On Serpents and Trust

I've been thinking of the story about the Israelites today. It's the one where many of them got bitten, and God told Moses to make a brazen (is that brass?) serpent. All the people had to do was look at it and they would be healed. Many did not look, and they died.

Dang Israelites didn't have faith. Or was that really it? Was faith the root of the lesson God was trying to teach? What if He was trying to teach them to trust Him? Trust Him for food, for protection, for everything.

For these last 2 1/2 years, God has been in the process of teaching me to trust Him. I thought He was trying to teach me to trust Him for food, shelter, transportation, and so forth. Today, it occurred to me that it was so, so much more. I caught a glimpse. Not enough to really explain well, but enough that I would like to share it.

He wants me (and all of us, I'm sure) to trust Him not only for food, shelter, clothing, transportation, but also for the direction our lives go, as well as salvation. In other words, I screw up. I don't understand. I'm going to continue to screw up. I'm going to continue to not understand what God is doing in my life. I really don't know where I should live, what I should do, how to be "good" (whatever that really is). I don't know enough to be someone worth the time the Lord invests in me. If I can trust Him with everything, trust Him to the point that He wishes I would, then I can rest assured of my salvation because I have turned it over to Him. Submission to Him is trusting Him.

This is in no way "resting on my laurels" (I don't have any, anyway). This is trusting the Lord Jesus Christ for my salvation, for my protection, and that everything is going to work together for my good.

A while back, I had a convo with my good friend, Meili. She has a tendency to charge forward, doing what she thinks she should, with the idea that God will correct her if she's wrong. He has. It may have taken longer than would have suited other people, but her life is between her and God, not between her and onlookers. And, in my view, she has learned wisdom in the process, wisdom she probably could not have learned in any other way. I'm not exactly sure what this has to do with the topic at hand, except-perhaps-that trusting that God will correct us if need be is a part of trusting God as a whole. Perhaps we needn't be so afraid that we'll screw up that we make no decisions at all (that's pretty much where I stand/sit a lot of the time). Perhaps, after we have learned the lessons, God will correct us and set us straight - as long as we remain trusting, humble, and teachable. Rather like that child God keeps telling us to be like to inherit His kingdom.

Parable of the Talents

God's course is one eternal round. He does not vary.

 For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.
Doctrine and Covenants 3:2
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LISTEN to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever.
Doctrine and Covenants 35:1

His focus is on us - to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life . . . eventually. (How long that takes depends upon us and what we choose to do or be.)

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:39

Before the foundation of this earth, there was another round, a previous chance for us to rise up. Some did and some didn't.

And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come, and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.
Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:38

And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.
Book of Mormon, Alma 13:4

Like Moses, we only know about this round.

But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you.  For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power.  And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them
Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:35

(I would like to know more about the earths "that now stand.")

We bring with us the level we raised to previously, even though we don't remember what that level was.

And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith . . .

Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish;
Book of Mormon, Alma 13:3-4, 10

Some of us went one step higher, some five, and some ten - and that is what we brought with us from "heaven".

For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability;
Matthew 25:14-15

In this round, in this existence, we get to choose again. We can refuse to rise up. We can refuse to heed God. We can refuse to hear His messengers (and how unlikely a messenger they seem to be). We can refuse to follow Christ. We can refuse to seek His face.

In that case, we lose even the level we had risen up to before, in the last round, be it one, five, or ten. (I doubt that, in this case, the personal levels can be given to another - but what do I know? This present post is reflecting understanding I was recently given. It is a ladder that spirals round and round. If I continue, I will understand more and more about this stuff, about this parable's meanings.)

Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
Matthew 25:14

But, if we do rise up, if we do seek the face of Christ -
If we do seek to remove all
jarring
contention
envying
lust for power and wealth

and

replace them with
compassion
loving kindness
willingnes to share what we can with the poor and needy
sacrifice all things to God (not to an institution)

then we will increase our talents.

To the degree that we rise up to do God's will (not some man's will, no matter what authority he professes to hold - and men like this are not confined to legal institutions), to that degree our talents increase.

