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Principle of Free Activity, Order, and Meaning
The most dangerous and unsure things is to try to live without God. Our function is to receive God’s grace. Inward experience—whether of willed effort or belief itself—is the richest basis of knowledge. The reason we require any kind of government is that some people were born corrupt, yet with a sense of morality. Some of our souls are thus in a state of conflict. Sovereigns exist in order to prevent the disaster which arise from this conflict and to keep order within the state. Many people are not capable of governing themselves, for some cannot spontaneously quell the evil that is in their being; therefore, the power to do so must reside in the hands of a ruler who will be above criticism and have absolute power. God who is the author of sovereignty is also the author of punishment. God is the author of punishment so that the corrupt people may still be redeemed. However, if a person is to be punished, there must be an absolute and unquestioned power to execute the punishment, and that power is God’s. “The Lord slays wicked to bring forth righteous purposes,” reports 1 Nephi 4.13. When we act in confident faith, a supernatural identification with God immediately takes place. In God we live and move and have our being. We see all things in God. We see in the intelligible World of the divine reason not only eternal immutable essences but—in a certain sense and with certain qualifications—created and changing corporeal things as well. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
Created things are in themselves casually inefficacious and God is the sole true cause of change in the Universe. We are dependent on God. It is God who creates us and conserves us from moment to moment and who alone acts on us and for us. Owing to our existence and actions as well as our knowledge to God, we are truly united with the Lord. The seemingly mystical notion of union with God is presented, both discursively and rigorously, as the deliverance of reason as well as of faith. “Be therefore perfect, even your Father which is in Heaven is perfect,” reports Matthew 5.48. In these words, we are challenged to strive for excellence in all that we do—to develop our talents and abilities—and above all to live in accordance with the Lord’s teachings. The pursuit of excellence should be major work of our lives. Because of confusion in their notions of presence to the mind, many people give little attention to enhancing their lives honestly. Knowledge of the Lord, so to speak, is replaced by external objects that requires representative entities to serve as surrogates. The doctrine of vision in God was offered as the solution to a problem that arises about our knowledge of objects outside of us (hors de nous hors de l’ame). God speaks to us through dreams and visions. “And it shall come to pass afterword, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your antiquated people shall dream dreams, and youth shall see visions,” reports Joel 2.28 #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
Sometimes our dreams challenge us about things in our heart that we leave unattended. Some people believe that the soul leaves the body and walks about in the Heavens to look at the Sun and the Stars; on the contrary, there is of necessity something united with (unie) and present to the mind that exhibits these objects to it, which transmitted through the intervening atmosphere and acted upon by various faculties of the soul, and the sources of ideas. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth,” reports John 16.7-8,12-13. It is through the Holy Ghost the members receive the knowledge and witness of the truth. So influenced, they willingly and voluntarily support the cause of the restored gospel. Whatever is required of them, they respond and feel comfortable about it. How else should it be? The price is paid. Unless people have an actual knowledge that the course they are pursuing is according to the will of God they will grow weary in their minds, and faint, for such has been, and always will be, the opposition in the hearts of unbelievers and those that know not God. For a person to lay down their all requires more than mere belief or supposition that one is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when these sufferings are ended, one will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the Glory of God. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
Our Lord reported to be careful only about one thing—our relationship to him. Since we are dependent on God in both action and thought, a question arises about the will and the possibility of freedom of the will. The will’s movement is caused by God toward the good-in-general (le bien en general) and determined in various ways toward particular objects. Movements toward the good-in-general is absolutely invincible, as is evident in the fact that we cannot will to be unhappy or desire something that does not appear to be a good. Determinations of the will, occasioned by sensations and thoughts, are not absolutely invincible. Although we do not initiate particular inclinations, we are immediately away, by sentiment interieur, of our power to refuse consent. And freedom in this sense is manifested even in our acceptance of grace. To recover some concept of humanity, one must again examine what a person does, thereby redefining his or her powers. The image of the rational, detached observer—scientist or philosopher—placed outside the World one observes must therefore give way to the participant who is, as it were, a knot of relations with the World. What can we do best with our lives? Transform into consciousness an experience as broad as possible. And also, the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon the World. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
We are still in possession of the inner drive that has structured our World—the need to create a coherent, intelligible image of humanity’s fate that gives significance to each individual life. Hence, the double burden of lucidity and anguish characteristics of our time, hence its temptations. God plants in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of children shall return to their fathers. If it were not so, we would be living in a state of metaphysical distraction and renounce our drive toward lucidity and submit to blind necessity and to natural social conditioning. This would be an intolerable reversion to the demons, that is, to the blind animal instinct within us, and would leave a scar on the planet, and the whole Earth would be utterly wasted at God’s coming. The works, and the designs, and the purpose of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught. The structures of values whereby each individual within a human society relates to the cosmos, to the community, and to our own actions now exist as pure, humble, and devoted to God. The power to dominate and transcends fate and to create a Universe in some way accessible to all people, who are thereby freed from time, death and blind necessity. The privileged potential image of humankind, therefore, detects as indicative of our present orientation is that human beings are the creator and forger of their own freedom. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
Am I Doing Anything to Enable Him to Bring His Redemption into Evident Reality in the Lives of Others?
We do not have a ready-made kingdom to rule, but there are nevertheless many ways in which we can make a difference. Leadership does not necessarily mean vanquishing an enemy single-handedly nor coming up with brilliant new ideas, although it can be both of these things. At its heart, leadership is simply doing what one can to improve things. However one choses to lead—by spearheading a legal suit to stop Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is an intergovernmental organization of 14 nations that account for an estimated 44 percent of global oil production and 73 percent of the World’s proven oil reserves, from price gauging American consumers. Oil prices have risen around 60 percent over the last year, and at least one of these countries, Iraq, is already receiving, in addition to what they charge oil, $4.7 billion in assistance from America. There are also others ways to become a leader, such as by teaching the Bible to youngsters, or by taking a stand at a board meeting, and by remaining optimistic when those around you are steeped in grief. Be assured that by taking action based in belief, feeling, and a strong sense of self, you are enabling others to do so as well. It has been witnessed when working with companies, hospitals, school systems, volunteer organizations, and the military, that when a nucleus of mature adults comes together it makes life better. A disciple realized it is our Lord’s honor that is at stake, not our own honor. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
In life, as in business, there has always been a need for those persons who can be called finishers. Their ranks are few, their opportunities many, their contributions great. Using their adult wisdom, confidence, and commitment, several adults can transform the culture of an entire system by convincing other people to become accountable for quality, morale, and profits. Relying on their wit, courage, seasoned communication skills, and solid belief that even one person can make a difference, adults who have lost their jobs after twenty years of service can band together to reinvent their own careers and to rectify an unhealthy economy. From the very beginning to the present time, a fundamental question remains to be answered by each who runs the race of life. Shall I falter or shall I finish? On the answer await the blessings of joy and happiness here in mortality and eternal life in the World to come. We are not left without guidance to make this momentous decision. The Holy Bible contains those accounts, even those lessons, which, if carefully learned, will serve us well and be as a lighthouse light to guide our thoughts and influence our actions. As we read, we sympathize with those who falter. We honor those who finish. Life has been called a race and people want to receive a prize, which is their goal or dream, and the run the race so they may obtain their heart’s desire. However, the race is not swift and we have to be strong for the battle. Our life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill our debt to God in relation to lost souls. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
