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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 
When God Will All Winds Bring Rain
We are accustomed to attach great importance to the universal belief of human kind, it is accepted by us as a convincing argument, that there are gods we infer from the sentiment engrafted in the human mind; nor has any nation ever been found, so far beyond the pale of law and civilization as to deny their existence. God wants to provide for you, as a gift, because he loves you and wants to put the light of truth in your soul, and supply you with a right image of God and a right image of yourself that will establish love, faith, compassion and grace in your soul. The first thing you need to remember is that God knows you, and such knowledge is too wonderful. God wants you to know that he understands. God knows how you think, what you dream about, recognizes your motives, and knows your fears. God knows the things that happened in your life and how exactly you will respond and why. You are understood by God. He is there, he is interacting, and working. God knows infinitely more than you know yourself. Belief in God is instinctive. I believe in some blending of hope and Sunshine sweetening the worst lots. I believe that this life is not all; neither the beginning nor end. I believe while I tremble; I trust while I weep. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
All the faculties and feelings of our minds and bodies have their appropriate objects; and the possession of the faculties supposes the existence of those objects. In the eyes, in its very structure, there is light to be seen, and the ear would be unaccountable and inconceivable without the existence of sound. In like manner, our religious feelings and aspirations necessitate the existence of God. The yearning for some kind of God does point toward an in-built hunger in each of us—a hunger has its normal gratification. This is true of physical hunger, of love, and sleep, and of our craving for beauty. If, similarly, our religious hunger did not have its proper gratification, it would be difficult to see how it got built into our natures in the first place. What is it doing there? Very often there is an insatiable instinct that demands friendship, love, and intimate communion, but is forced to pine in empty forms; a hunger of the heart, which finds there is a passion for hunting something deeply implanted in the human heart. May not all human characters frequently be traced back to impressions made at so early a period, that none but discerning eyes would ever suspect their existence. #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
The belief is that the human mind was made by God, who would not deceive his creatures. There is in fact no race without religion and even where there is belief in plurality of gods, it is invariably found that the religion recognizes a supreme deity, the rulers of gods and humans. The supreme deity of primitive religions often lacks some of the characteristics attributed to God by Christian and Jewish monotheists. However, this does not affect the argument, since an idea of God does not cease to deserve that name because it is variant. A person may be said to believe in God if he or she believes in a Supreme Being, personal and intelligent, to whom humans owe honor and reverence, regardless of what else one also believes or fails to believe. God, himself, goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. And God cannot lie (you will find that in truth). God’s will at times seems distant and quiet, but, in his wisdom, he can use that to draw you close to him. Do you seek him out at those times? It is possible you feel God is not by your side because you have turned your back on or walked away from him? This is not the ground of our own faith. We do not reason ourselves into belief that there is a God; human beings are religious by nature and God-seekers. They know in their hearts they can trust in God’s promises and rejoice in his presence. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
The hunger for God is an expression that invariably develops as a result of certain deprivations and traumatic experiences. People who suffer from insufficient contact with other human beings and who do not find the natural World satisfying will tend to experience longings for something supernatural. They will know that God is on their side and his love for them has not ended. God has remained on your side. You can never feel lonely among people who love you; they may not understand what you are going through, at least not entirely. However, there is someone who understands your heart completely and that is God. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46.1). So many troubling situations in life can leave you feeling alone and insecure, but God is a very present help at all times. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Somewhere deep down in us is stored the secret, and when we are searching the wrong place, we know it. The secret wants to be discovered and will not let us go in peace a way that is not ours. A person believes in God’s existence and it seems quite plain that one is believing in something—that there is such a thing as what one believes in, and that this something is God’s existence. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
