Blog #101 July 22, 2025
The more we grow in the Gospel, the more we will realize the truth of our obligation. Many times our ability to choose combined with our inability to make that choice will be our greatest trial. We relish the joy that God's truth brings to us, but we fear that same truth, because it requires us to be someone new and different. It requires us to change. It requires us to grow, and it requires us to come to know God in ways we never dreamed we would. If prospective really does make a difference, then the Kingdom and our place in the Kingdom is all about what we see, what we learn, and how we grow.
Mosiah 11:187-188
11:187 And the Lord said unto me, Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men, and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again;
11:188 Yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; and thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in no wise inherit the kingdom of God.
Yes brethren, we are asked to change so completely that it will be as if we were placed again in our mother's womb to be born again. It is a scary thing, but remember we are not asked to do it alone. When we allow the blood of Christ to cleanse us, we become free to fellowship with God through His Holy Spirit. When we allow the source of all knowledge, power, and truth to guide our lives, we overcome the inherent weakness of our lonely state. Our choice to trust in God, will lead us to be free from the corrupt ways of the world empowered to live a life filled with compassion and the deeds of charity, which are Zion.
Mosiah 3:3 And also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.
We have changed completely but we must continue in this path of change and growth or we will fail. Remember, our life in God is growth and life without growth is death. If we are to truly become His Children we must walk a path filled with challenges. In this process of growth we sometimes face the very fires of hell in pursuit of all that God wishes us to have. Our challenges will temper us and make us stronger. Our trials will humble us and make us more aware of God and His Spirit in or lives. Adversities we face with the Father will create within our lives a testimony of the strength of God in our life.
Romans 8:20-21
8:20 For the creature was made subject to tribulation not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected it in hope;
8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
It is wisdom to realize that change and growth are a constant within our covenant labor, but a portion of that wisdom is the awareness that God will be with us to strengthen us only as long as we will allow Him to be. He seeks for us to become an undeniable testimony of steadfast faith in Him, diligence to His purpose, and humility to the Gospel and the ways of the Kingdom in all things. When our hearts are filled with the ways of God, we will become a living testimony of both He and the Kingdom.
Luke 6:26-32
6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
6:27 But I say unto you who hear my words, Love your enemies, do good to them who hate you.
6:28 Bless them who curse you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you.
6:29 And unto him who smiteth thee on the cheek, offer also the other; or, in other words, it is better to offer the other, than to revile again. And him who taketh away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also.
6:30 For it is better that thou suffer thine enemy to take these things, than to contend with him. Verily I say unto you, Your heavenly Father who seeth in secret, shall bring that wicked one into judgment.
6:31 Therefore give to every man who asketh of thee; and of him who taketh away thy goods, ask them not again.
6:32 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Yes, we will be asked to do seemingly impossible things, but by our trust in God we will try, by the strength of God we will achieve that which we sought, and in our love for God we will grow. There will come a time that pride will test us in our success and trick us into believing that we are favored of God, but take care for this is surely a trap. It has been said by the common man that a closed mouth gathers no foot. I agree with that and I think Solomon does, too.
Proverbs 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life; but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
Too many times it has been shown to me that the noise drowning out God's wisdom is the uproar coming from my own mouth. As our faith in the integrity of God grows our life becomes an ever repeating cycle of joy, knowing that all we ask will be answered, all that we seek will be revealed, and all that we need will be given to us that the ways of God might grow in the world of man and that all humanity might come to believe in the ways of the Father.
Psalms 46:10-11
46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
46:11The Lord of hosts shall be with us, the God of Jacob our refuge. Selah.
God's Spirit reaches out to us to teach us how we might raise above the earthly challenges we face. Without that guidance, a man’s mind has no ability to understand the purpose that drives the Father. Man’s untrained heart cannot contain nor understand the love of God that He seeks for us to learn. He sends His Spirit that we might realize that His love for us is both true and sincere. God's light and truth drive away the shadows of doubt that we might see His love and recognize it for the grace it is. It opens our ears to the Gospel as a promise of joy instead of the threat of judgment too many claim it to be. Without the path of righteousness we chose to walk we will become lost in this world in the many different tangled webs of confusion that represent the Gospel in the world today. Without the leadings of the Spirit, we will soon find ourselves becoming people we don’t want to be.
DC 6:3b seek not for riches but for wisdom; and, behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich.
