Category: Faith

Faith and Repentance – Broken Heart and Contrite Spirit

Many people, when they talk about the Doctrine of Christ, rattle of a list of steps from the scriptures. It’s dry and lifeless. This is what you do, but there is no desire or reason to do any of it, but at least you know “correct doctrine”.
I like this passage a lot because it builds up a desire to want to come to Christ. In addition to repentance, it incorporates faith — faith that the Lord will receive you, just as you are, warts and all. You have nothing to hide. Childlike. No pretense.

By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins–behold, he will confess them and forsake them.

(D&C 58:43.)


The following quote says “at this very moment”, now, “no matter what your spiritual condition is”. This means everybody. I think it’s worth planting the seed and conducting an experiment in faith, as Alma suggests.

Thanks to Julia Wentzell for sharing the following on Facebook today. It comes from Todd McLaughlin. Julia Writes: “These are the words a friend shared today. I absolutely loved what he had to say. They feel like truth.”

Consider with me the following process of repentance. I would like to know how you think it would impact you.

What if at this very moment, no matter what condition of life you are in, you turned to the Lord with all that you are, all that you have been, and all of the desires for your future – and present it to him straightforwardly and in plainness?

What if instead of hiding from the Lord because of your pain, and your weakness, and your sins, and your depression, and your shame, and your fear – you came to him and presented all of it to him.
In other words, you don’t wait until you conquer a bad habit, or “make yourself better”, or overcome something that is weighing you down. You come to him, as is, and fully present everything to him?
If you have sin, bring them to him and show him. If you have weakness, show him those weaknesses. Bring all of them with you and present them. If you have a difficult past. What if you brought it all to him and shared it with him?

If you have fear and desires that you are ashamed of. Why not just bring them to him? Hide nothing from him.

Give everything to him “as is”. Show him everything in its present condition. Do not wait for anything to change. Do not wait to do better first. Do not hold back anything and do all of it right now.
And expose them to the full light of truth. Allow his love and truth and light teach you about each of those things. Allow him to redeem every aspect about you. Every bad experience, every sin, every fear. Allow them all to be exposed to the full light and allow the Lord to do a redemptive work. Allow him to teach you about each thing…Tell him all about it. Ask him to teach you about it and to redeem the experience.

Do you fear the judgments of others? Describe all of it to him and expose it to light.

Do you desire wealth and a kingdom of this world? Tell him all about it and ask that his light and truth may flow through those desires and ambitions and transform into something Holy.
This process of repentance is no small thing. It takes every ounce of energy and attention we have. It takes all of us. Nothing can be hidden nor withheld.

Ultimately, and soon, we ourselves must lay on that alter. Everything about us must be given to the Lord. There is no other way.

And if we do it, the Lord can redeem the darkest and distorted parts of us. He can in a moment heal the most broken parts of us.
But he can’t unless we hold nothing back. No works of darkness. Nothing can be held from his awareness and his light.

This process of repentance will bring the full gift of the Holy Ghost to us. The Gift of the Holy Ghost is that our spirits and nature are transformed to be in complete unity with Christ. Possessing the Gift of the Holy Ghost means we are completely one with Christ. There is no greater gift.

Healing, Thinking out of the Box, Checklists

From https://ldsperfectday.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-gift-of-healing-part-7-gift-of.html

(This is so good I am including the entire post.)

We latter-day saints are used to numbered to-do lists, bullet points, checklists and other formulaic methods to accomplish a goal. For example, we pay our tithing, don’t drink tea, faithfully go to church, work on genealogy, and check off all the boxes we can so we can be perceived as being perfectly obedient. Here’s what my friend John Pontius said about this:

“It is not uncommon for someone to make a list of everything they feel they should be doing in their lives, then select a few to begin working on. As wholesome as this sounds, it will only create feelings of impotence and frustration. Read all the scriptures, and nowhere is there an account of someone achieving spiritual power by making lists of needed improvements, and then working the list! They all did it by obedience to the voice of the Lord. You must also, there is no other way. Why is it more desirable to be obedient to a list than to the voice of God? Why would we try to accomplish a divine task without divine assistance?

