Church and/or Gospel

I recently read an article in the Salt Lake Tribune by Jana Riess about Jeff Strong's book Torn, which is about what people get wrong about people leaving the church. You can find the article here.

As I read the article I was immediately struck with the idea that it only addresses the leaving the church part of the equation. It said nothing about leaving the Gospel. They are separate, but for many as described in the article, leaving the church is the all they can focus on, because they do not see nor do they understand that the Gospel is not the church, and the church is not the Gospel. They do not understand the Gospel. I've written extensively about the difference in this blog.

You may ask is it possible to leave the church and not leave the Gospel? Of course before we can answer, we must understand that there is a difference, and understand what Christ means when He says "This is my gospel..."

The article focused on a survey completed by 11,000 people of which about 60% considered themselves active members, and about 40% were those who had left the church. 

The survey’s current members skewed active, meaning they were more likely than average members to attend church regularly and consider themselves devout.

The data showed that it’s the most devout members who have the hardest time understanding and relating to family members and friends who have left.

But to me the issue between those who considered themselves devout and those who left, is the same. Neither group understood the difference between the organization and the Gospel.

My questions of someone who has become inactive or has left the church, after teaching them His Gospel as He taught it, are these:

1. Have you also lost faith in Christ?
2. Have you hardened your heart against the word of God? 
3. Have you ever believed in Christ?
4. If yes, do you still believe in Christ?
5. Have you ever believed Christ? 
6. Were you aware that Christ has defined His gospel in the Book of Mormon?
7. Were you taught His Gospel at home, at church, by anyone? 
8. Were you ever taught to understand the doctrine of baptism and repentance? 
9. And were you taught that only those who are repenting are of His church, and that many members of record of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not of His church because they are not yet repenting? 
10. Were you taught that there are only two churches, the Church of God and the Church of the Devil?
11. Were you taught the difference between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and His Gospel?
12. Were you ever taught that the word of God is truth, and that you do not have to believe anything in the church that is not true? 

Hopefully you can see that leaving the church is not the same as leaving His Gospel, but to most who do or who do not leave the organization, they are not even aware that there is a difference! When we leave His Gospel, we leave Christ, and we are not choosing Good but we are choosing Evil.

My purpose in this post is not to expand on the difference, but simply to point out that there is a difference, and that many active and inactive members do not know of or understand the difference. I have linked a few posts at the end which will help you see and understand the difference.

The paradox is that those who are repenting and have turned to Christ can be met with resistance by members and even leaders of the organized church.

"A comment was once made on a post that repentance as defined by Christ, is difficult for those who are part of the system which is the Organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The person commenting said that those who 'genuinely wish to reform and turn unto Christ, are likely to be cut off by the system,' or at least impeded by it. I would add that they find themselves turning away from the system of religious activities. They may even be criticized by members and/or leaders of the system who see them ‘leaving’ the church, or perhaps more accurately, as not being faithful or mainstream members.

But that is exactly what those who are repenting do--they are leaving behind their traditional religion, their old church life, and are turning and coming unto Christ to be “of His church.” They are leaving the system of justification by their works. It does not mean that they do not stay involved and attend church and activities, nor does it mean that they do stay involved, but it does mean that they will never see the organized church as they once did. But for those who decide to leave, as in become inactive, there is a danger. 

Christ as our Shepherd, invites us to leave the pen and follow Him to green pastures and clear waters, but those who leave without following the Shepherd are foolish and put themselves in a very precarious and dangerous environment. Neither are they led to green pastures and clear waters, but are left to their own devices in Babylon. 

Tim Merrill wrote the following in one of his posts, and it has occupied my thoughts for many months as I contemplate those family members that I am aware of who have left, and I am afraid that they have not followed the Shepherd.

'Where will we go once we’ve left the pen? Who knows the way? Leaving the pen without the Shepherd to guide us is more than foolhardy; it is perilous.'

The name of a sheep home is called a sheep pen, sheepcote or sheepfold. It is an enclosure made up of local earth and the floor of mud, and also has a strong fence. When we repent and turn to our Shepherd to guide us, we are invited to follow the Shepherd and leave the enclosure" (Repentance: Only Those Who Repent are of My Church).

