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Time Flies on the Wings of Lightning
God is an eternal being, what seems to us simple mortals as a drear immensity of wasted time is to him, but a twinkle of an eye. There are two fine things in the World: to be part of the News Press and to despise it. I do not hesitate for one moment as to what my choice had to be. Behavior is dependent upon or classified World. In a sense, some people have no choice: many have already committed themselves to a reverence for language, to a preservation and promotion of its purity and dignity; hence, the press, the official languages of commerce, of the profession, and especially the government, are our focus and cannot be our own vehicles. The names or class terms attached to aspects of the environment, both physical and social, carry meaning in the form of shared behavioral expectations that grow out of social interactions. From the interaction with others, one learns how to classify objects one comes into contact with and in the process also learns how one is expected to behave with reference to those objects. When people ignore an individual or their contributions this is called Totschweigetaktik—literally, the tactic of killing by keeping silent or ignoring, or the silent treatment. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
It is important to strive to be a shining light of integrity in a morass of dubious morality, a beacon of genuineness in a sea of spuriousness. While we may not only strive for ourselves, as we attain these lofty goals they may come at no small price to ourselves. If punishment is the price repentance asks, it comes at bargain price. Consequences, even painful one, protect us. So simple a thing as a child’s cry of pain when his or her finer touches something uncomfortable can teach us that. Except for the pain, the child might be consumed. There also is a mortal danger, through the debasement of language, to a person as a dignified and spiritual being. Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that is may give grace to those who hear. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. National Socialism did not destroy the press; rather, the press created National Socialism. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
As the shadow of National Socialism fell over Germany and Austria in the early 1930s, the corruption of language corrupts morals and politics. The misuse of spirit and of language won the victory. That is why the news media is being used as a tool of propaganda. People know that if they can control the flow of news, they can control the minds of masses. That is why it is important to put away crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. One must be brave and occupy oneself with the study of language. It is important to pray. The World is only frightening only if we insist on denying the reality of evil and the beauty of religion, faith and spiritual resignation, denials which so deeply defiles a person. It is important to celebrate the dignity of the individual, regardless of one’s race, religion, or nationality. Among the class terms learned in interactions are the symbols that are used to designate positions, which are the relatively stable, morphological components of social structure. It is these positions which carry the shared behavioral expectations that are conventionally labelled roles. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
We are taught to show respect toward any person from whom one has learned, but a single letter. How, then, can I honor you enough? How deep should be my gratitude? It is readily confessed that we would find no peace, neither happiness nor safety, in a World without repentance. We do not know what we should do if there were no way for us to erase our mistakes. The agony would be more than we could bare. Persons who act in the context of organized patterns of behavior, i.e., in the context of social structure, name one another in the sense of recognizing one another as occupants of position. When they name one another, they invoke expectations with regard to each other’s’ behavior. An Atonement was made. Atonement is a satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends. The doctrine concerning the reconciliation of God and humankind means that we are not damned nor cursed. We have a reconciliation with God. Every and always it offers amnesty from transgression and from death if we will but repent. Repentance is the escape clause in it all. Repentance is the key with which we can unlock the prison from inside. We hold that within our hands, and agency is ours to use it. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
Behavior is the product of a role-making process, initiated by expectations invoked in the process of defining situations but developing through a tentative, sometimes extremely subtle, probing interchange among actors that can reshape the form and content of interaction. We might object to people who conduct themselves without dignity and who abuse language—and to those physicians who use language of psychiatry to deprive people of their liberty and the language of psychoanalysis to deprive them of their individual and integrity. The adversary in cleaver ways manipulates our choices, deceiving us about sin and consequences. However, agency is ours. The greatest amount of freedom for each individual, limited only by consideration for the freedom of others. We look up, and in the Universe we see the handiwork of God and measure things by epochs, by eons, by dispersions, by eternities. The many things we do not know we take on faith. These values make life worth living. It touches the deepest emotion of gratitude and obligation. Our soul reaches after God, as he is our Lord and our Redeemer, our advocate. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
Available information wisely used is far more valuable than multiplied information allowed to lie fallow. Imperfections of a person’s language mirror the imperfections of one’s character; and to purify our ethics and conduct, we must first purify our grammar and language. The connection between maltreated words and the maltreatment of human souls and bodies, and we avenge lives by restoring words to their state of integrity, health, and vigor in which, of their own accord, we could speak to the yet unknowing World how these things came about. Through one it is language itself that opens its mouth and speaks to those who use it deceitfully. However, they are forgers of lies, and all physicians of no value. The correct language is a religious matter. On the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they speak. We are accountable and will be judged for how we use what we have received. This eternal principle applies to all we have been given. There is a relationship between the control of language and of liberty, between the destruction of the human word and the human soul, between semantics and politics. An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Unmasking the Masker
The old World has three times as much water as land, but with all of its twisting and turning not a drop sloshes off into space. It Is important to guide people toward dignity and independence through love of and respect for language. Being informs us that everything is energy, it may exist in the form of electromagnetic vibration, and it is a vehicle of universal thought (a gratuitous addition), we are apt to think that perhaps everything is, in some obscure way, thought and hence in the mind of God. The human mind also has measurable power. It is well known that the brain is an electrochemical organ; researchers have speculated that a fully functioning brain can generate as much as 10 watts of electrical power. Other more conservative investigators calculate that is all 10 billion interconnected nerve cells discharged at one time that a single electrode places on the human scalp would record something like five millionths to 50 millionths of a volt. If you had enough scalps hooked up you might be able to light a flashlight bulb. Even though this electrical power is very limited, it does occur in very specific ways that are characteristic of the human brain. Electrical activity emanating from the brain is displayed in the form of brainwaves. #RandolphHarris 1 of 9
Bring people into society, and he or she is immediately provided with a mirror which one wanted before. It is placed in the countenance and behavior of those each individual lives with. This is the only looking glass by which we can, in some measure, with eyes of other people, scrutinize the propriety of our own conduct. There is not a thoughtless word that comes from people’s lips, but they will have to account for it on the day of judgment. For out of your own mouth you will be acquitted; out of your own mouth you will be condemned. Sympathy is the principle through which humans developed their sense of membership in and benefits to be derived from society, and through which they come to be controlled by others. Sympathy allows people to put themselves in the place of others, and see the World as these others do; and sympathy makes possible the communication that initially forms and subsequently reshapes (as we seek the approval of others) who and what we are. Our most important stewardship is the glorious responsibility our Father in Heaven has given us to watch and care for our own soul. #RandolphHarris 2 of 9
Each person is born into a pre-existing association of human beings, and habit will consequently reflect a prior social order. Custom and habits are the necessary bases for reflection, for thinking, and occurs in the process of humans adjusting to their environment. Thinking is instrumental; it involves defining objects in one’s world in the context of activity and rehearsing possible lines of action in ways instrumental to adaption. Great things are happening because so many of you are faithfully acting upon the points of God’s laws and commandments. It is a privilege for us to witness in our lifetime such exciting progress toward fulfillment to the great prophecy that the kingdom may become a great castle and fill the entire Earth. We obey God’s commandments out of love for God. For if love of God is an adequate motive for moral behavior, why should not love of one’s fellows also be adequate? If we define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. We take the role of the other through the use of significant symbols and through this process engage in cooperative activity. We come to have minds, to think, through being part of a social process in which significant symbols emerge. These symbols provide the meaning of objects, the meaning to which we are responsible as we incorporate objects into our activities. #RandolphHarris 3 of 9
