Of you it is required to forgive

I hope this reaches everyone that reads this post with feelings of acceptance, honesty, and an open heart.

We read in Doctrine and Covenants section 64, verse 10, this following message:

 10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.

And, equally important, the previous verse:

 9 Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.

We live in an age especially afoul of the influence of the enemy of righteousness, Lucifer, the same angel that was banished from heaven for trying to wrestle the power and glory of God away from God. Because of this and because of his influence on the world for many centuries, indeed, since the days of Adam and Eve, there have been exceedingly many ways that every culture in some way has been tampered with. Satan--for that's the name he carries now, because when he rebelled he lost the title Lucifer, which meant son of the morning, carrying with it high title and cause for praise, and became Satan, the enemy of all mankind--strives to cause as much pain, hurt, agony, suffering, discontent, contention, malice, strife, and heartbreak as he can manage.

A particular message Satan spreads is that of relativism, which ultimately holds that nothing is eternally true, that nothing is absolutely right, and that nothing is "good" or "bad". Marvin J. Ashton said this very thing in 1982.

"There are some who would have us believe there is no right or wrong—that everything is relative. We must never allow ourselves to think proper conduct and decision making are found in a convenient path somewhere between right and wrong."

Because there is ultimately a right and a wrong, we can extrapolate that there are indeed wrong things to do and have done to you and for you to do to others--and to yourself.

People will wrong you. That does not excuse them or their behavior. Existing as a human being, with a body, soul, and mind, is not an excuse to do whatever you like and get away with it. As we are given free agency--the agency to do what you want--we are also given the law of consequence--which, summed up as much as I am able, means that for every action, there is an equal or opposite reaction. The reaction may come years down the road, or it may take place slowly over time, but for every action, there is a reaction.

There are many different kind of consequences for many different kind of actions. And there are definite infinite eternal rules that are set in place that everyone, regardless of any denominator you may consider, is held to. These are commandments, and they are more than rules. They are not creative suggestions, subject to the whims and feelings of mankind. You have the agency to disobey, but you do not have the agency or the foresight to consider and see every way that your disobedience will impact you and those around you.

With this said, we are commanded to forgive. Self-justifications of "I shouldn't forgive them because x" or "but I don't have to forgive him because I feel y toward them" are not excusable. God is not a respecter of persons, and as we read earlier, it is the greater sin not to forgive.

We all fall short. We all sin. We are all imperfect. And so it is of magnificent report that we have the Atonement on our side, if we forsake and confess our sins, our wrongdoings, and repent. The repentance process is not for those that have never sinned, because only One has ever lived that fulfills that qualification. Rather, repentance, and the Atonement, is for everyone that has ever lived, is living now, or will ever live in this experience of mortality. Without the Atonement, there would be no point. There would be no forgiveness, there would be no joy, there would be no law, for without equal mercy and justice, the law could not be perfect and therefore not be upheld by righteous Beings.

There are those that would argue that rules bind us down, that rules are not for everyone, that to bind everyone to follow God is an injustice. Those that say this are misled. As Alma taught his son Corianton in Alma 42, verses 16 to 22:

 16 Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were a punishment, which also was eternal as the life of the soul should be, affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was as eternal also as the life of the soul.

 17 Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?

 18 Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man.

 19 Now, if there was no law given—if a man murdered he should die—would he be afraid he would die if he should murder?

 20 And also, if there was no law given against sin men would not be afraid to sin.

 21 And if there was no law given, if men sinned what could justice do, or mercy either, for they would have no claim upon the creature?

 22 But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.

In other words, if there was no law, there would be no right or wrong, and cause for an Atonement, or, indeed, a world at all, would be frustrated. The point of coming to this land, this earth, is to prove ourselves worthy and righteous to a just and loving God that we are worthy and able to be trusted with His Kingdom. What point is a test of this nature if there are no rules to follow?

Without repentance, without forgiveness, we would be sorely stuck. Without forgiveness of others we are blocking a large part of our right to the Atonement, because what is the Atonement but merciful forgiveness? When we refuse to forgive someone of their trespasses, we are denying them and ourselves opportunity to become more like Christ.

If you fall short of your own expectations, forgive yourself. If you fall short of someone else's expectations, if they are righteous, work to provide recompense of some sort that is acceptable to both parties. If others have wronged you, do not be offended. Elder Bednar said this in the most recent (2013 April) general conference about being offended:

Believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted.

I appeal to all that read this to forgive; forgive themselves, forgive their neighbors, forgive those that have wronged them, and to forgive themselves for not forgiving others earlier.

"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured."

-Mark Twain

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Thoughts about modesty and Sons of Helaman

I think modesty is important. Especially how we’re teaching it. However, the problem at the root is our seeming reluctance to talk about sex because it’s such a sacred thing. It’s becoming a problem. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a beautiful thing, but because only married couples are supposed to engage in sexual intercourse, teaching about it, talking about it, and learning about it is almost taboo. I think it should be taught in the home.

There are a lot of things wrong with the United States culture at large that keeps seeping in to our mormon and church culture and it’s really starting to irk me.

However I think the correct action is to teach the young men how to fight against sexual urges, not to tell the young women to cover up more. Why do you really think that programs like Sons of Helaman exist? Satan is going ballistic in the society that we have all around us that young women must be desirable. If you are not desirable, you are not worthy of attention. We exude this message throughout nearly every media outlet we have. If your breasts aren’t the right size or shape, a guy may not like you. If your hair is done just right, and you don’t have a thigh gap, you can’t attract a guy, because that makes you ugly.

