It has been from the beginning and it will be till the end of time that people will have a tendency to rationalize and blame their behavior on other or certain circumstances. The growth of the mind is the widening of consciousness, each step forward has been a most painful and laborious achievement. Even tenacious individualists are eventually consumed by what is going on around them, the necessary constraints of socialization in a World where solitary physical and mental spaces are increasingly difficult to come by. There is an urge to escape, to find a spot where no one knows or cares who you are, and disappear so you can focus on this idea of remaining true to yourself at all costs. Against the suffering which may come upon one from human relationships the readiest safeguard is voluntary isolation, keeping oneself aloof from other people. The happiness which can be achieved along this path is, as we see, the happiness of quietness. Against the dreaded external World, one can only defend oneself by some kind of turning away from it, if one intends to solve the task by oneself. We are motivated by the goal of self-preservation, and we know that we are mortal. This is why many people invest in a supernatural belief system that paves the way for immortality. As human beings, we are capable of reflecting on the mysteries of life and celebrating the magnificence we find. Humans are religious in part because religious faith helps alleviate the fear of death by offering a means to transcend mortality, to achieve some kind of perception of eternal life. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8

 Studies show that people reminded of their mortality subsequently report greater levels of religiosity as well as belief in afterlife. When we are actively able to replay our sacred moments at will, one will find that a connection to the deeper, more meaningful side of life becomes part of our daily existence rather than a once-in-a-blue-moon stroke of luck. When we discover the power of our divine moments, we will discover a well that will renew the spirit and keep us fully alive. It is important to devour these divine moments, no matter where we are; they are one of the best ways to nourish the soul. These things of ordinary life that enchant us toward eternity appears to be a fully Earthly relationship reminding us that human love is not as simple as it appears. Love releases us into the realm of divine imagination, where the soul is expanded and reminded of its unearthly cravings and needs. Love allows one to see the true angelic nature of the environment and people around us. Charity is everlasting love. Faith is belief in revealed truths. It is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together—something that connects all life but is also eternal. Ultimately the object of faith is God himself, who is not, however, known by the human mind in his divine simplicity but only discursively and by means of propositions. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8

 We are instructed to let all bitterness, and anger, and evil speaking be put away. However, at some point, the trap of fatalism is quite compelling. Many men and women have seen in their companies and communities, a full range of self-serving, power hungry, unethical, and immoral behavior undertaken in the name of the organization, the city, the state, and the nation. They have witnessed the destructive power of human frailty. It is natural for people to become numb, disenfranchised, or themselves corrupted, or even operate morally in, a system so pervasively warped by evil. Some people voice hopelessness over the way their children are growing up in a World that suddenly seems filled with drugs, alcohol, violence, and life-threatening infirmaries. Those conditions make a lot of people feel that the very survival of an entire generation of children is threatened. A wave of destruction puts our planet at risk. The global economy is failing us, too; we seem unable to stem the tide of money flowing away from those who need it and into the pockets of those who merely want more of it. Everywhere we look we find a mind-boggling number of ethical questions about how we should be using our resources and time. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8

We have the power to control carnal communication. However, with so much hate, violence, greed, and wrongdoing around us, it can be difficult to see much good in the World. Dispirited, too many of us simply throw our hands up in defeat. We do not necessarily give ourselves over to evil, we begin to feel it is futile to fight it. We begin t expect nothing will ever improve. However, what is important is that we recognize that our attitudes—including our fatalism—are at the crux of the World’s problem. Imagine an Earth without evil, a planet is that holy good. Being human would have no particular meaning. Since the dawn of complex human consciousness, humankind has believed that our freedom is based on the principal that we get to make our own choices. Choosing to be good would have no value unless goodness existed in opposition with its polar conflicting agenda: evil. Every situation, every institution, and every person has the conscious decision to choose evil or good. What makes good and evil is what we choose to do with our lives. Your intent, rather than the action itself, is paramount. Yet keep in mind, behavior undertake for good does not always bear the product of its intent, any more than evil motives always bring evil outcomes. All reason knows is that God is the eternal, ever-present, and creative source of anything that does (or can) exist. Creation and preservation are identical. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8

