The Book of Mormon musical

I saw the musical The Book of Mormon on Broadway in New York City last week with my daughter. Of course I was interested just from the title because I have read The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ many times. It is a book with powerful words that can change people from bad to good. So, I wondered what the play would contain.

I was surprised that the history in the musical was mostly correct. It explained about Mormon, Moroni, Joseph Smith, the golden plates, and even some of the history of the people who wrote it, coming from Israel, Nephites and Lamanites, their wars, and so forth. There was a lot of artistic license, but the basic story was true. There was one part that wasn’t true -- that Joseph Smith was the only one who saw the plates. Actually, there were many witnesses who saw and held the plates from which the book was translated, they signed their names and in spite of not staying with Joseph Smith or the church they continued to affirm throughout their lives that it was true. Since these are in the front of the book, either the writers of the play didn’t read it, or they just lied.

The two words that characterize the play are ignorant and obnoxious. The play was definitely humorous, and I believe that there is value in sarcastic whit, like Mark Twain who states truths in a humorous way. This makes us think. I must admit, I laughed a lot! However, mixed-in with a little real humor was a lot of obnoxious 10-year-old boy potty talk. It seems that most people don’t grow up, finding such things funny, however, those who are mature just find them obnoxious. I found myself not laughing with the audience around me, and they weren’t laughing at the things I found funny.

If we get past the coarse language and look at the theme, we find not just a play about a single book, but about religious books in general. The title could have easily been The Koran, The New Testament, Dianetics, The Bible, The Holy Scriptures, or any other religious text. The theme is about how religion is made up of stories that have no truth, but people just believe so they can get their pie-in-the-sky when they die. God is not real, and there is no such place as Heaven. In this sense there is a lot of contradiction in the play. It wasn’t that the people had a worse life now because of religion, and they just had to endure until they could get a reward in Heaven, but rather even in the play the people who accepted the religion had a better life now. They were taught the truth and when they conformed to it, their lives got better immediately. They were happy, and not just happily ignorant, but happier because they learned just a few true principles.

Happiness always comes from conforming to truth. As long as we live in a fantasy world we remain miserable because of constant conflict of not being able to get what we want. We can find no fulfillment nor satisfaction in a fantasy. More cookies won’t fill the hole inside me, and will only make me fat and hate myself. Another drink won’t take away the anxiety, but will kill my liver and brain cells. More sex won’t make me feel connected to others, but rather give me AIDS. The truth of growing up and thinking of others instead of ourselves actually makes us happy and fulfilled is taught almost exclusively by religion -- the very religious texts that are being denigrated in the play. In that sense, the play is a huge step backwards for society. It leads to childishness and ignorance, bringing death and destruction, like the Ugandans going back to their old ways of female genital mutilation, or raping children to cure their AIDS.

The musical is really for Peter Pan types, little boys who don’t want to grow up and face life, truth, and take responsibility. These are all things that God requires of those who seek Him so those who refuse to grow up will deny Him, like the Ugandans blaming God for their ignorance and suffering. Thus, the play has potential to create more suffering by creating more ignorance, and an uncivilized society. This has been the fate of all those who believe the fantasy that we could have civilization without God. The 20th century was by far the bloodiest in all the history of the world, all in the name of atheistic power-hungry regimes. Only God can subdue the natural tendency to use power for personal gain. Thus, religion is our only hope for avoiding such bloodshed, and musical performance undermines that.

But the true ignorance of the play is that it’s the opposite of what it’s supposed to be. By saying that The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and all it teaches is fantasy comes from those who have never read the book, or don’t understand it. Tens of millions of people who have read it in over a hundred languages (including Uganda) can affirm that it is true, and their lives really are better - now. The difference is, those who read it know, those who don’t, just remain ignorant. As Mark Twain said, “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.” The best advice, then, would be to overcome ignorance and actually read the book and judge for yourself.

Fantasy vs. Reality

In a long conversation yesterday I had a discussion on several topics:

There is no God, but rather an ideal “altruistic philosophy” of justice.
Socialism is the answer to government, social, and economic problems.
If we stop “global warming.” or "climate change" we can prevent our extinction.

It seems that atheism leads to living in a fantasy world. Those who think this way have a problem with reality. They cannot see reality, so they live in fantasy. When you don't know, you can only go by your own experience, creating ideals in the physical world, not understanding that "all the world is a stage," or that we only see the shadows, being chained down facing the wall. These cannot deal with reality, and need to create a fantasy. There is a reason for this, it is to replace what is lost by losing God and truth. All of the qualities and powers that come from God have a counterfeit in the fantasy world. Like the vegan who has to have a “veggie burger” everyone wants to find a replacement for what is real. We love fakes to fill the gap left when we remove reality.


