Sorry for taking such a long break. I feel like I'm in the process of reinventing myself. I've changed what religion I identify as, one stage of life is ending and a new one beginning, and the dream I always thought I would be pursuing at this point in my life is not even in the picture and a new dream completely unlike anything I imagined (prior to several months ago) is beginning to take shape. Anyhow for the past month this blog has been about the last thing on my mind. But none of this is why you chose to read this post, though it does relate, so I'll show you how God's grace has been transforming my life.
Each
Sunday I've been trying something different a while of just staying
home trying to figure out the best thing to do as a family without going
anywhere. I've attended random churches, and I think we've found one
that's a good fit at least for our current needs as a family right now.
I've realized some interesting contrasts by attending experimentally
some other Christian churches, then contrasting it with a chance LDS
meeting I went to on a whim. The other Christian church was focused on
the joy and the miracle that is available to us through accepting the
atonement of Christ in our lives. The LDS meeting was about repentance
and was full of sorrow, and the hardship of life and the failings of us
as humans, and the sorrow of these failings was the focus. When we make our focus on the negative
things in life that will be what our life will be full of. When our
focus is on the positive, the joy of Christ's grace to become a new
person, a better person, in Christ we change and repent without
realizing it. We can't white knuckle our way to heaven! If you have to
"white knuckle it" to resist temptation your heart is still set on the
thing you are tempted with and not on Christ. If your heart is set on
Christ, He will help you through His grace to become the new person He
wants you to be. I want to be clear grace is not the ability to be forgiven and never have to change anything about yourself. It is by grace we are saved because we all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. But that grace is something we must accept and embrace and allow it to work in our lives, and as we do we literally become a new person. I'm so completely different as a person than I was six or nine months ago! It is all by God's grace that I've had the power to transform my life into something different than I ever planned or thought possible.
I was going to write a separate post about all the life changes that have happened to me lately that distracted me from my writing for over a month. But I realized as editing these two separate posts that they really are the same thing. I have been shifting my focus and changing lately, this is what repentance is. And through the grace of Christ I'm realizing greater purpose and happiness in my life doing things I never thought possible. The story of my sabbatical from my blog is the story of God's grace being manifest in my life and me taking the time I needed to accept and act upon this gift.
For the last seven and a half years of my life I've been either
pregnant or nursing a baby. As this stage begins to wind down for many
reasons, I've been overcome with the desire to make a difference in the
world. I even wept one night talking to my husband about this desire it was so strong, but without any clear direction. I want to do something beyond raising children who will have the
skills to make a difference in their world. Don't get me wrong, I
believe motherhood to be extremely important and I love it, but I also believe my
example of how I use my time and what I do to change my world will also
make me a better mother and motivate my children to find their niche to
impact the world for the better as well. I once thought that when this
phase of life came along I would start offering private art lessons,
perhaps to home school kids. But there just isn't a demand for this,
especially with the advancing pace of technology. My skills are
obsolete. Now I've made the bold decision to become a lapidary (one who
carves and polishes stone sometimes for jewelry, sometimes larger works
like spheres, or small sculptures). Thank goodness for youtube
training videos! I'm trying to settle into my new identities. And I am full of happiness with this choice. When I got just a few supplies and started working I knew this was the right path for me.
Hopefully as these aspects of life settle down a bit I should be able to write posts a little more regularly. How has God's grace manifest in your life? If you are resisting change that God wants for you, you are essentially rejecting His grace and Christ's atonement. Embrace his love and his grace and let your life take the beautiful shape He has in store for you. It is likely better than anything you could dream up for yourself. May God's grace manifest in your life journey too.
Friday, June 10, 2016
Thursday, June 9, 2016
The Truth About Relief Society Part 4: More Teachings in the Navoo Relief Society
If you have not yet read Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3 of this series I recommend reading them first before proceeding with this post.
Joseph Smith at the Nineth Meeting
Joseph Smith addressed the Sisters next in their Nineth meeting. All their meetings between his talk in the sixth meeting and in the ninth were rather more business oriented than spiritually oriented, aside from some talks about avoiding evil in one of the meetings. Again quotes in this post will be taken from the Navoo Relief Society Minute Book.
In his talk in the ninth meeting Joseph Smith warned the Sisters to avoid some pit falls he could see in the church as a whole, and some within the Society as well. "Prest. J. Smith rose, read the 14th Chap. of Ezekiel— said the Lord had declar’d by the prophet that the people should each one stand for himself and depend on no man or men in that state of corruption of the Jewish church— that righteous persons could only deliver their own souls— applied it to the present state of the church of Latter-Day Saints— said if the people departed from the Lord, they must fall— that they were depending on the prophet hence were darkened in their minds from neglect of themselves" (p. 51) We should only rely on God and whenever we put a man between us and God we are inhibiting our own progress. But to rely on God means you actually have to be responsible to build your own relationship with Him. It takes real work. Thus why it is the narrower and less followed path.
The rest of Joseph's Talk was largely focused on avoiding gossip: "the tongue is an unruly member— hold your tongues about things of no moment, — a little tale will set the world on fire." And later in the talk, "I do not want to cloak iniquity— all things contrary to the will of God, should be cast from us, but don't do more hurt than good with your tongues— be pure in heart— Jesus designs to save the people out of their sins. Said Jesus ye shall do the work which ye see me do— These are the grand key words for the Society to act upon." (p. 52-53) Let us use our words to uplift, and inspire one another. Learning the sin of another is only helpful insomuch as it gives us an opportunity to forgive, and to learn not to make the same mistake ourselves; any other purpose is not of an uplifting nature and should therefore be avoided.
