All That I Must Do

Hello my millennial friends.  I hope this post finds you and your loved ones well and in a millennial moment.  As we make our journey towards an internal millennium one of the most important things to realize is that your journey is not so much about what you do but what you understand and know.  The meaning of the word REPENTANCE in the Greek translation is to change your thoughts or to think differently.  Therefore, when Jesus said to "repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand", what he was really saying is:  Change your thoughts, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  Think differently, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  When one inserts the original Greek meaning of "metanoia" or repentance it can change the entire interpretation of the scripture.  Try it.  Whenever you read the scriptures and see the word "repent", insert the Greek meaning and you will be surprised at what you find. 

Most Nicodemus Mormons and other uber literalists will look at this statement by Jesus as harsh and urgent and that one needs to run out and do something different before the literal end of the world happens.  While Christ did often tell others to do something different, his main message was to change our thoughts.  It was an invitation to be like him.  The message or GOOD NEWS is that we could actually enter a different world or the "Kingdom of Heaven" if we would but repent or think differently.

Natural and fallen men and women who have partaken of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil live in a Telestial world.  It is a world filled with strife, anxiety, hatred and fear.  The thoughts of the natural man and woman are concerned with how to protect themselves from this Telestial world.  They seek money and material goods like the industrious Nephites thinking that this will help insulate them from the harsh Telestial world.  But that doesn't work because they will never have enough to satiate their desire for protection.  They fear that it could all be taken away at any moment and so they continue to accumulate more and more possessions.  It is much like a furnace with no thermostat that will continue to heat up and eventually explode.  Others seek power, thinking that if they can have more control over this Telestial world then they can keep the forces of disturbance at bay and so they seek to gain more and more power and control but underlying it all they know that their power is fragile and could come crashing down at any moment.  Other people turn to a harsh Old Testament-like god and beg for rules and commandments and messengers to come and show them what to do in a world that is so foreign from the Garden of Eden.  God responds and gives them more and more rules, commandments and messengers telling them all what they "must do" to live with Him someday.  The list continues to grow and as natural and fallen man becomes overwhelmed he or she is faced with a few choices.  They try to work even harder to please a God who is constantly disappointed in their efforts.  Harder and harder they try until they are worn out and feel the weight of a disappointed Father.  On the other hand, they can run for fig leaves and try to hide their nakedness and pretend that all is well and that they are doing absolutely everything on the list.  Or they can become depressed and recognize that they will never be able to do everything on the list and they will look at this demanding and disappointed God with their fist in the air, become angry, and give up.  Many move on from the church and find other structures that they believe will help protect them better from a harsh Telestial world.  Perhaps it will be a world of science and rationalism that will help protect them.  They are much like many of the uber literalist disciples of Christ who when they were told to eat his flesh and drink his blood, "they followed him no more."  Thus when many of the uber literalists in the church are consumed with literalism in commandments or the foundational stories of church history, they become angry and disenchanted.  They give up and turn to others structures to find peace in the Telestial world.  These other structures typically reflect more of the same in terms of materialism, and literalism whether they are religious or secular.

Or they may start to wake up from their nightmare and realize there really isn't any other religion, structure, or philosophy that can save them from their insanity.  They are sick and poisoned from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  The way they are seeing the world, themselves, God, and everything around them, has become twisted and distorted.  They entered a whole new world as a result of choosing to partake, and no matter what they DO it won't matter.  Whether it is making fig leaf aprons, creating a new church, winning the lottery, moving to a new country, getting a better job,  or finding the right self-help book it will make no difference.

It is interesting to note that many of the modern day prophets and apostles have talked about Adam and Eve having no blood before the Fall.  Instead, they say they were infused with the spirit and once they ate the fruit their bodies changed and they became mortal and then had blood.  While this literal interpretation may seem silly to many, it is not too far from the truth.  The fact of the matter is that once you look at everything in the world through the lens of GOOD and EVIL and see everything in black and white and extremes, this does have an effect on your body and blood.  You will be on a Telestial/Chemical Roller Coaster ride that constantly fills your blood with hormones like Adrenaline, because in the Telestial world you are always under attack and it is fear, sorrow, anxiety, anger and angst centered.  This chronic output of fear and stress hormones in your blood is known to seriously degrade your body.  However, it is only an illusion that you have generated inside of you.  The Kingdom of Heaven and the Rest of the Lord is at hand.  It is right in front of you if you would but REPENT or change your thoughts or think differently.

