At the age of 19 in 1982 I stumbled upon my greatest discovery, I made a decision and I made a commitment. I chose my own noble cause, the Mormon's refer to it as the 'General Resurrection'. I simply choose to believe in this as a possibility even though it's completely irrational and doesn't seem to fit the nature of our Universe.
The General Resurrection represents the Ultimate good fate for Humanity in my estimation, but I have always felt that while possible its still conditional. Certain things have to happen in Human history, and while its not always clear what those things amount to, the Millennium of Peace on Earth kinda stands out. I was willing to pay a personal price to get the world a guarantee, and just because I was willing, I was rewarded. Ever since that day I have always known beyond the shadow of a doubt that there is some kind of Higher Power in the Universe and it was paying attention to us, and to me. It was a personal experience of which I've never doubted the authenticity. Subsequently I met a woman by the name of Yvette Parker, I called her Eve. Eve was one of the less fortunate people in our world, I met her in a psychiatric ward. At a time in my life that I was feeling betrayed and abandoned by my family and friends, Eve believed in me. She said on more than one occasion that, "You'll save the world." And I agreed with Eve of course, it was my job, I had volunteered and I got a positive response; but I replied to her, "while it may be true, I still don't know what needs to be done." I've dedicated hours upon hours of my life to worrying about our future, and not just my personal future but the future of my species. I have worried to the extent that it made me sick. I have had to suffer numerous Bi-Polar Manic episodes and hospitalizations, but I have a pretty decent memory of all that personal history and I think that I've managed to bring something back from all the natural highs. I have grown older and hopefully a little bit wiser, I have learned a few things of value from over 47 years of personal experience, at least these lessons are valuable to me.
For a very long time I have felt that all my life i'm just waiting for the right opportunity, trying to prepare for that critical moment where everything changes. And I have always imagined that Faith is the key, to really understand what it is and how it can empower a man, that's the greatest secret. A secret which no other person has ever yet fully discovered. Most of us think we know what Faith means, it means that we believe in something with all our hearts. Over the years I have put that theory to some serious testing and I've concluded that mere belief has no real power in it. You would think that it might matter, what we believe in; but that's far less important than what we do. It doesn't really matter how strongly we feel about our ideas of divinity or who's authority we trust, our own power and authority has certain limitations. We can not change one true thing, or historical event simply by wishing. No-one ever gets to make all the decisions, and even if you manage to have a majority vote on your side of the arguments, that's still not enough to overcome the ultimate minority, the Individual. Still the great secret of Faith is well beyond my understanding, I've never managed to figure it out. But I know which things I believe in and which things I doubt, and I'm more or less satisfied with my current understanding of our Reality even though it may be woefully incomplete.
We are intimately known, we have no secrets, not even our thoughts can remain hidden from all the higher powers of Heaven. The physical evidence suggests that the Universe has a way of remembering itself, so everything historical is part of a great record and no small thing is ever forgotten. Presumably all that could be revealed to us, God willing. In my humble opinion, personal experience is the true meaning of wealth, and it can always be shared out without suffering a loss. We don't really want all of our private lives to be revealed, but we don't always get to make a choice and its not quite the same thing as 'intellectual property'. If we are willing to grant the possibility of a general resurrection to immortality on planet Earth, it becomes imaginable that we would have the opportunity to converse with every other person who ever lived. The famous and the infamous alike could be interviewed by us, if we are to be judged then perhaps we will be judged 14 billion times over. We judge one-another, just as we've always done; but we will be denied the possibility of killing one person because we think them deserving of punishment for all of their deeds. Death and escape from accountability would not be a possibility for us in this new and future world.
The Mormon prophet Joseph Smith claimed that beyond the General Resurrection (which very few if any people would be denied) that humanity would be divided up into 3 different groups. No one group would actually be punished but each group would receive a different degree of favor. I admire Joseph because he proposed no punishment, but I hope and feel that he was wrong about the separation. Clearly some kind of separation is considered to be desirable and necessary, otherwise there can be no justice. For most of us can judge someone deserving of punishment; for most of us, some deeds are unpardonable. We don't really care if the other person didn't know better, and they harmed us in some way. If a person has caused much suffering they deserve a fair return of suffering, the old adage "An Eye for an Eye" represents Justice, even divine Justice. Clearly various people have been more or less favored in mortal life, more or less successful, more or less influential, more or less important. In my humble opinion the truth is that none of us can be more or less important. I mean it does seem that President Obama is a very important man, and a person such as Oprah Winfrey has been more influential. But the honorable person is really no more important than the least honorable person. Every single one of us changes the World a little bit simply by living in it. Whether we've changed it in small or large ways matters not as much as simply having been a part of it.
