How Newton's Three Laws of Motion apply to raising children and dealing with people.

Or why didn't I take physics more seriously.

I am not really one to offer advice, but I will give to you some of the results of my pondering about motivation problems.  This is not the first time I have talked to someone about this, but I have found that if I write things down I can crystallize the thought better and work it around until it makes more sense.  So I do not promise you words of wisdom, but musings on the subject.  You can blow the chaff away and keep whatever is helpful, or throw it all out.  It would be nice if we could all just open the tap and pour out unadulterated wisdom into our glasses and drink deeply, but we must ponder and pray and study it out for it to make any sense in our life.

I didn't quite remember the three laws in order so I had to go to the trusty Internet and pull these off.  They are not stated exactly as I remembered them, but where I differ from the Internet, I will use my own version.

"A body at rest tends to remain at rest and a body at motion tends to remain in motion unless acted on by some other force."  This also takes into account Galileo's law of inertia, which comes into play also.  The Internet version was: "Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it."

In human behavior we tend to want to stay in our own path and do "our own thing".  We do not change our behavior unless there is some impetus to do so.  We have to be enticed!  Thus we become agents to be acted upon and not agents to act.   It is rationalization to say that we will not follow what is prudent, because we want to make up our own mind.  It is the way of the world to be "sophisticated" (a term that means we resort to sophistry instead of reason, but it sounds like we are making up our own mind so we feel that this is preferred).  Satan is so devious that he makes black look white and would have us think that every one else has the same opinion.

So the inexperienced and the unwary are soon led to believe that when we want to change human behavior all we have to do is exert the force in the proper direction and tell them how it is and should be done, or how we think that the matter should go, and lo the desired behavior will be exhibited.  When we want a behavior to stop, we exert a force in an opposite direction and if enough force is applied then the progress in that direction will stop and that behavior will be extinguished.  If the direction is wrong, all we need to do is exert a small amount of force and the direction will be changed.  We will have accomplished our goal and our will reigns supreme.  

In the church we often do this and pat our selves on the back saying how we have helped the individual to correct the error of his ways.  In our society this force can be verbal (tell them how the cow ate the cabbage), physical (spanking or other forms of physical punishment), or emotional (threatening to withdraw love or esteem).  

In most cases we then bring Newton's Third Law into play which is: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  When someone forces us to do anything we usually react in one of two ways.  Both yield the same result.  We may either yield to the pressure until it is removed and then return to the original state, or we may resist with equal and opposite force and not move or change at all.  

In dealing with human behavior we have to realize that every person is an agent unto himself or herself and that we have no power or influence (those words should ring a bell) over another.  Somewhere in my tenure as a father I came to the realization that I had absolutely no ability to control my children.  I told some of the later children that one day they would come to the realization that they did not have to do anything that I told them to do.  I was powerless to stop them from any action that they wished to engage in.  If they wanted to smoke, I could do nothing to prevent it.  If they wanted to stay out all night I could not do anything to prevent it.  I could only use persuasion and appeal to their innate common sense.

I learned that trying to physically keep some one from doing something was a waste of effort and only would lead to alienation.  We hope that the repetition of the principles of the gospel will in some way cause the individual to desire to bring his behavior into socially acceptable parameters.
   
A "chewing out" is also unsuccessful as a way to manage behavior.  It is classified now days as "verbal abuse".  It only makes us who are receiving the tongue lashing reticent to confide or be intimate with the person who administers the reproof, thus widening the breech and accomplishing the opposite of the intended goal.  I grew up in that kind of environment and it took me a number of years to change my approach.  I hope that I have done better as I have grown older.

"I don't like you any more."  Is a 5 year-old response to dealing with our interpersonal relationships.  We may be hurt by one person's actions, and at times very deeply, but our reaction to their reaction does not solve the problem, but only widens the gap and increases the distrust.  For someone who is used to dealing on an action-reaction basis, they find it difficult and frustrating to come up with someone who is non-aggressive.  In the business world they regard such people as "pushovers".  I regard contention as counterproductive.  I always have and now it makes me extremely uncomfortable.
   
The second law of motion is the interrelationship of mass, acceleration, and force.  The formula is F=ma.  The assumption is that the velocity is constant.  Force only changes the increase in velocity because in the first law, the motion remains constant unless acted upon by a force.  In this case I would suggest that the mass is our sins and ignorance of the Lord's laws and commandments.  