How do you do it?  It's hard to NOT think in extremes and see the world in black and white and good and evil.  It's hard to think so differently.  God is merciful and full of love.  That is why he sent Jesus Christ to show us the way.  He is the antidote to the poison.  His example and teachings will begin to heal you from this insanity.  That is why he could say such unusual and incredible things such as to "love your enemies."  What a novel concept!  It amazes me that so many people in this country see each other as enemies.  If you look at the current political climate for instance in the United States, you don't see much love, peace on Earth, or goodwill toward men.  All you see is an escalating cycle of accusation and hatred based on fear.

What can you do about it?  You can start with yourself.  You can lay down your "weapons of war" that you use on yourself and others and turn them into "pruning hooks".  You can begin to think differently (REPENT).  You can begin to see that the Kingdom of Heaven is truly at hand but it is within side of you!  You can begin to filter out all the external noise and voices and begin to listen to the still small voice within you that is attached to divine intelligence.  This divine intelligence will tell your spirit all things.  Your spirit in turn will tell your body what action to take and more millennial moments will be created in your life that lead to peace and harmony within yourself and with others.  You can begin to have a personal relationship with God and see him as your friend rather than a harsh disapproving and disappointed parent who is never satisfied with what you do.

In 1957 a woman named Naomi Randall after being given an assignment by the Primary Board of the church to write a song that would teach children about their relationship with God, knelt at her bedside and then retired for the night.  At 2:00AM she was awakened with the words of what would become one of the most well known and beloved songs in the LDS canon of songs and hymns.  She wrote the lyrics down and then knelt again in gratitude.  She mailed the lyrics to her friend Mildred Pettit who would write the music.  It was later performed and Apostle Spencer W. Kimball heard the song and later asked if the lyric of "teach me all that I must KNOW" could be changed to "teach me all that I must DO".  His reasoning was that to know wasn't enough.  The devils know.  We have to DO something.  Naomi accepted the change.

This change is very significant and appropriate and once again showed that the majority of the church at that time continued to live in the Telestial world where DOing is more significant than knowing.  The appearance is more important than the meaning.  The symbol is more important than what is symbolized.  The Natural Man and Woman looks on the outward appearance but God knows the heart and the mind.  When the heart and mind are sick it doesn't matter what you DO it will continue to lead to you wandering in a harsh Telestial wilderness.  As a result many members of the church are DOING, DOING, DOING but they are going in circles.  They are wandering in the Telestial wilderness believing that if they just DO a little more then God will approve and they can live with him SOMEDAY.  Thus Jesus says:  "Come unto me all ye that labor (doing) and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

However, there is an antidote to the circular wandering.  There is a millennium at hand for you.  But you must be ready to be taught what you must KNOW before you can DO (enter the promised land) that which creates an internal millennium.  Once you begin to internalize who you are and your true relationship with God then you will be able to eliminate fear, anxiety, worry, hatred and enmity in your life.  The internal "devil" or "Satan" or the "Accuser" who also KNOWS (as Spencer W. Kimball alluded to) will be dismissed from within side of you and you will begin to see and feel the millennial moments all around you.  The dismissing of Satan from your temple is an essential component of entering the internal millennium.  The light inside you will become brighter and you will have "1000 years of peace" within you.  Today, I believe there is a millennial movement underway in the church.  Can you feel it?  It is beginning with you!  The church is changing because of you!  Love is growing and fear is receding and we are creating an internal millennium that is contagious.  The truth is a virus.  As more and more find themselves becoming truly like Christ and being healed from the poison of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, a new day will dawn and we will be able to live side by side with our external neighbors in harmony and peace.

May love and blessings be with you my friends.