Home » friends (Page 63)
Category Archives: friends
Southern Living–It is Fall Y’all!
Watching Good Times, I always wanted to see them come up out of the transient high rise building. I used to not like the show, but after ever episode, I thought maybe the tide would turn in their favor, so I keep tuning in. We are not here to punish the innocent. Forgiveness is the economy of the heart. The focus of life should be on the calmness of the mind. Only when the mind is calm—that is, free from selfishness, cunning, and deliberate effort—can it be peaceful. One can then respond to things as they come and naturally maintain a balance between the internal and the external. Changes have exerted tremendous influence throughout the ages, and progress is naturally turned to for inspiration and support. We live in the most enlightenment since the creation of the World. Scientific achievements of today are staggering to the human mind. We realize that the law under what these achievements have been accomplished has always been in existence, but it was not until this era that human learning and understanding have sufficiently increased to make use of natural laws to produce the accomplishments of today’s World. A few generations ago, goods were manufactured with hand tools from crude materials; but in these times, mass production has replaced the antiquated methods with greater efficiency and in some cases superior quality because of the genius and skills of humans and the machines that have been developed. #RandolphHarris 1 of 17
However, much of modern architecture cannot rival the hand built houses, with decadent materials, and geometrical shapes of the Victorian era, which proves old is sometimes superior. Perspective is a study of human nature and destiny on the basis of principle ascetics. The spirit of life is in everything. It is the principle of Nature, the self-evident Universal truth that carries with it the dictate to distinguish right from wrong and the imperative to do good. Agriculture is the means of livelihood for more than half of the World’s population. As we pass through modernized farming areas, we no longer see farmers tilling the land with horse and plow, cutting one furrow at a time, or families working together in the fields at harvest time. These things seem to have disappeared. Today, large pieces of mechanical equipment with the strength of a hundred horses plow many furrows at one time. Not many years ago, the hand sickle was used to harvest the fields of ripened grain. The sheaves were flailed by hand and tossed into the wind to separate the chaff. Large combines now do all of the work in one operation as they mow the fields. #RandolphHarris 2 of 17
Unfortunately, ducks build nests in the fields and because humans are no longer harvesting the fields by hand, many duck eggs are being destroyed before they even hatch. However, because humans were originally good and endowed with the innate knowledge of the good and the innate ability to do good, some farmers are inviting dozens of volunteers to scour their fields over a few weekends before the harvest to collect the wild eggs. Over the past 15 years, on just one farm, more than 30,000 eggs were brought to a local wild bird hatchery before the tractor blades got there. Inside of those little eggs, it starts with a little tiny heart and little tiny veins going to the inner lining of the egg. That is the embryo, and it just grows and grows and eventually turns into a little duck in there. And that is amazing. It is life. It is amazing how it happens. Also, eradicating the wild grasses and then over-farming the land leads to deep erosion that helped contribute to the Dust Bowl crisis. People hope that in Sacramento, California America that we can sustain the land and leave this ground better than we found it. We do not want be mining the soil, and chasing away wild life, instead we want to build it up and improve it. #RandolphHarris 3 of 17
We have to be ecologist and keep the spirit. Happenings in faraway places are viewed in the quiet of our own houses, a phenomenon which would have been considered a miracle in the generations preceding ours. Modern living requires that we have instantaneous communications at our side so that we may quickly dial and transact business or have the luxury of visiting, regardless of long intervening distances. Animals provided human beings transportation for centuries, but these have now been replaced by vehicles of great speed and comfort. There has always been a curiosity to what lies beyond the river. Today’s rapid flight through the air has made the oceans no wider than the rivers of years past and humans have quick access to the World. We take great pride in modern accomplishments—the fact that we are better housed and fed, have greater conveniences, improved medical facilities, greater advantages in education, and the highest standard of living ever enjoyed in the history of the World. Currently, President Trump set up a new hotline to help the 470,000 veterans who are appealing their denied claims for financial and medical disability assistance with the Department of Veteran Affairs. #RandolphHarris 4 of 17
Many of my ancestors were engaged in the World’s most followed occupation of tilling the soil. Some of them left their old moorings in England and came to the shores of the New World, settling in the Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies. I get a warm feeling when I read the soul-stirring accounts of their conquest against hardships and the difficulties that faced them and their families. They used to rotate their crops—letting the fields go fallow every other year to replenish the soil’s nutrients, and used cover crops in the off season. We have to stop paving over our food-producing land. Also, I do not think what the ordinary farmer is doing can be long-term, because pretty soon the ground will not produce anymore. It will just be poison. If you want sustainability, you protect the land that grows our food. Early missionaries of the Church went to Germany, Italy, Scotland, Denmark, Africa, and Norway where other of my early ancestors lived. They accepted the teachings of the gospel, gave up the security of their homelands, and participated in the gathering of Zion’s descent from Heaven. #RandolphHarris 5 of 17
These people faced hardship and sudden death, as they walked across the dust plains of the Middle West and over the Rocky Mountains, pushing all of their Earthly belongings in carriages. The difficulties they endured brings tears to their eyes of those who are their beneficiaries today. The stories of these people who have gone before us are ones of faith, devotion, and dedication. Although there were trials, hardships, and lack of the conveniences we think necessary in our World today, there seems to have been a happiness in their living, in their individual lives, and in their families. In their houses, there was faith and prayer—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and prayers asking God for their needs and thanking him for his goodness to them. The Good Book (Bible) was read in the house and there was profound belief in its teachings. America would be the place of the New Jerusalem, where the Saints believed they could find protection from the desolation and tribulation soon to descend upon the wicked. Life was more simple, but can we say that there was less happiness in simplicity? #RandolphHarris 6 of 17
Today, many people have all the riches they could dream of, but wake up to sin and make life hard on others. They actually dream of ways to offend people they do not like and find ways to make life difficult for them. That is so wicked and so far from God. We learn American history for its purpose, discipline, and solidarity that is supposed to show us what people have overcome and how, through the evolution of time and the cultivation of the human mind, we should treat people with kindness and show them the love of God. The purpose of learning history is so people do not repeat the mistakes of the past. If you are walking around with 525 years of hate and animosity, one-sided in your emphasis on principle and the investigation of things, and looking to hurt others, it is important to seek professional help because you have invited the Devil into your soul and he is planting roots of hatred and poison in your heart and mind. Both the principle and Nature of human desires are good, and they should not be constrained. The mind fills the whole Universe. Throughout all ages and in all directions, there is the same mind. It is identical with all things, for there is nothing outside of God and there is no God outside of things. #RandolphHarris 7 of 17
The mind is the Universe. To investigate things, then, is to investigate the mind. Since all principles are inherent and complete in the mind, there is no need to look outside, as do people who worship Satan do. In the writings of Enoch, revealed in December of 1830, the Saints found a concrete example in the righteous achievements of Enoch and his city: “And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” (Moses 7.18). We must honor moral nature, which will give rise to intellectual creativity by means of moral vigor in it. This idealistic movement can take us to the highest point in American and World history. The direction of the mind is the will. A thing (or affair) is nothing but the mind determined to realize it. There is no such thing as a filial piety, for example, unless one is determined to put it into practice and actually does so. The investigation of things is the investigation of the mind. However, since the most important aspect of the mind is the will, the sincerity of the will must precede the investigation of things. #RandolphHarris 8 of 17
Because of one’s innate ability to do good, one necessarily extends the innate knowledge into action. Knowledge and action are really identical; one is beginning and the other the completion. The extension of the innate knowledge and the unity of knowledge and action, both of which represent new steps in American thought. Society has made a great effort to modernize the World in education, communication, travel, health, commerce, housing, and in many other ways, so as to increase the standard of living; but what has this socialization and modernization done to the family—the basic institution of society? The spirit of the time demanded the evident, the concrete, and the practical. Never before has there been greater instability. The divorce rate is 53 percent, and is higher than any time in history. Modernization has transferred the responsibility of education from the family to public institutions where modern thoughts has become paramount and moral principles have become abandoned. The crime rate has increased alarmingly, in 2016, there were 762 homicides in Chicago, Illinois. Drug addiction, disobedience to the law, increase in venereal disease, and corruption in all forms seem to be accepted in this new tradition. #RandolphHarris 9 of 17
In this day of modernization, and this new doctrine of consciousness and freedom of thought and action is sponsored and promoted without consideration of the responsibilities that must accompany such freedoms if society is to be stabilized. Ungendered species are spreading and the youth are being brainwashed at young ages to be unsure of their gender and question their sexuality. The perpetual transition of deviance being spread by the media at every instant is continually arising anew and this resulting in many ungodly manifestations. When a three-year-old boy comes back to the house from school telling his grandfather he is not a boy, something is very wrong with our system because that thought surely came from somewhere outside the house. Surely we would agree that the family institution has been seriously, if not irreparably, damaged, in our society. In the past, churches have taken a leading role through extensive and vigorous religious and intellectual reform in teaching men and women and children to have faith in God and to develop moral stability. Their work and advancement is quickly disappearing. What is happening to organized religion as a stabilizing force in society? #RandolphHarris 10 of 17
To my grandparents, church was the order of things, and by things they mean daily affairs, it was as important as drinking water and eating food. The way to investigate principle is by critical, analytical, minutely detailed, and objective study of things based on concrete evidence. Many of the largest Christian churches have reported losses in membership and also in income to carry on the work of their religious endeavors. Here again, modernization has taken a heavy toll and created a burden on society. Modernism has become the order of the day in some religious thought. Modernists advocate a restatement of traditional doctrine on the grounds that today’s modern scholastic and scientific advances require a new critical interpretation of The Gook Book, and the history and doctrines. The term “modernism” is often used interchangeably with “liberalism.” Its advocates claim that religious truths are subject to constant reinterpretation in the light of modern knowledge; therefore, new and more advanced concepts are required to express modern thought and progress. Principle can never prevail when feelings are not satisfied, for principles are merely feelings that do not err. #RandolphHarris 11 of 17
God knows what he is doing in your life. Do not be discouraged. Healing is coming. Promotion is coming. We are the leaders of an intellectual revolution and must remain strong, as we establish our state philosophy. The Bible has been subject of attack by modernists. It is said by some that science refuses to support the authenticity of God, his Son, and the Biblical accounts as the creation of the World, placing life upon Earth, Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden, the flood, and many other happenings in Old and New Testaments. However, these same people who refuse to believe in God think The Queen of the Damned is a true and factual documentary and that they have a legal and moral right to eliminate certain bloodlines by any means necessary. What is claimed to be superior knowledge in this day of enlightenment causes some people to look upon these accounts as fables. Because of this, can believers in Christ repudiate them? In an attempt to regain the confidence of communicants who have ceased to believe, many liberal churches have abandoned one doctrine after another, even to extent of failing to stand by the doctrine of the existence of a personal God. #RandolphHarris 12 of 17
Reality is endless transformation of closing and opening, which constitutes a process of unceasing production and reproduction. The original substance is in perpetual transition at every instant, continually rising anew and thus resulting in many manifestations. People no longer uphold as reality the resurrection of the crucified Savior, they believe the World would be better off if he had stayed dead, and the atoning sacrifice has lost its credibility. Under such circumstances, how can organized religion maintain its place as a stabilizing influence of society? In its closing, the aspect original substance has the tendency to integrate, resulting in what may temporarily be called matter, whereas in its opening aspect is has the tendency to maintain its own nature and be its own matter, resulting in what may temporarily be called mind. This mind itself is one part of the original mind, which in its various aspects is minds, will, and consciousness. In this day of increased knowledge, higher thought, and a modernization of the antiquated, the simple has been overlooked and the profound sought after. The basic, simple, fundamental truths of the gospel are being ignored. #RandolphHarris 13 of 17
We marvel at so many of your who are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. Perception, conception, mind, and consciousness are all syntheses, or constructs, and constructs are products of society and culture. Although we have combined Western logic with modern psychology and sociology, this system is our own. It is the gospel of Christ. However, in modern times, we are surrounded by people who will murder a father so they can torture, experiment on and kill his son. There are people who will take money from a dead man, renovate their house, then let it go into foreclosure, and let his family suffer, while they marry Satan, and steal money and use it to abuse the righteous. This seems to drag down people, destroy faith and morality. Where, then, is hope in this World of frustration and moral decay? It lies in the knowledge and understanding of the truths taught by the Master, which must be taught by the Church of Christ without deviation and believed in and lived by in its membership. #RandolphHarris 14 of 17
