Saturday, January 17, 2009

"The World"

2 Nephi 26:23-24, 28
"For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in darkness.
He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him.  Wherefore he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness?  Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden."

Do we really understand who we are?  The potential we have?  Not just our potential to rise to any situation here on earth, but eternally and immortally.  Do we really understand what is at stake here on earth, the choices we make, the people we become, the values we obtain, the standards we truly take to heart?

I have noticed myself using the word truly a lot lately, it just dawned on me.  But I think there is a reason.  It has something to do with the blog I wrote a month or so ago about actually being who you claim to be, and not faking it.  We must truly be converted to the TRUE gospel of Christ.  When we are truly converted, it becomes almost easy.  Once the principles of the gospel are no longer "nice ideas" but things that we truly take to heart, we will simply find ourselves exemplifying them without much extra effort beyong that which we actually desire to do.  When we start making righteous choices because that's what we truly believe to be the correct choices for us, both as mortals and as immortal spirits, that's when our spirit starts simling and when we truly feel in touch with God and what He wants for us.  When we truly become Christ-like.  

"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."

Something I just noticed about that scripture.  "...for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies..."  Our body is merely a tabernacle for our spirit.  We can not attain the glory we so desire without our bodies.  That being said, getting used to a body and the carnal desires that lies innate is basically the point of this life.  Overcoming those base desires and getting our bodies to desire the same things that our intial spirits desires.  If we lose the battle and end up letting our bodies teach our spirits what to want, that's how we'll be forever.  This life is not something to be taken lightly. 

It always helps me put this life into perspective when I think about the eon's of time we have existed as spirit beings before this world was even created, and the eon's of time we will yet exist, as people WITH bodies.  If you can get your brain around that concept, it shows you how truly unimportant the small, everyday decisions of this life are.  If we successfully make every choice in this life with the knowledge that it could possibly have ramifications for the rest of our immortal existances... I perceive that far more righteous choices would be made.  

Why is it so hard for us to concentrate on the eternities?  Possibly because our mind is more focused on the here and now, the "what is good for me right now" aspect of life.  We get thinking about small things that we feel matter in the here and now (like work, life-responsibilities, bills, movies, random entertainment, sports, games, etc) and it gets us off track quite easily.  I do believe that I will start praying for the Lord to help me keep the Celestial Kingdom, not in the back of my mind, but in the forefront of my mind with every life-choice that I make.  Teaching ourselves to have an eternal perspective on life in all things is really what this life is all about. Making time for the little things (the spiritual little things) like reading the scriptures daily, not watching questionable shows, not putting yourself in questionable environements.  

Staying so far away from the influence of "the world" that you start forgetting what it's like to bask in its appeal.  If you can distance yourself from the pull of "the world" for a good amount of time, the next time you are tempted by it, the easier it will be to resist because the less natural for you it will feel.  Keeping yourself in tune with things that are spiritual as often as possible (uplifting music, reading the scriptures, going to as many church meetings and activities as possible, uplifting friends, etc) help keep you distanced from "the world" and help to edify not only your actions but your thoughts and base desires.  Because really, are we going to have "the world" around after we die?  So what's the point of getting used to the world that we live in today?

We must live in the world without living of the world.

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