Rejoice!

For the purposes of this discussion "belief in Christ"=following the doctrine of Christ as explained in the Book of Mormon.

Have you received "church discipline" for your belief in Christ? Have you been excommunicated or pressured to resign for your belief in Christ? Has your spouse reported you to a bishop or stake president because of your belief in Christ? Has your spouse divorced you (spurred on by the advice of a bishop to do so, or on their own) because of your belief in Christ? Do neighbors shun you? Do former friends ignore you, avoid you, bear testimony of men to you, or talk about your "apostasy" to each other - because of your belief in Christ? Has your family essentially disowned you because of your belief in Christ?

Rejoice!

As written in both the Book of Mormon and the New Testament:

And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake; For ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you.
3 Nephi 12:11-12

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Matthew 5:11-12

Also notice this in verse 8 of both chapters:

And blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Note that there is no caveat declaring that this experience has to happen in some other life, after death, at judgment day.

. . . every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am. [emphasis added]
Doctrine and Covenants (LDS version) 93:1

 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.
Doctrine and Covenants (LDS version) 88:68

And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am—not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual. For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God. Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind.
Doctrine and Covenants (LDS version) 67:10-12

Question: Is this promise only to those men "ordained to the ministry"? Is it only for those men Joseph was preaching the word of the Lord to? Or is this promise to everyone?


Was Nephi speaking only to those "ordained to the ministry" when he said these things:

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.

Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter.  For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ.  Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh.  And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do. And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.

You. You plural? You singular? Nephi wasn't talking to us, right? Only to his descendants, referring to Jesus' future visit to some tiny portion of Nephi's descendants. That's why he saw us, right? So that he would not keep a record addressing us, right? Nephi's not plain. No way does he speak in plainness - because, then, he just might be saying something like this:

Follow Christ with full purpose of heart. Repent. Be baptized. Then you'll have a remission of sins, and baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost (in other words, they are two different things). Then Christ will tell you what to do. These words of Christ come by the power of the Holy Ghost. To you. Not through some man, some priest, some bishop, someone "in authority." Then, at some point after you have received this doctrine, Christ will manifest himself in the flesh - to you. Flesh. You (singular).

If only those "ordained to the ministry" can see Christ in this life, then I submit that only those "ordained to the ministry" are allowed to repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and receive the baptism of fire. Sounds silly to me.

Blessed are you when you are persecuted for Christ's sake, when you are disbelieved, mocked, cast out, lose your marriage and/or your family, lose your job, are shunned, and/or treated as though you had leprosy because you recognized the Lord's voice through a true messenger, recognized a true prophet of God, and were baptized as a result of your belief in Christ, your faith in Christ. Not faith in the messenger, but in the Son of God.

Rejoice! For so persecuted they those who believed in Christ and his doctrine for centuries upon centuries. For so persecuted they who were cast out from formally organized churches. For so persecuted they who chose to follow the Lord instead of some man or some woman or some "sighted" person.

This earth is waxing old. Destructions are happening and I suspect they will continue to happen. Praise God and stand firm in faith in HIM and only him. He is more important than your job, than your family*, than your ecclesiastical leaders. More important than anything else in this life.

Rejoice!

*This is not a license to cast away your spouse, children, or other relatives. Be an example of a true follower of Christ. Make it difficult for them to cast you off because of your love and patience and genuine long-suffering toward them. Seek not only Christ, but also seek the pure love of Christ.

Payson Utah Temple Cultural Celebration

God's approval or disapproval?

The scriptures tell us ways God approves. This quote shows, scripturally speaking, God's disapproval:

Suddenly a typhoon style rainstorm hit the area along with hail, thunder, lightning and 35 mile-per-hour winds. Thousands of participants and spectators moved from the stands and huddled under the stadium for shelter listening to clasps of thunder and a loud warning over the PA system - “Program is temporarily suspended. Take shelter under the stadium or return to your vehicle.” Others hunkered down with umbrellas not wanting to give up their good seats until the intensity of the wind, rain and lightning finally created a mass exit from the stands.
As the minutes ticked by, thousands of rain soaked participants and their disappointed audience wondered if the show would ever go on. Some kept checking the time and the skies while others silently prayed. Young men and women were seen leading large groups of people in prayer as lightening flashed and instant waterfalls cascaded down the bleachers.

The cultural celebration starting time, came and went. Then an hour after the scheduled time to begin the program, the storm unexpectedly stopped.

But the people's stubbornness prevailed.



But what about this reported event?

After the rock stars ascended the stand and the lead rock star in attendance walked to the podium and said a few words . . .

