"The Gospel is True; The Culture is Not"

Too many terrible cultural norms to ignore.

Part of the Sunday School lesson this past week was about how Elijah restored the sealing power to the earth. I couldn't find that in the scriptures- can you? (I found a bunch of scriptures about Elijah turning hearts and binding stuff, though.)

After a few minutes of research into the Hebrew origins of the words, I came to the conclusion that bind and seal are two very different things. And I was careless enough to voice my findings in class. Bad idea. Apparently, Sunday School does not tolerate disagreement. A young, well-meaning woman told me that, in the bible Dictionary, the meanings are the same. I said, "There's a lot of inaccuracies in the Bible Dictionary." She says that the Bible Dictionary is true; it was written by the prophet. I said, "No it wasn't". Her young, well-meaning husband steps in and says that the Bible Dictionary is part of the Standard works and, as such, considered scripture. I said, "No, its not". He told me that saying that the Bible Dictionary isn't scripture is apostasy.

Their ignorance is adorable

 Oddly enough, I feel proud of myself for being called an apostate by this blissfully ignorant, young, well-meaning couple.

Just another day in my life.

Robert Matthews: look him up

By the way, Robert Matthews is largely responsible for the LDS version of the Bible Dictionary, not
Thomas S. Monson. Not even the Bible Dictionary itself claims to be scripture: "This dictionary is provided to help your study of the scriptures and is not intended as an official statement of Church doctrine or an endorsement of the historical and cultural views set forth."


Just sayin...

Are You A Christian Or Not?

I would LOVE someone to correct me. Preferably someone with knowledge of Mormon doctrine, but ANYONE would be fine.

This morning, I read through one of the conference talks that I missed on Saturday afternoon and Elder Stanley G. Ellis (of the Seventy) commented on “the Lord’s way” of helping the poor:

“Even with the universally accepted desire to help the poor and needy, the Lord concurs in our goal but warns, ‘But it must needs be done in mine own way’ (D&C 104:16). Otherwise, in our efforts to help, we may actually hurt them. The Lord has taught us the need to promote self-reliance. Even if we are able to help, we should not give or provide what they can and should do for themselves. Everywhere it is tried, the world learns the evils of the dole. Truly God knows best.”

So, correct me if I’m wrong, but I'm pretty sure Elder Ellis is preaching false doctrine from the General Conference pulpit bc I don’t know of ANY scripture that gives conditions on giving to the poor. Conditions are PLACED UPON THE GIVER- if you have more than you need, you’re obliged to give the overabundance with which the Lord has blessed you to someone who needs it. Not once (to my knowledge) does it give conditions TO THE POOR or scrutinizes someone’s degree of capability before they’re eligible to receive help.

So basically, I was taught that you can be a Christian and give to the poor.... or not. Am I wrong?

Matthew 5:42—Give unto him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

The scriptures say that all a person needs to do is ASK you before you’re obliged to give.  It doesn’t say “After thou hast assessed that the man who hath asked thee for thine substance is not of sound mind and body and mentally or physically incapable of helping himself, only then shalt thou give alms”

Mosiah 4:24—And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give.

Meaning, if you’re also poor and don’t have enough to give away, say to yourself, “If I had it I would give”.  

Not, “If I had it and deemed you to be worthy and deserving, I would give.”

I still feel bad for not giving my food to a random dude who pulled up to me in his car and told me he hadn’t eaten in two days.  Why would a Mormon Elder, a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, say such things as though it were from the Lord? And from the pulpit of General Conference, no less?!?!

I’m so happy that I know the scriptures well enough to, at least, see the discrepancy and ask the question.

TV Addict

Sometimes I forget how much You love me.

I get caught up in weekly activities and daily stresses that all those little things You do just kind of… fade away… into the background. 

And then, suddenly, in a quiet moment, I remember. How gracious You are. How You helped me find my keys; how You made sure I didn't get sick the first time I went on a hike up in Arkansas; how You helped me to fall in love with the Sabbath; how You made sure I had enough food in the house; how You gave me another friend when the others were busy; how You taught me a valuable lesson that may have cost me $50 but it was totally worth it; how You helped me find my ultrasound pics and helped me to remember my dreams of a little baby girl.

