Friday, September 8, 2017
Loss of Light Among Most, But An Increase Among Others
God has also declared that a gathering and Zion will occur. He has to
fullfill His own words from before. God has always wanted a Covenant
People to gather and grant divine protection and blessings to, as a
group. God needs a group of people in the last days to do what He has
always said He is going to do in the Last Days since Adam. To complete
the failed mission of the gentile LDS. The same thing that was attempted
with Joseph and Hyrum, but failed. Snuffer is being used to forewarn
the world for the disasters prior to the Second Coming and also used to
begin the last days gathering of all remnants into one. He has been
instructed on the failures of the past, to help us avoid them again this
time around. People who enter the covenant, become adopted into the
House of IsraEL, no longer wandering "gentiles". The "Kings and Queens"
of the gentiles will be used to gather in the rest of the wandering
biological seed of Israel/Joseph/Lehi. We have a very serious mission.
If we do not hold up to our part of the deal as a group, God will use
others, or the few among us that will do what He requires and asks. The
tares will be filtered out from among the wheat.
The BOM is a warning of what will happen in "this land" of America. Things will get so bad that just as what happened to the Jaredites and Nephites, will occur again in our time. The unrepentant LDS, who do not hear the word of the Lord for themselves that this Covenant Group and Snuffer is legit, will not be granted protection when the natural distaster warnings and severe cleansing of this land occurs. In fact, the Heavens are very bothered that the LDS (where God last interacted with a group on earth in the 1800's), are failing in large part to hear His warning voice through His servants and personal revelation. Even though they agree in LDS temples to look for divine messengers and connect with God themselves, they also agree to utter destruction (or the Judgements of God as it was later altered - but it still fits) if they do not hold up to everything that is intended to be taught to them there. The LDS rejection of what God tried to teach them to look out for in the last days in a temple ritual, is the very trigger for the natural disasters and allowing the wicked to do the cleansing that will occur on this land again. They agreed to it, over and over, each time they stand up and say yes in those temples. All of our scriptures warn to avoid group think failure, and assume all is well. But if they searched intently and understood the scriptures and pondered them deep enough, they would always be watchful of group-think pride and avoid thinking everything is just dandy. An honest comparison to the prophets like Joseph Smith and all those who fill our scriptures, would clearly inform anyone among the LDS what is lacking individually and as a group. The scriptures and temple ritual also informs us all what we are personally lacking. We always talked about applying scripture to ourselves, but we LDS were not actually doing it for the most part.
God is talking with many within the LDS Remnant movement. He has in fact created a Covenant Group, in which some of them (among other literal blood Israelites) can become a part of the last days Zion gathering into one. God has instructed the Heavens to teach and prepare Snuffer for 40 years for the very calling he has already been performing. The Covenant People have been born. The stars/constellations will align Sep 23, 2017 to confirm the birth of such a people, and their gathering responsibilities. And will also warn of the coming darkness and spiritual war that is coming in an evil attempt to devour and destroy these people. Opposition. When God moves, so does His adversary. Adversaries try to win by taking steps to conquer and win before their rival does. As darkness begins to spread over the earth like never before, which was symbolized in the solar eclipse August 21, 2017 (that divine message was given to me in the moment of eclipse totality in Idaho Falls - while I had no intention of thinking anything symbolic of it - just hangin with my kiddos), even so at nearly the same time period, new light and a Covenant people have been born. We will see the gulf. New scripture and greater light/understanding/knowledge will be taught to this Covenant Group to give them more light, as the world gets darker and darker. More spiritual experiences will occur. God blesses those who individually and as a group seek Him, and do what He asks. As the world grows darker in anger and division, including other follow the leader no matter what minded LDS, and as the calamaties become worse and worse... we will see the difference. Others will eventually see it, even if they still won't believe God would do that kind of work outside the mainstream LDS leadership. It's easier to analyze and judge others, but seeing our own issues/errors, is always harder.
Hear it for yourselves. Intellectually and spiritually SEE and HEAR what is occurring now. I searched these things for years before they began, before I ever knew about Snuffer, and knew they were coming soon. Just not this soon. I fear my own lack of preparation and connection. Despite that which I know I still lack, we still have a mission to perform. The same mission the LDS failed to do in the 1800's. God has set His hand a second time to complete the mission in preparation for the Second Coming event. Everything is lining up. Eventually, it will take some serious cognitive dissonance (avoidance/ignoring reality) to reject what will occur among this Covenant Group
The BOM is a warning of what will happen in "this land" of America. Things will get so bad that just as what happened to the Jaredites and Nephites, will occur again in our time. The unrepentant LDS, who do not hear the word of the Lord for themselves that this Covenant Group and Snuffer is legit, will not be granted protection when the natural distaster warnings and severe cleansing of this land occurs. In fact, the Heavens are very bothered that the LDS (where God last interacted with a group on earth in the 1800's), are failing in large part to hear His warning voice through His servants and personal revelation. Even though they agree in LDS temples to look for divine messengers and connect with God themselves, they also agree to utter destruction (or the Judgements of God as it was later altered - but it still fits) if they do not hold up to everything that is intended to be taught to them there. The LDS rejection of what God tried to teach them to look out for in the last days in a temple ritual, is the very trigger for the natural disasters and allowing the wicked to do the cleansing that will occur on this land again. They agreed to it, over and over, each time they stand up and say yes in those temples. All of our scriptures warn to avoid group think failure, and assume all is well. But if they searched intently and understood the scriptures and pondered them deep enough, they would always be watchful of group-think pride and avoid thinking everything is just dandy. An honest comparison to the prophets like Joseph Smith and all those who fill our scriptures, would clearly inform anyone among the LDS what is lacking individually and as a group. The scriptures and temple ritual also informs us all what we are personally lacking. We always talked about applying scripture to ourselves, but we LDS were not actually doing it for the most part.
God is talking with many within the LDS Remnant movement. He has in fact created a Covenant Group, in which some of them (among other literal blood Israelites) can become a part of the last days Zion gathering into one. God has instructed the Heavens to teach and prepare Snuffer for 40 years for the very calling he has already been performing. The Covenant People have been born. The stars/constellations will align Sep 23, 2017 to confirm the birth of such a people, and their gathering responsibilities. And will also warn of the coming darkness and spiritual war that is coming in an evil attempt to devour and destroy these people. Opposition. When God moves, so does His adversary. Adversaries try to win by taking steps to conquer and win before their rival does. As darkness begins to spread over the earth like never before, which was symbolized in the solar eclipse August 21, 2017 (that divine message was given to me in the moment of eclipse totality in Idaho Falls - while I had no intention of thinking anything symbolic of it - just hangin with my kiddos), even so at nearly the same time period, new light and a Covenant people have been born. We will see the gulf. New scripture and greater light/understanding/knowledge will be taught to this Covenant Group to give them more light, as the world gets darker and darker. More spiritual experiences will occur. God blesses those who individually and as a group seek Him, and do what He asks. As the world grows darker in anger and division, including other follow the leader no matter what minded LDS, and as the calamaties become worse and worse... we will see the difference. Others will eventually see it, even if they still won't believe God would do that kind of work outside the mainstream LDS leadership. It's easier to analyze and judge others, but seeing our own issues/errors, is always harder.
Hear it for yourselves. Intellectually and spiritually SEE and HEAR what is occurring now. I searched these things for years before they began, before I ever knew about Snuffer, and knew they were coming soon. Just not this soon. I fear my own lack of preparation and connection. Despite that which I know I still lack, we still have a mission to perform. The same mission the LDS failed to do in the 1800's. God has set His hand a second time to complete the mission in preparation for the Second Coming event. Everything is lining up. Eventually, it will take some serious cognitive dissonance (avoidance/ignoring reality) to reject what will occur among this Covenant Group
New Covenant People Are Born Sep 2, 2017
http://www.covenantofchristconference.com/past/2017/Boise/index.php#recordings
Quoting Denver Snuffer from the Conference:
"The spirit of God is withdrawing from the world. Men are increasingly more angry without good cause. The hearts of men are waxing cold. There is increasing anger and resentment of gentiles. In political terms, it’s rejection of white privilege. Language of scriptures description of the events now underway calls it the end of the times of the gentiles. This process with the spirit withdrawing, will end on this continent as two prior civilization ended, in fratricidal and genocidal warfare. For the rest of the world, it will be as in the days of Noah in which, as that light becomes eclipsed, the coldness of men’s hearts is going to result in a constant scene of violence and bloodshed. The wicked will destroy the wicked. The covenant, if it is kept, will prevent you from losing light and warmth of heart as the spirit now steadily recedes from the world. The time will come, when you will be astonished at the gulf between the light and truth you will comprehend and the darkness of mind of the world. Be charitable and patient and labor to reach others. They will judge you harshly, but nevertheless be kind to them. They are going to grow to fear you, but that’s only part of how darkness responds to light. Give them no reason to fear you. The time will come for us to gather, but between now and then be leaven. Preserve the world. Be salt. Preserve the world. Even if it hates you."
Friday, March 24, 2017
New Scripture Project In The Works
Preview the current proposed set of scriptures here: http://scriptures.info/
For questions or feedback on the project, email to:
RESTORATIONSCRIPTURES2017@GMAIL.COM
A vote will take place at a general conference 6 months from now.
For questions or feedback on the project, email to:
RESTORATIONSCRIPTURES2017@GMAIL.COM
A vote will take place at a general conference 6 months from now.
Friday, March 3, 2017
Doctrine of Christ Conference
March 18th – 19th 2017 — St. George, Utah, USA
The website at DoctrineofChristConference.com is being updated with the following information on February 27, 2017
About this Conference
The idea for this spring conference came after the September 2016 Boise Doctrine of Christ Conference where an amazing thing happened – people said they felt something entirely new and different there. For the first time, after so many years of hearing about Zion and reading about Zion, some of us found real hope that we really can learn to love each other enough to live together in a city of peace.
