Sunday, December 31, 2006
For women and guys that are interested in respecting and loving them
It's a BYU 1989 devotional talk, but it has reference still today. HERE
Friday, December 15, 2006
Just thoughts
An online web-log is a fine way to just put your thoughts out... this isn't new to people who do blog, it's an online diary per se... I've been thinking and noticing a few things in my life of late and especially about the world I live in and the deceptions of evil in it. For instance the other day it really hit me that in order to find a woman that I'm compatible with she would need to be willing to HAVE more children and a family, AND REAL "TRUE" girls like that aren't at all like the ones shown on TV and in most magazines. The world is so busy attempting to make a profit and get a raise and get business to the "company", whatever that company might be, that the lines of truth and realismn are blurred so bad that most everything we see in this life is a lie. What a horrible way for our kids to grow up! For instance the women who are on TV and are the "moms" of the "family" probably don't have any kids of their own, and if they did they'd look nothing like the person we now see on TV. That said I won't even start on the magazines!.. but will give a VERY strong portrayal of "women" per ads in magazines or on billboards... as follows: (PS I love this whole point given) http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/flat4.asp ... you know that says it all really, and I'm happy that I'm finally starting to see the lie that I grew up with for what it is...... So the question is how do we get away from it and teach our kids swhat is correct?
Broken Things to Mend
http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/2006.htm/ensign%20may%202006.htm/broken%20things%20to%20mend.htm
A Great talk on HOPE and our individual salvation. (linking to it so as not to infringe on any copywrite)
A Great talk on HOPE and our individual salvation. (linking to it so as not to infringe on any copywrite)
Monday, December 04, 2006
Truth so strong you cannot deny!
without fooling yourself, but that's your choice as outlined below :D
"Free to Choose"?(2 Nephi 2:27)
NEAL A. MAXWELL
Neal A. Maxwell was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintswhen this devotional address was delivered on 16 March 2004.
© Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Complete volumes of Speeches are available wherever LDS books are sold.
For further information contact:Speeches, 218 University Press Building, Provo, Utah 84602.(801) 422-2299 / E-mail: speeches@byu.edu / Speeches Home Page
Thank you so much, President Samuelson. You're blessed to have this wonderful man as your president. But I miss him at Church headquarters--greatly and personally! It's always easy to praise Sharon because she represents, as does my wife--as do so many others--the faithful women of this dispensation, without whom this work simply could not be done. They are the kind of souls who are high yield and low maintenance.
I appreciate the special rendering of Merrill Bradshaw's composition, having had the privilege of spending a little time with him just a couple of hours before he died. I appreciate, likewise, Steve Cleveland's prayer. This is a man who cares about what happens on the basketball court, but first he's a disciple. For that I love him the more.
Unsurprisingly, I have become more keenly conscious of the passage of time. Several evenings ago a 13-year-old granddaughter was on her way, all made up, to be in a school play, and I found myself saying, "Kansas, this isn't Dorothy anymore!" I am unresentful of the passage of time and am still well within the sound range of the kettle drums representing the cacophony of mortality. Yet I sometimes seem to hear, ever so faintly, the distant sounds of beckoning trumpets as these waft in upon me.
I plead for the Spirit to help me. But you must help, too, because of the format of this presentation, which will feature a conversational style and which assumes you will be active, though inward, responders. I hope the Spirit will arc between us so that there is a rapid and shared understanding (see D&C 50:10). In any case, I hope you feel my love and openness and forgive in advance my falling short.
The vital revelations about the agency of man--the freedom to choose--inevitably and simultaneously portray the perfect generosity and perfect justice of God. In the key words that soon follow, we see how deeply serious God is about human joy. The Prophet Joseph Smith declared, "If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves" (Teachings, 343). In no respect, brothers and sisters, is this more true than with regard to comprehending God's mercy and justice and His commitment to our freedom to choose.
The doctrine of our freedom to choose is set forth sparsely and is not fully presented in the precious Holy Bible. But we have key phrases that have been given to us in the Restoration scriptures:
1. "I [have given] unto man his agency" (Moses 7:32; emphasis added; see also D&C 101:78; Moses 4:3; JST, Genesis 3:4).
2. "Thou mayest choose for thyself" (Moses 3:17; emphasis added).
The gift sounds reassuring and really good, doesn't it? I am free to choose--just as things ought to be! Certainly you and I can handle it--almost effortlessly!
3. "That ye may live and move and do according to your own will" (Mosiah 2:21; emphasis added).
The granting of agency is so complete and personal, isn't it? So breathtaking! Thus there is initial exhilaration. But a disquieting and accompanying realization also emerges:
Satan "sought to destroy the agency of man," bringing on the war so vigorously fought in the premortal world (Moses 4:3; see also Revelation 12:7).
But never mind, you and I are still free, though admittedly we're on a path requiring daily decisions as we
4. "act according to [our] wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good" (Alma 12:31; emphasis added).
Do my viscera feel a catch coming? Otherwise, why does the divine candor seem so stern? Including in these next words:
5. "Whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free" (Helaman 14:30; emphasis added).
Evaporated by now is the earlier "no-hands" naïveté about how "I am free to choose." Still, I am free to choose, even if I can neither be immune from the consequences of my wrong choices nor avoid accountability (see Romans 14:12; D&C 101:78).
At this point you and I may feel a little nudging. Yes, our freedom to choose is truly a shining and shimmering gift, but it is also one that can cause some shivering at times. Is this why we are sometimes almost afraid to decide certain things? Are we afraid we might make a mistake? But "no decision" is a decision! Hence this soul sigh: Choosing is no picnic after all.
But we are not alone!
The chilly wind one sometimes feels is more than offset by the warming reality that each of us has within us: the guiding light of Christ. We can actually distinguish between good and evil (see 2 Nephi 2:5; Moroni 7:16, 19). We can repent! Further, the gifts of the Holy Ghost can guide us and reassure us. And those gifts include peace and joy and love--of which there is such a terrible shortage in the world! Such is the precious and pervading sunshine of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22; James 1:17; Moroni 10:8, 17).
Mercifully we are therefore not left alone! Nevertheless, we are at risk!
Back now to the more crisp and revealed words about choosing!
6. "[You will receive] according to [your] desire" (Alma 29:4; emphasis added).
7. "[And you will receive] according to [your] wills" (Alma 29:4; emphasis added).
I'm not sure we grasp how the final judgment will reflect our choices! But my desires and choices really will be honored! How manifestly just of God! How trembling for me! There is the anxiety protruding once again. Are my desires sufficiently educated to choose wisely (see Alma 13:3, 10)? Could the further education of my desires be the most important form of continuing education?
So it is that the chilly dawn of realization is further felt: Real choosing bristles with alternatives, enticements, defining moments, accountability, counterfeits, and consequences!
8. Why then do some actually choose to remain "willingly . . . ignorant," such as of impending Messianic events (2 Peter 3:5; emphasis added)? Yes, some seem to say, "My mind is made up, so don't confuse me with cosmic facts. Instead, let me compartmentalize my life and my choices."
One cannot stay, however, on that naïve plane of understanding very long when he or she reads these next sobering words. They are so ripe with implications. They inform us that some rebels are simply
9. "not willing to enjoy that which they might have received" (D&C 88:32; emphasis added).
That cold wind is really blowing at the edges of my mind now. Foregoing enjoyment? But why? Knowingly turning down something vastly better? Why?
So this is a real war--with real casualties--in which there can be no real pacifists. No wonder, brothers and sisters, there's been such a long shelf life of the wry quip we've all heard about "free agency and how to enforce it." In effect, some seem almost to ask, "Is this gift returnable?"
10. "For, behold, the devil . . . rebelled against me . . . ; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency" (D&C 29:36; emphasis added).
Lucifer was very angry then, and he is very angry still--choosing to strive to make "all men [to] be miserable like unto himself" (2 Nephi 2:27).
Wait a minute!
One-third deliberately chose not to undergo the mortal experience by choosing not to go on choosing? It seems so. It all began such a very long time ago, since
11. "it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves" (D&C 29:39; emphasis added).
Thus his very temptations become vexing verifications that we're free to choose.
12. "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; emphasis added).
Hmmm! So it's worse still. The choices are not to be made among passive alternatives but among vibrant, alluring choices! Why can't we just glide through life and cherry-pick what we want? Why must there be "an opposition in all things" (2 Nephi 2:11)? It seems so relentless at times!
13. "That every man may act in doctrine . . . according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment" (D&C 101:78; emphasis added).
Well, by now any earlier and superficial exhilaration has fully departed. And we see instead unsmiling accountability standing astride every path, every choice.
Time now to let go of this format with my informal and conversational insertions and to review!
Again, what are the ground rules?
Well, the revealed record shows that Lucifer clearly chose to seek his personal preeminence, chose to be angry when he was rejected, chose to lead others astray, and chose misery, not joy. His followers in turn chose to rebel, chose to respond to his false allures, and turned their collective backs on the second estate!
But there's this ground rule: The Prophet Joseph assured us, "The devil could not compel mankind to do evil; all was voluntary. . . . God would not exert any compulsory means, and the devil could not" (Teachings, 187; emphasis added). Such is our situation.
Professor C. Terry Warner has written that individuals
cannot avoid being both free and responsible for their choices. Individuals capable of acting for themselves cannot remain on neutral ground, abstaining from both receiving and rejecting light from God. [In Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1992), s.v. "agency," 1:26; see also 2 Nephi 2:27–29; 10:23]
If we even just glance at spiritual history, no wonder there is this touching lamentation from long-suffering Jesus, or Jehovah. When speaking of ancient Israel, He said, "How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not" (3 Nephi 10:5). "How oft"? The "how-oft question" is one of the most haunting in all of eternity (see also Luke 13:34).
It is matched by what the Lord of the vineyard can justifiably say at the end of the salvational day. Reading these words often makes me weep. As He surveyed all that He had tried to do--leaving us free--and all the yield that might have been, and having given us our freedom to choose, He, the Lord of the vineyard, tenderly asked: "What could I have done more?" (Jacob 5:47).
Oh, the special character of God! Oh, His perfect love and patience! Captured eloquently, I think, by President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., who said:
I believe that in his justice and mercy [God] will give us the maximum reward for our acts, give us all that he can give, and in the reverse, I believe that he will impose upon us the minimum penalty which it is possible for him to impose. [CR, October 1953, 84]
So here we are: comprehending the character of God and comprehending that there could be no joy without agency.
I wonder what it means--and perhaps you do, too--when I read the related verse about how Lucifer does not understand about "the mind of God" (Moses 4:6). The details have not been revealed to us. But could it possibly involve Lucifer's catastrophic failure to comprehend the inviolate interplay of agency and joy?
Once more, therefore, the act of choosing is more than nodding assent or passive shoulder shrugging. It reflects real choices made over time that form definite patterns. Even our prayers are much affected by our choices. If we have made good choices, we are much less likely to ask "amiss" (2 Nephi 4:35) in our prayers but instead can ask according to that "which is right" (3 Nephi 18:20). And then the promise is there for us to begin to claim more and more. The choices and prayers can be such that we can ask, and what we ask for can be "done even as [we] asketh" (D&C 46:30).
Again, there can be no agency avoidance. No decision is a decision. Delay is a delusion, and that delay always discards the holy present. It simply throws it away.
Again, choosing to be obedient is a choice. Jesus chose to let His will be "swallowed up in the will of the Father" (Mosiah 15:7). It was a deliberate choice--a choice, of course, that blessed all mortals mightily and everlastingly. Being obedient is a way of life, but it is also the way to eternal life.
With you I have reflected over that spiritually intriguing phrase "compound in one" and about our freedom to choose. It tells us that without being able to choose among alternatives, life would be no life at all. Things would "remain as dead" with no "sense nor insensibility" (2 Nephi 2:11). And we are told God's creation would have served "no purpose" (2 Nephi 2:12). Very strong language! Thus for a few moments today we have been discussing a very strong doctrine indeed!
Do I mean of God's creation there would be no beautiful Grand Canyon to behold? Who would have the sensibility to appreciate it? No mother's glow over her baby's first smile? Who would have the capacity for such joy? Do I mean there would never be individuals of holiness to admire? Who could have been free to choose holiness or to admire it? Oh, the annihilating "compound in one"!
