“In the World but Not of It"

With the weariness of the mortal existential journey the gaze may be fixed upon him, his sublimity, and the soul may be comforted.  I will address this topic, given what I have come to understand more fully.  I hope you too gain insights and testimony.  I will be circumspect in my attempt to not addressing the horrors of the “world” graphically as I am wont to do.  But as we have come this far we all too lucidly understand the “weariness of the mortal existential journey” that is conflicted with “worldliness” of every shade.  But instead we will consider what we can do, as Latter-Day Saints, to put this “mantra” of ours “to be in the world but not of it” into practice and into full fruition, in practical terms, so we might enjoy the joy of living “and the soul may be comforted.”

We must reorient our desires.  Desires are deceitfully dangerous.  A desire to do good is a general and authentic wanting to be better in one’s progression, but the literal definition distills that and is described by the New Oxford American Dictionary as “a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.”    The wanting and wishing, utterly different from one’s personal dreams for their life, are an innocuous elixir that unabated, turns to lust, greed and gluttony.  This lust, greed and gluttony, is it for that which is right and good?   Of course not.  It is the gravitational pull that draws the good soul towards the “worldly” as all desire is based on “worldly” ambition, superficiality, money, power, prestige, privilege, luxury, and ultimately waste. 

A good heart can become quickly tainted by such as these that are corrupting and inimical, and that good heart finds itself lost in the fall to a “dreary waste.”  The pull is a powerful one, it is ubiquitous, it is everywhere, it is the universal theme of “worldliness” meant by the adversary to manipulate and then ensnare.  It takes a resolute heart and a determined mind, the mind and spirit of a Latter-Day Saint, to develop a concerted and committed self that eventually becomes inured to those lures and can be safe in truth and reality.

How is this possible?  I refer back to an earlier post How "being a Mormon is very cool..." “Our spirits are all unique as are our lives. This phenomenon represents the power in the Gospel of Jesus Christ to effectuate real and absolute change and a God who desires for his children not uniform homogeneity and one mind but for each of us to shine in our special ways with our special talents sharing our own special testimonies and developing our special abilities each with a very special purpose. Yes, being a Mormon is very cool.” 

An understanding of How "being a Mormon is very cool..."as one lives humbly and selflessly, reveals a truism that one will inadvertently journey along the path to self-realization as one turns the will entirely to God.  It happened in my life; a biting insecurity, issues with my body, addiction, mental illness, same-sex attraction… the effect of all of these was a total loss of self, that self that had long been forgotten over several decades.  In humility and a conviction in God, one might transgress the “worldly” conditioned ills and find your authentic self as you are meant to be, as I have discovered who I truly am and am becoming as I travel that journey.

It is an exciting journey of discovery as one recognizes the reality in seeing incredible changes with the self, a sure self esteem, confidence, and a more pronounced individuality, as we are each very unique, united in a feeling of security grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  When one turns away from the world, aided by the Savior, it is an exciting and beaming reality of overwhelming blessings and knowledge as one is truly free to be their own master.  Mormons are not a homogenous group, this is common slander, NO!  

We are a vibrant global community of precious and strong spirits unlike any phenomenon outside of the Church.  We are a dynamic and multi-dimensional global community, which thrives in maintaining cultural heritage from all nations and social and ethnic groups and to encourage true individuality from within vast global demographics.  This is great news!  This is exciting stuff!  How can any temporal and transient worldly condition compare, hold a candle, to the peace that comes with the-inner self and the peace one can legitimately feel for all of life because we understand that the “world” is lost and goodness, the reality, prevails.

