From Fasting to Feasting

Having experienced much of what could be termed abuse in my life, I have sought deeply to understand the truth of man and woman that I might heal and have whole relationships.  There are some truths which are hard to hear and some truths which cause rejoicing when heard.  The particular truths I desire to share here, if a person is not ready to hear them, will sound very wrong and hard to hear.  So before you read further, I ask that you pause and consider whether or not you are willing and ready to read my words as I intend them, giving them my meaning and not adding your own on top of them.  If you are not in a healthy space with masculine and feminine truths, if there is bitterness or anger in you, please pause and consider coming back to this post another time.  Otherwise, this post may incite you and cause anger to rise in your heart because you won't be ready to understand the true meaning of these words. That very long disclaimer said, if you choose to ...

The allegory of the Olive Tree is one of my favorite things in all the world.  Jacob, along with the book of James (who is the mortal brother of the Savior), ties for second place in my scripture hierarchy.  As we go through this allegory (which will be broken down into many parts), I hope to adequately represent why Jacob is one of my favorite prophets. I'm going to just share what I wrote a couple of years ago in my scriptures about these verses as I was studying them.   In order to give the full understanding of the verses in chapter 5, we have to go to chapter 4 and gain perspective a bit.  So follow along, if you wish, as we walk the paths of Jacob's heart. The first few verses of chapter 4 tell us why they have written on these plates and that they rejoice in the very laborious process which is part of this gift they have preserved for us. Then we get into verses 4 and 5. "For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may kn...

In Mosiah chapter four, we find the people of King Benjamin just after he has taught them great truths about the Savior, His Atonement, the natural man, and many other notable and important doctrines.  They were understanding them with their hearts (whether or not they understood with their heads) for perhaps the first time in their lives.  And their reaction was one of true repentance.  "And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth.  And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.  And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their...

"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God." "And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot." In hebrew, the word "perfect" has a different meaning than the way we tend to understand it in English. A very general interpretation would be to see all of the parts that make up the whole. The parts do not all have to be functioning properly, it is only required to see them. So if that is true, th...

Okay.  We are taking on the flaming sword today. What exactly do cherubim have to do with all of this?  I'm going to do my best to give to you the understanding I have - and I hope I don't leave out anything.  All of these truths came to me in small increments through periods of extended study.  Sometimes I feel like I'm leaving things out because I don't remember all of the steps in order.  But I'm doing my best.  By the way, if ever I've lost you or you have questions about what I'm sharing, please ask.  Please comment or email me and I'd love to share more or help clarify things. Now on to cherubim. Cherubim are gate-keepers for knowledge.  They dictate how far along the path to the way of the tree of life we go, depending on our internal state.  They block the way only when we are not ready to progress and moving along would do us eternal harm.  They guard and keep the way when we are ready to move forward on that path which le...

Please bear with me while I share all of this with you.  At the beginning, the gift of the natural man will not be super clear.  But as I explain and go through all of the things that will give you the frame of reference, you'll begin to see what I'm trying to share with you. In Genesis 3:24 we read: "So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." The first thing I would like to do is point out a few distinctions.  It reads "cherubims  and  a flaming sword" not " with " a flaming sword.  This is important.  It is also important to note that the flaming sword turns "every way." Another important distinction to make is that it says "to keep the way of the tree of life" not "the way  to  the tree of life."  Again, very important if we are going to understand this doctrine. Lastly, let's make ...

In Ether 12:27 we read: 27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. And then verse 37 in part states: 37 And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. So let's start with verse 27.  The Lord says that if we come unto Him, He will show us our weakness.  I love this because it means I don't have to listen to anything anyone else says about my faults or flaws.  I don't have to be worried about what order they think I should work on things.  It's about me and the Lord and no one else.  Now, this is not to say I should be proud or stubborn.  I'm not saying anything like that.  Jus...