Athiest's Response to the Book of Mormon

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

An atheist's response to the first 31 pages of the Book of Mormon


Dear friends,

I couldn't help but share this from a man who felt strongly enough to write out his experience from reading the Book of Mormon. I know the Book of Mormon is true and I know that if all were to read and pray about it, they too could find their answers :)

with much love,
Miss Mormon


To [Miss Mormon],

I hope the following helps to keep you motivated and inspired. I hope it is confirmation that Mormon beliefs are justifiable, and deserve to be respected alongside other Christian denominations:

I just read the first 31 pages of the Book of Mormon, and was entranced by 1 Nephi chapters 8 and 10. I feel as thought I could almost stop there, and come away with something. That something is this:

The Book of Mormon should be read by all Christians.

As an Atheist, that's not the effect I thought the book would have on me. Nevertheless, I can imagine the amount of "push back" Mormons have to face, trying to convince a "Christian" to read it. What a shame. Because it is the most clearly written Christian Biblical Document. If Christians would be willing to read the text, compare it to what they already believe, most would not only agree with it, but would find that it strengthens their faith even further. 1 Nephi 10 provides a greater and more straight forward message than Paul's letter to the Romans. And Romans is considered to be the definitive New Testament Epistle. The Reformation was based on Romans. But Nephi chapter 10 tops it.

There are really only two hangups to widespread Christian acceptance of the Book of Mormon. The first, is the fact that, the Book of Mormon isn't already in the Bible. If the chapters of the book of Mormon were placed within the standard bible , and Christians just grew up knowing that 1 Nephi was found after Malachi and Jeremiah or Habakkuk...they would bite into it hook line and sinker. It would be accepted as biblical cannon. What could possibly make them object?

The second hangup ins that the origin of the book of Mormon is still relatively new. But they confuse the translation of Joseph Smith in the 1800's with the 600 BC time frame of 1 Nephi. If Christians could accept 1 Nephi as 600 BC writing they would accept what it says. Can you imagine the level of excitement they would have if the dead sea scrolls contained excerpts from 1 Nephi? (ignoring the continental logistical problem). If the ancient text was carbon dated to 600 BC with the quote, " six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jew--even a Messiah...a Savior of the world"... what christian would protest that? They would consider it the greatest confirmation of the actual existence of Christ!

And as for the "craziness" of the Mormon origin story, is it no worse than any biblical story? Christians believe that God carved and wrote the ten commandments on stone tablets. But gold plates are somehow impossible? Christians believe that God sent Daniel and St. John visions. But Nephi's father can't have visions? Saul a persecutor of Christians can play a surprise role in God's message, but Joseph Smith can't? Christians see Christ as an all powerful Savior of the whole human race. But Jesus isn't allowed to VISIT the whole human race? I just don't see and of these "Mormon" things as being anymore preposterous than anything else that is already accepted by all Christians.

Finally, it is massively ironic that, Christians reject Mormons in the same way Jews rejected Christians. Christians see Christianity as strengthening and clarifying the Jewish faith, but fail to even consider the strengthening and clarifying that Mormonism could do to their christian faith.

Discovering Spiritual Truth

However you know that God exists, that Jesus is the Christ... whatever pattern or process we've used to discover those spiritual truths, we can purposefully use that same process, that same pattern to discover additional spiritual truth. 

The answers will come and spiritual growth will happen again.

Through fasting and prayer, through pondering and scripture study, through faith and practicing goodness to others, through patience in listening for the Spirit's sweet, still, small voice, answers will come. The purposes and mysteries of heaven will be shared.

There is always more truth to be discovered. A little here and a little there. And once discovered, to be absorbed and applied and benefited from. 

As we do so, God will bless us. He will enrich our lives, grant us deeper peace and greater happiness and more goodness. As we believe, truths will it build upon themselves, more revelation will come, more truth, greater truths, and increased wisdom and spiritual growth can be ours.

Wm. Calvin Hughes
Lake Elsinore, California

THE GREAT CONDESCENSION OF THE LAMB OF GOD

THE GREAT CONDESCENSION OF THE LAMB OF GOD

In some small way we can imitate the Great Condescension of the Lamb of God by reaching down and lifting others up who are less fortunate, those in need of a helping hand, others who are lost or hurt or infirm -- those The Master referred to as 'the least of these'. In reality, we are all 'the least of these' at different times and seasons of our lives. In similitude of the Savior, we can also freely offer and willingly sacrifice of ourselves things that some of His children may not be able to obtain on their own. We surely can't offer Amazing Grace, but we can be amazingly graceful in our offerings of love and compassion and service to others. And when we are wholly committed (holy committed) to do so, miracles will abound and the Glory of God will be unveiled. May we all, with great anticipation, long for that glorious day!