Bishop Whitney at the Tenth Meeting
At first, I was only going to focus on Joseph Smith's teachings, but as I read the talk presented by Bishop Whitney at the tenth meeting I was moved to include some of it here. He says, "We must humble ourselves and live by the rule given for our practice— we must lose sight of vain things and remember that the eye of God is upon us. If we are striving to do right, altho’ we may err in judgment many times yet we are justified in the sight of God if we do the best we can according to our judgment. We need not go astray if we will strive in all the energy of our souls to do right." (p. 58-59 emphasis added) He did not teach to rely on his judgment or even Joseph's judgment, but each on their own judgment, but that is not enough, once you have made a judgment about a thing you must act with all the energy of your soul. Any who act with this kind of energy will soon find out through such an experiment whether or not they are acting right on the matter, if they are humble enough to be willing to learn whether they err. Later he continues, "We must prove all things and hold fast that which is good. There are blessings lying before which are worth striving to obtain. It is our duty to humble ourselves— it is our most reasonable service to do it— must proceed to receive grace for grace, light and intelligence— if we have intelligence we have power." Humility is the willingness and desire to learn; line upon line, and grace for grace is the way to learn.
He continues on to talk about unity saying, "We may have different views of things, still there is some criterion which all may come to, and by bringing our minds and wills into subjection to the law of the Lord, may come to unity. It is impossible while finding fault with one another to be united." (p. 59) When we concern ourselves with our own path to God and allow others to worry about their own paths without fear of judgment, that is the beginning of unity.
Joseph Smith at the Eleventh Meeting
At the next meeting Joseph Smith addressed the sisters again this time on the importance of fellow shipping one another with kindness and of avoiding self-righteousness. "Christ was condemn’d by the righteous jews because he took sinners into his society— he took them up on the principle that they repented of their sins. It is the object of this Society to reform persons, not to take those that are corrupt, but if they repent we are bound to take them and by kindness sanctify and cleanse from all unrighteousness, by our influence in watching over them. . . . Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin as to take them by the hand and watch over them with tenderness. When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what pow’r it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind." (p. 61-62) The importance of using kindness and love in helping others is a simple matter of human behavior and our natural tendency to get defensive when accused. To give kindness to those we perceive as being 'not as worthy' gives us the opportunity to grow a friendship and perhaps learn they are not so unworthy as we think, and we might learn of our own deficiencies through the challenges of being kind to someone in whatever way different from us. Joseph continues, "All the religious world is boasting of righteousness — tis the doctrine of the devil to retard the human mind and retard our progress, by filling us with selfrighteousness— The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more are we dispos’d to look with compassion on perishing souls— to take them upon our shoulders and cast their sins behind our back. I am going to talk to all this Society— if you would have God have mercy on you, have mercy on one another." (p. 62) He continues, "We are full of selfishness— the devil flatters us that we are very righteous, while we are feeding on the faults of others— We can only live by worshipping our God— all must do it for themselves— none can do it for another." (p. 63) Knowing we are each on our own path to God and that none can do it for another should be a very humbling thought. We should be seeking knowledge for ourselves, and kindness and patience for others as they seek it for themselves.
Final Thoughts
I hope this series has been uplifting and enlightening for my readers. As I've read these Minutes I've had a sort of idea formulated of just what Zion might be like and what Joseph wanted for the early Saints that they collectively didn't seem to fully grasp. I don't know if I fully grasp it myself, but I sure am closer than I was before. As we fill our hearts with Love and not judgment, with humility and not self-righteousness, with patience and long suffering and not anger, as we make our focus our own relationship with Christ and not focus on man, we will each be that much closer to establishing the Kingdom of God again on the Earth. It can happen! God has made it possible through the grace of Christ's atonement. And Blessed be the name of the Father forever for giving us the power of deliverance through His Son Jesus Christ. My God bless you on your journey wherever it takes you!
Joseph Smith at the Nineth Meeting
Joseph Smith addressed the Sisters next in their Nineth meeting. All their meetings between his talk in the sixth meeting and in the ninth were rather more business oriented than spiritually oriented, aside from some talks about avoiding evil in one of the meetings. Again quotes in this post will be taken from the Navoo Relief Society Minute Book.
In his talk in the ninth meeting Joseph Smith warned the Sisters to avoid some pit falls he could see in the church as a whole, and some within the Society as well. "Prest. J. Smith rose, read the 14th Chap. of Ezekiel— said the Lord had declar’d by the prophet that the people should each one stand for himself and depend on no man or men in that state of corruption of the Jewish church— that righteous persons could only deliver their own souls— applied it to the present state of the church of Latter-Day Saints— said if the people departed from the Lord, they must fall— that they were depending on the prophet hence were darkened in their minds from neglect of themselves" (p. 51) We should only rely on God and whenever we put a man between us and God we are inhibiting our own progress. But to rely on God means you actually have to be responsible to build your own relationship with Him. It takes real work. Thus why it is the narrower and less followed path.
The rest of Joseph's Talk was largely focused on avoiding gossip: "the tongue is an unruly member— hold your tongues about things of no moment, — a little tale will set the world on fire." And later in the talk, "I do not want to cloak iniquity— all things contrary to the will of God, should be cast from us, but don't do more hurt than good with your tongues— be pure in heart— Jesus designs to save the people out of their sins. Said Jesus ye shall do the work which ye see me do— These are the grand key words for the Society to act upon." (p. 52-53) Let us use our words to uplift, and inspire one another. Learning the sin of another is only helpful insomuch as it gives us an opportunity to forgive, and to learn not to make the same mistake ourselves; any other purpose is not of an uplifting nature and should therefore be avoided.
