Upward Thought

-- Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man;  because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them,  and they receive not the light.  (D&C 93:31) -- There is a growing list of things that people really should not say to me. They are things that they know are outright lies, but are so widely parroted by so many that the sheer absurdity of the statement and all it reveals about the person using it becomes non-obvious--until they make the mistake of saying it to me. Examples of this property include the phrase "my truth / your truth" or "agree to disagree." Today, I'm adding another phrase to my list, which is "no one ever told me." The phrase "no one ever told me" is what people say when they come to the realization that they made an incorrect choice, typically after it is too late to turn back to the opportunity they've squandered, and almost always when they did, in fact, know they were

Beware of paragraphs masquerading as words. Often, a word is so heavily programmed with subliminal meaning that its use conforms the hearer (and even more so, the speaker) to ideas that, if expressed plainly, they might strongly protest. One such word is "pride." Do not be so naive as to be manipulated by those so carelessly slinging around a word whose subliminal programming carries so heavy consequences. Any idea so radical suggested by any religious institution would rightly be scrutinized by its outcomes. Please tell me when we'll get a month of recognition for a religious idea whose practitioners: -Are more than double as likely to kill themselves. -For the most part, take one or more mind-altering drug to be able to cope with normal life. -Mutilate the genitals of children. -Prescribe life-altering drugs whose affects endure long after a potential decision to stop taking them. -Are so imbibed with denial of objective reality that it severely decreases their ability

Some months ago, I finished a book on God's justice. I haven't published that book yet. I have to first publish on the broader topic of God's character, that book is taking a very long time to complete, and I am busier than I've ever been. I'm regularly pinged on ideas that I could blog about, and most of them I offload into books or notes for later, keeping my time focused so as to maximize the benefit of my communication rather than minimize time to publication. Among the many thoughts that I could blog on came the following tidbit, closely related to much more that I've written in the aforementioned unpublished book. This one has spilled over the dam. Consider the following: There is a divinely-appointed price for everything. This is what defines "merit." For which of all things, people, and situations that you value have you paid the divinely-appointed price? In other words, if some great switch were flipped, and everything was suddenly reconciled

Whenever truth is revealed, it comes with consequences. In my last book "Repentance," I made a case for why it is so important to follow the dictates of your conscience in all things. The benefit of this revelation is that everyone, everywhere now possesses the strongest argument ever given for what repentance is, why it is so essential, and how anyone, anywhere can immediately hear the voice of God and begin progressing to more frequent and more substantive communication from him. The end times pattern is that truth will be revealed in ever-increasing clarity and quantity, creating a wedge that gives every individual the choice to become more righteous or more wicked. In this case, the separation is between those who will follow the dictates of their conscience at all cost, and those who will not.  Now that the way to live according to conscience has been revealed, several consequences must come with it. First, the world is accountable for not doing so. Second, the adversary