Blog #97 April 19, 2025
When we as a people become a unified body of believers adhering to God’s truth as common knowledge, we allow God’s Spirit to guide us as a people to become a fellowship that allows God to work freely through us solving the needs of humanity. Is this not the Zion we seek? Is this not the community we seek to be? But, what of the individual? Do we give up our individuality for the sake of Zion? Is Fred an individual that God finds acceptable or useful? Do we turn away from the fact that by our design God created each of us with unique qualities that make you as well as me quite unlike any other person in all of God’s Kingdom? Is it a sin to even consider that we as individuals are any more than just a redundant component of the righteousness and truth that is the Kingdom?
2 Nephi 1:
1:116 And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall.
1:117 And because that they are redeemed from the fall, they have become free for ever, knowing good from evil;
1:118 To act for themselves, and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the Lord, at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
1:119 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man.
According to this verse humanity, because of their God-given free will and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, are offered covenant with God as an individual. In Israel from the time of Moses till Christ came to minister the Kingdom to the world, covenant was a product of birth and was given to all who were of the lineage of Jacob. Individual choice was irrelevant. Again I ask, is this choice by the individual important.
Is it important that God is our Father, or is it good enough that He is The Father of all? Can we really expect a close abiding relationship with a being that claims that same relationship with every person past, present, and future, that will covenant with Him? Short answer to both questions: Yes. God is able if we are willing.
Genesis 7:40 And in the garden of Eden gave I unto man his agency; and unto thy brethren have I said, and also gave commandment, that they should love one another; and that they should choose me their Father.
1 Corinthians 12:13-14
12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
Paul as well as God recognized that humanity was first a group of individuals. As our knowledge of man the animal grows, we find it to be absolutely true; humanity is a group
of individuals. Even on the cellular, level the protein building blocks of human design called genes guarantee individualism in its purist form. The human body has 20,000- 25,000 different gene pairs, which means that any one pair has the ability to combine 20,000-25,000 different ways, each producing an individual human trait. Some traits require 2 -1,000 gene pairs. Brethren by just the shear numbers and possibilities God has guaranteed that humanity will always be individuals. We start with one me, one you, and the diversity never ends. The whole of history may contain only one FRED and you know him. How lucky are you?
1 Corinthians 12: 17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
Consider all this verse is telling us. Throughout history man has pictured Zion/ Shangri- La/ Utopia as an agricultural society. Simply put a single culture of farmers. That is not our God-given design. God designed us to be farmers, architects, butchers, cooks; our very structure is that of infinite possibilities. Our choices are unlimited and God promises us when the desire of our heart is to labor with Him to satisfy the needs of the Kingdom He will teach us how our individual talents perfected might satisfy those needs and bring joy to our labor. In God the efforts of any field of endeavored becomes a labor performed under the direction of God’s Spirit and thus it is that perfection comes through the very Spirit we seek to serve.
2 Nephi 1:114-115
1:114 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
1:115 Adam fell, that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
Psalms 37:3-6
37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 37:5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
37:6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
That ever-elusive idea of the freedom to be whatever you want to be still haunts most of mankind. They want to spend their life doing something they love, but sadly the proverbial “rat-race” and day-to-day drudgery catches us and the world wins. In the world today money is the primary reason anyone gets out of bed in the morning, but I have seen people and places that allowed profit to take a back seat to joy. I am convinced that humanity from the most humble shop owner to the CEO in charge of multinational corporations want the peace of mind only God through Jesus Christ can offer, but first we must learn to open our selves to the true desires of our hearts.
My first example is my barber. Never have I seen a person invest this amount of joy and passion in a job a typical and routine as cutting hair. Driven by that passion the scissors in his hands are very nearly the equal of any magic wand in “Warthog”. Most barbers are hesitant to trim beards because bearded men are vain about their beards. David tackles the chore with absolute relish and truthfully I have yet to hear complaint one from any of his fat old prideful bearded men.
Helaman 2:31 Nevertheless, they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.
Now one would imagine that a man of such talent would be well off with a big shop and lots of customers. But, as a matter of fact he is much smarter than that. Yes he has a shop with four chairs but he is the only employee. He opens the shop about 9:00 but doesn’t take a customer until 10:00. He has a steady stream of customers that he takes by appointment, so he never has to rush. He knows all of his customers by their first name and has ample time to delve into any conversation. His shop is paid for. His house is paid for, and he always takes an hour and a half for lunch. Brethren I don’t think I know a richer person regardless of bank accounts. He cuts a good head of hair, provides the community with good service at a fair price. Oh yeah, much of his off time is spent in various volunteer efforts. He appears to be a man that recognized a need that he could fill with the desires of his heart and in the process found joy.