Lust for power, greed of silver and gold, and disdain for honor have ever appeared as faces of failure in the panorama of life. Captivated by their artificial attraction, many noble souls have stumbled and fallen, thus losing the crown of victory reserved for the finisher of life’s great race. However, the mystical ecstatic way to God is on the same level as the way of the intellect. The religious commandment enjoying the love of God entails the duty of knowing whatever may be known of God, for love is proportionate to the knowledge which humans have of the beloved. God is regarded as the efficient and formal as well as the final cause of the cosmos. This God is pure intellectual activity, to which human’s intellection bears a certain resemblance. Therefore, prophets must have both an outstanding intellectual capacity and an outstanding imaginative capacity. Given these two preconditions, and suitable conduct, prophecy can be withheld from a person having the required qualifications only by means of a miracle. The intellectual capacity of prophets is similar at least in kind to that of philosophers; it enables them to receive a divine overflow, an influx coming from the Active Intellect, which brings about the actualization of human’s potential intellect. The Active Intellect is the last of the ten incorporeal Intellects; its special sphere of action is the sublunar World. Union with the Active Intellect represents the highest goal and is reached by the great philosophers. Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
Imagination is inferior to intellect. Imagination enables the prophet to see vertical dreams and visions, for the divine overflow spills over from the intellectual to the imaginative sphere. However, it certainly does not give access to a supraintellectual truth. The prophet Daniel explained that in the future of political kingdoms, God of Heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: but it shall break wicked kingdoms into pieces and consume them and it shall stand forever. Religious revelation does not procure any knowledge of the highest truth that cannot be achieved by the human intellect; it does, however, have an educative role—as well as a political one. The law as a whole aims at two things: the welfare of the soul and the welfare of the body. The Scriptures contain hints that may guide human individuals as are capable of understanding its hints to philosophical truths. Some of these truths are to be discovered in the beliefs taught to all those who safeguard a tolerable public order and further their morality. What ought to be humanities ultimate goal is to love God, and, as far as possible, to resemble him. Love of God can be achieved through knowledge of divine activity in the World, the only knowledge of God possible. This supreme goal can be reached through a study of natural science and of metaphysics, which appears to signify that the highest perfection can be attained only by people who lead the theoretical life. Spend your life for the sake of others as the bond-child of God. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
God places his saints where they will bring the most glory to him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be. The kingdom of God is like a stone cut out of a mountain that will fill the Earth. Imagine what our World would be like if every adult decided to travel down the pathways of exceptional competence. What kind of a World would it be if all of us felt good about ourselves, care about others, and approached life with self-knowledge and integrity? How much more pleasant daily existence would be. How nice it would be for teenagers, and twenty—and thirty-year-olds, to be able to look forward to the second half of life, instead of dreading it. What is more, a life of action can constitute an imitation of God. The activity of nature (or God) tends to preserve the cosmic order, which includes the perpetuity of the species of living beings. The imitation of the works of God (or nature) by the prophets means that the prophets imitate in leadership the indirect and complicated way through which nature obtains its desired results, as seen, for instance, in the extremely intricate mechanism of living organisms. What would happen if all these voyagers worked together to make the World a better place? Out of these self-suspending momentary mergers, mature compassion for all of life would be born in our whole generation. By becoming this type of leader, you could celebrate all that is good and hear more clearly what others, nature, and the World cry out from you. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
Whenever you feel the pangs of loneliness in the World, shadows of despair, or a longing for purpose, find ways to connect with whoever or whatever is suffering and begging for your help. “Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to the Lord in doing good,” reports 1 Peter 4.19. Love it. Listen to it. Give it what it needs and you will satisfy more deeply than ever before the yearnings within. And this is only the beginning. We have scarcely scratched the surface. Our works knows no boundaries. Those nations now closed to us will someday be open and we will have a G1 summit. And it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths; for that which had not been told them shall they see and that which they had not heard shall they consider. This is the work of the Lord and it is indeed marvelous and great, but moves forward essentially unnoticed by many of humankind’s political, cultural, and academic leaders. It progresses one heart and one family at a time, silently and unobtrusively, its sacred message blessing people everywhere. And moreover, a time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. This rising generation must stand up for truth and righteousness and understand our sacred call. “Justice of God will also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness thereof will be like unto the brightness of the Sun, which ascends up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end,” reports 1 Nephi 15.30. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Silence Teaches Better than Words—Outer Life Suffers without Inner Life
Society need to have boundaries. As an interesting part of each human personality, each individual person has been endowed by creation with a collector’s instinct. We collect attitudes, skills, habits, and personality traits. “If, to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God,” reports President George Washington. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) and the Greeks were the first to articulate the notion of natural law, the doctrine that human affairs should be governed by certain ethical principles. Being nothing more nor less than the nature of things, the principles of natural law can be understood by reason. Later, in the thirteenth century, the Italian priest and philosopher Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) gave the idea of natural law a new, Christian framework. He reported that natural law and Christianity were compatible because God created the natural law that established individual rights to life and liberty. We want to live the full and abundant life that God has promised us. Most people are serious about fulfilling their destiny and daily take steps of faith to put actions behind what we believe. We want our faith to active God’s favor and goodness. Through God, we will find the power to do what we once thought was impossible and know that extraordinary things are going to happen. Only then can we derive some perspective and clarity. We are expecting our miracle. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
However, our culture is becoming a mass of wannabe rebels who live in a society dangerously without limits. The West is no longer, vast, untamed, an expanse to be explored and defined by cowboys and cowgirls, pilgrims, free people, spiritualists, gold seekers, hippies, artist, and unique characters. It has become a state of rustlers, hustler, revolutionaries, and outlaws. Manifest destiny and the myth of expansion, so intertwined with our conceptions the American Dream and prosperity, is at an end. Without a way for us to restore order, we have no way to of challenge the accepted order or rebellion and chaos. McDonald’s burns, the Starbucks window is shattered, and the people who are supposed to benefit from this wait for their lives to get better, work for pennies a day, and dream of signature crafted fresh beef, made when you order, Quarter Pounder Burgers, with cheese. As a result of taxation without representation and price gauging, one million people have moved out of California because crime is high and housing is too expensive. Laws are passed without voter consent and the gas tax and half a dollar per gallon. The result is exhaustion, stagnation, erosion, decline, and hopelessness. People feel displaced from their true time, and those old souls feel the urge to be recognized, to be known for who they are. Theirs is the anger not of the usurped but of the redundant. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
There seems to be little left for traditional Americans to do but disappear. The kids are taking their cue from the adults and they are infused with ideas around rebellion and dissent. The old ways of life are gone. However, we are still trying to define ourselves using old precepts, antiquated ideas. We need a new way of understand what law and order is. Trapped between the extremes, we long for escape, a place where we are not constantly turn between unstable leadership and unaffordable lawless living. Our society is changing, as we do not necessarily have the tools to evolve with it. We seek to evoke the traditional ways and understandings, where Americans have priority and one could get a job at the supermarket and afford a house, even as we lapse into recession resulting from inconsequence, from our difficulty accessing what we have been told is our inalienable right: Justice, domestic tranquility, common defence, the general welfare, and the secure blessing of liberty to ourselves and posterity, as established by the United States Constitution. Still, we are concerned about the decline of real community and the rise of false individuality. Individuals are, essentially, powerless. Only communities can truly effect change in society. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
The more division that infiltrates our behavior and lifestyle, the less we are able to band together and reform an ineffective government, support businesses the are good for the people and the planet, or start schools that are based on creativity, achievement, and foster a commitment to learning. We are alone together, reduced to endlessly trying to replicate the feeling of community that individuals once took for granted. So what went wrong? Many have perhaps underestimated the allure, power, and sheer intoxication of blood money and the idea of becoming famous in the age of enforced individuality and collapsing community. Only when we recognize the trap we are in can we even begin to start figuring out how to get free ourselves. We need more people willing to fight the injustices and inequalities, even if it is only affecting one individual and depriving that person of their constitutional and human rights. Ultimately, what we need is a conceptual methodology that will allow us to balance happiness with duty, the need for recognition with the need for self-recognized limits on the efficacies of egotism. We need a new way to understand the self within the context of our new global system of mass production and increasing opportunities for individual creativity played out in the endless beautiful suburban communities. The future depends not on what we can do to make ourselves feel momentarily better, but on going beyond temporary happiness. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
