The Mercy Seat

MERCY IS FEMININE - JUSTICE IS MASCULINE

When Christ finished His Atonement and gave up the ghost on the cross, the veil was rent (Luke 23:45). The veil was rent, and access granted to what lie behind it, by the work of a man. The veil is owned and operated by the Divine Masculine. Behind the veil was the Mercy Seat, the golden covering of the Ark of the Covenant, in a room called the Holy of Holies. (Exodus 26:33,34)

The veil, or, the dark side of justice, behind which we stood prior to Christ, kept us from accessing God. Our bodies are temples (1 Corinthians 6:19; John 2:21), and the veil surrounding the Holy of Holies shielded God's most sacred parts. Our veil keeps us from “knowing” God. Prior to Christ, the children of God had no way of re-entering God's presence. After Jesus - born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth - came to fulfill the role of the Divine Feminine , Justice (male) was satisfied by Mercy (female), and access to Mercy - through the veil - was granted. Before Christ, none could return home to the presence of God. Justice kept the veil over Mercy until He was satisfied. When Christ satisfied Justice, the veil over woman, the holiest and pinnacle of God's creations, was rent. Mercy is now accessible. God's children may now return home, to heaven, to Mercy, to the Divine Feminine. 

Now, access to Mercy is granted on the conditions of our repentance. We must have a 'broken heart' and a 'contrite' spirit. This is how men often approach women. These conditions smack of a husband who has given offense, has been kicked out of the house, and now must come crawling back to woman in order to reenter his home. The conditions of repentance, which allow us to crawl back into the presence of God, make our Heavenly Home sound feminine and our journey back masculine. 

In the Old Testament temple, the Mercy Seat was shut up and confined to the Holy of Holies; it sat behind a veil. In a world of malevolence and murder, that which is Holy must be shut up so as to be protected. This is the world in which we live, so the Divine Feminine is silenced; behind the veil she neither speaks nor is seen. This is not to her detriment, but to ours. Because of Christ, the repentant may have access to Her light and warmth and homeliness once again. The faithful - those who consecrate their time and talents - will be taken through the veil. The most faithful cannot be kept without (Ether 12:21). The Bridegroom will unveil the faithful, and they shall see God as God is - naked, vulnerable - and a “knowing” will take place. But, to the unrepentant, the beautiful, feminine side of their heavenly home will never be known or seen forevermore. The face of God is man. He is the Head, and by His choice & strength we are placed behind the veil; and by that same strength is the veil parted. He is the owner and operator of the veil - behind it is what we want: the fulfillment of all our needs, nourishment, living waters, the Divine Feminine.

The Holy of Holies was just one room in all the earth. To the unfaithful children of Israel, it may have looked like a dead end. 

“All this work, all this way,” they may have said, “and all it is, is a pretty, gold box in a 5’X5’ room, surrounded by a veil.” One can dismiss it as a waste of time. But, this little room is like a trap door. Through it, on the other side, a whole new world opens up. 

These light cones, an image created by Einstein in his space-time theory of relativity, help me to understand this concept better (God is light, after all, and this is how light behaves in time). The past light cone (the one on the bottom, pointing up) appears to be a dead end. Let's call point where it does dead end the Holy of Holies. This little 5’X5’ room would be a dead end, if God didn’t meet us there (Exodus 25:22; Leviticus 16:2; Numbers 7:89). The future light cone (the one on the top, pointing down) appears to never end. It’s expanse ever-widens, eternally increasing in height and width and breadth.  

Viewed from above, in increments of time, it’s growth occurs in ever-expanding circles, just like a tree.

Finding our way into a place where we can commune with God - finding our own Holy of Holies - marks the beginning of our spiritual growth. The seed of our “tree of life” is planted when the soil of our hearts becomes broken-up & contrite, like roto-tilled earth. 

Walking into this little, confined room in our hearts will feel a lot like dying. It will feel like our hearts are being roto-tilled. Our Holy of Holies is a place of total submission, which can rightfully be called death - the death of our will, our flesh, taken up and hung on a cross, like Christ (Mark 8:3). However, it is also a place which can rightfully be called life. It would be a place exclusively of death, if God did not meet us there. But, He does; every time. Here is where He saves us. This is the room of our salvation. As we visit and revisit this little room, which the unfaithful refer to as “captivity”, we are privileged to see through the veil our spiritual trees, or, our eternal lives, growing; progressing endlessly. The unfaithful cannot see these trees. They do not know because they still wear the veil. All they can see is a dead end.

