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Where is My God in Shinning Amour?
I call upon the Gods above, the ones of benevolence and of love, come down to me from above, come to this place and come to me from time and space. No one is to blame for suffering an evil he or she cannot avoid. Some people are under spiritual attacks and have been for years and spend hours praying for God to deliver them. Life can be hard when you have no one to turn to for comfort, but the good thing is God is always there. If you begin to see that everything you have counted on, may be taken away, it becomes much harder to take for granted. In the battle of life, the adversary takes enormous numbers of prisoners, and many who know of no way to escape and are pressed into his service. Every soul confined to a concentration camp of sin and guilt has a key to the gate. The adversary cannot hold them if they know how to use it. The key is labeled Repentance. The twin principles of repentance and forgiveness exceed in strength the awesome power of adversary. Having a grateful attitude is essential when going through spiritual warfare. It is precisely under crisis conditions when we have the most to gain by a grateful perspective on life. I am tired, in pain, and would like nothing more than to rest and not have my daily life feel like it is a job of which I cannot seem to take a day off and rest. However, in the face of demoralization, gratitude has the power to energize and heal and bring hope. Being thankful for life can help us cope with hard times. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
It is a great challenge to raise a family in the darkening mists of our moral environment. Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith and hope and charity. No one feels good about losing a job, home, or when good healthy has taken a devastating hit on his or her retirement portfolio. However, trials and suffering can actually refine and deepen gratefulness if we allow them to show us not to take things for granted. Our national holiday of being thankful, Thanksgiving, was born and grew out of hard times. The first Thanksgiving took place after nearly half the pilgrims died from a rough Winter year. We have been entrusted with the most sacred gift God can give us, which is life. We should be full of love and joyful about waking up every day. In times of uncertainty, though, people realize how powerless they are to control their own destiny. God grant that we will come to our sense and protect our moral environment from this mist of darkness which deepens day by day. The fate of all humanity hangs precariously in the balance. And may we have the protection of God who is our father and our Savior, and may we merit the love and blessings of his Son, our Redeemer, in whose name, even the name of Jesus Christ, I bear witness, amen. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
The great work we will do will be within the walls of our houses. No other success can compensate for the failure in the house. Nevertheless, with great conviction, many of us believe that one day the wicked influences will be overruled. The eternal sealings of faithful and divine promises made to us will save us, and our posterity. Sooner or later, we will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after us and invading our lives with blessings. However, people who are knowingly involved in evil and refuse to repent and find great joy in making others suffer will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins. Consciously cultivating an attitude of gratitude builds up a sort of psychological immune system that can be a source of support when we go through hardships. Even the wicked, if their path leads them to our loving Heavenly Father’s heart and home, the painful experiences will not be in vain. Pray for the careless and disobedient; hold on to them with your faith. And for those who are living right, but experiencing undue hardships, trust on and you will see the salvation of God. There is scientific evidence that grateful people are more resilient to stress, whether minor everyday hassles or major personal upheavals. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
The contrast between suffering and redemption serves that the evil idea has been more destructive of happiness, no philosophy has produced more sorrow, more heartbreak and mischief; no idea has done more to destroy the family than the idea that we are not the offspring of God, only advanced animals, compelled to yield to every carnal urge. No greater ideal has been revealed than the supernal truth that we are the children of God, and we differ, by virtue of our creation, from all other living things. Romans 8.14-17 reports: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to children of God. The Spirit testifies within our spirit that we are God’s children. Now, if we are God children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory. Gratitude maximizes happiness in multiple ways, and one reason is that it helps us reframe memories of unpleasant emotional impact. We look for beneficial consequences in negative events. We may look at how a stressful event has shaped who we are today and has prompted us to reevaluate what is really important in life. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
Processing a life experience through faith in God does not mean denying negativity. It means realizing the power we have to transform an obstacle into an opportunity. Reframing a loss into potential gain, recasting negativity into a channel of optimism. 2 Thessalonians 1.3-4 reports: We are bound to thank God always for our family and friends that our faith grows exceedingly and the charity of every one of us toward each other will be around us. So that we ourselves glory in us in the churches of God for our patience and faith in all our persecutions and tribulations that we endure. The spirit of God testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. When we cry out to God, the Spirit of God somehow comes alongside us with our spirit, and gives us assurance that we are truly God’s family. This testimony appears to be an inner witness in the heart, a sense that yes, God really loves us. We know we trust God. We have his promises. We see our lives changing and growing. All these pieces of evidence lead our spirit, our hearts, to have a measure of confidence that we really are his. God’s immediate presence and love comes to us when we increase of faith and gratitude in life. We find ourselves deeply assured that we love life and we love ourselves. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
While we pass laws to reduce pollution of Earth, any proposal to protect the moral and spiritual environment is shouted down and marched against as infringing upon liberty, agency, freedom, the right to choose. Interesting how one virtue, when given exaggerated or fanatical emphasis, can be used to batter down another, with freedom, a virtue, invoked to protect vice. Those determined to transgress see any regulation of their life-style as interfering with their agency and seek to have their actions condoned by making them legal. The adversary is jealous toward all who have the power to beget life. He cannot beget life; he is impotent. He and those who followed him were cast out and forfeited the right to a mortal body. His angels even begged to inhabit the bodies of swine. And the revelations tell us that Satan seek that all people might be miserable like himself. The rapid, sweeping deterioration of values is characterized by a preoccupation—even an obsession—with the procreative act. It is never too late to enter into the Kingdom of God through the promises of God. Your Earthly inheritance awaits. At this point, you should know who you are and who God predestined you to be. Others may have become very successful without acknowledging the fact that the Lord allowed them to obtain wealth. Refocus and use your God-given talents under the direction of our loving, Heavenly Father. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
Now, if we are children of God, then we have an incredible future. With limited knowledge, we know we must be faithful and diligent in carrying forward our duty to be good children of God and to obey the laws of the land. Remarkable and miraculous things happen when we do so. God works in us and through our circumstances so that we will be conformed and he implants Christ’s nature in us. We become more grateful in our character and attitudes. We are able to talk to God and relate to him as a loving Father, and our Heavenly Father loves us deeply. 1 John 3.1 reports: See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. He understands us and has compassion on us as his children. As his children, God promises to take care of our needs. Many of the benefits of that inheritance await us in the future. This inheritance includes the new Heaven and Earth, our glorified and resurrected bodies, and residence in God’s coming kingdom. “I have learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave person is not the one who does not feel afraid, but one who conquers that fear,” says Nelson Mandela. As long as God is with us, we will never be alone. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
God is a Pervasive Principle of Goodness
Good habits formed at youth make all the difference. All acts and all thoughts are irreducibly the products of individual human beings and therefore inescapably associated with the needs, desires, and purposes of humans. Such terms are reality and truth denote nothing complete and absolute; rather, they are intertwined with human intentions and deeds. Effective creativity of the human mind in organizing the Universe of human experience is in making or remaking reality. Humans make their truth along with their other values, beauty and goodness. Our axioms are never God-given but are human-made; they are not a priori verities but postulates, or working hypotheses, whose truth grows or diminishes within our experience. The logic we employ in gathering knowledge is dynamic and functional rather than eternally fixed. Our data are not the given, but the taken. Human being’s activity is focal both to epistemology and to metaphysics, and there is genuine novelty in our growing universe and no theoretical limit to human’s freedom. The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
Reality is a seamless logical unity, not a mere disjointed plurality; that in the Absolute all separateness vanishes; that nothing finite, nothing that changes, is ever quite real, not even human personality; and there is something makeshift, transitory, and unsatisfactory about the bits of matter we see, the individual acts we perform, and the private thoughts we think. That is all that exists for us. An independent or absolute reality that does not enter into our experience, or explain our knowledge, is irrelevant to us. Reality for us is piecemeal, incomplete, and plastic. It is idle to ask “What is real?” Rather, the only question we can answer is “What can I know as real?” Everyone’s situation is different, and the details of each life are unique. Nevertheless, we can make life sweeter, more joyful, even more glorious by being grateful. Spiritual gifts are powerful blessings. They increase our capacity as we develop them by drawing on the storehouse of Heaven. Our Heavenly Father did not put us on Earth to fail, but to succeed gloriously. It may seem paradoxical, but that is why recognizing answers to prayer can sometimes be very difficult. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
The reality revealed by our actual active procedures of knowing is not rigid but malleable, not completed but evolving. Because it responds, at least to some extent, to our working and probing, it must somehow be not unrelated to our needs and purposes. The process of knowing is never one of bringing the mind into relation with a fundamentally alien reality, but always one of improving and extending an already existing system which we know. What we call real is that which, for our own reasons, we evaluate as important. It is the result of the kind of selection by which we reduce the chaos about us to order. Some face life with only their own experience and capacity to help them. Others seek, through prayer, divine inspiration to know what to do. When required, they qualify for power beyond their own capacity to do it. Communication with our Father in Heaven is not a trivial matter. It is a sacred privilege. It is based upon unchanging principles. When we receive help from our Father in Heaven, it is in response to faith, obedience, and the proper use of agency. We are here on Earth to gain experience we can obtain in no other way. We are given the opportunity to grow, to develop, and to gain spiritual maturity. To do that, we must learn to apply truth. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
How we face challenges and resolve difficult problems is crucially important to our happiness. Stress, culture, and community maintains that the primary motivation of human beings is to build, protect, and foster their resource reservoirs in order to protect the self and it social attachments. The more stress you are under, the more important it is to balance this by moving the body. Move the energy and do not let things stagnate. Stagnation can cause illness and pain. Identify the source of stress in your life and work to eliminate them by changing how you perceive things. So much worry comes from our imagination because we are always thinking of what might happen. The imagination and its ideas mediate between perception and will. As opposed to the conceptions of the understanding, which are finite, the ideas of imagination are both finite and infinite. An idea’s relation to its object is finite, but the activity of the imagination in this relation is infinite. The function of the will is to idealize the imagination’s ideas. The contradiction thus engendered gives rise to impulse, defined as the desire to restore destroyed identity. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