And the more we increase here, the more we will have in the afterlife, so that in the next round instead of being the man with one talent, we may be the one with five or ten (and the one with five or ten could just as easily forfeit his talents in this round as the one with one. There is no guarantee of success. It depends upon us and the choices we make).

Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.

And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.
Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19

And about that word talent? Even though we know it meant "money" in the old days, we seem to teach each other that it conveys the modern meaning, thus we think it is telling us to enlarge our talents to sing, draw, build cars, collect money, and so forth.

What if the Lord used the word "talent" because it connoted something valuable in that society (as it [money] also does in ours), something many people set their heart on. What if the transfer of meaning was supposed to be "something valuable" - something that gives life? (In the United States, not having money means no food, no shelter, few (if any) friends, being shunned, etc.)

In any case, those are the thoughts given to me on this subject. No doubt, the parable of the talents has varied and deeper meanings. No doubt, if I rise up to a higher level of intelligence, I will look back on this post and consider it on a toddler level at best.


The two version of the parable of the talents:

Luke 19:12-27
He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.

And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.

And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:

For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.

And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant.  Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?

And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.

(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)

For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.

But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

Matthew 25:14-30
 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Thinking About Thngs Again

So, I got an epiphany a while ago. The Lord doesn't want me to be miserable. He really does want me to be happy. When I said that to Him, it seemed like He replied, "You finally got it! Yes! I'm not your enemy. I want you to have enough food to eat, clothes to wear, a place to live. I want you to be genuinely happy, not pretend to be happy while you are miserable and wish you were dead."

--

I read a couple of posts lately, about Zion. They made me think. They were sobering to me. One was here. The other was here.

Right before or after I read that second link, I watched a movie called, "The Truman Show." It was like getting hit with a sledgehammer. The post and the movie sort of merged in my soul (that's why I don't remember which I was exposed to first). I watched the movie again today.

There's a line in the movie that the creator of The Truman Show says to a detractor (one who wants Truman to be able to live a real life). I can't quote it verbatim, but in essence, he says, "He can get out if he wants. If he wants it badly enough [to do anything to get out], he can leave. But he doesn't want to get out. He likes his cage."

As I watched the show, watched someone putting into Truman's head that he was in a "cage," watched Truman slowly waking up to the fact that some things didn't add up, then watched him fight, willing to sacrifice all, not even withholding his life, so that he could find a truth he didn't even understand - as I watched that, something pushed inside of me. It pushed me to crave getting out of my own illusions, to be willing to sacrifice anything and everything to find the Lord, to allow Him to work with me that I might be what, who, and where He wants me to be.

--

The first time I was rebaptized (before the general call to be baptized by "authority" instead of by "commission"), I was baptized in a river and three white wild horses grazed across the river the whole time. A call to courage, I think.

Fear. Worry. One or the other has been my constant companion since I was a preschooler. I am in the process of letting go of that. A couple of years ago, God began helping me with that in earnest. He is still working on it, and I am as willing a student as I know how to be. He's working on me trusting Him.

I fear my own sins. I fear my own failure. The other fears are fading into the background, even disappearing. I read the posts about how serious it is, what we are doing, what we are attempting. Can I do this? Can I sacrifice ALL that the Lord requires? How much have I already sacrificed? How much more is required? I feel so inadequate. I worry that I will come up against something I can't do, can't handle. I worry that because I've had more than enough hellish experiences in my life, things that I could barely survive. I pray God to lift me up and make it so that I don't notice how bad it really is. I've prayed that before. He has answered, done as I requested. There have been some times when I have been surprised, when I would look at my life objectively and see what I was going through and how much it did not hurt or scare me.

I pray God that darkness has no power over me, to drag me down, to cause me to fail. I am alive for a reason. I am alive because of what God wants me to do. He would not have sent His angels to show me the two paths I could choose if He knew I could not accomplish the one that required me to stay alive (as we call it). I must believe that the Lord can do this. I must believe that He has already atoned for my sins (and is only waiting for me to accept that). I must believe that He can create in me a new mind and a new heart. I must believe that I cannot understand all that the Lord comprehends. I must believe that trusting Him will cause me to break out of the illusions I live in.

I crave breaking out of this hell I was born into. I crave breaking into the reality, into the Light. But I cannot do it alone. I don't have the knowledge. I don't have the understanding. I still labor under too much fear and ineptitude.