Bishop Whitney at the Tenth Meeting
At first, I was only going to focus on Joseph Smith's teachings, but as I read the talk presented by Bishop Whitney at the tenth meeting I was moved to include some of it here. He says, "We must humble ourselves and live by the rule given for our practice— we must lose sight of vain things and remember that the eye of God is upon us. If we are striving to do right, altho’ we may err in judgment many times yet we are justified in the sight of God if we do the best we can according to our judgment. We need not go astray if we will strive in all the energy of our souls to do right." (p. 58-59 emphasis added) He did not teach to rely on his judgment or even Joseph's judgment, but each on their own judgment, but that is not enough, once you have made a judgment about a thing you must act with all the energy of your soul. Any who act with this kind of energy will soon find out through such an experiment whether or not they are acting right on the matter, if they are humble enough to be willing to learn whether they err. Later he continues, "We must prove all things and hold fast that which is good. There are blessings lying before which are worth striving to obtain. It is our duty to humble ourselves— it is our most reasonable service to do it— must proceed to receive grace for grace, light and intelligence— if we have intelligence we have power." Humility is the willingness and desire to learn; line upon line, and grace for grace is the way to learn.
He continues on to talk about unity saying, "We may have different views of things, still there is some criterion which all may come to, and by bringing our minds and wills into subjection to the law of the Lord, may come to unity. It is impossible while finding fault with one another to be united." (p. 59) When we concern ourselves with our own path to God and allow others to worry about their own paths without fear of judgment, that is the beginning of unity.
Joseph Smith at the Eleventh Meeting
At the next meeting Joseph Smith addressed the sisters again this time on the importance of fellow shipping one another with kindness and of avoiding self-righteousness. "Christ was condemn’d by the righteous jews because he took sinners into his society— he took them up on the principle that they repented of their sins. It is the object of this Society to reform persons, not to take those that are corrupt, but if they repent we are bound to take them and by kindness sanctify and cleanse from all unrighteousness, by our influence in watching over them. . . . Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin as to take them by the hand and watch over them with tenderness. When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what pow’r it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind." (p. 61-62) The importance of using kindness and love in helping others is a simple matter of human behavior and our natural tendency to get defensive when accused. To give kindness to those we perceive as being 'not as worthy' gives us the opportunity to grow a friendship and perhaps learn they are not so unworthy as we think, and we might learn of our own deficiencies through the challenges of being kind to someone in whatever way different from us. Joseph continues, "All the religious world is boasting of righteousness — tis the doctrine of the devil to retard the human mind and retard our progress, by filling us with selfrighteousness— The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more are we dispos’d to look with compassion on perishing souls— to take them upon our shoulders and cast their sins behind our back. I am going to talk to all this Society— if you would have God have mercy on you, have mercy on one another." (p. 62) He continues, "We are full of selfishness— the devil flatters us that we are very righteous, while we are feeding on the faults of others— We can only live by worshipping our God— all must do it for themselves— none can do it for another." (p. 63) Knowing we are each on our own path to God and that none can do it for another should be a very humbling thought. We should be seeking knowledge for ourselves, and kindness and patience for others as they seek it for themselves.
Final Thoughts
I hope this series has been uplifting and enlightening for my readers. As I've read these Minutes I've had a sort of idea formulated of just what Zion might be like and what Joseph wanted for the early Saints that they collectively didn't seem to fully grasp. I don't know if I fully grasp it myself, but I sure am closer than I was before. As we fill our hearts with Love and not judgment, with humility and not self-righteousness, with patience and long suffering and not anger, as we make our focus our own relationship with Christ and not focus on man, we will each be that much closer to establishing the Kingdom of God again on the Earth. It can happen! God has made it possible through the grace of Christ's atonement. And Blessed be the name of the Father forever for giving us the power of deliverance through His Son Jesus Christ. My God bless you on your journey wherever it takes you!
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Helping your inner child
The next morning after my session I decided to check on my inner child in my meditation
and see how she was doing. The cage was still gone, but she had been
left in an empty lonely place. I pictured the perfect big climbing tree
(I loved climbing trees as a child.) and then in the tree I build her a
treehouse. It had paints for her to paint the walls with, and a corner
with fluffy pillows and blankets she could curl up in to rest or read a
book. I build a door in the roof so she could climb high in the tree
when she wants, and gave her a telescope to look out around her and
watch for any signs of danger. But it wasn't complete. Then I
remembered a two story treehouse my husband told me about that he had as
a kid. So I built her a lower level on the ground too. This one had a
bookshelf with all her favorite books and a cumfy chair to read them
in. Then I realized she needed help feeling safe to be able to relax to
read or paint and enjoy herself. So I gave her a cat to sense when
something is amiss and warn her and then she can climb up to see what is
wrong with her telescope. The cat can also be her friend and keep her
company while I'm busy. Now it is complete. It is the kind of place I
longed for as a child with four sibblings. I never had a place I could
consider my own where I could go to decompress when I was
overstimulated. Now she has the place I so badly needed when I was
young.
What does your inner child need to feel safe and happy? What did you always wish you had as a child? What place did you wish to go? Give it to your inner child now. It's never too late for healing.
What does your inner child need to feel safe and happy? What did you always wish you had as a child? What place did you wish to go? Give it to your inner child now. It's never too late for healing.
"Neither Borrower, nor Lender be..."
So I decided that for my own peace of mind and security I would stop letting me and my husband make excuses and finally learn how to live on a budget. I talked to my sister knowing she would be supportive, and knowing she and her husband have always been on a budget and know how to do it. I got encouragement, and Dave Ramsey advice and ultimately enrolled online in Financial Peace University. So after watching the first three classes I sat down to make a budget. We had saved our receipts for a month and I sat down looked at my pile of receipts and just started crying. Then I wondered what was wrong with me. I hadn't even really gotten started yet.