[Eyring:] "So let's fill this stadium with love and light. Let the celebration begin!"

Unexpectedly a large impressive flock of white doves flew high in the air above the stadium taking several graceful circling swoops.

Problem is, I've never seen nor heard where the Spirit of God is manifested as a large flock of white doves. It is only one dove, as far as I know.

But what approval would they be showing? The dove attending Jesus was because He had been baptized even though He didn't have to, technically speaking, because He was perfect.

Why would God send a whole flock of white doves to show approval for a celebration saying how awesome we all are, and honoring men? It couldn't be because God had accepted the temple. It wasn't a temple dedication. And history (and scriptures) show us that when God approves of a temple, people see Jesus and angels. Gifts of the Spirit are obvious. (This was not a dedication, by the way, but a huge party apparently commanded by and put on for a whole lot of rock stars. I mean general authorities.)




You can read about the whole celebration here.

It seems like it was quite impressive.

On True Messengers

I read a post today on a forum I go to probably far too often. There was a note of sadness in it. There was a feeling of, "This is serious stuff. I've made my choice, and the choosing was not easy."

I feel the need to post my reply here, as well as on that thread:

I feel your pain, MegaManToo. It is a rough road. A painful thing. Any who are aware of what Denver teaches seems to be put in a position of choosing, of discerning if he is a liar and a charlatan or if he is bona fide.

One thing that is certain is that if Denver is a liar (about seeing the Lord, and about saying what the Lord wants Him to say), he certainly should be ignored and he will surely be damned to hell.

If, however, he is telling the truth, it behooves us to know that, even if what he says is painful.

Pruning out false beliefs can be excruciatingly painful. Attempting to discern who is telling the truth can be frustrating or confusing.

Following our trusted traditions is probably what most will do who hear of Denver. Doing otherwise puts a person in peril of their standing in the church. It may create cognitive dissonance. It most surely will put us at odds with family, friends, and our wards and stakes. It will, no doubt, lead to the sacrifice of all things.

PtHG was a painful book, but Denver makes very little in the way of damning comment (if any). Mostly, he quotes from original sources. His conclusions, as I understood them, were that Christ's hand was still over the church, that the Gentiles were (and have been since BY's time) fulfilling what was said and prophesied in the Book of Mormon.

But if Denver was/is a true prophet, a true messenger, what will happen to those who have figuratively "shot the messenger"? Is Christ's hand still over the Church in that case? Or just over the church (the humble followers who seek Him still, who do not know there is a true messenger around)?

If "by mine own voice or the voice of my servants, it is the same" is true and Denver is a true messenger boy, is it not a serious and grave thing to have cast him out?

All of this is serious. Dead serious. Not that Denver is important in and of himself. He is not. It is the message. The message offends. It divides. It causes anguish of spirit. It creates "bad feelings" (remember Laman and Lemuel? They had bad feelings about what Nephi taught them, also).

And if Denver is lying. If he is a messenger from the devil, from darkness, he ought to be ignored. He ought to be cast out.

Our eternal salvation lies in the balance when it comes to anyone professing to have a message from our Lord. We ought to take it seriously, just like your post above mine did. I can tell that you feel the import, the weight of knowing if he is a liar or not.

End of my post.

Is it not true that we have eternal decisions to make here? Is it not true that Christ said he came to divide? To bring a sword? Is it not true that He will require the sacrifice of all things? Is it not true that most true messengers where not men in authority, but ordinary men outside of established hierarchies?

Discerning true messengers from false ones is vital to the next plane of existence. From my understanding it changes our projectory for the rest of eternity.

So, how do we do it when it is so painful? How do we know we are not following a "Harmston" or a "Jeffs" or "Korihor"?

I would submit this:

Study scriptures.
The Book of Mormon was one long run-on sentence when it was given to the printer. E.B. Grandin's assistant was saddled with the task of typesetting the book. He had no idea where God wanted the punctuation, but he had to do something. And he did the best he could.

Putting a colon after "these are the words of my father" when it was obvious that the words of the father preceded that sentence is one example of where he didn't quite get it right. But he made the text make a whole lot more sense than it would have otherwise.

So, I would recommend reading the book with the understanding that the punctuation may be different than what you see there.

Who are the Gentiles? 
I suggest reading the book as if you, the reader are a Gentile because, in most cases, it is true. If you have been told that you are of Ephraim in a patriarchal blessing, remember that Isaiah (and it is quoted in the Book of Mormon) prophesied that "Ephraim will be broken that it be not a people" (see Isaiah 7:8 and 2 Nephi 17:8). That would explain why we can be both.

