The will is the most immediate reality of consciousness. Altruism is a necessity, since isolation is impossible; moral choice is explained in terms of the attractive or repulsive power; and ethical conduct is defined in terms of social beneficence. It is not difficult to see that the character even of a well-behaved child is not the character we should wish to find in an adult. A child is absolutely egotistical; children feel their wants acutely, and strives remorselessly to satisfy them, especially against their competitors, other children, and first of all against their brothers and sisters. Eventually, altruistic impulses and morality will awake in the little egoist. Morality, of course, does not develop simultaneously in all its departments, and furthermore, the duration of the amoral period of all childhood differs in different individuals. This can be compared to the mediating presence and activity of God and explains how people undergo a religious mode of experiencing, and other choose not to. We have probably all had the opportunity to do a puzzle. Each small piece has its place in the final picture, even when we do not know where it fits at a given moment. The Lord knows where each piece belongs so that it all fits into the plan. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8All the commandments are of eternal importance in the context of the great plan of the great plan of happiness. As with our fellow humans, a venture of faith on our part may be necessary if we are going to establish any beneficial relationship. To respond as a person to another person involves showing a certain trustfulness and willingness to make a concession that a person is regarded as being correct or justified, as long as the contrary has not been proven, and thereby anticipate proof and verification based on our trust of that individual. In every advance from sense data to the perception of an ordered World or from the projection of a scientific hypothesis to its observational verification, as in every successful voyage of discovery or in the invention of some new kind of machinery, there must be not only an act theorizing or of insight, but also a sustained effort of will which carries the operation through to completion. It may be that God can or will disclose himself only to one who shows such an initial faith and is willing to venture in trust beyond what has been established by scientific proof or philosophical demonstration. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8It is possible that in order to gain the religious knowledge upon which our personal good depends, we must give rein to our passional desire to believe. Some day we will be in God’s presence forever if we know Christ, and we will see God in all of his greatness and glory. In Matthew 5.8, Jesus Christ reported: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Many of us have called our humble communities a World, and so we covet them; and yet there is among us but a half-awakened common consciousness, sprung from a common joy and grief, at burial, birth, or wedding; from a common hardship in destitution, scarcity of land, and meager wages; and, above all, from the sight of the veil that hangs between us and opportunity. All this caused us to think some thoughts together, may we experience the fullness of God. May we be given the strength to comprehend the love of Christ in its height and depth and length and breadth. This is remarkable: the fullness of God is the spiritual comprehension (experience) of the satiety of the love of Christ. Everything that God does make me believe in him. All the things that he says makes me feel this way: Look at the World and tell me what you see. If you ever need someone, you can count on me. The fancy World of Heaven, in your eyes, you are the cure to make me smile. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8Give yourself time and quietness in this Advent season and seek this experience. Pray to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. It is a blessing that we would know in our heart the outpouring of grace upon grace, and that the glory of God would shine into our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the splendor of God in the face of Christ; that as people, we can be amazed that Christ can be so real to us. God will be the cure to make us smile. Everything that we eat is to believe in God. All that we want is for God to spread his love over us. Look at the sea, and tell me what you feel. If you ever need someone, you can always count on God. For decision that affect eternity, having a gospel perspective is essential. In a revelation given to Moses, we are told of our Heavenly Father’s declared intention: For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of human beings. God’s desire is to give everyone the opportunity to receive a fullness of joy. Our Heavenly Father created a great plan of happiness for all his children, a very special plan so that we can return to live with him. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8Heaven will be far greater than anything we presently know. In some ways, Heaven may be like our lives right now; we may even live in a World somewhat like our own—although one without sin nor decay. However, in other ways it will be far more glorious than anything we have ever experiences—and one reason is because we will be in the presence of God forever. Like the shepherds to whom the angels came on that first Christmas night, when we first glimpse Heaven, we will surely be overwhelmed by the glory of the Lord. Understanding this plan of happiness provides us with an eternal perspective and helps us to truly value the commandments, the ordinances, the covenants, and the trials and tribulations. The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. The word advent means coming. In this season, we focus on the coming of the Son of God into the World. And the spirit of our celebration should be joyful and happy. A very important connection has long been recognized between faith and what may be called the cognitive freedom of the human mind in its relation to God. And not merely in works, but also in faith, has God preserved the will of human beings free and under their own control. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8Faith is a sufficiently free act to be meritorious. God’s self-revelation in the Incarnation to a deliberately veiled from, so that no one could be compelled to find God in Jesus Christ, and yet so that all who were willing to find God there might do so. God is willing to appear openly to those who seek him with their hearts, he so regulates the knowledge of himself that he has given signs of himself, visible to those who seek him, and not to those who seek him not. God, having created human beings as personal, always acts toward them in ways which respect and preserve their personal freedom and responsibility. In the United States of America, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, to reinforce God’s desire for freedom. The Emancipation Proclamation provided that all enslaved humans in states still in active rebellion against the United States of America would be freed automatically on 1 January 1863. Complete abolition of slavery occurred with the congressional passage and ultimate ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. The divine presence is always mediated through the events and circumstances of a World which God has created to be a relatively independent sphere of interaction with his human creatures. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8Human’s personal autonomy is protected by the fact that one can become conscious of God’s activity toward him only by an uncompelled response of faith. Thus, people are not only free to obey or disobey God; they also have the prior and more fundamental freedom to be conscious of God or to refrain from being conscious of him. The human mind displays a natural tendency to interpret its experience religiously, but this tendency acts only as an inclination which can be resisted and inhibited. Humans thus cognitively free in relation to God. Faith is the correlate of freedom and is related to cognition as free will is to conation. This is a great truth. Understanding the plan will help people keep the commandments, make better decisions, and have the right motivation. Many of us have witnessed the devotion and faithfulness of Church members in different countries, some of which have political, social, or economic conflict. One common factor that is found in these faithful members is the perspective that they have of eternity. The eternal perspective of the gospel leads us to understand the place that we occupy in God’s plan, to accept difficulties and progress through them, to make decisions, and to center our lives on our divine potential. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8Perspective is the way we see things when we look at them from a certain distance, and it allows us to appreciate their true value. Moroni 8.18 and 26 reports: For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity. And the remission of sins brings gentleness, and humbleness of heart; and because of gentleness and humbleness of heart comes from the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filled with hope and perfect love, which endures by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God. It is extremely important that we do not make decisions of eternal value from the perspective of mortality. For decisions that affect eternity, having a gospel perspective is essential. Faith in the Heavenly Father’s plan gives us endurance even amid the wreckage of such proximate hopes. Hopes keeps us anxiously engaged in good causes even when these appear to be losing causes. Not having an eternal perspective, or losing it, can lead us to have an Earthly perspective as our personal standard and to make decisions that are not in harmony with the will of God. Look at life as a journey that expands from the premortal past to the eternal future, and focus on happiness. The rest of your life will be the best of your life. We are eternal beings and life goes on. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8