I reached out for help, certain, after an evening's reflection, that this was related to negative financial beliefs and emotions I had emphatically picked up from my parents as a child. I got a call from a woman who mentors professionally, and would give me a free first session. We started with some questions. What were my beliefs? One was that no matter how hard we try we just can't get out of debt. How did that make me feel? Like I'm in bondage to our creditors. What feelings did this bring up? Powerlessness. ... It's just not possible. Word association...I forget what it was but I came up with a cage. I pictured the cage. Am I inside it? No my inner child is inside the cage, I am an observer. Ask her if you can help her get out. She doesn't know. She doesn't understand how she got here or how to get out or who can help her. That's okay. She's only a child, she doesn't understand. Do you know how to free her? I can't. I don't know how. You need a hero to help you. You can choose whoever you want. I choose Christ. Christ comes down in a beam of light overpowering the darkness where me and my inner child have been. He holds and comforts me. He places a key in my hand and we unlock and then lift the cage together off my inner child and it dissolves into light. She runs to Christ and He picks her up. He tells her He loves her, she can trust me, I can keep her safe, and she has a mission to fulfill helping others. He then talks to me handing her over to my care, reassuring me that I can trust myself and that the gifts He has blessed me with have a purpose. Through trust in Him I can feel secure even while in the bondage of our debts.
Next there are the ties to my mother to deal with. There is one of light between our hearts but there are a few of darkness to other places that cause fear of things that were her problems becoming my problems too. I cut only the dark ones with scissors and hand them to Christ and he heals them and dissolves them into light. What do I want to send to my mother? Forgiveness, Love, Reassurance that severing the dark cords doesn't mean I'll sever the light ones, in fact the absence of dark ones tainting our relationship makes the light one even stronger.
I was full of peace when it was done. I honestly believe we can get through our troubles and I can feel secure and have great relationships with God and my husband even as we are trying to get out of debt and build a better future for ourselves. I began the session without hope for the future, but I ended full of not only hope but confidence in the future, myself, and Christ to overcome these challenges and fulfill the mission God has for me to impact the world around me for good.
Financial healing takes healing of the emotions behind the financial problems. It is all inter-related and not one aspect can be ignored. I love you. May God bless you in your journey of healing too.
I reached out for help, certain, after an evening's reflection, that this was related to negative financial beliefs and emotions I had emphatically picked up from my parents as a child. I got a call from a woman who mentors professionally, and would give me a free first session. We started with some questions. What were my beliefs? One was that no matter how hard we try we just can't get out of debt. How did that make me feel? Like I'm in bondage to our creditors. What feelings did this bring up? Powerlessness. ... It's just not possible. Word association...I forget what it was but I came up with a cage. I pictured the cage. Am I inside it? No my inner child is inside the cage, I am an observer. Ask her if you can help her get out. She doesn't know. She doesn't understand how she got here or how to get out or who can help her. That's okay. She's only a child, she doesn't understand. Do you know how to free her? I can't. I don't know how. You need a hero to help you. You can choose whoever you want. I choose Christ. Christ comes down in a beam of light overpowering the darkness where me and my inner child have been. He holds and comforts me. He places a key in my hand and we unlock and then lift the cage together off my inner child and it dissolves into light. She runs to Christ and He picks her up. He tells her He loves her, she can trust me, I can keep her safe, and she has a mission to fulfill helping others. He then talks to me handing her over to my care, reassuring me that I can trust myself and that the gifts He has blessed me with have a purpose. Through trust in Him I can feel secure even while in the bondage of our debts.
Next there are the ties to my mother to deal with. There is one of light between our hearts but there are a few of darkness to other places that cause fear of things that were her problems becoming my problems too. I cut only the dark ones with scissors and hand them to Christ and he heals them and dissolves them into light. What do I want to send to my mother? Forgiveness, Love, Reassurance that severing the dark cords doesn't mean I'll sever the light ones, in fact the absence of dark ones tainting our relationship makes the light one even stronger.
I was full of peace when it was done. I honestly believe we can get through our troubles and I can feel secure and have great relationships with God and my husband even as we are trying to get out of debt and build a better future for ourselves. I began the session without hope for the future, but I ended full of not only hope but confidence in the future, myself, and Christ to overcome these challenges and fulfill the mission God has for me to impact the world around me for good.
Financial healing takes healing of the emotions behind the financial problems. It is all inter-related and not one aspect can be ignored. I love you. May God bless you in your journey of healing too.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
The Truth About Relief Society Part 3: The Teachings of the Modern LDS Church
If you haven't first read Part 1 and Part 2, I recommend reading them first. Part 2 will be directly referenced throughout Part 3.
In Daughters in My Kingdom, an LDS Church publication about the history of Relief Society, it talks about the founding of Relief Society and about Joseph Smith teaching the sisters it says, "The Prophet's teachings in this setting guided the work of the Relief Society sisters and the priesthood leaders who served them. Those teachings continue to influence the work of the Church today." (Daughters in My Kingdom, p. 17) The purpose of this part is to analyze the truthfulness of this claim and see just how much Joseph Smith's teachings really influence us today.
Gifts of the Spirit
We saw in Part 2 Joseph Smith teaching about the gifts of the Spirit coming straight from 1 Corinthians 12, and then expounding on it teaching all believers would manifest one or more of these gifts and the women were included. And the gifts were tongues, the interpretation of tongues, prophesy, knowledge, wisdom, healing, and being healed. But what are we taught in General Conference about spiritual gifts?
Really it's hard to find many sources in modern teachings about spiritual gifts. Some talks mention them in passing saying to seek them, but really not much if anything about what they are, or how to use them, or what each one should be used for. The spiritual gifts found in the scriptures is just not expounded on because it is such a rare occurrence in the LDS Church for someone to actually have any of them, so if we talked about them and brought them to attention we would have to face the reality these gifts Christ promised to those who believe in Him are for the most part absent among us. I would think that within each ward there would be at least one holding each gift so we could benefit one from another, but in all the several wards I've been in I have never heard of even one person who had and openly exercised their gift to benefit the ward. Healing blessings I would receive would really be prayers for the doctor to do a good job.
