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ALKALIZING & SPIRITUALITY
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& Spirituality
Most Americans know as much about the effect their Spirituality has on their health as they do about the science of Alkalizing. And not only are they closely related, but Spirituality and state of mind is one of the biggest influences on personal health and energy.
We can begin to trace back human knowledge of the importance of the integrity of our blood to very early periods. Around 1400 BC in fact, we read from the Old Testament “For the life of the flesh is in the blood”(Lev 17:11) or “The life of all flesh is the blood”(Lev 17:14) and from Proverbs “It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones”(Prov 3:8) Whether you take the bible to be fact, fiction or simply a historical document, it is clear that in that day their was an understanding of the importance of blood in relation to the health and vitality of the body. These prophets of their day had some notion that when the blood was healthy the rest of the body would continue to be so.
Now although what food we take into our bodies ultimately affects our blood and therefore our life and longevity, it is not the only significant factor in our optimal overall health and alkalinity.
Not only are we what we eat and drink, but we are what we think. Thoughts can keep us stuck in the past or future, distracting us from living in the present, in the “NOW”. In order to get into balance our thoughts must add to our sense of well being.
All spiritual movements support basic principles that encourage positive thinking and emotions. They promote Hope over Fear.
Living in the past or the future creates emotions that lead to the feelings of regret, worry, and anxiety that can make you more sick, tired, fat or diseased. Your treatments will not be as effective when your thoughts occupy this negative space.
In the book Power Vs. Force, Dr. David R. Hawkins rates the energy level of basic human emotions on a scale of 1 to 1000.
He states that anything scoring 200 or lower is destructive to the life of the individual and of society. Anything above 200 is the constructive expression of power. As you read consider what you feel in relationship to the emotions described and its numerical value.
Emotional Energies
| Shame |
20 |
| Guilt |
30 |
| Apathy |
50 |
| Grief |
75 |
| Fear |
100 |
| Desire |
125 |
| Anger |
150 |
| Pride |
175 |
| Courage |
200 |
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Neutrality(no judgment)
|
250 |
| Willingness |
310 |
| Acceptance |
350 |
| Reason |
400 |
| Love |
500 |
| Joy |
540 |
| Peace |
600 |
| Enlightenment |
700-1000 |
How much time do we typically spend on negative emotions?
Your goal is to focus living your life among the higher-ranking & more Alkaline feelings on the scale. This will bring true enlightenment and allow us to not only help ourselves and improve our alkalinity but help others around us. Although we should fully experience our feelings nothing positive comes from lingering on negative ones.
In reality, health and pH balance is attainable by every single person. We each as individuals decide how we want to feel each day and our personal connection with the Spirit and our Creator, is always available free of charge.
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ALKALIZING in Ancient & Modern History
Many Scriptures and Ancient Prophecy Related to this Scientific research can be found. As the many revelations given about these latter-days we live in come to pass, the truth of them, and our level of understanding regarding them, becomes clear through scientific progress and research.
Alkalizing is a proven scientific understanding of something that was understood on a spiritual level in ancient times. These truths have not changed, but our deeper understanding of them has. Below are many verses and scriptures that give us further insight into understanding our health and wellness as individuals and as a world people.
Ancient Scripture in accord with Alkaline Science
OLD TESTAMENT
Leviticus 14:17
For the Life of All Flesh is in the Blood
(This is particularly interesting with reference to the live and dry blood research of nutritional microscopy which assesses the health of the body and it's organ systems by studying the quality and integrity of the blood)
Genesis 1:30
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
(The first things we were instructed to use by the Lord for "meat" or food were plants)
Abraham 4:30
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, behold, we will give them life, and also we will give to them every green herb for meat, and all these things shall be thus organized.
The Dead Sea Scrolls-Teachings of Jesus to the Essences
"It is the angel of life that flows through the blades of grass into the body"...
"For the grass is life and the Son of Light is Life and life flows between the Son of Light and the blades of grass"...
"Making a bridge to the Holy Stream of Light which gave birth to all creation."
1 Peter 1:24
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass
Zechariah 10:1
...in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
Isaiah 40:6
All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
The prophet Daniel learned that by adhering to certain laws of health, in this case avoiding certain contaminated meats and alcohol, he would develop a much stronger physical constitution and maintain a closer relationship with the spirit.