I marvel, as many of you know, at the extent of the cosmos--this encompassing vastness and personalness. It is incredible to even contemplate. But it is not as grand as God's gift to us of the freedom to choose. There are literally now, science says, more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand in every beach, every desert, and every ocean floor on this planet (see Allison M. Heinrichs, "The Stellar Census: 70 Sextillion," Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2003, A19; see also Carl Sagan, Cosmos [New York: Random House, 1980], 196). Scriptural words are not just elegant, extravagant language. Besides, souls matter more than stars. And He wants us to have joy. We cannot do that unless we are free to choose. But neither can we have that joy unless we are willing to be spiritually submissive day in, day out, and unless we exercise that grand and glorious freedom to choose in which people truly matter more than stars.
I testify to you that though the grandness of this doctrine is beyond our comprehension, it is not beyond our attention and exploration. We are, in fact, in the position of having been given revelations that were then far beyond the Prophet Joseph Smith, bright as he was. Yet he was their enunciator and their declarer. We worship a God whose character is so stunning and who wants us to come home. But He will not force us. He will not force us.
God bless you, my young friends, in your daily choices, in the inflections of your decisions, and in the thoughts that traverse your minds. May there be for all of us, including myself, an alignment with Him that brings us home. Home where, as He says, He will give us "all that he hath" (Luke 12:44). There isn't any more--of which I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
"Free to Choose"?(2 Nephi 2:27)
NEAL A. MAXWELL
Neal A. Maxwell was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintswhen this devotional address was delivered on 16 March 2004.
© Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Complete volumes of Speeches are available wherever LDS books are sold.
For further information contact:Speeches, 218 University Press Building, Provo, Utah 84602.(801) 422-2299 / E-mail: speeches@byu.edu / Speeches Home Page
Thank you so much, President Samuelson. You're blessed to have this wonderful man as your president. But I miss him at Church headquarters--greatly and personally! It's always easy to praise Sharon because she represents, as does my wife--as do so many others--the faithful women of this dispensation, without whom this work simply could not be done. They are the kind of souls who are high yield and low maintenance.
I appreciate the special rendering of Merrill Bradshaw's composition, having had the privilege of spending a little time with him just a couple of hours before he died. I appreciate, likewise, Steve Cleveland's prayer. This is a man who cares about what happens on the basketball court, but first he's a disciple. For that I love him the more.
Unsurprisingly, I have become more keenly conscious of the passage of time. Several evenings ago a 13-year-old granddaughter was on her way, all made up, to be in a school play, and I found myself saying, "Kansas, this isn't Dorothy anymore!" I am unresentful of the passage of time and am still well within the sound range of the kettle drums representing the cacophony of mortality. Yet I sometimes seem to hear, ever so faintly, the distant sounds of beckoning trumpets as these waft in upon me.
I plead for the Spirit to help me. But you must help, too, because of the format of this presentation, which will feature a conversational style and which assumes you will be active, though inward, responders. I hope the Spirit will arc between us so that there is a rapid and shared understanding (see D&C 50:10). In any case, I hope you feel my love and openness and forgive in advance my falling short.
The vital revelations about the agency of man--the freedom to choose--inevitably and simultaneously portray the perfect generosity and perfect justice of God. In the key words that soon follow, we see how deeply serious God is about human joy. The Prophet Joseph Smith declared, "If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves" (Teachings, 343). In no respect, brothers and sisters, is this more true than with regard to comprehending God's mercy and justice and His commitment to our freedom to choose.
The doctrine of our freedom to choose is set forth sparsely and is not fully presented in the precious Holy Bible. But we have key phrases that have been given to us in the Restoration scriptures:
1. "I [have given] unto man his agency" (Moses 7:32; emphasis added; see also D&C 101:78; Moses 4:3; JST, Genesis 3:4).
2. "Thou mayest choose for thyself" (Moses 3:17; emphasis added).
The gift sounds reassuring and really good, doesn't it? I am free to choose--just as things ought to be! Certainly you and I can handle it--almost effortlessly!
3. "That ye may live and move and do according to your own will" (Mosiah 2:21; emphasis added).
The granting of agency is so complete and personal, isn't it? So breathtaking! Thus there is initial exhilaration. But a disquieting and accompanying realization also emerges:
Satan "sought to destroy the agency of man," bringing on the war so vigorously fought in the premortal world (Moses 4:3; see also Revelation 12:7).
But never mind, you and I are still free, though admittedly we're on a path requiring daily decisions as we
4. "act according to [our] wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good" (Alma 12:31; emphasis added).
Do my viscera feel a catch coming? Otherwise, why does the divine candor seem so stern? Including in these next words:
5. "Whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free" (Helaman 14:30; emphasis added).
Evaporated by now is the earlier "no-hands" naïveté about how "I am free to choose." Still, I am free to choose, even if I can neither be immune from the consequences of my wrong choices nor avoid accountability (see Romans 14:12; D&C 101:78).
At this point you and I may feel a little nudging. Yes, our freedom to choose is truly a shining and shimmering gift, but it is also one that can cause some shivering at times. Is this why we are sometimes almost afraid to decide certain things? Are we afraid we might make a mistake? But "no decision" is a decision! Hence this soul sigh: Choosing is no picnic after all.
But we are not alone!
The chilly wind one sometimes feels is more than offset by the warming reality that each of us has within us: the guiding light of Christ. We can actually distinguish between good and evil (see 2 Nephi 2:5; Moroni 7:16, 19). We can repent! Further, the gifts of the Holy Ghost can guide us and reassure us. And those gifts include peace and joy and love--of which there is such a terrible shortage in the world! Such is the precious and pervading sunshine of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22; James 1:17; Moroni 10:8, 17).
Mercifully we are therefore not left alone! Nevertheless, we are at risk!
Back now to the more crisp and revealed words about choosing!
6. "[You will receive] according to [your] desire" (Alma 29:4; emphasis added).
7. "[And you will receive] according to [your] wills" (Alma 29:4; emphasis added).
I'm not sure we grasp how the final judgment will reflect our choices! But my desires and choices really will be honored! How manifestly just of God! How trembling for me! There is the anxiety protruding once again. Are my desires sufficiently educated to choose wisely (see Alma 13:3, 10)? Could the further education of my desires be the most important form of continuing education?
So it is that the chilly dawn of realization is further felt: Real choosing bristles with alternatives, enticements, defining moments, accountability, counterfeits, and consequences!
8. Why then do some actually choose to remain "willingly . . . ignorant," such as of impending Messianic events (2 Peter 3:5; emphasis added)? Yes, some seem to say, "My mind is made up, so don't confuse me with cosmic facts. Instead, let me compartmentalize my life and my choices."
One cannot stay, however, on that naïve plane of understanding very long when he or she reads these next sobering words. They are so ripe with implications. They inform us that some rebels are simply
9. "not willing to enjoy that which they might have received" (D&C 88:32; emphasis added).
That cold wind is really blowing at the edges of my mind now. Foregoing enjoyment? But why? Knowingly turning down something vastly better? Why?
So this is a real war--with real casualties--in which there can be no real pacifists. No wonder, brothers and sisters, there's been such a long shelf life of the wry quip we've all heard about "free agency and how to enforce it." In effect, some seem almost to ask, "Is this gift returnable?"
10. "For, behold, the devil . . . rebelled against me . . . ; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency" (D&C 29:36; emphasis added).
Lucifer was very angry then, and he is very angry still--choosing to strive to make "all men [to] be miserable like unto himself" (2 Nephi 2:27).
Wait a minute!
One-third deliberately chose not to undergo the mortal experience by choosing not to go on choosing? It seems so. It all began such a very long time ago, since
11. "it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves" (D&C 29:39; emphasis added).
Thus his very temptations become vexing verifications that we're free to choose.
12. "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; emphasis added).
Hmmm! So it's worse still. The choices are not to be made among passive alternatives but among vibrant, alluring choices! Why can't we just glide through life and cherry-pick what we want? Why must there be "an opposition in all things" (2 Nephi 2:11)? It seems so relentless at times!
13. "That every man may act in doctrine . . . according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment" (D&C 101:78; emphasis added).
Well, by now any earlier and superficial exhilaration has fully departed. And we see instead unsmiling accountability standing astride every path, every choice.
Time now to let go of this format with my informal and conversational insertions and to review!
Again, what are the ground rules?
Well, the revealed record shows that Lucifer clearly chose to seek his personal preeminence, chose to be angry when he was rejected, chose to lead others astray, and chose misery, not joy. His followers in turn chose to rebel, chose to respond to his false allures, and turned their collective backs on the second estate!
But there's this ground rule: The Prophet Joseph assured us, "The devil could not compel mankind to do evil; all was voluntary. . . . God would not exert any compulsory means, and the devil could not" (Teachings, 187; emphasis added). Such is our situation.
Professor C. Terry Warner has written that individuals
cannot avoid being both free and responsible for their choices. Individuals capable of acting for themselves cannot remain on neutral ground, abstaining from both receiving and rejecting light from God. [In Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1992), s.v. "agency," 1:26; see also 2 Nephi 2:27–29; 10:23]
If we even just glance at spiritual history, no wonder there is this touching lamentation from long-suffering Jesus, or Jehovah. When speaking of ancient Israel, He said, "How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not" (3 Nephi 10:5). "How oft"? The "how-oft question" is one of the most haunting in all of eternity (see also Luke 13:34).
It is matched by what the Lord of the vineyard can justifiably say at the end of the salvational day. Reading these words often makes me weep. As He surveyed all that He had tried to do--leaving us free--and all the yield that might have been, and having given us our freedom to choose, He, the Lord of the vineyard, tenderly asked: "What could I have done more?" (Jacob 5:47).
Oh, the special character of God! Oh, His perfect love and patience! Captured eloquently, I think, by President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., who said:
I believe that in his justice and mercy [God] will give us the maximum reward for our acts, give us all that he can give, and in the reverse, I believe that he will impose upon us the minimum penalty which it is possible for him to impose. [CR, October 1953, 84]
So here we are: comprehending the character of God and comprehending that there could be no joy without agency.
I wonder what it means--and perhaps you do, too--when I read the related verse about how Lucifer does not understand about "the mind of God" (Moses 4:6). The details have not been revealed to us. But could it possibly involve Lucifer's catastrophic failure to comprehend the inviolate interplay of agency and joy?
Once more, therefore, the act of choosing is more than nodding assent or passive shoulder shrugging. It reflects real choices made over time that form definite patterns. Even our prayers are much affected by our choices. If we have made good choices, we are much less likely to ask "amiss" (2 Nephi 4:35) in our prayers but instead can ask according to that "which is right" (3 Nephi 18:20). And then the promise is there for us to begin to claim more and more. The choices and prayers can be such that we can ask, and what we ask for can be "done even as [we] asketh" (D&C 46:30).
Again, there can be no agency avoidance. No decision is a decision. Delay is a delusion, and that delay always discards the holy present. It simply throws it away.
Again, choosing to be obedient is a choice. Jesus chose to let His will be "swallowed up in the will of the Father" (Mosiah 15:7). It was a deliberate choice--a choice, of course, that blessed all mortals mightily and everlastingly. Being obedient is a way of life, but it is also the way to eternal life.
With you I have reflected over that spiritually intriguing phrase "compound in one" and about our freedom to choose. It tells us that without being able to choose among alternatives, life would be no life at all. Things would "remain as dead" with no "sense nor insensibility" (2 Nephi 2:11). And we are told God's creation would have served "no purpose" (2 Nephi 2:12). Very strong language! Thus for a few moments today we have been discussing a very strong doctrine indeed!
Do I mean of God's creation there would be no beautiful Grand Canyon to behold? Who would have the sensibility to appreciate it? No mother's glow over her baby's first smile? Who would have the capacity for such joy? Do I mean there would never be individuals of holiness to admire? Who could have been free to choose holiness or to admire it? Oh, the annihilating "compound in one"!
I marvel, as many of you know, at the extent of the cosmos--this encompassing vastness and personalness. It is incredible to even contemplate. But it is not as grand as God's gift to us of the freedom to choose. There are literally now, science says, more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand in every beach, every desert, and every ocean floor on this planet (see Allison M. Heinrichs, "The Stellar Census: 70 Sextillion," Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2003, A19; see also Carl Sagan, Cosmos [New York: Random House, 1980], 196). Scriptural words are not just elegant, extravagant language. Besides, souls matter more than stars. And He wants us to have joy. We cannot do that unless we are free to choose. But neither can we have that joy unless we are willing to be spiritually submissive day in, day out, and unless we exercise that grand and glorious freedom to choose in which people truly matter more than stars.
