Church of the Lamb of God

The Great and Abominable Church/the whore of all the earth has dominion over all the earth, among all nations kindreds, tongues, and people. This Church includes everyone who is not a part of the church of the Lamb of God. All the nations of the Gentiles fight against against the Lamb of God.

But

There is also the church of the Lamb of God (I made it small c because it isn't a legally organized entity of any kind, nor does it try to hold itself up as some kind of authority that tries to force others to obey its every whim). The people belonging to it are also all over the planet, even though there are very few of them in comparison to the earth's population.

The saints of the church of the Lamb of God and the covenant people (I find it curious that it's worded as two groups - or is it saying that the "saints" of the church of the Lamb are also the covenant people?) are armed with the righteousness and with the power of God in great glory. That description deserves a lot of humble pondering and self-introspection.

At some point, Satan will have no power because of the righteousness of the people. He has no power over their hearts. I think that also deserves a lot of humble pondering and self-introspection.

Sources: RE 1 Nephi chapter 3, paragraph 28

RE 1 Nephi chapter 7, paragraph 5

Jesus' Love for Me, for You

 The love of Jesus is deep and powerful. It encompasses us, draws us in, and changes us - but only if we are willing to be changed.

How can we not love someone who loves us so powerfully and so thoroughly even though he knows our worst defects and our hidden darkness?

How can we not love someone who has pulled us out of hell and into love, peace, and power (real power, not the fake stuff so rampant today. That isn't real power because devils are controlling them).

There is no way to glory in Jesus enough. His love is real. It isn't this weird "acceptance" and insanity the world has going around today, like a rampant disease. It's real. It's powerful. And if we accept it and turn to him, then our love for him increases and our appreciation of him is boundless, for how can you be pulled out of fear, terror, depression, anxiety, and so on and not have the deepest love and appreciation for him who pulled you out and filled you with his love and peace?

 

To quote part of a song:

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me
Confused at the grace that, so fully, He proffers me.

 I marvel that He would descend from His throne, divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine
That He should extend His great love unto such as I
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify

 

 If you have watched The Chosen series, most of the videos below will make more sense, even though I think the message can be received even if one has never watched it.

 These videos move me to tears. The sobbing kind. Perhaps it is because I have had such darkness inside and such fear, depression, and anxiety coursing through my soul for decades (which things I still fight) that I thoroughly identify with the poor souls depicted in these videos. The spiritually and emotionally maimed and wounded. The lost. Those that hell overcame - until Christ entered the picture.

 

 

 Minute 2:34 to the end of that video above. I have no words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Compassionate God

Recently, I was staying in a hotel in Boise, Idaho with a friend. Our room was directly across from the guests' laundry room. On one side of our room were the stairs. On the other was the room of the ladies who had given me a ride to Boise. Sunday morning, my friend left to go home (had pressing business that prevented her from staying the full weekend). That afternoon, the ladies and I were going to meet some people for lunch.

I was in my room, pretty much killing time, when I heard what seemed like a year old baby throwing a fit. I didn't hear adults and supposed they were ignoring the child. A few minutes later, I opened my door to go out and right next to the door, pressed into it, was a two year old toddler, screaming and crying hysterically. I glanced into the laundry room as I picked her up. It was empty. I had felt incredible compassion for the child the moment I'd opened the door, and I told her, "We'll find your mom." She stopped being hysterical, but was still upset. I knocked on the ladies' door, and when I did, the toddler calmed down even more. When the door was opened, I explained what had happened and that I was going to take the child to the office (front desk) to see if they could find her mom. The ladies went with me downstairs and, on the elevator ride, one of them coaxed out of the child that she was two years old (she never spoke the whole time she was with us).

When we got to the front desk, I explained what had happened, and told them it was on the second floor. One of the ladies behind the desk came around and held her arms out to the child. The child hesitated for a nano-second. You could see her deciding if she could trust this person. Then she leaned over and reached out to the lady.

