Realizing that Love is the great motivating power of life, and knowing that Gog must be at the center of everything, let us take the time to turn and begin to go where we ought to go not rather than later. Without a felt connection to things we become numb to the World and lost that important home and family. Sometimes we set our hearts on things we feel we have to obtain, and when we get them find they do not mean as much as once we thought they would. We assume that our loneliness has to do with other people, but it comes from our estrangement from a World that we have depersonalized by our philosophies. And so the years move by—and even while yet young we feel like our souls are old. Life intends and wants us to give every good thing, but when the circulation is stopped at any point it is slowed down at every point. A good enough illustration is the circulation of our blood in our physical bodies. Stop the circulation anywhere and it is decreased everywhere, and whenever the circulations is stopped stagnation sets in, and infection is likely to follow. We never drink from stagnant pools because we know they are poisonous. We seek the free-flowing water which purifies itself as it flows. Our minds are psychological pools through which flow the thoughts of God, which are thoughts of love and generosity, good will and peace, poise and power. Whenever there is stagnation in our psychological lives we shall discover that the reason is because we have not permitted this flow. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8
Everything moves in circles. This is the way of life, and what we refuse to give we refuse to accept. Nothing is more important than that we learn how to forgive both ourselves and others. It seems that forgiveness is one of the greatest lessons in life. The human mind has a necessity to relieve itself of the burden of condemnation, and the lesson to all humanity is that even God cannot give us what we refuse to accept. It is impossible for us to feel relief and release from self-condemnation while we bear condemnation towards others. We long to be free from burdens. How we yearn for a sense of release from fear and doubt and uncertainty. How greatly we long for a security which takes fear from our lives. We pray for a certainty and a faith that will make us whole. The physician and the surgeon can patch up this physical body of ours, and the psychologist or psychiatrist can help us to straighten out our emotional tensions, for all of which we should be grateful. However, only life can give life. Beyond this body and deeper than this mind there is a perennial wellspring of life which can flow through us to eternal givingness and to everlasting forgivingness. Beloved friends, where are you really going? What do you really want? Every day is part of eternity. What happens here and now is forever important. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8
Prepare yourselves for opportunities that await you here and now, as well as for a future that is forever. Who would not be in paradise? If we felt that someone beside us had the power to say to us, today shall thou be with me in paradise, in the Garden of Eden of the soul, in the fields that blood forever, beside the still waters—if we knew that there was someone who could do this for us, would we not exchange everything we have for this gift? Of course we would. The laws of nature, the laws of God, the laws of life, are one and the same and are always in full force. We live in a Universe of law. Spring follows Winter. This we can count on. The Sun will show itself on time again tomorrow morning. This we can count on. The Universe remains to the heart unhurt, it is your Heavenly Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. The Kingdom is something we do not earn; it is the gift of Heaven. This heart is unhurt is the heart that God gave us. We alone have refused to receive the gift; it has never been withheld. From the day we are first ushered into this World, until the last moment when the soul takes it silent flight into the unseen, our life is drawn from an invisible source. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8
The moral laws and spiritual laws are also in full force. This also we can count on. All of us will realize the results of how we live our lives. And do not let anyone say that mere humans have right or power to repeal God’s commandments or ever set them aside—commandments that are so practical and essential, a part of life, dealing as they do with health and happiness and peace, with honesty and morality and cleanliness, and excellence, and all else that pertains to life. If someone tells you, my beloved friends, that you can set the commandments of God aside without realizing the results—if someone tells you that, then you may know that you are listening to someone who does not know, or is not telling the truth. These minds, these bodies God has given, with their wondrous physical functioning, must last a mortal lifetime—and to impair or dull the sense, or damage their physical functioning, or abuse or fail to care for them—to indulge in body-destroying, mind-dulling, spirit-blighting substances is not the best use of our resources and could lead to unwisdom. Whatever is not good for humans should not be used by humans—nor done by humans. It is intended that we should be happy. It is meant that we should live to the full; that we should sing and dance and be sober; that we should love and be loved in return. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8
However, in our ignorance we have inhibited the action of God in our lives, and so we have cut ourselves off from the only power than can help. And it is not only physical punishment that comes from departing from the laws of life, but also psychological and spiritual punishment, and the anguish of the soul inside. The worst punishment of all is that in the court of one’s own conscience, no guilty person is acquitted. The only sensible thing to so it retrace our steps and start all over again. We should not do this with any sense of morbidity nor fear, but rather with the feeling of an explorer or navigator who knows that there is an undiscovered country in our own minds. It is the World the way God made it. There is a humanity that we have not yet met. It is the divinity hidden within each one of us. There is a God who exists everywhere. We shall never see this God until we look through the eyes of our own divinity. Well, we ought to live as we ought to live, not only because it would please our parents, but as a favor for ourselves—for every commandment, every requirement God has given is for our happiness, for our health, and for our peace and progress. My beloved friends, even selfishly it is smart to keep the commandments God has given. The human penchant for thinking things through from first principles could be the key factor in turning people towards belief in paranormal powers. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
Recognizing that similar beliefs in paranormal powers have been characteristic of all known human societies throughout history, it is possible that there origin lay not in anybody’s direct observation of paranormal phenomena as such but rather in what inevitably happens wen thinking people start reflecting on the meaning of certain relatively familiar facts of life. First of all, what is it that makes the difference between a living body and a dead one; what causes working, sleep, trance, infirmary, and death? Secondly, what are these human shapes which appear in dreams and visions? The obvious inference is that every human has two things belonging to them, namely life and a phantom. Now, along with the physical side there must be concern also with pollution of the mind and soul—concern for the purveyors and exploiters of pornography, those who profit or for other purposes would fill people’s minds with vile, debasing pictures and impressions. We have an obligation to safeguard children in their innocence and honesty. And besides the rising cry to clean up pollution, let there be like concern to clean up physical pollution of mind and manners and morals. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8
Life or the animating principle can leave a person’s body, as it does in death or dreamless sleep, so that although the body persists the conscious self is gone; and second that a ghostly version of this conscious self can wander and go visiting, as may happen when it turns up in another person’s dream or vision. From which they might well have drawn the reasonable conclusion that the ghostly self that sometimes turns up elsewhere is one and the same entity as the animating self that sometimes leaves the body. If the self returns to the body the human wakes or escapes from one’s trance; if it stays away, one dies and one’s body corrupts, although as a ghost it may continue to haunt other people’s lives. From this it would surely have been but a short step to believing in the possible occurrence of a variety of more exotic paranormal phenomena. Once the premise of immortality, immateriality and transcendence is granted, every magic act on the part of the transcending self becomes possible: after all, it belongs to a different World, one that is not bound by the limitations of gravity, density, and time and space in general. Psychic action at a distance, telepathic communication, reincarnation, messages from the dead, and so on—all would become not merely real possibilities but, with just a little imagination, real probabilities. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8
So much that is these phenomena were not in fact to be encountered in real life, it might seem quite reasonable to invent them: which is, arguably, what in culture after culture actually transpired. Now, as we go along in life, two things should surely be considered: the power of prevention and the power of repentance. Why run against the laws of life? Why run headlong into ill health and unhappiness? Why life contrary to conscience? Think of the heartbreak and waste and regret that could be prevented by living as we ought to live. No one can set aside consequences. The heavy weight of wrongdoing is too big a burden. The heaviest burden in all the World is the burden of sin. It is not a happy sight to see those in the anguish of carrying that weight around, wishing to Heaven they had done differently. However, thanks be to God for the principle of repentance, for a Father who understands us and who has assured us he will accept our repentance so long as it is sincere. This you can count on. O turn from those ways which will take you where no one really wants to go. Turn to that which will bring you peace and self-respect and cleanliness and a quiet conscience. God is all there is. God is love. Love is the motivating power of the whole Universe. God is in everything; God is in everyone. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8