But it does not follow that those who are repenting become inactive. In fact they are more likely to stay involved and teach others the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They desire that all receive the mercy of God, and know that mercy comes to only the truly those who are repenting. 

But for those who have only focused on the church, its policies, its history, its flaws, its culture, its values, its teachings of men, and have not feasted upon the words of Christ, and who do not know the difference between the words of God and the words of men, are easily deceived. Their reliance on men has caught up with them, and they foolishly leave the pen without the Good Shepherd to guide them. They've thrown the bucket out with the bath water. These are they who leave His words by the wayside, and become ever more captive in Babylon. 

See also the following:

Do We Really Understand Christ's Gospel?

I Know Your Doing

Obstacles to Hearing the Word of God 

Repentance: Bondage of Sin

Repentance: Only Those Who Repent are of My Church

Go Onto Perfection: Sanctification

This is the third of a trilogy of posts about going on unto perfection. If you have not already, first read Leave First Principles and Go On Unto Perfection. At the end of each post is a link to the next.

“May God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works (the fruits of their repentance), that they might be restored unto grace for grace, according to their works (which follow repentance according to their faith in Christ)” (Helaman 12: 24).

This post, which could also be named Sons and Daughters* Who May Also Become as Christ Is, adds more to the process by which we become perfect in Christ, how becoming perfect in Christ is the same as being sanctified by the blood of Christ, and how His truth or His words are not only part of the process but are also the result of being perfected in Him. I can't tell you how transformative it has been for me to discover the way to becoming like Him. 

If we continue from grace to grace on our journeys through mortality; and if, as Jesus was called the Son of God, so we are called Jesus’ sons and daughters; and if we go on and attain a “fulness” of grace as he attained it, what is the process?

The Lord said to Adam:

"Therefore I give unto 

you a commandment, 

to teach these things 

freely unto your children, 

saying:

This commandment is also a commandment to us to teach our children. He even tells us what to say.

"That by reason 

of transgression 

cometh the fall, 

which fall 

bringeth death, and

inasmuch as ye 

were born into 

the world by water, 

and blood, 

and the spirit, 

which I have made, 

and so became of 

dust a living soul,

We all are born of water, blood and spirit and become living mortal souls, and so begins the process of becoming more than we were in the pre-existence. And part of that process is that we all die as a result of the fall.

"Even so ye must be 

born again into 

the kingdom of heaven, 

of water, 

and of the Spirit, 

and be cleansed 

by blood, even the 

blood of mine 

Only Begotten; 

that ye might be 

sanctified from all sin, 

We can also experience several rebirths, first of the water by baptism unto repentance, then of the Spirit and then cleansed by His blood, that we may be sanctified from all sin. We must go through each of these early rebirths in order to eventually become sons and daughters of God, born into the kingdom of heaven. It is the process of receiving grace for grace. In the meantime we can:

"...enjoy the 

words of eternal life 

in this world,

His words of eternal life, His truth, are an integral part of receiving grace for grace, being made perfect and being sanctified, as will be made clear throughout this post.

"And eternal life in 

the world to come, 

even immortal glory;

Eternal 'lives' may be more accurate as we experience and become new creatures and ascend to higher glories and receive more grace, and if we desire, to become even as He is. 

"For by the water 

ye keep the commandment; 

by the Spirit ye are justified, 

and by the blood ye are sanctified..." (Moses 6:58-60 emphasis added).

The Lord's commandment to be baptized is set forth over and over again in the scriptures. As you teach your children as commanded here, you will teach them to understand not only the doctrine of baptism but also to understand the doctrine of repentance (D&C 68:25). Justification comes through the Spirit of God and is the process whereby we are no longer under the law, but under grace, set now to receive grace for grace which comes as a result of the blood of Christ shed for us.

To see how we are also sanctified by truth lets look to John. He said that Jesus asked His Father to

“Sanctify them through your truth— your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sake I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth. . . . And the glory you gave me I have given them that they may be one even as we are one— I in them and you in me that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me” (John 17: 18– 19, 22– 23 emphasis added). Imagine my joy as I read this and realized that in the process of obtaining His words for decades, I was in the path to becoming sanctified through His truth.