What incredible motivation to transcend absolutely the temporal and constricting worldly trickery.  I have witnessed this as true reality in one near and dear to me, who barely lives in the world let alone of it and thus radiates the light of Christ.  Eventually, with clear eyes, the strong Latter-Day Saint can see through all of “worldly” artifice and find meaningless in money for its own sake and realize the delusion of power.  These in effect become ugly and utterly transparent to the soul that lives selflessly, without a lust for the “world” that is a general condition of humanity.  To grow numb to the pull of the world is to avoid the desire and covetousness of the material, the acquisition of wealth for its own sake, abusing others as one “climbs the ladder” not caring whose head is being stepped upon.  These ills that constitute the norm for the “world” can be superseded with the very real state of reality that is the manifestation of the atonement, that which allows everything to be. 

Breeching the divide, making the transcendence, takes much effort as we are “natural man,” but with study and personal relationships with Heavenly Father and our life-long companion Jesus Christ, this can help us as we move farther away from the “world” and closer to a relative state of pure reality as we have no limitations, no confines, no restrictions… we are free! 

Of course, this is no Molly Mormon, Peter Priesthood or Larry Linger-Longer, but an exciting transcendent leap into a state of reality that can be made very much one’s own, far away from annoyances and irritable worldly noise.  It is one that is mindful of Christ always, prays fervently, and does not read but studies.  Of course, in the “world” there is the “virtuous and lovely;” the good and healthy, educational and spiritually uplifting resources to add zest to a  colorful personal reality that becomes very real and very special.  It is a liberation that is the beginning of the journey of self-realization, a clear understanding of existence, deep connections with your fellow man that are eternal, profound insights to true reality, a more fully realized individuality more than ever experienced growing stronger as time passes, and great success in life as good trumps evil always and an honorable professional who is trusted, stalwart and dedicated will not have to climb that ladder but as one is living righteously with the Spirit alive within, the way will be made manifest.  

With all facets of life, if there is a concerted effort to live without the bonds of the “world,” life, with all of its “cares, worries, anxieties, paranoia, confusion, contradiction, irrationality,” are no concern to you and me.  As we live deliberately, strengthen our families and special relationships, as well as our talents, the journey will have none of this ugliness but is sublime and beautiful as God lays the stepping stones that we joyfully cherish in our state of progression, and he will make all of the rest, the most sincere, selfless desires, to be made manifest vividly in the clear manner of de facto intervention.  “When the Lord closes the door somewhere he opens a window.”  To this I testify.      “With the weariness of the mortal existential journey the gaze may be fixed upon him, his sublimity, and the soul may be comforted.”  These are the precious words I have quoted from my post “In the World but Not of It.”  As promised in my last post, I will readdress this topic, given there are immeasurable leagues between that first post and what I have come to understand more fully.  I hope you too gain further insights and testimony.  I will be circumspect in my attempt to not addressing the horrors of the “world” graphically as I am wont to do.  But as we have come this far we all too lucidly understand the “weariness of the mortal existential journey” that is conflicted with “worldliness” of every shade.  But instead we will consider what we can do, as Latter-Day Saints, to put this “mantra” of ours “to be in the world but not of it” into practice and into full fruition, in practical terms, so we might enjoy the joy of living “and the soul may be comforted.”

We must reorient our desires.  Desires are deceitfully dangerous.  A desire to do good is a general and authentic wanting to be better in one’s progression, but the literal definition distills that and is described by the New Oxford American Dictionary as “a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.”    The wanting and wishing, utterly different from one’s personal dreams for their life, are an innocuous elixir that unabated, turns to lust, greed and gluttony.  This lust, greed and gluttony, is it for that which is right and good?   Of course not.  It is the gravitational pull that draws the good soul towards the “worldly” as all desire is based on “worldly” ambition, superficiality, money, power, prestige, privilege, luxury, and ultimately waste. 

A good heart can become quickly tainted by such as these that are corrupting and inimical, and that good heart finds itself lost in the fall to a “dreary waste.”  The pull is a powerful one, it is ubiquitous, it is everywhere, it is the universal theme of “worldliness” meant by the adversary to manipulate and then ensnare.  It takes a resolute heart and a determined mind, the mind and spirit of a Latter-Day Saint, to develop a concerted and committed self that eventually becomes inured to those lures and can be safe in truth and reality.