What a horrible message to send. What makes it worse is how common it is. There is nothing wrong with having an attractive face, a large bust, a thigh gap, and smooth legs. Just like there’s nothing wrong with having a small bust, large thighs, and a “plain” face.

This message that we’re sending to the young women is hurting EVERYONE. The guys accept the media’s ideas of “the perfect women” and then aren’t taught what pornography is. We’re warned repeatedly to “stay away from pornography” and then never explicitly told what it is.

Pornography is the sexually explicit image of a woman in various levels of dress or undress that stimulates the sex organs. I could get more explicit than that but I really don’t want to. There can be beauty found in the naked human body, because it is a beautiful creation, but if it’s sexually stimulating, it should be considered pornography.

Because we’re not explicitly told what, exactly, it is, young men tend to find it online, whether by purposefully searching for images that please them or by accident, which is definitely not a feat. Pornography can be found in the unlikeliest of places. Soft pornography is entirely up to the individual. For someone it could be a woman as covered in you could be and it might still be arousing just because of a body shape. Human sight and sexual organs aren’t really run by logic.

Young men are taught to be warriors and Priesthood bearers and taught that modesty is a good thing, and taught to stay away from sex and porn, and then not taught anything on how to avoid it in direct correlation to it.

Reading your scriptures is a primary answer. One that people give because they can’t or don’t want to think of anything else. But why is it important? It LITERALLY gives us a spiritual shield against temptation. Reading your scriptures is as important today as wearing armor was on the battlefields of the Nephite warriors.

Praying is another primary answer. We’re told to pray twice daily. WHY? Because it is a literal communication from the creation to the Creator. It is extremely important for us to pray because it is as vital to our cause of staying righteous now as it is for any military operation to have communication with the line of defense and headquarters.

You know what the first rule of a military engagement is? Obtain communication methods with home and HQ. Why should it be any different for us on our day-to-day lives when we live in a war zone?

“If we live in a war zone, why don’t I see any damage?”

24 people are either being stalked, a victim of rape, or sexual assault every single minute in the United States alone.

That’s just one statistic. It should be enough to get things moving, but it doesn’t seem to be. I attend a weekly group therapy course and I will tell you right now that we are at war with forces greater than we think.

Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there - isn’t that what we teach that faith is? Faith is knowing without seeing, believing with or without proof. So why is it really such a hard thing to believe that there’s a force to be reckoned with out there that hates us all individually just as much as Christ lives all of us equally?

Satan delights in the perversion of young men. Because he knew us all and knew what we were like up in Heaven. He doesn’t want any strong missionaries, preaching the gospel of truth and light and love to people that he’s worked since they were at least eight years old to do his bidding.

I’m not saying that everyone out there just because they’re not Mormon is a bad person, or that they don’t have morals, or that they don’t believe in doing what’s right, or that they don’t believe in some sort of evil force or being out there. What I am saying is that we as individuals who are part of larger groups of beings need to recognize that just because this is the true Church doesn’t mean that the culture is true too.

Step 2.Patience

Patience is a virtue. Your own timing may not be anywhere near as important or even as good as the Lord's time. His timing is also far, far more perfect, and while not everything will fall into place with your timing, it always will with His. God has a plan for you, and ultimately He'll send people that will gently try and steer you onto His path. Whether or not you obey those gentle signs--whether they actually are gentle or not--is up to you entirely.
Take into account the existence of Paul, then Saul, or Alma the younger or Alma the elder. All three of them had committed great acts of wickedness. In Saul's case, he went around and preached a lot against Jesus' teachings and continually persecuted him. Alma the elder was a wicked high priest, until the Spirit wrought a mighty change of heart to him when Abinadi visited him and the King and his court to call them and their people to repentence. In Alma the younger's case, he was basically doing the same as Saul was, except with added murder, threatenings, bribery, adultery, and other acts of violence.
In the end, though, each of these three became mighty tools in God's hand. Paul became and Apostle. Alma became a Prophet and helped to construct the Church in Ancient America. Alma the younger became a Prophet after his father, and was an extremely impactful missionary.
They had the choice not to obey and listen. But they did. And in the end, they had to go through some extremely hard trials before they were able to do what they needed to do here.
Too often we pray for patience and then expect it right away. How do we even get patience? The answer is simple. We are patient through whatever it is that we're going through. Through trials, tribulations, traps, tests, and the fiery darts of the adversary. Each one just loves to go at us and get in our way so that we doubt our faith, our God, and His love for us. But in the end, everything that happens to us is for our benefit. Even--especially--if it doesn't seem so at the time.
Patience comes from adversity. So do most things. Wisdom comes from trial and error and being able to see things beyond your years because of experience and observation. Strength comes from trials and from tests.
Patience is vital to being a mother or a father. When your car has broken down, your child is screaming in the booster seat, it's raining, thunder is striking overhead, and your head is pounding in exhaustion, patience is something that is hard to grasp, but very useful for the situation at hand.
Patience and the ability to be calm in a tense situation go hand in hand. And it's a skill that everyone should work on. In a world where we have nearly everything instantly, wirelessly, and without much work, patience can be hard to come across.
So, work on being patient. Learn to become more willing to understand and lend a helping hand to those that can't help themselves or are struggling to do so. You help them, and yourself at the same time. It's a win-win situation, and those are always worth working for.