After we got back from lunch, we inquired at the front desk. Was the mom found? The man there had just begun his shift not long before. He said he had not seen the child, but had heard others talking about the incident, and, yes, the mom had been found.

Later that evening, I was talking to God, and he told me, "The child is a sign to you." He told me that the compassion I'd felt for the child was the same compassion he felt for me when I was hysterically scream-crying out to him because of being homeless (or threatened with it), not having enough food to eat, worried about other problems, or just plain having a freak-out attack for no reason that I knew of. He also let me know that just as I had taken immediate steps to solve the toddler's problem when I realized what was happening, so he, also, took steps to alleviate my suffering when I was freaking out.

I am sharing this experience because he told me to. He told me that this compassion he feels toward me is the same compassion he feels toward everyone. Our sincere prayers are always heard, even if we don't see immediate results.

A Purpose of Trials and Sacrifices

These are some thoughts I had this morning. That doesn't mean I really know what I'm talking about. I do think, though, that this conclusion was a result of pondering about "Goliaths" evaporating once we learn to choose faith in regards to them.

We are here to learn faith in Christ.

As we learn a little faith, he gives us a little more - to push our faith forward.

The trials we have and the sacrifices he asks, including the huge sacrifice at the supposed end is just another step in learning faith and in learning to trust him.

It is for our benefit, so that -eventually- we have the faith to be self-existent. Faith to attain to the resurrection of the dead (in other words, not dependent upon a God to resurrect us - but, instead, we can resurrect those who depend upon us).

Helaman 3:27-30

Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name. Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked— And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.

Anyone can lay hold on the word of God, not just members of a certain sect (LDS, FLDS, RLDS, JW, SDA, etc.).

The word of God is quick and powerful.

The word of God cuts to bits all the tricks, lies, deceits, traps, and so forth that the devil throws out.

The word of God leads the (hu)man who follows Christ in a strait and narrow course. Rather like a guide who leads people through a forest, because he knows the right trails to follow.

Across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked. This shows my bias towards mortality, but I look at this and see that this mortality touches everlasting on the one side and everlasting on the other. It, being in time, is in the middle.

And is it not a place where the most wicked dwell? Does it not engulf the wicked? Are we not swallowed up in the cares of the world, in perversions, greed, fear, lust for power and money, lust for bodies to play with, the need to survive, and so forth? Are we not all wicked to some degree or other?

To land with the Gods (why does this remind me of fishing? He landed the fish).

To go no more out. What? So, if God makes lots of eternal rounds in an effort to save his children, does this mean that if we follow Christ and don't veer off the path, we don't have to come back to another round? We can be with the Gods? We can be on that upper rung of Jacob's ladder? We don't have to come down into a mortal hell ever again? Sounds enticing to me.

Let's do it. Let's follow Christ and let him lead us safely out of this vale of tears and pain. Let us not allow the cares of this world, the fears of this world, the lusts of this world to distract us from our task of escaping this stuff.

Doing What the Devil Doesn't Want You To

If the devil is trying to stop me from doing something, if I am doing something good and he is trying to stop me via fear, distractions, or other people then it is imperative that I continue to do the thing I am doing.

We Live in a Time of Fear; How Can We Possibly Be Safe?

Restored post

Monday, August 9, 2010

In Sunday School, yesterday, we studied 2 Chronicles in the Old Testament and applied it to our day. (I will be leaving out the ellipses that show I have left out words. If you want to know all that was said, go to 2 Chronicles and begin reading from chapter 29, King James Version.)

Hezekiah said to the people, “Sanctify now yourselves and sanctify the house of the Lord and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place, for our fathers have trespassed and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs.

“Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes; for, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.

“Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.”

They sent forth a decree that said, “Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren which trespassed against the Lord god of their fathers, who therefor gave them up to desolation, as ye see. Now be ye not stiffnecked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary [the temple], and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land; for the Lord you God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.”