We have been given divine attributes that allow us to navigate through life, in order to fill the measure of our creation. If we knit our hearts together, we will make the World a more beautiful and fruitful place, and God will protect us. We are on this journey together, and in order to reach our sublime destiny, we need each other, and we need to be unified. The very nature of the Law of Cause and Effect, and the reality of personal volition, compels us to see that divine forgivingness is a principle in nature and that this principle is the essence of love. People who have sensed the love of God have also experienced divine forgivingness and, through the alchemy of thought, have transmuted the energy of despair into the energy of hope. Thus, they have been reborn. The Lord’s followers are one in purpose, in love, and in works. They know who they are, they know what they have to do, and they do it with love for God and for each other. They are part of a magnificent kaleidoscope of redemption from the vast hosts of fears and doubts. The spirit of the human species is some part of God and cannot be lost. The soul, always drawn inward, seeks contemplation and the more shadowy, mysterious of the underworld. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
With the clamour of voices asking to be believed about their spiritual experiences, their pedigree, their number, and their framing—it is hardly surprising that the majority of people end up believing at least some part of what they are being told about the paranormal. With so much smoke, even a dispassionate observer could hardly fail to assume that somewhere there is a roaring fire. Some of the blessings they received were that they were filled with the Holy Ghost, miracles took place among them, the Church grew, there was no contention among the people, and the Lord blessed all of them in all things. We can suppose that the reason why they were so united is because they knew the Lord personally. They had been close to him, and they have been witnesses of his divine mission, and of the miracles that he performed. Believer know that God is the source of all healing, peace, and eternal progress. As we draw closer to God, as we seek to receive a personal witness through the Holy Ghost of his divine mission, we will have a better understanding of our purpose; the love of God will dwell in our hearts. A miracle may express some unfathomable truth about the ways of the soul. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
Belief in God is not hard to ascertain. Most people have never been to the Nile River before, nor do they know anyone who has, but they are quite convinced that there has to be a source for the river. If we have been sinners we can become saviors, and the first thing we should save it our own thought. We should elevate our lives upon the divine love of God, and there, where the love of God blows free, we should permit the soul to be purified. As we accept God’s love and learn to forgive and exercise compassion, which are eternal in the nature of reality, the shackles of bondage shall be broken and we will experience more freedom. This should be done consciously definitely, and scientifically. Only in the concept of the infinite love transcendent over all human error does the World find a mental equivalent, a spiritual perception adequate to meet its need. Miracles happen when the children of God work together guided by the spirit. Everyone of our paths is different, yet we walk them together. Our journey in life is not about what we have done nor where we have been; it is about where we are going and what we are becoming, in unity. The Holy Ghost gives us a vision that our natural eyes cannot see, because revelation is scattered among us, and when we put that revelation together, we can see more. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
We all are human beings and we all have made mistake. Many of us carry an unconscious burden of guilt and we all need a sense of being forgiven. One of the most revealing things in our soul is our need to feel that we are right with God, with life, and with each other. We know that a continuous state of resentment can produce many types of physical ailments. This does not mean just infirmaries of the imagination. It means aliments that the imagination creates in the body through psychosomatic relations between the mind and the body. A continuous state of resentment against others can badly affect the digestive system. It can produce many forms of physical irritation. It can suppress our whole style of living and block the spontaneous flow of enthusiasm, without which there is very little joy in life. Much of our inability to forgive others comes from a deeply rooted inferiority complex. Often our antagonistic attitude toward others rises from a need within our own minds to be relieved of our unconscious sense of self-condemnation, as though we have such a burden of guilt within our minds that we can hardly bear it. And so we project it to others just for the relief it gives. This brings us back to one o the fundamental covenants with God: Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
Let us continue on our journey together in life. Sometimes our soul work is exciting and inspiring, but often it is also challenging, requiring genuine courage. This work will make our lives more beautiful and harmonious in the World. We can be sure that we will all continue to smile. Some of us will do it more than others; others will give the impression that they twinkle, smirk, grin, or beam, touching different nerves as the case may be. Babies will continue to delight us with their precious smile. Above all, we will not hesitate to read the smiling face, or its reflection in art, as we always have done, with profound interest in the progress and possibilities of the unique moment in which we watch it break through, like a ray of Sunshine projecting through the clouds as if it were practicing a perfect spiritual science. The smile makes it feel like people are able to look inside of us, and allows part of their radiant life to flow through us. We all have a need for a feeling of being one with God. God is life and love, and how can life and love flow through us if we stop them at any point? It is then and only then when we unblock the stream of life which so freely flows to all and through all, when we permit it. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Our ancestors have recommended that we are carefully exposed to specific kinds of music, art, food, landscapes, cultures, and climates. Things are rich in what they can offer the soul, but in order to enjoy that richness we must learn to enjoy things in moderation and use them with great discernment. When we gather our family histories and go to the temple on behalf of our ancestors, God fulfills promised blessings simultaneously on both sides of the veil. Family relationships can be some of the most rewarding yet challenging experiences we encounter. Many of us have faced a fracture of some sort within our families. However, when your heart is frozen, it has to melt, and there must be a determination to repair the breach. We know that God, our Father, is involved in the influential plan to heal our relationships. Despite our unshakable testimonies, our love for our ancestors has to be the catalyst to heal a rift, mend a hurt, and seek and extend forgiveness. It is the nature of spirit to give. Spirit is the essence of life as well as the intelligence back of everything. It is complete and perfect within itself. It is all-powerful and all-presence. When God directs us to do one thing, he often has many purposes in mind, which can be a blessing for the living, and provide the power to heal that which needs healing. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
As we care for our souls, it might include a recovery of formal religion in a way that is both intellectually and emotionally satisfying. We have nothing to offer nature other than a willingness to cooperate with her laws. If we are to demonstrate that the divine gifts are a principle in the Universe, then we must increase influence of the Holy Ghost to feel strength and direction for our own live and learn the motivation to repent. An understanding of who we are, where we come from, gives us a clearer vision of where we are going. It is also important to exercise an increased refining, sanctifying and moderating the influences of our hearts. The divine gift is from eternity to eternity. Many great souls have, through faith, increased assistance to men troubled, broken, or stressed hearts and make the wounded whole. They have received blessings directly and constantly from the divine bounty. The spirit of God not only gives but it also creates the channel through which we are blessed with increased personal revelations and peace, which will fortify our commitment to stay on the covenant path. Meaningful growth occurs going backward and forward through the generations as sealing ordinances weld families together. We need have no sense of unworthiness, nor should we fall under the illusion that it is spiritual to be poor, nor the equally wrong thought the people who happen to possess enough of this World’s goods to make life comfortable are unholy. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
Beliefs in paranormal powers—or echoes of them—remain central to our cultural institutions at every level. They are there as an elite opinion, there en masse. They continue to run right through our art and entertainment, our music, painting, literature, architecture, theatre, and cinema. They dominate or calendars. They are invoked in all our rites of passage—at weddings, births, and funerals. Paranormal beliefs follow us to school, on to the sports field, on the battle ground, in and out of love. Our beliefs in the spiritual even creep into our beds and keep us wide eyed in the night. Many, probably the majority, of the public figures whom we look up to—the princes, presidents, popes, pop stars, parliamentarians, press barons, prime-time presenters, prima donnas, premier league players, and so forth, who act as society’s opinion formers—acknowledge by words or actions their own acceptance of paranormal ethos. So many people are interested in the supernatural because they have an interest in there being two domains—that beyond the World of what s visible lies the possibility that there might be something else, if only we could one could get the right entrance. Before our request was made—in the beginning—the state of being already existed which made possible the fulfillment of our desires. There were no prior conditions to impose themselves upon the creation of our desire. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
What is rare indeed is to find any public figure disavowing paranormality entirely. At the level of more everyday interactions with our peers, the weight of popular opinion is heavily pro-paranormal. Indeed, with at least two-thirds of ordinary people being confirmed believers in spiritual powers, the likelihood that a person will come under pressure from one’s friend and family is very high. One the basis of the figure from the opinion polls, we can estimate that in Britain the chance, for example, of a man marrying a woman who is a believer is 79 percent, the chance of his having at least one parent who is a believer is over 90 percent, and the chance of one finding oneself sitting with a believer when one joins two other couples at a café table is 99 percent. The spirit is absolutely without limit; nothing has ever imposed any restriction upon it; God knows no limitation, no limiting circumstances. And since those who believe are more likely to speak up than those who do not (it is the believers, after all, who have all the best tunes) the probability that a lunchtime conversation will be biased in the paranormal direction remains overwhelming. As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. The law of faith tells us we will receive a direct benefit by believing in God even though some of us many not completely understand its intricate mechanics. Blind faith is based more or less on superstition which is still an affirmative attitude in the law. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
