Today in Elder's Quorum we were instructed on the friendship qualities of Joseph Smith. In that discussion, the teachings of Aristotle were brought up. The ancient Greek philosopher did not define "friendship" with simply a singular blanket term, but rather broke up friendship into three different categories:
1. Friendship because of pleasure - the friendship that exists because that there is a sensual pleasure derived from maintaining that relationship. This type of friendship is only maintained through the reciprocation of that pleasure by both sides and is relatively shallow in nature.
2. Utilitarian-friendship - the friendship that exists because of the usefulness of the other party. This type of friendship is maintained only as long as the other party is useful, and is deeper than the first type of friendship, but still relatively shallow.
3. Virtue-based friendship - This is the strongest form of friendship. It is a friendship that is concerned with the well-being and the best for the other friend. There are no ulterior motives in play, and there is a spirit of equality within the friendship. This friendship is lasting and strong because it is not rooted in one's self, but rather in the building up of the other party.
As I considered these different levels of friendship - the thought entered into my mind of Christ himself. We know that He is the greatest among us and the best friend to all. We understand his feelings of friendship towards us because we know that he desires what is best for us. His performance of the Atonement in our behalf and subsequent ultimate sacrifice reinforces this perspective. Further, His desire to continually bless our lives and guide us back to Father show that his cup overfloweth with that Charity present needed to establish a successful friendship.
What about us however? "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies that our children may know what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Nephi 25:25) Do we befriend Christ though? Are we as those spoken of in Isaiah: "...Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of man." (Isaiah 29:13) What about those of us that ask the Lord "When saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?" (Matthew 25:44)
I would submit that after some careful introspection on my end - that our friendship of Christ extends far beyond those words that we may say to another, or the writings we make concerning Christ, or even the charitable acts that one may perform "in the name of Christ."
Rather, our friendship of Christ is much deeper than that - or at least it should be. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, nation-wide research statistics showed a sharp increase in the number of churchgoers or those that considered themselves believers in God. Several studies show that personal prayer is more of a reality in individual's lives when faced with stressful or depressing situations. Even worse are those that are on "God's side" when "his blessings" favor them and their lives go well, but at the slightest onset of opposition, they become God-hating individuals.
Where do we stand on this spectrum? Do we consider God a friend because of the personal satisfaction that we get out of it? Is He our "go-to" individual because we know we can get blessings from Him while things are going well in our lives? Do we claim to worship God, but fail to supplicate ourselves to Him or follow His commandments while our lives are relatively opposition free? Are we "Sunday-only" worshipers - going to Church when mandated where we live, but then coming home immediately and changing out of our Sunday best and forgetting about him until the next?
If we are any of these things, we have improvements to make. The type of friend we must be to God is the type of friend that He is to us! We must have that feeling in our hearts that our friendship with Him is to further his glory and development - as Christ's work and glory was and is to bring about the immortality and eternal life of mankind, our work and glory is to keep the commandments with all our heart, might, mind and strength (Doctrine and Covenants 11:20) and at the same time serve those around us with godly-intent in our hearts. The conditions upon us being granted the blessing of baptism and subsequent cleansing of our souls mandates that we must be willing to mourn with those that mourn, stand in comfort of those that stand in need of comfort - in all places that we may be (Mosiah 18). Christ himself said during his mortal ministry that "inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of these my brethren, ye do it unto me."
More than serving others, we must also fulfill our Church responsibilities and callings, share the gospel with others, and communicate personally with our Savior on a regular basis - not just when we feel that we can gain a blessing from doing so, or in some form be granted a modicum of salvation from the trials that are befalling our lives at the time. We must not carry a utilitarian or a self-serving motive in our hearts if we are to have a proper relationship with our Heavenly Father and with Jesus Christ. Instead, we must be mindful of the furthering of their kingdom and be happy that we are doing so. Anything less requires us to make improvements in our lives until we are in compliance with this standard.