Walk the path of faith and stand for that which is right and true and good. Social life is complex, and for it to proceed one must respond to an intricate pattern of related behaviors by multiple others. The brightest prize to which mortals or Gods can aspire is truth. One does so, of course, through the symbolic capabilities characterizing humans. Selves arise out of interaction of persons in organized groups; the prior existence of organized groups is thus implied. Society also shapes the self, so does the self shape society through the process of constantly being created and recreated; in contemporary language, social interaction is constructed. Suffer not yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish thing. Keep the commandments. In this there is safety and peace. Nothing this World has to offer can surpass the joy of living the gospel. We are accountable and will be judged for how we use what we have received. The principle of accountability also apples to the spiritual resources conferred in the teachings we have been given and to the precious hours and days allotted to each of us during our time in mortality. #RandolphHarris 4 of 9
As long as we are willing to rise up again and continue on the eternal path of enlightenment, we can learn something from failure and become better and happier. When Leo was learning to walk, he would fall and get up again, and he would do this over and over until he built his confidence in his stride. He did not let his frustration hold him back. There may be times in our lives when rising up and continuing on may seem to be frustrating. However, by having faith in God and the determination to keep trying. Even when we think we cannot rise up, there is still hope. And just like baby Leo, sometimes we may need someone to look us in the eyes, and take our hand, and say, “It is okay. You can do this.” If there is some stability to self, then reliable measurement becomes possible. The fundamental elements of symbolic interactionism include the meaning component in human conduct, the social sources of humanness, society as process, the voluntaristic component in human conduct, a dialectical conception of the mind, the constructive and emergent nature of human conduct, and the necessity of sympathetic introspection have fallen before is as our destiny. We all want to be respected and esteemed. We want to be champions without effort and discipline or without making mistakes. #RandolphHarris 5 of 9
Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble, but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and try again. We all know this mortal life is a test. However, because our Heavenly Father loves us with a perfect love, he has given us a map that allows us to navigate the uncertain terrain and unexpected trials that each of us encounters. All varieties of symbolic interactionists take as basic premises that humans act toward things on the basis of the meaning those things have for them, that meanings emerge from social interaction, and meanings are modified and dealt with through an interpretative process used by persons when responding to things encountered. Godly sorrow leads to conversion and a change of heart. It causes us to hate sin and love goodness. It encourages us to stand up and walk in the light of God’s love. True repentance is about transformation, not torture or torment. The core of symbolic interactionism consists in the assertion that humans create, use, and communicate with symbols; they interact through role taking, which involves the reading of symbols used by others; they are unique as a species through having a mind and self, which arise out of interaction, and which allow for the interactions that form the basis of society. #RandolphHarris 6 of 9
Human beings must be studied on their own level, and reductionist efforts infer principles of human behavior from nonhuman forms are misguided; must fruitful approaches to the study of human social behavior is through an analysis of society; that the human infant enters life neither social nor antisocial, with the potentialities for human development; and the human beings is an actor as well as a reactor. One of the adversary’s methods to prevent us from progressing is to confuse us about who we really are and what we really desire. The adversary’s purpose is to tempt us to exchange the priceless pearls of true happiness and eternal values for fake silicone trinkets that is merely an illusion and counterfeit of happiness and joy. However, it is a great source of spiritual power to live lives of integrity and righteousness and to keep our eyes on where we want to be in the eternities. Even if we can see this divine destination only with the eyes of faith, it will help us stay on the course. Human like to plan, constructing plans out of bits and pieces supplied by culture. Things take on meaning in relation to plans; the meaning of a thing is its implications for plans of action being constructed, so a thing may have different meanings relative to different plans. #RandolphHarris 7 of 9
When our attention is mainly focused on our daily successes or failures, we may lose our way, wander, and fall. Keeping our sights on higher goals will help us become better people. We plan toward things in terms of their meanings; a plan of action is executed contingent on the meaning for that plan of things encountered. Consequently, everything encountered must be identified and its meaning discovered. Even those who set their hearts upon divine goals may still occasionally stumble, but they will not be defeated. For social plans of action, meaning must be consensual; if meanings are not clear, they are hammered out through the rhetoric of interaction resulting in the creation of social objects. They trust and rely upon the promises of God. The basic thing to be identified in any situation is the person himself or herself; identities of actors in any situation must be consensually established. People of God will rise up again with a bright hope in a righteous God and the inspiring vision of a great future. Identity, meaning, and social acts are the stuff of drama; as drama involves parts to be played, roles implicit in the parts must be conceived and performed in ways expressive of the role. The construction of social conduct involves roles and characters, props and supporting casts, scenes and audiences. #RandolphHarris 8 of 9
Every person has had one’s own personal experience with falling. Falling is what we mortals do. However, as long as long as we are willing to rise up again and continue on the path toward the spiritual goals God has given us, we can learn something from failure and become better and happier as a result. Thus, identification of persons is most often in terms of roles and characters. We identify by placing things in systematically related categories of role systems, status systems, systems of social types, or contrastive sets of social categories. There will be times when you think you cannot continue on. Trust God and his love. With faith in the Lord and the power and hope of the restored gospel, you will be able to walk tall and continue on. We love you. We pray for you. We are mindful of you. The Lord is mindful of you! We acknowledge that your path will at times be difficult. However, it is promised by God that one day you will look back and be filled with eternal gratitude that you chose to trust the Atonement and its power to life you up and give you strength. You are stronger than you realize. You are more capable than you can imagine. The distinguishing characteristic of our lives and work must be our passion for integrity. Personal integrity—to be good as one’s word—is the highest virtue. Purity of language is a measure of the purity of the speaker’s soul, and vice versa. We fundamentally should have a respect for language as we have a respect for persons. #RandolphHarris 9 of 9
Earth—Marvelous Work and a Wonder
To cure spiritual diseases which throttle us and plague our lives, the Lord has given us a sure cure. Knowledge of God must be supplemented by revelation. If wisdom is God, who made all things, as is attested by the divine authority and truth, then the philosopher is a lover of God. The truth turns out to be the search for one’s own salvation, as a sparkling new presentation. Here then is a great truth. In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. In this is the divine image, which can be mirrored from the soul. It is part of the purging toll exacted of some to become acquainted with God. In the agonies of life, we seem to listen better to the faint, Godly whisperings of the Divine. The wealth of insights that it brings will be unfamiliar to most. Is not aspiring to or seeking the Godlike transfiguration of one’s own soul, in and through the stern but invigorating exercise of justice and (merely apparent) sacrificial devotion, equivalent to the pursuit of the greatest of all conceivable goods for the very core of one’s own being? #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
Since immortality and eternal life constitute the sole purpose of life, all other interests and activities are but incidental thereto. And since those objectives are the work and glory of God, they are the proper work of humans also and are the major reason for his coming to Earth. Of the two elements, the one great blessing immortality comes to humans without their effort, as a gift from the Almighty. The other eternal life is a cooperative program to be developed by the Lord and his offspring on Earth. It thus becomes the overall responsibility of human beings to fully within the Eternal God in accomplishing this objective. All people can stand adversity, but if you want to test a person’s character, give them power. To this end God created humans to live in mortality and endowed them with the potential to perpetuate the race, to subdue the Earth, to perfect themselves and to become as God, omniscient and omnipotent. Our Father in Heaven the sent to the Earth a line of prophets to keep humans in remembrance of their duties and their destiny, to warn them of dangers, and to point the way to the total victory of humans. The pursuit of truth is intrinsically valuable. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
To marvel at the wonders of the gospel is a sign of faith. It is to recognize the hands of God in our lives and in everything around us. On Earth we have the rich opportunities to discover the marvelous things of this World. We can visit the most significant monuments, historic sites, and natural wonders of the World. There is so much beauty in this World. However, sometimes when we have them constantly before our eyes, we take them for granted. We look, but we do not really see; we hear, but do not really listen. We are so privileged to live in an exceptional time. Our amazement also produces spiritual strength. It gives us the energy to remain anchored in our faith and to engage ourselves in the work of God. Clearly belief in miracles is already plausible if our enquiry may presume this view of things. The usual way of making this out might be described as supernaturalistic. God reveals his nature in part through observable phenomena. Divine actions are not changes in God as they are manifestations or expressions of his will, which is eternal. Being all-knowing God eternally knew renowned miracles would be necessary. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
