Showing posts sorted by relevance for query agenda of god. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query agenda of god. Sort by date Show all posts

17 February 2022

A Decision to Deviate from the "Agenda of God"

In the beginning, Adam and Eve were given a commandment to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28). This is a key part of the "Agenda of God", where men and women couple through marriage and seal themselves together through covenant with God to bring children into mortality and raise them up to follow Christ toward the life that God leads, or exaltation. We may use different words to describe it these days, but this is the same plan that God introduced to our first parents many millennia ago.

There are some married couples of men and women that, despite their best efforts, cannot have children. As this is through no fault of their own, God doesn't hold them culpable for that part of his first commandment to Adam and Eve - they still came together as instructed and sealed themselves together through covenant. There are also people who cannot find a righteous opposite-sexed mate, but keep God's commandments in every other way.  Exaltation can still be theirs through aligning themselves with Christ and certainly by encouraging those around them to marry through temple covenants and to have their own families centered on exaltation.

Beyond these, a growing number of people eschew God's purposes for them and follow other paths. A common way to do this is to attach oneself to a sexual or gender deviancy through LGBT+ lifestyles. These paths propagate behavior and thought which are thoroughly incompatible with the "Agenda of God" - no marriages through covenant, children not taught to authentically follow Christ, no interest in exaltation. Yet such deviants insist that their practices and pseudo-doctrines should be given the same respect and honor as those who work to align with Christ, his commandments, and purposes, even within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

So, how do those who espouse lifestyles that deviate from the "Agenda of God" fit in the Church? Honestly, there isn't a "fit" in an organization devoted to eventual exaltation. If a person chooses not to align themselves to Christ by encouraging all to be sealed through covenant, man with woman, there isn't anything the Church of Jesus Christ can do to support or be encouraging of such deviance from Christ beyond inviting that person to keep attending and encouraging changes through repentance to make exaltation their goal. The Church cannot provide a soapbox from which gospel deviants preach something counter to the will of God for his children.

Reality dictates that deviation from the Agenda of God cannot bring joy. No matter the shrill demands of deviants to change institutions into comfortable spaces and capricious conformity to such demands in public spaces, the joy will not come. Joy is tied to obedience to divine laws and cannot be had by any other means, chemical, psychological, or ideological. No amount of sophistry can generate joy - "Wickedness never was happiness." (Alma 41:10)

Leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ made the "Agenda of God" clear in their 1995 proclamation to the world entitled "The Family". Those opposed to these tenets and who choose to defy the path commanded by Christ should find their visits to Church meetings to be somewhat uncomfortable, but always with an invitation to align themselves better with the path toward God and exaltation through repentance and baptism.  A person who deviates can choose the higher way! 

02 December 2022

Church as an Agenda beyond the Community


Churches are something of a community.  Many are communities of affinity, a gathering of people who see the world and devotion in a similar way.  They can also be very fluid communities, adding and removing members when such religious/cultural affinity or proximity shifts, either individually or collectively. This is likely an undercurrent of the current ecumenism among many Christians.

There is an interesting formation of this on the outskirts of my own "faith tradition":  The Community of Christ.  This is a group of disaffected followers of Joseph Smith that collected in the decades after his death and ultimately morphed into a feel-good, easy-going faith community centered around peace. Its "community" moniker has become central to its existence and is a good example of putting the concept of community before almost anything else.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) also built communities, especially in its Pioneer era, that are still very evident in several Western United States, western Canada, and Northern Mexico.  Over time,  most of the elements of "Mormon" stores and sports and theater have been swept away as such localities no longer need mirrored infrastructures of Mormonism vs. everyone else for survival. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is all about the Agenda of God at its heart.  A community can certainly contribute to the goals of the Agenda but such communitarianism is just as likely to be a collection of distractions to its founding purpose, ala the Community of Christ.

The Agenda of God is exaltation and those seeking exaltation might have some common peculiarities. However, the isolation of those peculiar people from others in an enclave (ala Jewish shtetls) isn't compatible with a missionary methodology that the Lord charges to members of the LDS Church. You want to be PART of the larger community, not in some corner forming separate places and institutions with "Mormon" stickers everywhere. There is a difference between congregating to survive and making separation and exclusivity into a cultural communitarian standard.

