Open Upon My Death

A young man is excited to attend his first Super Bowl. 

He spots an empty seat next to an older man on the 50 yard line.

"Is this seat taken?" the young man asks, hoping to have a better view of the game.

The man replies, “No.”

The young man is surprised and asks, “How could someone pass up a seat like this?”

“It’s my wife’s seat," the old man replies.  "We’ve been to every Super Bowl together since the day we were married but she’s passed away.”

“Oh, I am sorry” the young man says. “But couldn’t you find a friend or relative to come with you?”

“No,” the man replies, “They’re all at the funeral.”

The Game's Afoot

​​Well, this is a new record: 23 entries in this Series (the previous record was held by "Done by Common Consent," which topped out at 19 entries).

I started with a football joke because of something I want to share.

All my life I have felt the winds winding up toward what we-in-the-biz call the "Final Scene."  Have you heard of the Winding Up Scenes?  The 'ol End-of-the-World-as-we-know-it?

I suppose every generation believes they are special ― that they will be the ones to pick up the Lord's work and advance it down the field.  

So you can imagine my surprise witnessing over the years the ball retreating.  This isn't right, I thought!  The ball is moving in the wrong direction.  What's going on?

And of course I came to realize (as many of you have) that I had been deceived and distracted by the game being played on the field ― which was not the real game at all. 

I saw that the Lord was active in the bleachers, at the concession booth, in the parking lot.  The Lord tried getting the attention of the players but they were too invested in the game.  So the Lord was calling the destitute and downtrodden, the poor and marginalized to join him in playing a very different sort of game.

Well, can you believe it?  All my life I had been taught to keep my eyes on the quarterback and to follow his playbook.  And gradually my eyes were opened, and I realized that the Lord didn't have a stake in which team won or in who took home the championship trophy. 

Instead, Christ was busy at work among those who hadn't even made the team ― the weak and simple things of the earth ― who didn't wear jerseys and who don't have letterman jackets.  

Then I saw that Satan was refereeing the field (how did I not see that before?), throwing flags and stirring up the players and the crowd.  In their contentious rivalries, the fans in the stands cheered and cursed depending on who was winning.  

Satan worked to ensure that the game would go into double overtime.  While everyone was caught up in the thrill of the competition, they failed to notice that one-by-one, the Lord was escorting a few here and few there away from the stadium. 

"Wait!" I called out to him.  "Where are you going?"

What I Am Trying to Do

​If you'll permit me to be a bit vulnerable, I want to share some personal thoughts.

The Jesus I know is playful.  He is also brutally honest.  He carries with him a sense of endless possibility and hope.  

The thing that struck me most about Him, though, was that he carries no spirit of judgment or condemnation. 

It was surprising how many inside jokes we shared.

I remember one time praying about the future.  What did the Lord want me to do ― as a father and husband, as a provider and protector ― in order to prepare for what is coming? 

I had the thought, "If you plan for the future from a place of fear, you open yourself to be deceived."

So I decided that I would orient myself away from fear and toward love.  What did it mean to prepare for the future from a place of . . . love?

I wanted to share this:

"Fruit is sweet when it is picked in season, but taken too soon, when it is not yet ripe, it is bitter, and taken too late it lies rotten on the vine and will perish.  You are a laborer in my vineyard, but you are to tend my fruit ― only I can preserve it.  The harvest, after all, is mine."

I know the Lord has things well in hand.  We get to labor with Him but the work is (and always was) His. 

He is, after all (as Mary first believed), the Gardener.

The fruit he is trying to preserve is our souls.  Christ is the one who weeds around our trunks, who dungs about us and prunes our unnatural growth; He is the one who harvests our grapes to make sweet wine.  

And like a true friend, he sits down with us to share a drink.

   We are in good hands.

Exciting Times Ahead

The key to preparing for the future is to keep a prophetic perspective:

   1.  Zion is the ark.  It is a marriage between the bride (Zion) and her husband (Christ).  

   2.  How do we know if we're ready for Zion?  Well, there's an easy test: can we endure the presence of the Lord without burning up like a box of Cornflakes doused in kerosene?  Because the Lord will walk among the inhabitants of Zion. 

   3.  Our preparation to flee unto Zion (the ark) is NOT to be done in haste.  "Let not your flight be in haste, but let all things be prepared before you" (D&C 133:15).  So let's not rush foolishly, driven by fear.

   4.  There are spiritual and physical preparations we would be prudent to begin at this time.  Have you prayed and asked for specific direction from the Lord for you and your family?  After all, Lehi was led out of Jerusalem while Jeremiah was commanded to remain and go into exile.  Two prophets, but two different paths.  No one can tell you what is right for you and your family except the Lord.

   5.  Time is hastening and so I best be blunt: Zion cannot arise from a hierarchy, which is antithetical to the celestial law of equality required for a people to be "one."

   6.  The gospel exists independently of an organization.  Likewise, the children of Christ exist independent of an organization.  The Lord says those who repent and live his gospel are his church.  "It is my church, if it so be that they [not "it"] are built upon my gospel" (3 Nephi 27:8).

