Mormonism 1:13 - “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”
What It Is:
A beautiful statement regarding the simple fact that, as an organization, they encourage the seeking out and striving to embody all that they define as honest, positive, and encouraging. They desire to model themselves after Saints, Prophets, and ideally, Jesus. While much is said, this is the insistence that members strive to be good people, who care for others and can be trusted to do so.
Similarly, as a people, they find it important to not associate with, avoid, and even excommunicate those who have demonstrated what they have decided are negative intentions against the organization or its members. These individuals are seen as indicators of the influence of an adversary, who they say seeks to destroy the organization and lead their members astray.
When It Started
Early on, Joseph recognized the importance of a pristine image and how it influenced his welcome and furthered the acceptance of the church. While honest intentions were present, setting himself and the members apart was meant to appeal as a representation of God’s favor. Even though members are taught to care for and respect others, there is always an underlying requirement for it. As much as “sainthood” should come naturally, there are also threats involved, which are obviously not natural. To this day, a specific “modest” dress code is in place for all members, especially when attending church. Some understand that it is in support of “the law of chastity,” while others are taught and realize it is to set “God’s people” apart as something special that everyone should aspire to become. Especially in Joseph’s time, full suits meant full pockets.
As a Freemason, Joseph understood the benefits of subjecting their members to evaluations, building the church in a fashion where members can be trusted and others cannot. This is always quickly followed by a reference to there still being good people out there, but they are more subject to evil’s influence. As an organization, Joseph insisted on shaping it like Solomon’s “private club for members” and excluding anyone who has not undergone their rigorous forgiveness process. It is not difficult, but the process is long and requires one to prove that they have officially become a real convert by changing their ways to fit the criteria, appearing happier, and, of course, paying their dues.
In the church’s history, especially for Joseph, there have been many accounts of persecution from others who they insist are under the influence of “Lucifer” and his demons, who, for undisclosed reasons, want nothing but to destroy the people and revoke their happiness. Members are always on guard for the sneaky and cunning ways of the “devil” and his temptations. While repentance is always acceptable, it is believed there is a “point of no return”—not because forgiveness is unavailable, but because it becomes personally undesirable.
Members undergo this evaluation often because they, too, do not want the consequences of negative intentions. They are always seeking to be “pure and chaste” in any way possible. There is a deeply ingrained concept that Heavenly Father’s favor must be worked for and won. If we disobey His commandments, we choose to suffer and be cast out. It is never believed to be something Heavenly Father wants to do, but He is also required to because our impurities could never be in the presence of His glorified perfection.
Where We Relate
As Undefinable and Expansive, we understand that, when in a world of dishonesty and cruelty, ensuring the safety of a church and its members by having some sort of evaluation process to determine if they uphold the same morals is reasonable, as well as clearly defining such regulations to avoid any confusion. It is also understandable that, when one experiences such persecution, they should start protecting themselves and fear for the safety of their people.
We agree that striving for what is positive and noble is a wonderful way to live and that following your guidance and your heart’s call will lead you in the direction of transcending a world influenced by evil.
Of course, we agree that there are ways to live that support society, health, and happiness, as well as ways that hurt ourselves and others. We agree that there are temptations to live out of accord with what we desire, and the words, thoughts, and ideas of such temptations are unnatural to the totality of “God.”
We also agree and understand that everything anyone goes through influences their demeanor and way of life. By remaining strong and enduring, we can overcome challenges and maintain purity in our hearts. We agree that some ways of life are harder than others and that presenting ourselves in certain ways can evoke difficult people and experiences when we struggle to remember our truth and feel unworthy of love.
Furthermore, we agree that there is something that can be referred to as “Lucifer,” which provides confusion and chaos, making this world of opposition possible. We agree that this influence offers choices to think and act in selfish ways, disregarding others and our union.
Finally, we concur that forgiveness is readily accessible and that, regardless of what we have done or been through, we can be redeemed when we are willing and open to thinking differently, resulting in different actions and ways of life. Agreeing that “Heavenly Father” desires for us to remember and do what it takes to return to His presence.
Why It Seems
The universe is a far more glorious experience than we give it credit for, and the human perspective is not capable of grasping even a fraction of its magnitude. Nevertheless, everything that has been developed in the “past” was for the development of the way it is now. And as much as we like to insist that it’s as simple as a war between oppositions or the choice of obedience, it has required juggling multiple layers of concepts in order to construct the consistency of physical reality and the independent personal perspective. It can be said that it has taken eons of “sacrifice” of the way it used to be in order to make such things possible.
Because of the requirements necessary to make personhood available, it involves distorting the mind so that it cannot recognize reality as it actually is, while deforming it into constructs that do not actually exist. Within its perspective of a world, it is absolutely factual that there are many actions which are good and many actions which are bad. When it uses the “knowledge of good and evil,” it seems unfathomable to ever recognize how such opposite actions could be identical.
Believable or not, from the perspective outside of opposition, seeking to be worthy of “God’s” presence is a concept less honest and true than being an atheist. While one believes there is a “God” but insists they are unaware of its presence, the other’s disbelief stems from also being unaware of its presence—but at least they admit it. Both are blinded by the separation created by knowledge. While seeking “God’s favor” is designed to make acceptable and well-behaved people, the blindness that makes “God” physical believes in its reality as little as an atheist admits they don’t.