Wm. Calvin Hughes

May 31, 2012

Lake Elsinore, California

The God-given Power to Choose

The God-given Power to Choose

Indulge me for a moment, and let me know if this line of reasoning makes sense.

God is the creator of the universe. He created everything that is – EVERYTHING. As such, it could be said that ‘He is the center of the universe’.

We are one of His creations. Just one of an infinite number of creations. Sometimes we may think that we’re insignificant when considering the endless quantity and vastness of His creations. But nothing could be further than the truth. As His children, we are not only one of His creations, we happen to be His crowing creation! We are the one creation that He loves the most, the one that He is most invested in, and the one He is most concerned about succeeding and eventually returning to Him.

All of God’s creations are a tribute to Him, to His majesty, and His magnificence, to His intelligence, to His passion to create, and to His Glory.

Unique among His creations, His children (us) have been given the gift of agency. We alone, of all of His creations have been endowed with the ability to choose for ourselves.

The sun doesn’t choose to give light. The stars don’t choose to twinkle. Flowers don’t choose to bloom. Rivers don’t chose to flow downhill. Trees don’t choose to have their leaves change colors in the fall. Robins don’t choose to fly. All of God’s creations do what they were created to do. They do it beautifully. They do it obediently. And they do it because their Creator made them so. They instinctively and perfectly obey His will, and as they do, they flawlessly fulfill the purpose and the measure of their creation. But they don’t have a choice.

Our choices not only set us apart from the rest of God’s creations, they allow us great possibilities and unlimited potential – possibilities and potential unknown and unavailable to all other creations! Of all of God’s creations, from one end of the universe to the other, from microscopic organisms to blue whales, from the mustard seed to the giant sequoia, from star dust to the sun, we are the ONLY creation God gave the privilege of choice!

Only mankind can choose to be happy or sad, good or evil, kind or cruel, to accomplish or to be idle, to build or to destroy, to have empathy or disdain, to dance in the rain or to agonize through the storm, to plant or to pluck, to speak or to listen, to respect or criticize, to get out of bed or to sleep in, to love or to hate, to make a friend or to antagonize, to worship or to disregard, to be optimistic or pessimistic, to have hope or desperation, to be encouraging or discouraging, to be cheerful or depressed, to feel happy or miserable, to experience the spectrum of emotions, to create, to learn… to choose! It’s not always a clear black or white issue, but the point is that God allows us the privilege of making our own choices. And the incredible beauty of that privilege is both humbling and at the same time breathtaking.

God giving His children the agency to choose tells us a few things about Him. It tells us He loves us and trusts us. What an amazing thing to know. It tells us that He wants us to take part in the process of determining who we are and who we can become! Again, amazing to me. It tells us that our ultimate end will in-part be determined by the choices we make – we have a say in what our lives are like and what they can become. It tells us that we can learn from our mistakes, learn from others, and learn to be better with every new choice. It tells us that our choices have significance, they’re meaningful, and that we should have reverence about the choices placed before us. God must really, really love us to give us this wonderful gift of agency!

It is by our choices, how we use this gift of agency, that we can show our true reverence and ultimate respect for our Father in Heaven. It is through our good choices that we can bring glory to Him and glorify Him. Our good choices, and learning from the not-so-good choices can be a way to express our gratitude for Him, for all things, and especially for His celestial gift of choice.

Choosing love, 

Wm. Calvin Hughes

Lake Elsinore, California

‪#‎sharegoodness‬

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J.J., a friend replied -

Ok, so He allows us to choose--I wonder how often he allows the natural consequence of our choice to be played out and how often he intervenes. And thus, because I continually day by day try to be more like him, how often should I intervene in the life of one of His children?

I love what you have wrote, this is the hypothetical question it brings to me. I'm guessing, because we're all unique, we just have to continually seek His guidance. That there is no cut and dry answer.

Great comments J.J.. Here was my reply back -

JJ, my personal thoughts are that God let's the natural consequences happen the majority of the time. A great thing about mortality is that whatever our choices in any given situation, we can still learn and grow. Some learning is harder than other learning, and some is harder because of the choices we make.

My thought is that in reality, it's pretty hard to take away someone else's agency. Even people serving lifetime prison sentences still have choices about what and how they think and feel. They can choose to be happy and productive or miserable and destructive.

I'm reminded of great people that chose the better path, the high road, even in the midst of incredible persecution and oppression - like Victor Frankl and Anne Frank and Job of the Old Testament. They've showed that even in the midst of horrendous storms of incredible persecution, they still had agency to choose. And they used it, to their credit, and to our benefit, to choose goodness.

