Home » beauty (Page 77)
Category Archives: beauty
This is God’s Largest Master Plan and they Just Did Not Want to Hear it!
We have well-developed wings under your care, roaming in the blue sky of homeland. No matter how far and high we fly, there is an echo of your instructions. “If we keep commandments, we shall prosper,” reports Alma 37.13 When we engage in discursive thought and declarative speech, we may attain various forms of success: intelligibility, precision, correctness, and so on. These felicities are best explained by contrast with the corresponding mishaps that threaten our beliefs, assertations, and especially our claims to know something. A person’s thinking may be inadequate he or she is ignorant, and what that individual says may be deficient because it is incoherent, rough, or, perhaps most important of all, downright false. Many philosophers have been troubled in attempting to account for the occurrence of falsity in people’s assertions and opinions, that is, in trying to understand how there could be such a thing as error at all. In examining these difficulties, we shall assume human’s statement are erroneous in case it is false and reflects his or her belief. Thus, if a person lies, he or she may speak falsely, but not erroneously We shall assume that a person holds a false belief when he or she is inclined to express it n a statement that would be false. The statement would be erroneous; consequently we can say the belief it mirrors are erroneous as well. #RandolphHarris 1 of 9
Our inquiry will focus on a pair of famous knots. When our beliefs are false, do we believe anything? If a surgeon is convinced his patient will die, a he is correct, he is mistaken, there is no such event as the patient’s death. Did the surgeon then expect nothing? Depicted thus, erroneous thinking seems impossible. Granting that error can occur, is it ever voluntary? Clearly we are to blame for some of our mistakes, yet who knowingly and willingly goes for false beliefs? A lie is a statement made by one who does not believe it with the intention that someone else shall be led to believe it. It is possible for a person to make a statement using American Sign Language, smoke signals, Morse code semaphore flags, and so forth, as well as by making specific bodily gestures whose meanings have been established by convention (e.g. nodding one’s head in response to a question). Hence, it is possible to lie by these means. If it is granted that a person is not making a statement when he wears a wig, gives a fake smile, affects a limp, and so forth, it follows that a person cannot be lying by doing these things. If it is granted that a person is not making a statement when, for example, she wears a wedding ring when she is not married, or wears a police uniform when she is not a police officer, it follows that she cannot be lying by doing these things. #RandolphHarris 2 of 9
We form belief in a haphazard way, believing all sorts of things based just on what we hear out in the World, but have not researched for ourselves. People are credulous creatures who find it very easy to believe and very difficult to doubt. In fact, believing is so easy, and perhaps so inevitable, that it may be more like involuntary comprehension than it is like rational assessment. By analogy, why disqualify my utterance simply because I fail to refer to existing things? A correspondence theory still explains why it is false to state, “There are flying saucers”: nothing corresponds to what is stated; that is, noting corresponds to the existence of flying saucers, because none exist. However, the correspondence theory needs elaboration before it will transform into a general account of correct and incorrect assertions. What things that are would I depict if I conceded “Flying saucers do not exist”? Does the nonexistence of flying saucers correspond to what I state? How can there be such a thing? Again, what things that are differentiate a true subjunctive conditional, for example, “If I had watered the lawn, it would not have died, from its false contrary, “Even if I had watered the lawn, it would have died”? Does the same withered grass make one statement true and the other false? #RandolphHarris 3 of 9
We can prove a few things for certain, including God’s existence. The deity cannot have given us a faculty [of thinking] whose right employment could ever lead us astray; however, it seems to follow that therefore we can never go wrong. People have false beliefs, but through their own doing, not God’s. People are endowed by God with such power of will that they can assent to proposition they do not know to be true—that is, to ideas that are not clear and distinct. Is God to blame for this disharmony between our limited capacity for knowledge and our unlimited power for assenting? No, will is just a single thing; it is incompatible with its nature that anything should be subtracted from it. Besides, although we are free to, we do not have to believe propositions for which we lack conclusive proof. In order to avoid unsuspected error, we must restrain our desire for truth and withhold assent until we know for certain. Clearly, people may decide to make statements. Some criminals voluntarily confess their misdeeds, and others are forced, against their will, to admit guilt. How about belief? Can we choose to reject a proposition that seems most likely, according to available evidence, and believe another that seems less plausible? Perhaps not. However, we often make decisions as we form our opinions, as we collect or neglect data and seek or ignore expert testimony. #RandolphHarris 4 of 9
People who undergo brainwashing are deprived of this control over the formation of their beliefs. The same holds, incidentally, for knowledge. It is absurd to say the investigator decided to know but not absurd to say he or she resolved to find out for certain who robbed the grocer. Moreover, children are compelled to learn things. In acquiring knowledge and forming opinions, we pursue rather obvious goals: conclusive proof and correct information. Even so, is it intelligible to suppose that people act deliberately and knowingly when they settle for false beliefs? Maybe it is not their goal to be wrong, but it is certainly within the general scope of their intention. Anyone who aims at truth is prepared for falsity, just as a marksman is prepared to miss the bull’s-eye. Can we say they erred knowingly? A person who punches another is hardly ever certain that his or her victim will be injured. However, if one has reason to think injury might result from the blow, from a legal standpoint the individual knowingly inflects harm. There remains another type of error, fortunately quite infrequent, where such awareness is impossible. This is the unusual situation where you are convinced you know something, banish doubt from your mind, and still turn out to be wrong. Perhaps you acted deliberately and followed your inclinations in pushing your investigation until you believe you cloud not be wrong. #RandolphHarris 5 of 9
However, with this degree of conviction, you cannot have the least awareness that you are not mistaken. Your error, then, is not fully voluntary. “Walk upright before God,” reports Helaman 6.34. How people form beliefs, in many cases, for some cultures, was shaped by the evolutionary push toward efficiency rather than accuracy. Abstract belief formation (that is, beliefs outside one’s direct experience, conveyed through language) is likely among the few things that are uniquely human, making it relatively new in the scope of evolutionary time. Before language, most human ancestors could form beliefs only through what they directly experienced of the physical World around them. For perceptual beliefs from direct sensory experience, it is reasonable to presume our sense are not lying. Seeing is, after all, believing. In fact, questioning what you see or hear can get you eaten. For our evolutionary ancestors, it was better to be safe than sorry, especially when considering whether to believe that rustling in the grass is a lion. However, as a result, most people did not develop a high degree of skepticism when their beliefs were about things they directly experienced, especially when their lives were at stake. #RandolphHarris 6 of 9
As complex language evolved, people gained the ability to form beliefs about things they had not actually experienced for themselves—and tended to believe them just as strong. Yet, a false statement or action made with intent to deceive is a lie. Nothing else is quite so despicable and cowardly as a lie. “Embracing the law of the Church, thou shalt not lie; one that lieth and will not be repent shall be cast out,” reports Doctrine and Covenants 42.21. This means excommunicated from the Church. Unfortunately, lying is currently a widespread practice. It is one of the most disturbing and peace-destroying practices in out society. The sad fact is that there is a growing trend to regard getting caught as worse than lying. There are many individua among us who, as a consequence of lying, are bereft of composure and happiness. Society generally is suffering for the same reason. Lying is one of the cardinal evils of our day. A cardinal sin is a very bad or serious sin. Giving false information is a cardinal sin in news reporting. No one is justified in lying because someone else has lied. The Lord have the Prophet Joseph a lesion on this point at the time the 100-page manuscript copy of the Book of Mormon translation was lost. Education is a crutch with which the foolish attack the wise to prove that they are not idiots. #RandolphHarris 7 of 9
Only one is an artist who can see the mysterious in what is ordinary, and can thus transform a solution into a problem. Knowing that the lost manuscript was in the hands of enemies and that they had altered it, the Lord told Joseph not to translate the same material again. “The adversary stirreth them up, that he or she may lead their souls to destruction. And thus he or she flattereth them, and leadeth them along until he or she draggeth their souls down to hell; and thus the adversary causeth them to catch themselves in a snare. And the adversary goeth up and down, to and fro in the Earth, seeking to destroy the souls of humans,” reports the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants 10.22, 25-28. The fake person and the fake news media can do anything: they can sin, and they can atone for it. However, sinning makes them no worse, and atoning no better. A political system which seeks freedom through force can easily get stuck halfway; whereas that which seeks license through liberty always attains its goal. The prostitute resembles the journalist in that neither is expected to experience any feeling; but he or she differs from him in being able to experience feelings. God reveals your true potential in scripture. “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of human beings,” reports Moses 1.39. Eternal life, or exaltation, means receiving everything God has to give us. #RandolphHarris 8 of 9
No matter how bright you imagine your future to be, it is indescribably brighter than that. And that is exactly why a certain lying, scheming wretch of a bad person is jealous of you! The adversary knows he or she cannot improve, he or she cannot progress, that Worlds without end he or she will never have a bright tomorrow. The adversary is a miserable individual, bound by eternal limitations, and he or she wants you to be miserable, too. We, do not fall for that. The adversary will do all he or she can to thwart you along your way back to our Father in Heaven, which includes whispering (or in some cases, shouting) every lie under the Sun in an attempt to harvest your soul and dam you to hell. However, God always wants to hear from you, even if it has been a while. God hears our prayers and is sensitive to us and our needs. God will see us with eyes of love and mercy—love and mercy that we cannot fully understand. Fear seems to be one of the adversary’s favourite tools int these latter days. However, do not give in to that nonsense. Even when things are hard, even when they are extremely hard, God’s plan provides hope and joy! The long story is a memory in our hearts; happiness in the past years is still in our hearts and will pass into the future. #RandolphHarris 9 of 9
One Must Still Have Chaos in the Soul to Possess the Ability to Produce a Dancing Star!
