Earth Should Pass Away

After Alma was led to Amulek, and after a space of time where Alma spent blessing Amulek's home, they "went forth and began to preach and to prophesy unto the people" (Alma 8:32).  Mormon includes five whole chapters of their preaching to the people, specifically of Ammonihah.  This is aprox. the same size of the book of Jacob.  It is longer than the book of Moroni.  The sermons last about 18 pages long.  

Two verses into their preaching, we learn of the first objections of the people of Ammonihah.  What were Alma and Amulek teaching that was so contrary to their beliefs?  In as soon as verse 2 of Alma 9, we find out: 

"Who art thou?  Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony of one man, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away?"

Who are you, Alma?  You think we should believe your single, solitary word?  Why should we believe you?  Where's your authority?  You're not coming through the proper "chain".  You look awfully weak, don't you?  Why should we listen to what you say.  We can pretty much count on knowing that you're a wack-job who is going to suggest we drink some kool-aid.

And you're preaching that the earth should pass away?  Whoa, whoa!  Next you're probably going to say your god will destroy this city.  Let's laugh at you.

So the folks did not believe Alma, and objected at his simple nature, but also thought his concept of the earth being destroyed was mock-worthy.

Question: if someone came to you and told you the earth should pass away, in all seriousness, would you believe them?  Do you believe the earth will pass away?  That it will die?  What does that even mean?

"We believe ... that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory." - Articles of Faith 10 

What does that mean?  We have little to no concept, really, of what Alma was talking about.  It was a big enough of a deal that Alma taught it to these stiff-necked, hardened people.  And he taught enough about it that they objected to it, and it is the first of their objections.

To be honest I know very little about what particulars will happen when the earth dies and is renewed.  Does this only refer to it being burned at the Lord's coming?  Later in this chapter we receive quite a warning about the Lord's coming, although frequently when I have read it, I presumed it was about his First Coming.  But when looking closer, Alma points out when he comes, it will be in great glory.

"And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.  And behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name." - Alma 9:26-27 

He is referring to his Second Coming.  The whole of this chapter is a warning to us, not just the people of Ammonihah.  We frequently say that Mormon and Moroni saw our day.  That Nephi warns us in our day too.  Right here we have evidence that Alma, too, saw our day.  It's pretty phenomenal.

Despite the fact that the passing of the earth appears to be a largely lost doctrine, really the bottom line is that Christ comes to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance.  We must have faith on HIS name.  I believe this is different than simply being baptized to join a church.  While that might be important to fit into a community or social structure, being baptized to repentance has much greater weight.  When we place the focus on baptism solely to join a group, that is mal-placed; there it is ill-defined.  If God knows the intents of our hearts, and our heart simply intends to show gratitude for people who accept us into their social circles, that is different, I believe.

If you have been baptized, was the intent of your heart to give it to God, to have a complete change of heart?  Or was it to show your teachers that you appreciate them?  Currently I have a nephew serving a mission, and he bears testimony with great power.  There is electricity in the room.  Then the question becomes if the person will accept marriage, chastity, abstinence or some other prohibition as well.  This is all well and good, but will not the change in behavior be a natural result of true repentance?  Must we act as gate-keeper to the kingdom?

I love that Alma simply taught truth.  He had a LOT of it.  But like other prophets who see our day, they repeat that the bottom lines are very, very simple.  Faith on his name.  Baptism unto repentance.  And if we're lucky, we learn some of the mysteries of the kingdom along the way. 

Dungeons and Fires

And Alma went forth, and also Amulek, among the people, to declare the words of God unto them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.

And they had power given unto them, insomuch that they could not be confined in dungeons; neither was it possible that any man could slay them; nevertheless they did not exercise their power until they were bound in bands and cast into prison. Now, this was done that the Lord might show forth his power in them.

And it came to pass that they went forth and began to preach and to prophesy unto the people, according to the spirit and power which the Lord had given them. - Alma 8:30-32

We read these verses this past week during our family scripture-reading time.  I really love the experiences we have of Alma and Amulek's mission together.  I say mission, not like the current interpretation, but the sense that they had a mission or a task they were to accomplish.  Alma was pretty much ready to wipe the dust from his feet when it came to the city of Ammonihah, but an angel of the Lord stopped him, told him to return, and he was led to Amulek's house.  Little did he know, Amulek would be pre-alerted likewise by an angel to receive him.  Their mission together is so remarkable, it is amazing to me that it is so often overlooked.