To me there is a difference between intervening and influencing. God tries to use His influence to bless us and help us grow and learn. He uses the Light if Christ, the Holy Ghost, patriarchal blessings, scriptures and Prophets. He even uses our parents and family and friends to influence us, to bless us, and to help us make good choices.

Likewise, as parents we do similarly with our children. We try to influence them for good through a myriad of ways. But when all is said and done, we (and our children) still get to choose how to react and what we're going to do. To obey, or not to obey? - that is the ultimate question.

And the consequences of the choices we make will follow, as natural and predictable as morning follows night. And (repeating myself here) the miraculous part of God's plan is that regardless of our choices, He can use the consequences to still bless us. It's no wonder that one of His titles is 'Love'. In fact, it is precisely out of love that He doesn't intervene. If we could see things like He sees them, we'd probably insist that He not intervene most of the time.

Anyway, those are my thoughts... Don't know if I'm on the right track or not... just thinking out loud. What do you think?

The Holy Ghost, A Trusted Friend

Recently, I was asked to facilitate a lesson about the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost. One of the wonderful things that came out of this lesson was a discussion concerning the seven major responsibilities of the Holy Ghost. I’m confident that the Holy Ghost does much, much more. No doubt, He does a lot behind the scenes, in secret, giving all the glory to the Father. That said, in no particular order, I would like to share some of the things we've learned about one of my Heroes, the Holy Ghost.

1.   The Holy Ghost helps us find things. We are told in scripture that the Holy Ghost knows the truth of ALL things (Moroni 10:5). It would make sense that He would also know the location of all things too. From a very early age the Lord has answered my prayers when I have lost something of importance to me. At the age of five to fifty plus, prayers have been answered to find my favorite rock, a pocket knife, my wedding ring, my keys, my wallet, lost homework, cell phones, shoes, kids, the perfect wife and more. I believe that the Lord answered those prayers and the Holy Ghost helped me find what once was lost (my wife wasn't lost; I just hadn't met her yet).

2.   The Holy Ghost helps teach us things (John 14:26). One of the more obvious evidences of this is the overall acceleration and multiplication of individual and combined knowledge in every facet of our world (communication, travel, music, arts, literature, medicine, education, energy, science, food production, the universe, languages, architecture, construction, etc.). We have access to information on our phones that Rulers and Kings and other royalty didn’t have access to anywhere less than 200 years ago. In fact, since the restoration of the Gospel in 1820, the influence of the Holy Ghost has been expanding through the worldwide growth of Church membership, and knowledge and technology has also grown exponentially in ever-increasing rates. I believe that it’s definitely not a coincidence (also see D/C 121:26-27).

3.   The Holy Ghost helps testify of truths, especially of spiritual things, and most especially of things pertaining to the Savior Jesus Christ and God, our Heavenly Father. The scriptures tell us that ‘life eternal is knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom He sent’ (John 17:3). The Holy Ghost plays a major role in helping us learn about God and His Son, their goodness, their love for us and their desire for our eternal happiness.

4.   The Holy Ghost helps protects us. He will warn us of poor decisions and of danger ahead. Just as loving parents watch over their children, steering them away from dangerous traffic, a hot stove, a poor decision or a bad relationship, likewise our Heavenly Father uses the Holy Ghost in similar ways to protect His children from both physical and spiritual dangers (Mosiah 2:6). 

5.   The Holy Ghost helps comfort us. In times of difficulty, stress, concerns or other worries. He can help us cope, help us endure, help us find the silver lining and help us understand God’s higher purposes. This comfort will most likely not cause challenges to go away, or go away any sooner, but it will remind us that God is in control, that we’re not alone, and that we will learn something of value and will be better for the journey. God has promised us ALL things work together for good to them that love God (Romans 8:28).

6.   The Holy Ghost helps guide and direct us. I guess that this is somewhat related to number 1 above, but the emphasis here is more than finding lost things, its directing us spiritually, directing us toward Christ and the eventual return to our heavenly home. The Holy Ghost prompts us to stay in correct spiritual paths. He sets delineators and road signs along the trail, pointing to where God wants us to go and to where we can best serve Him. It’s comforting to realize that the Holy Ghost will never, ever lead us astray (D/C 42:13, 46:2).

