November is upon us. Once again, I have chosen to be part of the NaNoWriMo frenzy. It begins at midnight, local time (whenever your midnight is that begins November). So I probably won't be posting much here this month.
nanowrimo.org
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
On Signs, True Messengers, and Such
In a Google group, there is a discussion about footnote 307, on page 127 of Preserving the Restoration by Denver Snuffer. The footnote in question says: D&C
63:9-10; meaning God determines when a "sign" will be given. He
determined an earthquake would accompany my talk in Ephraim, Utah, rain
would fall while I spoke in the drought-afflicted communities of Las
Vegas, Nevada, and St. George, Utah, and record rainfall and a flood
would happen at the final venue in Phoenix as signs.
I won't get into the different things people said. It is, after all, a private group. I wish to quote one of my replies, however. It seems to me that it is something I should post here. (The rest of this post is my reply.)
That makes sense [name]. Because of that, and because you met someone who said they used to be a Satanist, I can see your reluctance.
To me, like Daryl said, the signs (of flooding and earthquake) are signs that God is truly doing something here and has nothing to do with Denver any more than ink and paper can boast of itself if my mother should write a letter and send it to me.
My testimony of Denver as a true messenger of God (not as a perfect man whose every word I should hang onto, mind you) came from God.
When 9/11 happened in 2001, I expected the president of the Church (Hinckley) to warn us of our impending destruction. Not only did he not do that, his sermon about 9/11 and the invasion of an innocent country was very wishy washy and against the Book of Mormon (essentially going into their countries to seek out the gadiantans). After general conference, I begged God with all my being to send us someone to warn us. "Don't you love us?" I asked Him. "You sent prophets to warn people [in other countries and times] before THEY were destroyed. Why are you not warning us? Don't you love us?"
In 2010, God used a friend of mine (who is exceedingly imperfect, by the way. God can use anyone and we are not required to believe every word they utter, only that which the Spirit or the Lord directs) to bring Denver to my mind over and over again. I read the blog posts to be polite to my friend. Over time, I began to see what was going on (the comments had to be turned off, though, because I was being entertained by them and not heeding the messenger), which was that this man was essentially claiming to be a messenger from God.
I recognized the Lord's words. I knew who it was who was really speaking in many of those blog posts. I cannot explain my knowledge, except to say that it was a remembering.
And one day I was talking to God about DS, the words in the blog, etc. and God brought to my remembrance the prayer from 2001 (I had completely forgotten about it) and He told me, "This man is the answer to your prayers."
We are all on different paths, have had different experiences, have different fears and stumbling blocks. I don't know what it was that made me pray like I did, or recognize the voice of the Lord. All I know is that this man is a true messenger from my Father.
That does not mean the messenger is perfect. That does not mean I should take everything he says to be 100% right just because he said/wrote it. In fact, I unquestioningly accept only what my soul tells me is from God. The rest I leave to God to sort out. The signs fits in this category. To me, the earthquake and the flooding in Arizona were signs. I'm not sure about the little bit of rain in St. George and Las Vegas/Henderson.
It is not for me to condemn God because people I judge as "good" were harmed by "an act of God." Perhaps the trials they received as a result of the flooding was a loving God giving them a wake-up call. Perhaps those trials averted something worse because it changed their trajectory. I do not know the heart of God. I do not know why bad things happen. Maybe they aren't as bad as we think they are. Maybe God has a different perspective. Maybe His is higher, better, beyond our comprehension. For this reason, I think it is good that we are forbidden to take upon ourselves judgment and condemnation of other people.
Something bad happened to me when I was 3 1/2. For me, it changed my life for the worse. Many times, in my adult life, I begged God to know why it had happened. Finally, He told me that it was necessary that that thing had happened. Without it, I would have been "too good." I needed that experience to teach me anger, rage, and to descend into the hell of uncontrolled rage so that I could a) learn to overcome and b) so I could learn to understand those who acted and/or lived in anger and fear - from murderers to people who are living in a more mild anger on a regular basis (no, I have never killed anyone nor attempted to do so).
