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Having Begun Again To Give A Damn

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:12 pm
by _Nightlion
Believing people are genuinely capable of real love and are not as fake as their religion makes me think they must be I have noticed myself getting ideas that actually might help those with problems about faith and God.

The biggest problem most faith fallen manifest is grumbling about how God is NOT present and not helping the world.

Such is the price of Free Agency having to suffer in a world without God in militant presence as he truly is in other circumstances like in the spirit world where the souls of men go after they die.

He is God after all. If he were here to where he WOULD keep all things perfect he would HAVE to be followed and obeyed or we get whacked out of existence. So he must forebear leaving a fallen world somewhat to itself. Not altogether abandoning it as he keeps all things in marvelous order just leaving man out of a closed loop.

Rather he has given us a gospel where he can participate with us in the world but not be counted as being here to a point where anybody's free agency is compromised.

This makes plain that the acceptable sacrifice for getting the gospel right is to subject your Free Agency to God by covenant. As King Benjamin said becoming as a little child who is subject to his father in all things.
Your free agency does not vaporize. You always own it, but have made a covenant to keep it subject to the will of God. Like a marriage covenant to be faithful. You CAN mess around but it might cost you your marriage.

In the land of the free and the home of the brave where self reliance and gumption and self certitude is all in all we can see why the early LDS Gentiles repudiated the gospel and ransacked it after their own likeness in the image of the world. Excellence is king. None have subjected their all unto God. None will. Not so long as there is a buck to be made and honors to win and trusts and confidences to be prized and kept tenaciously for an abundant life amidst good people.

Who is going to overcome the power of this world? In this age? Hardly anyone. But still there ya have it. God is as near and as powerfully involved as you will come unto him and take his name upon you with full purpose of heart. It is a marriage and if you love him and refuse to live without him, if you want to know him and want to believe that he is real then seek him as he is eager for it. The prospect of one turning away from the world, this modern world, is of such a moment in heaven as to make angles gasp in disbelief. The impossibility of saving faith against this age of man makes it all the more joyous that it ever occurs.

Set everything aside for a season and seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. So few are bothering with it you will not have to fight for attention in this regard. Those addicted to the pablum of being worthy without merit leave it alone.

I think the important point here is to give a plausible reason why God does not interfere in the world even to allowing the worse of it. Is it not bad enough to cause some few to look yet away? How should the evil here not lead a person to want to gain access to God and be in his kingdom and loving care?

The reality of true gospel living is that God IS watching over you precisely as you know he is capable of. Even leading you better than you would invent for yourself with all the freedom in the world. A life with Christ in God is not free of all pain. Hardly. Yet with all the trials is is abundant should all the world turn against you and cast you out and revile you and make life impossible for you to thrive.

Re: Having Begun Again To Give A Damn

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 2:26 pm
by _sock puppet
Hey, NL,

Glad to hear you give a damn, again.

Your testimony is an excellent explanation how you understand God and His limitation on involvement here, and about what you see our task being with free agency.

Re: Having Begun Again To Give A Damn

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:47 pm
by _Nightlion
sock puppet wrote:Hey, NL,

Glad to hear you give a damn, again.

Your testimony is an excellent explanation how you understand God and His limitation on involvement here, and about what you see our task being with free agency.


Thanks. This is the only nail I am about hitting for the foreseeable future. I happy that it at least makes sense. If I can tank up enough genuine love for the masses I might even venture out on a crusade for Zion. Loved that old Vanilla Fudge rendition of Supremes hit KEEP ME HANGING ON. The actual song does not apply here at all. But that never stopped me like back in the day setting Christ in place of the Pinball Wizard singing loudly:

LISTENING TO YOU
I HEAR THE MUSIC
GAZING AT YOU
I FEEL THE HEAT
FOLLOWING YOU
I CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN
I GET EXCITEMENT AT YOUR FEET

RIGHT BEHIND YOU
I SEE THE MILLIONS
ON YOU
I SEE THE GLORY
FROM YOU
I GET OPINIONS
FROM YOU
I GET THE STORY

Pete Townsend and THE WHO'S TOMMY
My favorite group at the time turned out to be my only mentors in seek Christ. :cool:

Re: Having Begun Again To Give A Damn

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:54 pm
by _Quasimodo
Nightlion wrote:
sock puppet wrote:Hey, NL,

Glad to hear you give a damn, again.

Your testimony is an excellent explanation how you understand God and His limitation on involvement here, and about what you see our task being with free agency.


Thanks. This is the only nail I am about hitting for the foreseeable future. I happy that it at least makes sense. If I can tank up enough genuine love for the masses I might even venture out on a crusade for Zion. Loved that old Vanilla Fudge rendition of Supremes hit KEEP ME HANGING ON. The actual song does not apply here at all. But that never stopped me like back in the day setting Christ in place of the Pinball Wizard singing loudly:

LISTENING TO YOU
I HEAR THE MUSIC
GAZING AT YOU
I FEEL THE HEAT
FOLLOWING YOU
I CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN
I GET EXCITEMENT AT YOUR FEET

RIGHT BEHIND YOU
I SEE THE MILLIONS
ON YOU
I SEE THE GLORY
FROM YOU
I GET OPINIONS
FROM YOU
I GET THE STORY

Pete Townsend and THE WHO'S TOMMY
My favorite group at the time turned out to be my only mentors in seek Christ. :cool:


I loved that album as well, Night. I believe I still have it in my garage somewhere. Sadly, the story didn't turn out so well.

Re: Having Begun Again To Give A Damn

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:12 pm
by _Bob Loblaw
Quasimodo wrote:I loved that album as well, Night. I believe I still have it in my garage somewhere. Sadly, the story didn't turn out so well.


What a coincidence. I am listening to that album right now.

Pete Townshend is the eternal seeker. I can relate to that.

Re: Having Begun Again To Give A Damn

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:17 pm
by _Quasimodo
Bob Loblaw wrote:Pete Townshend is the eternal seeker. I can relate to that.


Yep, it really grabbed me too. When it came out and I was just a kid (dawn of time), I felt it expressed my soul. Seeking.

I'm still seeking.

Re: Having Begun Again To Give A Damn

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:28 pm
by _Bob Loblaw
Quasimodo wrote:Yep, it really grabbed me too. When it came out and I was just a kid (dawn of time), I felt it expressed my soul. Seeking.

I'm still seeking.


I'd like to think Pete was thinking of Mormons when he wrote:

"It's easy to see that you are one of us.
Ain't it funny how we all seem to look the same?"

Re: Having Begun Again To Give A Damn

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:56 pm
by _Quasimodo
Bob Loblaw wrote:
Quasimodo wrote:Yep, it really grabbed me too. When it came out and I was just a kid (dawn of time), I felt it expressed my soul. Seeking.

I'm still seeking.


I'd like to think Pete was thinking of Mormons when he wrote:

"It's easy to see that you are one of us.
Ain't it funny how we all seem to look the same?"


Quadrophenia?

Re: Having Begun Again To Give A Damn

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:58 pm
by _Bob Loblaw
Quasimodo wrote:Quadrophenia?


Yes. And maybe the inspiration for "I Am a Mormon" came from this:

But I'm one.
I am one.
And I can see
That this is me,
And I will be,
You'll all see
I'm the one.

Re: Having Begun Again To Give A Damn

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:58 pm
by _Nightlion
Quasimodo wrote:
I loved that album as well, Night. I believe I still have it in my garage somewhere. Sadly, the story didn't turn out so well.

For Christ or for Tommy?
Both, right?