For us to grow, we need to do what we feel is right. In time, God will answer. God will not fail us. Through impulse, there is constant realization of ideals, but the ideas of the imagination are constantly striven after and never attained. The brain and body are completely pliable. One can shape one’s brain through one’s thoughts and actions. Once we recognize that the only thing we can count on is change and that change is inevitable, one can begin to let go of how we think things should be. One can then let go of the tension that comes from that way of thinking. The distinction between will and intelligence thus is relative, not absolute. From a higher point of view, they are identical. In intelligence, the I that acts and the I that knows are one. The acting I is an object for itself, while the know I merely perceives other objects. In action, there is no transition from the World of mind, for the subject has become an object to itself. Any change in the outer World is received as a perception, but every action causes such a change; therefore, action is perception. Self-determination is the primary condition of all consciousness. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
Happiness depends upon ourselves. The soul never thinks without a picture. The people who give us trouble are our best teachers. What are we willing to learn about ourselves? The World and God have as common ground the incomprehensible basis of reality. Existence is a self-affirmation. God is the infinite affirmation of himself. The objective World is the unconscious poetry of the spirit creating itself. There is a striking formulation of the existential anxiety, which is also an anticipation of the psychoanalytic doctrine of resistance: The philosopher who knows his calling is the physician who seeks to heal with gentle, slow hand the deep sounds of human consciousness. The restoration is all the more difficult since most people do not want to be healed at all and, like unhappy patients, rise unruly outcry if one even approaches their wounds. Family is an important part of one’s life, and is also very important to God. From Adam and Eve onward, God made humans to be together with love to guide and support one another. Through prayer, we can make out families stronger. Alma 10. 21 reports: God will judge all of our iniquities; the voices of Angels cry out to his people telling us to repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
How much time are you spending sitting watching the TV? Watching other people’s lives and experiences rather than creating you own? When we seek inspiration to help make decisions, the Lord gives gentle promptings. These require us to think, to exercise faith, to work, to struggle at times, and to act. Seldom does the whole answer to a decisively important matter or complex problem come all at once. More often, it comes a piece at a time, without the end in sight. Endless appreciation to our Father in Heaven whose blessings depend upon our obedience, but whose ratio of blessings to obedience makes him a generous God! Heavenly Father, please shine your light upon our families. Give us strength to overcome all of the difficulties that we are dealing with now and protect us against any and all problems we may encounter in the future. Lord, please bring us together where we are meant to be. May the love that binds us only grow stronger as we fulfill the destiny you have laid out for us. Grant us forgiveness for any sins we have committed. May we also forgive one another Lord, as it is sometimes difficult to do. Bless us God, in your name I pray, bless it be. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
The Human Heart is so Fond of Happiness
The human heart is so fond of happiness, that we give easy credit to what we wish. Happy are they who are blessed with the power of making happy. When I was a child, I remember my parents would take me and my sister Toy R Us, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. We would pull up and see the colourful letters on the building all lite up, bright and glittering. Then the interior of the store was bright and smelled good and as we walked through the door, we were greeted by Geoffrey and then were allowed to go pick out a toy or two. Opening the toys and the smell of the plastic was always a joy. It was fun to go through this big amusement park of toys, the shelves were so tall, and there was every toy a child could ever dream of and the people are the cash register were always nice and smiled. My dad used to say, “I see the light shining in your faces. That light comes from the Lord, and as you radiate that light, it will bless you and many others.” Nevertheless, I was so sad to hear that Toy R Us is going bankrupt and the younger generation of children will not get this same opportunity. They are losing business because people are ordering things online instead of going to the store and buying them. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8
I do not think patience is something that any of us grow up with in a large dose. It is a World of instant gratification. Nothing is more idle than to inquire after happiness, which nature has kindly placed within our reach. Instead gratification is great, especially when it is for good behavior. A dream is a wish fulfilled. There was this intelligent lady patient, and she had a dream where her wish was not fulfilled. She wanted to give a supper, but had nothing available except some smoked salmon. So, she thought about going shopping, but then remembered it was a Sunday afternoon, when all the shops were closed. The lady then tried to ring up a few caterers, but the telephone was out of order. Accordingly, she had to renounce her desire to give a supper. The human mind, in its eager, though too often unavailing, struggle for happiness, will still make the most of its means. Agreeable circumstances, arising in a disagreeable prospect, convey the greatest happiness that can be imagined. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8
These are people of great promise. They have much to do in their lives. They will do great work in their homes, in the Church, and in the community. The patient’s husband, an honest and capable meat salesman, had told her the day before that he was growing too fat, and that he meant to undergo treatment for obesity. He would rise early, take physical exercise, keep to a strict diet, and above all accept no more invitations to supper. She proceeds jestingly to relate how her husband, at a table d’hote, had made the acquaintance of an artist, who insisted upon painting his portrait, because he, the painter, had never seen such an expressive head. However, her husband had answered in his downright fashion, that while he was much obliged, he would rather not be painted; and he was quite convinced that a bit of a pretty young girl’s posterior would please the artist better than his whole face. (To sit for the painter. And if he has no backside, how can the nobleman sit?) She is very much in love with her husband, and teases him a good deal. She has asked him not to give her any caviar. What can that mean? #RandolphHarris 3 of 8
To do all of this, one needs to develop a testimony and have faith in Christ, to focus on Christ rather than the World. They are righteous children of God, and he loves them and want to help them. As a matter of fact, she had wanted for a long time to eat a caviare sandwich every morning, but had grudged the expense. Of course, she could get the caviar from her husband at once is she had asked for it. However, she has, on the contrary, begged him not to give her any caviar, so that she might tease him about it a little longer. However, this explanation seems thin. Unconfessed motives are wont to conceal themselves behind just such unsatisfying explanations. We are reminded of the subjects hypnotized by Bernheim, who carried out a post-hypnotic order, and who, on being questioned as to their motives, instead of answering: “I do not know why I did that,” had to invent a reason that was obviously inadequate. There is probably something similar to this in the case of the patient’s caviar. It is clear that in waking life she is compelled to invent an unfulfilled wish. Her dream also shows her the non-fulfillment of her wish. However, why does she need an unfulfilled wish? #RandolphHarris 4 of 8
One wants to make their own decisions, but one ought to make those decisions with an eternal perspective. With age, experience, and faith, one will have the wisdom to make good decisions and also to make the rights one. People know where to get the right answers. The ideas elicited so far are insufficient for the interpretation of the dream. I press for more. After a short pause, which corresponds to the overcoming of a resistance, she reports that the day before she has paid a visit to a friend of whom she really is jealous because her husband is always praising this lady so highly. Fortunately, this friend is very thin and lanky, and her husband likes full figure. Now of what did this thin friend speak? Of course, of her wish to become rather plumper. She also asked my patient: “When are you going to invite us again? You always have such good food.” Now the meaning of the dream is clear. I am able to tell the patient: It is just as though you had thought at the moment of her asking you that: Of course, I am to invite you so that you can eat at my house and get fat and become still more pleasing to my husband! I would rather give no more suppers! #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
You know the light by which you may judge, which is the light of Christ. The dream tells you that you cannot give a supper, thereby fulfilling your wish not to contribute anything to the rounding out of your friend’s figure. Your husband’s resolution to accept no more invitations to supper in order that he may grow thin teaches you that one grows fat on food eaten at other people’s tables. Nothing is lacking now, but some sort of coincidence which will confirm the solution. The smoked salmon in the dream has not yet been traced. How did you come to think of salmon in your dream? She replied: “Smoke salmon is my friend’s favorite dish.” It happens that I know the lady, and am able to affirm that she grudges herself salmon just as my patient grudges herself caviar. This dream admits of yet another and more exact interpretation—one which is actually necessitated only by a subsidiary circumstance. Sometimes dreams dovetail into one another, and furnish an excellent example of the usual ambiguity of dreams, as of all other psychopathological formations. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8
In our society today, many people blame others for their failures. We have observed that those who accept personal responsibility for their actions are more successful than those who blame their shortcomings and lack of accomplishments on someone else. Her friend, too, had expressed a wish, namely, to get fatter, and it would not surprise us if our patient had dreamt that this wish of her friend’s—the wish to increase in weight—was not fulfilled. Instead of this, however, she dreamt that one of her own wishes was not fulfilled. The dream becomes capable of a new interpretation if in the dream she does not mean herself, but her friend, if she has put herself in the place of her friend, or, as we may say, has identified herself with her friend. I think she has actually done this, and as a sign of this identification she has created for herself in real life an unfulfilled wish. However, what is the meaning of this hysterical identification? To elucidate this more exhaustive exposition is necessary. Identification is a highly important motive in the mechanism of hysterical symptoms; by this means patients are enabled to express in their symptoms not merely their own experiences, but the experiences of quite a number of other persons; they can suffer, as it were, for a whole mass of people, and fill all the parts of a drama with their own personalities. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8
We can let the light within us show in many differ ways. Maybe someone is jealous because you are more heavy set than they are. Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish artist in the 17th century. He is considered the most influential artist of Flemish Baroque tradition. Ruben’s highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of classical and Christian history, which included full figured women, and some of his paintings are now worth millions. They were known as women clothes with the Sun, and the Moon under her feet. So, you have to learn to love and accept yourself for who you are. As you see, some people are paying millions for art that is considered beautiful. Thin people are also beautiful. It is a good idea to be comfortable with yourself. Sometimes a smile goes far. Your effort to be friendly may give someone’s day a good start and it might be something they look forward to. A person who smiles every day, even when it is raining might change someone’s life. Each one of us can be a friend to someone, even if it is only by smiling. You can let the Sunshine that is in your heart show in your face. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8
Divinity, Eternity, and Family go Together!