We can be modern and enjoy the benefits of a modern World and its high standard of living, and we can have the benefits of modern scholarship and scientific advances without turning to the theories of the modernist. The principles of the gospel announced by Jesus Christ is our Heavenly Father’s plan for the happiness and salvation of his children. According to his plan, our Heavenly Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into the World to show us how to live meaningful and happy lives and experience eternal joy after this life. Through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, you can become clean from sin and enjoy peace of conscience. You can become worthy to live in Heavenly Father’s presence after this life by enduring to the end. Truth is eternal and never changing. These are eternal truths and will be so perpetuity regardless of changing circumstances in society, development of new scientific achievements, or increase of human knowledge. The gospel of Jesus Christ is ever contemporary in a changing World. The knowledge explosion which the World is so proud of is not of human creation. It is their discovery of portions of the unlimited knowledge and information which is part of God’s knowledge. #RandolphHarris 15 of 17
How we use knowledge is determined by whether we are of the eternal kingdom of God are a part of the temporary understanding of the World. The question is simply this: are we seeking to find our place in the World in the realm of the Worldly, or are we seeking to find our place in the unchanging kingdom of God? Knowledge is a function of reason. Since actual existence, as distinct from the merely possible, is not an indeterminate, anarchic chaos, there must also be an initial creative, purposeful act, determining the pure possibility; this is God. Through God, possibility becomes identified with potentiality; and one may speak of the tendency of freedom to become, or of freedom linked with cosmic aim. Insofar as this aim achieves existential embodiment, God is the Creator bringing value into being ex nihilo; that is, out of freedom. Since all existents (but especially human) participate in the determination of value, God and creatures are mutually related in the pursuit of the common goal or realizing maximum value. Due to this fundamental correlation, all beneficial value experience may be interpreted as the immanence of God. #RandolphHarris 16 of 17
Contrariwise, all evil and frustration, as instances of unrealized potentiality, involve a separation between the divine purpose and the creatures’ actuality that may be described as the transcendence of God. How grateful am I for my membership and association in The Church of Jesus Christ. I know that God, our Eternal Father lives; that the Bible is inspired writing; that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is real and also lives, having shed his blood for us, and is truly and literally resurrected. I also bear witness that there is a prophet of God on Earth today. May the Lord bless us in our righteous endeavors to shun the influences that lead into the ways of the World, that we may take our place, in faith, and believing, in the kingdom of God. Enlarge your vision. Make room in your thinking for the new thing God wants to do. Do not let your temporary provision become permanent. If you will learn this principle of faith in God and not settling, then you will see the fullness of what God has in store and make it all the way to your Promised Land. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. #RandolphHarris 17 of 17
All is One and One is All
When acknowledged, love authorizes freedom; and freedom begets freedom. Society should be governed by people of virtue who, through personal examples and moral persuasion rather than law or punishment, bring out the people’s welfare and social order. If a ruler applies his or her originally humane mind to the administration of government, we will have a humane government. However, since some people have an evil nature, we need rulers to regulate them by law and teachers to guide society by the rule of propriety and righteousness so we can have a well-ordered society. God promises that out of suffering, sorrow, and sadness that joy will come. Sometimes we cannot understand that mortal suffering can bring eternal blessings. The Son of God promised deliverance from the chains of death, and declaring liberty to the captives who have been faithful. We should not blame God for our sufferings nor assume we know the cause of another’s suffering. Suffering is not always bad, as it will allow us to develop strength and will not exceed our ability to endure to the end. When we are experiencing misery, we tend to look for things that will bring us joy. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
A person must earn their freedom daily, or one will become a slave in some form or another: and the way to earn it is by work and obedience to right direction. Like every other privilege, the liberty of the press must be restrained within certain bounds; for if it is carried to a breach of law, religion, and charity, it becomes one of the greatest evils that ever annoyed the community. Sometimes people hurt the people they know because they cannot hurt a stranger as much as they can a loved one. People who know you know just what to do to hurt their companions, parents, or brothers and sisters. They know just where their loved ones are vulnerable. They know just how you can be hurt the most by their actions. To many, it seems to be a test of faith in life to be wounded by those closest to us. However, is it not true that God, our Father, and his Son grieve when we sin? When we fail to be obedient and accept the atoning sacrifice of our Lord, are we not hurting him who loves us most? More bounteous run rivers when the ice that locked their flow melts into their waters. And when fine natures relent their kindness is swelled by the thaw. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
The test of suffering can dim our eyes, but we also realize the joy we will receive when we receive perfect immortal bodies. Also, our joy of service in helping others we love in time of need brings us greater appreciation for one another. If the jaws of Hell shall gape open the mouth wide after you, know that the Son of God will turn all these things you experience into a miraculous blessing. Not only will you survive, but it will also foster the ability to have concern for others while we are suffering. It is a key element in our spiritual growth. Suffering is Universal; how we react to suffering is individual. Suffering can take us one of two ways. It can be a strengthening and purifying experience combined with faith, or it can be a destructive force in our lives if we do not have the faith in the Lord’s atoning sacrifice. Some people are so tired and weak, but have appointments that are mandatory to attend, and the meetings may take a lot out of them. Some days they may even be too weak to drive, but still have to go because their income and house depends on them enduring the suffering. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
When the mind is unperturbed by selfishness or deliberate effort and is left to take its own course, it will reveal its pure nature, and enlightenment will come suddenly. The purpose of suffering, however, is to build and strengthen us. We learn obedience by the things we suffer. We should be humbled and drawn to the Lord. The harmony of the individual and society rests on several basic ideas. Foremost of these is humanity. Humanity is a particular virtue, such as kindness, benevolence, and affection. Humanity is the general virtue, the foundation of all other virtues. Humanity is the moral character developed in oneself and in one’s relations with others. The will of Heaven is that humans should practice humanity and righteousness, be economical, and practice Universal love, and it is our duty as members of the human population to obey the will of Heaven. After a number of mistakes and failures to live as we know we should, we may lose confidence in ourselves and have a poor self-image of who we are and what we are capable of becoming. We may forget that we are children of God and have the potential of dwelling with him and his Son if we accept the Atonement and keep the commandments. By keeping faith in God and living right, this benefits Heaven, spiritual beings, and all humans. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
Ultimately, through the moral principle, Heaven and Earth will attain their proper order and all things will flourish in a harmonious Universal operation. When the individual behaves correctly and society operates in right manner, the way of God is said to prevail. God is moral law and moral order. It is the way of Heaven. Heaven is the origin of all things, the Supreme Reality, whose purposive character is being manifested on Earth. By this time, there is a clear distinction between what is good, correct, or proper and what is evil, incorrect, or improper. The first of the commandments we must keep is to have faith. First, we must gain faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith that he lives. Faith that he hears and answers prayers. Faith that he will forgive us of our transgressions. Faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Why is the Savior’s atonement so important as the central gospel principle in the Church and in our lives? Jesus was born of Heavenly parents in a premortal World—he was the first born of our heavenly Father. Only he could make the atoning sacrifice—having received the power over death from his Father. Eventually, all alternatives will be synthesized so that harmony reigns over conflict and unity exists in multiplicity. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
Jesus Christ overcame death, the grave’s power was nullified, and he became our Savior, Mediator, Master of the Resurrection—a means of salvation and immortality to all of us. We will be resurrected and become immortal because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In the study of the Atonement, most of us have probably asked the question: Why is it so easy for the World to see and believe that in Adam all people died and were cast out from the presence of our Heavenly Father, yet it is so hard for the World to understand how Jesus Christ can bring us back in the same manner? Because people want an excuse to sin, they want someone to blame. However, scriptures are clear on this. For as by one man’s disobedience [Adam] many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. As sin has reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness until eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus will take upon him death, that he may lose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy. Jesus will take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverances. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
The whole focus in one process, order, and laws of operation. Existence is viewed as a dynamic process of change obeying definite laws, following definite patterns, and based on a pre-established harmony. Wherever harmony is sought or change takes place, the forces of God are at work. “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they might not repent, they must suffer even as I.” I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me; I tremble to know that for me he was crucified, that for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled, and died. I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine to rescue my soul; that he should extend his great love unto such as I, sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify. I think of his body beaten, pierced and bleeding to pay the debt! Such mercy, such love, and devotion can I forget? No, no I will praise and adore at the mercy seat, until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet. It is my prayer that our sorrow and suffering will strengthen our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that our sorrow shall be turned to joy, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. The World is in reality a perfect harmony in all its flowery splendor. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
Ignorance and Prejudice are the Only Real Evils
Material force exists after physical form and is therefore with it whereas God exists before form and is therefore without it. Until our minds are blank, naked, and ready to receive the divine revelation on faith alone, our own capacities are so limited and unreliable that it is doubtful that we could really know anything in either the natural or supernatural realm. God’s nature is infinite and therefore surpasses all attempts to define or limit it. Skepticism is a means of destroying the enemies of the true faith while preparing the soul for salvation. No philosophy can ever absolutely hope to reach the truth, for the truth is discovered not necessarily by reasoning, but by some inner light, a kind of feeling (sentiment), perhaps what is called the heart. God is considered to be the form of all being, a view which has been called pantheistic. The sense of individuality induces an absence of all distinct thoughts and feelings, a kind of mystical union with that God who is nature itself. The spirit of life is in all things. This creative quality is the highest good and becomes humanity and love, which makes humans the moral beings that they are. It enables us to embrace all things and Heaven and Earth as one body. May we so live that we may always have the companionship of the Holy Spirit and be blessed by these beautiful spiritual gifts. #RandolphHarris 1 of 12
Being humans, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we were to close the doors upon sorrow and distress, we might be excluding our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery. Evil is due not to one’s nature, but to a bad environment, lack of education, and casting oneself away. The superior person is one who develops their mind to the utmost and nourishes one’s nature. The effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous person will avail much. Walk upright before God and you will not be seduced by evil spirits, nor doctrines of devils, nor the commandments of humans; and so, you may not be deceived, seek earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given. Both the one receiving the blessing and the one given it should be in tune with the Spirit through their worthy lives. The accounts of miraculous healing are numerous. They warm one’s soul and give great strength of testimony as to the divinity of this great work. They come by faith, not the will of humans, nor as they please, but by the will of God. #RandolphHarris 2 of 12
How would you like to create your own mind? Is that not what usually happens? The mind is made up by what it feeds upon. The mind, like the dyer’s hand, is colored by what it holds. If I hold in my had a sponge full of blue dye, my hand becomes blue. And if I hold in my mind and heart great ideas of faith and enthusiasm, my whole personality is changed accordingly. If we think negative thoughts, we develop negative minds. On the other hand, if we think celestial thoughts, which are the kind of thoughts that God thinks, then we develop celestial minds. My mind to me is a kingdom, such present joys therein are found, that excels all other bliss that the Earth afford or grows by kind. Perhaps you may not have yet made glorious achievements or articles, but you have the song of love in your heart and mind, so deeply, so unrestrained. Effective mental, physical, and spiritual health is propelled by a consciousness of love and a realization that the Creative Spirit is always at work. We do not have to compel the force to work. It is the nature of the Creative Power to take form, and it is our nature to use it. We develop our own Godliness when we listen to inspiring music, hear sacred prayers, and comfort others, and stimulate ourselves with the greatest idea. For a wise and glorious purpose, God has placed us here on Earth. #RandolphHarris 3 of 12