So, a Christ working the Agenda of God may use elements of a community at times to move disciples along the path toward Exaltation while not making the Community the central and defining theme.

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In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the local subdivision is called a ward, hearkening to the voting wards of cities.  A ward is a geographical thing with defined boundaries and all families and individuals within that boundary attend their assigned LDS ward.  This takes away a certain level of congregational affinity, as one cannot simply choose to attend a ward that they prefer without the effort of physically relocating.

However, one must recall again that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is more concerned with one's adherence to the "Agenda of God" than community.

This doesn't stop people in the Church from enjoying a community feeling or Church leadership from encouraging more communitarian elements in wards. Some refer to it as a "ward family", though I am personally discouraged of such a concept as it may seek to replace the natural family to which children should especially feel more allegiance and concern.  If anything takes precedence over one's father and mother and siblings, it should be God and his Christ and devotion to following Christ's example in the "Agenda of God", not aspects of congregationalism.

it is easy to be sidetracked from the agenda of God through a feel-good sense of community that may attend a church, denomination, or congregation. Exaltation is bound up in families and a commitment to following Christ beyond allegiance to affinity or group. Don't be distracted from the true goal.

10 February 2022

Framing Things in the "Agenda of God"

Some want to know why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints behaves in the way it does and why it accepts some behaviors and not others. In the strange climate of belief that Christ covers all behavior in his never-ending shroud of love, it can be hard to see why a church that considers itself the only organization actually created and led by Christ acts in certain ways.


Actually, I think the actions of the Church of Jesus Christ can be readily understood and perhaps even predicted by an understanding of the "Agenda of God", which goes something like this: 

  • to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ as restored through Joseph Smith; 
  • to provide authoritative ordinances; 
  • to administer God's covenants; and 
  • to preach obedience and righteousness that lead people to exaltation.

The goal of Christ and his Church is exaltation, the life that God enjoys. The conditions of exaltation are readily known: entering and keeping the temple covenant sealing together of a man and a woman, alongside righteous living. Anything that detracts from the goal of exaltation is condemned and a change of heart and behavior toward exaltation (which is repentence) is enthroned.

God's agenda can be encapsulated like this, from Moses 1:39

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

When anyone is quick to question why Christ and his Church function as they do, I think it is useful to remember the individual exaltation ("eternal life" from the scripture above) that Christ is charged by his Father to make possible for us and toward which Christ commands us. To expect the Church to bend to cultural or societal demands that are counter to the "Agenda of God" is to expect Christ to abandon his mission and God to ignore his goal.

In coming articles, I will place some controversial topics against the Agenda of God and comment on what I expect will be Christ's likely attitude toward them.



24 March 2023

Coddling your Pathos is not God's Agenda



The "light of Christ" might be much like the "tribal" subconscious memory of your pre-earth commitments that niggle at you and help you recognize the truth when you see it.  I wouldn't be surprised if most depression and feeling wrong is a person's neglect or even fight against the commitments that were burned into your soul when you chose to follow Christ into mortality - the only way you get here on earth.  Such things can be the consequences of avoiding or fighting your promises to follow the Agenda of God.

Everything about life needs to be viewed through the lens of bringing ourselves, our spouses then children, and others to the altar of Christ: this is the manifestation of LOVE that matters.  If you truly love God, you will invest totally in his Agenda.  If you love your "neighbor", you say the truth of Christ to them, so they can "remember" (the light of Christ) their pre-earth commitments and can choose to act on them.  Any other definition of love is inferior.

For instance, to avoid marriage and family is to make yourself into an ineffective influencer during life and a poor servant of Christ, alongside breaking the commandment to "replenish the earth". We spend a lot of time coddling ineffectiveness.  You have greater influence on your spouse and children than anyone else.  Treating them well is a means to an end - to get them to exaltation, which is God's will. "Love" is God's tool to get his children to follow the Agenda, both tough (fierce, uncompromising, masculine) love and perhaps some soft (teddy bear, kissy-huggy, feminine) love.

We usually get the application and recognition of love backwards. 

