Thoughts on Race, All in Common

I finished listening to one of the podcast on race from the Maxwell Institute.  Fascinating.  A big mess of views and theories and possibly mistakes (Kimball 1968).

Final views: God allows mistakes to be made.  God is not a micro manager.  People become so convinced that things are based on God when they are really man’s ideas that they become self-righteous and begin to persecute another race.  We become inherently racist.  God permits Man to make mistakes (lost pages Martin Harris, Israel wanting a King, J.S. with Kirtland anti Banking society).  Racism was probably a mistake.  Orson Pratt said that agency is all important, multi-generational cursing can’t be right.

The lady said, I don’t believe in a perfect gospel with perfect understanding suddenly bestowed on Joseph Smith.  It comes line up line and precept upon precept.

We are all uninformed.  We all seem to believe that what we understand about the world around us and neatly wrapped up Mormonism is all there is,  I know I am speaking for myself.  When P. Uchtdorf says that true Christians are having visions, revelations, dreams, signs, wonders and miracles, most of us should pause and consider whether or not we a true Christians (humble followers of Christ).  For some reason I thought that only very special people has signs, wonders and miracles happening in their life.  I realize now that it is the norm.  This is the separation of the wheat and the tares.  This the separation of the ten virgins.  This is the good man of the house caught unaware.  This is the division of the Saints.  Either we have the recipe right in our lives or we don’t.  It is pretty simple.  When one is granted awareness that these things (signs, wonders and miracles – 2 Nephi 26:13 and Jacob 4:6) are needed, that they follow faith and that they are not happening in his or her life – that person can then begin to pray to God with all sincerity and with real intent (Uchtdorf, October Conference, 2014) and receive an answer.  But the continuing answer is continuing evidences that make our faith unshaken, which hope maketh an anchor to our souls (Ether12:4).  If we have this reoccurring in our lives, we quit worrying about the apostasy of others and what they say.  We know that the gospel and the Church truly bring a delicious feast (2 Nephi 9:51) and has undeniably left its mark on our hearts.

I like the D. Todd Christopherson quote.  

"it will be necessary (1) to become unified in one heart and one mind; (2) to become, individually and collectively, a holy people; and (3) to care for the poor and needy with such effectiveness that we eliminate poverty among us. We cannot wait until Zion comes for these things to happen-Zion will come only as they happen" (D. Todd Christopherson, October Conference, 2008)

Everybody who actually takes Zion seriously is waiting for somebody else to do something bigger than our average charity.  Perhaps our average charity is enough at this time.  If the General Authorities want more from the Church, then teach us.  A few quotes, here and there will not suffice. (Of course, this is my opinion only and I could be wrong).  I believe that giving us a  higher goal (unified, temporally equal, no poor among us) is the best thing the leaders could do.  But, the Holy Ghost will have to impress upon the leaders that it is time.  And timing is everything.  Could you imagine all the false American and Mormon traditions that would need to be jettisoned?  I believe it would take five years of concerted effort on the part of General Authorities to get all-in-common-ism galvanized in the minds of the listening Saints.  Apostasy would be rampant.  Gifts of the Spirit would also be rampant.  That would be a wonderful time.  The Saints would have a collective focus again.

A Penny for a Day

I watched the new Bible Video on Laborers in the Vineyard. I could not understand it. So I went to Elder Holland's talk (2012) and found some insights.

This is a parable about jealousy. The first laborers, that worked all day were contracted for a penny. The last laborers didn’t know what they were going to get when they went out. At the end of the day the Lord of the vineyard paid them all a penny. The first laborers were upset that they had to work all day. The Lord of the Vineyard asks, "Why should you be jealous because I choose to be kind? Being kind is good thing." In those days a penny is a day’s labor. In the morning, the first laborers were so happy to get that penny to feed their families. The last laborers were over looked over and over again. They weren't going to be able to feed their families. The ones that weren’t chosen at all - now they didn’t get anything.

So why do we feel envious when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or special recognition? We are not in a race against each other. We are in a race against sin and envy is a most universal sin.

So we need to stop pouting, coveting or tearing others down because it does not elevate our standing. We are just unhappy. We should be grateful that God is kind. It is a happy way to live.

