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She Went with Her Date to Get Some Coffee
We are all different. Each of us has been given talents as well as challenges. Some of us may have physical or mental limitations; others may be lonely or come from homes that do not teach gospel principles. Every physical and psychological problem is well worth the effort of investigation for its own sake, but for other reasons as well. Dr. Sigmund Freud would have thought Goldie Locks with a nymphomaniac because she liked to sleep in a different bed every night, but Dr. Freud thought all problems were related to the sex and childhood disorders. Much like the information on labels of paintings can affect, half unconsciously, our estimate of them, the same is possible when we label people without truly understanding or talking to them. Like the labels on paintings, the outward appearances of some people is often misleading. Some disabilities are more obvious than others. Many are immediately apparent, especially if someone relies on a wheel chair or cane. However, others—known as invisible disabilities are not. People who live with invisible injuries that are not mental, often times cannot take a pill and functional normally and they face particular challenges in the workplace and in their communities. Some people have debilitating fatigue and pain. #RandolphHarris 1 of 13
Desire disorders, like most intimacy problems, must be defined in relation to a person’s age, gender, partner, expectations, and sexual history. It is not at all unusual for a person to briefly lose sexual desire. Typically, erotic feelings return when anger towards a partner fades, or fatigue, illness, and similar temporary problems end. Some people do not merely lack sexual desire; they are repelled by sex and seek to avoid it. A person who suffers from sexual aversion feels fear, or disgust about engaging in the sex. Often, the afflicted person still has some erotic feelings. For example, he or she may still masturbate or have sexual fantasies. Nevertheless, the prospect of having the sex with another person causes panic or revulsion. Sexual desire disorders are common. Possible physical causes include afflictions, fatigue, hormonal difficulties, and side effects of medicines. Desire disorders are also associated with psychological factors such as depression, fearing loss of control over sexual urges, strict religious beliefs, fear of pregnancy, marital conflict, fear of closeness, and simple loss of attraction to one’s partner. It is also not uncommon to find that people with desire disorders were sexually mistreated as children. #RandolphHarris 2 of 13
Because Heavenly Father loves each of us, he has provided us with a source of comfort and strength—the scriptures. While growing up, I was blessed to come from a home where scriptures were an important part of our lives. I have gone to many Church activities and heard friends and family bear testimony of the power of the scripture. It gave me a desire to gain personal testimony of the power and truthfulness of the scriptures, and I am still in the process of building my faith and learning to see the blessings in my life. I know some of you say that there are bad people in the church, and there are, but imagine how bad they would be if they did not go to church. Then I have seen good people stop going to church and become the biggest sinners in the World, committing sins even against their own family for profit, while smiling in their face and acting like they do not know why an individual is going through Hell, but quick to tell that person he or she is bearing a generational curse. Some people have physical disabilities that you cannot see and they do not want to admit that, and it can be frustrating. They look normal, but there are things they should be able to do, and cannot. So, harassing them and making life hard on them can be more destructive than you even care to realize. #RandolphHarris 3 of 13
When you have physical limitations, it also limits the types of jobs you can do and for how long. Many people pray for help. Moroni 7.33: Christ reported if you will have faith in me, you shall have the power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. What a wonderful promise. If we are to put our faith in the Lord, he will help us. Just take one day at a time and do your best. Some of us may face challenges every day, but daily scripture study will remind us to have faith in our Heavenly Father and focus on him, magnify God in our lives and not our problems and life will improve. What we tend to focus on, we magnify. I do not want to focus on my problems every day and only magnify them and make them worse. I want to focus on God and see the promises in the scriptures fulfilled in my life. No matter where you live or what kind of family you come from, Heavenly Father loves you and will be there to help and strengthen you whenever you need him. There is a power in goodness that is often learned in families. There is a void when it is lacking. We have to develop greater reverence for the sanctity of life, and realize all people are not the same. #RandolphHarris 4 of 13