The Lord knows the exact course our lives should take, which sin should be eliminated first, which weakness should be addressed first, and which blessings, we will need to accomplish these things. There is no need for us to create a list He already possesses. Ours could never be as complete as His, or as gentle and caring. If we yield ourselves to His direction He will show us what to do first, and give us the power to do it. He will direct us, step by step, all along the way home.

What is it you must obey? It is every word which proceeds forth from the mouth of God. It is the voice of the Spirit, which constitutes the words which are proceeding forth from the mouth of God unto you. Notice that I didn’t say the commandments? This is not because the commandments are to be ignored. Obedience to the commandments by sheer determination and willpower has its reward, but it can be overwhelming. When you set your life in obedience to the voice of God, you will naturally, joyfully, almost without notice, be obeying all the commandments-every single one of them.

How many commandments are there? If you include instructions to grow a garden, repair your fences, and paint your barn, then add all the written commandments-there are thousands. You won’t live long enough to obey them all. There are just too many barns that need painting in your life. So how do you ever become totally obedient when you can’t possibly get to every barn? It is simple, really. Listen to the voice of the Lord, and He will direct you. When you are totally obedient to the will of God, you are totally obedient-even if a barn or two remains unpainted. The reason you are totally obedient, even when a few things remain undone, is because you have an obedient spirit. If, and when, He sends you out to paint the barn you will obey. If He never sends you to paint the barn, you will also obey. You simply are obedient. In the end, the Lord will not judge us according to our barns, He will judge us according to our heart. When our heart is flawlessly obedient, we are judged as being flawlessly obedient, even if some obvious things never get done.” (John Pontius, “Following the Light of Christ”)

Thus, being obedient and faithful (and especially “exercising faith”) isn’t necessarily a matter of checking off boxes. Instead, it involves being obedient to what the Lord is telling you in our mind and heart:

“Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation;” (D&C 8:2-3)

This is where many get tripped up. Many are so single-mindedly focused on their checkboxes that they don’t hear the voice of the Lord. Not only do they not hear His voice, but they don’t even have a relationship with Him. Ask them when the last time was when the Savior made them laugh, or moved them to say an encouraging word to a stranger, or inspired them to say a prayer for someone suffering right there on the spot (as opposed to just saying you’ll do so later on), and they get quiet pretty darn fast.

“It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with Him as one man converses with another, and that He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ Himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.” (Joseph Smith, Nauvoo, IL Conference, April 7, 1844)

“Verily, I say unto you, It is not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, that shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

For the day soon cometh that men shall come before me to judgment, to be judged according to their works.

And many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name; and in thy name cast out devils; and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I say, Ye never knew me; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:30-33 JST; emphasis mine)

In my opinion, 99.9% of “exercising faith” involves hearkening to God — in other words, hearing God and immediately acting on what you’re told.

“OK, great! What boxes do I check off to do that,” you ask?

Arrrrrggghhhh!  ??

To see God in action, you gotta step out of the box

A friend recently messaged me about how they corresponded with another well-known blogger about a spiritual experience. The blogger discounted the validity of my friend’s experience, saying they didn’t believe that kind of thing happened anymore.

And yet my friend’s experience was real.

Quite a few people (even accomplished bloggers / authors) often get this notion in their heads that something can only happen one way, or the way they’ve read in the scriptures, or the way that they themselves experienced.

“Receiving personal revelation can only happen a certain way, and if it didn’t, it’s invalid.”

“Baptism of Fire can only happen a certain way, and if it didn’t, it’s invalid.”

“The Second Comforter can only happen a certain way, and if it didn’t, it’s invalid.”

“The Gift of Healing can only happen a certain way, and if it didn’t, it’s invalid.”

What a bunch of horse manure! Who are we to determine the validity of others’ experiences, or that God does things ONLY in a certain way?

The fact is, God can do whatever He wants however He wants whenever He wants.

