Mormon Direction

The words of God always speak truthfully and with clarity. When properly understood and applied, God’s word brings wisdom, understanding and even grace and compassion into our hearts.

For these characteristics of God’s word to live inside us, requires proper faith. It requires a sincere willingness to place aside personal issues to seek truth and to experience what God deems necessary to teach us. Believing is not enough because by belief alone, God’s word does not reside inside us, but belief alone provides the needed catalyst to obtain God’s word spiritually.

Having said this, how does the above quote apply or how is it understood? It applies as follows, “How can you have respect for something when you hold issue against it?”

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In the scriptures, Jesus Christ tells us that we can discern the true actions of others by the results of their actions ( Matthew 7:17 ; Matthew 12:33 ; Luke 6:43 ; Moroni 7:5 ). Why is it then that Jesus Christ also teaches not to judge by outward appearances? ( John 7: 24 ). It seems confusing when matching these scriptures together. Unfortunately, many will fail to understand how to use this power of discernment because of this confusion and instead opt out by labeling it as one of God’s untold mysteries. This would be a grave mistake for those who do that, especially in these last days when we must gain the knowledge, skills and experience to discern between good and evil when faced with false miracles and false teachers and prophets, for there shall be many.

As Jesus taught an evil tree cannot bear good fruit, he speaks about any person who commits an evil act and tries to misrepresent it as something different, is revealed to his true intentions by discerning the true nature of the act. In this case, Jesus says that an evil act carries the nature of evil within it.

The judge not by appearances refers to outward appearances and not the inward nature. For us to be able to make a righteous judgement, we must be able to discern the true nature within the act for that judgement to be just and right. Again in the same context of the act as being evil, judgement does not refer to imposing penalty or railing accusation, it refers to the determination or discern of what is true and making your own choice in regards to yourself and for those under your purview. This basically addresses events and situations within a person’s personal life, the place where each person has authority and power to judge, choose and act freely, which is where the freedom and right to choose between good and evil resides.

To relate this to everyday life, Jesus spoke about the discernment of actions, not only of yourself, but of others, in other that a proper address is made rightly and righteously. In reference to your own life, it is the power to address the true nature of events and achieve a resolution, much needed change or change of direction.

Every action committed carries within it, its true nature. This is seen in circumstances created by the action taken. Let me give an example, one that most people do.

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There has been quite a debate about LDS ceremonial garments, routinely called “Mormon undergarments”. The use and purpose of these garments have been attacked, degraded, condemned and maligned by those who are “anti-Mormon” and even anti-Semitic style criticism.  The affect has been, to some degree, a thorn in the side of many latter-day Saints who struggle enough with their faith. It is the purpose of these attacks to degrade, malign and cause confusion, inserting doubt and even resentment into the minds and hearts of devout Saints.

Being human and mortal is tough all by itself, but when the natural weaknesses of mortality are bent and used by the selfish evil doers, it makes life all that much harder. With such a trait and characteristic of these “anti’s” one wonders why they are not seen for the malicious and destructive nature they are, but unfortunately many good people are badly affected by the misguided.
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