We need to stand tall and be firmly fixed in perpetuating Christlike virtues. Who does not have need of assurance in times of uncertainty and testing? Who is so self-confident that there is never a want for stabilizing influence in life? A fundamental purpose of Earth’s life purpose is growth and attainment. The level of importance people place on the sex is unbelievable! How are you supposed to get to know a person if all you are thinking about is what is in between their legs or in the place where the Sun does not shine? The reality of sex is that some people have it, some people do not, and life does not revolve around avoiding it or chasing it. There is no such thing as a normal sex life, even though many people consider sex a normal part of life. And it probably does not deserve the amount of attention it gets. Most of the push for people to have the sex is pressure that we get from the outside World. However, the sex can be damaging to our culture and self-esteem. Have you noticed since the 1990s, the style of dancing has changed, people used to dance face to face, but not their face is looking at the back of someone’s head when they dance. #RandolphHarris 5 of 13
Not only that, but as homosexuals became more accepted in the community, more and more people became obsessed with butts and anal penetration. There are songs glorifying butt. Whereas, in the past, people used to talk about other features of a person like their intelligence, their pillow soft lips, their dreamy eyes, cute nose. You know, parts we can visibly see. Also, it is important to have someone who can carry a conversation and actually wants to see you. And, the butt problem is not all to blame on homosexuals because many men are just looking for more traction and that is what most obsession is about. However, companionship is the most important part of a relationship, you want to be with one person, someone you really like and can build a house with. Companionship is that state of being friends, but it goes deeper than even a friendship. It is a closeness or familiarity, a true fellowship among two people, who for whatever reasons, have truly connected. Strong couples are able to be good companions, sharing their day to day lives, personal histories, and interest together. They give verbal and physical affection like hugs, compliments, provide emotional support, and are able to help each other through tough times. It is also important to have someone to validate you. #RandolphHarris 6 of 13
Also, people who are not in relationships need to have their requirements for companionship met in other ways. It is important for them to have strong bonds with their friends and family, people who know them well, and are able to understand them. We all need to know that we have an important place in someone’s life. And, some people have different needs for amount of control in a relationship, or have specific requests to feel balanced and comfortable in. Gratefully, for people who do not have support systems, and even those who do, in his perfect love, God has provided a way for us to resolve challenges while growing in strength and capacity. The sustaining power of faith in times of uncertainty and testing is a God given way that we may find peace, joy, and purpose in life. Faith is like high energy particles that cannot be seen. When we generate more of these particles, through trust in God no matter how challenging the circumstance, that energy travels in waves. It is part of the electromagnetic spectrum called radiant energy. And when we increase of faith in God, we are picking up on more of his radiant energy, which should counteract much of the negative energy that we have been receiving. #RandolphHarris 7 of 13
Radiant energy is the energy of electromagnetic waves. It is a form of energy that can travel through space. For example, we receive the heat from the Sun, which is located 92.96 miles from Earth. As you may know, when there is a solar flare, which is basically the Sun emitting more energy, the Earth tends to get hotter, and it can disrupt communication devices on Earth. So, think of an increase of your faith in God like a solar flare, you are attracting more radiant energy from God, and those electromagnetic waves are blocking out things that may be bad for you and drawing more things to you that may be good. It will take time, but you will start noticing that people are nicer to you, they are more protective of you, they want to talk to you, and eventually they will have new and exciting opportunities from God to offer you. When you change your energy, the type of energy you attract will also change. You notice that many suburban housewives are always happy and smiling when they go out and public and how people seem to worship them? Well, that is because of the energy they are putting out. And in the suburbs people talk and word gets around, so you want to be painted in the best light and have people like you. It does not mean being fake, it just means putting out good radiant energy of electromagnetic waves. #RandolphHarris 8 of 13