Case in point: The New Testament is filled with stories of how Yeshua did the unorthodox, the unanticipated, and was even considered not only a maverick, but also a rebel. When you read the archeological accounts of Yeshua, you’ll see that behavior exhibited in even more ways. I mean c’mon, seriously? A Jewish rabbi? Speaking with a Samaritan woman? ALONE? And she’s had five husbands? You wanna talk about doing something off the beaten path! How about a Jewish rabbi forgiving a woman caught in adultery? Changing water into wine? Feeding 5,000+ with a few loaves and fishes? Telling church authorities that they’re vipers? Healing a Centurion’s child from long distance? Raising the dead???!!!

Do you see my point?

Yeshua is THE Beautiful Outlaw! And if you’re intending to be His disciple, then should you be any different? No.

If you want to be in sync with Yeshua, then you better get used to different. The unorthodox. Even the rebellious. If you let Him, He WILL challenge many things you’ve long considered fact.

And to many people, those facts, those truths, can be considered unfamiliar, weird, unorthodox and yes, even dangerous.

Let me make myself crystal clear: God lives out of the box. So should you. Wanna find God? Wanna see God in action? Then identify the traditions of men, then say bye-bye to them

Many avenues to healing which the Lord will introduce to you can and will be considered unorthodox. Keep yourself in a box, and you may not be healing very much at all.

When you start putting God in a box, the only person you’re really boxing up is yourself.

My Comments

“There is no need for us to create a list He already possesses. Ours could never be as complete as His, or as gentle and caring. If we yield ourselves to His direction He will show us what to do first, and give us the power to do it. He will direct us, step by step, all along the way home.”

Yes, He does have a list. Sin is an entanglement.

Gal 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

D&C 88:86 Abide ye in the liberty wherewith ye are made free; entangle not yourselves in sin, but let your hands be clean, until the Lord comes.

Spring is the time to think about getting the old yard in shape, getting that old hose out of the garage and getting it untangled and getting all the kinks out, so the water can flow freely.

If you are going to untangle a garden hose, you have to know where to start. If you don’t start in the right place, the tangle gets worse. It takes the Lord to see the entire hose of your life and get those tangles out one at a time. Then, get those kinks out that are blocking the flow of the living water.

More of My Word

Are you as excited as I am about obtaining and reading the additional records which are promised to come out in the last days? If you are, then you are probably a Book of Mormon reader, and a believer that additional records will be forthcoming:

  • The fullness of the re-translation of the Bible, including the contents of the plates of brass (Old Testament).
  • The fullness of the record of the Twelve Apostles (New Testament).
  • The Sealed Portion of the Book of Mormon.

People are going to approach you, if they haven’t already, claiming to have translated these records. They will make sensational and tantalizing claims. These records will surely come forth, but only under certain conditions, and possibly only to certain people. What are those conditions and who are these people?

Here they are:

3 Nephi 26:8 And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.

3 Nephi 26:9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.

3 Nephi 26:10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation.

Ether 4:5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them.  And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.

Ether 4:6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.

Ether 4:7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.

These records will not come forth until there are enough people with faith sufficient to receive them. To receive them means more than to possess them, or lightly read them in order to satisfy your curiosity. To receive them means to read them, embrace them, search them, receive revelation concerning them, and teach them.

These additional scriptures aren’t given to people who either want to satisfy their lusts with them, or debate against them.

Ether 4:8 And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh.

But the main condition pertaining to the coming forth of these records is FAITH. By now, you should realize that faith is more than just belief or assent. More than following some “abominable” [the Lord’s word, not mine] creed. More than obedience to some man claiming to act for God. Faith means to seek revelation from God, receive it, and act on it.

How do you receive the word of God? From the scriptures, from inspired teachers, from true servants of the Lord, and ultimately personal revelation from God to you. In order to receive and appreciate new revelation, you must have also received some personal revelation yourself and be familiar with the revelatory process. You will probably have received at least your baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. The scriptures (above) say you must be sanctified: the definition and the result of having been “born again”. Your journals will contain sacred experiences and insights that you know came from God. You will understand how God teaches us, and specifically how God teaches you, and you will be hungry to learn more. You may probably have had revealed to you some of the contents of these records, so they will come as no great surprise. But, even if God has revealed every word of them to you, already, they must still come forth as a witness to the world that God faithfully honors His covenants and promises.