The parts highlighted above.  What do they mean?  They could not be confined in dungeons.  How?  Why?  Can you imagine what that looks like?

It was impossible to kill them.  IMPOSSIBLE!  Meaning someone or some people tried, possibly at least once, but probably on more than one occasion (to ensure the first attempt was not just a fluke).  Those who wished them harm had no power over them.  No weapon could be formed to harm them.

BUT, unlike magicians and master showmen, they weren't about magic tricks, to amaze and tease their audience.  They did not show forth their power until the very last moments, when they were bound and cast into prison.  (I guess that could resemble some magicians, who like to lock themselves up and get stuck in water tanks.)  But this was not entertainment, as they had a REAL message to share, beyond sheer shock and awe.  The Lord wanted to show forth his power.  But since it was not the appointed time for him to come directly, he showed forth his power in them, by proxy.

Why does God use servants like Alma and Amulek?  And how do we know when we encounter true servants?  A few thoughts, following the pattern of Alma and Amulek.

• True servants will be humble.
• They will follow the pattern of scripture.
• They seek not their own, but are endowed with power to be preserved, when appropriate.
• They will receive angels.
• They preach repentance.

I did not intend to take this post this direction, but will trust that someone needs those words.  I intended to write about the wonders of how they escaped the dungeons.  How did they?  Have you ever stopped to think HOW this happened?  Was their body changed, to be able to escape?  

In the book, Visions of Glory, we learn of how "Spencer" becomes translated.  When I read this verse this past week, I wondered if Alma and Amulek of necessity experienced translation.  If I recall correctly, it seems that the body is quickened, and it may happen slowly or quickly.  I thought it really cool to wake up and read this post this morning, grateful someone else had some thoughts on the matter.  

Additionally, perhaps the use of portals was used, as Spencer describes in Visions of Glory as well.  Portals are something I think of akin to watching Star Trek, but it's not hard to imagine.  It's a conduit or opening, allowing someone to move from one geographic location to another.  If God can walk through walls, appear in spaces without coming through doors, and float down from the heavens, I think it's entirely plausible that such a thing as a portal to travel between locations would be possible.

When I opened up my scriptures this morning, I asked God where I should read.  I always like this method of knowing where to read, as some really great things are opened up when I trust that I can hear the voice of God.  It gives me joy to feel a connection in this way, as often the verse I read is undeniably sent from Him.  Helaman 5:23 came to mind.  Here's what it says:

And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned.  Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned.  

This is ANOTHER perfect example of two souls who were obviously changed, somehow, so their bodies could permit the miraculous to be happening around them.  They were not burned!  Even though they were standing in the middle of a blazing fire, or so it appeared to all present.

How wonderous are the dealings of our God.  How does one attain such faith, to become so changed?  If he have faith as a grain of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.  It appears that understanding the true nature of faith would be the first step in the right direction.

Are We Children of God?

This has been sticking out in my mind and heart lately.  Is the idea that we are "children" of God instantaneously because we are here, a true statement?  Please consider some quotes from Joseph Smith, from his "King Follet Discourse".  (We have four accounts of this discourse.  I highly enjoyed reading all of them.  They are some of the most beautiful expositions on the nature of God's eternal plan that I have ever read.)

"All men say God created it in the beginning. The very idea lessens man in my estimation. I do not believe the doctrine; I know better. Hear it all ye ends of the world, for God has told me so. Before I get through, I will make a man appear a fool if he doesn't believe it. I am going to tell of things more noble...

God never had power to create the spirit of man at all. God himself could not create himself. Intelligence exists upon a self-existent principle; it is a spirit from age to age, and there is no creation about it...

The first principles of man are self-existent with God. God found himself in the midst of spirits and glory , and because he was greater, he saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have the privilege of advancing like himself – that they might have one glory upon another and all the knowledge, power, and glory necessary to save the world of spirits..."

How does this line up with "I am a child of God"?  Or "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us and we love Him"?