Keys and Guarding Against Corruption in the Church
To quickly recap, Joseph Smith taught the sisters that both the Relief Society and the Church had the keys and that there were aspiring elders who had already led to corruption within the Church and warned them to guard against such things within their Society. While a search for Spiritual Gifts conference talks generates about two and a half pages of results, a search for keys generates ten pages of talk titles to sort through.
Spencer Kimball in his talk, "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" declared the comfort we should receive from this quote from Wilford Woodruff, "I say to Israel, the Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so he will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from his oracles of God and from their duty." So not only is there no possibility of corruption but once someone gains the position of leading the Church they lose their agency and are incapable of leading the Church astray. Many other bloggers have written about this topic so I will recommend you to them.
Searching for general conference talks about corruption results in talks referencing the evils and corruption that is in the world, never within the church or even warning to watch for it. It simply isn't considered a possibility, or at least not one they want us to be aware of. But they are more than happy to preach about the keys, and the fact that they are the only ones who have them.
Seeking the Presence of God
Joseph Smith taught the sisters that as they would be faithful they would receive angels, Christ and ultimately come to the presence of the Father all in this life. It was clear he was talking about now and not some hypothetical or distant future. Jörg Klebingat in his talk, "Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence" (I actually had hope reading the title.) expounds much more on how to have confidence than he does about approaching the throne of God. In fact the only time he really talks about being in the presence of Christ or God is as a hypothetical question in his introduction and in his testimony at the end saying, "I testify of a loving Savior who is anxious for your 'confidence [to] wax strong in the presence of God.'" Instead the body of his talk was about things like taking spiritual responsibility, exercise and eating right, embracing obedience, getting good at repenting and forgiving, and accepting trials as a part of mortality. All of these things are great, but he neglected to tell us how they will aid us in approaching the throne of God, aside from having more confidence. All other references I found were either about being in God's presence after the resurrection, or leaving it because of the Fall of Adam. We no longer teach it as a possibility within this life.
So all these topics taught by Joseph Smith are largely ignored, set aside, or outright contradicted in the LDS Church's current teachings. I could have done more research to collect more sources, but I found no joy, or light in the things I found and prefer going back to sources of light. So Part 4 will resume teachings of Joseph Smith to the Relief Society in Navoo.
In Daughters in My Kingdom, an LDS Church publication about the history of Relief Society, it talks about the founding of Relief Society and about Joseph Smith teaching the sisters it says, "The Prophet's teachings in this setting guided the work of the Relief Society sisters and the priesthood leaders who served them. Those teachings continue to influence the work of the Church today." (Daughters in My Kingdom, p. 17) The purpose of this part is to analyze the truthfulness of this claim and see just how much Joseph Smith's teachings really influence us today.
Gifts of the Spirit
We saw in Part 2 Joseph Smith teaching about the gifts of the Spirit coming straight from 1 Corinthians 12, and then expounding on it teaching all believers would manifest one or more of these gifts and the women were included. And the gifts were tongues, the interpretation of tongues, prophesy, knowledge, wisdom, healing, and being healed. But what are we taught in General Conference about spiritual gifts?
In "Life's Lessons Learned" by Joseph Wirthlin, he talks briefly in passing about the gifts of the Spirit, "We all possess spiritual gifts. Some are
blessed with the gift of faith, others the gift of healing. In the body
of the Church, all of the spiritual gifts are present. In my case,
perhaps one of the spiritual gifts for which I am most grateful is that I
have been blessed with an obedient spirit. When I heard wise counsel
from my parents or Church leaders, I listened and tried to make it part
of my thoughts and actions.
"Brethren of the priesthood, I urge you to cultivate the gift of an obedient spirit."An obedient spirit has never been referenced in the scriptures as a spiritual gift. Obedience is a personal choice, and more of a character attribute than it is a gift of the Spirit.
In his talk "Eyes to See and Ears to Hear" Kim Clark talks about spiritual gifts and even the day of Pentecost in the New Testament. "Just before His suffering in Gethsemane
and on Calvary, Jesus made His disciples this remarkable promise: 'He
that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater
works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.'
"Jesus
fulfilled that promise: beginning with the day of Pentecost, the
disciples were blessed with the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. Through their faith in Christ, repentance, and obedience, the Holy
Ghost became their companion, changed their hearts, and blessed them
with an abiding witness of the truth.
"These
gifts and blessings strengthened the Lord’s disciples. Although the
times they lived in were dangerous and confusing, they received the
spiritual gift of eyes to see and ears to hear." In actuality the day of Pentecost was accompanied by much more than "eyes to see and ears to hear." It was an outpouring of the Spirit in which the apostles saw visions, and spoke in tongues and those listening through the interpretation of tongues each heard them in their own language. Yes, in one sense this can be called "eyes to see and ears to hear" as the things they saw and heard were spiritual and only able to be seen and heard if one had the necessary gifts of the Spirit to do so. As he continues it is obvious he doesn't mean for us to think we can receive the same visions and tongues and the interpretations, no he only thinks, "We need eyes to see more clearly the Savior working in our lives and ears to hear His voice more deeply in our hearts." And while I agree with this statement I don't consider it to be the same in any way as the gifts of the Spirit and certainly not on par with or greater than the works of Christ as He promised His apostles.Really it's hard to find many sources in modern teachings about spiritual gifts. Some talks mention them in passing saying to seek them, but really not much if anything about what they are, or how to use them, or what each one should be used for. The spiritual gifts found in the scriptures is just not expounded on because it is such a rare occurrence in the LDS Church for someone to actually have any of them, so if we talked about them and brought them to attention we would have to face the reality these gifts Christ promised to those who believe in Him are for the most part absent among us. I would think that within each ward there would be at least one holding each gift so we could benefit one from another, but in all the several wards I've been in I have never heard of even one person who had and openly exercised their gift to benefit the ward. Healing blessings I would receive would really be prayers for the doctor to do a good job.