I testify to you that though the grandness of this doctrine is beyond our comprehension, it is not beyond our attention and exploration. We are, in fact, in the position of having been given revelations that were then far beyond the Prophet Joseph Smith, bright as he was. Yet he was their enunciator and their declarer. We worship a God whose character is so stunning and who wants us to come home. But He will not force us. He will not force us.
God bless you, my young friends, in your daily choices, in the inflections of your decisions, and in the thoughts that traverse your minds. May there be for all of us, including myself, an alignment with Him that brings us home. Home where, as He says, He will give us "all that he hath" (Luke 12:44). There isn't any more--of which I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Marriage Quotes -
compiled by Shannon L. Alder in her book “300 Questions: LDS couples should ask before marriage” (Horizon Publishers) -- seems like a good book, need to read it more.. if you'd like your own copy I recomend clicking HERE
to purchase one (at least check the reviews) or search any of the other fine online book stores, or a local book store as well. .. That said I would like some day to ask the author if she in fact went through all 300 Q's before marrying her husband? In either case here are the marriatial quotes spoken of in the "title" . enjoy
“Courtship is a wonderful period. It should be a sacred one. That is the time in which you choose your mate.” – President David O. McKay (True to the Faith, Bookcraft, 1966, 318.)
“Don’t let this choice [of a marriage partner] ever be made except with earnest, searching, prayerful consideration, confiding in parents, [and] in faithful, mature, trustworthy friends.” – Elder Richard L. Evans of the quorum of the Twelve (This you can count on,” Improvement Era, Dec. 1969,73.)
“You use every facility, you get all the judgment that you can centered on the problem, you make up your own mind, and then, to be sure that you don’t err, you counsel with the Lord. You talk it over. You say, ‘This is what I think; what do you think?’ And if you get the calm, sweet surety that comes only form the Holy Spirit, you know you’ve reached the right conclusion, but if there’s anxiety and uncertainty in your heart, then you’d better start over, because the Lord’s hand is not in it, and you’re not getting the ratifying seal that, as a member of the church who has the gift of the Holy Ghost, you are entitled to receive.” – Elder Bruce R. McConkie (“Agency or Inspiration – Which?” Speeches of the year, BYU Devotional Addresses, 1972-73, 115-116.)
“The successful marriage depends in large measure upon the preparation made in approaching it … One cannot pick the ripe, rich, luscious fruit from a tree that was never planted, nurtured, nor pruned.” – President Spencer W. Kimball (The Miracle of Forgiveness, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969, 242.)
I suggest that you not ignore many possible candidates who are still developing these attributes, seeking the one who is perfect in them. You will likely not find that perfect person, and if you did, there would certainly be no interest in you. These attributes are best polished together as husband and wife” – Elder Richard G. Scott of the quorum of the twelve (Ensign, May 1999, 26.)
“Choose a companion of your own faith. You are much more likely to be happy. Choose a companion you can always honor, you can always respect, one who will compliment you in your own life, one to whom you can give your entire heart, your entire love, your entire allegiance, your entire loyalty.” – President Gordon B. Hinckley (Ensign, Feb. 1999, 2.)
“… soul mates” are a fiction and an illusion; and while every young man and young woman will seek with all diligence and prayerfulness to find a mate with whom life can be beautiful, it is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price.” - President Spencer w. Kimball (Marriage and Divorce, 1976, 16.)
“If the choice is between reforming other church members [including fiancés, spouses, and children] or ourselves, is there really any question about where we should begin? The key is to have our eyes wide open to our own faults and partially closed to the faults of others – not the other way around! The imperfections of others never release us from the need to work on our own shortcomings.” - Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve (“A Brother Offended,” Ensign, May 1982, 39.)
“If we would know true love and understanding one for another, we must realize that communication is more then a sharing of words. It is wise sharing of emotions, feelings, and concerns. It is the sharing of oneself totally.” – Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the quorum of the Twelve (“Family Communications,” Ensign, May 1976,52.)
“Your success in marriage will depend largely on your ability to focus on improving yourself, rather that trying to reshape your spouse. It will depend more on being the right one than finding the right one. There is greater power in giving than in getting.” – Elder Lynn G. Robinson of the Seventy (“Finding Your Sweetheart,” New Era, Sept. 2003, 45.)
“May I say that almost all marriages could be beautiful, harmonious, happy, and eternal ones, if the two people primarily involved would determine that it should be, that it must be, that it will be.” – President Spencer W. Kimball (“Marriage Is Honorable,” Speeches of the Year, Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1973, 257.)
“[Divine love] is not like that association of the world which is misnamed love, but whish is mostly physical attraction. … The love of which the Lord speaks is not only physical attraction, but also faith, confidence, understanding, and partnership. It is devotion and companionship, parenthood, common ideals, and standards. It is cleanliness of life and sacrifice and unselfishness. This kind of love never tires nor wanes. It lives on through sickness and sorrow, through prosperity and privation, through accomplishment and disappointment, through time and eternity.” – President Spencer W. Kimball (“The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 1982, 248.)
to purchase one (at least check the reviews) or search any of the other fine online book stores, or a local book store as well. .. That said I would like some day to ask the author if she in fact went through all 300 Q's before marrying her husband? In either case here are the marriatial quotes spoken of in the "title" . enjoy
“Courtship is a wonderful period. It should be a sacred one. That is the time in which you choose your mate.” – President David O. McKay (True to the Faith, Bookcraft, 1966, 318.)
“Don’t let this choice [of a marriage partner] ever be made except with earnest, searching, prayerful consideration, confiding in parents, [and] in faithful, mature, trustworthy friends.” – Elder Richard L. Evans of the quorum of the Twelve (This you can count on,” Improvement Era, Dec. 1969,73.)
“You use every facility, you get all the judgment that you can centered on the problem, you make up your own mind, and then, to be sure that you don’t err, you counsel with the Lord. You talk it over. You say, ‘This is what I think; what do you think?’ And if you get the calm, sweet surety that comes only form the Holy Spirit, you know you’ve reached the right conclusion, but if there’s anxiety and uncertainty in your heart, then you’d better start over, because the Lord’s hand is not in it, and you’re not getting the ratifying seal that, as a member of the church who has the gift of the Holy Ghost, you are entitled to receive.” – Elder Bruce R. McConkie (“Agency or Inspiration – Which?” Speeches of the year, BYU Devotional Addresses, 1972-73, 115-116.)
“The successful marriage depends in large measure upon the preparation made in approaching it … One cannot pick the ripe, rich, luscious fruit from a tree that was never planted, nurtured, nor pruned.” – President Spencer W. Kimball (The Miracle of Forgiveness, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969, 242.)
I suggest that you not ignore many possible candidates who are still developing these attributes, seeking the one who is perfect in them. You will likely not find that perfect person, and if you did, there would certainly be no interest in you. These attributes are best polished together as husband and wife” – Elder Richard G. Scott of the quorum of the twelve (Ensign, May 1999, 26.)
“Choose a companion of your own faith. You are much more likely to be happy. Choose a companion you can always honor, you can always respect, one who will compliment you in your own life, one to whom you can give your entire heart, your entire love, your entire allegiance, your entire loyalty.” – President Gordon B. Hinckley (Ensign, Feb. 1999, 2.)
“… soul mates” are a fiction and an illusion; and while every young man and young woman will seek with all diligence and prayerfulness to find a mate with whom life can be beautiful, it is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price.” - President Spencer w. Kimball (Marriage and Divorce, 1976, 16.)
“If the choice is between reforming other church members [including fiancés, spouses, and children] or ourselves, is there really any question about where we should begin? The key is to have our eyes wide open to our own faults and partially closed to the faults of others – not the other way around! The imperfections of others never release us from the need to work on our own shortcomings.” - Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve (“A Brother Offended,” Ensign, May 1982, 39.)
“If we would know true love and understanding one for another, we must realize that communication is more then a sharing of words. It is wise sharing of emotions, feelings, and concerns. It is the sharing of oneself totally.” – Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the quorum of the Twelve (“Family Communications,” Ensign, May 1976,52.)
“Your success in marriage will depend largely on your ability to focus on improving yourself, rather that trying to reshape your spouse. It will depend more on being the right one than finding the right one. There is greater power in giving than in getting.” – Elder Lynn G. Robinson of the Seventy (“Finding Your Sweetheart,” New Era, Sept. 2003, 45.)
“May I say that almost all marriages could be beautiful, harmonious, happy, and eternal ones, if the two people primarily involved would determine that it should be, that it must be, that it will be.” – President Spencer W. Kimball (“Marriage Is Honorable,” Speeches of the Year, Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1973, 257.)
“[Divine love] is not like that association of the world which is misnamed love, but whish is mostly physical attraction. … The love of which the Lord speaks is not only physical attraction, but also faith, confidence, understanding, and partnership. It is devotion and companionship, parenthood, common ideals, and standards. It is cleanliness of life and sacrifice and unselfishness. This kind of love never tires nor wanes. It lives on through sickness and sorrow, through prosperity and privation, through accomplishment and disappointment, through time and eternity.” – President Spencer W. Kimball (“The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 1982, 248.)
Monday, November 27, 2006
God weeping
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103424/
A small clipping from the above "Michael Newdow seeks to remove "In God We Trust" from U.S. coins and dollar bills, claiming in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that the motto is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion."
Doesn't this guy realize that HE seems to be his own god, and it seems that in fact IT IS HE that he trusts? Why not allow others to have their Gods too, and leave the money as it is? Does he not also know that all his works will returned to him because that's what he seems to be after?
God is perfect, everlasting, and will always BE. God doesn't need Michael to be more glorified, and He will gladly give all His children (including Michael) exactly what they're working for as displayed by the desires of their hearts and their actions. God doesn't weep for Himself, but for His children that choose and act in ways for their own damnation.
(Alma 41:2 - 6)
2 I say unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should be restored to their proper order. ...
3 And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.
4 And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame; mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other
5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.
6 And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness.
(Moses 7:28 - 37)
28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?
29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?
30 And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;
...32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;
....37 But behold, ... Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?
I feel sorry for Michael and that he is an atheisthiest in that he seems to be denying his own creation, but as I always say God will be perfect, justly and mercifully, and as man chooses to act so shall he get his reward when it's all said and done. I wonder if this man at any time was affiliated with the True and living God ? .......
(Alma 47:36)
Now these dissenters, having the same instruction and the same information of the (people of God), yea, having been instructed in the same knowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and more wild, wicked and ferocious than the (people without God)drinking in with the traditions of the (pwithoutihtout God); giving way to indolence, and all manner of lasciviousness; yea, entirely forgetting the Lord their God.
A small clipping from the above "Michael Newdow seeks to remove "In God We Trust" from U.S. coins and dollar bills, claiming in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that the motto is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion."
Doesn't this guy realize that HE seems to be his own god, and it seems that in fact IT IS HE that he trusts? Why not allow others to have their Gods too, and leave the money as it is? Does he not also know that all his works will returned to him because that's what he seems to be after?
God is perfect, everlasting, and will always BE. God doesn't need Michael to be more glorified, and He will gladly give all His children (including Michael) exactly what they're working for as displayed by the desires of their hearts and their actions. God doesn't weep for Himself, but for His children that choose and act in ways for their own damnation.
(Alma 41:2 - 6)
2 I say unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should be restored to their proper order. ...
3 And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.
4 And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame; mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other
5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.
6 And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness.
(Moses 7:28 - 37)
28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?
29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?
30 And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;
...32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;
....37 But behold, ... Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?
I feel sorry for Michael and that he is an atheisthiest in that he seems to be denying his own creation, but as I always say God will be perfect, justly and mercifully, and as man chooses to act so shall he get his reward when it's all said and done. I wonder if this man at any time was affiliated with the True and living God ? .......
(Alma 47:36)
Now these dissenters, having the same instruction and the same information of the (people of God), yea, having been instructed in the same knowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and more wild, wicked and ferocious than the (people without God)drinking in with the traditions of the (pwithoutihtout God); giving way to indolence, and all manner of lasciviousness; yea, entirely forgetting the Lord their God.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
It's no fun being poor
Original link is: http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1982.htm/ensign%20september%201982%20.htm/its%20no%20fun%20being%20poor.htm
Address delivered at a Brigham Young University devotional, 30 March 1982
Marvin J. Ashton, "It's No Fun Being Poor," Ensign, Sept. 1982, 72
I think when I announce the title of my remarks it is reasonable to assume many of you will nudge the one next to you and say, "So what else is new?" or "Where does the line form for those who want to bear witness to the fact?"