   7.  We need to learn to hear the voice of God and to be guided by the Holy Spirit so we will not be rudderless when the Church is broken up.   The Lord compared the "wise virgins" to those who "have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived" (D&C 45:57).

   8.  The purpose of gathering into a body of believers is not to create inequality by dividing people into leaders and followers.  The purpose of gathering is to love one another, to bear each other's burdens, to mourn together, to labor in the fellowship of friendship.  

   9.  The Lord does not put new wine into old bottles.  If he did, the bottles would burst.  So the Lord is not going to pour Zion into the organizational structure of the modern Church, since it is incapable of "holding" Zion.  All things must become new.  Including a new heaven, and a new earth.

   10.  We need an ark because of several natural and social calamities that are coming.  These devastations come when the people are "fully ripe" in iniquity and will sweep the inhabitants off the face of the land to prepare the way for the return of the lost Ten Tribes.

   11.  Zion requires a people who are pure in heart, and also (1) a holy house; (2) a holy city; and (3) a holy name.

   12.  When times get tough, we need to understand that it is okay to die.  Life goes on.  We need a loving reason to strive on, to live another day.  Instead of seeking to preserve our own lives, we can focus on living so that we can bless other people.

   13.  Instead of having a "bunkering" mentality, let's take care of one another.  We need community.  We cannot make it alone.  The promises of the Lord will be fulfilled communally.

   14.  When men's hearts are failing them, it's going to be tough to carry on with "unwearingness."  We're going to need to remember that it's going to be okay: God has a plan that stretches across eternal lives and countless worlds.  

   15.  If you're feeling overwhelmed, take a breath and remember: we don't have to save the world or even change the world.  God's got it under control.  We just need to warn our neighbors.  Let's invite them to prepare with us.  We don't need to start non-profits and go on television: but we all can have a quiet conversation with family and friends.  It is time. 

   16.  In Part 6, I shared some simple suggestions of ways we can improve the Church and make the organization more loving ("Practical Suggestions for Overcoming Priestcraft, A-Z").  Take a look and see if the Spirit prompts any ideas in you.

   17.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is identified with the "gentiles."  We are "Ephraimite gentiles" who have become a multitude of nations.  On the other hand, the New Jerusalem will be built by the remnant of Jacob and the Lamanites.​  We gentiles get to "assist" them.  

   18.  As gentiles, we are restorers in two important ways.  First, we restore the knowledge of the covenants of the Lord to the House of Israel.  Second, we are supposed to restore Israel to the lands of their inheritance (not just talking about Jerusalem, here).

   19.  The Times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled (i.e., their day of grace has passed) when, after having received a fulness of the gospel, "they receive it not . . . and turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men" (D&C 45:28-29).  I am here to witness that the Times of the Gentiles are concluding as we speak.

   20.  I know this is delicate, but let's not shy away from hard truths: the modern Church has chosen "abominations" over the gospel of Christ; to be specific, Jacob describes in Jacob 2 several sins we have nursed, raised to maturity, and institutionalized as part of our faith: (1) the abominable sin of inequality; (2) the abominable sin of polygamy; and (3) the abominable sin of racism.  

   21.  Any gentiles who repent can be "numbered among" the remnant of Jacob (and the Lamanites).  That's the group we want to be associated with in the end times.

   22.  It is really stunning when we see the big picture laid out in prophetic scripture: the Lord restores a Church among the gentiles through Joseph Smith and commissions that Church to seek out and "restore" his people, the Lamanites, as nursing fathers.  Then, after the Lamanites have been restored to the covenants of old, they shall bring about the New Jerusalem.  So all along it was never the gentiles' job to build Zion alone.  We can't do it ourselves.

   23.  Isaiah spells out end-time events better than anyone.  He describes how Egypt (the United States) will collapse.  Our military and political leaders will be powerless to prevent a foreign nation from taking over.

   24.  Isaiah also describes how we can't get clean water and reasons why we won't be able to grow food.  This leads to horrific events and destruction.

   25.  Despite the harrowing portrayals of the future, the Lord tells us to "be not troubled."  Why?  Because He is working a marvelous work and wonder.  He is fulfilling promises made of old.  The Lord will raise up men and women who are prepared for such thrilling times.  It is going to be worth sticking around to behold his hand.

Conclusion

Remember, regardless of the confusion happening in this world, we have a window into heaven. 

   The kingdom of God is within us. 

Everything that is happening here on earth is part of a broader context that includes higher kingdoms, principalities, and dominions.  

A Three Nephite Story

After Jesus appeared to the Nephites and called 12 disciples, he granted them a wish. 

   Jesus spake unto his disciples,
   one by one, saying unto them:
   What is it that ye desire of me,
   after that I am gone to the Father?

   And they all spake, save it were three,
   saying: We desire that after we have lived
   unto the age of man, that our ministry,
   wherein thou hast called us, may have an end,
   that we may speedily come unto thee
   in thy kingdom.

(3 Nephi 28:1-2)

Well, right away we notice that the Nephite disciples don't want to stay here on earth. 