Keeping You on my mind and a prayer in my heart seems so easy on Sabbath, probably bc I’m listening to gospel music all day and refuse to watch secular TV. Obviously, watching so much TV is what’s contributing to my forgetfulness.  The only question is: should I gradually wean myself from tv addictions or cut myself off cold-turkey?

I counted up the time I would spend watching tv this week, and it adds up to a full 24 hours.  An entire day wasted on watching other people.  I’ll do enough of that in the spirit world when I’m dead.  Hmmmmm- maybe cut out one show a month. Something that I know I can do without- like “Real Husbands of Hollywood” and “Cougar Town”

       

Know Your Scriptures

I read a quote today that refers to your relationship with God throughout any given trial, “The teacher is always quiet during the test”.

The quote sounds true and reasonable and I’m sure there have been times when many people have not felt the spirit of the Lord when they were going through tough times. But what may be true of a student/teacher relationship is not always true of a Father/child relationship.





Know your scriptures.
Isaiah 58:9
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry and He shall say, Here I am.
James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

I don’t know about yall, but MY God is not silent. He is especially chatty during a trial because He wants me to come through it with more faith in HIM than I had previously. When I cant hear His "still small voice", its never because He isnt speaking, its always because I am too far from Him (spiritually) to hear what he is saying and I've allowed louder, much more unrighteous things to drown Him out. Change the filthy music, turn off the raunchy movies and TV shows, get away from those disrespectful friends... and you'll be able to hear Him loud and clear.

Sheep Which Are Not Of This Fold

MAN I LOVE SCRIPTURE STUDY!!!! So I'm writing a letter to my cousin about the LDS faith and I'm trying to explain to him about how we believe that God is Lord over all the earth and not just the middle east. All of a sudden, the spirit makes a connection that I had never made before and gave me an awesome way to explain the gospel to my future children and any investigators by saying more than just "I FEEL this is true". I can explain it with sound reasoning. (After all, He is the God of Truth and Reason)

John 10:16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold… Those people HAD to have been people from the nation of Israel who were lead out to preserve them from destruction. Here are the biblical facts: (1). The Lord promised Abraham that “all the nations of the earth [will] be blessed” with a knowledge of the gospel through his descendants (Genesis 22:18 and Galatians 3:8-9). The promise that God gave to Abraham continued through Isaac, and then Jacob/Israel. (2). Until Jesus the Christ gave the Great Commission (Matt 28: 16-20), Israelites usually did not proselyte to other nations. So the only way that there could be other people with the knowledge of God was if they came from Israel. (3). Traditionally, the Lord does not lead His people away unless he is preserving the righteous from destruction (ex. Noah before the flood, Lot before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra, Joseph separated from his family and sold into slavery to later save his family [and all of Egypt] from the 7-year famine).

There were several occasions wherein the nation of Israel was under attack from other nations and in order to preserve the righteous, the Lord could have lead them away from the main body of Israelites before the destruction began.925 BCE- Egypt conquers Palestine; 722 BCE- Assyria Conquers Israel; 586 BCE- Babylon Conquers Judah; (Maybe 166 BCE during the Maccabean revolt- there was a TON of violence and guerilla combat but this wasn’t an occasion of the Israelites being wicked- it was a revolt to restore traditional temple practices and rid themselves of idolatry.); 66 CE- The Great Revolt against Rome

I wonder if there were other people who were lead out to other places like Australia when the Book of Mormon people were simultaneously being lead to the Americas. It’s not hard to imagine the Lord leading his people- “the daughters of [His] dispersed” to a place “beyond the rivers of Ethiopia”. I CANT WAIT to read THAT book!!!

I have faith in Christ, not prophets... and I'm a Mormon

So I’ll give you my personal testimony first: All of this started with a question: If the prophets can never lead anyone astray, then was slavery really the Lord’s will like Brigham Young said? Am I really cursed because of something one of my ancestors did centuries ago? Does the Lord really think my skin is filthy and loathsome? Does He really think every part of my culture is so abominable that it warrants barring ALL of us from exaltation (even though the reason my culture is based on honor and respect is because that’s all we had left after my people were raped, beaten, and sold by a supposedly “civilized” culture based on “white/might-makes-right”)?