God help me. God help us all.

God's Handiwork

This post has three titles:

God's Plan for Us

God's Handiwork

Has God Abandoned Me?

So, I've been having a rough time. We all have, no doubt. The circumstances I'm in have seemed unbearable for about a year and a half, now. Recently, my spiritual quests seemed fruitless. I seemed to be “seeing” and “hearing” heaven less than I did a couple of years ago, even though my quest was to follow Joseph Smith Jr.'s admonition to seek the face of Christ (it is in scripture as well).

I was at an impasse both physically and spiritually. It seemed worthless to try. The trials of my life were more than I could bear. Heaven seemed too quiet most of the time (whereas, in the past, I've had dreams from heaven, been able to tell the future, and had other gifts of the Spirit).

As a Christmas present, a friend gave me the recording “The Lost Mode of Prayer” by Gregg Braden which was very helpful. She also gave me the book, “The Secret” which was also helpful. But, in spite of trying to implement these things (basically, living in your mind, as if you had what you want), I found myself once again discouraged by my spiritual and physical circumstances.

Last Tuesday morning, I “heard” a voice in my mind and heart that told me, in essence, “This is almost over,” meaning my trials. I did not write down the exact words at the time I heard it, and I regret that - but the words were that this is almost over, meaning what I have been going through this time around. I am about to get relief.

That day, I went to a forum that I frequently go to. I expressed the following sentiment (it is a private forum, but I am quoting myself, so I hope that does not bother anyone who might be from there who is reading this):

“I have asked myself this [referring to me not seeing angels orthe Lord, outside of dreams] many a time, and cannot find an answer. I do know that I have had many spiritual experiences, before I read any of [Denver Snuffer's] books, but cannot get into the realm of "more real than real" that visions are said to be. Sometimes I have faith that it will happen to me; other times, I seriously wonder if what I have been taught is true - or if, maybe, there is something inherently wrong with me. But, when I begin to think I must be hopelessly evil, I remember some of the experiences I've had and am left to wonder - It isn't something that is easy to see and understand and have, in my experience.”

I received these scriptures in reply (I am quoting from my own notes, not from the forum). The references were not given, but I know the scriptures well enough to know they came from the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants.

- And ye may know that the words of the Lord, which have been spoken by the holy prophets, shall all be fulfilled; and ye need not say that the Lord delays his coming unto the children of Israel.

And ye need not imagine in your hearts that the words which have been spoken are vain, for behold, the Lord will remember his covenant which he hath made unto his people of the house of Israel.

- And now, verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you;

And inasmuch as you have humbled yourselves before me, the blessings of the kingdom are yours.

Gird up your loins and be watchful and be sober, looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man, for he cometh in an hour you think not.

Pray always that you enter not into temptation, that you may abide the day of his coming, whether in life or in death. Even so. Amen.

- And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak?

And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.

- But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.

And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.

Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.

- Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.

It struck me that “in an hour ye think not” applied to the promise in D&C 93:1

Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that 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;

(Doctrine and Covenants 93:1)

All of the scriptures affected me most powerfully. They helped tremendously in my concerns about receiving angels and the Second Comforter.

But, yesterday morning, as I was going to pray, it seemed less than useless. I had forgotten the words of comfort given to me Tuesday morning. The trials of life were crushing me. God seemed absent. There was no reason to pray. God was not hearing me. That was pretty dang obvious. My environmental/physical/earthly problems were still there (and worse, because a critter that is either a skunk or a badger has been rattling around in our home, bumping around inside the heating ducts (the furnace doesn't work, so we don't use it. If it has holes in it big enough for an animal like that to get in, I'm glad we aren't using it) and even coming inside bumping around under my daughter's bed).

It was worse than useless to pray. It was actually painful to pray. I prayed anyway. (I don't know how I managed it.) And I decided to fast. So worthless to fast, and I almost didn't, but I did it anyway.