Daniel 1:8,17
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself
....As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
Daniel 4:25
...thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven...
Daniel 4:33
...he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.
Daniel 5:21
...they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
Moses 4:24
Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.
Moses 3:5
And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew.
Moses 2:30
...and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein I grant life, there shall be given every clean herb for meat; and it was so, even as I spake.
Moses 2:29
And I, God, said unto man: Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which shall be the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Abraham 4:30
...and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, behold, we will give them life, and also we will give to them every green herb for meat, and all these things shall be thus organized.
1 Nephi 19:17
For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would speak in other words—they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his counsels.
In the Old Testament it states:
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee...
2 Nephi 15:13 My people are gone into captivity because they have no knowledge.
This is the current situation throughout most of the United States and the World. The lack of knowldedge about whats really going on with regards to the health of our bodies and spirits. This, our lack of knowledge, has made us complacent in physical and emotional mediocrity. We as a people on earth have resigned to our discomfort. We are held captive in a destroying medical system which cannot heal us or enlighten us. The need for this understanding is universal whether we seek to be superior athletes, effective networkers or powerful fathers it will be important for our growth.
It is crucial that each of us seek knowledge which is available to us and be accountable for ourselves. This work is not only for our own well being but for the future of all our posterity. So I invite you to seek the further light and knowledge that is available to us and begin to prepare our future generations of children of whom the personal application and firm grasp of this science will be expected.
-Dr. Robert O. Young Ph.D., D.Sc.
"Just like the children of Israel who wandered and died in the wilderness - I see
the same thing happening today in America and around the world - people wandering and dieing in the wilderness because of lack of knowledge. My hope and prayer is that all will empower themselves with the truth of this New Biology."
Modern Day Scripture in accord with Alkaline Science
Doctrine & Covenants 42: 43
Those without faith to be healed shall be nourished with herbs.
Doctrine and Covenants 59:17
Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;
Doctrine & Covenants 89:12,13
Yea, aflesh also of bbeasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used csparingly;
And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be aused, only in times of winter, or of cold, or bfamine.
Doctrine and Covenants 89:11
Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.
D&C 59: 17-18 (D&C 89: 10-11)herbs made for benefit and use of man.
Apostle John A. Widtsoe(Priesthood manual)
...plants contain all of the necessary food substances: proteins, fats, starches, and other carbohydrates, minerals and water [and vitamins]. The great Builder of the earth provided well for the physical needs of His children.
Teachings of the Prophet Spencer W. Kimball
...When we pray for health we must live the laws of health and do all in our power to keep our bodies well and vigorous. We pray for protection and then take reasonable precaution to avoid danger. There must be works with faith.
Hyrum Smith, Times and Seasons, 6-1-1842, pp.799-800
When God first made man upon the earth, he was a different being entirely to what he now is; his body was strong, athletic, robust, and healthy; his days were prolonged upon the earth; he lived nearly one thousand years, his mind was vigorous and active, and his intellectual faculties clear and comprehensive, but he has become degenerated. . . . Man is not now that dignified, noble, majestic, honorable and mighty being that he was when he first proceeded from the hands of his Maker. . . . (the Lord) has appointed the word of wisdom as one of the engines to. . . .remove the beastly appetites, the murderous disposition and the vitiated taste of man; to restore his body to health, and vigour, promote peace between him and the brute creation . . . .”
Joseph Smith:
In pitching my tent we found three massasaguas, or prairie rattlesnakes, which the brethren were about to kill, but I said, “Let them alone–don’t hurt them! How will the serpent ever lose his venom, while the servants of God possess the same disposition, and continue to make war upon it? Men must become harmless, before the brute creation; and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the suckling child can play with the serpent in safety.”
Brigham Young:
When men live to the age of a tree, their food will be fruit.
If the people were willing to receive the true knowledge from heaven in regard to their diet they would cease eating swines flesh. I know this as well as Moses knew it.