Elder Holland then says:

My beloved brothers and sisters, what happened in this story at 9:00 or noon or 3:00 is swept up in the grandeur of the universally generous payment at the end of the day. The formula of faith is to hold on, work on, see it through, and let the distress of earlier hours—real or imagined—fall away in the abundance of the final reward. Don’t dwell on old issues or grievances—not toward yourself nor your neighbor nor even, I might add, toward this true and living Church. The majesty of your life, of your neighbor’s life, and of the gospel of Jesus Christ will be made manifest at the last day, even if such majesty is not always recognized by everyone in the early going. So don’t hyperventilate about something that happened at 9:00 in the morning when the grace of God is trying to reward you at 6:00 in the evening—whatever your labor arrangements have been through the day.

The story is a story about God’s mercy and goodness, especially when we didn’t expect it or deserve it. It’s a story about forgiveness and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It’s a story of not looking back. We arrive at this faith at different times in our lives. Good things like tender mercies happen to us but happen at different times.

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My Soul Delighteth

I was reading the scriptures this morning and found these verses in 2 Nephi 11:

5 And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death.
6 And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish.
7 For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time.

I like verse 5 because he delights in grace and mercy. Why would I delight in grace unless it was active in my life where I continue to sin?



I like verse 6 because I like proving that all men must perish without Christ.





I like verse 7 because it shows the relationship between God and creation. However creation happened it had active involvement with God. If not, the atheists are right. No need for God. Non-God involved evolution undermines everything (no God, no Christ, no Justice, no Mercy, no right or wrong….). God involved creation is very important. If not, everything unravels. Satan knows this.

Thoughts on Snuffer

I just read the stake confidential letter regarding Denver Snuffer’s writing.  It is interesting.  Most of it is what bothered me about his book, Pass the Heavenly Gift.  I am surprised that the author sometimes seems to take the position that the Pharisees did  with Christ.  That is my only concern when I read it .  We all need to watch ourselves so pride doesn’t enter in.  Denver disparages the church many times in his book.  He can’t seem to differentiate the sinful acts of members and the Church.  I believe the church and all the scriptures still point us to Christ.  I believe we can still progress.  I don’t believe the Church is barring anyone from getting into heaven.  I believe the Church still believes in the reception of the Second Comforter.  I don’t believe the Second Comforter will tell people to leave the Church.  We all need to be receptive to the Holy Ghost first.

It was an interesting read.  I have moved away from Snuffer.

Elder Ballard in the September Ensign says, "Do not spend time trying to overhaul or adjust God’s plan. We do not have time for that. It is a pointless exercise to try to determine how to organize the Lord’s Church differently. The Lord is at the head of this Church, and we all follow His direction. Both men and women need increased faith and testimony of the life and the Atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ and increased knowledge of His teachings and doctrine. We need clear minds so that the Holy Ghost can teach us what to do and what to say. We need to think straight in this world of confusion and disregard for the things of God."

Negative Thinking

As I read the scriptures I end up doing self assessments to see where I stand.  I then think about how I can improve one of the areas where I am deficient – knowing that this is fairly difficult since it is impossible to make a goal in the future regarding something that comes upon you in the present (be it in the future).  Character change (or Christ-like attribute development) is difficult because the negative thing happens in the moment and catches you unaware.  The only correcting influence is remembering the Savior at all times so you can’t be caught unaware.  A watered down version of remembering is to just be self-aware that you have fallen into a negative attribute (depression, hate, anger, impatience, etc.) and just stare at the negative thinking going on in your head.  Watch it, it is not your true self.  It is pretending to be you but it isn’t (why else could you just be observing IT).  It is your ego or natural man trying to take over.  By not identifying with it but just observing it, it start to shrink.  Over the course of a few weeks it disappears.  Just by observing it.  This is called watching yourself (Mosiah 4:30) in the scriptures.

Since negative thinking (the opposite or charity thinking) is just in your head, why not give it to Christ knowing that he suffered for all that?  Perhaps casting one’s burdens on to Christ is what is meant initially when the scriptures say to come unto Christ.  Why hold thoughts and emotions in your head when you have a being that is willing to accept them since he paid for them.  Perhaps negative thinking is sin and the way to get rid of it is to believe that there really is a God who can relieve you of them.

Since negative ways of thinking are bad habits, they will come back.  They are old friends but really demons.  It takes practice believing that because of Christ all feelings of shame (regrets of the past, not good enough now) and fear (of the future) can be taken by him simply by giving them to Him over and over again.  You can then carry a song away (Hymn 124).  Just believe.

Nowhere in the scriptures does it say we have to perform some great act to get to heaven.  But, I do believe that God will open doors and provide the way for each of us to fulfill our particular missions in life if we have been constantly relying on His grace and merits up to that point.  God opens the doors, we do not. 

