Tuesday, March 31, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
One of the kindest blessings we can bestow upon others – is to avoid being a burden to them!!
Monday, March 30, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
Although the youth of this – and – coming generations – may have a greater challenge when it comes to the prevalence of the temptations of the world which they need to resist – they will also probably be better prepared to advance the marvelous works the Church has been commissioned to fulfill!!
Sunday, March 29, 2020
ANOTHER LOOK AT HEAVENLY FATHER’S ETERNAL PLAN 5
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Revised and republished Sunday, March 29, 2020
Sometime during the editing of the first parts of this Thought, Kathleen commented that it might be possible for someone who would be reading to wonder about just going ahead and wasting this mortal probationary period, spending it enjoying all the carnal pleasures which were neither available in our pre-mortal nor will be available in our post-mortal probationary periods, thinking God will bring to pass our eternal life eventually anyway.
Our conversation reminded me of the many times when the topic of ‘only being accountable for the laws which we are given’ would come up in a class. Invariably one of the students would make a comment about not learning any more laws, so that they would have less to be accountable for. One of the verses which would generate these thoughts is found in 2 Nephi 9:25.
Wherefore, he has given a law; and where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment there is no commandment; and where there is no commandment the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; and they are delivered by the power of him.
The doctrinal answer seems to be the same both for those who would wonder about enjoying the pleasurable moments of mortality and for those who might wonder if it would be better to remain in a state of ignorance during their mortal state.
First: During our mortal probationary period we are not all being judged by the same measuring stick.
As I have previously stated, the standard by which our mortal probationary period will be measured will be determined by the amount of the Lord’s laws, knowledge and understanding we have been given or which we have obtained and I would quickly add, the individual opportunity we are allotted to adhere to those laws.
I have always believed that having an understanding of the laws which govern our Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness as a guide during mortality to be more of a blessing than a curse. However, there is also an accountability and responsibility which attends the receiving of any portion of His laws.
Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come. (Doctrine and Covenants 130:18, 19)
It only takes a bit of pondering to connect the dots between the advantage the Savior and the noble and great ones gained during their pre-mortal probationary estate over those who were not so valiant to help us understand how that applies to those who have been blessed with and take advantage of the opportunity of having been given much during their mortal probationary period.
Thus, for that boy who was born in Pocatello, Idaho, of goodly parents, having been taught the laws of the Plan of Happiness all the days of His life, having been instructed in the importance of adherence to the philosophy of Zen Mormonism everyday he is blessed to sojourn in mortality, will have a rather lengthy list on which he will be judged as he enters his post-mortal estate. While that child of Heavenly Father who spends their earthly journey never hearing of the Savior and who only receives a basic understandings of principles which have eternal significance will enter into their post-mortal stage of life with a much different set of standards by which they will be judged.
Second: The verses following Doctrine and Covenants 82:3 where the Lord is talking about this principle of there being a differentiation between our individual responsibility and accountability, depending on the amount of the laws of our Father which have been available to each of us, are interesting and helpful to our understanding why some of our Heavenly Parents children’s mortal probationary period will be of much greater importance than others.
Ye call upon my name for revelations, and I give them unto you; and inasmuch as ye keep not my sayings, which I give unto you, ye become transgressors; and justice and judgement are the penalty which is affixed unto my law.
Therefore, what I say unto one I say unto all; Watch, for the adversary spreadeth his dominions, and darkness reigneth. (Doctrine and Covenants 82: 4, 5)
I suspect some who are reading these Thoughts, having paid the price of finding them on Face Book or are among the few whom I am still able to send them an email, or who are among the few who read them off of my blog page, are to some degree aware of the laws of the Plan of Happiness. Therefore, I would like to spend a few lines writing about at least two principles which fall into the category of things we need to ’watch’ and which we may not usually consider as part of the challenge which attends we who have been given much and have a sufficient period of life during our mortal probationary period.
I have written in previous Thoughts about the influence Elder Maxwell had on me as a mentor and the way he taught about the principle of time. He felt that during our mortal probation the restraints of time placed upon us are a strange phenomenon, since it was not relevant during our pre-mortal and will not be relevant to us during our post-mortal probationary states.
There is no doubt regarding the use of time along with the use of our talents and resources as significant tests of our diligence in ‘watching.’ Like the principle of love, our obedience to all the laws and the prophets, likewise, seems to hang on the test bound up in these, the principles of using time, talents and resources correctly.
For those who have been given much; it is not much of a stretch to say that every choice we are faced with will involve an evaluation of how our decision will affect the amount of time, talent and resources we will be asked to commit to fulfilling the requirements of that choice.
It is easy to understand that being obedient to the law of tithing is going to demand a decision about the use of our resources. However, it is a defined principle which says obedience demands 10% of our increase. Once we have been given the law and have committed ourselves to it, we are expected to live the law.
Likewise, once we have been given the principles, it should be easy to understand what it means to live the word of wisdom. We are to abstain from partaking of those elements which are harmful to our spiritual and physical welfare and partake of those elements which are beneficial to our spiritual and physical welfare. Once we have committed ourselves to the law we are expected to live the law.
However, there are instances when we are given the opportunity to serve, where the commitment of time, talents and resources are not so well defined, and each of us is left to determine how much of our precious time, talents and resources we will spend fulfilling the callings and opportunities for service we have been given.
There are few moments during our daily routines when we are not making choices of how much of our time, our talents and our resources we are going to spend on self-fulfilling activities and how much we will spend on service to others and how much we have little control of because of the obligations of our life sustaining duties.
Since the limitations of time, talents and personal resources seem to be a reality of our mortal probation and not necessarily those which we will be tested on in our other probationary states, it seems for those of us who have been given a bit more of eternity to spend in mortal bodies it becomes an area we need to become particularly aware of its constancy and importance.
The choices of how we use our time, talents and resources are indeed one of those loosely defined areas of our mortal life where we need to be carefully ‘Watching’ lest we fall into the dominion of the adversary.
(To be continued)
THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY
EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY
❣️THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY❣️ = 💞THE GOOD LIFE💞
Revised and republished Sunday, March 29, 2020
Sometime during the editing of the first parts of this Thought, Kathleen commented that it might be possible for someone who would be reading to wonder about just going ahead and wasting this mortal probationary period, spending it enjoying all the carnal pleasures which were neither available in our pre-mortal nor will be available in our post-mortal probationary periods, thinking God will bring to pass our eternal life eventually anyway.