Teachings of Presidents of the Church, Brigham Young, p. 333
Let the people be holy, and the earth under their feet will be holy. Let the people be holy, and filled with the Spirit of God, and every animal and creeping thing will be filled with peace; the soil of the earth will bring forth in its strength, and the fruits thereof will be meat for man. The more purity that exists, the less is the strife; the more kind we are to our animals, the more will peace increase, and the savage nature of the brute creation vanish away. . . Let the whole people . . . be possessed of that spirit and here is the Millennium, and so will it spread over all the world. -
Brigham Young’s sermons in Utah frequently mentioned animals.
He held that “the more kind we are to our animals the more peace will increase and the savage nature of the animal creation will vanish away.” He blamed rich food, especially beef and pork, for shortening lives, claiming that “the foundations of longevity,” living even to “hundreds of years” would be found in a prudent diet, especially that of our parents in Eden.
Joseph Fielding Smith, 10th President: Small children do not need the flesh of animals. May I add also that adults would be far better if they would refrain from too much eating of meat. As far as I am concerned the eating of meat should be very sparingly. In fact, I will be contented if the Millennium was to be ushered in next week. When it is, we will learn that the eating of meat is not good for us. Why do we feel that we do not have a square meal unless it is based largely on meat? Let the dumb animals live. They enjoy life as well as we do…Naturally, in times of famine the flesh of animals was perhaps a necessity, but in my judgment when the Millennium reaches us, we will live above the need of killing dumb innocent animals and eating them. If we will take this stand in my judgment, we may live longer.
Joseph Fielding Smith in 1978 delivered a strong denouncement of killing for sport and advanced humaneness in general, quoting the previous prophets extensively. Noting that “it was important the animals be on the earth” he called the destruction of wildlife “wicked” and said “every soul should be impressed by the sentiments of all the prophets preceding me.”
Ezra Taft Benson, 13th President:
We need a generation of young people who, as Daniel, eat in a more healthy manner than to fare on the kings meat and whose countenances show it.
But what needs additional emphasis are the positive aspects…the need for vegetables, fruits, and grain, particularly wheat…We need a generation of people who eat in a healthier manner.
In general, the more food we eat in its natural state and the less it is refined without additives, the healthier it will be for us.
Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah, p. 658
Isaiah gives us these poetically phrased particulars about animal life during the Millennium, “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,” he says, “and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock.” Implicit in this pronouncement is the fact that man and all forms of life will be vegetarians in the coming day; the eating of meat will cease, because, for one thing, death as we know it ceases. At Zion's camp in 1834 Joseph Smith prevented his followers from killing three rattlesnakes and exhorted them “to become harmless before the brute creation, and then the animal kingdom will follow.”
George Q. Cannon of the Quorum of the 12. Gospel Truth, Vol. 1, p.30
We should by every means in our power impress upon the rising generation the value of life and how dreadful a sin it is to take life. The lives of animals even should be held far more sacred than they are. Young people should be taught to be very merciful to the brute creation and not to take life wantonly or for sport. The practice of hunting and killing game merely for sport should be frowned upon and not encouraged among us. God has created the fowls and the beasts for man's convenience and comfort and for his consumption at proper times and under proper circumstances; but he does not justify men in wantonly killing those creatures which He has made and with which He has supplied the earth.
At age 72 George Canon wrote; “To inflict pain or death unnecessarily upon any of the creation is not a commendable pursuit. To delight in slaughter and blood is not an indication of a pure heart. How is the time to come when enmity between man and beast shall cease If man, the superior animal, does not take himself the first steps by getting rid of his blood thirstiness and by regarding all life as sacred.”
Lorenzo Snow said of an incident in his youth, “While moving forward in pursuit of something to kill, my mind was arrested with the reflection on the nature of my pursuit - that of amusing myself by giving pain and death to harmless creatures that had as much right to life as myself. I realized that such indulgence was without any justification, and feeling condemned, I laid my gun on my shoulder, returned home, and from that time to this have felt no inclination for that murderous amusement.” In a later comment, he said he felt “the Word of WIsdom was violated more in the improper use of meat as in other things.”