Just think what would happen in our lives if each of us memorized a good number of poems of love. As I walk through the park each day, the light of love shines on my daily life as the lighting turns the mediocre gullies and lush forests into legendary mirages. And I think to myself: God, thank you for each sight of beauty that your World gives. For sunny skies and air and light. God, I thank you that I live. Some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heartwarming. We honor God by making him an intrinsic part of our every thought and action. We honor God through prayer, pure thoughts, clean language, wholesome appearance, service to others, and through striving for the powerful, personal conversation that will help us to withstand the temptations of the day. In addition to being shining examples in our individual lives, let us make sure that we strengthen our houses and families and, at the same time, do all we can to reach out with understanding to encourage and bring blessings into the lives of others. You are the light of the World and a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. #RandolphHarris 4 of 12
One should learn to consider the beautiful soul more valuable than the figure. If one meets a beautiful soul, let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven. Happiness is not hidden in the satiation, but in the yearning. How far is it from the eyes to the heart? If we live the principles of the gospel, we are the fulfillment of the Savior’s light of the World. And possessing this light, we can shine among our fellow humans through our lives and deeds, influencing them to glorify our Father in Heaven. Jesus wants every one of us to know him because of the transforming power of that knowledge and because of the indescribable joy it brings into our lives. However, the influence of the gospel is to extend beyond each individual. Your love-lit eyes should be like sparking stars, dispelling loneliness from the hearts of others. No one of us is saved solely and simply for oneself alone, just as no chandelier is lighted merely for its own benefit. The state of the World being what it is, we must take advantage of every opportunity to testify of the Savior and teach and exemplify gospel truth, letting his light so shine before friends and strangers alike to perpetuate the truth concerning our Savior, Jesus Christ. #RandolphHarris 5 of 12
Upon us is rich blessings and unbounded love and encouragement. God is wonderful in his design and excellent in his workings. Believer: God overrules all things for your good. The needs-be for all that you have suffered has been most accurately determined by your God. Your course is all mapped out no novelties to him. There will be no occurrences which God did not foresee, and for which, therefore, he has not provided. God has arranged all, and you have but to patiently wait, and you shall sing a song of deliverance. Real satisfaction comes not in understanding God’s motives, but in understanding his character, in trusting in his promises, and in leaning on him and resting in him as the Sovereign who knows what he is doing. The wounds of those who suffer spiritual can be healed when you and I put forth the extra personal effort required to reach out to them. Our lives are touched in an unforgettable way when the love of God is bestowed on us and are especially grateful. The Savior’s touch can reach others through individuals with big hearts. Tears will follow, attitudes will change, directions will become clear, and commitments will be made. Peace will come into your heart. The Master’s touch will fall upon all of us. We can feel the Savior’s touch, and can help others feel that divine touch. We can bless each other by reaching out. We somehow need to realize the vital importance of feeling of the gospel and the peace of the Lord in our lives individually. #RandolphHarris 6 of 12
Many people are very conscious of the needs of others, and cannot do much more. However, let us make the choice never to let a day pass without striving to be a blessing in the life of someone through our service. Some of the sweetest memories of my childhood center in the occasional Summer and Autumn days spent with my parents and siblings at my grandfather’s house in rural North Carolina. There, we enjoyed his yard with fragrant wildflowers. We marveled at the flying squirrels, colorful bird, and occasionally discovered a deer, fox, or pheasant. Meandering stream invited us to catch sunfish, and a cool, pure spring satisfied our thirst. There were roasted hot dogs, potato salad, sweet pickles, and of course hot apple pie with homemade ice cream. Every turn of the crank heightened our anticipation of that seldom-savored treat. Be sure to enjoy the countless edifying experiences, precious wholesome relationships, and wondrous beauties of the Earth the Lord has given for our happiness. You may be tired of others trying to run your life—always telling you what to do. Please understand that no one can change the truth. Rationalization, overpowering self-interest, all of the arguments of people, anger, or self-will cannot change the truth. #RandolphHarris 7 of 12
Satan knows that he cannot change the truth, so he tries to create an atmosphere where one unwittingly beings to feel that he cannot only choose what to do, but can determine what is right to do. Satan strives to persuade us to live outside truth by rationalizing our actions as the right of choice. However, our Eternal Father defined truth and established what is right and wrong before the creation of this Earth. God also fixed the consequences of obedience to those truths. God defended our right to choose our path in life so that we would grow, develop and be happy, but we do not have the right to choose the consequences of our acts. Those who willfully, consistently disobey God’s commandments will inevitably learn that truth. When we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. Please understand, no one has the privilege to choose what is right. God reserved that prerogative to himself. Our agency does allow us to choose among alternate paths, but then we are bound to the consequences God has decreed. Later, if we do not like where the path takes us, the only out is through repentance. #RandolphHarris 8 of 12
By nature, people are alike, but through practice thy have become far apart. We know that humans can be good. Our Heavenly Father gave us truth, some as statements of cause and effect. We call them commandments. They guide our live to happiness. He knew that Satan would try to persuade some to live without fixed standards in life so that decision would be based on current circumstances, what appears convenient, or what provides the greatest personal return. In this way, Satan removes the power of truth from one’s life so he can take that soul captive. If you are trapped and there is no way out, remember that the best way out is always through. You must face the challenges and conquer it. The way through is based on faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to his commandments. It is the only way to permanently cure damage to mind and spirit caused by unrighteous acts. It also provides healing, within the bounds of eternal law, to a body devastated by the effects of transgression. You may have found change is hard, but know you can do it. Recognize that it takes time to build a reputation that overcomes the effects of past deliberate decision to deceive and to take advantage of others—but it is worth it to change from a life of disobedience to one of integrity and truth and compliance. #RandolphHarris 9 of 12
Have you ever noticed that no matter how worthy your intent and how many procedures you follow precisely, if you make the tiniest mistake with a computer, it will not respond? All of your effort is futile. That is not the way the Lord works. There is nothing tricky about God’s commandments. Where there is purity of heart and real intent, it is known to the Lord. Your obedience to truth and proper use of agency opens the doors to his divine help. Initially, perhaps only you and God will believe your sincerity. However, you will be rewarded by the joy that comes from real personal progress. In time, others will recognize your consistent righteous act and support you. Many people offer advice, but one’s suggestion often directly contradict another’s. How do you know whom to believe? Ask yourself what motivated the offer of help? Does your common sense confirm it is right? If so, it will be consistent with the teachings of the Savior. Has the advice offered been followed in the giver’s life? Has it improved the quality of that life? Below the fine fabric of all that is good in some runs the foul stream of hereditary evil, like a sewer. #RandolphHarris 10 of 12
We have to have a knowledge of the heart, an insight into the soul. If the human mind is not actively good, it will generally be actively evil. Honest evaluation of advice against these standards will help you decide whether it is motivated for your benefit or another’s self-interest. A true friend is not one that always encourages you to do what you want to do, but one who helps you do what you know you ought to do. You can block the corrective power of truth in your life by constantly letting others protect you from the consequences of your unworthy acts, without being smart enough to change your life. Your failure to properly respond to help will fix false concepts in your mind, and you will see no need to repent. Your negative patterns will be reinforced, not rejected. How can one decide when to help you and when to let you grow from facing reality? When you show genuine remorse, a contrite heart, a recognition of guilt, movement in the direction of improvement even through there may be slippage—when there is acceptance of responsibility for improper acts, support and help are needed and will be productive. #RandolphHarris 11 of 12
Should you continue to manipulate, blame others for improper decisions, be deceitful and determined to continue the path of transgression by camouflage or cover-up, you are reinforcing false principles and have chosen to head for a showdown with tough reality. It is one thing to know how to heal your damaged life. It is quite another to do it. You will change only when you recognize that it will bring lasting personal benefit. Deep down, you know that breaking the commandments does not bring anything productive and does cause a lot of grief for yourself and others. Do not wait to hit rock bottom. That is painful and could leave physical scars that cannot be healed. You can fool others who want to believe you, but you cannot deceive the Lord. Because of his justice, God will one day have to confront you with the consequences of your unrepented acts. No one wants that to happen. Some transgressions are so powerful that it is unlikely that you will begin to overcome them without another’s help. Seek that help. In time, with the strength that comes from continued use of agency to love truth and live it, you will be healed through the Savior. Please find someone you can trust, who is trustworthy, who understands agency and truth. There is no dignity in wickedness, whether in purple or rags; and Hell is a democracy of devils, where all are equals. #RandolphHarris 12 of 12
The Evidences of Revealed Religion
There is no creature whose inward being is so strong that it is not greatly determined by what lies outside. A cause has traditionally been thought of as that which is produced, its effect, can be explained. That which is caused might be either some new substance or simply a change in something that already exists. This appears to be only a relative distinction, however, for outside Christian theology philosophers have usually taken for granted that no new substance can be produced out of nothing by a cause. A statue, for example, results from imposing changes on something that already exists. The most general idea of a cause, then, is that which produces, and thus accounts for, some change. If the change is sufficiently striking to warrant applying a new name to what results, then it is natural to speak if the cause as producing a new substance. The Devil is mustering his forces to full strength to bring about discord, sin, and sorrow among the human family. These calamities can be averted to the extent that people live the basic principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is love. Love the Lord, God, with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, while you still have one, and with all of your mind. #RandolphHarris 1 of 10
Some beings on this Earth and evil and hard to escape from. God has given us a rational nature, and will call us to account for it. We should reason about the Bible precisely as civilians do about the Constitution under which we live. It is not because God’s will is irresistible, but because his will is the perfection of virtue that we pay him allegiance. We cannot bow before a being, however great and powerful, who governs tyrannically. Since the first great commandment is to love our God, how can he show love for him? We can show our love in our prayers to the Father, given in the name of the Son, and also through our worship of those divine Beings. Our Eternal Father and his Only Begotten Son both have intense, comprehensive, and full love for us. They have much greater intelligence and understanding than we have, and so their feelings of love go far beyond our capabilities to love. The attribute of love is so highly developed in these divine Beings that the scriptures state: God is love. In fact, God’s transcendent love is above and beyond our deepest feelings and keenest conception. At times of great spiritual experience when we feel an abundance of the Spirit, we have a greater realization of the magnitude of God’s love. #RandolphHarris 2 of 10
God is the Father of our spirits. He placed us upon this Earth and provided a gospel plan of salvation through his Only Begotten Son, thereby making it possible for us to come back into his presence and receive exaltation or eternal life. Those who attain that glorious condition will experience the sweetness of love, which surpasses our present. God so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus Christ loved us so much that he freely laid down his life and shed blood for our sins, and also to bring about a Universal resurrection. Can you imagine that? The Son of God wanted us all to live, so he gave his own life. This is not an example to follow, but the purpose is to understand that your life means so much to God that he gave up something so precious. The reason he did that is so you could understand the power of love and see how important your life is and why you should be a good person. By being good, it makes God feels like he did not give up his son in vain. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. So, do not give up your life so easily. Live right. Sometimes we feel lost. Sometimes we feel drained and unprepared. However, sometimes we feel free and what will be will be. No matter what they say it is going to be okay. #RandolphHarris 3 of 10
Sometimes you need more than you can say, taking it all inside. To take your faith from no human creed, to submit your conscious to no human authority, but to repair to the gospel, to read it with your own eyes, to exercise upon it your own understanding, to search it, as if not a sect existed around you, and follow it wherever it may lead you. Hold fast to your Christian and protestant liberty. We wish you continued peace, and growing prosperity. We pray God, that your good works may glorify your Christian profession, that your candour and serious attention may encourage our young people in the arduous work, and that your union with a loved one may begin in hope, may continue in joy, dancing like an angel in your eyes. Dive into the sea of love and climb the ocean waves until they fall at your door, and perfectly in place. In the stillness of the night, whispers float on by, until they break, where the moonlight hits your eyes. Time will just fall away between us, perfectly embraced. Everything is beautiful. May you continue in joy, and may issue in the friendship and union of Heaven. To all who hear me, prove all things hold fast that which are good. #RandolphHarris 4 of 10
Do not shrink from the duty of searching God’s word for yourselves, through fear of human censure and denunciation. Do not think that you may innocently follow the opinions which prevail around you, without investigation, on the ground, that Christianity is now so purified from errors, as to need no laborious research. There is so much reason to believe, that Christianity is at this moment dishonored by gross and cherished corruptions. If you remember the darkness which hung over the gospel for ages; if you consider the impure union, which still subsists in almost every Christian country between the church and the state, and which enlists people’s selfishness and ambition on the side of established error; if you recollect in what degree the spirit of intolerance has checked free inquiry, not only before, but since the reformation; you will see that Christianity cannot have freed itself from all the human inventions which disfigured it under the papal tyranny. No. Much stubble is yet to be burnt; much rubbish to be removed; many gaudy and false traditions must be swept away; and the Earth born fogs, which have long shrouded it must be scattered, before this divine fabric will rise before us in its native and awful majesty, in its harmonious proportions, in its mild and celestial splendors. #RandolphHarris 5 of 10