So, this is a call to prepare for coming events by knowing the true definition of faith, and by developing your own personal faith. As enough of us do this, and enough of us cry out to the Lord for additional light and truth, in order to bear up under the trials yet to come, the heavens will be moved with compassion, and the Lord will send His servants to you with these records in their hands. In His name, Amen. So let it be.

Baptisms of Fire and the Holy Ghost

First Experience – 1982

It was Seattle in the early 1980’s. I had just been excommunicated from the Church for a serious sexual sin. The trial had just concluded, and I was still in the high council room when I received a vision of a whole bunch of people on the other side watching me with concern, wondering what I was going to do next. I don’t know whether they were my ancestors, my future descendants, and just a bunch of people. I knew they were watching me and counting on me to do something for them. I resolved there and then that I was going to “make it back”, even though I didn’t exactly know what “back” meant.

A few weeks later, I was riding on a city bus in downtown Seattle, and the Spirit told me to pray and ask our Heavenly Father for something very specific. I asked the Lord if he would grant me the ability to see people the way He sees them. I didn’t even know why I was supposed to do this or what it even meant. He granted my request immediately. People changed around me. A homeless black man became in my eyes a king, and a little old lady in a wheelchair, a queen. Everywhere I looked, all I could see was the goodness and potential in people, and a bright light inside each person. I wanted to fall down and worship them. Whatever this gift was, I thought it would eventually go away, but in over 30 years, it has never gone away. I didn’t know what it was, but I was grateful to have it. I just found out about a week (This was written in Winter 2019.) ago that what the Lord blessed me with was charity. And, that’s why I am reading Lectures on Charity in order to find out more about it. I wondered how I could go so long without knowing it was charity, but I remembered the scripture that says “Charity does not vaunt itself.” I believe it is possible for a person to receive the gift of charity, and never know what they received. They just see people in a different light, and they act accordingly. And that may be OK.

Then, a few weeks after this, after I had finished my evening prayers and was sitting on the bed when this intense burning came over my entire body and lasted a good 5-10 minutes. I knew my sins were being burned out of me, and that this was the Baptism of Fire. When, it was done, I heard a voice tell me: “You are Abraham.” I don’t know if that meant I was literally Abraham, like unto Abraham, or adopted into Abraham’s family. I do know this. Ever since I was little and read a children’s Bible story book about Abraham being the friend of God, I wanted to be like Abraham and be a friend of God.

A few weeks ago, I read a Witness of Christ urge his readers to seek the Baptism of Fire, and if you think you have already received it, think about what happened, and ask the Lord to confirm it to you. I asked the Lord, and he confirmed that it was the Baptism of Fire, that happened over 30 years go. I feel to say, along with Abraham in one of my favorite lines in passages in all of scripture: “Thy servant has sought thee, now I have found thee.” 

Sometime, about this same time, I was sitting in church, in our local ward, in Sacrament Meeting, when I saw a vision of the Father and Son, sitting in heaven, sitting our thrones. I had forgotten this event happened in the same time frame as these other events. So, there was the gift of charity, baptism of fire and the holy ghost, and the vision of the Father and the Son.

After I had been excommunicated, I attended a Sacrament Meeting where a young Aaronic Priesthood holder was giving a talk about the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. He was taking is far too lightly, and making a mockery of the whole thing. I was so angry, I wanted to jump up to the front, rip him off the stand and give a proper talk that the subject deserved. I didn’t do anything except leave before I did started tipping over tables.

Second Experience – 2020

Click Here to download.

Covid-19 Booster Shot

I received my booster yesterday, and today, I am getting weakness and chills just like last time, though not as severe as the second dose. My body temp is naturally low. Since yesterday, my highest temp has been 98.6, but that feels like a fever to me.

I don’t really care what your opinion is of the vaccine, or of me for taking it. Each person should check in with their own highest source of spiritual light and follow where that leads you. As you may know, I asked the Lord to send somebody into my life, just like Him. He told me a year before it happened that somebody, whom I never imagined or thought of, was on the way. When we first met, the Lord confirmed that this was the person, and He told me: “He’s mine. Take care of him.”