7.   The Holy Ghost helps clean and purify and sanctify us from all sin (1 Corinthians 6:1). The scriptures frequently refer to the feelings we experience from the Holy Ghost as a burning in the bosom or as a baptism of fire. It is that process of cleansing and purifying and sanctifying that the Holy Ghost helps us grow spiritually and prepares us to be presented by the Savior, as our Mediator, to the Father at the judgment bar. Through the Savior’s Atoning sacrifice, His blood that He freely spilt, we have hope of reuniting with God. The Holy Ghost plays an important role in helping us become pure enough to appreciate and understand better what the Savior did for us in Gethsemane and on Golgotha.

I read a book some 2o years ago about how to qualify for the Celestial Kingdom. It was, at most, 150 pages. But to my amazement, the secret process it spoke of was strikingly simplistic! The author repeated himself over and over, using different words and examples, but essentially saying the same thing on every page! The great secret he revealed was only 13 words long! In order to qualify for the Celestial Kingdom, he said all that we needed to do was to “be committed to consistently seek and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost!”

May we all have greater appreciation the third member of the Godhead, and diligently strive each day to seek and follow the subtle promptings and quiet whisperings of the Holy Ghost.

Wm. Calvin Hughes

Lake Elsinore, California

July 2014

Thank Heavens for Gift Horses

Sometimes you just have to accept the help on the helper's terms or you end up stuck, going no where. Frustrated and mire-laden.

Too often the gift horse isn't very attractive to us, but it's the only gift horse available. The gift horse may not be the one we were hoping for, the one we were praying for, but it can still be sufficient to get us out of the mire and back on the road where we can start moving again. Start making progress again. (Sadly, to our chagrin, we may discover that he may be,,, [Oh NO!!!] a "gift donkey"!)

Hence, the phrase, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. He may be the only one coming our way for days or weeks, months or even years to come.

i need to be thankful and appreciative for ALL things. Today's little blessing may only get me through the next few hours, but it may also be just the right step in just the right direction, just what was needed to get me one step closer to where I ultimately want to go. Thank you little ugly, uninformed, inexperienced, weak, shaggy, illogical, unorthodox, ill-prepared, but willing and available gift horse. You'll have to do, and I'll take what you're offering, however inadequate and insufficient I may think it is, nevertheless.

After all, God sent this little gift horse... Just like God sent David to take on Goliath. David was anything but what Israel expected or what they had been hoping for, praying for. Nevertheless, David, the gift horse, saved the day, saved thousands of lives on the battlefield, and saved a nation!

We should have more faith in the gift horses God sends our way in answer to our prayers for help and deliverance from the mires of life.

So, thank you little gift horses (even you "gift donkeys"). And thank God for graciously sending them my way in my hour of need.

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"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." - Isaiah 55:8-11

Happy Mother's Day Mom

Mom, wanted to be early in wishing you a Happy Mother's Day. 

Guess what? I am typing this email with both hands! Something that I was fearful might never again be a possibility after my stroke. I know that this email isn't about me, but this miracle (and not a small one) is one in a series of three incredible miracles that have happened over the last month. And they are each connected to you and my Mother's Day wish for you.

Recently, I was telling a friend about the specifics of these miracles and said that if I were standing at the edge of the Red Sea with nowhere to run, and the entire Egyptian Army were marching toward me with the intent to end my life, and the Sea opened up wide before me, revealing dry ground providing an escape of safety and refuge, that it wouldn't be any more miraculous than any one of these three miracles the Lord has so graciously blessed me with!

Again, this email is not about me - it's about you and Mother's Day. But the two are inseparably connected - my three miracles and my Mother's Day wish for you. 

If there is one thing that I have come to value about you Mom and the upbringing I received almost exclusively through you, is the quality you instilled in me of self-confidence. You consistently told me that I could accomplish anything - I could be an astronaut, a doctor, a race car driver, a millionaire, a pro basketball player - even at 5' 6" tall, a, rock star, an artist, a policeman, or even the President of the greatest country in the world. 

Whatever the dreams of a daydreaming boy, you grasped them, supported them, made them a reality for me, and made them your dreams too. You gave an infinity of credibility to my dreams, however fleeting they might have been. And not only could I be any of those things in your eyes, I could be the best ever at any of those things! Even though my silhouette of George Washington was his profile, but I drew both eyes and a nose and a mouth as in he was facing forward, you made me feel like I was talented enough to paint portraits that could rival the Mona Lisa or any of the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo or Vincent van Gogh! 

Confidently knowing that the person that knows you better than any other person on the planet, and loves you more than any other person on the planet has that kind of infinite confidence in you is priceless! It's of infinite worth! It's the stuff that many would refer to as pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or Shangri-La or Paradise.

