tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334476329394637912024-03-14T12:18:50.136-06:00Mormon PhilosophyI value your opinions. However, a civilized exchange of ideas and discussion of differing viewpoints need not devolve into ad hominem attacks and ridicule of the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of others. I hope you will respect that while you are in my digital home.
One last point: on occasion I will change photographs that accompany my posts. I feel a real kinship with these pictures, having taken many of the photographs, and I would like to share them with you.
Thank you.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-43591502854726427122015-09-22T14:11:00.002-06:002015-09-22T14:11:30.874-06:00Excellent perception - good thoughtsI came across this blog due to a Facebook post from my sister, and I found it intriguing and spot on: <a href="http://www.jrganymede.com/2015/09/21/the-sheltered-ones/comment-page-1/#comment-462572" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Sheltered Ones</a><br />
<br />
I am not sure if adding my own comments would improve it or detract from it, so I will remain silent for now and add more only if I am sure it is of like quality.<br />
<br />
jmfAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-39682325006279906732013-08-20T21:58:00.001-06:002015-09-22T14:13:56.835-06:00<h2>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Fighting Against What? And Why?</span></h2>
<br />
J. Mark Freckleton<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We find it interesting that among the most vociferous critics of the Church are those who have left the Church. Giving up their membership seems to have left a spiritual void, and as nature abhors a vacuum, this emptiness fills quickly with bitterness. “Behold, ere he [or she] is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:38).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When the errant former member was born under the covenant – therefore selected before birth to participate in the building of the Kingdom of God on earth – such a fall from grace is tragic. One also wonders about the fall into antagonism of an erstwhile member who was never fully engaged in the gospel. But even a fall into bitterness, hatred and enmity of one who never held membership in the Church is sad. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is sad because bitterness and hate always canker the soul. They erode away character and integrity; they sour joy. They are based on fear, as are all negative emotions. Fear is the antithesis of faith. Having lost faith, they now wallow in fear. They do not recognize this, of course, and would deny it loudly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All these acerbic combatants against the Church have one primary commonality. In one regard they are all the same: they all at one time united with God against Lucifer when the Son of the Morning attempted to wrest the glory of God from his father. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Given the immensity of Lucifer’s fall from grace, we expect the resulting void to have filled with immense bitterness. Now he wants us to become miserable like unto himself. His hatred extends to all who contributed to his fall, that being all who did not follow him in rebellion, all who subsequently received a physical body and a second estate on earth. He especially resents the reality of a universal and eternal resurrection for humankind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now we see a supreme irony: people who in an earlier state stood by God and by truth against Lucifer have in mortality rejected God and have enrolled as agents for the father of lies in order to subvert truth. These souls, who once endangered themselves by resisting evil, supporting God and countering Lucifer, have now transformed themselves into enemies of God in service to Satan. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The vast majority of humankind will accept an existence of glory that we call terrestrial. These people are innocuous. In fact, the Lord refers to them as honorable. Their only shortfall is that they fail to be valiant in the testimony of Christ. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All the sons and daughters of God will have the opportunity to be valiant and most will not take it. Some few will take on the challenge and work, however imperfectly, to become valiant to the best of their ability. That suffices for them. A loving Heavenly Father will patiently work with them and bring them along until they grow to God-like effectiveness. They are valiant within their own weak capacity and become the just who are made perfect. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But more people – albeit many fewer than those who accept a terrestrial glory – will qualify for a telestial level of existence. We use the term, qualify, advisedly. To qualify for a Celestial glory, we must be valiant in the testimony of Christ. To inherit a Terrestrial glory, one need be merely a good person, not valiant, but also not wicked – these need only live according to social norms and the law of their society. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the other hand, those who choose a Telestial realm must qualify pro-actively: they must live wickedly. To be worthy of a Telestial glory, one must do evil. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The revelation commonly called the “The Vision,” recorded as Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants, describes these Telestial souls as “liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whore mongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:103). They do not receive a testimony of Jesus, either in mortality or in the spirit world until they have suffered the torment of hell for at least the duration of Christ’s millennial reign as an unresurrected spirit, subject to the buffetings of Satan. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The common thread among these telestial souls is that in one way or another they fight against God. The evil they perpetrate harms other people. God’s declared work and glory is bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of His children. The work and glory of those in a telestial state hurts the children of God by violating a marriage vow, taking a life, taking another’s possessions or living in deceit. They may love certain people in their lives, they may do good and kind things to people, but they also abuse the well-being of others, they do ill, they damage the happiness of God’s children. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It may make no difference in the end result whether a person leading a telestial life knew of the Church or not; but we have to think that the buffetings of hell may be more sore, exquisite and hard to bear for those who fought against the Church – and this greatly magnified for one who was once a baptized member. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They have not sinned against the Holy Ghost, and for that they inherit a kingdom of glory. This they receive because what they did in their pre-mortal state. But all that makes their turn toward evil in mortality all the more inconceivable and, in the end, painful. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-86076972548886481142011-04-21T21:22:00.006-06:002013-08-20T22:06:05.517-06:00Mary Magdalene at the Tomb of Jesusby Max Lucado<br />
<br />
Mary had been there. She had heard the leaders clamor for Jesus’ blood. She had witnessed the Roman whip rip the skin off his back. She had winced as the thorns sliced his brow and wept at the weight of the cross.<br />
<br />
In the Louvre there is a painting of the scene of the cross. In the painting the stars are dead and the world is wrapped in darkness. In the shadows there is a kneeling form. It is Mary. She is holding her hands and lips against the bleeding feet of the Christ.<br />
<br />
We don’t know if Mary did that, but we know she could have. She was there. She was there to hold her arm around the shoulder of Mary the mother of Jesus. She was there to close his eyes. She was there.<br />
<br />
So it’s not surprising that she wants to be there again.<br />
<br />
In the early morning mist she arises from her mat, takes her spices and aloes, and leaves her house, past the Gate of Gennath and up to the hillside. She anticipates a somber task. By now the body will be swollen. His face will be white. Death’s odor will be pungent.<br />
<br />
A gray sky gives way to gold as she walks up the narrow trail. As she rounds the final bend, she gasps. The rock in front of the grave is pushed back.<br />
<br />
“Someone took the body.” She runs to awaken Peter and John. They rush to see for themselves. She tries to keep up with them but can’t.<br />
<br />
Peter comes out of the tomb bewildered and John comes out believing, but Mary just sits in front of it weeping. The two men go home and leave her alone with her grief.<br />
<br />
But something tells her she is not alone. Maybe she hears a noise. Maybe she hears a whisper. Or maybe she just hears her own heart tell her to take a look for herself.<br />
<br />
Whatever the reason, she does. She stoops down, sticks her head into the hewn entrance, and waits for her eyes to adjust to the dark.<br />
<br />
“Why are you crying?” She sees what looks to be a man, but he’s white—radiantly white. He is one of two lights on either end of the vacant slab. Two candles blazing on an altar.<br />
<br />
“Why are you crying?” An uncommon question to be asked in a cemetery. In fact, the question is rude. That is, unless the questioner knows something the questionee doesn’t.<br />
<br />
“They have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have put him.”<br />
<br />
She still calls him “my Lord.” As far as she knows his lips were silent. As far as she knows, his corpse had been carted off by grave robbers. But in spite of it all, he is still her Lord.<br />
<br />
Such devotion moves Jesus. It moves him closer to her. So close she hears him breathing. She turns and there he stands. She thinks he is the gardener.<br />
<br />
Now, Jesus could have revealed himself at this point. He could have called for an angel to present him or a band to announce his presence. But he didn’t.<br />
<br />
“Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” (John 20:1-18 NIV).<br />
<br />
He doesn’t leave her wondering long, just long enough to remind us that he loves to surprise us. He waits for us to despair of human strength and then intervenes with heavenly. God waits for us to give up and then—surprise!<br />
<br />
And listen to the surprise as Mary’s name is spoken by a man she loved—a man she had buried.<br />
<br />
“Miriam.”<br />
<br />
God appearing at the strangest of places. Doing the strangest of things. Stretching smiles where there had hung only frowns. Placing twinkles where there were only tears. Hanging a bright star in a dark sky. Arching rainbows in the midst of thunderclouds. Calling names in a cemetery.<br />
<br />
“Miriam,” he said softly, “surprise!”<br />
<br />
