Upward Thought

There were two men and two innocent young women. Man #1 learned of a car crash where a young woman who had just graduated from high school was killed on her way home from visiting her elderly grandfather. With a longing heart, he said "this is so tragic." His longing abruptly terminated when he was asked, "would you trade places with her?" He replied, "no, there are things I want to do." Man #2 was sitting in a crowded drive through when he observed a mother and her young daughter holding hands walking into the restaurant. The young girl had a debilitating ailment that cause her to walk with a massive limp. In a moment, the man considered all the pain and suffering this daughter would experience in life as a result of that condition, and his heart broke into a million pieces. He thought about how much pain her mother would experience in helplessly watching her daughter suffer, and his heart broke again. He cried to the Lord, "dear God, I know that ev…

As I was writing this morning, the Lord spoke to me about Laban's sword and told me to write and share those things.

Laban was appointed to be the guardian of the scriptures for the group of people that accepted him as a leader. He had an intricate sword. The sword was sharp and two-edged, and was symbolic of the knowledge contained within God's word and the authority given to any and all who will seek and live the information contained within God's word. Laban was unworthy of what he possessed. He did not seek and live according to what he was capable of. He did not correctly value what he possessed. So God took it from him and gave it to another--Nephi. Nephi correctly valued what he possessed. He not only lived faithful to what he knew, but he sought with all his heart to know more, and I blessed him to be able to extract more information from the plates of Laban. He slayed Laban with his own sword, which is meaningful and will yield lessons to those who study it out. Ne…

My grandfather once told me a story about how, as a paratrooper, he was once dropped very far off course. The journey back to where he was supposed to be was long, and it was hot. The water he brought with him quickly proved insufficient. As he was traversing back to his intended destination, he came across a puddle of disgusting water. It was in a tire rut in the road. It was muddy, had bugs in it, and would never have been considered potable by anyone with options. Knowing he would die if he didn't drink it, he drank it. Because he was willing to drink the nasty water, he was able to get to where he was going.
8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say un…

It is possible to live completely in accordance with everything you know about God. By "everything you know about God" I mean all the commandments generally available in the scriptures, all the personal instructions he has given you, and also every answer to "what would God do in my place" based on your best understanding of God right now. By completely, I mean at all times and in all places, without exception, day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. 

Anyone who does less than this will not be saved from hell. Anyone who does this will quickly receive more information from God about God, and will, with time, come to possess all things.It is exceedingly rare to find someone who does this. It is rare enough to find someone who believes it is true. This is in spite of how plainly it is laid out in many scriptures, and in spite of how easy I have made it to find these in "Seek Ye This Jesus" and other materials.The reason--the o…

I received a message today asking me to elaborate on my views of lust. In the past, I said something about how, even in marriage, it is a sin. I remember that ruffling a few feathers at the time.Unfortunately, because the new version of search on blogger is pretty much useless, I can't find that post, or hardly any others for that matter. That doesn't bother me too much because it is a stark reminder that this blog (or any other) will not always be accessible. Each of us ought to make it a high priority to access all the technology-enabled truth we can with the intent to refine our model of right and wrong, our understanding of God's character, our amount of trust in him, etc., before the plug is pulled. If we do this, we will have within us everything we need to continue to make the most of the light that was made available through others. If we do not, we will be held accountable for what we squandered.Back to lust: my current perspective on this topic is as follows. We …

False beliefs tend to be pervasive. They tend to affect extensive aspects of life. These effects are very hard to notice when you hold the false beliefs. False beliefs will entrap your mind, not only encouraging you to sin, but also creating significant barriers that prevent you from noticing and accepting better teachings when they are manifested. One false belief for those from a Mormon tradition is the idea that the successful transit of mortality results in "returning to the presence of Heavenly Father."The truth is that very few people dwell in the presence of God. The angel Gabriel announced himself as one "who stands in the presence of God" (Luke 1:19) precisely because it distinguishes him from other angels. This is not a normal thing, even for angels.The vast majority of spirits who come to live on this earth are of a much lower degree of glory. Our own scriptures (D&C 76) teach that two of three of the major classes of existence in heaven do not inclu…

We live in the darkness of a fallen world. We live in constant exposure to entropy. Inasmuch as we trust God, he will bless us to see more and more of the true nature, depth, and breadth of this darkness and entropy. He does this because he loves us. The darkness cannot be conquered and the entropy cannot be quenched. They are infinite. But they can be overcome. Like waves in the sea, they can either crash on you, or you can learn to surf and sail over them.

For some, the purpose of the gospel is to hide from this darkness and entropy. These are they who accept the body of Christ, who accept justification, and who seek the Lord's rest. These are they who seek deliverance from their trials and afflictions.Others seek a higher goal. They seek to endure the darkness and entropy. These are they who accept the blood of Christ, who accept sanctification, and who seek the Lord's character. These are they who seek trials and afflictions in order to manifest the glory of God.The Lord gi…