Why? 

Because this is not Jesus's kingdom.

So why, then, do we keep referring to the Church as the Lord's kingdom?

   Church = Here
   Christ's Kingdom = Not Here

Simple enough. Jesus told the Nine:

   Blessed are ye
   because ye desired this thing of me;
   therefore, after that ye
   are seventy and two years old
   ye shall come unto me
   in my kingdom;
   and with me
   ye shall find rest.

(3 Nephi 28:3)

Wonderful!  But the story isn't over. 

There were Three Nephites who had a different desire.

   Jesus turned himself unto the three,
   and said unto them: What will ye
   that I should do unto you, when I am gone
   unto the Father?

(3 Nephi 28:4)

You know what they asked for: to remain on earth (i.e., NOT Christ's kingdom) in order to bring souls unto him.

And Jesus said to them:

   More blessed are ye,
   [now I am feeling bad for the Nine]
   for ye shall never taste of death . . .
   but when I shall come in my glory
   ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye
   from mortality to immortality;
   and then shall ye be blessed
   in the kingdom of my Father.

(3 Nephi 28:7-8)

Waaaaaait a minute.  There's another kingdom?

There's a separate kingdom of the Father?  Don't Christ and the Father share a duplex?  How can they each have their own kingdoms?

Jesus continued:

   For ye have desired
   that ye might bring
   the souls of men unto me,
   while the world shall stand.

   And for this cause
   ye shall have fulness of joy;
   and ye shall sit down
   in the kingdom of my Father.

(3 Nephi 28:9-10)

Hmmm.  So I see three different kingdoms here.

   1.  The kingdom of this "world" (telestial)

   2.  The kingdom of Christ (terrestrial)
  
   3.  The kingdom of the Father (celestial)

What is a "kingdom?"

We usually think of a kingdom as a place. 

Well, that's one place to start (see, I made a pun).

But in addition to the space the kingdom occupies, kingdoms are also distinguished by spiritual laws (see, D&C 88:36) and times.

   And again, verily I say unto you,
   God hath given a law unto all things,
   by which they move in their times
   and their seasons;

   And their courses are fixed,
   even the courses of the heavens
   and the earth . . .

   And they give light to each other
   in their times and in their seasons,
   in their minutes, in their hours, in their days,
   in their weeks, in their months, in their years
   — all these are one year with God,
   but not with man.

(D&C 88:42-44)

There's a lot to unpack there.  But for our purposes today, we understand that a kingdom is something defined by:

   1.  Space; 
   2.  Law; and
   3.  Times

When we study D&C 76 in Sunday School (on the degrees of glory) we usually focus on Nos. 1 and 2.  

In other words, there's a place that people go to who keep Christ's law called a Celestial Kingdom.

​   But we always forget about time, don't we?

I suppose it's good to think about where we're going, but have we considered when?

Joseph Smith to the Rescue

If you're wondering why any of this matters, consider these words by Joseph Smith:

   Is not the reckoning of God’s time,
   angel’s time, prophet’s time, and man’s time,
   according to the planet on which they reside?

   I answer, Yes.

   But they reside in the presence of God,
   (1) on a globe like a sea of glass and fire,
   [here's the space]
   (2) where all things for their glory are manifest,
   [here's the law, or degree of glory]
   (3)  past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord.
   [here's the "times"]

(D&C 130:4-7)

   The place where God resides
   is a great Urim and Thummim.

(D&C 130:8)

Okay, I know this is gonna sound looney, but considering what we've just read, is a Urim and Thummim in a celestialized state a . . . time machine?

I can hear you laughing.  But this is what Joseph says next:

   This earth,
   in its sanctified and immortal state,
   will be made like unto crystal
   and will be a Urim and Thummim
   to the inhabitants who dwell thereon,
   whereby all things pertaining
   to an inferior kingdom,
   or all kingdoms of a lower order,
   will be manifest to those who dwell on it;
   and this earth will be Christ’s.

(D&C 130:9)

So this earth, notice, will be Christ's.  Does it say it will be his kingdom, or will the earth become just one of his dominions?  

​   Then the white stone
   mentioned in Revelation 2:17,
   will become a Urim and Thummim
   to each individual who receives one,
   whereby things pertaining to a higher order
   of kingdoms will be made known.

(D&C 130:10)

Several thoughts here: the white stone does not start out as a Urim and Thummim.  No, it "will become" over time.  Not at the beginning, not all at once.

Also, those who dwell on this earth in its glorified state will still need to progress. 

This stone will give us glimpses of "a higher order of kingdoms."  But we will, with Christ's help, be moving on, as Joseph said, "from exaltation to exaltation."

In summary, there's a lot that lies ahead of us.  "Enduring to the end" does not just mean this world, but on and on, worlds without end, until we can sit, as the Three Nephites, in the kingdom of our Father, "to go no more out."

   The Lord hath said
   he dwelleth not in unholy temples,
   but in the hearts of the righteous
   doth he dwell;

   yea, and he has also said
   that the righteous shall sit down
   in his kingdom, to go no more out;
   but their garments should be made white
   through the blood of the Lamb.