The family is the most important place and there is no other setting that comes close in comparison. We are members of a Heavenly Family, and the faithful will be blessed for obedience. Whenever anything so basic as the eternal family is imperiled, we have a solemn obligation to speak out, lest there be critical damage to the family institution by those who seem to be deliberately destructive of it. Family systems are built on the foundation of love, attachment, loyalty, trust, which in turn fulfills safety and status needs. At every stage of life, our relationships and families present us with both joys and challenges. Learning to manage stress, to understand our own emotions and behaviors, and to communicate effectively can help strengthen our own emotional health, as well as our connections to the important people in our lives. If we are to be the Savior’s disciples, if we are to become like him, then we must serve one another, then we must assume responsibility to help with one another’s needs, and we must assist each other through the difficult pathways of life. When it comes to family, we must be willing to bear each other’s burdens, willing to mourn together, and be willing to comfort each other, as the family is the most important place. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
It is a disgrace to every man and woman that has sense enough to live not to take care of their own relatives, their own poor, and plan for them. The commandments and standards of morality set by the Lord himself are under attack on every hand. There are false teachers everywhere using speech and pornographic literature, magazines, radio, and the television, street talk—spreading heresies which break down moral standards. This is a serious matter. It is a grave responsibility, and not an easy one. We are living in perilous times as more and more individuals dishonor their family. Relationships can be difficult, but when it comes to family they can be heartbreaking if things go astray. Having an estranged family member, whether it be a sibling, child, parent, or someone in the extended family comes with stress and frustration. Many of the social restraints which in the past have helped to reinforce and to shore up the family are dissolving and disappearing. The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gather of evil around us. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
God wants us to provide for our family, and especially those in our own house, and if we are disloyal to our family, we are worse than an infidel. What that means is we do not hurt our family on purpose, nor do we set them up, nor lead them astray. We are supposed to love and protect each other, and guide one another to do what is righteous. Family needs are not always physical. Often faith, forgiveness, encouragement, comfort, counsel, listening, teaching, moral support, examples of loving and caring, and a host of other experiences will see loved ones through a crisis—and their crisis needs may last a lifetime. However, time with a family member may pay the greatest dividends of all. God wants us to look past negative feelings and turn to him in our time of need. If a relationship is broken, it does not matter whose fault it is, what stage of grief you are in, or if you plan to reconnect with the family member. God wants us to be open and communicate our feelings and stress, love and gratitude with him—God will listen! #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
We have always understood that the foundations of the family, as an eternal unit, were laid even before this Earth was created. Society without basic family life is without foundation and will disintegrate into nothingness. God has a plan in motion for the future relationship for you and your estranged loves ones. Trusting in God will help us get through the difficult times, such as the holidays and birthdays. There is no righteous way to avoid the commandment: Honour thy father and thy mother and your days on this Earth shall be long (Ex. 20.12). No family that hopes to endure eternally can exclude grandmother and grandfather, brothers and sisters, or other relatives. Heaven forbid that any family member—regardless of age or special needs—should be considered a burden. Would it not be wonderful if family members would counsel together as they make plans to assist those in need? Because of personal experience, I am a true believer that families who will fast and pray together can cause miracles to happen. They can literally pray righteous things to take place. Oftentimes it may take longer than we feel is necessary before it happens, however. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
We of all people should not be taken in by the erroneous belief that because many people are losing their minds, and selling their souls that this is a sign of the times. What they mean is that the World is ending and we should just sit back and watch it fall apart. However, that is not true and the arguments that somehow the family unit is tied to a particular phase of development a mortal society is going through. We are free to resist those moves which downplay the significance of the family and which play up the significance of selfish individualism. We know the family to be eternal. We know that when things go wrong in every other institution in society it must be fix or it will cease to exist. Those who, whether in ignorance or malice, attack the family are setting in motion an awful and needless cycle of misery and despair, for they will search in vain and pain for substitutes, and the wisdom of the Worldly wise shall perish publicly for their folly concerning the family. The decline in many of our families is occurring at a time when the nations of the World are moving into some of the most difficult times know. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
Do not let the lures of the moment draw you away from the family. We humbly pray to God that you forgive us for our sins, and that you have endless mercy and compassion. Gracious God, we ask that you, through your powers of love and righteousness, restore our relationships in our family. Soften out stubbornness and open our eyes and heart to true love. Father in Heaven, we ask you to right this wrong that Satan has brought into our lives, and that you bring our family back together again. Please remove this instrument that Satan has used to tear our family apart. God, you are all about family and we ask you to bring reconciliation so that we may be allowed to restore the family bond we had before Satan interfered. Hear our cries of sorrow. Heal our hearts and remove this burden that has swept down on us like a plague of vultures, and bring us back together as a family. Permissiveness will not pull us through such crises. Materialism will not sustain us. Our political institutions—parliaments, congresses, and assemblies—cannot rescue us if our basic institution, the family is not intact. Peace treaties cannot save us when there is hostility instead of love in the house. We want our family to show each other love and support. And God continue to forgive us of our sins. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
Heavenly father, help us start rebuilding a relationship with our estranged family members. We pray for guidance to say the right things and courage to be a good example. Law enforcement cannot safeguard us if too many people are unwilling to discipline themselves or be disciplined. Rising generations who have been taught that authority and loving discipline are wrong will not keep the faith commandment, honor their fathers and mothers. We hope that parents are using the added time that has come from the time God has granted us to teach, love, and nurture their children. We also must never forget the need for family activity and recreation, for which time is also provided, is an important aspect of bonding. Let your love for each member of your family be unconditional. Where there are challenges, you fail only if you fail to keep trying. And we genuinely welcome and love every race, creed, and culture who care about the family. We must teach each other correct principles and help each other walk uprightly before the Lord—and there is no substitute for teaching our children by the eloquence of example. God, wrap your loving arms around our family and fix the broken relationships. Amen. Thank you. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
Call on the Lord Out of Pure Heart
With purity of heart, we reflect the Savior’s love and give others a glimpse of Heaven. There is only pure knowledge in God. Knowledge does not exist for its own sake (that is, for the purpose of contemplation) but always aims at the pragmatic reconstruction of being itself. Sometimes we feel discouraged because we are not more of something—more spiritual, respected, intelligent, healthy, rich, friendly, or capable. Naturally, there is nothing wrong with wanting to prove. God created us to grow and progress. However, remember, our deficits can help us to be humble and turn to Christ, who will make weak things become strong. Satan, on the other hand, uses our weaknesses to the point that we are discouraged from even trying. He has sent people wooing false gods and invoking false means of salvation, and at times has even seemed to make them ashamed of themselves. The Nation has not yet found peace from its sins; the people have not yet found their freedom in the promised land. Whatever of good may have come in these years of change, the shadow of a deep disappointment rests upon the people. What we need to realize is that in life we do not need to be more of anything to start to become the person God intended us to become. #RandolphHarris 1 of 9