Receiving a fulness of grace thus goes hand in hand with receiving a fulness of truth: “The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth; And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments. He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things” (Doctrine & Covenants 93: 26–28 emphasis added). 

Paul alludes to this process as “the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20: 24), which gospel, he asserts, pertains to “the dispensation of God’s grace” (Ephesians 3: 2). The interrelationship of grace and truth tells us that we cannot benefit from the one without the other. Indeed, it seems self- evident that truth precedes grace, as God could hardly bless a person with His grace who pursues a course that isn’t grounded in the truth. On the other hand, our coming to the knowledge of God’s truth may itself depend on an endowment of God’s grace— on what we might call an infusion of grace to see what we will do with it. Either way, the truth that we seek, which leads to our continuing from “grace to grace,” pertains to the “gospel of grace”— the gospel of Jesus Christ.

More specifically, the covenant King Benjamin’s people made, involved their taking upon themselves the name of Jesus and doing all things in his name (Mosiah 5: 5– 15)— just as Jesus took upon himself the name of his Father and did all things in his name.

Just as Jesus saw himself able to “do nothing of himself” (John 5: 19, 30), so our viewing our own nothingness— while at the same time perceiving “the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long- suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world” (Mosiah 4: 6)— thus forms a prerequisite for our becoming sons and daughters of Christ. Taking upon ourselves the name of Christ, moreover, who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14: 6), makes us witnesses of what He represents.

“And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot” (Moroni 10: 33 emphasis added). In either case, “all ungodliness” is absent. Also note the link between grace and being sanctified. 

He whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world” (John 10: 36), was “made perfect” (Hebrews 5: 9) by doing the things He saw His Father do (John 5: 19). This embodies the very means of our being sanctified and made perfect, He being “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14: 6 emphasis added).

The way, because He paves the path to our becoming “sons (and daughters) of the Most High” (Psalms 82: 6); the truth, because He personifies the truth and teaches the truth (Ephesians 4: 21); the life, because He has “life in himself” given Him of the Father (John 5: 26) and is the source of “everlasting life” (John 4: 14 emphasis added).

In that light, the “power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1: 16) parallels the power of God unto exaltation. We move from grace to grace by the power of God. Becoming Sons and Daughters of God thus is an exalted state that occurs in mortality.

Christ said that, “Strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me. But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also. This is eternal lives— to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law” (Doctrine & Covenants 132: 22– 24 emphasis added).

Unlike people on lower spiritual levels, who are “not valiant in the testimony of Jesus” (Doctrine & Covenants 76: 79) or in the testimony of the truth, Sons and Daughters of God “bear testimony of the truth in all places” (Doctrine & Covenants 58: 47)— that is, “of the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1: 2 emphasis added)— and they are willing to “suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5: 41). And in this they are being valiant and doing the work of God in the world, acting as saviors of men, through faith in Him. They become "the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified" (Isaiah 60:21 emphasis added).

“He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things” (Doctrine & Covenants 93: 28; emphasis added). As we more fully “come unto Christ”— who embodies light and truth (Alma 38: 9)— we thus more fully grow in light and truth.

Being “glorified in truth” reflects a point of spiritual advancement far beyond the early learner stage. As Jesus was glorified by the works He performed (cf. John 11: 4), so may we be glorified by the works we perform. As we read earlier: “If you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace” (Doctrine & Covenants 93: 20 emphasis added)— the purpose being “that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1: 12 emphasis added).

He therefore counsels to “sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will” (Doctrine & Covenants 88: 68 emphasis added). Through that process men will “see my face and know that I am” (Doctrine & Covenants 93: 1).

As the Brother of Jared said. "Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie. And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you" (Ether 3:12-13 emphasis added).

The idea of our “knowing” all things (Doctrine & Covenants 93: 28) implies Jesus’ “showing” us all things.

“In that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Ether 4: 7 emphasis added).

Sanctification, faith, truth, grace and the power of God, here appear inextricably linked.

Abraham, whom God commanded to “walk before me and be perfect” (Genesis 17:1), wasn’t perfect to begin with. Born into an idolatrous civilization that suffered the curse of a famine (Genesis 26:1; Abraham 1:5, 30), Abraham not only took leave of his father and ownership of his generational iniquities—reversing the curse for himself and succeeding generations—he additionally “sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same” (Abraham 1:2). He desired greater light and truth, likely inspired by Melchizedek, his ancestor. 