We must learn to take an active role in our own sublimated desires. We can no longer afford to settle for anything less than what we have been promised. It is not to awaken consciousness that we struggle, but to sap power, to take power. We are different in many ways, but at our core we want similar things: a society of honesty, creativity, individuality, and communality. Because of our many differences lead to such core similarity, and at the heart of humanity is this urge for new experiences new patterns, and expanded truths, it is better to fail in an attempt to exercise faith than to let it lie dormant and fruitless. God never belittles those who attempt to follow him, but he does chasten those who refuse to attempt anything for him. Lying alone in bed, we should not see destruction, but opportunity—to start our lives anew, to fix behavior and patters of self-destruction that have shackled us. The gentle excavation of our pasts can ultimately shake us free from certain unreasonable situations and them finally, set into motion a series of promising life events. If we are caring, if we are charitable, if we are obedient to God and follow his teachings, our sacrifices will bring forth the blessings of Heaven. We have to find a personal well-spring of power to overcome self-indulgence and selfishness. Remind yourself that once you weather an unusually devastating storm, all other storms are easier to bear. You will most likely recover more quickly from each of the squall that follow. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
When we remind ourselves of the truths that our suffering has revealed, we can empty ourselves of the disillusionment that weighs us down and fill ourselves instead with the wonderful experiences and insights that life has to offer. Some may ask why we as a people and church quietly and constantly seek to change individual while there are such large problems about us. However, decaying cities are simply a delayed reflection of decaying individuals. The commandments of God give emphasis to improvement of the individual as the only real way to being about real improvement of society. The Lord works from the inside out. The World works from the outside in. The World would take people out of the slums. God takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. God changes people, who then change their environment. The World would shape behavior, but God can change human nature. Although suffering is always painful, it really is easier to take if you think of it as the key to emptiness, and emptiness as the key to spiritual growth. Stop struggling with life. We receive blessings from keeping all of God’s commandments, and we will be closer to the peace and happiness we once thought our illusions would bring. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Love is the Most Powerful Force in the Galaxy
Life is good—though not for the wicked one; returning to our Father in Heaven is good, because it will permit the soul to live an unhampered life. You can do so much good that it will astound you as you are changed and as you see other changed. The Lord wants you to have the greatest experiences as you make this journey on Earth. This can be a magnificent journey filled with literally thousands of tremendous experiences and spiritual confirmations if you will find your way through the many choices that will be yours along the way. When we harness the power of prayer, we wrap our wishes and dream with possibilities. Instead of limiting ourselves and cutting off our access to what we cannot necessarily anticipate, we maintain open minds and hearts. However, that is not always so easy, especially if the results you were hoping for are not forthcoming. Prayer is not about asking for certain results. Prayer helps us embrace the outcomes whether it is good or bad. We pray for strength, understanding, patience, and whatever else we need to pursue our dreams. Prayer clears away the debris that often prevent us from recognizing opportunities. The private conversations with God seem to underscore enduring faith in the World. The road given by our Father in Heaven is clearly marked, but the patterns and ways of the World can deceive you. Of all the paradoxes that help us detach from the ordinary plane of existence and connect with the spiritual plane, suffering that breeds a greater engagement in life is perhaps the most intriguing. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
Life is eternal. The World that we live in provides us with the journey that will guide us back to God’s presence in Heaven to live eternally. However, while on Earth we all experience pain. How on Earth can a profoundly hurtful experience make anyone live life more fully? That any pleasure, or good, can come from pain seems impossible for anyone to believe. Yet suffering can be redemptive for all of us. The ability to turn suffering to our own advantage, not just at work, but in life allows one to approach painful experiences with an open mind, to make the best of them, learn from them, and get beyond them. Suffering leaves us open to whatever gifts may be available to us as we endure the loss of something we cherish, be it an object, a person, a belief, or a dream. Our suffering is nothing compared to the glory that is coming. If we stay moldable, pliable, and willing to change, we will not be as this same place next year. God will take every irritation and turn it into a blessing. If we want to receive the true benefits of our life experience, we must empty ourselves of expectations. To be filled with the gifts of life, we must first make room for them. God never promised that life would be fair. God did, however, promise that if you stay in faith, he would take what is meant for your harm and use it to your advantage. Nothing that happens to you is a surprise to God. That is why he arranged a comeback for every setback, a vindication for every wrong, and a new beginning for every disappointment. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
Few of us open ourselves to redemptive suffering before we reach maturity. The first half of life does not typically present us with the kinds of grave losses that provoke the profound suffering most of us must experience before we open ourselves to events beyond those we wish and plan for. At a certain point in our adulthood, however, the truth behind illusions such as “I am in control,” “If I work hard, I will succeed,” “Life is fair,” and “If I am a good person, nothing bad will happen to me,” confronts us very directly. As much as we would like to hold on to these beliefs, it becomes increasingly hard to do as we experience serious career disappointments, problems with our loved ones, financial difficulties, the deaths of people we love. Just as a raging forest fire can level everything that stands in its way, consistent deep inner suffering can obliterate the very illusions that fanned the flames of suffering in the first place. If you will get over it, God will still get you to where you are supposed to be. Stop reliving all the hurt, and move forward, then you will come to the new beginning God has in store. Through redemptive suffering, we can survive the loss of these illusions, discover important truths, even experience spiritual growth. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
Even one episode of deep suffering can destroy our damaging illusions. Fortunately, the deeper the pain, the greater the potential for growth. Changing the way we view suffering and learning to put its lessons to good use are two of the best ways to get the most our of our adult adventure. A true fall of humanity has never taken place. Actually, even when in a body, the soul still lives its original celestial life and remains unseparated from intelligence. Only we are not away of this hidden life of the soul; on other words, we are partly unconscious of what happens in our minds. What is true of the soul in relation to intelligence is even truer of the relation between our embodied selves and intelligence. Not even when present in us does intelligence discontinue its activity. With this knowledge and love, we can help transform hopes and dreams and help others find eternal truths and inward peace and security that it brings. To know the One means to become one with it, which the soul can accomplish only by becoming s simple or as along as the One. In the moment of such union the souls has become God or, rather, is God; the souls has reascended to its original source. This condition is described as ecstasy, simplicity, self-surrender, touching, and flight of the alone to the alone. This ecstasy is undoubtedly the climatic moment of a person’s life. It is not expressible in words; only one who has experienced it knows what it means to be ravished away and full of God. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
For this renascent one prepares oneself by acquisition of all the perfections (virtues, aretai). However, each of these perfections acquires different meanings according to the level on which one’s spiritual life takes place—thus, there is a social fairness, above it another kind of fairness, and so on. One prepares oneself by the exercise of dialectics. The preliminary stages of achievement is becoming Godlike. The truly infinite is a thing which has no limits imposed on it from without but only from within. We should obey the divine command and “Know thyself.” Our true happiness consists and of the concept of self-knowledge. Spiritual substances and material can interact because God represents both and connect them. Human perceptions are an effect of God’s real vision. Spiritual and material things are both real because God represents them; material things are real in a further sense, as phaenomena substantiata, in so far as God represents them as real. This divine representation is the cause of the real existence of things; but we perceive only an appearance of this real existence. The logical difficulties of the concept of infinity, that space and time cannot exist outside of human representation. The soul, properly nurtured and purified, may escape from the changing World of appearance to a higher World that is eternal and divine. The soul that departs early from the Earth does not become warped and cramped by the body but returns to the other World unimpaired. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
