Prayers Buy Us Time to Repent

When it comes down to it, the prayers and presence of righteous people are the only thing standing between many of our neighbors and total destruction. It is yet another discomforting warning to us all; we must choose what side are we on and how God feels about us.

God definitely rewards those that turn to him and do his will, which will always lead us to our happiness, betterment, fulfillment, and glory. If we disobey him and turn away from him, our actions will lead us toward misery and pain, often by our own hand and the evil actions of our wicked friends.

There is a natural incentive toward righteousness that comes from the promise of punishment for our evil doings. Although it is very popular to say that there should never be punishments for people acting as they choose, we already see the terrible influence, heartache, and suffering caused by wicked people who behave without restraint among us.

Let's review a good summary of what we can expect from an unrepentant future.

The Book of Mormon's Alma Chapter 10, verses 22 and 23:

Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by flood, as were the people in the days of Noah, but it would be by famine, and by pestilence, and the sword.

But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out the righteous from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand; but in his fierce anger he will come out against you; then ye shall be smitten by famine, and by pestilence, and by the sword; and the time is soon at hand except ye repent.

According to this, we would be seeing God's hand sweeping off millions of people right now if it wasn't for those petitioning God, through prayer, to stay his wrath a little longer. God doesn't like the wicked polluting others with their vile ideologies and intrigues. He can be a very wrathful God and his promises are very sure to both punish the wicked and bless the righteous.

When there are times and places where the wicked finally drive the righteous out from among them, it will be a terrible day for them: no longer will prayers protect them and God will execute his vengeance upon them without restraint. My thought is that wicked folks have a bit of time to turn their lives toward God and that this time is bought for you by the presence of the righteous among you.

It has become fashionable to destroy religion and ridicule those who practice a religion. Many perverse people don't like good people telling them that what they are doing is wrong and destructive to themselves and society, so they drive those good people away. The prophecy above warns us what will happen if Godly people are effectively pushed away and silenced.

My advise to each of us is to keep righteous neighbors close and to repent of our wickedness and turn to God while we still have some time. We will enjoy his blessings far more than we will like his punishments.

Forced Into the Mask

I find myself barraged by reasons that others wear a mask during this CoVid-19 hysteria. I will tell you why I can be seen wearing a mask. It is probably for different reasons than justify those around me.

Unlike so many others, I don't do wear the mask to protect the health of someone else or the health of myself. I firmly trust that as this virus moves throughout the population (sooner better than later), individuals will either build up an immunity to it or die. I believe that mask use, "social distancing", and curbs on commerce designed to "flatten the curve" only serve to destroy an otherwise healthy economy and empower evil people with copious amounts of time to devise nefarious ways to dominate others and destroy our sacred American liberties. I firmly hold that everyone will eventually be exposed and either survive their exposure or not and we should not allow any time for terrible people to find ways to capitalize on people's fears.

I see the mask as a symbol in our complicity to allow fear, deception, and duplicity to control us. Every reputable source available has reported on the ineffectiveness of the mask in blocking the virus, making the mask nothing more than some strange symbol of obedience to an either ignorant or pandering emergency authority. I reject such authority and the managed hysteria that drives it. For this reason, I detest the mask and only wear it because I am compelled to do so as follows.

The Threat of My Employment

It has been made very clear that I must wear a mask in the office as a new condition of my ongoing employment. I avoid this issue currently by working from home, but that situation is likely to change at some point. As a state-funded entity, my employer is just as compelled as I am to behave this way, though administrators may also cheer the state mandate individually. However, when you see me wear a mask in my work setting, it is because I am compelled to do so under threat of state-dictated employment termination.

The Threat of Citation or Detainment

As time has passed, suggested actions against the virus have been strengthened into mandates with real punishments. Although I have not seen anyone prosecuted for "mask mandates" in my town, I have seen such emergency orders used to accost citizens and prosecute them elsewhere. I have largely avoided this threat by choosing to remain in my home as much as possible. I do not do this because it is a recommended method to "flatten the curve" but to avoid entanglements with law enforcement and a larger circle of purtanical "snitches" that may lie in wait to report me.

The Priestly Ability to Serve

I also wear the mask when I perform my priestly duties and serve in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though exception allows me to avoid the mask by staying away from church buildings, I would feel derelict in my duties to God and his children if I took such an exemption from service. In this case, I only wear the mask in church to attend the priestly service I perform under covenant with God.

The New World Religion of the Mask as a Replacement for American Exceptionalism

Over the last ten years, I have watched my country change into a place I can hardly recognize. The mask serves as a poignant symbol of the new government-established and compelled "public health" religion that has infused our land.