Teachings of the Prophet Lorenzo Snow, p.188-189
Killing for sport is wrong...One day, to while away the slowly passing hours, I took my gun with the intention of indulging in a little amusement in hunting turkeys... From boyhood I had been particularly, and I may say strangely, attached to a gun. Hunting in the forests of Ohio was a pastime that to me possessed the most fascinating attractions. It never occurred to my mind that it was wrong-that indulging in "what was sport to me was death to them;" that in shooting turkeys, squirrels, etc., I was taking life that I could not give; therefore I indulged in the murderous sport without the least compunction of conscience.
Joseph F. Smith in 1912 spoke thus to the Deseret Sunday School Union, “It is wrong, and I have been surprised at prominent men whom I have seen whose very souls seemed to be a thirst for the shedding of animal blood. They go off hunting ‘Just for the fun ot if.’ Not that they are hungry and need the flesh of their prey, but because they love to shoot and destroy life. I am a firm believer in the words of one of the poets” Take not away the life you cannot give / for all things have an equal right to live.”
Joseph F. Smith Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol.4, p.48
never could see why a man should be imbued with a blood-thirsty desire to kill and destroy animal life. I have known men--and they still exist among us--who enjoy what is, to them, the "sport" of hunting...I do not believe any man should kill animals or birds unless he needs them for food... I think it is wicked for men to thirst in their souls to kill almost everything which possesses animal life. It is wrong...
Heber J. Grant in 1945 at a general Conference, said, “I think that another reason I have splendid health for an old man (88) is that during the years we have had a cafeteria in the Utah Hotel I have not, with the exception of not more than a dozen times, ordered meat of any kind. I have endeavored to live the Word of Wisdom.”
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My Testimony of Jesus Christ
and witness of the truthfullness of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
It would be completely innapropriate not to give proper credit to my Heavenly Father for the progress I have made with regards to my improvements in health and the knowledge I have gained of alkaline science and research. Without His aid and the guidance of the Spirit I couldn't have progressed to where I am today. Not in health and certainly not in the wonderful family I have been blessed with especially my wife Ashly and my son Ammon for whom I am eternally grateful. I'd like to take this moment to share a bit of my background and bear witness of what I know is true of faith and of God and his perfect plan for all his children whom He loves.
I grew up on Cape Cod in Massachusetts and as a kid I used walked on the beach at low tide picking periwinkles and turning over horseshoe crabs to see their underbellies, legs wriggling. I hiked through the woods alone in the winter for hours listening to the sounds of the chickadees and the wind in the bare branches. I remember always being overwhelmed by the feelings of the earth. The majesty and power of it, the purity of it and the comfort I took in it. A feeling I would later in life associate with such great things as freedom, love, truth and eventually the Spirit.
Nature is Gods work, pure and untainted and shaped by no other hands than his. In that way he reached me at a young age and throughout my life I reached out to that feeling as much as I could. It was truly when I was happiest and I sought it and pondered it constantly. I’ve found those same feelings with an even greater intensity in the Gospel of this church and only now have obtained a true and complete understanding of its origin. It has proven to be the most profound and personal discovery of my life.
Though I did not see it so plainly then I have sought after truth since I was a child. I always wanted answers to the big and difficult questions, and unlike most I never accepted the fact that there were some things we could and would never know. Somehow I felt that the answers were out there, in fact if I pondered and thought hard enough I was sure it would come to me. I often sat by a campfire alone, thinking, probing for understanding within the wind, the trees, the sounds of the birds, the sky. In those moments I sensed the presence and reality of what I was seeking, but it was foggy, as if it were just out of reach in my minds eye, but the feeling I had told me it was there and I would not give up reaching for it.
The teachings of Jesus Christ as I had interpreted them as a child, did not relate to my search and they seemed like stories that my parents and grandparents believed. So, inevitably that distance between the Sprit and I grew as I got older and I eventually went off to college. I admit even early on in my conversion, that the truth of my King and my Redeemer Jesus Christ, and the importance of His mission remained abstract to me for a long time after. Although my conversion began with faith in Jesus Christ, it was by prayer to God our Eternal Father that I was truly able to come to know The Christ and his infinite attoning sacrifice.