It is no secret what God can do. Here is the answer to one of life’s greatest questions, “Who am I?” I am a child of God with a spirit lineage to Heavenly parents. That parentage defines our eternal potential. That powerful idea is a potent antidepressant. It can strengthen each of us to make righteous choices and to seek the best that is within us. Establish in the mind of a young person the powerful idea that he or she is a child of God and you have given self-respect and motivation to move against the problems of life. When we understand our relationship to God, we also understand our relationship to one another. All men and women on this Earth are the offspring of God, spirit brothers and sisters. What a powerful truth! Love is the most powerful force in the World. Love is not just an ecstasy, not just an intense feeling. It is a driving force. It is something that carries us through our life of joyful duty. The idea of eternal progress is one of the most powerful ideas in our theology. It gives us hope that when we falter and challenge is when we soar. And we can pray to our Heavenly Father, and he will hear our prayers and help us in the way that is best for us. We can always be in touch with a powerful friend who loves us and helps us, in his own time and in his own way. Life on Earth is more good than evil. The human enjoys pleasures that outweigh one’s pains. The greatest pleasures come from intellectual pursuits and virtuous actions; a life so spent brings happiness in this World and leads to eternal felicity in the next. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Blaming is an Unrighteous Form of Communication
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
When We Risk Being Ourselves We Can Master Interpersonal Happiness
Society exists because, as a matter of fact, by far the greater number of people have the kind of feeling that make it possible. There is a constant prayer in our hearts that we will not fail in the great trust God has placed in us so we can build faith and testimony and which will become answered prayers for those who will here. There are three basic principles that can help us retain a remission of our sins: first, to remain humble; second, to call upon the Lord daily; and third, to stand steadfast in the faith. Humility has been described as having the desire to submit to the Lord, the wish to seek the Lord’s will and glory, and the yearning to remove narcissism. We should always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and his goodness and long-suffering towards us. Inasmuch as we are humble we might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time. Prayer is one of the greatest blessings we have while here on Earth. Through prayer we can communicate with our Heavenly Father and seek his guidance daily. We should pray each day that we will have the power to resist temptation, as our daily prayers influence our thoughts, words, and actions. In order to retain a remission of our sins, it is essential that we ask our Heavenly Father every day for the strength to stay on the righteous path. To sustain faith, each of us must be humble and compassionate, kind and generous. Faith is further sustained by daily doses of spirituality that come to us as we kneel in prayer. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8
Our observation of an instance of virtuous action is the occasion for a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction, which enables us to distinguish that action as virtuous. Similarly, our observation of an instance of vicious action is the occasion for a feeling of pain or uneasiness, which enables us to distinguish that action as vicious. The moral sense is also an influencing motive in our pursuit of virtue and our avoidance of vicious behavior, and it play a part in our bestowal of praise and blame. Besides accounting for our knowledge of right and wrong, the moral sense closes the gap between moral knowledge and moral behavior by providing a motive for moral behavior. Since moral knowledge consists of feeling of pleasure and uneasiness, the prospect of enjoying or avoiding these feelings is a sufficient motive for pursuing virtue and avoiding vice. If moral knowledge were not ultimately a matter of feelings, it would be possible for someone to know that a certain kind of action is virtuous but still have no motive for doing it. The moral sense also enables us to account for our approval and condemnation of actions and characters as following from our being pleased of pained by them. Sometimes society invents prohibitions together with the means of transgressing them. The profit-mongering gatekeepers keep us at bay, replacing interpersonal communication with ever-more-extreme pseudo-participator entertainments. Entertainment today stimulates then inhibits us. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8
A person may know that a certain way of acting may have a certain result, but in order for one to achieve that result, he or she must first find it pleasing. Inhibited by what stimulates us—the Worldly ways that becomes ever more extreme teach people that life is all about preaching transgression and rebellion for the greater good of humanity. It is a doctrine that teaches people to behave badly and reap the rewards of notoriety and celebrity. However, it just to happens that God determined us to be pleased by benevolent actions; and when nothing interfere with moral sense, we count benevolence a virtue and malevolence a vice. Some people have a preferring for the destruction of society over its maintenance. Whenever there is a tragedy, there is a tourist attraction because when Worldly ways merge into the new conformity, people who are lost, confused or led astray start to feel entitled to engage in whatever antics bring them pleasure, or makes them feel important. Many people then start to get off on transgression. And with more and more people joining them on the sites of tragedy tour, the ungodly behavior gets more raw, intense, and pervasive than ever before. Gratuitous violence is portrayed as a way to protest violence because there are preplanned acts of extreme spontaneity that allows individuals to take advantage of a World in which the cameras are always ready, trained on whatever is about to happen. When one no longer finds a need for a faculty psychology, the need to search for a moral faculty goes too. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8
Is it any wonder that the once unheard-of phenomenon of fans randomly attacking celebrities while they are in public or in their homes has become yet another commonplace occurrence? One of the most infamous of these incidents was the stabbing of tennis teen Monica Seles in the middle of a match. Or the tripping and throwing water on journal list Tomi Lahren at a restaurant while she was with her family. Another journalist, Sara Zendehnam, had a huge rock thrown at her head during a live report, which luckily, she was able to evade. Someone we the stage during Aaliyah’s performance so when she came out on stage she slipped and fell. Paris Hilton was threatened and extorted for money by hackers, and someone pretended a plane she was on was about to crash just to scare her. There has been a fundamental shift out on fandom’s fringe, today’s intruders and insiders want to be part of the show. People want to ne noticed, and they will spend the night, five years, or life in jail just to get their name in the paper. Getting noticed is no longer achieve by working hard in school, creating a fantastic invention, or becoming the young to graduate from law school because stabbings, shootings, and beatings are more likely to attract media attention. People realize the violent or radical acts seem to please the television news producers because their shock value is a surefire way to boost ratings and is a cheap form of entertainment for them. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8
Another part of popular culture was slavery. William Ford was from Ireland, and he arrived in Jamaica in 1784 having bought a coffee plantation. Not long after his arrival, he purchased a woman who was enslaved and took her as his concubine. Mr. Ford first noticed her on the docks at Alligator Pond, a fishing village on the south coast. She was an Igbo noble woman from West Africa. They had a son, whom they named John. He was, in the popular language of the day, a mulatto; John was colored—and all the Fords from that point on fell on into Jamaica’s colored class. They were seen as potential allies for the Whites because the Blacks were the majority. However, in the American South during that same period, it would have been highly unusual for a White landowner to have such a public relationship with an enslaved person. Relationships between Blacks and Whites were considered morally repugnant. Laws were passed prohibiting interracial relationships, the last of which were not struck down by the United States Supreme Court until 1967. A plantation owner who lived openly with an enslaved person would have been socially ostracized, and any offspring from the Union of White and Black would have been left in slavery. Therefore, it is important to be careful of who we vote into office and know what they stand for because it is possible that slavery could become a reality again. And that is why illegal acts that are part of popular culture are dangerous. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
Whatever that becomes accepted as normal, and is dangerous, has a possibility of becoming legal through our legislative process. We have seen how Jerry Brown illegal made California a state where people who unlawfully enter our country are shielded from the laws, and even given money for their legal defense, while an estimated 5,000 Americans on the island of Puerto Rico were killed in a storm or by the aftermath of it, and Jerry Brown nor other politicians, besides the President, as allocating funds to help restore the American Island. Also, there are people waiting in line to legally enter the United States of America, but they may not get the chance because illegal immigrants have a priority. And after what happened on 11 September 2001, we need to be very careful about who we let into our country and we need to know who they are so we do not become victims. It is not right that Jerry Brown and other politicians are helping people break the law and putting us all at risk, while Americans suffer and die. I bet if 5,000 illegal immigrants were killed by a tragedy, the American people would be outraged. Put into practice and taken to its extreme, the right to individuality is the right to claim pleasure for oneself regardless of the consequences, and that is exactly what Jerry Brown is doing, putting his own agenda first, before the American people. However, those who live righteously and call upon the Lord daily will have a greater power to retain a remission of their sins. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8
