Enough Love

Last night I was given pure knowledge in a dream.  The insight had little to do with the context of the dream, and it's kind of funny that it was slipped in at the end, just before I awoke, so I could remember it and then forget the bulk of the dream.  But the revealing of understanding was important.

Understanding was given.  God is LOVE.  Not just mushy love but God is filled with the vibration of love, which is also joy.  But this came after the dream.

In the dream I was instructed that God is HOTTER than the sun.  He is BRIGHTER than the sun.  When Jesus the Christ returns to earth in glory, HE WILL BE HOTTER AND BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN.  Should the sun come down and touch the earth, it would be so hot that all things would burn as stubble.  We should also be inclined to "hide our faces from Him" as it were, because HE IS HOT.  This is because of His INFINITE amount of LOVE.  His frequency, His energy (heat), His joy is more intense than the sun.

This is why our bodies must be changed to withstand His presence, as well as why He needs to "cloak" or "conceal" Himself so that He can come to earth and show Himself to us.  We truly would not be able to withstand the heat of His presence, UNLESS we are transfigured with a limitless amount of LOVE as well.

This is why Moses was transfigured when he rose upon the mount, because otherwise he would have burned in YHWH's presence.  Not because YHWH wanted to cause any harm, but by nature He is that MUCH LOVE.

When people shirk at the idea of love, that it's not sufficient to cure the world, they have no idea that they are in the abyss of sin of hate, malice, unbelief, false tradition, and ire.  They will not be able to withstand Christ's presence not due to Christ's choices, but because of their UNWILLINGness to increase in LOVE.  Perhaps they are unwilling to forgive, and choose to hold on to old wounds.  Let Christ heal them.  BEG Him to.  Let Him cleanse you in love, and let go of your desire and need to be right on every thing.  When you are purified, you increase in love.  When you are sanctified, your love increases.  When you forgive, it increases again.

Not that which goeth into a man defileth him, but that which goeth out.  If when placed under pressure or stress you express anything but love, you are not pure yet.  Beg! Him to purify you, and do not delay or be fearful of the consequences.  Whatever hardship we endure by the begging will prove worthwhile in the lack of darkness, should we press forward.

Please understand that it is up to us to ask Him to help us be like Him.  Should we neglect any effort in coming to Him, we will not be able to withstand his presence when he returns, just as we would not be able to withstand the sun should it kiss the earth.  It would be the worst sunburn ever, and to receive relief you would wish you had a rock to crawl under.  But even the rocks shout His glory and you will not be able to hide.

Know the Lord NOW.  I'm no better than anyone else, and share because it was made known to me to share - with intense urgency.

As a beautiful reminder, when I walked out the door to take my son to the bus after receiving this message, the sky looked like a love sky.  Pink horizons all around, despite being not the same direction as the sun.

It was as though the earth were confirming the message.  It would withstand the heat because it too, is filled with LOVE.  It appeared to be glowing pink, if but for a few minutes as the sun arose.

Extras:
D&C 93:

1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and knowthat I am;

2 And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world;

3 And that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one—

4 The Father because he gave me of his fulness, and the Son because I was in the world and made flesh mytabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of men.

5 I was in the world and received of my Father, and theworks of him were plainly manifest.

6 And John saw and bore record of the fulness of myglory, and the fulness of John’s record is hereafter to be revealed.

(The morning sun, more full glory to be hereafter revealed. ;) 

7 And he bore record, saying: I saw his glory, that he was in the beginning, before the world was;

8 Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation—

9 The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men.

10 The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and of him.

11 And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us.

12 And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;

13 And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness;

14 And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first.

15 And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying: This is my beloved Son.

16 And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father;

17 And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.

18 And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall receive the fulness of the record of John.

19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.

In due time receive of his fulness, while at present we may be in "winter". 

 20 For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.

21 And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginningwith the Father, and am the Firstborn;

22 And all those who are begotten through me arepartakers of the glory of the same, and are the church of the Firstborn.

23 Ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is Spirit, even the Spirit of truth;

24 And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;

25 And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.

26 The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth;

27 And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.

28 He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truthand light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.