God’s unity, God’s will, God’s knowledge and thought, and God’s wisdom and goodness, God’s many names, and God’s relation to creation are open to the passions that have taught reflection and perfect love. God is a type of poetry which can exalt the relations of the humblest human beings. The lover of God is always called happy, and happiness is considered as a well-fleshed indifference to sorrow outside. I am glad at least in my life that I have found God, who is here forever to see me though. I have found strength in God. I only pray that I have shown you a brighter day because that is all that I am living for. Do not worry what is to come because in my mind we will always stay here always in love. Divine providence, prophecy, and immortality are not dependent on intellectual perfection, but rather on the love and reverence for God, which is the purpose of the Divine Law and the Universe. It is the substance of the soul itself, rather than the acquired intellect, which survives death. What God says is best; is best, though all the people in the World may be against it. There is just too much evidence to deny what is happening. It is happening every day. See, all your angry enemies lie there, confused and humiliated; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
Unending Existence—Not Dead, but Sleeping
The word individual, as applied here on Earth, is a misuse of language. It is absurd to call that an individual which every hour divides. The Earthly stage of the human life is so small that there is room for but one of the persons of an individual upon it at one time. The past and future selves have to wait in the side scenes. Immortality is eternal life, the ability to live forever, a state of condition free from both death and decay. The Bible affirms that only God by nature had immortality. It is also a potential state for human beings, as long as they follow the divine laws. Human beings failed to obtain this state because of sin, the wages of sin is death, but immortality is given to righteous persons. To make everlasting life available is at the heart of Jesus’ mission: “I have come that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly,” John 10.10. Some people believe that death will not be our terminus, but the beginning of a new journey. However, scientists are trying to achieve life extension, retroactive immortality, and regeneration of the body that allows it to heal any injuries, even fatal ones, preventing one from dying. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
Some scientists believe that in the near future, because of ongoing research being done into repairing the effects of ageing, we can produce preventative treatments that would allow humans to live as long as 1,000 years. Health insurance provides important financial protection in case you have a serious accident or sickness. Though great progress has been made in medicine, current evidence-based and palliative treatments are increasingly unable to keep pace with patients’ needs, especially given our aging population, and health insurance is very expensive. There are few effective ways to treat the root causes of many diseases, injuries, and congenital conditions. In many cases, doctors and nurses are only able to manage patients’ symptoms using medications or devices. However, we should not simply be looking at treating sickness and injuries, but do more research on preventing ageing. Ageing is the World’s most important problem. The human body is a machine and it accumulates damages throughout life as a consequence of normal operation. The damage makes our bodies frail, and contribute to the rising degradation and ill-health. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
Regenerative medicine is a life changing area of medicine with potential to fully heal damaged tissues and organs, offering solutions and promise for people who have conditions that are currently beyond repair. If we are able to apply regenerative medicines to repair the damage of aging at the level where it occurs, we can remove, restore, replace, or render harmless the cellular and molecular damage that has accumulated in our body, organs, and mind with time. Regenerative medicine is not new. In the 1970s, liver transplants were not yet possible, but now they are, along with other solid-organ transplants and bone marrow transplants. Rejuvenation is the ability to increase the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Much like after you cut your skin, it heals within a few days, the goal is to get the specialized cells constituting the heart, lungs, nerves, and other organs to remodel and possess the same ability to self-heal. Stem cells are a key component of regenerative medicine as they have the ability to develop through a process called differentiation into many different types of cells, such as skin cells, brain cells, lung cells, and could possible help to heal the body. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
The unfolding of God’s plan is revealed in stages. The resurrection of the dead is listed in Scripture as one of the basic doctrines of true Christianity. Someday, everyone who has ever lived will come to life again. Self-resurrection is the ability to completely heal fatal injuries and resurrect upon death if they body is not entirely destroyed. Through regenerative medicine, organ transplants would no longer be required. Your own cells, in the future, could be collected and reprogramed in a laboratory, then delivered back to your body to treat your disease. A lot of people may be wondering will they also look younger if stem cell treatment can be used to regenerate their organs and cure illnesses? Yes. The skin is your largest organ, so when scientists are able to heal or cure you through stem cell treatments, it will also regenerate your skin to keep it youthful. Regenerative medicine is working in vivo and in vito procedures. In vivo means studies and trails performed inside the living body in order to stimulate previously irreparable organs to heal themselves. In vito treatments are applied to the body through implantation of a therapy studied inside the laboratory. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