The stomach is the only part of a person which can be fully satisfied. The yearning of a human’s brain for new knowledge and experience and for more pleasant and comfortable surroundings never can be fully met. It is an appetite which cannot be appeased. Half of our mistakes in life arise from feeling when we ought to think, and thinking when we ought to feel. Our choices are reasonable to the extent that they reflect our developed habits of intelligence. Choice is the purest expression of free will—the freedom to choose allows us to shape our lives exactly how we wish (provided we have the resources to do so). Choices are made to satisfy five basic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun. Individual actors choose whichever option will maximize their interests and provide them with the greatest utility or benefit. However, if they are made on the basis of prejudice and ignorance, choices will be perverse or irrational. In this life we have to make many choices. Some are very important choices. Some are not. Many of our choices are between good and evil. The choices we make, however, determine to a large extent our happiness or our unhappiness, because we have to live with the consequences of our choices. Making perfect choices all of the time is not possible. It just does not happen. However, it is possible to make good choices we can live with and grow from them. How do we engage in this process of valuation? #RandolphHarris 1 of 9
We must analyze the situation as carefully as we can, imaginatively project possible courses of action, and scrutinize the consequences of these actions. Those ends or goods that we choose relative to a concrete situation after careful deliberation are reasonable or desirable goods. When God’s children live worthy of divine guidance they can become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon. There are always practical limitations to our deliberations, but a person trained to deliberate intelligently will be prepared to act intelligently even in those situations that so not permit extended deliberation. When we confront new situations, we must imagine and strive for new goals. As long as there are internal conflicts that demand judgment, decision, and action, sometimes we make poor choices when we yield to peer pressure. In this sense, the moral life of human beings is never completed, and the ends achieved become the means for attaining further ends. However, lest we think that human beings are always striving for something that is to be achieved in the remote future, or never, there are consummations—experiences in which the ends that we strive for are concretely realized. In our moral life, there is a great deal of emphasis placed on intelligence. Some people, objects, experiences have an attraction for us. We desire, want, need them. They attractive like the side of a magnet. Since they attract us, we tend to approach them. #RandolphHarris 2 of 9
Other objects, people, or situations repel, disgust, frighten, or turn us off. We view them not as attractive, but as negative and we tend to avoid them. Faith in the power of intelligence is to imagine a future which is a projection of the desirable in the present, and to invent the instrumentalities of its realization. It takes a certain kind of courage to stand back rather than leaping forward, foolishly allowing someone else to make our choices for us. When we have a clear idea of our identity as children of God, and having a bright potential for a meaningful future, we can more readily take firm stands. Valuation, like all inquiry, presupposes a community of shared experiences in which there are common norms and procedures, and intelligent valuation is also a means for making such community a concrete reality. We are always trying to understand or make sense out of our own and others’ actions. It has been said that human beings have a will to meaning. People strive to find meaning everywhere, and usually succeed. What we are doing when we interpret something, when we find meaning, is not entirely clear. There will always be conflicts, problems, and competing values within our experience, but with the continuous development of creative intelligence humans can strive for and realize new ends and goals. Unfortunately, some of our poor choices are irreversible, but many are not. Often we can change course and get back on the right track. #RandolphHarris 3 of 9
Getting back on the right track may involve the principles of repentance: first, recognizing the error of our ways; second, forsaking the wrongful conduct; third, never repeating it; and, fourth, confessing and making restitution where possible. Learning by experience has value. And the source of education consisting of real World experiences, especially adverse experiences is unfortunate, but also a part of life. Progression comes faster and easier by learning from our parents, those who love us, and our professors. We can also learn from the mistakes of others, observing the consequences of their wrong choices. Some choices present good opportunities no matter which road we take—for example, when deciding which career path to follow or which University to attend, making the right decision or the best possible choice will open doors for an individual. There was a gifted young man, named T. Randolph Harris, who wanted to become a doctor, but that opportunity did not open up for him; so he chose to follow the law. After graduating from Princeton University, he then went to New York University of Law, and became a one of the city’s most powerful lawyers, at a white-shoe law firm, called McLaughlin and Stern LLP Attorneys. He is also an adjunct professor of law. God opens the right doors for us. And if you do not believe in God, you should pretend to believe, because in so doing you might come around to genuine belief in time. #RandolphHarris 4 of 9
Behaviour is the mirror in which everyone shows their image. The prediction of social behaviour significantly involves the way people make decisions about resources and wealth, so the science of decision making historically was the province of economists. And the basic assumption of economists was always that, when it comes to money, people are essentially rational. It was largely inconceivable that people would make decisions that go against their own interests. Some of our important choices have a time line. If we delay a decision, the opportunity is gone forever. Sometimes our doubts keep us from making a choice that involves change. Thus, an opportunity may be missed. When we have to make a choice and do not make it, that in itself is a choice. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. Some choices have greater consequences than others. We make no greater voluntary choice in this life than the selection of a marriage partner. This decision can bring eternal happiness and joy. To find sublime fulfillment in marriage, both partners need to be fully committed to the marriage. Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you will help them to become what they are capable of being. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius power, and magic in it. “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to say. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing,” reports Zephaniah 3.17. #RandolphHarris 5 of 9
Strangely, doing the wrong thing often seems reasonable, possibly because it seems to be the easiest course. We often hear as justification for wrong behaviour, “Well, everybody is doing it.” Hasty generalizations(overgeneralizing) happens when people draw conclusions (generalizations) from too few or atypical examples. This evil distorts the truth, and its author is the adversary. The adversary will cheat your souls, and lead you away carefully down to hell. No matter how many people in our society are involved, none are justified in being dishonest, lying, cheating, using excessive profanity, especially taking the Lord’s name in vain, engaging in immoral sexual relationships, or not respecting the Lord’s day. Other people’s actions do not dictate what is right or wrong. One person having the courage to make the right choice can influence many others to choose wisely. We are responsible for the choices we make. If we choose to disobey God’s commandments, we cannot blame our circumstances, our family, nor our friends. Do not fall victim to the Talk Show Syndrome, which is when people stand up and generalize on the basis of their individual experiences. We are children of God with great strength. We have the ability to choose righteousness and happiness, no matter what our circumstances are. #RandolphHarris 6 of 9
We also have to be careful when making our decisions because right now the fake news media is trying really have to confuse people by using manufactured or questionable statistics. They are also practicing a misuse of authority by hiring experts to provide testimony, which is usually useful for supporting material for claims because experts draw on a larger data and knowledge base than do nonexperts. However, experts are not always correct, but they generally are more reliable than someone who is uninformed or only marginally knowledgeable, especially about a highly technical subject. There are also examples of incomplete citation when reference to the authority is neither specific nor complete. Sometimes the fake news media uses biased sources—special-interest groups or individuals who stand to gain money, prestige, power, or influence simply be taking a certain position on an issue or crusaders for a cause are all biased even though they may have expertise. In other cases, the media has been providing us with authorities quoted or of his or her field—expertise is not generic. We have also seen cases of false analogies (which they like to call comparing apples to oranges) where two items, events, or phenomena with similarities are viewed as identical. What is true of one is or should be true for the other, so goes the claim, even when a significant point or points of difference exist between the two things compared. #RandolphHarris 7 of 9
There are also false dichotomies employed by the media when a false choice between only two opposites is allowed when there are other choices that fall between the extremes exist. Also, the media is not presenting the public with issues that we need to know about. For example, when wild fires or explosions happen in communities, just because there are powerlines or gasolines in the area, the utility company is blamed for the catastrophe, even when it may not be their fault, just because their powerlines or gasolines are in the area. This is costing corporations who provide us with energy or fuel billions of dollars and bankrupting them. In the process thousands of jobs are being terminated, and these are jobs that teach people skills and have allowed 45,000 people to become promoted to middle and upper management, where they can afford to live middle-class and upper-class live styles because of the training and experience they have received. Furthermore, the local fake news media is especially guilty of only reporting crime reports, but never any scientific information or research, and they are not even educating communities on ballots that can impact our future. For example, we have not heard anything about Senate Bill 10 (SB10), which would eliminate bail in California for the accused waiting trial, and it would be replace cash bail with a risk assessment of an individual and nonmonetary conditions of release, which some report could lead to mass incarceration. #RandolphHarris 8 of 9
How do we make correct choices? A choice involves making a conscious decision. To make an intelligent decision, we need to evaluate all available facts on both sides of an issue. However, that is not enough. Making correct decisions involves prayer and inspiration. We must study things in our mind, and then ask God if it is right, and if it is right, God will let us know, and when we make a decision we will know it is right. As we look into the future, we are going to need to be stronger and more responsible for our choices in a World where people call evil good, and good evil. If we do not use our agency and check with God, we do not choose wisely. Tomorrow’s blessings and opportunities depend on the choices we make today. Collectively, we have the responsibility to set the example of righteousness to all of the World. The power of choice is ours. May we all use our God-given agency wisely as we make these eternal choices. Let the Sun, blue Sky and could wake up the hidden memory. Each of us has come to this Earth with all the tools necessary to make correct choices. We cannot be neutral; there is no middle ground. Our Heavenly Father did not launch us on our eternal journey without providing the means whereby we could receive from him God-given guidance to assist in our safe return at the end of mortal life. Modest, let us walk among it, with our faces veiled, as they say polite Archangels do, in meeting God. With love and affection, we will build an impeccably happy life. #RandolphHarris 9 of 9
The Winchester Mystery House
As Mrs. Winchester discovered, sometimes the rift between the paranormal world and the human world opens, allowing supernatural entities to cross. https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/
Affluent Lace Curtain Suburbs—We Cannot Afford to Neglect this Heaven Inspired Home!