My topic is: "It's No Fun Being Poor."
Now the truth is, not one of us needs to be poor. However, we can become victims of real poverty if we are not wise in our daily conduct. The main question for every person to resolve is not what he would do if he had vast money, time, influence, or educational advantages, but how he will best use the means and assets he has and will yet have. The next related question is, what is meant by the terms poor and rich? Does it have to do with material goods? And if so, how much does it have to do with material goods?
It's no fun being poor. It is much more fun to be rich. I hope we will see that we can be rich if life's ledger is filled with daily entries that show bottom line totals including sound moral conduct, uprightness, and incorruptibility.
The purpose of my remarks is to try to help all of us avoid being poor. Hopefully, if we are already poor, we will be able to overcome it with corrective actions. For your consideration, I am going to identify "ten commandments" we should follow if we would avoid being poor. Doubtless, there may be ten, twenty, or thirty more, but for our purposes, the following may be a good start.
I. Thou shalt not lose a friend or cease being one.
A person is poor when his friendship inventory is depreciating. A person is poor when he is friendless. When friends, those closest to us, have cause to desert, to disbelieve, to lose confidence in us, we are poor. When we lose friends, our strength as well as our desire is ofttimes totally drained. In our personal balance sheets, "minus friends" indicates a loss position.
No man is useless while he has a friend. No man can declare personal bankruptcy if he has one friend.
Very often friends are lost because we are unwilling to pay the price it takes to maintain them. It was Emerson who said, "The only way to have a friend is to be one." (The Home Book of Quotations, sel. Burton Stevenson, New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1935, p. 727.)
A friend is a person who will not only take the time to know us, but also take the time to be with us and never desert us regardless of the circumstances. One of the finest presents each of us can give someone else is our best self.
Joseph Smith gave us a glimpse of his measure of friends when he said, "If my life is of no value to my friends it is of none to myself." (History of the Church, 6:549.) The Savior said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13).
When Robert Louis Stevenson was asked the secret of his radiant, useful life, he responded simply, "I had a friend."
A friend in the true sense is not a person who passively nods approval of our conduct or ignores improper behavior. A friend is a person who cares. When we lose someone who cares about us, we lose one of our most valuable assets. An Arabian proverb says, "A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of on's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."
A friend is a priceless possession because a true friend is one who not only is willing to love us the way we are, but is able to leave us better than he found us. We are poor when we lose friends because generally they are willing to reprove, admonish, love, encourage, and guide us for our best good. A friend lifts the heavy heart, says the encouraging word, and assists in supplying our daily needs. As friends, we will make ourselves available without delay to those who need us.
I hope that in the days ahead more and more of us will free ourselves from expressions of, "If you need me, let me know," or, "If I can be of help, call me," and replace them with the development of a sixth sense that will let us know when and where our friendship is needed.
When Joseph Smith was in the Liberty Jail, he poured out his heart and soul with, "O God, where art thou?" Part of God's great declaration of love and encouragement to him at that time was:
"My son, peace be unto thy soul ,…
"Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.
"Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job." (D&C 121:1, 7, 9,10; )
Joseph Smith was enduring much, for God's own purposes, but he was rich because his friends were standing by him.
A person is poor when he is friendless, but even poorer when he ceases being a friend. No matter what the conduct or negligence of others may be, we cannot afford to yield in our sincere efforts to be a friend. Very often our family members and friends need our friendship most when they least deserve it.
II. Thou shalt honor thy character and protect it from self destruction.
A person is poor when his character is honeycombed with greed and warped by dishonesty. When we yield to misconduct under pressure, we are poor. A person who has to beg for bread is not poor if he has not bent to expediency. An individual is headed for personal bankruptcy when he sells his character and reputation for cash, honor, or convenience. We are poor in character when we think getting by is a substitute for doing our best. Virtue, action, and truth properly blended in life make a person rich.
Our character is determined by how we perform in meeting life's challenges. Thank God for individuals who have the courage to stand up and be counted on the side of truth and integrity. What a compliment it is to have someone say of you, "She will not yield her principles under pressure or distress."
III. Thou shalt not deceive.
Sir Walter Scott said, "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" (Familiar Quotations, comp. John Bartlett, 14th ed., Boston: Little, Brown, and Co:, 1968, p. 519.) A man of deceit considers, "What will partial truths bring me when I crowd the line of truth?" A man of character considers what is right: "And again, verily I say unto you, blessed is my servant Hyrum Smith; for I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart, and because he loveth that which is right before me, saith the Lord." (D&C 124:15.)
A favorite tool of the devil is deception. satan's skills win him the title of "The father of deceit." He would have us all become poor by living and promoting the lie. Whenever deception is encouraged, the promoter is the greatest loser. He must bear the responsibility for those he injures.
IV. Thou shalt not compromise thy principles.
All of us should constantly remind ourselves that character is education properly applied. The sharing and encouraging of truth on a continuing basis shelters one from poverty. Nobility in character is one asset that will bring dividends regardless of the business climate. A quality person will not compromise his principles regardless of the size or intensity of the foe or situation.
A person who compromises in a sense advertises in the marketplace that a certain price or consideration will cause him to sell out. People of uncompromising principles are never poor. How rich are those who can live by worthy principles and manage the results!
V. Thou shalt love thyself.
Through an appropriate blend of self-pride and self-dignity, self-respect will surface. A person is poor when he personally labels himself as a "marked-down" or a "close-out" article.
How sad, how long the day when we become low on ourselves! The worst form of defeat is to be conquered by self. Defeat is not pleasant, but nothing is so painful and devastating as self-defeat. Losing our self-dignity and self-respect is the worst form of poverty. When trust in friends and self are both lost, there is not much trust left in life.
We should teach, particularly ourselves, that nobody is a nobody. We are someone, and with God's help we can accomplish all things. It is a sad day when a person finds it easier to be true to friends than to himself. How unwise, how unfair to sell ourselves short when God is our partner.
Personal bankruptcy is impossible for a person of self-pride. A person is poor when he places despair over hope. A person is poor when he fails to remember who he really is and forgets his relationship to God, family, and self.
Many years ago, on a hot summer day, I was walking through the medium security division of the Utah State Prison. Most inmates were out of their cells. I mingled among them and visited with some. Most were dressed without shirts. I remember as though it were yesterday my talking to one who had tattooed across his chest in rather large letters, "A Born Loser." He had labelled himself poor, and his present environment indicated he was doing quite well with his personal image.
VI. Thou shalt be honest.
A person is poor when he thinks honesty is a policy instead of a proper way of life. Thomas Carlyle said, "Over the time thou hast no power; to redeem a world sunk in dishonesty has not been given thee; solely over one man therein thou hast a quite absolute ... power; him redeem, him make honest." (In Forty Thousand Quotations, comp. Charles Noel Douglas (New York: Nelson Doubleday, 1917), p. 1557.) An honest conscience is worth more than it costs. Greatness is truly measured by honest self-appraisal.
"What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36.)
How many times over the years have you heard the declaration that it is greater to be trusted than loved? Let me remind you that regardless of the number of times, you havenÂ’t heard it enough. Without honesty there is no foundation upon which to build. How can a person be helped when he insists on living the lie? Lying and living the lie keep us poor.
VII. Thou shalt not wrongfully exploit others for personal advantage.
A person is poor when he drops or uses the name of an individual or an institution to promote or sell his questionable wares. How unfair, unwise, and poor are those who would have us believe a "get rich" investment opportunity is desirable because of the political or ecclesiastical office the one holds who is making the proposition. Any person who allows his good name or image to be used to promote or encourage schemes of the unscrupulous is embracing dishonesty. Dishonesty is any communication given to another with the intent to deceive. An improper entry in one's personal ledger, flattery, failure to defend a truth or principle, failure to discipline, and the endorsement of a fallacy are a few of the other forms of exploiting for personal gain.
In today's marketplace- yes, in our own neighborhoods, towns, and cities- scheming, deceiving promoters are making available to gullible purchasers all kinds of enticing offers. We are sorry to report thousands within our ranks are being duped by the glib tongues of those who offer and solicit in whispers "once in a lifetime opportunities" and "just for you" approaches.
Those of us who knowingly give ear to dishonesty in any form are moving in the direction of poverty.
VIII. Thou shalt not believe repentance is an announcement.
A person is poor when he lives by comparison rather than by principle. A person is poor when he fails to realize repentance is a process and not just a declaration. Every person has the challenge of recognizing and carrying his personal cross. Repentance is an action principle, not a self-declared holding pattern.
A person who is willing to repent will never have more liabilities than assets. Repentance makes it possible for the sinner to get back up when he falls. A person is poor only when he is unwilling to use and understand repentance. Repentance is not an announcement. It is improved conduct.
IX. Thou shalt not stay poor.
It's not fun being poor, but no one has to be. With friends, virtue, character, truth, integrity, repentance, and other God-given gifts and rights available, pearls of great price are ours for the seeking. Through prayer and action God helps us avoid being poor. He that has eternal life is rich.
X. Thou shalt not allow thyself to be managed by money.
A person who allows his money to manage him instead of him managing his money is poor. No matter how much or how little we have to live on each week or month, it needs to be used wisely. We need to decide on a budget and live within it.
Some claim living within a budget takes the fun out of life and is too restrictive. But those who avoid the inconvenience of a budget must suffer the pains of living outside of it. The Church operates within a budget. Successful business functions within a budget. Families free of crushing debt have a budget. Budget guidelines encourage better performance and management.
It seems there will always be emergencies and crises in all of our lives that cause financial drain, but even these developments need not make us poor. Things generally turn up for those who keep digging. Financial disaster can be avoided if we learn with others how to help ourselves. Anyone with friends, family, neighbors, bishops, and stake presidents who care, is rich.
Through work, education, and commitment, personal satisfaction can be realized as we make appropriate use of the accumulation of this world's goods. No one needs to apologize for his success in financial achievement if the means of attainment have been honorable and he knows how to wisely use what he has. Conversely, when money and wealth become our goal and our god, we are poor.
I personally applaud those who are honorably successful in achieving an abundance of this world's goods, but only if it is convincingly evident their money is being wisely used. No man should be respected just for his riches fairly acquired, but rather for his philanthropy. We do not judge the value of the sun by its height, but for its use.
It is a worthy prayer to ask our Heavenly Father to bless us with this world's goods, but not with more than we can bear. Too much money can make us poor. One of life's great lessons is to teach us that what we do with what we have is more important than what we have. Limited budgets can teach us sacrifice, self-reliance, restraint, and personal management. And proper incentive and attitudes prevent us from ever classifying ourselves as poor.
I leave you these thoughts, my love, and my testimony. It's no fun being poor. Fortunately, none of us has to be.
I didn't get them all, but I was attempting to highlight the words that state how much of happiness and being 'un-poor' require us to do something about it. Something I'm still struggling with as per my brain and body ... but working on it :) And I have great help in my God. 0:-)
Address delivered at a Brigham Young University devotional, 30 March 1982
Marvin J. Ashton, "It's No Fun Being Poor," Ensign, Sept. 1982, 72
I think when I announce the title of my remarks it is reasonable to assume many of you will nudge the one next to you and say, "So what else is new?" or "Where does the line form for those who want to bear witness to the fact?"
My topic is: "It's No Fun Being Poor."
Now the truth is, not one of us needs to be poor. However, we can become victims of real poverty if we are not wise in our daily conduct. The main question for every person to resolve is not what he would do if he had vast money, time, influence, or educational advantages, but how he will best use the means and assets he has and will yet have. The next related question is, what is meant by the terms poor and rich? Does it have to do with material goods? And if so, how much does it have to do with material goods?
It's no fun being poor. It is much more fun to be rich. I hope we will see that we can be rich if life's ledger is filled with daily entries that show bottom line totals including sound moral conduct, uprightness, and incorruptibility.
The purpose of my remarks is to try to help all of us avoid being poor. Hopefully, if we are already poor, we will be able to overcome it with corrective actions. For your consideration, I am going to identify "ten commandments" we should follow if we would avoid being poor. Doubtless, there may be ten, twenty, or thirty more, but for our purposes, the following may be a good start.
I. Thou shalt not lose a friend or cease being one.
A person is poor when his friendship inventory is depreciating. A person is poor when he is friendless. When friends, those closest to us, have cause to desert, to disbelieve, to lose confidence in us, we are poor. When we lose friends, our strength as well as our desire is ofttimes totally drained. In our personal balance sheets, "minus friends" indicates a loss position.