For most of us, in fact, the World clamors for attention the moment we open our eyes. We are blessed to live in a land where laws matter and protect us. We cannot allow criminals to start making illegal actions legal as any of our legal protections can be taken away at any moment by heretics with a malevolent agenda. “Those who embark in the service of God, see that you serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, that you may stand blameless for before God at the last day,” reports Doctrines and Covenants 4.2. Lift up your hearts and rejoice, and take upon you the full armor of God, that you may be able to withstand the evil and receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified. We should try to achieve a state of deep physiological relaxation, often called the alpha state by researchers who distinguish relative degrees of alertness by transducing brain chemistry into electrical impulses that can be graphed and observed on an oscilloscope. An oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of varying signal voltages to display the waveform of brain as an electrocardiogram. Brain researchers have named the lowest level of alertness—i.e., the deepest state of relaxation—the alpha or first state. When you allow yourself to relax to this degree, you replenish your adaptive energy supply, increase your capacity to be creative because the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will be filled with joy. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8
Having received a remission from sin, and having a peace of conscience because of your exceeding faith, you will put yourself in the position of thinking more effectively when you return to your fully conscious state. Be on the lookout for a moment in your daily life that you believe to be worthy of an extended period of relaxation. Attractive objects, providential circumstances, and nature scenes lend themselves especially well to the alpha state of relaxation. This will allow one to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and in knowledge of that which is just and true. There will be no mind to injury one another, but there will be a desire to live at peace with one another. Parents will discipline their children with love and teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness. People will love one another and be kind and administer relief to others both spiritually and temporally. What greater blessing could we ask for? May God grant that we may retain a remission of our sins. God lives. What is most astounding will be the way the experience makes you feel. It will feel one with the kind of calm yet spirited enthusiasm that people feel in their youth and innocence. When individuals feel enthusiasm for doing virtuous things, you are one with God because a pathway is opened and into it is the beauty of human existence. When body, mind, and spirit converge, astounding physical and mental accomplishments are produced without strain or struggle. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8
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Soon Goes to Rest in Paradise of God—The Voice of God is in the Heart
The Universe works in mysterious ways. The voice of God is in the human heart. To rest in God means we take refuge in his protective care. Sometimes blessing take a little while because God is creating a harvest beyond your wildest dreams. The mind of the individuating person should remain contemplative as the spirit converses and assimilates with the unconscious. God, who is the creator of the World, is fully in harmony with the laws of nature, which God himself has implanted in the World for its governance. By the grace of God some exceptional persons may be born with a thoroughly sinless nature. Respect the voice of conscience as the voice of God in the soul of human beings and be encouraged to develop a spirit free of inquiry in all directions. When your decisions are always full of fear, you deny the best that is in you. That is a sin against yourself and probably the biggest sin of all. Traveling the road of exceptional competence will spur your mental mastery, your physical vigor, and your emotional vitality. With your roles in synchronous flow with your values, everything you do has greater meaning. It will give birth to an inner voice that awakens the soul. It is not necessary to dwell on the past. Make room in your mind for the new things God wants to do. Do not let these temporary provisions become permanent. If we can learn this principle of having faith and not settling, then we will see the fullness of what God has in store and make it all the way to the promised land. “Only those who repent and harden not their hearts shall enter the Lord’s rest,” reports Alma 12.34-37. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
Care of the soul means respecting its emotions and fantasies however objectionable. Great miracles have taken place. All kind of good thing have happened. We cannot be contained. Just as researcher has charted the course of healthy mental, physical, emotional, and social development across the life span, contemporary scientists and theologians have recently attempted to map out how human beings grow spiritually. God put this dream in our hearts, and as long as we stay in faith, nothing can shut in down. When God created us, he put a spirit of increase on the inside. We were never made to reach one level and stop. We were created to grow, to move forward, and to prosper. We should be constantly surpassing the barriers of the past, taking new ground for our families and advancing in God’s kingdom. However, throughout life there will always be forces trying to deprive us. When we reflect on the tragedies of our own loves, when we slowly find our way through their miseries, we are being initiated into the mysterious ways of the soul. They cannot stop the progress we have made, but they will do their best to contain us, to keep us isolated, alienated, and struggling as a method of limiting our influence. Yet, keep in mind, the force of God is in you and it is greater than anything that has ever existed. Keep increasing your faith, look for new opportunities, new idea, and new ways to expand your influence. “Have love of God always in your hearts, that you may enter into his rest,” reports Alma 13.29. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
God made you for more, to influence more, to accomplish more, to love more, to give more, and to have more. Love is the means of entry and our guide. God will take you places you never dreamed us and provide opportunities that will establish amazing influence. As individual belief is tested in the real World, young adults reconsider and redefine spirituality, often relinquishing the narrow views they were taught as youngsters and embracing the universality of spiritual principles and practices; this expansion of spiritual viewpoint may allow them to find spiritual meaning in art, architecture, automobiles, nature, and more. If we can honor love as it presents itself, taking shapes and directions we would never have predicted or desired, then we will enter a deeper sense of awe and mystery of life; a wise understanding of the collective legends, religions, and traditions; and the potential to be a spiritual leader. Still, love asks many things of us, including actions that seem to be utterly counter to feelings of attachment and loyalty. That is why the signs we are ready to grow in spirit sometimes appear in the form of both curses and blessings. We may experience severe episodes of disillusionment with life, or periods of profound awe and reverence for the miracle of existence—or both at once. “Obtain sufficient hope by which you can enter into rest of the Lord,” reports Moroni 7.3. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
The fluctuations in the rhythms of life calling us to spiritual serenity will continue as we walk along our path, which can be frustrating and fulfilling. Nelson Mandela was put in prison because he opposed the government of apartheid. Apartheid is an official policy of racial segregation promulgated in the Republic of South Africa. He could have thought that he did his best, gave it his all and supposed it was not meant for him to be successful. However, Mr. Mandela knew God intended to increase his influence is use that source of discrimination and human rights violations to increase his influence and give him a testimony of how his faith in God and perseverance increased his power and influence. After twenty-seven years in prison, Mr. Mandela walked out of prison a free man. He eventually became the president of South Africa and won a Nobel Peace Prize. What God has destined for your life will come to fulfillment. Even to define God generally as a superhuman or supernatural being that controls the World is inadequate. God is unquestionable transcendent. God is the pure and unsullied Ming of the Universe, transcending virtue, transcending knowledge, transcending good itself. No one has ever seen God and our knowledge of him is like a confused reflection in a mirror. The divine substance exceeds by its immensity every form which our intellect attains, so while we know that God is (quod sit) we cannot know his essence or what he is (quid sit). “We have labor to perform, that we may conquer enemy and rest our souls in kingdom of God,” reports Moroni 9.6. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
God moves the World in the sense that he endues form from its material structure by inspiring it, through a series of subordinate movers or intelligences, to love him as its end or goal. Being wholly good, and therefore free from jealousy, he wished everything to be like himself. Since an intelligent being is superior to an unintelligent one, and since intelligence cannot be present in anything that is devoid of soul, he put intelligence in soul, and soul in body, that he might be the creator of a work which was by nature best. When the Apostle Paul was imprisoned for spreading the good news, his captors thought they were containing him. Paul could have become discouraged and given up. Instead, he proceeded to draft much of the New Testament from a prison cell and is still profoundly influencing us today. What does it mean to you that God has made you uncontainable? What charity of greatness are waiting to forge a foundation and flourish in your life? Take more time in your day to reflect on the meaning of events. If we do not struggle to find more satisfying answers to these fundamental questions during our life journeys, later in life we risk facing fear and anger as our main companions. However, if we can begin to ponder these questions, we open ourselves to a spiritual awakening that makes the rest of our lives a deeper, richer experience than we imagined possible. There is no limit to the methods by which one can access peace and meaning. Truth is where you find it. “May God’s mercy and long-suffering rest in your mind forever,” reports Moroni 9.25. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