Love is a great happiness to humans. Philosophers have not carelessly misunderstood ordinary language; it is waiting for them with bewitchment and illusion. In the emancipation that is achieved when one is able to command a clear view of the functioning of language, everything is left, but seen to be, as it is. A house means many things to people. The ultimate beauty in the home is its emotional and spiritual wealth. It is a place of wonderful memories. And with all of these things, that house becomes a home. Many of our homes are a shrine. It is a part of our self-definition, which is why we do things like decorate our houses with beautiful patterns, embrace amazing colours to impress our company and take care of our shimmer waves green grass. A beautiful lawn is one of the most desired features in gardens all around the World. These lush, emerald green grassplots serve a great purpose of keeping the environment cool, cleaning the air, and is a public displaying of our houses as an extension of ourselves. A strong attachment to the place that we live results in greater satisfaction with our home and expectations of future stability in that place. These feelings transcend attachments to other people in the area and represent a genuine affection for the physical location itself, and the passage of time strengthens out attachment to the place we live. The home can bring spiritual growth to each member of the family. The Almighty will descend upon them as the dew from Heaven, and the Holy Ghost will be theirs. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
Home is where the heart is and the heart always makes us feel the beauty and life and hope for the future. Because of physical surroundings play such an important role in creating a sense of meaning and organization in our lives, it is not surprising that our sense of the place we live is closely connected to our sense of who we are. Our family homes are where we should feel most comfortable in the World. It determines how we make our life decisions, shapes out attitudes, and awareness, our self-esteem. A family homes life is obviously a vital ingredient in the pursuit of a meaningful life. There are some key elements to building a peaceful home life: the relationship between the family members, the atmosphere of the home itself, and the way the home is run. When a family shares principles and values, they grow together. The home because a foundation for the family’s shared sense of purpose while providing a springboard for each member to pursue his or her own goals. In such homes, families stay up ate talking heart-to-heart about what is on their minds. Children gather around their parents to hear their stories. The whole family gets together—and not just on holidays—for evening of songs, games, and reminiscing. The home become alive with a soul, a source of energy and hope, of urgency and love. It is not the tranquility of a home that makes it peaceful; it is the life within. “The stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house,” reports Genesis 28.22. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
There should be sweet love in the home like a song of happiness. Beautiful melody and notes filled with joy. We make our houses even more beautiful by talking with of families about our responsibilities as good-hearted people. Parents and caregivers offer their children love, acceptance, appreciation, encouragement, and guidance. They provide the most intimate context for the nurturing and protection of children as they develop their personalities and identities and also as they mature cognitively, emotionally, and socially. Our children will grow up wo remember their home as a place of warmth and kindness, where people felt comfortable to gather and talk about things that matter to them. In all likelihood, these children will grow into adults who will create the same sort of home. Parents and caregivers make sure children are healthy and safe, equip them with skill and resources to succeed as adults, and transmit basic cultural values to them. Family rituals are also instrumental in the healthy development of children and teenagers. There is emerging evidence that good communication between family members at mealtimes is associated with reduced anxiety symptoms and better respiratory conditions. Family mealtimes also provide the settings in which to strengthen emotional connections. And the value that family places on regular mealtimes may improve nutrition habits and healthy weight in youth. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” reports Joshua 24.15. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
Families are often the first organization to take stock of everyone’s psychological wellbeing due to their involvement in and monitoring of their children’s lives. Once a normal child’s needs are satisfied on a regular basis, he or she will become bored, no longer interested in staying at the level. There is a growth force in each of us that pushes us to reach for higher levels of motivation. As the children grows through childhood, the individual moves from being dominated by the need to learn and maintain one’s safety and security to the stage of testing out one’s abilities in a more social area. In this stage, which comes in middle childhood and early adolescence, he or she needs assurance that one has a permanent place in the family, and that his or her parents value the child. Children will spend more and more time out of the hose, as one goes to school and outside to play, but the child still needs as a base the sense that home and the family’s love are always there, whenever he or she decides to return. Many children test this out by running away, pushing parents to declare that their love is flexible and stretchable. Parents may fail to recognize that running away is a testing of the quality of their love, not a rejection of that love. During this time, a child often adopts new adults into his or her life: teachers, friends, others’ patents, playground supervisors, or scout leaders. An insecure parent faced with this situation may think he or she has failed and the child has abandoned him or her for another seemingly more competent or more loving adult. We should not be at a loss of love and departing. Honest hearts are a vast sea keep the image of the sail in your heart. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
Our families are where we experience our biggest triumphs and our deepest vulnerabilities—and they are where we have the greatest potential to do good. Of course, if parents really are not giving enough love or feeling of belonging, the child may actually be going outside the home to satisfy those needs. However, usually this is not the motivation. A child who finds that one’s parents are threatened or angered by such testing often panics. Many a child assumes that love has a price tag on it—is subject to conditions, as in a contract. And unfortunately, there are parents who attach strings: “I will love you if you will just work hard and get good greats.” “I do not love you when you run away.” These may seem like fairly innocent comments to a parent, but they can be a real source of fear for children. The family is divine in nature and God designates it as the fundamental building block of society, both on Earth and through eternity. As such, it becomes the foundation for civilization and a sanctuary for the individual. It should be a place of social graces of loyalty, cooperation, and trust. The family is the place we learn to love ourselves and each other, to bear one another’s burdens, to find meaning in our life and to give purpose to others’ lives, and to feel the value of being part of something greater than ourselves. There is a universal desire for oneness among people—we want to belong. It is why we collaborate, support common causes, cheer for sports teams, feel nationalism. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
The desire to belong is also why we build villages, towns, and cities. When we have a home life that reflects what we previously had in Heaven, we have more of an innate propensity to get ourselves noticed, and noticed favourably, by our kind. And a spirit of unity, devotion, and faith prevails. One evening a week, for home family recreation, improvement and enjoyment, parents and children should gather around the family hearth in social and religious communion. It furnishes an opportunity for the parents to become better acquainted with their children and for children to know and appreciate their parents. If the home evening could be a fact, under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, at our own firesides surrounded by those whom the Lord has given unto us, and told us, particularly that we should instruct them, how many happy homes there would be where today there is sorrow and discord and distress. Great blessings come to those who carry out this responsibility. Family home evening brings many families closer to one another, and have brought a great measure of peace and harmony in many homes. We feel with our love and earnest assurances, that the Lord will grant rich blessings to all who will prayerfully and sincerely carry out this program. There is no greater legacy that parents can leave to their children than the memory and blessings of a happy, unified and loving home. Our love is shining with the Sun and Moon in our hearts. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
The Only Normal People are the Ones You Do Not Know Very Well
Most of us need to be liked and accepted by others. We may enjoy meeting different people, whose background and attitudes are vastly different from our own, but we tend to feel more comfortable around those who share our assumptions and general backgrounds. There really does not seem to be much truth to the old saying that “opposites attract.” A number of psychologists have expressed this idea in the theory of the looking glass self, the theory that one’s self-concept is significantly affected by what one imagines others think of him or her. If they appear to approve of you, then you value yourself, and vice-versa. If someone you like and /or respect gives you a compliment and at that moment you are asked to rate yourself on a scale of one to ten, your stock will probably be higher than usual. To be a human being means to possess a feeling of inferiority which constantly presses towards its own conquest. The paths to victory are as different in a thousand ways as the chosen goals of perfection. The greater the feeling of inferiority that has been experienced, the more powerful is the urge to conquest and the more violent the emotional agitation. However, meanings are not determined by situations, but we determine ourselves by the meanings we give to situations. We must never neglect the patient’s own use of his or her symptoms. The science of the mind can only have for its proper goal the understanding of human nature by every human being, and through its use, brings peace to every human soul. #RandolphHarris 1 of 11
We share a common concern for the environment and a common desire to draw others unto the Creator of Heaven and Earth. The human soul and the environment are interconnected, each affects and influences the other. Therefore, there is an inherent complexity of human interaction with the environment. Our approach to the environment must be prudent, realistic, balanced, and consist with the needs of the Earth and of the current and future generations. It cannot be reasonably disputed that we depend on this Earth to sustain life, and the quality of the Earth and its environment will directly affect the quality of our life—and that of future generations. We understand who we are, the purpose of our existence, and the reason the Earth was created—and we have to keep these things in mind. If we do our conduct will rise to a higher, nobler level, and that is where religion and faith plays a major role. If we have to point to one single challenge facing humanity, a problem which virtually all others are tied, it would have to be population growth. We currently are trapped in a destructive cycle of our own making. Human population size has skyrocketed as we have increased our ability to produce food surpluses. As population size increases, more and more land is converted to crops, pasture, and building sites, providing more opportunities for yet more people. #RandolphHarris 2 of 11