How is this possible?  I refer back to an earlier post How "being a Mormon is very cool..." “Our spirits are all unique as are our lives. This phenomenon represents the power in the Gospel of Jesus Christ to effectuate real and absolute change and a God who desires for his children not uniform homogeneity and one mind but for each of us to shine in our special ways with our special talents sharing our own special testimonies and developing our special abilities each with a very special purpose. Yes, being a Mormon is very cool.” 

An understanding of How "being a Mormon is very cool..."as one lives humbly and selflessly, reveals a truism that one will inadvertently journey along the path to self-realization as one turns the will entirely to God.  It happened in my life; a biting insecurity, issues with my body, addiction, mental illness, same-sex attraction… the effect of all of these was a total loss of self, that self that had long been forgotten over several decades.  In humility and a conviction in God, one might transgress the “worldly” conditioned ills and find your authentic self as you are meant to be, as I have discovered who I truly am and am becoming as I travel that journey.

It is an exciting journey of discovery as one recognizes the reality in seeing incredible changes with the self, a sure self esteem, confidence, and a more pronounced individuality, as we are each very unique, united in a feeling of security grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  When one turns away from the world, aided by the Savior, it is an exciting and beaming reality of overwhelming blessings and knowledge as one is truly free to be their own master.  Mormons are not a homogenous group, this is common slander, NO!  

We are a vibrant global community of precious and strong spirits unlike any phenomenon outside of the Church.  We are a dynamic and multi-dimensional global community, which thrives in maintaining cultural heritage from all nations and social and ethnic groups and to encourage true individuality from within vast global demographics.  This is great news!  This is exciting stuff!  How can any temporal and transient worldly condition compare, hold a candle, to the peace that comes with the-inner self and the peace one can legitimately feel for all of life because we understand that the “world” is lost and goodness, the reality, prevails.

What incredible motivation to transcend absolutely the temporal and constricting worldly trickery.  I have witnessed this as true reality in one near and dear to me, who barely lives in the world let alone of it and thus radiates the light of Christ.  Eventually, with clear eyes, the strong Latter-Day Saint can see through all of “worldly” artifice and find meaningless in money for its own sake and realize the delusion of power.  These in effect become ugly and utterly transparent to the soul that lives selflessly, without a lust for the “world” that is a general condition of humanity.  To grow numb to the pull of the world is to avoid the desire and covetousness of the material, the acquisition of wealth for its own sake, abusing others as one “climbs the ladder” not caring whose head is being stepped upon.  These ills that constitute the norm for the “world” can be superseded with the very real state of reality that is the manifestation of the atonement, that which allows everything to be. 

Breeching the divide, making the transcendence, takes much effort as we are “natural man,” but with study and personal relationships with Heavenly Father and our life-long companion Jesus Christ, this can help us as we move farther away from the “world” and closer to a relative state of pure reality as we have no limitations, no confines, no restrictions… we are free! 

Of course, this is no Molly Mormon, Peter Priesthood or Larry Linger-Longer, but an exciting transcendent leap into a state of reality that can be made very much one’s own, far away from annoyances and irritable worldly noise.  It is one that is mindful of Christ always, prays fervently, and does not read but studies.  Of course, in the “world” there is the “virtuous and lovely;” the good and healthy, educational and spiritually uplifting resources to add zest to a  colorful personal reality that becomes very real and very special.  It is a liberation that is the beginning of the journey of self-realization, a clear understanding of existence, deep connections with your fellow man that are eternal, profound insights to true reality, a more fully realized individuality more than ever experienced growing stronger as time passes, and great success in life as good trumps evil always and an honorable professional who is trusted, stalwart and dedicated will not have to climb that ladder but as one is living righteously with the Spirit alive within, the way will be made manifest.  

