Growing

Blog #49, December 31, 2022
Our Christmas storm this year kept many of us in the house not daring to go anywhere. I would like to share with you my musings during that time.

Day 1
Second day of sitting inside dodging the treacherous cold... {Isn't treacherous a dynamic word in the way it instantly attempts to destroy hope. I wish I could take credit for it but I stole it from a local weatherman. They are so very adept at bringing fear to the hearts of all who pay any attention at all to a word they say. I swear, meteorologist have officially made "Chicken Little" their patron saint.............the sky is falling..........the sky is falling} I digress, let me start again.

Second day of sitting inside dodging the treacherous cold and I have officially binged all I can binge. Being who I am I can only take in so much information before I have to let some of it out. In other words my hard drive is nearly full and I need examine what I have been given, share what has value, and purge what is worthless. (Purge........another good word.)

Psalms 62:7-8 
62:7 In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
62:8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Day 2
I pondered a whole day on where to go with what I had written. Many times during the day I went to the window and considered the culling field outside. I realized that I was viewing not only God's awesome power, but also a time when humanity is completely dependent on God's grace (we call it technology) to stay alive. In our pride we refer to our houses, furnaces, insulated clothing, gloves, coats, and hats as man-made. That is as silly as thinking that good luck is anything other than a blessing from God we fail to give Him credit for. In the humility that grows from these random thoughts, I come to realize how much I must trust God. The passage above from Psalms voices this very thing and I have to wonder; do I trust God? Do I believe Him? Do I trust what He says and believe all the promises He makes? And, if I don't....what then?

2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried; he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

Remember, trust is a blessing that we would like to say we are born with, but the truth is our life in God is a learning process. We grow into the ability to trust God. For me the ability to trust begins with recognizing truth within that which I seek to trust.

DC 90:4b Ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is Spirit, even the Spirit of truth; and truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; and whatsoever is more or less than this, is the spirit of that wicked one, who was a liar from the beginning.

In our life we will be faced with people, institutions, and ideals lacking the veracity of truth seeking to gain our trust. But beware, for trust can exist without truth, but it will fail to grow. Over time we discover that without truth, these trustworthy people, institutions, and ideals soon becomes inaccurate and uncertain. Lacking truth they eventually become a lie. Truth is essential. 

Mormon 4:68 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and for ever; and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing.

If our covenant labor with God is founded on truth, the nature of God must overshadow and describe the very nature of our relationship with the Father. God gives us a way to measure the amount of truth we have allowed to guide us in our growth. This verse from the 4th chapter of Mormon shows us that our growth in God is a measurable thing. If truth governs our growth, the future of our growth depends on both our growth today and in the past. 

2 Nephi 12:36 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little:

This is the way of growth in God. Can we recognize our knowledge growing from the simple to the more involved? Can we recognize our understandings doing the same and if we can, what standard do we compare it to that it might give us measurable significance?

Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

This was the way Christ's growth is described. Should our growth follow that same pattern? Yes, according to God's stated nature our growth should be a reflection of Christ's, and His a refection of ours. Remember, the nature of God overshadows all growth. The nature of God is the very nature of the oneness we strive to bring to the Kingdom. In oneness I will know you as you know me; I will know as I am known. In this we grow.

1 Corinthians 13:11-12
13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

This concept filled me with doubt but when I took that doubt to God through the Spirit, He filled my heart with both assurance and truth. By utilizing our knowledge of the growth process applying it to the life we live we can determine if we are allowing the truth of God to lead us in our growth. What do you see when comparing the past-you to the present-you? Are you more open or more isolated? Is God a more welcome part of your life or is He a part of a forced regiment? Look to your prayer life and examine what you choose to communicate to God. Do you focus on your needs, the needs of others, or God's needs? Do you spend time listening and if so what is it you hear? Who is it you hear? Are you sure it is God or do you know?

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me;

We need to develop and maintain an unshakable fellowship with God through His Holy Spirit. How do we do it? Well, consider your very best friend and how you friendship came to be. Did it just appear in a flash of light or did it grow out of many hours spent together facing the world and all of its challenges. God is no less than any temporal friend you have. He needs time and time again. He needs our effort to be His friend and our willingness to recognize all He does to lift us up in our life. We need to know God as He knows us. Prayer is one good way to reach out to God. Study is another, but probably the best would be to include Him in all we try and all we do. Seek His advice and listen closely for the answer He gives. You might hear it with your ears. You might feel it in your heart, but feel assured; He will answer. Remember we have to be involved with God before He can ever be involved with us. One other thing, considering that best friend, we discussed before, who approached who first? Who caused the friendship to happen?    

Moroni 7:14-16 
7:14 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that they may know good from evil; wherefore I shew unto you the way to judge: for everything which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ;
7:15 Wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge, it is of God; but whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil,
7:16 For after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no not one; neither doth his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

The truth we are looking for is that we (God and me/God and you/God and whoever) caused this relationship to happen. By accepting the truth that Christ died for the sins of all mankind and accepting with faith that this is the gateway to our fellowship with God we uncover a dynamic truth. God will not accomplish His purpose without His children and we cannot accomplish it without Him. This is a most important truth we have uncovered; we are in this together. If we refuse to share the unity of oneness with God and with each other, truth cannot and will not be with us. 

DC 38:6a Behold, this I have given unto you a parable, and it is even as I am: I say unto you, Be one; and if ye are not one, ye are not mine. 

Remember, in oneness your needs are my needs and my needs are yours. I don't succeed alone, neither do I fail by myself. We do more than just share opinions; we gather together and labor to live a life founded on one truth, one purpose, and one God. Oneness is the greatest truth we can ever possess and if we fail to seek it, accept it, and bring it to the world we fail to allow ourselves to be the same yesterday, today, and forever. In essence we fail to allow ourselves to be truth.

Day 3
Just got through proof reading what I wrote yesterday and yep, you're right.......You caught me ranting when I should have been sharing.........My bad. I spent my time yesterday filled with the holy mission of introspection and I discovered something quite important. Pondering ones self is a worthy exercise but be careful. Self-contemplation is dangerously addictive and can cause you to stumble and fall. I watched many of my "Boomer" friends spend the whole of their lives finding themselves and never accomplishing much if anything at all. In fact, some of them are still looking for themselves some fifty years later. As an example of how the act of soul-searching can challenge you, see how successful you are at walking across the room while staring intently at your own bellybutton. I ran into a wall. I hope your revelation is less painful. 

My time at the window looking out at a world of -30° wind chill caused me to question where I am at with God as compared to where I want to be. In that effort I have been given a revelation that I believe is the greatest truth of this whole offering: That which invariably draws us away from our labor with God is overusing the pronouns I and me. Let us remember that the Kingdom is a "we-thing". Our life with God is not supposed to be a time of constant comparison or self-appraisal of who we are and how we relate to God. It is meant to be a time of growing and reaching out to others that they might have that chance to grow with us. 

Finally, allow yourself to trust God, because only in that effort can you grasp the fullness of His divine nature and begin to share with Him the unity of oneness. Realize that God is making the very same effort, too. 

Reach up to God
Reach out to others
Have joy

FRED