Mormon Direction

“Your not going to see the “blessing” until you have made the sacrifice”

( Ether 12:6 ; 1 Peter 1:7 )

The word “blessing” can be replaced with many other words that apply in the given situation. Such are the words as “worth”, “value”, “purpose”, “direction”, “reason”, and so forth, but the word blessing has a universal meaning that encompasses all of these. It is a statement of a spiritual truth, one of spirit and of life, that only through our trials and tribulations, until we have passed through it, have made the sacrifice, retained the faith (which is what sacrifice is about), we will not see and not receive the blessings.

This applies to everything in life.

A person will not see the worth of something until they have made the effort, the sacrifice of their time and resource. This is exactly what giving of ourselves is about and how it works. A person will not see the value of helping those in need “until” they have made the sacrifice of their time and resource to do so. They may try to sit and make arm chair judgements or interpretations of it, have their beliefs about it, but until they have committed their time, effort and resource to that thing, they will not see the actual and true value until they do.

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To worship Heavenly Father, is to worship Jesus Christ, and the opposite is true. This is what it means to worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:23).

We cannot know Heavenly Father without knowing Jesus Christ and we cannot know Jesus Christ without knowing Heavenly Father. Once we truly know one of them we shall know the other. In saying this, the moment people want to claim they know Jesus Christ, ask them if they know Heavenly Father and if they say No, they have lied about knowing Jesus Christ, even if they do not know it is a lie. The reverse is true, if they claim to know God, the Father in Heaven and they deny Jesus Christ, then they have lied, they know nothing of Heavenly Father.

The basis of to know one we must then know the other is why the first vision with Joseph Smith occurred the way it did. Heavenly Father appearing with his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ abides in the gospel because it gives us the very principles which they both live. The appearance of both the Father and Jesus Christ is because one is not without the other. To know or see one, we must be able to see the other. The event of the First Vision with Joseph Smith is a perfect example. It shows Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as separate personages, not one personage emanating as one or the other. Since God cannot lie or mislead, then it is truth as given to Joseph Smith. The same applies when believing in Jesus Christ. In order to believe in Jesus Christ, the belief must also involve Heavenly Father.

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The faith of a Saint, a disciple of God is to live the faith each day. To live this faith means, to be and do what gospel principles teach. A true Saint of God does not compromise these principles because that would be compromising the faith and faith is the single key to open the door to salvation by which all other spiritual works are manifest. Without faith, everything else fails and salvation into the Kingdom of God is lost.

In every aspect of life, a Saint must be a true Saint as best can be, even with all his or her shortcomings. No one is perfect, but the atonement allows us to correct ourselves and take a higher and better direction. That is learning to be godly, which means to live and practice eternal principles of God in our moral and ethical standards of mortal life.

God knows we cannot be perfect in mortal life, at least not perfect in the eternal perfection sense, but in this life, we work toward it. This is the meaning of “working out our salvation”. This is why we must ensure that we think, choose and do the principles of God in our daily lives, be it privately, in a family and in our work place.

Compromising these principles, these values, both ethical and moral is not an option for a Saint. Unfortunately, I have seen too many good hearted Christians do just that, compromise faith sustaining and generating principles. They have succumbed to greed, selfishness, unethical and even immoral behavior. They end up lying, cheating, causing misdirection, undermining, manipulation of others and even compromise their work ethics, all for the benefits of the world. Did not Jesus say if we save ourselves, we loose? (Mark 8:35)

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For sometime, I had trouble understanding a commandment of God, to honour our father and mother. I wondered how to understand this commandment in the face of abusive parents or parents that caused harm in some way. I pondered this for some time and prayed for understanding because to ponder how things would apply in life, in consideration of as many types of circumstances as possible, is important to me. I pondered because I wanted to be able to explain this to a person who had harmful parents. How would a missionary of God be able to address such questions?

I honestly believed that to honour harmful parents was to accept, condone, support or agree with any evil parents are known to do. How could a person, who carries hurt and pain, be able to understand the commandment of honouring their father and mother while addressing the anger in their hearts at the same time?

I know when in emotional or psychological pain, it is hard to comprehend God’s commandment, which in truth, is a very simple principle, because hurt has the tendency to corrupt a person’s ability to perceive this truth. In my own life, I had hard times talking to people who have hurt me without wanting to lash out with my tongue and a hard time understanding God’s commandment to bless our enemies. I understand from my own experiences how hard it will be for a person whose parents caused hurt, especially because a parent is suppose to be loving and supportive, not harmful.

It took time, it took many experiences and personal changes for God to finally enlightened me. When he did provide his inspiration, I knew it was from him and I felt peace, sureness and a confirmation of how to honour the father and mother without ever accepting the evils apparently done.

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Here are some of my thoughts, a commentary, on prophecies and 2012.

I was pondering a few days ago when the thought came about prophecies, which said that we receive prophecies in accordance to our faith in God. This applies to all people in the world no matter the beliefs. Prophecies generally speaking, when given, are not meant to encompass all people. Said another way, there is not any one prophecy and one outcome that applies to everyone, save the prophecy of the second coming of Jesus Christ. I will explain.

Would it be proper for God to apply a prophecy to his faithful on one hand and to the people in the world of no faith on the other? Is this not what God spoke of, how the left knows not of the right?