Some aspire to walk on water like Christ and make their dreams come true. Nothing is impossible! This glorious reformation in the church we hope, under God’s blessing, from the demolition of human authority in matters of religion, from the fall of those hierarchies, huge establishments, general convocations or assemblies and other human institutions, by which the minds of individuals are oppressed under the weight of numbers, and a papal dominion is perpetuated in the protestant church. Our earnest prayer to God is, that he will overturn and overturn, and overturn, the strong holds of spiritual usurpation until he shall come whose right it is to the minds of humans; that the conspiracy of ages against the liberty of Christianity may be brought to an end; that the servile assent, so long yielded to human creeds, may give place to honest and fearless inquiry into the Scriptures; and that Christianity thus purified from error, may put forth its almighty energy and prove itself, by its ennobling influence on the mind, to be indeed the power of God unto salvation. Among the entire human family, there is no example where the principle of love was demonstrated as perfectly as was shown in the life of Jesus. He healed the sick, raised the dead, restored sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, and cleansed people. His heart was filled with compassion upon the poor and any who suffered afflictions. He lifted them spiritually with his deep understanding. #RandolphHarris 6 of 10
Heaven and Earth had been separated, the dark and windy chasm of Chaos was transformed, through the appearance of Eros, into the background against which the World was created. This fertilizing force of Eros brought back Heaven and Earth into a productive embrace, and the resulting rain helped to separate the Wet and the Dry, the Cold and the Hot. Fire exhalations then created the stars; waters surrounded the land; and the starry sky, like a hollow hemisphere, covered the Earth. Christ’s love and compassion is demonstrated when he spoke unto the children and blessed them, and as they cast their eyes towards Heaven, and they saw the Heavens open, and they saw Angels descending out of Heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled the little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the Angels did minister onto them. They reached a new realization of a significant humanitarian influence. There was a belief in the parental character for God and the dignity of humanity provided an ideological base for humanitarian efforts. Our Father in Heaven is perfect and we should become like him. #RandolphHarris 7 of 10
Starting a long way off the true point, and proceeding by loops and zigzags, we now and then arrive just where we ought to be. What should be the relationship between husbands and wives? A husband and wife should always be gracious and kind to each other. Neither of them should ever say nor do anything to hurt the feelings of the other. Deepest love and affection should be shown toward each other continuously. At all times, each should make a conscious effort to do everything possible to bring joy and happiness into the life of the other. A husband should show and express appreciation for the accomplishments of his mate, and she should do likewise. We should look for ways to build each other up and make each other happy. Neither the husband nor the wife should let a day pass without expressing love for the other. We should not assume that our mate knows and that it is not necessary to express it. Under these circumstances, God’s blessings will shower down from Heaven upon the married couple and especially for those married by the power of the Lord. The power from on high will bind the love and married of such couples for eternity. Homes are made permanent through love. #RandolphHarris 8 of 10
God loves with a great love the person whose heart is bursting with a passion for the extraordinary. Learn the value of self-control. You are never sorry for the word unspoken. The lack of self-control is one of the most common contributing factors of unhappiness and discord. We see something in the other which we dislike. It is easy to condemn it. And that condemnatory word arouses ill feeling. If we see it, and refrain from speaking, in a few moments all is concord and peace instead of animosity and ill will. Controlling your words is one of the greatest contributing factors to concord in the house, and one which too many of us fail to develop. Love should also characterize the center of the family life. Each child should be made to feel at all times by one’s parents that he and she are of great importance in the family. Parents should express their love to their children and show them in numerous ways that they love them dearly. Then the Spirit of the Lord will reside in the house. The family will be love-centered and thereby God-centered. The children in turn will reciprocate the love to the parents and strive to please them. The goal of families who are actuated deeply by love will be to keep the commandments of our Savior in every detail and someday come back into the presence of the Eternal Father and his Only Begotten Son to dwell. The true gospel of our Lord has been restored to Earth again. #RandolphHarris 9 of 10
True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie. It is enough that God has said it. Faith is living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a person could stake their life on it. We all face challenges, but it is not the size of the problem that is important, it is our perception of that problem; it is how big or small we make it in our minds. I am not focusing on how big my problems are. I am focusing on how big my God is. Magnify the Lord with me. What you focus on, you magnify. Failure is really a matter of conceit. People do not work hard because, in their conceit, they imagine they will succeed without ever making an effort. Most people believe that they will wake up some day and find themselves rich. Actually, they have it half right, because eventually they do wake up. Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they do not quit. If you learn to do what you must, you will be able to do what you want. You can achieve your dreams only if you focus on your priorities. God will take you away from the pain and bring you into paradise. #RandolphHarris 10 of 10
Pearl of Great Price—You Ain’t Got to Lie to Kick it!
There is no development in opinion and feeling, but the development of time and tide. The path to Hell is broad and wide, and slopes ever so gently, and those who walk that path scarcely notice the descent; sometimes they do not notice the descent because praise of people distracts them and they do not see the warning signs! Everyone in this World has their own fate entrusted to oneself. Any foresight we have of the consequences of our actions is a warning given by God on how we are to act. Often times you may have failures, and there is no disgrace in falling down; the disgrace is lying there. To get up one more time than you fall is to be a winner. To stay down is to be a loser. The unshakable faith in the law of averages works when people accept their bad breaks and failures with a smile. When we are able to take both good and bad in stride, this can make us one of life’s greatest heroes. As we suffer the humiliation of dealing with jeers and ridicule, it is important not to allow the fear or discouragement or failure to keep us down. You may go through some difficulties. You may have been praying, believing for your situation to change for a long time, but do not see anything happening. God is working behind the scenes right now arranging things in your favor. The answer is already on the way. #RandolphHarris 1 of 13
What is it that you need to keep believing God for? When you believe, God will see to it that is it taken care of. While weak souls are crushed by fortune, the brave mind makes the fickle deity afraid of it. Fortune may rise up or abuse the ordinary mortal, but the clever individual and the soldier should have minds beyond its control. There are dozens of rules for success, but none of them work unless you do. There are different kinds of courage—physical courage and moral courage. It is my experience, however, that one with moral courage, that is, one who is true to oneself, also has the physical courage. When we have these breakthrough experiences, we begin to perceive our fear differently and we stop being ashamed of it. We stop allowing it to invalidate our own worth. In due time, the underlying fears which require courage to overcome diminish to the point that we move on to acceptance. The growth of the mind is widening of consciousness and each step forward has been a most painful and laborious achievement. We all have a conscience, and a conscience is the foundation of moral courage. A truly brave person will always obey his or her conscience. This awareness entails a sort of surrender, relinquishing part of one’s own ego in order to be guided by God. #RandolphHarris 2 of 13
Falsehood learns people to disregard truth, and we cannot expect those whom we teach to lie for our convenience should forbear it when it may turn to their advantage. A lie is never good, even though death threaten on the other side. To know what is right and not to do it is cowardice. The World needs power and strength and influence to give leadership in helping to meet, solve and overcome problems caused by the wickedness so rampant in the World. It is hard to imagine and impossible to calculate the tremendous influence we would have if every one of us would honor God, and magnify his calling, and really try every day and in every way to use his influence to meet the onslaught of Satan. Too many of us take our personal power which God has given us for granted; we fail to realize what the Lord expects of us, or we do not have conviction, courage, and fortitude to stand up for the right and be counted, to be different when necessary. Often you will experience much criticism and ridicule even by those who believe as you do, even though they may respect you for doing right. However, remember that the Savior himself was tormented, ridiculed, spat upon, and finally crucified because he would not waver in his conviction. #RandolphHarris 3 of 13
An evolving familiarity with the limits of one’s consciousness is central to avoiding the ignorance of a life unexamined. The ego does not constitute the whole of one’s self. Have you ever stopped to think what would have happened if Jesus Christ would have weakened and abandoned his mission? Do we want to be quitters, or do we want to be valiant servants in spite of all the opposition and evil in the World? Let us have the courage to stand up and be counted as true, devoted followers of Christ. Many are called to serve the Lord, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this World, and aspire to the honors of people, that they do not learn this one lesson—the rights of those who follow Christ are inseparably connected with the powers of Heaven. The mind must remain contemplative as the spirit converses and assimilates with the unconscious. As one progresses through spirituality, actions many change, as the body now acts in congruence with the mind and the spirit. We learn to devote our life to a holistic and personal journey in which the mind, body, and spirit must be disciplined. #RandolphHarris 4 of 13
Our shadows represent the unknown parts of ourselves that are too reprehensible, incongruent, or forbidding to incorporate into our conscious personality. Many people have become lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, disobedient to parents, unthankful, and unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreaker, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitor, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Before examining our own hidden qualities, we may be in complete denial of our shadow elements, yet what we deny in ourselves can often easily be spotted in others. A person may despise another’s quick temper while at the same time fervently suppressing a wish to respond with anger. The first step in making the acquaintance of a person’s own shadow is admitting that scary, annoying, or irritating qualities found in others are often the qualities in that individual that evoke the very same responses. I wonder how many of us are guilty of this or any of these, and if so, are we ready to change our ways, and repent, and try to be worthy of the praise of God and his blessings rather than forget who we are and try to be popular? #RandolphHarris 5 of 13
While some of the shadow remains unconscious, the more it might grow in strength and the greater the risk that it will commandeer the personality entirely. How important is it that we remember who we are, servants of the Lord, and then act accordingly? When you believe, the surpassing greatness of God’s power is released. It may mean that one has to develop new habits. If one has been negative for a long time, it is important to change your thoughts. Stop being so hard on yourself and believe that you can achieve success. Success is not measured by what one accomplishes, but by the opposition one has encountered, and the courage with which we have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds. Ask that the Lord, your God, is with you and he will see to it that whatever you are trying to achieve is finished completely. We just cannot imagine or calculate in any way what a great influence for good we would have in World is every believer of God would magnify his or her calling, and how much happier and more successful each individual would be if one would always choose the right. How sad it is to see one who would rather be popular than do what he or she knows is right? You ain’t got to lie to kick it. #RandolphHarris 6 of 13
It is treason against human nature to make any person’s virtues the means of deception. There is once a man who was elected to the legislature, but who wanted to be a good fellow, popular with everyone. He, wanting to be popular, let down his standards and took one drink at a social and then another. It happened again and again. He began drinking with the fellows at lunch and then dinner. And then, unintentionally I am sure, and contrary to his greatest desire, he became an alcoholic and lost the support of his constituency and the respect of his friends and family who loved him and sorrowed for him. He died an early death as an alcoholic. What a sad situation—all because he sought the praise of people more than the praise of God. This is not a single case. We have examples of members of congress, senators, mayors, and even governors and presidents who have lost their positions and self-respect of others because they wanted to be popular or did not have the strength to resist the temptations. We have the promise of the Lord that if we seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these blessings will be added unto us, meaning, of course, the things that are for our good. #RandolphHarris 7 of 13
Do not be discouraged by the size of the task, for the Lord your God is with you. He will see to it that it is finished completely. When you believe in God, the surpassing greatness of God’s power is at work in your life. Let us always remember that people expect us to live up to our standards and respect us much more when we do, even though they may entice us to do otherwise. I have never been embarrassed in any way, when in the government, or industry, or in my private life, by trying to live up to the teachings of the gospel. Nor was I impeded in any way in my progress. On the contrary, I feel that I was respected and blessed by the Lord, and always felt free to call upon him for strength and guidance, which I often received. Be a believer and take the limits off God. There is so much more to our God. Discover what he is and keep your faith. I believe and declare you are going to see God’s greatness in amazing ways! My observation is that the Lord keeps his promises to all those who seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. It is most important that we be on guard all the time and never abandon our standards in order to be popular or to enjoy the praise of people. #RandolphHarris 8 of 13