Liberty and a pluralistic society have not just disappeared, they are routinely belittled and punished in this time of ideological opportunism born of fear. Our national value of having different peoples living together in peace is simply no longer acceptable to agitating cultural squatters who seek to "divide and conquer" the United States and its founding principles.
Our Constitution that defended my liberal values of equal freedom from government coercion and equal justice and laws that pertain to all is flatly ignored in the perverse names of the newer demands of "social justice" and "public health". I have little allegiance to a system that officially separates people into groups and then showers such groups with either special privileges or cruel repressions, all praised by legislatures and stamped with an executive seal.

Recent weeks have seen urban centers terrorized by mobs and the reluctance by many "leaders" to re-establish order. Even elected officials join in the action to politically pander to "disgruntled" groups. Again, this is not the America of ten years ago and it is made much more like the squalid, corrupted, and enslaved parts of the world every passing day. Where will Central America's refugees go for real asylum in the future when our country is just as ruined as theirs?

Our independence has been buried and our revolution from foreign oppression is ultimately recorded as a loss. We have extinguished the "shining light on the hill" and watched as our families and communities are plunged into a repressive state darkness under the guise of a "saving" mask and other actions. The soul of The United States of America has simply died and this foundling tyranny that still bears its name is a cruel mockery of our founding. I would rather perish defending the principles of our liberty than die cowering in some corner, trusting to some purported salvation from schemers and a bit of fabric on my face.

The Things that Consitute A Good (Religious) Visit

I have been a religious leader for thirty years, both ecclesiastical and administrative. I have worked with all sorts of people in all kinds of capacities and have enjoyed both sides of religious work.

Of course, you already know that I am a Mormon and we are increasingly known for our "Home Teaching" program, where our priesthood holders visit Latter-Day Saint (LDS) families in their homes with spiritual messages and encouragement to live better lives and attend to their religious duties. A good friend of mine of another faith, who doesn't think much of Mormon doctrine otherwise, did say that Home Teaching was inspiring to him and he wished his own church had the resolve to do something similar. Pretty good program, yes?

As an LDS priesthood leader, I collect statistics on family visits made and report them to regional (stake) and the general leadership.  The question often comes up of what can be "counted" as a proper visit, as many attempts just simply don't rise to the level for administrative purposes. It may seem a little strange for religious people to get weird about statistics, but we are very concerned about being effective ministers and really helping people - good record-keeping is a part of that!

For my part, this is what constitutes a good priesthood visit with others, no matter the intended purpose:

• Always take someone else with you.  Never make visits alone.
• Pray beforehand and listen for inspiration. Follow any promptings that you get.
• Prepare a spiritual thought to present. You may be prompted not to use it, but have one ready.
• Before you leave, offer a prayer and blessing on the home and family.
• No matter the stated reason, always record a contact that includes these elements, which should always be done, as a home teaching visit.

I think anyone, even those who shun religion, can find good principles in this list to use and enjoy uplifting visits with family, friends, and acquaintances. Everyone likes to be around people who bring a pleasant "spirit" with them and leave whatever "blessing" or well-wishes feels good, no matter who is offering and what position they may hold!

Field-book for Our Times - Liberty and The Book of Mormon

In my continuation of verse-by-verse scripture study, I have been reading about the rise of Amalickiah and Captain Moroni's response to it. If these names or things don't mean anything to you, I would suggest that you read a bit of a tome called "The Book of Mormon" (forget the trashy, tawdry, and cynical play by the same name - the book is better) which I have dubbed "the Field-book for Our Times".  Hopefully, after reading this, you will see one reason why I call it so.

Amalickiah wanted to be king of the Nephite nation. The Nephites were founded on this kooky idea that God had granted people their liberty and their government was formed to support this. The Book of Mormon's editor, a man named Mormon (it's his book), goes so far as to reveal Amalickiah's methods.  He promised lower government officials positions of expanded power under his kingship in return for their support. In a word, Amalickiah employed "flattery" to win supporters to his cause. The national church of the Nephites was firmly opposed to having a king and supported personal liberty, so Amalickiah used his flattering words to turn people against the church as well.