The reaction was interesting. Some laughed them to scorn and mocked them, but some listened and obeyed the advice given. They came and they broke down the images and groves, everything that had to do with idol worship (I leave it to you to decide what, in your life, constitutes idol worship - most people become very angry if their “sacred cows” are attacked; so you find your own sacred cows; I’m not about to point them out to you.)

And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God and in every work that he began in the service of the house of God and in the law and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

Then comes the test. Sennacherib invades Judah and besieges her cities. Hezekiah’s response was to tell his people, “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him, for there be more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”

And the people rested (relied) on the words of Hezekiah.

But good ol’ (not!) Sennacherib sends his servants to try the type of thought control that has been happening in this country for years. In part, the people are told, “Hezekiah is persuading you to die in this siege by telling you that your God is going to deliver you. Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to the people of other lands? Were their gods able to deliver those people from my hand? Noooo. If their gods couldn’t deliver them, why in the Sam Hill do you think your God is going to deliver you?” (Of course, Sennacherib would have only used the lower case G for Israel’s God, but do I think he deserves that respect, to copy him and put in lower cases for a person who really exists? No)

“C’mon, guys, your God can’t deliver you. Hezekiah is feeding you a pipe dream. He’s deceiving you. Seriously, don’t believe him. No god of any nation has been able to deliver their people from me. I mean, look at my batting average, for Pete’s sake. A hundred out of a hundred. You can’t get better than perfect, believe me. I promise you, Hezekiah’s God doesn’t have any more power than anyone else’s. Make it easy on yourselves. Give up before you all starve to death. I mean, how can you be my slaves and pay tribute to me if you’re dead? Think about it. He’s feeding you a farce, a dangerous one, by the way.”

This guy even sends letters around, flyers, posters, sky-writing, whatever works. The radio is going and there he is. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my drift. He used all the media available at the time to get his point across.

The spoke in the Jews’ native tongue so that everyone could understand, and why? To scare the pants off them, to trouble them, to make them doubt. That’s how Satan works, you know. If we can be made afraid, anxiety-ridden, tense, doubtful, then we just might shut down and/or be easily coerced into doing what is most definitely not the right thing for us to do.

So what did Hezekiah and Isaiah do? They prayed, folks. Plain and simple. They cried to heaven, so this wasn’t just prayer #346; this was real, true, from-the-heart praying.

Then what happened? The Lord sent an angel that cut off the enemy. We aren’t told how. Could have been dysentery. Could have been anything. The point is, the Lord did it. He fought the battle. The people didn’t even have to come out from their walls. They weren’t really a match for these enemies, though I expect God could have strengthened them. But these people, these people who had destroyed their own idols and had worshiped faithfully in the Lord’s temples were delivered miraculously.

And old Sennacherib returned “with shame of face” to his own land. And what happened to him there? He went to the house of his god and his children (I presume “sons” or maybe even “grandsons”) killed him with a sword while he was there.

The Lord, the scripture says, “saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others and guided them on every side.” And what did the children of Israel do? They were grateful; they humbled themselves.

In our class, this was likened unto us: if we cast away our idols from us and worship in God’s holy temples, God will give to us a very real protection. I don’t know if anyone has noticed yet (facetious, here) but we live in very frightening times. Our freedom is pretty much gone and what little is left is being eaten away. No matter how much we have voted or gotten involved in politics, our freedoms have been eaten away by “conspiring men”, hidden in a treaty here, a bill there, an executive order elsewhere, and so on.

We are in very real and physical danger - of starving, of being killed, of suffering from diseases and manmade catastrophes. We have been told that it is vital to attend the temples in these last days and I had my witness to the fact that it can help us in our struggles with temptation.

There's a man on one of the forums I frequent whose username is Mateo. He gave me permission to quote the following:

I realize that I must write a book on my experience of overcoming same-sex attraction. So many members and non-members are struggling with this. It is very disheartening.

