God brought time into existence and he holds it in existence everlastingly. As the First Intelligence, God provides through a subordinate level of intelligence—the celestial bodies, upon which the Lord exercises immediate control—activating power for the active intellect controlling human’s thoughts. The instant that a human heart surrenders to the love and Lordship of God, a magnificent, supernatural miracle takes place. They Holy Spirit of God, creates and transforms the human spirit by entering it and dwelling in that recreated spirit, completely encompassing it with the full measure of the unlimited power of God. Our brains have evolved and scientists are studying the architecture of the mind, by doing brain scans, to see how divine feelings and intensions are represented in the brain. They are interested to find where in the brain belief systems are represented. Scientist have long speculated that there must be a God spot in the human brain, a distinct area responsible for spirituality. Danish neuroscientists have reporting that talking to God is much like communicating with a friend or neighbour, neurologically speaking. When people pray, four regions in the brain lit up—those also active when we relate to other humans. They are the same regions of the brain which have evolved most recently, such as those involved in imagination, memory and theory of mind—the recognition that other people and living things can have their own thoughts and intentions. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8

The human brain has evolved to adapt to the challenges of the natural environment. However, the brain did not evolve to communicate with invisible supernatural beings. So when firm believers pray, the research indicates that their brains must first process God as a concrete person. If we accept the implied argument here that, as a function of our evolutionary heritage, our brains have evolved to respond to the presence of God as a real, concrete person, then many of those people struggling to believe in an abstract deity are working against their very natures. The evidence suggests that the more abstract the concept of God (the less faith people have), the more unreal the experience is to the human brain. That is why many have so much faith in God. They believe there can be a powerful intervention for those who have faith in the Lord. The God spot is thus a domain of reality which looks upward to God for its sustaining power and with which individual souls strive to fuse impersonally. God’s existence is established from the Physics, in that the eternity of motion demands an unmoved mover, which is in itself pure form. In addition to being the source of motion, such pure form is also Intelligence as such, operating not only as the source of the celestial bodies and all subordinate motions but also as the creative originator and sustaining force behind all mortal intelligences. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8

Wisdom is insight into the way life works:  proper understanding of the consequences of our thoughts, words and actions and an awareness of the true values of things. We should focus on the simple ways we can serve in the kingdom of God, always striving to change lives, including our own with all the energy of our soul. However, sometimes as a result of focusing too much time and energy on our Church service, eternal family relationships can deteriorate. Employment performance can suffer. This is not healthy, spiritually nor otherwise. While there may be times when our Church callings require more intense effort and unusual focus, we need to strive to keep things in proper balance. “We should never allow our service to replace the attention needed by other important priorities in our lives. We must see that all things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that one should run faster than one has strength,” Mosiah 4.27. One of the most important things we do through the gospel is to build people. Properly serving others requires effort to understand them as individual—their personalities, strengths, concerns, hopes and dreams—so that the correct help and support can be provided. Our goal should always be to lift, encourage, assist, teach, love, and perfect people. “Remember the worth of soul is great in the sight of God,” reports Doctrines and Covenants 18.10. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8

Friendship is feeling comfortable in each other’s company, being able to share joys and sorrows are all features of friendship and these are things of immense value. True friendship enables each person to grow and ensures that the unique individuality of each person is recognized. When thinking about justice, some people think first about giving wrongdoers the punishment they deserve. Justice is also about acting out of concern for what is right and seeing right prevail. It is about social justice, especially for those who suffer most and are least able to protect themselves. Justice is not about a culture which encourages everyone to insist on their own rights at the expense of others. It is about a community that knows that everyone’s well-being is bound up with that of everyone else. As we work to magnify our callings, we should seek the inspiration of the Spirit to solve problems in ways that will best serve the people. Within that framework are substantial opportunities to think, be creative, and make use of individual talents. Hope generates energy and sustains people through difficult times. For some people, hope is so strong that it inspires altruism to turn hope into a reality. True hope is much more than a general idea that things will get better. It is more than a belief in progress, which sees the World and people as getting better all the time, going away from violence, ignorance and confusion. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8

