, a father, and their children as a family, however in Heaven that limitation doesn't exist. As Jesus indicated, I believe we choose our family, and the connections are not limited to a few, but rather have multiple dimensions.

The key to all of life is choice. Our ability to choose is the single most important foundation upon which all life is based. Without choice there is no life because there is no difference, all is the same, which is nothing. Our next-door neighbor had a birthday last week, and his son, Max, wrote him a birthday card saying, in essence: "If you weren't my dad, I would search until I found you..." Did we choose our families? Were we given the choice of a mother and father? Some people think not, and are angry that they were "sent" to a family that didn't care for them. Max, on the other hand, said he would choose his father all over again. Perhaps we didn't choose to be born into a family, but as we go through life we choose our fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers.

A father is a man who engenders life in another. Life is growth, so, anyone who helps us to grow is our parent. Once we are grown enough to make these choices, we begin choosing our family. Those we associate with are our brothers and sisters. Those who help us to grow are our mothers and fathers.

Anyone who would like to be a father simply needs to grow up and help others to do the same. Becoming a mentor, teacher, writer, speaker, or in any way giving information to help others to grow makes us worthy to be a father to another. The human tendency to push others to be better doesn't work; only by helping others to come to where we are can we become a father or mother to them. They may go beyond us, but in order to do it they will need to find another parent to teach them how.

Thus, the true concept of family is very different than a mother, a father, and their children. In the Eternal sense, we have the fathers we choose. Jesus explained this to the Pharisees:

"They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." (John 8:39-44)

In other words, those born physically into the family of Abraham are not his children, but rather those who follow him, who do as he did. If God were their father they would do as He does and love Jesus. Jesus then tells them who their father really is, the one they follow. This is true of all fathers -- birth is not the issue. All of those we follow are our fathers. If we choose to follow people who are destructive then these are our fathers. On the other hand, if we choose to follow Jesus Christ, or any of His disciples, then these are our fathers -- all of them.

The Eternal concept of family, then, is bringing others to God. When we are all with God, our associations as parents and siblings have a hierarchy. Those who help the most people come to know God, and return to His presence have the greatest glory, indeed, they are at the top. The holy prophets whose writings we use to come to know our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, are fathers to many. Each of us can choose to be great and have glory by helping others come to know God.

Ultimately, Jesus Christ is a Father to all because it is only through Him that we can have life in every way, both immortality and Eternal Life. The first is given in spite of our choices so He is the Father of every resurrected, perfect, immortal body -- we will all follow Him into death and resurrection. The second, however, is a gift only to those who choose to accept it. For these, Christ is the Father of their Eternal family. Not everyone will follow Him to Heaven because we all have choice, and some choose other fathers of their eternal existence. He is the Father of all the Earth, every person ever born to the family of Adam, making Him the greatest of all. He is also necessarily the Father of all those who choose Him, making Him the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, the Servant of all.

The true concept of family in Heaven, then, is based on a choice each makes to come to God. Those who bring others to know the choice is possible, as well as those who help others to make choices, and keep covenants are the fathers and mothers, while those who end up in the same place by making the same choices are brothers and sisters.

Our "reward" in Heaven may be the people we bring to God. We are building our mansions in Heaven by helping others come to know God in any way. The more followers, or children, we engender spiritually, the larger our "house" will be. The real work of life, then, is to come to know God ourselves by choosing "parents" who know God, and then to assist as many people as we can to do the same by becoming a mentor or teacher to them. This is the process of building our Eternal family.

Dad

Last week my dad came and spent a couple of days with me. It was just the two of us, except when Charlotte was there in the evening. He came to work with me, went to one of my "dinner talks" and hung out. While I was working, he was reading a book about the beginning of time: Adam, Eve, Seth, Cain, Able, and so forth. We talked a little about these things and I was surprised at his understanding. He's now almost 80 years old, but he's still working! He's running a MLM business and helping Frank remodel his kitchen. He's also in business with a friend on a new type of human resources business. He's busy. But I still noticed he's slowing down a little. We had a good time together.

Today I woke up with a song in my head, The Leader of the Band, by Dan Fogelberg. I heard it a lot when I started college at BYU in 1980 because my roommate had the album and listened to it frequently on his record player. While I was in the shower this morning it occurred to me that the song was about me and my dad, suddenly my eyes were opened to who I was and I started crying.