This situation caught the attention of a man named Moroni, the chief captain of the Nephite armies and a recent war hero. Moroni had fought to retain Nephite liberty that had recently been threatened by the neighboring kingdom of the Lamanites, who wanted to enslave them.  Moroni was "angry" that these defended liberties of his people were being subverted from the inside by Amalickiah and his conspirators. He chose to tear up his coat, write on it, and use it as a flag to stir the hearts of his countrymen to reject the idea of a king.  The coat-flag said this: "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children."  Moroni called it "the Title of Liberty" and spoke on liberty himself, rallying supporters to the cause of religious and personal liberty and the defense of that liberty. He put on his war armor and those who took up his call to arms did the same. Amalickiah took stock of his position, figured he didn't have the needed support, took his most loyal supporters, and ran away.  Although he caused much havoc and pain in the years ahead, that is another part of the Book of Mormon.

A good field-book gives you the tools you need to face certain circumstances.  The Book of Mormon, as the field-book to our times, lets us know what to do about the circumstances that we are in right now.

America has become a strange thing - a country that gives its President near-kingly powers in four-year terms, a mockery of a democratic republic.  Recent presidents have boldly spoken of their power to rule without Congress via executive order and found few willing to really oppose them. Elections have become full-scale ideological gang-wars between conspiratorial parties bent on using "flattery" and fear to galvanize voters against their political enemies and raise up their own flavor of a president-king.

I have not heard our present presidential candidates utter the word "liberty" with any conviction, if they mention it at all. They crow very hard with what they will do with the kingly powers of the American imperial presidency! They echo the fear and hatred of our "easily-flattered" citizens through a bull-horn and win primaries.  The presidential kingship will likely be won by the loudest, nastiest, most "flattering" person on the field, not anyone who would defend our liberty.

What would the Book of Mormon suggest?  Raise the "Title of Liberty" afresh! Raise the call to arms in behalf of religious and family-based liberty!  Captain Moroni would shed light on the evils of kingly people and seek to bring them down.  At this time of Easter, when Jesus liberated us from the consequences of death and sin, we should all read Alma 46 of our field-books again and not be taken in by the "flattering words".

The Miracle of the Quilt

Every now and again, I write fiction.  Then for some unfathomable reason, I give it away.  Today, you can read my first published short story right here.  If you like it, please pass the link around to others by commenting and "liking" it on Facebook.  If you want to support my writing, you can purchase the Kindle version of "The Miracle of the Quilt" which is the first story in The Joys of Autism and Christian Ethos e-book.

If you like "The Miracle of the Quilt", you will absolutely love my best story ever, Rachel and her Knight in Shining Armor, also available as an e-book.

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy "The Miracle of the Quilt"!

Alma 41:14 - Alma's Advice on a Good Resurrection

Everyone wants advice about how to live their lives, right? What better source than Alma the Younger, former bad boy, Chief  Judge, mega-missionary, and a recipient of the "hey, he got translated" prize?

After clarifying that resurrection is an incorruptible restoration of ourselves, good or bad, Alma give some advice to his wayward son, Coriantion, in Alma 41:14.

• be merciful to others;
• deal justly;
• judge righteously; and
• do good continually. 

He says that if we do these things, we will get them in return in the resurrection.  In his words, they will be "restored unto you again, and you will have good rewarded unto you again."

So, you want a nice afterlife? Alma's advice is to learn to spread niceness around during life and it will come back to you in the hereafter!
 

What is Important about Resurrection? - Alma 40

The "one-a-day" study plods on and I am to the chapter where Alma is telling his son Corianton about how the resurrection works from his perspective. Of course, I am now interjecting my thoughts on the subject from my perspective as well, so as Alma did, "...I give it as my opinion..." (Alma 40:20).

One has to recall that Alma lived before the coming of Jesus Christ, so his perspective on it is different than those of us that live after Jesus himself was resurrected. Alma uses the phrase "first resurrection" in this context to mean the resurrection of the people that happens somewhat immediately after Christ's resurrection and involved those who lived before Christ, like Alma himself.

Often, we, from our perspective, talk of the "first resurrection" as the one that is next in coming on the time-line, the resurrection of the repentant previous to judgement, which has not yet begun. I suppose we call it "first" because others will follow where the unrighteous are resurrected.

So, here is the same phrase used to talk about two separate happenings and occasions. I never really noticed this before, but Alma is talking about the earlier "first resurrection" at some length. It is a bit confusing.