These scriptures come to mind:

29 And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

(Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 16:29)

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6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

(Book of Mormon | Alma 37:6)

We will see if anything “great” comes as a result. Nevertheless, here are the results thus far:

At church, during sacrament meeting, the talks were nothing out of the ordinary until the last speaker. He said that when one has a problem, when one is about to succumb (not succumb to sin, but to the problem) one naturally turns to heaven. Then the devil steps in with his lies. The speaker seemed to be directing his words to men, because he was mentioning giving blessings, and the policy is that only men do that. In any case, his words hit hard. The devil steps in, but don't let the devil deter you, he said. “You give that blessing. You say that prayer.” Those words fit the tremendous and painful struggle I'd had that morning to even pray.

The man was unpolished in his speaking. No religious “politician” was he. And the curious thing was that after he said this, he told us his talk was about time management (from a general conference talk) and totally went off in a different direction. I was left to wonder if a humble man hadn't listened to God telling him what to say at the beginning of his sermon.

Sunday School was about Joseph Smith, Jr. I almost didn't go because I weary of hearing ad nauseum about how Joseph obeyed the Word of Wisdom when there was no such thing at that time. (And the fact that Joseph drank a little wine on occasion, even not long before he died, is something most of us don't know.) But I went anyway.

And I got another message. When the devil accosted Joseph in his prayer, Joseph did not give up. He “prayed harder”. It was interesting to see two things that addressed what I had struggled with that morning.

After church, I felt a little more on an even keel. When I had left for church, my daughter had been in the process of cleaning the house in order to keep the invading critter at bay (we had talked about finding out where it had entered the room she was sleeping in. She had seen it. In fact, after she had awakened me, and I had accompanied her down the hall, she had seen it again, peering at her from under the kitchen table. But some minutes later, we heard it bumping along the heating vents under the trailer again. We were not sure how it had done that, considering the layout of the place). I came home to find the living room a lot cleaner and in the process of being rearranged.

Later that day, I went to the site where my friend had posted the scriptures for me. After perusing for a while, I noticed he had posted a link to a video (God's Chisel) in a different thread, so I clicked on it. I shared the video on the Speak of Christ blog, but here is the link. I cannot imbed it on blogspot because it is not a YouTube video, nor is it on my computer.

It is a cute skit about how God is working in our lives. Just as when I read the scriptures that had been posted for me, I was in tears as the skit went on. And I am led to believe that the first angels God sends to us are imperfect fellow mortals.

Whereas, before, I had thought and felt that God did not care, that He was uninvolved in the trials and struggles of my life, I saw through this skit that it was possible that He was very involved in my life, and is in the process of making me into something better. I saw that my trials just might have a purpose, that they might truly be specifically tailored to my spiritual needs, and that it just might be true that “this is almost over,” because God is the one in charge.

It makes a difference when one can see one's pains in light of God's hand, and in light of “this will not last forever. There is and will be an end to this suffering.”

And I post all of this in the hopes of helping to relieve the suffering of someone else.

Whether a loved one has been murdered, whether you have lost your job, whether you have been made a mockery by your fellow beings, whether you fear for any reason whatsoever, whether you are hungry or homeless or nearly naked, God is there. God has not forgotten you. God cares about you. God is performing a work in your life. I promise you this. In some way, unfathomable to me, hell in this life can be for our benefit.

Your deceased loved one is safe. S/he is wrapped in the arms of Jesus. Quite possibly, they have come to you to communicate that they are okay. Perhaps you have heard this and, because of this conviction, you are more calm and peaceful than others can understand is possible.

Your lost job will turn to your benefit. Your hunger will turn to your benefit. Your lack of clothing and your homelessness will turn to your benefit. And if anyone was told by God to help you, but they didn't listen, it will turn back on them. This may seem harsh, because often the Spirit speaks so quietly, but I have learned that life is harsh - and the consequences of sins, even what we deem to be small sins, have hard and painful consequences. And, sometimes, what we deem as sins are not sins at all (body piercings, and not wearing a white shirt to church come to mind, as well as a man wearing a full beard).

It would best serve us to remove the voices that are not from God, whether they come from music, movies, games, negative thoughts, other people, or mindless pursuits. It is vital that we are open to God's voice, that we are used to hearing it. Then, if we have the ability to comfort those in need of comfort, to clothe the naked, to house the homeless, to feed the hungry we will know that God intends for us to do that, and He will show us who we should help.