In April of 2005 I met a professional dancer, Ashly Delgrosso, on the set of a new ABC TV show called Dancing with the Stars. I was a Field Producer and in charge of production during training sessions. Because of our Boston roots, Ashly's celebrity partner, Joey McIntyre and I formed an instant connection, and though other producers tended to rotate couples, I began working exclusively with Joey and Ashly. As the weeks went on I found that aside from being breathtakingly beautiful, Ashly's personality was the most alluring thing about her. Her positive energy was intoxicating and I always looked forward to seeing her and being around her and as the weeks went on I began to notice a positive influence from her. Along with the title of Hollywood TV producer I acquired a pretty fowl mouth but until I began working with Ashly i never really noticed it and within a few weeks I had broken the habit of cursing in the studio, in fact I even began to notice more when I swore when she wasn't around. It was as if I could hear my words for what they really were, I actually liked the way I sounded with a clean vocabulary better and so I decided that maybe I'd make it a point to stop swearing all around. See what happened. That was the first seed of faith I ever planted. And I did it without really knowing what I was doing. But I'll never forget the feeling I had in my heart, that swelling of warmth, that tinder of inspiration. I am certain that it was in that tiny little decision that my spirit reconnected and recognized truth, my heart opened, and is quite literally where my journey was truly allowed to begin.
In June I traveled with Joey and Ashly back to Boston to film their appearance on Regis and Kelly and to shoot Ashly meeting the McIntyre family. There Ashly and I had time to talk. I wanted to know everything about her and The LDS Church, being a big part of her life, became a major part of the conversation. We talked well into the early hours of morning and she explained as best she could about faith, specifically Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon. I'll admit then, as I'm sure Joey McIntyres wife could attest by our conversation, that I did not much believe it. While Ashly was in wardrobe I found myself remarking on the crazy nature of the Joseph Smith tale and attributed Ashly's belief in such a tall tale to her sheltered childhood. However, deep down inside I wondered about it and still intended to read the Book of Mormon, if only to get an explanation of how someone so wonderful could beleive something so surreal.
Season 1 of dancing with the Stars ended in early July, I had begun reading The Book of Mormon and Ashly had moved back to Utah where she was from. We kept in touch though over the phone and our relationship began to grow despite the distance. In August, I accepted an invitation to go with Ashly to visit her family. The plan was to meet her in Vegas, where she had a performance and my uncle was also visiting on business. From there we would fly to Utah and I'd stay for a few days and visit with her family. I loved to travel and loved Utah as I had been camping there once. I was also eager to see her again and to learn more about her family and the church. We met in Vegas as planned and even had dinner with my uncle. I dont remember what brought me to ask, but it was there that I requested she show me how to pray, we knelt and she offered a prayer. I still recall the calm feeling of quietly kneeling together.
In Utah I immersed myself in the culture. I attended church, visited historic sites and even attended an LDS wedding reception. I attended many family gatherings and was filled with the warmth and joy of the spirit. We went on drives through the canyons and Ashly and I talked every evening as we swung in her hammock by the creek behind the house. I spent long hours up at night speaking with Ashly's brother in law Brock Doxey, who had a great knowledge of the doctrine of the church and was able to explain and answer my deeper inquiries. But while I had many eventful experiences in Utah it was The Doctrine and Covenants which reached into my soul. I can only now liken my experience as if I was back in Massachusetts, sitting by the pond and posing all those same questions of love and nature and the meaning of life. And though it was not as if all of a sudden I finally knew all the answers but it was finally clear by what means I could receive them.
It felt as though a key had been given, and I knew upon reading, from those first few sections, that I had found the only road by which I could unlock the mysteries of all the earth and the heavens and I knew, however unbeleivable, that I was reading the literal words of God. I knew that I had not only found the truth but my true purpose. I knew that living and understanding this Gospel and it’s Doctrine would be the greatest responsibility and mission I would ever have. I remember well the feeling of discovery, of overwhelming inspiration. My excitement was overwhelming. In this tiny library in Orem Utah my life had been irrevocably changed forever. I was certain I would become a member of the Church and suddenly felt a fulfillment and recognized a similar feeling as I'd had in the woods at fourteen years old. It was like the inspiration I had at twenty sitting by Beaver Lake listening to the sounds of the geese on the water or as the warmth I felt standing on the sand with the woman who would be my eternal companion at sunset watching two dolphins swim together, perfect, free.