Another scripture, which further puts forth the nature of our beings.

"Howbeit that he made the greater star; as, also, if there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end, they shall exist after, for they are...eternal." (Abraham 3:18)

This is not to say He did not create our bodies.  Not so.

"In the image of his own body, male and female, created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created and became living souls in the land upon the footstool of God."

(Moses 6:9)

It appears that He has created our bodies, however our spirits have no beginning or end.

I wonder if understanding our true nature is half the battle in overcoming depression, self-doubt, or overall misery.  Joseph taught that one could not truly know God without understanding the nature of His being (or Be-ing).  It stands to reason that this is just one teaching where we may be a bit skewed, and readjusting direction may help us find greater understanding of God's course for us.   

Upside down, Inside out

It all started in 2004, when I got bored with the radio and started listening to talk radio, and this freak-o guy that had the song, "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous" playing as his theme song.  I began looking at all my political views upside down, inside out, wondering how people could never put themselves in one another's shoes and expect the other side to always cave to their demands.

Then it turned into examining my own religious beliefs, upside down, inside out.

Then it turned into medicine, upside down, inside out.

What happens when you look at things upside down, inside out all the time?  Eventually the only thing you believe, and the only thing you trust, is the Source of all Truth.  I suppose that is how He would have us be, if we are to never trust in the arm of the flesh. 

I Don't Understand

This quote is from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  I love the man.  I used to repeat this belief, but since being awakened, I see everything differently.  Everything.

Sweet Elder Holland, what about this?

"We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory." - Joseph Smith, Article of Faith #10

When I was a kid, if I recall correctly, we learned the Articles of Faith as songs.  Maybe I wasn't a kid.  Maybe I was just a teacher.  Do any of you remember having Article of Faith included in any of your Primary Presentation lineups in the last 20 years?

And what about this?

"God will gather out His Saints from the Gentiles, and then comes desolation and destruction, and none can escape except the pure in heart who are gathered."  -Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 71

And then 3 Nephi 21.  Read it!  Now!  If you don't believe the Book of Mormon, and if you don't believe Joseph Smith, then why go to such effort to print millions of and have missionaries give them out free?  I don't get it.

May God bless you. 

The Source of Truth and Light

I felt pretty crummy after last night's post.  I don't think I explained the idea very well, but it's a start.  The biggest awakening came when I realized that Satan didn't just want to be the one to redeem, but that he wanted God's glory.  And he said, "Here am I, send me... wherefore give me thine honor."  I don't just want the honor from whatever comes from this world being built, experienced, and lived.  Let me have it all.  In essence, "I can do it better than you.  Let me show you.  Here AM I.  My way is better.  And no one will be lost.  We have lost some before, and it's grueling, so let's not do that again, shall we?"

When I think on this further, I think of energy flow.

Let's look at two words.  Selfish, and selfless.

Narcissism is selfish.  Everything is about the self, and all the attention, glory, praise, adoration, and energy goes to the one who is the narcissist.

Love is selfless.  It is said throughout scripture that God IS love.  Does one just feel love?  How is love best manifest?  I believe it is felt, for me, most powerfully, when it extends beyond my person.  It is positive energy flowing outwards.  Inevitably it is love flowing towards people, places, and things.  It often feels like gratitude and joy.

To set the two side by side, at the discussion in heaven, we see an interesting juxtaposition.  God the Father, being ALL LOVE, the Great I AM, facing a Son of the Morning, obviously having understood something to make it to the highness of his position.  Do you find it interesting when  he says, "Here am I?"  Isn't God the Great I AM?  This Son of the Morning faces Him and says, "Let me do it.  My way.  And let me be the recipient of all the glory."  All the love will go his way.  Let me greed it in.

Am I misunderstanding?  Does Satan have some ulterior motive, with which he intended to share this love?  The fact that he has a sense of greed for glory indicates to me that he somehow flipped from learning whatever principles allowed for godhood and priesthood, to a state of believing that incoming love and incoming glory were worth more than outgoing love and outgoing glory.  I don't even fully understand this, but I think there is something to this.