God will accept you for who you are at this very moment and begin to work with you. All you need is a willing heart, a desire to believe, and trust in the Lord. Love replaces control as the motive for knowledge of essences. Essence refers to some elusive, unattainable, inner content of a thing which is hidden from perception. It is the properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. It is strongly believed both that the essence resides in the real or extra-mental thing and that it is able to be known. You ever hear someone say that they like a person because of their essence? The energy of the mind is the essence of life. It is something that radiates from the soul, the very core of their being, it is part of their personality, the way they smile, and their style. Essence, is an immanent consciousness of our experience. It is a realm of being and value which is in basis and origin utterly different from the whole reaming empirical World. If we look at ourselves only through our mortal eyes, we may not see ourselves as good enough. However, our Heavenly Father sees us as who we truly are and who we can become. #RandolphHarris 2 of 9
Although knowledge of essences is acquired by observing even a single real or imaginary object, God sees us as his sons and daughters, as beings of eternal light with everlasting potential and with a divine destiny. Ultimate being is presumed to contain rational power and an infinite spirit as well as an irrational driving force that appears in the life cycle of individuals. Just as the macrocosm is a replica of the microcosm, so are humans a microtheos, a miniature God, and is thereby the primary source of the access to God. Genesis 1.27 reports: So, God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Just think about that for a moment. That is very powerful. God’s greatest desire is for you to see a clear picture of his character. When you see God clearly, you will find his love irresistible. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being. He stands for wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. In our hearts, we know that is true, and God makes no mistakes. There is absolutely no sin nor evil thought in God at all. He is perfection and moral purity. God possesses perfect knowledge and is all-knowing, his knowledge is infinite. It is impossible to hide anything from God. #RandolphHarris 3 of 9
Everything that God has promised will come to pass. His faithfulness guarantees this fact. God is the truth. This is extremely important for us to understand because it is on God’s faithfulness that our hope of eternal life rests. He will honor his promise that our sins will be forgiven, as long as we repent, and we will live forever with him. The metaphysis of salvation is therefore a kind of meta-anthropology. Understanding of God—the ground of being—is to be achieved not through theoretical contemplation, but through active commitment. All people share in the divine nature; they sense it in the drive of sympathy and love toward oneness with the Universe, which is the way to God. Human beings are thus a cocreator with God. The Savior’s sacrifice opened the door of salvation for all to return to God. His grace is sufficient for all who humble themselves before God. His grace is the enabling power that allows access into God’s kingdoms of salvation. Because of his grace, we will all be resurrected and saved in a kingdom of glory. It surpasses all understanding, and countless people will inherit this salvation. It is life eternal in the presence of our Father in Heaven. It is the greatest gift of God. #RandolphHarris 4 of 9
In the celestial kingdom, we receive of God’s fullness, and of his glory. Indeed, all that the Father has shall be given unto us. Exaltation is our goal; discipleships is our journey. Through the phenomenological approach to ethics and to values in general—this is, the description of the ethical states of consciousness and of existence. As we exercise a little faith and begin our walk as peaceable followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, our hearts will change, and our whole being will be filled with light. Joy about good news, for instance, is an experience with a subjective as well as an objective pole. The object of that experience is seen as a good thing, which instantiates a value. It follows that there are such things as cognitive emotions and that they point to certain real objects. Some values are experiences as having characteristics that might best be described and evoked by the word eternal. God will help us become something greater than we ever thought possible, and we will discover that the gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed working in our lives. It is true. God is living to fill us with his love. #RandolphHarris 5 of 9
We may understand another’s emotion, and even feel empathy or experience the contagion of his or her feeling, or we may feel as one with another individual, that is, feel totally identifies. In none of these instances do we feel sympathy. Authentic sympathy is not the experience of fusion; it recognizes, meets, and respects unequivocally the subjectivity of another human existence in a genuine encounter. To love is to experience spontaneously the movement from a lower to a higher value in the object loved, an experience that leads to sudden intimation of the object’s superior value. Love is the adumbration of human possibilities; it is thus the sine qua non (an essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary) for sympathy and the basis for the religious ideal of infinite compassion and unqualified acceptance. God’s love affects the way we live. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul and love your neighbor as you love yourself. God loves us even when we choose to reject his love. In those times, he allows us to walk away into the life of our own choices. Yet, he is still there, always ready to redeem us from the results of our decisions. #RandolphHarris 6 of 9
We should focus on the simplicity that is in Christ and allow his grace to life and carry us during our journey from where we are now to our glorious destiny in our Heavenly Father’s presence. We have direct, immediate, and primary access to the minds of other people. Careful description of our consciousness of other bodies discloses that we experience directly the other’s pain in his or her tears and embarrassment in his or her blushing, even though there is in addition an inaccessible area (Intimsphare) in every person’s soul. Phenomenological analysis of the structure of experience also discloses that we are confronted by a neutral sea of being and that the process of judging data to be either subjective or objective is a constitutive act of our ego. May we choose to serve righteous cause as valiant emissaries of our Lord Jesus Christ, and remain pure in heart, and love the Lord and serve him, even amid our own trials. We must love one another and see in one another the beauty of the soul. Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. No matter how young or how old we are, each of us s precious in God’s sight. He loves us. #RandolphHarris 7 of 9
The phenomenology of religion seeks to understand the ultimate nature of the divine, to study its manifestations in the World of human concerns, and to explore religion through an analysis of the act of faith. Proof of the existence of God must make allowances for direct intuitive manifestations (Aufweis). We are in search of an infinity, traditionally called God. Humans are God-seekers (Gottsucher). This search lead human beings to an ineffable numinous experience of an ultimate Personality, appropriately described as ens a se, being in itself, which has qualities that can be described metaphorically in the usual religious doctrines, rituals, and legends. God meets us half way in response to faith. Divine attributes are absoluteness, infinite goodness, infinite power, holiness, spirituality, and personality. Crucial to the religious experience is a feeling that human beings are nothing at all (Nichtigkeit). This so-called creature feeling (Geschopflichkeit) is the experience of direct contact with the source of one’s being; it is the feeling of infinite dependence (Gewirktheitserlebnis). We have no choice; we are coerced into responding religiously because the salvation of our souls is no matter to gamble with. #RandolphHarrus 8 of 9
We have a divine nature, and each have a glorious work to do. If we do so authentically we face God (Gott); it not, we face an idol (Gotze). Religious rituals, such as prayer, contrition, reverence, and strongly held spiritual beliefs well up from within our deepest nature. That a response to these states can be experiences—a response which does not come from the World of everyday experience—is presumably a fact of both historical and personal awareness. We may discover our individual and eternal worthy by acting in accordance with our divine purpose in mortality. As we follow the example of Jesus Christ and love God, and serve one another with kindness and compassion, we may stand in purity, blameless before God at the last day. We choose to serve the Lord in his righteous cause that we may become one with the Father and with the Son. We embark in the service of God with heart, might, mind, and strength. We receive the Holy Ghost and seek his promptings to guide our efforts. Righteousness emanates out to the World when we understand what God wants us to do and then we do it. The family is the very heart of the work of salvation. The divine plan of happiness enables family relations to be perpetuated beyond the grave. #RandolphHarris 9 of 9
MEADOWS| HOMESITE 48
New HomesCresleigh Meadows at Plumas RanchMeadows| Homesite 48
4 Bedrooms – 3.5 Bathrooms – 2,781 sq. ft. – $597,852
Homesite 48 is a Residence Three, the largest single story home offered in Cresleigh Meadows. At 2,781 square feet you’ll be hard pressed to find a contemporary floorplan that offers this much space. There are four bedrooms, three and one half bathrooms, including a multi-generational living option with separate bedroom suite with kitchenette, and a three car garage. The Dining Room and Kitchen are well situated to make entertaining a breeze.