Seek and cherish the companionship of the Holy Ghost. In faith, we hold to the promise that of we seek, we shall find. To this day, healing remains the form that most claimed miracles take, and many of those miracles are associated with visitations to churches and the shrines of saints or the wilderness. Miracles remain an important and powerful dimension of religions and mystics. The word of God and sacred places are considered to be a fountain of knowledge that never runs dry. There is always something new to learn and feel. Nearly 90 percent of Americans believe in God, 84 percent believe in miracles, and nearly 48 percent reported that they have experienced a miracle in their own lives or in the life of someone else. Our amazement should be rooted in the core principle of our faith, in the purity of our covenants and ordinances, and our most simple acts of worship. Others recognize miracles as extraordinary occurrences. Miracles were designed by the creator for very specific purposes and, though contrary to the observable laws of nature, were instituted at the beginning of creation as part of God’s divine plan. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
Most wonders of the gospel cannot be perceived by our natural sense. They are the things that the eyes have not seen, nor heard, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. When we have the Spirit with us, our spiritual senses are sharpened and our memory is kindled so we cannot forget the miracles and signs we have witnessed. Viewed this way, a miracle is an event that astonishes beholders (wonder) and at the same time conveys meaning (sign). Absent the sign factor, it is impossible to distinguish miracle from mere coincidence. Since signs are always signs of something, we can say that a miracle is an unusual event that discloses the meaning and power of the transcendent within the World of time and space. If a veteran from the Vietnam War gets Hodgkin’s lymphoma (a cancer of the lymphatic system), after being exposed to Agent Orange, and is given 3-5 years to live and told he cannot have kids, but he goes on to live beyond his projected lifespan and produced three biological children, the patient or others may claim that the patient’s sudden restoration to health and procreation are the result of prayer to God for a miracle. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
Only after a board of physicians concludes that an unexpected healing has no known scientific cause does a board of theologians consider whether the healing is also a divine sign. Because of miracles, people have a reason to believe in the afterlife. Therefore, miracles are real and much more than just studies. This gives many people the faith to believe that God is real, Heaven is real, and the scriptures are not just stories that people came together and made up to control human behavior. The power to work miracles belongs to God as the creator and sustainer of the World. When we have the spirit with us, our spiritual senses are sharpened and our memory is kindled so we cannot forget the miracles and signs we have witnessed. The testimonies of miracles might dwindle without being constantly renewed by the power of the Spirit of God. And this is why it is important for us to thank God and focus on the good things in our lives, so we can give power to that which is edifying to our souls and experience on the Earth. Do not risk the loss of this precious and marvelous gift—the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Seek it through fervent prayer and righteous living. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
Let us pray that we may always have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that perceive the wonders of this marvelous gospel. Often, when we pray for miracles to happen in our lives, we are also praying for healing to happen in our lives as well. We see countless examples of miracles every day. Dear Lord in Heaven, please heal us in whatever you see needs healing. Heal us of whatever might separate us from you. Heal our memory, heal our heart, heal our emotions, heal our spirit, heal our body and heal our soul. Miracles are power testify that God’s touch is always a heartbeat away. It is important that we are conscious of God at work in our lives daily. Miracle power can happen in our lives when we have faith and trust that miracles can really true. Heavenly Father, we open our hearts wide to receive the love of God. We realize and accept your healing power of the Universe of love. God is limitless and abundant, we feel the outpouring of God’s love in our bodies and minds. We feel God’s love in all our affairs, and we know all is well. We would not be here without the power of God and without his miraculous power being at work. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
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Hearts and Renewed Spirits with Divine Compassion
Follow God when others put detour signs in your path. You have been reserved to come to the Earth for a special purpose. We each must find and finish our own story, but how much sweeter the telling when encouragement is called out, when arriving at our destination is valued and celebrated, however long ago the journey is commenced. It is very clear that the search for human fulfillment cannot be achieved by one’s natural powers alone. As the image of God, such a project can only be realized with God in full view; the origin and destiny of human life. This means, to have God within the soul, that is, to enjoy God. In fact, it is because the soul has the stamp of God that it is a mirror to see God; self-knowledge is a route towards God. Here is to be found ultimate human happiness and the crowing of a life’s journey. There is a joy which is not granted to the ungodly, but to those alone who worship God for their own sake, and whose joy he is. This is the blessed life, to rejoice in God. The search for truth is inextricably linked to the journey towards God. This brings one to a personal encounter with God, which is the full satisfaction of souls, this happy life: to recognize piously and completely the One through whom you are led into the truth, the nature of truth you enjoy, and the bond that connects you with the supreme measure. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
The World is going through a tremendous and rapid change in every aspect of life. One cannot be left to reason alone, but requires God’s illumining and faith. Believe in yourselves. Believe that you are never alone. Believe that you will always be guided. God has promised us that as we search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all thing will work together for our good. That does not mean that everything will be perfect or that we will not have any trials, but it does mean that everything will be okay if we just hang in there. Ours is the opportunity to be an example of the believers, and God has promised that all things are possible to one that believes. Do not give in when the going is rough, for you are laying the foundation of a great work, and that great work is your life. Believe in your capacity to do good, to make some contribution to the society of which we are a part, to grow and develop, and to do things that we may now think impossible. This principle can make a difference in this World. It may be ever so small, but it will count for the greater good. You are one of the greatest generations to ever live on this Earth. There are things for each of you to do that no one else can do as well. You have a destiny to fulfill. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
There is a need for a deeply thought out evaluation of the meaning of culture and the knowledge of the human person. We must establish the existence of supreme values which should form the ideal aim of human life and education, and lead the way in determining how issues in the World can be healed. Each of these approaches to truth have their limits, but they highlight the aspects of human wisdom that leave a lasting mark on the best that can be found in human civilization. You are righteous examples as one of the believers will make a difference in the World, so be not weary in well-doing, for you are laying the foundation of a great work. As you strive to be an example of the believers, you may feel that you are standing alone. You may feel that you are the only one who is trying so hard to be righteous and pure. You may feel you are the only one striving to be modest in your actions, speech, and appearance. However, you are not alone. There are thousands of people like you all over the World who are striving to be an example of believers. God is the most adequate conceivable object of worship; there is no possibility of another reality beyond him to which he is inferior or subordinate and which would thus be an even more worthy recipient of human’s devotion. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
God seeks our trust only by showing himself to be trustworthy. Stopping to know what you are doing and why is not a one-time activity. It must be a daily activity. Spend time every morning or evening to think about the coming day. Set aside a day twelve times a year to plan your month. And spend one whole week each year reflecting and evaluating, to measure the years that have passed, to plan the year that is coming, and to stay on track. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before us and prepares the way for our destiny. You may be spending too much time analyzing your situation. You may have so many facts and figures that you have talked yourself out of what God can do. In the Scripture, God asks Abraham, “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” If you spent more time considering your God and thinking about his greatness and the times he has made a way in the past—dwelling on his promises, declaring victory and favor—what a difference might it make in your life? Have peace of heart and mind because you have given God your best. This is the true measure of success. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