We keep demanding further expressions of "love" when we hardly acknowledge the supernal gifts we have from Christ through his resurrection and atonement. Are not these expressions of love sufficient for us? Yet, we demand the release from responsibility and will reject the gifts of God if we are not carried carefree throughout life.

Our lives should be never-ending expressions of gratitude for what Christ has already done for us. He will do more but what has happened before should be much more than enough to earn our eternal thanks. None of us has any ground upon which to demand more of the Messiah, though more will be given. We thank him best by doing his will and aligning ourselves with his purposes in warning all around us to repent.  It is us who owe everything to him, rather than the other way around.

We made covenants to follow Christ who brought us our mortal lives and the opportunity to prove ourselves loyal to him and his Father. May we not forget or misconstrue that obligation to love him.

14 February 2022

To Those Who Don't Want It: Visitors Welcome!

Here is a wonderful discourse on "Visitors Welcome" directly from Jesus Christ himself.

3 Nephi 18:28-32

28 And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when ye shall minister it;

29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him.

30 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out from among you, but ye shall minister unto him and shall pray for him unto the Father, in my name; and if it so be that he repenteth and is baptized in my name, then shall ye receive him, and shall minister unto him of my flesh and blood.

31 But if he repent not he shall not be numbered among my people, that he may not destroy my people, for behold I know my sheep, and they are numbered.

32 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them.

Every meetinghouse of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a phrase right under the name:  Visitors welcome. This is a manifestation of a charge from Christ to never throw anyone out of Church gatherings. No matter what a person has done or whatever they believe, all people are encouraged to attend public meetings of Latter-day Saints. Now, that doesn't mean that people can take over meetings to espouse their own ideas or use such gatherings to make demands on the Church to be more accomodating of their choices; it just means that no one will be bared from coming and listening. Church meetings are not places to air one's greivences with church authorities or policies or doctrine - there are many other venues to vent such things.  Church meetings are meant to give Latter-day Saints a setting to better learn and understand the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed through Joseph Smith.  Everyone is free to come, but our adherance to the "Agenda of God", the path to exaltation, will be the subject matter being discussed.

The Church of Jesus Christ is designed to facilitate personal development toward exaltation, which again is to align people with Christ and to become like God, as Christ will do. If a person comes to meetings at Latter-day Saint meetinghouses and they aren't interested in the "Agenda of God", it would not be surprising to feel a bit left out or even uncomfortable. Being out of alignment with Christ or at cross-purposes with him will invariably be discomforting.

Everyone is welcome to come and see what happens in public meetings of the Church. If someone doesn't like it, they don't have to come back but they are always, always welcome. 

05 September 2022

Leave "Utah" and Scatter Yourselves: There are Individuals Far Afield that You Need to Touch

I wrote this bit of an essay some years ago.  It came to mind several times since and I shared the concept of "the Utah cultural center" with others recently and there was general agreement that it rang true with their experience in LDS-dominated places.  "Utah" here can mean an LDS-dominated place (like the State of Utah) or the attitude of only associating in a significant way with certain Latter-Day Saints of the same background.

Many people think that where they live and the occupation that they pursue are the basic manifestations of themselves. Can I redirect you into a different way of thinking? Over the years, I have become convinced that it is who we are (our background), who we are striving to become (our attitudes and activities), and (perhaps most importantly) the people that we touch which should be the attributes that define us the most and steer our future plans.

Each of us need an ultimate goal to attain, a goal that defines our lives and give purpose to our passions. This is usually tied up in our religious devotion and already determined by the God that we serve. For instance, my God offers me the attainment of his status. My devotion to him is the personal adoption of his goals as my own. The subordinate goals I set for myself, if I do things properly, should always be at least '''in-line''' with the master goals and most of these should actually work toward the accomplishment of that highest attainment. (Newer comment - this is the seed-thought of the "Agenda of God" video series.)

There is also something to be said for eliminating distractions to the attainment of one's ultimate goal, such as working for riches for their own sake, acquiring status and possessions only to aggrandize oneself, working long hours for a more comfortable retirement, among so many other motivations. Each of these can also be necessary subordinate goals to a higher one, but so many people make such base activities their end goal. The great danger of the act of amassing means (which is what these things do) is their diverting ability. One can easily lose sight of and interest in the ultimate goal in the heady rush of accomplishment that rewards us with riches and fame.

