Our Divine Destiny
-"Our physical bodies make possible a breadth, a depth, and an intensity of experience that simply could not be obtained in our premortal estate."- “Our spirit and our body are combined in such a way that our body becomes an instrument of our mind and the foundation of our character.” 3 Thus, our relationships with other people, our capacity to recognize and act in accordance with truth, and our ability to obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ are amplified through our physical bodies. In the classroom of mortality, we experience tenderness, love, kindness, happiness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, and even the challenges of physical limitations in ways that prepare us for eternity. Simply stated, there are lessons we must learn and experiences we must have, as the scriptures describe, “according to the flesh”.-Boyd K. Packer
*The way we return our body to the Lord, shows what sort of mortal life we lived.
The Adversary’s Attacks
-Satan's two methods of attack are to influence the misuse of our bodies and to make them seem less important than they are.
-Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known” (D&C 60:13).
-"We live at a time when technology can be used to replicate reality, to augment reality, and to create virtual reality."
"The term fidelity denotes the similarity between reality and a representation of reality."
*Fidelity in marriage: Our earth life is the simulation for eternity. You have to practice before you actually do it. Fidelity in marriage on earth determines the outcome of our exaltation.
*Is there such a thing as too much fidelity in marriage? Fidelity spectrum: Are there levels of fidelity?
-"If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state."
*Physical bodies allow us to experience things as they really are.
-“they who dwell in [the Father’s] presence … see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his grace” (D&C 76:94).
*Those who use their physical bodies to experience things as they really are are able to eventually see themselves as the Lord sees them, know themselves as the Lord knows them, and are able to receive the fulness of his grace. You can only receive that fulness by being present and knowing things as they are. There cant be distractions.
-"Satan often offers an alluring illusion of anonymity. Lucifer always has sought to accomplish his work in secret."
*The things we do in secret often lead us to the greatest temptations, and therefore the greatest success for Lucifer.
-"Apostasy is not anonymous simply because it occurs in a blog or through a fabricated identity in a chat room or virtual world...Deceitful acts supposedly veiled in secrecy...are nonetheless deceitful.
We are all accountable to God, and ultimately we will be judged of Him according to our deeds and the desires of our hearts."
-"Lucifer will encourage you to misuse and to minimize the importance of your physical body. He will attempt to substitute the monotony of virtual repetition for the infinite variety of God’s creations and convince us we are merely mortal things to be acted upon instead of eternal souls blessed with moral agency to act for ourselves. Deviously, he entices embodied spirits to forfeit the blessings and learning experiences 'according to the flesh' that are made possible through the Father’s plan of happiness and the Atonement of His Only Begotten Son."
Ponder these questions:
1. Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life?
2. Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?
-“All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him.”-Joseph Smith
The Rising Generation
“The youth of this generation have a greater capacity for obedience than any previous generation.”-Neal A. Maxwell
“God has reserved spirits for this dispensation who have the courage and determination to face the world, and all the powers of the evil one, visible and invisible, to proclaim the gospel and maintain the truth and establish and build up the Zion of our God fearless of all consequences. He has sent these spirits in this generation to lay the foundation of Zion never more to be overthrown, and to raise up a seed that will be righteous, and that will honor God, and honor Him supremely, and be obedient to Him under all circumstances.”-George Q. Cannon
"Obedience is the principal weapon upon which the rising generation must rely in the latter-day battle between good and evil."
"Obedience opens the door to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And the spiritual gifts and abilities activated by the power of the Holy Ghost enable us to avoid deception—and to see, to feel, to know, to understand, and to remember things as they really are. You and I have been endowed with a greater capacity for obedience precisely for these reasons."
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