Apparently, there was some confusion about resurrection in the times of Alma and Coriantion that the father felt the need to clarify to the son. We only get to read Alma's response to that confusion. He said that no resurrection happens until Christ has come. He also says that God reserves many of the particulars of the process to himself and that, for our part, we only need to know that resurrection comes for all and the timing of it doesn't matter too much and God hasn't revealed such. (Alma 40:1-10)

I think this is instructive about what we feel is important about many gospel subjects. We can dig about in the minutia of sentence structure in the record, "strain at a gnat" (Matthew 23:24) as it were, but we are better served to realize what is important and leave "the small stuff" to the Lord. Righteousness, the thing we will be judged by, is determined by how we live and spend our time, not particularly by knowing sometimes confusing scripture details we hope to reconcile one day.

To Alma explaining things to his errant son, some things just don't matter as much as others. We will be resurrected and judged for our obedience during mortal life - that matters.

Alma 39:14

Alma 39:14

• Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you.

A few days back, I read one of those "riches" scriptures as part of my "one-a-day" study. At one time in the past, I did a rather in-depth study of the whole idea of money and the Lord's feelings on the subject. I can't say that I found any amazing insight into the subject, but I did learn that the manner in which one becomes rich and how it is used are of more vital interest to the Lord than the wealth itself.

For most of us, it is better not to have or pursue riches in the first place. The whole endeavor can cause spiritual problems that are just as well avoided. But one must also understand that wealth can be the consequence of obedience to the Lord and his desire to increase your stewardship.

Helaman 13:21

• Behold ye, the people of this great city, and hearken unto my words; yea, hearken unto the words which the Lord saith; for behold, he saith that ye are cursed because of your riches, and also are your riches cursed because ye have set your hearts upon them, and have not hearkened unto the words of him who gave them unto you. (emphasis mine)

The problem with wealth is that we often pursue it for its own sake, having our "hearts (set) upon them". If you seek riches simply for the luxuries that riches can bring, you are not listening to the Lord, who has other plans for the things he permitted you to acquire.

This scripture brings up the truth that, if you have riches, you must remember who provides it, which is the Lord. We don't have a thing that the Lord hasn't generously provided. Also, he has the absolute right to take such away from us, including our lives if it pleases him. He lets us have these things and even lets us misuse them, for a while. We must always remember that we must give an accounting for the use of everything, as we are merely stewards of our possessions and bodies. As it says in the first scripture, you can't take it with you!

Helaman 6:17

• For behold, the Lord had blessed them so long with the riches of the world that they had not been stirred up to anger, to wars, nor to bloodshed; therefore they began to set their hearts upon their riches; yea, they began to seek to get gain that they might be lifted up one above another; therefore they began to commit secret murders, and to rob and to plunder, that they might get gain.

Boy, does that sound like us? We have been so blessed, especially in the United States of America, with such abundance. I am trying to lose weight that is a result of enjoying the riches of this land more than is good for myself! It is a magnificent blessing that also comes with its evil sisters of pride and greed, which quickly turn such richness into a curse. We think we are better than the poor. We think we are rich because we are better people. In the end, we might even steal and murder to increase our riches and status.

Jacob 2:19

• And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.

Of course, the result of righteousness is to be blessed and some of those blessings may include riches. It becomes important that we have the right heart when dealing with riches, and that must be to share it with others in need. If you are generous with what you have, the Lord will help you acquire more so that you can expand that generosity! The goal is that everyone will be rich, or rather more richly blessed.

Doctrine and Covenants 38:39

• And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.

And now, the Lord's modern rendition which is a nice sum-up of the subject. Be careful in seeking riches - your only intent in doing so should be the blessing of the needy. Don't fall into the constant cycle of the Nephites, where they were humbled into righteousness, blessed, grew prideful in their wealth, and were punished, over and over again. Trust that the Lord always blesses righteousness and punishes pride.

Alma 39:15

Today's Scripture - Alma 39:15

"And now, my son, I would say somewhat unto you concerning the coming of Christ. Behold, I say unto you, that it is he that surely shall come to take away the sins of the world; yea, he cometh to declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people."

Some years ago, President Henry B. Eyring gave a talk that included his earlier reading of the Book of Mormon where he did it at the pace of about one scripture per day. [I was looking for the conference talk where he referred to this, but I can't find it!  I hope I didn't manufacture the memory!]
That sounded like a good idea to me and I have been doing this for several years.  As you can see from the scripture reference above, the progress takes a while.

The whole point is to read that scripture and to think about it that day. I am finding that little nuggets of insight are found in such a study where our usual "hot-rod" reading of a page or a chapter of scripture a day will speed over such "gravel"-sized wisdom that might be missed on the fast-paced super-highway of our modern lives.