(Alma 34:36)

We have a kind of Urim and Thummim right now.  Our hearts. 

Our hearts are a window into the heavens, through which we can perceive "things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms."

   Christ dwells within us, so what do we have to fear?

Recap

In this Series we're talking about our individual spiritual compasses and the gift of discernment ― valuable subjects considering the times.

Some of the points so far:

   1.  Self-reclamation is about reasserting our autonomy and our self-authority from the sounding brass and tinkling cymbals filling most of our modern religious discourse.  "Lo here! or, Lo there!" (Luke 17:21).

   2.  We can tune all of that noise out because we are only required to listen to Christ and his words.  "Behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do" (2 Ne. 32:3) (what percentage is "all?").

   3.  The words of Christ point us in "a straight course to the promised land" (Alma 37:44), like the compass Lehi used to guide his family through the wilderness.

   4.  So the burning question is, What is the word of Christ?  How do we spot it?  How can we tell when someone is speaking it?

     a.  The Word of Christ is "easy" (Matt. 11:30).  The easiness of the way comes from being freed from a lesser law and all of the associated carnal commandments that cause spiritual migraines (which Paul refers to as "bondage").

     b.  The Word of Christ is "pleasing" (Jacob 3:2) in the sense that we only care about pleasing the Lord.  Jesus said, "I do always those things that please him [the Father]" (John 8:29).  By contrast, religion (if we're honest) is really about pleasing each other by enforcing a common moral code (i.e., adhering to the commandments of men).  Pleasing our leaders is substituted for pleasing God.

     c.  The Word of Christ is "truth" (D&C 84:45).  Christ calls himself the "Spirit of Truth," so that's where we want to stand: beside Him.  Next to Truth.

   5.  We have a pretty poor compass if the needle is pointing to the Brethren or some other authority figure.  I don't know why we view the Brethren like we're K-pop fans following our favorite band, plastering their glamour shots on the walls of our bedrooms and every bishop's office.  Jesus is our Living Prophet!  So let's make sure our needle is pointed to Christ.  

   6.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again, and I'll keep saying it until I am served with a restraining order signed by a judge: It doesn't matter who's speaking; it only matters whose words are being spoken.  Are they the words of Christ?

     a.  If yes, then we heed and hearken to the message, no matter whose lips are moving.

     b.  If no, then we may disregard the message, no matter whose lips are moving.

   7.  The Lord said, "My word shall not pass away . . . whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same" (D&C 1:38).  So servants of God are not known by their office or rank; they are known by whose words they speak.

   8.  The way we judge whether something is the word of Christ or not is by "the light of Christ" (Moroni 7:18).  And guess what?  We all have this light!  We don't need special robes or a special title or a special calling.  This is God's internal voice and gift to each of us.  Mormon tells us to "search diligently in the light of Christ" (Moroni 7:19) where truth dwells.

   9.  Surprise, surprise: the Lord cares about our manner of worship (and it appears we're doing it wrong.)  He said, "I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship" (D&C 93:19).  The way we worship God is by growing brighter in His light.  He said, "The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23).  Going to cathedrals and chapels on Sunday is NOT worshipping.  Obeying the light of Christ is.  This is the way we "glorify God," by magnifying His light in us.

   10.  "Truth" is not complicated.  Truth simply is what is.  Truth is things "as they really are and . . . as they really will be (Jacob 4:13).  All truth is independent of us.

   11.  Knowledge is different from truth.  Knowledge is NOT independent.  We gain knowledge when truth is filtered through our experiences.

   12.  The glory of God, or "intelligence," or the light of truth (all the same thing) is (1) knowing (2) how to (3) create something that (4) does not yet exist (5) in the elemental sphere.  Joseph Smith said, "In the element dwells all the glory."  Intelligence is the means by which we instantiate into the elemental realm the knowledge held in the mind of God.

   13.  The power of intelligence creates new possibilities . . . new worlds . . . even new realities.  This means that what is "true" in the future may differ from what is "true" now, if what is then is different from what is today.  We're talking about faith.  This is about bringing to pass what we have seen with our eye of faith.

   14.  Christ encompasses all realities (or truth), past, present and future. 

   15.  While Christ is the "same" yesterday, today and forever, that does not mean He is static.  Neither are his galaxies static.  Yes, he is constant, but he is also constantly in motion (i.e., dynamic).  His words, his works, and his wonders, never cease.​

Questions: 

   - What are these curtains we have hung over the windows of heaven to block out the light? 

   - What is getting in the way of us receiving the word of the Lord, or interfering with our ability to hear the voice of God broadcasting into our hearts? 

   - Why have we plastered over the mosaic of Christ's light with the newspaper clippings of pulpit preaching so that our spiritual countenances resemble a serial killer's ransom note?

Answer:

Let's ask the Lord:

   - Why has religion made a mess of your word? 

   - Why has your gospel been buried six-feet under the heap of the commandments of men?

