Mindful Latter-day Saint Apologetics
Providing thoughtful and faithful responses to criticisms and questions of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
Knowing this can also help us as we share the gospel with our friends and family. Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “We are at war with Satan for the souls of men. The battle lines were drawn in our pre-earth life. Satan and a third of our Father in Heaven’s children turned away from His promises of exaltation. Since that time, the adversary’s minions have been fighting the faithful who choose the Father’s plan.”
All these teachings helps us understand the central truth of the Gospel - Jesus is the Christ by whom we are saved. Salvation comes when we place our initial faith and trust in Him. It comes when we humble ourselves and enter into the waters of baptism for the remission of our sins. This is accomplished when we come to the awareness of our natural state and disposition. Through repentance, we receive the first principle ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The world offers us all the desires and appetites that leave our bellies full and our flesh satisfied. Unfortunately, it is only temporary and we continue to remain hungry and thirsty for more of those things of the world. When we are tempted, it may come in guise of satisfying some desire. We develop an appetite for it. Eventually, it leads us to experience death of our sense of self through Jesus Christ.
Genuine faith stems from genuine humility. Our humility and faith is shaped from those trials we face in our lives. We are richly blessed beyond measure. The challenge is to keep ourselves humble regardless of how blessed we are. I also want to add that humility is the means in which we shore up treasures in heaven and not here on earth (see Matthew 6:19-20). It is not one of many Christian Virtues. It is the root of all Christian virtues. Humility is the root of genuine faith in God.
The message and hope is found in the Book of Lamentations written by the Prophet Jeremiah. There is not going to be a complete or understandable explanation for what we are most likely going to endure in the next few months. Maybe within the next few years. We already are seeing the silencing of certain voices, censorship on an unparalleled scale. We will be standing as witnesses to greater human suffering and sorrow that past generations may not have ever seen. Many Christians are appearing to be blindly led toward false hopes and securities with the claims that Christ's coming is on the threshold of human history.
Faith teaches us to act in a manner to which we believe God will help us, strengthen us, and give unto us what we need to withstand the storms in our lives. Scripture is firm on the nature of our faith as it relates to God. Christ constantly chastised the disciples - O ye of little faith. Christ commented on the simplest acts of faith - I have not seen such great faith. Faith even may bring healing into our own lives - Thy faith has made thee whole. Each time Christ ministered to those individuals it is because they had sought him out.
My profession of faith was more of an outwardly expression of how I wanted to be seen and thought of. It was not until realizing that the inside of me was still full of filth and grime. What needs to happen is that the cup needs to go through the process of cleansing before it is able to be filled and used. This takes faith and patience because of Christ's infinite atonement. We may be redeemed and justified before God. However, our work begins by cleansing ourselves of ungodliness. We endure. As our faith increases, so does our ability to become resilient. Spiritual maturation does not happen overnight. It takes work. It takes obedience.
Today, we do well to focus on the teachings of our Heavenly Father. Work to walk in faithful obedience to His divine and righteous council. Stand firm on the truth of His personal revelation and will for our lives. Sit with those who are working out their faith with fear and trembling and fighting the good fight (See, Philippians 2:12 and 1 Timothy 6:12, KJV).
James spends a few verses teaching us how Genuine faith produces authentic religious piety. He begins by sharing with us how we are to listen and be slow to wrath. He instructs that we are to set aside the disposition of the natural man and replace it with the righteousness of Christ through the message of the Gospel. Third, he teaches that we are to become workers of righteousness and love. James also reflects the importance of bridling our tongue so that we do not defile ourselves. And finally he instructs that our purpose is to visit those who are marginalized and care for their needs.
We come to accept the good, the bad, the ugly, and the indifference of our own sense of being. There is a stark contrast between love and hate. Either we love ourselves, love others, and have a love for life; or, we hate ourselves, hate others, and hate our lives. Love and hate are polar opposites. Where there is genuine love hate has no room to grow. Where there is hate there is no real genuine love. This is true with genuine and mindful forgiveness.
The ability to mindfully and critically read information is to objectively learn new ideas and concepts. To accurately take notes is to translate what you have gained insight on and share that with others. What you do not want to do is to develop content that is merely copy-and-paste of other peoples writings. This is only done when you are quoting from another person.
The greatest desire is for us to attain a high level of masculinity that is influential, impacting, and inspiring. By becoming a man of influence we are cultivating a true attribute of Christ-like integrity. This significant attribute provides a means by which we are able to influence our family, workplace, and community at large.
One of the key observations that link mindfulness, meditation, and happiness is this: The ability to regulate and manage our emotions. It is one of the mainstay recommendations and truths I share with my patients when sitting in counsel with them. We either are learning how our emotions work so that we are adequate in managing them. Or, we are giving ourselves permissibly over to our emotions so that they manage us and our lives.
True repentance, living the Gospel of Christ, experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit, and being transformed into Christ's image and likeness is a process we all experience in this life. In order for this to occur, we are asked to do three powerful things.
Time management is fluid and flexible and is not a cookie-cutter strategy. The challenge is to find the one system that is going to work for you in the long run.