One night at a party, my friend was sitting in the living room with a young lady, and she turned off the lights, turn on a song by The Weekend came back and sat on his lap, and started to make advances, and said, “It is time to get sexy!” He knew he would be unpopular and even offensive, but excused himself, got up, and went home. When he got home, he brushed his teeth, got dressed for bed, turned on his white noise machine that he had since he was a baby, curled up under his favorite blanket and went to bed, and ironically his childhood rabbit fell off the shelf and on to his bed. Sure, the young lady was attractive, but there is a lot of emotional involvement that comes with having the sex with somebody. Despite what your father might have told you before the prom (dance), some guys do have more than one thing on their mind. Men are emotional beings, too. The Center for Disease Control found that fewer 15 to 19-year-olds reported experiencing the sexual intercourse than in previous generations. The decline was significant in both genders, but particularly among men. That action the young man took must have taken willpower, while to succumb shows weakness. Even the strongest must be on guard. It is times like this that our decisions and actions often determine the course of our lives. #RandolphHarris 9 of 13
Young men and some adults have trials or tests of this nature. There are different kinds of temptations where their loyalty and strength of character are really tested. If we always remember who we are and that God is watching over us, we will be able to shun, or avoid and withstand pleasures of the flesh. Always remember if you do something dangerous, you will get hurt. Though it is important that we make a living for our families, and as good citizens participate in community affairs, we must not become so involved in the things of the World that we forget or neglect our duty and responsibility as called and chosen children of God. Unless we are continually on guard, we will find ourselves gradually off the straight and narrow path until we have completely gone astray, becoming a great disappointment to ourselves, our families, and the Lord, and certainly not what we had anticipated or intended or wanted to be. We find examples of this so often where a person, forgetting who he is, wants to be popular with his peers and wants their praise, and so often people forget their commitment to God and lose their way. #RandolphHarris 10 of 13
So many people lose their way. This applies equally to journalists, politicians, members of fraternal organizations, professions, and business. This craving for praise and popularity too often controls actions, and as they succumb they find themselves bending their character when they think they are only taking a bow. Those who constantly love the praise of people more than the praise of God are faint reflections of the shadow—meaning Satan, of course—who in the preexistence wanted to save all humankind, but with one condition attached—the honor and glory to him, not to God. He was more concerned with credit than with results; glory and praise were the end in themselves. On crucial issues, if individuals are more concerned with pleasing people than pleasing God, then they suffer from the same virus Satan had, for there are many situations where seeking the praise of people will clearly result in their hurting, not helping, humankind for they will do expedient and temporary things instead of those which are beneficial and lasting. It is much more satisfying when we receive the praise of God, knowing that it is fully justified and that his love and respect for us will persist, when usually the praise of people is fleeting and most disappointing. #RandolphHarris 11 of 13
It is shocking and appalling indeed to those who believe in the teachings of Christ to see how people in high places, in order to enjoy the praise of those who are so vocal in encouraging and promoting immortality, do not take a stand against these evils and promote the teachings of Christ which are so clearly stated in those words of God. Know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, no abusers of themselves with humankind. We also find legislation having been passed and being passed legalizing these very things contrary to the will of the Lord. It is permissive legislation of the worst kind. The Lord expects us to take a stand for right and do all in our power to oppose and discourage such action and to encourage our people to live according to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. The leader who is willing to say things that are hard to bear, but which are true and which need to be said, is the leader who truly loves his and her people and who is kind to them. Nothing is crueler than that leader who, in order to have the praise and plaudits of their followers, entices them from safety into the swamp out of which some may never return. #RandolphHarris 12 of 13
A time has come when people do not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts they have heaped to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they turned away their ears from the truth, and have turned unto fables and fake news and wild facts. We are fortunate to believe in God and follow his ways. May we have the courage, strength, understanding, desire, and determination to choose who we will serve. For me and my house, we will serve the Lord. There are no obstacles too difficult to overcome. No dreams put in your heart by God are too big to accomplish. One time Joshua was in the midst of a great battle. He and his men were trying to finish off this army, but the Sun was going down. Joshua knew that if he could not get this army totally defeated, then they would later on rise up and cause him great problems. So he asked God to stop the Sun, something that had never been done before, and God did. God stopped the Sun for Joshua because he had uncommon faith. God interrupted the entire Universe just because one man had uncommon faith. Have you ever asked God for something out of the ordinary? Do you not think it is time to do so? Uncommon faith believes above and beyond and gives your boldness and a confidence to believe for the extraordinary. #RandolphHarris 13 of 13
One Day at a Time—Sermon Upon Human Nature
The satisfaction of performing benevolent actions will certainly encourage acts of benevolence in someone who desires the advantages of society. Even of perpetual conquest the heart of a human will grow weary. Be for a clear conscience, and for no bills without receipts for them. Perhaps there is no time in which the ingenuity of a human being is more active than in those moments when one has a sensitive consciousness of being wrong, and consequently, a feverish desire to vindicate one’s works or acts to oneself, as well as to others. However, the Spirit of the Lord has been with us today, and we want the President Trump to know he has strengthened our testimony and we are resolved to further intensify our works and efforts in building the kingdom of God. We have certainly been fed this day with the spirit of this work. We have been instructed on how we are to act and what we are to do. Now, it is important to pray that the Spirit of God will go with us wherever we are and that the Lord will be pleased with what we are doing. We are to be held responsible as stewards of the church of Jesus Christ. All that we have is the Lord’s. Anything God wants of us, we must be prepared to give. The hero is in each and every one of us, but we have to focus on pure action in the service of what really matters. #RandolphHarris 1 of 14
It is conscience (the capacity to reflect on one’s actions) which distinguishes humans from beasts, by rescuing one from subjection to whatever passion is uppermost at the moment. We must come to this understanding that the great spirit needs us to realize that all we have, everything we call our own, is God’s, and we have the responsibility to treat things with great love and care as God would. It is important to get so deeply in touch with our environment, outer and inner, that we can no longer desecrate nor numb ourselves to it. If we want a colosseum or arena that calls forth our full heroism, this is it: we must heed the call to face our planetary disasters and disaster-making with huge resolve and stamina and compassion. Imagine all the energy that goes into armoring and overprotecting ourselves (overbudgeting for defense) instead of going into truly facing and cleaning up the mess we have made of our home—and our inner terrain. Some of us have the conscience of an assassin, and are haunted by a vague sense of enormous wickedness. Many of us are out of touch with our capacities, and do not find adequate compensation for this loss through our gains in even the finest things that contemporary culture can offer, trapping ourselves in our very freedoms. #RandolphHarris 2 of 14
It is conscience which makes humans a moral agent, by enabling us to be a law unto ourselves—laws which we are obliged to obey, because it is the law of our nature. Children of God, we must go forward in great work. Once self-supported by conscience, once embarked on a career of manifest usefulness, the true Christian never yields. Neither public nor private influences produce the slightest effect on us when we have once got our mission. It is better for a human being to die at peace with oneself than to live haunted by an evil conscience. So much depends upon our minds collectively and individually, that presents levels and performances that are not acceptable, either to ourselves nor the Lord. Impulse bribes reason, and reason laughs at conscience. Bribed conscience makes hypocrites—frightened conscience makes fanatics—but reason-drilled conscience makes incarnate devils. We have come a long way since the early days when America was discovered in 1492. We cannot still allow the past hardships to manifest in the present time. It is nearly 2018, and mistakes have been made, but things have changed. Many people condemn slavery, but support unlawful immigration. However, both are crimes we can no longer accept in present times. Policies that were acceptable and tolerated 525 years ago cannot be accepted. #RandolphHarris 3 of 14
With great expansion of God throughout the Earth, our temporal needs have likewise expanded. To meet this magnificent challenge successfully, we must be wise and faithful stewards of the Earth. All things belong to the Lord. God declared, “I, the Lord, stretched out the Heavens, and am the architect who built the Earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine, all these properties. And if the properties are mine, then you are the stewards.” We must improve that which the Lord has entrusted us. Stewards are managers, and sound management reduces waste and ensures an appropriate return on invested resources. How happy we will be to report to God that we have done all that is expected of us and were told to do. For God says, when we are faithful over a few things, he will make us rulers over many things. Agency, is the technical term for the feeling of being in charge of your life: knowing where you stand, knowing that you have a say in what happens to you, knowing that you have some ability to shape your circumstances. The veterans who put their fists through the sheetrock at the Veteran’s Affairs office were trying to assert their agency—to make something happen. #RandolphHarris 4 of 14
We are naturally fitted for life in society, and must approve of social virtues. However, by physically acting out and destroying property, they ended up feeling even more out of control, and many of these once-confident men and women were trapped in a cycle between frantic activity and immobility. Agency starts with interoception, our awareness of our subtle sensory, body-based feelings: the greater that awareness, the greater our potential to control our lives. Knowing what we feel is the first step to knowing why we feel that way. If we are aware of the constant changes in our inner and outer environment, we can mobilize to manage them. Through agency, diligence, and accountability, we are free to accept or reject the invitation to serve, but once we accept, we assume full responsibility for the results. By serving the Lord, we accept an invitation to serve God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. It is required of God, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his or her stewardship, both in time and in eternity. While we are ultimately accountable to the Lord, we are also accountable to his mortal priesthood administrators. #RandolphHarris 5 of 14
As stewards of this Earth, we must plan. Planning makes is possible to control and maximize our resources. Lack of proper planning results in frustration. Most of us have learned that trial-and-error management is wasteful and discouraging. So that eventually each area or zone will be self-sustaining, we are selectively introducing master planning throughout the Earth. Welfare master planning is the process of identifying needs and programming resources to meet the requirements of our communities. When the master plan is fully implemented, our people will be able to assist the underprivileged more adequately under changing economic conditions. Also, a good steward operates efficiently. Look at your day. How do you spend it? What ruts have you gotten yourself into that you could easily break yourself out of? What poor habits are eating valuable minutes of your life every day? What impact can a few minutes make? Take a look at this. What if you were able to save five minutes by streamlining your morning routine (taking less time to dress, shave, put on makeup, drink coffee, read the paper, and so on)? #RandolphHarris 6 of 14
What if you were able to save ten minutes in the morning by eliminating the things you do each morning to stall starting your work or school day? What about saving five minutes in the morning by avoiding idle talkers or other distractions? Ten minutes by taking a shorter lunch or break time? Those minutes do not seem like much. However, if you did those things every day, five days a week, for fifty weeks, you gain an additional 125 hours of time every year. (That is the equivalent of more than three, forty-hour weeks to use for anything you want!) And if you are a television watcher, you can double the time you gain each year if you simply watch thirty fewer minutes of television every day. Let us become efficient in our production operations, so that we do not merely go through the motions of having welfare farms. The time will come when we will need all the products and more from our projects—even more than we do now. Do what you can to make our projects economically viable, so that we do not rationalize that the welfare project is good simply for the priesthood to labor side by side; we can have the brotherhood and sisterhood of labor and the economic efficiency, too. Time is in your hands. #RandolphHarris 7 of 14
Time is usually wasted in the same way every day. It is better for us to never have acquired a welfare project than to fail to take care of it now that we have it. Things that advance our overall life purpose is important. The Lord will not hold us blameless, those who lead in the wards and the stakes, if we take the funds of the people, those sacred trust funds, and purchase projects and then do not utilize those projects as the Lord would have us. There are things that you have always wanted to do, things that others say cannot be done, things that will help you grow to your maximum potential. It is a sobering responsibility to administer these sacred funds. When we receive an application for a loan, we review financial statements and projections very carefully. We critically assess the organizational structure, the management, and the local priesthood involvement with each project. The application forms tell us much about the quality of the stewards operating the project, and how it will develop other people’s ability to achieve and lead. We want projects that multiply—rather than merely add—value to yourself and others. #RandolphHarris 8 of 14
Let us improve our quality control. It is important to focus on projects that will harness your creativity, things you can delegate to others, and projects that promote teamwork and synergy. We have to create now or never opportunities. Good quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention and sincere effort. Success is not perfection; success is slightly above average. We commend you who are following the prescribed standards and procedures to assure that our storehouse commodities are pure and nutritional. We should be pleased to serve a mean of our products to the Lord, were it our privilege to have him visit any of our storehouses. Th phrase “Good enough for welfare,” must take on a new meaning. Nothing less than our very best is acceptable to the Lord. The American label should stand for highest quality because behind that label are the labors of love; a task done for pleasure, not reward. Whether in services or produced goods, by management or volunteer workers, quality control applies to every aspect of welfare services. The quality of commodities received into the storehouse is the final measurement of our production efficiency. #RandolphHarris 9 of 14