The law of God is perfect, freedom, charity, and must reply to faith. However, it is better when faith becomes understanding, for it is then that faith becomes perfect. We have to have faith in God, and this allows us to fulfill the divine abundance. Law and faith come together. The bowl of acceptance is held up and the outpouring of the spirit is measured into the individual experience according to the law of mental equivalents, which says that whatever we inwardly conceive, we outwardly experience. This is because the externa is merely a reflection of the internal. Faith is not trying to compel the mind to accept something which it denies. It is merely causing the mind to see why it may believe in that which it affirms. All we have to do is to look about on nature to reassure ourselves that there is a creative power at work and that the entire physical Universe proceeds from an invisible source, which it God. God, in his infinite capacity, seals and heals individuals and families despite tragedy, loss, and hardship. We sometimes compare the feelings we experience in temples as having caught a glimpse of Heaven. Mortals say of some temporal sufferings, no future bliss can make up for it, not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. The blessed will say, “We have never lived anywhere expect Heaven.” #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
In our case the instrument is our faith, belief, acceptance, mental equivalent, spiritual embodiment, understanding of the meaning of the words we use in prayer. Our mental attitude toward the divine gift should be one of acceptance. We are to look forward to it with anticipation and with enthusiastic attention. We are to maintain an inner joy. And why not—if we are to realize that the divine energy is a gift of perfect laws of liberty, forever made, and if the divine will is the outpouring of the spirit into self-expression through us–? Let us, then, receive the gift! God will strengthen, help, and uphold us; and he will sanctify to us our deepest distress. When we gather our family histories and go to the temple on behalf of our ancestors, God fulfills many of these promised blessings for mortals and those now living eternal life. Although we can be inspired all day long about temple and family history experiences others have had, we must also do something to actually experience the joy ourselves. As we draw closer to God, we will discover, gather, and correct our family and ourselves. Additionally, blessings will flow to us and open up our hearts to the divine love that is radiating from God, and we will find healing for whatever needs to be healed. Because of these blessings, we find that, spiritually, we have never lived anywhere expect Heaven. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Because, as we mature, our mantle of authority gets extended: from parents to teacher, doctors, law enforcement, priests, and so, in time to others we get to know on a personal level. However, not that the faith that most of us have eventually come to put in these high status people need never is absolute nor without verification. We learn to trust, but verify. It may be that as children we had no choice but to believe our parents, and even now that as adults we have little choice but to believe the newscaster or the meteorologist: but even so, we have never had simply to take their authority for granted. Whenever we find people we can actually trust, are able to check up on it, we have discovered that putting faith in the specialized knowledge can really work. If people consistently tell the truth, it is likely they because they care about their reputation, they will continue to feed us with impeccably verified information. These highly placed individuals are, however, not the only sources we are likely to consider we have good grounds for treating as authoritative. However, because peer pressure and money can lead some to change their mind, even about such a seemingly unarguable matter as the colour of the sky, it may not be advantageous to trust popular opinions. It was found that when, for example, a group of twenty reporters (under instruction from the experimenter) all said the sky looked green, there was a strong tendency for a twenty first (uninstructed) group member to say the same. #RandolphHarris 2 of 9
Because there are so many uninformed opinions, and fake news floating around, 58 percent of subjects agreed with this statement “Free speech being a privilege rather than a right, it is proper for a society to suspend free speech whenever it feels itself threatened.” That is because we cannot rely on the good faith of those who invite us to believe them—however high in status or however numerous. Sometimes even when we have opinions that may offend others, we should not express them because they could hurt someone’s feelings, and it is not even necessary for us to speak up. People who are always running their mouth and trying to use propaganda to convince people of certain things may find inclusion in pack mentality, but they may actually find their comments are so upsetting that they offend the general community. Popular delusions and the madness of crowds following the lead of others, whether in matters of risky business investments or launching moral crusades long hair have found themselves in bad situations. “Mists of darkness in vision are temptations of the adversary,” reports 1 Nephi 12.17. #RandolphHarris 3 of 9
A panic terror of the end of the World seized the good people of Leeds and its neighbourhood in the year 1806. A hen, in a village close by, laid eggs, on which were inscribed the words, Christ is coming. Great numbers visited the spot, and examined these wondrous eggs, convinced that the day of judgment was near at hand. Presumably, if these good people had been encouraged to make up their own minds on this usual event, few would have take it to be an absolute truth—because it would likely have occurred to them that an egg which comes out might be an egg which had been put in. However, when great numbers around were acclaiming the miracle, it was apparently much harder to resist. In the past, news anchors did not always smile, laugh, and clown around on air. They clung to the idea of authority, which naturally filtered down to distinguished-looking, paternal or maternal anchors who, summoned for people, events, and images at will, speaking in tones of certainty, fulfilling the role of a great Sybil with whom all things begin and end. These news anchors for generations were paragon, and did not smile often. Nor would their audience have expected them to. When the doctor talks to you, it is usually in a serious manner because they are dealing with serious information that is extremely important. People know if you are expected to take them seriously, they need to act professionally. #RandolphHarris 4 of 9
However, the electronic media may no longer depend on this type of omniscient authority, though despite widespread cynicism (and much better knowledge about how the system works), many people obviously still thirst for it. Today, many feast on the outrageous opinions that spill copiously from the fake news media, as if it is some kind of comedy central parody. As it is well known, the professionals have been replaced by supposedly persuasive personalities, and alternative formats have transformed news into new entertainment. Some of these were deliberately made to resemble a family, who tedious banter putatively makes more plausible the information purveyed between coffee breaks. Elsewhere, in more conventional formats, it became fashionable for a man and a woman to read the news together, looking (at least in theory) not unlike a married couple. This had the advantage of providing each with another person to debate with or smile seldomly at in lighter moments and, it was thought, engage the sympathies of suburban millions. Further latitude was given to the person reading the weather forecast, who is allowed to engage in drollery, even when warning of hail or blizzards. We may be perfectly aware that the winning smile of the news anchor is part of a seamless performance, but we are also aware that it conforms to wider expectations in respect of public behavior. #RandolphHarris 5 of 9
The person behind a desk whose smile flickers in the ghostly blue light of the television set would presumably look rather similar if we found ourselves sitting in the same room on opposite sides of a boardroom table, or being interviewed by him or her for a job. Not for one moment do we suppose the this individual’s posed smile is in any of these situations a sincere expression of fondness directed to us personally, but we have some difficulty locating the precise degree to which he or she depends upon its masking function. Is the simile of the newsreader a highly evolved version of the mask of comedy, primarily a piece of theater, or is it inherently deceitful? Does the truth lie somewhere in between? You have no idea who is talking to them through that nearly invisible ear piece they are wearing while on set. It was also discovered when we suspect that a statement is deceptive, we tend to concentrate on the quality and consistency of the information contained in it, rather than on the wealth of signals carried by behavior that might better alert us to the right answer. However, the typical liar fools 86 percent of would-be detectors. #RandolphHarris 6 of 9
Misplaced trust in the reliability of the group consensus has undoubtedly played a part in many scams. It is why conjurors find it easier to perform their tricks before a crow than before a single individual—a hundred pair of eyes working together being paradoxically less observant than one pair that is free to roam. It is why spiritualist mediums try to make sure of having a majority of regular attenders and confirmed supporters in their seances before introducing a new member. It is why television comedy shows lay on canned laughter from the audience, why gurus have an entourage of people are willing to agree with them even when they are lying or wrong, and why publishers cover the backs of their books with puffs from friendly Very Import Persons (VIPs). And, an old technique from transient communities is people will come up to you with information and say, “He” or “She” told me this and that. They purposely do not say names because they do not want you to confront their source and the information traced back to them and want you to infer who told them. Sometimes these people even pretend to be your friend and are part of some plot and pretend to show you sympathy by saying things like, “I know what he did” after you have been a victim of crime in an effort to gain your trust and create dialogue and run back to their master with the information. Therefore, do not get involved with people who are pretending to be investigators or know things they should not. It is just unnecessary drama. #RandolphHarris 7 of 9