The spiritual journey has many rewards independent of the answers that are sought. Through spirituality, one can make leaps of understanding that defy the limits of the mind; connect with others, and the World around, at levels never before experienced; and eliminate much of the fear and doubt that often plagues the emotional life. Nothing is ever wasted in the Kingdom of God. Not one tear, not all our pain, not the unanswered question nor the seemingly unanswered prayers. If we give our lives to God, nothing will be wasted. And if we are willing to be patient until the grace of God is made manifest, whether it takes a day, a month, a week, or a decade, it will be worth the wait. Take your tie on this pathway—there are people who dedicate their whole lives to the important pursuit you are about to undertake. Although you may find you can share with and learn from other spiritual journeyers, the answers you find are meant for you. Feel the experience fully, and live what answers are offered. Ultimately, your connections with your values will allow you to regulate your emotions in order to avoid giving into temptation and acting impulsively. It is important that we are able to control our emotions instead of being controlled by them. “Spirit and body shall reunite in perfect form,” reports Alma 11.43. Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would a person claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of humans and citizens. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Serve God Out of Love and Not Out of Expectation of a Reward
The World could be so much richer than the World we have settled for. Immortality is a grace with which the soul was endowed by the will and power of God, and consequently it can be destroyed by the will and power of God if it has proved itself unworthy of the grace bestowed on it. Human knowledge of God is largely dependent upon the psychological dispositions of the individual. The true purpose of human nature is to be found in the contemplation of God. While God knows all things in one perfect, unchanging act of knowledge, things do not thereby exist in God in such a way that they share his essence. The intellectual conflicts of the age have to do with the fact the majority of people are losing interest in authenticity. They want more of the fake. If we live in a fake World, then we will embrace that fake World by making it our special World. For instance, the primary goal of many travelers is neither to lie passively in the Sun nor to discover a culture different from their own. They go on vacation for one reason only: to be entertained. For must of us, discovering what we are born to do is no easy task. Neither is pursuing our destiny once we have found it. However, those individuals who are at this very moment living our their most deeply felt life scripts (and we all now at least one person in this category) prove to us that such alignment is possible, and wonderful. However, if what we do or make is not up to our standards and does not reflect attention and care when we stand back to look at it, the soul suffers. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
The whole society suffers a wound to soul if we allow ourselves to do bad work. When it is not possible to feel good about our work, then soulful pride, so necessary for creativity, turns into narcissism. Whether your calling is acting or farming, engineering or raising children, building houses or helping others feel good—and whether you believe the calling is the result of some cosmic force or simply the real you struggling to get out—how you reconcile your survival needs with your inner urges to give to the World is one of the most important factors in your happiness and sense of self-worth. Do a little soul-searching. Far less attention is given to the nature of human beings and the soul than to the purpose of why human beings were created and their dignity as the image of God. The powers of the soul on the levels of sense, reason, and free will are considered almost exclusively in their relation to divine grace. We have rational standards of human nature or of law pertaining to our own natural dignity as the image of God, the supernatural gift of grace, and the indwelling of the Spirit. With the likeness to God, our goal is of ethic and human life. The individual has an absolute need of grace for virtuous acts, and under that grace, we must do good despite the weaknesses of human nature. The result should be a moral doctrine that is for more optimistic, beneficial, and righteous than negative in character, an ethic of dignity. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
Many people are buying a version of individuality and rebellion. Their doctrines tell them: Be who you are, do your own thing, but pay for it with your credit card and please no swearing, there are kids present. How would you characterize the overall quality of your life’s work and experience? Does one year roll into the next, not much different from the one before, or does each year bring exciting challenges and achievements? When someone asks what you do, do you respond proudly, optimistically, or offhandedly, apologetically? Do you wake up each day excited to begin your day, and go to bed each night satisfied that the goal you are struggling for is worthwhile? Does it fit who you are? Do we really want our memories to be given to us by disillusioned set designers, off kilter reporters, and leaders who do not care about how their love-hate attraction and their work is reshaping the World? Of course not. We want our memories to be personal, unique. However, the more we seek precrafted entertainment as the primary focus of our lives, as a way to give the meaning to our lives that these heretics promises us our lives should have, the more our memories are shared, colonized, and implanted. Meaningful is different for different people, but in general, a meaningful life is one lived according to one’s most deeply held values, truest talents, and unique capacity to leave this World—which includes family, neighborhood, workplace, church, profession, children, the environment—a little better off for one’s having been there. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
Human destiny is marked by struggle and suffering, and freedom, which we understand as partly the struggle for national liberty. God and matter are coeternal. Mind and body are opposed principles both ontologically and axiologically. Mind originates in Heaven, whereas body belongs to the real of temporality. The body is the physical shackles of the soul; passions lay people below the beats, whereas mind makes people equal to immortals. The urge (and ability) to leave a beneficial mark on the World is nature’s way of elevating us to the plane of self-discovery. Most of us have a vague sense of what we were born to do. Unfortunately, some people feel s consumed by their jobs and their extracurricular activities the way they are currently constituted that they bypass the opportunity to cultivate new ways to contributing what they want most to contribute. Many people protest that they are unable to adopt new life visions because they cannot disappoint their families, jeopardize their financial security, or make the changes they deem necessary to be happy. Losing the ability to feel productive or to earn income, experiencing the loss of the empty nest, skill obsolescence, or just plain bad lucky often catapults people into examining what it is they would really like to be doing for the next twenty or thirty years. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
The World is made up of opposed and dangerous forces at permanent war. Both knowledge of the World and of the existence of God derived therefrom are flashed upon the mind suddenly and simultaneously by divine inspiration. Through this struggle, order emerges out of chaotic disorder, and spiritual power triumphs over great confusion. Struggle and suffering are not mere evils, but have a beneficial, creative aspect as well. The spark appears only after the flint is struck hard, and the soul that has endured temptations nourishes the body with eternal fire. Human life has an aim only if it contributes to the realization of liberty, honor, and dignity. The goal of ethics is that in all that we do and think we help to realize the future permanence state that flows from the nature of human beings and their environment. This is the state of maximum utilization of powers, and hence of maximum stability, toward which all evolution strives. Each of us must risk everything in order to perfect our personality in accordance with the nature and extent of our abilities and to place ourselves entirely at the service of human society. Some students have the hours of a lawyer trying to make partner, or of a medical resident. To become a success at what we do, we have to shed some part of our own identity. Human evolution is heading toward a state of complete stability and toward the marking out of the defining forms of permanence, that is, of invariably repeatable, fixed components of mental acts. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
The most basic feature of all the goals of our thought and creative work is permanence or durability—the realization of ever recurrent, repeatedly used ways of acting and the establishment of enduring forms amidst the profusion of particular configurations. An example of this is the tendency of thought toward stability, the striving for a stable conceptual system. What matters is the work one is willing to put in to cultivate their mind. People have made a bargain with the educational community. They get up before six in the morning, are in class at seven and go home at five in the evening; go in on Saturdays, and do homework until eleven at night six or seven nights a week. In return, these students are promised that these who are wealthy or stuck in poverty will be given a chance to be successful and do something that will help their families and humanity. As a result of their dedication and the education they receive, 84 percent of these kids will perform at or above their grade level, many will get scholarships, and 80 percent of the graduates will go on to college. How could that be a bad bargain? Success follows a predictable course. It is not always the brightest who succeed. Nor is success simply the sum of the decision and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Human knowledge, like all other events in the World, including human actions, is under the direct supervision of God. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