James 1:5 told me to ask God, so I did. I asked if He loved me, He said yes. Then I asked Him if He really thought such horrid things about me and my people, He said no. I asked if the church was true and He said yes. But how can this be the true church of Jesus Christ and still have utterly racist prophets? He knew how much I loved to read and research so He lead me to a lot of different stuff- I ignored some of it because of its unreasonableness and only paid attention to the more relevant stuff that directly answered my questions. I was trying to get down to the REAL questions. Which aren’t , “does He love me?” or “is GBH a prophet?” The REAL questions turned out to be “Can the prophets be wrong about doctrine?” and the answer was “Yes, prophets have been wrong in the past, they get stuff wrong today, and they’ll get stuff wrong in the future- but they’re still prophets and you should listen to them.”---“How do I know when the prophets are right and when they’re wrong?”---“Ask Me.”---“Every time?---“ Yes, ask Me every time. I always want to talk to you.”---“Every single time seems kinda tiresome, is there a shortcut or a clue to know when I should discount something that the prophets have said?”---“Be not weary in well-doing: pray unceasingly”---“Everybody in the Church always says to ‘trust the prophets’, prophets aren’t as racist as they used to be, and I agree with everything they say anyway. So cant I just trust and obey them like everyone says?”---“NO, trust in Me and obey My words. The role of a prophet is to point the people in My direction, not become my earthly substitute. Don’t be concerned with what the rest of the church says and does, worry about yourself. Not everyone who is in the kingdom of God belongs to the CHURCH OF CHRIST- remember that the way to eternal life is straight and narrow and few there be that find it.”

So without further ado, this is where He led me as I (re)searched, pondered, and prayed:

1. Joseph Smith, History of the church volume 5 page 267—“a prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such”

2. Kirtland Safety Society- There was widespread dissention in the church because the people didn’t recognize that not everything a prophet says comes from the Lord and that you shouldn’t put your trust in them- it should be placed firmly in Christ Jesus. If the saints had known where to place their faith and who to ask, they wouldn’t have invested in the bank- or at the very least, they wouldn’t have apostatized when they realized that Joseph Smith had been wrong.

3. Adam/God Doctrine- every part of what BY says about this doctrine reflects his belief that Adam came to this earth as a glorified deity from another glorified planet and that Adam is the only God that we should have anything to do with. There is no way to misunderstand what he is saying. Even if you propose that BY meant that Adam had god-like priesthood authority over his posterity, it still doesn’t reasonably explain most of the nonsense he said. And when so many people supposedly “misinterpreted” his theory as “Adam= Father in Heaven”, BY didn’t correct them but, instead, reamed Orson Pratt for not immediately going along with the supposedly “misinterpreted” doctrine.

"Some years ago, I advanced a doctrine with regard to Adam being our father and God, that will be a curse to many of the Elders of Israel because of their folly. With regard to it they yet grovel in darkness and will. It is one of the most glorious revealments of the economy of heaven, yet the world holds derision. Had I revealed the doctrine of baptism from [sic.] the dead instead of Joseph Smith there are men around me who would have ridiculed the idea until dooms day. But they are ignorant and stupid like the dumb ass." ---Quoted from Manuscript addresses form Brigham Young

(a prophet is only a prophet when he is acting as such and BY isnt acting like a prophet by calling anyone who doesn’t believe in the Adam/God doctrine an ignorant stupid dumb ass)


4. Priesthood Ban- “You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, un- comely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind. The first man that committed the odious crime of killing one of his brethren will be cursed the longest of anyone of the children of Adam. Cain slew his brother. Cain might have been killed, and that would have put a termination to that line of human beings. This was not to be, and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin. Trace mankind down to after the flood, and then another curse is pronounced upon the same race – that they should be the “servant of servants;” and they will be, until that curse is removed; and the Abolitionists cannot help it, nor in the least alter that decree. How long is that race to endure the dreadful curse that is upon them? That curse will remain upon them,[p.291] and they never can hold the Priesthood or share in it until all the other descendants of Adam have received the promises and enjoyed the blessings of the Priesthood and the keys thereof. Until the last ones of the residue of Adam’s children are brought up to that favourable position, the children of Cain cannot receive the first ordinances of the Priesthood. They were the first that were cursed, and they will be the last from whom the curse will be removed. When the residue of the family of Adam come up and receive their blessings, then the curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will receive blessings in like proportion. “- JoD 7:290-291