Philippians 4:6-7
4:6 Be afflicted for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
My second example comes from a reality program about an animal rescue “Pitbulls and Parolees”. I will tell you that I have no rights to review, advertise for, or criticize this program so for propriety’s sake I will stick to the concepts that brought the rescue into being, the way it grew and expanded, and how it reflects the efforts and the joys of a Christ centered life.
The beginning of this rescue was based on dogs that have been labeled for whatever reason as dangerously aggressive animals that are shunned and legislated against in most cities. Because of their strength, quickness, and their willingness to fight to the death Pit Bulls can be trained to be very dangerous animals. Because of the public outcry against these animals too many of these Pit Bulls were just turned out into the world with no one to care or feed for them, and no place to call home. The need for the Pit Bull to be given a chance to be something other than dangerous animals spoke loudly in the heart of the founder because she knew that given the proper home situation they were loving, loyal dogs.
The second half of the need was the person just recently out of jail. Society fears these people almost as much as they feared Pit Bulls. The founder was a part of this outcast society and had been her whole life. She knew both the pit Bulls and the Parolees were mislabeled and unfairly treated. Thus the need spoke to her life in a way that made her act.
Zephaniah 3:17-18 3:17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing
3:18 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.
What I seek to showcase with this animal rescue is how the propensity to be laborers with God for the Him and His Kingdom is one commonality all people share; whether we care to admit it or not. It seems to be a part of our nature, even if we don’t know or recognize God. Oddly it seems to grow in the very same way God would teach us if He were allowed. Because it is a streaming reality show I have been given nearly an omnipotent view of the growth this animal/people rescue.
Hebrews 5:13-14
5:13 For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness; for he is a babe.
5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil
To say the founder was a woman of the world is definitely an understatement. Was she a bad person? Heavens no in fact she had a heart as big as all outdoors and it showed when she spoke out to the community about the prejudice faced by the dogs under her care. To say money was a problem is also to make a big understatement. The rescue facilities were constantly under scrutiny for cleanliness and security, because the community was afraid of the animals the founder was caretaker for. The founder tried again and again to be politic and fair about all she was face with, but after a while you develop an attitude. Always in public she wore sunglasses. Maybe she needed them maybe they were a way for her to hide. In a discussion, her arms were always crossed perhaps as protection. When she approached an assumed adversary she was always aggressive.
John 14
14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
I turned on the program one afternoon and it was a “blockbuster” episode. Her facility was shut down by court order and she had to move herself, three daughters, all her parolee employees, and 30 dogs out of town and out of the county in 24 hours. I presumed that she was now a broken woman, but I was wrong. I really don’t know if it was scripted or not but I will tell you it was dramatic. The end of the episode showed her in New Orleans at a junk warehouse where along with her daughters and her employees they were making the place habitable for themselves and 40 Pit Bulls. She stopped and assessed the chaos around her then a little smirk came across her face. It was then that I recognized a woman on a mission. The need of the people and animals around her suddenly became so very important that failure was no longer an option. Need and purpose were now one and the same in every mind involved in the endeavor.
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me;
Consider if you will what happened here. This woman had a dream that included a number of societies outcast. It nearly broke her. What saved her was not her steely resolve or the strength within her. What saved her was her ability to recognize and accept the strength of the need she sought to satisfy. What she was still unaware of was the ability of God to support a worthy cause. As of today Villa Lobos is an active successful facility that adopts out 40-50 dogs a month. It involves the founder, her three daughters and their husbands and children. No one involved is rich, but 15-20 people now have a life full of joy because they allowed the desire in one woman’s heart to become their desire, too.
Romans 10:14-16
10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 10:16 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
If you are a believer, open your heart to God’s strength and direction from God’s Spirit. Consider if you will the shear number of needs in the world today and how willing and able God is to help you find the joy you want in your life. Discover within yourself that very individual “thing” you love to do and take it to God. He needs you.
Pray for those who are laboring to bring God’s word and His will to a world unaware that they want it every bit as much as they need it.
FRED