Can I offer a thought on how one might find a higher purpose and work to do? It might not be immediately lucrative or satisfying to baser desires, but it might align people closer with the work of Christ.

There is a natural inclination among like-minded people to congregate together to draw strength from each other. This has been a very positive force for inculcating a pervasive culture of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed by Joseph Smith and as promulgated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in children and youth. This was a part of preaching for many years to "gather to Zion", which was often interpreted as a physical relocation to places where there were many church members in the Rocky Mountains region of North America, primarily in the state of Utah. This encouragement to geographically gather officially ended nearly fifty years ago, replaced by the charge to build up Zion where church members already live. Where once there were isolated pockets of believers outside of Utah, one can often find vibrant communities of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) called wards or branches who strengthen their members and welcome visitors seeking a stronger relationship with God and Christ.

The spread of the gospel in the world has been predominately carried out by young Utah men temporarily acting as ambassadors from a distant land and culture and faith. These have been remarkably effective in helping people discover the church and the gospel we preach. Sadly, many LDS congregations where I live outside of Utah function as little more than "Utah cultural centers" that are run by and for Utah expatriates. Such can easily be identified when they send their children back to the Utah homeland to find mates rather than encouraging them to marry into local convert families. It hearkens back to the biblical story of Jacob who traveled back to his mother's homeland to find a mate in Rachel. Such behavior is understandable, but it promulgates the idea that the Latter-Day Saint community is a rather closed society that often doesn't see recent local converts as authentic covenant equals. The gospel is for all people and cultures, but that might be hard to see given the behaviors of many members who, as the example highlights, only see the "Utah-bred" as acceptable mates. As nations and regions become less welcoming of outsiders and influences that might be viewed as corrupting and foreign, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints might increasingly find itself also unwelcome, such as in Russia. I think it's important to discover new attitudes and adopt new ways of living in a new place while also sharing the gift of Christ's gospel with our neighbors.

I have considered for a long time the concept of spreading ourselves and therefore Christ's gospel across the globe. In every hamlet and village, there should be at least one authorized holder of the Melchizedek Priesthood who is openly sharing the gospel with their neighbors in a culturally appropriate way and providing the ordinances necessary for exaltation to people in that area. Those who have been made strong in the gospel from a pervasive Church influence in places like Utah might make conscious choices to relocate themselves to isolated parts of the world, not just as some assigned short-term "mission", but permanently and by their own volition.

Such "settlers" could find local jobs and, as much as local culture allows, integrate into their new community as thoroughly as they can. For instance, as local families accept and make gospel covenants, their children should become prime candidates for marriage to the children of families with multi-generational experience in the gospel. Ties to the old homeland might take second-place to the relationships being forged today that help the local community see their Latter-Day Saint neighbor, the gospel, and the Church as their own. It is sad to find that wards and branches seem like foreign enclaves where local converts become strangers in their own hometown and second-class citizens in the household of Christ.

Wherever you are, you can integrate into the community around you and touch lives for good. Love and neighborliness are universally accepted and influential. As neighbors find and embrace the gospel that they see in you, let these relationships continue to grow and bind us all together, sharing the gospel and our lives as equal partakers. What is often lacking in many parts of the world is a first and firm Latter-Day Saint neighbor (firm in location and faith). You could fill that void by choosing to leave "your Utah" behind while clutching onto your more-important faith and simply making your chosen destination into your authentic home.

30 November 2021

Destinations

In updating this, I see that it is a fore-bearer for the Agenda of God.  The concept didn't arise out of nowhere!

Often enough on this blog, I have spoken of exaltation, or becoming as God. One could look on that goal as being like a destination. Others, in this case Jesus Christ, have reached the destination of exaltation and have mapped out a path that we can follow to come to the same place.  I have sometimes called this the Mariner's Log and those within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often call this the Plan of Salvation. Whatever the name, the road to take and the destination to which it leads are the same.

As with any destination, as log as you are on the proper road, faced in the right direction, and moving forward, you will reach it. Prophets and the Savior himself called this road the "straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life." It doesn't matter how slow you move as long as you are on this path, you will reach the promised destination, just as you will on any road.