That's what the Doctrine of Christ Conference in Boise gave us, and that's what we pray that the St. George Doctrine of Christ Conference will become to those who gather there this spring. Every detail of what we have planned and sacrificed in order to make this conference happen is to invite our Lord to be present, again, and to feel that sweet spirit of fellowship that makes life worth living.
Who we are
We are a few friends and believers in the Doctrine of Christ as taught in The Book of Mormon. We are not a formal organization or fellowship.
This conference is non-denominational and is not affiliated with any organized religion. There is no specific group hosting this event – we're all just individuals contributing our time and effort to make this happen. The heavy lifting for the web site, and technical help with sound and recording comes from some of the Boise folks who did it before and are kind enough to do it again so we don't have to reinvent the wheel. We thank them sincerely.
Location
We chose Southern Utah for several reasons. One is for the sheer beauty of the place. Another good reason is the warmer spring weather in the Southern Utah area. But proximity to our friends in California, Arizona and Nevada was most important to us, since St. George is about halfway between them and our North Idaho and Canadian friends. Having this conference at the crossroads will, we hope, make it a little easier for those who were unable to make the drive to Boise. God brought us together, we want to stay together.
Spring break is a tough time to find room at the inn in this area. Hopefully, if you haven't yet booked a room you can still find a place nearby in the surrounding areas of Mesquite, La Verkin, Hurricane, Cedar City, or Parowan.
Please make your reservations ASAP.
With what we anticipate being shared in the presentations at this conference,
and also the spirit which will attend it, we encourage you to expend any effort to come if you are impressed to do so, in spite of difficulty. There is a place provided at the end of this page for you to request help, or to provide help for those who are requesting lodging, but please be aware that options are very limited. The organizers are few in number but will do what we can to assist.
The timing and the date of this conference
Spring Equinox is a time each year when light begins to overcome the darkness
of winter. This is the perfect time to gather again with old friends, to make new friends, and to rejoice in the light of new revelations coming forth in our day. The conference presentations of Saturday March 18th, and Sunday March 19th will provide a natural transition into the actual day of Equinox: Monday, March 20, 2017.
The planners had originally envisioned organizing a conference sunrise service at the Parowan Gap Monday morning, but have decided instead to focus all logistical time and resources on the speaking and Sacrament sessions of the conference. We leave it to individuals and families to create the Parowan Gap sunrise experience on their own. Maps of Parowan Gap and other interesting local areas will be available at the welcome tables at both venues, and drive directions are provided below.
The venues
As we first contemplated organizing this conference and searched for locations, the impression came to go big or go home. We knew we needed to plan for at least a thousand people, probably more since general press releases will go out in Las Vegas, St. George and Salt Lake City. There are many considerations for a group this size, especially families with small children. The Cox Center for the Performing Arts seemed perfect. There's seating for 1,200, an easy access location, good parking, clean accessible restrooms, and great acoustics for speakers and recording. There is a carpeted foyer for toddlers to roam, and piped sound and video to the foyer for any overflow crowd.
The Cox Center is on the campus of Dixie State University and therefore alcohol is not allowed on the premises. It's a great place for speakers, but we found that there was just no way to do a conference Sacrament service there.
We wanted to be able to provide a place where the Sacrament with wine could be served, so we had to rent a separate "wine friendly" place. That's the reason there are two venues. The Hilton Garden Inn was chosen because of proximity to Cox, and because the ballroom seats about 400. If needed, we can provide two Sacrament services, one after the other, to accommodate all of those who would like to take the Sacrament at this conference. The earlier Sacrament will start at 6:00 pm, and a second Sacrament service may be available at about 8:00 pm if there are those who were not able to take the Sacrament at 6 pm. Families with small children may want to attend the earlier Sacrament meeting.
The Hilton charges a $5.00 per bottle (or per canning jar) "corkage" fee for any wine brought from outside, so we are asking that families please do not bring your own wine to this Sacrament meeting. All wine and grape juice will be provided.
We have secured the Hilton from 8 am to 10 pm Saturday as a general meeting and gathering place. After the last Sacrament there will be time available for socializing at the Hilton until 10 pm. Although a welcome table will be available and there will be greeters there off and on during the day Saturday, the Hilton is not available to us on Sunday.
When we got the actual cost figures for renting the Cox Auditorium and the Hilton Garden Inn we were nearly overwhelmed. We were trying to figure out how in the world we could possibly do this when a donor stepped up and provided the cash contribution which enabled us to secure both places under contract. Of course that person wishes to remain anonymous, but we hope that when he/she is sitting there in the audience surrounded by all of us experiencing the blessing of being able to witness this event, the magnitude of the effect of that generosity will warm the heart and soul of our donor.
There are significant costs associated with any large event like this. We're not out of the woods yet and are doing our best to cover the remainder of the costs of the venues, all the Sacrament bread and wine for 800 people, program printing, etc.
We could sure use your help to cover these costs. Anything you can contribute is needed. On the web page at DoctrineofChrist.com is a place to contribute, if you can. Please know that after basic conference costs are covered 100% of all extra funds will go directly to those in need of financial assistance.
Saturday morning baptisms
We have scheduled 9:00 am for baptisms at Ivins Reservoir, in order to allow time to get back to St. George, dress, eat lunch and make it to the Cox Auditorium for the start of the Saturday conference at 1:00 pm. But baptisms can of course be any day or time which you prefer.
There are other places around the area for living water baptisms. One warm springs pool is close by has a steep trail down to it. (See notes at the end for detail.) Maps and information will be available at the welcome tables, and from contacting the Born of Water web host directly yourself, which we encourage you to do if you have any questions. That link is listed on the website.
Ivins Reservoir is about 12 miles from St. George, and is easily accessible for baptisms at any time. It's a public place, so there may possibly be others there, but that's not very likely at 9 am in March. The water is quite refreshing (OK, really cold). There are no public restrooms but we're planning for a tent to be there for changing and dressing. If you think you may want to be baptized, please bring your own extra towels. Someone with authority from Jesus Christ will be at Ivins Reservoir at 9:00 am to baptize you if you have not brought someone yourself. (There will not be anyone standing by at other baptism sites besides Ivins.) Information on how to get to Ivins Reservoir is posted on the web site.
The Speakers and the Program
After a lot of prayer, and our willingness to let the Lord indicate who the speakers should be - each one of the speakers became an obvious choice to contribute their particular perspective on an aspect of The Doctrine of Christ.
Their topics and speaking order will be listed in a later update. For now we have confirmed the following as speakers; Rob and Quintina BearChief Adolfo, Denver Snuffer, Karen Strong, Jeanene Custer, John Pratt, Chris Hamill, and Paul Durham. There may be others to come.
All conference speakers will be recorded, and their talks will be made available on the Doctrine of Christ Conference website at a later date. Where possible, transcripts of talks will also be made available. Denver Snuffer's talk may also be available on his website in audio and transcript form at a later date.
All conference prayers will be by invitation. Various musical numbers will be presented, as detailed in the printed programs which will be available at the welcome tables. There will also be congregational hymns. Testimonies at the Saturday Sacrament meeting are by inspiration and invitation. Because of time restraints there will not be an open testimony mic at this conference, but hopefully the time will soon come when that is possible.
Although starting times of each session are fixed, as noted below, we have reserved additional time at both venues in order to make the ending times flexible enough to accommodate the spirit of whatever is being presented. Be aware that ending times may go over what is posted.
Both Chris Hamill and Denver Snuffer will have Q and A time in the speaking schedule. 3x5 cards for writing your questions for both Chris and Denver will be available at the welcome tables. A submission button tor questions for Denver will be active on the Doctrine of Christ website shortly.
General Schedule
Saturday, March 18
9:00 am Baptisms
Ivins Reservoir
1:00 pm - Welcome and Saturday Conference Session
4:30 pm Cox Center for the Performing Arts
Dixie State University
325 S 700 E
St. George, Utah 84770
6:00 pm- Sacrament Meeting/Testimonies/Music/Social Gathering
10:00 pm Hilton Garden Inn
1731 S. Convention Center Dr.
St. George, Utah 84970
(435) 634-4100
Sunday, March 19
9:00 am - Sunday Conference Session
1:00 pm Cox Center for the Performing Arts
Dixie State University
325 S 700 E
St. George, Utah 84770
There will be an additional information update to the Doctrine of Christ website about a week before the conference with more detail. With what we anticipate being shared in the presentations at this conference, and also the spirit which will attend it, we encourage you to expend any effort to come if you are impressed to do so. We sincerely hope you will come and we look forward to seeing you there.
With love, and in the name of Our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ,
The St. George Doctrine of Christ Conference
Organizing Committee
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Recent Sunday Studies
Some Mental Brain Storming From Sunday:
There are important things that Snuffer hinted about in The First Three Words (found in the book Essays: Three Degrees or in the link below), trying to help us realize we need to "see" where we are.
