paraphrase of 'a pilot'

One of the brother's in my ward is a pilot. I heard him relate this story once:
'On one of my flights I had an interesting co-pilot. He soon asked where I was from and upon discovering that I was from Salt Lake got a knowing smile. Without waiting for us to reach cruising altitude he turned to me full on and starte listing what "Mormons" believed. I could see that he was going to start a 'bible-bash' and I did not want to fight. And these words came out of my mouth, "there won't be Mormons in heaven." A very surprised look came over his face for obvious reasons. I continued, "There won't be Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Baptists, Presbyterians, or Catholics. There will only be people who live God. All of these are organizations that are all about building our relationship with God." Though the mechanics ARE important they being the means to an end. And that end is all about Love. Love between God and myself. Love for others. And from there flows all the ordinances and doctrines. I then had a wonderful flight talking about the relationships that we had built with God." -paraphrase of 'a pilot'

What's a firmament?

Abraham 4 & Moses 2
What's a firmament?
In the beginning, after God had created the earth, and after He seperated night from day. He set a firmament in the midst of the waters, And yet the firmament was placed above and below the waters. He called this firmament 'Heaven'. He continued on to call forth 'dry land', and the 'Sea'. So there is a firmament called Heaven, there is the dry land called Earth, there is the water below Heaven called Sea, so what is the water above Heaven? Why did God put water over Heaven?

bad don't know how to be bad

"You do not discover how strong the German army is by giving in, you discover by fighting them. So it is with sin. "bad" people, in this sense, know little about being bad. The "good" people who have fought the temptations are the ones who know. Christ who fought and overcame all temptations knows about the depth and strength of those same temptations and sins."

- unknown

Sacrament

How do I feel when I partake of the sacrament?
How should I feel?

Blood. It is so precious.
Soldiers give it so we might have Liberty.
Mother's give it so that we might have Life.
Christ gave it so that we might have
Eternal Liberty and
Eternal Life.

Christ has called the "weak" to do His work.

on Faith

Hope + Time = Belief
Belief + Action = Faith
Faith + Time = Knowledge

I hope for things
I believe things
I know things

These were my thoughts after pondering for many days on what faith was and how it fit into the importance of my life. I do feel that these equations are somewhat true but as I continued to ponder upon these things it seemed as though it was more than just that. So I asked my mom what she thought and she related this experience to me. My brother was in the hospital. He was two and a half. My mother's brother knew a man who lived close who came to give Scott a blessing. During the blessing he was blessed to stop fighting the machinery, to stop spasming, etc. and as soon as "amen" was said Scott drifted into sleep. My mom before believed Scott needed a blessing, and believed it would help, but she was still amazed when he went to sleep. The man turned to her and said, "Weren't you listening? Where's your faith?"

It seems faith is more than the simple equation I'd believed it to be, though I do still think there is some truth to that previous thought. It's like my dad said, "Trying to describe faith in one sentence is like teting to describe Thanksgiving dinner in one sentence. It isn't just that simple."

I believe that a vital factor missing from the equation is Trust. It just might not be enough to say, "I have done all I can to reach this goal and I believe you (meaning God) can the rest happen."
Of course God could, but why would He? He knows exactly what His finishing up what you started would cause down the line, so He may believe it to not be for your best interest...
I think instead that we should be saying, "I've done this much to reach my goal. I believe it to be a worthy goal and hope you endorse it by helping ME to get the rest of the goal accomplished. But if you decide not then alright. Your will be done, not mine."

This shows two important differences of outlook. 1st: You are still willing to work for your own goal. and 2nd: It is about what He KNOWS is best, not just what you WANT.

selfish is Evil?

As you have observed the world around you, what have you seen that bears testimony of God?

My first thought would be the "conscience" that every person is gifted with. That we all have a pretty standard set of "good's" and "bad's". Murder. Stealing. Violence. Rape. Incest. Affairs.
And yet as my mind considers these things it seems as though I'm trying to answer a different question:

"How do you prove that God exists?"