Consider the instruction God gives us and let it build in our hearts the wisdom of patience.
Proverbs 13:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
The sluggard is not fundamentally evil he just lacks patience, vision, and faith. He is impatient to the point of giving up way to soon. His lack of vision denies him clear purpose. Without faith, he feels that he has been forgotten and left to fend for himself. Alone and forgotten, he just lies down and gives up.
Proverbs 10:26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.
The heart of a sluggard grows within those who refuse instruction from the Lord. Those who refuse to be patient and have trust in the Lord, soon lose hope. Without hope, all that we seek is either unattainable or not worth the effort. God’s heart goes out to those that suffer, and with His heart comes instruction.
James 1:2-4
1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into many afflictions;
1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
1:4 But let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Worst of all, the sluggard has forgotten the life giving properties of diligence.
1 Nephi 3:29-32
3:29 For he that diligently seeketh shall find;
3:30 And the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in this time as in times of old;
3:31 And as well in times of old as in times to come;
3:32 Wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.
The pursuit of righteousness separates us from the ways of the world, but even this worthy effort requires instruction from the Lord. Righteousness is a wonderful fulfilling thing, but without compassion it becomes a weapon that drives people away from the truth of God and the fullness of the His Gospel.
Psalms 69:9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
This happens because we allow pride to turn God’s righteousness into a representation of our own self-esteem. One could make the argument that our greatest effort should be to live our lives in the ways of God and they would be right. But what good is my righteousness if I refuse to create a way by which others can share in that which I have found. With Christ as his example, Isaiah tells of the true worth of righteousness.
Isaiah 45:13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts.
Righteousness that is void of any compassion or charity too often becomes a prideful weapon that strikes down anyone it touches. It becomes dreadful, loathsome, and not very much different than a lie. It alters the perception of those ministering and causes them to see innocence as rebellion, and ignorance as a willful heart. Those true to the cause of Zion realize that righteousness cannot be slapped on like a coat of paint; it must grow within the heart and free that heart from evil. It must shine from us like the light of truth it is and destroy within us the darkness of doubt that is our temporal inheritance. It is our labor to plant that seed of righteousness within the people of the world, and nurture it with the light of truth within us that it will grow within them, too.
Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
The righteousness we possess must be born of God. It must be more than just a way to appease God. It must serve God’s purpose for the immortality and eternal life of man. In God's creation, all that ceases to grow begins to die. Righteousness is no different. It must grow within a person. It must grow within a people. It must contain that which offers charity, compassion, and a choice. True righteousness must contain both justice and mercy or it will be incomplete. For, justice without mercy is death, and mercy without justice is a pointless lie. Neither is true righteousness. Neither serves the labor we seek.
For us to attain the righteousness we seek, our hearts must become wellspring of righteousness. We must become a conduit connected to the true source of all virtue that allows the waters of life to flow through us to the world. That can only happen when we allow the Spirit of God a place in our hearts. Only then, can righteousness grow within us in a way that allows God to work in the world of man.
In the world perception is reality. In God, we must realize that our perceptions of the world around us will change. The adversary would have us fear this new world, turn away from all that we are given, and hide ourselves in the ways of traditions and ritual. If we forego the attributes of the Spirit we receive, we will miss that which is given and allow the world to blind us to the ways of the Kingdom. By refusing to be led by the Spirit, we will become a people poor in the ways of God. We would look and not see; listen and not hear.
When we allow our pride to blind us, the glory of God is beyond our perception. Let God be with you always. Let Him be in the rising sun and in the songs of the birds that greet it. Let Him be in the silent snows of winter. Let Him be in the drink of water that slakes your thirst as you labor for the harvest. This is the abundance of life, which brings with it our joy in God. In it, we are rich beyond measure. Without it, we are trapped in the melancholy of the prideful life.
We must choose to allow the ways of God create all the guidelines of our life. God will show us what is good and what is evil by the fruit they produce. Through the Spirit, we will be able to discern rich and poor by the patterns of the Kingdom. Truth based on pride is temporal at best. True wisdom is born in humility to God and His ways. It lights the lamp of eternal truth, and causes our hearts to grow. It instructs us daily and assures us always. It allows God to be ours and us His.
Leviticus 26:11-12
26:11 And I will set my tabernacle among you; and my soul shall not abhor you;
26:12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
Let this be the desires of our hearts.
FRED
Create With me Our Testimony of God at Work in the World of Man.