Add that to a prior discussion about the need of being fore-ordained with "priesthood" prior to coming here (or it's like ordaining a sack of flour), and the "Noble & Great" degree talked about by Abraham. There seems to be different degrees or levels of spirits that come to mortality based upon prior progression/failure ("3 degrees"). Another part caught my curiosity, when Snuffer said something about Ham's wife Egyptus not aware about being caught up into a city of Enoch like the others did (Snuffer also references this comment to Moses 7:22 and Abraham 1:22-23)... though all 8 stayed in the ark to continue the mortal experience after a major cleansing. Also important is the need to be "Complete", by having a certain promise and an eternal relationship... even prior to ascending to the Lord's Presence (a Throne Ascension). If some who come into this life are not even able to hold priesthood based on their not passing/keeping their first mortal estate, not having it fore-ordained before this life according to Alma... then we must presume that not all can have greater things that require priesthood as a foundation, like C&E promises, some sealing authority, eternal relationship and throne ascensions(seeing the face of God). I pondered about the Lord and the crumbs to dogs comment to the lady who wanted healed (and He eventually does heal her), and Him coming only to work with IsraEl (the family of God), etc. Which brings to mind why some are placed in the mortal circumstances that they are, who gets certain opportunities. And what about the talk about some cursed lineages not holding priesthood in the past (I mean why are some spirits placed into those lineages -or other harsh living environments- in the first place, and how long do such curses continue - 3 or 4 generations after that family ceases the carried on error or at the time of Christ's Atonement?)... prior to and after dividing up "priesthood" into 3 different levels; or Joseph or Brigham doing some kind of marital re-arrangements; which later morphed into Brigham selfishly thinking a man with more priesthood can have the wife (if she so chooses) of a husband who has lesser (or none at all I would assume falls into that). What if there is something to matching up spouses on similar progression level/degrees that BY later altered for his selfish benefit? Can a Terrestial degree (second estate) person have an eternal union with someone Telestial (first estate) in the same mortality? The Noble and Great already obtained C&E, Eternal Sealed Relationships, etc before coming here, and then have those things restored or re-confirmed to them here (like Denver said about Joseph Smith in 1832 in the Mission of Elijah)? Who could even non-pridefully accept, let alone declare openly, to "see" that they were among the Noble and Great in the first place, even if true? Then think about plural wives of prophets in the Bible (even Denver discusses in PTHG and Mission of Elijah of the two rare reasons it can be lived and how Joseph progressed for being obedient to it though he personally found it morally wrong) and what ever actually occurred in Joseph Smith's history. Maybe we can better see when such things might be a necessity.
Gets the wheels turning. Had some further inspiration and instructions (more stuff I find hard to digest). Then reading NT and other writings seemed to shed more light later that same day.
We gotta have the proper foundation to really understand. The full gospel is complex. Anyway, back to publicly debating little things online like some arguing about saving for a Temple to redeem Zion... good grief, what's it gonna be like when gathering occurs, actual temple building, temple ordinances, sharing, etc.
Read: http://denversnuffer.info/Alma_13.pdf
Listen: http://denversnuffer.info/1st3Words.pdf
Also Read: http://denversnuffer.info/Elijah-Edited.pdf
There are important things that Snuffer hinted about in The First Three Words (found in the book Essays: Three Degrees or in the link below), trying to help us realize we need to "see" where we are.
Add that to a prior discussion about the need of being fore-ordained with "priesthood" prior to coming here (or it's like ordaining a sack of flour), and the "Noble & Great" degree talked about by Abraham. There seems to be different degrees or levels of spirits that come to mortality based upon prior progression/failure ("3 degrees"). Another part caught my curiosity, when Snuffer said something about Ham's wife Egyptus not aware about being caught up into a city of Enoch like the others did (Snuffer also references this comment to Moses 7:22 and Abraham 1:22-23)... though all 8 stayed in the ark to continue the mortal experience after a major cleansing. Also important is the need to be "Complete", by having a certain promise and an eternal relationship... even prior to ascending to the Lord's Presence (a Throne Ascension). If some who come into this life are not even able to hold priesthood based on their not passing/keeping their first mortal estate, not having it fore-ordained before this life according to Alma... then we must presume that not all can have greater things that require priesthood as a foundation, like C&E promises, some sealing authority, eternal relationship and throne ascensions(seeing the face of God). I pondered about the Lord and the crumbs to dogs comment to the lady who wanted healed (and He eventually does heal her), and Him coming only to work with IsraEl (the family of God), etc. Which brings to mind why some are placed in the mortal circumstances that they are, who gets certain opportunities. And what about the talk about some cursed lineages not holding priesthood in the past (I mean why are some spirits placed into those lineages -or other harsh living environments- in the first place, and how long do such curses continue - 3 or 4 generations after that family ceases the carried on error or at the time of Christ's Atonement?)... prior to and after dividing up "priesthood" into 3 different levels; or Joseph or Brigham doing some kind of marital re-arrangements; which later morphed into Brigham selfishly thinking a man with more priesthood can have the wife (if she so chooses) of a husband who has lesser (or none at all I would assume falls into that). What if there is something to matching up spouses on similar progression level/degrees that BY later altered for his selfish benefit? Can a Terrestial degree (second estate) person have an eternal union with someone Telestial (first estate) in the same mortality? The Noble and Great already obtained C&E, Eternal Sealed Relationships, etc before coming here, and then have those things restored or re-confirmed to them here (like Denver said about Joseph Smith in 1832 in the Mission of Elijah)? Who could even non-pridefully accept, let alone declare openly, to "see" that they were among the Noble and Great in the first place, even if true? Then think about plural wives of prophets in the Bible (even Denver discusses in PTHG and Mission of Elijah of the two rare reasons it can be lived and how Joseph progressed for being obedient to it though he personally found it morally wrong) and what ever actually occurred in Joseph Smith's history. Maybe we can better see when such things might be a necessity.
Gets the wheels turning. Had some further inspiration and instructions (more stuff I find hard to digest). Then reading NT and other writings seemed to shed more light later that same day.
We gotta have the proper foundation to really understand. The full gospel is complex. Anyway, back to publicly debating little things online like some arguing about saving for a Temple to redeem Zion... good grief, what's it gonna be like when gathering occurs, actual temple building, temple ordinances, sharing, etc.
Read: http://denversnuffer.info/Alma_13.pdf
Listen: http://denversnuffer.info/1st3Words.pdf
Also Read: http://denversnuffer.info/Elijah-Edited.pdf
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Time To Prepare
"The task of Zion is far more daunting than the foolish imagination of the human heart. If we soberly assess what is left to be accomplished, we would all repent and cooperate with one another, lending whatever strength we have to the task. We would stop fighting and opposing one another, and ask what we could do to aid."
Read the complete post here:
http://denversnuffer.com/2016/10/all-or-nothing/
Thursday, July 28, 2016
A Very Personal Journey
A Personal Path To Pass
This post correlates with my post in May titled "Putting On Display Our Errors". Please check it out.
It must be understood, that there is an individual journey that must be gone through, in order to pass all the tests and earn trust and promises (and fulfillment of them) from Heaven. We must understand this, as to not judge too harshly or make the person's journey even more difficult (which of course might actually be a necessity - but there are plenty of people to give this experience, don't let it be YOU). This journey, for obvious reasons, requires hardships to be passed through. It will break you, in order to remake you. The path (and I speak from experience, knowledge of experiences of friends further along the path than me and scriptural histories) is full of sorrow and will also require each person to go through phases of thinking that you hear the Lord, to thinking maybe you did not, or maybe you were deceived. Messages can come from Above, below, our own thoughts and even from our emotional mind (fears, worries, etc pushing our minds to go a certain direction, or ever altering hard to hear messages coming from Above). Sometimes, in our zeal to hear from Above, we can get hasty and mistake a message from below or from our own mind, as a message from Above. We will likely be deceived by our own thoughts or messages from below. This is part of the journey. God allows His own, to pass through these experiences. We must push through all this, to continue the path. As Snuffer once stated, we will come to a point where we must doubt our own doubts. Until we are having one on one, two-way conversations that are as real or more real than talking with a mortal friend, with Angels, the Lord and even the Father (and even after this at times)... we are very prone to doing something out of zeal, that may not actually be what Heaven wants of us. At the same time, it just may be exactly what they want you to choose... in order for you to hear Them, before graduating you further along the Path.
There Is No Avoiding The Suffering and Persecution
When you see someone else going through hardships, the first thought is that they must be going off the path. This is most common with our LDS family and friends when they presume and assume that we are suffering hardships and loneliness, because we must be "falling away" or going "apostate" from the brethren or modern day church. But I have seen it within the awakening LDS Remnant as well. It may very well be a true fact, they are very likely forging through a necessary part of the path. Think of Job. Why else is the book preserved in the Bible? To prove this very point. Next time you think another person (who is actually trying to forge the Path Of Christ) is deceived, and/or suffering because YOU think they may be going off the Path... remember to allow the person to have the experience. If they make it through these experiences, and choose wisely, and trust the Lord to bring them through this passage way, they will make it. Some times we have to sit back, like Father, and let people experience hardships, in order to truly learn what they need to.
Looking Inward
Among the Remnant movement, I have witnessed much contention, false assumptions, serious judgemental comments, devaluation and then defaming of others occurs... which leads to strifes and even division. More than likely, people within the Remnant are going through these very portions of a very personal Path. Many get lost, if you remember Denver's story about the beast trying to get at the person who trusted on the Lord to bring them safely through. Remember the Tree of Life dream by Lehi. Hold to that Rod, to partake/receive of the Eternal Promises (fruit). Dare I say you will go through even more false ridicule and mistaken apostasy complaints... to later earn Fulfillment of thos earlier Promises. Don't think for a minute that the path gets any easier. You might be more confident in what you are doing is the will of the Lord or Father, but the path necessarily remains difficult. You will face persecution from outside the Remnant AND WITHIN. You must push through all that, trusting in the only One who can get you through that pass.
But this path causes a two-edged sword of confusion for bystanders. Those bystanders can either see it for what it truly is, or mock, point fingers, judge, criticize, spread rumors or gossip of YOUR VIEW of the circumstances... and end up another tool of the adversary, who is the Father of Accusations, Lies and Contention. He (and those filled with his "spirit" or thoughts), is allowed to bruise our heel. By God. Yes, even our loving Father and His Son, our Brother (who can also be your Father via adoption). Why we are here.