When we decrease our sins and our ignorance of him and his perfections and increase our knowledge of the gospel, then we, with the same force, will increase our acceleration toward him, thus the statement of Alma that he said that the Word of God had a great effect on changing people.  

I have been reading the priesthood manual and the lesson Sunday was on the scriptures in our life [this was some time ago].  It is strange, but true, that when a person neglects prayer and scripture reading he stagnates.  The mass remains the same and the acceleration remains the same.  Therefore progress and maturation are impeded.  

I have often marveled at the chastisement the Lord gives to the prophet Joseph Smith and the other leaders in the church in the 93^rd section of the Doctrine and Covenants.  There is no roaring.  No vitriol.  It was just a simple statement of fact, plain and to the point.  Probably for Joseph that was enough because his spirit was meek.  To those who were self-important it probably had little impact on their lives, because, as you know, the spirit does not (always) strive with an individual.
  
To try and pull this all together I used to tell the Teachers quorum that the only force that could move them was their own.  We used the scripture that the natural man was an enemy to God and would be, until he yielded to the enticings (I really like that word because it denotes no use of force but the enabling of the individual agency) of the spirit and putting off the natural man and becoming a Saint.  

For parents that is where patience and long-suffering come into play.  There is plenty of that needed and more than enough to spare, because very few people use it.  At times we cannot see into the future far enough in advance to determine what the outcome will be.  We despair, we wonder, and we would like to sometimes take up a cudgel to hammer some sense into what appears to us as senseless indifference.

Our timetable is arbitrary and self determined from our wisdom and (in)experience.  We eventually will have to learn to wait upon the Lord and remember that before they were ours they were His.  

If we have done all that we were asked of by the Lord and the prophets in teaching our children correct principles, then there will come a time when we must leave it in the Lord's hands.  Any last minute scrambling on our part is counterproductive and useless.  Love unfeigned will always win the day in the end.  Fortunately in our case we have good children who love the Lord, a fact that I will ever be grateful for, because I do not think that I am worthy of you, but am glad that He sent me you to teach.

Love,

Grandpa

An unfinished letter

[This letter was written July 27 2007, but was never completed.  It is now sent to you, because it contains some of my sentiments today.  It is not as moving as Shubert's Unfinished Symphony, which I used to play in the high school band.]

    A letter to my children for their edification and not for public distribution.  I have pondered and prayed and thought much about some things that I will write to you about.  It is an amalgamation of my experience and the teachings of church leaders and a sense of what is written in the scriptures.  It is my idea and understanding and what I think I ought to share with you, my fellow servants in the kingdom, my children and my friends.

    There is a basic reason for life, family and marriage in this existence.  It was put very simply in the book of Genesis and the instructions given to Adam and Eve.  We are to come to earth and become one with our mates, multiply and replenish the earth, learn the saving principles of the gospel, and teach them to our children that they also may have eternal life.

    The revelation indicates that joy is the reason for this existence, but also indicated that it will not be full until the "Day of the Lord Jesus Christ".

    It is therefore a matter of faith, because the joy that we seek is neither a reward for present labors nor constant reinforcement for our deeds here in this laboratory of learning.

    It was not until we adopted Philip that I came to a conscious realization that a parent commits at least 18 years of his life to another human being each time a child is invited into the home.  We certainly cannot be so selfish and self centered that we refuse to take into our home all the children that the Lord sees fit to bless us with.  When we look at the eternal perspective, that our dedication to those principles is really the work of the Lord, we are overwhelmed by the magnitude of the assignment which we share with the Lord.  I am glad that the Lord was unselfish enough to provide me with my spiritual body.

    The provision of a body, however, is a minor part of the assignment of a parent.  We were instructed by all.. (and here it ends.  I will one day remember what I was going to write next.)

To text or not to text, that is the question

To text or not to text, that is the question

We live in a digital age. There is no question about that. Some people send over 200 text messages every day.  Some parents have enormous phone bills because of the unlimited number of text messages sent by their children.  Now they have plans with unlimited texting, so the financial impediment to texting is removed for some people.

Let us look at another aspect of the situation.  Time is the next factor.  How much time is taken to text a message? A good typist must really exert to keep up with dictation. Court reporters use a special machine using shorthand to keep up with the spoken word. Thus speed of communication favors the spoken word over the input of texting on a phone. So the argument that it is a faster way to communicate does not hold water.  I have watched some people text and they only send cryptic messages while trying to carry on some other activity. I wonder if they can multi-task that effectively.