These paradoxical expressions are required in order to affirm the truth that while creatures own their being to God as their first cause, they also act according to secondary cause that are appropriate to their natures. And sometimes what people mean to harm us, God turns it around and makes a situation that benefits us. Also, some people may be offended by events are meant for their well-being, even if there was no bad intent. God, as first cause, can suspend or transform secondary causes in order to perform his will. When he does so, his action is called a miracle. A miracle does not violate nature. It is a case of nature behaving in an abnormal way through a special act of the same creative power which is at work in the normal processes that can be subsumed under scientific laws. Miraculous acts are not less natural than nonmiraculous ones. However, while the abnormal character of an event is empirically verifiable, its miraculous character as an act of God can be discerned by faith alone. A wide range of schools of psychology also recommend owning up to one’s tendencies toward good and evil, in the belief that coming to terms with both inclinations is a means to healthy emotional, social, and spiritual development in adulthood. Many of our evil tendencies remain hidden, even from ourselves, until maturity provides us with the imperative to confront them. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8

There may be hearts that are suffering in silence. The individual struggle to prevail over the feelings of evil powers that invade each of us produces the tension that gives birth to both moral action and creativity. This inner struggle is at the heart of our sense of personal freedom. Quantum physics indicates that the power of expectation can change the behavior of subatomic particles and energy waves. Energy is momentum (the product of mass and velocity) or vis viva. In all the Universe the same quantity of living force is always conserved. The apparent loss of living force in inelastic collisions is usually explained away by the hypothesis that the invisible small parts of matter gain energy just as much as the macroscopic bodies seem to lose. This is extended into a belief that what you think is what you get, literally. That is why people believe we are actually bringing more of that evil on ourselves by focusing on negative thoughts, negative news, or the evil in others. From a religious, psychological, and practical standpoint, it stands to reason that we have a vested interest in changing our attitudes, even if evil seems too powerful to oppose. Before we can hope to conquer the evil that is out there, we must face the part of us that gives in to these vices, that allows us to lose hope in the face of negativity. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8

The real challenge that we face in our communications with others is to condition our hearts to have Godlike feelings for all of Heavenly Father’s children. Many people have never missed a meal, been cold, slept on the ground, never had any real-life experiences, never bled. So how can you expect them to have any real material? Still, that does not make them bad people nor mean that one should go out of their way to make them experience hardship and pain just because you have.  Meeting our own shadow can be a painful and frightening experience. Our shadows represent the unknown parts of ourselves that are too reprehensible, incongruent, or forbidding to incorporate into our conscious personality. Typically, those of us afraid of evil within project those traits onto others in the World. Projection is the easiest way to avoid dealing with our own darker traits, impulses, and actions. Projection is a way of blaming others so we do not have a guilty conscious. Spiritual growth requires the acknowledgment of one’s own imperfection. The destructive power of evil is linked to the inability to admit personal sinfulness, and the corresponding tendency to see others as bad instead. Fortunately, inner exploration means more than facing personal weakness. Looking closely at oneself also allows for rediscovery of spiritual strengths. True individuality is all about an ability to shift and change and take advantage of circumstances without abandoning a core truth and confidence. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8

Heavenly Father has given us a priceless gift in our capacity to communicate with each other. Our communications are at the core of our relationships with others. If we are to return home safely to Heavenly Father, we must develop righteous relationships with His children here in mortality. Our communications reflect in our countenance. Therefore, we must be careful not only what we communicate, but also how we do so. Souls can be strengthened or shattered by the messages and the manner in which we communicate. Integrity is the core of our character. Without integrity we have a weak foundation upon which to build righteous character. Negative criticism is intended to hurt and often defame and to destroy. Even if you are under attack by a lot of people, at some point it is just best to ignore what they say and do because you do not want to become like them. This caustic communication is cruel, and it tends to crush the character of all those about whom it is directed. We should not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably. May we be found communicating with each other in a manner in which the Savior would communicate. Godlike communications are expressed in tones of love rather than loudness. They are intended to be helpful rather than hurtful. They tend to bind us together rather than to drive us apart. They are tools to build relationships rather than to belittle. “God knows thoughts and intent of heart,” reports Alma 18.32. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8