The source of the old
moral commandments was Jehovah, whom LDS folks believe was the
pre-mortal Christ. Since these commandments were given, however,
humanity has moved on with its development. Humanity is now
different to (the very small portion of) humanity that Jehovah spoke
to. Our Lord has since incarnated into a mortal body – Jesus of
Nazareth – and went through the Mystery of Golgotha in order to
arrest a spiritual decline that had set in and that was beyond our
personal control. He then ascended (and descended according to
scripture) and has since disappeared from view of most of humanity.
He never went away of course (as he stated); we just lost sight of
Him. ‘Parousia’ means re-appearance. The term ‘second coming’
is of human origin.
The prelude to the
reappearance was of course the Pauline experience of the Risen Christ
on the road to Damascus. Paul preaches and teachers from this
experiential encounter – not just from books, and teachings of the
prophets, but from the living Gospel – the ‘good news’ which is
none other than Christ Himself.
One of Paul’s key
experiences was a great mystery which had hitherto being kept secret,
but which he was now authorised to reveal. This was the mystery of
‘Christ in you’ (Col 1:27). This is a difficult teaching for LDS
folks because of the materialistic ideology at the basis of its
theology. However, both the Kingdom of Heaven and the Christ Himself
are accessible within each of us, as the scriptures testify (Luke
17:21).
Through the vessel of
the Holy Spirit, the Christ may indeed be found within us if we first
prepare the place for that appearance. We need to be cleansed
spiritually, and be morally worthy of such an event. This requires
more than following an outward commandment. To be cleansed
spiritually means to develop spiritually, just as if we are to reach
peak physical performance we must exercise regularly (and properly)
and live a healthy lifestyle. Faith is not enough, faith will only
get us so far. We have to take steps toward Him (Matt 4:19). By
taking steps, we are progressing ourselves spiritually. This is what
repentance means.
Repentance is a change
of mind; not a simple change of our thoughts. If we don’t change
the way we think, and understand, we change nothing. Repentance –
which I think is now an outdated term with too much man-made
theological baggage (the LDS concept is the same as most other
Christian churches) – is a re-building process where we take our
own spiritual progression in hand and re-make ourselves – and
cleanse ourselves – so as to draw closer to our divine potential.
“Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand” (Matt 3:2). The
admonition of St John is to undergo a spiritual transformation for
the spiritual worlds are now open to receive humanity if we are
willing to cross the threshold consciously.
“Break on through
to the other side” - The Doors
We must, in freedom,
become truly moral beings. We cannot become so by following orders.
We have to do it ourselves because it is the right thing to do,
because our own divine nature is the author of this particular Good,
not because a prophet or spiritual teacher said so. The source of
that guidance is our own conscience, or own moral compass. We can
continue to receive outward guidance, but modern humanity must find
its own way through the darkness toward the light. This challenge is
artistically expressed in the movie The Matrix:
“This is your last
chance...You take the blue pill , the story ends, you wake up in your
bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill,
you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.
Remember: all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more.”
Know
the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32)