The advantage to text over voice is that there is a written record. How many people save their text messages and archive them? I would guess that less than ten percent and that would be high.
What is the reason for communication anyway? I bring up a few reasons why people communicate.
1. To express an opinion
2.To give directions
3. To inform
4. To express love
5. To get information
6. To validate
7. To give praise

The means of communication must be tailored to the task at hand.

I heard recently that two children were sitting in the back of the car. They both had their cell phones in hand. Each was text messaging the other, while sitting next to each other.  There is another case where teenagers were texting each other during sacrament meeting and worst of all during the passing of the sacrament.

I suppose that because one has the means to text that they use this as the excuse to do this as their primary means of communication. " I can do it, so that is the reason. "  For some the newness will never wear off and they will continue to express themselves in this mode.

We as a society seem to have become dissociated from each other and the less personal we are the more dissociated we become.

I can text.  It does not take a lot to learn to do this very simple procedure.

I recently received a text message that required me to answer. By the time that I had completed the back and forth exchange of information 45 minutes had passed.  I was driving in the car. I never text while driving. The next time that this happens I will not respond. The entire exchange of information could have taken three minutes by phone call at a maximum.

In answer to the question above, I choose to talk face to face. If this is not possible, I would rather have a phone conversation. My next preference would be written either on an e- mail or piece of paper.

The absolute best is to converse and then follow with written instructions.

Deceiving the very elect

Deceiving the very elect

In the 24th chapter of Matthew the Lord outlines some of the occurrences that will happen in the last days prior to His second coming. One of the statements that he made was; if it were possible even the very elect would be deceived, who were the elect according to the covenant.

This means that we as members of the church are those who Satan will try to deceive, because we are a covenant people and the elect of God. We have no reason to be smug. We have every reason to be wary and on our guard.  We are the prime targets. As in the “Screwtape Letters”, Satan doesn't have to worry about those who do not believe. He does not need to deceive those who do not believe or believe the wrong thing.  They are not a threat to his dominion, but those who are the covenant people; the elect are the ones he fights against.  They are his adversaries. Only we can thwart his work on the earth.

How does he deceive us? In the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, Adam and Eve received instructions and told their posterity. Then Satan came among them and said, "Believe it not." They believed it not!  Thus Satan deceived the elect.

It is happening today. I will relate a couple of examples.  When Ezra Taft Benson was president of the church, he spoke out against working mothers, who worked to supply a second income for the family.  Many people derided the pronouncement as just the wild imagination of an old man.  Many are reaping the consequences of disregarding the warning of a prophet.

In 1995 the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles issued a proclamation to the world. It was called a proclamation on the family. It defined the role of gender and the role of the family. Yet many of the elect have adopted the philosophy of the world and have tried to redefine the concept of marriage.  They fail to realize that equality is only defined by God and not man's prerogative.  The consequences of this deception by Satan may not be apparent in the short term, but as time passes the results will be disastrous.

You might want to read the following talk by Elder Spencer W. Kimball or listen to it.  He talks about deceptive voices.

President Kimball on Voices

More on Covenants

The “if, then” principle

The Children of Israel were led by Moses out of captivity in Egypt and brought into freedom and placed in the care of the great Jehovah. He took care of them completely.  He fed them, gave them water and protected them.

Before they were allowed to enter into the Promised Land where they would be allowed to feed and take care of themselves, He had Moses instruct them about being a covenant people. (This is a type and a shadow of what will await us.)

As an object lesson they stood between two mountains.

Moses illustrated that there were two things that would happen as a result of their behavior; blessings and cursings.  

In Exodus 24:7-8, We find that they made a covenant to keep the commandments which Moses read to them, and to signify the way by which they would get back into his presence, Moses sprinkled blood over the people. This was symbolic of the shedding of Christ's blood to initiate the atonement.

In Deuteronomy 27:12-13 the information about the two mountains (Gerizim and Ebal) is given and the blessings and cursings are discussed.

From this we get the " if, then” principle.  If we do certain things then there will be certain consequences.

I have illustrated this “if, then” principle as related to modern covenants in the church.

Covenants

How many times do the following words appear in the scriptures?

Covenant 468 times

Covenants 68 Times

Commandment 363

Commandments 523

Law 799

Now let us look at covenants in the church and apply the “if, then” principle.

Baptism

       What do we covenant to do?