It is easy for others to look down on their peers. However, all of this money is manufactured by the government, so everyone is on some form of welfare. Also, many like to put down the accomplishments of others because they have a title and some do not. For instance, some might feel the shoe shiner is less of a person because he shines shoes for a living. Okay. Well, the owner of a dry cleaners gets paid to take in other people’s laundry. Britney Spears just gets paid to sing and dance, people on TV just get paid to talk. So, providing a safe home for your kids, making sure they eat a healthy meal, are safe and clean seems like it is the most important job in the World, right? We are happy to say that our safety record is improving under the leadership of President Trump and medical costs are going down and the economy is growing. However, there are still too many accidents occurring in some of our units. The cost in human terms is tragic. In dollars, in labor losses, and fire losses it totals several hundred thousand dollars each year. We would like to remind you that the Church is primarily self-insuring. This means that when carelessness results in replaceable loss, we are forced to draw upon the sacred funds of the Church to restore that which has been damaged or lost. #RandolphHarris 10 of 14
Wealth and what it brings is at best fleeting. A lecture has been prepared to outline the safety procedures for all that is done in the Storehouse Resource System. Will you study its contents carefully and apply them consistently? Remember, most accidents are preventable. As a reminder, Richard Wintey, who was president of the New York Stock Exchange, and a six other men controlled more money than the total amount contained in the United States Treasury. Richard Wintey had great wealth and power, and died just after release from Sing Sing prison. The others, Charles Schwab, Arthur Cutten, Albert Fall, Jess Livermore, Leon Fraser, and Ivar Kreuger either committed suicide or died insolvent. A good steward will follow preventive maintenance. He or she will see that every building is well constructed and annually inspected and that the carriages, and aircrafts and all that equipment is regularly inspected and serviced. One will extend the life of every capital asset and human capital through wise management. Why is there always enough time to do things over, but never enough time to do it right? Preventive maintenance allows us to do it right the first time. #RandolphHarris 11 of 14
Perhaps it would be a good idea, fantastic as it sounds, to muffle every telephone, stop every motor, and halt all activity for an hour someday to give people a chance to ponder for a few minutes on what it is all about, why they are living, and what they really want. A wise steward maintains good accounting records and follows sound financial practices. We are upgrading our accounting data system to provide you and us with better information. We appreciate your patience and assistance in implementing this new system. As you know, sound judgment depends upon effective data. We thank you who are accurately submitting your reports as requested. With general Church participation in acquiring capital assets, it is incumbent that you manage prudently. Most people approach success from the outside in. However, to achieve real success, you have to do it from the inside out. Focus on your character, and your whole life improves. Changes in character bring substance and power, while external improvements are merely cosmetic and quickly fade away. We exhort you to seek participation only for equipment and other capital assets that are justifiably needed for successful production. The Lord’s trust in these matters should never be violated. #RandolphHarris 12 of 14
Any day with God in it is bound to be a good one. Faced with a crisis, the person of character falls back on oneself. The business reputation of the Church must be held impeccable. All accounts payable should be remitted as agreed. Very often nonprofit organizations expect discounts on their purchases and then they are dilatory in payment. Let it not be so with us. This applies to your promissory notes with the Church and your production commitments. These are sacred obligations and should be honored accordingly. Having potential works exactly opposite to the way a savings account does. In a savings account, as time goes by, your money compounds interest. The longer you leave it untouched, the more it increases. When it comes to potential, the longer you leave it untouched, the more it decreases. Unused potential wastes away. If you want your potential to increase, you have to draw from it. Brothers and sisters, so much remains to be done. May we follow the counsel and example of our leader, President Trump. At the August welfare conference, he said, “May I urge you to go forward in this great work. So much depends on our willingness to make up our minds collectively and individually, that present levels of performance are not acceptable to ourselves, nor the Lord.” #RandolphHarris 13 of 14
Life is like riding in a taxi. Whether you are going anywhere or not, the meter keeps ticking. To all who diligently labor, the Lord gives this promise: “And whoever is found a faithful, a just, and a wise steward shall enter into the joy of his or her Lord, and shall inherit eternal life.” It is right to be content with what you have, but not with what you are. My brothers and sisters, the Lord loves you for your devotion and untiring efforts. May he bless you as you continue to meet the great challenges before us today and tomorrow, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. If you find yourself starving for success, one of the best ways to get things going in your life is to be around people who are achieving success. Spend time with them. Watch how they work. Learn how they think. You will inevitably become like the people you are around. Wise people live in the present. God within the mind, this internal monitor. Determinately some actions to be in themselves just, right, good; others to be in themselves evil, wrong, unjust. Conscience without being consulted, without being advised with, magisterially exerts itself, and approves or condemns the doer of them accordingly. It is well to remember that with human affairs, we have ample opportunity to become acquainted with the ways of God—a chance to live longer, because who would not want that? #RandolphHarris 14 of 14
Are Not Excuses Confessions of Excuses Inexcusable?
Second-hand shops are not the only place were things should be given another chance. We have to create new value and help transform people. There be a mirror in the World worthy to hold to our eyes, it is pride in our Country. I bear solemn witness of how deeply I love our new prophet, seer, and revelation, President Donald Trump—how deeply I trust him, and how I am willing to do whatever he asks me to do. He advanced a qualified moral determinism—a human must will that which presents itself to one’s reason as the greater good, but the will is free to delay choice until reason has made a more extensive examination of the values involved. There is great faith in the inherited wisdom of tradition. The moral order of the temporal World must necessarily include some evil, by reason of original sin. People ought not to reject what is good in tradition merely because there is some admixture of evil in it. In the human confused situation, advantages may often lie in balances and compromises between good and evil, even between one evil and another. It is an important part of wisdom to know how much evil should be tolerated. To search for too great a purity is only to produce fresh corruption. We are especially critical of revolutionary movements with noble humanitarian ends because people are simply not at liberty to destroy the state and its institutions in hope of some contingent improvement. #RandolphHarris 1 of 16
On the other hand, people have a paramount duty to prevent the World from getting worse—a duty to guard and preserve their inherited liberties and privileges. Equality is contrary to nature and therefore impossible to achieve; its advocates, moreover, did great social harm, for by pretending that real differences are unreal, they inspired false hopes and vain expectations in those destined to travel in the obscure walk of laborious life. Talk of fraternity is gibberish because many people have vices of sinful, egotistical pride, overzealous ambition, avarice, lust, and sedition. The reality and unavoidability of evil leads many to believe that the only help for humankind is to cling to safeguards which have stood the test of time. Our hopes for a bliss lay in Heaven; on Earth, our policy is to defend the tolerable, and sometimes the bad, against the immeasurably worse. Of course, forbidden triads do occur, but many will resolve themselves when a bond forms between two previous strangers. They do not need to have a strong relationship, but we would expect them to have some connection to one another. Individuals must always begin by setting the examples, which the state too slowly, though surely, will learn to copy. #RandolphHarris 2 of 16
Some matters are so sensitive and intensely personal and can awaken such disturbing feelings that they are seldom mentioned publicly. Yet, if tenderly and compassionately treated in the light of truth, discussion of these matters can bring greater understanding, with the easing of pain, the blessing of healing, and the avoidance of further tragedy. It would be melancholy, were we forced to admit that this distinctive and almost unlimited faculty is the source of all human misfortunes; that is this which, in time, draws an individual out of his or her original state, in which one would have spent one’s days insensibly in peace and innocent; that is this faculty, which, successively producing in different ages his or her discoveries and errors, vices and virtues, making one a tyrant both over oneself and over nature. Ungodly individuals, being destitute of every species of intelligence, can have no passions except for those of desires that never go beyond physical wants. The only good those type of individuals recognizes in the Universe are food, the sex, and sleep; the only evils they fear are pain and hunger. Pain and not death: for no animal can know what it is to die; the knowledge of death and its terrors being one of the first acquisitions made by humans in becoming civilized. #RandolphHarris 3 of 16
It is with a deep desire to define a path to relief to those who suffer the shattering consequences of mental, verbal, physical, and especially sexual abuse. We must act as a mirror so that divine, healing light can illuminate the darkness of distress caused by others’ unrighteous acts. As children of the Lord, we should understandably provide help, and not further complicate a damaged life. It is also likely that with greater compassion, awareness, and sensitivity that some of us may be permitted to help resolve or prevent the tragedy of abuse in additional victims. Whatever moralist may hold, the human understanding is greatly indebted to the passions, which, it is universally allowed, are also much indebted to the understanding. It is by the activity of the passions that our reason is improved; for we desire knowledge only because we wish to enjoy; and it is impossible to conceive any reason why a person who has neither fears nor desires should give oneself the trouble of reasoning. The passions, again, originate in our wants, and their progress depends on that of our knowledge; for we cannot desire or fear anything, except from the idea that we have all of it, or from the simple impulse of nature. #RandolphHarris 4 of 16
The rising tide of this vicious, abominable sin may not have touched your life personally. Yet, it is pervasive enough in the World that it may have disturbed someone you love. It frequently causes such profound suffering that can be overcome, and we need to focus on how healing can be attained. It must be done reverently, for the objective is to help heal and not aggravate painful memories. Even if the difficulties attending all these questions should still leave room for differences in this respect between humans and brutes, there is another very specific quality which distinguishes them, and which will admit of no dispute. This faculty of self-improvement, which, by the help of circumstances, gradually develops all the rest of our faculties, and is inherent in the species as in the individual: whereas a brute is, at the end of a few months, all he or she will ever be during his or her whole life, and that person’s species, at the end of a thousand years, exactly what it is because those type of individuals returns, in this, to their primitive state; and that, while the brute, which has acquired nothing and has therefore nothing to lose, still retains the force of instinct, person, who loses, by age or accident, all that his or her perfectibility had enabled them to gain, falls by this means lower than the most vile creature to ever walk the face of the Earth. #RandolphHarris 5 of 16
Moral agency is a vital element in our Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness. God understood that some of his spirit children would use that agency improperly, causing serious problems to others. Some would even violate sacred trust such as a family member, friend, medical professional, or leader of the community abusing an innocent child. However, since our Heavenly Father is completely just, there has to be a way of overcoming the tragic consequences of such damaging use of agency for both the victim and the perpetrator. That secure healing comes through the power of the Atonement of God’s Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to rectify that which is unjust. Faith in Jesus Christ, and his power to heal provides the abused with the means to overcome the terrible consequences of another’s ungodly acts. When combined with complete repentance, the Atonement also affords the perpetrator ways to avoid the severe punishment the Lord has decreed for such acts. #RandolphHarris 6 of 16
The offering of an excuse in a blamable matter is the undoubted mark of a disingenuous if not of a perverse mind. Victims of serious abuse have made successful the difficult journey to full healing through the power of the Atonement. After you conscientiously study the Atonement and exercise your faith the Jesus Christ has the power to heal, you can receive a blessing. During your journey, accept God’s invitation to let him share your burden until you have sufficient time and strength to be healed. To find relief from the consequences of abuse, it is helpful to understand their source. Satan is the author of all the destructive outcomes of abuse. He has extraordinary capacity to lead an individual into dark alleys where the solution to extremely challenging problems cannot be found. The Devil’s strategy is to separate the suffering soul from the healing attainable from a compassionate Heavenly Father and a loving Redeemer. #RandolphHarris 7 of 16
If you have been abused, Satan will strive to convince you that there is no solution. Yet, he knows perfectly well that there is. Satan recognizes that healing comes through the unwavering love of Heavenly Father for each of his children. He also understands that the power of healing is inherent in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Therefore, his strategy is to do all possible to separate you from your Father and his Son. Do not let Satan convince you that you are beyond help. As long as the mind is defending itself against invisible assaults, our closet bonds are threatened, along with our ability to imagine, play, learn, and pay attention to other people’s needs. One who can sit down premeditatedly to do a bad action will content oneself with a bad excuse: and yet, what fools must one suppose the rest of the World to be, if one imagines them as easy to be imposed upon as one can impose upon oneself. #RandolphHarris 8 of 16