Pride, knowledge, and all that stuff.
I would recommend putting away all that you think you know. Read the book, and pray, as if you were brand new to it all. Put away all you have been taught. Trust that the Lord loves you and would not lead you away into darkness and hell if are are humble and sincere. Be humble enough and brave enough to recognize that it is possible that you don't know it all.

Warm fuzzies versus "bad feelings"
If we read something or hear something and get a "bad feeling" - maybe anger, maybe shock or discombobulation, maybe fear, maybe revulsion - it might be useful to search for the root of that.

Contrary to what we are taught, the Spirit does not give us warm fuzzies if something is from God and "bad feelings" if it is from the devil. A whole lot of people didn't have warm fuzzies when Jesus was preaching - or Stephen (remember him? He was the guy who was stoned while Saul held the coats of those who were doing the murder) - or Abinadi - or Nephi - or Lehi - or Isaiah - or Noah - and on and on we could go.

Joseph Smith said that the Spirit communicated with us by giving us pure knowledge. That is not the same as warm fuzzies or feelings of darkness, as far as I can tell. Those nice feelings and bad feelings are telling us something. It may or may not be what we think.

Prayer, prayer, and more prayer
I would suggest being honest as well as humbling oneself to the dirt. "This scares the hell out of me. Help me understand what's true," is actually an appropriate prayer if you're really feeling that way.

God said He would send a great division among the people. Well, He has done it and is still doing it. There is a tremendous division in regards to what truth might be. And the division seems to be splitting along the lines of "follow the brethren/prophet, they/he can never lead you astray" (this fits all the offshoots from Joseph's day) versus, follow Christ only. If you follow a man, you will be damned because men are not perfect, no matter how true of a prophet they may be.

And the crack, as it enlarges, includes those who are not pleased with the LDS Church building malls, owning thousands upon thousands of acres of lands, leaders driving nice cars and getting great perks, mission presidents having a pretty dang high standard of living, among other things.

The time is shortening for those who are part of the restored church. Truly, the Lord has set His hand a second time to give us a second chance after blowing it in regards to building the Nauvoo temple and encouraging a prophet of God to go to his death (haranguing him into destroying a printing press that he knew would cause his demise, then guilting him into turning himself over to those who would end up killing him).

Whatever you decide, whoever you decide to give heed to, I would recommend serious and ponderous thought. And I wish you well. I pray for you. Not that you will believe as I do, but that God will lead you in the paths of righteousness, and that you will be found at the last day to be on the right hand of the Father.

Shutting out all voices but God's

When we are born, we have to rely on others for our very survival. We learn very quickly (if we weren't born knowing it) that we are dependent upon others.

As we grow, we do some exploring on our own, but most of our information comes from others. Especially in this day in the United States (and perhaps in other so-called “developed” countries), children are kept caged, so that they may not explore. Playpens, car seats, baby carriers, etc. are the norm. Crawling on floors or on the ground is pretty much forbidden for most babies.

(Okay, true confessions. I let my babies roam. I learned by baby three, that they don't even get sick, let alone die if they eat food left on the floor that missed getting swept up.)

True, that babies try to assert their independence around age 1 ½. Most are shot down for it, though. The attempts continue off and on until a child is legally old enough to move out. But by the time a child is in grade school, they have pretty much learned to depend on others' voices.

Teenagers may think they are thinking for themselves if they rebel against their parents, but they really aren't. They are following what someone else told them to think - to be.

So, here's our dilemma: God has told us to rely only upon HIS arm, not the arm of flesh - yet we are surrounded by the arm of flesh. We have learned our lessons well. A partial list of who we rely upon instead of God (though sometimes, we share our reliance upon God and another, yet Jesus has said we cannot serve two masters)

Books

Ecclesiastical leaders

School teachers

College teachers

University professors

Scientists

Other Christians

Non-Christians

Media (either mainstream or not)

Medical professions of all kinds:

      M.D.s

      Chiropractors

      Dentists

      Neurologists

      Surgeons

      Psychiatrists

      Naturopaths

      Herbalists

      Faith healers

      Acupuncturists

      And the list could go on and on

Parents

Neighbors

Self-proclaimed experts

People with a bunch of letters after their names

Publicly-proclaimed experts

Tradition

And on and on.

So here's mydilemma, at least: How do I shut out all others and hear ONLY God?

I know many people on the internet (a tiny few of them “in real life”) who say some pretty awesome things. When they say (okay, write) something, I want to learn more from these people. Whoa, Nelly! Stop right there.

If they are writing by the Spirit and the Spirit tells me the words are true, I seem to have a difficult time separating the awesome words from the person they came through.