With all facets of life, if there is a concerted effort to live without the bonds of the “world,” life, with all of its “cares, worries, anxieties, paranoia, confusion, contradiction, irrationality,” are no concern to you and me.  As we live deliberately, strengthen our families and special relationships, as well as our talents, the journey will have none of this ugliness but is sublime and beautiful as God lays the stepping stones that we joyfully cherish in our state of progression, and he will make all of the rest, the most sincere, selfless desires, to be made manifest vividly in the clear manner of de facto intervention.  “When the Lord closes the door somewhere he opens a window.”  To this I testify.      

Deeply Grounded in Christ

                              

There are many gospel truths that are heard repeatedly, on Sunday, at meetings, in conferences, through Church publications, from general authorities, as well as the scriptures, and it is a sad situation that too often members become desensitized to these principles having heard them countless times through countless approaches through the course of a lifetime, all amounting to a basic core principle. Wake Up! The Gospel is made a perpetual part of LDS lives not to lessen the value of its principles but to maintain sacred standards. No matter what the mind might be thinking when the teacher opens the class by writing on the board, “Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy,” the heart swells.

Even so, as members of the Church, the precepts of the Gospel might be simple on a certain level, but like the word “truth,” a word held sacred, the depth and breadth to which hearts and minds might take understanding and personal insight, individually through deeply seeking revelation and openly as a congregation, has a direct impact on the absoluteness of testimonies. If understanding of truth is grounded on an individual personal searching for life’s most incomprehensible answers through revelation to be witnessed as manifest in life revealed in numerous ways through the workings of the Spirit evoking a surety of that, which is of the heart is truth, and also that which is not, and not only is received an inspirational witness but the depth of yearning deep within is answered two fold as is seen the affirmed truth act through powerful agents whose power is witnessed in every instance initially questioning truth in life, and as the Spirit envelops the heart, this leaves not only a testimony but a rock of reality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit.

Such instances are not uncommon and are as much a miracle as the raising of Lazarus as the heart knows how well this is absolute and the good mind does not go back on truth, not out of fear but for love of recognized truth, the spirit not wishing to default on the resultant abundance of blessings, another witness, now that the cycle of perpetuating truths has begun. Such is a common experience and such is the effort to truly learning essential Gospel principles to such depths until the testimony is a rock of reality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Becoming active once again in the Gospel after too many years, starting once more was as a child learning the Gospel anew. It was to take a very real miracle to secure a testimony enough to see a traversal of the distance after years of raucous living. Through inspiration, aspects of passion for philosophy began to emerge and have more of a dominance until the literal choice to challenge the philosophy of Existentialism, at first not knowing why, required a higher road, this becoming Mormon Existentialism, synonymous with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Securely grounded in philosophical discourse, to now par against Mormon Existentialism was a formidable challenge. This was the time that began a rediscovery of the Gospel looking at fundamental core principles asking deliberate questions in the spirit of prayer. The same perpetuation of truth soon began as essentials of the Gospel were explored asking for truth and receiving beyond that which was sought. The Gospel became alive. Reading and profusely recording thoughts through an intensive duration, the Gospel became understood philosophically. This was not through any degree of manipulation, but as everything learned, all is philosophical by nature, merely a deeper questioning and penetration of that which was sought; the being and very existence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Considering “worldly” Existentialist principles, the Gospel; Mormon Existentialism (a misnomer), became clear as the distinctive curative to the greater ideological ill of the “world” with its anxieties and lack of purpose in existence, total denial of absolute answers, truth or common meaning are void just like the denial of God. The only guarantee in this “world,” as is the common truism, is death. This bleak and utterly complacent philosophical ideology that is only spreading in an increasing secularization and in mass culture has a rigorous history and an even more rigorous theoretical base. As demonstrative in this blog, this challenge demanded an understanding of LDS Gospel principles to a degree of profundity as deep as the opposition was grounded, allowing not only level playing field, but offering a challenge to academic, extensively theorized, deep seeded philosophy, officially instigated by the very Nietzsche who stated “Christ was the only Christian,” one of the worst minds of history having backed in theory the content of fascism. Ultimately, this blog was for the capacity to proficiently and with demonstrable expertise discourse on the polemics between the two thus introducing provocative and interesting topics elucidating core Gospel principles by sharing insights gained through this polemic made lucidly clear as the transient artificial “world” became utterly transparent while pure reality became understood as the Savior and all that he manifests.