Keys and Guarding Against Corruption in the Church
To quickly recap, Joseph Smith taught the sisters that both the Relief Society and the Church had the keys and that there were aspiring elders who had already led to corruption within the Church and warned them to guard against such things within their Society. While a search for Spiritual Gifts conference talks generates about two and a half pages of results, a search for keys generates ten pages of talk titles to sort through.
Spencer Kimball in his talk, "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" declared the comfort we should receive from this quote from Wilford Woodruff, "I say to Israel, the Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so he will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from his oracles of God and from their duty." So not only is there no possibility of corruption but once someone gains the position of leading the Church they lose their agency and are incapable of leading the Church astray. Many other bloggers have written about this topic so I will recommend you to them.
Searching for general conference talks about corruption results in talks referencing the evils and corruption that is in the world, never within the church or even warning to watch for it. It simply isn't considered a possibility, or at least not one they want us to be aware of. But they are more than happy to preach about the keys, and the fact that they are the only ones who have them.
Seeking the Presence of God
Joseph Smith taught the sisters that as they would be faithful they would receive angels, Christ and ultimately come to the presence of the Father all in this life. It was clear he was talking about now and not some hypothetical or distant future. Jörg Klebingat in his talk, "Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence" (I actually had hope reading the title.) expounds much more on how to have confidence than he does about approaching the throne of God. In fact the only time he really talks about being in the presence of Christ or God is as a hypothetical question in his introduction and in his testimony at the end saying, "I testify of a loving Savior who is anxious for your 'confidence [to] wax strong in the presence of God.'" Instead the body of his talk was about things like taking spiritual responsibility, exercise and eating right, embracing obedience, getting good at repenting and forgiving, and accepting trials as a part of mortality. All of these things are great, but he neglected to tell us how they will aid us in approaching the throne of God, aside from having more confidence. All other references I found were either about being in God's presence after the resurrection, or leaving it because of the Fall of Adam. We no longer teach it as a possibility within this life.
So all these topics taught by Joseph Smith are largely ignored, set aside, or outright contradicted in the LDS Church's current teachings. I could have done more research to collect more sources, but I found no joy, or light in the things I found and prefer going back to sources of light. So Part 4 will resume teachings of Joseph Smith to the Relief Society in Navoo.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
The Truth about Relief Society Part 2: Joseph Smith's Teachings
If you haven't already read Part 1 I recommend reading it first.
Joseph Smith's Teachings From the 6th Meeting
In the sixth meeting of the Female Relief Society of Navoo, Joseph Smith wished to address the sisters, but before doing so "That as his instructions were intended only for the Society; he requested that a vote should be taken on those present who were not members to ascertain whether they should be admitted." (JSP Navoo Relief Society Minute Book p. 34) Some sisters were given a "no" vote and before proceeding with the meeting a committee was appointed to inquire about the objections. The committee returned at the end of the meeting to present their results and the objections against one of the women was removed. (ibid p. 41) (This could be examined too in relation to how "no" votes are handled now, but for that discussion I will just direct you here as the purpose of this post is only the topic of Relief Society.) Joseph Smith wanting this teaching to only be for the Relief Society sisters, shows both the seriousness of the topic and a certain amount of what was going on in the church at the time as you will see.
In just the previous meeting one sister spoke in tongues, followed by a sister who interpreted, and one who prophesied, and after the conclusion of the meeting two sisters administered to one who was sick and healed her. (ibid p. 32-33) Reports of this meeting came to Joseph and so he chose to address the sisters at the following meeting. He taught from Corinthians about the gifts of the Spirit. "He said the reason of these remarks being made, was, that some little thing was circulating in the Society, that some persons were not going right in laying hands on the sick etc. Said if he had common sympathies, would rejoice that the sick could be healed." (ibid p. 35-36) He continued on "no matter who believeth; these signs, such as healing the sick, casting out devils etc. should follow all that believe whether male or female. He asked the Society if they could not see by this sweeping stroke, that wherein they are ordained, it is the privilege of those set apart to administer in that authority which is confired on them -- and if the sisters should have faith to heal the sick, let all hold their tongues, and let everything roll on." [emphasis added] (ibid p. 36) Today in the Ordain Women movement women are only asking for what Joseph Smith gave them in the first place, and they are being excommunicated for doing so. Joseph Smith continued to teach the sisters, "Respecting the female laying on hands, he remarked, there could be no devil in it if God gave His sanction by healing -- that there could be no more sin in any female laying hands on the sick than with wetting the face with water -- that it is no sin for anybody to do it that has faith, or if the sick has faith to be healed by the administration." (ibid p. 36) He cautioned the sisters about speaking in tongues "If any have a matter to reveal let it be in your own tongue. Do not indulge too much in the gift of tongues, or the devil will take advantage of the innocent. You may speak in tongues for your comfort but I lay this down for a rule that if any thing is taught by the gift of tongues it is not to be received for doctrine." (ibid p. 40-41) Joseph Smith taught the sisters in his day they had the same power to do the the same things as the men, because these were Spiritual Gifts that all who believe have access to. And the spiritual gifts he spoke of were those found in the scriptures namely tongues, the interpretation of tongues, prophesy, knowledge, wisdom, healing, and being healed.