Even so, the dangers of listening to other people should not be exaggerated, and for the most part will almost certainly be outweighed by the rewards. You know how it is, when someone comes up to your girlfriend with some gossip, she just flips her hair and be like “Girl, please.” Human social arrangements are such that the risk of being the target of deliberate disinformation is relatively small. In ordinary life there really are often solid reasons for allowing expects who because of their expertise know better, or groups who because of their numbers know more, to do the research and think for us. Yet, we must always pray for great discernment from God. Those who have been to previous sittings with the spirit medium or a journalist (you might well assume) more chance than yourself to detect fraud, those who provide the puffs for the book have (you might well assume) actually read the book and thought about it. Life is too short to go round doubting all the time. If we are to get on in the World, we have to learn what experts to trust. We all experience tragedy during which we need the reassurance of the spirit. We must pray with all of our heart that we will hear the voice of the spirit, which is sent to us so generously. The Holy Ghost has spoken to our minds and hearts about the truth—not just once but often. #RandolphHarris 8 of 9
Obedience to God may mean to move quickly. It may mean to prepare. Or it may mean wait in patience for further inspiration. We should also prey to know the needs and hearts of others and how to help them for the Lord. God is at this moment aware of us, our feelings, and the spiritual and temporal needs of everyone around us. God is sending the Holy Ghost to all who have the gist, ask for that blessing, and seek to be worthy of it. We are all free to choose. It is good to pray with all our heart that we will hear the voice of the spirit, which is sent to us so generously. And it is also important to pray that our hearts will open always to receive God. If we ask with real intent and with faith for inspiration, we will receive it in the Lord’s way and in his time. What God has whispered in our hearts is more powerful than anything we have ever heard. May God be our companion constantly. May God bless our fathers and mothers and siblings and everyone who we have ever depended on. We love and appreciate them. We recognize the good we have received from the at the time when it was necessary that we receive that good. However, now, without thinking any less of them, we know that we are whole within ourselves. There is finally only God. We love everyone but depend upon no one. Nothing can rob us of the love we have for others. We have a deep gratitude of knowledge. The souls has no room in which to present itself if we continually fill all the gaps with bogus activities. #RandolphHarris 9 of 9
We all have emotional biases, and this is why we think it unusual when someone we hold to be highly intelligent seems to be irrational on certain points. The centre of the table is an uncommon expression, which she admits; but here, of course, she cannot be questioned more directly. In order to get a true understand, the young lady has to be allowed to express her own thoughts without any suggestions about the symbols being made. In the course of the analysis her reserve gave way to a distinct interest in the interpretations, and a frankness which was made possible by the serious tone of the conversation. To my question as to what kind of flowers they had been, her first answer was “expensive flowers; one has to pay for them”; then she adds that they were lilies-of-the valley, violets, and pinks or carnations. The word lily represents in its popular sense, a symbol of chastity; she confirmed this, as purity occurred to her in association with lily. Valley is a common feminine symbol. The chance juxtaposition of the two symbols in the name of the flower is made to emphasize the preciousness of her virginity—expensive flowers; one has to pay for them—and expresses the expectation that her husband will know how to appreciate its value. The comment, expensive flowers, cetera, has, a different meaning in every one of the three different flower-symbols. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8
When we understand things we shall become more tolerant, more kind, more compassionate, because we shall realize that we are all on the pathway of evolution, not of the spirit, which is already perfect, but of the mind which so often is blindly groping in the dark. A venturesome explanation of the hidden meanings of the apparently quite asexual word violets by unconscious relation to the French viol. However, the association for this young lady has to do with the English word violate. The accidental phonetic similarity of the two words violet and violate is utilized to express in the language of flowers the violence of defloration (another word which makes use of flower-symbolism), and perhaps also to give expression to a masochistic tendency many young women feel they have endured when losing their virginity. An excellent example of the word bridges across which run the paths to the unconscious. “One has to pay for the” here means life, with which she has to pay for becoming a wife and a mother and that her husband must also pay for her taking her virtue by supporting her and his children. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8
This kind of reminds me of one of the topics we discussed in the past where another young lady dreamed she was throwing up all over herself and “wanted” to become pregnant by of harem of men, but feared she would ruin her figure and no longer be attractive to men. What that probably means, because virginity was so valued in the Victorian era, pregnant, or women who had lost their virginity, had a harder time finding husbands because everyone wanted a virgin due to the fact that in noble families you had to basically buy your bride with a dowry. Therefore, if a man was going to buy a bride, he wanted to be her first. And because it was hard to find rich men, if you were not a virgin, it made chances even harder. Now, back to the young lady in question. In association with pinks, which she then calls carnations, it could mean carnal. However, her association is colour, to which she adds that carnations are the flowers which her fiancé gives her frequently and in large quantities. At the end of the conversation she suddenly admits, spontaneously, that she has not told the truth; the word that occurred to her was not colour, but incarnation. Moreover, even the word colour is not a remote association; it was determined by meaning of carnation (exempli gratia flesh-colour)—that is, by the complex. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8
We will be helped over many a difficulty if we realize that an emotional bias does create a mental blind spot. Then if we learn to overlook the differences because we understand them, we shall no longer bring condemnation, or judgement, and our own lives will become enriched as they always must with new knowledge. This lack of honesty shows that the resistance here is at its greatest because the symbolism is here most transparent, and the struggle between libido and repression is most intense in connection wit this phallic theme. The remark that these pinks or carnation flower were often given her by her fiancé is, together with the double meaning of carnation, a still further indication of their phallic significance. The occasion of the present of flowers during the day is employed to express the thought of a sexual present and a return present. She gives her virginity and expects in return for it a rich love-life. However, the words “expensive flowers; one has to pay for them” many have a real, financial meaning, as we anticipated. The flower-symbolism thus comprises the virginal female, the male symbol, and reference to feeling violated by defloration. It is to be noted that sexual flower-symbolism, which, of course, is very widespread, symbolizes the human sexual organs by flowers, the sexual organs of plant; indeed, presents of flowers between lovers may perhaps have this unconscious significance. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
More than likely she feared he would not love her if he knew she was with child because in Victorian times so much emphasis was placed on women being below average weight, and wearing dresses which displayed their unusually thin waist. This is an expression of thoughts hardly known to her husband; thoughts which deal with the love of the senses and its organs; she is prepared for a birthday, exempli gratia she has coitus; the fear of defloration and perhaps the pleasurably toned pain find expression; she admits her physical defects and over-compensates them by means of an over-estimation of the value of her virginity. Her shame excuses the emerging sensuality by the fact that the aim of it all is the child. Even material considerations, which are foreign to the lover, find expression here. The affect of the simple conversation—the feeling of bliss—shows that here strong emotional complexes have found satisfaction. Abiding in the midst of ignorance, thinking themselves wise and learned, fools go aimlessly hither and thither, like the two ships clashing in the night. Therefore, no person should set oneself up as the great example, but humbly following the pathway of truth as one sees it, with a good-natured and flexible tolerance for oneself and others, learn to overlook all mistakes and feel one’s way through confusion back to the central flame from which everyone’s life is lighted. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8
One of the greatest and enduring achievements of the Enlightenment in Europe was to uphold the right to what the pursuit of temporal happiness as the summum bonum (the highest good). How fortunate we are to have inherited this noble idea; how few of us recognize its value and take advantage of it when in so many other places it is denied to so many. Yet it seems our quest for happiness is fraught with difficulties. Many people who are healthy and relatively rich in material comforts find themselves inexplicably dissatisfied and unhappy because they have not figure out what they enjoy about modern life. Many find real happiness in pleasure like homeownership, Sunshine, good food, and fresh fruit. We know that we cannot rely on the smile worn by another person as an infallible gauge of their happiness any more than we may conclude from the exhausted panting of a construction workers that he is disappointed with the record-breaking performance that won an award in construction and not, in fact, deeply elated. Yet we will be reluctant to think a person who absolutely beams with pleasure is deeply unhappy. In our time we have made a concerted effort to exploit the powerful effects of the smile to make other people happy, with mixed success. We may deploy a sympathetic smile to alleviate the distress of a sad person, or someone in trouble or in need. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