"The leader of the band is tired, and his eyes are growing old,

But his blood runs through my instruments and his song is in my soul,

My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man

I'm just a living legacy to the Leader of the Band!"

I suddenly saw my dad as the leader of our little band of boys. He did the best he could with everything. He was a great man, a great father. He could do anything, we thought, and he instilled in us the same sense. He had faith, even when he didn't understand. He was persistent, never becoming discouraged, even through many difficult times. He just kept on plugging away at everything until he accomplished his goal. He loved his family. He loved his boys. He spent time with us, taking us Boy Scout and family trips.

 

I am amazed at how much my life has paralleled his. Family, marriage, problems, health issues, activities and so forth that I do or have are similar to what his has done. I have the same mannerisms, speech, and ideas -- in spite of how much I would like to believe otherwise. I tell the same jokes to my kids. I learned to build because he did. I have a song for everything anybody says -- and start singing it. I find myself saying the same things. I was a Boy Scout leader for my boys, and others.

I really have built upon the foundation provided by my dad. In my career I have written books and articles saying some of the same things my dad used to tell us when we were kids. For example, he would frequently tell us how sugar was "poison," as he would eat it. Of course, we laughed at his hypocrisy, adolescents are very aware of that. Recently I wrote an article on the internet explaining how sugar is the toxin that causes the most illness in the world -- and I still eat it (at times)! I took what he gave me, and ran with it. I took on his dreams, and improved on them. I took his ideas of success, and made them successful. "His song is in my soul!" I am what he wanted to be, in so many ways.

The Spirit of Elijah has wrought heavily on me, my heart is turned to my father. I have a new love for my dad. In the past I have seen him as so different from me, but now my eyes have been opened to the similarities that I couldn't see before. I always wanted to connect with him, and didn't think I could. On the one hand, I can now appreciate all that he has done for me. He gave me life. He raised me up. He trained me. But more than all of that, he gave me dreams, goals, and faith to move ahead, to go on, to improve on what he had done. My dreams are his dreams. I know who I am. "I am a living legacy to the leader of the band!"

The Prophet

I feel the need to write about a remarkable man who has made a difference in my life, and in the life of every person living and dead. It was said of him, after he was killed, that he "has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it." (D&C 135:3) I took that with a grain of salt for many years, not really understanding what it meant. I thought it may be an exaggeration, a little hyperbole written by his cohorts to emphasize how much they thought of him. I thought, "Really? To put him at the level of Jesus Christ? Above Moses and Abraham, Peter and Paul?" Actually, I don't think even the authors fully understood how true that statement really is.

People have filled the world for thousands of years. Prophets have come and taught about our Creator, God, while others have taught about false gods. False gods are generally concerned with what we can see, hear, feel, and know through our senses, while the true God gives knowledge about higher things that are not of this world. Sacrifices of what we know and think are required in order for us to receive the greater knowledge. Prophets have all taught these things, but there is one that stands out more than all the others.

Joseph Smith was only a boy like any other in a rural community in New York in the early 1800's. He was looking for truth, like almost everyone else. He had no special gifts or talents. His family were poor farmers, living off the land through hard work. But what he accomplished in only twenty years is astounding!

When Jesus walked the Earth in Palestine, He organized a church with apostles and prophets who were commanded to "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20) Peter, Paul, and the Apostles of that time tried, but were all killed before they could fulfill that commandment. Since that time Christians have generally tried to bring this knowledge to others, but much of it was lost.

The ancient Church of Jesus Christ taught concepts that were subsequently lost when the Apostles were killed. The scriptures were there, but there was nobody who could interpret them. People were "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. (Ephesians 4:14) And deceive they did.

The most important information was lost entirely -- the knowledge of the purpose of life. For almost two thousand years nobody knew why we existed, where we came from, or what happened after this life. There were all kinds of theories, ideas, and philosophies, but nobody really knew for sure, until Joseph Smith.

While translating the Bible into English, Joseph saw that much was missing from the original manuscript of the writings of Moses. One particular scripture is foundational, the most concise answer to all the "why" questions of life, that reveals God's goal for all of His children. In it, God is talking to Moses on the mountain, and tell him about the purpose of life,

"For behold, this is my work and my glory -- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39)

This statement is simple and concise, yet most profound and glorious! God has two purposes for man:

1. To make him immortal, and

2. To give him Eternal Life.

All religions and philosophies, before Joseph Smith, believed that these two terms were synonymous, and most still do. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Eternal Life is continually growing, learning, achieving, and improving. Immortality only means to continue to exist forever. Immortality is a gift given to everyone by Jesus Christ, but Eternal Life must be learned. It is something we grow into as we fulfill our purpose of life.

