An update

Time prevents me from writing as much as I want. I intend to write a series of topics that will serve as a foundation for the next stage or incarnation of this blog (yes, even blogs have multiple lives!). As this blog is currently aimed at those unfamiliar with deeper spiritual matters, I am having to build a foundation upon which to delve into more esoteric topics that I believe LDS Church members desire.

Mormon Christianity tentatively touches many profound subjects, but does so in a way that neither truly educates nor enlightens.  Truths are (unintentionally) distorted, and those distortions become 'dogma' that captures the individual - you are not free when you live with dogma. You may not hear the word dogma in church, but you do hear 'doctrine'.  Its the same thing.

The spirit is alive. Period.  It cannot be reduced to a set of 'principles' without losing something of its essence, or life.  If it sounds simple, thats because there is a whole lot more you are missing. Life is complex, it is difficult to understand, it takes strenuous efforts to uncover one truth, then another, then another...and then there is plenty more you still do not know. 

Anyway, I hope to introduce you to aspects of life that will provide a more fuller understanding of our temporal and spiritual existence.  I'll probably revise a few of the posts on here to ensure that all the necessary concepts and ideas have been laid out.

OM

Idolatry

Today was fast and testimony meeting. What I heard was firstly, how much the church was 'true', secondly, how great it is to be led by prophets. At a distant third was reference to Our Lord and His sacrifice and what it meant for the speaker. What is wrong with this picture? Why do members idolize a temporal institution and a man? Why does The Lord come in a distant third? Is this now the Church of Thomas Monson?

Tithing and Consecration

It is easy to turn to the scriptures and say: this is what it says, so we ought to follow this to the letter. Of course, the scriptures say many things, and we habitually pick and choose what to follow literally.  Take, for example the doctrine on tithing. The revelation on tithing we have (D+C 119) states quite clearly that we ought to pay a tithe on our surplus property.  All these pointless debates over net or gross can be dispensed with by turning to the written revelation itself.  However, again, context is important. We ought not be Pharisees and become rigid doctors of the law. We ought to strive to uncover the message in tithing – it’s not about ‘fire insurance’ or ‘learning how to sacrifice’.  Look at the revelations on consecration. Think about the two together.  Think about what the Lord was wanting us to think about when we implemented these.  Our failure to learn consecration resulted in giving us a watered-down version (tithing).  Until we learn the lesson of tithing, we cannot follow consecration proper.  Tithing is not a ‘lower’ law – it is part of consecration, and points to its deeper meaning. But tithing is also easier to follow and implement. If done correctly, our thinking will naturally be led to a deeper understanding of consecration, allowing us to realise its purpose as a natural part of our spiritual development.  The ‘little season’ refers to a change in our thinking – or in biblical terminology, a repentance process. Only until our own season has changed within are we prepared to understand and undertake the tasks the Lord would have us do.

Taking the Red Pill (Part Two): Kansas is going ‘bye bye’

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)

Thinking about time

When I think of history I like to think of the relationship between the Divine and temporal time using the analogy of the Crucifix.  On the horizontal axis, we have earthly (temporal) linear time.   Event A is followed by event B which is followed by event C etc.  In regard to the vertical axis, this is where the Divine pierces earthly time. The Divine is eternal, not subject to time, but is beyond it. 

When thinking about history then, we have to consider when and where the divine pierces earthly time, as this historical context is important (meaning that, if the intervention failed then it would need to be undertaken at ‘another time’ which means the intervention may well look different.  This is because the consciousness of human beings does actually change over (long periods of) time, and this means, how we relate to the Divine changes over time too. Therefore, how the divine ‘touches us’ will also change.

Now, when we are situated somewhat after the historical event, we have two different ways of understanding it: (1) historically, as we are accustomed too, and (2) from the perspective of eternity – that is, attempting to apprehend the motivation purpose for the Divinity’s intervention, from the point of view of the Divinity itself (the true nature of a spiritual event can only be understood in the spiritual itself.  Any attempt to understand such an event with ‘fallen’ thinking will only get us so far).  Only in this way, can we comprehend the greater picture of the spiritual event – by combining both the earthly and heavenly perspectives.