Mary was shocked. It’s not often you hear your name spoken by an eternal tongue. But when she did, she recognized it. And when she did, she responded correctly. She worshiped him.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-9518383932167731272009-07-25T18:21:00.002-06:002009-07-25T18:27:52.084-06:00Qualities of an Abundant Life<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMark%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMark%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMark%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:"BakerSignet BT"; panose-1:2 11 5 2 5 3 9 3 10 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:135 0 0 0 27 0;} @font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:"EngrvrsOldEng Bd BT"; panose-1:3 4 8 2 4 7 8 3 6 2; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:135 0 0 0 27 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"BakerSignet BT","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:.7in .8in .6in .8in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 24pt; font-family: "EngrvrsOldEng Bd BT"; color: navy;">The Qualities of an Abundant Life<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: navy;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">We should work and pray to gain:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">G</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ratitude for life and for the opportunity of living with all that pertains to life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">H</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ope that life will continue to improve and rise to a higher level.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">S</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">trength to cope with the burdens and challenges that life inflicts.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">D</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">irection for life that it holds its course toward a clearly defined end.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">V</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ision of who I am and what I am as offspring of an almighty God.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">H</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ealing of the wounds of the soul through the atonement.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">K</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">nowledge of correct and eternal principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">P</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ower to live in compliance with those eternal principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">S</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ecurity that comes from knowing safety in our Father’s care.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.3in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">M</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ight to overcome the temptations peculiar to each individual that will beset and plague each.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">P</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">urpose that accords completely with the purpose that our Father has for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">E</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ndurance to stay the course and continue to progress toward our purpose. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">V</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">irtue so that one’s soul remains pure and in tune with the Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">T</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ruth, in that one abides by true principles and speaks only truth. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">M</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">eaning for life that becomes ever higher into eternity.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">L</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ight of truth, that there be no darkness in us.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">L</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ove without condition for God and all He has created.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">F</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">aith, the greatest power in the universe, that one can create the life one desires.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">G</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">lory emanating from the Lord that lifts us in His grace.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">C</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">hange of heart, that one’s heart will accord perfectly with the Father’s.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">B</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">rightness of being, that one might serve as a beacon and light to the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.3in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">E</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">ternal life, in which one shares in one’s Father’s work, to bring to pass immortality and eternal life to all people.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.2in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">J</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">oy without end with our Father, Lord and God, worlds without end.<o:p></o:p></span></p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-74185869718069757152009-05-03T19:39:00.003-06:002009-07-25T17:45:44.303-06:00The Supreme Sacrifice<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMark%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="Edit-Time-Data" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMark%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_editdata.mso"><!--[if !mso]> <style> v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} </style> <![endif]--><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMark%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMark%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><link rel="plchdr" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMark%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_plchdr.htm"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073741899 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:"BakerSignet BT"; panose-1:2 11 5 2 5 3 9 3 10 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:135 0 0 0 27 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Benguiat Bk BT"; panose-1:2 3 6 4 5 3 6 2 7 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:135 0 0 0 27 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:6.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"BakerSignet BT","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} h2 {mso-style-priority:9; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-link:"Heading 2 Char"; mso-style-next:Normal; margin-top:10.0pt; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after:avoid; mso-outline-level:2; font-size:13.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#4F81BD; mso-themecolor:accent1; font-weight:bold;} p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader {mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-link:"Header Char"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; tab-stops:center 3.25in right 6.5in; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"BakerSignet BT","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} p.MsoTitle, li.MsoTitle, div.MsoTitle {mso-style-priority:10; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-link:"Title Char"; mso-style-next:Normal; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:15.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; border:none; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor:accent1; padding:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 4.0pt 0in; font-size:22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:26.0pt; font-family:"Benguiat Bk BT","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#17365D; mso-themecolor:text2; mso-themeshade:191; letter-spacing:.25pt; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} p.MsoTitleCxSpFirst, li.MsoTitleCxSpFirst, div.MsoTitleCxSpFirst {mso-style-priority:10; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-link:"Title Char"; mso-style-next:Normal; mso-style-type:export-only; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; border:none; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor:accent1; padding:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 4.0pt 0in; font-size:22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:26.0pt; font-family:"Benguiat Bk BT","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#17365D; mso-themecolor:text2; mso-themeshade:191; letter-spacing:.25pt; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} p.MsoTitleCxSpMiddle, li.MsoTitleCxSpMiddle, div.MsoTitleCxSpMiddle {mso-style-priority:10; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-link:"Title Char"; mso-style-next:Normal; mso-style-type:export-only; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; border:none; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor:accent1; padding:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 4.0pt 0in; font-size:22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:26.0pt; font-family:"Benguiat Bk BT","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#17365D; mso-themecolor:text2; mso-themeshade:191; letter-spacing:.25pt; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} p.MsoTitleCxSpLast, li.MsoTitleCxSpLast, div.MsoTitleCxSpLast {mso-style-priority:10; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-link:"Title Char"; mso-style-next:Normal; mso-style-type:export-only; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:15.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; border:none; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor:accent1; padding:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 4.0pt 0in; font-size:22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:26.0pt; font-family:"Benguiat Bk BT","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#17365D; mso-themecolor:text2; mso-themeshade:191; letter-spacing:.25pt; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing {mso-style-priority:1; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-style-link:"No Spacing Char"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"BakerSignet BT","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} span.Heading2Char {mso-style-name:"Heading 2 Char"; mso-style-priority:9; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:"Heading 2"; mso-ansi-font-size:13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#4F81BD; mso-themecolor:accent1; font-weight:bold;} span.TitleChar {mso-style-name:"Title Char"; mso-style-priority:10; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:Title; mso-ansi-font-size:22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:26.0pt; font-family:"Benguiat Bk BT","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:"Benguiat Bk BT"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:"Benguiat Bk BT"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#17365D; mso-themecolor:text2; mso-themeshade:191; letter-spacing:.25pt; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} span.HeaderChar {mso-style-name:"Header Char"; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:Header;} span.NoSpacingChar {mso-style-name:"No Spacing Char"; mso-style-priority:1; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:"No Spacing"; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:12.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:"BakerSignet BT"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:"BakerSignet BT"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt; line-height:115%;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color rgb(79, 129, 189); border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 4pt;"> <p class="MsoTitle"><span style=""> </span>The Supreme Sacrifice</p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is not at all unusual that fellow Christians criticize Mormons for not being Christians. One point they make, albeit minor, is the lack of the cross in Mormon iconography. Perhaps our lack of focus on the cross indicates a greater concentration of thought on something that greatly transcends the symbolism of the cross.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is very true that the cross represents an important element of Christ’s mission and sacrifice for us. However, crucifixion was not unique. He was crucified between two thieves, after all. A simple viewing of the final few minutes of the movie, “Spartacus” shows that this was not new technology. The practice seems to go back to the sixth century, B.C. and was known among the Persians and the Greeks. It was a common means of death in the ancient world.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">What the Savior suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, however, was unique. Consider this: two of the evangelists who describe this night, Matthew and Mark, in describing how Jesus entered the garden, both mention that the Lord felt “sorrowful and very heavy” – or as Mark puts it, “sore amazed and very heavy,” which words translate Greek terms meaning respectively “amazed, awestruck, astonished” and depressed, dejected, in anguish” (Mark 14:33.) In fact, the Lord’s own words were: “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:37-38</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">We can easily understand His sorrow and heaviness. The Savior was feeling the weight of all the collective sins of every person who had ever lived or ever would live in mortality. The magnitude of this burden is beyond our power to grasp. On the other hand, the thought of the God who created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them being amazed is puzzling at first glance. Not only did He create us, but He gives light to the world and all its inhabitants. How could anything amaze or surprise Him, to say nothing of terrify Him?