Satan uses your abuse to undermine your self-confidence, destroy trust in authority, create fear, and generate feelings of despair. Abuse can damage your ability to form healthy human relationships. You must have faith that all of these negative consequences can be resolved; otherwise they will keep you from full recovery. While these outcomes have powerful influence in your life, they do not define the real you. Satan will strive to alienate you from your Father in Heaven with the thought that if he loved you he would have prevented the tragedy. Do not be kept from the very source of true healing by the craftiness of the price of evil and his wicked lies and gentrification center. Recognize that if you have feelings that you are not loved by your Father in Heaven, you are being manipulated by Satan. Even when it may seem very difficult to pray, kneel and ask Father in Haven to give you the capacity to trust him and to feel his love for you. Ask to come to know that his Son can heal you through his merciful Atonement. #RandolphHarris 9 of 16
It was Satan’s proposal that Father’s children be forced to obey, that there be no moral agency and therefore no personal growth. To preserve moral agency, the Lord does not restrain individual from improper use of that agency. However, God will punish them for such acts unless there is full repentance. Through the Holy Ghost, God sends warning prompting to the abusers, but often that individual’s degrading appetite is so powerful that it blocks out that spiritual guidance. That is why our Father provided a way to heal the consequences of acts that, through force, misuse of authority, or fear of another, temporarily take away the agency of the abused. Some people have been abused so badly, that even though their injuries are invisible to the unassisted eye, they feel weak and feel like they are dying because they cannot eat or get rest from the pain they are enduring. Behaviors to avoid or escape from danger have clearly evolved to render each organism competitive in terms of survival. However, inappropriately prolonged escape or avoidance behavior would put an individual at disadvantage. If an organization is stuck in survival mode, its energies are focused on fighting off unseen enemies, which leaves no room for nurture, care, and love. #RandolphHarris 10 of 16
The beginning of healing requires complete trust and the knowing of the unalterable fact that Father in Heaven loves you and is defending and protecting you and has supplied a way to heal. His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, laid down his life to provide that healing. The cure requires profound faith in Jesus Christ and his infinite capacity to heal. It is the foundation of understanding of doctrine and a resolute determination to follow the Divine Law. Healing may begin with a thoughtful friend or stake president or a wise professional counselor. If you have a fractured spine, you would not decide to fix it yourself. Serious abuse can also benefit from professional help. There are many ways to begin healing, but remember that a full cure comes through the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and Redeemer. Have faith that with effort Christ’s perfect, eternal, infinite Atonement can heal your suffering from the consequences of abuse. All passions are criminal in their excess; and even love itself, if it is not subservient to our duty, may render us blind. #RandolphHarris 11 of 16
As impossible as it may seem to you now, in time the healing you can receive from the Savior will allow you to truly forgive the abuser and even have feelings of sorrow for him or her. When you can forgive the offense, you will be relieved of the pain and heartache that Satan wants in your life by encouraging you to hate the abuser. As a result, you will enjoy greater peace. While an important part of healing, if the thought of forgiveness causes you yet more pain, set that step aside until you have more experience with the Savior’s healing power in your own life. If you are currently being abused or have been in the past, find the courage to seek help. You may have been severely threatened or caused to fear so that you would not reveal the abuse. Have the courage to act now. Seek the support of someone you can trust. Explain how you have been abused and identify who has done it. Ask for protection. Your action may help others avoid becoming innocent victims, with the consequent suffering. Get help now. Do not fear—for fear is a tool Satan will use to keep you suffering. The Lord will help you, but you must reach out for that help. #RandolphHarris 12 of 16
Do not be discouraged if initially a person of authority hesitates when you identify an abuser. Remember that predators are skillful at cultivating a public appearance of piety to mask their despicable acts. Pray to be guided in your efforts to receive help. That support will come. Rest assured that the Perfect Judge, Jesus the Christ, with a perfect knowledge of the details, will hold all abusers accountable for every unrighteous act. In time, he will fully apply the required demands of justice unless there is complete repentance. Your preoccupation with a need for justice only slows your healing and allows the perpetrator to continue his and/or her abusive control. Therefore, you should leave punishment for the diabolic acts of abuse to civil and Church authorities. #RandolphHarris 13 of 16
The perpetrator who has shattered the life of another by abuse, recognize that you need help with your addiction or it will destroy you. You will not overcome it by yourself. You likely require specialized professional help. I plead with you to seek to be recused now. You likely have deceived yourself in the false, temporary security that you have successfully hidden your transgressions from the civil or Church authorities. However, know that the Lord Jesus Christ is completely aware of your sins. Know that even without action by a victim, your act of abuse will be publicly known, for Satan will expose you, and then abandon you. Simplify your life by taking steps now to cleanse your soul from such sin and resolve the penalties they evoke. Show your desire to heal the anguish that you have caused other. Talk to your church or the stake president. The seriousness of your acts may require you to face legal, civil, and Church discipline. However, full repentance will bring the sweet relief of forgiveness, peace of conscience, and a renewed life. It will also bring relief to the abused and their families. You will be free of the weight of the remorse and the accusing thoughts of what you caused in grief and anguish in another’s life by making them suffer torment for years, made them try to end their life, and wish that they were never born. #RandolphHarris 14 of 16
Recognize that it is much easier to repent in this life than it will be in the next, so repent now. You will be helped when you decide to be freed from your addition through repentance and the support of others. Be grateful that you did not live anciently when abusers were stoned to death without opportunity for repentance. Parents, in appropriate, sensitive ways, teach your children of potential danger of abuse and how to avoid it. Be aware of warning signs, such as abrupt changes in a child’s behavior, that may signal a problem. Be alert to a child’s unsettled feelings and identify their origin. As for community leaders, painstakingly assure that every individual that is suffering from abuse receives appropriate help. There are resources in the Church handbook to help you find valuable resources to guide your ecclesiastical action and coordination with civil authorities. Carefully supervise the participation of any individual who may have had past offenses. Recognize that it is very unlikely that a perpetrator will confess his and/or her depraved acts. Seek the guidance of the Spirit when you feel that something may be amiss. Enlist the help of the ward and the stake leaders to avoid potential dangers. #RandolphHarris 15 of 16
I pray that you, as one abused or one who has caused it, will act now to avail yourself of the healing powers of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I testify that your faith and obedience will assure that God will help you. It is impossible for us to be saved in ignorance. If you know someone has been seriously abused and seen proof, medical records, pictures, bruises, fractured bones, blood, or have heard witness accounts of the abuse and know it is still ongoing, use your power to help them. Appeal to the authorities before the abuser hurts that individual so bad that he or she is lost to this World. Do not let someone suffer in silence when you have the power to save a life. Often times, it is not until a person is dead when people wish they could have made a difference. Take action now, while you have the chance. Atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin in general and original sin in particular through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, enabling the conciliation between God and his creation. The Savior suffered and broke the bands of death, and paid the price for our sins and transgressions. It is the Savior who delivers us from physical and spiritual death. #RandolphHarris 16 of 16
Inevitable March of the World Spirit
Christianity is a strictly and objectively historical religion and anxiously sifts all the evidence for and against the recorded events of the life of Jesus. The evidence is substantial enough to show that Jesus indeed lived and that he made a quite extraordinary impact upon certain contemporaries. God decisively acted in Christ. God cannot be eliminated. God is a kind of superentity, observably acting upon and interacting with natural entities. Many wonder does our existence end with our bodily death? We believe that from the very beginning the Lord established a plan for his children on Earth. He would, in times and seasons, have the priesthood on Earth to bless humankind with the authority to perform the sacred ordinances that would prove humanity’s obedience to his will. There are tests to be conducted as we progress in each step towards achieving God’s greatest gift, the gift of eternal life. There is an expression of the inexhaustible creative power of the human mind—great individual, great artistic achievements, great moments of civilization, all exemplified in different ways its potentialities. God has all power to defend you. God has great things in store for his people, and they should have large expectations. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
The gifts of God are to be enjoyed, when the giver is remembered. Fundamental, then, is having faith in God’s plan, in his law, to be clean and holy and repent of our sins, and to partake of the sacred ordinance required for admission into God’s celestial kingdom. God wants to abide with us, to lead and guide and direct us as we progress through morality. Progression towards self-actualization requires self-reflection. Narcissistic individuals may think a lot of themselves, and belittle your achievements, without thinking carefully about themselves. People who are struggling daily to survive, deprived of basic physical needs, might have trouble feeling good enough about themselves. Those who do not have to worry about such things might begin to focus on needs higher up the hierarchy: love and belongingness, self-esteem, and eventually self-actualization. God continues to reveal his will to humankind, as he has in the past, he does not in the present, and he will in the future. Spiritual gifts are received by humankind today, just as they were in days past. When God puts a promise in your heart, you have to come to the place where you believe in that promise so strongly no one and no circumstance can move you. Christ will return and reign personally on Earth. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
Agency is one of the greatest gifts of God to his children. It allows all men and women and children to choose for themselves and to earn their own individual salvation. Also declared is our belief in secular governments and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law of the land. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all people. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. Enlarge your vision and make room for the new things God wants to do. God has promotion and increase already lined up for us. His favor surrounds us like a shield. Goodness and mercy are following you. This will be a great year. The savior gave us a great example. In our day, many people are living in the midst of sadness and great confusion. They are not finding the answers to their questions and are unable to meet their needs. Some have lost a sense of happiness and joy. True happiness is found in following the example and teachings of Christ. He is our Savior, he is our teacher, and he is the perfect example. Where you are is not permanent. God has extraordinary blessings in your future. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
These blessings will take you to a new level. Immeasurable, limitless, surpassing favor is coming that will take you beyond previous limitations. Christ’s life was a life of service. When we serve our neighbor, we help those who are in need. In the process, we may find solutions to our own difficulties. As we emulate the Savior, we show our love to our Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, and we become more like them. When we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are only in the service of our God. Everyone has opportunities to give service and show love. We should go to the rescue and serve others. We will discover that those whom we serve, who have felt through our labors the touch of the Master’s hand, somehow cannot explain the charge which comes into the lives. There is a desire to serve faithfully, to walk humbly, and to live more like the Savior. Having received their spiritual eyesight and glimpsed the promises of eternity, they echo that they know that favor is in their future, and that God supernaturally endowed them with blessings, opportunities that chased them down. These believers became fully convinced in the power of our Father in Heaven. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
Each day we have the opportunity to give help and service—doing the right thing at the right time, without delay. Think of the many people who have a difficult time obtaining a job or who are ill, who even think they have lost everything. They feel like they are being consumed by the monstrous $600 million taxpayer funded Gentrification Center. There are people who are rolling down a lonely highway, asking God to please forgive them for messing up the blessing he gave them. Their nights are black as they have ever been, and they are scared they are going to lose it. These people are praying that God sheds his grace on them because they need it. Some individuals feel they have walked right out of Heaven, as if they have thrown their life away. They are scared just like a child that is lost at seven and do not know what to do to get back right with God. These individuals do not know what to do to move on with their life. Feeling like they cannot walk, cannot talk, and desperately want to get right with God. What can you do to help? Feeling great anguish, thinking they might lose their life forever, many are pleading for the Heavenly Father to help them find their way. A hug or a kiss and the commitment to watch diligently over people suffering might help someone who is lost. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
There may even be people who, for some reason, are lost from our sight and do not know that they are lost. If we delay, we could lose them forever. For many who need our help, it is not necessary to create new programs or take actions which are complicated or costly. They only need our determination to serve—to do the right thing at the right time, without delay. Fill your hearts with compassion towards others. Our Heavenly Father is loving, understanding, and patient. His Son, Jesus Christ, likewise loves us. They render help to us through their prophets. The rescue is still going on. The Lord expects our thinking, action, labors, testimony, and devotion. We have responsibility and a great opportunity to help others once again experience the sweet savor of happiness and joy through activity that is pleasing to God. That happiness come from receiving the ordinances, making sacred covenants, and keeping them. The Lord needs us to help them. Let us do the right thing at the right time, without delay. God lives and is our Father. Jesus Christ lives and has given his life so that we may return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. There is infinite kindness continually manifesting on Earth. The rest of your life will be the best of your life. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
The Temple of Heaven–God is Our Fountain of Power