Says, Abraham, “Having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers” (Abraham 1:2). In the process, God tried him with the potential loss of his life (Abraham 1:12, 15–19), his wife (Genesis 12:14–15), and his only begotten son by Sarah (Genesis 22:1–12). ​

To attain godhood as Abraham attained it, therefore (Doctrine & Covenants 132:37), we must “do the works of Abraham” (John 8:39) and “offer [our] whole souls as an offering” to God (Omni 1:26), “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19 emphasis added). Those things also did Jesus: “I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning” (3 Nephi 11:11). ​

Says Peter, “The God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, make you perfect” (1 Peter 5:10 emphasis added). And again, “Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his footsteps” (1 Peter 2:21). As with Jesus, our suffering in His name forms an essential part of our attaining perfection: “If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever will save his life shall lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:23–24).

Indeed, “All who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12) so that it is a measure of our righteousness and a cause for our glory or exaltation: “If we suffer, we will also reign with [him]. But if we deny [him], he will also deny us” (2 Timothy 2:12); “All they who suffer persecution for my name, and endure in faith, though they are called to lay down their lives for my sake yet shall they partake of all this glory” (Doctrine & Covenants 101:35 emphasis added). 

This is the pattern Jesus established: “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26). ​For that reason—in order to attain the same glory—we enter into these things with our eyes open: “We see that Jesus, who in suffering death was made a little lower than the angels, was crowned with glory and honor because through the grace of God he would taste death for every man. For it became him—for whom all things are and by whom all things are—in bringing many sons (and daughters) to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of one, for which reason he isn’t ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrew 2:9–11 emphasis added).

And this, from Alma: “The people of the church began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to set their hearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that they began to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did not believe according to their own will and pleasure (Alma 4:8).

“They were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction. Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God” (Helaman 3:34–35 emphasis added). ​The suffering we incur for Jesus’ sake or for the truth’s sake thus purifies and sanctifies us if we bear it well.

“Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and speak all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12). In other words, it is inevitable that when you follow Jesus in all things you will be persecuted to the degree that people will single you out and speak evil of you, ignore what you teach and treat you with distain, arrogantly think you have nothing to teach them, and fighting against the truth while clinging to popular ideas that have no basis in scripture. You become the divisive one because of your 'radical' teachings and 'too close to home' prophecies.

The highest form of suffering we may endure, on the other hand, is redemptive suffering, suffering because of those who refuse Christ. In this we emulate Christ, who suffered for others’ sake, not His own. Becoming even more so at some point, paying the price for other’s temporal salvation, we fulfil the role of spiritual kings and queens as Nephi did in his day, of whom Jacob said, “unto whom ye look as a king or a protector, and on whom ye depend for safety” (2 Nephi 6:2). That defines the role of saviors on Mount Zion: “Saviors will come up on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau, and the kingdom will be the Lord’s” (Obadiah 1:21). Sons and daughters of Christ also act as saviors by bringing others to Christ.

It is clear that sanctification or becoming Sons and Daughters of God is a promise to those who keep His commandments. "Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day" (3 Nephi 27:20 emphasis added).

Our purification and sanctification will be assured: “The remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer” (Moroni 8:26 emphasis added). God promises us that in the midst of our trials “I will not leave you comfortless—I will come to you” (John 14:18).

"Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment" (Moses 6:58-61 emphasis added).

As you ascend, if you so desire, from just believing in Christ (Jacob/Israel) to actually repenting (Zion/ Jerusalem), to becoming saviors of men (Sons, Daughters/Servants), and beyond, you will experience His grace, His power, His truth, being sanctified and recreated by Him--eternal lives. Your works will be His works, the result of your great faith in Him, not withstanding being persecuted for taking upon you His name.

See two previous posts:

Leave First Principles and Go Unto Perfection

*Sons and Daughters of God

The Experiential Gospel: Introduction

This series The Experiential Gospel is based on some of my experiences with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.* It shares how I have and do experience some of the separate and distinct elements of Christ and His Gospel. To me they are the same, but also different. 

