THE VASTNESS OF US

 

I shed many tears yesterday as I came to the end of a particularly difficult week with my physical suffering. I expected some sort of comfort from above but I did not expect what I was given.

Surprisingly, my mind opened and I was given to comprehend through my tears, as much as I could comprehend, my significance in the Plan of Salvation and at the same time my significance as a single entity outside of  the vast overall picture of the process of that Plan.

I came to understand that there is something so much bigger than me and my experience no matter how painful it might be but at the same time, that pain was not without its importance to God.

The comprehension of the Plan which enlarges the Father’s glory through the salvation of us, eternal intelligences flooded my soul to the point that I could not verbalise it. I find it difficult even now to find the words. I understood the Saviour’s frustration in trying to describe to our limited mortal minds the kingdoms in existence beyond the planet we are for the time confined to when He said: “Unto what shall I liken these kingdoms, that ye may understand????” (D&C 88:46)

This lack of perfect comprehension made me see how important is our faith and our trust. One day we will plainly see how our lives, our sufferings and our sacrifices were a part of something significant with eternal consequences that is now beyond us to even imagine. We will understand our role in this universe and beyond. Intelligences we might be but the eternal in us is withheld for now from our grasp by the physical realm we are confined to.

This experience did not really bring me comfort but it surprised me that God can teach us something so vast in our most dire moments if we always have our hearts open with a willingness to receive answers greater than we can ourselves supply.

In all that I received yesterday, my dire moment presented to me the unfairness of the Saviour’s life and His unfathomable sacrifice for others. The scope of that sacrifice is also beyond my understanding as is the resultant splendour of His glory He now has.

My point is this. There is something far, far bigger than what we can for now see, feel and touch. We might not see it but the spirit in us has the ability to believe it. We are both ants on this planet and also entities so big no space can contain us. It all depends on the perspective of the moment. One day we, the gods in embryo, will understand and rejoice in our being.

How small and insignificant I am 

Among the countless children

Of this earth’s dust and fleeting pace

But of what importance

to my Saviour’s eternal grace!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

 

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

There is much talk today about the Universe among the modern day philosophers who seek to promote the law of attraction. One of their theories is that you should not ask for anything because that sends the message to 'the Universe' that you are lacking and putting out the message of lack attracts lack. In other words, whatever you say and think attracts the like because the Universe 'seeks' to match the vibrations which you send it which suggests that the Universe is mindless. They argue that words like 'want' and 'hope' should be eradicated from our vocabulary because they contribute to the lack mentality. Rather, they reason, when in need of something you should think and speak as if you already have it. Whereas imagining and saying that we already have what we want is a great way to exercise faith, it should in reality be the method employed after we ask and not a method that replaces asking. Consider the story of Lehi who said "I have obtained a land of promise" (1 Nephi 5:5) after God had revealed it to him and before he set foot on the American continent.

Whereas laws have been placed in the Universe that allow us to receive according to our actions and obedience (D&C 130:20,21), there is a huge flaw with the world's theory of the 'mindless Universe'. The law of attraction largely surpasses God in the equation because it eliminates the action of asking encouraging us to believe we will get it no matter what. It suggests the Universe is an entity devoid of the mind of God. It also surpasses and denies the mediator in whose name we have the right to approach God and place our petitions before Him. These two factors combine to perpetrate a gross violation of the spiritual law to love God and glorify Him through His Son. The world tells us we do not need to believe in God so we are led to have faith in His creation rather than Him. Because the Universe can be seen and there is scientific proof of it, it is easier to worship it and ignore the very first commandment, to love God.

Jesus said to His disciples: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13). By asking in Christ's name we acknowledge Him and His supreme role in our lives as our Creator and our Saviour. By acknowledging Christ, we acknowledge the Father and glorify His name (John 14:9,10).

I know there are many pragmatic people in the world who prefer to have faith in practicality of life and their own capabilities rather than exercise faith in a being who they cannot see and do not understand the workings of.  How can we comprehend God and his ability to be mindful of all His children and attend to so many of us at the same time? There is an interesting scripture that could offer an explanation for this. When Moses saw God face to face, God gave him a vision of the earth and every living soul that belonged to it and 'their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the sea shore' (Moses 1:27-8). The interesting part is this: The scripture says 'there was NOT A SOUL which he beheld not' (v 28). it does not say that he saw masses of people but that he saw souls. Now how could Moses see numberless people, individually, in such a short time, perhaps even all at once? The scripture goes on to say that he discerned them by the spirit of God. This gives us somewhat of a glimpse into the mind of God and how it works, because it is clear that God's spirit allowed Moses to see things the way God sees them. This would suggest that God is able to entertain multiple thoughts simultaneously. He does not think one thought at the time like we do. If He can think multiple thoughts at once, that means He can have more than one child on his mind at any given time too and know their thoughts and hear their prayers all at once. This could also explain how Christ, being God, could atone for infinite number of people at one time without losing individual focus (see "The Infinite Atonement" by Tad R. Callister)

We of the finite minds and finite world do not understand what it means to be a God and the power and capabilities that lie within godhood. Beyond the realm of our finite limitation lies faith. Without that limitation we would be as gods, understanding as they do and knowing as they know. This is our goal and our destination, but for now it is our responsibility to recognise the path that will get us there and in the process to glorify the Father through His Son who has proclaimed: "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). We cannot bypass the reverence that He so fully deserves. This is the path and there is no other; this is the way and there is none else; He is the way, the truth, the life....