Our conversation reminded me of the many times when the topic of ‘only being accountable for the laws which we are given’ would come up in a class. Invariably one of the students would make a comment about not learning any more laws, so that they would have less to be accountable for. One of the verses which would generate these thoughts is found in 2 Nephi 9:25.
Wherefore, he has given a law; and where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment there is no commandment; and where there is no commandment the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; and they are delivered by the power of him.
The doctrinal answer seems to be the same both for those who would wonder about enjoying the pleasurable moments of mortality and for those who might wonder if it would be better to remain in a state of ignorance during their mortal state.
First: During our mortal probationary period we are not all being judged by the same measuring stick.
As I have previously stated, the standard by which our mortal probationary period will be measured will be determined by the amount of the Lord’s laws, knowledge and understanding we have been given or which we have obtained and I would quickly add, the individual opportunity we are allotted to adhere to those laws.
I have always believed that having an understanding of the laws which govern our Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness as a guide during mortality to be more of a blessing than a curse. However, there is also an accountability and responsibility which attends the receiving of any portion of His laws.
Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come. (Doctrine and Covenants 130:18, 19)
It only takes a bit of pondering to connect the dots between the advantage the Savior and the noble and great ones gained during their pre-mortal probationary estate over those who were not so valiant to help us understand how that applies to those who have been blessed with and take advantage of the opportunity of having been given much during their mortal probationary period.
Thus, for that boy who was born in Pocatello, Idaho, of goodly parents, having been taught the laws of the Plan of Happiness all the days of His life, having been instructed in the importance of adherence to the philosophy of Zen Mormonism everyday he is blessed to sojourn in mortality, will have a rather lengthy list on which he will be judged as he enters his post-mortal estate. While that child of Heavenly Father who spends their earthly journey never hearing of the Savior and who only receives a basic understandings of principles which have eternal significance will enter into their post-mortal stage of life with a much different set of standards by which they will be judged.
Second: The verses following Doctrine and Covenants 82:3 where the Lord is talking about this principle of there being a differentiation between our individual responsibility and accountability, depending on the amount of the laws of our Father which have been available to each of us, are interesting and helpful to our understanding why some of our Heavenly Parents children’s mortal probationary period will be of much greater importance than others.
Ye call upon my name for revelations, and I give them unto you; and inasmuch as ye keep not my sayings, which I give unto you, ye become transgressors; and justice and judgement are the penalty which is affixed unto my law.
Therefore, what I say unto one I say unto all; Watch, for the adversary spreadeth his dominions, and darkness reigneth. (Doctrine and Covenants 82: 4, 5)
I suspect some who are reading these Thoughts, having paid the price of finding them on Face Book or are among the few whom I am still able to send them an email, or who are among the few who read them off of my blog page, are to some degree aware of the laws of the Plan of Happiness. Therefore, I would like to spend a few lines writing about at least two principles which fall into the category of things we need to ’watch’ and which we may not usually consider as part of the challenge which attends we who have been given much and have a sufficient period of life during our mortal probationary period.
I have written in previous Thoughts about the influence Elder Maxwell had on me as a mentor and the way he taught about the principle of time. He felt that during our mortal probation the restraints of time placed upon us are a strange phenomenon, since it was not relevant during our pre-mortal and will not be relevant to us during our post-mortal probationary states.
There is no doubt regarding the use of time along with the use of our talents and resources as significant tests of our diligence in ‘watching.’ Like the principle of love, our obedience to all the laws and the prophets, likewise, seems to hang on the test bound up in these, the principles of using time, talents and resources correctly.
For those who have been given much; it is not much of a stretch to say that every choice we are faced with will involve an evaluation of how our decision will affect the amount of time, talent and resources we will be asked to commit to fulfilling the requirements of that choice.
It is easy to understand that being obedient to the law of tithing is going to demand a decision about the use of our resources. However, it is a defined principle which says obedience demands 10% of our increase. Once we have been given the law and have committed ourselves to it, we are expected to live the law.
Likewise, once we have been given the principles, it should be easy to understand what it means to live the word of wisdom. We are to abstain from partaking of those elements which are harmful to our spiritual and physical welfare and partake of those elements which are beneficial to our spiritual and physical welfare. Once we have committed ourselves to the law we are expected to live the law.
However, there are instances when we are given the opportunity to serve, where the commitment of time, talents and resources are not so well defined, and each of us is left to determine how much of our precious time, talents and resources we will spend fulfilling the callings and opportunities for service we have been given.
There are few moments during our daily routines when we are not making choices of how much of our time, our talents and our resources we are going to spend on self-fulfilling activities and how much we will spend on service to others and how much we have little control of because of the obligations of our life sustaining duties.
Since the limitations of time, talents and personal resources seem to be a reality of our mortal probation and not necessarily those which we will be tested on in our other probationary states, it seems for those of us who have been given a bit more of eternity to spend in mortal bodies it becomes an area we need to become particularly aware of its constancy and importance.
The choices of how we use our time, talents and resources are indeed one of those loosely defined areas of our mortal life where we need to be carefully ‘Watching’ lest we fall into the dominion of the adversary.
(To be continued)
THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY
EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY
❣️THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY❣️ = 💞THE GOOD LIFE💞
Saturday, March 28, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
When we gain a better understanding of Heavenly Father’s Plan – the universal kinship of mankind – becomes more than just a clever phrase!!
Friday, March 27, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
Through the lens of inspiration – we gain a clearer understanding of Heavenly Father’s Plan – and – how it applies to our own lives!!
Thursday, March 26, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
The purpose of life becomes much clearer – when viewed through the lens of inspiration!!
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
When our Final Judgement is administered – we will all be eternally grateful that the justice of God – is based on the principles of love – mercy – and – grace!!
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
When prophets teach strongly the importance of inclusion – why – do so many adherents to religious groups cling to being the exclusive recipients – of God’s love – mercy – and – grace??
Monday, March 23, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
One of our quests should be to always be prepared – to act as an angel in answer to a petition of a neighbor – who has sincerely expressed a need to our Heavenly Father!!
Sunday, March 22, 2020
ANOTHER LOOK AT HEAVENLY FATHER’S ETERNAL PLAN 4
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Revised and Republished Sunday, March 22, 2020
Having written about our days of probation during our pre-mortal estate we will now consider the two remaining estates of our preparatory periods leading up to our final resurrected existence.