By reconstructing the composition of the living machinery of our tissues and organs, these rejuvenation biotechnologies will restore the normal functioning of the body’s cells and essential biomolecules, retuning aging tissues to health and bringing back the body’s youthful vigor, and restoring normal function. A small percentage of people all over the World have a condition called Spina Bifida, which is a birth defect. Some patients must manually empty their bladder by compressing it with their hands from the exterior,which will eventually case the bladder to harden and basically die. And while some people may think it is funny, it is not. Imagine if you could not urinate at will, or even regulate the buildup of urine, the backup of urine into the kidneys could cause a ripping infection, creating life-threatening damage, and it could also cause your bladder to fill until it ruptures. However, a series of child and teenage patients have received urinary bladders grown from their own cells. The laboratory-grown organ transplant placed into a human was all made possible by regenerative medicine. This powerful new technology is being used to create new body parts from a patient’s own cells and tissues, and the success of these efforts will eliminate the concept of tissues rejection from transplants. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
Regenerative medicine has already successfully grown heart valves from human cells. In the past, heart valves were taken from the heart of pigs and transplanted into humans. Well, with new technology, the need to test on animals and prematurely end the life of an animal to extend a human life is no longer required. With the use of biomaterials to create a mold, scientists engineer the cells to grow in the form of a heart valve. Once mastered in clinical trials, any transplant patient will be able to receive a heart valve that is essentially their own. And with the advancement of regenerative medicine, we will be able to repair these valves without even having to perform surgery. Stem cells can even be used to treat leukemia. The umbilical cord, usually discarded at birth, holds blood vessels that contain about a half cup of blood that belongs to a newborn child. That blood contains many stem cells and our body uses stem cells as one way of repairing itself. By collecting and storing that blood, there is a possibility that those cells might be used in the future to help your body remain healthy. Regenerative medicine has the potential to cure other conditions like heart disease, valvular disease, and diabetes, which will save lives and billions of dollars. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
Regenerative medicine has the potential to heal or replace tissues and organs damaged by age, disease, or trauma, as well as to normalize congenital defects. Regenerative medicine can abet maladies occurring across a wide array of organ systems and context, including dermal wounds, cardiovascular disease and traumas, treatment for certain types of cancer, and more. There will no longer be a need to wait for an organ donor and possibly face severe immune complications with regenerative medicine. The human body will have an innate healing and advanced repair mechanisms that will extend life, keep us youthful and healthy and lower medical costs. And with the cost of living being so high, people do need more time to generate wealth and enjoy life. We are essentially composite beings. Besides the more familiar corporeal element, the body, there is also something else, different in kind—the incorporeal soul. For the duration of a life the soul is somehow attached to—incorporated into or imprisoned in—its body. Perhaps the substance of the soul is stem cells. Essentially, in the future self-resurrection will be possible. “There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away,” Revelation 21.4. RandolphHarris 7 of 7
Surprise is an Emotion that Enfeebles Not Invigorates
There is no bent of heart or turn of thought which any person holds by virtue of an unalterable nature or will. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that one may know what is the hope of one’s calling, and what the riches of the glory of one’s inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of God’s power to us who believe, according to the omnipotence of his mighty energy, which he wrought in Christ, when God raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the Heavenly places, far above all principality, and regency, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this World, but also that which is to come. We are at once the creatures and the arbiters of destiny. Redemption is the process of grace rising above sin, the conscious choosing of the better options. When faith and reason work harmoniously, the providence of quantum grace is sufficient to redeem the deficits of original sin. It symbolizes the search for healing and restorations of body and soul, enlightenment, repose, and salvation. The path is the way back to purity and innocence. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
God conceived of things and created them, and hence they were thought of as existing in the mind of God. Perhaps the marker of adulthood is the ability to create an effective and independent life. Whereas children and adolescents are generally supported by parents, adults must make their own living and must start their own families. Furthermore, the needs of adults are different from those of younger persons. Although the timing of the major life events that occur in early and middle adulthood vary substantially across individuals, they nevertheless tend to follow a general sequence, known as a social clock. The social clock refers to the culturally preferred “right time” for major life events, such as moving out of the childhood house, getting married, having children. People who do not appear to be following the social clock (e.g. young adults who still live with their parents, individuals who never marry, and couples who choose not to have children) may be seen as unusual or deviant, and they may be stigmatized by others. A person born blind being made to see, would at first, have no idea of distance by sight; the Sun and stars, the remotest objects as well as the hearer, would all seem to be in one’s eye, or rather in one’s mind. #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