1. (If) Ye are desirous to come into the fold of God,

2. And (If you want) to be called his people

3. (If you) Are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light;

4. Yea, and (If you)  are willing to mourn with those that mourn;

5. (If you) Comfort those that stand in need of comfort,

6. And (If you are willing) to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death,

7. That ye may (Then) be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection,

8. That ye may (Then) have eternal life—

Sacrament

1. (If) They may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son,

2. (If they) Witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son,

3. And (If they will) always remember him

4. And (If they) keep his commandments, which he has given them;

5. That (Then) they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood:  D&C 84

(If)

For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling,

(Then they) are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.

and

D&C 84:34

 34 They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.

35 And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;

 36 For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;

 37 And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;

 38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

 39 And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.

 40 Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.

In the church we have a sign to show our commitment or the sign of our covenants. It is known as the Hand of covenant (or the Right hand), which we raise to the square.

We have other covenants that we make.

Endowment

The endowment is a series of covenants.

Marriage

We call this temple marriage, because in the worldly sense it is a marriage, but in proper terminology it is a sealing of husband to wife.

The marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman and the Lord.

Sealing

This is a covenant between the children and the parents.  If there is a “temple marriage’ then the children are born into the covenant and do not require a sealing of children to parents.

We covenant to sustain and support our leaders.  There is no voting as such in the church.

We covenant before the Lord and we raise the Right arm to the square.

In the early days of the church we used to raise the right arm to the square to pray.  We do not use this as a general practice today.

The priests used to knee and raise the right arm to the square when they blessed the sacrament. I remember this very well when I lived in Pocatello.  I do not remember when this practice stopped.

We are the covenant people of the Lord, because we are members of a church of covenants.

We are the ones who break the covenant and not the Lord.

Try and remember the covenants that you have made and be strict in obeying so that you may receive the blessings and not the cursings.

Love,

Grandpa

Thoughts on the Atonement

I wrote this a few years ago and have used it occasionally to try to explain how the atonement of Jesus Christ works in our life.  I titled it, "The Atonement".  It is not a dissertation as such, but just some thoughts.  It is rather long, but I thought it was appropriate for the time we live in.

There has been a lot of discussion about the oxymoron "Gay Marriage".  This is neither gay nor a marriage, but a deception of Satan to prostitute or adulterate the plan of our Father in Heaven. 

This was written as a letter to one of my children. I share it with you for your edification.

I sensed that the suicide of one of the elders from your mission who was having an identity problem may have troubled you and I have tried to write down some of my thoughts about this with perhaps a different sort of approach that is usually taken.  We were over in the Czech republic visiting with the mission president and his wife and the subject somehow turned to a mutual acquaintance who also happened to be a physician.  He had recently been to visit the mission president and had told the sad story of how he decided that he was gay and couldn’t help it.  He lost his family and membership in the church and although he had been a stake president, he failed to understand fully the plan of the Lord and the simple truths taught in the Book of Mormon.  The mission president was also a bit confused and upset about the state of his friend.

There are two scriptures in the Book of Mormon that come to mind that are worthwhile examining in depth.  The first is found in Mosiah and is well known and quoted often.

|v18 For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

|v19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

|v20 And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of the Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

|v21 And behold, when that time cometh, none shall be found blameless before God, except it be little children, only through repentance and faith on the name of the Lord God Omnipotent.

            (BofM:Mosiah 3:18-21)

I have some thoughts on the scripture; a natural man is an enemy to God.  The main points are that since the fall of Adam a change came over man and he will be cut off unless he putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint and yield to the enticings of the spirit.  He will be estranged from God 

The combination of mortality and a spirit allow men to be able to experience and then to choose.  In 2 Nephi, Lehi explains that in order to be able to choose that we must be enticed by the one or the other.

Mortal bodies are not all the same.  Some are more responsive to certain stimuli than others.  Examples of the differences in response to stimuli are; pain tolerance, ticklishness and hunger.  There are also different tastes and different appetites.  Some like asparagus and some cannot abide it.  The human nervous system is made to respond to stimuli.  Therefore some are pleased and enjoy tennis and some do not find it enjoyable at all.  Each one is different in his response to that which is enticing.

