FEEL AHEAD

    FEEL AHEAD --  We are taught to look ahead; to plan ahead and guard against looking back.  I advocate also learning to feel ahead.  When making a decision or anticipating an action, think ahead of its probable end results, try to imagine how it’s going to feel if you do look back on what you have done.  I found this especially helpful in maintaining church standards during the courtship process.  I never dated a young lady in my youth that is not still a friend in my old age.

          

         WEEDS --   "God didn't trust Lucifer to sufficiently test the gardener or the farmer, so He created weed."  This thought came to me repeatedly this morning as I helped the High Priests Group weed and groom the the large front yard of a widow with a sick child.
         God never wanted us to have a level playing field.  To qualify for God's Kingdom, we have to keep ALL his commandments and enter into and abide by all the covenants which He offers us.  All we have to do to qualify for Satan's domain is to fail in just one of these divine requisites.   Is that fair?  Of course it's not.  
         But, as Elder Neil Maxwell has taught, if life were fair, we wouldn't be sufficiently tried, tested, and stretched to be able to function in the celestial environment for which God is striving to prepare us.
         As every farmer and gardner knows,  weeds have been given a similar advantage over the plants we wish to grow.  They try harder.  They thrive no matter how we strive to make life difficult for them, while the plants we depend on for our nourishment and pleasure often require unreasonable levels of TLC.
         I'm beginning to believe it.  God didn't trust Satan to sufficiently refine us, so He gave us weed!

         BY THEIR FRUITS -- You cannot say you know me until you are acquainted with at least a sampling of my posterity and something of the fruits of my labors -- for good or not so good!

            DISCOURAGEMENT – “Only encouragement comes from the Lord Jesus Christ!”  This is the one line from the blessing I was given by Elder John Longden, when he ordained me to the office of bishop in 1958, that stayed with me through the years.  

         President Dieter Uchdorf has taught, additionally, that no matter how negative certain chapters in our lives might be, because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the final chapter can exceed all our expectations.  

         We are told, “Be still. and know that I am God.”  (D&C 110:16).  Knowing God and trusting Him is what will enable us to ‘be still’ through the troublesome times that everyone will experience.

       

         BINDING SATAN -- We understand that Satan will be 'bound,' rendered totally incapable of tempting mankind, during the Millennium.  The good news is that he can be bound even now, in great measure by the righteousness of the people.  Whenever an individual fully masters a principle such as tithing, honesty, or chastity, Satan has lost the ability to influence that person with respect to that principle.  It is our job to put him out of business, one principle at a time.  Why wait for the Millennium?

         BEING RELIGIOUS -- Being religious is not, in itself, a virtue.  The people who crucified the Savior were among the most ‘religious’ peoples of all time, as were those who destroyed the twin towers of World Trade Center in New York City in 2001.  Being religiously exercised is not what saves people, but rather the faithful adherence to the principles of Eternal Truth, as defined in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and participation in its essential ordinances.  Hugh Nibley has noted that “True knowledge never shuts the door on more knowledge, but zeal often does.”

         "FAMILIES CAN BE TOGETHER FOREVER" -- In church we teach our children that families can be together forever.  Indeed, family ties will continue to exist eternally in the highest echelons of the Celestial Kingdom.  But I wonder at the viability of the pictures that this slogan puts in the heads of young members of the church.  Who knows what our family relationships may be like as we busily progress toward the ultimate blessings promised to the faithful saints.  
         "As man is, God once was."  As God is, man may become."  (Joseph Smith Jr.)   As we get into creating and populating worlds, I wonder how I will then relate to my parents, my siblings, and my children.  And what will be the nature of our relationship with Father Adam and Mother Eve?  Could it be that, in that exalted state, we might all know and love each other as siblings in the family circle of our Heavenly parents?

Creation

When God sets out to make a world,

does He,

himself, shape every stone and bird and tree,

... and personality?

Or does He somehow stir in Natures Pot

then watch and wait to see

the shape of ocean, hill, and lea?

Did He design Yosemite,

and wonders such for me to see;

or are there forces working,

and He merely turns a key?

Are there eternal laws of truth

that He obeys, as well as we?

Or, does He manage now the forces

that once worked

to bring Him forth to Be?

We  have no other God=s before him,

but He must have a Father, same as we.

I=m starting now to see.

My glory mostly will depend

on Gods who will descend from me!

8 Robert Lynn Brown 4/28/04

         ON BEING A PECULIAR PEOPLE -- Whenever and wherever the true church of Jesus Christ is established, it will create a new society within the larger culture in which it exists.  

         The Gospel, if lived closely enough to be exalted by it, will make of its adherents a sub-culture of peculiar people.  The Lord requires that his people will be recognizably different from those around them.  To be so is not optional.  It is a commandment!  (I Pet 2:9)  He wants us to stand-out, not to blend-in!

          ATTITUDE -- Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.  Some pain and suffering are inevitable; but misery is a choice.