My favorite pastime and constant occupation is playing a lot of online computer games. The games I like best are complete virtual worlds with their own set of rules, multiple players and some kind of economy. While I can spend a great deal more time on a game than the average player, I've still never been the best. I'm hardly competitive at all, but I enjoy spending the time on it. Even in a fantasy world our accomplishments are still meaningful. I don't need to be better than the other players in the game, I just need to make personal progress; and its very easy to measure progress in most of these MMORPG's. I imagine that some people would think less of me for spending so much time on "Video Games", but I think that our games provide us with valuable learning experiences. The games which I've spent the most time on are far more complex than a typical "Video Game", and as a bonus involve thousands of real people. So there's some real problem solving involved here, and interpersonal relations are important too. The World itself is very much like a great big Role-Playing Game; I call it, "The Great Game of Life." If all the players in the great game of life could be ranked, I imagine that I'd be near the bottom of most scales. But the game can be ranked in such a large variety of ways that its hard to determine where we really stand. But in this game its entirely possible for everyone to be a winner, participation alone constitutes a winning condition, especially if we get some enjoyment out of it. That's the way all the very best games always work, one of life's lessons for myself and something I value highly.
Still no-one has ever managed to win the Great Game of Life decisively, no-one has ever managed to overcome their own mortality in order to avoid death completely. No-one person has ever dominated and governed the entire population of our species, but I don't think that such a monarchy is entirely impossible. These are things which just haven't happened yet, the fact that no-one has ever done it before does not prove that no-one will ever do it. If the future of our species could be determined entirely from historical precedents, then I don't think there's much hope for world peace and disarmament. The Children of Humanity are not about to start beating their swords into plowshares just yet, too many people would have to give up too much of their personal power. The American people for example might lose a great deal of their influence in the rest of the world if we had to sacrifice our military superiority. And its very hard to imagine what would set our world on that path; in my estimation nothing short of an ultimatum would work. The clear and present danger of our immanent extinction, subject to the choice of one of us. Ultimately we must prepare for and follow the path to peace in order for our species to survive, sadly it looks like we must be forced into it.
We've never before seen the powers of heaven move with a will and on such a grande scale. If such an army exists to be commanded, what deals will have to be made? How does one go about winning our Lord and Creator as a personal ally? If Planet Earth might be sold for a price, what is that price and how would a person go about paying it? But Jesus suggested that the Earth is like a field with a great hidden treasure, and that it might be purchased for a price and the treasure claimed; he said that this is what Heaven is like. Such a deed, if purchasable, may require an extensive amount of work and effort; our buyer needs to be a very creditworthy individual and perhaps very long lived. What could one of us possibly have to offer a supreme creator and the host of heaven's armies, to be appointed general of those armies? Clearly no amount of material goods would suffice, we can not take a portion of the world to pay for the whole world, it would never balance out that way. Presumably there is something that a Human-Being can do, which a Supreme Being can not do for itself. Becoming the great Patriarch of an entire species to mediate for Humanity to the greater community of Heaven and a possible multitude of Higher Powers, and a possible number of civilizations of living beings, much like ours. It's a difficult proposal to fill that position, the Good Father must not make distinctions between his children, favoring one over another. Every child must receive favor in turn, every child must be loved in spite of his or her deeds in mortal life. Every child of humanity must be blessed with the opportunity for more life here on Planet Earth, and of course the Earth itself must be preserved. IF there really is one single fundamental truth to this Universe, it would have to be the underlying unity of all things created. Every part exists in relationship to the whole and every other part. No amount of distance between us is enough to break the ties that bind us together, the fact that we are Human-Beings and born to the Earth is something that we will always share in common no matter how much time comes to pass. There is a personal relationship between myself and every other person who lives, has ever lived or ever will live; and nobody can choose differently. The Truth can not be annulled in order to make the people happy, we have to be happy with the fact that we have so many companions of great diversity and personal experience. If you have read any of my past posts, you would likely know that I think of the Universe and Heaven as the same place and NOT separate places. I'm sure that my personal ideas conflict with a whole lot of Religious thinking. I just don't see how we can ever allow one single person's notions of whats right and just to rule the day, and determine where the lines must be drawn.
But I'm committed to granting Christ his final plea upon the cross, and to give every person a full pardon, if we can take every condition into consideration, no-one deserves to be punished. If all the people deserve anything at all its an education, and it may take a great deal of time and personal experience to learn the things which are truly important and to unlearn other things. I'm dedicated to do whatever needs to be done in order to get ALL the people that much time, and I'm exactly the kind of soldier who would leave no man behind. There is no other great cause in life worth fighting for, and nothing more noble. Dignity is something we can not deny one person, something that can never be sacrificed or lost, something that is always deserved. My version of salvation is inclusive, and isn't that the best possible offering if it can be delivered?