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1164 Morning Glory Circle
There will always be something worth living for while there are shimmery afternoons. Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Do not wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it is at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored. Pause for a moment an enjoy the elegant show window of a prestigious furniture store. Let the beautifully designed sofa, and the comfortable-appearing chairs and the coffee table catch your eyes. Gaze at the amazing chandelier positioned overhead, and let your eyes rest as you image yourself relaxing with the evening paper. Each person is passionate about his or her own projects and is primarily interested in cultivating them with the minimum outside interference. To some extent, modern humans are capable of governing themselves, but their individual resources are insufficient. In order to prevent constant collision and frustration, some agency is required which will supervise a set of rules that is designed simply to serve this limited purpose. #RandolphHarris 1 of 11
The image of the perfect ruler that of the umpire or referee who controls the game without participating in it himself or herself is the ideal protector of humanity. There will also be times when you will have to demonstrate your righteous courage in plain view of your peers, the consequences of which may be ridicule and embarrassment. Additionally, in your World, skirmishes with an adversary will also be fought on a silent, solitary battlefield in front of a screen. The political skeptic of government warns against the tendency of the specific activity of government to turn into something more grandiose and quite different. For there are many who dream of a perfectly harmonious condition of affairs and who deplore the waste and lack of planning in modern life. Such people regard the government as a vast reservoir of powers that are to be captured and guided in the direction of their own political dream. Politics thus becomes an encounter of dreams, and the umpire abandons his or her position and begins to play the game on his or her own account. In life, as in business, there has always been a need for those persons who could be called finishers. Their ranks are few, their opportunities many, their contributions great. #RandolphHarris 2 of 11
From the very beginning to the present time, a fundamental question remains to be answered by each of us who runs the race of life. Shall I falter or shall I finish? On the answer await the blessings of joy and happiness here in mortality and eternal life in the World to come. For the skeptical conservative, one dream is on par with any other. Governments are not, and cannot be expected to become, repositories of truth: any such claims are impostures. A government that actually governs, rather than imposing some dream or other upon its subjects, will be guided, not by a vision of truth, nor by the attempt to impose one project upon its subjects, but by the evolution of the society it rules. Social life constantly generates new situations: some activities decline and new ones arise, a process which requires an adaption of the rules governing the society. However, the changes in the rules should always grow out of, rather than be imposed upon, the life which they regulate. Further, changes should be made economically or else they may lose their effectiveness. #RandolphHarris 3 of 11
Frequent changes are deplorable in that they give rise to feverish hopes and disappointments which encourage further dreams of taking over the resources of government. All human achievements have been made (and sustained) in the face of great difficulties: authorities exist to guard such achievements and traditions against the continual threat of human folly, laziness, blindness, and stupidity. Conservatism stresses our responsibilities to our duties rather than on rights. We are not left without guidance to make this momentous decision. The Holy Bible contains those accounts, even those lessons, which, if carefully learned, will serve us well and be as a beacon light to guide our thoughts and influence our actions. As we read, we sympathize with those who falter. We honor those who finish. The moment God put a dream in your heart, the moment the promise took root, God not only started it, but he set a completion date. God is called the Author and the Finisher of our Faith. He would not have given you the dream, the promise would not have come alive, if God did not already have a plan to make it come true. #RandolphHarris 4 of 11
Maybe at one time you believed that you could do something extraordinary. You had a dream of living the apple pie life, with a big house, two fancy cars, a three-bedroom house with three full bathrooms, and two main bedrooms, rooms big enough to fit more than one bed, stained glass windows, a washer dryer combination that literally does everything for you…washes, rinses, dries, and shuts off…in one continuous operation…without watching. Once you have tossed in soiled clothes, add Persil Pro Clean, set the time and temperature dials, your work is finished. Take them out at your leisure…clean, completely dried, and “Sun-freshed”…ready to iron, or fold and put away. Your hands never touch water, never come in contact with bleaches nor detergents. Wash at any time of the day, up to ten pounds of clothes. And then zip through a big family ironing in record time with the new Kenmore Automatic Ironer Machine, which features two roll speeds—fast for flat work and slow for fancy ruffles and frills. Both shoe and press controls helps to free hands for guiding work. With an exclusive adjustable light for best work area illumination. And a new, large drop-leaf, laps shelf. Easily accessible release bar. White baked-on enamel finish, and hinged cover and chrome hardware. #RandolphHarris 5 of 11
You believed that you could have a twin top with griddle where you could roast a turkey and all the trimmings, broil other meats and vegetables, fry apple rings on the griddle—all this at the same time! With a smokeless waist-high broiler that is over-size. Chrome-plated broiler rack that adjusts easily to desired height. You dream of an oven with a deep Roast-R-Pan and trivet. With a Visi-bake own door that lets you have the fun of seeing what is cooking; peek-switch turns on oven light. Three giant, two standard top burners, and two Warm-R-Burners. Cook top covers with baking charts inside. Two utility drawers. And a Kenmore garbage burner where you dump food scraps, sweeper dirt and rubbish—anything burnable with a heavy-gauge steel body with a smooth, metallic brown baked-on enamel finish that has a top, grate, burner that is sturdy, warp-resistant cast iron. And of course, a kitchen with an automatic dishwasher, and a Coldspot freezer that can store up to 350 meals and have eleven convenient food store sections. With a quick-freeze compartment, three food elevator baskets, two storage baskets and adjustable basket. Ready rack to store juices, ice cream and small items. Along with a Coldspot refrigerator with rust proof structural aluminum shelving and an automobile type door lock. Color-tone interior beauty…gleaming white porcelain enamel with colorful harmonizing trim. #RandolphHarris 6 of 11
God is telling you do not let lies play around in your mind. Your dream is not over. Keep thinking about the details of what you want. God set a completion date. It does not matter how long it has been or how impossible it looks. If you will stay in faith and not talk yourself out of it, it is just a matter of time before your dreams come true. Just because it has not happened yet does not mean it is not going to happen. God has already lined up the right people, the right opportunities, the right answers. Everything you need is already in your future. Let go of the doubt, shake off the discouragement. Whether it has been a year or one hundred and twenty-two years, what God promised you he still has every intention of bringing it to pass. In the Scripture, it reports that the Holy Spirit revealed to a man called Simeon that: he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah (Luke 2.26). You can image how far out that promise seemed. As time went by, and Simeon did not see any sign of the Messiah, negative thoughts came: “You heard God wrong. It has been too long. It is never going to happen.” #RandolphHarris 7 of 11
Nevertheless, Simeon awakened every morning believing, expecting, and knowing that it would happen, and one day it did. The promise came to a dramatic fulfillment and Simeon declared, “My eyes have seen God’s salvation!” I am keeping the faith that my dream will come true. I want a house just like Darrin and Samantha Stephens from Bewtiched, and exact replica down to the furniture and appliances, the only difference is I want a turret with a witches cap. And God is saying to all of us, in reference to our dreams, science does not matter, have faith and know that he is going to finish what he started. No one and nothing can stop God from fulfilling his promises. And God put that promise of that house in my heart as a kid. God promised to bring even the secret petitions of our hearts to completion. Some will try to push us down, steal our dreams, and talk us into settling for mediocrity, but we need to have this new attitude and believe that whatever God started in our lives, he will finish. Will you keep believing even though it looks impossible? Will you stay in faith, even though every voice tells you it is not happening? #RandolphHarris 8 of 11
Samantha had no idea that she would ever meet Darrin, that they would get married, but they kept bumping into each other. One day, he came home from work and told her that he no longer wanted to live in someone else’s house with furnishings and curtains they picked out, and surprised her with a house he bought while she thought he was at work. It was a dream come true. If people want to believe the things in movies and on the Silvertone Console matched five-ply mahogany veneer television with magnificent “Photo-Tune” pictures that brings all the magic of no glare into our living rooms are real, could you image how much better our lives would be if we focused on the good stuff, and had faith in God? The Scripture says that for years Rachel desired to have a baby, but she had fertility problems. After she had given up on her dreams, it reported that: God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive (Genesis 30.22). It does not say that Rachel remembered God, but she must have been living right. So somewhere in her heart and mind she kept the divine law active. This is how much God wants you to fulfill your destiny. So, what are the incompletions in your life that you need to stay in faith about? #RandolphHarris 9 of 11
Lust of power, greed of popularity, and disdain for honor have every appeared as faces of failure in the panorama of life. Captivated by their artificial attraction, many noble souls have stumbled and fallen, thus losing the crown of victory reserved for the finisher of life’s great journey. We cannot impress upon you enough, it is best to be popular with God because eternal life is important. There is more to come after life on Earth and you do not want to spend your eternity in Hell. The damned do further evil in Hell. By doing further evil, they lose more being. The damned are confined in different places according to the second nature that they have acquired for themselves. Those, for example, who have given into wrath during their Earthly lives will be consigned to a place with like-minded people. The damned can then act according to their second nature and the sufferings and pain which they undergo emerge from their behaviour, as well as the behaviour and acts of others around them. So, people who are wrathful in their Earthly life, will be attacked and torn apart by others wrathful people. The damned cannot affect anyone with their evil actions as long as the person affected are the damned and so no further evil done. They wanted to live foul and that is what they will experience. #RandolphHarris 10 of 11