The truth that the deepest yearning of the human person consists in religious truth, which brings reason to the summit of its endeavor. Each one of you has the power to change the World. Heavenly Father, we petition you for that noble attribute of courage, for we know courage counts. The call for courage comes constantly to each of us. It is this sweet assurance that can guide you and me—in our time, in our day, in our lives. Of course, we will face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded as a willingness and determination to live decently. A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he or she thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Do your duty even when critical eyes are watching. Remember that all people have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well. The ultimate truth about our own lives and about the goal of history is to bring humanity to the threshold of these depths and give room to other instruments to take their part in the drive to attain the ambition of bring true meaning to human life. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
God not only presides over nature as a whole by way of organized laws; in his loving-kindness he extends his Providence over individual human beings as well. God is incorporeal, and that internal complexity is a property of bodies alone, God appears to be one not only relative to other beings, but in an absolute internal sense as well. God is much more supreme that anything we know, he created the cosmos. Also, regarding the belief in immortality and the resurrection of the dead, these are phenomena that belong to the category of miracles which God might perform in his World. In their view, miracles are not absurd, given the principle that God is omnipotent and everything is possible for him. No one likes conflict. Especially in a religious setting. However, conflict is an unavoidable part of life, and when it comes, it can provide an unavoidable part of life, and it can also provide an opportunity to experience God’s sanctifying work in our hearts. It is my prayer that we overcome evil with good and keep our eyes above the fray of the gnashing teeth and stones being hurled at us. God, our master, model of perfection, we resolve to imitate your example, to be like you, mild, humble, chaste, zealous, charitable, and resigned. We wish to remember that with God all things are possible. Thank you, God, for your wisdom, strength, and divine compassion. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Come Inspire My Mind
Each moment and every day, we trust our love to God. Cover us with your protection, and carry us through hard times, and lead us to love and happiness. You are children of the Almighty. Limitless is your potential. Magnificent is your future, if you will take control of it. The future is bright with promise, hope, faith, and achievement. The World will become better than we have ever known. There must be purpose. We are here to accomplish something, to bless society with our talents and our learning. We must also recognize the fact that life is serious, and there are great risks, but we can overcome them by disciplining ourselves and seeking the unfailing strength of God. Our lives can go wrong if we never give ourselves time to think carefully and logically about our plans. And, we can end up with the wrong values, careers, and relationships. However, if one has made a mistake, if one has become involved in any immoral behavior, all is not lost. Memory of that mistake will likely linger, but the deed can be forgiven and one can rise above the past to live a life fully acceptable unto God where there is repentance. God has promised that he will forgive us of our sins and remember them no more against us, as long as we ask for forgiveness and stop repeating those sins. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
Repentance means to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness. Repentance also means looking at something that you did in the past, recognizing that it was sinful—that it broke God’s good and beneficial laws—and concluding that one needs to change for the better. When an individual repents, they ask for forgiveness, turn to God, and commit to a new way of living and to the transformation of the human heart and mind from carnal to spiritual. Repentance is characterized by an understanding of the seriousness of sin, a deep desire to be forgiven, and a determined commitment to change behavior in order to stop sinning. Godly sorrow produces genuine repentance, which results in permanent changes that ultimately lead a person toward salvation. Common-sense is riddles with errors, prejudice, and superstition. Popular ideas about love, fame money or goodness simply does not stand up to reason. Many people seem proud about being led by their instincts or passions (jumping into decisions on the basis of nothing more than how they feel), which is much like being dragged dangerously along by a group of blindfolded wild horses. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
People can go forward with a renewal of hope and acceptability to a far better way of life, but there will be scars that will remain. The best way, the only way, is to avoid any entrapment with evil. You have within your instincts, powerful and terribly persuasive, urging one at times to let go and experience a little fling. However, do not do it. You cannot do it. You are children of God with tremendous potential. God has great expectations concerning you, as do others. Do not be let down for a minute. Do not give in to an impulse. There must be discipline, strong and unbending. Flee from temptation. There is nothing in all this World as magnificent as virtue. It glows without tarnish. It is precious and beautiful. It is above price. It cannot be bought or sold. It is the foundation of self-mastery. When you fall in love, what is really going on is that you have seen in another person some good quality which you like. Perhaps they are calm, disciplined, or eloquent. The underlying fantasy of love is that by getting close to this person, you can become a little more like they are. They can help you to grow to your full potential. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
Let virtue garnish your thoughts unceasingly. Love is in essence a kind of education: you could not really love someone if you did not want to be improved by them. Love should be two people trying to grow together—and helping each other to do so. Which means one needs to get together with the person who contains a key missing bit of your evolution: the virtues one does not have. We should accept that we are not complete and allow our partners to teach us things. A good relationship has to mean we will not love the other person exactly as they are. It means committing to helping them become a better version of themselves—and to endure the stormy passage this inevitably involves—while also not resisting their attempts to improve us. Find your purpose in life. Choose the things you would like to do, and educate yourselves to be effective in their pursuit. Pray to the Lord earnestly for direction then pursue your course with resolution. There is not anything you cannot do if you will set your mind to it. You can be excellent in every way. There is no need for you to be a scrub. Respect yourself. Do not dwell on unkind things that others may say about you. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eyes. You are worthy of the Kingdom of God. There is no adequate substitute for this marvelous blessing. There is attached to people who live a life of virtue, a promise of marvelous and wonderful blessings. We shall wax strong in the presence of God. Everyone likes beautiful things. However, we tend to think of them as a bit mysterious in their power over us and, in the greater scheme, not terribly important. We like beautiful things because we recognize in them a part of the good. There are lots of good things we aspire to be: kind, gentle, harmonious, balanced, peaceful, strong, dignified. These are qualities in people. However, they are also qualities in objects. We get moved and excited when we find in objects the qualities we need, but are missing in our lives. Beautiful objects, therefore, have a really edifying function, as they invite us to evolve in their direction to become as they are. Beauty can educate our souls. It follows that ugliness is a serious matter too, for it parades dangerous and damaged characteristics in front of us. It encourages us to be like it: harsh, chaotic, and brash. It makes it that much harder to be wise, kind and calm. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
Study your options. Pray to the Lord earnestly for direction. Then pursue your course with resolution. Love life and look for its opportunities, and forever and always be loyal to God. Never forget that you came to Earth as a child of the divine Father, with something of divinity in your background. God did not send you here to fail. He did not give you life to waste it. God bestowed upon you the gift of mortality that you might gain experience—beneficial, wonderful, purposeful experience—that will lead to life eternal. God wants us to have the opportunity to grow and experience, to teach and lead, and encourage other. May God bless you richly and abundantly. We need censorship. Continuous exposure to a storm of confused voices is seriously bad for us. With education, we need to learn more than just maths or spellings, but how to be good: we need to learn about courage, self-control, reasonableness, independence, and calm. God, your heart is full of wisdom, truth, and love. You lead us to enjoy the beauty in creation, to engage each day with love in our hearts. You teach us to live lives brimming with your love and goodness. We are blessed to live in your care. Thank you that you guide us into true love and happiness by your gentle hand. We choose to give our lives to you each day, God. Bless it be. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
God in the Temporal Salvation of all Saints
The spirit and the body are the soul of a person. When looking at the most successful people and organizations, we often imagine geniuses with a smooth journey straight to the promised land. However, when one really examines nearly every success story, they are filled with crushing defeats, near death experiences, and countless setbacks. Success is a process—a journey to be taken, and we do it one day at a time. It takes most people some time to discover what God created them for. If you are willing, you can explore the World and learn more about your purpose every day. You can engage in activities that help you grow a little more in mind, body, and spirit. And can perform some act—large or small that helps others. Success is knowing your purpose in life and doing things that benefit others, while growing to your maximum potential. Intellectual virtues essentially enable us to see, and truly grasp the World around us. Success involves remembering there is a great idea and persevering through failures leads one to finding the truth. The door to your potential is waiting for you. The key is to be on the journey. Keep at it day in and day out. If you are, you are a success today. And you will be a success tomorrow. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