Of course, you can choose whatever destination you please.  We make this choice through our beliefs, actions, and intentions. Many people are not interested in exaltation so do not seek it. Some are caught up in the things of this world and follow a variety of paths that might lead to goals such as wealth or fame rather than God. Others may want exaltation, but either follow poor advice or disregard important elements that Christ requires along the way. It is very easy to be distracted away from the road that leads to a life like God's life.

God's purpose for the lives of his chidren is that they become like him. He has sent a Savior, given many prophets and apostles, established a church, and many more things to help each man and woman find the path to exaltation, face us in the right direction, and make our way forward. Avail yourselves of these things and you will one day reach the destination and share the joy of your God!

11 September 2023

You were Not Sent to Earth to Test How Much God Loves You

"Jesus loves us all unconditionally..."


From the way so many people behave (beyond spoken rationalizations), they think that they are doing Jesus some great favor in letting him be around them.  "Can I bring you your slippers?"  "Would you like a softer pillow?"  To these questions from the Christ-ish figure which most people demand, a spitting in the face is what those same people give as a first answer, and then say:  "You are not offering me enough to be acceptable as my Savior.  My Jesus would do everything so I don't have to do, well, anything!"

From all the talk, you would think that one of our purposes in life is to judge whether this Jesus character fulfils our grandest desires at zero cost to us. In holy writ, it reads the other way around: The Lord is judging us to see if we are fit to be one of his people - if we offer him our "broken hearts" and our "contrite spirits".

Overly-self-compassionate Jesus-demanders have named their term of acceptance "unconditional love" and the concept has absolutely caught fire among lazy "Jesus' love saves us no matter what we do" devotees. "Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us." (2 Nephi 28:7)  Today, captured societies demand that no one should be punished for anything, justify every behavior, and rationalize this with a new extra-scriptural and non-commanding Jesus-love that doesn't want to offend folks.

The Lord just doesn't work that way. God's love is established and well explained in scripture, which should be read far more often. Here are some examples:

  • Commandments Lead to Exaltation (D&C 14:7)
  • Blessings Come Through Specific Obedience to Specific Commandments (D&C 130:20-21)
  • God does nothing unconditionally. Read your scriptures and see. (D&C 82:10)
  • Everything God has ever Established in relation to your exaltation has always worked in the past, always works now, and will always work in the future.  There is no "new" or "better" way to suggest and God is not entertaining alternative interpretations - The Way is set, well-documented, and it is not changing in the least fashion. (1 Nephi 10:18)

We don't get to alter the conditions that God has established. Demanding that the gospel must "change with the times" demonstrates mistrust in God and his established Agenda

God has established the parameters of his "love" as well, mostly through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and his demands for repentance. If you desire or "demand" that God takes more responsibility for your concept of the "love" relationship and don't contribute what the Lord has prescribed through obedience, you will be ultimately disappointed with the result. Nothing is more clear than what God provides and demands - read the parables of Christ yet again for hard clarification on the nature of "the kingdom of heaven".

If you really want unconditional love, you might rudely turn to your mother or father, who you might sucker into being your personal "you have to serve me no matter how I treat you" slave. Just know that the Lord will exact retribution for every torture you inflict upon parents (or anyone else) with your "unconditional" demands. The Lord will have vengeance on you (D&C 29:17) for such behavior and you will plead that your just punishment will not be "unconditional".

You and I want God to treat us differently when we behave differently, especially for the better. The Lord has promised to bless and reward us relative to the "conditions" of our obedience. "Conditional" allows for change and improvement, which is exactly what God offers through his Agenda.

You likely really want a conditional God and so do I.

18 June 2023

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth..."

I have heard some lately that say a Christian walk brings peace in our lives, which I have experienced at times. I don't want to appear contrary (but you know that I get a bit of a kick out of being contrary anyway), but Christ himself said that peace wasn't going to be his particular purpose.

Matthew 10:
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

I see a lot of folks that put their love of spouse or children or parents above devotion to God.  I just watched a video yesterday of a woman who was excommunicated from the church and tongue-lashed the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for not bowing to political pressure to ordain women to the priesthood.  She said that she was buoyed up by her own immediate family distancing themselves from the Church in support of her campaign.  What an example of family members putting each other ahead of God!  Personal hubris tears many from the path that Christ has shown us.