Yes, it is wise to give loving advice to help others make good decisions. But please be so careful to avoid the judgemental and accusatory stuff! When you blurt out that you cannot stand certain topics found in scripture and/or church history, or that someone from the past or someone that we know today is flat out deceived and falling off the path, and assume that your view is the only correct one, while also harshly judging and condemning... what is more important? That your view is more accurate, or how you are treating that other person?
Prove True And Faithful. Overcome All Things
We must pass through ALL things, in order to obtain the Greater Things. We must prove true and faithful, whether we are the one on the path being mis-judged, or looking upon others on the path and possibly pointing fingers ourselves.
This Gospel stuff is serious. It really is like a two-edged sword that cuts both ways. This mortal life is chock full of chaos, paradoxes and evil. Full of people falsely assuming, persecuting and mocking. And necessarily so. This world is as it is, for a reason. Push through all that. Trust in The Advocate with the Father to take you safely through it all. Yes, He (and Father) WILL allow you to suffer at times, and has to sit back in tears while you do, hoping for the best and lightly nudging you to get through it all. We have to go through certain hardships, to truly learn by experience. For our own good.
If your journey is easy and light, I would have to question exactly what path you think you are on. I won't judge you as bad or avoid you... but I can share a little concern for you.
Cry, But Avoid Causing It
Do not, I repeat, do not find yourself being part of those inflicting more tears and hurt. We of all people, should know better!!! We have experienced persecution, false assumptions and hurt by them already. Those of us who are awakening, are all on different parts of the path. Some have more time and experience. Some further along the path, which I admire and have been praying for all along. Some may be going through some temporary self deception. Some are still trying to Hear that weak signal of revelation coming through. Some are finding themselves in see through walled rooms communicating face to face with Angels or the Lord. Some have gone further still, and meeting our Heavenly Parents sitting on their thrones. No matter what part of the path you find yourself on, help and love and assist others to progress along their path. We must avoid finding out in hindsight that we hindered, caused more tears or worse: caused them to regress.
I have said before, and I don't think of myself as some guru or perfect guy, I probably think too less of myself... but what matters most is not who is right or wrong about some topic or whether or not another person is falling off the path (at least you are concerned)... but what matters most is how we treat each other, while eventually coming to see eye to eye on truth. Do not avoid questioning any topic, or discussing what ever topic you want... but do it logically, searching for the truth, leaving out the negative emotions or emotional responses that we are all so quick to blurt out at times.
In Summary
Love God more. Love ourselves and each other more. What more can I say to sum it all up?
These thoughts invoked in part by recent and past related posts and comments on LDS Remnant Facebook group, and a recent blog post Here.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Signs of God's Displeasure
First read: http://www.totheremnant.com/2016/05/why-did-god-kill-moroni.html
Then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRist2Nbz0A
Then read:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865654861/When-lightning-strikes-an-Angel-Moroni-statue-does-what-hes-built-to-do.html
-The Church spokesman states how often temples are struck or damaged. Even says that usually, only small damages smaller than the size of a quarter occur to Moroni on temples. Clearly, the Lord was displeased this day, upon this people. Many will explain away such signs as a "natural occurance"... but sometimes the signs are too obvious.
Related:
http://latterdaywitnesses.com/elizabeth-jensen-shares-her-experience-with-christ-and-his-wife/
http://www.RestoreZion.com
http://www.FellowShipLocator.info
http://www.bornofwater.org
http://www.DenverSnuffer.com
http://ads.denverpost.com/parker-co/communication/newspaper/lohmeier/2016-05-08-3281631-paid-advertisement-this-is-the-doctrine-of-christ-thus-saith-the-lord-behold-verily-verily-i-say-unto-you-i-will-declare-unto-you-my-doctrine-and-this-is-my-doctrine-and-it-is-the-doctrine-which-the-father-hath-given-unto-me-and-i-bear-r
Monday, May 2, 2016
Putting On Display Our Errors
Proverbs 25:28: He (or she) that hath no rule over his(her) own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
Self Control
It takes a good amount of self control to resist the natural tendancy to mis-judge, mis-understand, accuse or condemn others. These are all bad ways to put on display our personal errors. How we treat others, is what matters most. Our dealings with our fellow beings, as stated in the LDS Church. Surely, we need to properly discern and judge some things, in order to protect ourselves or our loved ones in our mortal journey. But how often do we find ourselves taking some questionable information about someone, after hearing some assumption that is not known if actually true, and then use it to color our view to then mis-judge, accuse and then condemn others? Bearing false witness is a serious offense against anyone, especially against a good person seeking to be a part of and bring about Zion in the last days. It is wrong especially to do so against Prophets (more connected messengers of God) such as Joseph Smith, who was commissioned by God to attempt to restore the Patriarchal (Holy) Order back to the earth. But even his own friends and church members participated in these things against him, that eventually led to only help fuel the hate of the outside mobs to do what they did. That mis-judging and false assuming was part of the contention and jarrings going on in Nauvoo, that helped lead to the loss of restoring the Holy Order back to earth.
The Accusing Spirit
Satan is "the accuser". He seeks to cause us all to judge and condemn others, in order to manipulate our mortal emotions of anger and fear into causing us to then create accusations, misunderstandings, dishonesty, divisions, jarrings, contentions and strifes.
In my own journey, I have been often surprised how how quick the Lord is to forgive. Sooner than I would have forgiven myself at times. His dealings with me, have helped me be more patient and forgiving with others. Maybe too forgiving, as you will later see. Surely Satan being the master architect of such evil contention(including lies), would use those very things to tear down, from within, another attempted restoral of the Patriarchal Holy Order back to the earth. His main goal is to prevent this very thing. Having lost his Sonship after so much hard work and offering up a plan contrary to that which the Gods already have done for eons of time... in his lofty station, surely he wants to prevent anyone else from ever obtaining what he himself lost. He loves it when people take lies and assumptions, often crafted up by him or his follow the leader spirits in their realm. They cause people to get that accusatory spirit, and then uses their mortal emotional weaknesses (fear and anger mostly) to steer them into causing serious havoc and disorder with other imperfect mortals.
Quote from March 2015 by Denver Snuffer in his Plural Marriage paper:
"The original Gospel taught from Adam to Enoch has not been recovered. Joseph Smith was working backward in restoring the earliest teaching, scripture, covenants and ordinances as part of his brief ministry. That ended abruptly with his death. The still-not-completed restoration of the Gospel must return again the original body of teaching, covenants and ordinances revealed in the beginning to the first fathers, who are now resurrected, and in heaven.
The original Gospel cannot be judged until it is understood. It cannot be understood until it has been returned. There was such haste and foolishness in Joseph’s day that it hindered God’s work.
Then fear of what Joseph was doing made even those closest to him wonder if he was “fallen” or egomaniacal and untrustworthy. The ignorance and superstition of his contemporaries were great obstacles. Aspiring men gathered around Joseph who wanted to further their ambitions by associating with him, but they did not understand what was really involved with God’s plan for mankind.
The Gospel requires virtue and righteousness. No one can please God with a heart that is not contrite and broken, willing to receive or suffer everything God will require of them. We are nowhere near Zion and only a small fraction of what needs to be recovered has been given. Unless this generation is patient enough to allow God to do His “strange act,” and humble enough to support what He provides as He provides it, another future generation will need to accomplish Zion. The “jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among” us are no different than what destroyed all hope for Zion in Joseph’s time.
Why want what is not understood? How can we judge the Gospel taught directly by God to Adam, renewed face-to-face by God with Enoch, when it has not been shown us? Is our only motivation our ambition and envy? Why do we not yet consider how great a price is demanded by God as a sacrifice before anything is gained. Lectures on Faith really are an accurate description of the burden required of us to become faithful.
In God’s plan there are provisions made for everyone. Every soul in every state of development will be given what a loving and kind God has made possible. It is vast enough to accommodate the development of each person who has lived in this estate, regardless of the time, location or opportunities while here. It is far greater, and more thorough than what we can see.
It is impossible to re-establish the earliest form of the Gospel of Christ with its associated teachings, rites, ordinances, covenants and organization if we insist it fit into our current prejudices. We think so many things are necessary that are not, and we think many necessary things cannot possibly be required."
Joseph Smith was doing some extremely questionable things like sealing(marital fashion) over 34+ wives to himself. Some even already married (I think around 12). Some as young as 14. Whether or not Joseph had the usual marital physical relations with any of them (and surely he could have reduced a ton of contention if we would just have publicly admitted that the familial sealings to other women he was involved in had zero intent to have the usual marital relations)... and we know that there were others who Joseph helped to get into polygamy, including William Clayton who actually bore a son with a plural wife in Nauvoo and Joseph Smith told him not to worry much about it if church members found out. Even Denver Snuffer admits that others in the past like Abraham, Jacob, David and others did live it and we know they did have many children with plural wives in the biblical record and according to D&C 132 - (see Denver's revised version on his blog).