</span></p> <h2 style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Source of Amazement</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">To understand this, we must first remember that He had lived without sin. He had never in His existence experienced the pain and sorrow of sin. Now he was feeling the excruciating agony of the wages of sin for the first time. As the Apostle Paul described in writing to the Hebrews, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched withy the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, <i style="">yet without sin.” </i>(Hebrews 4:15, italics added.) Being without sin, this was a new experience for Him.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">As the Apostle, Neal A. Maxwell observed: “Imagine Jehovah, the Creator of this and other worlds, ‘astonished’! Jesus knew cognitively what He must do, but not experientially. He had never personally known the exquisite and exacting process of an atonement before. Thus, when the agony came in its fullness, it was so much, much worse than even He with his unique intellect had ever imagined! No wonder an angel appeared to strengthen him!”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“The cumulative weight of all mortal sins—past present, and future—pressed upon that perfect, sinless and sensitive Soul! All our infirmities and sicknesses were somehow, too, a part of the awful arithmetic of the Atonement. The anguished Jesus not only pled with the Father that the hour and cup might pass from Him, but with this relevant citation. ‘And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me.’ (Mark 14:35-36.) (“Willing to Submit,” <i style="">Ensign, </i>May 1985, 70.)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Experiencing this pain and terror for the first time, He was asking for any suitable alternative – that this cup might removed. This is understandable. Yet had He not gone forward with His mission, that inaction would have resulted in unmitigated disaster for all our Heavenly Father’s children. Instead, Jesus submitted His will to the Father’s – meaning it was His own will to do this:”Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39.) As the Prophet, Abinadi, described it, this was a manifestation of “the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.” (Mosiah 15:7)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">As we read in the 93<sup>rd</sup> section of the Doctrine and Covenants, Jesus in His mortal life received and continued from grace to grace until He received a fullness. We can therefore only darkly imagine how it must have been to have the fullness withdrawn. He tells in the latter days “[I have] trodden the wine-press alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:106.) Who can truly comprehend His agony on the cross when “about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46.)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Not only did he completely subjugate himself to the will of His Father, He did it without the spiritual strength of His Father within Him – He had to bear all our sins and infirmities alone!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Now the question of this Easter season. Can we do likewise? When the resurrected Lord challenged the Nephites: Therefore, what man of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.” (3 Nephi 27:27), do we apply that to ourselves? The record is very clear that it was written for us in the latter days; it is only appropriate that we take this very seriously. Again, citing Abinadi, the will of the Son was swallowed up in the will of the Father. Our will, as our Father’s children, must also be swallowed up in His will. Otherwise His atonement has no efficacy for us. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is the warning given by the Savior in the 19<sup>th</sup> section of the Doctrine and Covenants when he describes how His “suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit – and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink – nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:18-19.) </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">In that context He gives this warning: “Therefore I command you to repent – repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore – how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:15.) (The adjective, exquisite, is interesting in this passage: generally it refers to intricacy and beauty of design or execution, even flawless, but it also refers to intense or keen, in the sense of exquisite pain; this is clearly not your garden variety, normal pain – it is much more).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">We should note here that the Lord is speaking metaphorically when he refers to such things as smiting by the rod of his mouth, His wrath and His anger, He takes no enjoyment from our pain, and He does not seek opportunity to cause sufferings. In fact, so great is His love for us that He is willing to take responsibility for these sufferings, even though they are the natural consequences of our actions as natural men. There is no hint of vindictiveness in the words of the Lord, but instead a gentle pleading that we will accept the sacrifice He offers us in order to avoid the pain and the suffering. There can be no mistaking the love involved in His own pain and suffering, all undertaken for us. After all, for His own salvation, having never sinned, He had no need of the atonement. He and the Father were already at one.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">On the other hand, if we do not accept His sacrifice, with its power to cleanse us, then we must pay the price for our sins on our own. It is this restitution that he describes as sore, exquisite and hard to bear. Rejecting this gift, freely given, would have to be the most foolish action any of us could ever take.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Born out of this love, Christ chose to become a man so we can become like God. Through His experience in the garden, He understood the ways of man so He could direct man to God. He drank the bitter cup empty for our sakes.</span></p> <h2 style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);"><span style="font-size:130%;">How This Affects Us</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Though Christ were born a thousand times, but no in us, we are lost. His tremendous sacrifice and the resulting atonement are there for us if we but take it. If we accept Christ and turn our lives over to Him, His sacrifice atones us to God the Father – makes us at one. The infinite atonement will make us clean every whit, and spotless before God.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">As part of God’s plan, our Father has promised us all that He has. (Doctrine and Covenants 84:38). All the immense universe that our Father created for us is ours, along with all power, knowledge, wisdom and abundance, if we will only receive him. All He asks of us is our heart. Already, at this point, all we have comes from Him – belongs to Him. Our sole possession is our agency. Anything else that we could offer Him is already His. To repeat, the only thing we can possibly give that is truly ours to give is our agency. </span></p> <h2 style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Power of His Deed</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">We stand amazed at the power of the atonement of Christ. As He submitted completely and without reservation to His Father’s will in order to pay for our sins and ensure the possibility of our exaltation in the Kingdom of His Father, so we can benefit from His deed and accept His love in action.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">To g</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >ive a sum to the power of the atonement, consider the following from our personal friend, Elder Lawrence Corbridge, of the First Quorum of Seventy: “Jesus Christ is the Way. He is Light and Life, Bread and Water, the Beginning and the End, the Resurrection and the Life, the Savior of the world, the Truth, and the Way.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a name="16"></a></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. He is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way, is foolishness.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a name="17"></a></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >He offers a well of living water. Either we drink and never thirst more, or we don’t and foolishly remain thirsty still.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a name="18"></a></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >He is the Bread of Life. Either we eat and hunger no more, or we don’t and foolishly remain weak and hungry still.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a name="19"></a></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >He is the Light of the World. Either we follow Him and see clearly, or we don’t and foolishly remain blind and in darkness still.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a name="20"></a></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >He is the Resurrection and the Life. He said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”Either we learn of Him and have life more abundantly, or we don’t and foolishly remain dead still.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a name="21"></a></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >He is the Savior of the world. Either we accept the blessings of His Atonement and are made clean and pure, worthy to have His Spirit, or we don’t and foolishly remain alone and filthy still.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a name="22"></a></span><span style=";font-family:";" ><span style="font-size:100%;">He is the Way.” (“The Way” <i style="">Ensign, </i>November 2008, 34.)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-23014561289704328452009-03-08T19:02:00.002-06:002009-03-08T19:04:39.189-06:00Love and Hate<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-family: georgia; font-style: italic;">Love and Hate</span><br /></span></div><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">A spiteful or hateful action directed toward another person merely mirrors our own feelings about ourselves. No one tries to hurt another when feeling good about his or her own self. Such actions stem from feelings of frustration, anger, or distress, whether recognized or not. All such negatives result from fear, manifest as low self esteem, low self respect and low self love.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The love we feel for ourselves determines and limits the amount of love we can feel for others. One person cannot love another to a greater degree than the person loves his or her self. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">If we wish to live with love, we must recognize love when we see it and recognize what is not love: that is, evil. Learn to recognize evil in all its manifestations, that you might counter it with its antithesis, which is love, because the cause of evil is an absence of love. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-74577949326737791152008-07-06T16:03:00.004-06:002008-07-09T10:00:08.562-06:00Why Worry<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style=";font-family:EckmannD;font-size:20;color:green;" ><span style="font-size:180%;">The Burden of Worry</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="">I</span><span style=""> have often quoted the Dutch anti-Nazi resistance worker, Corrie ten Boom, in saying “Worry doesn’t relieve tomorrow of its sorrow, but empties today of its strength.” (In reality, there are sources that attribute this statement to other people, but because of my admiration of this woman, I choose to attach her name to it). With that in mind, I wrote the following back on 26 September 2004:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="">People generally recognize the negative impact of worry – with its increase of stress levels and anxiety, but many still engage in it. At times it seems almost like a familiar comfort for the worrier. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="">In reality, of course, worry is simply paying in advance for something we don’t even want. If we don’t want it, why pay for it, and why pre-pay? But there is another fault with worry that causes it to border on self-indulgence.