People who have been given opportunities—and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them are the ones who help to build a better World. We need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages that today determine success—the fortunate birth dates and the happy accidents of history—with a society that provides opportunities for all. All some people need is a chance and they will understand the miracle of meaningful work. Just as organic evolution tends toward the production of permanence states and the human brain approaches more and more a form of permanence, the spiritual and intellectual evolution of the human likewise tends to permanence states. We strive for the completion of science, for the perfection of social institutions and customs by progressive adjustment of national and social difference, and for the fulfillment of art through emphasis on the typical and essential in the phenomena. Everyone has a call, to his or her own particular destiny, and each of us must make peace with that inner voice over and over again through life. We must search our souls many times. We are crafting ourselves. Movements toward destiny can be scary. It takes a leap of faith necessary to follow your heart. For most of us, it also takes time, forbearance, and a willingness to risk what is for what could be. Sometimes it is best to take a leap of faith and find the courage and wisdom to do what we were are born to do. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
Our Wishes and Dreams Fare Better When We Have a Little Courage
Our wishes and dreams fare so much better when we have a little courage—courage to stand up for our beliefs, courage to face the unknown, courage to be successful. In our confusing, constantly shifting age, more and more of us long for the traditions of a supposedly simpler time. Though we many not join fundamentalist religions, trade in our cars for horses and buggies, or set off to foreign lands, we cannot help but occasionally think that times were better when our values and our lifestyles were protected by restrictive codes governing behavior. Being bridled, or yielding obediently to restraint, is necessary for our personal growth and progression. There was a prison program where wild horses were being tamed by people who were serving time in prison. As the inmates formed friendships with the horses, they learned or reaffirmed patience, controlling tempers, respect for others, and the value of working within a system. As they watched the horses learn to be obedient to their commands and guidance, the inmates realized how they could have avoided terrible mistakes that had put them in prison. Obedience to righteous principles and learning who is trustworthy would have offered the inmates freedom from social infirmary, shame, degradation, and feelings of guilt and regret. Some people took the view—if you want to treat us differently, we will act differently. However, like the horses, the people serving time can still learn, progress, and achieve. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
When you wish, dream, and so, a successful outcome is directly related to your willingness to take a risk. We hear many persuasive voices demanding freedom from restrictions, particularly from moral restraints. However, we learn from the history of the Earth that any successful society has had boundaries. There is an unsettling yearning for the past simplicity many experience when confronted by the vagaries and complexities of the new conformity. Here, the small town looms large as the bastion of a simpler, better time when values were shared and people worked together to uphold the sanctity of family and community. In the Heavenly small town, no one was out of place, no one was taking Prozac, everyone had a role and a purpose. The ideal town provided a dream like relief from freedom through effortless recognition. It is hardly surprising that the simple life of the small town looms so large in our imagination. Currently, in our free society, it seems to have become daunting. People are actually begging the government to take away their rights and do away with laws. They want the government to dictate every aspect of their lives because the more freedom we have, the more troublesome and threatening it seems. People today are not so much concerned with the need to belong to a community as with the liberation from the compulsion of constantly having to choose and decide. Where freedom becomes a cage, many chose the freedom of a cage. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
The meaning of the word liberty is difficult to circumscribe. The World has never had a good definition of the term. We all declare for liberty, but in using the same word we do not mean the same thing. With some, the word liberty may mean for each person to do as he or she pleases with oneself and the product of one’s labor. While with others liberty may mean for some people to do as the please with other people and the product of other people’s labor. Yet, the sweets of liberty about which we usually speak may be classified as political independence, economic freedom, and free agency. We should also strive for a freedom of the soul. “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God,” reports Doctrines and Covenants 121.45. One who enjoys such liberty is free indeed. One is possessed of perfect liberty. Some people are seeking an escape from a society that compels loneliness by placing the highest values on individual achievement. They seek to be born again into yesterday, stripped of their fears and uncertainties, protected from the ravages and confusions of the shape-shifting present. We get so tired of having the same problems over and over that we finally admit there may be other ways of solving the problems. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
Until we mature, most of us remain entrenched in our own behavior patterns, likely, as the saying goes, to try harder instead of smarter. In fact, studies have shown that adult humans are the only creatures that will stick to a problem-solving technique that has lost its effectiveness. In contrast, countless animal-conditioning experiments with chickens and elephants show that after a certain number of attempts to jump a barrier, escape confinement, even avoid a painful electrical shock, the animals will give up trying. We humans do get credit for persistence, if not for hardheadedness. Our problem is that we are going about it wrong. Our animal friends, on the other hand, are often completely incapacitated by failure. If the experimenter removes the barrier, boundaries, or electrical field, for example, animals still make no effort to achieve their original goal, even though goal attainment is now possible. Waiting for circumstances to change, however, is not usually a good option for humans seeking conflict resolution. It is not likely that some “experimenter” will magically render our previously unsuccessful communication efforts suddenly effective. Think of it as buying the lottery tickets of human interaction; it is possible, but highly unlikely, that you will resolve anything without changing your approach. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
Frankly, if we do not take a fresh look at communications problems as we mature, there is a good chance we never will: although senior adults can learn new communications skills, the prognosis for achieving great strides in interpersonal effectiveness diminishes significantly after a certain age. Researcher who study relationship trends among older adults often cite age-related declines in physical ability, which may hinder motivation, as well as deeply ingrained communication habits, as the major deterrents to improving relationships in later stages of adulthood. Many people tend to adopt a relating style that worked for them as children, and stay with it forever. Naturally, this creates a strong desire to escape the pressures of constantly creating individuality. The trend whereby people abandon high stress lifestyles in favor of lives centered on family and community provides a sense of enlightenment, freedom, maturity, and individuality. Downshifting is happening because millions of Americans are recognizing that, in fact, their lives are no longer in sync with their values. The money and the consumption-identity line has started to seem meaningless. In wake of the dot-com bubble burst, many people who would have been millionaires from their experience in computer science technology sought simpler lives by moving to a quiet town, opening a business and taking on new careers is an example of downshifting. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
Inspired by great food and New York Culture, one post-dot-com Columbia University MBA holder decided to open a hot-dog stand in Brooklyn, New York USA. The idea was created to give a classic New York staple the quality and love it deserves. Using fresh ingredients, organic meats, freshly baked buns, and fancy mustards to produce a hot dog people could feel good about eating. Similarly, Assaf Tarnopolsky, a Wharton Business School graduate who took his post-dot-com career in the direction of crepes initially sweated and encountered some setbacks that were part of any start up, but he and his partner always reminded themselves that they have a great concept and an incredible product. And that without taking risks, success would be out of reach instead of around the corner. They have since expanded and are now known as the “West Coast Crepe King.” Still risk can produce so much anxiety that you begin to wonder why you are pursuing a passion in the first place. Anxiety is a natural, deeply felt response to being emotionally or physically separated from things or people we have learned to count on. You will not always be able to explain your courage—to others or to yourself. And after overcoming a significant trial, someone might ask you, “How on Earth did you accomplish that?” You might not know yourself, but deep inside you know it was by the grace of God. God did not bring you this far to let you go. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
Because you are an adult, sometimes it is important to be meticulous. Instead of trying to do too much at once, think of the strides you will make by sampling a little courage one until you get comfortable because when you deny your dreams a voice, you quell any hope for turning what you want into what is yours. Once you decide that your wishes and dreams should come out to play, you are likely to make some discoveries. Some will be stunning, others puzzling, but all will intrigue. Some people take time off from work after they realize they are work obsessed city types who have become battered down by stress and obligation and are so focused on the money they make that it starts to deteriorate their bodies. Deblekha Guin took a temporary time out on a small island. She bought a nice house with cathedral ceilings. She knew moving to a small rural community was the smartest thing she had ever done because she had the opportunity to articulate what she felt and how she felt. Deblekha feel a sense of belonging in this community. She felt something and felt a part of something. It was the type of place if you had a cold someone would take care of you and everyone blended in. There is a close connection between the ability to feel and tolerate anxiety and the ability to enter mutually gratifying relationships. Pour out your soul in thanksgiving. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
God is Up in His Ivory Shower!