How does someone ever say 'Thank You' for something like that? It sounds so trite and insincere - so inadequate and insufficient. 'Thank You and Happy Mother's Day' may come somewhat closer, but still light years shy of an adequate measure of gratitude. There's just not a way to try and balance the scale,

Thanks for being my Mom! I'm typing with two hands because my Mom told me, instilled in me, and made me believe in myself that I could do anything. Anything! Walking is coming back, slowly but surely. But it will come. Then running, skipping, hopping and more! How do I know? Because my Mom told me that I could do anything!

Walking for today, but Faster than a speeding bullet; More powerful than a locomotive; Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound! for tomorrow! I know I can because my Mother told me so! 

The world can be a very scary place, but oh how safe and secure it is under your mother's wings! Such a brave mother! Teaching her little ones that they can do anything, that they can be anything, that they too can be brave all on their own. I'm brave, because my mother taught me that I could be brave!

Happy Mother's Day! I love you for all of the things you have done to make me the person I am, especially for giving me confidence in myself. Thank you for being my mother!

With Love, your firstborn son, Calvin

PS, Here's a song that reminds me about you because you are such an incredibly brave Mom!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQsqBqxoR4

The Human Family

Any man’s suffering 

diminishes me, 

because both he and I 

are part of the human family. 

Wm. Calvin Hughes, 5/8/2014

<<<<< - >>>>>

 Perhaps it's exactly why 

The Greatest Teacher to ever live 

taught that loving God and loving one another

 were the most important laws, 

and that we are to love without prejudice - 

even to love our enemies.

Dealing with Pains from the Past

I loved this quote! 

These are powerfully wise words. 

There should be a required class in High School that teaches kids the correct tools and processes they can use to adequately deal with past pain. I don't know of a person on the planet that wouldn't benefit in some way.

“You can accept or reject the way you are treated by other people, but until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed. You can bandage the bleeding with food, with alcohol, with drugs, with work, with cigarettes, with sex, but eventually, it will all ooze through and stain your life. You must find the strength to open the wounds, stick your hands inside, pull out the core of the pain that is holding you in your past, the memories, and make peace with them” 


― Iyanla Vanzant, Yesterday, I Cried

Bio: Wm. Calvin Hughes

Who am I?

Well, I write poetry, I sing in the shower, I sell insurance, and I've been going to Church for over a half a century. And yes, I’m a Mormon.

My name is Calvin, I was named after one of my dad's High School teachers. I'm the oldest of seven. I am a college graduate holding two bachelor degrees in business. I’m happily married, a father of six, and grandfather of six. I was lucky enough to marry my high school sweetheart. 

As I said, I've been going to my Church for more than half a century. With my whole heart I believe in the redemptive and saving powers that are only available and exclusively accessible through God's Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I grew up a member of and am actively involved in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love the Savior. 

My heart is open to learn truth from wherever it may come. I have found that no one, no particular belief system, or no particular faith holds the corner on the market of truth. Some people or groups may have more or less than others, but I sincerely believe that we can learn truth from just about everyone that is sincere, has an open heart, and has committed their life to the Savior. 

The following is an expression of my personal conviction about the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church:  "Everything about the Church, everything we do in the Church, every plan, every activity, every hymn, every program, every principle, every instruction, every commandment, every meeting, every calling, and every event is based in the singular purpose of bringing people to the Savior Jesus Christ, expanding our love for, and deepening our relationship with Him." I believe that with all of my heart. And I believe that most of the members of my Church feel the same way.

Why I'm a Mormon? I have a personal testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ and have dedicated my life to Him and promoting His work. I know that He lives. That He suffered for my sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and that He died for me. That He paid the price for my sins that I could never pay for myself. That He, of His own free will Atoned for me and opened the door that I might live again and be with Him again someday. 

I have felt His presence in my life and heard His voice. He has comforted me, healed me, answered my prayers, lifted me up, and blessed my life in immeasurable ways. He is the reason for being, for my every breath. I have dedicated my life to Him. My marriage and my family are dedicated to Him.   

Several years ago, as a young man I dedicated two years, twenty-four hours-a-day to His service and serving His children. It was one of the greatest and most rewarding and spiritual experiences of my life. Since then I have tried to continue that dedication to Him as much as possible by continuing to serve His children. I have consecrated my life and covenanted to give Him all that I have, and all that I will ever have; all that I am, and all that I'll ever hope to be. I am committed to living my life so that anyone I ever meet, should without question understand unequivocally my personal dedication to Him, and that He is the central focus of my being.  