He next taught them about maintaining their proper place and order within their Society. "President Smith continued by speaking of the difficulties he had to surmount ever since the commencement of the work in consequence of aspiring men 'big great Elders' as he called them, who had caused him much trouble, whom he had taught in private counsel and they would go forth into the world and proclaim the things he had taught them; as their own revelations -- Said the same aspiring disposition will be in this Society, and must be guarded against -- that every person should stand and act in the place appointed, and thus sanctify the Society and get it pure" He then spoke about not having long and not having many opportunities to teach them, "He spoke of delivering the keys to this Society and to the church." [emphasis added] (ibid p.37) If Emma and her counselors held keys as the leaders of the Relief Society they had just as much a claim to the continued line of authority as did the 12 apostles according to this quote. And in the context of the church being plagued with aspiring men who had their own goals and not the welfare of the church in mind, the claim of these three sisters' authority might even be more legitimate. "He said if one member becomes corrupt and you know it; you must immediately put it away. The sympathies of the heads of the church have induced them to bare with those that were corrupt; in consequence of which all become contaminated --" (ibid p. 38) No wonder Emma chose not to go west following after men her own husband admitted were corrupt and contaminated. This teaching to the sisters of the church shows that the leaders of the church were already embarking on the road to apostasy, and not only was it very possible for the church to be led astray it was something to very carefully be guarded against.
Joseph Smith also taught of the urgency and importance of doing good and seeking a relationship with God. "If you do right, no danger of going too fast: he said he did not care how fast we run in the path of virtue. Resist evil and there is no danger." When after speaking of their gift for charity some quote often used in the church he continues with things you will never hear at church, "if you live up to your privilege, angels can not be restrained from being your associates -- females if they are pure and innocent can come into the presence of God; you must be innocent or you cannot come up before God. If we would come before God let us be pure ourselves. The Devil has great power -- he will so transform things as to make one gape at those who are doing the will of God -- you need not be tearing for their deeds, but let the weight of innocence be felt; which is more mighty than a millstone hung about the neck. Not war, not jangle, not contradiction, but meekness, love, purity, these are the things that should magnify us. ... iniquity must be purged out -- then the veil will be rent and the blessings of heaven will flow down." (ibid p. 38) Joseph Smith believed it was possible and wanted the sisters to come into the literal presence of God in this life. It was something for them to strive for and seek.
Part 3 will contrast these teachings with what the LDS church teaches today.
Joseph Smith's Teachings From the 6th Meeting
In the sixth meeting of the Female Relief Society of Navoo, Joseph Smith wished to address the sisters, but before doing so "That as his instructions were intended only for the Society; he requested that a vote should be taken on those present who were not members to ascertain whether they should be admitted." (JSP Navoo Relief Society Minute Book p. 34) Some sisters were given a "no" vote and before proceeding with the meeting a committee was appointed to inquire about the objections. The committee returned at the end of the meeting to present their results and the objections against one of the women was removed. (ibid p. 41) (This could be examined too in relation to how "no" votes are handled now, but for that discussion I will just direct you here as the purpose of this post is only the topic of Relief Society.) Joseph Smith wanting this teaching to only be for the Relief Society sisters, shows both the seriousness of the topic and a certain amount of what was going on in the church at the time as you will see.
In just the previous meeting one sister spoke in tongues, followed by a sister who interpreted, and one who prophesied, and after the conclusion of the meeting two sisters administered to one who was sick and healed her. (ibid p. 32-33) Reports of this meeting came to Joseph and so he chose to address the sisters at the following meeting. He taught from Corinthians about the gifts of the Spirit. "He said the reason of these remarks being made, was, that some little thing was circulating in the Society, that some persons were not going right in laying hands on the sick etc. Said if he had common sympathies, would rejoice that the sick could be healed." (ibid p. 35-36) He continued on "no matter who believeth; these signs, such as healing the sick, casting out devils etc. should follow all that believe whether male or female. He asked the Society if they could not see by this sweeping stroke, that wherein they are ordained, it is the privilege of those set apart to administer in that authority which is confired on them -- and if the sisters should have faith to heal the sick, let all hold their tongues, and let everything roll on." [emphasis added] (ibid p. 36) Today in the Ordain Women movement women are only asking for what Joseph Smith gave them in the first place, and they are being excommunicated for doing so. Joseph Smith continued to teach the sisters, "Respecting the female laying on hands, he remarked, there could be no devil in it if God gave His sanction by healing -- that there could be no more sin in any female laying hands on the sick than with wetting the face with water -- that it is no sin for anybody to do it that has faith, or if the sick has faith to be healed by the administration." (ibid p. 36) He cautioned the sisters about speaking in tongues "If any have a matter to reveal let it be in your own tongue. Do not indulge too much in the gift of tongues, or the devil will take advantage of the innocent. You may speak in tongues for your comfort but I lay this down for a rule that if any thing is taught by the gift of tongues it is not to be received for doctrine." (ibid p. 40-41) Joseph Smith taught the sisters in his day they had the same power to do the the same things as the men, because these were Spiritual Gifts that all who believe have access to. And the spiritual gifts he spoke of were those found in the scriptures namely tongues, the interpretation of tongues, prophesy, knowledge, wisdom, healing, and being healed.
He next taught them about maintaining their proper place and order within their Society. "President Smith continued by speaking of the difficulties he had to surmount ever since the commencement of the work in consequence of aspiring men 'big great Elders' as he called them, who had caused him much trouble, whom he had taught in private counsel and they would go forth into the world and proclaim the things he had taught them; as their own revelations -- Said the same aspiring disposition will be in this Society, and must be guarded against -- that every person should stand and act in the place appointed, and thus sanctify the Society and get it pure" He then spoke about not having long and not having many opportunities to teach them, "He spoke of delivering the keys to this Society and to the church." [emphasis added] (ibid p.37) If Emma and her counselors held keys as the leaders of the Relief Society they had just as much a claim to the continued line of authority as did the 12 apostles according to this quote. And in the context of the church being plagued with aspiring men who had their own goals and not the welfare of the church in mind, the claim of these three sisters' authority might even be more legitimate. "He said if one member becomes corrupt and you know it; you must immediately put it away. The sympathies of the heads of the church have induced them to bare with those that were corrupt; in consequence of which all become contaminated --" (ibid p. 38) No wonder Emma chose not to go west following after men her own husband admitted were corrupt and contaminated. This teaching to the sisters of the church shows that the leaders of the church were already embarking on the road to apostasy, and not only was it very possible for the church to be led astray it was something to very carefully be guarded against.
