Pathway Experiences

For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. Moroni 7:6 I am a big fan of managing one's self and it is necessary to understand the ways we are compelled to do things or that we compel ourselves to do things. Our very nature is in our hands to improve with our own choices and that includes the choice to pray and trust in God in order to gain power over whatever we are not independently strong enough for.  If one things with this saying of God, it should stir the desire to have real intent to love and serve God.  So God gives us the understanding and the tools to develop the desire and attitude to serve him, and let's us use those tools according to our own choice and agency.

Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude; But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink. 3 Nephi 20:6,7 The Lord considered the people valuable, and so he considered their having experiences like unto the people in Israel valuable too.  He did things for them the same, even if it was a bit condensed.  He also did or said a bit more, for their was faith enough among them.

And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles. Mormon 9:10 In today's world there are many churches and many varying beliefs.  We cannot address these differences by going to them all and condemning their ways, while declaring our ways to be right, even though we know that Jesus Christ himself stands at the head of our church and that he instituted our church for the salvation of all mankind.  With this in mind, we may observe that the main inconsistency both in the church and among the other churches is that we either act or make evident as though we have varying or inconsistent belief in God.  It is thus our belief in a God of miracles that varies, not the God himself that varies. Scientifically, the idea that there are absolute principles and rules that govern the world is a general assumption. Some of naive suppose that...

Even if you exercise your strongest faith, God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. Rather, God will respond with what in His eternal plan is best for you. He loves you to a depth and completeness you cannot conceive of in your mortal state. Indeed, were you to know His entire plan, you would never ask for that which is contrary to it even though your feelings tempt you to do so. Sincere faith gives understanding and strength to accept the will of our Heavenly Father when it differs from our own. We can accept His will with peace and assurance, confident that His infinite wisdom surpasses our own ability to comprehend fully His plan as it unfolds a piece at a time. Richard G. Scott,   The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing , April 2003 General Conference Truly greater faith is faith that does not fail when you see no immediate results, and that endures while inspiring obedience.  One cannot perform miracles excep...

To me the idea that multiplication and exponents are actually shorthand for serialized addition, etc.  This week's instructor mentioned something I never realized before.  The fundamental reason for the order of operations starting with exponents and ending with addition and subtraction is that it is exponents and multiplication/division are levels of shorthand ! Exponents are shorthand for multiplication/division and multiplication/division is shorthand for addition/subtraction.  This along with the carry over operations of each digit in an arithmetic operation may be the key to my success in creating my own infinite, multi-base calculator for use in my shell that I am creating.  If I create a calculator that can operate to virtually any number of digits, both high and low via a simple shell option and a digits precision variable, then I may produce better results script calculations and operations.  Eventually, if I can compile these shell script operations ...

While many governments and well-meaning individuals have redefined marriage, the Lord has not. In the very beginning, God initiated marriage between a man and a woman—Adam and Eve. He designated the purposes of marriage to go far beyond the personal satisfaction and fulfillment of adults to, more importantly, advancing the ideal setting for children to be born, reared, and nurtured. Families are the treasure of heaven. Elder Neil L. Anderson, Spiritual Whirlwinds The quote and meaning is direct and is my own message as surely as can be said, but I think in different terms and have a different chaos that swells in me.  My mind was extremely focused and performing well, when I was a missionary and immediately after.  This is true, but it is also true that my mind was on a path that terminates eventually.  I was in a gradual decent toward doing what my mortal body could not, and thus failing, in terms of what I saw and what I was determined to do.  My perception wa...

President Boyd K. Packer's "I Will Remember Your Sins No More," Ensign, May 2006 referenced the following: Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy Doctrine and Covenants 121:43 Alma taught his sons, but he especially reproved and instructed Corianton, who was responsible for a most grievous sin. In order to call others to repentance, we must be an example of righteousness, therefore Alma called Corianton to repentance so that his example could lead others to repent. Following his reproof, Alma expressed love to Corianton, answered his questions, and proceeded to teach the people to repent. We, being carnal in the nature of the body, require a kind of spiritual interface in order to see the truth when it is made plain before us. This includes all spiritual things, such as the spiritual gifts of unders...