And if I have a physical need that I am unable to take care of (say a home or food), I have a tendency to think God cannot help me unless another person is willing to cooperate with Him. Now, technically, that may be true that God won't magically build a house or grow a garden in my poisoned soil, but I'm thinking that if we look at any need we have and have even one part of us that believes God cannot fulfill it without another mortal showing up to help us, then we don't have the faith required for God to help us. Besides, God has worked miracles before, when no one was doing His will because they cared about anyone but themselves.

I think we are so intertwined with others that we cannot even tell when we are not fully relying on the Lord. We think we are, but we defer to someone else for some reason or other.

Perhaps we are even afraid that if we listen to God and to God only, we'll “go apostate” from the religion we belong to. Well, if the religion we belong to really follows God, how is that possible?

I find it a bit frightening to “go it alone with God” yet He has let me know that that is the only way to find Him. I have to let go of EVERY crutch, whether human or not, whether real or imaginary. It has to be just Him and me.

So are we willing to be good fruit?

 I have been reading Denver Snuffer's posts on Jacob 5 (Denversnuffer.blogspot.com). He has given me some enlightenment on the subject. (He's good for noticing some details that I do not; that makes it very useful for him to be around.)

I was particularly struck with a couple of things he said in his post today. I knew there was a scripture that fit, and I found it. For your information, I include the things that struck me, and the scripture that fits them.

Proud and vain men strut about proclaiming how special they and their cultic-following are before God, while God pleads for our repentance, humility and willingness to return to Him.

If our present form of "Zion" wasn't "prospering" then we might be more acutely aware of our sickness, sores, disease and stench. We use the measuring rod of Babylon and conclude we are among the greatest of people rather than the standard of heaven against which we are loathsome, bitter fruit.

17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked
(New Testament | Revelation 3:17)

Brother Snuffer is often very pessimistic. For this reason, he reminds me of Jeremiah who seemed to be a prophet of woe. I expect he (DS) has good reason for his pessimism. But my question is this: Do we, individually, have to be a fulfillment of that pessimism?

You see, along with the pessimism, is the promise that we can be the exception. We can turn to God, individually. We can humble ourselves. We can sincerely ask God to teach us, to open our eyes, to wake us up. Whether or not it will take a hundred or more years to build a real Zion, each of us can choose to be "Zion" in ourselves.

I suppose we may still have to live in Babylon. I really don't know if or when God would take a person out of Babylon, physically. I am still on my journey. I have never seen angels or Jesus outside of dreams, so I don't think I qualify as one who has attained Zion within myself, hence I do not know the answer to this.

Waking up is a bit painful. As God distances me from what I formerly believed was true, I find that I find it repulsive that even one soul remains deceived. I wish with all my heart that people would take the Holy Spirit for their guide, that they would cease idolizing men and organizations and look to Christ only, for their salvation.

Even though it is painful, I cannot go back. I don't want to go back. I want to continue forward until I have completely left Babylon and have found the face of Christ. And I want to continue on until I am as pure a Zion person as it is possible for me to be.

I want to encircle everyone in the love of God, open their eyes, pull them out of the traps they are unknowingly (and willingly) in, and thus stop the devil's power on this planet.

The person each of us should be working on is ourselves. We cannot change another person. We have no right to insist that anyone live their lives according to our dictates. We pray for them. We speak to them according to the whisperings of the Spirit (and we'd better make sure it is the Spirit of God; not the spirit of vanity, fear, pride, or the devil). We are, most of all, examples to them of true believers in Jesus Christ - not true believers in a man, but in Christ.

This is not to say that we hide our heads in the sand. I believe we should acknowledge the falsehoods and wrongdoing that is around us, even in the leaders, but I don't know that it is wise to dwell on them. I do believe it will be all we can do to center our energies on coming to Christ in the flesh. That should be our focus, not the behavior of others. When we have seen Him face to face, and have felt the wounds, and have been redeemed from the fall, then we can find out what else we should do.

Of Kingdoms Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial

I think we have a misunderstanding of the eternal worlds.

We seem to have a tendency to diminish the pain and agony of hell. We pass it over with the attitude of, "God will beat us with a few stripes, then at last we'll be saved in a kingdom of heaven." But some endure the agony forever, as far as we know. The scriptures say that the minimum is a thousand years (for the whole Millennial period of peace and rest).