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="">Worry is indeed a very selfish thing. When a person engages in worry, where is that person’s focus? Is focus directed toward the betterment of other people? No! In fact, the worrier’s attention is all self-directed. The worry centers on the feelings of the worrier. True, it may at times involve a person that the worrier cares about and the worrier’s desire that nothing bad happens to that person, but it still applies primarily to the worrier’s feelings. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="">Let us contrast this to a higher plane of life. Does a righteous God feel worry? Did Jesus suffer the effects of worry? No!<span style=""> </span>Not even in His mortality, while looking through His own glass relatively darkly did he display worry. He showed love, genuine caring, real concern, but never worry. In fact, he chides Martha for her worrying about Mary’s lack of help in the kitchen: “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things (Luke 10:41 – note that “careful” at the time of the King James translation carried the meaning that “worry” later assumed).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="">As the Apostle Paul explains, “the greatest of these is charity” or love (I Corinthians, 13:13). Mormon demonstrates that love is a power akin to faith. These three remain: faith, hope and charity, but the greatest of these is the pure love of Christ (Moroni 7). Love implies pro-active action; concern is focused outward toward some other entity. The locus of control remains internal, but the attention directs itself away from the self. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="">Worry, however, remains self-directed, focused inwardly. As such, it acts as a parasite, feeding upon and cankering the soul. The word “worry” originally had the meaning ‘to strangle.’ Our indulgence in worry may be momentarily satisfying, but like many self-indulgent acts, worry is, in reality, self-destructive. We simply strangle ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="">Cigarettes provide temporary physical pleasure but cause hideous physical harm. Worry likewise provides temporary spiritual/emotional pleasure, but creates long-lasting damage to the spirit. That makes it an act of self-loathing. Given that we cannot love another any more than we love ourselves, it is supremely selfish – counter to the love of God. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="">Divesting ourselves of worry makes us happier and more God-like.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-61103647522478907182008-03-19T10:25:00.005-06:002008-03-23T19:37:52.929-06:00Testimonies in Poetry<span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153); font-family: trebuchet ms;">A month or so ago it was my assignment to teach the high priests group, and the topic was Testimony of Jesus Christ. I thought about all the various testimonies we have in the scriptures, and recalling them reminded me that many of them attain a high level of eloquence, even poetry. I collected some of these together, which we read together during our meeting time. I like them enough - for the content as well as for the beauty of the language - that I wanted to share them here.</span><br /><br /></span></span></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Avila Avant"; color: rgb(130, 31, 0);">Testimonies in Poetry<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Avila Avant"; color: rgb(130, 31, 0);">Beauty and Eloquence in the Spirit<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(130, 31, 0);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Lydian BT"; color: rgb(130, 31, 0);">The Apostle, Paul, reminding the Hebrews of their core beliefs:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(130, 31, 0);">God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(130, 31, 0);">Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(130, 31, 0);">Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high…<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(130, 31, 0);">Hebrews 1:1-3<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 0);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Lydian BT"; color: rgb(54, 80, 8);">Some 550 years before the birth of the Messiah, on the <st1:place st="on">Western Hemisphere</st1:place>, a prophet reveals his source of knowledge of events to come – the revelations of God (note, too, that Christ is merely the Greek translation of the Hebrew, Messiah):<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(54, 80, 8);">For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(54, 80, 8);">Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(54, 80, 8);">Jacob 4:4, 8<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(54, 80, 8);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Lydian BT"; color: rgb(7, 77, 10);">The beloved Apostle knew the Lord well; in introducing his account of the Lord’s mission, he testifies: <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(7, 77, 10);">In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(7, 77, 10);">The same was in the beginning with God.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(7, 77, 10);">All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(7, 77, 10);">In him was life; and the life was the light of men. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(7, 77, 10);">And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(7, 77, 10);">John 1:1-5<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(7, 77, 10);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Lydian BT"; color: rgb(0, 46, 92);">It strikes us ironic that so many people who respect the Savior as a great teacher, philosopher even, overlook his very specific testimony of himself:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(0, 46, 92);">And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(0, 46, 92);">John 17:3<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(0, 46, 92);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Lydian BT"; color: rgb(96, 0, 96);">Stephen indicted the Sanhedrin who sought to discredit the true Messiah by pointing out in a grandly eloquent manner how the entire history of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>, from Abraham to the present, testified of Christ. Enraged, they began to physically assault him; filled with the Holy Spirit, he gave this testimony before they stoned him to death: <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(96, 0, 96);">But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(96, 0, 96);">And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(96, 0, 96);">Acts 7:55-56<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(96, 0, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Lydian BT"; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Again the Beloved, declares the Lord as our source of light; if we disregard His light, we stumble in darkness:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">I John 1:5-7<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Lydian BT"; color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">Latter day revelation testifies in support of John of the light that emanates from God through His Son to illuminate the entire universe and each of us individually:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">This Comforter is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom; <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">Which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God, the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son— <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth; <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made; <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made; <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings; <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space— <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(116, 2, 10);">Doctrine & Covenants 88:4-13<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family: "Lydian BT"; color: rgb(99, 1, 85);">Moroni</span></st1:place></st1:City><span style="font-family: "Lydian BT"; color: rgb(99, 1, 85);"> spent several decades alone, with the companionship only of the Holy Ghost and, possibly, the Three Nephites. He must have pondered much the things of God. We know that he was keenly interested in us who live in the last days. His stated purpose in preserving the sacred record compiled by his father, Mormon, was to bear testimony to us, Jew, Lamanite and Gentile, in the latter days of the goodness and grace of God of the sacred mission and atonement of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. He surely gave long thought to his final statement to us. These are <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Moroni</st1:place></st1:City>’s last words after spending many long years alone: his final words of wisdom imparted to us of the latter days:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(99, 1, 85);">Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(99, 1, 85);">And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="color: rgb(99, 1, 85);">Moroni</span></st1:place></st1:City><span style="color: rgb(99, 1, 85);"> 10:32-33<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Lydian BT"; color: rgb(36, 36, 110);">And finally, from one who witnessed the Lord numerous times, seeing Him and hearing His voice as he did the Lord’s bidding in restoring the Lord’s Church prior to His coming again, his great testimony, last of all:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 110);">And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 110);">For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father— <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 110);">That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 110);">Doctrine & Covenants 76:22-24<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: rgb(32, 32, 98);"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Stirring and beautiful words indeed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">jmf</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-6985430754003516232008-03-09T20:39:00.006-06:002008-03-09T20:59:13.991-06:00Thy Will - My Will<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">The ideas here came to me while enjoying Sacrament Meeting; now I would like to share them with you:<br /><br /></span></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 24pt; font-family: KellyAnnGothic; color: rgb(160, 8, 69);">Precious Fruit<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><span style="font-size: 20pt; font-family: KellyAnnGothic; color: rgb(160, 8, 69);">A</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" > world obsessed with self-indulgence can,</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >It seems, see nothing but its own desires;</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Its denizens run blindly to and fro,</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Not seeing what is vital in a life</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Of meaning on eternal planes; unseen</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Flows water giving everlasting life. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Except the Lord shall build the house the work</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Is vain of those that build.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" > My will is not</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Of consequence in lasting views; I wish</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Instead to sublimate my will to Thine,</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >My Holy Father, doing nothing but</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >What pleases Thee, serves Thee and glorifies</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" ><br /> Thy name.<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" > My will must be to trust in Him,</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >The Lord, with all mine heart, and lean not on</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Mine own weak understanding. If in all</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >My ways I can acknowledge Him, He shall</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Direct my paths. The fruit of God’s great love</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Is sweet above all sweet and white above </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >All white and pure above all pure; so I </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Shall feast upon this fruit until I’m filled, </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >That I will neither hunger nor will thirst</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Forever in the joy of God’s own grace.