    APPETITE -- Appetite, under proper control, contributes to healthy bodies, free minds, strong families, joyful hearts, prosperity, eternal progression, Eternal Lives, and eventual Godhood.
     Appetite, when it has control over a person, leads to addiction, obesity, abortion, children born out of wedlock, broken homes, broken hearts, broken health, broken lives, poverty, crime, physical and spiritual bondage, damnation of all forms of progress, desperation, and/or death.  

                  APPETITE

         Appetite for food keeps us

         Alive.  The yen for love

         Allows for family life

         And fellowship to thrive.   All appetites

         Are geared to help us prosper

         And survive,

         Assuming they are used and not abused.

         ADAM AND EVE AND "THE FALL” – Two Sides of Easter

Much of the world’s focus is on a dark side of the Easter theme; that is, “The Fall” caused by Adams transgression.  But there is a better view.  I pose two questions: 

1.What was lost in the Fall of Adam?  Life in the Garden.  Adam and Eve lost their life of ease in a garden where no progress could be made.  It was no loss for us because we were never destined to go there anyway.

            2) What was gained?   Spiritual Death -- Isolation from the God is not always fun, but we needed the opportunity to exercise our faith and our agency.  No free choice; no personal growth!

            Mortality:  Adam fell that men might be.  No mortal life, no body, no death, no resurrection, no Exaltation!  “Adam fell that men might be” exalted!

            Access to Pain, Sickness, Hunger, other exigencies of the flesh, and joy.  Without tasting the bitter we could never have known the sweet.  No pain, no gain!

          The Lone and Dreary World:  No one has savored the taste of bread like he who has earned it by the sweat of his brow.  The 11th Commandment:  “Thou shalt Sweat!”

         A Phyical Body:  We learn to manage the tug of hormones and other appetites; to have kids who will pile glory upon our heads!  “These things shall give you experience!”

         The Earth:  which was created and ‘cursed’ for our sake.  We needed an obstacle course for our important training program.  “We will [im]prove them herewith.”

         The Atoning Sacrifice:  No sacrificial Lamb, no Redemption.

 The Gospel of Jesus Christ:  Soon after his expulsion, Adam asked for guidance and received the handbook on how to negotiate the earthly obstacle course and come out, not only ‘alive, but with Life Eternal; Glory!  “Eye hath not seen …”  2 N 2:25

I am personally moved by the knowledge that we were all there together when the PLAN was wrought in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things, (2N 2:24) and that we gave it our sustaining vote; and that we sustained Adam in his calling to be the Head of the Human Family, along with Eve, our Earthly Matriarch.
Father Adam and Mother Eve fell from God’s presence, but not from the circle of his love.  Adam knew what he was doing.  It was not an act of rebellion but of fulfilment.  He fell into his place as Patriarch over all the Earth.  He is still Michael, the Archangel.  Let us appreciate the Fall as a team effort made for our good

The 11th Commandment

God told Moses not to lie or steal;

     to covet nor to kill.

We know those Ten commandments,

     but there's yet another still:

The one He gave to Adam

     we must also not forget:

In order than man should eat; 

He ordered:  "Thou shalt sweat!"

     (c)Robert Lynn Brown

UNBELIEF/STRIVING --

                          UNBELIEF --As we sang the opening song (The Spirit of  God) in Sacrament Meeting today, the song's prophetic words had new meanings for me.  They raised questions in my mind:  Is the Spirit of God really "burning" like a "fire" as was promised it could at the opening of this final dispensation of the Gospel?  Are the "visions and blessings of old" really returning as prophesied or are we keeping them at bay by our unbelief that it really refers to us?
              Latter-day prophets have repeatedly told us that we are "living beneath our promised blessings," that all the children of Zion are under condemnation (D&C 84:55-57) because of our failure to fully live by the light we have been given, therefore denying ourselves the greater light and "hidden treasures of knowledge"  (D&C 89:19) we have been promised and urged to strive for.

                   STRIVING -- Are we really striving to keep the command-ments and the covenants we have made at baptism and in the temple?  This is a question we must answer when interviewed for temple worthiness. Do we sometimes answer it without thinking of the implications that that word imposes?  Are we keeping the commandments and our covenants passively much of the time when a proactive approach is essential if we really expect the "visions and blessings of old" to return?
         The words of another familiar hymn comes to mind:  "More holiness give me; more strength from within;; more patience in suffering; more sorrow for sin; more faith in my Savior; more sense of his care; more joy in his service; more purpose in prayer."  We need to pay more attention to the word striving if we wish to get past our unbelief and really seek the greater blessings we have been promised and commanded to ask for,  seek, and knock to have opened to us.

AGENCY (Free Will)

         AGENCY – Man’s status in God’s eyes is determined entirely by the choices he makes; not by any circumstances or factors which do not result from the exercise of God-given Agency.  

         Never under estimate the important that God places on the principle of Free Agency.  Remember, that was the whole issue behind the War in Heaven.  Consider the fate of those who exercised their agency to join in Lucifer's fight to deny it to those who would inhabit the earth?  They are condemned to the everlast-ing torment of Hell.  There is no forgiveness for them, even under the Atonement.  (D&C 29:27-29)  Let your life be the product of decisions, not conditions, while fully respecting the agency of everyone else. 