No man is useless while he has a friend. No man can declare personal bankruptcy if he has one friend.
Very often friends are lost because we are unwilling to pay the price it takes to maintain them. It was Emerson who said, "The only way to have a friend is to be one." (The Home Book of Quotations, sel. Burton Stevenson, New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1935, p. 727.)
A friend is a person who will not only take the time to know us, but also take the time to be with us and never desert us regardless of the circumstances. One of the finest presents each of us can give someone else is our best self.
Joseph Smith gave us a glimpse of his measure of friends when he said, "If my life is of no value to my friends it is of none to myself." (History of the Church, 6:549.) The Savior said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13).
When Robert Louis Stevenson was asked the secret of his radiant, useful life, he responded simply, "I had a friend."
A friend in the true sense is not a person who passively nods approval of our conduct or ignores improper behavior. A friend is a person who cares. When we lose someone who cares about us, we lose one of our most valuable assets. An Arabian proverb says, "A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of on's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."
A friend is a priceless possession because a true friend is one who not only is willing to love us the way we are, but is able to leave us better than he found us. We are poor when we lose friends because generally they are willing to reprove, admonish, love, encourage, and guide us for our best good. A friend lifts the heavy heart, says the encouraging word, and assists in supplying our daily needs. As friends, we will make ourselves available without delay to those who need us.
I hope that in the days ahead more and more of us will free ourselves from expressions of, "If you need me, let me know," or, "If I can be of help, call me," and replace them with the development of a sixth sense that will let us know when and where our friendship is needed.
When Joseph Smith was in the Liberty Jail, he poured out his heart and soul with, "O God, where art thou?" Part of God's great declaration of love and encouragement to him at that time was:
"My son, peace be unto thy soul ,…
"Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.
"Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job." (D&C 121:1, 7, 9,10; )
Joseph Smith was enduring much, for God's own purposes, but he was rich because his friends were standing by him.
A person is poor when he is friendless, but even poorer when he ceases being a friend. No matter what the conduct or negligence of others may be, we cannot afford to yield in our sincere efforts to be a friend. Very often our family members and friends need our friendship most when they least deserve it.
II. Thou shalt honor thy character and protect it from self destruction.
A person is poor when his character is honeycombed with greed and warped by dishonesty. When we yield to misconduct under pressure, we are poor. A person who has to beg for bread is not poor if he has not bent to expediency. An individual is headed for personal bankruptcy when he sells his character and reputation for cash, honor, or convenience. We are poor in character when we think getting by is a substitute for doing our best. Virtue, action, and truth properly blended in life make a person rich.
Our character is determined by how we perform in meeting life's challenges. Thank God for individuals who have the courage to stand up and be counted on the side of truth and integrity. What a compliment it is to have someone say of you, "She will not yield her principles under pressure or distress."
III. Thou shalt not deceive.
Sir Walter Scott said, "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" (Familiar Quotations, comp. John Bartlett, 14th ed., Boston: Little, Brown, and Co:, 1968, p. 519.) A man of deceit considers, "What will partial truths bring me when I crowd the line of truth?" A man of character considers what is right: "And again, verily I say unto you, blessed is my servant Hyrum Smith; for I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart, and because he loveth that which is right before me, saith the Lord." (D&C 124:15.)
A favorite tool of the devil is deception. satan's skills win him the title of "The father of deceit." He would have us all become poor by living and promoting the lie. Whenever deception is encouraged, the promoter is the greatest loser. He must bear the responsibility for those he injures.
IV. Thou shalt not compromise thy principles.
All of us should constantly remind ourselves that character is education properly applied. The sharing and encouraging of truth on a continuing basis shelters one from poverty. Nobility in character is one asset that will bring dividends regardless of the business climate. A quality person will not compromise his principles regardless of the size or intensity of the foe or situation.
A person who compromises in a sense advertises in the marketplace that a certain price or consideration will cause him to sell out. People of uncompromising principles are never poor. How rich are those who can live by worthy principles and manage the results!
V. Thou shalt love thyself.
Through an appropriate blend of self-pride and self-dignity, self-respect will surface. A person is poor when he personally labels himself as a "marked-down" or a "close-out" article.
How sad, how long the day when we become low on ourselves! The worst form of defeat is to be conquered by self. Defeat is not pleasant, but nothing is so painful and devastating as self-defeat. Losing our self-dignity and self-respect is the worst form of poverty. When trust in friends and self are both lost, there is not much trust left in life.
We should teach, particularly ourselves, that nobody is a nobody. We are someone, and with God's help we can accomplish all things. It is a sad day when a person finds it easier to be true to friends than to himself. How unwise, how unfair to sell ourselves short when God is our partner.
Personal bankruptcy is impossible for a person of self-pride. A person is poor when he places despair over hope. A person is poor when he fails to remember who he really is and forgets his relationship to God, family, and self.
Many years ago, on a hot summer day, I was walking through the medium security division of the Utah State Prison. Most inmates were out of their cells. I mingled among them and visited with some. Most were dressed without shirts. I remember as though it were yesterday my talking to one who had tattooed across his chest in rather large letters, "A Born Loser." He had labelled himself poor, and his present environment indicated he was doing quite well with his personal image.
VI. Thou shalt be honest.
A person is poor when he thinks honesty is a policy instead of a proper way of life. Thomas Carlyle said, "Over the time thou hast no power; to redeem a world sunk in dishonesty has not been given thee; solely over one man therein thou hast a quite absolute ... power; him redeem, him make honest." (In Forty Thousand Quotations, comp. Charles Noel Douglas (New York: Nelson Doubleday, 1917), p. 1557.) An honest conscience is worth more than it costs. Greatness is truly measured by honest self-appraisal.
"What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36.)
How many times over the years have you heard the declaration that it is greater to be trusted than loved? Let me remind you that regardless of the number of times, you havenÂ’t heard it enough. Without honesty there is no foundation upon which to build. How can a person be helped when he insists on living the lie? Lying and living the lie keep us poor.
VII. Thou shalt not wrongfully exploit others for personal advantage.
A person is poor when he drops or uses the name of an individual or an institution to promote or sell his questionable wares. How unfair, unwise, and poor are those who would have us believe a "get rich" investment opportunity is desirable because of the political or ecclesiastical office the one holds who is making the proposition. Any person who allows his good name or image to be used to promote or encourage schemes of the unscrupulous is embracing dishonesty. Dishonesty is any communication given to another with the intent to deceive. An improper entry in one's personal ledger, flattery, failure to defend a truth or principle, failure to discipline, and the endorsement of a fallacy are a few of the other forms of exploiting for personal gain.
In today's marketplace- yes, in our own neighborhoods, towns, and cities- scheming, deceiving promoters are making available to gullible purchasers all kinds of enticing offers. We are sorry to report thousands within our ranks are being duped by the glib tongues of those who offer and solicit in whispers "once in a lifetime opportunities" and "just for you" approaches.
Those of us who knowingly give ear to dishonesty in any form are moving in the direction of poverty.
VIII. Thou shalt not believe repentance is an announcement.
A person is poor when he lives by comparison rather than by principle. A person is poor when he fails to realize repentance is a process and not just a declaration. Every person has the challenge of recognizing and carrying his personal cross. Repentance is an action principle, not a self-declared holding pattern.
A person who is willing to repent will never have more liabilities than assets. Repentance makes it possible for the sinner to get back up when he falls. A person is poor only when he is unwilling to use and understand repentance. Repentance is not an announcement. It is improved conduct.
IX. Thou shalt not stay poor.
It's not fun being poor, but no one has to be. With friends, virtue, character, truth, integrity, repentance, and other God-given gifts and rights available, pearls of great price are ours for the seeking. Through prayer and action God helps us avoid being poor. He that has eternal life is rich.
X. Thou shalt not allow thyself to be managed by money.
A person who allows his money to manage him instead of him managing his money is poor. No matter how much or how little we have to live on each week or month, it needs to be used wisely. We need to decide on a budget and live within it.
Some claim living within a budget takes the fun out of life and is too restrictive. But those who avoid the inconvenience of a budget must suffer the pains of living outside of it. The Church operates within a budget. Successful business functions within a budget. Families free of crushing debt have a budget. Budget guidelines encourage better performance and management.
It seems there will always be emergencies and crises in all of our lives that cause financial drain, but even these developments need not make us poor. Things generally turn up for those who keep digging. Financial disaster can be avoided if we learn with others how to help ourselves. Anyone with friends, family, neighbors, bishops, and stake presidents who care, is rich.
Through work, education, and commitment, personal satisfaction can be realized as we make appropriate use of the accumulation of this world's goods. No one needs to apologize for his success in financial achievement if the means of attainment have been honorable and he knows how to wisely use what he has. Conversely, when money and wealth become our goal and our god, we are poor.
I personally applaud those who are honorably successful in achieving an abundance of this world's goods, but only if it is convincingly evident their money is being wisely used. No man should be respected just for his riches fairly acquired, but rather for his philanthropy. We do not judge the value of the sun by its height, but for its use.
It is a worthy prayer to ask our Heavenly Father to bless us with this world's goods, but not with more than we can bear. Too much money can make us poor. One of life's great lessons is to teach us that what we do with what we have is more important than what we have. Limited budgets can teach us sacrifice, self-reliance, restraint, and personal management. And proper incentive and attitudes prevent us from ever classifying ourselves as poor.
I leave you these thoughts, my love, and my testimony. It's no fun being poor. Fortunately, none of us has to be.
I didn't get them all, but I was attempting to highlight the words that state how much of happiness and being 'un-poor' require us to do something about it. Something I'm still struggling with as per my brain and body ... but working on it :) And I have great help in my God. 0:-)
Friday, November 17, 2006
Life
So I've been thinking a lot about this life as well as where we were before we got here. I know that many on this earth don't believe this, but as sure as you're alive today and breathing it is true. We came from Heaven, and to heaven we will return again, but not till after we have finished out 'test' or 'trial' here in mortality. That's the whole reason for the creation of this earth is to give God a place to see what His children will do on their own with Him not around. (the old adage 'while the cat's away the mice will play' comes to mind all the sudden) But that is the whole test! What will we do now that God has given us our free agency, and allowed us this earth to live, discover, grow, and choose.... Then look back to see if the choice we made was a good one (gave us JOY) or a poor one (caused remorse of conscience) ... It's interesting how there are many "false joys" in this life. The word "Joy" as I understand it, is a forever Happiness or peace, not just fleeting moments of happiness that go away, and to receive the 'happiness again' the 'act that gave you the happiness' needs to be repeated in order to receive it again. That is false joy, because joy STAYS with you even when the act is over and done. If you're new to my Blog and you've just stumbled across it, think on that above statement and feel free to comment whether you feel it's correct or not...
Next in line, and the actual reason I came online to post was this thought - Again I'll state how I believe that we are spirit sons and daughters of God, and we used to live with Him before this earth. These bodies we now posses are gifts to us (on loan mind you) for us to receive an experience here on earth. In heaven we couldn't "grow" because in heaven we were all innocent, we knew no good because we knew no evil, we had no joy because we knew no misery. We were as children are when they first get here. If you have had children, or even nieces or nephews, or taken care of friend's children you should know what I'm talking about. Children are perfect! They love everyone all the time and know no danger or evil unless informed by a parent, sibling, or as they get older, friends, and such. In heaven with our Father in heaven we were told about this earth and about our chance to come here , receive bodies like God has (flesh and bone), and to 'give this thing called life a shot for ourselves' (that's my own quoting not God's in any way) ... Anyway I've read in the scriptures how when we were told we would have this chance to come here we all be like God we 'shouted for joy' (Job 38:7-When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons (and daughters) of God shouted for joy) (check that whole chapter if you want :) )... But I've thought on this statement and this is what I've come up with thought wise (disclaimer : this is not scripture but my personal opinion) -we were innocent ,as a child is innocent, in heaven and when we heard this and shouted for joy, did we actually understand it? If you were to teach something like this to a child would they understand it, or would they just trust it to be good or evil depending on the person that said it? Given that God is the person who said it, I feel that we weren't shouting for joy out of the knowledge of not 'what it will be like once we got down here', but we were shouting for joy because God said it was good and we trusted God, so it was good to us. .... On top of that I've further thought and discovered how much trust God must have for each and every one of us who are now down here. He sent us down here, knowing full well what we would go through on this earth, the pains, sorrows, joys, happiness, and all, but He trusted us that we would find Him again, and if not find imagine then to as least to do as good as we knew how to those other spirits sent from His presence given a body of flesh and blood as we have. (other people on this earth)
How much more importance comes to the world with the words that Christ uttered in answer to a questioning lawyer ?