29 Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.

30 All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.

31 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.

32 And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation.

33 For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spiritand element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;

34 And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.

35 The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple isdefiled, God shall destroy that temple.

36 The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words,light and truth.

(When light breaks forth as intelligence, it is as though the dark misunderstandings are made light, and the truth known.) 

37 Light and truth forsake that evil one.

38 Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God.

39 And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers.

40 But I have commanded you to bring up your childrenin light and truth.

41 But verily I say unto you, my servant Frederick G. Williams, you have continued under this condemnation;

42 You have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments; and that wicked one hath power, as yet, over you, and this is the cause of youraffliction.

43 And now a commandment I give unto you—if you will be delivered you shall set in order your own house, for there are many things that are not right in your house.

44 Verily, I say unto my servant Sidney Rigdon, that in some things he hath not kept the commandments concerning his children; therefore, first set in order thy house.

45 Verily, I say unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., or in other words, I will call you friends, for you are my friends, and ye shall have an inheritance with me—

46 I called you servants for the world’s sake, and ye are their servants for my sake—

47 And now, verily I say unto Joseph Smith, Jun.—You have not kept the commandments, and must needs standrebuked before the Lord;

48 Your family must needs repent and forsake some things, and give more earnest heed unto your sayings, or be removed out of their place.

49 What I say unto one I say unto all; pray always lest that wicked one have power in you, and remove you out of your place.

50 My servant Newel K. Whitney also, a bishop of my church, hath need to be chastened, and set in order his family, and see that they are more diligent and concerned at home, and pray always, or they shall be removed out of their place.

51 Now, I say unto you, my friends, let my servant Sidney Rigdon go on his journey, and make haste, and also proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the gospel of salvation, as I shall give him utterance; and by your prayer of faith with one consent I will uphold him.

52 And let my servants Joseph Smith, Jun., and Frederick G. Williams make haste also, and it shall be given them even according to the prayer of faith; and inasmuch as you keep my sayings you shall not be confounded in this world, nor in the world to come.

53 And, verily I say unto you, that it is my will that you should hasten to translate my scriptures, and to obtain aknowledge of history, and of countries, and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man, and all this for the salvation of Zion. Amen. 

The Greatest Christmas Gift

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

From Operation Christmas Child's Facebook page, shared by John D.  

Hearts

"A heart is able to sustain life 70 - 80 - 100 years. But the heart that takes time to touch another heart has truly accomplished something that will outlast both of their lifetimes."

This quote was hand typed onto a page inserted into a notebook given to a friend of mine. She gave me the name of the sister who wrote it, but it's hidden away on my closed Facebook account.

While at BYU, I attended a Book of Mormon class offered by Reed Benson, President Ezra Taft Benson's son. As part of the course, he had us read and semi-memorize some of his father's talks.  One of them was his "Beware of Pride" talk.  It was stressed that President Benson felt that one of the key messages of the Book of Mormon was pride, and the cycle that followed a proud people.

During the most recent Passover, I began reading the story of Moses.  I observed the repeated use of the word "hard-hearted" in the account, and I began drawing hearts around the word "heart", in any form.  This practice took over my study of all scripture (and sometimes other books too), and has become an interesting visual as I flip through my scriptures.  

A day or so ago I was led to Psalms 24.  I read it over and over.  These verses stuck out: 

He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.  He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and his righteousness from the God of his salvation.  This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob.  Selah.  - Psalms 24: 4-6

As I was cleaning out some boxes yesterday, I came across an old book about baptism.  It was interesting to me, that the primary lesson for the intended childhood audience was that doing and performing good and was the key to making it into God's kingdom.  Yet that is all about outward things, and we are a people of outward ordinances.  But the Lord wants a pure heart.

When I skim over the pages in the Book of Mormon that I've read with my children since Passover (springtime), it is somewhat astounding to view how frequently hearts are referenced.  I'll paste in some page views for your viewing pleasure.

