The Glory of God vs Personal Aggrandizement

Greatest in the Kingdom by J. Kirk Richards

1 THESE words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

(New Testament | John 17:1)

Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.


(Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:1)

The only legitimacy in receiving glory unto ourselves is so that we may glorify the Father, and as the Father's work and glory is to bring about the eternal life and immortality of mankind, using what small degree of praise and honor we receive in this life, for whatever reason, to serve God's children in humility allows us to not be taken in by our own quite small successes.

2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

(Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:1 - 2)

Believing in God Unto Repenatance

Baptism by J. Kirk Richards

3 For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled—

(Book of Mormon | Ether 12:3)

It is one thing to believe in God.  It is another thing to believe in God unto repentance.  

"I AM the True Vine....."

1 I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

(New Testament | John 15:1 - 8)

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must bear fruit.  And to bear fruit we must abide in the true vine.  We are not brought into the fold of God as ends in and of ourselves but something needs to come of our discipleship other than only going through the motions or just enjoying our "privileged" status as one who knows.  And not only does the Lord expect us to bring forth fruit, he will also purge us in order that we might bear more fruit. 

The fruit is the end result of the season's labors and what is it's purpose?.  Is it meant to hang there until it drops to the ground to perish back into the soil?  The fruit fills the measure of it's creation when it nourishes the life of another and if it does drop back into the ground it contains the seeds to create a greatly multiplied harvest the following season.  In the end the fruit is meant to sustain and create as much life as possible.  Followers of Christ abiding in him nourish those around them with truth and light and service and strength.  We bear fruit as we choose to "act" in the kingdom of God with others in mind.  Being a follower of Christ is more than just a profession of belief.

If we truly abide in Christ then we will be known by our fruits and they will be life giving.  If we detach ourselves from the vine purposely by choice or inadvertently by inattention or diversion we will have no power to bear the fruit of salvation.  

Sometimes I hear or read opinions that being Christian is all about love and acceptance seemingly disconnected from sacrifice, commandments and responsibilities.  Obvious Jesus was holding up some significant expectations for his followers in these verses. 

Gratitude for Trials.....

Trials Archive-Loveumentary.com

Letter to my missionaries:

"I had an "ah ha" today in sacrament meeting.  I was thinking about life's struggles and difficulties and trials and for a second I had a clear picture that when we get to the other side we will be extremely grateful for them as we would be very disappointed to have gone through life on easy street without having had these experiences which are the purpose for our coming to earth. We would feel cheated if we went through life without them.  I think of the D&C scripture that tells us to be thankful in all things.  I wonder if we truly thanked the Lord for our difficulties and weaknesses and for what they teach us, if we would be taught some unique things"   

"I am praying and hoping that you will have contacts to teach who will be blessed by the message.  Put it in the Lord's hands.  It is his work.  If you think of his striving with mankind through all the generations and how many thousands of years he has been working with his children you realize he has great patience.  Even when he was here on the earth in person it was a struggle to get people to see the light.  It has never been easy but his hand is stretched out still and you are a part of that stretched out hand extending the offer again and again. " 

19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulnessshall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.  (Doctrine and Covenants Sec. 78)

Likening Isaiah 30 - "...speak unto us smooth things,"

 1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:

9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:

 10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

 11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

 12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:

 13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant

 14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.

Is this us?  Do we walk with an appearance of having the gospel in our lives but in reality it is a covering that is superficial and not of the spirit, that we may continue on in our own paths and lay aside the Lord's counsel? 

I hear many voices from various camps that are telling the seers to not see and the prophets to not prophecy right things because the things the prophets are saying are not in agreement with political correctness and personal agendas.  Do we want smooth things so we can continue to pursue our own traditions and philosophies and/or not offend our associates.  Do we want the prophets to be "on the right side of history," (a futuristic version of revisionist history!:)  Or, do we believe that all is well in Zion, that Zion propsereth and we have no need to change.  Or, do we trust in the arm of flesh more than in the arm of the lord.  

The Lord warns us that this false premise cannot last and will be broken as a potter's vessel which will not be able to carry fire from the hearth or water from the well.  Thus we become unable to hold the spiritual fire of the holy ghost or the living waters from the wells of salvation, and are not nourished and watered by the spirit and we languish in spiritual malnutrition or we leave the well altogether.  Sobering thoughts. 

Taking Personal Note........

... and had seduced the more part of the righteous until they had come down to believe in their works and partake of their spoils....

This little phrase in Helaman 6:38 arrested my attention this morning as I was reading in The Book of Mormon.  We become seduced by the world and the philosophies of the world in two ways - we subscribe to the "works" the world has to offer and/or the "spoils" which we cannot resist partaking of.  It is easy to be enamored with academia, social agendas, professionalism, business and financial success, political philosophies, scientific research, fame and fortune. When practices bring riches, position, praise or prestige along with it how can we turn away!

This scripture was not referring to the honest endeavors of those seeking to further truth and knowledge and the application of that knowledge but to the false philosophies of those seeking to overthrow righteousness and enthrone teachings and practices that go against the commandments of God. 

Owning Repentance

The Repentance of Peter - Carl Heinrich

"The suffering and distress endured by people of this earth is the result of unrepented and unremitted sin.....Just as suffering and sorrow attend sin, so happiness and joy attend forgiveness of sins."  

                                                                    (Marion G. Romney - conference Report, Apr 1959, 11)

This is not a popular belief in our day and age.  We balk at the notion that repentance and unhappiness are intertwined.  But if we humbly examine this idea it is not hard to see that many difficulties of life, other than those that come from living in a mortal existence, in one way or another are connected to sin, our own or the sins of others.  The idea of unremitted sin (as a different category than unrepented sin) is also worth pondering. How do we receive a remission of our sins after we have repented?

We live in a prideful age.  We don't like being accountable.  Repentance, however is a merciful tool, a gift.  Living life each day with a repentant and humble heart allows us to retain a remission of our sins and receive the spirit of God in our lives that sustains us through the difficulties inherent in living in this world.  It gives us peace of mind

Here is Wikipedia's definition of repentance:

Repentance is the activity of reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs. It generally  involves a commitment to personal change and the resolve to live a more responsible and humane life.

Another definition from lds.org.

Repentance is more than simply acknowledging wrongdoings. It is a change of mind and heart. It includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness. It is motivated by love for God and the sincere desire to obey His commandments.

Repentance is the greatest of all gifts from our Lord and Savior.  It allows us to change and to not be saddled with the consequences of our choices forever.  It opens the door for a remission of sin which opens the door for our greatest happiness.  Repentance is forward thinking and forward moving.