Some of my own children have chosen divergent paths, rejecting their upbringing and even God himself. I made it clear that I follow God and that I won't go down strange roads of deviance with them. They don't talk to me lately and hurtfully say that I don't love them because I won't accept some new lifestyle they have manufactured for themselves. Again, I follow God and his Agenda more than I seek the acceptance and love of my children.

I didn't set out to have "foes shall be they of his own household", it just happened.  I pray for my children, even the ones that have strayed from their Savior. I will continue to strive to be "worthy of me (Jesus)" though it pains me that some of my family members are not interested in the same way at this time.

I will continue to not be diverted from my course to please the sensibilities of others, even family members.  Christ will reward those who choose him over divergent devotion.

13 November 2022

Compulsion Breeds Contention


I have gotten to a wondrous period in the Book of Mormon record in my slow reading. Christ had recently come to establish his gospel and his church and all the people have converted to discipleship to the Lord and the disciples he chose and ordained to lead his church are already about their assigned work. 

The condition that Mormon describes most during this blessed time is that there was "no contention" in the land. Christ had made the point often that there should be "no disputations" among the people on points of the Lord's doctrine and ordinances. The people seem to have taken this to heart and the conditions at the time was described as "continual peace".

Wouldn't all of us enjoy such a state?

Sadly, in our times, there are evil forces at work which breed many disputations and much contention, leaving no room for peace. If one word could describe this day, it would be "compulsion" to my eyes. This is easy enough to see in political arenas, as parties and factions tussle for dominance and winning the clout to push their chosen agendas forward.

No matter how noble an outcome seems, no goal is so pure and good that it justifies the use of compulsion to force its adoption. For instance, to force others to pay for fetal abortion is wrong. Also, to forcibly prevent protest through "taking a knee" or burning a revered flag is equally wrong. Dictating face-masks is as demonic as criminalizing drug use, each using force to compel compliance against a person's free will.

When people are compelled, even compelled to do good things, no one knows if that compulsed person is actually good at heart and in deed. Only when a person can act under their own power can we see their true selves. Public good can be forced through compulsion but private true good comes from individual liberty to act as each person chooses and one's personal choice to make good things happen.  Truth is even more apparent when the good things we do are in opposition to the standards of our day.  Forced public charity often produces the initially unintended yet politically useful results of resentment, division, entitlement, and hatred.  Private and un-compelled charity often breeds brotherhood and love.

Christ and his followers have always used persuasion to help people to change and reconcile themselves to God. The Holy Ghost, the very Spirit of God, is sent to make the words of truth persuasive to the hearts of all. 

Compulsion or the use of force is not a feature of the agenda of God. If we desire the condition of continual peace with the attending elements of no contention and no gospel disputations, we must know that there can be no compulsion to force these things. Continual peace comes from an internalized commitment to Christ and his gospel gained through persuasion and spiritual confirmation. God will force no one into heaven but he gives us what we need to move along the path toward exaltation and lasting peace.

18 November 2022

"...their prosperity in Christ."


This isn't the first or second or third blog post about prosperity here, but it comes up in the Book of Mormon on a regular basis, including instructions on how to obtain it.  In this blog post, we investigate some actions that can be taken to lose the prosperity that righteousness merits.

First, just a recap of what "prosperity in Christ" looks like: 

4 Nephi 1

23 And now I, Mormon, would that ye should know that the people had multiplied, insomuch that they were spread upon all the face of the land, and that they had become exceedingly rich, because of their prosperity in Christ.

There is something here that makes social scientists jump:  The entire idea that people multiplying happened at the same time as people getting rich.  It works the exact opposite way in our time - when people become rich, they have less children.  This is a rock-hard doctrine of our times, but apparently not a feature among the righteous followers of Jesus Christ.

What was the difference? We can see what happens when things take a turn for the worse.

24 And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride, such as the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world. 

We live in a world awash in pride and the acquisition of the things that show we are prideful and that are worn like a badge of honor these days. After exactly 200 years, the non-prideful, prolific, and in-congruently rich people started wearing expensive clothes and jewelry and feeling pretty prideful doing it. This very quickly proved their undoing - no more peace.