Your willpower becomes strong when joined with the Lord. The life is the time for people to prepare to meet God. God is working out a grand, progressive agenda with his people, and it will not stop until we stand in the Kingdom of God, the ultimate paradise. God is never in a hurry, but he is always on time. When we are in the silent season between promise and fulfillment, we must remember that we are part of a more comprehensive story that is always about God’s glory. God is not some cosmic robot, incapable of feeling. God created compassion and is never oblivious to the hurts and crimes of those he loves, which is all of us. Behind us is infinite power. Before us is endless possibility. Around us is boundless opportunity. May we care for our bodies and our minds by observing the principles set forth in the Word of Wisdom, a divinely provided plan. Spiritual crevasses symbolize the temptations and pitfalls that too many people are tragically encountering: alcohol, with its wine coolers and keg parties, drug tampering and dependency, Restricted and Obscene rated films and videos, which often culminate in sexual immorality. Even good people slip into hardships and risk their success. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance. If we do not improve our time while in this life, then comes the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. A highly respected member in the community, who was involved with the church, was enticed by some business friends to try the cocaine drug crack, which is an extremely poor-quality drug. As it stands, most cocaine in America is only 67 percent pure at best. Nevertheless, the men were depressed. Their company was failing, and they succumbed to the evil enticement of illegal drugs. He wasted $40,000.00 USD buying “crack,” lost his job, underwent a personality change, and finally was hospitalized. Through it all, his wife stayed by him. She found a job, and they began the struggle of putting his life back together. At one point, he even tried to claim someone else’s son as his own and sell him to support his habit. His friends helped him get another job. However, his mind is seriously affected. He is still somewhat dependent on some drugs. The hope and prayer of his family is that he will be able to hold on to the lifeline. Some people are so morally corrupted that they no longer recognize sin and sin and come into other people’s life and send them on a downward spiral, but it feels so good while they are doing it, until they start to experience the spiritual and legal consequences. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
Movies, television, the news, and magazines have glorified sin into what they think is an acceptable life-style: fornication, adultery, incest, serial marriages, drug abuse, violence, and double dealing of every imaginable variety, that is often portrayed as normal behavior; where people who do good are not rewarded and those who do some very bad things are not punished. So, do not trifle with things that you know are bad. Do you see the warning signs? It is saying: Danger—do not go near the edge. You will lose. We pray that you will not display the somewhat arrogant attitude of some who say, “I got this!” or “Everyone else does it!” Everyone is not doing it. You do not. And you influence your friends. And others watch you. You help set the standard. People, you are a royal bloodline—not because you are better than anyone else—but because you have been blessed by God with special privileges and responsibilities. You have a special calling. You can discern good from bad. You have the gift of the Holy Ghost. And with that power, you have the authority to represent you Heavenly Father. Put on the armor of righteousness. That same spirit which does possess your bodies at the time you go out of this ill will have power to possess your body in that eternal World. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
God has provided us with the scriptures, which, if held on to, will allow us to escape both physical and spiritual danger. The Words of Wisdom are given so that we might have clear minds and healthy bodies. The Ten Commandments—cut in stone by the finger of God—forbidding us to sin are what we need to focus on. Develop a personal companionship with them. If you desire with a sincere heart, with faith in God, you can understand all things. May the Lord bless each of you with your life’s purpose. Put trust in God that you will avoid the crevasses of sin and evil. Hold on to the lifeline of the gospel, not some gossip. You can make correct choices—the one you know in your heart will be for your best good. We love you. Do not give up. Do not doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in the light. Do not grow weary in well doing. May the Heavenly Father command it and may it be arranged, and may it appease the hearts of those who are against us. Come, God, enlighten the hearts of those who can favor us (or those who can help us). Dear Lord, we pray for your divine intervention to resolve all our problems in the community we are facing. Choose to be different. Distinguish yourself from Worldly crowds. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
We have a lot of experiences in the past which have resulted to deep heartaches, feelings of frustration and grudges. Please heal and strengthen each member of the community so that we will have the courage to forgive and move on with our lives as one united family. God, we ask for the forgiveness for our failure to make ourselves open to one another. Bless us with more patience, apprehension, good communication and predominant love. May all the families in the World, especially experiencing broken family relationships, depression, addiction, agitation, and other relationship problems be resolved and entirely healed by our God Almighty. Your life is precious. Cheer up your hearts, and remember that you are free to act for yourselves—to choose everlasting death or the way of eternal life. The choice of life brings an outlook of optimism. It breathes hope. It rekindles self-esteem—regarding one’s body as a timeless trust. And awakens a personal commitment to see that you take care of these sacred things. That we look to God and live. Believe in God. Accept yourself as his child, created in his image. He loves you and wants you to be happy, and discover wisdom, great treasures of knowledge, and hidden treasures. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Unit it Sleeps Enter Sandman
Say your prayers, little one and do not forget, my son, to include everyone. Something is wrong, shut the light. Heavy thoughts tonight and they are not of Snow White. We are living in a most interesting and remarkable age, when the Spirit of the Lord is being poured out on the face of the Earth abundantly; but it is also an age of permissiveness, when many people’s hearts are set upon Worldly treasures, pleasures, and affluence. The act of real assent achieves our intellectual orientation toward the domain of concrete existents and their values. It does so by furnishing a concrete image of the individual being under consideration and by establishing the relevance of that imaged reality to the inquirer’s own personal life. Real assent does not necessarily ensure action, but it does furnish a necessary condition for our practical responses by directing our mind toward the real existent, grasped in an image that can appeal to our passions and will. One of the great challenges facing us today is to develop sufficient wisdom, understanding, and inner strength so that we can live happily and successfully in our complex and difficult World and not be caught up in the delirious scramble for the material things and pleasures. Human’s relationship to God is not yet one of direct vision; hence we must engage in inference. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8
Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, one that has eternal life is rich. Since theistic inquiry concerns a real existent, it is not enough to employ formal inference, even though its resources must be used to analyze and test our arguments. A concrete personal mode of reasoning is also required in order to proportion our inquiry as fully as possible to the situation of human’s search after the truth about God. Our aim must be the complex one of attaining some definite and well-grounded propositions to which we can legitimately give our notional assent, and also of forming a concrete image of the personal, morally good, and providential God to whose reality we can then give our real assent and practical attachment. Many people probably need to change their priorities in life and seek after wisdom rather than after so many material things and pleasures. Seek out the best books, words of wisdom; seek education, even by study and also by faith, and also teach one another words of wisdom. We should learn the preexistent state, purpose of this life and a life hereafter. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8
The scriptures promise we obtain wisdom, and the mysteries of God are unfolded to us as we seek God and study his words. Our aim must be the complex one of attaining some definite and well-grounded propositions to which we can legitimately give our notional assent, and also of forming a concrete image of the personal, morally good, and providential God to whose reality we can then give our real assent and practical attachment. It might be interesting to note that frequently, even when we seek after wisdom rather than riches, the Lord blesses us with wisdom and riches, as he did King Solomon. When this occurs, we have the great opportunity and responsibility to use our material wealth in the building up of the kingdom of God. We can realize a synthesis of intellectual acts bearing on the being of God. The meaning of human existence and history is important to our moral life. To reach the transcendent, personal God, it is important to be moral. It is here that we have the experience of conscience, of being under command to do and not to do, of being responsible to a just and caring person who transcends our human reality, but does so in a way that keeps him personally concerned about or conduct. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8