The Heavenly Father constantly reminds us that righteousness is happiness. There are terrible themes in life of disobedience or the innocent suffering from terrible wrongs. We must express Heavenly Father’s love for the individual and a desire that they understand that God loves them. God pleads with us and offers us repentance. What a wonderful gift! Repentance is not punishment; it is a privilege. It is a privilege that leads and guides us. To truly guide people, we must connect them with Heaven. The time always comes when each must stand alone. Only Heavenly Father can be there to guide at all times and in all places. Our youth must know how to seek Heavenly Father’s guidance. There will be times in our lives when the blessings or guidance seems distant or lacking. For such times, we must let our covenants be paramount and let our obedience be exact. Then we can ask in faith, nothing wavering, according to our need, and God will answer. God will sustain us as we work and watch. In his own time and way, God will stretch forth his hands to us letting us know he is here. The Heavenly Father really does care and listens to and answers every prayer. The answers to our prayers will come in the Lord’s time. And through that experience, we will understand more than every before that we are children of God and that he has sent us here so that we can feel his presence now and return to live with him someday. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
It is easy enough to see how one who is surrounded by confusing situations might feel inadequate to cope with them, and unconsciously might seek some place of peace or retirement where nothing could bother the individual. Regressive behavior can be simple or complex, harmful or harmless to the individual showing the behavior and to those around them. Regression could be an attempt to achieve something important (exempli gratia, a Universal feeling of childhood innocence, a sense of security, reciprocated love, and trust). Many psychoanalysts have observed that behaviors associated with regression are correlated with the psychological stage at which the person is fixated. For example, an individual fixated at the oral stage might suck on a pen, eat impulsively, vomit, or become verbally aggressive, while an individual fixated at the anal stage might be messy or untidy and an individual fixated at the phallic stage would revert to physical symptoms or to a state of conversation. In contrast, a completely integrated person is one who has learned to meet everything as it comes along and to make the best of it. In our science this is not a hopeless situation. When we say one should make the best of things, we do not mean that one should grin and bear it, or even suffer it to be so, for we know there is a way to meet every situation through the use of the power greater than we are. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
However, we should not close out eyes to reality if there is a tendency toward regression in ourselves or in those we seek to help. We must recognize it just as we would any other error, and meet it with quiet but optimistic determination. The first step in managing regression is to address any underlying medical, neurologic, or psychiatric problem. Depending on the etiology, several interventions (behavioral, pharmacologic, nonpharmacologic) can be employed. Behavioral interventions include empathizing with patients regarding their perceived stress (exempli gratia, being in the hospital; dealing with pain, loss, anxiety, fear, loneliness). It is also useful to ask how the patient is feeling and to name some of the suspected emotions he or she could be experiencing. In some cases, taking a parental position of authority and nurturance could de-escalate the behavior. Some psychologist advocate for joining patients in the child place for alignment building, and outline expectations to create structure for the patient as a means of preventing regression. Confidence and faith in God is also helpful to get the patient to realize that there is noting to be afraid of because something has happened to the individual to make him or her revert to some former existence where there were no cares or burdens or obligations. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
There is nothing to be afraid of in the past, the present, or the future. Our faith should be based on the only rock of salvation there is, which is that God is all there is, there is nothing else. In God we live, and move, and have our being. There is nothing to be afraid of. Underneath are the everlasting arms. We are cradled in love. That is a proclamation that the mind finds sanctuary in the Spirit, and that there are no burdens when we unify ourselves with life. In a certain sense, amnesia, or suddenly forgetting one’s identity is a form of regression because it is a means of getting away from reality. However, at the base of amnesia there is fear, a sense of separation, a disunion which faith alone can heal. The psychological approach can uncover the cause of regression, but we also need the spiritual faith to supply what is needed to make on more completely whole. Spirituality will clear the track of the mind straight back to the eternal source of life, where there are no fears, doubts, or uncertainties. God is our protector, we shall not want; God dwells in the secret place of the Most High and we shall dwell in the light of the Almighty. Keeping thoughts like this in mine is wonderful in helping to establish faith and stability, without which life is but a shambles of frustrated hopes and unsatisfied yearnings. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
We never should ignore negative emotional states because any condition which is psychologically avoided becomes buried in the unconscious. And unfortunately it is buried alive. Thus, the conflict goes beneath the surface of consciousness, where it does more damage than it would if left objective. How can one arrive at a pre-existent aim by following an arbitrarily and aimlessly maundering chain of thoughts—since we shall be able not to solve the problem, it is true, but to get rid of it entirely. An unregulated stream of thoughts, devoid of directing ideas can occur in the realm of hysteria and paranoia. We must meet every situation as it comes with faith and trust, thereby avoiding regressions, escapes, and frustrations. Even the most cynical commentators could not dispute that there must be at least some contexts and occasions when faith in authority pays off: contexts where, if we are offered information about God, we can and should gratefully accept it and believe it, which will stir the angel of healing. In fact, this is obviously the primary route by which people acquire most of their basic beliefs during the first part of their lives and also many of their more in-depth beliefs later on. Pure love is the true sign of every real child of God. Heavenly Father knows what you and I need better than anyone else. It is God’s work and glory to help us at every turn, giving us marvelous temporal and spiritual resources to help us on our path to return to him. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
The powerful concept of innocence makes a tremendous difference to the way we read the smile of an individual, and saves the day at times when something is needed to lighten our impression of what is happening in the World. Unsolved problems, harassing cares, overwhelming impressions, continue the activity of our thought even during sleep, maintaining psychic processes in the system which we have termed the preconscious. We need not underrate the psychic intensities introduced into sleep by these residues of the day’s waking life, especially those emanating from the group of the unsolved issues. The more domineering the worry the more forced could be the connection to be established. Painful dreams may also be punishment dreams. The unconscious wish-impulses evidently strive to assert themselves even during the day, and the fact of transference, as well as the psychoses, tells us that they endeavour to force their way through the preconscious system to the consciousness and the command of motility. Thus, we must recognize and respect the guardian of our psychic health. However, it is not carelessness on the part of this guardian to diminish his vigilance at night, and to allow the suppressed impulses of the unconscious to achieve expression, thus again making possible the process of hallucinatory regression? Probably not, for when the critical guardian goes to rest—and we have proof that his slumber is not profound—he takes care to close the gate to motility. #RandolphHarris 1 of 9
No matter what impulses from the usually inhibited unconscious may bustled about the stage, there is no need to interfere with them; they remain harmless, because they are not in a position to set in motion the motor apparatus which alone can operate to produce any change in the outer World. Sleep guarantees the security of the fortress which has to be guarded. The state of affairs is less harmless when a displacement of energies is produced, not by the decline at night in the energy put forth by the critical censorship, but by the pathological enfeeblement of the latter, or the pathological reinforcement of the of the unconscious excitations subdue the preconscious, and from the preconscious, they dominate our speech and action, or they enforce hallucinatory regressions, thus directing an apparatus on the distribution of our psychic energy. We call this condition psychosis. A hysterical symptom originates only where two contrary wish-fulfillments, having their source in different psychic systems, are able to meet in a single expression. There is an example of that does not prove anything, but is an illustration. The hysterical vomiting of a female patient proved, on the one hand, to be the fulfilment of an unconscious phantasy from the years of puberty—namely, the wish that she might be continually pregnant, and have a multitude of children; and this was subsequently supplemented by the wish that she might have them by as many fathers as possible. #RandolphHarris 2 of 9
Against this immoderate wish to get pregnant by a harem of men arose a powerful defensive reaction. However, as by the vomiting, in her mind, the patient might have spoilt her figure and beauty, so that she would no longer find favour in any man’s eyes, the symptom was also in keeping with the punitive trend of thought, and so, being admissible on both sides, it was allowed to become a reality. This is the same way of acceding to a wish fulfilment as the queen of the Parthians was pleased to adopt in the case of the triumvir Crassus. Believing that he had undertaken his campaign out of greed for gold, she caused molten gold to be poured into the throat of the corpse. “Here thou hast what thou has longed for!” The dream can provide expression for a wish from the unconscious by means of all sorts of distortions, once the dominant system has withdrawn itself into the wish to sleep, and has realized this wish by producing the changes of cathexis (the connection of mental energy on one particular person, idea, or object) within the psychic apparatus which are within its power; thereupon holding on to the wish in questions for the whole duration of the sleep. #RandolphHarris 3 of 9