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >(cf. Psalm 127:1; Proverb 3:5; Alma 32:42)</span><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;"><span style="color: rgb(160, 8, 69);font-size:14;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-15203792489095974222008-03-02T20:36:00.012-07:002008-03-02T22:35:30.829-07:00Knowing Him<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGnMTyIn_jTlkFurAJ9BsJiBcyI79_M_qSxzWY7FboHU6F0IbGovn78MVOrLu1FUJAyrg65Iq8ZVBGzXnTMHFXmM4nqk_Qd3O3XgA9nuVmFiFN2QYfY_tx4KnpfmmF6qy-GCHPm9Sz_gj/s1600-h/CristoRedentor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 129px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGnMTyIn_jTlkFurAJ9BsJiBcyI79_M_qSxzWY7FboHU6F0IbGovn78MVOrLu1FUJAyrg65Iq8ZVBGzXnTMHFXmM4nqk_Qd3O3XgA9nuVmFiFN2QYfY_tx4KnpfmmF6qy-GCHPm9Sz_gj/s320/CristoRedentor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173373063597956050" border="0" /></a><p style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);" class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size: 28pt; font-family: "Old English Text MT"; color: purple;">Jesus as Icon<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 24pt; font-family: "Old English Text MT"; color: purple;">A</span><span style="color:purple;"> friend shared the following essay in Sunday School this morning, and it had a positive impact on me. I know that in talking to my clients on a daily basis, I often mention the fact that we as human beings tend to live with routines that develop habits, and sometimes these habits don’t welcome change in the routine. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;"><o:p></o:p>There are times when use of auto-pilot in our activities is a necessary means of avoiding burnout. However, this should never govern our relationship with God or His Son. If living with mindless routine can harm the health of a marriage relationship, imagine what it can do to our relationship with the Savior. Given that this is the most vital relationship we can possibly ever have (see my June 24th entry), we had better recognize the need to take conscious and pro-active steps to make this relationship a living relationship and anything but routine. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;"><o:p></o:p>The focus of my thoughts here is an article – a book chapter, actually – by a minister at the <st1:placename st="on">Oak</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Hills</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype st="on">Church</st1:placetype> in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">San Antonio</st1:place></st1:city> named Max Lucado. He has written over 50 books with 28 million of them in print, so I am surprised that I had never heard of him before. Having read this, I probably will get better acquainted with him.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;"><o:p></o:p>He writes of how he spent a summer while a college student in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Rio de Janeiro</st1:city>, <st1:country-region st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region></st1:place> and first saw the gigantic statue called Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). This mammoth monolith stands 90 feet tall on a 2,330 foot tall mountain that stands within the city limits and is visible from all over the city. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">Reverend Lucado continues: “Below me was <st1:place st="on">Rio</st1:place>. Seven million people swarming on the lush green mountains that crash into the bright blue <st1:place st="on">Atlantic</st1:place>. Behind me was the <i style="">Christ the Redeemer</i> statue. As I looked at the towering edifice through my telephoto lens, two ironies caught my attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“I couldn’t help but notice the blind eyes. Now, I know what you are thinking – all statues have blind eyes. You are right, they do. But it’s as if the sculptor of this statue intended that the eyes be blind. There are no pupils to suggest vision. There are no circles to suggest sight. There are only Little Orphan Annie openings.<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“I lowered my camera to my waist. <i style="">What kind of redeemer is this? Blind? Eyes fixated on the horizon, refusing to see the mass of people at its feet?<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“I saw the second irony as I again raised my camera. I followed the features downward, past the strong nose, past the prominent chin, past the neck. My focus came to rest on the cloak of the statue. On the outside of the cloak there is a heart – a Valentine’s heart; a simple heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“A stone heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“The unintended symbolism staggered me. <i style="">What kind of redeemer is this? Heart mad of stone? Held together not with passion and love, but by concrete and mortar. What kind of redeemer is this? Blind eyes and stony heart?<o:p></o:p></i></span><br /><i style=""><span style="color:purple;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“I’ve since learned the answer to my own question: What kind of redeemer is this? Exactly the kind of redeemer most people have.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“Oh, most people would not admit to having a blind redeemer with a stone heart. But take a close look.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“For some, Jesus is a good luck charm: the ‘Rabbit’s Foot Redeemer.’ Pocket sized, handy, easily packaged, easily understood, easily diagramed. You can put his picture on your wall or you can stick it in your wallet as insurance. You can frame him. Dangle him from your rear view mirror or glue him to your dashboard.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“His specialty? Getting you out of a jam. Need a parking place? Rub the redeemer. Need help on a quiz? Pull out the rabbit’s foot. No need to have a relationship with him. No need to love him. Just keep him in your pocket next to your four-leaf clover.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“For many he’s an ‘Aladdin’s Lamp Redeemer.’ New jobs. Pink Cadillacs. New and improved spouses. Your wish is his command. And what’s more, he conveniently reenters the lamp when you don’t want him around.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“For others, Jesus is a ‘Monty Hall Redeemer.’ ‘All right, Jesus, let’s make a deal. For firty-two Sundays a year, I’ll put on a costume – coat and tie, hat and hose – and I’ll endure any sermon you throw at me. In exchange, yhou give me the grace behind pearly gate number three.’<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">“The Rabbit’s Foot Redeemer, the Aladdin’s Lamp Redeemer, the Monty Hall Redeemer – few demands, no challenges, no need for sacrifice, no need for commitment.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">Although many conservative Christians fault us Mormons for believing that we have to do something toward our salvation (after all, who are we to take Paul literally when he writes: “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” - Philippians 2:12?), this good man states unequivocally that we must do much more than just call him “Lord, Lord” (cf. <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/luke/6/46#46"><span style="text-decoration: none;color:purple;" >Luke 6: 46</span></a>). <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">If we want to be with the Lord for eternity we need to know Him. You must know Him to the best of our abilities here, and we must continue to seek after Him after our mortal probation. We must love Him, and if we love Him we will show Him the respect of keeping His commandments and doing His will. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">As we continue to do His will and obey Him, we personify His advice to the Nephrites (and, of course, to us): “…what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27).“<span style=""> </span><span style=""></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">Here and now, as Natural Men, this is anything but routine or habitual for us. It takes conscious effort – for now. After all, it is not accidental that He tells us that what separates those who dwell in His presence for eternity from the “honorable men of the earth” who enjoy a lesser glory is that the first group remains “valiant in the testimony of Jesus.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:purple;">For this, we need a real and loving relationship with the Lord. Seeing Him as an icon or no more than a graven image will not save us. But, as we all know, nothing is more important.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(0, 118, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);"></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(0, 118, 0);"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-51241531217442230942007-09-09T09:33:00.000-06:002007-09-09T09:48:07.135-06:00A Contrast of Faith and Power<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Calligraph421 BT"; color: gray;">Jehovah and Lucifer<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Calligraph421 BT"; color: gray;">A Study in Faith<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "PT Letterbook"; color: green;">C</span><span style="color: green;">hrist shows perfect faith from the beginning. By submitting to His father’s will and giving Him the glory, Christ gained infinitely more than He would have otherwise; in fact, He gained all things, infinity in eternity. By letting go and detaching Himself from the process, He was able to bring about the state He promises us in these latter days: “Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly: then shall thy <b style=""><i style="">confidence wax strong</i></b> in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="color: green;"><span style=""> </span>“The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and <b style=""><i style="">without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee</i></b> forever and ever” (Doctrine & Covenants 121:45-46, emphasis added).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="color: green;">Lucifer shows no faith whatsoever. Instead of patiently, detachedly allowing it to come to him, he attempted to force the issue and compel people to do what he wants them to do. There is nothing everlasting in a dominion based on fear, but given that Satan has no faith, and given that fear is the opposite of faith, his entire kingdom is transitory and ephemeral. In an absolute absence of charity and with no virtue in his thinking, Satan has no confidence whatsoever in the presence of God and no understanding at all of the doctrines. With no claim on the Holy Ghost and the infinite intelligence the Spirit makes available to us, Lucifer must by definition live in fear, darkness and with no real, lasting power. By attempting to grasp power by force, he denies himself the possibility of infinite power, the power enjoyed by the great Jehovah, Jesus Christ, and all those who become joint heirs with Him in His Father’s kingdom.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="color: green;">Thus Lucifer traps himself in a device of his own making. Were he, even now, to submit to the Father, he could find power and faith far beyond what he can only intellectualize, but he cannot, because of his need and desire to compel, and because of his utter lack of faith and love.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="color: green;">As we open ourselves to charity, the pure love of Christ, and to virtue, or excellence and righteousness, we choose a life that brings us greater power without compulsion, and everlasting growth and increase. As we follow in the footsteps of our Savior and Lord, and submit our will to His, we become like Him. At that time, with Him, as promised, we can possess everlasting joy and dominion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-60409673777711619812007-09-02T11:31:00.002-06:002008-03-03T17:56:36.586-07:00The Power of Thankfulness<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(51, 0, 153);" align="center"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "English111 Vivace BT"; color: navy;">Gratitude is Love and Faith<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "English111 Vivace BT"; color: navy;">M</span></b><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);">isery is lonely; gratitude is shared. In my life I have known both. At times, misery has nearly overwhelmed me and overcome me. Gratitude feels better.