The statement that some people make, “That is the way I am.” is a rationalization or excuse for unacceptable behaviour and it is to a certain extent true.  The natural man or mortal man is carnal, sensual and inclined to do evil.  He must learn to rely on the Lord for instruction and guidance.  Those are His commandments, which will point man the way to happiness.  (Man is that he might have joy).  If left to his own desires without the guidance by the spirit from God, man will seek to satisfy the mortal body and its urges and desires.  Thus we have all manner of transgressors of the law who yield not to the enticings of the spirit, but to their own mortal nature.  They become confused because they seek the answer to their problems outside the framework of the gospel and its principles.  They fail to ponder and thus are as Laman and Lemuel and say, “The Lord revealeth no such things unto us.” 

They then cannot understand their own natures or the nature of the atonement.  They then become disillusioned with life and with their state.  They cannot understand that without the strength given by the Lord they remain a captive or in a bondage state or in other words in the bondage of sin.  Captivity seems to be a theme in the scriptures. Thus the numerous references to the captivity in Egypt and also the various times the Nephites were held captive.   Without the Lord and the atonement we remain held captive and it is only the Lord that can break those bonds.  It is only the Lord who can plant in us the desire never to do evil and to look upon sin with abhorrence. We are not able to do it alone.

There are many ways to sin.  The scriptures tell us that we cannot tell how many ways there are.  The reason for this is that man and his weaknesses are so varied.  Let us here mention a few that come immediately to my mind. The following are things that all play upon the stimulation of the sensations of the mortal body and have been proscribed by the Lord; The word of wisdom, (alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea), drugs, pornography, adultery, fornication, violence, masturbation, and homosexuality.  We are to learn to control these feelings and to make our body responsive to the spirit who takes its strength and guidance from the Lord.  For some people these may not even be a temptation, but they have other weaknesses.

The following scripture is interesting in that it tells us first what kind of sins and transgressions there are in the world and then uses the same word enticings to relate the fact that not only can the Lord through his spirit entice us to do good, Satan can also entice us to do evil and prey on the weakness of the flesh.

|v23 And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect¹ faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.

|v24 And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned²; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.

|v25 Wherefore, he has given a law; and where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him.³

|v26 For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel.

|v27 But wo unto him that has the law given⁴, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us⁵, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state!

|v28 O that cunning plan of the evil one!  O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men!  When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not.  And they shall perish.⁶

|v29 But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.

|v30 But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world.  For because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their God.  And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also.

|v31 And wo unto the deaf that will⁷ not hear; for they shall perish.

|v32 Wo unto the blind that will not see; for they shall perish also.

|v33 Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day.

|v34 Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell.

|v35 Wo unto the murderer who deliberately killeth, for he shall die.⁸

|v36 Wo unto them who commit whoredoms, for they shall be thrust down to hell.

|v37 Yea, wo unto those that worship idols, for the devil of all devils delighteth in them.

|v38 And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.⁹

|v39 O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one.  Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.

|v40 O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words.  Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel.  Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker.  I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.

|v41 O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One.  Remember that his paths are righteous.  Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.

|v42 And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches--yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them.

|v43 But the things of the wise and the prudent shall be hid from them forever--yea, that happiness which is prepared for the saints.

            (BofM:2 Nephi 9:23-43)

The Lord gives men weaknesses:

We really should understand that we came into this world mortal and we will go out mortal.  The Lord has so decreed it, but we were commanded to come unto him so that our mortality could put on immortality and in addition eternal life.

|v27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness.  I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

|v28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me--the fountain of all righteousness.

            (BofM:Ether 12:27-28)

We often look at this scripture as an explanation of our minor imperfections and to give us a hope that the Lord will strengthen us and nothing more.  It means much, much more.  It is an explanation of the basic doctrine set forth in Mosiah.  We are imperfect (mortal) and were meant to be after the fall.  We have to understand that a combination of a mortal body and an immortal spirit requires a refinement, which can only be accomplished by the Lord.  We can try, but we cannot succeed without the atonement of Christ.  Too often we leave this important element out of the equation.

Why do some respond to homosexual exposures and others not.  The sexual desire is one of the strongest in man.  Not everyone has the same level of sexual desire, just as some have larger physical frames than others.  Like any appetite it can be stimulated by reinforcement.  If the repetitive reinforcement is not there then it will be dormant and diminish.  We could use the same argument to explain the chronic liar, the thief, the adulterer, the murderer, and any other person who is at odds with the commandments of God.  At first we are given light and truth and we have the words of the prophets.  Then when we disobey.  Satan commeth and taketh away the light and truth.  We are then left to respond to the enticings, which come over our mortal body.  We can respond to the enticings of the spirit, who leads us to the Lord through the atonement, or we can respond to the enticings of the devil and respond to the mortal body and its desire for stimulation and deny the atonement.   