Though Jesus was tempted by the evil one, he resisted. Though he was hated, he loved. Though he was betrayed, he triumphed. Not in a cloud of glory or chariot of fire was Jesus to depart mortality, but with his arms outstretched in agony upon a cruel cross. Mortality ended. Immortality began. Times change, circumstances vary, but the true marks of a finisher remain. Know them well, for they are vital to our success. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in humans. Recognize that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other. Let virtue garnish your thoughts unceasingly. Courage becomes a living and active virtue when it is regarded as determination to live. When the burdens of life become heavy, when trials test one’s faith, when pain, sorrow, and despair cause the light of hope to flicker and burn low, communication with our Heavenly Father provides peace. Behave like a child of God, this is one who will finish life. Helaman 15.5 reports: Walk circumspectly before God, and observe and keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments according to the law of Moses. I pray that we will all be a finisher in this race of life and thus qualify for that precious prize: eternal life with our Heavenly Father in the celestial kingdom. #RandolphHarris 11 of 11
The Details of Human Behavior are Unpredictable
God will hold us responsible for all the wonderful things on Earth that we refuse to enjoy. It is better than we should be servants of a kind master than the slave to our own wild passion. All conservatives are united in the belief that human affairs are extremely complicated and that the details of human behavior are unpredictable: this we may call the complexity thesis. The nature of human beings is intricate; the objects of society are of the greatest possible complexity: and be suitable either to human’s nature to qualify their affairs. Many conservatives have accepted some version of the doctrine of original sin and have taken the view that government is ordained by God as a remedy for human defect. It is heartwarming for us to receive so many good wishes from you all during the past six months and to feel your acceptance. Many of you have reported that you are praying for our President. We feel that spiritual strength and gratefully acknowledge it—both to you and to our Father in Heaven. Most people have agreed that virtue, stability, and civilization depend on the continuity of long-established institutions. Political stability is founded on state, church, and family, whole moral stability rests upon a strong sense of duty, preferably buttressed by religious belief. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
Conservative accounts of the nature of humans may emphasize either our enduring sinfulness or our frailty. The only position conservatives cannot take without ceasing to be conservative is the belief that people are fundamentally good and perhaps ultimately perfectible. Jacob 4.13 reports: The Spirit speaks the truth and does not lie. Wherefore, it speaks of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly for the salvation of our souls. Religion is not a thing apart from life. It is not principles and ordinances or missionary work or leadership as an end in themselves. It is manifested by the kind of people we are, by our relationship with our Heavenly Father and his Son and all the commandments, by the measure in which we qualify for the approval of our own Spirit-guided conscience, and by the way we treat other people. It is a continuing marvel to me how well and with what grace and unselfish goodness so many live this sacred commandment. And is it sad to think that some may, in joyless version of the gospel, miss the special blessing awaiting on the path established by our Savior and leading to the highest joy through Christian service and sacrifice. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
I never trust writers or entertainers who say critics do not bother them. Adversity is all about us and among us. It is an inevitable element of mortality, and many have some share in it ultimately. An explosive device detonates on London Subway, on 15 September 2017, injuring commuters. This is the fifth attack on London in 2017. Authorities confirm in this specific attack 29 people were injured at Parson Green Tube station in Southwest London. Thankfully there were not life-threatening injuries. God and Christ love us with a mature, perfect love. The plan by which they lead requires mortal instruments of their love. We have the great honor to be invited to be such instruments. We need them, but they also need us. In this service, we find the foundation of those blessings that God wants us to enjoy. If you will always be more fair and more kind to others than a few of them may sometimes be to you, you will enjoy every sweet blessing life afford. The sweetness of true Christian service is often experienced in obscurity—in quiet rooms in houses and hospitals and places of confinement, in military barracks, schools, and in other places far from public attention. Usually it is unheralded, but it reflects the standards set by the Savior for those who will inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the World. These are they who serve the hungry and the thirsty and the unclothed and homeless and those who are sick and imprisoned, and who do this after the pattern in the spirit of God. To those who so serve God promised eternal life. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
Do you not supposed that this is all; for after you have done all these things, if you turn away the needy, and unclothed, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, is you have, to those who stand in need—if you do none of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and nothing will come to you because you are hypocrites who do deny the faith. Empathy cuts through our isolation, generating a network of interconnection. Empathy brings our heart out of the cold. Empathy makes compassion possible. However, empathy also needs an empathic boundary, meaning we sometimes need to take a step back so we do not get overly absorbed in or identified with others’ emotional states—standing back just far enough to keep them in clear focus, resonating with what they are feeling without losing ourselves in it. Being empathetic does not mean putting up with other people’s emotional and mental nor physical mess because we feel what they are feeling, but it does make it very difficult to dehumanize them, regardless of how strong a stand we might need to take with them. Empathy helps keep us from getting numb, heady, or overly detached. It begins with and reinforced vulnerability. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
Emotional literacy blends emotional sensitivity, understanding, and savvy. It means knowing what you are feeling while you are feeling it, and being able to both contain and openly express it. That spirit is still operative among the people of the Church. We should not have to talk about our religion to others, our values should come through like the Sun in the Summertime. One of the first steps in developing greater emotional literacy is uncovering whatever shame you might have about your lack of such literacy. We need to cultivate intimacy with our emotions, getting close enough to all of them, to know them and our ways of handling them from the inside. The people whom they served have looked upon them with almost the reverence that they might have bestowed upon the Savior himself. And when they have experiences this purifying blessing—the blessing of service. Each of your emotions is worth getting to know very, very well—its nature, its purpose, its expression, its containment, its value, your history with it, your use of it. Across the World, such individual investment of self in service is happening, following the example and teachings of the Lord, who laid upon the altar his very life for the blessing of others. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
Sometimes hurts to the heart are more damaging than physical blows. Yes, they may take longer to heal, but they will heal more quickly if we avoid bitterness and anger and practice forgiveness. The royal law of love is of sacred significance in the Lord’s program for his people—an element as vital as any other in the gospel. It is inseparable from them and the spirit of them. It is well known to us institutionally; indeed, the Church to which we have the honor to belong is celebrated for knowing and acting upon it on occasions of great need across the Earth. Courage is an essential attribute, for without it other highly valued qualities, like compassion and integrity, would lack the strength and resolve needed to shift into actions. Take pride in what we (and others) have done can be a beautiful part of honoring ourselves and others. The human soul is infinite and not in the least under its own command. Love: an absorbing concentration on some one object, an intense movement to a single point, a gravitation of your whole being around a solitary centre. May we honor that commandment and those who do so well personally to accept God’s invitation to impart to others both temporally and spiritually, according to their needs. That we may do so, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Star Struck: Be Perfect Like Your Father in Heaven
Stronger thinkers are apt to be great breath-holders, but holding one’s breath against belief is not doubting. As children, many of us are taught that the voice of conscience is the voice of God and, hence completely reliable. It is akin to reason which enables us to distinguish right from wrong. On the romantic comedy Three’s Company, the tall, thin, smart, pretty, and successful nurse called treated a man called Brett Wade in an episode called Star Struck. Brett Wade is tall, handsome, blonde and a charming actor on a soap opera called County Hospital, and ironically, he injured himself and had to go to the hospital and that is how he met Terri. Brett’s manager sees that Terri is a nice girl and thinks she is just what Brett needs as a facelift for his sleazy reputation. Brett is against dating Terri because she is not his type, but his manager tells him that if he does not, then the studio will cancel his contract because they do not want to represent someone with a reputation for being a troubled man. So, Brett takes Terri out on a date and of course she is star struck, then he asks her to marry him, and she agrees. Terri’s roommate Janet is all excited for the wedding, but Jack is suspicious because he knows that Brett has a bad reputation. #RandolphHarris 1 of 9
Every prohibition must conceal a desire. The next night, Brett shows up at Jack’s restaurant called Jack’s Bistro with Shirley, a beautiful blonde, who like furs, expensive jewelry and likes to drink. While eavesdropping, Jack hears Brett telling Shirley that he is going to marry Terri and as soon as his contract is renewed, he is going to rush to Mexico and annul his married to Terri. Jack phone’s Terri and has her come down to the restaurant to see Shirley and Brett, which would expose the plot that Brett is cheating on Terri, but Shirley wanted some hard alcohol and has Brett rush to go get her some from a liquor store. When Terri arrives, Brett is gone, but Shirley is still there. Eventually she gets up and leaves, then Brett comes back and Jack outs him in front of Terri, and he denies everything. As Brett is clowning Shirley behind her back to Terri, Shirley walks back in to the restaurant as she realizes she left her purse on the coat rack. She hears Brett talking trash about her, and then breaks up with him. She is about to give him the diamond ring he gave her back, then asks herself, “What am I, stupid?!” and walks out of the restaurant. Terri then realizes Brett was just using him, and also break up with him. #RandolphHarris 2 of 9