Am I content to live a life of love, and let go of the need for increased glory-seeking, brought about by my own works?  Or brought about by my pride and making myself higher or better or richer than another?  Can I be simply content and completely edified to experience daily joy and love with my children?  What would it take to grow into godhood, being like This Father, rather than the Deceiver?  How would I guarantee an ever-increasing amount of Love, outwards?  How does one do this and continue to be filled?

Gratefully, The Father gave us The Son as the perfect example, to get a good idea how to start.  He is The Source of Truth and Light.  

The Sin of Narcissism

For a long time I've been pondering on one particular subject.  It might seem clear as day to everyone else, but it really puzzled me, and I felt like there was more to this concept.  It has concerned me for so long, I began praying and asking for understanding.  It is about this.  

In Mormonism, we tend to re-tell the story of the pre-mortal life.  The nutshell version goes like this.
God the Father presented a plan.  He wanted to offer us an experience where we go to Earth, get a body, and get tested to see if we can return to Him.  He needed a redeemer, and Satan steps forward and says, "Here I am, send me."  He presents an addition to God's plan, but the catch is, Satan won't lose one soul; all will return, but he will get the glory.  

Then Jesus steps forward, and says, "Father, thy will bedone, and the glory be thine forever." (Moses 4:2)  We teach that he prefers to offer us agency on earth, and 2/3 of the host of heaven follows Jesus' plan.  1/3 follow Satan.  Jesus wins!  And we all come to earth, get a body, and have to find the correct church.  Once we find his correct church, we just have to do all the right ordinances, endure the end, and all will be saved because we did all the works we could, and Jesus' grace and Atonement cover the rest.  Right? :)  This is the story a sister in my ward summed up this past Sunday.  

I'd like to present a new version, one which might align more with our scriptures.  In fact, it might align more with truth, although my mind is currently veiled from remembering any of this, so my own interpretation might be just as erroneous as the nutshell version.  

My question I have been asking for some time is this.  What was so wrong with Satan insisting that not one soul is lost?  I mean, we teach that if we follow the prophet, we will never be led astray.  What's wrong with that?  This is not far from Satan's plan, if we really think about it.  So why is this a bad thing?  Do we not want all the souls to return?  

Our explanation?  Well, by doing this, we remove agency, as all mortals would need to do exactly as was required.  We'd have to keep all the commandments, and perhaps it would be a grueling experience.  What would that look like?  To follow Satan's plan, where not one soul would be led astray?  That's probably a question I really don't care to look too closely at.  Seems kind of ugly.

This past Sunday, I came upon another question, when reading Moses 4:1-4 in Relief Society.  The verse that really stuck out was this one: 

1. And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

2. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

3. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

4. And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.

I was going to create a really long post with this, and hopefully soon I will have more steam, but for tonight, I want to share this much.  Two points.  

One, this was not just a war over agency.  We already had it (vs.3).  It had already been given to us of the Father.  To belabor the war in heaven as a war completely over agency is not accurate.   

Two.  Satan wanted the Father's power.  Even more, he wanted to dethrone Him.  Yes, we may have heard this before, but let's take it a step farther.  I want to claim that the reason that Satan was so thoroughly thrown down was narcissism.  

Last week I went to an activity, in a sheer state of near depression.  It was a week of overwhelm, and I went to a ladies activity, almost seeking some sort of refuge.  I mean no offense to anyone who may read this, but after attending and pondering the evening, I experienced a wild amount of unveiling of this information.  I hope to lay it out clearly.  

The greatest sin is narcissism.  

Satan was thrown down for his insane amount of pompous, arrogant, proud narcissism.  

Our world is filled with, through and through, an ever increasing amount of narcissists.  

At the activity I went to, I arrived late (normal).  I sat in the back, and was then invited to sit next to a sister.  It felt remarkably comforting.  As the night went on, I admit I was feeling extremely introverted, almost wounded, out of sheer exhaustion from the labors of the week.  This was one time where I thought I might find some solace at a church activity.  There were several sisters who I got to talk to.  In talking with one, then one, then one, then one, I noticed a pattern: no one really cared about a single thing I was saying, at least not enough to let go of the activity and actually just converse more than 2 minutes.  

Yes, they cared, I'm sure.  Yet when the opportunity came up to continue on in the craft, or continuing talking to me, they chose to step away, mid-convo, and carry on with the craft.  