         Now, consider what might be in store for those who, in this life, have exercised unrighteous dominion by infringing on the freedom of choice by any of God's children, be it as husbands and fathers, slave holders, or political leaders.
         This is an Eternal principle which which is binding even upon Diety.  God does not permit himself to force any behavior on his children.  His promises of glory and exaltation are available to those who actively choose and live the celestial law which He has laid down.  No one can make that choice for you nor can you make it for anyone else. 
                                             Free Agency

                                          (A Child's Concept)

                   I thank Thee, Dear Father, for giving me choice. 

                   I don't have to do right, but a still, small voice

                           tells me how Jesus would want me to be.

                   And by choosing the right, I can become more like Thee

                   I thank Thee, Dear Father, for thy Divine Love

                               and a Plan of Salvation sent down from above.

                   Freedom to choose is so sacred to me,

                               and when I choose the right 

                    I will become more like Thee. 
                                                (c) Robert Lynn Brown

                                        

      AGENCY

Without God’s gift of Agency to man

he can’t escape this earthly status quo.

We must subdue the “natural man’ by choice,

The ego tweak is Satan’s counter blow.

The cards seem stacked against God’s Purposes.

To be Joint Heirs we must keep all commands;

while we can get all Satan has to give

By doing naught.  We need not lift a hand.

                                                                                

Christ’s Gospel serves as a refining fire,

Preparing us for life in Heaven’s Realm.

No special preparation is required

For life in Hell with Satan at the helm.

         (c) Robert Lynn Brown

ADVERSITY

ADVERSITY -- “We live in adversity.  We die in comfort.”  (Chinese Proverb)  Adversity is God’s refining fire.  
Most of us seem to face three basic types of trials in our lives.  Some are brought on by mistakes or wrong choices willfully made.  Some are just part of everyday living, for which no one can be blamed.  Others seems to be placed in our path by divine direction.  The ‘assigned’ difficulties would seem to reflect, more than anything else, our unproved potential.  All the prophets have been sorely tested and tried before receiving their callings.  Even Jesus Christ was tempted and seriously tried before embarking on his earthly mission.  (Matt 4:1-11)

  

                                    PROMOTIONS

The mysteries here wrought by Holy Whim

surpass the understanding of the mind.

The wisdom of mankind is foolishness to Him;

as is His to us, till through our Faith defined.

He calls on many His great work to do;

the greater calling brings the greater test--

then, from the scores, selects a Chosen Few

to be Joint Heirs with Him among the Blest.

            Adversity is God’s refining fire.

Each person must be proven privately.

The tests reflect our unproved worth,

not Heaven’s ire;

and passed, they mark PROMOTIONS in Eternity!

                   (c) Robert Lynn Brown

            As Orson F. Whitney has said, it is by contrast that we learn to appreciate.  Just as the thorn and the rose spring from the same stem, so joy and sorrow blend in mortal life; the bitter and the sweet are both essential to complete the round of human exper-ience.  And, according to another Chinese proverb:  “True gold fears not the fire.”

INTRODUCTION

My name is Robert Lynn Brown.  By way of this blog spot, I will share selected personal insights and spiritual thoughts that I have collected over a lifetime.  Some are distilled from my teaching and life experiences.  Others derive from the  Holy Scriptures or spin-off from the thoughts and insights of others which have resonated strongly with me.

As I begin this exercise, I am in my 85th year, having grown up on a dairy farm, taught school for a decade and served for 30 years in the US Foreign Service.  Twenty years into retirement I have published a book of poetry and my autobiography.  My hobbies are writing and my garden -- but more than those, my extended family:  six children and five step-children and their spouses, 31 grandchildren and 16 step-grandchildren, plus 24 (and counting) great grandchildren.   I have been richly blessed.
Whatever else might be said of me, I am a work in progress.

            LIFE LINES

This map of wrinkles that I see

when I look in the mirror; ... who is he?

I wonder if the patterns graven

on this physiognomy

may have something more to tell

than simply mark my family tree.

If you could read these furrows

and the footnotes in between,

would you know the roads I=ve traveled

and the wonders I have seen?

Could you weigh the loads I=ve carried

and the cares I=ve known;

see my failures and my triumphs;

taste the fruit from seeds I=ve sown?

Can you hear the fading echoes

of the songs that I have sung;

or overtones of joy in me

from chords my progeny have rung?

Might you sense my good intentions;

half-achieved or not begun?

Is there any credit posted

for the deeds I would have done?

Could there also be encoded

in this picture that I see,

outlines of unwritten chapters;

forecasts of harvests yet to be?

Though no one else may notice,

I hope that Christ, perchance,

may see something of His Image

in this weathered countenance.

And if naught else be encrypted

in this fleshly facial file,

I pray you=ll see my love for Him

who walks with me the while.

     (c)Robert Lynn Brown

Comments or questions concerning my writings would be welcomed: arelby2@juno.com.