Through all these moments I’d been listening, learning letting their subtle whisperings teach me what they could about life, and though I understood little I knew there was truth in it
When I look back on my stay in Utah I remember many moments. But the most amazing part about my trip wasn’t the mountain landscapes or the beautiful sunsets, it wasn’t the fact that I went with the intention of spending 3 days and stayed for 2 weeks. It was the welcome I received. That though I was truly among so many strangers I’d never felt more at home in my entire life. Those feelings and memories have stayed with me long since I left.
In this church I do not have to change who I am but I have changed things that I do. And with those changes I am truly understanding myself and my purpose.
I realized this about 3 months ago or so when I recently discovered the gospel and was on vacation with my parents. For the first time we really talked. We talked about things I’d never been able to open up about with them. About barriers that were keeping us from communicating, things we could do to understand each other and make our relationship stronger and things we were sorry for in the past. But at the same time as we grew closer through the conversation I realized something very interesting. Something that struck me at that moment with such clarity. That though I thought as I got older I sounded more like my dad, triple wrapped foods, and had similar twinges of anxiety like my mother, or had a liking for art like my grandfather I was in reality and in every sense a completely different person in that my spirit was completely unique. I knew it like I knew I loved to draw, like I loved nature, I knew as I now know God. I knew it so clearly as if it had been painted on the ground in front of me. I was not just a combination of, habits, trends, personalities and genetic patterns picked up from my parents and grandparents in the past. I understood a part of me, A huge part of me, the most important part of me, that was not of them. And in that moment I felt truly unique and loved, and realized that that is the origin, the foundation from which I can build and shape myself. That everything else about me is expendable or changeable and not my identity. And I want to begin again, to take all the knowledge and wisdom I have learned, and am learning, and build upon myself as best I can.
Although this church is one of order, as are all the works of God, it is more of a spiritual movement than that of an organized religion. This is a faith that comes naturally, one that makes as much sense as the sun on your face, the sounds of the waves, and the smell of the ocean. And It is different for me now, because now, unlike as a child searching in the woods alone, I can feel that spirit and carry it with me to all places. Now that I know where to look I can find it everywhere. No matter where I am. Alone in the woods back home, On the streets of Los Angeles, or among friends and family in our home ward, Christ is present.
All my life I’ve thought I was a good person. And in many respects I was but in many many others I wasn’t. This new faith has been an awakening for me. I realized when I slowly started to practice the gospel that my life began to change. Some of those things were small, some much greater. I sought help as I learned and as I prayed I received it. Not always in the way or time I wanted it but exactly when I needed it. And with those bigger challenges I faced, there were several times I failed and through that failure I came to repentance and understanding. All of which has led me to something that I’ve watched myself do so much of over the past several months.
and that is “Grow”
This next verse is found in the book of Mormon and it described to me perfectly the experience I felt each time I tested the Gospel, as in that first time I decided to stop cursing, to quiting smokeless tobacco and eventually the use of alcohol. Each test I offered openly with the desire to learn something. Each time I was blessed with knowledge and enlightenment beyond expectation.
From the Book of Alma. 32
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..
When our hearts are open we hear and see things we'd never imagine. Those gifts of enlightenment have made me so aware of the importance of virtues like selflessness, forgiveness, humility, and especially gratitude.
When I told people I was planning on being baptized I was asked why? And what it meant to me? I’ve been thinking about that question a lot. And it’s meaning evolves daily. In its most practical terms it is that I am making a commitment to live consciously paying attention to every small thought and emotion, every desire every question. To be aware of all that I put out into the world and how it affects myself and those around me.
I pray that I will always be grateful for the things that I have and for all the people in my life, that I never again abuse them in haste, impatience, dishonesty or selfishness. That I am able to remove myself from the fog of the world. That’s also what my baptism is. It is an end to the stupor. An end to allowing things to happen without thought or care. It is an awakening, an awareness, the beginning of my conscious life.
In the L.A. Stake Conference last weekend Boyd Packer spoke and reminded me of some very important words which my mother, who raised me in the Catholic church, has long believed in, but I never really heard until now.
They are…”Be still and know that I am.”