If you are mocked, the mockery will turn onto the heads of those who mock, and they will mourn. This saddens my heart that anyone would suffer, but it is nonetheless true. You will be vindicated. If they repent, so much the better, but you will be vindicated. This, I promise you.

God is in charge of this world, even though it often does not seem that way. He cares. He loves you. We cannot always see that. If your stomach grumbles because you're hungry. If your breakfasts and lunches of the last several days have consisted of eating dirt (diatomaceous earth is nutritious by the way. I used the word “dirt” for its shock value - and yes, I have been there - very recently, in fact) - if you have suffered in ways that are genuinely painful and/or even dangerous to your mortality, know that God is there. Always.

God is not dependent upon ourperceptions of His existence. He is not dependent upon ourperceptions of His presence. He is not dependent upon ourunderstanding of whether He cares or loves us. If you get nothing else out of this post, please take this with you: God cares.He loves you. He is working to remove the sins and impurities within your souls.

The destructions that are escalating are allowed so that they will bring us to our knees. They are not caused by the secret combinations, though secret combinations may be involved as a tool of God.

All of the destructions and pain we see today, both those caused by nature and caused by people, are there to wake us up. They are there to call us back to God. We are in great need of repentance as a country and as a planet. Let us heed the call to repentance. Let us turn to God with all our hearts and souls, even if it seems He has abandoned us. I assure you that He has not.

By Common Consent

The Doctrine and Covenants declares that all things in the church must be done by common consent:

And all things shall be done by common consent in the church, by much prayer and faith, for all things you shall receive by faith. Amen.

(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 26:2)

For all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church, by the prayer of faith.

(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 28:13)

Look in a hard copy of the D&C's index for “common consent”. You'll get more results than if you type it into a computer version of the scriptures.

There is a petition here that says:

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints it is our desire to faithfully fulfill our obligation to our church by at least annually giving our “voice and Common Consent” as to the allocation of the funds that have been and are currently being donated by us to our Church.

We believe as President Hinckley stated that the financial information of our church “belongs to those that made the contribution”.

For most of our history our church provided full disclosure of its funds. Even in times of financial difficulties members could share in the joy of knowing that good works were being accomplished with their collective donations. We have confidence that a full annual financial disclosure will vindicate the virtue and integrity of our church’s financial affairs that are consistent with the principles taught by our Lord. Such open transparency will also dispel all mystery that often leads to unverifiable speculation both without and within our church:  “And He doeth nothing, save it be plain.” (2 Ne. 26:33). We seek complete transparency in all our financial affairs by following the Lord’s counsel that monies placed into His treasury shall “not be used, or taken out of the treasury, only by voice and common consent” (Doctrine and Covenants 104:71).

Therefore, we the undersigned members formally request that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints once again publish a full annual financial report that provides sufficient details so that we as members can once again give our “voice and Common Consent” as to the allocation of monies expended by our Church.

I would encourage anyone who is concerned about this - or who would like to have this disclosure made - to go and sign this petition. Again, the address is http://bycommonconsent.org/

Most people say where they are from (a few don't). In any case, here are some of the general places people have said they are from. It would appear that this is a worldwide concern.

USA

Queensland

Netherlands

United Kingdom

Sweden

Canada

Scotland

Beijing

Australia

Germany

Norway

Philippines

New Zealand

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Edited June 19, 2012 to add: The "About" on the page says this:

Petition by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to restore full annual financial disclosures. This Petition stands as a public statement of support, and the signatures will be posted here in perpetuity until the stated goal of restoring the practice of full financial disclosure is achieved. No private information will be conveyed to the LDS Church or any other party.

Not to be confused with the blog of the same name, but welcoming a friendly collaboration.

Thoughts on the Atonement

I was thinking abut the atonement several days ago and wanting to write my thoughts down, but I haven't been able to figure out where or how to write my thoughts. Here and now is as good as anytime or anything. Remember, this came from my own ponderings. This is not official anything.

The atonement happens because we agreed to it. There is no magic about it. (Really, this is a different topic than my last post, though it overlaps somewhat.)

