Immortals experience

My Sisters,

Let me start with a quote:

    It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which,if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.

C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Tags: inspirational

Sisters, we are teachers of some precious souls and it is important to remember that they (and us) are immortals having a temporal experience and not the other way around. Teach with kindness; be stern and truthful not swaying to the left or right to show them the way. I know it's a strait way with sharp turns and twists but it was made for us all and if the Lord is at your helm, you will gain an experience that will bless your whole life.

Thanks again for your service and dedication. You can do this work. Give your all and your sacrifice will be accepted and will lead you to a path that will be a shining jewel to your life. 

Again we pray for you and those you find and teach.

Nathan Bingham

Still fascinated with imortality

Reading books about vampires I came to realize that with a mortal approach to an immortal event perhaps I am seeing more and more of what people are feeling about the possibility of their soul.

Vampire books and movies show a limited view. They (the authors and writers) cut out the Spirit from the equation making it at times terrifying. 

In reading some of these fellows work I realized that there is some flaws that perhaps are in our immortal promise as some may see their reward as a curse and others will see it as a blessing. In the various novels and movies, vampires struggle with what to do with their lives. They go to the beaches of Europe and feel empty while us mortals see the beaches as a blessing and opportunity. Will we also see it as the same when we are immortal and have seen the expereiences a thousand times?

Don't be seduced by the coolness

Original picture here.

I was reflecting on the seven deadly sins and how almost each has a church. Not one of brick and mortar but virtual and while I was thinking of such things, my mind reflected on the virtues (strengths of body and spirit) that were the opposite. All of those thoughts brought me to one phrase, "Don't be seduced by the coolness". 

It seems all too often that this poor world has been sucked into the church of Babylon in one form or another by sin. Pride, greed (lasciviousness), wrath (rage), envy (covetous), lust, gluttony, and sloth run rampant among our dear brothers and sisters like a California wildfire, burning and affecting every one of us. Each sin is toxic and grossly addicting but like a cool beer commercial, is introduced as harmless and fun and can be shared with others. Many have learned that the sins of this world lead to loneliness, pain, and heartache, a seriously dark place. 

The Lord through scripture has taught us seven great virtues to counter them so that we can be strong. He has also taught us what to strengthen our spirits to fortify us against that great advisory that would seek to undermine our work. The virtues are prudence (foresight), justice, temperance (bridled passion), and courage (or fortitude/virtue), faith, hope, and charity. Each of these virtues is an action word. Like sin that requires action or a decision, so does virtue. Muscles of the mind and body need constant exercise. The constant struggle to build your character through mental spiritual and physical exercise is vitally important. 

So what do we do? Work daily. We could be the people that we want to be but we must be earnest in working to be those people that we want to become. Being good requires work and effort like exercise. May we all make that great effort to be the kind of people we want to be. 

The Lords storehouse

 I was thinking this week upon the temple and the term the Lord's storehouse (D&C 42). I pondered how that the Lord aims to gather all the wealth of the children of Zion to the warehouses and how in another thought he aims to gather his elect and the children of Israel. It dawned on me then at that time that the Lord really emphasized the importance of temples because he needed a place where He could gather the bundled sheaves. That is, in part, part of the purpose of the temple; a place to gather and record the wealth of the Lord. In the doctrine and covenants, we are told that if we build temples that we will be blessed. I believe that if we have a temple-centered heart (and maintain it) that we too will be blessed and that the adversary will have little power over us. 

Perhaps this is one of my shorter posts but I needed to get it out there.

the parable of the potato

It seems to me that the world has become too instant in its behavior. Instant this and instant that... Our relationships with information, politics, religion, and perhaps God... oh and food has been a grab for instant gratification and nourishment but at a time like a diet soda has left us empty and wanting.

I wonder what happened to the old ways of line upon line precept upon precept, here a little and there a little so that that of which we build is strong and unshaken.

There is a clear difference between a microwaved instant potato and a slow-cooked oven-baked potato. Why are we getting away from that idea? Each of us has tasted both and it doesn't matter how much sour cream and bacon you dress it with your potato cannot be masked; the taste will be there. How much of our lives are like that? Is it a school, church, our job, or career like that? 