THE SHORT PROBATIONARY PERIOD OF OUR ETERNAL EXISTENCE WE SPEND IN MORTALITY:
I am now into the early 500s of the Thoughts I have written, which have abundantly covered the importance I place on the choices we make and how we treat one another during this mortal period of our eternal existence.
I have also explained in the earlier parts of this look at Heavenly Father’s plan how I feel about the illogical and unjust position of thinking that all of our post-mortal existence hinges on what happens to us during mortality.
Therefore, I will just add some thoughts on the scripture found in Doctrine and Covenants 82:3.
For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.
There you have it. That little boy who was born in Idaho, taught the gospel by goodly parents, received a degree in Ancient and Modern Scripture and taught the word of the Lord most of his days will find that his mortal preparatory phase makes him a great deal more accountable for his mortal day than that boy who lived his few mind destroying, glue sniffing days living in the sewers of Bogota, Colombia, or that child of Heavenly Father who spends but brief moments in this mortal sphere.
For behold, and also his blood atoneth for those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. (The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ – Mosiah 3: 11)
It seems that Benjamin was well aware that there are adjustments made for whatever the length of our eternal existence we each spend in mortality and the circumstances which attend those days.
It should be comforting for all of us to realize that the perfect justice of our Heavenly Father’s plan makes allowance for all contingencies of his children’s varying experiences during their eternal existence and provides us hope not only for our own past, present and future probationary periods, but also for that of all our brothers and sisters who will spend whatever time they are given and in whatever circumstances they find themselves during this mortal phase of our eternal lives.
It seems that just as in all things our Heavenly Parents are also perfect in the characteristic of inclusiveness.
Since one of the failings of the natural man is the ability to rationalize any idea in their favor, for those who would say why put in any effort during mortality if God provides me with eternity to put upon myself His attributes, characteristics and perfections, I hastily add a reminder that The First Born of all His spirit children, even Jesus the Christ advanced to the state of Godliness, lacking only a physical body to rise as a resurrected Exalted Being. Therefore, unto those who have been given much I remind them of the doctrine found in Doctrine and Covenants 130: 18 -21.
Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.
There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
Just as none of what we chose or accomplished during our pre-mortal state has been counted as dross, likewise, all of our progression during mortality will go with us into our final state of probation.
As a compatriot of mine, Gerald N. Lund once wrote, ‘during the final judgement everything counts’.
THE EVERLASTING PERIOD WE WILL SPEND IN OUR POST-MORTAL PROBATIONARY ESTATE:
Brigham Young, the prophet of God who led the latter-day-saints to their home in the tops of the mountains, once gave a sermon in which he stated that it wouldn't surprise him if it took millions upon millions of years as we count them, after he had passed from mortality, before he would be prepared for his final resurrection.
While I have little doubt that I will in no way be prepared to handle all that my Father wishes to bestow upon me, it gives me great comfort to understand He will still have His arms of grace and mercy outstretched to gather me in during my next estate.
My testimony grows stronger with each passing year that all of us will continue our education and preparation long after we lay our mortal aside. The only questions seem to be what class room we will be in and whether we will at times be instructing or will be receiving instruction.
Joseph F. Smith who was at the time the senior living apostle of the Lord on the earth, had the eyes of his understanding opened and the Spirit of the Lord rest upon him and he was privileged to glimpse the conditions which exist in the Spirit World or that estate where our preparation for our final resurrection continues and will eventually come to an end.
Among the things he saw were:
Heavenly Father’s children arrive in the Spirit World in an immense diversity of stages of progression.
In the Spirit World, the fullness of the gospel will be preached by those who have sufficiently progressed during their two previous phases of existence and who have been commissioned by the Lord.
In the Spirit World, the fulness of the gospel of the redemption will be taught to all of the dead.
In the Spirit World, Agency will continue to affect the progression of Heavenly Father’s children.
During this expanded preparatory period the great work which is done by mortals in the Temples of the Lord will provide the ordinances of salvation for those who did not have the opportunity during their mortal span and the Lord will fulfill his promise to plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers.
In the Spirit World, those who repent (prepare to forever live in the presence of God) and embrace the attributes, characteristics and perfections of Godliness will be redeemed and they will commissioned heirs of salvation and be anointed with Eternal Lives. (Doctrine and Covenants 138)
It is of little wonder that Neil Maxwell, after suffering from the effects of battling cancer during the last few years of his life, declared that he was looking forward to the day which would shortly come when he could get off of the bench and back into the action. There is no doubt in my mind he is among those whom the Prophet Joseph F. Smith saw who were appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to the spirits of men.
I am struck with the foolishness of men who are so quick to give up on themselves and their brothers and sisters. If our loving, merciful Father who is full of grace continues eternally in his efforts to bring to pass the immortality and eternal lives of his children, why then would we give up the hope which will keep us trying. Why would we ever give up trying when our Heavenly Father never will?
(To be continued)
THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY
EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY
❣️THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY❣️ = 💞THE GOOD LIFE💞
Revised and Republished Sunday, March 22, 2020
Having written about our days of probation during our pre-mortal estate we will now consider the two remaining estates of our preparatory periods leading up to our final resurrected existence.
THE SHORT PROBATIONARY PERIOD OF OUR ETERNAL EXISTENCE WE SPEND IN MORTALITY:
I am now into the early 500s of the Thoughts I have written, which have abundantly covered the importance I place on the choices we make and how we treat one another during this mortal period of our eternal existence.
I have also explained in the earlier parts of this look at Heavenly Father’s plan how I feel about the illogical and unjust position of thinking that all of our post-mortal existence hinges on what happens to us during mortality.
Therefore, I will just add some thoughts on the scripture found in Doctrine and Covenants 82:3.
For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.
There you have it. That little boy who was born in Idaho, taught the gospel by goodly parents, received a degree in Ancient and Modern Scripture and taught the word of the Lord most of his days will find that his mortal preparatory phase makes him a great deal more accountable for his mortal day than that boy who lived his few mind destroying, glue sniffing days living in the sewers of Bogota, Colombia, or that child of Heavenly Father who spends but brief moments in this mortal sphere.
For behold, and also his blood atoneth for those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. (The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ – Mosiah 3: 11)
It seems that Benjamin was well aware that there are adjustments made for whatever the length of our eternal existence we each spend in mortality and the circumstances which attend those days.
It should be comforting for all of us to realize that the perfect justice of our Heavenly Father’s plan makes allowance for all contingencies of his children’s varying experiences during their eternal existence and provides us hope not only for our own past, present and future probationary periods, but also for that of all our brothers and sisters who will spend whatever time they are given and in whatever circumstances they find themselves during this mortal phase of our eternal lives.