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p> </o:p>Gratitude focuses outward away from the self, from the ego. Misery focuses inwardly. Where we place our focus absorbs the nourishing nutrition of our concentrated attention. Misery begets misery gratitude begets more gratitude. Our focus can make either thrive and flourish. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p></o:p>As we give thanks to our Father and to our fellow human beings, our gratitude in all things increases. A dearth of things to be thankful for does not negate the importance of gratitude. In fact, since gratitude creates greater gratitude, when we feel little gratitude that is precisely the time we should seek reasons to be thankful. By looking around and giving thanks for little things, we increase our gratitude naturally. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p> </o:p>Gratitude is, in reality, an act of faith. Standing at the entrance of the tomb of His friend, Lazarus, our Lord Jesus Christ “…lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me…And when he thus had spoken he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:41, 43). Christ, the greatest of all, felt moved to give thanks to His Father for the power to bring His friend back to life. Clearly Lazarus came back to life in an act of faith; the gratitude of our Lord in advance of the miracle was likewise an act of faith. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p> </o:p>Thus we see that gratitude is both a manifestation of faith and a strengthener of faith. Thus we also see that faith and love, being nearly one in substance, require a focus away from ourselves toward others. As we focus away from ourselves, we no longer perceive our misery, much less suffer from it. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p> </o:p>As we focus away from ourselves, away from our pain, we find joy in the gratitude we now feel. Upon this earth and within the cosmos that a loving God created as a means of sharing with His beloved children a fullness of joy, there is much to be grateful for. The very act of focus away from the self toward God and His service to His children is a leap of faith. A fullness of faith brings a fullness of joy in perfect love.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p> </o:p>Our Lord explained the process very well. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose hi life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:24; cf. also Mark 8:35, Matthew 10:39, JSTT Mathew 10:34).<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><i style="">(Although Modern English barely distinguishes a difference between “will” and “shall,” it is no accident that the King James translators alternate the two verbs. “Will” indicates intent or purpose – we still see that in other forms of this root: “I am willing to go…,” “it is my will…” “Shall” indicates action. In this verse, the implication is that the person that wants (take action) to save his life is going to lose it. The person that is willing to lose hi life for Christ and His gospel is going to save it.)</i></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p> </o:p>A leap of faith presupposes a certain level of faith already existent. A person who might feel frustrated by a sense of inadequacy due to a weakness of faith should remember and implement two fundamental actions:<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);">Pray for love and faith as Mormon advised: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ…” (<st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Moroni</st1:place></st1:city> 7:48). As we grow in love, we grow in faith.<o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);">Take seriously the Lord’s injunction to pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17, I Timothy 2:8), vocally as well as in your heart (Doctrine & Covenants 136:28). Our expression of gratitude in prayer creates spiritual awareness in which we observe and witness the power and the goodness of God. That alone increases our faith. <o:p></o:p></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p> </o:p>The result of gratitude is joy. Because of the faith and love that, by nature, accompany gratitude, and because of the recognition of the love and the goodness of God that gratitude gives us, the very act of giving thanks to God or to any of His creations becomes a planting of a seed that will take root and produce a fruit that is “most precious, which is sweet about all that is sweet, and white above all that is white…and pure above all that is pure” (Alma 32:42).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p> </o:p>Our thinking about the goodness we enjoy as children of a loving Heavenly Father increases faith and in increases joy. After all, the verbs “think” and “thank” come ultimately from the same historic root. A simple task, giving continual thanks, being thoughtful about what is good, will nearly imperceptibly bring us closer to God and His spirit, as well as provide us strength in faith unto salvation and eternal life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p> </o:p><i style=""><br /><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(43, 43, 129);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-90294070499041757972007-08-12T23:28:00.002-06:002008-03-03T18:02:19.592-07:00Three Poems Composed at a Funeral<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><i><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Baskerville Old Face"; color: navy;">A dear friend, Connie Christensen, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly about a year ago. She was definitely a beloved woman., a wonderful mother of four children ranging from 8 years to 18 years of age, and a talented singer. Her death came as a shock, of course, but knowing the pain she had endured for a number of years stemming from a serious automobile accident, it came as somewhat of a relief, as well.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Baskerville Old Face"; color: navy;">While contemplating this at a beautiful funeral service - and as a Mormon service, it was filled with an element of joy - I jotted down these three poems, which with only minor modification I want to share with you now:</span></i><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Baskerville Old Face"; color: navy;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><i><span style=";font-family:";font-size:13;color:navy;" ></span></i><span style=";font-family:";font-size:13;color:navy;" ><o:p></o:p></span> <div style="text-align: left;"><span style=";font-family:Florence;font-size:130%;" >Joy Forever</span><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -0.2in;"><span style=""> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> T</span></span></span><span style="">his veil of tears – so aptly named –<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">It serves to give experience<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">That we might learn to walk in faith<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>And love, the counterpart of faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">T</span></span>he grace of our wise, loving Lord,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>The faith and love we hold within,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>A broken heart and contrite spir’t,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">Enable us to well endure<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>The pain and sorrow that this time,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">This brief time in mortality<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>Serves up, so irrespectively<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>To each of us, beloved child.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >A</span>nd thus we know that those of us<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">Who take upon ourselves His yoke,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>The which is easy, lightening <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>Our burden as we overcome<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>The trials and the hurts of life,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>That we might find a fleeting joy –<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">But better yet, with love and faith,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>And our Lord’s grace, when we<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">At last shuffl’ off this mortal coil,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">We know there waits a joyful time<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>Of meeting with our Father, God,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">Our source of love and faith and grace<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="">And joy forever without end.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style=""><br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style=""><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >Connie</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:130%;"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">A</span></b></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);"> ch<span style="font-size:100%;">oice and love-filled daught</span>er,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Radiant, one bright-shining star<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">That dominates, illuminates<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">The otherwise obscure and dusky world:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">One feels perhaps, that some foul adversary,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Some dark angel,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Deemed that she, so pure, so filled with light,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Should not receive the proper measure<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Of the joy that any heart thus filled<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Should have as due;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">The stumbling blocks, the pains, the trials<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">All served to foil the wicked plot against her,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">As she grew from saint to angel,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">She, a radiant being of light and life to those around her.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >A</span>ngels find their place in more celestial worlds<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Than here among mere mortals.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Those of us who wish to go where she has gone,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">A place of love and light,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Can, seeing her example,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Look to the brightness of the Son,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">There find that same pure joy and light<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">That yet define this beautiful and<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Christ-like daughter of the Father,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 204);">Now and yet forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color:green;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style=""><br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style=";font-family:EckmannD;font-size:16;color:gray;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-size:180%;" >Death and Life</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><b style=""><span style="">B</span></b><span style="">y man came death into a fallen world:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">The world reels to and fro as one drunken,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">Staggering in self-absorbed obscurity<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">And self-destructive darkness;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">Ignorant of its purpose, its state or future,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">The world arrogantly sees its opulence and glory,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">Smug in self-aggrandized wisdom<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">And importance, and does not see<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">Its own disease, a sickness unto death.