The Kingdom of Heaven is Within: Part I
The Kingdom of Heaven is Within: Part II
I. Mighty Change of Heart
Baptism of fire is only the beginning. It is the gate, not the destination. When we have passed through this gate, we embark on the journey of theosis -- becoming God-like. The experience of being born again is unique for each individual. Some will have an Alma the Younger experience that is pronounced and vivid. Others, on the other hand, will have Enos-like experience that is subtle and discrete.
Nevertheless, all who are born again will undergo a radical change to their hearts. The scriptures refer this change as a "(mighty) change of heart." Consider the response of the Nephites to king Benjamin's inquiry into whether the Nephites believed his words.
...Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. (Mosiah 5:2)
One result of having a mighty change of heart is that we have no more "disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." It was this mighty change of heart that caused the Lamanites to yield up the lands they had taken from the Nephites during their incursion (see Helaman 5).
Our hearts change because we experience, through the Holy Ghost, God's presence in our life to a greater degree than before. Instead of touching our heart, as was our experience before our conversion, God holds it in the palm of his hand. His being is intimately connected with ours. In this state, where God's spirit dwells within us, change is inevitable. It is impossible to experience true and pure goodness and not be moved in a significant degree. One of this changes occurs to our heart.
II. Expanding Our Hearts Towards Others
As we continue, with the assistance of the Holy Ghost, to feast upon the words of Christ, the light within us will expand and grow, leading to our sanctification -- and glorification. And as we grow in this light, our hearts will expand, causing our minds to be turned to the needs of our neighbor.
This is a critical point.
Up to this point, this series has been focused on individual improvement. But if we only are concerned about improving ourselves then we have misunderstood the character (and love) of God. In sum, the work of a follower of Christ is the work of saving and serving others.
When we are baptized of water, we covenant to serve others. More explicitly, this covenant of service requires that we carry the burdens of others (see Mosiah 19). This means that undergirding our conversion to Christ is the binding of ourselves to the welfare of others.
In fact, king Benjamin explains that after a person has been born again, the following attitudes will occur :
- Have no mind to injure another
- Desire to live peaceably with each other
- Render every man according to his due
- Not permit their children to go hungry
- Teach their children "in the ways of truth"
- Succor those who stand in need
- Administer of their substance to those in need
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
For, brethern, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another
III. It's All About Love
Although knowledge and self improvement are part of our walk towards God, these alone will not suffice to enter and dwell in his presence. Those who fail to possess love are nothing.
...the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. And except they should have charity they were nothing... (2 Nephi 26:30).
The act of love is the act of sanctification and of perfection (Colossians 3:14: "charity is the bond of perfectness"). And this is because love is intertwined with deity.
God's decision to create our spirit in the preexistence was not only an act of love, it was driven by LOVE. God's love for us was so great that he created us so he could have others to share his love with. Just as a loving and just father loves his children and desires for them to receive as much joy as possible, God's love involves his desire to see us receive his joy. This is why "[t]he worth of souls is great in the sight of God." (D&C 18:10).
God's purpose and existence is to raise us to become like him. As John rightly declares, "God is love." And as God declared to Moses: his work and glory is to "bring to pass our immortality and eternal life." (Moses 1:39). Thus what animates God's action towards us is love.
From the beginning of creation, when God placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, God had desired to create a world of peace, love and harmony. However, Adam and Eve's decision to transgress God's commandment prevented this fulfillment.
And that he created man, male and female, after his own image and in his own likeness, created he them; And gave unto them commandments that they should love and serve him, the only living and true God, and that he should be the only being whom they should worship. But by the transgression of these holy laws man became sensual and devilish, and became fallen man (D&C 20: 18-20).
Since then, God has worked through different people to create a society of peace, love and harmony. And except for the city of Enoch and the people of Melchizedek, God's efforts have yet to be fully realized.
When Christ reestablished his church and ordained his apostles, he sent them out to preach the gospel.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you (John 15:16).
When the Lord restored his church through Joseph Smith, the Lord immediately sent out the elders to reclaim the lost.
Today, the work of saving others, through serving them, is the vineyard in which we labor. It is the fruit that we "bring forth." And it is the most important of all the things we could do.
And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen (D&C 16: 6).
VI. Reclaiming the Lost
Many err because they lack knowledge of a better way. Their ignorance causes them to repeatedly make mistakes and create unnecessary suffering from themselves and others, making their lives harder than it needs to be. Their ignorance also cuts them off from experiencing God's love through the radical changing of their heart. And their ignorance, if not corrected, passes to subsequent generations who commit similar mistakes.