Joseph was in fact involved with teaching women to be a part of his sealed family, and promising them and their families great eternal blessings if they did. Sure, I think there was a lot he got into, some innovating going on, some extra assumptions he might have personally held (like martial sealings with women who already had husbands which caused serious problems and the reason Parley Pratt was later murdered, or maybe some of the ways or the rapidity in which Joseph used to get women to join whatever union he was proposing to them). We have to ask ourselves, a man as connected as he was with God... I mean I see him being way more connected than any other church president and most other people, a man entrusted to restore a temple that could restore the Patriarchal Order of God, well after he knew some of the truths of the possibility of plural wives (back around 1829 actually when him and Oliver started discussing the topic - and Oliver actually went into living it at that time and never ex'd by Joseph for it), and had some kind of experience with it (as well as many of his friends, including his brother and church Patriarch Hyrum), God was still allowing Joseph an attempt to do another restoral of the fullness. And I am talking about restoring a head Presiding Patriarchal King, a Familial Kingdom of God that has been had before like with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and very few others for the past 6,000+ years, a Patriarchal temple, almost having ability to passing on Patriarchal Priesthood/C&E/Sealing power to his heirs by temple ceremony, after translating the Book of Mormon, producing many ancient records, after serious experiences on both sides of the veil with Father, Son and Angels. These are serious things. And so many people, even within the LDS Remnant movement are assuming Joseph must have become a fallen prophet before being given that Holy allowance right before his death. Even Snuffer states that God was in fact commanding Joseph to live plural marriage is some fashion, in order for him to increase his connection with God; and that D&C 124 is accurate when agreeing that God was attempting to allow Joseph a chance at the Nauvoo opportunity to restore the fullness or Holy Order, well after Joseph getting involved with the plural marriages.
I want to declare, that I do agree with Snuffer, when he says that the unauthorized practice of plural marriage is an abomination. In my book, it is adultery. Adultery is one of those serious sins, second to the grestest of murder or turning completely away from and fighting God after C&E. Even Joseph personally felt that if someone commits adultery, they are barred from the Celestial Kingdom for good. Surely he would be afraid of that in whatever involvement he had with it in his day. For anyone to consider living plural marriage, the first fear would be that if it is not actually allowed or commanded by God (and Denver has spent much time over the years talking about when and how that can occur), then it is adultery and would bar them from eternal progression. I also know that even Snuffer agrees (simply read his revised version of D&C 132 and see what he left in his revision) that some of God's prophets and Patriarchs of old did live plural marriage. We know from the Bible that Jacob/Israel was one of the elect who bore the 12 tribes via all four of his wives, at the same time. I think Snuffer has also spent much time trying to stop the improper teachings on the topic, going on since Brigham Young, in order to stop the error promoted by mormon fundamentalists (they believe Brigham's declaration that it is an absolute requirement to be lived in order to go to the highest degree in the Celestial Kingdom). That thought is error and an innovation by Brigham, but lets be a little patient with BY... as he was left with Joseph's actual involvement in plurality(however great or small) and was trying to figure out answers to a lot of questions in order to get the church to follow him, after making himself the next church President (after the 3 year succession crises after the death of Joseph). Many get into it because they are incorrectly taught it is required. Many get into living it due to thinking their group priestly leaders have passed on sealing authority (man to man since Joseph), but they don't understand that those man to man rites have been ineffective since Nauvoo (at the death of Joseph and Hryum).
The death of Eldredge G Smith was a "sign" according to Snuffer, because upon his death, there was no more opportunity for God to again restore that which was lost (in the church structure) all the way back since D&C 124 (there was no more presiding Patriarch after Eldredge - who was seed relative to the Smith family). A new covenant and branch could then be established... and soon will be.
My Character
I detest all wickedness and error. I seek to avoid it at all costs myself. It has never been a capability within my character to ever choose to do anything that would prevent me from returning back to Heaven. Not within me to ever hurt or cause another person suffering or tears. I am not guilty of any serious sin or crime, in my entire life, that would cause me to lose things formerly promised from our Lord. My character is such that I want to become the best person I can be, and help to make the world a better place. I want to save, protect and help everyone, if I could. I want Zion and all the Lord has to offer and I try to teach others, as nicely as possible, to do so as well for the past 8 years. I detest any and all types of manipulation, with or without realizing we are participating in it. We need to research all about manipulation, in order to avoid it ourselves. It really should be a required course in high school. I detest any kind of force or pushy type of communication or behavior, to place fear into someone, in order to enact change, or to push someone to do what we expect or want of them to do. I dislike it when anyone is not loyal to their word. I detest adultery. I detest dishonesy, and find it hard to remain in relationships with those who use it too often, or in order to cover up their own flaws, to hurt others or to protect themselves in some way. I detest immodesty. I detest mortals using the "jezebel spirit" or seduction, in order to sell something or to manipulate someone to behave in a certain way. What rare gems who do so in our day and age of global corruption. I have been labelled a peter priesthood since a kid and a fanatic religious man for years, even by close companions. I detest hearing about a few of the small fundamentalists groups participating in... thinking they can share their married companions with anyone in their "sealed family group". Seems a smart way for satan to convince truth seekers to get into it as a way to try to get them to commit serious error in order to damn them.
We Are the Products of Mormonism
It is a fact that Joseph Smith did have some kind of involvement with plural wives. It is also found to be lived in the Old Testament. It is even mentioned as sometimes possible in the Book Of Mormon (definately contrary to Brigham's teaching that it is always required). It is a part of our mormon history, however confused it all has been. Denver has mentioned that most mormons, even mainstream LDS church goers are Plural Marriage believers at least mentally. I mean, most of us grew up hearing about some strange things from church history, though hardly anyone actually examines it in detail and we are actually discouraged from doing so. I remember reading (I think it was Pres Hinkley) saying that he will be with each of his wives in eternity. I remember on my mission in NYC, hearing companions talking about how polygamy will be restored one day and lived in Zion, along with consecration. Fact is, all of us are products of our up-bringing. Most of us think and act the way we do, based on our past (and maybe a little from passed on family genes too). Plural Marriage is a huge confusing topic in Mormonism, when viewed by the rest of the Christian world. The Tanners are having a hay day using this topic that church leaders don't even understand and have been confused about since Nauvoo, getting people to learn our actual history and have people just throw away Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and some even go athiestic.
Point is, let's be more understanding of those still practicing a little understood topic in our day. It was lived either quietly or openly in the church from 1835 to 1904 (and church leaders still lived with plural wives until around 1950 though they stopped adding plural wives). It was taught for decades by our church presidents and apostles that it is required for the highest level of heaven! There are many fundamentalists joining our LDS Remnant movement. There are even some in our movement who have recently began living it, and some few still looking to live it as they personally feel required to do so.
Some few have been a bit judgemental towards me, for discussing too much the topic of Plural Marriage online. Seems the trusted and great Denver Snuffer can talk about it often in his books and blog, and no one judges him bad for it. But when others like me want to continue the discussion after him bringing it all up and want to get it all figured out so all the division and contention among all the fractured different Mormon groups can end, and to help others in the LDS Remnant to be more kind to others within our group living it or thinking they need to, all kinds of presumptions, labeling, contention and even more division (heavens, do we really need any more of that!) occur. Many who oppose the idea in some form, do not seek to understand one's personal path and understandings or true intentions in their hearts/minds, and are quick to falsely misjudge intentions and then condemn according to their own perceptions. I personally have had false assumptions made against me the past year just for trying to discern the topic with others online (little one on one discussion has occurred). I usually hear about it much later, in very harsh complaining ways and from others who ask me what's going on after hearing some reported allegation.
The Moab conference was all about forgiving, being understanding and uniting. Denver has written about our strifes and contentions existing just like they did in Nauvoo, which caused Holy Order restoral failure. We need to be more charitable and less judgemental and condemnatory.
Before we judge another family among us, for whatever they feel led to do, remember, that early connection with Heaven is a hard one to master. So much goes on in our minds. So many ways for messages to enter our thoughts. Even when we hear, there is the doubting phaze. No matter what, keep seeking to hear His voice. He will personally work with you, to wring out whatever is necessary, to break your heart too. We might think the course too rough, or Heaven will wait to see if we will get so upset at letting us suffer what we will...but endure well.
Denver Snuffer from Pg. 11 of his Plural Marriage talk:
Some accuse Joseph Smith without sufficient proof, and they will find God
applies that same standard to them. It has even been foolishly claimed by some that they have “prayed” and God has revealed to them Joseph was an adulterer! I would never trust such a “revelation” as proof. Christ did not accuse the woman taken in adultery, even when He had eyewitness proof against her. If He would not condemn her with such proof, why would the same God condemn Joseph Smith in a “revelation” because someone asked in prayer? Would the same Lord of mercy send the woman taken in adultery away without condemnation but condemn Joseph? Would our Lord divert our attention from the history we have that lacks proof of this about Joseph to furnish proof through prayer to diminish His servant Joseph? When the Lord send an angel to tell Joseph that his “name should be had for good and evil among all nations” am I to assume it would be the Lord Himself who would speak both “good” and “evil” of Joseph? Satan is the “accuser of the brethren” not God. If in an answer to prayer anyone listens to an accusing spirit to judge Joseph, I very much suspect they would be in tune with the wrong source, or else God has become changeable44 and contradicts His own prior revelations.
Footnote 41: By answering a “prayer” informing the inquirer Joseph was “an adulterer” it appears to me to qualify as “evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed.” It seems incongruent to me for the Lord to call Joseph, accomplish a great work through him, expect mankind to “seek blessings under his hand” (D&C 122:1-2), but then supplement the posthumous record by a revelation condemning him. Is the Lord among the ‘fools who shall hold Joseph in derision?’ (D&C 122:1.)
Sunday, March 13, 2016
HEARING AND SEEING
There is a certain path that must be taken. It is individual. It is difficult. It is often a lonely one, where most will not even know you are on it... or worse yet will likely mis-judge your true standing and your intentions. The Path to having our own relationship with heaven will contain small proofs (after strong and serious Faith), and some bigger ones that you will still come to doubt at times. No matter what other Prophets obtain from heaven for themselves, we all need to obtain the same for ourselves. In our day, C&E only comes from the Lord. Sealing authority comes from Him. So if YOU want what is necessary for all partakers of the Kingdom of God, then YOU must seek the Lord's word direct to you. There is no other way. He is the only One that stands at that Gate.