Brett experiences a terrible sense of guilt which is self-evident because he loses both of his girlfriends and his job. Mormon 8.40 reports: Why do you build up your secret abomination to gains and cause that a woman should mourn? Conscience is the inner perception of objections to definite wish impulses that exist in us; but the emphasis is put upon the fact that this rejection does not have to depend on anything else, that it is sure of itself. This becomes even plainer in the cause of a guilty conscience, where we become aware of the inner condemnation of such acts which realized some of our definite wish impulses. When one has been conditioned to respond in certain standard ways which are widely and strongly approved, one tends to find that one can break with such approved behavioral norms only after a genuine struggle and a stiff volitional conflict. In any case, whether we speak of the voice of conscience or the voice of our group or of learned blockage and interference patters, we often find that there are inhibitions to overcome before we can break with the mores of our peers. Jesus Challenges us to strove for excellence in all that we do—to develop our talents and abilities—and above all to live in accordance with his teachings. #RandolphHarris 3 of 9
The pursuit of excellence should be major work of our lives. Many people, however, give little attention to it. Perhaps they feel that it is not possible for anyone to reach perfection in this life, and so they let the immediate pressures dominate their actions like Brett Wade did. While it is true that we cannot attain perfection in a total sense in this life, it is also true that we can attain perfection in many specific areas of activity. Furthermore, if we fail to do what we can and should do in this life, we may deprive ourselves forever of the opportunity to do those things later on and thus lose great eternal blessings. Although God gave us free will and does not infringe upon our freedom of choice, he nevertheless continues to lend us moral support. He gives us, through conscience, a means for distinguishing right from wrong. If we follow the guidance of conscience, we shall do our duty and act rightly. If we act contrary to its deliverances, we shall surely act wrongly. Heaven is not reached at a single bound, we build the ladder by which we rise, from the lowly Earth to the vaulted skies, and we mount to its summit round by round. #RandolphHarris 4 of 9
Success is pretty much a matter of attitude, knowledge, and skill. Inherent ability is important, but that alone is not enough. Extraordinary people think optimistically. They dream the impossible dreams; they reach for the unreachable stars; and their achievements at times are unbelievable. This indomitable spirit also characterizes many people who have physical limitations because of war injuries, unfortunate accidents, or for other reasons have to face life against what seems to be impossible odds. There are people who strive diligently to do their best in all they do and then try to make their best better. Aaliyah Haughton participated in many outstanding presentations over the years and millions of the people who have listened to her sin know that the unreachable star of perfection has been reached in her perhaps as well as it can be here in mortality. God blessed her for her dedicated, committed service. With respect to spiritual matters, we can be perfect in this life in being honest in our dealings with others; having personal and family prayers; abstaining from the use of alcohol, tobaccos, and drugs; holding family home evenings; and in reading the scriptures daily. We can if we really want to. #RandolphHarris 5 of 9
Our conscience is prescriptions reminding us of the moral views which have been taken by other members of our peer group. No one is perfect, but everyone should be striving for perfection. If we should stumble or fall as we travel life’s journey, it is important to remember many problems that we confront as so complex that we frankly have very little idea, and certainly no confirmed judgment or deliverance of conscience, as to which alternative is most worthy of being chosen. Many people are spending more money, enjoying more freedom, and driving more cars than ever before, but are also unhappy. Some of them have never know the satisfaction of doing their best at work, the joy of excelling in the class, the wonderful feeling of completing a job, any job, and looking back on it and know that they have done their best. In many such cases, where getting adequate knowledge in time available before a decision must be reached is impossible, we know in advance that we would be only too happy to do what is right if we could identify, with some reasonable degree of probability, the right alternative. A situation of this wort must frequently arise for people who cannot pass the decision on to someone. I dare you to look up at the stars, not down at the mud, and set your sights on them that, up to now, you thought were unattainable. #RandolphHarris 6 of 9
There is plenty of room at the top, but no room for anyone to sit down. Who knows? You may be surprised at what you can achieve with sincere effort. Every valid moral principle must hold universally so that you will act on the maxim or principle of your action to be a universal law, binding on the will of every rational being. The Church is engaged in the greatest work in all the World—saving the souls of our Father’s children. That is really profound when someone is trying to teach you the love of God and show you how to life right so you can go to Heaven. The World is so full of others trying to hurt and take advantage of anyone they can by any means necessary. Exodus 10.17 reports: Pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague (sin) away. The wages of sin are death. That means the more we sin, the closer we get to forfaiting our eternal life with God. It is important that as children of God, each one of us knows his or her duties and be dedicated and committed in carrying them out in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord. It is important that we marshal our resources and get them working together in a correlated way so that, as a family and community, we can reach our full potential in helping the Lord bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of human beings. Our goal is perfection for all of God’s children who listen, accept, and live the gospel. #RandolphHarris 7 of 9
Assuming that a being cannot suffer means that one need not give that creature any consideration when it comes to how that being is treated. And that is wrong, and can lead to a great deal of suffering being inflicted. 2 Thessalonians 6 reports: God is just, he will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. Do not keep silent. Remind God of his promises again and again. Then eventually you will see what God said come true in your life. Nephi 1.13 reports: And it came to pass that there was no contention among all the people, in all the land; but there were mighty miracles wrought among the disciples of Jesus. Keep moving forward, being your best, honoring God, being determined and persistent, and God will bless you. Ezra 8.22 reports: The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him. The eye of the spirit cannot be dimmed, neither can it be limited in its ability to see. Our eyes are the vision of our indwelling Lord; they are the windows of our inner spirit and are always open to the vision of truth. We are free from all illusions of weariness. Our whole being responds to the thought of life. We are alive with the great vitality of the spirit. We are alive with the spirit. #RandolphHarris 8 of 9
Emotions are important sources of moral decision-making. Conscience is squarely within the rational faculty, specially part of our practical reason since it is connected to the will as well as the other emotions. The conscience cannot be lost to any person no matter how morally corrupt they become, but it can be mistaken since the very general principles may be misapplied through ignorance or faulty reasoning. The misapplication explains, to a certain extent, how conscience, oriented to good, can be involved in the performance of evil actions. However, human beings have a general drive to do good. Conscience is an implementation of a human being’s desire for good. Because we naturally have a desire for the good, we also desire the means to that goal. God will take the scars of your life and turn them into stars, and give you beauty for ashes, and will pay you back double for anything you lost. Make up your mind to endure to the end and live a good life, knowing your health will be restored, and you will get new opportunities and new perspectives. Even though it is painful for a time, it is not the end. An eternal life of love and happiness is in front of you. Believe that. May we be successful in this, our greatest responsibility, is my humble prayer, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen. #RandolphHarris 9 of 9
Envision What a Happy Ending Might Look Like
Dreams are the bright creatures of poem and legend, who sport on Earth in the night season, and melt away in the first bream of the Sun, which lights grim care and stern reality on their daily pilgrimage through the World. Human beings can achieve goodness and fulfill their nature when they act according to reason. A person who lives his or her life according to reason is a good and happy person. How necessary and important it is that we all continually strive to improve ourselves and prepare for the day when a call might come to serve in a new or more responsible position! The whole purpose of our existence in mortality is to build the kingdom of God and to prove ourselves worthy to go back to into God’s presence. To act and live according to reason is what is objectively good for every human being. However, this does not suppose that every human being knowingly desires a life lived according to reason. Wishing what is ultimately good is to desire union with God, and only those who exercise their specifying potentiality—reason—can do so. Part of what it is to suffer is to prevent someone from being what he or she ought to be, that is, to prevent him or her from flourishing. On the other hand, to cause someone to suffer is to prevent him or her from fulfilling his or her desires. Therefore, suffering is bad because it undermines or destroys what the sufferer cares about, his or her own flourishing, his or her desires, or both. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
Fate is just even to rival storytellers, and balance matters. In this brief time, away from our Heavenly home and parents is a time when we are given agency for the purpose of being tried and tested in every way. There will be some days when we are stressed and sad, and we will face some hard tests. It is important to learn from them and grow from them. These experiences will teach us to be stronger. God cares and loves you very, very much. The experience of pain and heartaches, sorrows, and tribulations give us all experience; we can also make them work for our own good. Difficulties are just God’s errands. If we are sent upon them, it is an evidence of his confidence in us. Therefore, let us be glad, be happy, for it is a way of being wise. God loves you and he is ever willing to help you at all times. Just call on God through fervent prayers. God never fails; he is there, he is listening, and he cares very deeply about you. With daily prayer, scripture study, and our feet firmly planted on the road to the celestial kingdom, we have a perfect brightness of hope. God loves with a great love the people whose heart is bursting with a passion for the extraordinary. When you face situations that seem impossible, we should pray. When we ask, God releases favor. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