God never made a promise that was too good to be true. Each one of us has within ourselves have a deeper nature, and, of course, this deeper nature, being eternal unity with God, or with the living spirit, is more than an individual; it is where the being of humanity, or the nature of humanity, merges into the being of God. Divine depth within our own nature, wherein the Spirit of God—the Spirit of Love and the Spirit of Peace—dwells with calm serenity. We withdraw into that place within us which has never been hurt, nor has ever been sick, has always and forever lived in divine and eternal peace…. the Kingdom of God, which is good. And this inner Kingdom within is all-peace, all-power, and all-perfection. We drop all hate, all fear, all animosity, all resentment. We cast out of our consciousness every doubt and every sense of uncertainty. We know that we enter into an atmosphere of love, happiness, and completion where there is the abundance of this life is showered upon us, guiding and guarding us into right action and decision; daily, hourly, and every moment the principle of intelligence directs us to the presence of God that warms us with love and fortifies us with peace. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
God never leave us alone, never leaves us unassisted in the challenges that we face. From the beginning down through the dispensations, God has used Angels as his emissaries in conveying love and concern for his children. Usually such beings are not seen. Sometimes they are. However, seen or unseen Angels are always near. Often their assignments are very grand and have significance for the whole World. In many cases, the messages are more private. Occasionally, the Angelic purpose is to warn, but most often it is to comfort, provide some form of merciful attention, guidance in difficult times. In the course of life many of us spend time in dark and dreary places, wildernesses, circumstances of sorrow or fear or discouragement. Our present day is filled with global distress from threats being made by Iran and North Korea to riots in the streets of America, energy problems, lack of high paying jobs and affordable housing, attacks by foreign groups in our homeland, and natural calamities. This causes many of us to worry about not only where we will live and how we will be able to feed our families, but we also worry about the safety and well-being of our children and the planet. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
The great inequality in the manner of living, the extreme idleness of some, and the excessive labour of others, the easiness of exciting and gratifying our sensual appetites, the too exquisite foods of the wealthy which overfill them with indigestion, and on the other hand, the unwholesome food of the poor, often, bad as it is, insufficient for their needs, which these, together with sitting up late, and excesses of every kind, immoderate transports of every passion, fatigue, mental exhaustion, the innumerable pains and stress inseparable from every condition of life, by which the mind of human beings is incessantly tormented; these are too fatal proofs that the greater part of our ills are of our own making, and that we might have avoided them nearly all by adhering to the divine laws which have been prescribed to us. There seems to be a serious problem of ethical, moral, and spiritual decay. Angels are still sent to help us, even as they were sent to help Adam and Eve, to help the prophets, and indeed to help the Savior of the World. Satan had tempted Christ in the wilderness and angels came and ministered unto him. Even the Son of God, a God himself, had need for Heavenly comfort. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
We do not and cannot see our World as a theater of conflict between supernatural powers, the demonic seeking to possess and destroy us, and God intervening to secure our salvation. God makes available a distinctly authentic and free mode of existence to all humanity. We must accept the limitations of our freedom imposed by the given circumstances of our life as so far lived. The present moment is a locus of decision, and it is in the future that we will work out those authentic possibilities of existence for which we decide. The mind is a survival mechanism, and its method of survival is primarily the use of emotions. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father in Heaven. He causes his Sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. Forgiveness is the economy of the heart. Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hated, the waste of spirits. Human were created out of the dust of the ground, given factuality of human existence, and God breathed the breath of life into humanity, endowing us with the freedom to pursue our diverse possibilities. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
How can we discover our authentic possibilities? The authentic life, crucially, is available to human beings only by virtue of divine grace and through the appropriating Word revealed in Christ. Take heart, be filled with faith and remember the Lord has said he would fight our battles, our children’s battles, and the battles of our children’s children. We are to diligently pray always, and be believing. Then all things shall work together for our good, if we walk in righteousness, and remember the covenant wherewith we have covenanted. This is not a time to fear and tremble. We must believe in God and remember our covenants. Angels are dispatched to bless us in time of need. However, when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all Angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, and every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose, only upon the Beloved who will never pass away. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
Indeed, Heaven never seems closer than when we see the Love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that Angelic is the only word that comes to mine. Angels are both the Heavenly and the mortal kind. God never leaves us alone. Nor will God leave us alone, so long as time shall last, or the Earth shall stand, or there shall be one man, woman, or child upon the face of the Earth to be saved. Sometimes we may feel lost on a global or personal level, we may feel God has turned his back on us and we have walked out of Heaven, lost, alone in the dark, and stressed out. However, that is when you turn to God, examine your life, make sure you are doing things that please God, pray more and keep the faith. When you become weary and feel like giving up, there is a way to have your strength renewed—wait on the Lord. Always there are those Angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal. God put his spirit in our hearts, and his Angels are around us to keep us steady. In the process of praying, those Angels attend to us. God, thank you that you are bringing my dreams to pass. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Eternity Enables the Endeavoring Again
Exists in every human nature a goal. When I was younger, we lived in a large house, and my dad would give me twelve, one hundred dollar bills. One for everyday of the twelve days of Christmas. That was his way of showing love. He believed that money and God was the foundation of happiness. Kindnesses is the essence of a celestial life. Gentleness is how a Christlike person treats others. Consideration should permeate all of our words and actions at work, school, church, and especially in our houses. It is true that fear can have a powerful influence over our actions and behavior. Fear is so pandemic in our society that in sometimes constitutes the predominant ruling emotion of our World, as we know it. For many people, fear is so all-pervasive that their life really constitutes one giant set of compensatory devices to conquer their troubles. Nevertheless, the influence tends to be temporary and shallow. People who are fearful may say and do things, but they do not feel the right things. They often feel helpless and resentful, even angry. Overtime these feelings lead to mistrust, defiance, and even rebellion. Unfortunately, this is a misguided approach to life, and it grieves me to hear people who exercise unrighteousness in their interactions with others. Often times people may condemn bullying in others, but they cannot see it in themselves. There may be moments when we are tempted to justify our actions by believing that a good outcome excuses any wrong committed to attain it. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
Psychoanalysis has been justly called the psychology of depths because it emphasizes the role of the of the unconscious mental processes. Illness can result from a conflict from the ego and the super-ego. Fear rarely has the power to change our hearts, and it will never transform us into people who love what is right and who want to obey the Heavenly Father. We live in ignorance of the desires that offend morality, the desires that nature has forced upon us and after their unveiling we may well prefer to avert our gaze from the scenes of our unrighteousness. As a result, the Heavens will withdraw themselves and the Spirit of the Lord is grieved. In every society customs are pervasive, concerning with almost every aspect of life, yet many are concerned with describing how to do something rather than with dictating that we should do it. They determine the right ways of doing things. For instance, customs do not tell us what we must eat, but tells us only when, where, and how to eat. This suggests that customs may, perhaps, serve the same function with regard to morality by telling us how to do what morality tells us to do. Recognizing this, customs are a means for standardizing behavior so that we will be able to know what to expect from our fellow people. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
Is Heaven a physician? Our Father in Heaven loves us, his children, and this love surpasses our ability to comprehend. This does not mean that God condones nor overlooks behaviors that are bad. However, God wants to change our behavior, nature, and heart. God wants each of us to believe in him and confront our fears and become stronger and righteous. By kindness, and pure knowledge, we shall greatly enlarge our soul with privilege and love, and we will be in a better position to attract the powers of Heaven for ourselves, our families, and the others in our lives. The function of laying down standardized action patterns is, of course, not exclusively fulfilled by custom. It is also a function of law, of professional and social organizations, and even of advertising. God motivates through persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, and love unfeigned. God is on our side. He loves us, and when we experience hardship, he wants us to rise up, try again, and become stronger. For instance, The Jefferson’s is successful situational comedy that was filmed in the 1970s. The main character, George Jefferson, grew up in a housing project for economically challenged people and he remembered how miserable it was. Some days, his family could only afford one meal a day. So, George made a promise that no one would ever suffer in the apartment he grew up in. George had faith that God would answer his prayers, and was thankful for life. George did not see his struggle as a waste of time, but a jounery toward enlightenment. Our loving Heavenly Father knows that choosing to develop a spirit of gratitude will bring us true joy and great happiness. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
God never made a promise that was too good to be true, and we must also keep our promises. When George Jefferson grew up, he married and became a successful businessman. He owned seven dry cleaning stores, and was able to afford a three-bedroom apartment in a luxury high-rise building, located in Manhattan, New York USA. George sent his son, Lionel, to college, and he became a prosperous engineer. George remembered how meager his existence was in his youth and would send the family that now lived in the apartment he grew up in $400.00 a month, and gifts for Christmas and a tree. The family that lived there was also suffering economic hardships. The father used the money to go to TV repair school, so he would be able to get a career that would allow him to provide for his wife and son and move into a middle-class community. That is how the love of God works. We are here to share our blessings and help uplift others. How crucial customs are for communal living becomes apparent if one tried to imagine what it would be like to be thrown into a society where one knew everything expect its customs. Without knowledge of customs one would not be able to fulfill some of the simplest of moral injunctions, like the injunction to love and respect others. One would not know what one’s commitments were or how to honor them. One would not know how to show gratitude or solicitude for others, how to be decent and honest, or how to avoid hurting the feelings of others. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
We are blessed beyond measure to live in a day of unparalleled prosperity, enlightenment, and advantage. Most of all, we are blessed to have the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which gives us unique perspective on the World’s dangers and shows us how to either avoid these dangers or deal with them. When I think of these blessings, I offer praises to our Heavenly Father for his never-ending love for all of his children. God does not want his children to be fearful nor dwell on the evils of the World for God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Let us in word and in deed share with our fellow humans the amazing and awe-inspiring message of God’s plan of happiness. May our motive be our love for God and for his children, for they are our brothers and sisters. This is the beginning of what we can do in return for so much. There is one thing we can do to make life sweeter, more joyful, even glorious—we can be grateful! General requirements of morality transcend every particular group, but they cannot be executed apart from customs. We have to operate within the context of custom. As disciples of Christ, we are commanded to thank the Lord our God in all things, and let our heart be full of thanks unto God. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
In many times thought peace had come, when peace was far away. It can be easy to succumb to the temptation of describing the practices of other societies, particularly primitive ones, as customs, while refusing to do so for our own practices with regard to the same matters. When we do not understand the reason for a procedure or practice, we assume that it must be just a custom, that has no reason except tradition. Some people wonder what they have to be thankful for when their World is falling apart? It is hard to develop a spirit of gratitude if our thankfulness is only proportional to the number of blessings when can count. We can choose to be grateful, no matter what. This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair. When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, this custom is a precept whose claim to validity is based solely on the contention that it is generally acknowledged and practiced by the community and is of ancient origin. It is justified because when we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of Heaven’s embrace. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
When we do not understand the reason for a procedure or practice, we assume that it must be just a custom, that it has no reason except tradition. We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly myopic is that. We will miss much of life by wanting for our prayers and dreams to be fulfilled. Being grateful in times of distress does not mean that we are pleased with our circumstances, it means that through the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges. This is a gratitude of the soul. It is a gratitude that heals the heart and expands the mind. We do not understand the trials of life, but we must trust that one day we will. In the end, we will have glorious, perfect, and immortal bodies, unburden by sickness or disability; and the tear of sadness and loss will be replaced with an abundance of happiness and joy. Unchangeable truth and certainty enjoins us in the pursuit of the common good and assures us that by pursuing the common good we achieve happiness and personal perfection. As the great joy of life comes into our souls, it will flood us with it wondrous light, and all sorrow and sadness will feel. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7 
Randolph Harris II International Institute 