The General Resurrection represents the Ultimate good fate for Humanity in my estimation, but I have always felt that while possible its still conditional. Certain things have to happen in Human history, and while its not always clear what those things amount to, the Millennium of Peace on Earth kinda stands out. I was willing to pay a personal price to get the world a guarantee, and just because I was willing, I was rewarded. Ever since that day I have always known beyond the shadow of a doubt that there is some kind of Higher Power in the Universe and it was paying attention to us, and to me. It was a personal experience of which I've never doubted the authenticity. Subsequently I met a woman by the name of Yvette Parker, I called her Eve. Eve was one of the less fortunate people in our world, I met her in a psychiatric ward. At a time in my life that I was feeling betrayed and abandoned by my family and friends, Eve believed in me. She said on more than one occasion that, "You'll save the world." And I agreed with Eve of course, it was my job, I had volunteered and I got a positive response; but I replied to her, "while it may be true, I still don't know what needs to be done." I've dedicated hours upon hours of my life to worrying about our future, and not just my personal future but the future of my species. I have worried to the extent that it made me sick. I have had to suffer numerous Bi-Polar Manic episodes and hospitalizations, but I have a pretty decent memory of all that personal history and I think that I've managed to bring something back from all the natural highs. I have grown older and hopefully a little bit wiser, I have learned a few things of value from over 47 years of personal experience, at least these lessons are valuable to me.
For a very long time I have felt that all my life i'm just waiting for the right opportunity, trying to prepare for that critical moment where everything changes. And I have always imagined that Faith is the key, to really understand what it is and how it can empower a man, that's the greatest secret. A secret which no other person has ever yet fully discovered. Most of us think we know what Faith means, it means that we believe in something with all our hearts. Over the years I have put that theory to some serious testing and I've concluded that mere belief has no real power in it. You would think that it might matter, what we believe in; but that's far less important than what we do. It doesn't really matter how strongly we feel about our ideas of divinity or who's authority we trust, our own power and authority has certain limitations. We can not change one true thing, or historical event simply by wishing. No-one ever gets to make all the decisions, and even if you manage to have a majority vote on your side of the arguments, that's still not enough to overcome the ultimate minority, the Individual. Still the great secret of Faith is well beyond my understanding, I've never managed to figure it out. But I know which things I believe in and which things I doubt, and I'm more or less satisfied with my current understanding of our Reality even though it may be woefully incomplete.
We are intimately known, we have no secrets, not even our thoughts can remain hidden from all the higher powers of Heaven. The physical evidence suggests that the Universe has a way of remembering itself, so everything historical is part of a great record and no small thing is ever forgotten. Presumably all that could be revealed to us, God willing. In my humble opinion, personal experience is the true meaning of wealth, and it can always be shared out without suffering a loss. We don't really want all of our private lives to be revealed, but we don't always get to make a choice and its not quite the same thing as 'intellectual property'. If we are willing to grant the possibility of a general resurrection to immortality on planet Earth, it becomes imaginable that we would have the opportunity to converse with every other person who ever lived. The famous and the infamous alike could be interviewed by us, if we are to be judged then perhaps we will be judged 14 billion times over. We judge one-another, just as we've always done; but we will be denied the possibility of killing one person because we think them deserving of punishment for all of their deeds. Death and escape from accountability would not be a possibility for us in this new and future world.
The Mormon prophet Joseph Smith claimed that beyond the General Resurrection (which very few if any people would be denied) that humanity would be divided up into 3 different groups. No one group would actually be punished but each group would receive a different degree of favor. I admire Joseph because he proposed no punishment, but I hope and feel that he was wrong about the separation. Clearly some kind of separation is considered to be desirable and necessary, otherwise there can be no justice. For most of us can judge someone deserving of punishment; for most of us, some deeds are unpardonable. We don't really care if the other person didn't know better, and they harmed us in some way. If a person has caused much suffering they deserve a fair return of suffering, the old adage "An Eye for an Eye" represents Justice, even divine Justice. Clearly various people have been more or less favored in mortal life, more or less successful, more or less influential, more or less important. In my humble opinion the truth is that none of us can be more or less important. I mean it does seem that President Obama is a very important man, and a person such as Oprah Winfrey has been more influential. But the honorable person is really no more important than the least honorable person. Every single one of us changes the World a little bit simply by living in it. Whether we've changed it in small or large ways matters not as much as simply having been a part of it.