I met a few couples, and they do not say much, but they are always nice and smile and say hi when I see them and that makes me feel good. That is the type of community I grew up in. A place where you treat everyone with respect, and you do not have to get deeply involved with people, but respect them, out of the love of God, so you can attract that same energy back to you. These people are well balanced and consistent, and they care about their reputations and would never do anything to hurt anyone on purpose. Therefore, trust in God and in his willingness to provide help when needed, no matter how challenging the circumstance. Obey his commandments and live to demonstrate that he can trust you. Be sensitive to the quiet prompting of the Spirit. Act courageously on that prompting. Be patient and understanding when God lets you struggle to grow and answers will come one wave at a time over an extended period. Motivating faith is centered in trust in the Lord and in his willingness to answer your needs. For the Lord does bless and prosper those who put their trust in him. The consistent, willing exercise of faith increases your confidence and ability to employ the power of faith. God loves everyone, we are all his children. 2 Nephi 2.29 reports: And choose not eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which gives the spirit of the Devil power to captivate, to bring down to Hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom. #RandolphHarris 9 of 13
The most important thing to God is to save our souls for everlasting life. The consistent, willing exercise of faith increases your confidence and ability to employ the power of faith. Electrical energy, a flow of charged particles along a conductor or the flow of ins across a membrane is much like God sending energy through your body and brain to fortify your soul. Faith is energy which is hoped for and not seen; therefore, do not dispute faith because you cannot see it. You may not know how you are going to make it, you may not know where your next blessing is coming from, but do not say it is impossible that you can press on because after the trial of faith, the blessings that come your way will be so amazing that you will receive that confirming evidence of Spirit. And those feelings will fortify your faith. As you repeat that pattern, your faith will become stronger. The Lord knows your needs. When you ask honestly and with real intent, he will prompt you to do that which will increase your ability to act in faith. With consistent practice, faith will become a vibrant, powerful, uplifting, inspiring force in your life. As you walk to the boundary of your understanding, exercising faith, you will be led to find solutions you would not obtain otherwise. I testify that I know that is true. #RandolphHarris 10 of 13
Another thing is we may not always get what we want, but God will respond with what in his eternal plan is best for you. Faith is not just about instant gratification, it is an energy that will act as a conduit to get us through life, help continue to practice divine laws, and help us to go out and earn the things we want. You cannot just walk in Walmart and come out with a cart of goods and services without paying for them. You have to do something to earn that money so you can go and buy what you want. Our faith in God gives us understanding and strength. Some vital decisions many have experiences, come through sustaining through the grueling, anguish, and struggle that precedes a confirming answer. And, those experiences are edifying. It is comforting to know that God will never try you more than you can manage with his help. God uses your faith to mold your character. And there are people out there living the high life, who wished they could have held back and been isolated because some of the afflictions that are suffering with. This is not where you will always be in life. Strong moral character results from consistent correct choices in the trials and testing of life. You can use your faith to guide you. What you think and do will determine what you are and what you will become. #RandolphHarris 11 of 13
We have to have courage to make the right decisions. This is done through contemplation and prayer, and exercising faith to willingly make choices consistent with the teachings of God. Such choices are made with trust in the electronic energy of God. Worthy character will strengthen your capacity to obediently respond to the direction of the Spirit. Righteous character is what you are becoming. It is more important that what you own, where you live. Right character enables you in times of trial and testing to make difficult, extremely important decisions correctly even when they seem overpowering. Neither Satan nor any other power can weaken or destroy your growing character. Only you can do that through disobedience. So, behaving is important. The more character is fortified, the more enabled you are to exercise the power of faith that will help you successfully grow so you can complete your purpose on Earth. A mother recently expressed to me that her daughter was killed on the way home from work, but because of her daughters love and support, the mother was able to continue living. That is so important because that woman gave up her career and free time make her daughter a success. Sometimes we are not living for ourselves, but we are here to support others. The power of the Lord will bless us. #RandolphHarris 12 of 13