Most people most of the time are all too well aware of how their senses can trick them, their emotions can get the better of them, their wishes distort, their judgments let them down. Now tis persistent wish to sleep on the part of the preconscious has a quite general facilitating effect on the formations of dreams. Let us recall the dream of the father who, by the gleam of light from the death-chamber, was led to conclude that his child’s body might have caught fire. One of the psychic forces decisive n causing the father to draw this conclusion in the dream instead of allowing himself to be awakened by the gleam of light was the wish to prolong the life of the child seen in the dream by one moment. Other wishes originating in the repressed have probably escaped us, for we are unable to analyze this dream. However, as a second source of motive-power in this dream we may add the father’s desire to sleep, for, like the life of the child, the father’s sleep is prolonged for a moment by the dream. The underlying motive is: “Let the dream go on, or I must wake up.” As in this dream, so in all others, the wish to seep lends its support to the unconscious wish. We learn from these sources how to understand and deal with the soul in special circumstances, and also how to understand similar images when they appear in dreams. #RandolphHarris 4 of 9
There is relevance of the symbolic life of our dreams to the yearnings of the soul. Perhaps we are too down to Earth and sensible at times—to ready to dismiss a strange experience as “just one of those things” or to explain it away by some mundane hypothesis. Walter Scott, for example, recorded in his diary in 1828: “At dinner-time, I was strangely haunted by what I would call the sense of preexistence—a confused idea that nothing that passed was said for the first time, that the same topics had been discusses, and the same persons had stated the same opinions on the same subjects…I think the stomach has something to do with it.” We have to make our experiences a matter of consciousness and knowledge. The first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. However, the truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of his heart, might, mind and strength. That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life. Being the foundation stone of our daily life, pure love is a requirement for every child of God. We must pray unto our Heavenly Father with all the energy of heart, that we may be filled with this love, which he has bestowed upon all who are blessed. #RandolphHarris 5 of 9
If people have a general philosophical prejudice in favour of getting all their information from the original source or personal experience, why is it when they are asked about the source of their evidence, they refer to someone not directly involved. And in those cases, we do not have the background information that might lead us to reassess the situation and find a more normal explanation. We have no way of telling how many times this has happened before, or what was subsequently learned about it. We can never be sure whether the other person genuinely believes what he or she is saying or is merely speaking for effect. We do not know whether he or she has perhaps got their fingers crossed when speaking. In general we lack the sobering insight that might helps us, if it were our own case, to restrain belief. There is nothing like distance-generated ignorance to raise a person up. This distance effect, this honouring of strangers, is not of course in any way unique to the area of the magical or paranormal. It is characteristic of how we react to other people’s experiences across the spectrum. And in some contexts it even serves us well. #RandolphHarris 6 of 9
When, for example, we look at an actor weeping with joy, or a ballet dancer standing on her points, or a politician kissing a baby, or a photographic model showing off his body, we seldom, if ever, then ask: “What are they really experiencing? What is happening in and around them?” Instead we actually take advantage of the lack of insight, occasioned and permitted by our distance from them, to invent just so much or little as we please. We need not acknowledge that the actor has no real engagement in the plot. We need not be aware of the dancer’s pain, or the politician’s duplicity, or the model’s indifference. We are free, as we would never be if we ourselves were centre stage, to ignore all qualifications, riders, and complications and to think the best. It is precisely because we do not know all there is to know about these strangers that we can readily go in for the willing suspension of disbelief that constitutes poetic faith. Then, equally, when it comes to assessing the stories we are told about the paranormal, we need not think of all the reservations we would make if it were us. We may be quite well aware that if it were in fact ourselves telling the tale, all would not necessarily be what it seems. #RandolphHarris 7 of 9
We tend to listen to what other people say, and believe or accept that something is true, of course, because we like to hear these stories, especially when they supply us with the evidence of soul-power. And so—be it a report of the Virgin appearing to a child in a Yugoslavian village, or of a young woman being abducted by an unidentified flying object, or the name of the winner of the Grammys appearing in the tea-leaves, or of an experiment on psychokinesis yielding wildly significant results—we are only too ready to receive the news of a gospel. We are therefore highly impressionable, not to say vulnerable. We may become absolutely eager to give the benefit of the doubt to reports of experiences that we would never consider seriously if they were ours. And all it may take, then, to finally convince us, is that these stories should be attractively and authoritatively packaged. The vulnerability that faith demands could then be matched by an equal trust in oneself, the feeling that one can survive the pain of betrayal. To respond trustingly to the challenges of life and to the stirring of the soul’s waters is to bring faith to completion. True disciples love to forgive. They know that the Atonement of the Savior covers all spiritual taxes, fees, commissions, infrastructure fees, and charges related to sins, mistakes or wrong doings. #RandolphHarris 8 of 9
We are not going to have a soulful spirituality until we begin to think in the ways of the soul. True disciples love to submit themselves to the Lord with peace in their heart. We are humble and submissive because they love him. We have faith to fully accept God’s will, not only in what he does bit also in how and when. Real blessings are not always what we want, but what the Lord wants for us. As children of God, we love the Lord more than the World and are steadfast and immovable in our faith. This allows us to stay strong and firm in a changing and confusing atmosphere. Therefore, a soul-oriented spirituality begins in a reevaluation of the qualities of soul: subtlety, complexity, maturing, as we love and keep our covenants, renewed are our hearts and very nature. May we begin now, this very day, to express love to all of God’s children, whether they be our family members, our friends, mere acquaintances, or associates. As we arise each morning, let us determine to respond with love and kindness to whatever might come our way. May our hearts be filled with the pure love of God, the true sign of every child of God. #RandolphHarris 9 of 9
The smile is a very potent emblem of wisdom. The holy smile of divine radiance enlivens our humanity. Many of us can think of people whose smile seems to reflect wisdom. We will do our best not to think of it as something that is worn for our benefit. We will gladly see it as radiant. For many people the most radiant smile of all is that of an infant. Is there anything so liable to reduce healthy adults to a state of incoherent rapture than the sight of an impromptu smile illuminating the face of a baby? More importantly, is there any more profound sign of the potential for intelligence than the smile of a baby, which in the first six months of human life offers us a glimpse of incipient cognition? The spontaneous or endogenous smile that animates the face of a newborn baby, then through the first twenty-six weeks gradually and seamlessly develops into a sophisticated mechanism of affective interaction, has always fascinated parents, who are themselves naturally and deeply stimulated by their own infant’s smile. And we surely look for more in the smile of the newborn infant than signs of comfort or happiness. The smile also provides welcome evidence of the primitive stirrings of a future mind, a new personality. Babies learn how valuable their smiles are and how numerous intangible benefits may result from flashing it, and, in due course, deploy it strategically. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
The social function of the smile is thus gradually established by association or conditioning, rather than as a consequence of any innate sensations of satisfaction or well-being that one might be tempted to read into the spontaneous, endogenous, or reflect smile. Most parents find this view unsustainable and are extremely reluctant to interpret the smile of their own baby as anything others than the outward manifestation of contentment or happiness. This is entirely understandable, yet it is also a valuable reminder that the baby’s perceptual hold over the parent is surprisingly strong and that the exchange of smiles between parent and baby is a complex transaction, or at the very least a situation in which both side put forth an equal amount of effort to achieve a desired result. Thankfully, we have been blessed with clear vision and understanding of our true identity from the beginning. God said, “Let us make humans in our own image, after our likeness. Each human being is a beloved spirit son or daughter of Heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.” Coming to know these truths with certainty helps us overcome trials, troubles, and afflictions of every kind. God can feel our pains, sorrows, and guilt and in return he gives us pure love so powerful that it is like nothing we have ever experienced. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
Knowing that we are children of God is the most powerful knowledge we possess. Is it not possible that the belief in a devil or devils and in a future judgment from which one must shrink in horror are themselves a result of projecting our own unredeemed lives into the Universe, judging God by our own misfortunes, our own lacks, our own fears, doubts, and uncertainties? Perhaps the unconscious imagination of human beings have made this projection, for there can be nothing to fear from God. Human’s problems are within oneself alone, and to oneself alone, and from oneself alone. Suffering is not designed by the all-creative wisdom. There is a veiled statement of an immutable Law of Cause and Effect and the philosophy is not easy. It is the toughest that ever confronted the mind and imagination of humans. Many people may have been under the mistaken concept that God is good and everything is all right; therefore there is nothing to fear. However, this is far from the truth. What it says is this: Do you wish to be loved? Then stop hating. Do you want to be happy? Then be sure that you are never the occasion for unhappiness in others. Do you ever wish to stop shedding tears? Then be sure that you are never the instrument which causes others to shed them. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