As we consider that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation, and that we are saved by the power of Jesus Christ, it stands to reason that we should experience His power in our salvation and in our exaltation. 

When I was younger I thought that to live the gospel was to keep a set of commandments (go to church, pay tithing, live the Word of Wisdom, attend meetings, be chaste, etc) and by keeping these 'commandments' we 'lived' the gospel. I had never thought of the Gospel as something that we experience, and that through His Gospel we experience beauty, joy, wonder, awe; but also evil, darkness, sadness and sorrow; and so much more. At the same time we experience ourselves, others, our Savior, the Holy Ghost, and our Father.

Think of the scripture: 

"Now, what do we hear in the 

gospel which we have received? 

A voice of gladness! 

A voice of mercy from heaven; 

and a voice of truth 

out of the earth; 

glad tiding...

of great joy" (D&C 128! 

Do we hear the voice of the Lord in His Gospel? In other words what do we experience in the Gospel which we have received? To hear the voice of the Lord is the experience which leads to countless other experiences of the power of God. 

Over the years I have had numerous and distinct experiences, many more than I could have imagined. It is clear to me why Paul said that the Gospel of Jesus Christ "is the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16), and through the Gospel we experience God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost--all that we are capable of receiving and experiencing. This post is the introduction to what I call The Experiential Gospel.

Joseph Smith said, and as you read this, consider the multiple and different experiences enumerated:

"we consider that God 

has created man 

with a ¹mind 

²capable of instruction, 

and ³a faculty which 

⁴may be enlarged 

in proportion ⁵to 

the heed and diligence 

⁶given to the light 

communicated from heaven 

to the ⁷intellect; 

and that the nearer 

man ⁸approaches perfection, 

the ⁹clearer are his views, 

and the ¹⁰greater his enjoyments, 

till he has ¹¹overcome 

the evils of his life 

and ¹²lost every desire for sin; 

and like the ancients, 

arrives at that ¹³point of faith 

where he is ¹⁴wrapped 

in the power and glory 

of his Maker and 

is ¹⁵caught up to dwell 

with Him" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 51).

In this quote are identified several individual experiences which are available to us through our mind, intellect, faculties, views, enjoyments and senses, and also through the means of light, spirit, truth, power and knowledge communicated from heaven. The resulting experiences of having the desire for sin taken away, of increased faith, of being wrapped in the power and glory of our Maker, and of being caught up to dwell with Him, praising God, are very personal experiences with our Father in Heaven.

My experience with the Holy Ghost has been and continues to be as Joseph described:

"The ¹first Comforter 

or Holy Ghost has 

no other effect 

²than pure intelligence. 

It is more powerful 

in ³expanding the mind, 

⁴enlightening the understanding, 

and ⁵storing the intellect 

with ⁶present knowledge, 

of a man who is of 

the literal seed of Abraham, 

than one that is a Gentile, 

though it may not 

have half as much 

⁷visible effect upon the body; 

for as the Holy Ghost 

falls upon one of 

the literal seed of Abraham, 

it is ⁸calm and serene; 

and his ⁹whole soul and body 

are only exercised 

¹⁰by the pure spirit of intelligence.... 

The Spirit of Revelation 

is in connection 

with these blessings. 

A person may profit 

by noticing the 

first intimation of 

the spirit of revelation; 

for instance, when you ¹feel 

pure intelligence 

²flowing into you, 

it may give you 

³sudden strokes of ideas,... 

thus ⁴by learning 

the Spirit of God and 

⁵understanding it, 

you ⁶may grow into 

the ⁷principle of revelation"(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 149).

I have experienced my mind expanding. I have experienced an enlightening of my understanding. My intellect has been stored with present knowledge. I have experienced calm and serene feelings. I have discerned light. My whole soul and body have been exercised by the pure spirit of intelligence. I have heard His voice in His words. I have experienced pure intelligence flowing into me, and the sudden strokes of ideas that follow. I can see more clearly the causes of and the events associated with endtime prophecies. I have experienced my own lost and fallen state. I have experienced my need for an atonement. I have experienced His atonement. 