I used the ARP program that the Church offers to overcome this addiction and others that have plagued me.

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" I emphatically declare, no! If we are willing to lay our sins upon the altar, he will help us overcome them.

I am a living testimony of how the power of God can change a man's life.

I once had a friend of mine say to me, "Mateo, I wonder if you will teach others how to overcome same-sex attraction. Imagine if in the next life, someone were to say, I couldn't overcome it, it was too difficult. The Savior could very well turn to you and say, well my son Mateo did it. If he did it, so can you."

Temple attendance is vital in this fight against the adversary. I look forward to serving in the temple each Wednesday night!

Temple attendance can help us, can give us power in some very real ways.

One of the things Satan and his minions do is try to convince us we are not worthy of going to the temple when we are and, in fact, going often would help us overcome the things S/minions convince us can never be changed. Heck, he’ll put thoughts into our minds, then tell us, “Look what you’re thinking! Shame on you! You’re so evil! There’s no hope for you now. You might as well just give up.” And if we need help from a bishop or a stake president S/minions will tell us that they are our enemies, or that we can’t bear to have them know the truth about us/think badly of us. Sometimes, there are “bad” or uncompassionate leaders out there, but I think we need to trust God on this. I think he can lead us to the right people, if we need them to help us. At the same time S/minions will be trying to put hurtful people in our path, trying to convince the good people to say and do hurtful things often “for our own good”.

Trust God. That’s the bottom line. The atonement of Jesus Christ is very, very real and very, very powerful. That, I promise you. He’s there. He is always there.

On the Idea of Success

So what makes a person a success? I, personally, would like to be successful in my own eyes. To do that, I first need to define what success is to me. I would think one of the things would be to wear clothes that exude self-confidence, as well as a hairstyle and body language that say the same.

What clothing would shout "loser" to the world? Underwear on the outside, pants hanging down to the crotch, holes in the clothing, stains. To me, successful clothing would be automatically pleasing to the eye. If I'm successful, I don't think my clothing needs to shout out "individuality! Look at me!" because I would be secure in myself. I would follow modest clothing styles because that would reflect what I consider tasteful.

My thoughts, words, and actions would also need to reflect my perception of what success is. I would speak grammatically correct, a thing I have long gotten out of the habit of because most of those around me do not do it. Yet, my friends Jeremy and Eraina speak how I consider successful people to speak, so drawing on those memories would help. How they managed to use the words they use in light of the ill grammar that surrounds them is a wonder to me.

Slow to anger, controlling one's tongue, speaking plainly and without attack, not having a "chip on one's shoulder" - these are marks of someone I would highly respect, someone I would want to hang around, someone I would easily have a crush on because these are the behaviors of the immensely powerful and power is attracting. Perhaps that is one reason I have liked the idea of Superman throughout my life. Here was a man who was immensely powerful, yet was not a bully and was so profoundly self-controlled that no one had a clue who he really was.

As a real life example, Christ was the ultimate in self-control. Self control is powerful, attracting, addicting. I am speaking as one who is looking from the outside in, yet I really do believe that those with true self control are the most powerful people there are. I long to emulate that.

What about career? What careers shout "Success" to me? I think any career a person does that reflects their soul's desire. I, personally, would love to own or co-own a publishing/printing company. As part of that, I would like to be fluent in several languages besides my native language. I would also like to learn many, many different varieties of healing massage. To me, career success is not about how many people are in awe of you nor about how wealthy you are. Career success is about how well you love your work and how well it fulfills you and helps others. It seems to me that money should come as a part of that, plenty of money for your needs plus enough to help others if that is what you desire.

Socially adept instead of socially backwards, clean in body. Stench does not equal success to me, neither does having no idea how to adequately communicate with a variety of people.

I have felt as opposite of success as one can get - from the kind of man I attract to the kind of work I have managed to have. I am ready for change. I am ready for in-depth study and definite change. I am ready to succeed.