Matthew 12... Don't Judge, We All Sin

It is clear that the people of this time have lost sight of the meaning and feeling of the Gospel.
They are obeying the law to the fault of it being more important that humanity, than caring, than inclusion and love.

I don't think that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God has laws, that is an eternal truth.  In laws and commandments we find His order, we find clear boundaries and need for agency, which offers us growth as we figure out how to use that.
We find that as we use this agency and make good choices, we find happiness.

God's laws are His, not ours.  As He rules and reigns He will judge with clarity, mercy and appropriateness.
Sometimes we take that on ourselves.  This is not God's law.
We see the Pharisees falling into this.
Christ reminds them:
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the ^asabbath day.

11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

On this same note...
15 But ^awhen Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;

He didn't ask who had money, who'd been to church recently, who was still skeptical of Him, in what way they needed to be restored.  He healed them all!

This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, being made whole through Him, as we come unto Him.  It is for all of us, and it is individual.  It is a resource of love.

The other verse that spoke to me was:
36 But I say unto you, That every ^aidle ^bword that men shall ^cspeak, they shall give ^daccount thereof in the day of ^ejudgment.

We often think we will obviously be judged by our works.  
Um, an account of every idle word... I need to watch what is coming out of my mouth!!!
It also indicates that this won't be a generalized judgement!  It will be specific.
It doesn't scare me, but reminds me that I want to live with purpose.  I want to be specific.  I want to continue to improve.
AND, thank heavens that I can repent of those times I fail!

Day 317

I missed a couple of days here and there this past week.
What happens to your study when you miss a day or so?
Do you then find that you are missing more days after that?

If I'm doing a 1/day type study I start to feel overwhelmed, like I've got so much to catch up on!
Sometimes all you can do though, is just start again!  Pick up where you are and start again!

The less time, between when I stopped and start again, the better!

Now, posting... yikes, that is a whole new monster!  But, again, I'll be back around these parts of the B of M again, I'll pick up where I am and go from there!

Day 317 Mormon 9:1-6 Miserable In God's Presence
1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.

 2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?

 3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?

 4 Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.

 5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.

 6 O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.

 

Matt and I were talking one time and he said, mostly kidding, 'See the celestial kingdom will be filled with people just like... (name here)... I don't want to be there! 

 

The person he was speaking of was someone we view as pretty righteous!

 

Of course we all have struggles and no one is perfect, but you know those people... they just seem to have a stand by ticket already waiting for them... good for them!

 

Why wouldn't he want to be there?  Well even here in this funny earth experience he feels like he can't be himself, make his funny off-color comments, let the sarcasm flow like honey...

 

This is what this scripture is talking about. 

 

If you don't believe now, practice faith now, use the atonement now, having a knowledge of it, what makes you think you'll want to when you are standing before our Savior?

 

Hopefully the fact that you are indeed standing there would compel you to fall to your knees and seek mercy, forgiveness.

 

But, would it?

 

When we feel the guilt of being a non-believer, making the choices we did, and the guilt overwhelms us... will we then turn to the Savior?  Do you magically have faith now that you are standing in front of Him, or do you let the guilt overwhelm you and dictate a choice that you don't belong with Him?

 

It will still be a choice, it will always be a choice.  Will you choose to have faith in his atonement, and in faith seek cleansing and healing?

 

The scriptures tell us that now is the time to prepare to meet God.  Why?  Because the after life will be an extension of what this experience is!  All that we have become and learned go with us and enhance the spirits we recognize when we pass through the veil to the other side.  Our convictions, our habits, our thoughts, they all go too!

 

If you aren't preparing to live a celestial life now, will you really want to live one?

 

What I do believe is that we will have a choice, there, after all is revealed.  And, if your choice is to now believe, repentance and change will have to take place.  I think this is where we will lose some, because change is hard, whether we do it here on earth or on the other side.  And, I think some will not feel it is worth it, and will choose to stay where they are with their progress, feeling content... maybe even happy.

 

The beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ, revealed to us today is that there are degrees of glory, and all of them are better than our earth life here!

 

We will be happy!  We will go to the degree of glory we have earned, and that we will feel comfortable living in!  All of it is good, because all of us are loved, all of us are God's children and he wants us to be happy!

 

I have faith in that!