As these experiences continue, I am beginning to learn the Spirit of God, and the more experiences I have with the Spirit of God, the more I learn the Spirit of God. Notice I did not say learn about the Spirit of God. For me the word of God or the truth of God, has been the vehicle by which I experience the Spirit of God. The word of God is truth, light, spirit, even the spirit of God, and I have through His words, experienced each.

The experiences of the Gospel, by which I mean my experiences of the power of God in the Gospel, or the Spirit of God, are countless. They also change. The experiences can either be enriched or diminished depending on whether we are willing to experience more or less.

For example Alma said "It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not import only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he knows them in full" (Alma 12:9-10 emphasis added).

Often our experiences with what we call 'the gospel' are limited to actively congregating, "keeping the commandments," and religiously performing our ecclestastical duties. The writings of Isaiah, pertinent to our day, commence with his indictment of those who actively attend religious meetings, who multiply sacrifices at the the temple. 

This outward form of worship remained strong among the Jews, as Laman and Lemuel asserted, "We know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people; for they kept the statues and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments" (1 Nephi 17:22). When we limit our gospel experience in this way, we fail to experience the Gospel as the power of God, and instead we deny the power and gifts of God and take strength unto ourselves (Moroni 10).

A simple illustration may help. In a Sunday school class, the teacher asks what is unconditional love? The class members then proceed to answer the question while the teacher makes notes on the board. When completed we have defined unconditional love. But if the teacher were to ask, have you ever experienced unconditional love or have you ever loved unconditionally, the response of the class would be much more limited, but more real. 

It is the same approach and response of far too many lessons. We attempt to define the difference between the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of God, without sharing our experiences or lack of experiences with the Spirit. Unfortunately for many their experiences with the Spirit are limited to what they may have heard others say or teach about the Spirit, or are limited by their lack of understanding of how to experience the Spirit. This is almost always the result of not recognizing that the word of God is the spirit of God. In fact "...the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (D&C 84:45 emphasis added). Instead we settle for sentiment and devotional experiences, calling them the Holy Ghost. I was introduced to Hugh Nibley by a friend who one day showed to me the following quote:

"Jospeh Smith commends their intellectual efforts as a corrective to the Latter-day Saints, who lean too far in the other direction, giving their young people and old awards for zeal alone, zeal without knowledge--for sitting in endless meetings, for dedicated conformity and unlimited capacity for suffering boredom. We think it more commendable to get up at five A.M. to write a bad book than to get up at nine o'clock to write a good one--that is pure zeal that tends to breed a race of insufferable, self-righteous prigs and barren minds. One has only to consider the present outpouring of 'inspirational' books in the Church that bring little new in the way of knowledge: truisms and platitudes, kitsch, and cliches have become our everyday diet" (Zeal Without Knowledge, Approaching Zion, Hugh Nibley).

Why settle for such limited human experiences, when we can experience the power of God in the Gospel which we have received? 

I can point out many experiences identified in scripture. I have even experienced many of them, but I can only share. You must experience for yourself, but you must first be open to new and enlightening experiences (which in itself is a Gospel experience), or in other words, you must desire to receive more (another Gospel experience). This series will explore The Experiential Gospel in the knowledge that when you experience some, you will begin, not only to know that you are experiencing Him, but will actually experience Him, His Father and the Holy Ghost. You will no longer deny the power and gifts of God.

*See Christ's definition of His Gospel

Next: The Experiential Gospel: Learning The Spirit of God

Repentance: Like a Door Upon its Hinges

These posts on Repentance are best read in order beginning with Repentance: Introduction. At the bottom of each post is a link to the next post. This is another postscript on repentance.

"If we go on lusting after the groveling things of this life which perish with the handling we shall surely remain fixed with a very limited amount of knowledge, and like a door upon its hinges, move to and fro from one year to another without any visible advancement or improvement" (Brigham Young).

I am reminded of the story of four lifelong friends, one of whom was terminal. He was wealthy, however, and curious. He proposed to friends, a plan to see if he could take some of his money with him. He told his friends, one a doctor, another a businessman and the third a lawyer, that he would give each of them $250,000 cash to put in his coffin at his viewing, to see if he could take the money with him.

The man died about three months later, and at his viewing each of his friends tucked an envelope, unseen, in the coffin.

