The Holy Ghost

Sunday thought experiment.

I believe “The Holy Ghost is the fullness of your pre-mortal spirit.”

LDS friends, please state your arguments why you think this statement would not be true. I’m looking for holes in my premise.

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Part One: Indian AND Mormon?

I had a friend once who once accused me of selling out my being Indian (American) to the “Mormon” church. (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) I suppose since I’ve never shared my innermost thoughts I can see how it appears that way. So I would like to set the record straight.

Mind you, these are all my personal beliefs and I claim to represent no one but myself.

Since I was raised a Latter-Day Saint the question is not why I joined the church but rather why I stay. It’s because I see beyond the two cultures in question to the spiritual commonalities they share.

Since this blog is from an Indian perspective I’ll start off there, although there needs to be some switching back and forth in other parts. If I were to say that I believe in a traditional “religion”-which I do, these are the things I believe that are necessary for it to have.

My people believe in prayer to a Creator. Conversely we believe in fasting during vision quest, which implies spiritual purification on our part and revelation on the part of the Creator. We believe we can receive revelation through dreams. We believe in the prophecies of old. The seven fires prophecy comes to mind. This implies that the Creator gives universal revelation to His chosen prophet-a spiritual person who also represents and is accepted by the people.

In my tribe we have the Mide’wiwin. A Grand Medicine Society which is composed of both men and women. My Grandpa’s grandmother was a fourth degree Mide’. She prophesied at his birth that he would go on to meet royalty, and curiously enough, he did.

Socially, it was expected that a medicine person was chaste and moderate. If they slept around, or were drunken, it was noted with private disapproval.

That’s it in a nutshell. I might think of more in the future but this is what comes off the top of my head. So, looking around, where do I find a container of spiritual beliefs that matches all of the above criteria?

Almost all churches satisfy many of the above criteria except for one. That the Creator presently gives universal revelation to His chosen prophet-a spiritual person who also represents and is accepted by the people. (Although it strikes me as somewhat schizophrenic that religions or tribal institutions believe or espouse that The Creator provides personal revelation but has ceased to provide revelation for His people as a whole through prophets.)

For me, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only church which satisfies all of the above criteria. That is why I am still a member without having to sacrifice my traditional beliefs.

Coming Soon:

Part Two: The Temple and the Mide’wigun. The Mide’wiwin and the Melchizedek.

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Faith

Celia’s Sermon:

I had a friend accuse me of “selling out” because I was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Rather than–I suppose–her idea of what a traditional Indian would believe. But I remain a member for many reasons, chief among them, (no pun intended) gifts of the Spirit (the Holy Ghost) such as prophecy, and faith.

Today I would like to talk a little bit about my view of what I see as the LDS definition of faith, which is different in one major way than a secular definition of faith.

In Hebrews 11:1, The secular version reads:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

In other words, this faith, (in general) is a belief in things which are not seen, which are true. Alma 32:21

My LDS version differs by one word: “yet”.

Faith is a belief in things which are not YET seen, which are true.

You are not going to find that “yet” definition explicitly stated in one neat, handy little scripture somewhere, but you will find the process expounded in Alma chapter 32 in the Book of Mormon. I’ve included it.

21 “And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.
22 And now, behold, I say unto you, and I would that ye should remember, that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name; therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word.
23 And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little children do have words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned.
24 And now, my beloved brethren, as ye have desired to know of me what ye shall do because ye are afflicted and cast out—now I do not desire that ye should suppose that I mean to judge you only according to that which is true—
25 For I do not mean that ye all of you have been compelled to humble yourselves; for I verily believe that there are some among you who would humble themselves, let them be in whatsoever circumstances they might.
26 Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.
27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.
30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.
31 And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness.
32 Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.
33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.
34 And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand.
35 O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?
36 Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.
37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.
38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.
39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.

40 And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life.
41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.
42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.
43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.”

Through this process of faith I can honestly say that because I have husbanded many of my seeds of faith into stout trees, I no longer have to only believe many of the tenets of my church, especially the one that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved, because I know them to be true.

There IS a Honeycrisp apple orchard over that hill. You can’t see it now, but I hope that you have enough faith to go and see for yourself.

The fruit is delicious.

with love,

Russell

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Your One True Love

What do you do,
when you’ve found your one true love?

When they’ve given their self to you,
when you have what you always wanted.

When you’ve spent your whole life searching,
and all you know is the getting.

How do you learn the keeping,
when you’ve found your one true love?

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To Love A Friend

How much harder it must be

to love a friend

when you know

they’ve betrayed you.

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Sometimes Words Are All We Have To Offer

Sometimes words are all we have to offer.
And even when they are not enough,

expressing so,
will appease a forlorn heart.

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The Legend of The Wright Brothers

Family legend has it that we are related to the Wright Brothers. I had not been able to find the connection until yesterday when Family Search sent me a link to the chart above! Family Search is fantastic. And free!

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Pride and Humility

The nature of pride, and it’s ruin, is to think, speak, or act as if oneself were better than others.

The nature of humility and its salvation, is the thought, speech, and act to become better than one was.

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July 25th

July 25th,
was the day I almost left this Earth,
and you behind,
after falling most heavily upon it.

Who would have thought
that a mere accident
could claim the life of an immortal?

I look around the garage,
this house,
my den.

And see tools,
supplies,
and things,
that only have meaning for me.

What a mess
I would have left
for you to clean up.

And all the additional responsibilities
you would have had to assume.

I am so, so sorry
that I put you through all this.

And cry,
embarrassing both of us,
with tears of gratitude
for your tender kindnesses since then.

And smile/grimace through tears,
when you in anger say,
that if I ever did  something  like that again,
you would kill me.

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Peanut Butter and Jelly

On Monday, I made her a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich for lunch.

On Tuesday, I made her a jelly-and-peanut-butter sandwich.

On Wednesday she received a sandwich made of peanut-butter-and-jelly,

and on Thursday she was gifted a sandwich made of jelly-and-peanut- butter.

On Friday, why is she telling me, I need more variety in my life?

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