Thursday, July 30, 2020

An Eye Single to God's Glory


The Lord revealed the following diagrams to me this morning and instructed that I share them. These diagrams represent the different conditions of man. 


The Condition of the Wicked: Those Who Are Separated From Reality 


The first diagram (The Condition of the Wicked) represents the condition or state of the wicked, particularly those who becoming or are ripe in iniquity. In this state, man's conception of reality does not align with God at all. Instead of acquiring light and truth, man has adopted and assimilated distortions of truth into his life. As a consequence, his reality does not align with God. And because it does not align with God, God has no part of him. The wicked are left to their own devices unless they repent. 


The Condition of the Justified: Those Who Begin to Assimilate and Adopt God's Reality 


The second diagram (The Condition of the Justified) represents those who have repented of their initial sins and are in the process of returning to God. As a condition of repentance, they have come to God with full purpose of heart. This requirement is necessary, because in coming to know God, one must be willing to set aside his understanding of reality and adopt God's. 

As explained here and here, the state of justification means that one is blameless before the law. Having repented of their sins and having remaining obedient to the commandments that they are aware of, the person is not violating any of God's commandments. Because he is not violating any of God's commandments, he is able to have the companionship (or gift) of the Holy Ghost. The purpose of the Holy Ghost is to teach the justified man more and more about God's reality. 

This teaching more and more about God's reality is represented above, as the two circles overlap. The man who is justified is beginning to see the world as God sees it. 


The Condition of the Sanctified: Those Who Have Fully Assimilated and Adopted God's Reality 


The last diagram (The Condition of the Sanctified) represents those who have become sanctified (or, in other words, made holy). After a person has become justified through repentance and receives a remission of sins, the person then "feasts upon the words of Christ." The words of Christ can include the scripture, but they also include angels or even Christ himself, who will teach the person the mysteries of God (see 2 Nephi 32, 33; Ether 2). 

The process of sanctification involves that one continue to produce works of righteousness ("good fruits" see Alma 5). Moreover, the process of sanctification requires the person to acquire knowledge about reality, so much so that they see and understand reality like God. When one has reached this state, they are redeemed from the fall. It is also in this state, that one's "eyes are single to God's glory." And because they are, they can be taught all things because they see as God sees. 

In this diagram, man's reality and God's become one -- they see they same, or eye to eye. The objective for all of us is to get to this condition. It is only those who reach this condition of sanctification who will inherit the celestial kingdom.