Is it possible? What if you proved He exists by proving there's opposition?
There are bad things so there must be good things.
A person naturally wants to hide the "bad" things they have done. Is one proud to say, "I called Suzy Que fat.", "I stole a cd from Jake.", or "I lied to my boss and told him John ate his lunch, when it was really Zach."
No. Few times is a person proud to explain their affairs. So inborn in every human is the knowledge of what an evil action is. Do we all also know what a good action is then? Do we commend those who give of themselves, who are self'less?

Hm interesting. It seems I've stumbled upon something of a revelation and didn't even realize it. Every one of the "bad" things I listed, and can think of, are all done for selfish reasons. Every one. Me, me , me. " She and I have this special bond that her husband just can't understand.". "I've worked here for 30 years and haven't received ANY compensation. So I figure what's a few cd's here, or a few book's there?", "I have had to live with the knowledge that he took everything I had!!!! So I killed him."

So by this it seems that evil = selfish AND good = self-less

Prayer

Sis. Kate Merkley Madagascar mission - farewell
Prayer is a form of work and is a means of achieving the highest _____. What happens when communication ceases? The relationship ceased when work at it ceased. Prayer is that work for our relationship with God. Answers do not come simply because we have moved our lips. We need to be actively looking for His answers.

"Pray even when ye have no desire to pray" -Richard G. Scott

The reason many of us don't pray is because we have lost confidence in our relationship with God.


Michael Nasella Brazil Porto Allegre South Mission - farewell

Prayer

We are each children of God
He knows it. How?
Through personal prayer.
The Book of Mormon is true. It was translated by Joseph Smith. We have a living prophet on earth today. Jesus Christ is who He said He is. How does he know it?
Through personal prayer.

Moroni 10:4-5
"4And when ya shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 5And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

"He will invariably answer your prayers. But His answers will rarely come while on our knees. But in the quiet moments." -Richard G. Scott

You can't just show up on game day, and play your best. You need to practice and work for it all week before.
Pray continually. But more importantly pray that the Spirit will be with you constantly, unceasingly.


Brother Peterson - speaker
"Pray continually in things both temporal and spiritual." D&C 78:19

"He let's us experience pain, loneliness, suffering so that we may experience faith." -Kahlil Gibran, 'The Prophet'

Prayers for peace, guidance, protection.

We can train ourselves to hear and receive answers to our prayers.

Bro. Peterson early in his career as a physician was asked to take blood pressure of a man in a full room. It was noisy. He couldn't hear the man's pulse. He had to say, "I'm sure he has a pulse, I just can't hear it." Later in his career, he now knows just what to listen for. He has trained himself to hear"

A feeling of peace is the most common answer saying 'Yes. That/This is correct.'

repentance is learning

Psychologies definition of learning is in short "a permanent change in the knowledge, behavior, etc."
It is one of the few things that the ENTIRE psychology field agrees upon.
This seems somewhat enlightened in relation to repentance. Also considering the 'nature' of 'the spirit of learning'.

1 John 1:7-8

1. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Sorrow for your sins.
3. Confession (to Lord in prayer or to proper priesthood authority as needed)
4. Abandonment of sin.
5. Restitution

It's not simply about "Enduring to the end" by emptying our lives of sin and evil. We must continue to fill our lives with good and selflessness.

intelligences

There are three things: Mortal body, Spiritual body, and Intelligences. Intelligences are eternal, they were existent before God created our spiritual bodies, which he did, to contain the intelligences. Just as the physical body contains the spirit. "What has a beginning may have an end." -Joseph Smith Jr.

Could this be what Outer Darkness is? The spirit be ended and the Intelligences therein released on their own? And thus perhaps then it would be considered that those who are in the telestial, terestrial, and the lower levels of the celestial kingdom are had mercy upon because they're allowed to keep their spirit body as one. With tel, ter., or cel. body.

"Begin with the end in mind" -unknown

Because they knew not where to find it...