If you go to any school, philosophy, church, or religion in the world, and if they believe that life is forever, they will have some concept of heaven and hell. If you are good you go to heaven, and if you are bad you go to hell. In some cases all are going to hell, in others, all are going to heaven. The truth is so much more wonderful than any conception of man. Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many mansions..." (John 14:2) God is so merciful that He has created a Heaven for everyone who desires it. While Paul briefly describes in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 the various glories in the resurrection, Joseph Smith gives us details as to what they are, who goes to each, and how to receive our desires in D&C section 76. There he also revealed the meaning of "the third heaven" that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 12:2.

All growth or improvement requires the following:

1. A goal

2. A plan

3. A commitment

4. A sacrifice

Before Joseph Smith people didn't know where they were going -- they had no goal so they couldn't even begin the process of growth. The best they could do was to live a moral life in order to receive a higher glory than those who were mean and selfish. Thus, all religions and philosophies were on the same level. Because of Joseph Smith, however, we know what God has prepared for His children -- His goal for us. For the first time in almost two thousand years there is a real goal.

After having a goal, there must be a plan to obtain it. If you want to learn to play the piano, just saying you are going to play it is not enough, you need a plan. This must be a true plan. Sitting and listening to Beethoven all day is not going to make you proficient in playing it, you must actually sit down with an instructor and pound on the keys. In the same sense, every goal must have a true plan, or it will not be reached. Only through Joseph Smith can we know the true plan, the straight and narrow path, that can bring us Eternal Life. All other plans cannot bring us to reach our full potential.

Also, it was through Joseph Smith that the authority to administer the plan was given. Authority is essential in every organization. Without authority there is no organization, and all turns to chaos. The police have authority to write tickets to those who break traffic laws -- it would not be good if anybody could collect fines for infractions of the law. Parents have authority over their children, and nobody else can discipline them without being authorized by the parents. Likewise in the Church of Jesus Christ the authority is given to preach the Gospel and administer the ordinances, which are the commitments we make to God to carry-out the plan. This allows us to be coached on the path, making all the sacrifices needed to receive Eternal Life.

Moreover, Joseph Smith didn't just affect people in his own day, his influence is generational, from the beginning to the end of the world. There have been billions of people who have lived without the ordinances of salvation. In order to enter into "the third heaven" and receive eternal life it is essential that each receive the ordinances. Through the Prophet learn how we are able to help those who went before without a knowledge of the plan by performing these ordinances vicariously for them. Thus, all who ever lived on the Earth will have the opportunity to achieve the highest glory, to fulfill their purpose for existence, and receive "the greatest of all the gifts of God." (D&C 14:7)

In short, Joseph Smith, in his short life, did more for the salvation of mankind, besides the Author of salvation Himself, than anyone else.

1. He brought a knowledge of the purpose of mankind, and the reasons for our existence on the Earth -- our goal.

2. He revealed the entire plan of happiness, the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

3. He brought the covenants and ordinances, or commitments, that allow us to follow the plan.

4. He organized a church to administer the ordinances and help people carry-out the plan.

5. He prepared the way for all those who lived before to receive the same covenants and ordinances.

Through this man we have the ability to fulfill the purpose for our existence, that of Eternal Life. And not just we, but every person who ever lived has this same opportunity.

Thus, to say that Joseph Smith was a prophet is to belittle his profound contribution to mankind. No other prophet has such a direct effect on the eternal salvation of every son and daughter of Adam. While other prophets revealed truths about God to their own generation and those that followed, the things revealed by Joseph Smith have an immediate effect on all of mankind. The personal salvation of most people, and every family is dependent on the knowledge, ordinances, and authority given through him. Indeed, your own salvation, or your ability to reach your full potential, is dependent on him.

Why I'm Mormon

I have chosen to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over all the other churches and philosophies in the world. I've studied just about everything in the realm of science, philosophy and religion. I know their doctrine. I know many honorable and intelligent people in the world of all faiths and beliefs, but I came back to being Mormon. There are many reasons for this, but I would like to discuss the major ones.