Conscience as a commanding act disclose the full human situation of our responsibility toward the good God. One of the great needs today is increased love and solidarity within families. It is our responsibility to set an example in our own homes and as home teachers to encourage and motivate our families to do likewise. All of you who are holding family homes evenings can testify that there is greater love between the parents, and the children, and between the children. Let us continue to emphasize this inspired family home night program. Another concern is that majority groups are responsible to accept the underrepresented groups living within their area and to provide full fellowship and encouragement, if you feel comfortable, so that they can receive the blessings resulting from such activity. Three features of the living command of conscience, as the best way of achieving real as well as notional assent to God: its intentional character, its personal significance, and its practical ordination. The dictate of conscience by its very structure refers the conscientious human beyond oneself, pointing one toward the reality of the supreme lawgiver and judge of our moral actions. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8
We must set a course of righteousness and follow it. This is not purely abstract orienting of our mind but involves a concrete image of God as our concerned Father. Another advantage of the way of conscience is that the moral relationship in which it consists is personal in both poles of reference. Conscience engages us precisely as a personal self; hence it enables us to give a real assent to God as a morally concerned person. Finally, the acts of conscience relate us to the personal God in a concrete way that leads to moral and religious actions. Hence the approach to God from the conscience encourages us to assent to the truth about God not only notionally but really, not only in respect to our propositions but also in respect to the persona, provident reality of God himself as the practical goal of our knowledge and love. We must find time to share with others and provide examples of courage and integrity for many who sorely need that assistance. We are vitally interested in and proud of the examples and contributions of our faithful community. Let us magnify our real assent to God, as the Lord of conscience furnishes a frame of reference for wrestling with the ungodly, and discerning God’s providential presence. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
May we so live that we may be worthy of these blessings of wisdom, happiness, peace, and eternal life. A mind that is carefully formed upon the theistic implications of conscience interprets what it sees around it by this previous inward teaching, as the true key of that maze of vast complicated disorder; and thus it gains a more and more consistent and luminous vision of God from the most unpromising materials. Thus, conscience is a connecting principle between the creature and our Creator. We must secure first of all the inward principle of interpretation provided by the personal and moral relation of people to the Lord of conscience. The work of this principle is not to soften or gloss over the power of evil, but to bring in the other considerations concerning God and moral people that will enable us to understand and work with hope against physical and moral evil in our World. God lives and may we magnify him, and may we also sustain him in every way. Help us God to know our position in your kingdom, to declare your word over our lives, and become closer to you. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8
God, help us to claim our heritage in you, and move beyond the notion that we soul be satisfied with what life throws at as, which is exactly what people are telling us to do when they say things like: these are the last days, or it is a sign of the times. God, help us therefore, not to settle for mediocrity, but always seek to raise the standard, for your desire is for us to move up higher. In the mighty name of God, we come against anything or anyone conspiring against our personal advancement. We declare that we are on the upward path, no weapon formed against us shall prosper. We can grasp the intentional structure of basic human meanings only through studying their various perspectives, forcing them to enter the battlefield of critical discussion, and sometimes embodying them in visible, powerful social institutions. Dear Heavenly Father, you have seen us labor. We have been faith over small things. Please help us to be faithful over large things. Expand our territory. Promote us to the next level of responsibility. Guide our steps and priorities. Increase our faith, as we wait on you to move obstacles out of our path. Lord, you have a plan and purpose for our lives that no person can alter. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8
God, give us a vision that shows us the path that you want us to go, and please continue to speak to us in our dreams. Give us your clear direction and help us to be strong and confident as we perform our responsibilities. God, I thank you for increase. Thank you for your spiritual growth and material growth. Help us to give you the glory and honor in everything we do. Use us in a mighty way. God, have your way in our lives. Thank you for all that you have done in our lives and we are expecting to see blessings for us and our families for years to come. God, we thank you for the opportunity to honor you and give you the glory. God, you have promised to take the pain of our lives and turn it into blessings, to give us beauty for the hardships, and pay us back double for anything lost. We have made up our minds to endure until the end, knowing you restore health and give new opportunities and new relationships and new perspectives. Even though it is painful for a time, it is not the end. A full life is still in front of us. We believe you have more to come in our futures. God, you are going to make the rest of our lives the best of our lives. One the way to our victories, we will always face the weariness test. Thank you for the renewed strength. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8
Build a Bridge to Our Lonely Hearts
Perhaps our life in a loving premortal World set up our yearning for true, lasting love here on Earth. When we enter, we can see the eye of our soul, above (or beyond) our minds, the light unchangeable. It is it is not the common light of day that is seen by the eye of every living thing of flesh and blood. What one will see is something quite, quite, different from any light we know on Earth. It shines above our minds. It is above us (or higher), because it is itself the Light that made us, and we were below (or lower) because we were made by it. All who know the truth of this Light, and all who know this Light know eternity. We want to be encircled in the arms of our Heavenly Father’s love and guidance, and so we put his will first and with a broken heart plead that God will pour streams of cleaning light into our souls. At first in may trickle in, but as we seek, ask, and obey, it will become abundant. This living light will begin to fill us, and shine with God’s love, and we will be able to share the contents of our soul with others who thirst for healing, hope, and belonging. As our souls become clean, our Earthly relationships begin to heal. Drawing near God will mean learning his truth through scriptures, and striving to do his will more completely. God, by the power of the Holy Ghost, can give us needed insight into relationships. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
When we quest for reality, we shall see the Light as God: The Light already shines in the darkness, in the night, and in the day, in our hearts and minds. God is Light. Those who have not seen this light, have not seen God: for God is light. If we hope to enter his kingdom, we cannot regard the commandments as if they were optional. If we are unkind, unclean dishonest, or cruel; if we are hypocritical and appear pious when in fact our hearts are wicked, we throw our hope of salvation to the four winds, unless we truly repent. Light is expressed as human love: the soul is seen as being ravished by perfect harmony. When the Lord comes as a consuming fire, his presence is understood in the power y which the soul is changed. The light illuminating the intellect comes through narrow apertures, and the soul is perceiving the infinite metaphysical reality of light. And what is charity in its true sense? It is the pure love of God which helps us to love others. God expects us to become as perfect as he is. The very object of our existence as children of God is to become like him. However, no unclean thing may enter his presence. Therefore, we must perfect ourselves, beginning here in mortality, keeping in mind that we cannot achieve perfection through imperfect means. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
When we give our hearts to God, we change our World—even the circumstances around us change. There has always been light in our spirits, and not with external eyes can one always see it. That is why God is so strict. That is why he cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. We must serve God with all of our hearts and do unto others as we would be done by as we travel to this journey of eternal life. The light which we possess is not located, but yet is more brilliant than the Sun, it is called the cloud of the living light. And when I look upon it, every sadness and pain vanishes from my memory, so that I am again as a simple person. We need to continually deepen our knowledge of and obedience to Heavenly Father. Ravishing away from the darkness, gives the light, as our relationship with God is eternal. How are we going to wholeheartedly accept his invitation to draw near to him and this enjoy the blessings he longs to give us in this life and in the next World to come? God has loved us with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness God has drawn us. It is important, with desire, to see others in their true light. For without light, we shall not be able to walk in the way of truth. The soul ought to go on with all zeal to the perfect light. We are on this Earth to grow, and the most important learning and growing will come from our covenant connection to Heavenly Father. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
Gazing into an Angel’s eyes, there was a radiantly bright, so searing to the eyes it strikes upon. My hard feelings softened, my heart started to change, and my eyes needed must close before such piercing light. The light was encompassed us; in veil so luminous we were enwrapped that naught swathed in such a glory, could we see. Light we beheld which as a river flowed. There was a circle of yellow light at the center of the Celestial, the light of God’s glory, the lumen gloriae. The eternal light. There is a point that is sent forth so acute a light, that anyone who faced the force with which it blazed would have to shut their eyes, and any star that, seen from Earth, would seem to be the smallest, set beside that point. Around that point, a ring of fire wheeled. The Highest Light (or Light Supreme), we set our eyes on the Eternal Light so long that we spent all our sight on it! Whoever sees the Light is soon made such that it would be impossible for him or her to set that Light aside for other sight; because the good, the object of the will, is gathered in the Light; outside that Light, what there is perfect is defective. From our faithful relationship with God comes Godly knowledge, love, power, and capacity to serve. We are duty-bound to learn all that God has revealed about himself. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
