Alma 16 - Planting The Seed

What if you had a craving for muffins?

And you have tried many recipes in your life, and none of those recipes made muffins that satisfied you?

What if someone showed up and said they had a recipe direct from the Lord, and you noticed that they were always satisfied, and enjoying their muffins. What if they offered to share that recipe with you?

What if you just could not bring yourself to follow that recipe, the whole thing is just too suspicious. You have tried so many recipes in your life, and you just do not have the energy to keep trying. What do you do?

But this recipe is claimed to have come from the Lord, and all who follow it are showing good results, so you think about that. You watch and you think, and you let that curiosity work within you, until you start to desire to give it a try.

But you are cynical, and give up a few times, and change the recipe here and there (just a little), so it will not work out and you can say it was a bad recipe. They you can feel proud of yourself that you were right all along. Of course, you know you did not follow the recipe, and others are still getting the results, and you still desire to have some decent muffins, so secretly, you give the recipe another chance.

This time you follow the recipe perfectly, and you get some good results. You get wonderful muffins that taste so good! You cannot believe it, so you make up some nonsense about it just being a fluke, and throw the recipe away.

But eventually you crave those muffins again, and you search out the bakers who are following that recipe, and you ask them to share it with you. They do, and you start baking the best muffins of your life.

With time, you get better and better at following the recipe, and your muffins taste better and better!

Bearing False Witness

“There is no salvation in believing an evil report against our neighbour.”

~ Joseph Smith, Jr.

Unfortunately, there always seems to be someone saying something bad about someone.

In the scriptures, we are instructed not to gossip, nor to bear any type of false witness about anyone, yet how often do we find ourselves listening to gossip?  Why should we even contribute to such evil as to listen to it?  There is no honour in believing gossip.  There is no goodness to be found in repeating gossip.  Gossip only causes contention.

How sad it would be to be a child of the Devil, which is the father of contention!  Why would anyone want to stir up the hearts of men against one another?

Instead, let us promote peace!

Do not gossip, nor bear false witness in any way!
Do not listen to, nor contribute to gossip.
Do not break your covenants by believing an evil report about your brother.

Do not look for evil in anyone.

Be sure to completely forgive all who have ever borne false witness against you.

"Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God!"

How wonderful, to be called the child of God!

Racism And Hatred

It is always so sad to me, when I hear of people putting others down because of their genetic background.  It is an unfortunate part of world society, but it does not have to be so. We can choose to interact with each other kindly, without prejudice.

"When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent.  Do you see why it is violent?  Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind.  When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence.  So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind." 

~ Jiddu Krisnamurti

Not many people know that I myself am not originally from the main culture of Canada.  I find it best to not to focus on things that separate people.  Although, I must admit, it does bother me when I hear people denigrating any culture.  Having travelled to many countries around the world, I find there is good in every culture, and that good far outweighs the bad.

There are so many good things in every culture, which are really all a part of the one macro-culture of the entire planet, and those good things are amazing to explore!

Complaints, Murmurings, Persecutions, Revilings

 As a religious counsellor, I hear all kinds of things, from all kinds of people, and I would like to address one of these things today; it is the topic of persecutions.

Now, many members of the church do complain of "persecutions", that is nothing new.  Usually this complaint comes from people who are quite controlling and vindictive, often complaining when they do not get their way.  

Yet, sometimes, a humble member comes, with tears in their eyes, asking for help and guidance, because they are being pressured by the more popular members to lower their standards, especially in the area of morality.  These humble members of the church are not so popular, because they live a higher morality, and try their best to "keep every word which proceedeth forth from the mouth of God."

Of course, this behaviour irks the popular members in just the wrong way.  They take offence to the behaviour of the faithful members, who quietly follow the Saviour, without ever saying anything against the choices of the popular members.  Then of course the popular members lash out against the humble members, bearing down in false witness against the humble followers of Christ, accusing them of unrighteously judging the popular members.  The popular members start to apply a great deal of peer pressure, and spend a great deal of effort winning over the other members of the church to their side, against all those who would keep the commandments of the Lord to such a high standard.  Of course, the hypocrisy is easily apparent to an outsider, but not so apparent to the popular members, who suffer from this solipsistic view.

The interesting phenomena is the humble member, comes for counsel, asking how to stay strong, never seeking for justice, never complaining, just asking for guidance and prayer.

Whereas the popular members come complaining, ... Often!  Often asking for justice, accusing the humble follower of persecution and all sorts of crimes, etc.  The most common justification of the popular members is:  Everyone is allowed to have their own opinion (Everyone, that is, except the humble followers of Messiah!)