In saying this, I am not lifting myself above anyone. "Too good" was the meaning of God's words to me. In my own mind, I am not nor have I ever been "too good." In fact, I am wretched, faithless, and far to far from God. I am like the wicked Lamanites, only I have not yet been changed so that I permanently have no desire to do evil.
I won't get into the different things people said. It is, after all, a private group. I wish to quote one of my replies, however. It seems to me that it is something I should post here. (The rest of this post is my reply.)
That makes sense [name]. Because of that, and because you met someone who said they used to be a Satanist, I can see your reluctance.
To me, like Daryl said, the signs (of flooding and earthquake) are signs that God is truly doing something here and has nothing to do with Denver any more than ink and paper can boast of itself if my mother should write a letter and send it to me.
My testimony of Denver as a true messenger of God (not as a perfect man whose every word I should hang onto, mind you) came from God.
When 9/11 happened in 2001, I expected the president of the Church (Hinckley) to warn us of our impending destruction. Not only did he not do that, his sermon about 9/11 and the invasion of an innocent country was very wishy washy and against the Book of Mormon (essentially going into their countries to seek out the gadiantans). After general conference, I begged God with all my being to send us someone to warn us. "Don't you love us?" I asked Him. "You sent prophets to warn people [in other countries and times] before THEY were destroyed. Why are you not warning us? Don't you love us?"
In 2010, God used a friend of mine (who is exceedingly imperfect, by the way. God can use anyone and we are not required to believe every word they utter, only that which the Spirit or the Lord directs) to bring Denver to my mind over and over again. I read the blog posts to be polite to my friend. Over time, I began to see what was going on (the comments had to be turned off, though, because I was being entertained by them and not heeding the messenger), which was that this man was essentially claiming to be a messenger from God.
I recognized the Lord's words. I knew who it was who was really speaking in many of those blog posts. I cannot explain my knowledge, except to say that it was a remembering.
And one day I was talking to God about DS, the words in the blog, etc. and God brought to my remembrance the prayer from 2001 (I had completely forgotten about it) and He told me, "This man is the answer to your prayers."
We are all on different paths, have had different experiences, have different fears and stumbling blocks. I don't know what it was that made me pray like I did, or recognize the voice of the Lord. All I know is that this man is a true messenger from my Father.
That does not mean the messenger is perfect. That does not mean I should take everything he says to be 100% right just because he said/wrote it. In fact, I unquestioningly accept only what my soul tells me is from God. The rest I leave to God to sort out. The signs fits in this category. To me, the earthquake and the flooding in Arizona were signs. I'm not sure about the little bit of rain in St. George and Las Vegas/Henderson.
It is not for me to condemn God because people I judge as "good" were harmed by "an act of God." Perhaps the trials they received as a result of the flooding was a loving God giving them a wake-up call. Perhaps those trials averted something worse because it changed their trajectory. I do not know the heart of God. I do not know why bad things happen. Maybe they aren't as bad as we think they are. Maybe God has a different perspective. Maybe His is higher, better, beyond our comprehension. For this reason, I think it is good that we are forbidden to take upon ourselves judgment and condemnation of other people.
Something bad happened to me when I was 3 1/2. For me, it changed my life for the worse. Many times, in my adult life, I begged God to know why it had happened. Finally, He told me that it was necessary that that thing had happened. Without it, I would have been "too good." I needed that experience to teach me anger, rage, and to descend into the hell of uncontrolled rage so that I could a) learn to overcome and b) so I could learn to understand those who acted and/or lived in anger and fear - from murderers to people who are living in a more mild anger on a regular basis (no, I have never killed anyone nor attempted to do so).
In saying this, I am not lifting myself above anyone. "Too good" was the meaning of God's words to me. In my own mind, I am not nor have I ever been "too good." In fact, I am wretched, faithless, and far to far from God. I am like the wicked Lamanites, only I have not yet been changed so that I permanently have no desire to do evil.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
No Title
This is not going to be a spiritual post, so you might consider passing this one by.
Noises are so much louder than they were. In Spanish this morning, the teacher was talking and there was so much noise literally buzzing in my ears that I had to cover my ears. Soon the a/c stopped and I could tolerate the noise because all that was left was the teacher talking.