4a. Black men were ordained by Joseph Smith himself. Before the William McCary “scandal” BY said "Its nothing to do with the blood for [from] one blood has God made all flesh, we have to repent [to] regain what we have lost — we have one of the best Elders an African in Lowell [referring to Walker Lewis ].": Brigham Young Papers, March 26,1847, LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah

4b. The Official Declaration was given in 1978, well before nations like China and Russia were open to LDS missionaries (well before many of the family of Adam received any knowledge of the gospel, let alone the priesthood)
 
4c. Black men with the holy Melchezedek priesthood before the ban was lifted in 1978:
Elijah Abel, March 1836 (ordained as a seventy the following December)
Walker Lewis, 1844
William McCary, 1846
Enoch Abel (son of Elijah Abel), 1900
Elijah Abel (grandson of Elijah Abel), 1935
Black ppl in the Philippines and Figians by 1950 (all with the flat nose/black skin “mark of Cain”)

Doctrinal proof that BY was wrong:
4d. Articles of Faith 2: we believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam’s transgression. [we aren’t punished for the sins of our fathers- Besides, Cain and his descendants died in the flood. We are ALL descendants of Seth. I WILL acknowledge that I am a descendent of Ham (who was also cursed) but so was Melchezedek through Jebus]

4e. D&C 1:35- For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.

4f. D&C 6:4, 11:4, 12:4, 14:4- Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God(NOT whosoever will that is also Caucasian)

4g. D&C 124:50- And the iniquity and transgression of my holy laws I will visit upon the heads of those who hindered my work, unto the third and fourth generation, so long as they repent not, and hate me, saith the Lord. (most ppl in this country think that our church is inherently racist because of the ridiculous things our founding leaders have said and continued to say until the ban was lifted in1978- if that doesn’t count as a hindrance, I don’t know what does)

4h. Abraham 2:11- And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. (ALL, not some, not just the white ones- ALL)

5. Nephi asking the Lord to show him what his father saw-instead of just blindly following. (1 Nephi 2:16)

6. Matthew 25, Parable of the 10 virgins: 5 wise virgins who had their own oil (personal testimony) and the 5 foolish virgins who didnt have enough oil and wanted to borrow from the 5 wise virgins. And when the bridegroom (Christ) came, they were stuck outside. They knocked and Christ said that He didn’t know them.

Who DOES He know? His sheep (3Nephi 18:31), HOW do they know Him? By his voice (John 10:27). How do they know the Lords voice from others' voices? Obedience to the HOLY SPIRIT (D&C 38:22) NOT the prophets.

Yes, the prophets teach through the power of the holy spirit but this isn’t the church of Thomas S Monson. It’s the church of Jesus Christ and at the last day, the Lord will call his sheep and the foolish virgins/sheep wont know Him or be able to recognize His voice bc they’re trying to listen for Monson’s voice (as wonderfully cheerful as it is) D&C 84:52- and whoso recieveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice and, is not of me.

7. 2 Kings 13- prophet leads another prophet astray. [(This one is my personal favorite. (Whether you go by the KJV or the JST, the message is the same: Counsel with the Lord regardless of the words of the prophets.)]


Elohim is the God of truth and reason. The members of the kingdom of God must reasonably ask themselves:

Do you sincerely DISARGEE that ultimately, you have to gain your own testimony of the truthfulness of gospel principles?

Do you REALLY BELIEVE that you won’t be HELD ACCOUNTABLE for following the prophet when he is wrong? That the Lord doesn’t expect you to have the faith to go to Him and ask whether you should blindly follow every word that proceeds out of the mouth of a fallible MAN?

D&C 1:2- For the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated
James 1:5- If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
D&C 88:82-83 Therefore they are left without excuse and their sins are upon their own heads. He that seeketh me early shall find me and shall not be forsaken.