This little room in our hearts is a dead end - in it, our will dies and our self-salvation ends. In this room is an alter on which we sacrifice. In the same way as the ancient priests, and for the same purpose, we sprinkle blood on it, seven times - or, until we are whole (Leviticus 16:9). All things are unto the typifying of Christ (2 Nephi 11:4). Do they typify more? Does all the symbolism of the Old Testament tell us what God will do for us, so that we may get past Christ, our judge, and enter heaven? Or does it tell us what we must do so that we may get past Christ, our judge, and enter heaven? The answer is both, for in every relationship, there is give-and-take. He first loves us (1 John 4:19), then we, like women, mirror Him. We must sprinkle our own blood (the sacrifice of our will) on the alter in our own Holy of Holies, that place of complete submission. Our sacrifice alone does not make this place holy. It is made Holy by God’s visitation. This place is our rock bottom. It is the place to which we naturally sink in this upside down world, as we think and move according to the dictates of the Whirlpool. At the bottom, we discover a Rock. Below us, a rock; above us, a hard place - an impossible swim. That Rock will forever be our Salvation, though, until we recognize that, it will simply be the rock which grinds upon our faces, the prick against which we bruise our heels. But, once we cleave the Rock, fresh, never-ending, living waters gush forth, and we, freshly reborn, want only to nurse therefrom (1 Corinthians 10:4, Deuteronomy 32:13, 2 Samuel 22:47). We are truly saved by Grace, by choice. Not everyone hits rock bottom, or rather, not everyone who hits rock bottom "claves" the Rock (Isaiah 48:21). 

Our choice to come to this place is rewarded with life. God, whose name is Eternal, visits us here in the depth of our humility. In this place made sacred, He reveals Himself to us so that we may know Him. This is Life Eternal (John 17:3). This is where life with Eternal forms. Over time, we learn to like the taste of humility, or at least the after-taste :) This little room becomes our favorite room, our living room. This place is the source of all sustainable happiness, defined as “joy”. At Rock bottom, we begin to grow, from the inside-out, just like a tree; and, we continue to grow as we stay tapped into that Divine Feminine source of nourishment, from which we get our strength (John 15:5), embodied by Christ. Note that Christ said He is the vine (feminine), while His Father is the Husbandman (John 15:1); and what does a husbandman do but till soil and heap dung upon it, covering the seed beneath a veil of darkness?

When Christ, the substance of the Divine Masculine and the meaning of the Divine Feminine, satisfied the demands of justice, the veil protecting the Mercy Seat was rent. This symbolized access being granted to the children of God who might now return home to the presence of God. Justice, being now satisfied, can "show" mercy. God's body - that Great and Sexy I AM - can be disrobed through Christ. We can "know" Him, seeing Him as He is, and receive Eternal Life on Judgment Day, our wedding night.

So, why does the gospel of Jesus Christ sometimes sound like God is the man and we are the woman? and yet I am trying to make it sound like God is the woman and we are the man? Remember, our journey forms one eternal round, and currently, we are behind a veil, and upside down.

There are two perspectives - one behind and one outside of the veil.

So, we have one perspective, which is true; and our Divine, Gendered-God has another, which is also true. God can speak as both and be truthful, because He speaks to our language and understanding, which happens to be about as far away from Him right now as possible. 

Separated from God and behind a veil, we see very clearly the perspective of the yin-yang, which is that man is good and light, and women are evil and dark. 

We see women wearing veils all throughout the world. We see women undervalued & oppressed, minimized and commercialized. That is one use of the symbol of the veil. There is another. The veil o'er the earth is beginning to burst, and the more we see through it, the more we see that God's perspective is quite precisely the inverse of our own.

Mercifully, there is hope for women who are the embodiment of mercy itself, who stand behind the veil as God's most cherished resources. Woman's divine nature is the embryonic substance of the light of the universe. From a complete perspective, femininity is no more confined by veils than are stars by darkness.

The Campfire Effect

I had a chemistry teacher who used to be bugged when his wife, while they were laying in bed, would say, "your feet are cold." He would reply, "there's no such thing as cold; cold is merely an absence of heat." He would prefer her to say something like, "my feet are much warmer than yours, and the heat-loss transfer from mine to yours isn't pleasing me; so, would you please place your feet further away, so that my feet can retain their heat?"

There is no such thing as cold; what we call cold is a measurement of an absence of heat.

There is really no such thing as darkness either; what we call darkness is a measurement of an absence of light.