I love the idea that The Church of Jesus Christ is not a break-off or reformation from any other organized religion. As I understand it, there are somewhere around 25,000 to 30,000 different Christian faiths in the United States alone. The members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider our Church as being restored from the original Church of Jesus Christ, with living prophets and apostles. An actual restoration of the original Christian Church's organizational structure and doctrinal beliefs. I'm a Mormon because of the happiness and peace that we enjoy as members in the Church, and the personal relationship I have with my Savior.

I know that if I have any chance at salvation it will only come through complete reliance and trust in my Lord and Savior. Some may think that I belong to a "cult". Regardless of what they may say or believe, I've found a wealth of truth and comforting peace, a deep and abiding love, and an undeniable relationship with my Savior in an incredibly amazing Church. 

In my family we're faithful in saying our personal and family prayers, studying the scriptures, in attending Sabbath Day services, and in our tithes and offerings. We serve our family, our neighbors, and in the Church because He served others all the days of His life, and we want to be like Him. We're certainly not perfect - not by any means, but we try to keep the commandments and live lives of righteousness. Even so, we fully rely on the merits of the Savior's infinite and eternal Atoning sacrifice. His Atonement is our only hope of salvation and a reconciliation with Him and our Father in Heaven, someday in His glorious Kingdom of Heaven.

Mending Troubled Relationships

MENDING TROUBLED RELATIONSHIPS

Most of our hurt and frustrations in life come from troubled relationships. It’s true when we have difficulties with our parents, our spouse or children, with siblings, neighbors and even with friends and work associates. Troubled relationships can be the collective thorn in our sides throughout life, causing unbearable amounts of pain, stress, loneliness and devastation. Usually we view our contribution to the trouble as minimal, and we easily justify our side of the situation and our subsequent reactions.

And in addition, adding even more fuel to the fire, we maximize the other party’s guilt! Many times even fabricating great fictional stories, reading more from in between the lines than the actual words, turning molehills into Everest’s. And to what end? To the end of maintaining our pride. To the end of holding on to the hurt and pain and devastation month after month, year after year. To the end of protecting those sacred mantras of: “I’m right and you’re wrong!” and “I’m good and you’re bad!” and “I’m an understanding person and you’re incredibly stubborn!”

So, what’s a better solution? The solution may not be easy, but it’s certainly easier than the consequences of holding on to years of troubled relationships. We have to swallow our pride, humble ourselves and assume the entire blame for our hurting relationships! Only then can complete healing begin to occur and eventually our soured relationships can thrive beyond measure.

But it takes incredible humility and faith. Something most of us find tremendously hard to do. Accepting all of the responsibility may not seem fair, but it's not about being fair, it's about mending, building and maintaining thriving relationships. Ultimately, we have to make a critical choice ― would we rather be right or would we rather be loved?

It's amazing how many of us and how many times we would rather be right! And the terrible result is continuing those unhealthy damaged and broken relationships. So, sadly we sit in misery, but full of pride and let the years roll by.

If it was about being fair, the Savior would have never come to earth. But He did. And amazingly, He took responsibility for 100% of the blame ― every sin or thought about sin that would ever be committed. Incredibly, He deserved none of it, 0% of the blame. So why did He do it? One reason I believe is that He wanted the relationship more than He cared about what was fair, or more than He cared about who was to blame. He wanted love more than He wanted to be right! Perhaps that's why we are reminded in the scriptures that we are less than the dust of the earth (Hel. 12:7). It takes an uncommon humility to accept that kind of blame, and to totally bury our pride. But when we do, oh how our relationships can thrive!

And when we do, hold on, because we're going to experience love in our lives like we've never experienced it before.

Kind of makes total sense that “God is love” (1 John 4:8).

_______________________________________________________________

Wm. Calvin Hughes

March 15, 2014 – Lake Elsinore, California

Dedicated to my dad, William "Bill" Evans Hughes

in commemoration of his birthday March 15, 1940

We miss you so much dad!

Satan's Plan For Mortality

HOW DID SATAN PRESENT HIS PLAN FOR MORTALITY?

_______________________________________________

(Something I've been thinking about for years, but just started putting in writing. I welcome your thoughts.) 

________________________________________________ 

Here's a glimpse of how I believe Satan’s Plan for Mortality would have been presented. What it would have looked like in reality would have been completely different!  The presentation was no more than an attractive and well-planned façade, intentionally meant to deceive and lure Heavenly Father’s children away from Him.      

But first, I want to try to attempt to put the presentation of Satan’s plan into context... 

After reading it, I’m hoping that you can see why a third part of Heavenly Father's children could have been deceived and saw Satan’s Plan as a very attractive plan. 