And I also lost someone who means the World to me, but much like that woman’s daughter, I feel in my heart and soul that our loved ones are still alive on this planet. And I truly believe that and we will see them again. That is my testimony of faith. And you may have had people pretend to be your loved one, but you could tell by their actions it was not them. We know our loved ones so well and that if they were here, and could come to us that they would. The Father in Heaven loves you no matter what your circumstance, no matter what winds of trial, turmoil, or tribulation whip you like a hurricane. God and his guidance through the Holy Spirit will sustain you in an increasingly more challenging World. However, I want you to believe that your loved one is not lost, like I know mine is not, and we will someday see them again. Keep your sustained power of faith. Help others understand how faith in God and his teachings can bless their lives. I know there has been something that you have believed in your life with a strong conviction and it has come to be, use that same faith and know whatever it is you are missing, if you have the faith, one day you will find it and know it is right. #RandolphHarris 13 of 13
One Who Falls in Love May go Unnoticed
The greatest thing that can be known in the human experience is the ability to love and be loved. One who falls in love may go unnoticed by the casual observer, but the act of being in love can be examined by what events or conditions led to the agent’s believing he or she was in love: this may include the theory that being in love is an overtly strong reaction to a set of highly beneficial conditions in the behavior or presence of another. Some may consider love to be an expression of a state of affairs towards a beloved, which may be communicated through language (words, poetry, music) or behavior (bringing flowers, giving up a kidney, diving into the proverbial burning building), but which is a reflection of an internal, emotional state, rather than an exhibition of physical responses to stimuli. Others may claim love is a spiritual response, the recognition of a soul that completes one’s own soul, or complements or augments it. The divinity of the love of God consists and confirms itself in the fact that in himself and all his works God is gracious, merciful, and patient, and at the same time holy, righteous, and wise. No matter how seemingly magnificent and grand anything else in human life may appear to be, it is but a shallow substitute at best for the knowing and experiencing of love. #RandolphHarris 1 of 10
As one passes through life, so many types of experiences are given priority position in the human mind. Some of these areas are indeed important, in terms of human life experience, but none is as important as love. As with so many things in life to which people may be accustomed, loves true value is never fully understood or comprehended by most until such time as a particular expression of love is lost. Our son has a small toy robot. It can walk and perform other simple function. Should it fall, it can, with some difficulty, right itself. It performs its programmed function mechanically, without feeling. Yet, it has no capacity to grow or to alter its destined course. It responds immediately to any external force that satisfies its needs, and ceases to function when its internal spring is spent. Satan would have all of the children of Father in Heaven behave like robots. If humans are to enter into a genuinely personal relationship with one’s Maker, one must first experience some degree of freedom and autonomy. For only a relatively independent being can enter into a relationship of love and trust with one’s Creator, and man’s fall is seen as a fall into this independence. It is thus analogous to the phase of disobedience which signals a young child’s assertion of his or her own individuality in relation to one’s parents. #RandolphHarris 2 of 10
If God had created a World in which natural law were continuously adjusted for the avoidance of all pain, the more heroic human virtues would never be evoked. You notice how when a great disaster hits the Earth, people come together and are loving, and supportive, and giving? When the 2010 Earthquake hit Haiti, this person told me it is because the people are bad and it was punishment, but you noticed that Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma are major cataclysms happening in the United States of America, and these violent conditions, hardly fit for human nor beast, beset our country in a lethal fashion, not once, but twice in just a week, and more are expected. If you notice, many of these storms follow the Transatlantic slave trade’s path. We are just blessed they are happening now, when it is hot. On January 12, 1888, the temperatures in the Great Plains, from South Dakota down to Texas, suddenly plummeted, the winds began to howl, and the snow started to fall. Hundreds of children were trapped in their one-room schoolhouses, giving the storm its name: The Schoolhouse Blizzard. Many of those who tried to make back to the house never did and were among the 235 who perished. Some people were buried under snowdrifts and not found until Spring. #RandolphHarris 3 of 10
Bad as that storm was, it was not the worst storm of ’88. The so-called Great White Hurricane hit the Eastern Coast of the United States of America on March 12, 1888 and lasted for three days. Fifty inches of white powder, fresh snow, fell in Massachusetts, and there were drifts as high as 50 feet in places from Maryland to Canada. Two hundred ships went down, and more than 100 seaman were among the 400 people who were ultimately killed in the storm. New York City, where another 200 of that total died, was the apex of the disaster. Fire damage in cities hit by the storm totaled over $609,477,272.73 because wagons and horses were unable to leave the firehouses. The Great White Hurricane is still, 130 years after the fact, considered the worst blizzard in United States history. The World is alive and always changing. We cannot really control the climate no matter how many electric cars we produce or gas taxes we pass. Not only that, but using a leaf blower for a year produces as much pollution as a car driving 1,000,000 miles, and they are very loud and disturb the peace. We cannot control the Earth, but we can control ourselves. “Because the children of God are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God has given,” reports 2 Nephi 26. #RandolphHarris 4 of 10