Both light and warmth are a result of Work. Entropy is the word for the measurement of an absence of work in the universe. Entropy "tends to a maximum" which means that without the input of work, the universe tends to fall apart. 1

God lost His children, so that He might gain them back again, with meaning. He, who is Light, planted us, children of Light, in His absence - a void: dark, cold, and lonely - to nurture the light within us. This nurturing is His work and His glory. 2 In this lone and dreary world, we are drawn to His light and warmth by our great needs. "I am a child of God and so my needs are great." His children flow unto His campfire without compulsory means. 3

The kingdom of the devil does not exist; it is a measurement of the absence of the kingdom of God. If we call the kingdom of God a tooth, the "kingdom" of the devil is a cavity. It provides teeth meaning by reminding us that teeth are important. Ain't that the tooth? Our tenure here on earth is important - it teaches us God's meaning, by showing us what He is not.

Spiritually speaking, God is sitting in the sky like the sun - a big ball of glowing light and warmth.  We need to rise up, and gather around Him, in order to gain light and warmth for ourselves. We need Him.

Those who do their Best rise up and are "gathered." 

Why do people "gather" around a campfire? And, the bigger question: when they do, why is it so magical? It does something special for each person. It does something special for the collective - it connects them together and releases them individually; it releases them to think and be, freely; which then induces sharing which is authentic and free. A campfire is a circle of light and warmth for dark and cold surroundings. The Gathering around a campfire is the physical satisfaction of a greater, spiritual need.

-------------------------

1 Wikipedia "The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics"

2 Moses 1:39

3 D&C 121:46

Shit-eating Relativists

There is a line drawn.  It separates good from evil.

This line is known as The Law.  We are expected to keep The Law.  To God, however, The Law is welded in One.  He is the face of both Good and Evil, using evil to grow us into His what He has designed us to become.

(Use the word "utilize" rather than wield)

...giving deeper meaning to the phrase, "eat shit and die."

Compulsion is a Lie

The idea of compulsion is a lie.  

Choice never leaves us.  It is us.  It is only because so many of us like the idea of being Choiceless that oppression is so dominant here on earth.  Our tendency to blame perpetuates the oppressive master/slave condition here.  If we were perfect people, we would rather die than feel compelled.  It's true that our body can be compelled, but our body is nothing.  Jesus Christ exemplified this dignity perfectly when he allowed his body to be crucified while refusing to deny that He was the Messiah.  Dignity prevents oppression from being sustainable.

The War on Observation

Observation is considered by some to be the highest form of intelligence 1, and by others to be hateful and intolerant.  The latter are correct about one of those: observation is intolerant.

Observation simply notes what is.  It doesn't tolerate what isn't.

Yet, in all of its anesthetized inculpability, there are some who still feel molested by its function. 

As examples, the observation that life-long, sexual unions between same-gendered adults and life-long, sexual unions between opposite gendered adults perform different functions in society is being reported as hateful; and the observation that women and men are different is condemned as sexist.

So, why is it that observation gets some people all riled up?  

This occurs when what is wants to hide.

Before an observation can be made, light must be shed on the subject.  Nothing is observable in utter darkness.  The light reveals things as they are.  

Those who love light, therefore, are able to observe because they abide in the light.  While those who hate the light are never able to distinguish observable realities from moralistic judgments because they avoid the light.

The root, where the division occurs between those who love light and those who dislike it, is the principle of agency.  I define "agency" as the ability to choose for one's self.  When I accept 100% responsibility for all of my choices, I declare "I AM", and become connected to reality.  I see myself, and my place among real things, clearly.  When I reject personal accountability to any degree, I declare "I AM NOT", and become disconnected from reality.  I cannot see my real self, or my place among real things, clearly.  I am in an illusion.

Some people don't want to be known as they are.  They resent the light because it spoils their dreams.  They are dreaming, and their illusions are sometimes sweet to them.  Has anyone ever turned a light on in a room full of sleeping people and experienced gratitude in return?  On the day when every knee bows and confesses Christ, it is silly to presume that people will convert 2; instead, they will be angry; and, in mercy, Christ will turn the lights back off, and let everyone go back to sleep. 

Here's a helpful diagram.
 
Illusions cannot be indulged as comfortably in the light, nor pretense performed as convincingly.