It seems that just as in all things our Heavenly Parents are also perfect in the characteristic of inclusiveness.
Since one of the failings of the natural man is the ability to rationalize any idea in their favor, for those who would say why put in any effort during mortality if God provides me with eternity to put upon myself His attributes, characteristics and perfections, I hastily add a reminder that The First Born of all His spirit children, even Jesus the Christ advanced to the state of Godliness, lacking only a physical body to rise as a resurrected Exalted Being. Therefore, unto those who have been given much I remind them of the doctrine found in Doctrine and Covenants 130: 18 -21.
Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.
There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
Just as none of what we chose or accomplished during our pre-mortal state has been counted as dross, likewise, all of our progression during mortality will go with us into our final state of probation.
As a compatriot of mine, Gerald N. Lund once wrote, ‘during the final judgement everything counts’.
THE EVERLASTING PERIOD WE WILL SPEND IN OUR POST-MORTAL PROBATIONARY ESTATE:
Brigham Young, the prophet of God who led the latter-day-saints to their home in the tops of the mountains, once gave a sermon in which he stated that it wouldn't surprise him if it took millions upon millions of years as we count them, after he had passed from mortality, before he would be prepared for his final resurrection.
While I have little doubt that I will in no way be prepared to handle all that my Father wishes to bestow upon me, it gives me great comfort to understand He will still have His arms of grace and mercy outstretched to gather me in during my next estate.
My testimony grows stronger with each passing year that all of us will continue our education and preparation long after we lay our mortal aside. The only questions seem to be what class room we will be in and whether we will at times be instructing or will be receiving instruction.
Joseph F. Smith who was at the time the senior living apostle of the Lord on the earth, had the eyes of his understanding opened and the Spirit of the Lord rest upon him and he was privileged to glimpse the conditions which exist in the Spirit World or that estate where our preparation for our final resurrection continues and will eventually come to an end.
Among the things he saw were:
Heavenly Father’s children arrive in the Spirit World in an immense diversity of stages of progression.
In the Spirit World, the fullness of the gospel will be preached by those who have sufficiently progressed during their two previous phases of existence and who have been commissioned by the Lord.
In the Spirit World, the fulness of the gospel of the redemption will be taught to all of the dead.
In the Spirit World, Agency will continue to affect the progression of Heavenly Father’s children.
During this expanded preparatory period the great work which is done by mortals in the Temples of the Lord will provide the ordinances of salvation for those who did not have the opportunity during their mortal span and the Lord will fulfill his promise to plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers.
In the Spirit World, those who repent (prepare to forever live in the presence of God) and embrace the attributes, characteristics and perfections of Godliness will be redeemed and they will commissioned heirs of salvation and be anointed with Eternal Lives. (Doctrine and Covenants 138)
It is of little wonder that Neil Maxwell, after suffering from the effects of battling cancer during the last few years of his life, declared that he was looking forward to the day which would shortly come when he could get off of the bench and back into the action. There is no doubt in my mind he is among those whom the Prophet Joseph F. Smith saw who were appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to the spirits of men.
I am struck with the foolishness of men who are so quick to give up on themselves and their brothers and sisters. If our loving, merciful Father who is full of grace continues eternally in his efforts to bring to pass the immortality and eternal lives of his children, why then would we give up the hope which will keep us trying. Why would we ever give up trying when our Heavenly Father never will?
(To be continued)
THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY
EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY
❣️THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY❣️ = 💞THE GOOD LIFE💞
Saturday, March 21, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
Neither the dinginess nor darkness within the walls of a humble abode – can keep the Light of Christ from dwelling thereing!!
Friday, March 20, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
The magnificence of an edifice does not determine – the amount of the Light of Christ which will shine therein!!
Thursday, March 19, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
None of us would continue to exist for a very long time – if God were to withdraw His sustaining arm!!
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
Because of the variety of paths the children of God are on – the principle of all we have to give – has to be measured in a multitude of ways!!
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
What one person may deem a sacrifice – may be looked upon as an opportunity by others!!
Monday, March 16, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
We must all remember that the next step in our personal progression – is not necessarily the universally appropriate – direction for everyone!!
Sunday, March 15, 2020
ANOTHER LOOK AT HEAVENLY FATHER’S ETERNAL PLAN 3
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Revised and republished Sunday, March 15, 2020
Hopefully, I was able to express myself clearly in the second part of this extended Thought and it is understood that I believe that the preparation for the eternal state of Heavenly Father’s children, being the major activity of His work and Glory, is not confined to this mortal sphere, but extends infinitely into the past and, likewise, infinitely into the future.
I hope I have made it clear that I also believe this applies to each of His children individually as well as the collective work He is doing for the whole of His posterity.
If it hasn’t already occurred to you, let me bring up a counter point about which these previous ideas should have caused you to wonder.
Alma, one of the prophets whose writings became a major part of the Book of Mormon as it came forth in the 1800’s brought his sons together to give them a final blessing just prior to His departing mortality. It is interesting that his blessing to his son Corianton, who had made some choices contrary to the word of the Lord, (ironically he had much more to say to his wayward son than to Helaman and Shiblon who had been obedient – sounds like fodder for another Thought sometime in the future) made the following statement which we should spend some time considering, since it could be a valid objection to the first two parts of my thoughts about Another Look at Heavenly Father’s Plan.
If you have forgotten why I feel the limiting of our preparation to our time spent in mortality to be an illogical principle, you might want to do a quick review of last week’s Thought before continuing.
In chapters 12, 34 and 42 of Alma, in The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ in this blessing to Corianton, Alma teaches that this life is the time given for man to prepare to meet God.
Although all three referenced chapters use the term ‘this life’ I believe a careful examination of Alma chapter 12 verse 24 opens up to us the understanding that this expression can be used in reference to the entirety of our eternal existence and not just the minute mortal period.
And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; (it is important to note that the ‘this life’ principle follows after the reference to our mortal death) never the less there is a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; (his theme is on what happens to us after we die and before the resurrection – therefore, this space he is talking about seems to be referring to what we call the spirit world where we go after mortality) a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.
I think the easy answer for this treatise would be simply to say that the term, ‘this life as a preparatory time’ includes for each of us, all of our lengthy pre-mortal estate, whatever short period of our eternal existence we spend in mortality and the everlasting period we will spend in our post-mortal existence.