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">A world much too sophisticated<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">Cannot think to look to heaven,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">To know of Him, one chosen since before<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">The earth was made to house the world, <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">To come and heal the world,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">To lift the stains, remove the pain,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">And offer life, eternal life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">The world will die, but those who will <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">Accept this gift will live forever<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="">In His light and joy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com82tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-43357537626663854802007-07-27T23:02:00.000-06:002017-10-22T22:52:07.067-06:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153); font-family: "benguiat bk bt"; font-size: 18pt;">Teach Me How to Be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153); font-family: "benguiat bk bt"; font-size: 18pt;">L</span><span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);">ord, willt thou teach me how to think, how to speak, and how to act? I am but a child: I know not how to go out or come in (I Kings 3:7). I am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech (Moses 6:31). I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge railed me; no man cared for my soul.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><o:p> </o:p>Thou, my Father, art my only refuge, my sole reliable support. On thee alone can I depend. Thy love will sustain me, for God is love (I John 4:8), and thou art my Father, my Lord and my God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><o:p> </o:p>As God, thou hast all power, all knowledge and all intelligence. There is nothing in all creation that can overcome my God. In him I rest secure. A Lord provides for those who follow him; my Lord provides my needs bountifully and willingly. A father loves his son as my Heavenly Father loves me. If a son asks bread, a Father gives him not a stone, or if the son asks a fish, the Father gives him not a serpent: a wise loving and gracious Father gives according to my genuine needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><o:p> </o:p>Why then should I desire to rely on the arm of flesh, which by its very nature shall become corrupted, then wane and waste away? I desire, rather, the stability and endurance of the arm of God. For does he not reassure us that though heaven and earth shall pass away, His word will not pass away?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><o:p> </o:p>In the beginning, then, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1: 1). The same was in the beginning, and shall abide forever, worlds without end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><o:p> </o:p>Mortal people will come and go, some hostile, some hateful, some uncaring, uninvolved, or so absorbed in themselves that they become unable to see outward toward their own brothers and sisters, their fellow children of the same Heavenly Father. Others – many others – mean well, but as yet lack strength and endurance enough to sustain anybody but themselves. Thou, my Father, my Lord and my God, with strength and power and love, have always been there for me and will be forever.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="color: rgb(51 , 51 , 153);"><o:p> </o:p>Again, my Father, I beseech thee, teach me how to think, teach me how to speak, teach me how to act, teach me how to be. My great desire is to be thy son, serving thee and emulating thee, inseparable from thee forever and ever. I ask Thee humbly to accept me unto thyself and make me thine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-23050297261293058802007-07-07T22:48:00.003-06:002010-03-13T23:03:34.986-07:00<div class="Section1"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><i><span style="font-size: 24pt; font-family: "Waltography MV";">Epiphanies of a Personal Sort<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: "Waltography MV";"><o:p></o:p></span><span style=""></span></p><span style="">Despite the religious overtones of the word, dealing with the Magi and divine manifestation,<span style=""> </span>we can all have epiphanies for ourselves, depending upon what our own reality is.<span style=""> </span>This thought came to me during and following my semi-annual visit to the dentist this morning.<span style=""> </span>I am an evening person; the need to rush my morning routine in order to be set in a chair designed to not be set comfortably in, then to have it tipped back to give me the feeling I am sliding off onto my head or into some nameless, trackless void, so that a hygienist half my age can abuse my oral cavity with picks and foul-tasting polishing paste, does not often make me any more sociable.<span style=""> </span>Sitting there, unable to read my newspaper because I was hanging upside down in this chair, I focused on things in my environment that might not otherwise have occurred to me.<span style=""> </span>The music was one.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span><span style=""><br /><br />Of course, what is a dentist office without dentist-office music, and this was no exception.<span style=""> </span>Dr. C. and I had co-stared together in a production of <i>Brigadoon</i> some years back, he as the romantic guy, me as the funny guy, he getting the girl, I getting the laughs, he getting to sing, I getting to..., well, I did get to sing two lines, but it was for comic effect, and not because of the beauty of my performance.<span style=""> </span>Dr. C., on the other hand, has a beautiful, clear, tenor voice.<span style=""> </span>Like many tenors, he was a bit<span style=""> </span>stiff on stage..., but I digress.<span style=""> </span>In the years I had visited his office every six month, I had always heard Brigadoon-like music, easy-listening favorites, as it were.<span style=""> </span>It bespoke his personality and nature, and, like it or not, that kind of music does have a soothing effect so handy in a dentist</span><span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="">=</span></span><span style="">s office.<o:p></o:p></span> </div><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: "BakerSignet BT";"><br /></span><span style="">The repertoire today, however,<span style=""> </span>was definitely not easy listening; emerging from the ceiling speakers were the unmistakable twangs of Country Music.<span style=""> </span>The surprise at this very uncharacteristic phenomenon, (and the fact that the new hygienist was blonde, very cute, and vivacious), served to stir me from my morning torpor.<span style=""> </span>When she mentioned that on a gorgeous, warm, autumn morning like today she would rather be out riding one of her two horses, I knew the source of the radio station selection.<span style=""> </span>She reported that at first the Doctor had always switched it back to his station whenever she had changed it while working alone, but lately he had just let it be.<span style=""> </span>When I asked him about it, he blamed his teenage son, who had been conscientiously introducing Country to him at home.<span style=""> </span>I suggested he rent a video of the first making of <i>Invasion of the Body Snatchers</i>, but my point was lost, and, as we all know, explaining a joke takes all the joy out of it.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span> <span style=""><br /><br />This exchange came at the end of my session.<span style=""> </span>It was while I was driving away that I encountered my own epiphanal experience.<span style=""> </span>It was <i>Beim Schlafengehen</i> from Richard Strauss' <i>Four Last Songs</i>, playing from my car radio, and specifically that transcendently beautiful moment when the soprano, in the last lines of Hesse's lyric, describes the soul, soaring free in the magic circle of the night, echoing the exquisitely sublime solo violin melody that separated the second from the third verse.<span style=""> </span>Was it the strident contrast between this ethereal beauty and what I had been listening to before?<span style=""> </span>I am not sure, but it struck my forcefully.<span style=""> </span>I actually felt incipient tears welling up.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span> <span style=""><br /><br />The dictionary tells us that an epiphany, of whatever nature, involves a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something.<span style=""> </span>My realization was that at rare and, for the most part, unpredictable times, the human organism finds a way to break free from its normal, routine, humdrum existing to make contact with some ethereal higher state of being or consciousness to create something that stands as a Colossus to bestride the narrow world of petty inventions.<span style=""> </span>What is the process here?<span style=""> </span>If I knew I would avail myself to it and rise to greatness.<span style=""> </span>There are, in each generation, some few who tap into this creative power, that seems to hover and brood over the world as a sort of cosmic Zeitgeist.<span style=""> </span>The rest of us catch occasional glimpses, but more often than not are not prepared to act on them, only to enjoy.<o:p></o:p></span> <span style=""><br /><br />Mozart possessed the gift of an open hot-line to this infinite intelligence, and it flowed through him like waters of life.<span style=""> </span>Beethoven had to work for his, but with an awe-inspiring will power, a magnificent will to create, he forcibly wrested creative power out of the infinite and opened his minds to vistas most people cannot even dream of.<span style=""> </span>The results are similar.<span style=""> </span>Mozart gives us the achingly beautiful adagio to his Clarinet Concerto, seemingly effortlessly as it wafted into his creative subconscious. Beethoven<span style=""> </span>offers the otherworldly rapture of his "Heiliger Dankgesang:" we know right away who was the one recovering and offering thanks to Divinity.<span style=""> </span>However much <b><i>we</i></b> feel it upon listening, Beethoven felt it more deeply.<p><br />There are other epiphanies in music (and so many more in creative arts outside music):<span style=""> </span>In twenty years of listening, I still cannot listen to the final chorus, the last few bars of Mahler's "Resurrection Symphony" without feeling chills as the hairs on the back of my neck rise in exultation.<span style=""> </span>I experience much the same whenever I hear the chorale of the shepherds choir bringing peace after the tumult of rejoicing in Respighi's "Laud to the Nativity."<br /><br />Therein lies a lesson: the profound and the beautiful need not be obscure.<span style=""> </span>One might say, sadly, it usually is.I choose to omit the sadly, because it is ever so.<span style=""> </span>Thoreau wrote, pessimistically, The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. If this is true, it is because most men and women rarely look outside themselves.<span style=""> </span>Many people become so focused on the self<span style=""> </span>through conditioning and their manner of reacting to what life dishes out, that they see only unclearly what is beyond them.<span style=""> </span>Those prophets, the creative artists, are exactly that, because they have mastered the technique of looking and feeling, and grafting themselves onto the Universal Infinite Intelligence that gives a so much more great and noble view of life and the world.<span style=""> </span>Those who follow them toward the light, find that the light is good, and as they receive it, their capacity to receive increases continually; their ability to find insights and find the most profound joy grows.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span><span style=""><br /><br />This quest for creative insight is, of course, not the sum of our purpose.<span style=""> </span>An obsession here could cause a person to become an artistic hermit, out of balance with the total self.<span style=""> </span>Again, we can take a lesson from the great artists.<span style=""> </span>Their life was spent in our service.<span style=""> </span>They created for <b><i>us</i></b>.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span><span style=""><br /><br />Whatever else happens in our life, we are in this all together, and<span style=""> </span>are <b><i>one</i></b>, like it or not.