In the premortal world, a plan was presented. The problem was stated. We, as pure and holy beings, knew that if we made mistakes or outright rebelled we would feel so guilty that we could not bear to be in our Father's presence. But we knew we would make mistakes. So, how could we go out on this venture and have a chance to return after the venture was over?

Well, there was a plan presented by the Father God. He said, “I can send one down who is part God and part mortal. Because he has a foot in both worlds, he can bring the two together. He will be the liaison. But I will need to send someone who has been tried and found faithful because - number one - he needs to be without sin. Being part God will genetically predispose him to goodness but the core of his inner soul needs to be such that he will not sin. Your collective faith will do the rest.

“Second, if you agree to give him your sins and your pains, your regrets and your guilt, I will decree a law that such will be so. It will be binding because of the law of common consent. But it will be excruciatingly painful, nearly impossible to bear, even for a God-hybrid. So, we need someone we can trust one hundred percent to go through with it.”

Here, I'm going to skip to what the Pearl of Great Price (Abraham 3:27) calls the second answer, though it is possible that the second answer came in jealousy over the firmness of the volunteer who answered first.

There was a stir among the people of the children of the Father-God as they discussed this. Some didn't think it was fair to make one of their siblings the recipient of everyone's guilt and pain, especially if he was innocent of any guilt at all. Others felt guilty already for causing a sibling so much pain, even though it hadn't happened yet. Others saw that there was really no other way for the problem to be solved.

After much discussion, one spoke up -

“It isn't fair or right that one among us should suffer so unjustly for us all.”

Some nodded and verbalized their agreement.

“I have a better plan,” he said.

“What is it?” asked the Father God.

“I'll go down and be the savior. I will make it so that not one soul will be lost. No one will have to feel guilty over causing excessive pain and trauma to an innocent sibling because sin and error will simply not exist.”

“How do you propose to do that?” asked the Father God.

“When we put the veil of forgetfulness over our eyes, we will also make ourselves pliable and compliant to my will. They will always be obedient because they will be incapable of thinking or speaking or acting in any other way.”

“Your will?”

“Of course. As the author of the plan, the glory is mine. My brilliant plan will prevent the loss of even one soul. I should have the Father's glory because my plan is better. We've got to be progressive here - and compassionate.”

“What do you think of that plan?” the Father God asked his children.

The children discussed it.

“How will we be able to learn and grow and become like Father if we are forced to obey?” asked one.

“Or if we are not given the freedom to even think?” asked another.

“How can we learn from our mistakes if we don't make any?” asked still another.

“Look, you're not going to be forced to do anything,” the plan-giver replied. “Force implies choice. You won't be forced. You will have chosen here, therefor your choice has not been trampled upon.

“Listen, you won't want to rebel or do anything wrong. That's the beauty of it. Force doesn't even enter the picture. Not only will all of you return to Father, but you won't be the cause of excruciating pain to anyone. Do you really want Father to slaughter one of his children because you were too selfish to accept my plan?”

There was more discussion. Finally a vote was taken. The majority chose the Father's plan.

“So, who shall I send?” he asked again.

“Me, of course,” said the plan-giver, planning to push his plan through after he was chosen. “As the eldest it is my right.”

“I will go,” said another. “Send me.”

“What of my glory?” asked the Father God.

“I don't want your glory. I want what is best for my siblings. I want them to be free to direct their lives, and to be able to change course when they screw up.”

“But youare not the eldest,” pointed out the plan-giver.¹“Thus you have no right to be the savior of your siblings.”

“I will send you,” said the Father God.

“Me?” asked the plan-giver.

“No,”said the Father. “I am sending the one who will sacrifice himself.”

The plan-giver didn't take that too well. The rejection agitated in his soul. Eventually, he rebelled and decided to take his Father's kingdom by force. That didn't work out too well for him, and for his efforts, he was cast out of the kingdom.

So, the atonement is wrought by a law given with our common consent. Our very hearts are intertwined in the way the atonement works, with how it was set up.

When the judgment day arrives, we will not be ignorant of our part in choosing the plan that included a sacrificial offering. If we have chosen to give all of our sins to Christ, we will have honored our commitment to the plan and we will know it. The honor in our souls (in spite of what we may have done or become here) is what holds up the plan. The law that was made during the planning to which we gave our common consent still lives in each of our hearts.