To the humble followers, those who do not revile back, only humbly continue to follow the Saviour, I say:  Do not be discouraged.  You are loved by God.  Continue to pray for those who revile, persecute, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for the Lord's sake.  The Father sees you, and you will have place with the prophets in heaven.  Keep the Faith!

Passover/Last Supper

I have not been posting much on my blogs, forum, or social media this past week, on account of all the preparations for the Passover/Resurrection celebration.

It is at this time of year, which we celebrate the ordinance of Passover, which was a foundational ordinance of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God. It is at this time which we celebrate not only the Saviour living each day for us and dying for us, but also showing us the way back to the Father, even overcoming death by His triumphant resurrection! This wonderful gift is offered to all those who will repent and live as the Saviour lived. What an amazing promise!

Tonight, we will be having the Passover meal, the Last Supper, and our hearts will be fully drawn out in thanks for our Lord and our Saviour, even Yeshua the Messiah, for overcoming all things, thereby teaching us how to overcome all things as well.

See you tonight,
and May God be with you!

O Lord, I Will Praise Thee Forever!

 "When I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins."

How many of us feel as Nephi?  We want so much to rejoice, to sing songs of everlasting praise to our Heavenly Father, but we feel so sad because of our frailties, our weaknesses, our shortcomings, our sins.  And yet, here is Nephi, an amazing prophet who stood up for righteousness, and was a true servant of God, and yet he felt the same way we feel!  How could Nephi feel the same way we feel?  Is it not because he is the same as us?  Has he not gone through the same and in some things more than us?

Nephi may lament his weaknesses, but then goes on to tell us how he overcomes those feelings of inadequacy and how we can also.

"My God hath been my support.  He hath led me through mine afflictions... He hath preserved me... He hath filled me with His love... He hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night time... By day I have waxed bold in mighty prayer before Him... "

Do we remember how much the Lord has done for us?  Do we remember all the times we have been filled with His love, surrounded by angels, and filled with the Holy Ghost?  

If we have felt so much love, so much of the Redeeming Love of the Saviour. If the Lord has visited us in so much mercy, why should our hearts weep? Why should we linger in sorrow? Let us instead shout as Nephi:

"Rejoice O my Heart!  And Cry unto the Lord, and say:  O Lord, I will praise thee forever.  Yea, my soul will rejoice in Thee, my God, and the Rock of my Salvation! ... I will lift up my voice unto Thee!  I will cry unto Thee, my God, the Rock of my righteousness.  Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto Thee, my Rock and mine Everlasting God.  Amen."

Let us sing praises unto our God!  Let us feel happy in our God, the Rock of our Salvation, even Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Redeemer!

Sober Thoughts

Sometimes I have thought to unburden my soul.  I realize this is not for everyone, but I do not know that perhaps it may be of use to someone.  The command to come out of the world, to escape Babylon, is a real command.  Too often this command is slighted, and too often the terrible effects of Babylon are seen among those who ought to be Saints!  You wonder why you have such a difficult time in following the Lord, and in seeking His face, yet this is easily seen.  It is because you seek the world, with all it's worldly blessings.  Seek no more the world.  Seek no more to partake of her evils.  Because you seek after pride, vanity, their acceptance, their accolades, you place these things between you and your God, and therefore can never get your heart to be faithful to Father.

You wonder why you struggle all your life, and never seem to get comfortable.  You struggle because your hearts are not truly set upon Father.  You covet the things of the world, drugs, alcohol, coffee, tea, caffeine, sugars, and other stimulants, depressants, and medications, etc.  Because you covet Babylonian fashions, music, mannerisms, heritage, and cultures, you suffer the consequences of these things.

Give up your claim on the world.  Seek no more after the cultural heritage of your people.  Set your hearts upon the Lord.  Gather with the Saints, and build up Zion!  Never again put your hand to the plow for Babylon.  Organize yourselves as a family, as the Family of God!  Do not argue, do not covet, do not seek for a higher position.  Instead be meek, be humble, be helpful, be industrious in caring for each other!

Give to each other more than you give to yourself.  Do not take, but contribute willingly and in abundance.  Do not look for fault in each other.  Do not notice the person who is not doing what they are supposed to be doing, instead seek Yeshua Messiah.  Be the perfect example of Yeshua, so you may gain His Holy presence.  For it is in the being, that He will call you to Himself, and embrace you in your humility!

Being like Him, copying Him, imitating Him, reflecting Him, doing as He would do, this is the Way.  This is the Only way!  Do not compromise, not even a little.  Be happy, be helpful, spread goodness, spread kindness, carry each other's sins.  Freely ye have received, freely give.  Be the Saviour!