I remember how I seemed to float, then, down the melancholy glory of that track upon the sea, away into the World of dreams. There is a secret way of the soul which all may know, it is the way of peace and love. This secret way leads into places of joy and into the house of God. It is the way of the spirit and all may enter who will. Plant your feet firmly on the path to the celestial kingdom. Lift up your heart and let your soul rejoice, and never give up. When you ask God, angels go to work and strongholds are broken. When you ask, God beings to turn things around in your favor, and you will see the greatness of God. As love enters, fear vanishes. God will fill us with love that no fear can enter our thoughts and perfect intelligence guards and governs our every act. Our soul will rejoice at the realization of life, and we cannot be depressed because God has claimed us as his own. The light of God has come and the day of salvation is near. We need those who bring gladness into our lives. We need those who give encouragement and reflect optimism. Sincere yet simple words of praise can lift souls and bring gladness. Encouragement can be quick and simple, but it is a voice of gladness that is needed by everyone. Some things in life are precious like freedom and liberty and are very important. Many have had their lives changed permanently fighting for our freedom, but their voices of gladness overshadow the prevailing interruption and sacrifices they have made for all of us. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
You have no right to dispose of your future destiny whilst there is the least probable chance you may be reclaimed. God never made a promise that was too good to be true. Hope springs eternal for those who have the vision to trust in and to live by God’s inspired principles. Thank God for noble souls who can and do weather life’s storms with sincere voices of gladness which overshadow the present and make the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ real and strengthening. Have a faith that God can see. Put actions behind what you believe. Demonstrate your faith. You may not see how your dream could ever work out, but as you take steps in faith, you will see God open new doors. You will have the strength to do what you could not do. You will see God’s favor in unusual ways. The voices of gladness from the scriptures remind us that we do not have to walk through life alone. We do not have to run around like savages jumping on each other’s bones. Christ came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. 2 Nephi 25.23 reports: For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. Therefore, know that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
Let us remember that acts of kindness with pure motives and righteous purposes can be and are encouraged to be done in quietness, gentle voices, and in privacy. We can program ourselves to build, encourage, and give strength. Moroni 7.47 reports: Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endures forever; and who is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him or her. God’s spirit and power will comfort us as we extend ourselves in help and love to those who need us. However, God’s commandment that as we love him, we must respect ourselves, suggests we must not accept disrespect from others. It is not charity to bow down in despair and helplessness. That kind of suffering should be ended, and that is very difficult to do alone. If we help individuals to relieve pain, or loneliness, or injustice in our own communities, God promises that a compassion would enter our hearts, and through the Holy Ghost sanctification could take place within our souls, and we will become more like our Savior. I pray in all humility that our faith in God may move us to such action and that we may thus know, by the Holy Spirit, the meaning of charity, so that we can exercise it in our lives. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
What secret of happiness is greater than to follow your illusions? Experience is a great teacher, except when it is not. What we make of experience—and whether it serves us or harms us—depends on the knowledge we build out of it. And make no mistake: we are all master knowledge builders, able to turn the most random events into meaningful knowledge about the World and how to operate it. Much of this knowledge is called experiential knowledge, and it lies outside our awareness, where it is difficult to see or assess. Father in Heaven, thank you for bring to completion the good work you began in us. You promised to complete our incompletions. So, thank you Lord that the fulfillment of our dreams is on the way, even the secret petitions of our hearts. You spoke the Worlds into existence, and you have us in the palm of your hands. I believe that you will make sure we complete what you put us here to do. As we move forward in faith, the foundation of greatness is being laid, which will allow us to go beyond our barriers and become everything God created us to be, and everything he intended for us to have will come to fruition. In Jesus name, Amen. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Corruption is the Enemy of Development
No program should set out to create failure or humiliate participants. The divide-and-conquer method might have been contrived in the religious and political realms, sharpened on the battlefield, and perfected in the dating game, but this technique can also be used to the individual’s advantage it is meant to harm. The divide-and-conquer may seem fruitless in modern times because the problems it creates become much more complicated as the input grows. There will always be resistance. Though power may tend to corrupt, there will always be those who believe in righteousness. Also, self-control and self-mastery leads to self-governance, and the realization that we do not necessarily need membership in a group we cannot trust. We do not need a chain of obedience or a corrupt hierarchical system. We only need leaders: preferably self-leadership that leads by healthy example. When we are isolated, we are better able to focus on our areas needing development. Our flexibility and resilience depends on the meaning we make out of a disappointing experience, and the strength of the relationships that shape, even transform, that experiences. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
One reason many leaders never make it to the top is because they never fail, leaving them at a loss when they do. It is not failure alone, but the ability to put failure to good use that creates endurance and success. When a person is able to make good things out of bad experiences, this allows one to transcend or recast painful experiences—or at least endure them with good humor. Good leaders develop good attitudes and lead to speak to people’s hearts, and not only will that individual, but also their audience will emerge from their caves of doom and gloom, like one awakened from sleep, to the World in which we live again. A collective force of free individuals living with the mindset that cosmic laws based on health, wellness, and survival are the keys to well-being. The goal is to not only ease one’s own pain, but to heal wounded feelings and mitigate the disappointment of others. This will allow us to find a common ground and cultivate a society of compassion and fraternity, as we withstand adversity, and persevere and develop relational sensibilities. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
It is important to actually get to know people and expose individuals to ideas that challenge their current ways of seeing. This will develop the ability to read people and situations with greater acuity; and help them reframe how they see difficult experiences. Sometimes a walk through a dark forest (do not try this) is exactly what we need to lead us to the light and refresh and recharge. Our feelings are a joint venture—a product of our interactions and the way we frame them, given our repertories. When we question our current way of seeing things, it also frees us to work together to map and alter the pattern. Maybe, even if it is risky, taking a new path is what we need because it will allow us to see something else, something that will illuminate our vision. The Anatomy Framework will turn our attention away from labeling people and toward what they are doing, how they feel, and how they interact. This will make it easier to make new sense of old situations in which we will caught. When we tether new actions to new ways of seeing, we will integrate new behaviors more quickly, and these behaviors will feel more natural to us and less artificial to others. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
We can be negative and look for the ugly in life and the faults and failings of those around us, or we can develop optimistic attitudes and see the beautiful in life and the good, the strong, the decent, and the virtuous in people, which brings joy and happiness. It is a matter of attitude. Many of us have an even greater interest in the creation of beautiful people—the type of radiant beauty that comes from righteous living and acceptance of God. I have observed many people who have a beauty and spiritual glow. The Lord has told us that we can be beautiful. 1 Corinthians 3.16 reports: Know you that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you. Love yourself. It is more important to stay optimistic because beauty comes from the inside out. Peace is the beauty of life. Beauty is Sunshine. The togetherness of a family. Beauty is the advancement of humanity, the victory of a just cause, the triumph of truth. The doorway of your heart is the place where loves resides for you are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6.16). A solid foundation is the most important part of a building or of a person. We are to be the light to others, to control our anger, and reconcile bad feelings with others. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. As we live with the principles of God in our hearts, we are building a rock-solid foundation upon which our lives can safely be constructed. The Lord, the great Master Architect, have given us perfect plans and specifications to guide us in the building of our lives. These are the sacred scriptures. They contain the words of the Lord and should frequently be read and considered. By seeking the Lord through prayer and through his holy scriptures, we learn to look for the beautiful and to develop great attitudes. We achieve guidance in the building of our foundations and our lives. Beauty is when you can appreciate yourself. When you love yourself and others, that is when you are the most beautiful. As we live righteous and unselfish rights, the Spirit of the Lord enters our souls and then radiates from us. We become beautiful, even as a holy temple is beautiful because we are happy with ourselves. Happiness is the greatest beauty secret. 2Nephi 4.16 reports: Behold, my soul delights in the things of the Lord, and my heart ponders continually upon the things which I have seen and heard. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
Greed gives births to many ills—Crime and Corruption. The cancerous spread of corruption has been a matter of great concern to all people. Power is primarily being sought for amassing wealth, perks, and privileges. People’s welfare has become a thing of secondary importance on the agenda. Political ethics, values, ideology, policy issues, have been forgotten. Shockingly, the struggles for power has created divisions in government, businesses, and families. There is an iron rule in economics, it is Stein’s Law. If something cannot go on forever, it will stop. While divide-and-conquer seems like a great idea, the longer it goes on and the more people that get involved, the obvious it becomes, and it makes the corruption harder to hide. One may kill mosquitoes in a room by spraying insecticides, but many more will come inside from the breeding ground, the hole needs to be plugged. The breeding ground of corruption deserves to be cultured and the cause has to be located and removed. You cannot go on investigating corruption month after month, and year in and year out. There has got to be a point where the Government is able to say: “We have enough information.” #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Randolph Harris II International Institute 