Think about this. Think about it seriously: Those who eventually go to the lowest kingdom are these:

• Receive not the gospel of Christ
• Receive not the testimony of Jesus
• Deny not the Holy Spirit (thus they escape "outer darkness" for eternity)
• They who are thrust down to hell
• Not redeemed until the last resurrection
• These are those who follow some servant or prophet of God, even Jesus, but they don't receive the gospel, testimony of Jesus, the prophets, nor the everlasting covenant - they follow the man but not the underlying reality
• They are liars
• They are sorcerers
• They are adulterers
• They are whoremongers
• They love lies
• They make lies
• They suffer the wrath of God on earth
• They suffer the vengeance of eternal fire
• They are as innumerable as the sand upon the seashore

Doctrine and Covenants 76: 98-109

I think we diminish the pain and agony of hell, only focusing on the lowest kingdom which is so glorious that it is reputed we would commit suicide just to get there. Some endure hell for upwards of a thousand years before finally finding relief. Some few endure it forever (along with the devil and his angels, having become angels to the devil).

Think about this. This agony is unbearable for even five minutes. Do any of us really want to endure it for over a thousand years? Jesus was a God. He had more physical and spiritual stamina while he walked the earth than any other mortal . . . ever. He knows what it was like. He does not want us to experience that.

Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink (Doctrine and Covenants 19:15-18)

Open your eyes and really look at that scripture.

Here's a partial account from an eyewitness:

He thought His sufferings were over, but to His astonishment another wave overcame Him. This one much greater than the first. The Lord, who had been kneeling, fell forward onto His hands at the impact of the pain that was part of a greater, second wave.

The second wave was so much greater than the first that it seemed to entirely overcome the Lord. The Lord was now stricken with physical injuries, as well as spiritual affliction. He suffered anew, His flesh was torn which He healed using the power of the charity within Him. . . . His suffering was both body and spirit, and there was anguish of thought, feeling and soul. . . .

Again, the Lord thought His suffering was over. . . . Wave after wave poured out upon Him, with only moments between them. . . . Each wave of suffering was only preparation for the next, greater wave. . . .

He longed for it to be over, and thought it would end long before it finally ended. . . .

. . . a final wave came upon Him with such violence as to cut Him at every pore. It seemed for a moment that He was torn apart, and that blood came out of every pore. The Lord writhed in pain upon the ground as this great final torment was poured upon Him.

All virtue was taken from Him. All the great life force in Him was stricken and afflicted. All the light turned to darkness. He was humbled, drained, and left with nothing. It is not possible for a man to bear such pains and live, but with nothing more than will, hope in His Father, and charity toward all men, He emerged from the final wave of torment, knowing He had suffered all this for His Father and His brethren.

[I include this as an aside of additional interest:] These great burdens were born by the Lord not only on behalf of mankind, but also as a necessary prelude to His death upon a Roman cross. Had He not been so physically weakened by these sufferings, and drained of power from within, the scourging and crucifixion He suffered at the hands of men could not have taken His life. (Come, Let Us Adore Him – pages 217-219 By Denver C Snuffer, Jr)

Personally, I don't want to suffer anything like this. I don't want my children to suffer it. I don't want my extended family to suffer it. I don't want my friends to suffer it. I don't want my enemies to suffer it. I don't want anyone, including whoever reads this, to suffer it. I want to shout repentance from the housetops, but I feel to keep quiet about it unless God opens my mouth. My desire is to change so completely that people will feel the love of God simply by being in my presence (I asked for that gift decades ago and still feel far from it). My desire is to be given the gift of speech and behavior so powerful that people cannot help but believe:

And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily. (Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 7:18)

So, back to our subject:

Ignored is the Hell of a thousand years. Ignored is the fact that the telestial people cringe at the sight of Jesus or the Father, worlds without end. Ignored is the fact that the terrestrial people cringe at the sight of Father, worlds without end. If it were not so, if they could endure the presence of the Father (or the Father and the Son), they would not be in the lower kingdoms.

It's in the scriptures.

Start with Doctrine and Covenants 76.

Add Doctrine and Covenants 19.

Add (Book of Mormon Mormon 9:3-6)

Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws? Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell. For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you. O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.

It's real. It is not a fairy tale.

When it's Me and God*

I used to think when it was me and God, there were two of us. The two of us joined together can do anything.

I realized this morning that I was mistaken. When it is me and God, there are actually four of us working for my good and the good of those I may touch. The Father, The Son, The Holy Ghost: Elohim, the Director, the architect; Jehovah, the Mover, the One who puts the plans into motion; The Holy Ghost (whose name I do not know – perhaps the name He will be known by is not here yet), the Testifier, the One who puts knowledge and understanding into our brains if we're willing.

It feels very good to know that there is a crowd of us working for my good, helping me overcome the obstacles and such in this life, helping me through the struggle to be a good person who helps those around me in some small way, helping me to find Jesus in this life – face to face.

*I know it is correct to put myself last. For effect, I wrote it the way I did.