We are our own self-critic and judge. Therefore, this week's writing challenge is to focus on delving into ways an individual may begin to exercise a daily discipline of self care where they show kindness and compassion. Break free from the inner critic that plagues our thoughts and creates barriers to personal and spiritual growth. By focusing on how one is able to show kindness toward self is key to how we operate out of a sense of worth and power.
We stand a little taller against the growing wave of immorality. We stand a little taller in the spirit of truth and light that is Jesus Christ. We stand with bold and resilient faith and courage to be the light by which those truly seeking refuge and sanctuary are able to come into the fold of God's kingdom. Each one of us, through our faith and commitment to the Gospel Principles established, are able to speak wisdom into those with broken hearts. We are called to serve and minister to those in need. Just as Christ served and ministered to the lowly and broken.
Consistent and effective mindful writing means we are dedicating ourselves to express our ideas, beliefs, values, and understanding to our audience. How we accomplish this depends on our level of motivation and commitment toward our love to write. Without consistency, we may continue to struggle with our ability to adequately express our thoughts. Writing quality and thought provoking content occurs when we take the time to follow through with our consistent efforts in writing daily.
Along with the rise in housing cost, the lack in affordable housing, there is also the increase in the lacking of gainful employment. Even in the City of Seattle, a person working full time (approximately 30 hours per week) at 15.00 per hour may not be able to afford the "necessities" earlier referenced. Additionally, factor in the cost of health care (including the Affordable Care Act), health premiums and insurance rates have dramatically increased.
This is the second weekly round up regarding some writing, and blogging, that I have done at my various websites. From daily devotions, entering into a first every short story contest, to working on two WIP's for publication, and even producing some apologetic articles on religion.
Developing the right type of attitude will determine whether or not the reader will understand the message. This fits within our clear understanding and purpose of writing. As writing is a passionate form of communication and expression. If our writing is vague, lacking any supportive evidence, or poorly constructed, then the attitude may come across as being lazy and slothful. If our writing comes across with strong language that is vitriolic we may risk causing our readers to be offended and even communicate defensively (think about some of the social media commentary going on regarding particular hot topic content). It is our disciplined goal to be objective, while remaining passionate, regarding particular subjects.
As we see, the nature of sexual integrity and teaching of the law of chastity - especially among young people - is quite paramount to the foundation of Christian faith. It is not so much a teaching of oppressing someone. It is not a damaging mindset as the writer of ex-mormon blog insinuates. Neither is this based on fairy tales related to realizing a sense of authentic happiness. Sexual integrity and the teachings of the law of chastity has significant foundation in developing a resilient and healthy lifestyle. One that avoids giving into sexual temptation.
Focusing on the person that matters the most - ourselves - we free ourselves from the fears and doubts that inhibit our creativity.
Cares attempts to question the April 2017 First Presidency Message by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. This message titled - The Just Shall Live by Faith. In such an attempt to bring into question the heart and spirit of the message Uchtdorf provided: Cares sidesteps and makes false accusations and conclusions. In other words - Mark Cares article is just another example of how modern Evangelical Christians attempt to twist messages and scriptures in order to "Witness" to Mormons and bring them unto Christ.
The aim of living in recovery is to deepen our transformation and help us become more like Jesus Christ. For this reason, when we engage in recovery, we’re not just looking for new information; we want to become a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This means relying on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to help us change our hearts, our views, our actions, and our very natures.
Understanding the Godhead according to the LDS Church There is a Facebook Ad promoting a new book published by Truth in Love Ministries. It is entitled Crossing the Chasm: Helping Mormons Discovery the Bridge to God by Mark Cares (Founder of Truth in Love Ministries) and Jon Leach. Out of curiosity - I purchased and… Continue reading In Conversation – Trinity or Godhead
It is through our faith in Jesus Christ that we are able to speak as one having authority. To call all men unto repentance. To forgive those who have trespassed against us. To preach with authority against the many seeds of doubt and fear. Our very words are impeccable where it brings light of hope, love, and truth within the darkest regions of the human heart. It beckons us to be a light unto the world.
Many times, in the course of online discussions, it may become natural to forget the other person is an individual. Specifically when we are engaged in online discussions. By being mindful of the other person - we are being understanding of their own uniqueness, fears, hopes, particular problems they are bringing to us concerning some of the teachings and doctrines. Through our example of mindfulness, we hope to build trust in order to enrich and deepen the conversation to a more personal level of discussion.
James spends a few verses teaching us how Genuine faith produces authentic religious piety. He begins by sharing with us how we are to listen and be slow to wrath. He instructs that we are to set aside the disposition of the natural man and replace it with the righteousness of Christ through the message of the Gospel. Third, he teaches that we are to become workers of righteousness and love. James also reflects the importance of bridling our tongue so that we do not defile ourselves. And finally he instructs that our purpose is to visit those who are marginalized and care for their needs.
James appears to sum up all the truths of scripture with verses 16-18. These verses focuses on the Divine love and Knowledge of God's Sovereign Grace and how it is bestowed upon us. Christ is the good gift that has been brought forth from Heaven. Through Christ, we are brought into a new way of living. It is through our Heavenly Father's loving kindness and mercy that we experience a spiritual awakening and rebirth.
Mindful Latter-day Saint Apologetics 
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