Joseph Smith also taught of the urgency and importance of doing good and seeking a relationship with God. "If you do right, no danger of going too fast: he said he did not care how fast we run in the path of virtue. Resist evil and there is no danger." When after speaking of their gift for charity some quote often used in the church he continues with things you will never hear at church, "if you live up to your privilege, angels can not be restrained from being your associates -- females if they are pure and innocent can come into the presence of God; you must be innocent or you cannot come up before God. If we would come before God let us be pure ourselves. The Devil has great power -- he will so transform things as to make one gape at those who are doing the will of God -- you need not be tearing for their deeds, but let the weight of innocence be felt; which is more mighty than a millstone hung about the neck. Not war, not jangle, not contradiction, but meekness, love, purity, these are the things that should magnify us. ... iniquity must be purged out -- then the veil will be rent and the blessings of heaven will flow down." (ibid p. 38) Joseph Smith believed it was possible and wanted the sisters to come into the literal presence of God in this life. It was something for them to strive for and seek.
Part 3 will contrast these teachings with what the LDS church teaches today.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Auras, Energy Fields, Their differences, Energy healing and what exactly it does
(A post I wrote back in January and some how thought I published when I hadn't)
So, here is what I have come to know, and how it influences my outlook on energy healing. First we consist of a body and a spirit. Both of these are in human form, and the spirit resides inside our body and makes us alive. The body has an energy field or electro-magnetic field closely surrounding it. A youtube video I watched about how to learn to see auras was really about how to see the energy field. The energy field also has meridians within the body that allow the energy to flow, and chakras that sort of pool and collect certain energies. These chakras should be regularly cleared of any negative emotions which have gotten stuck there. The chakras also sort of bridge and connect your body and spirit together.
The aura (for lack of a better word to call it to distinguish it from the energy field) is part of our spiritual side of our being and is much more complex than our energy field. It can move as we will it to. It connects us with the Holy Ghost, and it can protect us from evil spirits as we strengthen it. No person can access it without our permission. I heard of someone who had the spiritual gift of seeing auras, and she could not just see some energy surrounding their body, she also saw things they were interested in, their talents and hobbies sort of floating around them. An energy healer can use their own aura to assist their energy field in their work, but it is only to access the client's energy field.
Energy healing is to help people clear emotional energy that got stuck in a meridian or chakra or sometimes in other places in the body. These emotions can be resentments we don't want to let go or that we don't know how to let go, or bad paradigms we learned when we were young particularly about yourself. Many suffer from beliefs about themselves they just don't know how to overcome. That they are unlovable, or unimportant, or failures. These beliefs become self-fulfilling prophesies as situations they are in they will subconsciously sabotage, till it fits their paradigms and proves them right. Energy healing helps to locate and then allow the good energy to flow again.
There are multiple modes of energy healing from things as simple as kissing boo-boos to modes as complex as accupuncture. Some are more geared toward physical ailments, and some are more geared towards emotional ones. Often physical ailments can have emotional causes, so the two will be interrelated. A massage therapist who also talks you through releasing a stress so that they can get a stubborn knot out. Or a counseling session that ends up through emotional healing inadvertantly healing some physical ailment that has been bothering you for years.
So, here is what I have come to know, and how it influences my outlook on energy healing. First we consist of a body and a spirit. Both of these are in human form, and the spirit resides inside our body and makes us alive. The body has an energy field or electro-magnetic field closely surrounding it. A youtube video I watched about how to learn to see auras was really about how to see the energy field. The energy field also has meridians within the body that allow the energy to flow, and chakras that sort of pool and collect certain energies. These chakras should be regularly cleared of any negative emotions which have gotten stuck there. The chakras also sort of bridge and connect your body and spirit together.
The aura (for lack of a better word to call it to distinguish it from the energy field) is part of our spiritual side of our being and is much more complex than our energy field. It can move as we will it to. It connects us with the Holy Ghost, and it can protect us from evil spirits as we strengthen it. No person can access it without our permission. I heard of someone who had the spiritual gift of seeing auras, and she could not just see some energy surrounding their body, she also saw things they were interested in, their talents and hobbies sort of floating around them. An energy healer can use their own aura to assist their energy field in their work, but it is only to access the client's energy field.
Energy healing is to help people clear emotional energy that got stuck in a meridian or chakra or sometimes in other places in the body. These emotions can be resentments we don't want to let go or that we don't know how to let go, or bad paradigms we learned when we were young particularly about yourself. Many suffer from beliefs about themselves they just don't know how to overcome. That they are unlovable, or unimportant, or failures. These beliefs become self-fulfilling prophesies as situations they are in they will subconsciously sabotage, till it fits their paradigms and proves them right. Energy healing helps to locate and then allow the good energy to flow again.
There are multiple modes of energy healing from things as simple as kissing boo-boos to modes as complex as accupuncture. Some are more geared toward physical ailments, and some are more geared towards emotional ones. Often physical ailments can have emotional causes, so the two will be interrelated. A massage therapist who also talks you through releasing a stress so that they can get a stubborn knot out. Or a counseling session that ends up through emotional healing inadvertantly healing some physical ailment that has been bothering you for years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)