Reality                Counterfeit
Peace                       No war
Love                        Sex
Joy                           Fun
Hope                        Predict future
Faith                        Scientism
Happiness                Drugs
Connect with God   Connect with peers
Truth                        Learning stuff
Intelligence              Wit/clever
Charity                    Altruism
Justice                      Equality
Mercy                      Permissiveness
Grace                       Welfare
Choice                      Determinism
Spiritual hierarchy   Economic hierarchy
Order/thought          Random/Luck
Rest                         Television

If you don’t have the real thing, there is a void that must be filled by something. All nature abhors a vacuum. People who don’t know God have a hole that is never going to be filled. Without all the principles and qualities of God, without the truth, they feel empty, so they try to fill the vacuum of reality with worldly counterfeits. All of the counterfeits are a fantasy, a dream, they seem like they could fill the void, but they don't -- they CAN'T.

The purpose of the church of Jesus Christ, and the reason it is so important that parents teach their children the truth is so that when the children go out into the world they are immunized against the counterfeits. There will be no void in their lives that needs to be filled. They will not listen to professors who tout the fairness doctrine, the communist manifesto or socialist doctrine, or the philosophy of altruism. They won’t believe friends or doctors who recommend drugs and sex. They won't become addicted to food to fill the emptiness. They will see it for what it is, childish, fantasy, and thus not be swayed by it.

Justice
The philosophy of justice in equality of outcome is childish. There is no justice in the world. Everyone has been told by their mother that life isn’t fair. It’s a 10-year-old fantasy to make life fair, to have superheroes that bring truth, and justice to the world. Sorry, there are no superheroes, it’s just us. Grow up. Life's not fair. Work hard. Take responsibility. Give up "The Justice League."

Altruism
There is no such thing as true altruism, it is a fantasy. You’re not going to find a daddy to give you a “Universal Basic Income.” Those who promise it are totalitarian despots and cannot fulfill their promises.. Real altruism is inherently selfish. The most altruistic thing I can to is to build up myself, to make myself strong, and healthy and wealthy. That way I have power to help others. The CEO making $10M employs thousands of people, thus helping his employees and their families have a better life. Thus, as I truly help others, I help myself more. I increase my happiness and improve my standing in life. I am better by making others better. Never can anyone be wholly altruistic. Even Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself for all mankind, the greatest sacrifice ever, effectively raising Himself  to the top of humanity by His sacrifice.

All of life is inherently selfish. If I live for me, I help others. Even God, the Eternal Father, is not wholly altruistic. God has children and helps them to grow up so that He can be glorified. He defines His work thus:

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

It’s all about Him, His work, and His glory. He offers us immortality and Eternal life so He can have more glory. We glorify Him. Is this altruism?

Monkeys murder and torture each other mercilessly. Chickens kill each other out of spite. Lobsters destroy other lobsters to get higher on the social scale. Life is brutal. To think otherwise is a fantasy. The only altruism that exists is for each individual to be truly Christian by taking all the suffering given to them and not giving it back. As unjust as that sounds, that is real altruism.

Socialism
Socialism doesn’t work. It never has worked. It never will work. The brutality of the 20th Century centers on socialism. More people have been murdered in the name of socialism than all other creeds - combined. Socialism is not reality, but rather a fantasy that cannot work in the real world. Being equally poor doesn’t help our species grow - nobody grows or improves unless there is freedom - freedom to succeed, and freedom to fail. Trying to bring justice by forcing economic equality just lowers everyone's standard of living and takes away the incentive to live. Lower standard of living equals lower serotonin, less happiness, less freedom, less creativity, less growth, and less life.

Ideal isn’t real, fantasy ideals are those that cannot ever be real. They are fantasies. Movies. Stories. Myths. Philosophies. Childish wishes. There are ideals that are real, but only in a perfect world. To say, “if the world were perfect, then we could...” This is not living in reality.

Climate Change
It is an axiom that doomsday predictions are always wrong. The reality with which we must deal is that we are going to burn every carbohydrate and hydrocarbon on or in the planet, this cannot, and will not, be stopped. Evolve or die is the rule. Reality requires us to look at the future and prepare for it, not try to stop it. Trying to stop the world only creates more suffering. Stop living a fantasy of doomsday. While extinction is a given, we are NOT going to blow up in a cloud of steam next year, nor are we headed for an ice age. The end is known, and the most important thing is that each of us prepare ourselves to meet God. This is the end we should fear because it’s real - and much sooner than the end of the world.

I should...

The bottom line of all life is free will.

Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.  

    2 Nephi 2:16

Without the ability to choose, there is no life. The machine cannot choose to do or be something other than what its creator has made it to do, or be. Life is choice, the ability to change.

There are two ways most people live, by choosing what they want to do, or what they have to do. Both are a choice. We choose to do what we want to do, but we also choose to do what we have to do rather than suffer the consequences.

I want to...

The default of everything is what we want. We do what we want to do, that’s the bottom line of every action we make as long as we’re alive on the Earth, from infancy to the end of our lives. Everyone does what they want to do. We eat what we want to eat. We sleep when we want to sleep. We exercise our will from the time we wake up every morning, until the time we go to sleep at night.

When things are presented to us as options, we choose the one we want. We choose to work, or not. We choose.

“I want to...” causes all the problems of the world. People who want money steal it. People who want sex abuse others. People who want to eat for taste get fat and unhealthy. People who want to avoid consequences lie. All evil in the world comes from choosing what we want at the expense of others.

Those who are wealthy have the power to do what they want to do. They can buy toys, eat what they want, travel, and generally have the freedom to do as they please. They often destroy themselves because the things they want cause damage. They eat too much rich foods. They indulge themselves in substances such as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and drugs.

“When the gods wish to punish us they answer our prayers.” - Oscar Wilde

Getting what we want is a curse because it leads down the road of painful consequences. All the diseases of indulgence happen after a lifetime of abusing our bodies. Arthritis, diabetes, gout, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, weakness, neuropathy, and all he painful parts of aging are the consequence of doing what we want to do.

I have to...

The other most common area is what is forced on us against our will. We have to pay taxes. We have to work to earn money so we can pay for the things we want to do.

The complaint about employers is that they are the taskmasters of our slavery. We are forced to work against our wills, and the employer is the slave driver. We complain about our work because it’s not what we want to do.

We obey rules against our will because of consequences. We want to kill someone, but don’t do it because of consequences, so we continue to live with that person in the world against our will.

We make promises so that when we want to do something, we won’t because of our promise. Marriage is a promise to be faithful and keep all the laws of marriage, to support, protect, provide and care for each other. We continue to do what we have to do throughout our lives because of the promise we made.

Those who are poor are primarily living in doing what they have to do. They are not free to do anything, because doing things in the world costs money. Communists recognize that the proletariat is bound, they are slaves, shackled to their work, doing what they have to do to survive. The answer, they say, is to spread the wealth by stealing money from those who have more so the proles can do as they please, so everyone can do what they want to do.

The realm of doing what we have to do is still a choice, it’s just that the consequences are more immediate and severe so we choose to do those things against our will. If we don’t work we won’t have money to eat and live. If we don’t pay taxes the government will fine us or put us in jail. If we kill that person who hurts us we will have to deal with the law. We chose to do what we “have to” because we want to avoid the consequences. However, it still isn’t what we want to do.

I Should

The third choice that is mostly ignored is to choose to do what we should do. The happy life is not found in doing what we want, nor what we have to do, but rather in doing what we should do. Should is in the realm of free will.  The way to change and be happy is to completely reject what we want, and what we have to do, and only choose to do the things we should do. Always doing those things we should be doing takes us down a way different road from “have to” or “want to.”

The commandments of God are the things we should do.

And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.
Deuteronomy 1:18

The “golden rule” is not what we want, nor what we have to do, but rather what we should do.

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Matthew 7:12

The Holy Ghost tells us what we should do, not what we have to do, nor what we want to do.

...The Holy Ghost... will show unto you all things what ye should do.
2 Nephi 32:5

We get the words of the Holy Ghost from angels, or prophets, who write scripture to tell us the will of God, to know what we should do.

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.
2 Nephi 32:3

“Should” Is free will. It is decision. It is love. It is sacrifice. It is growth and improvement. It is worlds apart from want to or have to. It is the straight gait.

And it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he said unto his disciples: Enter ye in at the strait gate; for strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it; but wide is the gate, and broad the way which leads to death, and many there be that travel therein, until the night cometh, wherein no man can work.
3 Nephi 27:33

The default of life is to live in doing what we want to do, or what we have to do, but the few choose what they should do. This is the straight and narrow path that leads to Eternal Life.

Few There Be That Find It

First Steps

Life is a journey.
First: Begin with the end in mind.
Before you begin any journey you must have a destination.
Set your personal goal.
Decide what you want to accomplish.
Choose where you want to end up, and move towards it.
Learn what the options are, and make a choice.

Allow me to elucidate the options.