The evidence seems to be showing that even though most people are believers in the spiritual, yet some are still holding out faith that they will eventually have a spiritual experience of their own. Psychologist who study how the human mind works are no longer greatly surprised by the occurrence of psychic-like experiences. Indeed, it has become almost a cliché of experimental psychology that, whether or not there are any genuinely psychic or spiritual phenomena, it is more or less inevitable that most individuals will think they are experiencing them every so often—simply because of the vagaries of perception and memory and the mind’s capacity for imaginative recreation. However, for instance, with all our commerce with the World being constructive, interpretative, and tentative, once this view is accepted, many of our anomalous experiences seem much less sinister and inexplicable. We need not invoke reincarnation to explain why we recognize something we have not previously encountered. We need not rely upon spiritualism to explain why we occasionally “see” somebody who is not there or “hear” our name called when no living person has called it. Our cognitions are dynamic, and each of us is continually constructing one’s own models and arriving at decisions according to his or her experiential history and one’s personal schemata. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
An understanding of the psychology of human perception, cognition and behavior suggests that, even if spiritual phenomena were not to exists, the kinds of experiences that people report under the rubric of psychic or spiritual should be expected to occur intermittently. Indeed, far from being abnormal or crazy, the powerful urge to see paranormal causes everywhere is actually an expression of the very same capacities that enable us to develop some of our most important and profound insights about the World. Psychics and other credulists are typically engaged seriously in that most characteristic of human enterprises: the attempt to capture our chaotic and fragmentary experiences in a network of meanings and to discover the hidden connectedness that (we hope) underlies all the disorderly and recalcitrant happenings in the World. Why do so many people believe in spiritual and psychic phenomena? Because they have psychic and spiritual experiences. And why do they have spiritual and psychic experiences? Because such experiences are some inevitable consequences of the way we think…like visual illusions, they are the price we pay for a generally very effective relationship with a massively complex World. Increased faith in God always leads to a desire to change or repent. So it is logical that they are open to spiritual experiences. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
When we are despairing, deserted, doubting, damaged, or defeated, behold God. God will comfort us. God will heal us and give meaning to our journey. God will pour out his spirit and fill our hearts with exceeding joy. God gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might, God will increase their strength. When we truly behold God, we learn from him and seek to align our lives with him. Are we certain there is nothing in us which can hurt anyone? Then as surely as God is God and justice is justice nothing can harm us, but harm we would do to another we ourselves must suffer. Only from a cleansing of the self comes redemption. We repent and strive to refine our natures and daily grow a little closer to God. We trust God. We show our love for God by keeping his commandments and by living up to our sacred covenants. In other words, we become God’s disciples. God’s refining light saturates our souls. His grace uplifts. Our burdens are lightened, our peace deepened. When we truly behold God, we have the promise of a blessed future that inspires and upholds us through the changes and difficulties in life’s journey. Looking back, we will recognize that there is a divine pattern, that really corresponds with reality. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
The body is more spiritual than mechanical. It is a rhythmic representation of the spirit of life and a result of all things resonating together to create a harmonious system. The body is referred to with respect, kindness, and love, and it is not seen as an entity separable from its environment. It is viewed as one of the many manifestations of the human soul and therefore must be dealt with as sensitively and caringly as possible. A long and joyful life derives from the loving experience of connection with all the bodies around us, including people, planets, and animals. Total fitness means not just keeping the body in shape but taking pleasure in keeping the whole World in good health. The body is a primary communication system for maintaining and experiencing connection. It is a part of the ecosystem and should be cared for just as one cares for planets and fish. Philosopher A.J. Ayer found it impossible to resist the blandishments of his own personal near-death experience. During a severe bout of pneumonia, having lost consciousness, he found himself entering the presence of a red light which was “responsible for the government of the Universe” and with which he could debate the laws of time and space. In a newspaper article, following his recovery, he wrote: “On the face of it these experiences are rather strong evidence that death does not put an end to consciousness.” #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
The Lord has made important adjustments in the way we care for each other. Some people have insisted that for them their personal experience does and should rank above any other evidence, even objective scientific evidence—and have gone on to demand that it should be granted equivalent respect by others. Eventual exaltation requires our complete fidelity now to covenants we make and ordinances we receive in the house of the Lord. We are blessed with greater harmony and love in our homes and a deeper desire to care for our eternal family relationships. Many people stand by all the data reported; it is a matter of utter indifference to them whether their accusers or anyone else believes them are not. These individuals know the results of their faith is real because they were their and their experience tells them so. How can each of us experience the power of understanding our divine identity? If we have learned anything about parapsychology, it is that results and statistics and data never change anyone’s mind about anything; experience is the only arbiter. We have to seek to know God, our Father. Let us be faithful to what we have believed and know. When we endure we remain firm in a commitment to be true to the commandments of God despite temptation, opposition, and adversity. Even those who have had powerful spiritual experiences and have given faithful service could one day go astray or fall into inactivity if we do not endure to the end. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
Obviously there is need to be careful. May we always and emphatically keep in our minds and hearts the phrase, “I will not lose my Faith in God or eternal life.” Let us be faithful to what we have believed and know. If we have not been living according to our knowledge, let us change. When asked is a spiritual or psychic experience had changed their life, 35 percent of those who had had experiences said “Yes”. And when asked to elaborate, they cited such explanations as that “It has made me realize there is more to life than I thought before,” or that “There has to be something else other than just life; I no longer believe that w live all this time and just finish”, or that “We do not use the power of our mind to its full extent and there are greater forces than we know of, a superior power we can tap and utilize”. Sinners who persist in their sins, and do not repent, skin deeper and deeper into filthiness, until the adversary claims them for oneself, significantly jeopardizing their opportunity to repent, to be forgiven, and to be blessed with all the blessings of eternity. Has everyone who believes in the reality of paranormal phenomena had some kind of direct experience of them? It was found that 68 percent of the general population definitely believe in spiritual and psychic experiences, but only 26 percent admit that they had had any psychic or spiritual experience themselves. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
If we persist in our sins, we forget the covenants we have made with the Lord, even though we keep capsizing because of the imbalance that those sins create in our lives. Like the cracks in the Oroville dam needed to be fixed before they lead to catastrophic flooding putting millions of lives, property, and livestock in danger, the cracks in our lives need to be dealt with. Some sins will require more efforts than others to repent of. We must strive to obey all the commandments and pay close attention to those that are hardest for us to keep. The Lord will be at our side, helping us in times of need and weakness, and if we demonstrate a sincere desire and act accordingly, God will make weak things become strong. Among members of the American Parapsychological Association, 90 percent of them have a belief in spirituality, and 59 percent said they had at least some experience of it themselves. Obedience to the laws of God will give us the strength to overcome sin. We must also understand that the trial of our faith requires us to obey, often without knowing the results. We must keep the great truths of the gospel steady in our minds, and may we keep our lives free of the cracks that can impede our safe journey through the sea of this life. Success in the Lord’s way has a price, and the only way to achieve it is to pay that charge. Life is different for each of us. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
We all have a time of trials, a time for happiness, a time for making decisions, a time for overcoming obstacles, and a time for taking advantage of opportunities. Occasionally there have been doubts about whether the Gothic smile worn by saints and angels is a smile at all. The Cambridge scholar Paul Binski wondered if these smiling faces did not carry a special menace, while the smile worn by a queen on a statue-column from Saint-Thibaut, Provins, was for a time thought to have been the product of skillful restoration in the early twentieth century and not, in fact, an original feature of the work. This how now been refuted by the scholar Pamela Z. Blum, who nevertheless in 1990 made the following remarks about the statue of a queen in the right embrasure of the central portal of Chartres Cathedral: “Although not a true smile, a look of awareness enlivens her face. Her lips, parted, slightly pursed, and tucked in at the corners, complete the lifelike response suggested by her observant gaze from under partially lowered lids.” If this is not a faint smile, it is difficult to imagine what facial expression worn by the anonymous queen would match this description. The queen smiles, and the more puzzling question is what might count as a true smile. But we believe there is more to it than this. The phenomenon of smiling seems at odds with the expressive character of the Christian religion as charted in the Gospels, apocryphal and hagiographic literature, and indeed much Christian art. Human beings are rooted in pure Spirit; they are some part of Life. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