   - Why do you allow priestcraft to flourish and let us be led by blind guides?

   - Why have the churches adopted creeds that are an "abomination" in your sight?

   - How are we supposed to know you if our churches have turned you into something you're not? 

   - Where do we turn when those claiming your authority have proven unwise stewards of your trust?

   - How do we know what is divine from what is man-made; which traditions are godly and which are not? 

   - Whose morality is pure in your eyes and whose morality is a byproduct of a polluted cultural background?

What Answer Did You Get?

​Did you get an answer?

   Will you share it?

Time to Learn to Swim?

The purpose of this Series is to encourage everyone to learn to swim.  I mean, you probably know how to swim already in the regulated waters of a backyard pool.

But how good of a swimmer are we in the open sea with waves raging?  I recall Elder Groberg's description of being capsized in the ocean:

The waves became so big they flipped our small boat over, throwing the three of us into the raging, churning ocean. When I found myself in the middle of a tumultuous sea, I was surprised, scared, and a little upset.

"Missionaries aren’t supposed to swim.”

But swim I must if I wished to stay alive. Every time I complained I found myself underwater, so it didn’t take long to quit complaining.

I needed every ounce of energy to keep my head above water and make it to shore. Having earned my Eagle Scout Award, I was a pretty confident swimmer, but over time the wind and the waves began to sap my strength. I never quit trying, but there came a time when my muscles simply would move no more.

I had a prayer in my heart, but still I began to sink. As I was going down for what could have been the last time, the Lord infused into my mind and heart a deep feeling of love . . . [that] reached down and pulled me up—lifted me from the depths of darkness, despair, and death and brought me up to light and life and hope.

With a sudden burst of energy I made it to shore, where I found my shipmates.

(Excerpts from John H. Groberg, "The Power of God's Love," General Conference, October 2004.)

What Will We Do When the Ship Sinks?

Have we learned to hear the voice of the Lord and to follow the light of Christ that burns within each of us? 

Or is it only necessary to "follow the Brethren?"

Pretend we're all on a big boat.  Let's call this boat, say, the Titanic.

Now, if we heed the voices calling for us to "stay in the boat," then it doesn't matter if we have learned to swim because we've got a captain and a wonderful crew who is taking care of everything for us.

Why learn to swim when we have a mighty ship to protect us?  When we are well-fed and comfortable in the carnal security of first-class accommodations?

As a passenger, we're content to eat the lobster and listen to the piano play, letting others steer the ship. 

Why worry about where we're headed?  That's their job.

(Don't you know that religion is a pleasure cruise?  Because it promises us heaven if we just sit down in the pew, pay our dues, and enjoy the cruise.  Just don't question the Skipper.)

Unfortunately, the scriptures foretell a calamity.  The ship, you see, is going to hit a massive iceberg and sink.

So, today while the seas are relatively calm, why not learn to swim in the open ocean? 

Why not learn to be spiritually self-reliant and to be guided by the Holy Spirit instead of letting the millstone of carnal security carry us to the bottom of the ocean?

Because my friends, there is an iceberg coming.

The Ark

Someone might be saying, "But Tim! Didn't God prepare an Ark to safely lead Noah and his family through the storm?"

   Yes.

"And the Ark didn't sink, silly!"

   Correct.

"And isn't the Ark in the last days the Church?"

   No.

Well, that's a bummer, isn't it?  What is the Ark that will carry us through the flood of fire, if not the Church?

​I wrote the poem, Ark, to speak on several levels about this.

Poem: Ark

More water when there is nothing
but water,
the plunging sky’s generosity
a mockery. Water
seeping into upturned
mouths exhaling
vermilion promises.

There is no rainfall
like that bestowed
upon the open sea.
Open faced we rise
to the rainfall falling,
flooding across the pores
and grooves of our gopher wood
skin.

Are shadows colorblind
or merely appear so?
What are these swelling
phantoms elongating
across the water
day and night, night
after day? It is all
gray: gray
ocean and gray sky,
gray minds
staring downward.

      Our anchor
      is become a
      millstone.

      They say,
Are we kneaded from cloud or clay?
Must we choose a piece, a part,
or is glory birthed
in the whole?

      They say,
Are cisterns filled
with a taste of the sea
or does all water partake
of a single sisterhood?

      They say,
So long traveled
and for what?  Why 
not fashion phylacteries
from the skins of these orphaned
animals, for so are we?

      I say,
Beware the olive branch
plucked from Babylon’s advancing shore
where color fades.

      Rainbows were not made
      for pupils such as ours,
      such as us, ineffectual
      prisms.

      I ask,
Was the ark
fashioned for dry ground? 

      Step into the rain
      revealing the Arc
      with those 

            ascending Jacob’s ladder
            two by two.

The Reality of Truth (or, things are about to get real)​

Let's begin with the simplest definition of truth:

   Truth is an expression of reality. 

That's all truth is.  What is.

   The Spirit speaketh the truth
   and lieth not.
   Wherefore, it speaketh of things
   as they really are,
   and of things as they really will be.