We are divinely designed to give love and be loved, and deepest love comes when we are on with God. The Living Light at which we gazed—for it is always what it was before…Eternal Light, you only dwell within yourself, and you know you; self-knowing, self-known, you love and smile upon yourself. Can you feel the depth of the love running through God’s preparations for our joy and growth? We need to know that Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation is that we obey the laws and ordinances of the gospel and gain eternal life and thus become as God is. This is the true and lasting happiness Heavenly Father offers us. There is no other true and lasting happiness. Our challenges can pull us off this course of happiness. We can lose our trusting connection to God if trials drive us to distraction instead of sending us to reflect upon the miracles of God. We must love, even when loving is most difficult. The light of our minds for learning al things is the same God himself by whole all things were made, and he sees humankind as one in the City of God: all humankind are citizens of God. He seeks to understand the experience. The Infinite reality is light, in the order of the Universe, which can be known behind the normal mind. In its oneness immortality and eternity can be found. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
Simple love, honestly expressed gives hope and value to others. Beloved Father and Shepherd of our souls, we come to you today with gratitude in our hearts for the gift of family. We know you designed families to present a perfect picture for you and your work. However, so often, God, we are sorrowful people in shattered relationships. We pray that you heal our family bond. Please breathe your unity throughout each family. Where hatred reigns, let love prevail. Where anger rises, let peace endure. Where selfishness chokes, let sacrifice come forth. And where bitterness poisons, let the sweet balm of your Spirit whisper truth, light, and life. Lord, you know the deep needs of each family touched by this prayer. Some have relatives who do not know you. Some have family members who do not communicate with them anymore. Some have loved ones who have passed into Heaven, have afflictions, or have taken other paths into deceitfulness of sin. We ask for your grace to allow each one to stand strong amid these trials and ask for your compassion to flow in and through every unique situation. Protect us from harm, and knit the hearts of our families together even as you knit our own hearts more closely to you. Build a bridge to our lonely hearts, increase our discernment, confidence, and faith. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
God Loves Us Because of Who We Are
God waits for you to communicate with him. Our entire lives can be seen as a pilgrimage to the Kingdom of God. In the process towards illumination, the fear and obedience of God melts into a passionate interior love of God that is carried with it the hope that union with him might be grained through leading a righteous life. This interior knowledge is the Light of God, which lights the Heavens and the Earth; his light is like a niche wherein there is a lamp, a lamp encased in glass, the glass as it were a glistening star. We receiver the radiant light with the gaze of love, and become worthy for the doors of our heart to be opened by the workings of God’s divine attraction, descending from the unseen. Upon us is peace, the manifestation of the attributes of grace and of love, and the path we trod is that of concern for the well-being of others, as we fully contemplate that the World and the gracious assistance it receives will increase. The spirit, when returning to its proper World, has the need of the soul, for it cannot go on foot. When it came into this World, it inhaled the spirit. Were it not for passion, none would travel a path to God. When the soul becomes assured, it gains mastery over the two attributes of passion and anger. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8
God loves humankind and all life on Earth so much. When passion desires to ascend, it become all love and affection; and when anger strives upward, it becomes all zeal and high aspiration. The soul turns to the Divine Presence with love and affection, and in its zeal and high aspiration refuses to stop at any station to pay attention to the Almighty Presence. When we were still in the World of spirits, the spirit was without these instruments (bodies), and was like the Angels, satisfied with its own station. It was content to perceive a single light and glow from the candle of the Majesty of Unity, we were appointed stations, and dared not to step beyond our own station because we would be burned. However, when the spirit became acquainted with Earth, the soul was born as the offspring of its union with the four elements, and from the soul was born. The divine grace attached itself to the soul as companion. The relationship of the heart to the body is like that of God’s Throne to the World. In the same way that the Throne is the place of manifestation for the repose of the attribute of compassion in the macrocosm, so too the heart is the place of manifestation for the repose of the attribute of spirituality in the microcosm. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8
The heart is possessed of awareness and capable of progressing. When God Almighty’s sustaining grace reaches the world of bodies, it is through the attribute of compassion. May God’s compassion encompass the World for all creation benefits from the attribute of compassion, whether friend or stranger, animate or inanimate. Compassion is a divine attribute, but mercy is a human attribute. When some part of the grace of the attribute of compassion is dispatches to the World of bodies, the first body to receive it is the Throne, for it is the closet of all bodies to the World of Dominion. One of its faces is turned toward the World of Dominion, and it is by means of this that it receives God’s grace. It is also by way of the Throne that the grace is distributed, for the Throne is connected with all corporeal beings by a series of channels that conduct the sustaining grace of each class of being. This flow of grace is continuous and makes possible the survival and permanence of all beings; were the sustenance it provides to be interrupted for a single moment, nothing could remain in existence. This is the inner meaning of “Everything shall perish, but God’s face.” Since the Throne was fitted to receive the sustaining grace of the attribute of compassion, it was honored with the compassionate reposed on the Throne, although unaware of this high fortune. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8
Similarly, one face of the human heart is turned to the World of spirituality, and the other face to the World of the bodily frame. It is for this reason that love is mysterious because the heart contains within itself two Worlds, corporeal and spiritual, and constantly turns from one to the other. Now, just think about that for a moment. Love is not just physical, but it is also divine, so that means each and every one of us has a soulmate. If we try to force a relationship, are only lustful, or just seeking stability, we could miss out on the love of our life, which could have mystical consequences. All sustaining grace received from the spirit is distributed by the heart; delicate veins connect it with each member and serve as channels for the grace of the spirit. Thus, all grace received by the heart is distributed by it in such a manner that each member receives a fitting share. Were the sustenance of that grace to be severed from the heart, even for an instant, the bodily frame would stop functioning and all life would cease. Likewise, if its sustenance were to be severed from a member on account of some obstacle in the veins that are the channels of grace, the member would be unable to move and would be paralyzed. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8
It is thus clear that the relation of the heart to the microcosm is the same as that of the Throne to the macrocosm. The heart, however, has a property and nobility that the Throne does not possess, for the heart is aware of receiving the effusion of the grace of the spirit, whole the Throne has no such awareness. For the grace of the spirit reaches the heart in the form of attributes, and the attributes of the spirit bestow upon the heart life, knowledge, and intelligence, so that the heart is able to perceive grace. In like manner, the light of the Sun, which is also its attribute, may pour into a room. The room will then be illumined with the flowing light of the Sun, and light will appear in it, so that it acquires the attributes of the Sun with respect to luminosity. By contrast, the grace of the attribute of compassion comes to the Throne only as action and power, not as an attribute. The Throne is sustained thereby, and bestows upon all beings a trace of the action and power it has received, sustaining the, in turn. Life does not appear in them, however, nor does knowledge or gnosis, which are the attributes of God. Similarly, when the Sun pours down the attribute of luminosity on a mountain, the mountain acquires the attribute of luminosity. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
However, when the mountain in turn bestows this light upon the ruby and agate within the mine, through its own workings and effects, the ruby and agate do not acquire the Sun’s attribute of luminosity, and react instead to the workings of the Sun by acquiring the attributes of ruby and agate, respectively. Furthermore, when the heart is purified in accordance with the code of the Path, it has the capacity to become the place of repose of the attribute of compassion, in the same way that it is the place of repose of the attribute of spirituality. Indeed, when through nurturing, purification, and direction toward God it reaches perfection, it becomes the locus for the manifestation of all the attributes of divinity. God put something in you to give you an advantage—his favor, his blessing. There is something about you that makes you stand out, something that draws opportunity, something causes you to overcomes obstacles, to accomplish dreams. There are certain of God’s children who attain perfection of the heart after purifying and training their hearts through follow our gracious God Almighty of the First and the Last; and then the ocean of light of the attributes of beauty and splendor will exalt the God Almighty and will be made manifest to our hearts several times in the course of a single night and day. This is the support through God’s grace. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8