The way is EASY for the person with charity.  He is constantly in a peaceful, relaxed, happy state.  He can’t offend anyone.  That is when God can use you.  You can’t be confounded (because you have no triggers).  Now that state upsets nasty people.

Whenever I feel like my Patriarchal Blessing has been thwarted (by my acts, or how I was raised), I give it all to God.  I have to.  It would be unmerciful (which is sin) not to.

Three ways to Come Unto Christ

In the scriptures I find that there are three ways to come unto Christ. This is very important to know since I have struggled for years trying to  put into context what it means to come unto Christ.  I believe the first way is neglected.  Here's what I found:

1. We come unto Christ by letting go of all our burdens and casting those burdens upon the Savior.  What are our burdens?  I will list a few: regrets of the past, unwillingness to forgive, harboring anger for the actions of others, sadness, fear of the future, anything that you fear, hating yourself, hating others.  This list can go on and on. What is the mechanism to release all your burdens to the Lord?  First, just believe (Alma 33).  Believe that Christ can heal you.  If you were bitten by a serpent and your spiritual leader stuck a serpent on a stick holding it high for everyone to see, saying, 'look upon the serpent and be healed', would you look?  Or, would you say in your heart, 'That will never work, how could that serpent on a stick heal me'?  There's a similar simplicity in believing in Christ.  Why would just believing heal you?  Because he is real and he is loves you and that is what he asks.  Believing in Christ is very powerful.

What happens to burdens after you believe, turn them over to the Lord? Ideally, the burden is removed from you.  Why? Because you believe in Christ and that he has taken upon himself all your sorrows, fears, etc.  What if you give them away but they don't transfer?  Or, you feel great that the burden has been removed but slowly overtime all the burdens return?  What is going on?  This is called unbelief.  Cast off your unbelief and reaffirm in prayer that you have given all these burdens to the Lord.  If you give something to somebody and immediately take it back what does that mean?  If you pretend to give something to somebody but you really don't give it what does that mean?  Believe that Christ really does exist.  You just can't see Him.  This is called faith.  If you give a physical person something, you no longer have it.  Right?  So, give you burdens to the Lord.  Do it in faith and you no longer have the burdens.  Look upon the serpent!  Don't say to me that that will never work.  The end result is all those burdens that you have been carrying for so long are lifting from you.  You feel so free that it's like carrying a song away.

2.  After you have come unto Christ and have felt his love and are free from all the emotional and mental baggage you have been carrying for so long, there's something else.  All you have really done so far is repented of all the emotional sins that have caused you to miss the mark of Christ.  There may be other sins in your life that need to be corrected.  Correct each one of those.  This might mean what is meant by Moroni when he exhorts us to deny ourselves all ungodliness (Moroni 10).  So, there's more to work on.  But, this step usually takes a life time.  As in the Way #1 above, reliance of Christ's grace and mercy is required. The gratitude we feel to our Savior for taking upon Him all our sins propels us to make more changes as we recognize them.  This constant exertion, I believe, is the principle of Justification.  We are perfect in Christ as we continue in the process of repentance.

3. We continue to come unto Christ as we put into practice Christ's teachings. We make our lives into lives of service.  We realize that this is where true joy is had.

As we follow the patterns laid in the scriptures we become fit, through our faith, to be members of Christ's church.  As we go through the process of change (requiring exertion on our part) we receive the gift of charity.  Continue forward and we become the sons of God.  You can't do this without dong the first step.

Mormon's Mormonism - Degrees

In Moroni 7, Mormon mentions three degrees of spiritual attainment.

1.       Fit to be a member of the church

2.       A follower of Christ

3.       A Son of God

We must have faith to be fit to be a member of Christ's church.  We walk peaceably among the children of men to be a follower of Christ according to Mormon  Later, Mormon clarifies and says we must have charity to be a follower of Christ.  One becomes a Son of God after he has gained the gift of Charity.

The gift of charity seems to be when one chooses to stop judging others.  You suffer long with others, you are kind, you don’t envy, you are not puffed up, you don’t seek your own purposes, you are not easily provoked, you don’t think any evil !!!!, you don’t rejoice in iniquity, you rejoice in truth.

If you don’t think any evil and you suffer long with others, what does that mean?  There are a lot of Mammonites out there.  There are a lot of crazy people out there doing strange things to their bodies.  There are a lot of Mormons who look very underdeveloped.  Can’t I think a little bit of evil?  Can’t I be non-long suffering and say judgments about them?  Can I take a stand yet not look like I am judging?