The inability to observe in injurious.  It keeps one from knowing things as they really are.  More serious than that, it keeps us from knowing our place in the real world.  Those "living the dream" suffer an identity crisis of infinite proportions.  Equally injurious to  people who fight observation is their subsequent inability to make use of observations in creating value judgments.  Value judgments differ from moralistic judgments, in that they do not label as good or bad.  Value judgments assess liklihood based on data.  For example, "if I bake my cookies at 550 for 30 minutes, they'll burn" is a value judgment; it does not say it is wrong or bad to bake cookies this way.  "Wickedness never was happiness" is a similar type of judgment.  God only ever makes value judgments.  This is observable to anyone who is able to observe, and who has an understanding of The Law.

Without using data in analytics or assessments, it becomes extremely difficult to arrive at true conclusions.  I would say it is impossible, but there is still the possibility of chance; though, even if arrived at by chance, the student would, in all cases, be unable to recognize, let alone appreciate, that truth.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 Marshall Rosenberg quoting J. Krishnamurti in Nonviolent Communication: a language of life. 2003. PuddleDancer Press, 2nd edition. pgs. 26-36
2 "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." - Philippians 2:9-11

Comparing the story of the Children of Israel with Mankind's One Great Story

Like the ring on a table left from a sweating glass, soaked up by a paper towel, our eternal journey soaks through this veil of forgetfulness, showing up in all religions, myths, and stories around the globe.  Most stories bear testimony of mankind's One Great Story, the journey we are all actually on.  But one story, perhaps more than any other, parallels our eternal journey most accurately.  It is the story of the Children of Israel.  

THE FALL
Children of Israel
Abraham is chosen in Israel.  Then, he goes to Egypt and immediately, his posterity is enslaved for 500 years.  Jesus said to forgive 7 X 70 = 490.  There might be greater significance to this number, but, at the very least, I think the number of years Israel spent in bondage is to communicate that they were hopelessly in bondage; in much the same way 7 X 70 communicates that there is always hope of forgiveness.

One Great Story
In heaven, we were chosen.  Then, we came to earth.  Here, on earth, we are enslaved by the chains of Satan.  We are prisoners, spiritually, and all must die physically.  We CANNOT escape the grasp of Satan, or death, on our own.

THE ESCAPE
Children of Israel
Pharaoh ruled with a strong hand.  He owned all the soldiers, food, and weapons.  He had all the power.  Then Jesus Christ made bare His Holy arm.  He armed Moses with staff.  He sent plagues to overpower Pharaoh.  The children of Israel contributed nothing to their escape.  The gates of Egypt were opened by God Himself.

One Great Story
Having left a perfect place and been given Choice, our only pathway home was to make perfect choices because imperfect people can't be in perfect places without making that place imperfect.  This created a Predicament.  There was no going home.  Then, Jesus Christ suffered for everyone's bad choices, making escape from this hell-hole possible.  The gates are open.

THE EXODUS
Children of Israel
They walk out of Egypt into the lone and dreary wilderness.  They know they are going to a promised land - a land of their inheritance, but they do not know how they will get there.  They will follow God.

One Great Story
The gates are open.  Now, we must walk.  In this lone and dreary world, it is easy to want to find a hole to crawl in, anesthetize with whatever endorphin or drug we can imbibe, and wait for it to all to end.  But, we have an inheritance waiting, and to get there, we must walk.  We do not see the path ahead, but we trust God.  He will light the path before us as we walk in faith.  

THE RED SEA
Children of Israel
After they were freed by God, single-handedly, and escaped enslavement, they came to place they could not possibly pass.  In as certain a fashion as they could not escape Egypt, once again they found themselves up against an impossible task.  Pharaoh and his chariots, regretting their loss, approached them on their rear.  

One Great Story
The Atonement is wrought.  We are freed.  Still, we run up against tribulations which are over our head.  Addiction.  Abuse.  Illness.  Handicaps.  Enslavement.  Death.  Though free to walk the pathway home to heaven, we cannot make the climb.  Again and again we stumble, until we STOP...at rock bottom...and can go no further.

THE PARTING
Children of Israel
God parted the Red Sea.  The Children of Israel walked across the bottom of the sea, on dry ground.  After they were safely on the other side, God caused the waters to fall on the chariots of Pharaoh which had faithfully gone in after them.

One Great Story
God opens a way.  No matter what we've suffered in the past or what obstacle stands before us, the Great God of Heaven will clear a path for us to walk through it on dry ground.  He did not fail the Children of Israel in that frightful hour, and He will not fail us.  He has never failed me.  There is none so True and Faithful, and Might to Save.