OUR LENGTHY PREMORTAL ESTATE:
Let me begin with the pre-mortal estate of the Son of God who John spoke of as an introduction to his gospel.
In the beginning was the Word, and th¬¬e Word was with God, and the Word Was God… And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (New Testament(John 1: 1, 14)
In a revelation received on May 6, 1833, Joseph Smith, the prophet of the restoration also received this witness of John, while working on his inspired translation, of the Savior’s progression during His pre-mortal estate.
And John saw and bore record of the fulness of my glory, and the fulness of John’s record is hereafter to be revealed.
And he bore record, saying: I saw his glory, that he was in the beginning, before the world was; Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation—The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and of him.
And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us. (Doctrine and Covenants 93: 6 -11)
If, as we believe, this Son of God, whom John refers to as the Word, was the Great Jehovah who created this world and directed the children of Adam during the years recorded in the Old Testament, then it is easy for us to understand that Jesus the Christ, The Savior of mankind had progressed sufficiently during his pre-mortal estate to have achieved the office of God, a principle which John the Beloved clearly understood and taught in his gospel.
I understand we could quickly say that in this as in so many areas of His life (such as having gone through mortality without succumbing to sin) the Savior was an exception. It doesn't take long in studying the scriptures to find that all of Heavenly Father’s children were going through a probationary period during their pre-mortal estate.
This aforementioned Alma taught we should try to part the veil and briefly remember what our personal pre-mortal probationary period was like. He uses the example of those who were foreordained to become priests and teachers in the pre-mortal estate, but it only takes a brief pondering to realize that what applied to one surely applied to all.
And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, were called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. (Alma 13:3)
I add a second witness to this principle which teaches of our having had a rather lengthy and important pre-mortal preparatory period.
I (The Lord) dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee the works which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.
Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was, and among all these were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me; Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. And there stood one among them that was like unto God… (Pearl of Great Price – Abraham 3: 21-24)
Since I did not intend while writing these Thoughts on the Eternal Plan of Heavenly Father to explore an in depth review of the various phases of our eternal probationary journey, I will end this Thought with my testimony concerning our pre-mortal estate. I believe that during that phase of our existence the children of our Heavenly Parents had full exercise of the Law of Agency and that as a result of their individual choices they advanced to endless variations of progression. That although there were some who demonstrated their faithfulness sufficient to be pre ordained to be prophets and leaders during the mortal phase of their existence, the Great Jehovah, even Jesus the Christ was unique in achieving Godhood during the pre-mortal phase of our probationary life span.
I hope you will join me again in the coming week when I will continue this Thought on Another Look at Heavenly Father’s Eternal Plan.
(To be continued)
THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY
EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY
❣️THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY❣️ = 💞THE GOOD LIFE💞
Revised and republished Sunday, March 15, 2020
Hopefully, I was able to express myself clearly in the second part of this extended Thought and it is understood that I believe that the preparation for the eternal state of Heavenly Father’s children, being the major activity of His work and Glory, is not confined to this mortal sphere, but extends infinitely into the past and, likewise, infinitely into the future.
I hope I have made it clear that I also believe this applies to each of His children individually as well as the collective work He is doing for the whole of His posterity.
If it hasn’t already occurred to you, let me bring up a counter point about which these previous ideas should have caused you to wonder.
Alma, one of the prophets whose writings became a major part of the Book of Mormon as it came forth in the 1800’s brought his sons together to give them a final blessing just prior to His departing mortality. It is interesting that his blessing to his son Corianton, who had made some choices contrary to the word of the Lord, (ironically he had much more to say to his wayward son than to Helaman and Shiblon who had been obedient – sounds like fodder for another Thought sometime in the future) made the following statement which we should spend some time considering, since it could be a valid objection to the first two parts of my thoughts about Another Look at Heavenly Father’s Plan.
If you have forgotten why I feel the limiting of our preparation to our time spent in mortality to be an illogical principle, you might want to do a quick review of last week’s Thought before continuing.
In chapters 12, 34 and 42 of Alma, in The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ in this blessing to Corianton, Alma teaches that this life is the time given for man to prepare to meet God.
Although all three referenced chapters use the term ‘this life’ I believe a careful examination of Alma chapter 12 verse 24 opens up to us the understanding that this expression can be used in reference to the entirety of our eternal existence and not just the minute mortal period.
And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; (it is important to note that the ‘this life’ principle follows after the reference to our mortal death) never the less there is a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; (his theme is on what happens to us after we die and before the resurrection – therefore, this space he is talking about seems to be referring to what we call the spirit world where we go after mortality) a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.
I think the easy answer for this treatise would be simply to say that the term, ‘this life as a preparatory time’ includes for each of us, all of our lengthy pre-mortal estate, whatever short period of our eternal existence we spend in mortality and the everlasting period we will spend in our post-mortal existence.
OUR LENGTHY PREMORTAL ESTATE:
Let me begin with the pre-mortal estate of the Son of God who John spoke of as an introduction to his gospel.
In the beginning was the Word, and th¬¬e Word was with God, and the Word Was God… And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (New Testament(John 1: 1, 14)
In a revelation received on May 6, 1833, Joseph Smith, the prophet of the restoration also received this witness of John, while working on his inspired translation, of the Savior’s progression during His pre-mortal estate.
And John saw and bore record of the fulness of my glory, and the fulness of John’s record is hereafter to be revealed.
And he bore record, saying: I saw his glory, that he was in the beginning, before the world was; Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation—The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and of him.
And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us. (Doctrine and Covenants 93: 6 -11)
If, as we believe, this Son of God, whom John refers to as the Word, was the Great Jehovah who created this world and directed the children of Adam during the years recorded in the Old Testament, then it is easy for us to understand that Jesus the Christ, The Savior of mankind had progressed sufficiently during his pre-mortal estate to have achieved the office of God, a principle which John the Beloved clearly understood and taught in his gospel.
I understand we could quickly say that in this as in so many areas of His life (such as having gone through mortality without succumbing to sin) the Savior was an exception. It doesn't take long in studying the scriptures to find that all of Heavenly Father’s children were going through a probationary period during their pre-mortal estate.
This aforementioned Alma taught we should try to part the veil and briefly remember what our personal pre-mortal probationary period was like. He uses the example of those who were foreordained to become priests and teachers in the pre-mortal estate, but it only takes a brief pondering to realize that what applied to one surely applied to all.
And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, were called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. (Alma 13:3)
I add a second witness to this principle which teaches of our having had a rather lengthy and important pre-mortal preparatory period.