In this scripture are two important ideas about the mission of Christ:

1. "take away the sins of the world" - This is a reference to the atonement, where Christ was resurrected and overcame the effects of Adam's original transgression, which was physical death. Also, the atonement involved Christ's punishment for our individual sins and opened the way for our effective repentance, our purposeful improvement, and our possibility for ultimate exaltation. Adam's sin and its worst consequences was taken away and so to can many effects of our sins be taken away as we follow Christ and repent.
2. "to declare glad tidings" - This is the "good news" of the Gospel being taught to everyone. It also mentions "unto his people", which could be a reference to the fact that Christ only comes to "his people", the children of Israel, and that it is up to us to go and "declare" the the fruits of Christ's atonement to the rest of the world (the "gentiles" in a term).

 While I was mulling over the atonement, I recalled the plight of a young man in a wheelchair that I met on my mission.  He told me that he had prayed and fasted often to be healed and he was losing his faith in Christ's ability to heal him.  He asked for a blessing, which I dutifully gave although I certainly can't remember what I said then. I am always a little slow in insight, but I get there in time, where I think of what I would have said to that young man. In the grand scope of the atonement, it may or may not be important for a young man to rise from a wheelchair and walk. That young man receives the full benefit of the atonement, including the potential for exaltation, and whatever handicap put him in that wheelchair was now temporary at best given what Christ had done for him (and us all). More worrying would be his loss of faith that would keep him from the best eternal reward.  If it were a choice between celestial glory albeit with mortality in a chair on wheels and the lesser reward that comes with a lack of faith in Christ, I hope I would choose the former.  I hope that young man chose this as well.

The atonement of Christ is meant to provide us a way to become exalted as Christ is.  No matter our circumstances in life, we can take advantage of it!

So, one little scripture stirs up so much (and a lot more that I don't have time to type out).

Back to Prison

In 1999, I had just left my off-shore job and I was able to find work at a prison about 60 miles from our home as a computer technician. I only worked there for a few months, but I met some inmates that were Mormons like I am. One of them hooked me up with the prison chaplain and asked that I start a "sunday school" class for the Latter-Day Saint inmates. I decided to do it and a friend of mine, who had spare time and income on his hands, got involved with it as well.  Many Saturdays, we would make the drive to the prison in my friend truck, spend some time with a handful of inmates, and drive back, which took up the bulk of the day.

It was a marvelous experience and I can say that some of my most enduring spiritual experiences happened in a tiny, cinder-block room in the bowels of the Guadalupe County Correctional Facility (GCCF)!

Sadly, as the years passed, I guess my friend got burned out and dispirited as our favorite prison chaplain died of cancer and the cost of travel and time was taking a toll on my family and causing a few problems, so our prison visits came to an end.

I don't remember when we stopped visiting at the prison, so I don't know how long it has been since I did it, but it has been a long while.  A few months ago, I got the impression to look up what the Church (of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) had on its website about prison services and was quite impressed with the progress made. When we started fifteen years ago, there was very little guidance and we were basically on our own.  I said something to my wife, looked up what prisons were nearby, and dropped the subject.

Then, one of our high councilors came and spoke at our ward and I had an impression to ask him what the stake was doing for prison services.  He surprised me by saying that they were just getting something pulled together and that they would love to have someone who had some experience or even interest in doing this! I was hooked up with another man who the stake had identified and finally got on the phone with him last night.

So, I am getting back involved with LDS Prison Services after a bit of a hiatus and it seems to be motivated by the Lord. Perhaps there will be more on this in future posts.

The Eyring Method and How to Spread the Gospel

A few years back, President Henry B. Eyring gave a talk about a scripture study method he had used in the past. It was basically to read one verse (or two) a day and ponder it.  He said that he gained so many new insights from taking his study very, very  slowly. I decided that day that I would try that out.

It has been years now and I decided to pick up where I had been reading in the Book of Mormon with chapters at a time (and inconsistently).  I can't say when I started (perhaps three or four years ago), but I began at 2nd Nephi chapter 10 and I am just now at approaching Alma chapter 27.  As you can see, it is slow going!

As predicted, there have been many insights and there is one today.  I don't know if I will blog about this every day, but perhaps this will contribute to more regular posts.  It is from Alma 26:29 (a rather long verse) which talks about two subjects: How to spread the gospel and what reception you can expect to receive.

And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their ^asynagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been ^bstoned, and taken and bound with ^cstrong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again.

So, in homes, on the streets, on hills (find me one around here), and in their temples and synagogues are potential places to teach people about the gospel.  Lately, it is a lot of Facebook and Twitter. The medium is not that important - it is the spreading of the message.