It sounds almost like a command doesn’t it? And I think we should take it as one. One that is hard to remember when we get going at full stride. But those simple words really express the way I came to a personal understanding of Christ’s Gospel. By opening the lines of communication with our Father in Heaven we open ourselves to the needs of our loved ones, we desire to communicate better, and grow closer through understanding.
That understanding has marked the start of my life knowing Christ and in him I have found a guide. One who helps all those when they sincerely seek truth. And today that is the promise I am making, to God, and also to all of you. A promise to step with great care through all your lives listening attentively to all the things we tend to miss when we are less conscious when we are less aware that our hearts are turned inward. And in listening that is when we begin to break out of the cyclic lives most of us live in. The lives we live in repetition.
Later, when I was trying to explain what it felt like to be confronted by my friends and family over my religious venture a story came to my mind. It was funny to me because though it was a book I knew well as a child, I had never looked at that part of the story as a comment on faith, but it is clear to me now that it was C.S. Lewis’s intention all the time.
It is a scene at the start of the lion the witch and the wardrobe. Two sisters and Two brothers are sent from London to live in a professors manor in the countryside during the war.
The Children are playing hide and seek on a rainy afternoon and the youngest, Lucy, finds her way into a wardrobe where she discovers a hidden world full of snow, and fawns and a wicked Witch. The brother Edmond also finds it and when they come out they go to her older brother Peter and sister Suzan and Lucy tells them where she’d been.
When confronted Edmond denies it and says he and Lucy were just having a game of it all.
All of them investigate the back of the wardrobe together but this time the opening into Narnia is closed.
Weeks go by and Lucy is still talking about the Land of Narnia and Peter and Susan, concerned about their sister, decide to go to the professor and tell him what’s happening.
Then he cleared his throat and said the last thing either of them expected:
"How do you know," he asked, "that your sister's story is not true?"
"Oh, but--" began Susan, and then stopped. Anyone could see from the old man's face that he was perfectly serious. Then Susan pulled herself together and said, "But Edmund said they had only been pretending."
"That is a point," said the Professor, "which certainly deserves consideration. For instance - if you will excuse me for asking the question - does your experience lead you to regard your brother or your sister as the more reliable? I mean, which is the more truthful?"
"That's just the funny thing about it, sir," said Peter. "Up till now, I'd have said Lucy every time."
"And what do you think, my dear?" said the Professor, turning to Susan.
"Well," said Susan, "in general I'd say the same as Peter, but this couldn't be true -- all this about the wood and the Faun."
"That is more than I know," said the Professor, "and a charge of lying against someone whom you have always found to be truthful is a very serious thing; a very serious thing indeed."
"We were afraid it mightn't even be lying," said Susan; "we thought there might be something wrong with Lucy."
"Madness, you mean?" said the Professor quite coolly. "Oh, you can make your minds easy about that. One has only to look at her to see that she is not mad."
"But then," said Susan, and stopped. She had never dreamed that a grown-up would talk like the Professor and didn't know what to think.
"Logic!" said the Professor half to himself. "Why don't they teach logic at these schools? There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn't tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad. For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth."
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Through baptism I’ve committed to a personal journey free of lies, and far from madness, in which truth and happiness are the only objectives. I was given knowledge and knew what I heard was true and had no other choice but to follow my heart.
When I think back on this story I think back on my life. I see myself as a boy gathering armfulls of leaves, twigs, needles, sticks, branches and eventually of great hewn logs. I see the placement of the needles and the twigs loosly upon eachother and the eventual kindling of a fire. The chill of the late autumn air is lessened as the flames begin to engulf the leaves and pine needles and lick at the branches. The sound and smells of the forest fill me with it's spirit. The logs are then placed upon the fire and the comfort of it's heat can be felt even from a distance and I am able to sit and contemplate and wonder.
The spirit burns within my heart now as with fire. And by my baptism and laying on of hands I have received the Holy Ghost. It is promised to me as my constant companion if I live worthily and this precious gift is kindled and fueled only by the good works, gifts and blessings of God.
I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God to be studied hand in hand with the Holy Bible. That Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that Gordon B. Hinckley is the living prophet today just as Moses in his time. That The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of God and that the preisthood of Christ has been restored again upon the earth and that the witness of these things is available to all those who desire to know the truth and with real intent, ask of God.
-Michael Costa
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