I have promises to keep, and I have been faithful to that promise for 35 years. He is disabled and has no other source of income other than me. I will continue to fulfill that promise and remain alive for as long as I can.

“Mormonisms”

Somebody posted the following on their blog as “Mormonisms” — unique teachings of Mormonism:

  • Mormonisms
    • We are made of gods, blood, and stardust.
    • We were always meant to partake of the fruit.
    • God is a state of relation, not just being.
    • Heaven cannot be experienced in solitude.
    • Obedience is but the first—not the only—law of heaven.
    • To follow Christ is to become Christs ourselves.
    • We are the work and glory of God.
    • Revelation is a democratic enterprise.
    • Authority exists as it is given, not imposed.
    • True power is born from love, not fear or coercion.
    • To truly live is to live for others.
    • If you want to be, act as though you are, and you will become.
    • We progress at the rate we choose for ourselves.
    • The results of Final Judgment are determined by our own.
    • God desires mercy more than obedience to the law.
    • The Plan would have been frustrated were it not for disobedience.
    • We are to serve God by serving others.
    • We will all become the Gods we worship.
    • You die by the same that you live by.
    • Salvation cannot occur in ignorance.
    • The glory of God is intelligence.

My response

`Unfortunately, “Mormonisms” and the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are not always the same thing.

We are made of gods, blood, and stardust. “Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.” D&C 93:29

ADAM (not we) were always meant to partake of the fruit, but on the Lord’s timing, not ours.

“God is a state of relation, not just being.” Not sure what you mean, the but Gospel is all about relationships.

“Heaven cannot be experienced in solitude.” I don’t know what this means. Joseph Smith was alone in the woods. Joseph and Sidney ascended to heaven together. Paul ascended to the third heaven. He doesn’t say anybody went with him.

Obedience is not the first law of heaven. Agency is. We have to be able to choose to obey before we can obey.

“To follow Christ is to become Christs ourselves.” Yes. This is why it is called the church of the Firstborn.

“We are the work and glory of God.” Yes. God defines His whole purpose in life as serving us.

“Revelation is a democratic enterprise.” I don’t know what this means. D&C 67:13,14.121:33

“Authority exists as it is given, not imposed.” A man receives the Aaronic Priesthood by ordination. A man receives the Melchizedek Priesthood by an oath and covenant, by the calling of God’s own voice Gen 14:28-29 JST, D&C 84:42

“True power is born from love, not fear or coercion.” No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood. Power or influence ought to be maintained “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned”.

“To truly live is to live for others.” In order to love your neighbor as your self, you have to love yourself. Pray with all the energy of your soul to be given the spiritual gift of charity — the ability to see yourself and all others as God sees you.

“If you want to be, act as though you are, and you will become.” This is the principle of faith. It’s even better to seek revelation from Christ as to what you are to become. Then, have the faith to become it. “I’ll be what you want me to be.”

“We progress at the rate we choose for ourselves.” This is true, but if you follow the Lord and let Him push you a little, your capacity will increase.

“The results of Final Judgment are determined by our own.” We will be our own accusers, as Joseph Smith taught.

“God desires mercy more than obedience to the law.” If you are talking about the law of works, yes. Hos. 6:6. Not even God can violate the laws of heaven. Not even God can revoke “a law irrevocably decreed”. But, He know how to use mercy to leverage justice.

“The Plan would have been frustrated were it not for disobedience.” D&C 29:30 “But remember that all my judgments are not given unto men;”

“We are to serve God by serving others.” Yes. King Benjamin taught that.

“We will all become the Gods we worship.” Yes. Bruce R. McConkie gave a great sermon. To worship God is to seek to become like Him.

“You die by the same that you live by.” The law of Karma, aka the law of Cause and Effect.

“Salvation cannot occur in ignorance.” D&C 131:5-6 “The more sure word of prophecy means a man’s knowing that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood. It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.” You cannot be saved without receiving the testimony of Jesus that you will be saved. D&C 76:51

“The glory of God is intelligence.” Yes, but, ‘intelligence’ as defined by the Lord. D&C 93:36 The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.