(Jacob 4:13)

Okay, let's make a logical inference from Jacob's definition.  If truth is merely representing things as they "really are," then the opposite of truth (a lie) is to portray things as they may appear to be, but in reality are not.

I mean, sure, truth manifests itself in countless ways, in various forms and endless diversity . . . but regardless of what shape truth takes, it always (yes, always) comports with reality.

   Truth = Reality

That was simple, right?  Well, we should ask ourselves, What is “real?”  (Ah, here’s the question we maybe should have been asking all along.)

But we're not done discussing truth. 

Since Truth simply "is," then we know that truth is independent of us: it doesn’t care what we think of it, or whether we agree with it, or if we fight it.

Let me repeat this, because it is important:

   All truth is independent
   in that sphere in which God has placed it,
   to act for itself,
   as all intelligence also;
   otherwise there is no existence.

(D&C 93:30)

Why is it important to know that all truth is independent?

Knowledge is NOT Independent

What's the difference between truth and knowledge?

Are truth and knowledge the same? 

   No, they are not the same. 

Truth is universal, but knowledge is individual.

Unlike Christ, who possesses all truth, we hold broken glass shards of it in our hands, polishing them into little bits of knowledge.

Admission: our ability to perceive truth is really subjective. 

It's like we're all casting our hands into the same stream and describing what we're experiencing in different ways. 

The stream is the same for everyone, but each person reacts to it in a unique and personal way.

Knowledge, then, is truth filtered through experience.

This is why knowledge is not independent, because it depends upon our "knowing" something through experiencing it in a body. 

​It is our uniqueness that individualizes our knowledge. 

Alma tried to help us understand this point:

   [Christ] will take upon him their infirmities,
   that his bowels may be filled with mercy,
   according to the flesh,
   that he may know
   according to the flesh
   how to succor his people. . . .

   Now the Spirit [i.e. the Spirit of Truth]
   knoweth all things;
   nevertheless the Son of God suffereth
   according to the flesh
   that he might take upon him
   the sins of his people.

(Alma 7:12-13)

Wait a minute.  Why did Christ need to suffer "according to the flesh" (i.e., in a body) in order to perform his infinite and eternal sacrifice?  

Why couldn't Christ have atoned for our sins from heaven?

What made having a body a necessary condition for him to redeem his people?

The Importance of "Flesh"

Abinadi made a big deal about God taking upon him "flesh" (see, Mosiah 15:1-5). 

   And thus the flesh
   becoming subject to the Spirit,
   or the Son to the Father,
   being one God.

(Mosiah 15:5)

What is this implying?  What does it mean for the "flesh to be subject to the Spirit?"

Why did Abinadi quote from Isaiah 53 to the wicked priests of Noah?

   [Christ] shall see the travail of his soul,
   and shall be satisfied;
   by his knowledge
   shall my righteous servant
   justify many;
   for he shall bear their iniquities.

(Mosiah 14:11)

Do we see the irony?  

Think about it: why would the Spirit of Truth, Christ, who knows all things, need to gain knowledge?

Christ's anguish was not just physical but was also spiritual.  The atonement encompassed both spirit AND body, where he bled from every pore.

The Point:  There are some things we can only "know" with a body.

A "fulness of joy," for example (see, D&C 93:33-34).

This is what is meant by "intelligence."  

As I've said before, intelligence, or the light of truth, is not about knowing "facts" or the truthfulness of propositions. 

Intelligence does not reward players of Trivial Pursuit.

Intelligence, or the light of truth, is about "knowing" how to do something . . . in both spirit AND body . . . how to take "reality" (what is) and shape it towards what "could be" (a new reality). 

Intelligence is inherently creative. 

   There is nothing that the Lord thy God
   shall take in his heart to do
   but what he will do it . . .
   [for] I am more intelligent
   than they all.

(Abraham 3:17, 19)

Christ earned the title "Creator," capital "C," because His intelligence transcends all others.

He showed us how "to act" rather than be "acted upon." 

The glory of God is intelligence because it fills the immensity of space with wonderful creation!

The Word of God Teaches Faith in an Unseen Reality

We've all come across this gem from our friend Alma Jr.:

   If ye have faith
   ye hope for things
   which are not seen,
   which are true.

(Alma 32:21)

Here we find a connection between faith and truth. 

Faith, we see, must always be fixed to what is true, or it will fail.

But remember how we defined truth at the beginning, quoting Jacob's words, when we said Truth = Reality:

   For the Spirit speaketh the truth
   and lieth not.
   Wherefore, it speaketh of things
   as they really are,
   and of things
   as they really will be.

(Jacob 4:13)

So what if things as they "really will be" are different from things as they presently exist? 

What does that say about truth?

What if reality could be shaped by our faith, so that what IS ("true(x) = what is now") is not the same as what WILL BE in the future ("true(y) = what will be") through the exercise of our intelligence?

When Christ asks us to "have faith," He is saying, "You can create beautiful, wonderful new realities like me.  If you will rise up and follow me, I will show you how to be a creator, too."