THE WAY HOME
Children of Israel
Numerous are the recorded stories of God's dealings with the Children of Israel while wandering in the wilderness - each worthy of its own blog post.  Each is a sign for what we must do to complete our journey, and make it back home to heaven.  In no particular order (because I don't know the exact order), here are a few:

They are dead thirsty, and God makes water flow from a rock. --> Blessed are they that thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.  Jesus Christ is the living waters; those who drink from His well shall never thirst.

They are fed manna daily which falls effortlessly from Heaven.  This manna meets all of their bodily needs; they are supplied sufficiently. -->  Blessed are they that hunger after righteousness, for they shall be filled.  Jesus Christ is the bread of life; those who eat this bread shall never hunger.  What this hungering and thirsting means to me is that whenever I have a need - whether mental, emotional, spiritual, or even physical - I look to God to meet it.  Literally.  Every day.  I also look to Him for answers, validation, empathy, healing, and direction.  Seeking my worth, my safety, and my knowledge from God Himself constitutes my second birth.  

They are bit by poisonous, deadly serpents and face imminent death.  God tells Moses to make a brass snake and hoist in on a pole for all of Israel to come see.  Those who look upon this brass serpent live.  Those who do not look, die. -->  In the same way that refusing to eat food or drink water kills the body, refusing to look to God for salvation likewise results in death.  This isn't the first time we've needed God - remember the Red Sea?

They are given commandments by which to live.  Those who keep the commandments dwell safely with the people.  Those who break the more serious commandments are taken without the walls of the camp and stoned. -->  The spiritual Law(s) of God constitute our walls of safety.  Within the bounds the Lord has set, we are free and safe by His protection.  Outside of The Law, there is no protection and thus, imminent death.  For example, if God says, "be faithful to and love your spouse," then those who do this are not subject to the death of their family or the heartache, disease and drama of infidelity. If God says, "don't do illicit drugs," then those who refrain from doing drugs avoid the health, social, and legal problems attendant to illicit drug use. If God says, "jump", those who jump won't be swept away; if He says, "duck", those who duck won't have their heads chopped off, and so on.

They are given a temple where they sacrifice their physical goods to please God, and they make covenants with Him. --> Because our relationship with God is just that, a relationship, it, like all relationships, is two-way.  The sacrifices we make today are donations of our time, talents, and possessions.  These show God that we are in this relationship with Him for real.  Not for fake-pretend, but for really-reals.  God can be pleased and displeased. We still make covenants with him, like baptism.

A generation passed away before entering the promised land. --> Our journey home to heaven takes a lifetime.

There are more.

It feels like wandering, but those who Follow the Light are actually being led.

ENTERING THE PROMISED LAND
Children of Israel
Since their escape from the bondage of Egypt, up until the time of their entrance into their promised land, there is a theme which persists throughout the story of the Children of Israel.  It is that they could not do it on their own.  Though they were required to walk and fight, that is all they were required to do.  God freed them. God parted the Red Sea.  God fed them daily for a lifetime.  God gave them water to drink. God healed them from sickness.  God saved them from certain death.  And then, after all that, they were afraid to claim their prize, nor could they do it.  Once again, the hand of God must do it.  God strengthens them in war to claim victory over those who would prevent them from entering.  And there, they lived happily ever after........ or would have, had they seen the spiritual realities behind their recent, temporal odyssey.  

One Great Story
From the moment we left our pre-mortal home with God, we were lost, forsaken, forgotten, blind, dead.  This was purposeful: to open our eyes.  Still, we remain that way, unless we look to God in all things.  The gates of death and hell are open.  We can exit.  It won't be a short jaunt to the celestial kingdom.  It won't be easy.  It will feel like wandering, and all throughout our mortal journey, or rather, throughout these mortal conditions of our eternal journey, it will feel like we encounter death, over and over again.  Even unto the end, when we face the illusion of death, it is clear that we must rely on God to save us.  We can't resurrect ourselves!  Neither can we live without Him now!

-----------------------------------------

Here is why the yin-yang symbol is the perfect visual for our One Great Journey.

Of What Use is Unbridled Power?

God' commandments increasingly restrict with purpose.

God's commandments teach the skill of bridling. Bridling circumscribes power, giving it bounds, containing it.  Of what use is unbridled power?  To destroy.

I know this earthly experience seems to be ruled by destruction.  But does destruction reign in the universe? The universe is ordered and destruction reigns only behind this earth's veil, for a brief period of time, with a very critical purpose? 1

Do we want destruction reigning? Let us thank God for enslaving destructive souls!

In the eternal, spiritual world, we can bridle, or be bridled.  The Choice is ours. 2

The power of righteousness is to build.