Prophecy must fulfil its purpose, but it must apply in a just manner. Justice is one of God’s foremost requirements, to be just and true at all times. This is why God told us that he will judge each person in accordance to their faith and works. A prophecy to the wicked will certainly not apply to the faithful because that would be unjust. For example a prophecy of death and destruction because of wickedness would not be a just and fair prophecy to wield against the faithful.

When rain is to fall on the righteous and unrighteous, as described by the Bible, is a statement that refers to the principle of trial and tribulation given in a just and fair manner. All people will suffer trials in their life, yet trials for one person or a group do not apply to others, so the type and manner of the trial will vary in accordance to the people it affects. And so the same with prophecies.

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In this time of Christmas, we are reminded of the important things in life for ourselves and most importantly toward others.

The following video is a message for Christmas, one of the heart and of the Spirit, godly in nature and a life message

If you wish to view this video directly on the YouTube site - http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages#p/c/4A73DDEE675FBC39

Within the scriptures, God counsels us to be of one faith (Ephesians 4:5 / Mosiah 18:21) and one mind (2 Corinthians 13:11 / Phillip 2:2 / 2 Nephi 1:21). Jesus spoke in the same manner, that he and the Father are one. (John 10:30). Jesus further stated that he can do nothing of himself, but follows the will of the Father (John 5:30). In other words, his power and authority comes from the Father to do the things he did.

When reading the scriptures with the focus of seeking the connection between the authority and power of God and being of one mind and one faith, you will read that a divided house falls (Luke 11:17/ Mark 3:25). We know that with God, all things he does and says are connected, where without one thing the rest will fail or the rest would not be possible (James 2:10). This reveals the importance of “unity” among the principles and truths of God, that one principle or truth cannot operate when others are absent or violated. This is why God is perfect, he operates and lives according to all truths and all principles and all laws perfectly and in unity.

Putting these scriptures together, we begin to see a connection between unity and stability, power and authority.

Jesus Christ made it clear that he had no power in and of himself, but because he was one with the Father in heaven, which is also saying, of one mind and one faith, he had great power and authority because of the principle of unity and his obedience to it. This is why God speaks of the power of faith moving mountains, the living of faith in perfect obedience gives that person the power to do great things. Hence the purity and faith in perfection of Jesus Christ served to solidify his ability to receive and exercise such great power and right from heaven.

No person, not even Jesus Christ can share in the power and authority of God without obedience to this principle of unity. Any degree of division, the power or authority is lost. Hence the strictness of obedience to the principles found in God’s doctrines in the gospel.

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There is a doctrine or belief among Christians (maybe also within the minds of some LDS Saints), that question the need for a Church. A physical entity, a building, organized, etc. The claim they make is “all we need is faith” and there is no need of a church, that the body of Christ are believers who are identified as a group by belief, not by a physical building called a church”. These believers claim to follow the Bible as they promote their doctrine of a “church-less” Christianity.

Does the Bible support this doctrine?

No, the Bible does not support such a false doctrine of men, in fact the Bible supports a Church of God where it is organized and administered by God’s chosen men called Apostles (and prophets).

The Bible shows, especially in the New Testament, that Jesus Christ organized his Church with twelve Apostles, who attended to the many branch locations of the Lord’s Church. This pattern is obvious in the Bible, but do you know the reason to have a Church? The Bible also provided that answer.

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The Church has said many times that our mortal life was to dwell in the flesh and prove ourselves worthy by keeping the commandments so we can return to the presence of Heavenly Father.

How many members may have bucked at such a statement, feeling that phrase “prove ourselves worthy” seems to suggest we are currently worthless or have lost something before? It does seem to suggest a daunting task when looking at it in terms of something lost by coming into mortality from the spiritual realm. Of course, some other Christians believe the worthless concept. They believe we never had a spiritual life before mortality because we were made from the lowly dust of the earth and become spiritual on our resurrection, which is a belief that contradicts the very example set by the birth of Jesus Christ, born of spiritual origins. Bearing thoughts of unworthiness, then maybe feelings of despair to a seemingly hopeless task of proving oneself that can, for some, lead to forms of self-retribution,… if Satan got his way.

The basic tenet here is the belief that we are not worthy, devalued, even diminished in importance. It is a despair style of perception. I hear it in the cry from other Christians with their constant calls and reminders that we are worthless sinners. This is a hard thing to endure after being continually basted with it. Pretty much like the Christmas turkey, you’ll eventually get quite cooked by it.

I do not denounce what the Church teaches or how they phrase their words, but the problem arises from our human and mortal tendancies to take a negative view of what God actually means. That is why I write these blog entries, to present more of God’s meaning to his gospel and teachings. To share “God’s” angle to it, so to speak.

As it stands, we are required to prove ourselves as worthy, so what does this really mean?

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How important is salvation to you? How much effort will you commit to preparing for your salvation? Questions of extreme importance to all of us, whether you are of this LDS Church or not.

In the Bible, Paul the Apostle clearly said that we must work out our own salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10 ). Do you have any understanding what that means? Does any person understand that personal issues are the core of our focus to work out and resolve for our salvation? To make peace, not only within ourselves, in our minds and hearts, but with those who we have issue with.

Jesus Christ said,

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