I (The Lord) dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee the works which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.
Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was, and among all these were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me; Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. And there stood one among them that was like unto God… (Pearl of Great Price – Abraham 3: 21-24)
Since I did not intend while writing these Thoughts on the Eternal Plan of Heavenly Father to explore an in depth review of the various phases of our eternal probationary journey, I will end this Thought with my testimony concerning our pre-mortal estate. I believe that during that phase of our existence the children of our Heavenly Parents had full exercise of the Law of Agency and that as a result of their individual choices they advanced to endless variations of progression. That although there were some who demonstrated their faithfulness sufficient to be pre ordained to be prophets and leaders during the mortal phase of their existence, the Great Jehovah, even Jesus the Christ was unique in achieving Godhood during the pre-mortal phase of our probationary life span.
I hope you will join me again in the coming week when I will continue this Thought on Another Look at Heavenly Father’s Eternal Plan.
(To be continued)
THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY
EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY
❣️THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY❣️ = 💞THE GOOD LIFE💞
Saturday, March 14, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
That which you believe to be an unreachable goal – will always remain out of reach!!
Friday, March 13, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
There are some speakers who describe a plan of life – that is so impossible to live – that their words cause many to become faint – and – turn away from the Lord’s plan!!
Thursday, March 12, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
There is a reason shoes – and – shirts come in all sizes – the same reasoning helps us understand there is not one map – which outlines everyone’s mortal journey!!
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
Even though Heavenly Father knows the beginning from the end of our existence – I suspect we often fill His heart with sorrow during our mortal lives!!
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
We should all think about – and – ponder how much sadness we have caused our Heavenly Father – because we are negligent in coming to Him in prayer!!
Monday, March 9, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED !!
Heavenly Father will never grow weary – of the length of our prayers – or – think we are multiplying words – if they are sincere!!
Sunday, March 8, 2020
ANOTHER LOOK AT HEAVENLY FATHER’S ETERNAL PLAN 2
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Revised and republished Sunday, March 8, 2020
Hopefully you enjoyed part one of this Thought and you have decided to read this second installment of my ponderings on the importance of our coming to the understanding that the secret of living a Christ centered life is founded on the principles of grace and mercy upon which the success of HIS eternal plan rests as it applies to our eventual individual everlasting state of existence.
In the delightful and enlightening little book of scripture called the Pearl of Great Price, in the Book of Moses chapter 1 the 39th verse, Heavenly Father explains the main purpose of His existence.
For behold this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
It is difficult to comprehend the depth of His love for His children which is expressed in these few words. Our minds can only begin to grasp the concept, all that He has created, all the words he has revealed through his prophets and all that is to be comprehended by the Mission, Crucifixion, Atonement and Resurrection of His son Jesus the Christ. Yes, even our Heavenly Father’s very existence is for the soul purpose of helping each of us gain eternal life and immortality.
When we include verse 38 of Moses chapter 1 which precedes the one just quoted we are struck even more forcefully with the extent of the Love, Mercy and Grace He has for his children.
And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.
What a struggle to understand that He is saying He has created other earths, He is creating other earths, and He will yet create many more earths and then when we combine the two verses just cited, I believe He is also telling us that His work with each of us will go on until He knows that through His work and glory, He has maximized the potential of our immortality and eternal life. I am convinced that like there being no end to his creation of earths, likewise, there is no end to his work of striving to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of each of us.
It was 1994, just after Kathleen and I had returned from serving our mission as Leaders of the Colombia, Bogota North Mission. Because of time limits on an impending move to Mission Viejo, California, for what turned out to be our last assignment with the Church Education System, I had left her in Reno, Nevada, to prepare our home for a quick sale, while I had gone off to Provo for a CES conference.
While attending this conference, I attended a session where Marion Duff Hanks, a recently released General Authority, was the featured speaker. It was not the first time I had heard hints about the subject upon which he was speaking , but it was certainly the most powerful presentation I had heard on the principle.
During his remarks he postulated the probability that many of Heavenly Father’s children would receive most of the effects of Heavenly Father’s work and glory during their pre-mortal and their post-mortal stages of existence.
For these Thoughts I will confine myself to this subject, but while he was instructing, I was also brought bolt upright when Elder Hanks said his personal feeling was that Heavenly Father would not be finished with any of us until we were exalted. Since that is beyond the depth or height of my understanding I will not be going in that direction.
As I mentioned previously, Kathleen and I had just returned from spending three years loving and living among the wonderful people of Colombia in their beautiful country. During this time we also had the privilege of watching over hundreds of young brother and sister missionaries and watching them grow in their faith and their abilities to teach gospel doctrines and principles.
The citizens of Colombia are of one heart, but the country is made up of several different cultures. There are some who are indigenous, some whose roots stem from Europe, some who arrived from Africa during that horrendous period of history when humans selling humans was a profitable business, some are those who identify with the Caribbean coast, others with the mountains, others with the jungle and still others with the plains. If we were to exhaust all the cultural differences which exist in the country we would still have to understand the multiple groups which are created because of the diversity of religion, wealth and education in the country.
If we were to multiply the diversity of experiences, trials and opportunities which the inhabitants of Colombia have during their mortal sojourn by the many nations which have, do and will exist on this planet we begin to understand the feeling of frustration which accompanied the Apostle Paul’s words in his first epistle to the Corinthians chapter 15 verse 19.
And if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
In fact, if we add all of those whose lives span but hours or days as mortal beings and the centuries and nations who have never heard the word of God during mortality and restrict the individual results of His works to our mortal span alone His plan makes little sense and in fact becomes illogical. Unless we are willing to accept that our Heavenly Father’s work and glory is not restricted to this short mortal span of our existence.
While we were serving in Colombia we became aware of one of the saddest scenarios of my personal life span. There were a large group of children who roamed the streets of Bogota, ranging from infants to young adults who were referred to as ‘sewer children’. The name came about because this was where the majority of them spent their young lives and called the sewers their home. Their ranks were continually growing as they would often be the only ones who would rescue an abandoned infant and add them to their family. They managed to survive by cunning and thievery much like the street urchins in a Charles Dickens novel. For many of them a major part of their days and nights were spent inhaling glue fumes in order to numb their minds and bodies to the cold and pain and the hunger which made up their daily walk.
Anyone who could even begin to make logic out of the justice of their eternal existence being dependent upon ‘this mortal life only’ and somehow hint that they had some kind of choice to live a Christ centered life has to have been blinded by the pride of their selfish exclusive world.