My favorite pastime and constant occupation is playing a lot of online computer games. The games I like best are complete virtual worlds with their own set of rules, multiple players and some kind of economy. While I can spend a great deal more time on a game than the average player, I've still never been the best. I'm hardly competitive at all, but I enjoy spending the time on it. Even in a fantasy world our accomplishments are still meaningful. I don't need to be better than the other players in the game, I just need to make personal progress; and its very easy to measure progress in most of these MMORPG's. I imagine that some people would think less of me for spending so much time on "Video Games", but I think that our games provide us with valuable learning experiences. The games which I've spent the most time on are far more complex than a typical "Video Game", and as a bonus involve thousands of real people. So there's some real problem solving involved here, and interpersonal relations are important too. The World itself is very much like a great big Role-Playing Game; I call it, "The Great Game of Life." If all the players in the great game of life could be ranked, I imagine that I'd be near the bottom of most scales. But the game can be ranked in such a large variety of ways that its hard to determine where we really stand. But in this game its entirely possible for everyone to be a winner, participation alone constitutes a winning condition, especially if we get some enjoyment out of it. That's the way all the very best games always work, one of life's lessons for myself and something I value highly.
Still no-one has ever managed to win the Great Game of Life decisively, no-one has ever managed to overcome their own mortality in order to avoid death completely. No-one person has ever dominated and governed the entire population of our species, but I don't think that such a monarchy is entirely impossible. These are things which just haven't happened yet, the fact that no-one has ever done it before does not prove that no-one will ever do it. If the future of our species could be determined entirely from historical precedents, then I don't think there's much hope for world peace and disarmament. The Children of Humanity are not about to start beating their swords into plowshares just yet, too many people would have to give up too much of their personal power. The American people for example might lose a great deal of their influence in the rest of the world if we had to sacrifice our military superiority. And its very hard to imagine what would set our world on that path; in my estimation nothing short of an ultimatum would work. The clear and present danger of our immanent extinction, subject to the choice of one of us. Ultimately we must prepare for and follow the path to peace in order for our species to survive, sadly it looks like we must be forced into it.
We've never before seen the powers of heaven move with a will and on such a grande scale. If such an army exists to be commanded, what deals will have to be made? How does one go about winning our Lord and Creator as a personal ally? If Planet Earth might be sold for a price, what is that price and how would a person go about paying it? But Jesus suggested that the Earth is like a field with a great hidden treasure, and that it might be purchased for a price and the treasure claimed; he said that this is what Heaven is like. Such a deed, if purchasable, may require an extensive amount of work and effort; our buyer needs to be a very creditworthy individual and perhaps very long lived. What could one of us possibly have to offer a supreme creator and the host of heaven's armies, to be appointed general of those armies? Clearly no amount of material goods would suffice, we can not take a portion of the world to pay for the whole world, it would never balance out that way. Presumably there is something that a Human-Being can do, which a Supreme Being can not do for itself. Becoming the great Patriarch of an entire species to mediate for Humanity to the greater community of Heaven and a possible multitude of Higher Powers, and a possible number of civilizations of living beings, much like ours. It's a difficult proposal to fill that position, the Good Father must not make distinctions between his children, favoring one over another. Every child must receive favor in turn, every child must be loved in spite of his or her deeds in mortal life. Every child of humanity must be blessed with the opportunity for more life here on Planet Earth, and of course the Earth itself must be preserved. IF there really is one single fundamental truth to this Universe, it would have to be the underlying unity of all things created. Every part exists in relationship to the whole and every other part. No amount of distance between us is enough to break the ties that bind us together, the fact that we are Human-Beings and born to the Earth is something that we will always share in common no matter how much time comes to pass. There is a personal relationship between myself and every other person who lives, has ever lived or ever will live; and nobody can choose differently. The Truth can not be annulled in order to make the people happy, we have to be happy with the fact that we have so many companions of great diversity and personal experience. If you have read any of my past posts, you would likely know that I think of the Universe and Heaven as the same place and NOT separate places. I'm sure that my personal ideas conflict with a whole lot of Religious thinking. I just don't see how we can ever allow one single person's notions of whats right and just to rule the day, and determine where the lines must be drawn.
But I'm committed to granting Christ his final plea upon the cross, and to give every person a full pardon, if we can take every condition into consideration, no-one deserves to be punished. If all the people deserve anything at all its an education, and it may take a great deal of time and personal experience to learn the things which are truly important and to unlearn other things. I'm dedicated to do whatever needs to be done in order to get ALL the people that much time, and I'm exactly the kind of soldier who would leave no man behind. There is no other great cause in life worth fighting for, and nothing more noble. Dignity is something we can not deny one person, something that can never be sacrificed or lost, something that is always deserved. My version of salvation is inclusive, and isn't that the best possible offering if it can be delivered?