OPTIONS
1. Outer Darkness: The first option is a conscious decision to oppose growth. It is teaching lies and being destructive. It is the power of destruction. It is preventing growth. This power is an important one in the Universe because it gives people the ability to choose. It is real power! It means choosing darkness and shadows, and being comfortable in suffering.

2. The second option is doing what you like to do, living a life of selfishness. It leads to servitude, the lowest common man. It is only the power to do what you’re told.

3. The third option is being nice, and honorable. It leads to being creative, and having the ability to work with others to bring things to light, to engineer things that creators want.

4. The fourth option is following Christ, it leads to peace and rest, being angels to the gods, living among those who have the power of creation.

All foregoing choices are death, meaning you stay wherever you end up -- forever. The last option is different.

5. The greatest option is Eternal Life, which means ongoing growth, forever increasing in glory. This is the hardest because it requires constantly making, and losing, connections with others. It is also the hardest to find. “Few there be that find it.”

If you have chosen eternal life, read on, if you have chosen anything else, you’re done, and you can stop reading now.

After you’ve made the choice to achieve eternal life, you must take the steps to get there. You cannot get there alone -- it’s impossible. You can’t even get close. You can’t see it or understand it until you experience it first. You must know where you're going by understanding God.

Understand the Godhead:
Eternal Life is the life of God, our Father in Heaven. We go to Him. We speak to Him. We worship Him by seeking a connection with Him. As children we can grow up to be like Him.
Jesus Christ is the way to God. Without Him, there is no way for us to even communicate with God.
The Holy Ghost is our guide. The Holy Ghost speaks to our spirit, and we must understand that language.

Step 1: Connect with your spirit.
Your body is connected with the world around you with your vision, hearing, and other senses. By focusing on them you are unable to feel your spirit. The needs of the body scream like a little baby who is hungry. The spirit whispers. The senses of the spirit are quiet, and must be carefully and systematically connected to the body if you are to ever understand them.

Deny the body
By denying the sensory input from the body, you can strengthen the connection of the spirit. You will feel the spiritual connections more when the physical feelings aren’t being stimulated.
Fasting is a good way to do this.
Avoiding stimulation of other kinds such as comfort, excitement, sex, candy, adrenaline rush, coffee, alcohol, or other physical stimulation.
Pain is very good for making a connection with the spirit.
The more you avoid gratification of physical desires, the stronger your connection with your spirit.

Prayer
Taking your focus off of yourself and your own needs, training your mind to connect with God, whom you cannot see, will help you to feel. It can take years to learn how to pray. The basic lesson is changing from “I want” to “Thy will be done.” Prayer is not trying to convince God to give you what you want, but rather to find out what He wants you to do.  As you get impressions, write them down.

Meditation
Take time to be quiet. Listen to yourself. Choose a topic to think about, to wonder about, something you want to know or understand, and ponder on it. Listen to what is inside, and write down your impressions.

Read scriptures
The Book of Mormon is the best way to start. It teaches all the basics of the Gospel to both the mind and the spirit. As you read ask yourself what it is you can learn from this passage, sentence, word, phrase, or story. Write down your impressions.

Step 2: Follow the spirit
The impressions you’ve been writing are the whisperings of the spirit. They are connected with the Holy Ghost, who is God. Once you are in touch with your inner spirit, you can begin to listen and follow it. Choosing to do what you are impressed to do is a hard thing. People tend to do what they want to do, and what they have to do. Few do what they know they should do. Do what you know you should do. When you hear the voice of the Spirit of God telling you to do something, or not to do something -- follow it!  Those impressions are like gold, and will lead you to knowledge.

Step 3: Develop Faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ
Faith is gathering evidence. It is the substance that supports your beliefs. As you listen to your spirit, you will come to see that you are not where you want to be, and there is no way for you to get there. You are lost, and hopeless. So, you look around for a Savior, One who can help you get there. Jesus Christ has led the way. He takes you there. He takes you to wherever you want to go. Whichever choice you made, He will help you to achieve it. Without Him you cannot even take the first step. Without Him there are no steps, you are in a wasteland, a flat desert with nothing around, and your goal is ten miles over your head. Gravity binds you to the desert floor. You’re stuck. Jesus can lift you up. He is there. He has the elevator controls, and can take you out of your self-imposed prison. Follow Him. He knows the way. Seek Him, and learn of Him. Read the Scriptures. This will bring faith in Him, and you will then allow Him to help you.