Church membership reaches 15 million, but active members...drop? grow?

In the last General Conference we were told that membership had reached 15 million.  This figure doesn’t really mean much – people who stop attending the church don’t necessarily ask for their names to be removed from the system – hence they are members, just not active.  What would be really interesting to hear is what the total active membership is.  

Ward clerks collect these figures weekly, they are the guys who walk up and down the aisles during sacrament meeting, counting and scribbling figures in a note book. The numbers are then fed into quarterly reports, and ultimately end up on a desk in SLC. 

Total active membership is known to the Brethren, so there is nothing stopping them from disseminating the figures.  Let us not forget the words of Church historian Elder Marlin K. Jensen who said the Church is facing the greatest period of apostasy since Kirtland.  What that really means is probably up for debate. But one can reasonably assume, therefore, that the membership figure noted above does not fairly represent the number of active members.  Moreover, the Church may actually be shrinking in terms of active participation. We just don’t know, because we are kept in the dark.  Sure, there are spiritual reasons for being on the 'record' as a member of the Church, but what of those who have walked away for one or another reason? Ought we be ignoring them? All are important to the Lord - what ever we do to the 'least' we do to the Lord.  So I take the announced figures with a grain of salt – and they (the Brethren) well know they are largely meaningless.

Taking the Red Pill (Part One): Life just ain’t what it used to be

The LDS Church, much like many other churches, have a strong focus on sin and repentance. Sin is the breaking of a divine or moral law – such as a commandment. To repent is to feel regret or sorrow for one’s sinful actions (“broken heart and a contrite spirit...”), and to resolve not to commit the sin again. The repentance process often includes confession – the acknowledgment of the wrongdoing to a person with the appropriate priesthood authority. One can also confess to the Lord directly, after all, the priesthood is simply acting on His behalf.

The LDS Church also has a strong focus on authority - not merely the authority of the priesthood, but the authority of 'the Brethren'.

The moral commands or admonitions that we are asked or told to follow are found outside of ourselves, they are external, and as such these moral commands are imposed upon us, even if done willingly. How this can be reconciled with our divine potential for freedom (see previous posts) has to be determined by each of us individually. 

Unless we ourselves are the source of this moral impetus, irrespective of whom has spoken it to us – whether the a Prophet or your Parent – our freedom has been violated. There is no two ways about it.

We have yet to internalize the ‘law’.

The Lord Himself has said that He has fulfilled the Law, he fulfilled it in His own being. Christ can be out teacher.

[As an aside, if God himself won't intervene when atrocious acts of evil are perpetuated to ensure our liberty is maintained, then ought He also be consistent with other factors – such as 'moral commands'? Or, have we just not yet realized such contradictions? After all, He can't tell us without violating the very freedom he is protecting/nurturing. Just a thought]

One of the obvious facts concerning receiving moral guidance from outside of us, is that most people today do not find a connection to being told what to do, irrespective of how sound the commandment may appear. This is one reason why traditional Christian approaches to the divine are being rejected by most Westerners, particularly the young: the traditional approach is not in accordance with their own soul-spiritual needs. And this is for good reason. 

Humanity is no longer a child. It has grown up since it left its paradisaical state [*]. It has grown up through 2000 years of Christianity, and other spiritual influences, and quite frankly, the traditional approach is no longer spiritually appropriate. It may be comfortable, even welcomed by many – but that does not make it appropriate. Certain drugs may make you comfortable and happy too, should we all pop some pills? I admit these are bold words. Challenging words even. But the path of the red pill [**] is not easy.

Only when we choose to become spiritual adults, and not to rely on other human beings for moral guidance (for help, sure. For advice, sure. But we ought to try and make up our own mind. Thats why we have our 'own' mind), can we take the steps necessary to begin to realize our divine potential – our divine nature, our divine right, to be truly free human beings. But we first have to let go of the old ways, and take a bold step and learn to ‘internalize the law’. And herein lays the challenge...

[*] See my earlier post on when the Lord said to become like little children. 

[**] This is reference to pop-culture symbols from the Matrix movie.