Luke 23:34 "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

Every person on this earth begins life without knowledge in just about anything. As we learn of Christ, it often feels as though we have heard these words before This is because we have. Though it was not in this life. It was in the pre-mortal existence. A time when God organized His plan of happiness.

This is what the whole gospel hinges on. "The great plan of happiness". It is the reason that I feel a duty to offer you the knowledge which I am coming to know. It is the same duty to serve a full-time mission. It is because we all agreed to come here and suffer the trials that the flesh would present us. The 1st and continued trial of hearing the Master's call, as sheep knowing the voice of their shepherd, and going to Him. I have found Him. And so I do my best to share what I know. I do this in the hope that you can find the joy and happiness that I have. I believe that this world offers many forms of pleasure, and I know that joy and happiness are here in the Gospel of Christ, in trying to live as He did.

"...kept from the truth because they know not where they find it." D&C 123:12

the Father and Agency

Heavenly Father stood up for our right to agency, and because of it lost a third of his children to Satan knowing even then that he stood for the right of that one third also. In this life we have 2 things; one of which we have completely, the other we have a very limited supply of. Agency, and Time. So after everything he's given us would it not be appropriate to give those very things back to him by doing our best to bring his other children back to Him?

The Big Rest

So I had my surgery yesterday, and therefore I am supposedly 'confined to my bed' for two weeks give or take. I had my nasal septum straightened and I had my inferior turbinates significantly reduced in size. They were ten times too big. Yeah, for like two weeks I thought my doctor had said my adenoids were ten times too big. But yeah all this stuff is up in my nose so I'm pretty nasty as we speak. So I'm going to go see if I can actually get some rest for the time being. Later!

A Common Ideal

I have been taught, and I believe the same, that God may be found in everything, everywhere, etc. One of the chief places I have found him is in society itself, very generally speaking. There have been many, many nations, peoples, tribes, and institutions throughout history. But there is one thing I have found in common throughout, again generally speaking. I do acknowledge that there are multiple, perhaps even many, exceptions to one part or another of this 'common ideal' I shall call it.
So I say, in general, the peoples and populaces have typically found the same things to be good, and upright; and the same things to be bad, and despicable. Consider greed, murder, rape, incest, hate; and charity, service, courage, love. There are many other actions/traits to be considered, but I will speak of one.
Honesty. My parents have taught that honesty is of the highest import, as many parents, teachers, and people have. It is important in every aspect of living. Business, love, life, etc. Occasionally honesty is expressed as a weakness perhaps, but even when lying you are still testifying that honesty is the higher character, because you are even then trying to appear as being honest. Honesty has value. It is a valuable characteristic.
Honesty and lying are both based on a higher and an often misunderstood concept. Truth. And I am about what is, not what is perceived. Truth is what everyone on this planet ever looked for. It is found in every question;'the search; is what many bad, and many good things have been the cause of. In some ways this, I think, is where my belief/understanding begins to differ from the general populace as I understand it to be. For many people that God snapped His fingers or waved His arms, and then something just was.
Earth, for example.
This, however, would defy truth. That something JUST is changed or different. Just being the keyword there. I don't know if he did snap His fingers or waved his arm(s), but I do believe that something happened or changed directly because of his action or inaction. In other words, I believe there is a 'scientific' explanation for every 'miracle' that ever was performed. And I still believe that God is God.
I nearly want to say that "for all sakes and purposes truth is God". But I do not feel this is correct, perhaps instead I'd say in the search of truth one will find God. I understand Him to be all knowing and so I would understand how a search for knowledge and truth might bring one to God's doorstep so to speak.I have many such thoughts and this is one way for me to share them. I finish for now with a quote and a small request. The quote:
'When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place, let the spirit in you move your lips and direct you tongue.
Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;
For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered
when the colour is forgotten and the vessel is no more.'
-from 'The Prophet' by Kahlil Gibran (p.67)
And the request; please take this as how I mean it, not necessarily as how I in my poor wording may have misled.