Because there is suffering in the World, people have a chance to develop and display qualities such as courage, fortitude, loyalty, honesty, and the caring and protective aspects of love. The plan of the Lord created people to be independent spirits. The spirit is created by God and matured in the premortal existence, tabernacle in a body of flesh and bones. A mother and father participate with God in this sacred experience. These parents loved, guide, and inspire the growing child. With proper understanding of an obedience to the teachings of the Savior, the child learns, and by practice of the truth, is converted into a self-reliant, loving, serving son or daughter of God, whose potential for growth and accomplishment is limitless; whose destiny, if he or she is fully obedient, is to return to the presence of God to partake of his glory and to share in his exalted work. Such an individual can have great happiness in this life as well. The eternal happiness of human beings in society with one another and in communion with God is symbolized by the Kingdom of Heaven. The final fulfilment of God’s purpose for his creatures in his Heavenly Kingdom constitutes a good so great and enduring that it justifies all the pains which have been experiences just to reach it. #RandolphHarris 5 of 10
Many of our strongest beliefs are either based on or confirmed by our own experience. There is no species of reasoning more common, more useful, and even necessary to human life, than that which is derived from the testimony of people, and the reports of eye witnesses and spectators’. However, testimony varies in its reliability and so needs to be used critically. Mortal life is a proving ground, and our proving grounds vary. Some of us are born with physical limitations; others are lonely or do not enjoy good health. Some are challenged by economic conditions, the lack of good parental example, or a myriad of other things that test our mettle. While much of the pain and sorrow we endure is the result of our own stubborn acts of disobedience, many of the things that appear to be obstacles in our path are used by a loving Creator for our own personal growth. Life never was intended to be easy. Rather, it is a period of growth. It is interwoven with difficulties, challenges, and burdens. We are immersed in a white squall of persistent, Worldly pressures that could destroy our happiness. Yet, these very forces, if squarely faced, provide opportunity for tremendous personal growth and development and redevelopment. #RandolphHarris 6 of 10
If God’s primary purpose for humans was to evoke in them a free and uncompelled love and trust in relation to himself, would this purpose be frustrated by his creating people so that they could not do other than make this response? The conquering of adversity produces strength of character, forges self-confidence, engenders self-respect, and assures success in righteous endeavor. Some of us at one time or another let the pressures of life or the false teaching of humans cloud our vision, but when we see with clarity, the difference between the plan of God and that of Satan is unmistakable. Satan would convert divinely independent spirits into creatures bound by habit, restricted by appetite, and enslaved by transgression. He would persuade us to improperly use the divine gift of free agency. Through subtle, tempting influence, he encourages us to gratify desire for personal power and influence or to succumb to appetite. He progresssively binds those that follow carnal desire. Unless they repent, they are effectively converted into robots who no longer exercise control over their eternal destiny. In contrast, God is a loving, patient, understanding Father deeply interested in our personal well-being, anxious for our happiness, and totally committed to our eternal progression. #RandolphHarris 7 of 10
Our happiness on Earth, as well as our eternal salvation, requires many correct decisions, no one of which is difficult to make. Together they forge a character resistant to the eroding influences that surround us. Noble character is a great beauty and priceless worth. Yet, it can be broken in a moment through transgression. When protected by self-control, righteous character will endure for eternity. As we read and ponder the scriptures, with deep faith, we must earnestly seek our Father in prayer, and peace will envelop our beings. With sincere repentance and obedience to the commandments of God, coupled with genuine concern for and service to other, fear will be purged from our hearts. We are conditioned to understand it is our divine right to learn to be at peace and be happy, and know that life is rewarding, productive, and meaningful. We are individuals not a robot enslaved by adversity, nor need we be as we wisely use our free agency to follow the teachings of the Savior. Divine love can surpass and be of far greater importance than all other experiences of love because it is the eternal love which one can have throughout childhood and into antiquated age or latter years of life. It is the ultimate source or essence from which all other forms of love in human experience come forth. #RandolphHarris 8 of 10