I was born in the covenant.

First of all, my parents, grandparents, and even some of my great grandparents were LDS. They all have amazing stories of their conversion to Mormonism, and they sacrificed a great deal to be members. I, on the other hand, had it easy. My parents were sealed in the Temple for time, and all Eternity so I was born in the Covenant. The power of the Priesthood seals couples to each other and their children to them, not just for this life on Earth, but even after -- forever; it is the power to bind on Earth, and in Heaven. This means that when I was born, I already had a covenant with God because He had promised my parents that their children would be theirs forever. Covenants with God allow Him to help us to be faithful; His angels are especially watchful over all those who have made covenants.

Intelligence is light and truth.

I have been told that Mormonism is the only religion that has increased activity as education increases. In other words, as Mormons become more intelligent they are more likely to participate in church, as opposed to all other religions, which are less likely. I believe this is true because we believe that intelligence is an essential part of salvation. The Lord told Joseph Smith, "It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance." (D&C 131:6) Moreover, there is no dogma. All the words of the prophets must be individually confirmed by every member to know that it is the word of God. Nobody dictates what I believe or know -- except God Himself.

I like more.

The word "Mormon" means "more good." This means to me that I can learn more about God from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What's more, I have the freedom to study all knowledge and understanding in the world and incorporate it into my religion. No truth is outside of the Mormon faith, no matter what the source. I can find truth in the writings of Buddha, Mohammed, Paul, or even apocryphal literature. "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." (Articles of Faith:13) I hate limits.

It's true, and living.

According to the Lord, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth." (D&C 1:30) "True" Means it is the only one that contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as the authority to administer the ordinances.

"Living" Means it is growing, changing, improving both in doctrine, knowledge, wisdom, and power. This doesn't just mean that the cannon of Scripture is increasing, but also that the whole body of those who belong to the Church are growing as individuals and as a group. All other religions are dead, stagnant, not growing. For example, Latin is spoken by thousands of people and is taught in many schools, but it is defined as a dead language because no new words are added to it; a Latin dictionary never changes. English on the other hand, is a living language with hundreds or thousands of new words every year! The Mormon Church is like the English language, continually growing with us.

I want to understand God's will for me.

This is the most important reason I'm a Mormon today. Modern revelation helps us to understand our purpose because we know why we were created:

"For behold, this is my work and my glory -- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39)

God's work is to give us salvation in two ways:

1. Immortality and

2. Eternal life.

Immortality is a free gift from the Lord for all those who are born in the family of Adam. We will all be resurrected. We might go to any Christian or other sect and find a preacher telling his congregation that all are saved from death, and this would be true. All are saved in this way. However, there is another part of salvation that is totally lost to everyone, except the Mormons -- Eternal Life! Everyone else thinks these terms are synonymous, but nothing could be farther from the truth. The Devil continues to exist forever, as do all of his angels. Also, all those born on this Earth will be resurrected; immortality is a free gift to everyone.

Eternal life, however, is a completely different concept. It is living as God, growing up to be like our Father, continually growing and increasing. It means creating, populating, and ruling over galaxies and worlds -- being a god, just like our Father.

What's more, the plan for us to reach this goal is also only found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We call it "the plan of happiness." It is step-by-step instructions on how to reach our ultimate destiny, the goal of Eternal life. It is a true plan. It is the true plan. It is the only plan that will get me to my goal. The way is prepared by God, and all we need to do is follow Him. There is no other organization that knows or can help anyone carry-out the plan.

Since nobody else knows the purpose of life all other religions and philosophies are useless to me -- they cannot help me reach my goal. I want to know my purpose. I want my life to have meaning. I want to fulfill my ultimate destiny. I want to be the best that I can be. I want continual growth. Without the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there would be no way to achieve my goal; I would be lost, wandering in a desert of ideas that go nowhere. I know. I looked around. This is the real reason I have chosen to be Mormon.

The Consecrated Life

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

I’m going to try to speak about consecration. The problem is, I’m not there yet to be an expert on this subject so I’m going to use the words of prophets in order to learn, and I pray that the Spirit will be with us that we may learn together. Consecrate means: To set apart, dedicate, or devote, to the service of God. The question, then, is: “How do we consecrate our souls, body and spirit, to the Lord?”