<span style=""> </span>A Schubert, like Mozart pulling magnificent ideas out of the ether, or a Mahler, struggling Beethoven-like to comprehend all things before putting it into<span style=""> </span>music, enlighten and elevate us all.<span style=""> </span>If we follow, our own power to elevate may increase.<span style=""> </span>At the least, we will ourselves be drawn upward toward higher planes of existence.<o:p></o:p></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-88270826335817741222007-06-24T21:02:00.000-06:002007-06-25T00:30:47.186-06:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;" >Things That Are Truly Important</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="">T</span>he Lord knows me. He knows my name. He knows my strengths and my weaknesses. He knows what I go through on a daily basis. He stands ready to support me and help me in all I do – in my trials and in my labors. He loves me as His child with perfect love, for God is love and the Lord is God. His capacity for love is such that He loves me more than I can love myself. </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Therefore, I know I can trust Him and rely on Him with assurance. As I turn to Him, the power of His Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, will permeate my being, bringing light and truth. As I accept Him in my life, He will heal my wounds. As I forsake my sins, He will lift the stains of my soul. As I give myself to Him, He will take me into His kingdom to dwell amid His love and glory, in great and eternal joy, forever more.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Any desire I have that is counter to my Lord’s will presents a danger to my well-being. Any action I take not in congruence with my Lord’s will jeopardizes my long-term happiness. Only when my actions fully harmonize with the will of God can I attain true and lasting – indeed, eternal – joy. </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal">In His perfection and wisdom, God remains aware of long-term effects. In our imperfection and mortality our view is greatly limited. This can lead to grave mistakes. Failure comes when we give up what we want most of all just so we can get something we want right now. A two-year-old child, when offered a choice between a piece of candy or a hundred dollar bill will always take the candy, despite the fact that the money could keep it in candy for years. Likewise, it displays a childish lack of wisdom and a great deal of ignorance when we grasp at worldly pleasures and reject what our Father has ready to give us, which is all He has – the entire universe, which is all things.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal">It takes faith to continue to care for the goose that lays golden eggs, rather than succumb to the enticements of the world and kill the goose in a vain attempt to get all the eggs now. It takes faith to trust in an all-powerful and all-loving Father to give us fulfillment of our righteous desires. It takes faith to resist grabbing what we want right now, although we intellectually recognize that it might not be what God would give us.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Whenever we take from the world rather than from God, we accept a counterfeit. A counterfeit brings some immediate pleasure, but no lasting joy.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal">In the Pulitzer Price winning play (later an Academy Award winning motion picture), <i style="">“A Man For All Seasons,” </i>the protagonist, Sir Thomas More, his fate now sealed due to false witness given by one Richard Rich with the purpose of political gain, tells young Rich, “Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world... but for Wales?” Richard Rich had lied in court so that the political powers could justify More’s head on the chopping block, but Sir Thomas went in full confidence that he had maintained his integrity and had thereby procured a lasting and eternal reward, whereas all Rich received was a governorship of Wales. </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal">On a more immediate level, whenever we act counter to the will of God, go against what our Father would have us do, we are accepting something less than the whole world – something much less valuable, something that will not last. To an Englishman in the 16<sup>th</sup> Century, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Wales</st1:place></st1:country-region> was a backwater, a place of no great consequence. To Richard Rich, the ambitious young power seeker, it meant prestige and advancement. As Sir Thomas pointed out, the price of this political power, gained through deceit, was his soul.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">May we always be cognoscent of the value of our soul.</span> </p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-54647586888806745192007-06-18T22:31:00.001-06:002008-03-02T23:10:19.423-07:00Nourishment in Focus<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Ravie; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Gratitude</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />I got the following news item from a Web site that reports bizarre news stories. Obviously, the circumstances are bizarre: how often does a man spend 19 years in a coma and then come back to take his normal place in the world? But it emphasizes another point that fits in nicely with this forum – that most people would rather complain about circumstances than take steps to improve them.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />This is not an observation that the world is going to hell in a hand basket. I am certain that if we could travel to any era of human history, it was the same. The people that Noah was preaching to in warning probably complained about society, the price of gopher wood, or the noisy neighbors among themselves, to say nothing of this strange man who was calling them to repentance.<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Here is the item as I received it:<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size:100%;">WARSAW, Poland - A Polish man who spent 19 years in a coma awoke to a whole new world, but he said people still find things to complain about. "When I went into a coma, there was only tea and vinegar in the shops," Jan Grzebski, 65, told a Polish news channel. "Meat was rationed and there were huge petrol queues everywhere." "Now I see people on the streets with cell phones and there are so many goods in the shops it makes my head spin," he Grzebski said.<br /><br />"What amazes me is all these people who walk around with their mobile phones and yet they never stop moaning."<span style=""> </span><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Grzebski, a railway worker, went into a coma after he was hit by a train in 1988. Doctors predicted he would live for two or three years. His wife moved him every hour for 19 years so he wouldn't get bedsores, <i style="">The Independent</i> reported.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p>This man’s observation underscores a more serious issue – a phenomenon that would explain a great deal of the turmoil and pain found in this or any society’s human condition. The deeper matter here centers on a lack of gratitude.<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The thing that bothered our railway worker friend was not the surprise upgrade in societal prosperity, but the fact that despite how much better things were in their lives 19 years later, people still continued to complain about conditions. They no longer had to endure meat rationing and waiting in line to buy gasoline, but they still felt the need to complain.<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">We have to assume that people would generally find it difficult to be grateful while in the midst of a rant or a lamentation. Somehow our focus on the negative diverts our attention away from the uplifting and edifying.<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">And there is a powerful endorsement of gratitude. Gratitude, of course, does much more than accentuate the upbeat and pleasant. It is much more than just a feel-good method of maintaining a positive mental attitude. <span style=""> </span>We will address this in greater depth in a future article. For now, however, let’s focus on this: there is much more to be grateful for than to complain about, if that is the direction our attentions take us. If we focus on the good, we have a hard time focusing on the bad.<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Our focus is like powerful nourishment to the object of our focus. What we focus on grows and thrives. Isn’t that the nature of focus? – we see the object of our focus more closely and with greater clarity than other objects.<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Henry Ford once said, “Obstacles are those frightful things we see when we take our eyes off our goal.” If the focus of our thoughts and actions is the ennobling and joyful things that God has provided for us, the obstacles to our happiness gets pushed off to the side and remains in our peripheral vision: if we hardly notice the obstacles, they just don’t get in our way.<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is not an invitation to be Pollyanna. Life does require some pain and suffering. They don’t call it the veil of tears for nothing. On the other hand, why let the challenges, trials and pains of life control us or dictate to us how we should feel? Indeed, they will not if we always remember to be grateful for the good that is there for us.</span> </p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233447632939463791.post-72446136292968568822007-05-29T21:55:00.000-06:002007-05-29T22:12:28.925-06:00Welcome to My World<div><span style="color:#330099;">Not long ago I ran across an item on You Tube that conveys an overtly negative message about my church in general and my prophet in particular. The nature of the video – a segment from a General Conference Session with sub-titles – although the stimulus of my thoughts here and the seeds of inception of this blog, is, in reality, irrelevant.<br /><br />What really caught my attention, however, was the volume of venom and vitriol spewed into the discussion group that was attached to the video. A great deal of antipathy and ill-wil<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCnbovt6wQlQTbZrLTcMihbB5eXjIl2ZTebFsXosRrWU7GKnP_76ZnQzEoj3B9O6NQ5hAvpKPww_Baqp-KbiuR0-V5VVCUF_oZoGViuWsFZk4tTG4VjtkF79WNZZOjDxfJzKApvSxhT1Y/s1600-h/firstpreslds.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070201214270979362" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCnbovt6wQlQTbZrLTcMihbB5eXjIl2ZTebFsXosRrWU7GKnP_76ZnQzEoj3B9O6NQ5hAvpKPww_Baqp-KbiuR0-V5VVCUF_oZoGViuWsFZk4tTG4VjtkF79WNZZOjDxfJzKApvSxhT1Y/s320/firstpreslds.jpg" border="0" /></a>l came out on both sides of the argument – the Mormon apologists contributing to the discussion were in many cases equally as negative and divisive as those who were having a field day attacking the money-grubbing church and doddering old men who so self-servingly lead it – this particular 94-year-old spiritual leader in particular.<br /><br />I couldn’t help but remember the words of a loving Father: “…if ye are not one, ye are not mine” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:27). Running through my mind as I read so much discord in the name of religion was the thought of the many times that God has told us through His servants to avoid contention and strife.<br /><br />Somehow out of this cacophony of the mean-spirited disputations came the idea of creating this Web forum. I have long enjoyed writing down my thoughts and feelings, but have always found the distribution of my writing to be a problem. Digital technology makes that easy now.<br /><br />Your thoughts and opinions are welcome: if you disagree with my views, that does not make your thoughts and views wrong. I have even been known to change my mind on occasion. Although all of us seek truth – or should do – but I have not yet been granted a corner on that market. I only do the best I can.<br /><br />However, a civilized exchange of ideas and discussion of differing viewpoints need not devolve into ad hominem attacks and ridicule of the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of others. I hope you will respect that as you respect my feelings while you are in my digital home.<br /><br />Thank you.<br /></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03076028708032408096noreply@blogger.com0