God desires that humankind progress, improve, and receive eternal reward—and the Lord created this Earth for that purpose. Additionally, through medical advances of the twentieth century, we have reduced mortality at both ends of the life cycle. Thus, fewer people die in childhood, and having survived to adulthood, they live longer than ever before. The World average life expectancy is 69 years (may be higher or lower depending on country). Although these medical advances are unquestionably good for individuals (who has not benefited from medical technology?), it is also clear that there are significant detrimental consequences to the species and to the planet. Population size, if left unchecked, increases exponentially, that is, as a function of some perfect, like compound interest on a bank account. Currently, human population increases Worldwide at an annual rate of about 1.8 percent. Although this figure may not seem too startling at first, it deserves some examination. It is also useful to discuss double time, or the amount of time it takes for population size to double. God explained in practical terms why he created this World for his children to live on as mortal being and those who choose to follow and serve God in this life upon this Earth will have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever. #RandolphHarris 3 of 11
The creation of this Earth affords us the opportunity to choose to seek and someday receive all that God offers. However, one cannot, and should not be forced to follow God; indeed, real growth and development in an individual occurs only when one has the opportunity to choose for him or herself. Nonetheless, scientists estimate that around 10,000 years ago, only about 5 million people inhabited the Earth (not even half as many as life in Los Angeles County today). By A.D. 1650, there were perhaps 500 million, and by 1800, 1 billion. In other words, between 10,000 years ago and A.D. 1650 (a period of 9,650 years), population size doubled 71 times. On average, then, the doubling time, for population increase, between 10,000 years ago and 1650 was about 1,287 years. However, from 1650 to 1800, the population doubled again, which means that doubling time had been reduced to 150 years. And in 37 years between 1950 and 1987, World population doubled from 2 billion to 4 billion. Dates and associated population estimates up to the present are as follows: mid-1800s, 1 billion; 1930, 2 billion; mid-1960s, 3 billion; mid-1980s, 4 billion; 2000, 6 billion, and in 2018, 7.6 billion. To state this issue in terms we can appreciate, we add 1 billion people to the World’s population approximately every 11 years. That comes out to 90 to 95 million every year and roughly a quarter of a million every day! #RandolphHarris 4 of 11
The rate of growth is not equally distributed among all nations. Although the World’s rate of increase has ranged from 1.7 to 2.1 percent since the 1950s, it is the developing countries that share most of the burden (not to be interpreted as blame). During the 1980s, the population of Kenya grew at a rate of a little over 4 percent per year, while India added a million per month, and 36,000 babies were born every day in Latin American. Fortunately, by the end of the twentieth century, rates of human population growth began to decline. Moreover, by 2000, the replacement rate of 2.1 children per female required for population size to stabilize had been achieved in all western European countries, Thailand, and the nonimmigrant populations of the United States. The decrease in family size Worldwide is attributed to several factors, including the shift to a global economy, the migration of rural populations to urban centers with concomitant shifts in employment from agriculture to manufacturing and service sectors, and, at least in some countries, the increasing empowerment of women that has meant better education, increased opportunities in the workplace, and access to family planning. However, by the year 2020, human numbers could approach 10 billion. Japan is pretty much the only nation experiencing a population decline, which is leading to better education and employment opportunities, higher pay and more places to live. #RandolphHarris 5 of 11
The Earth was created to provide a place for the children of God to be tested, to learn and gain necessary experience in a place where they would have the opportunity to choose whether they will, or will not, do all things that the Lord commands. Once the process of the creation of this Earth was completed, God was pleased. He was pleased, for he saw that this Earth would serve his purpose for his children. God’s plan was—and is that his children come to this Earth through marriage between a man and a woman, who are to procreate, form a family, and tech children to choose the good part in a World with real moral choices and consequences. The Lord created the Earth to be inhabited; and he created his children that they should possess it. Men and women are not ere interlopers or a side-show on this Earth; rather, they and the children they bring into this World are central to its propose. However, we believe that God has commanded that the Earth and all things thereon be utilized responsibly to abundantly sustain the human family. We are just stewards of this Earth, God owns everything. So, how we care for the Earth, how we utilize and share in its bounty, and how we treat all life that has been provided for our benefit and use is part of our test in mortality. When God gave us dominion over everything, it was not without boundaries or limits. #RandolphHarris 6 of 11
God intends human’s dominion to be a righteous dominion, meaning one that is guided, curbed, and enlightened by the doctrine of his gospel—a gospel defined by God’s love for us and our love for him and his works. The unbridled, voracious consumer is not consistent with God’s plan of happiness, which calls for humility, gratitude, and mutual respect. In other words, as stewards over the Earth and all life thereon, we are to gratefully make use of that which the Lord has provided, avoid wasting life and resources, and use the bounty of the Earth to care for the less affluent. Yes, the Lord gave to men and women agency, or the capacity to choose; however, we must bear in mind that he cares deeply for all life and especially for his children, and will hold us accountable for what we choose to do (or not do) with the bounties of his creation. “It pleases God that he has given all these things unto humans,” report Doctrine and Covenants 59.20. Humankind is promised that if we choose to follow the Lord and judiciously use the resources of the Earth with thanksgiving and respect, the fullness of the Earth would be ours, and that Good things would come of the Earth, and would benefit humans and strengthen the body and enliven the soul. #RandolphHarris 7 of 11
The United Nations plan to control population growth is to emphasize women’s education, health, and rights throughout the World, but it still has met with stiff resistance from religious groups (primarily the United States) opposed to abortion and contraception. The United Nations goal is admirable and ambitions, but achieving it will be a formidable task. Although the average number of live births per woman has declined, it will still be next to impossible to prevent huge population increases in the next century. Bear in mind that approximately half of all people currently living in the developing World are less than 15 years old. These young people have not reproduced yet, but they will. The concern is can we continue forever to make technological changes sufficient to feed ever-growing numbers of humans? Is there enough land to support an endless demand for housing, crop cultivation, and grazing? Is there enough water? We probably can develop technologies to meet our species’ increasing needs for a while. However, can we do so and still meet the requirements of thousands of undomesticated species? The answer for the immediate future is: probably not. For the long term, without major changes in human population growth, the answer is: absolutely not. And that is one of the reasons people are in an uproar about unlawful immigration. #RandolphHarris 8 of 11
With resources being scarce and prices climbing, people are concerned how will they afford to live? They are worried that their culture will be replaced. The massive problems facing our planet reflect an adaptive strategy gone awry. Indeed, it would seem that we no longer enjoy a harmonious relationship with culture. Instead, culture has come the environment in which we live, and every day that environment becomes increasingly hostile. All we need to do is examine the very air we breathe and look at the traffic on the roads to realize that we have overstepped our limits. However, it was intended by God that all creatures should be happy in their several elements. All forms of life have great value in the eyes of God, for they are his production, and will be blessed by his redeeming power. If there is any real chance of reversing current trends, everyone will have to sacrifice. In the developing World, family planning must universally be adopted to halt population expansion. Large, single-family dwellings are luxuries many enjoy, and it would be a good idea to buy property while it is still available. We must also encourage our children to conform and get educations so they can afford the expensive cost of living in their countries. Our two feet have carried us not only across the plains of Africa, but also onto the polar caps, the ocean floor, and even across the surface of the Moon! #RandolphHarris 9 of 11
God cares and gives humankind a dominant role on this Earth as evidence that humankind is special, a little lower than Angels. Surely, if we can accomplish so much in so short a time, we can act responsibly to preserve our home and the wonderous creatures who share it with us. Not only did God create a beautiful World of mountains, valleys, rivers, streams, seas, Sunsets, and Sunrises, but he also adorned it with plant and animal life. And the scriptures inform us that each form of plant and animal life has a spirit. God created all things spiritually, before they were naturally upon the Earth. Out of the ground God made every tree grow naturally, that is it pleasant to the sight of humans, and it also became a living soul. God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and they are living souls. Since both planet and animal life are living souls, they are capable of experiencing happiness as they fulfill the measure of their creation. Yes, we have been provided this beautiful and bountiful World, teeming with life and resources to bless and strengthen and enliven humankind, and we are to use them joyfully—but we must do so as careful, grateful stewards over God’s handiwork. We are to use these resources with judgment, gratitude, prudence, and with an eye to bless our fellow man and woman and those of future generation, and in that way help the Lord accomplish his purpose to help humankind. #RandolphHarris 10 of 11
In the mind of God there is no such a thing as dividing spiritual from temporal, or temporal from spiritual; for they are one in the Lord. God wants to help us progress, improve, and receive his blessings in time and eternity. Even if you do not believe in God, he wants to help you and he loves you. However, suffocating selfishness of humankind makes God sad. This Earth is God’s creation. When we make it ugly, we offend the Lord. Faith and religion should have the capacity to stretch, enlarge, and change the human soul beyond self, and to inspire love of God and his creations, to think of others, and to consider the needs of future generations, even to the point of relinquishing personal desires. We need that soul-stretching, for the state of the human soul will directly impact the condition and health of the environment—which, in turn affect the quality of life. Religion can change how we will treat the Earth and all things thereon. As the human soul is changed, the environment is better cared for. The doctrine and commandments of God lead us beyond the suffocating, self-limiting weight of selfishness, the blinding press of self-gratification or aggrandizement. Keep your valley pure, keep your towns as pure as you possibly can, keep your hearts pure. It is not our privilege to waste the Lord’s substance. #RandolphHarris 11 of 11