When we take the time to read, learn and write our impressions we will slowly bake the clay that God had molded to become the man or woman that we were meant to be over what could have been because we rushed it.

Must we learn to communicate as Helen Keller?

Are we seeing but blind; hearing but deaf? Must we learn a new way to communicate with spiritual beings?

Recently I took the time to teach my primary class the very lesson. In being a teacher you need to see how blind and deaf you are so that you can bring yourself to the Master and allow him to teach you how to see God's messengers without eyes and hear the symphony of angels cheering you on when we have not the ears to hear. We have the power to overcome great obstacles that could get in our way but if we listen to the Holy Ghost and be ever watchful we will see how much we are being helps and accomplish all the more because of it.

The Parable of the Car

I remember a while back teaching the restoration and comparing it to restoring a car. I was teaching 10 year olds at the time. We, as a class went over all the parts of the car and how it and the gospel with the church benefited from a redtoration; a shining beacon of accomplishment. 

I reflected on that and thought if the year 2020 was a car in the front yard, is it a car to remember? Is it staying there because you will not let it go? How were we going to restore our faith and conviction to move on and was 2020 going to be a lesson or a grease stain we will never let go. I personally am still looking for the many lessons of faith and self improvement this year will provide. 

Another thought was, like sin in life, will you need to get help removing it or is it a matchbox car that can be removed quickly? We dont nessisarily know what will be needed to restore our souls but the master teacher knows. Perhaps working with Him we will see what He is doing, has done and will do to restore us to our more perfect form. We have a restored gospel, now we just need to use it to become restored too.

Turbulence

A few years ago I was on a plane for a trip home to my then home in Virginia. During that time we came across some severe weather and turbulence. I was busy reading a book and for a moment while I became fearful I started to pray. During that prayer as I was pouring out my heart to God I got a assurance that the plane was going to land and that we would be ok. I went back to reading my book after the prayer but those that were on the plane were still worried. It was then one of my good friends Ray asked me why I was so calm. I just assured him that God had a plan for me and dying was not one of them for today. The comfort and assurance in my voice let him know that he too could relax. The plane landed and we went home.

I had not reflected on that experience for a while until today when my wife mention how Ray had talked to her about the experience. He was so comforted by my relationship with God that he found that he could relax.

Now I know that turbulence happens in our lives and that some of it was life threatening. Yet aside from of all this it all changes when there is a relationship with God and that changes how people look at their lives. They can see clearly a more direct path and that makes a difference on how people look at what they want and what they seek to accomplish.

Our Maestro asks us to make a joyful noise

To start let me point out the meaning of maestro. The title is that of a master teacher. A friend of mine showed that and referred to our master Jesus Christ as the maestro. It impact me so much as I was thinking of the message in choir. Here is our master teacher who wants us to sing and make music; be part of our lives. The strings of faith are always will be stroked against out trouble lives and through it can be rough and all you hear is screeching and missing the music that is our lives. While we see the horse hair that is faith break with each stroke, we fail to see the music, at times, that God makes with our lives.

HOV

H - Humility
O - Obedience
V - Virtue
When we travel through this in mind we will be carried by the Spirit father and faster than those that travel alone.

Gary E Stevenson

Recently I was part of a Regional Conference were the size of the region was defined and we heard stories about the Mountain Meadow Massacre but I am not going there. I want to talk about the HOV lane of life. You see Elder Stevenson mentioned that in life there is those that drive alone and do not have God in their lives and the wake of hardship and toll pull them into a slow lane because they are pulling all of their sin and troubles behind themselves. This happens while those that ride the HOV lane though still have troubles do not have the same approach to the weight and sin that would pull them and slow them down see to be able to travel faster, happier and with a vigor that should not be there but is. 

I honestly find myself moving in between the two lanes at time. Perhaps its a lack of trust or faith. That can be a lack of humility and obedience. For those that do not understand virtue its strength; strength of character and spirit. So for those that find their lives slipping in and out of the lanes because of their own personal issue, I would admonish  you to pray harder and fast and read scriptures (you know the basics). 

I personally am involved in a several spiritual things and with each change or tweak, I have begun to see how much of a spiritual being I am supposed to be. Each plateo that I have come to has been more of a step and lest as a pit stop. The hard thing I have found is the old I have become I realize how immature and young I am; how little I know.