There is no logical way their eternal existence can be measured on the same scale with that of a boy born of goodly parents in Pocatello, Idaho, who had the benefit of having an abundant access to that part of the gospel which had been given for salvation in his day.
The privilege I had of being authorized to use the sealing powers in the Newport Beach Temple has burned into my soul the testimony of our Heavenly Father’s work having been a great part of our pre-mortal existence, is a great part of our mortal existence (no matter how brief or extensive or under what conditions), and which I believe will continue for as long as needed in our post-mortal existence until our Father in Heaven can say His work with each of us has been completed.
We shall write more about this in next week’s installment.
(To be continued)
THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY
EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY
❣️THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY❣️ = 💞THE GOOD LIFE💞
Revised and republished Sunday, March 8, 2020
Hopefully you enjoyed part one of this Thought and you have decided to read this second installment of my ponderings on the importance of our coming to the understanding that the secret of living a Christ centered life is founded on the principles of grace and mercy upon which the success of HIS eternal plan rests as it applies to our eventual individual everlasting state of existence.
In the delightful and enlightening little book of scripture called the Pearl of Great Price, in the Book of Moses chapter 1 the 39th verse, Heavenly Father explains the main purpose of His existence.
For behold this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
It is difficult to comprehend the depth of His love for His children which is expressed in these few words. Our minds can only begin to grasp the concept, all that He has created, all the words he has revealed through his prophets and all that is to be comprehended by the Mission, Crucifixion, Atonement and Resurrection of His son Jesus the Christ. Yes, even our Heavenly Father’s very existence is for the soul purpose of helping each of us gain eternal life and immortality.
When we include verse 38 of Moses chapter 1 which precedes the one just quoted we are struck even more forcefully with the extent of the Love, Mercy and Grace He has for his children.
And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.
What a struggle to understand that He is saying He has created other earths, He is creating other earths, and He will yet create many more earths and then when we combine the two verses just cited, I believe He is also telling us that His work with each of us will go on until He knows that through His work and glory, He has maximized the potential of our immortality and eternal life. I am convinced that like there being no end to his creation of earths, likewise, there is no end to his work of striving to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of each of us.
It was 1994, just after Kathleen and I had returned from serving our mission as Leaders of the Colombia, Bogota North Mission. Because of time limits on an impending move to Mission Viejo, California, for what turned out to be our last assignment with the Church Education System, I had left her in Reno, Nevada, to prepare our home for a quick sale, while I had gone off to Provo for a CES conference.
While attending this conference, I attended a session where Marion Duff Hanks, a recently released General Authority, was the featured speaker. It was not the first time I had heard hints about the subject upon which he was speaking , but it was certainly the most powerful presentation I had heard on the principle.
During his remarks he postulated the probability that many of Heavenly Father’s children would receive most of the effects of Heavenly Father’s work and glory during their pre-mortal and their post-mortal stages of existence.
For these Thoughts I will confine myself to this subject, but while he was instructing, I was also brought bolt upright when Elder Hanks said his personal feeling was that Heavenly Father would not be finished with any of us until we were exalted. Since that is beyond the depth or height of my understanding I will not be going in that direction.
As I mentioned previously, Kathleen and I had just returned from spending three years loving and living among the wonderful people of Colombia in their beautiful country. During this time we also had the privilege of watching over hundreds of young brother and sister missionaries and watching them grow in their faith and their abilities to teach gospel doctrines and principles.
The citizens of Colombia are of one heart, but the country is made up of several different cultures. There are some who are indigenous, some whose roots stem from Europe, some who arrived from Africa during that horrendous period of history when humans selling humans was a profitable business, some are those who identify with the Caribbean coast, others with the mountains, others with the jungle and still others with the plains. If we were to exhaust all the cultural differences which exist in the country we would still have to understand the multiple groups which are created because of the diversity of religion, wealth and education in the country.
If we were to multiply the diversity of experiences, trials and opportunities which the inhabitants of Colombia have during their mortal sojourn by the many nations which have, do and will exist on this planet we begin to understand the feeling of frustration which accompanied the Apostle Paul’s words in his first epistle to the Corinthians chapter 15 verse 19.
And if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
In fact, if we add all of those whose lives span but hours or days as mortal beings and the centuries and nations who have never heard the word of God during mortality and restrict the individual results of His works to our mortal span alone His plan makes little sense and in fact becomes illogical. Unless we are willing to accept that our Heavenly Father’s work and glory is not restricted to this short mortal span of our existence.
While we were serving in Colombia we became aware of one of the saddest scenarios of my personal life span. There were a large group of children who roamed the streets of Bogota, ranging from infants to young adults who were referred to as ‘sewer children’. The name came about because this was where the majority of them spent their young lives and called the sewers their home. Their ranks were continually growing as they would often be the only ones who would rescue an abandoned infant and add them to their family. They managed to survive by cunning and thievery much like the street urchins in a Charles Dickens novel. For many of them a major part of their days and nights were spent inhaling glue fumes in order to numb their minds and bodies to the cold and pain and the hunger which made up their daily walk.
Anyone who could even begin to make logic out of the justice of their eternal existence being dependent upon ‘this mortal life only’ and somehow hint that they had some kind of choice to live a Christ centered life has to have been blinded by the pride of their selfish exclusive world.
There is no logical way their eternal existence can be measured on the same scale with that of a boy born of goodly parents in Pocatello, Idaho, who had the benefit of having an abundant access to that part of the gospel which had been given for salvation in his day.
The privilege I had of being authorized to use the sealing powers in the Newport Beach Temple has burned into my soul the testimony of our Heavenly Father’s work having been a great part of our pre-mortal existence, is a great part of our mortal existence (no matter how brief or extensive or under what conditions), and which I believe will continue for as long as needed in our post-mortal existence until our Father in Heaven can say His work with each of us has been completed.
We shall write more about this in next week’s installment.
(To be continued)
THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY
EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY
❣️THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY❣️ = 💞THE GOOD LIFE💞
Saturday, March 7, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
There are too many times when we are prone – to call mistakes of judgement people make – evil!!
Friday, March 6, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
I suspect there comes a time when we become so aged – or – infirmed – when we actually wish – people would stop praying for our continuance in mortality!!
Thursday, March 5, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
When a teacher piles on a multiplicity of scriptures – which say the same thing – to demonstrate a point – as each new scripture is read there is a diminishing effect!!