I guess I'm done for now.

"Familiar Spirits"

I have no idea how many spirits are surrounding me at any given time but I know what KIND of spirits they are. Every one of them lies to me on a continual never-ending basis. They are:


The Spirits of Doubt – these lying spirits are always telling me to doubt that what I hear from the Lord is coming from Him. They want me to believe that these wise and kind words of love are coming from my own flawed mortal mind. They want me to doubt that I will ever achieve the things that the Lord has promised me if im diligent. They tell me that I don’t have the strength to resist the temptations of the devil and his minions.

The Spirits of Envy- when astounding things happen to my friends, I am so excited as though it were actually happening to me. I get so happy for them and want to hear all about their amazing news. And then, after ive told all of my other friends about how great things are going for everyone but me, the spirit of envy swoops in and asks, “when will YOU have that? you’ve been promised…you should have it by now…unless… the little sins that you commit every day are keeping you from your blessings. Youll never reach the level of righteousness that will bring blessing to you. Youre too sinful. All youll ever be able to do is look at their blessing and WISH your life was like theirs."

The Spirits of Procrastination- Evil spirits who lie and contradict themselves when they tell me that the smaller sins don’t matter in the great scheme of things. They tell me that I have time and that the righteousness will come tomorrow. Its okay to talk bad about that girl- one last time. Its okay to lust after the guy on tv- one last time. Its okay to watch tv instead of going to bed- itll only be for 30 mins MAX. Its okay to eat some more pizza- this ONE slice cant hurt; you just have to moderate yourself; if you don’t eat it, itll go to waste and youll be throwing money into the trash. Its ok- one last time.

The Spirits of Despair- the spirits that are telling me that theres no use in getting up early, something ELSE will make me late anyway. Ill miss the bus; forget my keys and have to go back; I accidently scheduled the appointment on a completely different day. Something WILL go wrong. So why bother? Theres no point in looking for a job. Youll apply for various positions and no one will hire you bc you have sickle cell. And even if you don’t tell them that you have scd, they’ll fire you as soon as they find out. Even if you never get sick again. The economy is bad and youll never find a job. Youre over-qualified. Youre under-qualified. You have a cocky attitude. You don’t have enough confidence. It’s a college town and no one pays very much money anyway. Youll never be financially independent anyway, no one is- so why bother? Whats the point? Stay in bed. Watch tv. Watch other people’s lives. Theyre much more amusing anyway.



Im beginning to see how they work and how they think. Im beginning to remember to ask myself “who would want me to think/do such a thing?” what spirit would tell me that its okay to watch more tv? What spirit would tell me that I shouldn’t fast today because im not righteous enough? What spirit would tell me that its okay for me not to pray before bed if im too tired?

But the spirit has not altogether left me. He tells me the truth of all things and I can easily banish the familiar spirits---

“I know who you are. You don’t scare me. I am a daughter of the LIVING GOD. I was a princess bf I came to this earth and will become a queen before I leave it. Ultimately, my role as a goddess will blind your feeble eyes and you wont be able to stand my presence, let alone come close enough to tempt me. So, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of the Eternal Father, I command you to depart hence.”

Works every time.

Thank you Jesus.

Testify of my GOD to my GOD: He is always watching me and knows what i need

Thou hast knowledge of my thoughts and my fears. How else wouldst Thou know how to comfort me and speak peace to my soul without me having to say a word? All I do is pray unto Thee in silent supplication and Thou art immediately there. I went to Syrenna’s house after institute on Tuesday and I realized that I was in a quiet sort of mood. Most of the time that mood comes when im sick or about to be sick. Suddenly fear replaced the slightly confused peace- I didn’t want to go to the hospital. I couldn’t bear to smell the chemicals or feel the drugs in my system. I feared the nightmares and the chemically induced depression that was bound to come afterwards. Thankfully, the fear was not all-consuming. I remembered Thee and knew that I was worthy of Thy spirit and Thy comfort. So I went into Syrenna’s room, closed the door, and prayed for peace. I said that I was not afraid of the hospital experience and that I feared Thee much more than I fear the hospital and I know that Thou wilt provide a way for me (as always) to come out of the hospital with my faith, mind, and hope intact. The peace came immediately- like I had been shot with a tranquilizer gun. I took a deep breath and went back into the living room and talked with Syrenna for another hour. Renna is wonderful. Thank you, Jesus, for giving her to me.

Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it Holy.

Keeping the Sabbath Day holy has been a trial for me lately. I used to be good at this- I’d listen to gospel music in the morning as I got ready for church at 2:30pm. Sometimes, I’d go to another ward’s church service just so that my day was action-packed with gospel goodness. I would come home from church at 6, eat dinner, shower, and go into my room and watch past General Conference talks on TV until I fell asleep. And then…before ya know it… IT’S MONDAY and the SABBATH DAY was AMAZING!!



I think all these complacent Utah Mormons are affecting me. I stay up waaay too late on Saturday nights- talking on the phone, watching Hulu, out with friends, etc. and I don’t wake up until MAYBE 30 mins before I’m supposed to be leaving to go to church. After church, I eat and shower and then summarily proceed to watch SOMETHING secular. Apparently I can’t be alone with my own thoughts. I take so much joy in reading the scriptures on any other day. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for me to pick them up on Sundays. Id much rather eat while watching desperate housewives and then fall asleep at 5am after ive exhausted my list of meaningless activities. What’s wrong with me these days?



I’LL TELL YOU WHATS WRONG WITH ME! A supreme lack of faith! Satan tells me that its ok to watch tv on the Sabbath day for an hour while im eating. I mean, no one would possibly expect me to sit in silence while I eat dinner alone! That’s too depressing! And watching wrinkled old men talking about the Lord isn’t very appetizing! So DevilDude tells me that its ok to do it b/c no one REALLY expects me to keep the Sabbath Day holy. And then the second that I give in and watch TV while I’m eating or listening to secular music on the Lord’s Day, Satan retracts everything he said and contradicts himself by telling me that I’m sooooo horrible and I totally failed that test YET AGAIN! He tells me that he’ll leave me alone for the rest of the week (which I know he wont) because he knows that ill always be subject to the will of the Devil when it comes to the Sabbath.



But THE DEVIL IS A LIE!
(and according to previous drug-induced hallucinations, loves pink lace. Sooo gay).

I know that I can keep the Sabbath Day holy because ive done it before! When I heard that Hinckley had died, I had just finished watching a General Conference session and had told my mom about how great he was a few minutes before JR sent me that horrible txt (I mean, REALLY! Who the heck sends news of the death of a loved one via TEXT MESSEGE!?!?!?! That was the second time somebody did that crap to me!) SO I know that Hinckley is looking down on me hootin n hollerin tryna tell me that he has faith in me cause he saw me do it (picture old Hinckley making a pit stop at my mom’s house to check up on me before he reports for duty in Paradise- awesome).



Jesus tells me that all I have to do is “remember” and that will enlarge my ability to fully understand what Abba wants for me which will, in turn, strengthen my resolve against the adversary. The spirit is supposed to be the one who brings things to my remembrance. All I have to do to make sure i can constantly chitchat with the Spirit is stand in holy places and consciously invite him into my mind/heart/spirit/body. Often, I can very clearly hear what the Spirit is saying but SOMETHING always distracts me and makes my emotions go CRAZY! When this happens, I can barely think straight and I withdraw from the Lord into my own flawed reasoning (tinted, of course, with a whole lotta nagging from Satan). FRAK! ME!

So I guess I need to learn to recognize when the devil is tryna distract me and deal with my emotions in a more positive and productive way. How the heck am I posed to do that?! Dunno. But I’ve decided to practice keeping the Sabbath Day holy by keeping all the other days holy too- so that I don’t go through the early stages of withdrawal from Netflicks when I’m posed to be reading scriptures on a lovely Sunday afternoon. Besides, the scriptures say that Mon-Sat are days to work, not days to let the Devil creep into your life. All the days are posed to be holy anyway. The only diff is that on Sunday, you don’t go off to work. Let’s try that and see how it goes…..Starting……………………………………………………………NOW!!!!!