The object intromitted by sight, would seem to one (as in truth they are) no other than a new set of thoughts or sensation, each whereof is as near to one as the perceptions of pain or pleasure, or the most inward passions of the soul. This thing we call existence; is not a something which has its foundation far down below in the dark, and its branches stretching out into the immensity above, which we among the branches cannot see? Not a change jumble: a living thing, a One. The thought gives us intense satisfaction, we cannot tell why. Despite the challenges of early and middle adulthood, the majority of middle-aged adults are not unhappy. These years are often very satisfying, as families have been established, careers have been entered into, and some percentage of life goals has been realized. Even the most extreme ancient skeptics admitted that we must live; and since reason cannot tell us how to live, they recommended that we follow nature, under which appearances of things, and the traditions of one’s city. Civilization is the beginning and end of social development and political organizations. Human beings are born naturally sociable. Society rises through a person’s ability to cooperate with other beings for the satisfaction of their natural needs. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
Country people or nomads in primitive or tribal societies seek the satisfaction of their elementary need for food; town’s people in urban and more complex societies pursue higher economic, intellectual, and spiritual needs. Pain has an element of blank; it cannot recollect when it began, or if there were a day when it was not. It has no future itself, it has infinite realms containing, it is past, enlightened to perceive new periods of pain. It is impossible even to think without a mental picture. The effects of illusion point beyond themselves to the causal and psychological processes that underlie perception and constitute its most serious theoretical problem. When someone imagines the face of an absent friend, one is supposing that the friend is present to the individual, which ex hypothesi the friend is not. A person who forgets that one is imagining, that one’s thought is supposal, not fact, is creating their own reality. There is no mistaking the expression of a death-wound on the human countenance, when the effect is direct and not remote. Nature appears to admonish the victim of one’s fate. Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the sense but the soul. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
To understand the nature of consciousness makes enlightenment possible. This essentially entails the realization of the difference between duality and nonduality and how to transcend the realm of duality. Duality is the product of perception, which itself is limited. Intellection and perception can be refined and perfected to the level of genius. Qualities of experience which are of crucial importance to human life, such as love, inspiration, respect, joy, happiness, peace, satisfaction, completion, and fulfillment, have been relegated by science to emotions that feel good, but are questionable realities. The visible World is therefore the World of effects and the interactions of forces. It is out of inspiration and volition that actions arise by assent of the will, which has the capacity to activate possibilities or options. We have great opportunities at the university of knowing human nature from books, the calm result of the wise people’s wisdom. Is the soul a shadow seated in the house of sin? Or is the body really in the soul? The separation of spirit from matter is a mystery, and the union of spirit with matter is a mystery also. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
One Wants His Heart and the Other Wants His Soul
If the great Sun move not of himself; but is as an errand-boy in Heaven; nor one single star can revolve, but by some invisible power; how then can this one small heart beat; this one small brain think thoughts; unless God does that beating, does that thinking, does that living, and not I. By Heaven, man, we are turned round and round in this World, like yonder windlass, and Fate is the weapon. Some men are cowards and run from their responsibilities. Others sit back and complain. However, you have no right to dispose of your future destiny whilst there is the least probable chance you may be reclaimed. While weak souls are crushed by fortune, the brave mind makes the fickle deity afraid of it. It is not what is done to us, but what is made of us, that wrongs us. No man can be really injured but by what modifies himself. Existence is a great pot, and the old Fate who stirs it round cares nothing what rises to the top and what goes down, and laughs when the bubbles burst. The privilege of free action belongs to no mortal man. In doing and suffering, we play but the part allotted by Destiny. Amidst his most swift and easy pace the rider must guard himself against a fall, and it is when prosperity is at the highest that our prudence should be awake and vigilant to prevent misfortune. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
The freedom crucial to human existence is untenable if the individual is dependent for his existence upon any other being. Look far into eternity, with those bright eyes, and tell me what you see. Being the son and the grandson of veterans gives me a sense of honor. They eyes are the casements at which the heart generally looks out. Knowing that I am a descendant of two generations of men who essentially gave their lives for our country and our freedom provides me with a sense of pride that some may not be able to understand. My family did not sit around protesting nor complaining, they served their country. Real men, who stood up for what they believe in, while others sit around crying and complaining about why they deserve hand outs and freebies. My father and grandfather provided me with hope, Heaven’s own gift to struggling mortals; pervading, like some subtle essence from the skies. People may heckle me because my father served in the army and gave his life for his country, and because of the price he paid, I live with an eternal reminder of his service. However, I have the honor of knowing my father is a real man. At one time, I regretted the fact that he died, and I miss him, but to me, he is a titian. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