The power of sin is to destroy.

Both are required for existence. 

Life, in the scriptural sense, refers to building.

Death, in the scriptural sense, refers to destruction.

At the end of earth's story, the unrepentant will become slaves

the way a nuclear reaction is harnessed by metal and concrete

coverings, and the hands which act upon them. 3

* if anyone discovers a use other than destruction for unbridled power, please let me know.

---------------------------------------------------------------

1 John 16:21,22 (more about likening this earthly experience unto a woman in labor here); and Isaiah 54:7

2 "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man.  And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil." - 2 Nephi 2:27

3 "There is a God, and He hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon." 2 Nepi 2:14

The Plans of Happiness info graphic

TEASER

 

  FULL

-------------------------------------------

"Denial of Self results in illusions, while correction of the error brings release from it."  - A Course in Miracles. 1,VII,1-6.

Sustainability

Everyone wants sustainability.  The opposite of sustainability is deterioration or death.  Sustainability, therefore, is the perpetuation of life, so of course everyone wants it.  But, the desire for something and the knowledge of how to obtain it do not always emerge simultaneously.  In building our strategies for sustainability, I believe it would be helpful to understand its origin.

The origin of sustainability is The Law.  The Law of which I speak might be referred to by religions as “God’s Law” or by philosophers as “natural law”.  You may notice it in the rules of Math, and through the discoveries of science.  Whatever you call it, it is what dictates the outcome of all action.  The Law is a set of rules, an “if/then” sequence which cuts through the void, establishing things as good or evil.  The Law divides the light from the dark, positive from negative, yin from yang.  The Law brings order to our existence.  The Law is the axiom from which all of life and creation follow logically. 

Our universe is orderly.  Consider the planets and their rotation, the regularity with which the sun sets and rises, and all the laws of physics.  Consider our bodies and the predictability of their functions.  Predictability is a bi-product of The Law.  Just as it does with our bodies, The Law likewise determines our spiritual and social health.  It decides which actions tend to spiritual wellness, independence and inter-connectedness, in the same manner with which it decides which substances and activities tend to physical health.  Our needs, that propelling fountain perpetually springing up in us, get met or go unmet based on our “if” in this “if/then” sequence.  The meeting of our needs constitutes life; our needs going unmet constitute death. 

That some things operate in ways unpredictable to us is not evidence of an absence of The Law, but rather evidence of our ignorance of some part of it.  The Law doesn’t exist because we discover it; we discover it because it exists.  In all areas of life, humans are discovering more aspects of The Law.  Our discovery of and compliance with The Law constitute our development and happiness, with happiness being the object and design of our existence.  We are no more capable of knowing The Law of ourselves than a child.  Like children, we learn The Law from our Father.  We will have happiness like a child when we accept God’s will like a child accepts his parents’ will.

The sooner we learn and accept The Law, the more fully will we live life and secure its perpetuation, speaking individually and collectively.  This is sustainability.  I know both sides of The Law.  One side is life; one side is death.  Sustainability is choosing the light – the living side of The Law.

Change

Change can be enriching or dangerous, depending on the direction.

Isn't the definition of a slave this: someone who is regulated externally?  The problem with the victim mentality is this that if I believe others are responsible for my actions, the realization of that belief is that others will be responsible for my actions.

The Lake

Sex addicts call them happy endings, because they stand in direct contrast to the unhappy time between orgasms.  

Like all pleasure-seekers, "life" consists of a long, dull, dark ache, interspersed with fireworks.  "Life" is enacted mundanely while the pleasure is not popping.  Between hits, time is spent either reminiscing about the previous point of pleasure or anticipating the next, like trying to jump from one mountain peak to another.

This big bang theory purports that if one just gets enough fireworks popping, the entire scene will light up with no more darkness.  Utopia will be created, without work, just by pleasure-seeking.  But that is not what happens.  It doesn't happen here on earth, and it won't happen after earth.

What happens is the pleasure is removed.  Sex addicts become impotent.  Drug addicts become incompetent.  Love addicts become detached.  Food addicts feel starved.  Control addicts lose control.  This happens here on earth.  There are millions if not billions of examples, and we see it as plain as day.

When the day comes that our pleasures are removed, what will it feel like?  When God takes away the drugs, and the orgasm, and the ability to escape?  When we say, "I will die without another hit" and there is none?  Without the fireworks,  it is just a dark night. 