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
Proper preparation – often prevents fear from causing paralyzing circumstances – to stop our presentations!!
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
One of life’s two edged swords – is the fear of failure – it can be both a tremendous motivator – and – create an insurmountable barrier!!
Monday, March 2, 2020
LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED!!
The most effective gospel teaching takes place – when we stimulate students to hear the whisperings of the Holy Spirit – and – bring them to remembrance of those principles which they learned during their premortal lives!!
Sunday, March 1, 2020
ANOTHER LOOK AT HEAVENLY FATHER’S ETERNAL PLAN 1
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Revised and republished Sunday, March 1, 2020
Periodically someone will write me a note after having read one of my Thoughts saying something like; I really liked this one, or this was my favorite of all, or this one was really helpful.
It would be difficult for me to identify a single Thought for a Sabbath Day which I have written which would fit one of these categories, but as I was reading the following verses in the 34 chapter of Alma in The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I was reminded of this series of six Thoughts I had written and included in the fourth volume of Thoughts for 100 Sabbath Days.
32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
Although the Thoughts in this six part series don’t fit into one of the categories from the preceding readers comments, I do remember having had a very powerful spiritual experience while preparing the talk I refer to in this Thought and during the subsequent weeks when I was doing the original writing of these Thoughts.
I have called this edition of the republication of these Thoughts a revision because I seldom reread anything I have written without wanting to add additional thoughts which come into my mind.
*****
I wouldn't call them abrupt nor dramatic changes, but there have been several dramatic shifts during my life when I felt I had really identified the key to living a Christ centered life.
Although I have never voiced it to anyone and may not have even realized it myself, as I look back upon my life I realize the first few decades were probably controlled by the principle of obedience.
I grew up during an era when ‘a good spanking’ was an essential part of parenting. Therefore, I learned early on that the directions given by my mother or father were not to be questioned, considered as a topic up for debate, as something I could adjust to my own time table, nor an area where my natural creative ideas in bringing their words to fruition could be incorporated.
These decades later I can still remember the phrases which accompanied the correction sessions which my parents deemed to be necessary for me to make much needed adjustment to my attitudes and actions. Because I said so! Because I am your (mother or father) One which I personally adapted from Bill Cosby, to use on my own children was, I brought you into this world and I can take you out!
Although I am not an advocate of harmful corporal punishment as a way of raising children, I often see modern children acting out in such a way that I am not convinced permissiveness is the answer to the mystery of how to raise kids.
As The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints became more of an influence in my life, Apostles, Prophets, Stake Presidents, Bishops and other church leaders were placed on the same pedestal as my parents as ‘they who would be obeyed.’ Then, when I became a regular reader of the scriptures, another of the resources which I remember being very meaningful to me during this passage of life was reading the Relief Society Magazine from which I gleaned endless ideas about the paths I could choose which would lead me to success and happiness. I found myself daily adding to the list of commandments, principles and paths which needed to be obeyed and followed.
As the list became cumbersome and more and more difficult to stay constantly and completely aware of, I slowly decided there had to be a better way.
It wasn't an overnight shift and even now, after a lot of water has flowed past my porch, I still periodically find myself checking on my level of obedience to one principle or another.
It doesn't seem appropriate to call it a phase, but the next identifiable principle upon which I found myself being grounded, if I were to use worldly terms, would be called my ‘if it feels good, do it’ phase. I hasten to say that since I had spent all those years of my life firming up my foundation of using the principle of obedience as concrete, it was very difficult to get that ‘good’ feeling if I engaged in an activity contrary to the principles on my obedience list.
This period also became the time of my life when I used the Plan of Happiness both as an indicator of choices I should be making and as a measuring tool to indicate if the choices I was making were correct. If I felt like a dark cloud was enveloping me I knew I was making choices which weren’t correct. However, if after making a choice, I felt that wonderful feeling of joy spring up around my heart, I was pretty secure that I had made a correct choice.
It was much later in my life than I would like to admit that I was able to begin the shift away from these ‘me being obedient’ or ‘me being happy’ constructs of life to a principle which made it easier for me to ‘get over myself’ a bit.
I suspect it started when I read the Savior’s admonition during the last supper as recorded in the Gospel of St. John chapter 13 verse 34.
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
This impulse toward ‘love for others’ being the key to a ‘Christ centered life’ was added upon by the teachings on the principle of love expounded by John in the 4th chapter of his first epistle. Therein he boldly states God is love and then continues by saying a man who says he loves God whom he cannot see, but hates his brother whom he can see is a liar.
Another factor which contributed to my shift to love being the emphasis of my personal gospel plan, I am sure was due to the phenomenon that as I aged, the circle of people who made me feel ‘warm and fuzzy’ when I was around them, seemed to be rapidly expanding.
It was at this time of my life when I became convinced that the most important thing we do during our lives is to make sure we do all we can to have loving and kind relationships with all of Heavenly Father’s children, even those who seem bent on making it difficult for us to do so.
It was quite miraculous to discover that when I concentrated on having loving relationships being the major principle of my daily walk and at the same time attempting not to cause my neighbor to stumble because of my lack of acting towards them with love, I found myself surging to a whole new level on the happiness scale.
Just when I was feeling really good about finding the key to living a Christ centered life, while I was reading the words of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, in the Book of Mormon in 2nd Nephi the 24th and 25th verses of the 10th chapter, I was struck with the overwhelming feeling that all the other ‘keys’, which I had concentrated my life on during extensive periods, were but passages leading to what might, at least for me, be the Very Key to having a Christ centered life.
Wherefore my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved. Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine.
The reason I felt a need to go through this lengthy introduction to this series of Thoughts is because when I was asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting near the end of the 77th year of my life, I was given the assignment to speak on the Plan of Salvation. As it turned out, and as I had suspected, I was only able to give a small portion of the remarks I prepared. However, I was very grateful because it started this series of weeks when I was able to ponder and begin to formulate my thoughts on His plan. Hopefully, we all catch the significance of it being HIS plan based on HIS mercy and HIS grace and not on our will nor our perceptions. Although this had not been planned to be the ‘last sermon of my life’ ironically it turned out to be just that.
During the coming weeks I will be sharing some of my ponderings and conclusions, as I have taken another, and hopefully a correct look at HEAVENLY FATHER’S ETERNAL PLAN.
(To be continued)
THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY
EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY
❣️THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY❣️ = 💞THE GOOD LIFE💞
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)