When enough good deeds are accumulated to constitute a high virtue, spiritual enlightenment naturally arrives and the heart of the warrior is there at hand. I see my father as a one hundred foot all marble statue, a God, and will always remember his smile, kind heart, and the fact that he was always happy and a nice guy. What we know as nature and evolution is the product of the various kinds of self-active beings, moved ultimately by the final causes of their inner beings toward a common goal. The employment and harnessing of Heaven for the advancement of human welfare. It feels good to come from a line of warriors. Reality is a republic of self-active, self-defining spirits, each moving toward the Ideal exemplified by God, changelessly attentive to every other mind, rationally sympathetic with all experiences, and bent on its spiritual success. The exaltation of freedom should be exercised in nature and society. All the material and spiritual goods to which man can aspire (from daily nourishment to truth) derive from the order to which he belongs, the hierarchies which are the interpreters and custodians of the cosmic order. In exalting freedom, man exalts his capacity to form his World, to vary it, ad to better it absolutely. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
There are limitations through your own decision and choice. You shall determine your own nature without constraint from any barrier, by means of the freedom to whose power you have been entrusted with. God has placed us at the center of the World so that from that pint one might see better what is in the World. We have been made neither Heavenly nor Earthly, neither mortal nor immortal so that, like a free and sovereign artificer, we might mold and fashion ourselves into the form one oneself shall have chosen. Wisdom confers on human beings’ powers which prefect one’s nature. The only thing left is for hecklers to swallow their insults in silence. Mockers are derided as careless and thoughtless persons who become comical because the truth escapes their lips automatically, as it were. The humanists exalted the soul of man for its powers of freedom. Humans are a part of nature—that nature is our realm, the features which tie us to nature (our bodies, our needs, our sensations) are essential to us to the point that we cannot abstract from them or ignore them. If the best people do not draw great prizes in life, we know it has been so settled by the Ordainer of the lottery. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
The life of Christ is not followed only by those who belong to religious orders but by all those, inside and outside of clerical circles, dedicate their activities to God. Moral philosophy is our territory. Those who betray it, and give themselves over to physics, seem in a way to occupy themselves with foreign affairs and to neglect their own. Never give your neighbor you last. The value of money is an indispensable item for the well-being of the individual and for the life of the society, and those who have a contempt for money are expressing a manifestation of the medieval asceticism which is based on ignorance of human nature. In the interesting of defending the value and freedom of humans draws us into discussion of the traditional problems of God and providence and of the soul, its immortality, and its freedom—these discussions frequently lead us to recognize the basis of the correspondence between the Heavenly and Earthly city. The Heavenly city is the norm or the ideal of man’s civil life; and precisely because it is such, its recognition means the commitment of humans to realize, as much as possible, its characteristic in the Earthly city. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
In our own hearts, we mould the whole World’s hereafters; and in our own hearts, we fashion our own Gods. The Good Book (Christian Bible) is not only the proclamation of superterrestrial happiness but also of Earthly happiness. Religion is the confidence in the value of humans being able to work, and in the success of this work, and in the reward that we will find in the future life. Those which are the forces of the outer World are as shadows to the power we have created within us. The fundamental function of religion is to support people in the work of civil life, in political work and activity. The inalienable value of the individual—the goal is the highest and most proportional development of our powers to a complete and consistent whole. Reason must guide this development, as true knowledge of humanity depends on the cultivation not of pure analytical reason, but of deep-lying intuitive faculties. Christianity simply brings to fulfillment the wisdom that ancient philosophy has elaborated, because reason, which has supported and guided this philosophy, is the same which became incarnate in the Word. Do your children think highly of you? The broadening of our existence and of our knowledge the soul is infinitely precious and possess information of the manifold intellectual, sentient, and moral human powers. Although we may suffer several material setbacks in the course of our travels, it is actually a driving faculty, as we make spiritual advance and will triumph over adversity. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Randolph Harris II International Institute 