Upward Thought

The email Rob, what do you think God means by justice? I am making a correct definitions document and I read so much about his justice. For example, how Isaiah says we are condemned for not upholding it also how it is spoken of in the Sermon on the Mount. My response First, I would suggest adopting the phrase “useful definitions” in place of “correct.” You’ll find the Lord has much more room to open your eyes when you explicitly acknowledge the permanent limits of language.  Second, a useful definition of justice is “that which is deserved, based on God’s understanding of cause and effect.”

I received a treasure of an email from a friend this morning. I've had to remove a bit of personal details, but I hope it still proves useful to others. The email I know the words of the Lord will only benefit me and lead me to where I want to go. [Once, I was] reading in a lesson the conversation the Lord had with Satan about his relationship with him.  “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” (Job 1:9-11) What a profound question.  "Does Job fear God for nothing?  The way I read that is would I follow the Lord for when you don't get a temporal reward?  Then I had a thought, would you love your wife if you didn’t have any reward.  What if everything you value in that relationsh...

What are keys? A key is information that brings into understanding ideas that were previously unknown or misunderstood, just as a physical key consists of a set of teeth whose shape and position provide access to whatever the lock protected. Keys provide greater wisdom to understand and explain what is unknown or misunderstood, greater power to achieve God's will on earth as it is in heaven, and greater strength to overcome what would otherwise overcome you. God's covenant can't be separated from his keys The Lord told the children of Israel that those in his covenant would be shown marvels beyond anything done by others in the earth: And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. (Exodus 34:10) Wherever his covenant exists, his wisdom, power, and strengt...

Someone wrote a comment on YouTube that I'll respond to here for higher visibility. Comment: There has been a discussion of this over on LDSFF. Most consider it that you have now gone over to priestcraft or are now on the path of Denver Snuffer setting up a splinter ministry. I feel you are accomplishing good work and I don't see what you are doing as being about you. I'm not interested in becoming a follower of Rob Smith, BUT I am interested in becoming a better follower of Jesus Christ, and you have helped me do that. Thank you. Response: If there is a person who finds that something I do helps them better understand or live like Jesus, then great. I do not see value in anyone paying attention to anything I do outside of that. However, most Christians do not live so as to maximize what they know about Jesus and how much they live as he would in their place. Many people, including at least some on LDSFF, would rather spend massive amounts of time gabbing about things that ...

What seems an eternity ago, I began reading Jordan Peterson's Maps of Meaning. The book still sits in a pile beside my desk. The cover is now stained and the edges worn, not so much through reading, but as an indication of its tenure in my to do list. Many have remarked on the difficulty of this book, written when Peterson was a young social science academic in the unnecessarily obfuscated language needed to check the boxes of academic acclaim. I agree with this observation and claimed cause. To it I add a few personal peculiarities. 1) I have spent multiple years of accumulated time developing the ability to describe ideas, which includes formulating representations and receiving aggregated knowledge from God. The most clear analogy I have for this process is either the creation of galaxies or a spool of cotton candy. I don't know which is clearer. Like all organic capabilities developed in us through intentional, repeated exposure to the carving hand of God, this is a gift th...

Here is an email I received: I watched your video the other day about taking donations. I’m still processing and don’t know exactly what to think about it. For a long time I’ve tried to persuade people I know to stop listening to “preachers” who are paid to preach to them. I’ve turned off multiple YouTube channels the moment they put their hand out and call for donations. I always felt safe in this position because I could point to people like yourself who are doing a great work without any compensation. Maybe I was wrong to hold that position. I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. For the time being I am not planning to turn you off since the teaching of the Lord that have come through you have been an enormous benefit to me (although I readily admit to not following them enough.) Any how, as I said, I’m still processing this. I hope I am making sense.  Here is my response: First and foremost, thank you for your candor and honesty. It's hard to give a fair shake to new...

Amen. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JZkwlGHMkzg