There you have it everyone! Enjoy! Signing out!
17 August 2009
16 August 2009
A Greater Understanding of the First Vision
I did two things this afternoon that I have not done in quite a long time - I sat down and watched a Disney movie (Hercules on ABC Family) and ate Macaroni and Cheese (with hot dogs in it to boot). As my roommate and I were watching the movie, I jokingly made the remark at the point of the movie where Hercules has his power taken away by Hades and how Hercules was a good parallel to the Plan of Salvation and the gospel (its a lot closer in some regards than one might think).
In any case, through the course of this conversation, I explained an interesting insight to my roommate that I have known for some time, but have not really shared. Thus, this will be the place where I explain such insight to everyone.
We are all aware of the account of the First Vision given in Joseph Smith's words:
After I had retired to the place where I had previously deigned to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
But exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction - not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being -- just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory, defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other -- This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him! (JSH 1:15-17)
While we often focus on the deliverance of young Joseph from the "unseen power" I don't think that a good majority of anyone really understands the nature of the power which held him bound. While it is understood that it was the Adversary attempting to get to the young boy, that alone does not fully help us comprehend the pains that the future prophet encountered that spring morning. The beauty of having the scriptures in our lives though is that we do have the understanding of those - which in turn help us to understand Joseph's experience.
There are in the scriptures two major experiences that help us to understand the trials that Joseph encountered prior to being introduced to the Godhead:
1) In Moses 1, we learn of Moses' own trials in understanding the Lord and realizing his own potential. His greatest level of despair is illustrated in the 20th verse where we read:
And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength, and he commanded , saying: Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory.
From this we see that Moses struggled against Satan even through the point of prayer - at which point that prayer was answered upon his head with the strength from God. This similar strengthening is also seen in another story we are also familiar with:
2) In Luke, the account of Christ's sacrifice in the garden is given - more descriptive than other accounts in some regards - which description offers us valuable insight:
And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed.
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.
And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. (Luke 22:40-43)
In all of these accounts we see that the superbly righteous person is brought under an unfathomable amount of stress in one form or another - and their pleadings toward the heaven endow them with extra strength in some form, such that their original objectives can be carried out.
Do we know who the angel is that blessed the Lord? No, we don't. I personally speculate that it was probably the archangel Michael - as he would be the strongest individual to have dominion over the adversary short of God himself. In fact, it would be almost appropriate that Michael was present as the Lord suffered the sins of the world - and brought Michael's (Adam's) Fall into full circle again.
In any case however, we are told through other scriptures that the pains Christ suffered in the Garden were known as the "buffetings of Satan" - which when studied are nearly identical to those pains suffered by the boy Joseph in the Grove.
Notice also the similarities in the accounts of both those given in the Garden and in the Grove. Christ - withdrew himself away from others as much as he could and supplicated Himself to the Father to know of His will and to be able to do accomplish it. When the pains grew too great for even Christ himself to bear - an angel was sent to strengthen Him and allow His preparations to the children of men to be finished. Following the accomplishment of His divine work, he was betrayed by His own disciple and brought before the court of public opinion to be crucified there, and later lifted upon the cross and sent out of mortality.
Joseph, withdrew himself away from his family a good distance and supplicated himself to an unknown God at the time, inquiring to know of His will and desiring to accomplish it accordingly. When the buffetings of Satan grew to an intolerable and unconquerable level, the Father and the Son appeared to the boy Joseph and allowed him to make his preparations to the children of God. Following the manifestation beheld by the young boy, he was betrayed by his closest friends at times and those in his community; spent a life being run through the courts of public opinion and persecuted accordingly, only to later on be held in prison until his martyrdom sent him out of mortality.