Several weeks later the three were at lunch and the doctor said. "I must confess something. In my envelope I put in only $200,000 and kept $50,000," he said sheepishly.

"I'm glad you confessed that," said the businessman, because I only put in $150,000 and kept $100,000."

They both looked at the lawyer, waiting for him to say something. "Don't look at me," he said. "I did exactly as he asked. I wrote out a check for the full $250,000!" 😂😂

But what of our life here? How much of our earthly lives really goes with us into the next life, the eternities? How much of our previous existence did we bring with us? Is our life here, as Brigham said, like a door upon its hinges, swinging to and fro, but going nowhere? 

What can we take with us? I know of only two revelations that address this subject directly, many others indirectly.

The first revelation says:

"Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. 

And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come" (D&C 130:18-19).

This raises a few questions:

1. What is meant by 'principle of intelligence'?

2. What kind of 'knowledge and intelligence'?

3. What will be the advantage?

There are two qualifiers:

1. One must gain this knowledge and intelligence in this life.

2) It must be obtained by our diligence and by our obedience, also in this life.

This assumes there is knowledge and intelligence, that if obtained, will rise with us in the resurrection. But is there an implication that perhaps other types of knowledge may not rise with us in the resurrection? 

The second revelation says:

That "same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world" (Alma 34:34). I would say that that includes gifts of the Spirit that we have been given, including His grace that we have received prior to death.

Other revelations indicate that we also take with us the word of God that is found in us; whatever glory we have received in this life; wisdom, but not the wisdom of men; understanding; charity or the pure love of Christ; the desires of our hearts; and the fruits of our repentance. 

See That Same Spirit.

Before we explore these revelations further, let's look first at what we will not be able to take.

1. Things: like money, cars, phones, computers, clothes, jewelry, glasses, hearing aids, books, collections, family photos, artwork, favorite furniture, Facebook, scriptures, family histories, recipes, glasses, hearing aids, earthly rewards, musical instruments, and no vain things of the world. No AI, internet, no mobile phones, no technology. 

"Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you" (Alma 39:14 emphasis added). 

Even amidst our worldly addictions we may assume the Lord will come through for us, insensible to the fact that His end-time “work” and “plan” are for us to fulfill. If we don’t repent of transgression and come out from the wicked, from the world, our reward is to be hewn down and cast into the fire and have our names blotted out (Alma 5:53–57). Book of Mormon instances of people’s loving the vain things of the world fall in the same category as living in a state of unbelief, setting one’s hearts upon riches, seeking for riches, praise, honor, glory, power, and authority, being lifted up in pride, wearing costly apparel, worshiping idols, being puffed up in greatness, hearts swallowed up in pride, crying to the Lord with the mouth while the heart is far from him, being slow to remember the Lord God, setting at naught his counsels, slow to walk in wisdom’s paths, having no desire that he who created them should rule over them or be their guide, giving Satan great power and letting him lead away the heart (Alma 1:16; 4:8; 5:37, 53; 7:6; 31:27–28; 39:14; 60:32; Helaman 7:21; 12:5–6; 3 Nephi 6:15–16). 

In other words we take with us when we die, the consequences of our choice of either Good or Evil.

2. Skills and expertise: there will be no need for any of the many skills we have spent the most part of our lives learning and developing. For example, there will be no doctors, even heart surgeons; no lawyers; no businessmen and women; no bakers, athletes or politicians; no conference talks or ecclesiastical skills; no scientists, professors or consultants; no bankers, investment or otherwise; no royalty, presidents or dictators; no professional clergy; no rewards for being hard workers, for amassing fortunes or for being famous; no athletic skills, comedians or actors; no real estate agents or brokers; no billionaires, power brokers, legislators, governors, journalists; no artificial intelligence data centers.

On the whole, none of the activities that man does that center around his physical needs, livelihood and devices will be available. We leave behind what has sustained us for this life on earth, all those things and activities that are for this life only. Those things and activities that have taken the bulk of our time here. We can see how these worldly pursuits contract and confine us. 

A friend visited us from Greece several years ago. Something he said really stuck with me. He said, "I have lived a good life, and have no regrets." Which probably found its way into his obituary.