Give Your Faith to No One Undeserved
We desire to possess a beauty that is worthy pursuing, worth fighting for, a beauty that is core to who we truly are. We want beauty that can be see; beauty that can be felt; beauty that affects others; a beauty all our own to unveil. Egyptians worshipped God in all things, and they believed they possessed a profound magic by which they were able to draw down cosmic powers into the statues of their gods, and that they reflect the divine mind behind the Universe. The idea behind it was they could turn from thinking about God to addressing him, and that way they were able to communicate with the living God, as distinct from merely giving intellectual assent to the God of philosophers. Intelligent, loving devotion to God has always been important with through eternity, it will never become obsolete. Because of the way different cultures channel God, it becomes obvious why scholars have long maintained that each era has a unique spirit, a nature or climate that sets it apart from all other epochs. Another remarkable and apparently pleasant feature of the spiritual existence is the absence of the measure of time and space as we know it here on Earth. God sent his word to heal us, and there is no time or distance in their spirit. Divine love permeates every part of our lives because God is greatly concerned with the quality of character we are building. The future the Lord has planned for us will be built on the strength of character we forge by his grace. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8
It is God’s intention that our lives should be a seamless manifestation of his Spirit. God’s qualities are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Lord has made abundant provisions for his indwelling our lives here and now. A fundamental aspect in our caring for our souls is to understand that we are always in the presence of God and it is important to redirect our minds constantly to the Lord. God is the great longing focus of our souls, and we are privileged to walk in this profound reality. God provided for human freedom through a doctrine of self-creation: humans are free even in the act by which they come into existence, for God allows human to collaborate in their own creation. God makes available a distinctively authentic and free mode of existence to all humanity. Only through practice of virtue are we able to transcend the barriers that separate the mental life of one age from that of another. “If you fully obey the LORD, your God, and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, The Lord, your God, will set you high above all the nations of Earth. If you obey the Lord, all these blessings will come upon you and accompany you. You will be blessed in your city and blessed in your country. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you,” Reports Deuteronomy 28.1.1-3 and 6-7. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8
Most people experience a rush of pleasure the moment a puzzling solution comes to them. When God puts a promise in our hearts, we have to come to the place where we believe in that promise so strongly no one and no circumstance can move us. Beauty grows in us to the extent that love grows, because charity itself is the soul’s beauty. As the soul is the life of the body, so God is the life of the soul. As spiritual knowledge unfolds, it must be understood, valued, obeyed, remembered, and expanded. The greatest achievement humankind can make in this World is to become familiarized with the divine truth, so thoroughly, so perfectly, that the example or conduct of no living creature in the World can ever turn us away from the knowledge that we have obtained. Of all treasures of knowledge, the most vital is the knowledge of God. The role of obedience in gaining spiritual knowledge is crucial. The Lord gives us gifts. He will quicken our minds. God will give us a knowledge that is so deeply rooted in our souls that it can never be rooted out. All we have to do is seek for the light and the understanding which is promised to us, and which we can receive, as long as we are true and faithful to every covenant and obligation, will become a treasure we are allowed to possess. “We trust God will deliver us, and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies,” reports Alma 58.37. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8
The satisfaction of performing a benevolent action will certainly encourage acts of benevolence in someone who desires the advantage of society. We must acknowledge the place of God in our lives, as we are already under his government. Our discoveries in nature have already prepared us to accept the main claims of revelation about God as a creator and judge. I do not like to see things on purpose. I like them to soak in. A friend asked me to go to the top of the state capitol castle once, and I told him that he should not treat park as a sight—it is a feeling, an emotional experience. And the same with every place. When you slow down and have a moment to reflect on everything, it is very beautiful. Some people go to watch people, I enjoy looking at the nature and the architecture. When there are not many people around, you can get a sense of how majestic everything is. It is like sensing God. There is perhaps no better evidence of the psychological impact nature can make than to look at the landscape and just be at peace. It is a warmth so powerful that even the blue sky is barely perceptible through the all-consuming, healing, green atmosphere. It is as if, the trees, grace, flowers, the statues, and the architecture of the castle cols the atmosphere, like rain in a time of drought, or shade at an oasis in the desert. It can be a very spiritual experience to reflect on the living memorial. Happiness should be all one feels. Just like a sunny autumn day. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8
Profound spiritual truth cannot simply be poured from one mind and heart to another. It takes faith and diligent effort. Precious truth comes a small piece at a time through faith, with great exertion, and at times wrenching struggles. The Lord intends it to be that way so that we can mature and progress. As packets of knowledge unfold, they must be understood, valued, obeyed, remembered, and expanded. As each element of truth is encountered, we must carefully examine it in the light of prior knowledge to determine where it fits. Ponder it; inspect it inside out. Study it from every vantage point to discover hidden meanings. View it in perspective to confirm one has not jumped to false conclusions. Prayerful reflection yields further understanding. Such evaluation is particularly important when the truth comes as an impression of Spirit. This awareness of age had a halo of innocence around it, and it also enjoys a measure of nobility. Spiritually sensitive information should be kept in a sacred place that communicates to the Lord. That is how we are to treasure it. Gaining spiritual knowledge is not a mechanical process. It is a sacred privilege based upon spiritual law. We can receive inspired help, as long as we humbly ask our Eternal Father. We must also seek the divine light, exercise faith in the Savior, and strive to live righteous lives. God will bless us and lead us as we move through this wonderful World. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
Our Father in Heaven loves all of his children equally, perfectly, and infinitely. The Lord’s love is an advantage and brings out the flavours of the personality. The Lord’s love can carve out an interior space where wisdom can take up residence. Character strengths and virtues are brought into existence by God. We love virtue. It is always nice to have people in our lives who are good in some important way. Good people make us laugh, support us in hard times, and inspire us. Virtuous actions are better than ordinary behaviours because virtues integrate ethics and health, are embodied traits of character, are sources of human strengths and resilience, are embedded within a cultural context and community, contribute to a sense of meaningful life purpose, and are grounded in the cognitive capacity for wisdom. We are expected to wait calmly in the face of frustration, adversity, or suffering because we are connected to something bigger than the self and the present circumstances. As we endure, God will give us the gift of acceptance, which is unconditional. Given that charity or supernatural love is paramount in our spiritual life, it is clear why we have a high level of devotion to God. When we accurately reflect on ourselves, we realize the excellence of our natural gifts. There is no knowledge of self without knowledge of God. “It is the Lord, your God, you must follow, and him you must revere,” reports Deuteronomy 13. 4. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8
The human person recognizes an intimate unity of the body and mind and understands that they are held in unity by the spiritual soul (as secondary formal and efficient causes) and by God (as ultimate first, formal, efficient, and final causes). People who use both reason and will in finding the standard moral knowledge are guided by well-ordered love, which is associated with healthy physiological and psychological functioning. The divine being is nothing else than the human being, or, rather, the human nature purified, freed from the limitations of the individual human. Our knowledge of God is our acknowledgment of his attitude toward us, especially his attitude of benevolence and love. The character strengths of this virtue include love, kindness, and social intelligence. Humanity relies on doing more than what is only fair—we must show generosity when an equitable exchange would suffice, kindness even if it cannot (or will not) be returned, and understanding even when punishment is due. “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better World, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope comes of faith, makes an anchor to the souls of people, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God,” reports Ether 12.4. Intelligence exists and we interpret it. Justice, as a civic strength, is the underlying foundation of healthy community life. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8
We need to recognize the hard mortal realities in all of this and must use common sense and guidance by personal revelation. We need to remember that trials and temptations are an important part of our lives. When people are faced with adversity or affliction, we are advised not to criticize others for the way they choose to exercise their moral agency. “Pray for them that repentance may come unto them,” reports Moroni 8.28. We each also have the privilege to carefully and prayerfully seek the Lord’s will for regarding our individual challenges and dilemmas. Personal revelation is personal, indeed. It is not based on gender or position, but on worthiness. It comes in response to sincere inquiry. “And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and humbleness of heart and because of our meekness and humbleness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God,” reports Moroni 8.26. When our lives are in balance, before we realize it our lives will be full of spiritual understanding that will confirm that our Heavenly Father loves us and that his plan is fair and true and we should strive to understand and enjoy it. We should be worthy of trust, and always keep confidences. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8
Strong Family Cultures Will Help Our Children Live in the World
Some families are in jeopardy of being lost. Values are the prime target of the adversary, as well are the sanctity of marriage and the central importance of families. It is the duty of parents to teach their children to keep the commandments of God. Our morals and spiritual values provide an anchor and the safe harbor of a home where each child of a loving Heavenly Father can be influenced for food and acquire eternal values. People who feel the love and support of their parents are proud of the example they have set. This makes life so enjoyable for many families that the children want to follow in the footsteps of the parents, to continue on through experiencing the same joy that had been theirs in their younger days. Some parents always find the time to take the family on vacation and they can count on fun experiences. As a result of such a solid background, the children are not able to turn from the teachings of their parents because their actions would reflect on their parents’ character. Culture is defined as the way of life of a people. There is a unique gospel culture, a set of values and expectations and practices common to all followers of God. This gospel culture, or way of life, comes from the plan of salvation, the commandments of God, and the teachings of living prophets. It is given expression in the way we raise our families and live our individual lives. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