Now, it goes into what you should expect to receive: stoning, chains (in a modern analogue), prison.  It doesn't sound pleasant, but for Aaron and his brethren (who are being spoken of here) it may have been a preparation to enjoy the numerous conversions that came later through his teaching of Lamoni's father, who was a powerful king.

The final statement, the delivery from these trials by the power and wisdom of God, is the reward for persevering in preaching. It isn't that you won't have problems, but that you will endure them and enjoy the joy of watching a soul come closer to God through your efforts.  I have had that a few times, but not nearly often enough.

So, the thought for today is to do more in that thing we call missionary work though it might not be pleasant sometimes.

A Few Anniversaries

I am happy to note that Lisa and I have been married for 25 years this coming Tuesday!  We will be off somewhere and sleeping in and having the sort of fun we tend to have, which is probably terribly low-key compared to most...

I also calculated something else and it has been fifteen years since "The Great Writing Year", where I penned many of my short stories, the awesome novella Rachel and Her Knight in Shining Armor, and wrote the first complete draft of a book from The Navigiary Series.  That was 1998, while I was bobbing about on the waters off the US Gulf Coast and the west coast of Africa as a seismic navigator.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of my big writing push, I am giving everyone A Free Copy of "The Joys of Autism and Christian Ethos", which is a collection of many of these stories that is available from my Amazon store.  The book will only be free for a few days, so don't hesitate to get it right now! Of course, I welcome your kind reviews of my writing!

If you are really in a celebratory mood, you can certainly check out other books by Jason Nemrow on Amazon and make me a a little money.

I'll be celebrating over the next few days and you can, too!  Happy days for us all!

The Psychic Proximity Principle

UPDATE! The Psychic Proximity Principle is all grown up now, rendered as a Kindle booklet, and even fools around on the altar of Steve Jobs! Check out Feeding the Soul of Steve Jobs today!

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From Fiddler on the Roof:Tevye: [to Chava] As the good book says 'Each shall seek his own kind'. In other words a bird may love a fish but where would they build a home together? 

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The Psychic Proximity Principle:
You will gravitate toward a place and circumstance that actually fit you and your nature.

So, if you are unhappy:

• You might be in the wrong place.
• You might be in the wrong circumstance.
• You might be ignoring your true nature.
• You might like fighting gravity or inertia a little too much.

Hey, I believe in God and I believe that God wants us to reach our potential and find happiness. I also believe that God knows how to accomplish these goals better than we do. Therefore, we have a really secular-sounding thing called "The Psychic Proximity Principle" that tries to explain how it works.

Ready?

I really worked for a long time to explain this thing that I felt was happening to me. That weird name came first and then, during one of my early morning walks, it hit me. You would be surprised at what strikes me in the wee hours and I am frankly surprised that a big vehicle piloted by some bleary-eyed dude has not also struck me as well.  So far, only epiphanies, no SUVs.

The Psychic Proximity Principle works on the principle of very weak magnetism.

You know about magnetism.  It is really fun to bring two magnets into the neighborhood of each other and figure out that, depending on their orientation, they either smack together pretty hard or get as far from each other as they can. This is an example of strong magnetism, that can actually move stuff and create electricity and might keep you on the ground rather than flying off into space.

Weak magnetism is attractive like the strong sort, but it just isn't irresistible. If you played with two little magnets as a kid, you could keep them apart pretty easily with what muscle power you could muster.  That was what made magnets fun - how much fun could it be if they got stuck together so firmly that you couldn't get them apart? The weak magnetism involved in The Psychic Proximity Principle is great fun (sometimes) but seems especially so for someone like God. It wouldn't be as interesting if you and your perfect circumstance slammed hard into each other very early in life!

You are attracted to your potential and your happiness, but you can resist it if you want. Sometimes the attraction is so weak that you have to "feel it out" to "find your way".

If you have noticed that a lot of people are unhappy and never seem to "come into focus", my theory is that they are ignoring or not feeling out the weak magnetic pull toward happiness and their potential. I have some big problems with finding happiness myself, but I am starting to figure things out. I don't know if that magnetic pull has different strength for different people, but I have learned one thing: Successful and happy people often describe their "journey" in terms that sound suspiciously like The Psychic Proximity Principle. Sometimes they even say that these things seemed to find them or that their success and themselves crossed paths one day. This sounds a lot like magnets attracting each other and people trying to figure out which magnet attracted the other - the answer is that both you and your "happy potential" (for lack of a better term) attract each other. The great part is that God set things up that way - what a great guy!