Of course, they want to believe there is something, but they are unable to comprehend what it is. Unfortunately, this leads to filling the empty space with images they’ve heard of and read about, anthropomorphizing it into their misinterpreted definitions. This builds a psychological barrier that insists approaching something far away is believed to be impossible, unknowingly refusing to experience it for themselves. Because it has been deformed into something it’s not—like bodies—in order to comprehend it, we are naturally separated from its location. This insistence on separation provides as much truth as not believing in it entirely.
As much as this belief appears to be a strictly positive statement, it emphasizes the separation of oppositions, completely disregarding the Wholly Spiritual Universe’s requirement for balance. As a Universal Constant, it is a natural movement of the way “energy” works to create physical consistency. Therefore, because of this blinding obsession with “good and evil,” the strive for only good has unknowingly increased evil’s presence on earth.
What is referred to as “bad” can be related to “good’s” “waste disposal,” where it pulls out what it wants and throws away what it doesn’t. Being energy, they are not actually separate things. To emphasize one is to also expand the other. As part of physical development, the “bad” cannot be destroyed—only pushed away to appear as if you only have “good.” However, it will always be knocking at the door and pushing its way back into your life. The only way to truly have balance is for the “bad” and the “good” to be together again. Striving for “good” began the war against “evil,” much like a garden’s battle with weeds—an idea of perfection insinuates ideas of imperfection.
It is actually impossible to comprehend life as it truly is while still possessing this knowledge. However, this is how the energy of the Wholly Spiritual Universe works, yet within the physical perspective, it seems a bit different. It is always believed to involve bodily actions. We have defined every action involving our body into “good” actions and “bad” actions, always regarding how they make our bodies feel, and naturally, we fear our bodies’ suffering. The interpretation is actually more about our feelings than it is about actions. Emotions are a sensation of the frequencies of energy moving. Each frequency can be interpreted in a positive or negative fashion, and they are accompanied by enjoyment or discomfort. Accordingly, every emotion has its negating counterpart, and it is from their expression that we choose which side we believe, and then we project its responsibility onto the actions that seem related to the time of their simultaneous appearance.
With an Open Mind
In order for there to be “memory” of continuity, a particular structure of “mindset” had to be in place. This is the mindset that processes and presents oppositions to the perceiver. It has advanced itself to provide thoughts of images and voices. It is a psychological tool designed to make perceiving physicality possible. It was developed with the ability to distort the Wholly Spiritual Universe into colors and objects.
This thought system is designed to provide conformed information to present choices. It has been made to adapt into forms of communication that evoke responses. It then determines what the chooser desires by their reactions. In order to make this individual “free will” seem real, it has carried the perceiver through multiple trials and tribulations, including punishments for “disobedience,” in order to determine and program itself with cravings and aversions for these different sensations, which developed personality. It would furthermore present reminders, emphasizing its own uniqueness while comparing them to current situations.
It needed to be instilled with interpretations such as “embarrassment” and what is called “pain,” along with the concept of “death,” in order to construct and believe “fear” and its derivative emotions. As a result, it naturally thinks of personal safety and what it needs to do to avoid such things in the future. However, these interpretations, made to develop the world, have been used when attempting to understand “God” or “Heaven,” projecting developed human attributes onto their abstract nature. Naturally, this deforms “God” into a human who only desires “good” and will not hesitate to subject his children to relatable punishments for their “evil” actions, much like a child fears his father’s belt.
How We Unite
As much as we find striving for good and beautiful things noteworthy and noble, what we find most important is following our spiritual, intuitive guidance. The Wholly Spiritual Universe naturally pushes us in the direction of divine awakening. It is like a water current within energy, and not so much a literal being. What is being taught comes from our interpretations. It does not seek to emphasize the positive nor the negative, but rather balance—much like ripples in water; when it rises, it must fall again, but with slightly less intensity each time until it evens out, returning to the middle.
This is not to say that guidance might not push you in one direction or another for quite some time. We do not suggest prematurely forcing such decisions. Everything comes in due time, and we are designed to emphasize different aspects at different times. When the time comes, you will naturally start questioning things and thinking of them differently. In whatever direction that guidance takes you, it is a smooth process. Even while the ripples might seem like tidal waves, they naturally flow from one to the other. Regardless of what you might think of your life, you have always flowed with the waves, and you have matured and expanded to do so again and again in the direction of remembering who you are.
How It’s True
While it may seem as if we have produced a consistent reality, it is only the mindset that has made it seem so. Of course, without such understanding, it is completely justified to wage such wars. This higher truth is not meant to be understood by those not designed to do so. You naturally do what you have been designed to do. Regardless of whether you see it as the development of your past or by your creator, the truth remains that you are set forth with particular tendencies. Only you and said creator know those tendencies. Following what feels good to you is most important in being your authentic self. If this information remains incomprehensible to you, then perhaps it is not time for you to understand.
“Why They Are Right” (book series)
By Rev. Devan Jesse Byrne
~
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.
~
UECreed.org
IamACIM.com
OpenandClear.com