Also, it’s helpful to remember that a third part of the hosts of heaven most likely represents a third part of ALL of the population of ALL of the worlds created by the Savior. We are told by Moses that the Savior created ‘worlds without number’. These worlds, maybe millions or billions, were created to be inhabited by Heavenly Father's children – so that they could experience mortality, gain a physical body, be tested and have the opportunity of being exalted into a Kingdom of Eternal Glory. All of which for the express purpose of fulfilling our foremost and fondest desire of becoming more like our Heavenly Parents. Our Heavenly Father, and our Savior loved us so much that they wanted to make that possibility a reality! 

But the point is, that there were billions upon billions of our spirit brothers and sisters that although deceived, saw merit in Lucifer's plan and willingly followed him. What's unthinkably sad is that they most likely thought that WE were the ones who were deceived for choosing to follow Heavenly Father's plan! 

Life is hard (please see my poem ‘Life is Supposed to be Hard’), but I'm glad we chose Father’s Plan, and I'm forever grateful that our Eldest Brother did exactly what He promised to do in the Plan. Because of that, this mortality, however difficult it may be for us, can culminate in the realization of our foremost and fondest dreams of becoming like our Heavenly Parents. With Heavenly Father's Plan, and the Savior fulfilling His role in the Plan, dreams really can come true! 

So, with that premise, here's a glimpse of how I think Satan's plan for mortality would have been presented in the council in heaven…

 
·         No flat tires, no dead batteries - in flashlights or cars.
·         No tow trucks, your car never runs out of gas.
·         No stop signs or red lights
·         Never a late plane or train or bus, everything is always on time.
·         No disobedient children, no runaways.
·         No bounced checks, no over-the-limit credit cards, no bill collectors.
·         No failure, no accountability, no criticism. 
·         No pets ever die prematurely - not even goldfish.
·         No abusive parents, no annoying neighbors, no weeds in the yard.
·         No "No Trespassing" signs, no unhappy campers.
·         No stock market crashes, no economic downturns - - in fact there are no bad investments.
·         No holes in your socks, your tee shirts, or your Levi's, and your shoes never wear out.
·         No unhappiness, no toiling or strife.
·         No gossip or back-stabbing.
·         Nothing but straight A's on every assignment, on every test, and in every class.
·         Everyone is a valedictorian.
·         Everyone earns their doctorate degree, with honors, if they want it.
·         Everyone is a Noble Peace Prize winner, if they want to be.
·         No unfaithful spouses, no cheating on taxes.
·         No layoffs or Reduction-in-Force experiences in the work place.
·         No foreclosures or bankruptcies.
·         No garbage or garbage trucks or garbage day!
·         No broken TV's, broken garbage disposals, or clogged toilets.
·         No broken windows, burned out light bulbs, or faulty garage door openers.
·         No computer viruses.
·         No addictive substances or substance abuse.
·         No drunk drivers, ever.
·         No acne, no headaches, no stress.
·         No wrinkles, no gray hairs, no arthritis.
·         No sun burns, no broken bones, no stitches or scars.
·         No bloody noses, no black eyes.
·         No aches or pains, bad backs, bum knees, or tennis elbows.
·         No injections, inoculations, medicines or blood draws.
·         No donating of blood.
·         Easy, simple, made-to-order child birth - - no labor - - like ordering a pizza (do you want pepperoni with that?)
·         No old folk's homes.
·         Every steak is superbly tender and perfectly cooked.
·         Every movie gets an Oscar and has a happy ending.
·         Every book is a New York Times bestseller.
·         Every newspaper is full of good and happy news - not one line about bad news.
·         Everything is always on sale - nothing is too expensive.
·         Everyone lives in a mansion - everyone has their own pool.
·         Everyone gets front row seats at the basketball game.
·         Everyone gets fifty-yard line seats at the football game.
·         No disappointment, no discouragement or depressing experiences, no let-downs.
·         No eye glasses, no hearing aids, no crutches or wheel chairs.
·         No handicapped parking - - everyone gets front row parking.
·         No extreme weather - no floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, droughts, wind storms, snow storms, ice storms, rain storms, volcanic eruptions, wild fires, etc. - - every day is just another day in paradise!
·         No trike, bike, motorcycle or automobile accidents.
·         No traffic jams.
·         No missed shots in basketball.
·         Every batter hits a home run in baseball.
·         No attempts on goal in hockey as every shot scores.
·         Same for soccer - every kick scores.
·         Every time a fisherman casts his line he pulls in a fish.
·         Every first down is a touchdown in football and no missed point-afters.
·         Every bowling game scores a perfect 300.
·         Every golf swing results in a hole-in-one.
·         Every lottery ticket is a winner.
·         Nothing ever gets lost.
·         No starvation, no unruly dictators, no scandals in government, no political strife
·         No crime in any form, no jails, no policemen or firemen or ambulances.
·         No suicide, no oppression, no poor, no hungry, no desolation.
·         No pestilence, no gluttony, no pride, no envy, no lust, no jealousy.
·         No anger, no greed, no slothfulness.
·         No dirty dishes, no dirty clothes, no dirty cars, no dirty windows, no dirty toilets or bath tubs.
·         No terror, no horror, no fear, no murder, no rape.
·         No Stalin's, no Hitler's, no Saddam Hussein's, no Osama bin Laden's
·         No character, no principle, no morality.
·         No integrity, no maturity, no humanity, no service to your fellow men, no compassion, no sacrifice, no lack of self-esteem
·         Nobody has to work for anything.
·         No prudence, no temperance, no courage or justice.
·         No love, no hope, no faith.
·         No humility, no kindness, no patience, and no diligence.
·         No kindness, no fortitude, no justice, no temperance or prudence.
·         No one needing clothes, no sick, no prisoners.
·         No sin, no abortion, no infertility, no unwanted pregnancy and no unwanted children - - no orphans or orphanages.
·         No need for patience, no need for compassion.
·         No feelings of loneliness or discouragement.
·         No one has a care in the world!
·         No wisdom, no learning, no growth, no progress, no improvement.
·         No spirituality, no scriptures, no commandments.
·         No mysteries, no paradoxes, no discoveries.
·         No weight struggles - - either with being overweight or underweight.
·         No plastic surgery.
·         No lawsuits or lawyers.
·         No sickness, no disease, no nurses or doctors or hospitals.
·         No blindness, no lame, no halt, or maimed.
·         No amount of junk food is bad for you.
·         No guilt, no consequences.
·         No choice, because there's no agency!
·         No bad days... ever!
·         No feelings of remorse or sorrow, no need for repentance.
·         Everything is easy, nothing is hard.
·         Everything is simple, nothing is challenging.
·         No baptismal fonts, no priesthood, no prophets or apostles.
·         No churches, no seminaries, no temples, no prayer.
·         No Holy Ghost.
·         No virgin birth, no manger holding the Babe of Bethlehem.
·         No miracles.
·         No Atonement.
·         No crucifixion, and no resurrection.
·         No Savior.
·         No God.
·         No eternal reward.
·         Not a care... I say NOT A SINGLE CARE in the world!
 