What, now, is the heart; wherein lies its purification; how is it to be trained, and how to attain perfection? Know that the heart has an outer form, upon whom be peace, as flesh. There is also a spiritual heart, a heart that is derived from the light of love and not possessed by everyone. Thus, God said: “Truly therein is a reminder for him or her who is possessed of a heart.” That is, the one who has a heart enjoys familiarity with God. God did not affirm that everyone possesses a heart. The vein of the spirit was pierced with love’s lancet tip; a drop fell down, and they called it the heart. Love and affection, a heart full of passion. No pain is pleasure. Mystical experience then typically involves the intense and joyous realization of oneness with, or in, the divine, the sense that this divine One is comprehensive, all-embracing, in its being. The soul is longing for its return to God. However, it is also keenly appreciative of the beauties of nature. Farther God, we come into your presence so aware of our human frailty and yet overwhelmed by your love for us. We thank you that there is no human experience that we might walk through where your love cannot reach us. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8
Teach us today to love more. Help us to rest in that love that asks nothing more than a simple trusting heart of an innocent. God is our Father. He loves us. He values us beyond measure. We are all unique. One of a kind, made of the eternal intelligence which gives us claim upon eternal life. Let there be no question in your mind about your value as an individual. The whole intent of the gospel plan is to provide an opportunity for each of us to reach our fullest potential, which is eternal progression and the possibility of Godliness. God’s love is infinite and it will endure forever. No one can make us feel inferior without our consent. God assures us that when we have virtuous thoughts, he will bless us with confidence, even the confidence to know who we really are. Remember the Worth of souls is great in the sight of God. May our hearts be filled with love. As we remove the distractions that pull us toward the World and exercise our agency to seek him, we open our hearts to a celestial force which draws us toward God. As the Savior lifts us to higher ground, we can see more clearly not only who we are but also that we are closer to him than we ever imagined. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8
Every Step of the Way to Heaven is Heaven
Out of darkness is born the light. The courageous person fears things that we all struggle to endure, but faces them as one should. What we need, in order to live well, is a proper appreciation of the way in which such goods as friendship, courage, pleasure, virtue, honor, and wealth fit together as a whole. Practical wisdom cannot be acquired solely by learning general rules. We must also acquire, through practice, those deliberative, emotional, and social skills that enable us to put our general understanding of well-being into practice in ways that are suitable to each occasion. We are asking what the good for human beings is not simply because we want to have knowledge, but because we will be better able to achieve our good, if we develop a fuller understanding of what it is to flourish. Everyone will agree that the potential to live a better life, is our capacity to guide ourselves by using reason. If we use reason well, we live well as human being. Furthermore, if we use reason well, we live well over the course of a full life, that is what happiness consists in. Doing anything well requires virtue or excellence, and therefore living well consists in activities caused by the rational soul in accordance with virtue or excellence. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
There are many courageous leaders in our World today who are very courageous and in control of their emotions. Self-mastery requires self-determination and strength of character. It enhances our own gifts and talents in a remarkable way. It is the power of a noble being. Every human soul has the challenge of controlling his or her thoughts, appetites, speech, temper, and desires. Self-mastery cannot be bought by money or fame, it is the ultimate test of our character. It requires climbing out of the deep valleys of our lives and scaling our own Trump Tower. We learn great lessons from self-mastery. We learn to get up, to work when we should work, and to go to bed when we should go to bed. Achieving good character is a process of clearing away the obstacles that stand in the way of full efficacy of the soul. What the person of good character loves with right desire and thinks of as an end with right reason must first be perceived as beautiful. Hence, the virtuous person sees truly and judges rightly, since beautiful things appear as they truly are only to a person of good character. God determined to please us by benevolent actions; and when nothing interferes with the moral sense, we count benevolence a virtue. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
The soul is standardly thought and spoken of as the distinguishing mark of living things, as something that is the subject of emotional states and that is responsible for planning and practical thinking, and also as the bearer of such virtues as courage and justice. Spirits on the other hand are physically indivisible, can penetrate both other spirits and material objects, and can initiate motion. These properties it shares with God; along with God being eternal and infinite. Since spirits can penetrate both other spirits and material object, contracting and expanding like Newton’s aether, as the occasion makes necessary. Aether is the raw essence of the Universe and it permeates the innermost recesses of all matter. Thus, God, an individual mind, and a material object can all be present in the one place without losing their independence as substances. Spirit can be regarded as a sort of fourth dimension; a body which contains a spirit has a certain spissitude, or density of substances. Spirit exist at various levels and are the true cause of all activity. This is what is meant by demonstrating there is a God. Spiritual forces are at work in the World. We have the Greatest God of Heaven and Earth. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
There is pleasure to be reaped when we have a Holy Faith because he holds the pure light and those who understand are unwilling to turn from the Sun and its beauty in the delightful colours and how it perfectly lifts our minds. The Divine image supplies of with glorious wisdom and goodness of God, which is fairly drawn out and skillfully envisioned in excellence. This delights us because God has revitalized faith through the inner life, and this leads many people to understand that they are of the same substance as God. Every person is capable of becoming divine. God is beyond good. He makes people feel like that of an Angel. Through the darkness of their time, God provides them with gracious genius that sheds a soft radiance. There is a winning expression, a fund of good spirits. God responds not in words, but in the communication of love and sorrow in their souls. God is a bridge that is stretching from Heaven to Earth. It is a delightful connection to the soul and pleasing to us in prayer, which is made in the house of self-knowledge and knowledge God. The soul is united with God. We are granted union with God in response to constant or continual prayer. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
The Lord begins to give us his kingdom on Earth so that we may truly praise him and hallow his name. Those who prayer the Prayer of Quiet enter a state in which nothing distresses them and they are overwhelmed and absorbed by the joy and delight which they experience. It captivates the will and fills the soul and body with ineffable sweetness and delight. The Prayer of Quiet gives the soul an actual possession and elated fruition of the sovereign excellence. The will is completely captivated and absorbed in God. The soul is in a state where it does not seem to lack anything, it wishes to express love. Moreover, during the Prayer of Quiet, God may grant the soul the favor of a peace that can last for a lifetime. Those who experience this state are full of this joy without understanding the reason. In this state the will is absent because it is united with God. God implants himself in the interior of the soul in such a way that, when it returns to itself, it cannot possibly doubt that God has been in it and it has been in God. Be who God meant you to be. Although the duration may differ on the nature and the extent of the union, God penetrates all the turnings and windings of our hearts. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
Every step of the way to Heaven is Heaven because of the hunger and desire for the soul’s salvation. We experience an epiphany of God’s love, where the sound of the exterior World is not necessary. As in human relations, the conversation of love needs no words and love may be felt through the mere presence of the beloved. This is also true in prayerful communication, no words may be needed. A response to divine love, felt in prayer or otherwise, may not be a rush of ecstasy, but the peace of loving acceptance, essentially a quiet epiphany. The soul is in the intuitive state of love because love follows the intellect, and the more it knows the more it can love. We taste life of eternal. So you see, the eye of the intellect has received supernatural light, infused by grace, and day by day this happiness grows as God flows into these souls, more and more as the hindrance to his entrance is consumed. Our love becomes infinite, and we wish much more to see the secret of the heart. The soul is in God and God in the soul, just as the fish in the sea and sea in the fish. This is a gentle and loving World, and our desire in this life is to see the honor of God. Self-mastery is the ultimate test of our character. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
The Winchester Mystery House
Can the living communicate with the dead? Does prayer work? Are astrology and psychic readings accurate? A tour through The Winchester Mystery House might make sense of these mysteries and many more. https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/
Randolph Harris II International Institute 