One example of this is the false belief that sex between a man and women is not limited to marriage. One marked result of this belief is the rise in single parent households, which leads to further consequences. One of these is that single and teenage parents have a harder time getting out of poverty because the parent, due to having a child out of wedlock, often must settle for lesser paying jobs and can only rely on one source of income instead of two.
Another consequence of single parent households goes to the impact on the child.
When a father is absent from a girl's life, the girl is not taught proper masculinity and lacking this knowledge seeks it out from other boys in her life, which often leave a distorted picture. The girl's failure to understand proper masculinity results in her getting involved in abusive and harmful relationships with other boys and men. [1]
When a father is absent from a boy's life, the boy is also not taught proper masculinity, and lacking this knowledge defines his masculinity in harmful ways.
Gregory Boyle, in his book, Tattoos on the Heart, describes his experience of working to rehabilitate gang member in South Central LA. In his book, he reflects on the lives of the gang members whom he worked with, offering an understand into their motives for joining gangs. Notable is that many of the gang members (both former and those who refused to quit the gang life) grew up in single-parent households where the father was absent. In light of this absence, the boys invariably joined gangs to fill the void and to define their masculinity.
Striking in Boyle's accounts was that beneath the rough exterior of the hard core gangster was a child seeking to be a man, just not knowing the proper way. Fortunately, Boyle appears to have had a fair amount of success of redeeming these men from gang life -- but it wasn't without a lot of work and heartache from the candidates, who spend a good chunk adolescence and early adulthood in and prison, and causing pain to their mothers and community.
V. "Un-paving" the Road to Hell
There is a common saying that the "road to hell is paved with good intentions."
Although there are truly wicked and reprobate people in the world, much of the world's suffering is caused by people who seek to do good, but are ignorant in how to produce the outcomes they seek. As a result, they enact policy decisions that compound the problems, instead of actually fixing them. For instance, in addressing the problems of poverty (a large part perpetuated by single parent households), many will argue for increase minimum wage and welfare, reasoning that people in poverty just need more money to get out of poverty.
Yet, what the proponents of these policies fail to realize is welfare does very little to fix poverty (especially generational poverty) and actually results in keeping people in poverty.
Despite its appeal, welfare keeps people in poverty because it allows government to become the surrogate father. Under a welfare system, the woman doesn't need to retain a man in the relationship, because she can find additional income through the government. Welfare programs also create dependency which furthers poverty.
Likewise, although minimum wage sounds appealing, as we think everyone should earn a livable wage, minimum wage reduces the numbers of workers an employer is able to hire and raises the cost of living for everyone in order to offset the increase in the payment of wages.
Yet because people lack knowledge of the consequences, many continue with these policies and thus the cycle continues.
It is the ignorance of humanity that leads to unnecessary suffering and hardship. Humanity desires to help, but they lack wisdom and mistake evil with good. It is also the ignorance of humanity that leads to greater decline in morality. [2]
The mid 60s saw the rise of a counter-culture movement. Fueled by drugs, music, and teenage ennui, the counter-culture movement foolishly believed that they could create a utopian society if everyone just "loved" each other. Unbeknownst to them, however, was their misunderstanding that love was more than a feeling, but required sacrifice, commitment, and dedication. But in a movement driven by hedonism, this kind of love couldn't coexist.
Sadly the effects of this well intended movement has rippled out to our society today, resulting in broken homes and moral filth, the former which has been ignored and the later has been assimilated into American culture and disseminated with a price tag.
But those who possess greater knowledge, who are taught by the Holy Ghost, have a duty to share what they know to others to save them from themselves.
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself... (Romans 15: 1 -3).
And this is no small thing
For there are many yet on the earth... are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven—These should then be attended to with great earnestness (D&C 123: 12 - 14).
VII. The Body of Christ
Notwithstanding the challenges borne by those on the "outside", our love for others also extends to those within our congregation and church community. Some of these may struggle with the same challenges as non-believers. After all, Alma dedicated his missionary efforts to those within the church who were struggling in sin. We are to do the same.
Others may have different challenges not caused by their own choices but by the Lord's testing and trying of them. During their trials, they will need our help and support to sustain them -- to "lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees" (Hebrews 12: 12). If we are there to support, we can make their trial more bearable than it would otherwise be.
And in this way, we can be a net benefit to the body of Christ.
VIII. Filled with Love
Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race. -- Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg 174.
[1]see https://thefatherlessgeneration.wordpress.com/statistics/
[2] These statements might seem harsh and "preachy". I don't intend for that conveyance. If there was anyone who was deceptively ignorant and foolish, it was me for a long period of time. Thus when I refer to people who are ignorant of how to achieve outcomes, I was part of this group for a good chunk of my early adult life. In other words, I speak from experience.