Step 4: Repent
Humans like to skip this step. We feel like if God loved us He would take us just the way we are. He does love you, just the way you are. He created you as you are. However, He is holy, and different than you. You will not be comfortable with Him unless you become like Him. If you were dirty and smelled bad in a room full of people clean and nicely dressed, you would feel uncomfortable. In the same way, unless you change, clean-up your act, and be like God, you will feel uncomfortable in His presence. Repentance is the process of cleansing so you can feel comfortable in His presence. All your darkness will come to light. In His presence everyone will know everything about you, everything you think, and everything you have ever done. You stand there naked for the world to see. If you keep anything you want to hide, you will be uncomfortable. You must repent of ALL your sins.

Step 5: Baptism
Once you have no more darkness, you are ready to make a commitment. Because you are no longer a sinner, Jesus Christ can wash you clean of your past mistakes. Moreover, in being baptized, you are committed to bury your previous life, to sacrifice everything, to let the body and all that it desires die so you can rise up and be washed clean, living a new life in God. It is a simple and yet profoundly symbolic ritual. You will not understand everything about it even many years later. The commitment of this ritual is absolutely necessary for you to move forward, because it is the cleansing ritual that binds you to Christ. He is the Father of your re-birth.

Step 6: The gift of the Holy Ghost
After repenting of all sins, and being cleansed by water, you can receive the Holy Ghost, because the Spirit cannot dwell in unholy temples. Up to now you have had intimations of the Holy Ghost. You have received inspiration and guidance at times. You have had gifts given to you. You have had a witness and a testimony from the Holy Ghost. Now, however, you have hands laid on your head by those with authority to give the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is a commandment to receive the Holy Ghost as your constant guide through your life -- a guide to Eternal Life. The Holy Ghost tells you all things that you must do. All things. Every step of every day is given to you. You will receive other gifts - prophecy, revelations, visions, healing, and so forth. However, like any other gift, you must prepare yourself to receive it, by doing all of the former things. Then, you do the next step to maintain it.

Step 7: Take the Sacrament with real intent
The sacrament is a ritual that symbolizes how you may receive and keep the gift of the Holy Ghost. You take the body of Christ into your body, and His blood into yours. You become His child, flesh of His flesh, blood of His blood. He becomes your Father, and your Lord. If you remember Him always, do as He says, and take upon you His name, suffering for the sins of others, you will always have His Spirit to be with you. Each week you can remember Him, and re-commit yourself to follow Him, and to be His son. As you do this you will have comfort in the journey, in spite of sorrows or pain.

Step 8: Endure to the end
You have now started on the path to Eternal Life. From here, you have no other guide except the Holy Ghost. The Spirit will guide you on the rest of your journey. Nobody on Earth can tell you the way. It is straight and narrow, and is your personal path directed by God. If you quit, you don’t finish. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Never give up. Stay in the race to win with all your heart. Quitters never prosper. They don’t reach their goals. In spite of all the hardship, pain, suffering, problems, and discomforts of following Christ, reaching your goal of Eternal Life is worth infinitely more. Every sorrow and difficulty you experience will lift you that much higher. Only those who endure the depths can reach the heights. The lower you go, the higher you rise. This is the joy in suffering. Jesus did it, follow Him to the end.

The Wall

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18

Jesus Christ allows me to love; without Him there is no love. Without Him I'm lost, alone, lonely. As I come close to anyone, I get hurt. My pride is hurt. My toes get stepped-on. I can be hurt in so many ways. Because I'm hurt, I pull back and avoid others, keeping me alone, and lonely. This is miserable. I blame others for my misery because I was hurt, it's only logical to protect myself. It’s their fault I can’t love her because I can't trust anyone, I've been hurt before. "Once bitten, twice shy." It's perfectly logical, and totally natural. If I get hurt, I'm going to avoid it in the future. The saying goes:

Hurt me once, shame on you.
Hurt me twice, shame on me.

Those around us will hurt us. The closer these bumbling creatures come to us, the more chances they will have to hurt us. Ignorance, selfishness, and even hatefulness will make them cause us pain. They will always cause us pain, and pain causes fear.

You're all just bricks in the wall!
As soon as I realize that I can be hurt, I immediately put up a wall to protect myself for survival, self-preservation, and protection. Fear builds the wall. I’m not going to let that happen. I don’t trust anyone. My protection is to not allow anyone to get close enough to step on my toes. However, to protect myself from one, I have to put up a wall that keeps everyone out.

Now, I”m miserable, alone, and lonely because I don’t trust anyone. I’m lost and alone. I have no love, no milk of human kindness. I can blame others all I want, but in reality, I'm the loser. All of my protection only keeps me miserable. My own walls make me miserable. I’m protecting my heart from hurt so I can never feel loved. Even though others love me, I can’t feel it because I’m blocking their love. The wall doesn’t block only some, but all. "Nobody loves me" because I can’t feel it. I might know in my head, but I can’t feel it. I’m lonely, alone, and miserable. Life seems hopeless, and I get anxiety, and depression.