Do not fear the challenges of life, but approach them patiently, with faith in God. Good can come from trouble, Trauma can enliven the heart and enrich the soul. God’s love can fill the human soul with peace when one’s life may seem to be in helpless turmoil. God’s love is powerful, as it can heal the emotions, and the physical body by exerting the presence of divine love through the mortal or human side of the mind. This divine love has the authority that affects the mind and chemistry of the body, and through such an effect, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing is experienced. With all the love in my heart, I extend an invitation to all to obtain a fulness of an understanding of the plan of happiness and exaltation provided by the Savior. In every living person, there is another kind of knowledge, an unreasoning one, but which gives a possibility of living—faith. Faith is the force of life. Believing in God and seeking to live his law provides the power to successfully overcome the testing challenges brings us. We can overcome personal challenges we encounter an actually find joy in living. We can solve any problem by putting our lives in harmony with God and being kind to each other. With the help of the Lord, there are no problems, only challenges. Faith in God develops a personal love for him, which is reciprocated through his blessings to us in times of need. #RandolphHarris 9 of 10
God will reward your faith with power not only to endure, but also to overcome hardships, disappointment, trials, and struggles of daily living. Through diligently striving to live the law of God and with faith in him, we will not be diverted from our eternal course either by the ways or the praise of the World. May each of us develop faith in God sufficient to fight the battles of life victoriously with the strength of God, with his miraculous strength; and mighty power. We will then find the happiness we so much desire in our lives. The Spirit of the Lord has been with us. We have every reason to be grateful. We have been refreshed in our testimonies and strengthened in our faith. All of us will be the stronger as we implement in our lives and in our homes the things we have learned. We thank God for his mercies and blessings. His power and wisdom has brought his people more fully into the knowledge and favor of the intelligent people of the Earth. Our business is to work righteousness in the Earth, to seek for development of a knowledge of God’s will and of God’s ways, and of his great and glorious truths which he has revealed through the scriptures. We shall lower our voices of criticism and negativism; that we look for good in the World, and that we will be honest with our employers in giving our time and talents and deal honestly with everyone we meet. God will wash away your pain, take away your tears, and wait alone for you. God will listen to you talking because he wants you to believe and have faith and change what is coming through. #RandolphHarris 10 of 10
God Produced Intelligibility, a Lifting Mystery?
God is an obscure representation of the essence or essential presence of the divine being. The idea of the highest good cannot be realized by human beings themselves; yet they cover within themselves the duty to work for this end. Hence, humans find themselves impelled to believe in the cooperation or management of a moral Ruler of the World, by means of which alone this goal can be reached. We are under obligation to attain the highest good and our individual moral perfection. The theory of time forms a sensibility that makes continuing moral development and the attainment of the highest good in hereafter a reality, as the moral order is an objectively valid order, and moral values belong to the nature of reality. Through the history of the World, the human condition, both mentally and physically, is supposed to improve as it is moral law that we are supposed to become good beings. In fact, this is morally binding, as it is the process we must follow to realize the natural order. If we were to assume that the goal of the World-process is the realizing of happiness, there would be the weightiest empirical evidence against us. With moral worth and goodness, it is different. Conditions that work against happiness may work for, not against, the developing, trying, and testing of moral fiber. #RandolphHarris 1 of 10
There are two properties of being extended and being spiritual. If the moral law is eternally valid, and valid whether we recognize it or not, how could this eternal validity stand alone, not embodied in matter and neither seen nor realized by finite minds, unless there were an eternal mind whose thought and will were therein expressed? One can readily agree that the World as we experience it is better adapted to be a vale of soul-making than a hedonistic holiday camp. I want to tell you of an incident that happened many years ago. Two of our sons, then little boys, were wrestling on the genuine mahogany hardwood floors. Mahogany’s beauty—such as that found in red mahogany—improves as it ages, which is just one of the reasons why it is so sought after. As the wood ages, its reddish-brown color continues to deepend. This hardwood is naturally resistant to decay caused by both insects and water. It is tightly grained and usually naturally free of imperfections such as air pockets. With these traits, it is less likely to crack or check in the future. So anyway, they had reached that line which separates laughter from tears. I quickly got up and worked my foot carefully between them and lifted the older one back to a sitting position on the mahogany. As I did so, I said, “Hey there, you little monkeys. You had better simmer down.” #RandolphHarris 2 of 10