Thus, we come to understand that the pains suffered by Joseph prior to his manifestation by Father and Jesus Christ were undoubtedly similar to those endured by the Savior in the Garden on a much smaller scale. While Joseph was not responsible to suffer the sins of the world and redeem them from the Fall, I would speculate that the despair and feeling of utter destruction that he felt were largely that pain and despair felt by the world as a whole because of the lack of the gospel upon it. I believe that this feeling that he felt prior to his deliverance allowed him to fully understand the nature of God, and to accomplish all that he did while in his mortality.
How grateful we should be for the pleadings of that young boy on that spring morning in 1820! Through his courage and persistence, we are able to enjoy the blessings of the gospel in our lives today, but also, because of the account given by the young boy, we are also able to more fully appreciate the pains suffered by the Savior in the Garden as he atoned for our sins individually!
And those are my thoughts for tonight!
In any case, through the course of this conversation, I explained an interesting insight to my roommate that I have known for some time, but have not really shared. Thus, this will be the place where I explain such insight to everyone.
We are all aware of the account of the First Vision given in Joseph Smith's words:
After I had retired to the place where I had previously deigned to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
But exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction - not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being -- just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory, defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other -- This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him! (JSH 1:15-17)
While we often focus on the deliverance of young Joseph from the "unseen power" I don't think that a good majority of anyone really understands the nature of the power which held him bound. While it is understood that it was the Adversary attempting to get to the young boy, that alone does not fully help us comprehend the pains that the future prophet encountered that spring morning. The beauty of having the scriptures in our lives though is that we do have the understanding of those - which in turn help us to understand Joseph's experience.
There are in the scriptures two major experiences that help us to understand the trials that Joseph encountered prior to being introduced to the Godhead:
1) In Moses 1, we learn of Moses' own trials in understanding the Lord and realizing his own potential. His greatest level of despair is illustrated in the 20th verse where we read:
And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength, and he commanded , saying: Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory.
From this we see that Moses struggled against Satan even through the point of prayer - at which point that prayer was answered upon his head with the strength from God. This similar strengthening is also seen in another story we are also familiar with:
2) In Luke, the account of Christ's sacrifice in the garden is given - more descriptive than other accounts in some regards - which description offers us valuable insight:
And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed.
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.
And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. (Luke 22:40-43)
In all of these accounts we see that the superbly righteous person is brought under an unfathomable amount of stress in one form or another - and their pleadings toward the heaven endow them with extra strength in some form, such that their original objectives can be carried out.
Do we know who the angel is that blessed the Lord? No, we don't. I personally speculate that it was probably the archangel Michael - as he would be the strongest individual to have dominion over the adversary short of God himself. In fact, it would be almost appropriate that Michael was present as the Lord suffered the sins of the world - and brought Michael's (Adam's) Fall into full circle again.
In any case however, we are told through other scriptures that the pains Christ suffered in the Garden were known as the "buffetings of Satan" - which when studied are nearly identical to those pains suffered by the boy Joseph in the Grove.
Notice also the similarities in the accounts of both those given in the Garden and in the Grove. Christ - withdrew himself away from others as much as he could and supplicated Himself to the Father to know of His will and to be able to do accomplish it. When the pains grew too great for even Christ himself to bear - an angel was sent to strengthen Him and allow His preparations to the children of men to be finished. Following the accomplishment of His divine work, he was betrayed by His own disciple and brought before the court of public opinion to be crucified there, and later lifted upon the cross and sent out of mortality.
Joseph, withdrew himself away from his family a good distance and supplicated himself to an unknown God at the time, inquiring to know of His will and desiring to accomplish it accordingly. When the buffetings of Satan grew to an intolerable and unconquerable level, the Father and the Son appeared to the boy Joseph and allowed him to make his preparations to the children of God. Following the manifestation beheld by the young boy, he was betrayed by his closest friends at times and those in his community; spent a life being run through the courts of public opinion and persecuted accordingly, only to later on be held in prison until his martyrdom sent him out of mortality.