In a world quick to blame the environment, social pressures, one ideology or another, solar flares, or biorhythms for the bad state of things, God and his prophets are quick to reveal the real culprit: personal pride.  If you want the prosperity in life that Christ offers, a prosperity so foreign to our times that you can enjoy a large posterity and lots of money at the same time, you humble yourself before the Lord. You stop considering your own path as superior to the agenda of God. You follow the teachings of prophets and apostles and you start receiving blessings that defy logic. It is amazing to see, especially in your own life.

The path to prosperity is through the Lord Jesus Christ.  When you put yourself between Jesus and your more obedient self through pride, how can the Lord prosper you?  As we follow God's agenda, miraculous blessings will come as surely as the sun rises.

13 July 2024

Joe is more Corrupt than he is Old

If the biggest issue with Joe Biden was his verbal gaffs and physical degeneration, that can be forgiven with his age. Personally, I want him and his ilk gone for their devotion to turning America into a weak state of dependent "citizens" that obey the dictums of the government without resistance and stands stupidly by as their economy is destroyed by "leaders" who enrich the ruling class and guarantee permanent power to the current global elites.

In spite of what is said of Joe Biden's competency, his behavior is most likely upsetting the apple-cart of the powerful that he has served so faithfully for so many years, the people who made and maintain that "swamp" that Donald Trump speaks of. The current hysteria about Biden's fitness has more to do with his ability to sustain the practical enslavement of most of the American people to a dependency on government handouts and favors meant to buy votes. We need to convince more Americans that their votes and devotions cannot be bought with inflation-deflated counterfeit dollars deposited in their bank accounts by government agencies.

Enemies of Donald Trump scream that he is a evil man that will 'destroy democracy'. More likely, it is a selfish expression of fear among the powerful that the un-corrupted Trump will tear down the playhouse of their power elite masters, end their kick-back-profitable wars, and drain their human-weed-infested swamp as he tried to do in the past. Bureaucratic and judiciary attempts to eliminate the threat of what Trump may do to the existing deceit have largely failed to stop him and his comments that it would be much easier for him just to give up and go away ring all too true.  I thank God often that Donald Trump continues to fight his battle at great personal expense and prosecutions, which more than wins him my vote and support!
 
Joe Biden is, conversely, the proven defender of the corrupt government that has grown up over decades and the pandering less-than-champion of the 'green' communism that appeals so much to the younger narcissistic set. Unfortunately for them, he is less than able to produce the votes that was really his part of the evil pact with the elite rulers of the world to deliver American military might and riches into their hands. The agenda of global domination requires a steadier, more sure hand at the reins of American manipulation that the Democrats are scrambling wildly in these last few days to continue to hold. Joe's weak grip might lose his masters their demanded spoils.
 
I will be voting for Donald Trump again this November. Though I really like RFK Jr., he would make a far better Attorney General like his dad in a Trump administration, overseeing the swamp-draining which couldn't be accomplish last time. Dis-empowering the filthy slavers and their Biden-ist task-masters that have a choke-hold on this country may need to take first place in the next Trump administration, even above securing our borders.


02 April 2023

Love, Messiah Style


I continue the theme of Christ's love as expressed through his atonement and condescension through taking on himself our life travails and suffering as we do. Jesus understands us and our sorrows and tolerated injustices quietly and far beyond any that we might endure. He deserved far better treatment in life and got far worse than he deserved, yet his supreme acts were not to justify himself - he triumphed for our deliverance from sin and death.

1 Yea, even doth not Isaiah say: Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people was he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no evil, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11 He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah truly saw Christ and his doings.

It must be recalled, as pondered in the Godfather analogy, that Christ does our Father's will above all other things.  Jesus suffered and died because God the Father instructed him to do so. The Lord is the ultimate example of obedience to his Father and we are expected to obey as he did.

We are not asked to do the things that Christ did through his atonement. We are not required to take on us the sins of others (actually, we can't) and we don't have to die on a cross. However, we are to love others as he did, calling all to repentance or changing for the better, aligning ourselves with God's agenda for our exaltation and never-ending joy and also inviting all around us to the same alignment and path to Jesus.

Come, follow him!