There is an analogue to this idea in religion, at least among Mormons. We call it "following the Spirit". Most Christians struggle with this because they fear "spiritualism" as some sort of parlor trick. It is just another way of describing what we can see operating around us all the time, whether some preacher says that God spoke to her in a dream about something she should do, or Dr. Emmett Brown from the movie "Back to the Future" saw the Flux Capacitor after hitting his head on a toilet. While atheists would contend that I am "deifying" the creative process, I can just as easily say that "inspiration" is God tickling your brain toward your potential. My contention is that if you simply chalk up The Psychic Proximity Principle to some atheistic coincidence or "luck", you will find it difficult to recognize that this happens all the time and that there is a weak magnetic pull between you and some large vats of happiness and finding your best potential that often leads to such nice by-products as financial success. In order for it to work, you have to trust that it works, which as a one-word term to describe it:  FAITH. These things don't often happen to atheists because, along with not believing in God, many also don't believe in anything as wonky as weak magnetism.

I call it the Psychic Proximity Principle because it is a fun name and it describes something that I have noticed again and again. I also think it helps Mormons understand "the workings of the Spirit" better. If people poo-poo the "religious" flavor of spiritual things, it can jokingly be called "psychic" and the principle still works until you are ready to acknowledge "a higher power" or just smile and admit that there must be a God up there that does fiddle with knobs.

My final point is that God is working to bring together you and your best potential, fraught with happiness and often with "success". You can call it "inspiration from the Spirit" or "weak magnetism" or "psychic proximity", but it is reliable and it lets me know (and perhaps you know as well) that God is there and that He loves you! Someday, we might figure out that we can take those promises to the bank and beyond!

Flickers of Light, Enclaves of Righteousness

It is my thought that this world and circumstance must be among the lowest in the domain of our Heavenly Father.  There has always been stories of how this world was the only one in which the Christ would be crucified, but as I read scripture and view the expanse of history, I can come to the conclusion that righteousness is a very rare commodity here on Earth and often taken away from this place to find its promised thriving elsewhere.

I think of the people of the city of Enoch, who built a Zion Society that lasted for perhaps 400 years and then "fled", literally taken off of the Earth.  We also have a little reference to a group that was assembled at Salem, led by the great high priest Melchizedek, who are mentioned once and never heard of in scripture again, perhaps also removed from this sphere. We also have the case of the "lost" ten tribes of Israel, who legend says repented whole-heartedly of the behavior that led to their capture by the Assyrians and were eventually also taken from the Earth, perhaps. We have amazing satellite technology that has eliminated the thought that these people are hiding on some island or hitherto unknown place, so where did the larger part of Israel get to?  It seems that when the righteous come together, they are taken from the Earth by the hand of God, presumably to somewhere distant, maybe off the sphere entirely, no matter how fanciful that might seem.

In the time of this planet, the surface of the Earth has been changed, separating one land mass into different continents.  God says that he did this and proclaimed the land that we call North and South America as a chosen land for the righteous to dwell.  The miraculous "bringing" of the Jaredite, Nephite, and Mulekite nations to this chosen land are documented to varying degrees in the Book of Mormon, adding credence to the idea that God regularly separates the righteous from others, often by divinely inspired migrations.  It is no less telling that the seventeenth and eighteenth century Protestants braved the seas to come to the "New World" to practice a more biblical way of life and the nineteenth century Mormons fled Europe and the United States in order to pursue the restored Gospel in the Rocky Mountains.

Wherever the righteous are found, there always seems to be a migration and "gathering" involved, bringing them together.  Righteousness in concentration seems to increase it, so-much-so that it seems the only thing for the Lord to do is to ultimately take it away from this telestial world altogether and let its righteousness continue elsewhere for a time. In our own time, instead of gathering to one locality or two, we are instructed by God to remain physically dispersed as we can gather together through technology.  This time might be referred to as the Last Gathering, where the message of the Gospel will flood the whole earth and ultimately in no place will the words of God be inaccessible.  Further, in no location will the authorized servants of God and the saving ordinances they provide be unavailable.  It is an incredible time to live and to participate!

In the not-too-distant future, the chosen land of the Americas will be cleansed of unrighteous people, this time by plagues, famines, and such rather than a great flood, and the righteous of the Earth will be invited to migrate a "chosen land" once again, yet another enclave of righteousness.  All of the "fled" righteous people, those of Enoch and Melchizedek and Israel and perhaps others that we have no record of, will return to this place of gathering and endure the final destruction of the wicked when the entire Earth and all its people are cleansed and promoted to a terrestrial status and the millennium beyond.