When people are talking to people, it is important that one darn sure understands what is going on. Cultural legacies matter—they are powerful and pervasive and they persist, long after their original usefulness has passed. However, do not assume that legacies are an indelible part of who we are. “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good and edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers,” reports Ephesians 4.29. If we are honest about where we come from and are willing to confront those aspects of our heritage that do not suit the professional World, we can change. We can and should participate in continuing civil dialogue, especially when we view the World from differing perspectives. When we understand what it really means to be a good person—when we understand how much culture and history and the World outside of the individual matter to professional success—then we do not have to throw up our hands in despair at other people when they make mistakes. We have a way to make success out of the unsuccessful. “A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger,” reports Proverbs 15.1. Although it is important to be frank about a subject we would all too often rather ignore, a soft answer consists of a reasoned response—disciplined words from a humble heart. Words that may be firm in information can be soft in spirit. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
Why are we so squeamish? Why is the fact that each of us comes from a culture with its own distinctive mix of strength and weaknesses, tendencies and predispositions, so difficult to acknowledge? Who we are cannot be separated from where we are from—and when we ignore that fact, accidents happen. You can imagine how frustrating it can be when people are all thinking furiously, trying to square their assumptions about a person or situation they know nothing about. There exists today a great need for people to cultivate respect for each other across wide distances of belief and behavior and across deep canyons of conflicting agendas. It is impossible to know all that informs our minds and hearts or even to fully understand the context for the trials and choices we each face. Even intelligent individuals have trouble with the group mentality trap. In order to avoid the hazards of hardheadedness and self-interest in a group setting where the issues at hand may appear to be impossible to solve, we need to understand a genuine dialogue that will free individuals to do their best thinking. When each person feels that his or her opinions and emotions are taken seriously, the intelligence of a group or community can move beyond the intelligence quotient of any of the individuals, into the collective genius. Learning to relate to the person behind the opinions by shifting to a more beneficial point of view is the most effective way of ending the conflict. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
When a person is trying to express to you what is going on, it is never a good idea to compare and contrast their situation with someone you think who has a more difficult time. Whatever the person talking to you is going through has nothing to do with comparing their situation to someone else’s. They are trying to explain what is going on with them and get some kind of empathy or advice. Sometimes we need to fully own the limits of our own imperfections and rough edges in communicating with others, and practice with tender regard for another’s experience what we are thinking. Hearing someone who has it harder does not and should not make us feel better. It would be like a struggling adult talking about their situation and someone saying, “Well, when your father was twenty-one he has a successful career, a house in the hills, and a brand-new car.” And it is like, that is nice, but there may be something someone is trying to express about their situation that has nothing to do with a comparison. They may be looking for help on how to deal with something they think is personal. Rising above our own feelings requires an unselfish generosity, the kind of generosity that contributes to happiness. Everyone has a different lifestyle and other people’s failures of successes have nothing to do with one’s situation. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
It is sometimes like because people, even if they are older, get together in groups and because they have had a hard life, they want to take it out on someone who was rising above the doom and gloom and mistakes others made with their life. And when they finally bring that person down and that person is suffering, they want that individual to know that they have had a hard life and why should you have it any different. It is like seeing you suffer makes them feel better, and they want to blame you for their problems. Typically as we age, empathy for another person’s perspective comes easier than it does during earlier periods, but not always for some. Research on healthy adult development reveals that one key characteristic of maturity is the increased capacity to respect and even embrace another person’s point of view. Vast improvements in relationships are made when we can move beyond our rigid ideas and attempt to encounter others as people, not positions. Perhaps most exciting are the community—even global—implications of simply getting to know each other before we attempt to “solve” problems. “For the Lord sees not as people see; people look at the outside appearance, but God look at the heart,” reports 1 Samuel 16.7. It does not matter who is more right. What matters is listening to each other an understanding the other’s perspective. The willingness to see through each other’s eyes will transform corrupt communication in ministering grace. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
Western communication has what linguists call a transmitter orientation—that is, it is considered the responsibility of the speaker to communicate ideas clearly and unambiguously. However, there is something beautiful in the subtlety of the exchange in Eastern culture, in the attention that each party must pay to the motivations and desires of the other. It is civilized, in the truest sense of that word: it does not permit insensitivity or insensitivity or indifference. However, high-power distance communication works only when the listener is capable of paying close attention, and it only works if the two parties in a conversation have the luxury of time, in order to unwind each other’s meanings. It does not work in high finance when time is an issue and people are exhausted and trying to get a situation taken care of before a deadline. Speaking through grace and compassionate language when the cultivated gift of the Holy Ghost pierces our hearts with empathy for the feelings and context of others. It enables us to transform hazardous situations into holy places. God looks upon our hearts and cares what we are thinking. It is also important to understand that sometimes people have had discussions in the past, and they only reason they may revisit them is because some third-party steps in with their opinions. So people who have had a discussion in the past understand what the other is saying and does not have to go into much detail. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
And, frankly, sometimes people just need to mind their own business and keep their opinions to themselves, especially if you start trying to power force in a situation that has nothing to do with you and there is clear evidence that your influence has made the situation much worse. No one asked for your opinion, no one asked for your help and if you had followed the law all the pain and suffer and decades of corrective action and millions of dollars would not have been spent trying to correct a problem you created by trying to force your influence over a situation that was under control. People are not here to have their faith questioned and challenged. We are here to remind ourselves that we are not alone, to reaffirm centuries-old traditions with like-minded souls from around the World. We are not brainwashed, we are not being forced, we are all confirmed, we are doing this on our own. The Church does not make mistakes. We are all sinners, we are not perfect, we cannot expect anyone to be perfect like God, but it is important to show respect and not try to force your situations or ways onto others, especially when they can have fatal and lifelong impacts. Sometimes when people are watching you, they cannot help but feel jealous because you believe in something; it is more than they can say. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
When you follow a leader, a code, a God, and it give your life meaning not by seeking to attain control of someone else’s narrative and reshaping, but through the opposite: by relinquishing it; we shall go one pursuing the path which the Lord has marked out before us. We have the right to influence who gets elected, what gets taught in schools, what gets sold in stores, and what rights we have in order to make decisions about our own bodies in lives. You cannot own a person and try to control their lives by using political forces. You cannot assume you know more than a person does about their products when you are not an expect. America is a law of lands and we have a capitalistic system because other systems can be very dangerous and deadly, as they do not respect human lives nor freedom of choice. America used to be a different World, where slavery was legal and everyone can see how deadly and dangerous it is when people do not have the freedom to make choices about their own lives, bodies, health and occupations. “Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand; of both in Heaven and in the Earth, and under the Earth; things which must shortly come to pass; thing which are at home; things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations,” reports Doctrines and Covenants 88.78-80. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
Randolph Harris II International Institute 