Christian hope means trusting that the foundations of the World are good because they spring from God. Because the eternal principle of agency gives us the freedom to choose and think for ourselves, we should become increasingly able to solve problems. We may make the occasional mistake, but as long as we are following gospel principles and guidelines, we can learn from those mistakes and become more understanding of others and more effective in serving them. Many people continue to misunderstand, neglect, or ignore what works and does not work relationally for the people in their lives (or the people they are considering being in a partnership with). No wonder some people are confusing to us. We have to listen to people without trying to figure out solutions for what is going on, and listen with our whole being. Our job is not to fix something, but to genuinely take in and resonate with what our friend or partner or employer is feeling. It is important to stay alive and fully present in our listening, doing so not as a duty, but as an act of intimate interest and care. And we cannot be passive in this! If our interest wanes, or it is not good timing, we must to pretend to listen. Either refocus, or let the individual know, in a non-shaming way, that we would like to continue the conversation later on when we can be more present, making sure we are not using this option as a way to avoid listening! It is also important that we give the people who matter more real and unsolicited appreciation, including for little things. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8

We spend time with people because we love them and we want to watch over our Heavenly Father’s children. We must allow others to process and grow, even if it means we have to be more sensitive to their concerns and desires.  Keep in mind that guilt is not a proper motivational technique. We must always motivate through love and sincere appreciation, not by creating guilt. Catch others doing something right. Be trustworthy, which a safe place for the people we care about, protective but no possessive. This is not about being on our best behaviour, but about working on ourselves deeply enough to be incapable of betrayal or any sort of abuse. Still, some people experience some feelings of guilt as a consequence of their service in Church. These feelings come when our time and attention are being torn between competing demands and priorities. As mortals, we simply cannot do everything at once. Therefore, we must do all things in wisdom and order. Often that will mean temporarily postponing attention to one priority in order to take care of another. Sometimes family demands will require your full attention. Other times professional responsibilities will come first. And there will be times when the church callings come first. Good balance comes in doing things in a timely way and in not procrastinating our preparation or waiting to fulfill our responsibilities until the last minute. #RandolpHarris 6 of 8

We also may want to thoughtfully allocate our resources of time, income, and energy. It is important to cherish the people in our lives daily. This means, in part, not taking them for granted. No matter what our family needs are or our responsibilities in the Church are, there is no such thing as done. We have to keep our gratitude for our family and the church alive and well. And express appreciation. There will always be more we can do. There is always another family matter that needs attention, another lesson to prepare, another interview to conduct, another meeting to attend. We just need to be wise in protecting our health and following the counsel that is given to us the best that we can. And when people become upset, we cannot treat them like something to fix. We have to put away our repair tools and do whatever we can to be a compassionate and grounding presence for the people in our lives at such times, focusing not so much of their words as on their energy, keeping a solid but flexible boundary around them and ourselves as their feelings pour forth. Sometimes all the want is to be listened to. It also might be necessary to initiate the conversation when it comes to addressing relationship difficulties. It is part of our responsibility as competent human beings. If we are feeling cut off from the people in our lives, we cannot blame them for this, but instead share our feelings regarding being thus disconnected, and do so vulnerably. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8

The key is to know and understand our own capabilities and limitations and then to pace ourselves, allocating and prioritizing our time, attention, and resources to wisely help others, including our family, in their quest for eternal life. As our core feelings emerge more openly and vulnerably, and transparency is allowed to play a more central role in our encounters, being right becomes less important to us than being connected and warm. Opening to and letting in others—emotionally, mentally, energetically—signals not a loss of power, but instead a freeing up of power. Love and humor return, along with greater clarity about mutual battles for power. The space then feels quitter, relaxing, more spacious, as it is no longer dominated by courtroom tactics and their corresponding thoughts. Our creator expects his children everywhere to educate themselves. “Seek diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; seek out the best books, words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith,” reports Doctrines and Covenants 88.118. And he assures us that knowledge acquired here will be ours forever. Our goal is for communication to be at its best and communion and articulation functioning as one. It is the electricity and circuit board of relationship, optimally flowing when its emotional components are illuminated, respected, and fully connected. #RandolpHarris 8 of 8