After class, I walked outside and down to the street so I could walk to the main part of campus. The traffic was almost deafening, even before I reached the street. I cut across campus as soon as I could to get away, but there was some type of machine (a/c unit?) next to a building that was just as difficult to deal with as the traffic noise had been. Then one of those leaf blowers someone was using to blow grass.
Even here, in the library, I hear every noise: someone dropping a book or backpack on a desk, talking, copy machine going, shoes pressing and squeaking on the carpet, various bumps and bounces in the audio part of life.
Then there's the comprehension. I feel like my mental self has not only been retarded (growth stopped), but has gone backwards. The Spanish teacher asked me a question. He asked me several times and finally said, "I'm asking how you are." I had no comprehension of it. I did reply accurately. It seems I've not lost the things I've memorized. I'm just having problems comprehending the spoken word. The teacher didn't ask me any more questions after that. He knows I had a concussion, so I am supposing he was being kind.
But I am frustrated. When I left the hospital, I was under the impression that I'd be okay after a couple of days. Then I find out (depending on how fast one heals and on how much one's brain was bounced around), it could take 7-10 days or even months to return to normal. I don't have that much time. I have classes. I have work-study. And I have them now.
God help me. He's doing something in my life, but I don't know what it is.
Noises are so much louder than they were. In Spanish this morning, the teacher was talking and there was so much noise literally buzzing in my ears that I had to cover my ears. Soon the a/c stopped and I could tolerate the noise because all that was left was the teacher talking.
After class, I walked outside and down to the street so I could walk to the main part of campus. The traffic was almost deafening, even before I reached the street. I cut across campus as soon as I could to get away, but there was some type of machine (a/c unit?) next to a building that was just as difficult to deal with as the traffic noise had been. Then one of those leaf blowers someone was using to blow grass.
Even here, in the library, I hear every noise: someone dropping a book or backpack on a desk, talking, copy machine going, shoes pressing and squeaking on the carpet, various bumps and bounces in the audio part of life.
Then there's the comprehension. I feel like my mental self has not only been retarded (growth stopped), but has gone backwards. The Spanish teacher asked me a question. He asked me several times and finally said, "I'm asking how you are." I had no comprehension of it. I did reply accurately. It seems I've not lost the things I've memorized. I'm just having problems comprehending the spoken word. The teacher didn't ask me any more questions after that. He knows I had a concussion, so I am supposing he was being kind.
But I am frustrated. When I left the hospital, I was under the impression that I'd be okay after a couple of days. Then I find out (depending on how fast one heals and on how much one's brain was bounced around), it could take 7-10 days or even months to return to normal. I don't have that much time. I have classes. I have work-study. And I have them now.
God help me. He's doing something in my life, but I don't know what it is.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
A Response to Cassandra Hedelius, Fair Mormon Conference Speaker
This post by Tyson is excellent. I recommend printing it out and studying it.
I will quote an excerpt below, then I recommend you go over to his blog and read the whole post:
I will quote an excerpt below, then I recommend you go over to his blog and read the whole post:
I wanted to discuss a few of the points. She identified a threat among Mormons as those who believe “the Church has lost its way, Church leaders are not inspired or in favor with God, so God has raised up new leaders outside the Church hierarchy whose visions and teachings are important for us to follow,”. She identifies one select group of these people as the "remnant".
She makes the claims that these people think they are more righteous and that they are elitist. This is far from the truth. When you begin to read the Book of Mormon and realize its a message not just about everyone else rather its about YOU (including me), and specifically the Latter Day Saints, YOU begin to NOT see yourself as a righteous soul. Singing songs of your righteous ancestors who failed to build Zion, despite the great sacrifices they made that preserved so much that we take for granted today, or hearing praises of flattery that you are a choosen generation begins to repulse you. When YOU begin to realize you are not actually as choosen as you first thought, YOU are not as righteous as you first thought, and YOU, just because you may have received the ordinances found in the Temple are still in jeopardy because YOU have not conversed with the Lord through the veil and redeemed your soul. When you accept the peril that is placed before you for your own soul this becomes the state of that soul. This is the reaction of the people to the message that King Benjamin delivered who sprang forth after 3-4 generations of no revelations (See Omni 1:11).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)