"Heart wall" is a descriptive term for whatever blocks entrance into our heart. The Tongue of Angels uses the term, "hard hearted." It is the inability to love. The wall is made of fear. Some people have light walls with loose bricks, and others have steel-reinforced concrete walls that seem impenetrable. The wall prevents people from loving, and feeling loved, with all of the consequences:
Envy
Strife
Malice
Addiction
Back-biting
Adultery
Abuse
Divorce
Fault-finding
Lust
Shame
Greed
Hatred
...and so forth. All that separates humans from each other, all the devices used to quell the loneliness, and all we do because of shame come because of the walls we make. When people don't have a wall, they have a heart, they care, they love, and they feel loved so they exhibit none of the above behaviors.

Tear down the wall!
If I am to love, and be loved, I must desire love more than protection from pain. Every hurt, every pain, every scrape, every infraction is nothing compared to love. Love is the greatest. Love is the connection we have with each other. Love is happiness. Love takes all the misery out of life. Pain is temporary, but love is forever!

I have control over my heart wall because I build it, and tear it down by my choices. If I forgive and let go of all the pain I receive, I'll have no fear, and there will be no wall. The only way to love is to forgive. Nothing is unforgivable. Everything must be forgiven. If I hold a grudge against anyone, then I have a wall against everyone. If I hate anyone, then I hate everyone. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar:” (1 John 4:20)

Love begins with forgiveness. When I'm hurt, I can hold a grudge, and shut everyone out, putting up walls -- or I can let go and forgive. When all is forgiven, and forgotten, then there is nothing to come between me and you. We are free to love completely. We can give and receive love. We can be close. We can trust without fear, “for, perfect love casteth out all fear.” (Moroni 8:16)  Fear comes from being hurt. Forgiveness removes the memory of the pain, it is forgotten, and I'm free to love. There is no need for self-protection, or walls.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the way. He prepared the way. I can give every pain to Him. All that I suffer will be taken on by Him, and I can be free to love others. I can forgive them because He takes on everything. I don’t need to trust in anyone else. I can go into the fight without worry about getting hurt. He says:

"And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them." (D&C 35:14)

The antidote to fear is courage, knowing that love will hurt, but I will heal. I can go back into life without putting walls around my heart, like a fighter goes into the ring knowing he's going to get hurt, but also has the chance to win. I can love freely, knowing I will be hurt, but staying soft and accepting suffering for the chance to win the heart of my enemy. The courage to love, is the courage to forgive every hurt, every pain, every loss, and every infraction, however big or small, and then returning without fear, without walls, without protection, without a shield to freely give, and receive.

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” (Matthew 5:43-44)

I don’t need to trust my spouse, my friends, or even my enemies. I need only to trust the Lord. Through Him I can forgive, and be forgiven. I need to trust that He has taken on all my suffering, and will make everything right. I can courageously love without walls, without reservation, without holding back, without protection or self-preservation -- without fear. He will protect me. He will give me all I need. It will hurt -- life hurts -- but I will heal. My trust in Him is my courage. My belief in Him is my forgiveness. My faith in Him is my love. I can love, and be loved, because He can heal all my wounds.

"Ya gotta be cruel to be kind"

Gods save sentient beings. We have choice, and ignorance. Learning requires making mistakes, and experiencing evil, hatred, bad, loss, pain, and suffering. These are eternal, so we need to be saved. Everyone needs salvation from themselves. We know we need salvation. All that we do indicates that we know we need to be saved from our own ignorance, childishness - and stupidity. The gods are whatever we need to save us. False gods cannot save. We look for others to save us from loneliness.  Some seek a sexual connection. Others create an ego of goodness. We may numb our conscience with drugs, or feel like money can fix anything. So many of us bury our head in the sand and refuse to believe, thinking ignorance can save us.

For me, I need others to bear testimony of my goodness. I need my wife to say, “He’s a good husband.” I need my children to say, “He’s a good father.” I need my patients to say, “He’s a good doctor.” I need members of the Church to say “He’s a good Mormon.” I need Christians to say, "He's a good Christian." I need friends to support my “goodness.” My pride, my ego, my god needs this support. I protect my pride - at all costs. I have to, or I would have nothing. I see myself as a basically good person, and I want to continue to see myself as good. I need to protect my image. The image is a false god. My “good” ego is a false god which cannot save me.