If Joseph Smith is right, and I believe he is... we all must work out our OWN salvation with fear and trembling before God. He taught that we CANNOT rely on him or any other prophet for responsibility that depends on ourselves. Do that which the scriptures and the LDS temple endowment is trying to teach YOU to do. Converse with the Lord through the veil. Go on until we meet with Him on either side of the veil. We must all begin to be acquainted with the Lord, before we can ever hear Him declare a promise such as that of Eternal Life in His Kingdom.
Even when such a Promising event occurs, you will still doubt at times. Hell and those in the world will do all they can to convince you that you did not hear what you heard. Problems and chaos may seem to come from every front. But you must trudge through all that. Trust in Him. But as Denver Snuffer once stated in one of his Zion lectures, once you hear such a Promise, it is definately not the end of the matter. There is SO MUCH MORE to pass through and experience. There are many "anointings" to be endowed with. But a complete and full endowment must be had. And it must be had and experienced by every mortal who wishes to receive all that is possible and necessary.
The following is a testimony from a like minded friend. A testimony more full and complete than I can share. A testimony that should fill the chapel of every LDS church with the level of knowledge that has been had among us for almost two centuries. I can say our paths have had similar experiences at times, but I too one day hope to have the greater experiences and communications. I have been seeking such since 2008 after realizing what is really necessary for salvation and exaltation. I have sought to help others seek such since then. This is more serious than anything else in this world. Our Eternal Life depends on it...
http://theremnantofjacob.com/blog/living-according-to-your-faith/
Recorded Sacrament talk by Matt:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27629524/20160131_MCrockett-SacramentTalk.mp3
Monday, February 22, 2016
Proving Grounds
A couple quotes from Denver Snuffer at the Big Cottonwood Canyon "after the conference discussion":
"If God has gone to that trouble, why should we think each fellowship ought to be a copy of the next? Why would we impose uniformity upon one another when God does everything BUT uniformity? It is true there is one Lord, one faith, and only one baptism, but each believer comes to Him as an individual. Every soul has unique gifts, and individual weaknesses. Each struggle for faith is a struggle for that individual alone. WE become one through Him, not through trying to make ourselves uniform. He is the only common ground for very distinct individuals to come into unity. I do not believe any two fellowships should be put together with a cookie cutter that says, "this is what you must do and this is what you must not do," when the needs are so diverse from one to another. There ought to be diversity. There ought to be uniqueness. There ought to be recognition in terms of what each group has in contributions and what each group has in terms of needs. It ought to be flexible enough to do that."
"God bless you all. God’s hand is moving again. This is going somewhere. It will eventually culminate in the fulfillment of the prophecies. The trouble is whether we do it or whether it is left for another generation depends on what we do. I don’t think religious enthusiasm or religious fanaticism produces it. It’s kindness to one another. It is taking seriously the things that God asked us to do and in a meaningful way being self sacrificing and trying to help and lift other people. Because at the end of the day Christ summarized all the law and all the prophets in loving God and loving your fellow man. Which goes back to the first question that was asked about all you quirky people liking one another. Well, that’s the right challenge. If you want to see Zion get a little closer, then love one another."
Also consider:
http://denversnuffer.com/2014/03/your-only-hope/
Is Zion unlikely? If we carry on in the same manner that we have since this restoration revival has re-booted, then I would agree. As I have visited with fellowships in different areas, I am saddened to have witnessed those within our own movements who lack such patience, understanding, meekness, and charity for one another. I have witnessed it on this very group. What good does estrangement and enmity between each other accomplish? I understand there is a natural man and differences in understanding inevitably arise. However, shouldn't we, the so called "remnant" know better and thus act accordingly? It is not only disheartening, but embarrassing and disgusting. How can we participate in gathering in the elect of God and those in the highways and byways when we exercise such blatant disregard for each other? How can we soften the hearts of others if ours are hardened? How can we convince them of the truth if we are laden with sin and error? We need to be more meek, tender, and lowly of heart. If we have the knowledge of what is required and not act in accordance with that requirement, then we are fools, condemned by God, and don't deserve to participate in ushering in Zion. How can we sit at the table with the fathers or with the church of the firstborn if we can't even love one another?
I pray that we are not so vain, prideful, or idolatrous to think we have done all we can. I pray that we are not waiting for manna to fall from heaven or that another strong man will strike the rock for us so that living waters will flow down. We must do the work and make the effort. If the requirement is to get on our knees like Enos until we receive the answer, then so be it. If we ask what more we can do to be perfect and the Lord tells us to sell all, give to the poor, and take up our cross, then so be it. We must keep striving forward and seeking with ceaseless supplications to heaven and follow every word of His command by the power of the Comforter. If we can do that, Zion will come. Until then, it is all vanity.
Compare with the most recent blog post by Denver:
"[We rejoice at] "the willingness to aid in the building of the 'House of the Lord,' we are grieved at the conduct of some, who seem to have forgotten the purpose for which they have gathered. Instead of promoting union, appear to be engaged in sowing strifes and animosities among their brethren, spreading evil reports; …We feel to advise taking the word of God for our guide, and exhort you not to forget you have come up as Saviors upon Mount Zion, consequently to seek each other's good, -to become one: inasmuch as the Lord has said, 'except ye become one ye are none of mine.'" (Times and Seasons, February 15, 1842, Vol. 3, No. 8, The High Council of the Church of Jesus Christ, to the Saints of Nauvoo.)
It is easy to fail. Just gather people who will contend with each other and there will be failure EVERY time. It makes sense to try something new rather than repeat the pattern that will never work. First, provide an opportunity for those who are interested to display who they are, whether they can live peaceably with others. Once we know one another's hearts then the Lord can gather only those who will avoid contentions, jealousies, strifes, envyings, and jarring. Like the pattern in Abraham, first men are "proven" and then they are gathered, or spared."
-From: http://denversnuffer.com/2016/02/how-to-fail/
I have personally seen unnecessary contention and false reports in my own fractured fellowship. Some things are worth talking about. But some of the dividing for differing opinions on gospel topics, the false assumptions and reports, or tiny complaints about others that turn into trying to paint them as villains and ones to avoid in Sunday meetings, should end.
Snuffer also discussed recently that some topics are left un-explained for a reason. I think this is why... so some can put on their divisional, contending and destructive-to-zion tendancies or weaknesses on group display. I hope we can all do better.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Great Post From Another Like Minded Blogger
We don't wish to look for the negative side of LDS history, we just want the truth to be made known. There is an important work under way in these the last days. Zion is coming.
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Emotional Hijacking
For a little bit of back ground, it is important for readers to know that I have had more than my fair share dealing with those who suffer from varied forms of emotional dysfunction. Important things were learned. I may have had a lot of experience with people suffering these things, may have read and watched tons of research on at least some disorders, and taken some psychology classes back in college days, but I am no professional. I hope these things can be of help to others. You just may need my experiences to better frame or endure what ever it is you are experiencing or may one day.
What is Emotional Instability?
When a person depends more upon their corrupted emotions more than their intellect or thinking part of the brain (much larger than the Amygdala or emotional portions I should add), it causes intense and out of proportion responses, thinking and actions. When some form of corruption occurs, usually during childhood, the person becomes emotionally unbalanced. The balanced and regulated emotional part is not in harmony with the intellectual portion of the brain. The small fight or flight portion is trying to rule the stage all too often. The emotional part of the brain is relied upon and trusted excessively. To be well balanced means that the small emotional portions of the brain are working along side with and in concert with the intellectual portions. The intellect or thinking mind should be your control center, not your emotions. It is often said that some people allow their emotions to control them, instead of them controlling their emotions. Emotional hijacking of the intellect can be so severe that it can actually warp the persons mental understanding of events and their view of the world around them. That view or translation of things within them may be different than what actually occurs in their world. Emotions can actually hijack actual reality or truth in the mind. It is true that our emotions can trick us. They can lie to us and sometimes cannot be trusted.
How Does Emotional Corruption Occur?
The simple answer is that this world (rather the people in it) is so corrupting that all forms of corruption and especially mental disorders are soaring through the roof. Bad behavior creates more bad behavior. The abused become abusive in some form or fashion, even if they don't realize at times (or all the time). The manipulated become manipulative(whether knowingly or not, they are still using fear or anger to control and push someone else to emotionally respond to their demands). Corruption breeds more corruption. The hurt can cause more hurt. The real answer is that a person becomes emotionally unstable when suffering repeated dramatic and/or traumatic experiences. They can also copy the behaviors from family, even if they do not directly suffer these experiences. These people may or may not have been born with general insecurity or some form of underlying issue in their genes.
Experienced emotional disruption and then corruption usually occurs as a young child, during the years of 0-3 when a persons view of the world is shaped. A time their personality and mood really begins to be ingrained into them for the rest of their lives. These aspects of the brain develop first, then the greater intellect. Many factors can cause these negative experiences. Obviously frequency and severity matters most. Physical abuse is obvious. Verbal abuse also. Neglect or ignoring children causes problems. Sheltering or spoiling too much can cause children (and later as adults) to rely too much on others, less independence and less ability to cope with and deal with things on their own. Simply not giving just the right amount of validation, comfort and love to a young child can cause problems.
It is estimated that about 25% of the population has a serious disorder. That number grows every year. This is the known disorders found in order to be counted. I have heard many Dr's state that the actual number is probably half of all people, as probably half go un-reported or un-diagnosed. I bet they are pretty accurate in this modern world full of corruption every where we turn. But the greatest corruption occurs within our own homes. If satan wants to destroy any good chance of coming back to God, then surely this is the avenue to best corrupt mankind with.
How Does It Manifest?