This has not been a very good description of what I have been pondering. The gist is -

1. We knew that we would feel too horrible to return to God's presence if we made even one mistake.
   
   
2. We agreed to the sacrifice. Without our common consent, it would not have been put in place.
   
   
3. The faith of the faithful, the fact that Jesus was a God hybrid, and Jesus' own natural personality are what made it possible for him to live without sin and to complete the atonement.
   
   
4. Putting our sins on Jesus was something we chose, that's why it is possible to put our sins on him. We simply re-choose what we once chose. Very simple. Too simple for those who want to think of the atonement as something too deep and too mysterious to understand.

The mechanics of how the sins were put upon Jesus is something I have not yet understood.

I wish I could say more, but I am unable to put the rest of my ponderings into words, even in my own mind. I am hoping that my bumbling way to express what little I can is helpful and uplifting to someone, though.

1 I get this idea from the scriptures where it is often the younger brother who rules over the elder, even in the case of twins like Esau and Jacob. For the purpose of my thoughts, the scenario is that they are twins, with one just barely older than the other - though birth order as we know it probably does not exist in heaven. The plan-giver probably lost the “Firstborn status” he would have had if he had been chosen.

Thoughts on King Benjamin's Sermon

I was studying Mosiah 3:25 - Mosiah 4:1 and received what seemed to me to be tremendous insights. (Remember, there's a disclaimer somewhere on this site that my posts are my own opinions.)

I'm going to put my notes below, then try to clean it up a little so that, hopefully, it will make sense.

If's one's works are evil, that person is consigned (not sure what that means) to an awful view of their own guilt and abominations. Their view, their guilt is the punishment. This view causes them to shrink from God's presence - And they shrink into a state of misery and endless woe - whence they can no more return!

The idea that people can or will somehow advance from a lower kindgom to a higher is shot out of the water here. If they feel guilt - shrinking from God's presence - it's a “no more return” (to God) thing.

And they have drunk damnation to their own souls.

In other words, it was their own doing. They cannot blame others or circumstances no matter how bad they were. Someone growing up in hell, if taught the truth by the Spirit, is just as accountable as someone growing up in righteousness who has been taught by the Spirit.

Thisis drinking out of the cup of the wrath of God, which justice cannot deny! Why can it not deny it? Because YOUknowyou are guilty! It has absolutely nothingto do with “little intelligences” that refuse to allow God to let us advance. There are no little intelligences telling God, “Uh, uh, You held usback.”

No, it is allwithin each soul. Wehave a sense of justice within us. When we are brought to ourselves again, and it is everlastingly too late, weare the ones who cannot deny that justice was done. We know, perfectly well, that we are not worthy, because we rejected mercy when it was extended to us.

We cannot deny God's justice because it is also our justice. We are part of God. We have forgotten that here. We think we can hide from God. We think we can hide our sins. But we cannot. The sins are written in our souls. If we have not repented and taken the Holy Spirit for our guide, wewill know it. And because weknow it, we will shrink from God, feeling excruciating pain at being in His presence - and forever carrying the guilt and torment. It may be allayed somewhat as we move far away from God, but being separated from God is hell. So, then, where are we?

Mercy NEVERhas claim again. Neverforever.You cannot get more plain than that.

Their torment is asa lake of fire and brimstone. There is no realfire, no realbrimstone. The comparison is a figure of speech from something long forgotten, though some scholars claim to know where it came from.

It is a figure of speech, originated by those who sawsuch a lake (or lakes). They sawhow terrible the fire, brimstone, and smoke was.

Now, I understand that the idea was supposed to have originated from a group of evil men who prepared the fires to torment and kill others, but I submit that this idea may be more ancient than that. I submit that this goes to the root of the myths about the violent and angry gods such as Venus, Mercury, Mars, and so forth, those planets that once terrorized the earth.

And what do we teach each other today? We teach about the three degrees of glory and how most people will go to a degree of glory. Any torment before reaching one of those is glossed over or ignored. Few of us will be consigned to actual hell, we say. And some few even teach that there is progression from kingdom to kingdom. Others teach that all those in outer darkness, whether with a body or without, will have a total dissolution into intelligences and have another go at becoming Gods.