Answer: We grow up in the Gospel. In the same way we grow up physically, almost imperceptibly, we can grow up spiritually, however, this process doesn’t happen automatically. Nobody improves or grows in any way without going through each of the four steps:

1. A goal
2. A plan
3. A commitment
4. A sacrifice

Example: To learn to play the piano, grow up physically, build a house, or any improvement we want to make, we must go through each of the four steps.

THE goal
We need to ask, what is our goal? There are all sorts of goals in the world. The uniqueness of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that it is the ONLY organization in the whole world that can give you the highest goal in the Universe – Eternal Life. No other religion or organization even knows about this “greatest of all the gifts of God.” D&C 14:7  If your goal is not ETERNAL LIFE, then you don’t need to be here, this Church is only for the “A” students who want to learn, grow, and achieve forever.

Every blessing has a law attached: D&C 130:20-21
"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."  In other words, if we want to receive the blessing of Eternal Life, we must know the law upon which it is based – and keep it! This is a plan, indeed, THE plan.

THE plan
What does it take to obtain this blessing of Eternal Life? Why, that’s easy! It’s the PLAN OF SALVATION or the PLAN OF HAPPINESS. It's the GOSPEL, or the GOOD NEWS that Christ made our ultimate goal a possibility, even a reality. You already know what this entails, let’s start with the first principles and ordinances:

1.      Faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ
2.      Repentance
3.      Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins
4.      The laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost

From here, we learn gradually as we grow up in the Gospel. Just like every form of growth, we learn a little at a time, as Nephi explains: 2 Nephi 28:30
“For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.”

Commitments
Covenants are an intrinsic part of the Gospel. Baptism is the first covenant. From there, we go on to make covenants in the Temple, including the covenant of consecration. These covenants do two things:

1. They commit us to stay with the program, even when it gets hard. All of the hard things that help us to grow require commitments: Parents are committed to their children -- even if it gets hard.  Marriage is hard, at times, but because of the commitment we stay with it and keep trying. Statistics tell us that even marriages on the rocks will be better in 5 years if the couple continues to try to work it out. Likewise, we make a covenant with the Lord to "endure to the end" and end up happy.
2. Also, covenants allow the Lord to give us a curriculum, test us, and coach us through our trials and sacrifices. For example, baptism is the covenant that brings us into the Church, or the classroom of the Spirit. We are baptized for the remission of sins so we can have the Holy Ghost to teach us at all times. Without this covenant we can’t have the Spirit in this manner so we have no teacher. Without a teacher we cannot grow, learn, or reach the goal.

Sacrifice
The trials of life are the sacrifices we make for the Lord. Ultimately, He requires one sacrifice, as He commanded: D&C 59:8 “Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.”

What is a “broken heart?” The heart is our deepest desires, wants, and needs. When we lose or don’t get the deepest desires of our hearts we have a broken heart. There are three ways this happens:

1. We receive all we desire, and find out that it doesn’t really fill our needs.
2. We have all we want and then it is taken from us.
3. We never get our needs filled.

President John F. Kennedy said, "Life is perfectly fair, sooner or later it breaks everyone's heart."  There are two ways people respond when they have a broken heart.

1. The pain of loss causes people to become bitter and angry.
2. We can choose to turn to the Lord and give our broken heart to Him.

When we turn to the Lord, He gives us comfort, and fills our hearts.

What is a “contrite spirit?” It is being broken, bruised, or worn. “Con” means “with,” and “trite” means “bruised or worn.” I think a broken heart is something that happens to us, whereas a “contrite spirit” is what we do. If we have a contrite spirit we put aside our own desires and wear-out our lives in the service of God.

When you feel broken, bruised, and worn-out, turn to the Lord -- This is our only acceptable sacrifice. It doesn’t happen over a day or a year, but rather over a lifetime. We cannot rush the process any more than Alex who exclaimed at the age of two when he got out of diapers, “I all growed-up!” Why couldn’t the five wise virgins share their oil? Why were the foolish virgins gone so long that they missed the feast? Growth takes time and cannot be given to another.