I have an enemy, a patient who is threatening a lawsuit, and to publish to the world that I created pain - hurting instead of healing, and I feel extremely stressed. I’m in self-preservation mode. I’m being accused of being a bad doctor. It feels like I could lose everything! I need to protect myself. I feel so anxious about the possibility of losing the support of others - my pride - that I shake, and feel palpitations, I lose sleep, I can’t eat. My mind is racing from “defend myself,” to “attack my attacker.” I have to protect myself.

However, it’s clear to me after fervent prayer that I really need the ego to be stripped away - to be stripped of pride. I need to stop looking to others to feed my ego. The ego is very fragile and requires the support of others. It’s a building without a foundation, standing in the air, and will fall. It will fall, sooner or later. I cannot protect it. I cannot continue to put all my energy into supporting it. It needs to fall.

I only have one other option: to turn to God. The only true God. The only One who saves. Charity doesn’t protect herself. Meekness and lowliness of heart allow the exposure, pain, and loss without attacking back, or even getting angry. Meekness doesn’t kill the snake that bit me. I need charity. I need meekness. I need love. I need kindness. I need compassion. I’ve been bitten. My ego is being threatened. I need to NOT protect myself. I will meekly go into the loss of my pride. I will look to God to save me, instead of the opinions of others. In this sense, it’s the best thing that could happen to me, truly a gift from God. The attack on my pride is needed, for without it I would never learn these things.

My friends are my enemies. My friends support my ego. My friends tell me what I want to hear. My friends give me what I want. Those I like, who like me, require nothing of me, offering nothing but more of the same. I do not have to sacrifice, nor suffer, so I cannot learn to love, nor have charity. I keep my ego. I keep my pride. They support my false gods. My friends enable my addictions, and help me float down the river of pride to the gulf of misery and endless wo -- pushing me down to hell!

My enemies are my friends. Only my enemies help me to grow, to learn, to smash all of my false gods. My enemies help me on the way to Eternal Life by showing me my weaknesses. They teach me the lessons of life. They give me pain, sorrow, and grief. They teach me the ways of forgiveness and love. They make me whole. They make me turn to the Lord. Only my enemies prepare me to receive the gift of charity, the pure love of Christ. Suffering at the hand of an enemy is the path to salvation because it helps me to let go of the false gods. Enemies are a gift from God, the true God, the One who saves.

I need more enemies, and fewer friends.

Grace

Judas was chosen to be an apostle by Jesus for a purpose, specifically to betray Him.

Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him... Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
     (John 6:64,70-71)

Judas had a mission, and was chosen for that mission. He was told to do it, even commanded. Read carefully, did the Lord really command Judas to betray Him?

When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.
He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.
Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. (John 13:21-31)

Jesus specifically told Judas to do it, quickly, and he did. He did all that he was told to do. He was chosen for this moment. The other eleven apostles didn't know what it meant, but Judas did.

I don’t understand, why was he chosen to do a heinous crime? Why was he told to do it?  There was purpose, so Jesus could fulfill His mission. Is Judas Iscariot a hero, or a villain? Should we condemn or exalt him? For, without his courageous mission to betray the Lord, we could not be saved. Peter is replaceable; we would still be saved without Paul or John, but Judas was a necessary part of the plan. Without him the Savior would not have finished His work.

The Jews
Likewise, without the Jews willingness to take upon themselves the blood of the Son of God, we would be left without salvation. The counsel of the Jews was told by the High Priest (the prophet) that Jesus needed to die for them, to save their nation, to gather all of Israel, and for the world, that salvation may come to all. They needed to put Him to death.

Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.
(John 11:47-53)

The Jews were commanded by the High Priest to kill Jesus. It was their mission to slay the Passover Lamb. They knew He was sent from God, as confessed by Nicodemus:

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
(John 3:1-2)

Judas, and the Jews needed to perform this act so that the prophecy could be fulfilled, and the world could be saved. They did as they were commanded to do. In that sense, they allow us to be saved because Jesus had to die.

Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ—for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name—should come among the Jews, among those who are the more wicked part of the world; and they shall crucify him—for thus it behooveth our God, and there is none other nation on earth that would crucify their God.  (2 Nephi 10:3)

What does “Behoove” mean?

Behoove: to be necessary or proper for, as for moral or ethical considerations; be incumbent on.  (Google Dictionary)

It was planned. The Jews had to fulfill their mission to crucify their God. Nobody else in the world would do it. Nobody else could do it. It was set up to happen this way. It was “necessary and proper.” Those people were specifically sent to Earth to that place and time to do what they did. For centuries priests had symbolically sacrificed the clean, white, unbroken lamb at Passover, now it was time for them to do the real thing. The law was fulfilled in them, ending animal sacrifice. He is the last sacrifice, and the Jews were chosen to perform it.

Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!  (Matthew 18:7)

Those who make offences are necessary for the Father's plan to be carried-out. If the Jews had worshiped Him and refused to betray and kill the Son of God, there would be no salvation for the world. The Pharisees, Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate, and Judas Iscariot had important roles to play, extremely important. In fact, they were central to the Father’s plan, even more so than Peter, James, John, and Paul. Their role was essential for Jesus Christ to become the Savior of the world. In that sense, we owe a debt of gratitude to them. If they had not done their part, we would not have the option of salvation. They fulfilled their mission in life, and because they did we’re all saved. In that sense, we could be more grateful to them than we are to those who wrote about them in the Bible.

Repentance and Grace
I don’t understand. Some are called to greatness, others to infamy. Why? Why did the Lord choose Judas to be infamous? Did Judas ask for the job? I don’t like the idea. He wasn’t chosen for salvation, but we’re all saved because of what he did. Thus, there must be another way to look at the situation. Perhaps Judas is just the same before God as Peter. Peter denied knowing Him, lying, and abandoning Him during His darkest hour,

And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.  (Matthew 26:75)

Judas, after realizing what He did, went back to repent, confessing that he had done wrong,

Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.  (Matthew 27:4-5)

Judas was finished with his mission as Peter was just starting his. Both are repentant. Judas is loved as much as Peter. Both are offered the same grace.

To give a modern contrast, Mother Theresa is offered the same grace as Hitler, and both have access to the same forgiveness. Perhaps, those who sin more, such as Judas or Hitler, are more grateful for the grace of Christ, as Jesus explained to Simon, the Pharisee.

There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.  (Luke 7:41-43)

If he repents, perhaps Hitler will love God more than Mother Theresa, if she repents. Hitler fulfilled prophecy in persecuting the Jews, who took upon themselves the responsibility of crucifying their God. In front of Pontius Pilate the Jews said,

His blood be on us, and on our children.
(Matthew 27:25)

And, indeed they did, as prophesied long before. God told them He would judge them, and afflict them.

...the judgments of the Father upon my people who are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, and I have caused my people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast out from among them, and to become hated by them, and to become a hiss and a byword among them...  (3 Nephi 16:9) 

And I have trampled them in my fury, and I did tread upon them in mine anger, and their blood have I sprinkled upon my garments, and stained all my raiment; for this was the day of vengeance which was in my heart.  (D&C 133:51)

The Lord says, "I have caused..." and "I have trampled..." He caused them to be smitten. Hitler was doing His will. They indeed became “a hiss and a byword” in the world, describing well the philosophy and actions of the Third Reich. Hitler did as he was instructed, fulfilling his mission -- and prophecy.

Often, those we consider to be the worst sinners are fulfilling prophecy, and doing the will of the Lord. They are part of the plan from the beginning.

But, grace is for all, even the "worst" of us. One verse of a hymn describes the situation of Judas, and the Jews, perfectly:

No creature is so lowly,
No sinner so depraved,
But feels thy presence holy
And thru thy love is saved.
Tho craven friends betray thee,
They feel thy love’s embrace;
The very foes who slay thee
Have access to thy grace.

        (O Savior Thou Who Wearest, by Karen Lynn Davidson, b. 1943. © 1985 IRI)

The fact remains that we are all offenders, and fall short of salvation. We all need the grace of God. Jesus offers His grace equally to all.

We’re all in the same boat.
We’re all offenders
We’ve all crucified our Lord.
We’ve all sinned.
None are acceptable before God.
We’re all enemies to God.

In terms of grace, the worst sinner is exactly the same as the greatest prophet. Those who betrayed Him, and killed Him, will stand before Him exactly the same as those who were His friends. All are offered the same grace - complete forgiveness. “The prisoners shall go free!” The grand design includes all. None are left out. No matter who we are, no matter what we’ve done doesn’t matter; the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ is offered to all.

...and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.  (2 Nephi 26:33)

This is literally true! All are alike to God. It doesn’t matter who I am, or what I’ve done. It doesn’t matter if I’m black or white. It doesn’t matter if I’ve committed heinous crimes or bounteous charity. It doesn’t matter if I’m ignorant or lettered, we are all the same in the eyes of God! Peter had a vision that explained this concept to him.  The Lord said:

What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.  (Acts 10:15)

Subsequent events lead Peter to understand what the Lord meant:

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:  (Acts 10:34)

We are all His children. He loves us all with an Eternal love, and offers every one all He has. Nobody is left out; no matter who we are, or what we’ve done, we’re the same. God offers His love, forgiveness, and grace to everyone!