There is no middle ground in this battle.  A Lamanite king who was responsible for the murders of many of his servants and perhaps many other people put it better than I can express it.  “I will give up all my sins to know thee.”  And the great thing was that it happened.  He did give up all his sins and he knew the Lord. We also have to give up our sins.  When we teach in the church all the wonderful doctrine and the history and try to convince people to live in a certain way, if we do not teach them that without the cleansing power of the atonement we cannot overcome mortality and its attendant tendency to make us less than we would like to be or less than we are capable of becoming, then we have failed and people like your missionary lose hope and do not see a way out of their dilemma.  And thus he (Satan) binds them with his awful chains and leads them carefully down to hell.

The model, which is portrayed by the children of Israel out in the wilderness, is a type and shadow of our relationship with the Father.  Jehovah came down and offered to be their God and to sustain them in a spiritual sense.  As it were they would have died in the wilderness had he not provided nourishment (Manna) and water.  That many people out in the Sinai desert without food or water was a travesty.  The Lord provided for them and they had to rely totally upon Him. 

We are also, as it were, in a desert.  The Lord provides us living water and the bread of life.  We have to learn to put our total trust in Him and listen to his counsel..  The manna that he gives to us is the gospel to nourish our souls.  Without that we die spiritually because we are enticed to do evil rather than good.

Nourish your souls with the Gospel Of Jesus Christ and live.

Love,

Grandpa

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¹ Note the word perfect.  The faith has to be more than just a lick and a promise type faith

²Or in other words go into captivity.  A captivity of the Devil, or they are then in captivity  to their own desires and passions.  These are the awful chains that Nephi refers to.  Instead of being free to act they are then acted upon by the addiction to their own lusts.

³This is why little children require no baptism

⁴People will be judged by as much of the law as they have received.

⁵And especially us as Latter-Day-Saints.  We have the fullness of the gospel and should not be the ones who will fall into the trap. In Joseph Smith’s translation of the 24th chapter of Matthew he refers to the elect according to the covenant.  He says at the time, which we are in now that if it were possible even the elect would be deceived.  We see then that my acquaintance who is a doctor and your former missionary who are the elect according to the new and everlasting covenant have been led astray and deceived by the philosophies of men.

⁶These are the people who rely upon the philosophies of men.  The members of the church who buy into the thought that because a man or woman has enticings toward members of the same sex that they can do nothing but give into the enticings and continue to believe that this is “normal behaviour” because some learned man has thus declared it.  This is as idiotic as saying that the kleptomaniac cannot do anything about his desire to steal and therefore should not need to bother his conscience and continue in his ways.  The same argument can apply to the bank robber, the con man, deceiver or the adulterer.  This is a lie and deception of Satan who seeks to destroy men and lead them captive because he understands all too well the fallen nature of man.  The nature of the fall is such that a perfect immortal person becomes mortal and imperfect.

⁷Notice the will not, it does not say cannot.

⁸As pertaining to the things of righteousness.  There is also a very real possibility that they can die physically.  We only have to look around the world where secret murders go on to realize that there are retaliation murders and the murderers are in their turn murdered.

⁹Because they did not repent and take upon themselves the redeeming blood of Christ.

Of Covenants and Promises

Of Covenants and Promises

I once had to explain to someone why God was seemingly partial to some people in the scriptures and seemed to ‘not like’ other people.  So now to my grandchildren, I will try to help you understand according to my understanding.

As a start let us make sure that we know we are all God’s literal offspring.  We say that we are His children and we sing the song “I Am A Child of God”.  In the scriptures it is said that God is no respecter of persons.  That means that He treats every one the same.  Thus we can expect that He will have no favorites.  How then do we account for the three degrees of glory? Shouldn’t every one of His children then get the same reward?  This is explained in what is called the plan of salvation or the plan of happiness. 

Our Father in Heaven operates under eternal laws.  There is an order in the universe and He and every one of His children is subject to the laws and order of the universe in which we find our existence.

Knowing that in order to progress in our development we must obtain a body, we were given that opportunity to come here to get our bodies.  The problem that we have in getting a body was that it was like a wild unbroken horse, it needed to be tamed and put under the subjection and control of the spirit that it housed.  That was the plan.  Our Father went through the same process and we have to go through that process as well in order to be like Him and return to his kingdom.