However, so much has changed during our lifetime. The effects of childhood trauma, including emotional neglect or abuse in childhood, can have alarmingly potent effect on our psyche as we enter adulthood, event to the extent of rewiring the brain. The children of narcissistic parents, those who meet the diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder, know this all too well, having been raised by someone with a limited capacity for empathy and an excessive sense of grandiosity, false superiority and entitlement. Children of narcissistic parents are programmed at an early age to seek validation where there is one, to believe their worthiness is tied to the reputation of their families, and to internalize the message that they can only sustain their value by how well they can serve the needs of their parents. If given at all, they have lived an existence where love was rarely given. As the child of a narcissistic parent or parent, one is taught that they are not inherently worthy, but rather that there worth depended on what they could do for the narcissistic parent and how compliant one is. The emphasis on appearance, status, reputation is at an all-time high in households with a narcissistic parent. Due to the narcissistic parent’s grandiosity, false mask and need to be the best, children in these situations are probably part of a family that was presented in the best possible light, with neglect taking place behind closed doors. #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
There is something really disturbing about parents who compete with their kids. Women who strive to be as hot as their teenage daughters. Parents threatened by the success of their adult children. Men who date girls the same age as their son’s girlfriend or daughter. And men who actually date their son’s girlfriends. Some parents even conspire with the children’s enemies to hurt their own kids because they envy them so much. So how have we gotten to this place? We all know that times have changed—and parenting is much more difficult as a result. Some parents feel like they did not have a chance to live the life they wanted so they take out their anger usually on one child who reminds them of what they would like to be. Let us take a closet look and find a way out of this madness and toward a better way to parent. Shine a light on yourself, rather than on your child. Get out of the mindset that your child is the enemy and you must win. Win what? No matter how your child behaves, you must commit to parenting from thoughtfulness, not anxiety, jealousy, and reactivity. Keep in the forefront of your mind that even at times of high stress, you are an adult and your children are supposed to learn from you. You want your children to look back and think of you as someone who loved God, followed the laws, and did everything possible to protect them, instead of sabotaging their lives and setting them up to fail. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
As adults, some people know that their parent or parents are bad and do not have their best interest at heart, but they still talk to them because they know their parents will not live forever and want to enjoy them while they are around, while secretly praying that their parent will repent and start showing them rest and unconditional love. Strong leaders focus on the preservation of their own integrity. They have a willingness to take responsibility for their own emotional well-being and do not try to make other people happy by changing their character. Being a strong leader is a quality that will actually help your child want to be led by you, rather than battle you. Remember that you are on your child’s team, not on the opposing side. You should not be sharing the personal business with their enemies who happen to be dangerous nor plotting to end the life of your own child. Some people saw that Casper the Ghost is a cautionary tale about Richie’s parents from Richie Rich killing him for insurance money. The Bible predicted that in the last days, “They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law,” reports Luke 12.53. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
Lessons taught in the home by goodly parents are becoming increasingly important in today’s World, where the influence of the adversary is so wide spread. As we know, he is attempting to erode and destroy the very foundation of our society—the family. In cleaver and carefully camouflaged ways, the wicked one is attacking commitment to family life throughout the World and undermining the culture and covenants of faithful believers in God. Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility. We must train up our children in the way he or he should go, this responsibility ultimately rests on the parents. According to the great plan of happiness, it is goodly parents with the care and development of Heavenly Father’s children. Parents should also pray in earnest, asking our Eternal Father to help them love, understand, and guide the children the Lord sent to them. It is also a good idea to hold family prayer, scripture study, and family home evenings and eat together as often as possible, making dinner a time of communication and the teachings of values. Parents should also share their testimonies often with their children, commit them to keep the commandments of God, and promise the blessings that our Heavenly Father promises his faithful children. Our strengthened family cultures will be a protection for our children from the fiery darts of the adversary embedded in their peer culture, the entertainment and television news. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
If Envy Were a Fever, All the World Would be Ill!
We often hear that the love of money is the root of all evil, but it is not. The love of money, however, can be evil. If you have money you can get things and do things. Because people believe money has power, it can be incredibly difficult to stay on the right course and not lose one’s soul in the process. Many people lose sight of where they come from and make decision that satisfy their personal desires. They forget, or choose to forget who was there for them when they needed to borrow money to pay the mortgage, or when they sold a car under false pretenses, but kept the car and the money, or who shared their Christmas bonus with them. They forget about how much money they took from your family to get where they are today, and when they feel they have made it, materialistic people no longer have a use for you because they see you as inferior and your life does not matter to them. These types of covetous people will sale your secrets to your enemy. Will take bribes to set you up so they can ruin your life because they want to infect others with the pain they experienced growing up in poverty and deprivation. “For the love of money people will steal from their mother. For the love of money people will rob their own brother. For the love of money people will lie, Lord, they will cheat. For the love of money people will sell their precious body for a small piece of paper it carries a lot of weight. Call it lean, mean, mean, green Almighty dollar,” (For the Love of Money by the O’Jays). #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
Money talks, and it can start to define people and their respective lifestyles. The clothes you wear, the house you live in, the car you drive and the job you occupy all serve as indicators to one’s personal success. As a collection, these materials signify, in some form, who you are as a person. At least that is what materialistic people believe. However, it does not take money nor power to be a decent human being. We all know shallow people who do not care what other think of them and have done some strange things for some change. Then they start to think they are better than others because their hustling and illegal activities have allowed them to obtain luxury items, expensive cars, and lavish homes. And they forget all about the people they stole from, betrayed, and hurt to get where they are. Some people had never really experienced being financially strapped because they made the right decision in life. Get a job at a young age, go to college, and worked toward a degree. People sometimes people who had kids at an early age, where on government relief, and experienced and abusive married are jealous that someone did things the right want and want to see that person suffer. And after they bring you down and you see what poverty is like and are trying to work your way out of it, they know you need help, but instead they pretend not to know what you are going through. Because you are a forgiving person, you do not spite them, but wish them well. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
As you try hard to work your way back to success, your heart and mind will not even allow you to ask people with an ugly spirit for help. All money and not good money and although they stole from you and hurt you, it is better to struggle and try hard so when you come back up, you do not have any obligations to unholy people. People abuse their power and fail to treat others with the respect they deserve. The fundamental idea of respect is one that we can all agree upon, and it is an essential basis for solving our everyday problems. While people may spread lies and make up rumors about you, it is essential to seek first to understand before judging someone. Everyone has had different experiences in their lives that have helped shape who they are now. Growing up in a small rural community has taught me so many things. It is nearly impossible to enjoy life in a rural community without showing others respect. Our actions towards others determine our reputation, no matter what people say about us out of envy and malice. If people do not like their reputation, they can change their actions. Our actions is the one thing we can control. When it comes to overcoming being greedy, selfish, and overly indulgent, we all need more help. The worst fear many have is people will get rich in this country and forget God and his people. We will all be literally called upon to make an accounting before God concerning how we have used our resources to bless lives and build the kingdom of God. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
No one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. God loves us each of us—insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all. God does not want any of us to suffer, but sometimes we learn lessons as we suffer. We learn what it is like to be injured, hungry, poor, and unpopular. These are important things for some people to experience so they do not grow up to become monsters. It teaches us to be more understanding, humble, more compassionate, and show respect to people we do not know. We learn not to become a prisoner—a prisoner of sin, stupidity, and a pigsty. God does not want us to wallow with swine. People who take for granted their father and disenfranchise their family members will fall victim to a fictional affront. Even if we are not making as much money as we used to or live in a place the is rather shabby and loud, we still can be very happy with our lives. Keep in mind, wealth cannot buy health. If envy were a fever all the World would be ill. And even though you see your material lifestyles as being a shadow of what it used to be, people can still be jealous of you because of how well you are coming through the white squall they created in your life. Because envy is so far reaching—it can resent anything, including virtue and talent, and it can be offended by everything, including every goodness and joy. As we seem to grow larger in the sight of others, they feel that they are growing smaller. And they keep spending money to make themselves feel better, while you are still steadfastly focused of spiritual enlightenment and career development. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