(New Testament Luke 10:25 - 28)
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law?How readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt alive.
I pray that everyone or anyone what stumbled across this post will have The Spirit with them so that they may feel the depth of that message from our God (and appreciate my thought on it as well) I guess I'll end with another scripture and get back to attempting to live better. .. ;)
( Jacob 6:12)
12 O be wise; what can I say more?
Next in line, and the actual reason I came online to post was this thought - Again I'll state how I believe that we are spirit sons and daughters of God, and we used to live with Him before this earth. These bodies we now posses are gifts to us (on loan mind you) for us to receive an experience here on earth. In heaven we couldn't "grow" because in heaven we were all innocent, we knew no good because we knew no evil, we had no joy because we knew no misery. We were as children are when they first get here. If you have had children, or even nieces or nephews, or taken care of friend's children you should know what I'm talking about. Children are perfect! They love everyone all the time and know no danger or evil unless informed by a parent, sibling, or as they get older, friends, and such. In heaven with our Father in heaven we were told about this earth and about our chance to come here , receive bodies like God has (flesh and bone), and to 'give this thing called life a shot for ourselves' (that's my own quoting not God's in any way) ... Anyway I've read in the scriptures how when we were told we would have this chance to come here we all be like God we 'shouted for joy' (Job 38:7-When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons (and daughters) of God shouted for joy) (check that whole chapter if you want :) )... But I've thought on this statement and this is what I've come up with thought wise (disclaimer : this is not scripture but my personal opinion) -we were innocent ,as a child is innocent, in heaven and when we heard this and shouted for joy, did we actually understand it? If you were to teach something like this to a child would they understand it, or would they just trust it to be good or evil depending on the person that said it? Given that God is the person who said it, I feel that we weren't shouting for joy out of the knowledge of not 'what it will be like once we got down here', but we were shouting for joy because God said it was good and we trusted God, so it was good to us. .... On top of that I've further thought and discovered how much trust God must have for each and every one of us who are now down here. He sent us down here, knowing full well what we would go through on this earth, the pains, sorrows, joys, happiness, and all, but He trusted us that we would find Him again, and if not find imagine then to as least to do as good as we knew how to those other spirits sent from His presence given a body of flesh and blood as we have. (other people on this earth)
How much more importance comes to the world with the words that Christ uttered in answer to a questioning lawyer ?
(New Testament Luke 10:25 - 28)
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law?How readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt alive.
I pray that everyone or anyone what stumbled across this post will have The Spirit with them so that they may feel the depth of that message from our God (and appreciate my thought on it as well) I guess I'll end with another scripture and get back to attempting to live better. .. ;)
( Jacob 6:12)
12 O be wise; what can I say more?
Thursday, November 09, 2006
To my 3 readers
:P I hope there are that many ;)
So my mom sent me an email that pointed out how the Doctor I mention below DID save my life, and she did, and I know that she's a very good referred Doctor in this state so that makes me think I was a little hard on her in the below post. Sorry Dr. (you know your name) and like she's going to be reading MY "gripe" blog ... ew if she IS that's sort of weird for a doctor isn't it?
yes need to get my picture interface back up, post a few pics including one of me so ya'll know what I look like. :P
So my mom sent me an email that pointed out how the Doctor I mention below DID save my life, and she did, and I know that she's a very good referred Doctor in this state so that makes me think I was a little hard on her in the below post. Sorry Dr. (you know your name) and like she's going to be reading MY "gripe" blog ... ew if she IS that's sort of weird for a doctor isn't it?
yes need to get my picture interface back up, post a few pics including one of me so ya'll know what I look like. :P
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
I am no doctor
But I do seem to have this experience called life that just keeps on going... If you'd like to know about that insanity I call life then I guess look through my blog and get a little more in-depth look at it :-S...
but I enjoy to ponder and to think and to write my thoughts so here goes. My subject is "love"... A subject that we all have our opinions on based primarily on what we learned in our youth, because it is from youth that we learn what we do. Thankfully all that we learn IN youth as we 'grow up' can be ratified as correct, or an attempt can be made to dismiss it, but that later is hard cause after all if we're not us, then who are we? ... ok sorry for the tangent I do that a lot. (ask my former therapist ;) ... so what is love?
According to a few web searches, we all knowing that the web is the greatest source for all true and reliable information next to the TV .... ... . ... . (letting that sink in) .. . ... .. (and I hope you FEEL the extreme sarcasm of that statement)... ..... . . .(unfortunately I feel you probably, from also living in this thing called life, know all about it) Anyway something I picked up off the net (and some mof my appendages to what I found). -------->
"Some elements that are often present in interpersonal love:
Affection: appreciation of other - I appreciate you VERY much and your goodness.
Attachment: satisfying basic emotional needs - companionship, friendship.
Reciprocation: if love is mutual
Commitment: a desire to maintain love
Emotional intimacy: sharing emotions and feelings
Kinship: family bonds
Passion: sexual desire
Physical intimacy: sharing of personal space
Self-interest: desiring rewards
Service: desire to help "
not to shabby huh? That's why I saved it it seemed to be pretty good. ... um I don't remember where I got it from so it the owner of the above finds it on my blog sorry for not giving you props for it. :P
Usually when I have searched out the word love on the Net I get a warning, or even a block, by my Internet filter, because of what "The World" wants us to think "love" is.. and that is strickly sex.. I don't actually think that "The world" in general thinks like that, but there are a few persons that do. Unfortunate it seems like the majority of the world, especially men (sorry men it's true), that think/feel that "love is someone playing with my dong because I enjoy that" ... .. well that's not love guys, sorry to burst that bubble. Love isn't someone playing with your dong. (that's you being selfish) there is, as the list indicates (and I agree), physical intimacy but that's not just someone playing with your dong.
True physical intimacy consist of respect and physically giving to a MARRIED partner. That is, open communication (the rest of that above list) and an effort to please/give the other person in respectful ways. In turn then if it IS respectful and real to each other then the partner would of course desire to give the same affection, commitment, friendship, sharing of feelings, service, and the rest to the other.. and the relationship becomes one eternal round of service. .. .and THAT is why I say above "MARRIED partner" because only in the bonds of a marital (full in everything not just in the bed) can a relationship as intimate as sex be rewarding and not degrading.
If you disagree then I welcome you to your opinion, but if you do and you are living your life in a one partner to another partner relationship I only ask that you ask yourself "Am I truly happy?" .... and if you're true to yourself then you'll find something about yourself.
Best of luck friends out there (all 2 who read my blog and one that happens to be my mother) (thanks mom :P) ... and if anyone else happens to stumble across my insanity of deep thoughts welcome, and try the popcorn!
but I enjoy to ponder and to think and to write my thoughts so here goes. My subject is "love"... A subject that we all have our opinions on based primarily on what we learned in our youth, because it is from youth that we learn what we do. Thankfully all that we learn IN youth as we 'grow up' can be ratified as correct, or an attempt can be made to dismiss it, but that later is hard cause after all if we're not us, then who are we? ... ok sorry for the tangent I do that a lot. (ask my former therapist ;) ... so what is love?
According to a few web searches, we all knowing that the web is the greatest source for all true and reliable information next to the TV .... ... . ... . (letting that sink in) .. . ... .. (and I hope you FEEL the extreme sarcasm of that statement)... ..... . . .(unfortunately I feel you probably, from also living in this thing called life, know all about it) Anyway something I picked up off the net (and some mof my appendages to what I found). -------->
"Some elements that are often present in interpersonal love:
Affection: appreciation of other - I appreciate you VERY much and your goodness.
Attachment: satisfying basic emotional needs - companionship, friendship.
Reciprocation: if love is mutual
Commitment: a desire to maintain love
Emotional intimacy: sharing emotions and feelings
Kinship: family bonds
Passion: sexual desire
Physical intimacy: sharing of personal space
Self-interest: desiring rewards
Service: desire to help "
not to shabby huh? That's why I saved it it seemed to be pretty good. ... um I don't remember where I got it from so it the owner of the above finds it on my blog sorry for not giving you props for it. :P
Usually when I have searched out the word love on the Net I get a warning, or even a block, by my Internet filter, because of what "The World" wants us to think "love" is.. and that is strickly sex.. I don't actually think that "The world" in general thinks like that, but there are a few persons that do. Unfortunate it seems like the majority of the world, especially men (sorry men it's true), that think/feel that "love is someone playing with my dong because I enjoy that" ... .. well that's not love guys, sorry to burst that bubble. Love isn't someone playing with your dong. (that's you being selfish) there is, as the list indicates (and I agree), physical intimacy but that's not just someone playing with your dong.
True physical intimacy consist of respect and physically giving to a MARRIED partner. That is, open communication (the rest of that above list) and an effort to please/give the other person in respectful ways. In turn then if it IS respectful and real to each other then the partner would of course desire to give the same affection, commitment, friendship, sharing of feelings, service, and the rest to the other.. and the relationship becomes one eternal round of service. .. .and THAT is why I say above "MARRIED partner" because only in the bonds of a marital (full in everything not just in the bed) can a relationship as intimate as sex be rewarding and not degrading.
If you disagree then I welcome you to your opinion, but if you do and you are living your life in a one partner to another partner relationship I only ask that you ask yourself "Am I truly happy?" .... and if you're true to yourself then you'll find something about yourself.
Best of luck friends out there (all 2 who read my blog and one that happens to be my mother) (thanks mom :P) ... and if anyone else happens to stumble across my insanity of deep thoughts welcome, and try the popcorn!
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Hi
To anyone the happens to stumble across my blog, and happens to get this as the first thing they see, or to friends (if any of them visit) and family (ditto).