And that is my opinion of at least a glimpse of how Satan's Plan for Mortality would have been presented to the heavenly council. I can imagine that if it were laid out with the right passion, combined with some subtle deception and clever deceit, the holding back of some pertinent details, that it would be a very enticing, very luring, very attractive and very tempting Plan for Mortality. So much so that a third part of the heavenly hosts bought into it. And so much so, that there are occasions where some of us (maybe most of us) would think that parts of his plan would be nice for us! But, remember, IT WAS ALL A BIG LIE! There would have been nothing attractive, nothing appealing, and nothing valuable about it. Had it been implemented, it would have been the worst disasters in the history of the all eternity. 

However, our Wise and All-Knowing Heavenly Father knew that Lucifer’s plan had absolutely no merit, that it wouldn’t work. We should take some time to ponder and appreciate the beauty and the completeness of our Heavenly Father's Plan for Mortality (also known as ‘The Plan of Happiness’). With His Plan, we should be especially grateful for the potential of life after mortality. Clearly, Heavenly Father’s Plan WAS the better choice – in fact, there really was NO OTHER CHOICE! Rest assured, no matter how hard life may be, or how difficult it may get, our choice to go with Heavenly Father's Plan (which ALL of us did!) was the right one. 

The Devil STILL wants us to believe that we were somehow deceived and that his plan is still the more attractive option. But don't let him tempt you. Like a wise man once said, "I don't allow myself to think about it." Regarding Satan's Plan for Mortality, we would do well to follow that counsel! 

Instead we should appreciate with greater reverence and awe the wondrous and perfect Plan for Mortality, the Plan of Salvation authored by our Father in Heaven. Likewise, we should have an unending gratitude for our Father’s Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and His central and defining role in the Plan. For it was through the Atonement of our Elder Brother, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Redeemer and Savior of the World, who perfectly performed His role in the Plan that it’s all worth it; that we can have the chance to fulfill our grandest dream of becoming like our Heavenly Parents! Indeed, because of Him, our dreams can come true! 

I so testify in His Holy Name. 

_______________________________________ 

Wm. Calvin Hughes

March 1, 2014 ~ Lake Elsinore, California