Mormonism 1:8 - “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.”
What It Is
The “Bible” consists of two compilations of many books written by many authors. The first is referred to as the Old Testament, and the second is the New Testament. It is the foundation of most Christian religions. The Old Testament revolves around the stories and revelations of ancient prophets and spiritual people, while the New Testament primarily focuses on the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the proselytizing of his teachings, and the gifts of the Holy Ghost to the teachers and leaders he appointed.
The “Book of Mormon” is also a compilation of many books written by a few different authors. It is said to be a historical documentation of the lives of Israelites who journeyed to the Americas, populated the new continent “the land of milk and honey,” and recorded their history. Often seen as part of the collection, but a different book entirely, is Joseph Smith’s work referred to as “Doctrine and Covenants.” It consists of many translations and adaptations of previous works in many of the other books, as well as additional prophecies and teachings adhered to by members, which define the differences between “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” and other Christian practices.
When It Started
The earliest books in the “Old Testament” are said to have been written by Moses as early as 1500 years before the life of Jesus, ending with the book of Malachi, which is said to have been written at least 430 years before the life of Jesus. Later, these books were translated and abridged in many forms, with Joseph Smith insisting on the King James Version, which is still considered lacking.
The “Book of Mormon” starts with the first book of Nephi, said to have been written 570 years before Jesus by Nephi, 30 years after leaving Israel. It includes multiple miraculous stories, and the third book of Nephi describes the visitation of Jesus, in his physical body, after his crucifixion. The “Book of Mormon” ends with the book of Moroni, said to have been written around 410 years after the life of Jesus.
While the Bible is said to have undergone a few transitions and censorships, culminating in the King James Version in 1611, Joseph Smith began translating the “Book of Mormon” in 1827 through the use of specific stones strapped to a breastplate, dictating what he read to a scribe.
Where We Relate
Undefinable and Expansive emphasizes that the Spirit is ready to reveal greater truths to you as soon as you are willing to find and receive them. Inspiration is not usually something spontaneously enforced upon you; it is something you open your mind to. This is why we recognize and agree that the Bible and the Book of Mormon have great potential to reveal many things “God” is ready to show you.
Why It Seems
It is important to recognize that the Wholly Spiritual Universe is more of a mechanism referred to as the “Voice for God.” It represents everything in order to communicate with the perceiver. It is all you see, feel, and experience and remains prepared to open everyone to be more than what it has specifically seemed. As “God’s” love, it is what makes it’s will manifest. We would not say it is a specific ghost, but it definitely can appear to be one so you can experience a separation from how it feels one way, from how it feels in another.
It can look like an endless void, or it can look like a world of billions of people all wanting it a different way. Everything in existence is what this Wholly Spiritual Universe is, and there cannot be anything outside of it. It is what “God” came to be after the “Son” became aware; in this way, it is “God’s” answer to the ability to perceive. It forms all that can be perceived, all that can be seen and felt, and all that could guide and inspire.
Anyone who can look at the world plainly can see they are being taught, and if there is anything the perceiver needs to learn, it would be the remembrance of its reality, the remembrance of where it came from. Something its reality doesn’t need, but for its eternal entertainment, is to forget and replace it with an entirely different existence, offering the opportunity to remember from another perspective, to remember from a whole other angle.
Inspiration works in this fashion. Those who follow it, no matter the subject, are always being guided closer to “God.” Inspiration wants us to grow and expand; however, it is always personal, always using what is relatable, understandable, and touching based on past experiences. One can grow a testimony in any religion based on these sensations and can live their entire lives following them, completely unaware that they repeat their past and forget that to grow also means to change.
So easily do we find an ideal to fasten ourselves to, attempting to remain the same, believing that to master it would be to live it endlessly. When in reality, to live something repeatedly while forgetting you have a choice is either a prison or an addiction. Only by stopping can one say they have overcome. Only by getting out can one say they are not stuck. When it only reflects an aspect of your own mind, to change that aspect is to change the reflection. Proving you have a choice would prove your mastery. Even if you choose to make no choice or choose to stay, at least you honestly know you can.
