Vanity and Pride

Vanity, pride, looking beyond the mark, self-will, arrogance, and reckless enthusiasm all proceed from a lack of gratitude to God for what He gives us. Instead of accepting in gratitude and practicing it with patience, we demand more, insist we can improve on His ways, and charge ahead into the pass to be destroyed by the beast.

That was from this post. (Emphasis added.)

Lately, I have felt stuck. Why am I not receiving what was promised?

I was told a few weeks ago by the Spirit that God put me (in July) where I could learn to be more like Christ. The analogy of the young man learning to create a net came to mind. I accepted it then.

But, surely, it is now time to move on - to do something more, to receive angels face to face in waking life.

I prayed, begged, cried for something better. I resisted the idea that I was doing what I should be doing. It was getting old. It was getting boring. (I've done it since the day after the July lecture in St. George.) Many times it is difficult and painful. I had (and have) dreams I would like to accomplish, interests I would love to pursue. I don't want to wait until summer or later to have my life change into what I have wanted it to be for many years.

Serving where I am serving is not really all that fun and pleasant for me. I find myself wishing or daydreaming of having work that pays better by the hour, work that I enjoy immensely, work that allows me to go home after eight or ten hours so I can get a good night's sleep each night.

I sensed that I was not quite doing something right. I begged God to tell me what it was.

Then I read the post I linked to above.

And I read: "Vanity. Pride. Self-will. Arrogance. This shows you are not being grateful to God for what He has given to you."

I read: "You demand more. You insist you can improve on His ways. You are guilty of not practicing patience. And you are guilty of ingratitude."

Now, others may read something else when they read this post. A commenter on In 200 words or less said this about the post I linked to above:

Maybe you should . . . not rely upon hearsay or rely upon the arm of flesh - Denver. This is what concerns me is so many waiting upon every word coming forth from Denver and not waiting upon the Lord. Do you think maybe God is testing us all to see if we just jump from the worship of LDS leadership to the worship of Denver? Maybe those millions of people who really adore Jesus and are of other faiths, go to Jesus directly and not through another arm of flesh. They rely upon Jesus' grace. wherein Denver talks about the works and the law again ... the same old Aaronic order of things. Why in the heck should we preserve the restoration when God has something so much better to give to us if we only go to Him? If you all keep looking to Denver for your mentoring and knowledge, the Lord will withhold revelations that you could have yourself. Denver did a great job calling us all to repentance ...but it is time to move on and put way the Law of Moses (Aaronic) and find Jesus at the mountain. As long as you are looking to Denver as your leader the Lord will not take you from the bottom of the mountain to the top ... Denver is our test ... are you ready to graduate or not?

To me, this sounds like exactly what the post I linked to at the beginning warns against. "Let's rush into the pass. We are not in Old Testament times. Let's stop relying on Denver and move forward!"

For me, Denver's post was a direct answer to my many cries to the Lord, begging for help and understanding. I don't care what person it came through, it is the word of the Lord. It was a wake-up call to me.

My prayers will change and I hope I will continue as I now profess. I hope and intend to pray in gratitude - for this opportunity to become Christlike and patient, for the place in which I live, for the incredible blessings and miracles that have brought me to this point.

I have been guilty of ingratitude. I apologize to the Lord for that. I have thought I could press forward when I have not yet learned what He told me He intended to teach me this year. This year, as in a twelve month period, not as in for a few months until I get tired of it.

Is it accusing or simply acknowledging the truth?

I have been reading Rock's post here (I'm on my phone so the link says "mobile" to me even though I requested the regular site. If the link doesn't work on computers, let me know and I will fix it when I have access to a computer) and the following comments. 

One poster seems extremely concerned that we treat "the Brethren" with kid gloves and close our eyes and mouths. I intend to post the following as a comment on Rock's post but it is so important that I am posting it here as well. Here it is:

I know log doesn't like what is happening, but the Lord is behind it. He is causing the religious "super power" to crumble by stripping off its facades.

First, people began to see and talk about prophets who don't prophesy, revelators who don't reveal, and seers who don't see. 

And the altering of general conference talks began to be known (who can honestly deny, when they see the original Poelman talk and compare it with the altered one?). 

And people who wondered why the prophet could not see Mark Hofmann's mind and intent began to talk to each other and ask openly why a man who saw Jesus every week could not discern a man with a dishonest and murderous heart.

Then, people researched tithing. They looked for the original sources of what was written in a RS/PH manual and discovered that a quote about who should pay tithing lacked three vital words: "who has means," and more and more people began to see that tithing (according to scripture) was a law to help the poor, not a law to make a wealthy church richer.

Then Rock Waterman uncovered instructions for mission presidents that proved further corruption/grinding upon the face of the poor.

And people were also realizing that they DID NOT need the church's approval to partake of the sacrament (with wine, as directed by the scriptures) in their families and among their friends and acqaintances.

People saw that drinking ale and beer was not really against the word of wisdom. They saw that it was okay to drink wine for sacramentS (ie weddings) even if, probably, no one has done it yet.