To my surprise, he folded his little arms, his dreamy eyes swimming with deep hurt, and protested, “I not a monkey, Daddy, I a person!” Some human suffering (the unmerited suffering of young children, for instance) cannot always be treated plausibly as developing moral fiber, or as realizing any other moral value. The natural environment can figure as the destroyer of moral personality as well as its preserver and nourisher. The years have not erased the overwhelming feeling of love I have for my little sons. Many times over the years, his words have slipped back into my mind, “I not a monkey, Daddy, I a person!” I was taught a profound lesson by my little boy. Perhaps now they know how much their father loves them. Hopefully, they know as well why prayers begin, “Our Father who art in Heaven.” Persons enter life through mortal birth and, in due time, disappear through the evil of death. Most of them never sense why we are here. The moral life is not as a mere conforming to given static principles and rules, but as directing the moral agent along certain paths of self-development. There is development within the moral ideal: We discover tomorrow that today’s ideal had more in it than we had supposed. #RandolphHarris 3 of 10
The goal of life transforms itself as we approach it. The further we pursue it, the less able we become to conceive the human good is purely this-World, secular terms. There is development also within our awareness of time. Purposeful, valuable activity produces an extension of our conscious present; it delivers us from the dullness of one thing after another. Eternity is the complete and simultaneous fruition of a life without bounds. Occasionally, as at the time of birth, we pause in awe of what nature has to say. We see patterns of creation, so ordered and so beautiful as to sponsor deep feelings of reverence and humility. Then, just when we might discover the meaning of life, we are jerked back by the wild, uncontrolled things that humanity is doing to itself. There are so many unanswered questions. Why the inequalities in life? Some are so rich. Some so wretchedly poor. Some so beautifully formed, and other with painful disabilities. Some are gifted and others have intellectual deficiencies. Why the injustice, the untimely death? Why the neglect, the sorrow, the pain? Why divorce, incest, perversion, abuse, and cruelty? As for our motives for pursing good and avoiding evil, they may be summed by as self-interest. #RandolphHarris 4 of 10
If there be order and meaning to life, they are hardly visible in what mortals do to one another and to themselves. The true peace of God begins at any spot a thousand miles from the nearest land. Among these plain and precious truths is the doctrine of humankind. As the truth concerning these revelations comes incrementally, so does our understanding. There can be no religion without some previous knowledge of God. God sees at one view the whole thread of our existence, not only that part which we have already passed through, but that which runs forward into all the depths of eternity. The reality of premortality responds to puzzlings which suggests we are strangers here. It is a curative for the yearnings expressed in music and poetry and literature. Humans are still hunters, through this quarry be a hope, a mystery, a dream. Everything in our life happens as though we entered upon it with a load of obligations contracted in a previous existence. Obligations whose sanctions is not the present life, which seems to belong to a different World, founded on kindness, scruples, sacrifice, a World entirely different from this one, a World whence we emerge to be born on this Earth, before returning thither. #RandolphHarris 5 of 10
Christ is presented as a living demonstration that a human being can be wholly possessed by God. Our birth is but a sleep and forgetting, but the trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home. Amid all the trials and tribulations we have to wade through, the Lord, who well knew our infantile and delicate situation, vouchsafed for us a supply of strength, and granted us a line upon line of knowledge—here a little, and there a little, of which the following was a precious morsel. God’s work involves other planets, but only an account of this Earth, and the inhabitants thereof. There are many Worlds that have passed away by the word of God’s power. The plan and purposes of God were to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life human beings. Thus, the vastness of space reflects the vastness of God’s love for all of his children. Humans were also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or light of truth, was not created nor made, neither indeed can be. For the human is spirit. The element, inseparably connected, received a fulness of joy. People are called by the Church to better behavior, behavior befitting Church member who have been called from before the foundation of the World. #RandolphHarris 6 of 10