I have brain damage and it's not the good type of brain damage where you're oblivious to the world around you and also the world you're living like those kids with down syndrome that are so perfect and nice to be around. Over-grown perfect children as I like to see them as... No that's not me, I'm not an overgrown child in my brain damage I'm a freaking lost adult like the rest of you. Not always sure where to go and what to do and at the same time don't desire not to follow the crowd but to be my own individual yet that's where I always seem to go wrong IE when I'm trying to be my own self. Yet that's not all the way true, but it's more when I'm trying to be kind and nice and care about others around me is when I make the mistake(s)... Take my Grandma for one (please ;) ) ... No if you take her take care of her, but watch out because she's like me and stubborn to the core with the attitude that what she wants is the only way and heaven help you if you get in that way or think opposite then her way of thinking... Yeah I'm a lot like her. The stupidest thing about thinking that way is deep down you know you're incorrect, but you seem now to be too proud to do (or not sure how) to act otherwise because you've lived the way you have for so long it's now an addiction or rather a compulsive action/reaction to the people around you. Like also the last 'girlfriend' of seriousness for example (another take her)(but take care of her please) something in both cases I find myself desiring to do, but unsure HOW to... And that comes back again to my brain damage. We're counseled to take care of our own (IE kids/spouse if you have any) but how do I take care of them when I can't even take care of myself? Boiled down it was ME that gave me this brain damage! ... ok now I get to explain that whole mess so you'll all stop looking at me like I'm a complete freak, hey but seriously stop looking at me as the freak and take a look in the mirror ... sorry when you find that you're more like me then you wanted to be without the brain damage (yeah so what's your excuse?) ... ok brain damage - So I get bit by a spider 12 days after divorcing my first wife (:( ) and 17 days after the bite (that I didn't take to the hospital cause 'I was too busy at work')(another whole blog in itself) anyways too busy at work to get to the doctor so the effects of the bite are I pass out at work and find myself literally waking up in the hospital surrounded by Drs, Drs in training, Nurses, and hospital watchers whose job it is to stop me from escaping from the hospital a feet I performed many times without much recollection at all. SO anyway I'm in the hospital and it's explained to me that I have brain damage... ok not explained TO me but overhearing all this... (till I lost the hearing) I have brain damage and it's from my one immune system attacking me and attempting to kill me. The 'Doctor' gives me an IV-drip that BOOSTS my immune system, but it's my immune system that's killing me so then she puts a block on the "boost" she just ordered with Prednisone which CRUSHES my immune system so it can't kill me further........ anything sound backwards to you? ...... yeah me too AT THE TIME, and I'm the one with brain damage!.... So the kid with brain damage has enough sense to know that what the "Doctor" is doing "for" me is backwards!!!! yet the "Doctor" doesn't see it? .. Isn't SHE the doctor!!!?!?!? ... all the years of training and to what!? a blindness and pride that says "I'm the "doctor" what I do must be correct because of all the years of schooling and training, but I'm toooooo blind and proud to SEE that what I'm doing IS like to fist on the same person trying to punch each other to submission." ...... FEEL my frustration yet? Oh it gets BETTER!!! I'm given the IV drip 3 days in a row (13-2500 a pop mind you) and at the same time receive a flu shot and the deafness/ringing in my left ear GOES AWAY!!! :):) I'm ecstatic!! SO I tell the 'doctor' about what happens IE 'The Flu shots are deigned to trigger your immune system to start making anti-bodies again the coming flu season correct? And you tell me that it's my immune system that is attacking and killing me SO wouldn't that say to you that what you are doing IS correct (referring to the IV drips and building up the immune system) but your problem is when you build up my immune system it tries to kill me so you stop it with the prednisone, but if you can distract my killer immune system with something like causing it to make anti-bodies, or something like that, the boosting of the immune system doesn't cause it to kill cause it's busy making/doing other things why not figure out a way to distract the immune system and then boost it so it can FIX my brain which it actually destroyed. EH sounds good to me! Let's try it!' ......... I get the look of "you're the patient and I'm the doctor and all the years of my schooling VS brain damaged patient" then a dismissal of what I just said added with a 'let's keep doing what I (the doctor) have designed in my skull to heal you OK?' ..... .. . ... So At this point I've lost all confidence (as you can probably tell) in this "doctor" .... I feel as if all her schooling has done is kick common sense to the curb... SO in the middle of all this war of my immune system my Grandma's tax-man's wife hears a G-ma made story of what is going on, and she recommends a Dr. of Kiensentology (reflexes and balance with nature) so I go see him, tell him my story and within one treatment by and through him (about a month long) I'm off prednisone and my immune system is done with killing my brain.... How did he do it? He distracted my killer immune system by giving it exactly what it wanted to kill - brain. ... no it wasn't human brain it was a pill that had components of bovine brain in it. And so my immune system killed all the brain is was fed till it got done and now I'm here about 1-2 years later classified as disabled, still brain damaged with a hearing loss the first Doctor not wanting to talk to me it seems and I don't know why other then I told her that my plan of distracting the immune system is exactly what the other Dr. did and I'm off prednisone! let's get me the IV drip again! :D.... to which she replies ' oh good you're off prednisone now your body will heal itself thanks for playing, bye' nothing.. no help just a feeling of a spoiled little girl that didn't get her way and a proud 'doctor' who's treatment didn't work out the way she wanted it to. ... ok so now moving on from the doctor-fun (sorry for the length of this, but it's my WEB LOB of thoughts so you all get to hear them and if you're bored www.homestarrunner.com) ok post doctor's now to the state.... So I'm disabled a title granted to me by a nice old judge who was cool, and my lawyers who got their job done and then cut me off to deal with my 'reward' .. 35,000 dollars through Social Security and a paycheck to help me each month, MediCARE insurance and everything is looking up for the first time in a while.... : .... Social Security is the biggest hole in the Government next to it's sisters Medicare and Office of Recovery Services. .. al of which I get the pleasantly deal with or worry over all the stupid time!!! So I received 10,000 of the 35,000 and I get the paycheck each month from them .... the other 25000.... ? .... Social Security (SS) claims the 'the system had put in that you were behind on your child support and that 75-80% of your MONTHLY payment would be garnished till your back child is paid off'.... so I go "that sucks let's just pay off the back child with the 10,000 I already have" so I do and then SS comes back with 'Seems as if the system took 75-80% of your WHOLE check (the 35,000) and gave it to the Office of recovery services (ORS)' ... "ok so then let's talk to ORS".. ... Call ORS and they say 'yup we see that we'll send payment BACK to SS' .. Call SS again .. 'ORS never sent that you need to call them' call ORS 'Nope SS is not telling you the truth you need to call them' and in the middle of calling each office of the Government I get a thing in the mail from my Lawyers 'WE got our payment we are closing your case if you want further help from us you'll nee dot pay us again, thanks for the money WE got, best of luck and congratulations' ..... .. For WHAT!? The ORS/SS Government run around!? ... Thanks.. You guys take care now ya'hear.... ... ok thought/subject shift... to this day that's about what it's like .. 25,000 "lost in the system" but monthly payments are still good.. and I'm missing my X but more my kids so I start thinking "I need to create a place for my kids to come with me so I can help help them along in this existence we call life" So I start looking some.. in the only place that truly is available to me In The Web (as with the brain damage I can't drive without being a threat to me an dothers) THE best place to go if you're looking for 'love' ... this world it so messed. .. Having sex with a person that you meet online and may never see again isn't LOVE, but that seems to be where our 'wonderful' world stands on what love is. .. anyway I go to a date site with people who I feel would be better then then 'love is sex' attitude.. and for the most part they are, but not by much .. ... ...
I took a break from writing that abovve cause I had other things to do, and now I'm back for a moment and I guess I need to make a point wiht the above story? The thing that sort of set me off about that whole post was how I was just feeling the weight of that whole ordeal and the crushingness of pretending that everything was still ok and alright and I know in the END of everything it wil be made right through the Atonement of Christ, but in the mean time I can't lie to myself and pretend because if you can't belive yourself then who do you go to... other then God cause that's a gimme ;) ... I've found, or so it seems, how this nation is being PUT into bondage by the devil it's the seeming just inability for people to mind their own business and WHEN someone make a choice of their own free will people will examine that choice over and over and over and over till there is nothing left OF the choice but critisism on "how it should have been handled" and bottom line that doesn't work for anything other then having yourself feel bad for putting down someone elses free agency and choice. Yes we all have oppinions about stuff, and it's fine to discuss different angles on a disicion, but bottom line once a choice is made it's made, and there isn't any turning back the clock to change that choice. .... So that thought has been weighing on me along with the finding of myself to be in about the same cycle of degenacy of thought always wanting to "correct" other people when in truth if there is anyone TO correct it is yourself because you're the only person you can control ... I had a thought come to me once on that.. let me find it... "The only person you can change is yourself, but by your example other's can see and choose to emulate" that's trully the only way to ever change someone is for them to actually change themselves, and if they don't choose to change themselves then you get to deal with it, but you can't burry yourself in worry over another person's choices that you don't agree with because that will only kill you... ok maybe not phisically, but living your life consumed in worry, pain and beeting yourself up over the things of the past isn't living and might as well be termed as "you're dead" ... another thought I had recently "There is nothing wrong with different becasue in the end we are all the SAME, Children of God" and as such brothers and sisters... how interesting it is that it is usually those within a family unit that we contend with the most. ... OK I need ot wrap this up.. so I'll end with how interesting it is that contention is of the devil, and that Christ's desire is that those things shoul be done away with, and I feel that He is the way for that to be done away with through His Atonement. and some scripture references to amplify my thoughts.
(Christ Talking to the Nephites)
29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.
(Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 11:29 - 30)
(concerning His atonement as the way)
11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
(Book of Mormon Alma 7:11 - 12)
OK good stuff and conclusion. the way to freedom is to forgive everyone
10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.
11 And ye ought to say in your hearts—let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds.
(Doctrine and Covenants Section 64:10 - 11)
So we need to forgive everyone, starting with ourselves. We start with ourselves becasue if we are not true to ourselves then we can't be true to others.
And I say that in the name of Christ, Amen .
Thanks for visiting, and I'll post more later.. maybe ;)
OK spell check says my spelling is crap and I forget to capitlize after every perceived new paragraph so I guess Spell check can eat it and I hope ya'll can read and comprehend my bablings... hey this is a pretty good look into my mind, and it's even hard for me to figure it all out sometimes :P
I have brain damage and it's not the good type of brain damage where you're oblivious to the world around you and also the world you're living like those kids with down syndrome that are so perfect and nice to be around. Over-grown perfect children as I like to see them as... No that's not me, I'm not an overgrown child in my brain damage I'm a freaking lost adult like the rest of you. Not always sure where to go and what to do and at the same time don't desire not to follow the crowd but to be my own individual yet that's where I always seem to go wrong IE when I'm trying to be my own self. Yet that's not all the way true, but it's more when I'm trying to be kind and nice and care about others around me is when I make the mistake(s)... Take my Grandma for one (please ;) ) ... No if you take her take care of her, but watch out because she's like me and stubborn to the core with the attitude that what she wants is the only way and heaven help you if you get in that way or think opposite then her way of thinking... Yeah I'm a lot like her. The stupidest thing about thinking that way is deep down you know you're incorrect, but you seem now to be too proud to do (or not sure how) to act otherwise because you've lived the way you have for so long it's now an addiction or rather a compulsive action/reaction to the people around you. Like also the last 'girlfriend' of seriousness for example (another take her)(but take care of her please) something in both cases I find myself desiring to do, but unsure HOW to... And that comes back again to my brain damage. We're counseled to take care of our own (IE kids/spouse if you have any) but how do I take care of them when I can't even take care of myself? Boiled down it was ME that gave me this brain damage! ... ok now I get to explain that whole mess so you'll all stop looking at me like I'm a complete freak, hey but seriously stop looking at me as the freak and take a look in the mirror ... sorry when you find that you're more like me then you wanted to be without the brain damage (yeah so what's your excuse?) ... ok brain damage - So I get bit by a spider 12 days after divorcing my first wife (:( ) and 17 days after the bite (that I didn't take to the hospital cause 'I was too busy at work')(another whole blog in itself) anyways too busy at work to get to the doctor so the effects of the bite are I pass out at work and find myself literally waking up in the hospital surrounded by Drs, Drs in training, Nurses, and hospital watchers whose job it is to stop me from escaping from the hospital a feet I performed many times without much recollection at all. SO anyway I'm in the hospital and it's explained to me that I have brain damage... ok not explained TO me but overhearing all this... (till I lost the hearing) I have brain damage and it's from my one immune system attacking me and attempting to kill me. The 'Doctor' gives me an IV-drip that BOOSTS my immune system, but it's my immune system that's killing me so then she puts a block on the "boost" she just ordered with Prednisone which CRUSHES my immune system so it can't kill me further........ anything sound backwards to you? ...... yeah me too AT THE TIME, and I'm the one with brain damage!.... So the kid with brain damage has enough sense to know that what the "Doctor" is doing "for" me is backwards!!!! yet the "Doctor" doesn't see it? .. Isn't SHE the doctor!!!?!?!? ... all the years of training and to what!? a blindness and pride that says "I'm the "doctor" what I do must be correct because of all the years of schooling and training, but I'm toooooo blind and proud to SEE that what I'm doing IS like to fist on the same person trying to punch each other to submission." ...... FEEL my frustration yet? Oh it gets BETTER!!! I'm given the IV drip 3 days in a row (13-2500 a pop mind you) and at the same time receive a flu shot and the deafness/ringing in my left ear GOES AWAY!!! :):) I'm ecstatic!! SO I tell the 'doctor' about what happens IE 'The Flu shots are deigned to trigger your immune system to start making anti-bodies again the coming flu season correct? And you tell me that it's my immune system that is attacking and killing me SO wouldn't that say to you that what you are doing IS correct (referring to the IV drips and building up the immune system) but your problem is when you build up my immune system it tries to kill me so you stop it with the prednisone, but if you can distract my killer immune system with something like causing it to make anti-bodies, or something like that, the boosting of the immune system doesn't cause it to kill cause it's busy making/doing other things why not figure out a way to distract the immune system and then boost it so it can FIX my brain which it actually destroyed. EH sounds good to me! Let's try it!' ......... I get the look of "you're the patient and I'm the doctor and all the years of my schooling VS brain damaged patient" then a dismissal of what I just said added with a 'let's keep doing what I (the doctor) have designed in my skull to heal you OK?' ..... .. . ... So At this point I've lost all confidence (as you can probably tell) in this "doctor" .... I feel as if all her schooling has done is kick common sense to the curb... SO in the middle of all this war of my immune system my Grandma's tax-man's wife hears a G-ma made story of what is going on, and she recommends a Dr. of Kiensentology (reflexes and balance with nature) so I go see him, tell him my story and within one treatment by and through him (about a month long) I'm off prednisone and my immune system is done with killing my brain.... How did he do it? He distracted my killer immune system by giving it exactly what it wanted to kill - brain. ... no it wasn't human brain it was a pill that had components of bovine brain in it. And so my immune system killed all the brain is was fed till it got done and now I'm here about 1-2 years later classified as disabled, still brain damaged with a hearing loss the first Doctor not wanting to talk to me it seems and I don't know why other then I told her that my plan of distracting the immune system is exactly what the other Dr. did and I'm off prednisone! let's get me the IV drip again! :D.... to which she replies ' oh good you're off prednisone now your body will heal itself thanks for playing, bye' nothing.. no help just a feeling of a spoiled little girl that didn't get her way and a proud 'doctor' who's treatment didn't work out the way she wanted it to. ... ok so now moving on from the doctor-fun (sorry for the length of this, but it's my WEB LOB of thoughts so you all get to hear them and if you're bored www.homestarrunner.com) ok post doctor's now to the state.... So I'm disabled a title granted to me by a nice old judge who was cool, and my lawyers who got their job done and then cut me off to deal with my 'reward' .. 35,000 dollars through Social Security and a paycheck to help me each month, MediCARE insurance and everything is looking up for the first time in a while.... : .... Social Security is the biggest hole in the Government next to it's sisters Medicare and Office of Recovery Services. .. al of which I get the pleasantly deal with or worry over all the stupid time!!! So I received 10,000 of the 35,000 and I get the paycheck each month from them .... the other 25000.... ? .... Social Security (SS) claims the 'the system had put in that you were behind on your child support and that 75-80% of your MONTHLY payment would be garnished till your back child is paid off'.... so I go "that sucks let's just pay off the back child with the 10,000 I already have" so I do and then SS comes back with 'Seems as if the system took 75-80% of your WHOLE check (the 35,000) and gave it to the Office of recovery services (ORS)' ... "ok so then let's talk to ORS".. ... Call ORS and they say 'yup we see that we'll send payment BACK to SS' .. Call SS again .. 'ORS never sent that you need to call them' call ORS 'Nope SS is not telling you the truth you need to call them' and in the middle of calling each office of the Government I get a thing in the mail from my Lawyers 'WE got our payment we are closing your case if you want further help from us you'll nee dot pay us again, thanks for the money WE got, best of luck and congratulations' ..... .. For WHAT!? The ORS/SS Government run around!? ... Thanks.. You guys take care now ya'hear.... ... ok thought/subject shift... to this day that's about what it's like .. 25,000 "lost in the system" but monthly payments are still good.. and I'm missing my X but more my kids so I start thinking "I need to create a place for my kids to come with me so I can help help them along in this existence we call life" So I start looking some.. in the only place that truly is available to me In The Web (as with the brain damage I can't drive without being a threat to me an dothers) THE best place to go if you're looking for 'love' ... this world it so messed. .. Having sex with a person that you meet online and may never see again isn't LOVE, but that seems to be where our 'wonderful' world stands on what love is. .. anyway I go to a date site with people who I feel would be better then then 'love is sex' attitude.. and for the most part they are, but not by much .. ... ...