What will be left will not be a new feeling.  It will be familiar.  Only our escape from it will be removed.  It will feel like all the time between points of pleasure.  It will feel like a lake because there is no aim, no purpose, no goal, no labor.  Think about it.  When you go out on a lake, your goal is to go out on the lake - THAT IS the goal.  When the reward of being on a lake is removed, you will burn for it.  That's why it's called the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.

Your boating expedition will become a lake of thirst with nothing to quench it, of unhappiness with no ending, whose sole purpose, being removed, will be to suffer.

The Climax and the Whore

As man and woman keep The Law respecting sexuality, they climb a mountain.  We all want to conquer.  It is a need we have as children of God.  We, in attempting to meet that need, often “conquer” in a damaging way.  

Men coax, then have sex with women.  He then feels that he has achieved some feat.  That he has “conquered” a woman.  That he is strong.  He has power over her.  Women offer or lure, then have sex with men.  She then feels that she has value.  That she has “conquered” a man.  That she is needed.  She has power over him. 

As sons and daughters of God, we are designed to conquer and have power over (1).  Men are designed to be strong.  Women are designed to be needed.  But, to conquer all, we must keep The Law.  Climbing a mountain is a metaphor often used by spiritual leaders.  Getting on top is a culmination of adventure and the accomplishment of a difficult challenge.  There, we find that we are strong and that we are needed, for a lifetime.  Promiscuity is the exact counterfeit to this, where the adventure and accomplishment of "getting on top" and the accompanying sense of strength and importance last only for a moment.

Keeping The Law respecting sexuality takes work.  Breaking The Law respecting sexuality is effortless.  As we stay on the light side of The Law, we acquire all the light the mountain has to offer.  We acquire respect, security, dignity, self-control, satisfaction, we get to know one another’s insides, spirits, or personalities; we obtain vision, knowledge, and the pleasures of spiritual, emotional, and intellectual intimacy; our hearts are knit together by light.  We then own the light trod beneath our feet, and conquer.  We reach the top.  We climax.  We have conquered the mountain together, rather than conquering each other.  But, that’s just the beginning.

When we reach the top, something counter intuitive happens.  

A new world of never ending pleasure opens up.  Once married, we are not only permitted, but encouraged to explore each other’s bodies intimately.  The physical bonding is now added to the recipe of spiritual, emotional, and intellectual intimacy which was forged in climbing the mountain.  We might call this the icing on the cake, but it is so much more than a wimpy, missionary style, mostly in the dark, candle on top of a cake. 

It is a portal to, literally, unending happiness.  The possibilities for pleasure through sexual exploration are grand.  Does anyone disagree?  This includes non-physical dimensions of sex as well.  Of course, The Law still exists after marriage, even if no ecclesiastical leader will tell you what to do behind closed doors (please no!).  In other words, it doesn't look like this:

This kind of thinking is a classic error of poor expectations, and it can ruin a wedding night, or a decade full of good behavior, with severe disappointment.  But, the sexual possibilities do continue to expand and increase eternally. You might even call it a second climax - a climax which never ends.

However, the benefits of this second climax are not limited to just physical pleasure.  We also experience the pleasure of posterity.  Children are born and we enjoy the pleasure of watching them grow.  We can experience all of our own pleasures again vicariously, over and over and over again.  Additionally, the other intimacies developed by climbing the mountain augment with sex and time.  This will not happen for breakers of The Law because those other intimacies were never established.  Between the first and second climax, keepers of The Law gain everything.

This post is about sex, because the issue of sex most profoundly affects our happiness 2, and I like the play on words.  But, this idea of a first and second climax is applicable in all cases where The Law is kept.  The place where the mountain peaks and meets the beginning of the second climax is a place of end and beginning.  It is a place of death and life.  Concerning the duality of man, it is the death of our devilish self and the birth of our godly self.  It is being born again.  This point also symbolizes the Atonement of Christ, performed in the meridian of time, of which act Christ said, "now shall the prince of this world be cast out."  

It was the moment of His death.  It was also the moment of Christ's victory, accomplished through the crucifying of His flesh.  The Law leads us all, in like manner, to crucify our flesh, or devilish self.  What looks like defeat to the rest of the world is a moment of victory for each of us, each time we die, or crucify the devil in us.  After we die, we can be born again.  