Listen to the earnest pleading of Alma (and Mormon) to us: “And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance; But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering; Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest.” Alma 13:27-29

We come to have a consecrated life as we become more and more obedient to the Lord. The process is amazing! First, we start with belief – we believe that only Jesus Christ can help us find our goal of Eternal Life. This brings us to pray for help and guidance. When our prayers are answered and He tells us what to do, either through the Holy Ghost or His servants on the Earth, and then we exercise faith by doing exactly what He says. We gradually learn to live “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) As we keep His word, we come to understand His voice better and better. This allows us to keep more commandments and exercise more faith. At some point, we have direct communication with Heaven and know the will of God in all things. This is where we can consecrate our lives fully to Him.

Back to our definition: Consecrate: To set apart, dedicate, or devote, to the service of God.
If we don’t know the will of God, we have no way of consecrating our lives to Him. We can only guess, make assumptions, or do what we feel is right. How much damage has been done by well-meaning people! This is not consecration, rather it is doing our own will, according to our own understanding.

The key to this process is coming to know the Lord and His will for us. This only happens over a long time of keeping His commandments as we come to know them. Those who keep His commandments will receive more, until they know them all. John tells us that Jesus went through this same process: “And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness;” (D&C 93:13) Christ shows us the way. He did all the same steps He asks us to follow:

1. Goal – He had the goal not only of Eternal Life for Himself, but also to bring the opportunity to everyone else as well.
2. Plan – There was a plan for His life to bring salvation to all mankind.
3. Commitment -- He was baptized, and kept his covenants, living by every word of God.
4. Sacrifice – He made the ultimate sacrifice, descending into hell to bring out all those who are willing to follow Him.

The Lord, Jesus Christ, showed us how to consecrate our lives to the service of God. He said, “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (John 5:30) He willingly went into Gethsemane and took upon Himself the sins of the world. He didn’t want to, but submitted to all the will of His Father. Matthew tells us what happened in the Garden: “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)

Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One. He lived a consecrated life. We can do the same as we believe in Him and receive more commandments as we do exactly, and only, what He tells us to do. We must seek the will of God in all things, and willingly do it, even if it hurts, or is very hard. We only grow when we do more than we can. Through Him we can do all things, because He “giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” (1 Nephi 3:7) Through Him, everyone can reach the goal of Eternal Life! EVERYONE! He showed us the way. He IS the way. I testify in His holy name, Jesus Christ, Amen!

Skin in the Game

I have always had a hard time charging people for the services I render so I have given a lot of my services away. I mostly do this because I don't see any value in what I do. Giving people drugs or doing surgery might just as well hurt them, as help them, and I don't think they should have to pay for non-information and poor treatment. I have often thought I would feel better if I could charge by outcome. If you get better I will charge, but if you don't, I won't. In fact, I thought I could charge based on the value of the information. If I found a diagnosis that was difficult, but lifesaving I would charge a lot. That would make me feel better, but it would be impossibly difficult because people would never know up front if, or how much, they are going to be charged.

What's more, I don't believe in profiting from the misfortune of another. How can I take money from one who is sick and destitute? I have a hard time with that.

Before, I could not count on anyone actually doing the plan I had to free them from illness because I didn't require a commitment. I would talk, educate, manipulate, and cajole into doing what I tell them, but they had no skin in the game. I have counseled people for years who have never made a single sacrifice to get well.

Doctors are generally taught to use various manipulatory sales techniques such as:

"If you don't take your blood pressure medicine, you'll have a stroke!" (this is NOT true, by the way)

"If you don't do the chemotherapy and radiation you're going to die!" (also not true; when they do those treatments, they die anyway)

I could never feel good about being a doctor and try to scare people into doing what I wanted them to do. I tried it for years, but I never felt good about it.  "I did it, but I didn't enjoy it."  I used to be uncertain about myself and my advice. I wasn't sure that the drug I was giving would help, or that the surgery I was recommending would do more good than harm.  I was doing what was "right" in the eyes of a drug company so I was always holding myself back, not believing in my ability to help.  I didn't believe it, in my heart.

Now, however, my outlook has changed completely. I now know how to teach people to get well. I can help them to find vigorous health. At this point, I can help almost everyone with almost any problem. Also, I know that all improvement or growth requires four things:

1. A goal

2. A plan

3. A commitment

4. A sacrifice

If any of these steps are skipped, the growth will not happen so people don't get better. I can help now where I could not before because I know this. I can help people find a goal. I can make a real plan that will help them reach their goal, I can commit them to the plan so that they will make the sacrifice.