The Pharisee did the same, looking at his clutch of good deeds as being enough to keep him in the game, but for the rest of his life only. They could only justify him during his life here. But that was his error. For the rest of his life here, maybe. But what about for the length and breadth of eternity? 

But "...everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God" (D&C 132:... emphasis added).

Not even praiseworthy human values will go with us because human values are created by humans to make their lives better or to justify their lives here.

I like this from Hugh Nibley: "No one supposes for one moment that in heaven the angels are speculating, that they are building railroads and factories, taking advantage one of another, gathering up the substance there is in heaven to aggrandize themselves, and that they live on the same principle that we are in the habit of doing. . . . No sectarian Christian in the world believes this; they believe that the inhabitants of heaven live as a family, that their faith, interests and pursuits have one end in view—the glory of God and their own salvation, that they may receive more and more. . . . We all believe this, and suppose we go to work and imitate them as far as we can." 

And that 'family' may or may not include members of our immediate family, since each has a right to make his or her own choices about what they will take with them, if anything, except their same spirits.

All the things that are passing away today are the very essence of "the economy," but they will be missing in the herafter. They are already obsolescent; every one of them is make-work of a temporary and artificial nature for which an artificial demand must be created, and upon which we have spent the bulk of our time pursuing while on this earth, and which bind us and capture us. We will not take with us any of the vain things of this world, but we will take with us the treasures of heaven that we have discovered during our journey here, which prepares us to receive more, even all, the Treasures of Heaven. 

These will include, I believe, all the mysteries of science, art, imagination, creativity,  color, dimension, space, intelligence, light, resurection, distance, darkness, words, language, beauty, design, family, immortality, eternal lives, thought, memory, communication, movement, perspective, thinking, glory, and curiosity. 

And there will be teachers* of the Gospel of Christ, and spirits to teach, those which are under the bondage of sin when they die. There will also be teachers for all the Treasures of Heaven, but not teachers of finance, business, medicine, law, or religion.

*Teachers to those "who died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets" (D&C 138:32).

That leaves us with just us, and what we know or don't know. It leaves us with our choices of Good or Evil and the consequences of those choices. Under the bondage of sin here, then under bondage of sin there. Under Grace here, then under Grace there. Same for rebellion, not believing Christ and His words, having hard hearts, etc.

Persons who most increase in intelligence attain the greatest oneness with God. The more they acquire his divine attributes, the more powerful they become with God and with humanity. Jesus’ words, “I seek not my own will but the will of the Father who has sent me” (John 5:30), express his oneness with God as a God—the same oneness with God all may grow into (cf. Isaiah 56:3–5; Matthew 12:50; John 17:19–23; 3 Nephi 11:11). 

The difference between God, angels, and men isn’t so much in appearance as it is in divine power and intelligence. 

You cannot teach what you do not know. You take your ignorance with you! 

I love that we can take with us our hope, and also the amount of His righteousness and love that we have obtained here.

"All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ" (D&C 138:14).

"And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness" (Alma 41:6).

But not restored from sin to happiness.

"For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again" (Alma 41:15).

The Devil has the mastery of the earth: he has corrupted it, and has corrupted the children of men. He has led them in evil until they are almost entirely ruined, and are so far from God that they neither know Him nor His influence, and have almost lost sight of everything that pertains to eternity. This darkness is more prevalent, more dense, among the people of Christendom, including Latter-day Saints, than it is among the heathen. They have lost sight of all that is great and glorious—of all principles that pertain to life eternal. See more.

Are we here to seek knowledge or to seek the credits that will get us ahead in the world? Remember that Christ taught 'they shall have their reward.'

What of the glorious benefits and promises for the gospel given the Saints in these latter days? Can we say of ourselves that "inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed; . . . and inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time" (D&C 1:26, 28)?

The same spirit...

For our lives maybe. Do we approach this life with the attitude that once it's over, we will worry about the next life, if there is one?

Although God gave humanity the freedom to choose Good or Evil in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:16-17), once a person chooses he isn’t free to decide the consequences. So it is with the consequences of what we prepare to take with us. Do we take more intelligence (light and truth--both definitions of His words), or do we take nothing because we have wasted the days of our probation seeking after those things which give no life?

For more on what we become in mortality goes with us into immortality, see Sons and Daughters of God.