I believe this image can represent the beginning of our human story (birth), the climax (the Atonement), the end (final judgment), and the present moment.  At Christ’s birth, He exited God’s presence and came to earth – from the Glory of Heaven to the dark, small manger; look what has grown from that!  Of the Atonement, Christ said, "Now is the judgment of this world."  But, He also said, "I came not to judge the world, but to save the world."  It's a play on words.  I love Jesus' duplicity!  The Atonement enabled judgment because without the Atonement, all was lost.  The Atonement brought some hope, and hope for some brought judgment for all.  Ultimately, The Law executes judgment or justice.  But, the effects of justice will be no different on Judgment Day than they are on This Day.  Our final destination and our manner of arrival there look the same. 

In 2D, this image is an hourglass and the point of climax represents the present.  In Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, this image in 3D is called the light cone, where the climax represents the Present, the cone above is called the future light cone and represents all possible results from a present action, the cone beneath is called the past light cone and represents all possible occurrences leading up to the Present, and the black sides are called “elsewhere”.  The size of the angle maxes-out at the speed of light  3.  Christ being light, all of our past, through His Atonement, can lead to a happy present, and our choice this very moment, through the Atonement, can maximize the width and breadth of the future light we might enjoy. 

This symbol declares that NOW is the time to repent!  Or in other words, now is the time to substitute my will and path for God’s.  Albert Camus said, "Do not wait for the last judgment.  It comes every day." 4  In fact, it comes every moment.  Every moment we have the opportunity to sacrifice our will (death), and then accept God's will (birth) 5.  Eternal life is to truly live each moment, eternally.  

Back to sex.  As men and women break The Law respecting sexuality, they lose.  The lure to break The Law is that all of the pleasure from the first and second climax can be had by doing nothing.  We can just sit there, be attractive, and conquer.  We can satisfy our Godly need to conquer and own everything the mountain has to offer, simply by sitting there and being attractive.  It is a lure. 

Consider physical exercise.  It is obvious that when we don’t exercise our physical bodies, our muscles atrophy.  People who climb mountains maximize their muscular potential through exertion.  People who don’t climb spiritual mountains atrophy in similar way.  They do not acquire respect, security, dignity, self-control, or satisfaction; they do not get to know one another’s insides, spirits, or personalities; they lose vision and knowledge of the pleasures of spiritual, emotional, and intellectual intimacy; their hearts are severed.  Where there is no work, there is entropy.  Heaven is the everlasting flame, fueled by work.

Yet, we market our shame and glorify our pain.  We must, or our behavior won't make sense.  Because The Law stipulates that sin will bring remorse of conscience 6, we tell The Lawgiver, “I can sin and be happy.  Watch me.  Yeah, it’s painful.  And no, it doesn't get me what I want.  But, man! It’s awesome!”  But, it isn't.  We are lying.  We are regurgitating the lie we've swallowed, which is that we can eat fruit without labor.  We try to say it ain't so, but the devil's love is a heartbreaker, a life-taker.  We cannot have everything by doing nothing.

The author of this lie is a whore.  God himself refers to this lie as the whore of the earth 7.  What is the defining characteristic of a whore?  For the receipt of that which is most valuable, they require nothing of us, except a token.

What a counterfeit!  Can you see her legs spread out before you? Promising every satisfaction, the fulfillment of every need, for only a token.  She promises that every human need and longing will be satiated endlessly, without work, making lure into a virtue.

When a man keeps The Law regarding sexuality, he helps his woman fulfill her roles and reach her potential.  When a woman keeps The law regarding sexuality, she helps her man fulfill his roles and reach his potential.  When they do this, they become valuable to each other.  God does for us all what women and men can do for each other.  He encourages us to keep The Law by blessing us after we keep it, and not before.  He also respects our space, never trespassing without our consent.  In so doing, our performance is enhanced, and we feel safe and valued. 

 

When we fail to keep The Law of chastity we miss out on the growth which comes through exercise.  The result is a loss of strength.  In taking and giving our greatest gift and our greatest pleasure without work, we eventually become impotent. 

----------------------------------------------------------------

(update: expanded uses of these symbols here and here)

1 Genesis 1:26

2 "How we feel about and use [sex] will determine in large measure our happiness...and our destiny"
3 A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, p.24-28.

4 "Do not wait for the last judgment.  It comes every day." - Albert Camus

5 Whosoever shall save his life shall lose it; but whosever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it - Luke 9:24

6 Alma 42:18   

7 1 Nephi 14:10, 2 Nephi 10:16, 1 Nephi 14:11, 1 Nephi 22:14, Doctrine and Covenants 29:21, Doctrine and Covenants 86:3,

1 Nephi 22:13, Revelation 19:2, Psalms 106:39, Revelation 17:15, Proverbs 23:27, Ezekiel 16:28