Well, if you see the ever growing bible that Psychologists use, the DSM IV and soon the larger than ever DSM V (the man made bible for the mental health industry to put labels and billing codes in order to get paid by insurance companies), it contains all kinds of ways emotional deregulation or corruption can manifest. Many mental health professionals agree that just about any body nowadays can be diagnosed with at least five disorders found inside the DSM, as they have put a label and name to so many different manifestations. These labels can range from anger management issues, or mood disorders like Anxiety or Bipolar (long manic and depression states), to personality disorders such as NPD and BPD. I have had experience living with all of these specifically mentioned manifestations. You can do some youtube or google searches on these disorders in order to get a better view of what it is like living with people who suffer these things. Still, you will never know what it is like unless you actually live it with someone. It is draining. It is intense. You can be left burnt out and less productive in all aspects of your life if you are not careful. Especially for those who never actually discover what the heck is going on... as the non-sufferer can become so emotionally unstable and confused trying to figure it all out and dealing with it properly. We need understanding for both those who suffer and those who deal with those that suffer. Both can suffer.
The severity and frequency of violent words or actions or neglect during childhood are the deciding factors on just how deeply corrupt of disorderly a person can manifest. A person can be so deeply wounded during childhood, that they can actually have a distorted emotional mind that can cause that person to be a problem child and actually become worse when placed into a more responsible station such as adulthood or marriage. More personal responsibility and the large change in circumstances is enough to cause the person to manifest more deeply in early adulthood. This is why most of the major personality disorders are diagnosed in early adulthood, as the emotional dysfunction manifests so strongly at that point in time.
Who Is To Blame?
No one wants to have insecurity of any sort, and definitely does not want to behave and over react the way they do (well, except maybe the socio and psychopaths, but that's another issue to discern). Can we really hold them accountable for something they actually do not want to have? If so, how much? Should society try to make a little elbow room for them in legal troubles they so often get into because of having something they did not choose to have in the first place? Sad truth is, people get these deeply rooted and unwanted manifestations derived from those closest to them. Family in most cases. It is an ugly cycle that must be broken, or it will go on and on, generation to generation. You can try to blame that person acting out, or their parent... but likely each person learned behaviors and/or received some kind of insecure gene trait from their parent(s) who learned it from their parent(s), etc. So think about the next time you want to avoid or judge someone who is more hurt and affected by unwanted emotional corruption passed down to them.
How Can We Help Those Who Have It?
When a person is acting out in some form or other, they are showing others around them that an emotional hijacking is occurring. If you over react to their over reaction, you are only going to cause the situation to become even more difficult. If both the sufferers and the non-sufferers don't research and read up on how to best deal with these issues, the problems may never be corrected or most likely worsen. Bad experiences and problems will continue to be the norm for them and you. A war zone at home will continue, when love and peace at home is what we all want.
Some, such as those with NPD, are so deeply fragile within, that they cannot even accept that they are causing the problems, for fear of shame and guilt that would put them into such a depressed state that they frantically try to avoid at all costs. If they can't even accept they have any issues, how can change ever occur? You simply try to help them see what they are doing, because it is fair on your part and emotionally healthy and you are trying so frantically to get the chaos to decrease or cease, they take that as negative criticism and only over react even more... even to the point that their deeply routed hurt and corrupted emotional mind will alter their views of reality, and begin to see you as the villain and cause and the one to blame for it all. Trust me, you start to question them after hearing it so often, your own self worth begins to be affected. You will frantically search your own self endlessly trying to fix anything within you that needs correction. You will frantically panic at times seeing your own self view becoming distorted, your own emotions getting offended, and fear losing your own good mental sanity. And after trying to deal with all the chaos for so long, trying everything to help the person and have more positive experiences with them, they begin to falsely accuse and blame you for the verbal/physical/emotional abuse they in actuality cause you. It all gets so chaotic, and you are spending almost every hour of the day trying to figure things out and help them and yourself improve, that you get so burnt out that almost every other area of your life is affected. You get less productive in nearly everything. You will fear your own loss of balanced mental state. And if that were not enough to get your mental mind all twisted inside out, your emotional mind begins to suffer to much drama and can become affected in adverse ways. You could actually end up with secondary physical ailments and health issues. More than that, being falsely accused in front of friends, family and police, which is a common practice by severely affected people, could have you sitting somewhere you don't rightly belong in the first place (and for a man to lose his innate ability to protect his family with self defense equipment, that is hard for a man to accept in the case of a false DV accusation to police that could lose his rights to those things). The problems will continue that you will just give up thinking that these types of problems are just too darn big to handle and fix anymore.
So, what is the answer? If you married someone like this, or your have a parent or brother/sister/uncle/aunt/Grandma/etc who has these issues, what do you do? Do you suffer as long as you can and then run? Do you do what most of the videos and blogs about NPD or BPD on the internet tell you, to RUN away or avoid as much as possible as soon as you realize you are around such a deeply emotionally injured person? At what point does all the chaos the person attracts like a magnet start to adversely affect you, or even your children like in the case of remarrying and step kids are involved? When does it become unjust for you or your children to continue a relationship in a marriage with such things occurring? How do you balance properly and weigh these things out in the scales of justice? Are you enabling abuse to continue by the sufferer, just by remaining in a relationship, such as a marriage? When is it right to hold the person responsible or accountable for their choosing to misbehave towards you or others, which is really occurring because of their emotional hijacking and the exploding in their mind causing them to un-wantingly act and behave as they are? If you have a child, step-child and as is very common with an adopted child, you can't just leave them like you can a spouse or ship them to Siberia. What then? What if YOU were the severely suffering injured person manifesting in over reacting ways, what would you want? Would you not already have severe headaches and fireworks exploding every which way in your mind to continue causing you enough drama, how would you feel when you start to worry about those closest to you abandoning you for your horrible (but remember, behavior you don't want and never chose with your free agency to have) behaviors? Would that fear alone not cause more trauma in your already out of order psyche?
So if we do choose to move away, or leave a spouse, or even try to avoid/ignore, how much more damaged will that person then become? Sometimes the sufferer can't stand the thought of you abandoning them, so they begin to distort their own reality and convince themselves that you are the cause of issues and turn on you. They will leave you because they sense you having a hard time with their behaviors... before you can leave them. They normally love you with a serious passion you've never experienced before, they normally call you the greatest person on earth, their angel, their everything, but all of a sudden, while you are trying so hard to stay and help the person and fix problems, they hypocritically do to you what they are afraid of you doing to them one day. They never want you to leave them. But oh, they have no problem talking about or threatening to leave you all the time, or actually do it in the end. You were doing all to be there for them and help them, even suffering tremendous hurt to yourself, hoping for a better day. Hoping for enough change to take place so that more positive times can be hard more than the negative. That leaves the non-sufferer in a confused state for a long time with that "love me but don't leave me, and if I think you will, I will leave you first because it will hurt me too much" event. They dread and then cause their own worst fear to occur. They self destruct and actually fight against what they want most in many cases. Add to all this that they are so distracted with their OWN problems, they either cannot see or find it very hard to see the suffering of others. They lack empathy.
You can see why things become so confusing for those who live with sufferers. They don't know what to do. Up becomes down. Down becomes up. You have the hardest time judging what is the most right and charitable thing for all involved. Again, you will never actually completely understand what I am talking about, unless you have walked in the shoes of a sufferer or one who has a relationship with one.
Maybe the New Testament teachings by the Lord are more effective than we think at first glance. Maybe He gave the recipe for success for these very things. Did not the Lord state to overcome "all things"? To even Love your "enemies". Love those who seem to despitefully use you?
Is not the answer then to return love and compassion even when some one (whether a child or adult) is acting out, verbally or emotionally "throwing up" on you or dishing out the most unloving and un-empathic spew on you?
Their over reacting or anger outburst is really a sign that they need your help calming them down. We should avoid taking it too personal, but see the negative thoughts and behaviors as a serious expression or way of speaking out for help while they are emotionally "drowining". Instead of taking offense, to instead see that hey, this person has been emotionally wounded as a child and never obtained the proper peace, comfort and love, and has a hard time regulating or coping with stress as an adult?
We need to stay "grounded" and balanced, and improve our own emotions when faced with the emotionally hijacked persons who do not want to behave properly or hurt you as they are, so that we can be of any help to them.
So if your child (or even an adult you have a relationship with) acts out, maybe hitting you, verbally throwing up on you, kicking, screaming, out of control, falsely accusing you of this or that, or any other kind of uncontrolled bout of rage or depression they are under, what can you do?
Remember this simple to learn 2 step system:
1: DO NOT OVER REACT YOURSELF. This is easier said than done when someone is actively and often acting out by hurting you. The mortal response when being attacked or hurt is to run or fight. The person over reacting is already in that mental mode, you have to avoid as much as possible to have your fight or flight automatic responses activated. This is extremely difficult and will take time. Do it as soon as possible.
2: Return the hate with love. Take offense but do not return it. This is also WAY harder to do than said. But what is it that the sufferer lacked in childhood? Maybe you lacked some yourself in some way? They were likely abused, neglected and/or ignored. Along with all that obviously comes the lack of empathy or concern from those closest to them, lack of comfort when they needed comforting. Instead of comfort and proper teaching on how to behave or act, they received hate or neglect, yelling, hitting, or some other abusive and forceful tactic. They do not learn proper empathy or care and concern for others because a parent (in probably most cases) didn't teach them or ripped it out of them if they had any to start with. So, the only way to truly help the over-reacting emotional sufferer, is to give them lots of what they did not get as a child. In the face of anger, in the face of serious hate, in the face of serious offense to you, even in the face of false police reports and extreme fear... give love as best you can. When they are acting out, tell them you understand he/she is offended or hurt (validate - something their care giver in childhood probably never did out of neglect), remember they are feeling upset or offended and losing emotional control, AND GIVE THEM A HUG AND ALL THE LOVE AND CONCERN YOU CAN MUSTER UP to help calm them. You will feel the usual human impulse to over react, to return an insult for an insult or to accept a threat to divorce they only spewed onto you out of anger, but avoid it. They need you more than ever. They need your comfort and compassion. They also need to see your example on how to act and behave with others. You can hopefully help to re-install the care and concern for others they had lost long ago.