Too often do we study, forgetting that what something teaches is always some sort of change and growth. It is a skill that is taught from repeating routines; it is not meant to require an addiction to the routines. A new ability is the evidence you have learned from your study, and the lack of overcoming it emphasizes that there remains a lot to learn from it. The refraining from moving on from a class would be due to the failure to learn what the class taught, not proof that you are willing to do all the teacher asks. To not learn what they teach is to exclaim the inadequacies of the teacher and the confusion in the student about what is to be achieved. However, if the world is a prison and not a classroom, then surely it is not meant to be overcome.
With An Open-mind
If you are only seeking to be told what habits to repeat so you can maintain a safe and peaceful life within a prison, then it is understandable why you interpret such doctrine to be about applying a strict regimen. However, if you interpret it to reveal life as a classroom, then its lesson’s intention might be unexposed and also need to be revealed. A lesson always has a goal—the skills or way of life it intends to teach.
If you decipher your area of study as inspiring historical events yet to be applicable to your life, then you have yet to recognize the call Spirit attempts to awaken within you. If you decipher your study to be a rigid set of rules to apply, then you are recognizing that you have steps to master before you can say you have recognized what Spirit teaches. However, if you interpret what the Spirit offers as tools to decipher its guidance on the journey to what it teaches, then you are able to adapt and apply it to your individual life and how it specifically is showing you the way to its total discovery.
When a skill is learned, the response to a particular lesson will change. A willingness to learn also includes a willingness to let go of previous learning. A routine is meant to teach a skill, and when the skill is learned, the routine is no longer required. However, if you have not learned the skill, you will not respond differently to the same lessons. Therefore, they will repeat and repeat until you do, while the curriculum may change, the context will not.
Every goal can be said to define the purpose of the lesson. Therefore, it is helpful to define the purpose to remember the goal amidst the lesson. If you forget why you are being taught the lesson, then you have forgotten your goal and believe the purpose is the lesson itself, deceiving yourself unknowingly and dooming yourself to repeat it.
When someone has learned the lesson and remains to study, they do not hear what is needed to achieve it, for they already have. Instead, they concur with their testament to the validity of it, usually expressing the clarity of the teachings and specific things they found helpful on the journey, but they can only teach as far as they have gone.
How We Unite
All inspirational texts are meant to inspire learning, not inhibit it, which strictly depends on interpretation. It may seem difficult to understand how interpreting stories could be anything other than what is obviously occurring within them. However, just as a “moral-of-the-story” can be assumed and extrapolated, authentic guidance can be found within the symbolism combined with one’s context for learning. If we allow ourselves to find existential meaning in the stories, we can find applicable physical guidance. However, if it is already physical guidance, it might be difficult to adapt it to your specific situation and quickly distort it into commands.
When one is inspired, they are attracted to the love it offers, and when one is manipulated, they are pushed into obedience to avoid the destruction they fear will follow. If you are inspired by a particular text, make sure you follow the love and peace it offers and are not strictly obedient to it out of fear of its torment.
How It’s True
The Spirit has no ability to judge and therefore has manifested every concept thought of, without prejudice. We have come up with some fantastic ideas and we have explored and explained each and every one of them.
We, as Undefinable and Expansive, are not concerned with which books you study to find inspiration, but only that you do find inspiration. We hope that you use it to accelerate your growth and not simply to exaggerate your guilt. You have Spirit with you always; be open to hear its personalized interpretation from within you, and not simply a distraction from another manifested person.
“Why They Are Right” (book series)
By Rev. Devan Jesse Byrne
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The author of The Statutes Of The Divinely Realized the essence of Undefinable and Expansive, here to coach spiritual people to discover their multidimensional reality beyond the veil.
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UECreed.org
IamACIM.com
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