This study undertaken required prayer, inspiration, revelation, and contemplation all on a very penetrative level of thought. Yet without the aid of the Spirit at all times, the inspiration would cease to flow. From deep within, from the beginning, the Sprit was present, there was no other basis for such understanding. Surely the Spirit would not allow such a work to commence if in fact it were fallacious; there are too many ways for it to be easily stopped. Through this process the work became lucid while receiving the courage to trust inspiration more readily. The learning continues unabated.

Today and forever, this testimony will without question survive any remnant of same sex attraction that might remain dormant and is unequivocally long absent. It will help manage the vestiges of psychosis that was a living nightmare of schizoaffective disorder for 20 years till now, over a year psychosis free since given endowments on December 27, 2011. Only managing bipolarism, which for a writer, can be a gift, this testimony is a rock of reality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without it there might as well open a black hole sucking life from life, the same is the state of darkness without the order and light and love of God.

Happily, this is not the case. The plan of salvation gives purpose to existence enabling a closeness to and a becoming more like Him. This is the purpose of existence. The Savior and his Gospel, made possible by the eternal atonement, is the very true reality of which the eternities sing the praises of and will forever rejoice and glory in his sacred name and transcendent love. Here, now, seek deeper knowledge of the gospel, seek that knowledge through understanding and seek that understanding through revelation as desired and it will be made known through His Spirit.

When the Spirit manifests its presence and makes its being known, listen and learn. For the clean, the pure in heart and the chaste, this Spirit will live on as life is blessed from every direction through striving to do the will of God. Learn from these undeniable manifestations in life and never deny them, they are truth and truth is absolute and eternal; everything that emanates from Christ. Place all in His hands and make of life a thing of beauty; to be an eternal touchstone and not something to be eternally ashamed of having wasted. This can be guaranteed against by not only harboring the Spirit but forever learning from the Spirit through an awareness of the blessings and paths laid open with truths meant personally. Never rationalize this to “worldly” explanation making a mockery of God but allow this perpetuation to ripple through life in so many glorious and blessed ways of joy.

The post to immediately follow this one will concern truths of the beloved and distinctly necessary principle to “live in the world but not of it.” However, here, revealing a spectrum of eternal significance and existential value, outside of the familiar sunday school context, it is used as an admonition to “Practice the absolute and literal transcendence beyond the conditional artifice of temporal mortality to a higher exalted sphere of truth absent of the cares of that concerning a false people, towards an experience of pure reality expressive of celestial qualities of praiseworthiness that is attainable now. This transcendence and absolute reality is the materialization of the Savior who made pure reality without end possible by his eternal atoning sacrifice. This eternal joyous state of a mortal existence of authentic reality is available for His loyal followers practicing and serving in His Gospel here in this life, whilst in preparation to become those to find through fidelity to Him a magnificence manifest by the paradisiacal glory of the pure Reality of Jesus Christ through an incomprehensible fullness entered into for the faithful welcoming the eternities to become even as God!” Does not this deeper, fuller, and existential understanding of the historic principle provoke the heart and mind to cause the spirit to stir with something akin to conviction surpassing beyond the simplistic old and faithful phrase repeated time and again? Perhaps being deeply grounded in Christ as suggested in this passage used here affects an uplifting and inspired spirituality, recognizing truth anew, thus perpetuating an evolution of a surer testimony. This is entirely granted by a richer and fuller understanding from the message of the familiar and casually used popular LDS historic anachronism, forever to be applied with greater insight, sensibility, enlightenment, with the steadfast testimony profoundly grounded in the living Gospel of Jesus Christ.