When Adam was in the Garden of Eden, he and Eve partook of the fruit of a tree that would make him wise in the fact that he would be able to discern good from evil.  This was a blessing to him in his mortal and our mortal state.  We would then know right from wrong.  Of course we would have to have some instruction.  This instruction came by way of commandments or laws from our Father, God.  Elder Neal A. Maxwell has stated that the commandments were given to men in order to help us from hurting others and ourselves.  Since we did not know what to do on our own, He provided what we call a conscience or a guiding light.  We refer to the Spirit of Christ as this guiding light.  In addition, if we made a covenant with Him to keep his commandments He would promise to send us the Holy Ghost to further help us by knowing what we were doing was right and good.

All men were offered this opportunity, but because at times the covenants were not available to men on the earth, there was a backup plan, which would make the covenants available after men had left the mortal state if they were willing to make those covenants. He knew that some of his children would not want to keep the commandments, but that too was part of the plan.  They would not get the promises.

We had to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that if we kept the covenants and laws that are operative, we would come back into the presence of our Father.  We were given a period of time to learn all we needed to know to make good choices.  Eight years of age was the time determined for us to learn enough to make wise and correct choices.  After this time we were deemed able to discern between good and evil and to make our first covenant. This is the covenant of baptism.  In the covenant we are immersed in water to symbolize a burial of the old person and a rebirth of the individual as a clean person.  It also is a reminder that there will be a resurrection of our earthly body, because Christ made it possible for the resurrection.  Although the words of the prayer at baptism do not specifically give the terms of the covenant, they are spelled out in the Book of Mormon and also in the words of the prayer over the bread and water in the sacrament.  Baptism is not complete without confirmation.  In this ordinance we are confirmed members of the church and given the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Additional blessings and promises may be given according to the inspiration of the priesthood bearer who administers that ordinance.

We covenant to always remember Jesus Christ and keep his commandments.  This is our covenant, as a part of this ordinance we receive a promise.  With every covenant that we make with our father, he promises us specific things related to that covenant.  If we do not do what we covenant to do, or in other words break our covenant, then we will not receive what God has promised.  Thus, some people will get a different reward or promise from our Father than others, because of the covenant.  For those who do not make the covenants with the Lord, our Father, they will be given an opportunity to do this later, if they did not have an opportunity in this life.

The promise given at the time of baptism is that He will give us His spirit (the Holy Ghost) to be with us always to help us in the decisions of our life.  This is also called The Comforter. 

The ordinance of the sacrament is done every week in our Sunday meeting.  This is called sacrament meeting.  The main purpose is to allow every one in the congregation the opportunity to partake of the bread and water and renew the covenant to always remember Him and keep His commandments.  Because this ordinance is repeated weekly and so often, we sometimes have a tendency to make it commonplace.  When we take the sacrament as just something that we do every Sunday and do not think about what is happening during this time, we may miss the opportunity to understand that when we partake of the sacrament we covenant to keep the commandments.  If we are not keeping the commandments and partake of the sacrament anyway, we then loose the spirit of the Lord and are left to our own devices, and may impede our progress to come close to God. Thus, we have the warning from the apostle Paul to refrain from the sacrament, until we have cleared up the transgressions.

If we keep the covenant that we made at baptism, we can make more covenants with the Lord.  We go to the bishop and get a recommend to go to the temple.  The bishop will ask us if we keep the commandments.  Those commandments that we are required to keep to be worthy to enter the temple are; keeping the word of wisdom, paying a full and honest tithing and other offerings, attending sacrament and other meetings, supporting the general and local authorities, treating our family with respect, being honest in all our dealings and living the law of chastity. 

The covenants that we make in the temple are those, which are necessary to receive the promise from the Lord to enter into the highest degree of the celestial kingdom and live with Him eternally.  I will not detail those covenants, but will say that they are very important and are within the capacity of all of God’s children to make and obey.  The consequence of breaking those covenants is very serious, because the individual looses the promises that the Lord gives to those who do make the covenants.  To quote the Lord, “I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but if ye do not what I say, you have no promise.”

Thus covenants and promises are bound together.  We make the covenants and the Lord gives the promises. The children of Israel in the Bible were a covenant people, because they made covenants with the Lord.  We in the church are a covenant people, because we make covenants with the Lord. 

Keep your covenants so that you may obtain the promises. Breaking a covenant with the Lord is never justified no matter what the excuse.