Since beginning this practice with my little red pencil, it has been astounding to see how frequently I come across the word "heart", referring to God speaking to one's heart, being hard-hearted, soft-hearted, and other variations.  Almost every time I open up the scriptures, there it is, regardless of whether or not I am looking at the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, or Pearl of Great Price.

It's also been tempting to start drawing hearts around similar words that refer to the same concept (like beloved, love, swelling, etc.).  My kids have really enjoyed having a reason to draw in their scriptures too.  More importantly it has reminded me as I read, that the Lord looks upon our hearts, and even more than pride, this is one of the most dominant themes in the written word – all of them.

God IS Love.  It is no wonder that so much effort is made to point out that this center for feeling love is so crucial for our understanding.  I wonder if we ignore it, in lieu of preferring to focus more on the damnable negativity and others' sins?  Guilty!  But working on it.

Love conquers all.  Charity is the Pure Love of Christ.  Without charity man is nothing.  Let us focus more today on Love than we did yesterday.  I believe this has more to do with rising up than we may have any idea of.   

Read it Differently - Helaman 5:12

Helaman 5:12.  Read it differently.

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind; yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

I believe I have commented on this verse before.  Lately it's been fresh on my mind, and today I was guided to read here first.  I think oftentimes, when we grown up reading verses in church which are "scripture mastery" or often read, we tend to read them in a rhythm and our brain bypasses the true meaning.  I have this one memorized from when I was 16 or so, but all I think of is Christ as a sure foundation.  There's more to it.

Then the devil sends his mighty winds.  Oh wait – do we even believe in the devil anymore?  How can he send forth mighty winds?  Do those exist?

Yea, his shafts in the whirlwind.  What are shafts?  Is this like when we have a tornado, and things are flying in the air, and if you're not careful you get impaled?  Like you're just minding your own business, and things come out of nowhere and punch you in the gut?  Just when things are going well, something random comes and messes things up big time.

Yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you.  These seem more predictable.  You see them coming.  Dark clouds gathering, winds building, thunder and lightening.  And then the hail just beats and beats upon you until it leaves dents and bruises, just like on the cars in the car lot.  The damage takes a long time to fix, but it's repairable.

It shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo.  How many times does the hail and mighty storm get us down?  In the last few months I feel like I've been pounded upon.  Why?

Where was my foundation?  I say it is Christ, but I believe I have been pushed to and fro because it was not sufficiently on Christ.

My foundation was on money, business, other peoples' opinions,..

If it were truly on Christ, would the devil have any power over me, to bring me down to the gulf of misery?  Would I be miserable?  

 

A Good Friday Baptism

Dear Magdalene,

You were born on Good Friday.  Around 8-9 am.  Was it 9:01?  9:03?  I don't remember for sure.  I'm positive it's written somewhere.

It is only fitting that you were baptized this day.  I didn't want a big crowd, and you did.  We invited the ward, but in my opinion, the best of the best showed up.  It was family, your Primary teacher, the bishop and his family, and two other friends, one with spouse and one with grandkids.  Perfectly fitting.  I just wish I had known they were the only ones who would have shown up.  I would have invited everyone to wear pants, come with their scriptures, and done away with printing a "professional" program.

Your Aunt spoke on baptism, and shared the analogy of the penny, one being brand new, and the other being worn with years of use.  Baptism washes clean the tarnish we accumulate.

WaWa spoke on the Holy Ghost, and brought balloons.  You can feel his influence subtly, yet clear if you are paying attention.

We ate brownies, cupcakes, veggies, and jelly beans.  But none of that matters, because what matters is that you have made a statement to God that you are willing to follow him.  I don't know if you know or understand the gravity of it, and with time you may feel its importance.  I do believe you are mature and in-tune enough with God that you realize this was a wonderful day.  You told me you were "excited", and that you laughed as you got in the water.  I don't think it was just fun for you; I think in your heart you are well prepared, and felt the joy of the occasion.  We were all celebrating!

Grandma and angels were there.  Many of them.

I love you to the moon and back.  And even though there were only a few other humans there, they all love you to the moon and back as well.  What a wonderful, beautiful, love filled evening.

Love you immensely,
~Mom<3