Humans are an incarnation of God, and no matter what the inward conflicts may be or what may have occasioned them, there is a way for a person to get a complete clearance from them without the elaborate process of analysis. If people could forgive themselves for all the mistakes they may have made, if they could get clearance in their mind from the fear that there is some God condemning one, that some terrific evil awaits him or her hereafter, one would get complete relief. There would be an overwhelming impression conveyed in one’s formality, grandeur, power, and distance. The Gothic smile is connected to language, there is also some kind of recognition that the smile functioned as a sophisticated metaphysical sign, a natural channel of holy wisdom. The glory of God is intelligence. If it is true that at the core of every neurosis there is a sense of being rejected, attended by a consciousness of guilt from which arises a feeling of insecurity and an attitude of stress, the starting point for clearance of the inward burdens that are too heavy to bear and the conflicts that tear so many people apart is to get a clearance in our own mind about ourselves and our relationship with God. Some might think that this is a way whereby one excuses oneself from doing wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
While the sense of condemnation for others may remain in our minds, we have to understand that a consciousness of love is the basis for the assurance we need, a feeling that divine love gives of itself, that we give of ourselves, and that there is nothing in us that can project anything but love and peace and joy to others. Whenever an individual arrives at complete self-forgiveness, while also understanding that any cause one sets in motion toward others will react upon oneself, one has reached a place where his or her judgments are no longer harsh. The individual becomes a kind and loveable person and has peace within one’s own mind. There can ne no peace until this clearance is made. Forgiving and being forgiven, loving and being loved, living and letting live, is the simple basis for it all. Just to be yourself in God. Just to be simple and spontaneous. Just to live as though today is God’s day and you may rejoice in it. Measured by this celestial standard, it is apparent that those who impulsively drop out and cut short their education not only disregard divine decree but frustrate the realization of their own potential. Participating in ordinances and honoring the associated covenants will bring you marvelous light and protection in this ever-darkening World. Regardless of the time the Lord, in his wisdom, determines to grant each of us, one thing we can be sure of: we all have today to live, and the key to making our day successful is to be willing exercise faith. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
Personal experience, where it is available, is bound to be by far the most persuasive influence in established belief. Thus, you will find it confidently stated in just about every commentary on the origins of the paranormal mind-set that most people who believe in the paranormal cite personal experience as their primary reason for doing so. True believers in the paranormal almost always report having had a confirmatory incident at some point in their lives, “Thou knowest greatness of God,” reports 2 Nephi 2.2. From one’s own experience, exposure to miraculous phenomena can be effective in changing people’s minds where nothing else is. Because in many cases, only if you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. Much like a jury in a trial, when they pass judgment on a crime they did not witness, can never be sure their verdict is the right one. Only an eye-witness could know (in some cases that is even not a sure bet because of perception bias). Still, the only way of acquiring knowledge of the World is to do it entirely by oneself. We are full of spiritual power, and this is surely noted in Heaven, as our covenant is with God, and our action is recorded in the book of life. There is no campaigning, no debates, no posturing for position, no dissension, distrust, confusion, nor commotion for the power of Heaven is with us and encircling each individual with the undeniable approval from the Lord. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
In general, only facts about the World we can ever know absolutely and for sure are those we have observed with our own bodily sense. Those who believe without seeing may be blessed. Is this blind faith? No, it is not. We each have a spiritual witness of the truthfulness of gospel. By our own will and choice, we raised our hand this morning, declaring our desire to sustain the Lord’s prophet with our confidence, faith, and prayers and to follow his counsel. And we presumably ought to place greatest faith in our own observations. In modern times people’s insistence on the superiority of direct sensory knowledge has if anything grown stronger, and they have correspondingly become more and more demanding of it. Miracles are still necessary because we have not learned to live forever. Anchoring our souls to the Lord requires a distinction to be made between witnessing an event ourselves and being informed about it. Some experiences are obviously more unique than other, and we presumably ought to place greatest faith in our own observations, as we live in a World of reason, debate, conversation, logic, and explanation. In Western culture, the cult of personal experience has come to seem ever more natural and reasonable, even virtuous. Our age wishes to have actual experience in psychic life. It wants to experience for itself, and not to make assumptions based on the experience of other ages. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
In so many aspects of our lives, allowing the power of our intellect to guide a multitude of choices and decisions we face, makes us not want to make assumptions based on the experience of other ages. It is, however, undoubtedly true that is and when people do see signs and wonders they very often will believe—especially if they themselves are the subject of the sign or wonder. Even if in reality seeing is not a necessary condition for believing, it is certainly sometimes a sufficient one. The Lord’s voice often comes without explanation. Beyond relying on the intellect alone, we treasure the gift of the Holy Ghost. It asks, spoken kindly, for us to change, to repent, and to return to the Lord. When correction is needed, let us not delay. Down the ages people have repeatedly testified that it was indeed a particular events, of which they themselves were either the subject or a first-hand witness, that converted them to a belief in the reality of paranormal powers: a voice from the clouds, a visitation by a ghost, a remarkable example of precognition, an oceanic feeling of unity with all of nature, a demonstration before their very eyes of a physically impossible feat, a coincidence so meaningful yet so outrageous as to defy chance explanation. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
Let us note the frequency with which extraordinary, miraculous, mystical, or born-again type experiences have played a pivotal role in our beliefs. Everyone pays homage to the psychological persuasiveness and epistemic priority of first-person experience. Sometimes we might feel as if the whole framework with which we view the World has been suddenly destroyed. We may seem very naked and vulnerable, surrounded by a hostile and incomprehensible Universe. And it may be days before we are able to come to terms with it. However, these are moments of learning, of humility, when we go to our knees in prayer. We walk forward in faith, trusting in God, knowing that with time we will receive more spiritual clarity from our Heavenly Father. The mysterious allure is strengthened by our desire to build our faith, the change of our actions to righteousness, and the sense of accomplishment we feel for repenting. The surrender of our will to God’s will is, in fact, not surrender at all but the beginning of a glorious victory. There is an uninhibited display of gleeful humor, as we are grounded in the higher realm of divinity. When we realize that the spiritual purity of human beings is not contained by something as artificial nor arbitrary as mere geographical boundary, it is unnecessary to be dismayed or distraught. Here, humor, wisdom, and holiness achieve a kind of balance, which strikes us as very beautiful. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
The smile of reason may seem to betray a certain incomprehension of the deeper human emotions, but it does not preclude some strongly held beliefs—belief in natural law, belief in justice, belief in toleration. Not bad. In the future day, looking back on our mortality, we will rejoice that we walked the Earth at the time we are living. We hold in balance regal splendor, poise, grace, and simplicity. Having peace, freedom, and love is more important than the gorgeous Cullinan Diamond or the Koh-i-Noor Diamond, and the Star of Africa Diamond combined. The Almighty has sent down his wisdom so that we may live sweetly. God breaks the bands of death. However, when the infant or the adult suffers from an unconscious sense of being rejected, not wanted, needed, nor loved, the individual unconsciously receives the impression that there must be something wrong with oneself. Without the objective faculties being aware of it, one argues with oneself somewhat after this manner: “Nobody likes me, no one wants me around; I am in everyone’s way. There must be something wrong with me or this would not happen.” Thereafter an individual develops an unconscious sense of guilt and self-condemnation. And out of this sense of rejection, guilt, and insecurity, a feeling of stress is generated. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
Talking to people can easily prove that your fear of self-doubt and rejection are true. It does not get rid of tensions, for inward conflicts as they are the result of the manifestation of the desire for self-expressions which has been crowded back upon itself through repression. However, it takes faith to believe that the Lord is watching over the daily details of his Kingdom and that he is quietly working out your situation. It takes faith to believe that God calls imperfect people into positions of trust. It takes faith to believe that God knows the people he calls perfectly, both their capacities and their potential and so makes no mistakes in his calls. We are all on this Earth for a reason and each and every person is desired by the Lord or he would have not created you. Even those who do not spend much time on the planet serve some purpose, but they just did not require as long as a journey as others before returning to Heaven with God. Have the capacity to receive revelation and to act on it fearlessly. It takes faith to do so. It takes even greater faith to believe that the Lord has called you to inspire you and others. Allow confidence and peace to flow in your lives. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