 

The money I charge is no longer for me, it's for them. Sure, I take their money, which helps us keep our staff and supplies, but it's not my money that I deserve because I'm smarter than them. Now, the money is their commitment to a program. They pay for their benefit, not mine. If they pay the money up front, they will do the program. If they don't, they aren't committed to doing it anyway, and they will not waste their money and my time by coming to my office. Once they pay, they have "skin in the game" and want to get better. They want to learn. They want to do everything I tell them. They will do everything exactly as I tell them because they put their trust in me.

It's now no longer working for money, it's a labor of love. I love it because I'm truly able to help people get well. We really can, and do, turn around the most horrible illnesses that I was always told were incurable such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, psoriasis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, strokes, heart disease, diabetes, and many more. I'm not just handing out drugs and watching people get sicker, end up in a nursing home, and die. Instead, I watch them get well, and continue to learn and grow. It's a great comfort to me in life. Life has meaning, and purpose. I can really make a difference in another person's life!

It's also a labor of love. Love is sacrificing for the growth of another. I give my time, and my heart, the most precious thing in the world, not for my own benefit, not for money or fame or anything selfish, but rather to help others to grow. I can help. I can give a talk to hundreds of people and give every one of them information that would help them in their lives. The purpose is not to generate income, as before, but to help others learn and grow and improve their lives. I can teach them how to fish.

Moreover, I have more freedom, now, to provide more love. I can go out to the streets and find anyone who has schizophrenia, bipolar, or other mental illness, and I can show them how to get better. I put them through the same steps: A goal, a plan, a commitment, and a sacrifice. The commitment for them may not be money, it may be just their word that they will show up and do what I ask them to do. The office staff calls these people my "projects." I am allowed to have one "project" at a time. If one drops off, gets well, or graduates from the program, I can take on another.

Yes, I require my patients to put skin in the game because I have put my whole heart into it. If I know how to reverse a condition and they don't follow-through then it breaks my heart. I can't coerce or force others to do what I want them to do, they must be willing.

My whole being is integrated into this work. My head and heart are working together.  For the first time in my life I have a mission instead of a job. I can put my whole heart into this without any misgiving. I no longer feel any skepticism or doubt. I'm not holding back. I can give from my heart. I believe! I have skin in the game.

The Choice Between Life and Death

When I was young I saw a movie, Logan's Run, about a domed city where everything was taken care-of from birth to death. Nothing was hard. Everyone had everything they wanted, but nobody could leave the city, and when they reached a certain age they were killed. Logan finds a way out of the city and sees the beauty of the world. He comes back and starts yelling to those who are headed in to be de-commissioned, "You don't have to die! You can live! Live!" They were able to escape the city and go out into the big, wide world where they saw the Sun and trees for the first time. Reflecting on that I thought that there would be many who would curse Logan because now life was going to be hard. Everything would not be provided. They would be subject to contrasts of cold in the winter, and hot in the summer. They would have to work for what they had, find food, feel hunger, thirst, and fatigue. Freedom, power, and life have costs.

Life is growth, and growth is hard so life is hard. All of the things that constitute life make it hard. Change is hard, growth is change. Those who are alive are learning and growing. Children whine constantly about growing up. Most have a hard time with growth -- they don't want to learn to take care of themselves, clean up, work, go to school or church, and do all of the things their parents want them to do so they can learn and grow. They want things to stay the same, play, have fun, do what they want to do, be taken care-of, and do what they already know. New things are hard to learn, because there is a period of awkwardness where you do it wrong, you fall, you mess up. The process of learning is hard so life is hard.

In the Eternal scheme of things there is life and death, good and evil, light and dark, and Heaven and Hell. These contrasts are forever, and they never go away. As long as we are growing we must deal with them all the time; there is no rest. The ultimate choice in life is to grow, or not. If we choose to grow, we will always be dealing with these contrasts, the highs and the lows in order to grow continually. If not, we die.

Death is not the easy way

Death seems easy. You die, and everything is the same. You have no responsibility. Nothing changes. You do what you're told to do. You don't grow. You don't learn. You stop, you're done. You finished school, pushed by your parents, and now you never have to go to school again. It's easy. People "grow up" and think they can quit growing. They are done. They want an easy life that goes around in a circle on the flats, not a life that is continually climbing up a mountain. They want to do their job, go home, rest, have vacation, weekends to do what they enjoy, and putter around just keeping busy doing what they know in the place that they know. There is no real challenge to overcome. This only leads to the ultimate rest: death.