Do you see new meaning to the Lord's words:

   I am the Son of the living God,
   that I WAS,
   that I AM,
   and that I AM TO COME.

(D&C 68:6)

Christ's power of redemption extends to creating realities, or kingdoms, or "mansions" for all of us, but more importantly, with all of us, if we let Him.

   Now faith is the substance of things
   hoped for, the evidence of things
   not seen.

   Through faith we understand
   that the worlds were framed
   by the word of God,
   so that things which are seen
   were not made of things
   which do appear.

(Hebrews 11:1, 3)

That's confusing. 

How can we weave new possibilities and realities, how can we bring beauty from ashes?  What is the principle upon which the "word of my power" relies?

   Moses called upon God, saying:
   Tell me, I pray thee, why
   these things are so,
   and by what thou madest them?

   And the Lord God said unto Moses. . . 
   By the word of my power,
   have I created them,
   which is mine Only Begotten Son,
   who is full of grace and truth.

(Moses 1:30, 32)

I'll skip to the main point.  Of all the possible things we could learn; of all the possible things we can "know"; of all the greatest and most glorious things ― the ultimate form of Intelligence that requires both our body AND spirt is "knowing" how to be "one" with each other. 

How?  My friends, the only way to become one is to "know" each other, as Christ came to "know" us when he suffered in our stead.

The only way to really "know" someone is to love them to death.

Why Do We Go to Church on Easter?

This past weekend I returned from a business trip and found our house brimming with Peeps and chocolate eggs.  My 6 year old son said to me:

   Son: "Daddy, why do we go to Church on Easter?"

   Me:  "Well, that's sorta the point."

   Son: "But it's a holiday!"

Where Did I Go Wrong?

Have you ever been led astray by GPS (or Siri)?

Let's say you're driving to a friend's house for a BBQ and you are obediently following the directions:

   1.  In 400 feet, turn left.
   2.  Stay in the right lane.
   3.  At the traffic light, turn right.
   4.  Your destination is on your left.

Ummm.  You look around and find yourself in the middle of an industrial park.

   What happened? 

So we grab our GPS and double check the address we entered. 

​Oh no!  Siri transposed the east/north coordinates.

We were so busy following directions, we forgot to look where we were going!

A Straight Line in 3 and 4 Dimensions

​When we think of a straight line, we probably imagine a line drawn between Point A and Point B.

That's a two-dimensional depiction of a straight line.  But the Strait and Narrow Path is NOT two-dimensional, and NEITHER ARE WE.

Pretend for a moment that we are infinite, eternal beings.  We have always existed, growing and developing and progressing through the gospel of our Father.

Now imagine yourself in relation to your Father.

DO NOT suppose there's an imaginary gulf between you and Him, as though He was at one end of a long string and you are down the line from Him, less advanced and less perfect.

Instead, imagine God at the center of a cone, or an upside down pyramid.  This Cone represents all creation.  All existence flows towards Him, who sits in the bosom of eternity.

Now, don't think of God at the top of the cone, but rather picture Him at the bottom.  Think of a spiral; think of water pooling down a drain; think of the swirling chaos of matter endlessly traveling in one eternal round.

Okay, now imagine that we are traveling along the circumference of the cone, as if on a wheel, the way the earth orbits the sun.  

If we're at the top of the cone, wouldn't it be nice to drop a straight line through the center of the spiral so we could travel the shortest distance?  

Picture that "shortest distance" that bisects the cone as "a pillar of fire."

Good so far?  If you're a geometry buff (I am not, forgive me), then you know that I am talking about a Geodesic.

All of you astrophysicists know that geodesics are critically important to General Relativity, where a "straight line" is formed in the curvature of spacetime.

And if you're studying for A.P. college credit, you probably know that a photon, or light, is mass-less (called "null").​

Are we having fun?  If so, read on.

Now, picture space-time as an hourglass.  Pretend that it can be turned upside down, so what was up is now down (I mean, in space, there is no up or down, is there?).

But in flipping space upside down, we also rotate time.  

Scientists and philosophers have not been able to figure out the paradoxes that are created by backwards causation.  Everything we know says it is impossible.  

   But then, so was the atonement.  And yet . . . 

   I am Alpha and Omega,
   the beginning and the ending,
   saith the Lord, which is,
   and which was,
   and which is to come.

(Revelation 1:8)

Lesser and Higher Laws

The point of this is to say that there are laws ordained for each level/rung of the spiral.

The lesser laws are those which are at the top (or bottom, as the case may be) of the cone, which encompass the largest diameter and circumference.

Here's the problem: there are no bridges connecting the two sides of the cylinder.  You can't traverse from one side to the other in a straight line.  

Instead, we have to travel along the circumference.

By way of example, if I want to travel from the United States to China, I CANNOT go in a straight line through the center of the earth.

Instead, I hop on an airplane and traverse the surface of the globe.  

The airplane will not go from Point A to Point B in a straight line, either, because it is shorter (and saves on fuel) to take advantage of the curvature of the earth to fly in an arc.

Here's where it gets complicated: because we are multifaceted, eternal beings, we do not exist in a singular point on the spiral.  