Do remember, that a therapist is likely necessary, but likely won't be able to be there all the time like you are, or may not be comfortable or even able to offer up validation and love like you can.
You are human too, so don't get to hard on yourself when you or the sufferer don't have expectations immediately met. If both can better understand each other's plight ("put yourself in the other persons shoes" – very hard for the sufferer to actually do since they are so consumed in their own emotions and problems), and love is given instead of more offense or fighting, then situations can improve and brokenness can have hope to be repaired. The only hope for them is to give back to them what they should have received when a young child, and have patience on both sufferer and their family/friends who deal with them. If the family member dealing with a sufferer over reacts, they will feel a remorse and shame that can eat them alive inside. They may think to just give up, because they are not strong enough to handle it all or to react in a better way.
Both parties need to take "inventory" of themselves and do all they can to improve their own mental and emotional states to endure such things. We all need to do these things anyway to "overcome all things"... to be able to better handle and deal with anyone who might come in our path in the future.
Provide an Environment for Change to Take Place
There is a little more to it than the first two simple steps above. In addition to the two steps above, you will need a team of people to support both the family and the sufferer. Find a good therapist who will actually work with and effectively teach the sufferer how to better react and respond to things in life. Beware of drug use by Psychiatrists. Some will get sufferers hooked on a wild concoction of all kinds of meds. Patients can eventually build up a immunity to them, and many have other threatening side effects. Remember that with personality disorders, they are learned behaviors deeply routed within them. And they so quickly fluctuate between love to hate, or anger to depression, that by the time the one med taken to decrease aggression kicks in, they could already be in a depressed state which will adversely affect them, or vice-versa. With mood disorders, they actually suffer a chemical imbalance, and their mood swings usually last longer (aggressive/mad or sad/depressed a long time). Meds can have an actual effect for these patients. Someone with BPD could take the same med, and hardly notice any difference. The drugs side effects outweigh it's benefits. Someone with Bipolar will feel "night and day" differences.
You will also need to discuss the problems with other very close family members or family friends (not everyone needs to know). You will need their support. They will need to understand what the heck is going on in your home, for both you and the sufferer, so that they don't think you guilty of just not loving your companion/relative properly or wondering why you seem disgruntled or distant towards him/her, or even perhaps they see you over reacting one day and wondering how the heck you impulsively acted like that. One of the hardest parts after the non-sufferer is enduring all the chaos, is that the emotionally unstable can look very loving, friendly, compassionate and outgoing in public or around friends or more distant family (and this is likely why you fell for this person in the first place who covered up the bad by projecting a good show in the beginning)... but at home, in private, is where the chaos is occurring. People feel more safe to unleash their vomit on each other in intimate or family relationships, thinking the other person should "understand me" or will never abandon them. The sufferer does not want others to know about their bad behaviors. And the nons (well they were non sufferers at one point and certainly can suffer too enduring chaos) don't want others bothered by private affairs and usually too busy trying to fix everything to even have time to begin to explain it. When things are out in the open, both parties will feel more satisfied and safe, and will feel better able to get through and conquer what needs done, with the extra support.
If you suffer from emotional issues, the best thing you can do to begin the path to change, is to admit weaknesses to the people closest to you. Do not be afraid to seek professional help. Don't be afraid of being labeled with a title of how your instability manifests. What matters is that there are people and methods that can help you, if you first admit and accept you have a problem. Then seeking ways to fix the issues can take place. You never can if you cannot identify your own failings. This is the only way for you to have a happier life and for others to be happier around you. You also have the innate desire to not be abandoned by those closest to you, so do what it takes to not lose them. You need help and assistance from every where you can to overcome the corruption from childhood. It is the only responsible thing to do for yourself and those who you do not want to leave you.
If you suffer from emotional issues, the best thing you can do to begin the path to change, is to admit weaknesses to the people closest to you. Do not be afraid to seek professional help. Don't be afraid of being labeled with a title of how your instability manifests. What matters is that there are people and methods that can help you, if you first admit and accept you have a problem. Then seeking ways to fix the issues can take place. You never can if you cannot identify your own failings. This is the only way for you to have a happier life and for others to be happier around you. You also have the innate desire to not be abandoned by those closest to you, so do what it takes to not lose them. You need help and assistance from every where you can to overcome the corruption from childhood. It is the only responsible thing to do for yourself and those who you do not want to leave you.
Ok, so an environment is now established where the emotional sufferer can now have a chance to succeed. But it is still only a chance for them to change. THEY must do what it takes to change. You can give them every tool they need and the time to make the change, but they have to choose to understand and make the changes. They must have the desire to do so. That desire cannot be just to appease you at the time. You cannot really convince them to change by teaching them all the skills and coping techniques they need to succeed. They have to understand and digest what you are telling them. And since their emotions have run the majority of behaviors and decision making most of their lives, it is going to take some time to make adjustments. Even if some change or enough change occurs, some can relapse even after years of therapy and having a decent environment where change can be a possibility. Some may enter a mental hospital for a time. Some may take decades to be able to react and behave on an acceptable level, but may never really remove all of the fireworks of emotions that may still go off in their minds. Some can change completely that no one will know they even have or had emotional issues. But if they give up at some point, or at many points, or even finally push you or throw you out of the marriage, just know that YOU did all YOU could to provide an environment where change could take place. You need to make sure that you are not held accountable before God for some failure on your end. Try your best and make things as comfortable for both of you and do all you can to help them improve. At the same time, you must also consider that you cannot allow yourself (or your children as in the case of remarried families) to be emotionally damaged or enabling abuse to go on forever. If a time comes that you just cannot physically and mentally handle it anymore, than prayerfully consider if you have done all you can for you and the sufferer first, then do what ever is necessary for you (and/or your children). This is something between you and God to decide. Remind yourself that some disorders even the well experienced therapists never really understand it unless they live with someone who had it, and that even they sometimes cannot remain with some patients for long. If the well trained and experienced professionals sometimes fail, do not be so hard on yourself if you do. How long a person can stay the course with a really abusive sufferer varies for each individual person. Not everyone is emotionally or mentally strong enough to handle some disorders or situations. Someone who has researched and understands a great deal about emotional disorders and how to best handle it all, will be a much more effective assistant. They will also suffer less drama within themselves as they understand how to handle stressful events better and learn to not take the rough events directed towards them so personally. Some situations may become too unsafe or too violent to remain in for too long. You surely cannot be expected to enable or allow excessive abuse to continue to the point that it begins to damage yourself or loved ones. The risk for remaining in that environment for too long (for you and possibly others) may outweigh the necessity to try and save/help the one sufferer. My only advice is to make sure you do all you could to lessen chaos on your end, create an environment for change and give as much time as you can for them to change. We need to make sure we are justified and prayerfully consider what is the best course to take in such cases were removal is necessary.
If you are one of the emotional sufferers since childhood, DO NOT get so depressed if your partner feels that he/she cannot mentally and emotionally deal with it all at some point. If he/she needs some space for a few weeks or even moves on at some point, try to be understanding on their part. Be sad for sure, but it is not the end of the world as you may feel. Try not to overly fear that such a possibility can happen or become so negative and actually cause it to happen, but be understanding with that person in case it ever does. After today, you should have learned that we cannot always trust our emotions, that we have to get all the intellect and understanding we can on anything really important to us, and that we have to be understanding of the other persons mortal weaknesses in case failure does occur on either end. What matters is that both sides tried all they could to make things better.
The best thing ALL OF US can do is logically see things through with our intellect (and ask God to improve our intellect through the usual course of events than you may not even notice He is using to teach you and/or direct revelation), and not through or only through our emotions. Then act accordingly.
A Gospel View Of Emotions:
Some times our emotions can trick us. They can alter our perceptions of reality. Our own emotional mind can lie to us. We could misjudge an emotional feeling within us, for a revelation that should only be directed into your intellect. What you hear from God might just give you a negative feeling in your body. Some words/understanding/visions from Heaven cause us to rejoice or be comforted. Good times in deed. Just realize that sometimes our emotions are felt based upon our own current logical understandings as well. OUR understandings may be correct or incorrect. It could be a certain gospel topic that someone does not want to think is possible. And when we go to pray on the matter, instead of looking for understanding into our intellect, we are more concentrated on the emotional responses we are feeling. If it is out of order for the emotionally unstable, it can be out of order in this sense as well. This is also necessary to "overcome all things" in this regard. You will need to know the difference between revelation and feeling answers coming from your emotional mind (felt in different parts of your body) or even your sub-conscience portions of your mind. I have mistaken often these things. Still working on knowing the difference myself. That is just a part of the journey we all have to go through. So, understand that if you find yourself going through some serious hard things with others, just realize it may just be exactly what YOU need at that time. You have things to learn by experience to really understand and change yourself. We all do.
These mental corruptions are taking place every where. Even among the LDS remnant gathering, these things I have seen among us too. I am more understanding of the signs and characteristics of many of mental disorders, and can see some affected in one way or another. I am not going to do the judgemental thing and point you out or try to fix others publicly or in some incorrect manner, but hopefully this post can help everyone be better understanding and better prepared to handle those who do suffer. For they truly suffer mentally, emotionally and usually physically too.
The best balanced mind is one where the intellect rules and is in concert with the emotional mind, and also with your spiritual mind which receives the words and understanding the Spirit of God. They all must work in unison, or be "perfect in all things". At least as perfect as a mortal can become. This is the closest thing to perfection that we can obtain. Even then, we still fall short and only HE (the Father and Son working together) will carry you the rest of the way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)