However, the ultimate "rest" is no rest at all -- it's damnation. People choose to be damned, stopped in their growth, because of laziness. They don't want to go on. They don't want to live. They don't want to grow. They don't want change. They want rest and relaxation. However, what they get is boredom and lack. They have no freedom or power to do anything! If a two-year-old stops growing he will have no power in the world. His abilities won't allow him to even take care of himself, much less others. This is like being damned -- no growth, no power. It is marked by lack, needs that can't be filled, emptiness, and boredom. Those who are damned are only able to do what others tell them to do. They are servants, drones, soldiers, workers, and laborers. They have no freedom. They are suited to one task that they know well, and they do that continually, forever. The scenery never changes. They don't get new jobs. They don't have to learn anything new. They don't go to school. They stop. They're done. Life is over. Death. Damnation. It seems so easy to just stop.

Choose to live

Freedom is the ability to grow, or to choose how we will grow. Without freedom we only find death. Patrick Henry's statement, "Give me liberty, or give me death!" was a truth that applies to all. If you don't have freedom, you only have death, and, if you choose death, you have no freedom. There is no life without freedom because we cannot choose to grow in the way we need to. Not choosing to grow is choosing not to grow. Not using our freedom of choice is the same as not having a choice. We always need freedom in order to move on and gain more power.

Power is the ability to do work, to bring about change. Some have the power to build buildings, others heal the body, still others improve business, all are changing lives. Knowledge is power. Growth is gaining knowledge through experience in all areas. We really can't understand something we have not experienced. When we experience something, we know it. It would be impossible to explain the taste of bitter, it must be experienced along with the contrast of sweet and salty. In order to know how to do something, we must have actually done it. These experiences increase our knowledge, and power. Instead of avoiding, or pushing against new experiences, those who desire more power seek them. Life is continual improvement, always gaining more power and more abilities -- it's never-ending life.

The hardest thing of all is Eternal life. Eternal life is changing forever. This is not easy, it's hard! There is no rest, end, or stop date; we don't ever "graduate," we just have to keep going. Once we climb one mountain, and reach the peak, we see the other peak, even higher, in the distance -- and we go for it! The reward is the journey, through which we come to grow and learn continually. We are living and loving others and ourselves. The landscape keeps changing and we find beautiful vistas -- at times. Most of all, we continually grow in freedom and power.

God has freedom, all knowledge, and all power. God is life. He continually grows as He helps His children to grow. He wants them to choose to grow forever, but many don't. They are lazy, and will suffer the consequences -- they will suffer death, hell, and damnation, forever lacking power. It's painful, and sad. God cries. He has compassion, suffering with His children. He feels their pain -- not just knowing how they feel, but actually feeling their pain, suffering with them. This is the cost of Eternal life. If you want to grow, you will continually face the contrasts of good and evil. You will always have the weeds in your garden. You will always have the wind blowing against you. You will always be fighting against entropy, laziness, and evil. God does. There is no end, if we choose to live.

The value of "fighting the good fight" is freedom, knowledge, and power. But most of all, life brings joy. Helping others to grow, live, and find more knowledge and power is love. We make sacrifices of all the things we want, and experience pain and hardship just to see others grow. Parents suffer much for the growth of their children because they love them. Love connects us to each other with a bond that cannot be broken by death. We find fulfillment, peace, and happiness. This is joy. It cannot be explained, it must be experienced.

I would join Logan in saying, "You don't have to die! You can live! LIVE!" Choose life. Choose growth. Choose power. Choose freedom. The price we pay to learn and grow is small compared to the benefits. I thank my God for giving me life, for not letting me die when I wanted to give up. I could have had a cushy life, enjoying the benefits of my education, going to work and doing the same things, returning every evening to my nice house on the hill and doing what I liked in my time off. Instead, He took it all away and gave me a business to run and nine more kids to raise, a sick wife and not enough money to pay for it all. The learning has been tremendous, and the growth curve is steep. Though it is very stressful, hard, thorny, rugged, and difficult, the path I'm on is upward and onward. I'm increasing in knowledge, power, freedom -- and love. I have grown tremendously! I love life. I love growth. I love freedom. I love power. I love even the fight against evil, laziness, entropy, decay, and death. I love to help others grow, which brings great satisfaction, peace, and joy. Life is worth all we suffer to have it.