People began to see that there really is no such thing as a personal line of revelation versus a priesthood (church TM) line of revelation nor that personal revelation must ALWAYS bow to the priesthood (church TM) especially if Jesus, Himself, tells you something the church doesn't approve of.

People began to say things like, "The emperor is wearing no clothes." They began to stop fearing excommunication, finally recognizing that no man nor group of men have the keys to heaven. 

Their eyes began to be opened. They began to see the ploy, "Follow the prophet. Follow the Brethren. He and we will not, even CANNOT lead you astray," for what it really is: a vain attempt to control the church's masses, keeping them faithful to their leaders, keeping the income rolling in, keeping the power over minds and souls they have gotten used to having. 

It is difficult to let go of the wealth and power and adoration. The "Brethren" are simply men. How can this worship and adoration and access to billions of dollars NOT go to their heads? Our love for them should cause us to beg God to pull down their pride and push them into the depths of humility before it is too late for them. I know that I don't want them to wake up to the horror of what they have done and are doing after it is too late to fix it. I wouldn't wish that feeling of "everlastingly too late" on anyone.

Online Career Testing

So, I had to delay what I needed to do today. To occupy myself, I began looking for online career tests. I ended up zeroing in on Holland Code types. Some of the careers the different sites suggested really sounded boring, but there was one that was so much closer than any of the others. They wanted their link shared, so I am sharing it - in case there are others who like to take career tests for fun. (I love taking tests. Color me weird.)

https://www.123test.com/career-test/

Wheat Intolerance or Poison Intolerance?

An online friend of mine sent me a blog post that I find very interesting. You can find the full post here.

 I found it interesting, not just because people need to know about this, but also because I have a daughter who cannot eat wheat products without experiencing bloating and abdominal pain.

Here are some highlights from the post:

Confused parents wondering why wheat consumption sometimes triggered autoimmune reactions in their children but not at other times. . . .

 Finally, the answer came over dinner a couple of months ago with a friend who was well versed in the wheat production process. I started researching the issue for myself, and was, quite frankly, horrified at what I discovered.  . . .

Common wheat harvest protocol in the United States is to drench the wheat fields with Roundup several days before the combine harvesters work through the fields as the practice allows for an earlier, easier and bigger harvest . . . 

It has . . .  become routine over the past 15 years and is used as a drying agent 7-10 days before harvest within the conventional farming community.
. . .

According to the US Department of Agriculture, as of 2012, 99% of durum wheat, 97% of spring wheat, and 61% of winter wheat has been treated with herbicides. This is an increase from 88% for durum wheat, 91% for spring wheat and 47% for winter wheat since 1998. . . .

Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup  . . . [Surprised? I wasn't.] 
. . .
An interesting aside, malt barley which is made into beer is not acceptable in the marketplace if it has been sprayed with preharvest Roundup. Lentils and peas are not accepted in the market place if it was sprayed with preharvest roundup….. but wheat is ok.. . . .

Here’s what wheat farmer Seth Woodland of Woodland and Wheat in Idaho had to say about the practice of using herbicides for wheat dry down:

That practice is bad . I have fellow farmers around me that do it and it is sad. Lucky for you not all of us farm that way. Being the farmer and also the president of a business, we are proud to say that we do not use round up on our wheat ever!

This practice is not just widespread in the United States either. The Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom reports that use of Roundup as a wheat desiccant results in glyphosate residues regularly showing up in bread samples.
. . .

Roundup significantly disrupts the functioning of beneficial bacteria in the gut and contributes to permeability of the intestinal wall and consequent expression of autoimmune disease symptoms . . .

. . . the negative impact of glyphosate exposure is slow and insidious over months and years as inflammation gradually gains a foothold in the cellular systems of the body.

The consequences of this systemic inflammation are most of the diseases and conditions associated with the Western lifestyle:

• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• Depression
• Autism
• Infertility
• Cancer
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Alzheimer’s disease
• And the list goes on and on and on …

. . .

What about other crops where Roundup is used as a pre-harvest desiccant such as barley, sugar cane, rice, seeds, dried beans and peas, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, and sugar beets?

End of quotes.

I would seriously recommend that you read the full post. The address is http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/real-reason-for-toxic-wheat-its-not-gluten/

Truly, there are conspiring men in these days in regards to the food we eat.

Emails from folks with allergic or digestive issues to wheat in the United States experienced no symptoms whatsoever when they tried eating pasta on vacation in Italy. - See more at: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/real-reason-for-toxic-wheat-its-not-gluten/#sthash.lwttYclA.C5b9uDMk.dpuf

Emails from folks with allergic or digestive issues to wheat in the United States experienced no symptoms whatsoever when they tried eating pasta on vacation in Italy. - See more at: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/real-reason-for-toxic-wheat-its-not-gluten/#sthash.lwttYclA.C5b9uDMk.dpuf

Emails from folks with allergic or digestive issues to wheat in the United States experienced no symptoms whatsoever when they tried eating pasta on vacation in Italy. - See more at: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/real-reason-for-toxic-wheat-its-not-gluten/#sthash.lwttYclA.C5b9uDMk.dpuf