I came home seriously bummed.  I didn't even say goodbye to anyone.  I don't take it personally, because I know it wasn't me.  It was an activity to do an activity, and maybe I'm a poor sport for expecting it to be anything other than that.  But when I arrived home, it hit me.  

People like talking about themselves.  Email.  Facebook.  Twitter.  Social Media (like this awesome blog).  Look around.  Selfies, selfies, selfies.  Look at my kids.  Look at my job.  Look at my money.  Look at how awesome, awesome, AWESOME I am!  Heck, I am so awesome, I'm better than the next guy (pride).  I'm so awesome, I'm going to be the best ______ in my field, better than the person who taught me the ropes.  I'm worth so much more than I'm getting paid.  And everything is for sale.  

Doesn't that just make you feel creepy, just to read it?  It makes me shiver to write the words.  Satan got hewn down for his insane amount of narcissism.  And the best thing, in his world, that we can do is imitate him.  Not one soul will be lost, because they will be so flipping awesome, so perfect, so self serving.  And when we imitate him, and only care for ourselves, we have no love.  All we care about is ourselves.

Look at our country.  My husband has long said a certain man in power is quite the narcissist.  What does it mean, when the leader of the free world cares nothing for the ever increasing amount of poor and unemployed, yet takes entourages on endless -- and I mean ENDLESS -- vacations?  The man has played more rounds of golf than I have put on makeup this year.  Seriously.  No, seriously.  What kind of example is this to the people who put him there?  What is wrong with the people who put him there?  They were narcissists, seeking only the best for themselves, thinking this man would save them.  I remember the speeches, in front of white pillars, echoing speakers, as if he were some type of god.  Now, he gets to act like one.     

When we are the farthest from God, we have no love.  No concern for the beggar, no concern for the poor.  No concern for the sick.  No concern for the 21 Christians who lost their heads this week.  No concern for the sweatshops that give us cheap clothes.  No concern for the people in various lands who dumpster dive for trash to eat, or are so poor they do not even care to bury their dead.  No concern for any number of ills that we really can't solve, so we don't even try.  

My biggest concern this week was that my laptop crashed, after beginning this post.  It was as if Satan knew that I would have just a smidge of something to expose, and hijacked my laptop.  I am praying sincerely for something to be salvaged, but the man fixing it says it's highly unlikely I'll get anything off it it.  Four years of family pictures (b/c I'm too wrapped up in taking pics to actually take the time to get them developed), four years of work documents, important files... hopefully not gone, but quite possibly.  As I prepared to write a post about narcissism, all the things that make me think of myself could be inaccessible.  And to think I could have spent hours and hours printing them out.  But what does it serve humanity or my brother, to be self-inflicted with endless albums of photos, cropped and mounted just so?  Or endless stacks of "important documents"?  

I see the irony, and once again, realize I have so many flippin' idols.  I am yet SO SO far from putting God first.  I would pay $100, no $250 to get those pics back, but do you think I'd trust to put $250 into some effort to help Christians in Iraq?  Am I a narcissist?  I could say no, but I really don't think we have any comprehension of the nature of the people that exist in heaven, or will make up Zion.  So much of what we do is just nonsense.  What stops us from overcoming narcissism?  The only answer I have is love.  What else could there be?  

Shielding

After I wrote my last abysmal post, I had a bit of a very large revelation.  I was blown away by it, and scribbled as much as I could into my journal.  The next day, I went to my computer and began typing up an outline, so I could clearly share.  I didn't know if I was to share it here, or go so far as to write up something more extensive, but I began writing to get it out of my head.

Ironically enough, when I went to write more yesterday, my computer died.  Like, black screen of death, died.  I turn it on, and hear the fan running, and get the recovery screen up, but it will not power up completely.

Yes, my computer was attacked by the adversary.  Don't laugh.  I mean it!  Can it be explained any other way?  Of course it can.  But I see the irony as highly intriguing.

It's got all our family pics from the last 3 or 4 years.  I was a goof and didn't back them up in that long.

So next time I get a mind blowing understanding and find myself inclined to share, I will pray for my computer.  Yes, I will do it and not be ashamed!  :)