The purpose of life is learning as much as we can so that we can be ready for the gift of eternal life. There is more to come after our mortal bodies are no more. Our souls are eternal and the actions we choose in this lifetime determine how our eternal life will be. It is also better to go through this life with a clear conscience, as a guilty conscience might be worse than hell. This is a great truth. Understanding the plan for eternal life will help people keep the commandments, make better decision, and have the right motivation. The eternal perspective of the gospel leads us to understand the place that we occupy in God’s plan, to accept difficulties and progress through them, to make decisions, and to center our lives on our divine potential. Perspective is the way we see things when we look at them from a certain distance, and it allows us to appreciate their true value. We were taught this plan before we came to Earth and there rejoiced in the privilege of participating in it. Perhaps people who used you and hurt you do not understand what life is about and we should feel sorry for them that money is the only thing that matters to them because the great wicked one also has a plan, it is cunning, evil, subtle plan of destruction. It is the great wicked one’s objective to take captive the children of Father in Heaven and with every possible means frustrate the great plan of happiness. However, our Heavenly Father endowed his sons and daughters with unique traits especially fitted for their individual responsibilities as they fulfill God’s plan. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
The struggle to success is a difficult one. For those of us that have a belief in God, the right combination of smarts and tenacity, we are blessed to have been cultivated in large by our actively influential surroundings. The environment we grew up in is an important factor in our upbringing and in the success that we will one day achieve. This is not to say that we are product of our circumstances entirely—there have been several people who were subject to horrific situations growing up, and through the love and guidance of God, that managed to make themselves into something and were successful in morphing their dreams into a reality. Whether we embrace our environment growing up and think back to it fondly, or remember our situation growing up and thank our lucky stars that we were able to make it out alive—the fact remains the same: our past made us who we are today and if we are happy with who we are, we cannot wish to have lived a different way. That includes where and with whom we grew up. “Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect,” reports Matthew 5.48. Mortal perfection can be achieved as we try to perform every duty, keep every law, and strive to be perfect in our sphere as our Heavenly Father is in his. If we do the best we can, the Lord will bless us according to our deeds and the desires of our hearts. The Lord’s entire work and glory pertains to the immortality and eternal life of each human being. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
God is the Lonely Cosmic Dancer Whose Routine is All Creatures and All Worlds
We know the current state of things is not right. It has been brought about by a script for what supposedly constitutes a successful nation that has been playing out particularly the past few years. While it is granted that there are inevitable tragic aspects of life, knowledge of existence and nature is to be preferred to illusions. America is no longer a population building country and some might even say that it is overpopulated, which is why housing, cars, clothes, food, medical care, and legally assistance is so expensive. The symbols that used to guide our minds, hearts, and souls no longer sustain us as a people. We are waking up from illusion of material reality. People want things to go back to the way they used to be in the past when a person could work at a supermarket and could afford a brand-new house, car, and support a family on one’s salary. Because the United States of America has, in modern times, been outsourcing jobs and production to other countries, so that companies can earn more profits from lower labor cost, it has hurt America by creating huge deficits and suppressing the wages of American workers. The economy consists of millions of people engaged in many activities—buying, selling, working, hiring, manufacturing and so on. A closed economy is a self-contained economic unit that has no business or trading relations with anyone outside of that unit. This model is why the United States of America used to be so innovative and produced a large number of scholars and Academics, as we had to solve our own problems and produce future leaders, so people took education more seriously. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8
A closed economy does not engage in international trade in goods and services, nor does it engage in international borrowing and lending, which is why generations of the past could keep the national deficit low and traditional jobs, not just professional ones allowed people to ability to afford to live in their communities, as the closed system was characterized by a small amount of exposure to external markets, as opposed to the relatively open economy. As a nation, our economy used to follow the circular-flow diagram, where firms produced goods and services using inputs such as domestic labor, and capital (buildings and machines). These inputs are called the factors of production. Households own the factors of production and consume all the goods and services that the firms produced. Self-reliance means that the country does not have to worry about the global economy. A closed region is independent from other regions, so there is no fear of coercion nor interference. A direct result of not relying on other countries and regions is that the closed economic region is independent. An open economic region, or one that depends on importing and exporting, is susceptible to external demands that could weaken the region’s infrastructure, much like when OPEC manipulated that gas prices to cause fuel to cost three or four times as much as it used to, while you are still making the same wages before the cost of fuel skyrocketed. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8
Market manipulation in an open economy means you have less money to spend on others bills and goods and services, which could hurt your bottom line, or even cause your lifestyle to become unaffordable. This also may force businesses to sell good at extravagant prices just to cover transit, which can lead to weak sales. Much like how consumers and businesses now have to pay taxes on items they buy online, along with shipping, which will make the items much more expensive than the ones they buy in the store. Because of the increased costs, more consumers might return to shopping in the physical stores in the material World, which is the point, but this will also add to more cars on the road, and more people waiting in line at the stores, and that is a major disadvantage because time is money. When prices increase, it also may keep people from obtaining goods necessary for living, which can weaken the economy. Closing such regions economically eradicates high transit costs, leaving more money for the internal economy. This is why President Trumps is placing tariffs on foreign goods because many American companies are being shut down, as they cannot compete with more cost-effective products coming from other countries. Because we are importing so many goods and services, much of our money is being sent overseas, helping other nations develop faster, and is causing a national security problem. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8
The catch up effect, alternatively called the theory of convergence, demonstrates how poor or developing economies grown faster compared to economics with a higher per capita income and gradually reach similar high levels of per capita income. Basically, poorer nations are grow much faster because of higher possibilities of growth and over time catch up with the richer countries in terms of per capita income such that the divide between the two gets minimized. And that is why the trade deficit and national debt is a matter of national security. Because of opportunities of growth available for developing economics like access to technological know how from the developed Word and increasing returns to capital, they may one day become a World power, which puts the status of the United States of America in jeopardy. The US trade deficit is $46.2 billion, and the US national debt is $21.2 trillion. If America loses its status as a World power, we could be occupied by another government and subjected to human rights violations, slave wages, loss of private property, slavery and more. Empirical evidence suggests that while some developing economics have been able to effectively tap the available advantages to grow faster and catch up with robust economies, this has not been true for a large part of the developing World, but with the United States going into so much debt and borrowing so much money for foreign sources, we are weakening America as a nation. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8
Mr. Desmond Townsend
Also, if we had a closed economy, we would have already figured out how to produce cars that run on other types of fuel, besides oil. And face it, no one, especially the youth wants to sit around charging a car for hours. We are already experiencing an over consumption of electric, which is why we had rolling blackouts a few years ago and the very reason power companies are asking you to use major appliances at night and not heat nor cool your homes as desired. As a result of high demand on electricity, the California Energy Department is placing restriction of all new homes three stories and less that they have to have solar panels, which will increase the cost of your home by at least $10,000.00 and there is no cap on that expense. As you know, prices of technology can rise overtime. And the federal government plans to hike interest rates four times this year to keep up with inflation, so the cost of the mortgage will rise even higher, making homes even more expensive than they are. People are demanding more homeownership, family, and financial security. A desire for community and authenticity is strong and growing. Many individuals want what is real, and not just regularly scheduled programming and the constant onslaught of fame, wealth, greed, social propaganda, and survivalist tendencies it celebrates, and that is why we have to support goods and services produced domestically. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
If you want your wages to rise to keep up with inflation, we have to start supporting American made goods and services, which will cost us more in the short term. However, as costs keep rising and more money is being spent in our domestic economy, in the long term it will also cause wages to rise so people can afford to buy the goods and services. However, if we keep sending our money overseas and buying foreign products, other nations will have caught up to America and surpass us, while we decline and the cost of living increasingly becomes unaffordable. Already, 43 percent of Americans are struggling, and experiencing food shortages, economical insecurity, and unstable households. Some people worry each month about paying their bills and as the bills keep going up and their wages are not, they fear they are being priced out of their homes, or eventually will be. Decreases in the money supply, cuts in government spending, and increases in taxes lead to lower inflations, but higher unemployment. Because we have been outsourcing labor, wages are suppressed. How many people do you know who can live off $10-$15 an hour, when rent for a one-bedroom apartment is on average $1,505.00 a month? An economist actually reported if minimum wage were keeping up with inflation, it would be about $28.00 an hour. And with the mandated increase in minimum wage to $15 an hour, many skilled workers will experience pay deflation, so something really needs to be done to correct this unstable market. It is not fair to work your way up to $20 an hour and a new employee with no experience comes in making $15.00. #RandolphHarrris 6 of 8