Some teach that we keep coming back to this life over and over again until we either give up or get it right. They claim that this is notreincarnation. But this view is refuted in the Book of Mormon. Thislife(not some past or future lives) is the day in which to repent and produce fruit. Besides that, our tendency to act in a certain way will remain - whether we are totally dismantled and put together again or whether we come back to this life six hundred times. How we act will not change. One life is enough to show who and what we really are. And that is the purpose of this life after all: To show us what and who we really are when we are wearing blinders.

“There is no hell.” “There is no devil.” And thus he whispereth in their ears and draws them down to hell with his flaxen cords that have turned into chains of iron.

I don't think we take the opportunities offered is in this life seriously enough. We think we'll get another chance in the spirit world. We think we'll magically want what we either did not want or actively fought against here - so we blithely assume, suppose, and hope that unhearing or antagonistic loved ones (or even ourselves) will magically transform once they are dead. Some truths, apparently, are too hard for people to bear.

I had an experience that showed me this truth (that we do not change once we hit the spirit world).

I was working for a man who had - oh, I'm thinking it was Musser, but I'm not sure - anyway this person's journal (on small floppy disks), who was a leader in what eventually became the FLDS church. When I worked for the man, he was blind and could not do his own typing, so he hired me to help him. He wanted me to type the journals for him.

As I typed, I came across something I could not decipher. I didn't know what to do, so I asked the man who wrote the journals to tell me what the words said. I thought, living in the spirit world and having his eyes opened, he would have a different view of polygamy and all that. He did not. He was very eager to tell me what the words were that I could not read. In fact, he was very eager for me to understand where he was coming from. He was very enthusiastic as I typed the journal. He was pleased that it was being done, even though it would not further his purposes. He never tormented my dreams or anything. He was respectful of me, but I could sense the eagernesswith which he shared the missing words.

I promise you: We do not change simply because we have died.

Back to my notes: Benjamin has finished telling the people what the angel told him to say to them. He looks at the people and sees they have fallen to the earth. They have understood his words. They have understood that they don't get to come back over and over again (whether from scratch, as an intelligence, or as a spirit being). They have understood that theywill be the condemner of themselves. And so on.

They know full well what they are. They can and do clearlysee their own fallen state. They are carnal. They are sensual. They are devilish. They see the natural tendency to deny justice and concentrate on mercy - receiving mercy without following the laws that lead to mercy. They are less than the dust of the earth, because the dust of the earth obeys God willingly, never putting it off, never refusing, never complaining.

Dowe realize this stuff? Do I realize this? Am Iguilty of any of these things (being carnal, sensual, devilish, unwilling to always obey every single thing God tells me to do)?Of course I am. I admit it freely. But my desire is to change until I am not guilty. I amchanging. I can feel it, and I can see it.

This book (the Book of Mormon) was written for us, those who read it and those believe it. It was written for me. It is a warning to us so that we will not lift up our eyes in hell, being in torment. It is a handbook to teach us how to come to Christ, until we are redeemed from the fall and brought back into God's presence. That means wehad better scrupulously study this book. Ihad better do so.

It was written to help us escape from hell. How was that again? [This is referring to previous parts of Benjamin's sermon.]

Believe in Jesus Christ. Understand that He lived and what He did. Understand your need to repent. Understand that little children and the ignorant are covered by the atonement. Understand that it is youwho are the catalyst for the power of the atonement in your life. Understand that youare the marker and the judge and you cannotdeceive yourself at the last day, let alone deceive God.

Understand that the punishment and torment is real. Don't minimize it. Don't ignore it. Understand that God sends holy prophets (and they may not be who you expect them to be) to warn us and to teach us. But, ultimately, it is between us and God, not between us an anyman.

Understand that Jesus is the onlyway. It is in yoursoul that justice will be satisfied. Youwill judge yourself. What about all the other judges? 12 original apostles, 12 disciples, etc. I think there is more to that information than meets the casual eye. They will not condemn us. Neither will Christ. We will. We are less subservient than we think.

[Note: if you want scripture references for what I've written that is not in Benjamin's speech, search the Book of Mormon; it's in there.]