In some areas, we are spiritually advanced, and in others, we are woefully weak.

So it is problematic to think of truth as an elevator, with God at the top (Penthouse suite) and us on various levels or floors below, because that is thinking linearly. 

Truth is not linear.  

Time is not linear.

Which 'You' Does God Judge?

Question:  What does it mean to "endure to the end" when there is no ending?  When we are end-less?

Here's an experiment: pretend each person's life is unspooled in a linear line.  You can see yourself at age 8 becoming accountable.  There you are at 19 on a mission to New Guinea.  At 25 getting married.  Now you're dead at 78.

If your righteousness at time of death (TOD) was the most important thing, then God (knowing the end from the beginning) could just take us at the moment we reach the pinnacle of the amount of righteousness we're gonna achieve in this life.

For example, let's pretend that the most righteous I will ever be is when I am 20-year old virgin serving a mission, immersed in daily scripture study and prayer, filled with real intent.  

After that, the following 50 years are a real disappointment for the Lord, who watches me slide downhill and sin all over the place.

Am I judged for who I was at 20?  At 70?  Do we average the two and find the mean?

The Plot Thickens

The thought experiment, above, addresses the problem of linear time.

But spiritually, we exist outside of time.

If you don't think that "time" is important, just appreciate the fact that Alma uses the word 20 times in Chapter 40.

   All is as one day with God,
   and time only is measured
   unto men.

(Alma 40:8)

In fact, time as we understand it is a condition of a telestial kingdom.

   The seventh angel shall sound his trump;
   and he shall stand forth upon the land
   and upon the sea, and swear
   in the name of him who sitteth upon the throne,
   that there shall be time no longer.

(D&C 88:110)

Not to belabor the point, but the absence of time will be one of the distinguishing characteristics of the New Earth.

We're gonna sing this new song:

   The Lord hath redeemed his people;
   And Satan is bound and time is no longer.
   The Lord hath gathered all things in one.
   The Lord hath brought down Zion from above.
   The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath.

(D&C 84:100)

What Does This Have to Do With "Truth?"

Hopefully we've seen that all laws coexist at all times because law is not linear.

Here on the earth, today, you can be living a telestial law of finance, with a terrestrial marriage, and a celestial law of sacrifice all at once. 

In other words, kingdoms are not separated by space geographically, nor by time, but by the law that governs in the particular spacetime.

   All kingdoms have a law given;

   And there are many kingdoms;
   for there is no space
   in the which there is no kingdom;
   and there is no kingdom
   in which there is no space,
   either a greater or a lesser kingdom.

   And unto every kingdom
   is given a law; and unto every law
   there are certain bounds also and conditions.

   All beings who abide not in those conditions
   are not justified.

(D&C 88:36-39)

Right this very minute, we can choose to abide the conditions of a celestial, terrestial, or telestial law.

If you've read this Blog to any extent, you know that one of the main themes I write about is discerning between lesser and greater laws.

I didn't set out to do that.  But over the years I became baffled at members and leaders in the Church championing dead, lesser laws (as if those laws were the coolest, or had the power to save us).

In other words, when we have the option of living celestial laws, why do we get so excited about living telestial ones?

So let's take just a second and summarize some of the problems with obeying lesser laws.

1.  Lesser Laws Cannot Exalt. 

A lesser law cannot produce the fruits of the gospel.  Isn't this why we live in constant cognitive dissonance?  We are victims of self-deception who follow a lesser law and expect celestial blessings. 

Think of the Law of the Harvest.  We cannot plant a tomato seed and harvest a giraffe. 
 
   2.  Lesser laws consume our spiritual energy.

One of the problems we all face is limited time and resources.  When we divert our labor away from the higher law and keep ourselves busy with keeping the lesser laws, we halt our progress.

As the saying goes about running a rat race: even if we win, we're still rats!

Lesser laws stunt our spiritual growth by putting us on the treadmill of legalistic obedience, which ultimately ends up hardening our hearts.

As we cleave to lesser laws (like the Jews in Jesus's day), we become content and stop seeking.  They numb our appetites until we stop hungering for Christ. 

After all (to paraphrase Nephi), "A law! a law!  We have a law, and we need no higher law!"
 
   3.  Lesser laws create systemic self-righteousness. 

If you think about it, lesser laws are inherently Anti-Christ because they are predicated on something other than Christ (a false substitute). 

Let's say, for example, our religion is predicated on being "temple worthy."  Then satisfying the requirements for a temple recommend replaces becoming a child of Christ.

   Really.  It is that serious.

While staying on the "covenant path," we go through the motions without ever partaking of the fruit of the tree of life. 

   4.  Lesser laws are always less loving, more legalistic, and more controlling and authoritarian.

Lesser laws are paternalistic.  The law is used to keep members "in line" and to color "inside the box," instead of liberating our souls from the chains of darkness.  

We find that Churches built upon lesser laws become more sectarian; more -ites; more stratification between lay members and leadership; more concerned with forms over substance, style over spirit. ​