I took a break from writing that abovve cause I had other things to do, and now I'm back for a moment and I guess I need to make a point wiht the above story? The thing that sort of set me off about that whole post was how I was just feeling the weight of that whole ordeal and the crushingness of pretending that everything was still ok and alright and I know in the END of everything it wil be made right through the Atonement of Christ, but in the mean time I can't lie to myself and pretend because if you can't belive yourself then who do you go to... other then God cause that's a gimme ;) ... I've found, or so it seems, how this nation is being PUT into bondage by the devil it's the seeming just inability for people to mind their own business and WHEN someone make a choice of their own free will people will examine that choice over and over and over and over till there is nothing left OF the choice but critisism on "how it should have been handled" and bottom line that doesn't work for anything other then having yourself feel bad for putting down someone elses free agency and choice. Yes we all have oppinions about stuff, and it's fine to discuss different angles on a disicion, but bottom line once a choice is made it's made, and there isn't any turning back the clock to change that choice. .... So that thought has been weighing on me along with the finding of myself to be in about the same cycle of degenacy of thought always wanting to "correct" other people when in truth if there is anyone TO correct it is yourself because you're the only person you can control ... I had a thought come to me once on that.. let me find it... "The only person you can change is yourself, but by your example other's can see and choose to emulate" that's trully the only way to ever change someone is for them to actually change themselves, and if they don't choose to change themselves then you get to deal with it, but you can't burry yourself in worry over another person's choices that you don't agree with because that will only kill you... ok maybe not phisically, but living your life consumed in worry, pain and beeting yourself up over the things of the past isn't living and might as well be termed as "you're dead" ... another thought I had recently "There is nothing wrong with different becasue in the end we are all the SAME, Children of God" and as such brothers and sisters... how interesting it is that it is usually those within a family unit that we contend with the most. ... OK I need ot wrap this up.. so I'll end with how interesting it is that contention is of the devil, and that Christ's desire is that those things shoul be done away with, and I feel that He is the way for that to be done away with through His Atonement. and some scripture references to amplify my thoughts.
(Christ Talking to the Nephites)
29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.
(Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 11:29 - 30)
(concerning His atonement as the way)
11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
(Book of Mormon Alma 7:11 - 12)
OK good stuff and conclusion. the way to freedom is to forgive everyone
10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.
11 And ye ought to say in your hearts—let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds.
(Doctrine and Covenants Section 64:10 - 11)
So we need to forgive everyone, starting with ourselves. We start with ourselves becasue if we are not true to ourselves then we can't be true to others.
And I say that in the name of Christ, Amen .
Thanks for visiting, and I'll post more later.. maybe ;)
OK spell check says my spelling is crap and I forget to capitlize after every perceived new paragraph so I guess Spell check can eat it and I hope ya'll can read and comprehend my bablings... hey this is a pretty good look into my mind, and it's even hard for me to figure it all out sometimes :P
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
September 11th again
I had this link sent to me in an email, and I think that the person who created this collage of pictures, songs, and sound-bites from the original 9/11 did a fabulous job!
http://attacked911.tripod.com/
I find it interesting how there are pictures IN this presentation that speak on how "We will never forget" yet so many in this nation SEEM to be forgetting, and turning to their own selfish ways. I find myself in fact also falling close into this trap as the day to day routine just wears on my, brain-injured, tired body and mind. .. I need to make the above link a favorite, and to relive that day a little more as it is a little eye-opening, and a true reminder that George Bush, our president, The War in Iraq, and other concerns around this nation really aren't the biggest and most important items of concern in this life, but life itself and family and friends.
:) yup I'm going to post this up, and then go watch the video again :) ;)
http://attacked911.tripod.com/
I find it interesting how there are pictures IN this presentation that speak on how "We will never forget" yet so many in this nation SEEM to be forgetting, and turning to their own selfish ways. I find myself in fact also falling close into this trap as the day to day routine just wears on my, brain-injured, tired body and mind. .. I need to make the above link a favorite, and to relive that day a little more as it is a little eye-opening, and a true reminder that George Bush, our president, The War in Iraq, and other concerns around this nation really aren't the biggest and most important items of concern in this life, but life itself and family and friends.
:) yup I'm going to post this up, and then go watch the video again :) ;)
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
1 Nephi 22
1 AND now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had read these things which were engraven upon the plates of brass, my brethren came unto me and said unto me: What meaneth these things which ye have read? Behold, are they to be understood according to things which are spiritual, which shall come to pass according to the spirit and not the flesh?
2 And I, Nephi, said unto them: Behold they were manifest unto the prophet by the voice of the Spirit; for by the Spirit are all things made known unto the prophets, which shall come upon the children of men according to the flesh.
3 Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining to things both temporal and spiritual; for it appears that the house of Israel, sooner or later, will be scattered upon all the face of the earth, and also among all nations.
4 And behold, there are many who are already lost from the knowledge of those who are at Jerusalem. Yea, the more part of all the tribes have been led away; and they are scattered to and fro upon the isles of the sea; and whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know that they have been led away.
5 And since they have been led away, these things have been prophesied concerning them, and also concerning all those who shall hereafter be scattered and be confounded, because of the Holy One of Israel; for against him will they harden their hearts; wherefore, they shall be scattered among all nations and shall be hated of all men.
6 Nevertheless, after they shall be nursed by the Gentiles, and the Lord has lifted up his hand upon the Gentiles and set them up for a standard, and their children have been carried in their arms, and their daughters have been carried upon their shoulders, behold these things of which are spoken are temporal; for thus are the covenants of the Lord with our fathers; and it meaneth us in the days to come, and also all our brethren who are of the house of Israel.
7 And it meaneth that the time cometh that after all the house of Israel have been scattered and confounded, that the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation among the Gentiles, yea, even upon the face of this land; and by them shall our seed be scattered.
8 And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders.
9 And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto the Gentiles but unto all the house of Israel, unto the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
10 And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he shall make bare his arm in the eyes of the nations.
11 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel.
12 Wherefore, he will bring them again out of captivity, and they shall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance; and they shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.
13 And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood.
14 And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it.
15 For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned.
16 For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.
17 Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.
18 Behold, my brethren, I say unto you, that these things must shortly come; yea, even blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke must come; and it must needs be upon the face of this earth; and it cometh unto men according to the flesh if it so be that they will harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel.
19 For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off.
20 And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.
21 And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness.
22 And the righteous need not fear, for they are those who shall not be confounded. But it is the kingdom of the devil, which shall be built up among the children of men, which kingdom is established among them which are in the flesh—
23 For the time speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet.
24 And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as calves of the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might, and power, and great glory.
25 And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.
26 And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth.
27 And now behold, I, Nephi, say unto you that all these things must come according to the flesh.
28 But, behold, all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely in the Holy One of Israel if it so be that they will repent.
29 And now I, Nephi, make an end; for I durst not speak further as yet concerning these things.
30 Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider that the things which have been written upon the plates of brass are true; and they testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments of God.
31 Wherefore, ye need not suppose that I and my father are the only ones that have testified, and also taught them. Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen.
2 And I, Nephi, said unto them: Behold they were manifest unto the prophet by the voice of the Spirit; for by the Spirit are all things made known unto the prophets, which shall come upon the children of men according to the flesh.
3 Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining to things both temporal and spiritual; for it appears that the house of Israel, sooner or later, will be scattered upon all the face of the earth, and also among all nations.
4 And behold, there are many who are already lost from the knowledge of those who are at Jerusalem. Yea, the more part of all the tribes have been led away; and they are scattered to and fro upon the isles of the sea; and whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know that they have been led away.
5 And since they have been led away, these things have been prophesied concerning them, and also concerning all those who shall hereafter be scattered and be confounded, because of the Holy One of Israel; for against him will they harden their hearts; wherefore, they shall be scattered among all nations and shall be hated of all men.
6 Nevertheless, after they shall be nursed by the Gentiles, and the Lord has lifted up his hand upon the Gentiles and set them up for a standard, and their children have been carried in their arms, and their daughters have been carried upon their shoulders, behold these things of which are spoken are temporal; for thus are the covenants of the Lord with our fathers; and it meaneth us in the days to come, and also all our brethren who are of the house of Israel.
7 And it meaneth that the time cometh that after all the house of Israel have been scattered and confounded, that the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation among the Gentiles, yea, even upon the face of this land; and by them shall our seed be scattered.
8 And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders.
9 And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto the Gentiles but unto all the house of Israel, unto the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
10 And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he shall make bare his arm in the eyes of the nations.
11 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel.
12 Wherefore, he will bring them again out of captivity, and they shall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance; and they shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.
13 And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood.
14 And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it.
15 For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned.
16 For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.
17 Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.
18 Behold, my brethren, I say unto you, that these things must shortly come; yea, even blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke must come; and it must needs be upon the face of this earth; and it cometh unto men according to the flesh if it so be that they will harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel.
19 For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off.
20 And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.
21 And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness.
22 And the righteous need not fear, for they are those who shall not be confounded. But it is the kingdom of the devil, which shall be built up among the children of men, which kingdom is established among them which are in the flesh—
23 For the time speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet.
24 And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as calves of the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might, and power, and great glory.
25 And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.
26 And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth.
27 And now behold, I, Nephi, say unto you that all these things must come according to the flesh.
28 But, behold, all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely in the Holy One of Israel if it so be that they will repent.
29 And now I, Nephi, make an end; for I durst not speak further as yet concerning these things.
30 Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider that the things which have been written upon the plates of brass are true; and they testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments of God.
31 Wherefore, ye need not suppose that I and my father are the only ones that have testified, and also taught them. Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