Earth is a soul searching bondage. The life we live, not the creed we preach, is our path to salvation. The intelligences that were organized before the World were many and noble and great. If there be two spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other, they have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end for they are eternal. There was a pouring down of knowledge from Heaven, a cascade of plain and precious truths including the pivotal doctrine of the premortal existence of human beings. Our adversity and time afflictions are but a small moment. One’s life, therefore, is brevity compared to eternity-like being dropped off by a parent for a day at school. But what a day! Babies have no concept of time and never know when their parents are coming back and cannot pick up a phone and call when they are scared or worried. Much like adults waiting on God. We ask only for tolerance, freedom, and a mutual good will. Premortality is not a relaxing doctrine. We must know that we have these duties and aspirations without already presupposing God and immortality. Only in this way could the existence of God and immortality be the conclusion in our argument. For each of us, there are choices to be made, incessant and difficult chores to be done, ironies and adversities to be experienced. #RandolphHarris 7 of 10
Our observations of an instance of virtuous action sits the occasion for a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction, which enables us to distinguish that action as virtuous. We have time to be well spent, talents, and gifts to be well employed. Similarly, our observation of an instance of vicious action is the occasion for a feeling of pain or uneasiness, which enables us to distinguish that action as vicious. The moral sense is also an influencing motive in our pursuit of virtue and our avoidance of vicious behavior, and it plays a part in our bestowal of praise and blame. Just because we were chosen there and then, surely does not mean we can be indifferent here and now. We must be prepared to prove we are chosen and faithful. In fact, adequacy in the first estate may merely have ensured a stern, second estate with more duties and no immunities! Additional tutoring and suffering appears to be the pattern for the Lord’s most apt pupils. Our existence, therefore, is a continuum matched by God’s stretching curriculum. This doctrine brings unarguable identity, but also serves accountability to our lives. It also reminds us that we do not have all of the data. Spirit exists at various levels. #RandolphHarris 8 of 10
There are many times when we must withhold judgement and trust God, even in the midst of all these things. Only with the help of this doctrine can we begin to understand things as they really were, are, and will become. Agreeing to enter this second estate, therefore, was like agreeing in advance to anesthetic—the anesthetic of forgetfulness. Doctors do not de-anesthetize a patient, in the midst of what was previously authorized, to ask him or her again, if it should be continued. We agree to come here and to undergo certain experiences under certain conditions. We have forgotten! However, our forgetfulness cannot alter the facts. We have an inward sense of the divine presence. We often catch a sparkle from the awakened memories of the immortal soul, which illuminates our whole being as with the glory, grace, love, and protection of our former home. There can be sudden premonitions and déjà vu. A vision from the database of memory can beckon us forward to that far pavilion, filled with everlasting splendors and resurrected beings. God determined us to be pleased by benevolent actions. Society exists because the far greater number of people want peace. #RandolphHarris 9 of 10
Prayers for the people in Canada, as their pristine cobalt blue skies are being inundated by ominous bulges and blankets of smoke, as more than 20 wildfires are, making it look like they are living on the planet Mars. Thick blankets of red smoke are blacking out the Sun and engulfing the Sky. Canada has also been dealing with record-breaking temperatures. We have seen violent weather hurl houses and vehicles through the air, cause inland floods, and storm surges along coastal areas. A heatwave, by contrast, can appear benign and is often marked by high pressure and long, hot, sunny days. As the thermometer climbs into the danger zone, and stays there for days—even weeks on end, a heatwave become malevolent. People are complaining of burning eyes, trouble breathing, water tasting like burnt plastic, ashes on their cars, and smoke has forced them to seek treatment for breathing conditions and heat exhaustion, as temperatures soar to over 107 degrees Fahrenheit. The smoke is so thick that fighter jets cannot be seen nor heard. More than 7,000 people are living under evacuation orders. These are some of the worst fires in decades. With the Korean missile crisis, Hurricane Harvey, and the fires in Canada all starting after the eclipse, maybe it is a sign of angry or quarreling gods. Korean folklore says solar eclipses happen because mythical dogs are trying to steal the Sun. The eclipse has been said to be a bad omen for centuries. #RandolphHarris 10 of 10
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
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 