Because of how stressful life and the economy are for many is the reason a lot of people do not watch the news. No one wants to be reminded daily that they are being priced out of a country they and their ancestors helped build. However, when we feel far from God, we need only to make the decision to turn from sin and face the Savior, where we will find the Lord waiting for us, with his arms outstretched. God is here to guide us, and we are just one prayer away from receiving the guidance again. On matters of such supreme moment, the truth rather than fiction is the more fitting ideal of rational people. The power of God awaits our demand and reception. This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other blessings in its wisdom. What an incomparable gift comes to those who put their faith in God. That gift is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s power in action, his active force. It is the vital, or animating, force in living creatures. God sends out his spirit by projecting his energy to any place to accomplish his will. The Holy Spirit inspires us, empowers us and guides our understanding. The Spirit touches our hearts and transforms us, renewing the image of God in which we were created. God wants us to have the Spirit’s gifts to build up the Lord’s kingdom. Miracles will be wrought, the infirmary will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. The Spirit is, as well, the ultimate solution for all our maladies and problems. Those who respond to the Spirit the Lord renews and transforms into the image of God. Guilt, stress, hostility, and a host of other problems melt in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Father, son, and the Holy Ghost are one Spirit. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8
Some may think we should not expect daily guidance from the Spirit. However, to live by the Spirit is a high privilege. It brings a sense of cam and certainty as well as the products of the Spirit such as love, joy, and peace. In many situations, being familiar with the voice of the Holy Ghost is a matter of spiritual life and death. Whoso will hearken unto the word of God, and hold fast unto it will never perish; neither can the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction. Following the feet of the people ahead of you on the path is not enough. We cannot just do and think what others are doing and thinking; we must live a guided life. We must each have our own understanding of faith. Then we may go to the Lord with humble confidence, knowing that he shall lead us by the hand, and give us answers to our prayers. Then we will achieve a realistic outlook on the World and will be freed from the knows of the heat and the identification of the self with the Spirit. Thus liberated we will perform our royal duties efficiently, like an actor on the stage. Following this example and the teachings in the scriptures, we will no longer be motivated by temptations and they will no longer possess us. Like a child playing alone, God is the lonely cosmic dancer whose routine is all creatures and all Worlds. From the tireless stream of the Lord’s cosmic energy these flow without end as God executes his graceful, repetitious movements. #RandolpHarris 8 of 8
Give Me Something to Desire
Conditions that work against happiness may work for, not against, the developing, trying, and testing of the moral fiber. Love is not primarily a relationship to specific person; it is an attitude, an orientation of character which determines the relatedness of a person to the World as a whole, not toward one object of love. If a person loves only one other person and is indifferent to the rest of society, his or her love is not love but a symbiotic attachment, or an enlarge sense of pride. When we reflect on the tragedies or our own loves, when we slowly find our way through their miseries, we are being initiated into the mysterious ways of the soul. Love is the means of entry and our guide that keeps us on our path. If we can honor love as it presents itself, taking shapes and direction we would have never predicted or desired, then we are on the way toward discovering the true meaning of soul, where honor and value reveal themselves meticulously and paradoxically. This is the shortest path to divine realization. It requires a rare combination of rationality and spirituality. Life is not motored so much by reason as by emotion, and of the many emotions that crowd a person’s life, the most powerful and pervasive is love. Even hate can be interpreted as a rebound from the thwarting of this impulse. Moreover, we tend to become like that which we love, and God lies at the base of every heart. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
If we shift our attachment to God, we will reach him in no time. The moral life is not a mere conforming to given static principles and rules but it is directing the moral agent along certain paths of self-development. There is development within the moral ideal: We discover tomorrow that today’s ideal has more in it than we had supposed. Our goal is to adore God with every element of our being. The normal object of human love is personality, however exalted its attributes of wisdom, compassion, and grace may be. All we have to do is to love God dearly—not just say we love him but love the Lord in fact; love him only (loving other things because of him), and love our Lord for no ulterior reasons (not even from the desire for liberation) but for love’s sake alone. Insofar as we succeed we will know joy, for no experience can compare with that of being authentically and fully in love. Moreover, every strengthening of our affections toward God will weaken the World’s grip. The stain may, indeed will, love the World far more than the addict, but one will love it in a different way, seeing in it the reflected glory of the God one adores. How is this love of God to be developed? Obviously the task will not easy. The things of this World clamor for our affection so incessantly that it may be marveled that a Being who can neither be seen nor heard can ever become their competitor. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
However, we must keep our faith and yield our hearts to God. When we open ourselves to the Spirit, we learn God’s way and feel his will. These magnificent symbols and rituals keep turning night and day like a never-ending prayer wheel. As our trust in God grows, we open our hearts, seek to do the Lord’s will, and wait for answers that will help us understand. And the Lord will forgive our sins that are due to our human limitations. Purposeful, valuable activity produces an extension of our conscious present; it delivers us from the dullness of one thing after another. The value of faith lies in the power to recall our minds from the World’s distractions to the thought of God and thereby progressively to his love. In singing God’s praises, in praying to him with wholehearted devotion, in meditating on his majesty and glory, in reading about him in the scriptures, in regarding the entire Universe as his handiwork, we move our affections steadily in his direction. The cause in this development is well expressed by the account of eternity—the complete and simultaneous fruition of life without bounds. Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good. This does not mean all things are good, but for the meek and faithful, things—both negative and beneficial—work together for good, and the timing is the Lord’s. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
We wait on God, sometimes like Job in his suffering, knowing that God makes the sore bind itself: one who is wounded, God will make whole. A meek heart accepts the trail and the waiting for that time of healing and wholeness to come. When we open ourselves to the Spirit, we learn God’s way and feel the Lord’s will. When we are yielded and still, our minds can be directed to something more we may need to change—something that is reducing our capacity to receive spiritual guidance or even healing and help. For example, perhaps I have a carefully guarded resentment toward someone. When I ask if there is more to confess, that secret comes clearly to my memory. In essence, the Holy Ghost is whispering, “You honestly asked if there was more, and here it is. Your resentment diminishes your progress and damages your ability to have healthy relationships. You can let this God.” Oh, it is hard work—we may feel quite justified in our animosity—but yielding to the Lord’s way is the only way to lasting happiness. The healing of our heart begins when we submit to and worship God. When our hearts are right, that is when true worship begins. What is our heart condition today? Paradoxically, in order to have a healed and faithful heart, we must first allow it to break before the Lord. “You shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit,” the Lord declares. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
The result of sacrificing our heart, or our will, to the Lord is that we receive the spiritual guidance we need. This frequent service of the will becomes a constant, warming presence that imperceptibly becomes a genuine appeal of the heart and soul. Keep the faith in God spinning in the midst of all your activities and one day you will see your wildest dreams come true. It will be a lot like playing the slot machine in Vegas, when all the symbols come together and you win the jackpot when you least expected it. When the full bounty of the Lord is poured out in your life, the light will come back into your eyes, your soul will shine, and you will have a sense of well-being that you had not experienced since you were a child. These verbal droplets of faith and aspiration will soak down into the subconscious, turning the total self towards the divine. We come finally to worship God in the form of one’s chosen ideal. The more sense is also an influencing motive in our pursuit of virtue and our avoidance of vicious behavior. With a growing understanding of the Lord’s grace and mercy, we find that our self-willed hearts begin to crack and break in gratitude. In our brokenhearted reaching and yoking, we receive new hope and fresh guidance through the Holy Ghost. God’s way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the World to come. We believe in the providence of God, the immortality of human’s soul, and divine retribution in a future life. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
Virtue consists in pursuing what seems to be in accordance with right reason, but both our capacity to discover what actions accord with reason and our inclination toward those actions flow from a sort of forth dimension: a body which contains a spirit and has a certain spissitude, or density of substances. Some many think that they have failed too many times and feel too weak to change sinful acts or Worldly desires of the heart. However, as a covenant with God, we do not just try and try on our own to change. If we earnestly appeal to God, the Lord will take us as we are—and makes us more than we ever imagined. A healthy longing to improve balanced with the spiritual assurance that in and through the Savior, we are going to make it. With such an understanding, we can honestly say to the Heavenly Father: So trusting my all to thy tender care, and knowing thou loves me, I will do thy will with a heart sincere: I will be what you want me to be. The removal of all struggle and all insecurity would logically and psychologically lead to the prayer: give me something to desire. The term pleasure embraces everything from scratching an itch to enjoying eternal bliss with God. With God, pleasure is a state ad pleasure is a motion. Hence health is a true pleasure. We belittle neither the joy arising from conferral of benefit, not the testimony of a good conscience as the reward for deeds, nor the importance of mental pleasures. Pleasure be natural so that no pain follow the pleasure of the chosen, and that no greater pleasure be lost, and that no social harm results. #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
Randolph Harris II International Institute 