I look forward to such things and I hope you do as well.

Navigiary Begins

After years of effort and trying to walk away from the thing, the first book of the Navigiary series: Escape, is finally out and available on the Kindle store.

There is also another blog that I have just for Navigiary. Surprisingly, I also allow commenting on that blog as well!

See what I have been working on all these years but know that Escape is but an introduction - the meat of the story is yet to come!

Finding God of a Sunday

My fathers of old were Jewish.  Of course, because those Jewish fathers ended up marrying women who were not Jews, I suppose that means that I am not a Jew in the traditional way.  I certainly have a Jewish heritage and I have been told it comes out to play occasionally.  One can feel all one wants about parents and grandparents as far as honor and gratitude, but that heritage will always be there, buried somewhere in the genes, ready to pop out at an often inconvenient time.

As a Latter-Day Saint by choice, I have made covenants with God.  In my studies, the covenants are the same as the ones that Abraham, Issac, and Jacob made, so though any number of Jews would point out my loss of Jewishness some generations ago, I and my family continue to be children of Abraham (can't take away your genealogy) and continue to make covenants with God just like our fathers of old.

That is why the offer of my Christian friends seems like a big let-down.

I know their words of salvation are heart-felt.  They authentically think that following their particular flavor of Christianity is the only way to God and that all other possibilities are a quick road to damnation.  Of course, what makes the words and rites of one Christian denomination better than any other, it all being devoid of authoritative covenants with God?  They come to my door occasionally, preaching strings of scriptures that lead to different conclusions and commandments.  They say my covenants are nothing, that their particular incantations and/or confessions are all that there is and all there can ever be.  For some groups, it seems that behavior is meaningless, where among others, behavior is everything.  There are even differences in what day of the week is appropriate to do special devotions.  It seems Christendom is rather rudderless, bobbing along aimlessly with no hope of arriving anywhere but at some random shore if it makes landfall at all.  I surely think that God would have a better plan and an actual course that leads to a specific destination.  If Christians could get to heaven through sheer bible-thumping alone, it would be done, if only they had any concept of where heaven was or even in what direction it lay.

So, they come to one of the covenant people and tell me how deluded I am and that the saying of a phrase or singing a hymn or reading a certain "chain" of scripture will "save" me from some terrible fate. Apparently, the covenant between God and Abraham is lost to Christians and cannot be of any effect any longer for anyone in their eyes.  When I tell them of the covenants that I have made, like the covenants of Abraham, they dismiss them without much thought at all.  In their confusion concerning the right thing to do to follow Christ back to God, they can agree at least on something:  A practicing Mormon and an observant Jew cannot be saved.  To them, I must be doubly-cursed, and no wonder they spend time trying to help me!

I really have to say here that I like my good Christian neighbors.  They are fine people.  I am glad for their beliefs in being and doing good to their neighbors, being upstanding citizens, not lying, cheating, stealing, or murdering.  I wish there were more of them, just like I wish there were more observant Muslims, Buddhists, and other practicing believers in any higher power - they just seem to be more pleasant people to be around!

Yet, I will trust to the covenants that I have made, both as a child of Abraham and as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I have faith that my ancient fathers were "saved" through the Messiah as God promised in the Bible and that I can be "saved" as well by following the same Messiah and abiding those long-standing promises.  As a Latter-Day Saints, I have made those covenants again, standing upon my own legs (upon the shoulders of my righteous ancestors) and seeking a greater weight of blessings from God.

With happiness, I proclaim that the Messiah has come and will come again.  He is called Jesus Christ and he marked the path and made the way possible so that his siblings (us) can return to God, our Father.  Abraham and Issac and Jacob looked forward to his coming and taught that forward-looking to their children.  In like manner, I look forward now to his second coming and teach my children to do likewise.  I teach them the covenants that our forefathers and I have made with God and encourage them to make those covenants as well and live their lives according to them.

So, when my well-meaning neighbors come to "save" me, I hope they are not too offended when I cling to my and my ancestors' covenants with God and refuse to set them aside.  When I have had spiritual feasts from my obedience and resolve, why would I choose to set that aside to eat the scraps that Christians insist is the best that God is willing to give?  I am often called stupid or foolish, but I am smart enough to recognize a practical famine after I have had the full buffet!

I invite my Christian friends to claim covenants that Christ himself offers to you.  You can receive the bounteous blessings and opportunities that God wants to give you, far beyond the dreams of Christendom.  You can visit this website and learn more about your potential as a literal child of God!