Thus, we come to understand that the pains suffered by Joseph prior to his manifestation by Father and Jesus Christ were undoubtedly similar to those endured by the Savior in the Garden on a much smaller scale. While Joseph was not responsible to suffer the sins of the world and redeem them from the Fall, I would speculate that the despair and feeling of utter destruction that he felt were largely that pain and despair felt by the world as a whole because of the lack of the gospel upon it. I believe that this feeling that he felt prior to his deliverance allowed him to fully understand the nature of God, and to accomplish all that he did while in his mortality.
How grateful we should be for the pleadings of that young boy on that spring morning in 1820! Through his courage and persistence, we are able to enjoy the blessings of the gospel in our lives today, but also, because of the account given by the young boy, we are also able to more fully appreciate the pains suffered by the Savior in the Garden as he atoned for our sins individually!
And those are my thoughts for tonight!
15 August 2009
The Promises Made to the Children
Earlier this evening, I was engaged in two separate intriguing conversations - one with my roommate about a plethora of gospel principles, which stemmed from a conversation with another friend of mine about situations in her life at the present time.
The first conversation was in relation to her feeling down about some of the decisions she had made in relation to her affiliations with members of the opposite sex. She had expressed her desire to have a relationship in which there was emotional attachment between herself and another guy, but at the same time be able to have all of her deepest physical desires not only satisfied, but continually met on demand. While that is a high demand for many individuals regardless of who is involved, her stance on things caused me to engage in a train of thought in which I came to the conclusion of many things.
The subsequent conversation with my roommate was not only enjoyable, but it also seemed to confirm many of the things I had been pondering, while at the same time "tying up loose ends" that seemingly did not have any connection to them in any form. The crux of our conversation was centered around the simplicity of the gospel and its relation to everything within it. There is not one thing in the Lord's word that does not relate to another, nor does it leave anything unanswered -- if we humble our hearts and focus our minds to understand the simplicity of it.
Now, some may argue that if the gospel is so simple, that the focusing of our minds is overkill and wholly unnecessary. To them, I rebuke them and suggest to them that they are confounded by the "philosophies of men mingled with scripture." Why? Think about those times in which we receive the most Spiritual guidance in our lives - such as during Church meetings or while pondering things in the temple. These are times in our lives when most of the world around us is blocked off and our minds are at rest and at ease. Similarly, the gospel is most easily understood when we have a relaxed mind and countenance that we can grasp that understanding.
To my friend who has the desires of both emotional closeness and physical closeness in her heart, I would say that her inability to obtain such is not necessarily in the decisions she makes concerning who she associates with, but rather her own personal decisions and utter lack of self-mastery. Though she may want to, she cannot even blame her lack of success on God himself, because her current predicament is completely the result of her opposition to God and her lack of understanding of His nature and inflexibility within the bounds of eternal law.
In Doctrine and Covenants 82:10 we are reminded: I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say way; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise. The use of the word promise is very curious in and of itself. In our day and age, when we say someone has promise, it means that they have potential. I do not believe that this is what the Lord is referring to however. Instead, He is referring to the fact that our disobedience to His command disqualifies us from the claim we may have upon Him for specific blessings to be fulfilled.
A number of commandments come to mind when thinking about this, most specifically the Word of Wisdom, the Law of Tithing, and The Law of Chastity, but the one I would like to focus on most at this time is the Law of Chastity.
Throughout the scriptures we are taught that the God is not only unchanging and unyielding to the changes of the world - because of His eternal nature - but that His house is a house of order. As such, we have been prescribed certain standards according to which we must abide by in order to lay claim to the blessings of obedience to those standards. Such is especially true as it relates to the Law of Chastity and marriage.
The Lord has mandated that we save all sexual relations for the time in which we are legally and lawfully wedded to another of the opposite sex and not before then. The prevalent argument among society is that its "just sex" or that its "fun" and such commandments are old-fashioned and outdated. As with the case of most of society's norms - its wrong.
The psychological physics of a relationship do not allow a solid, foundational relationship built on correct principles to occur with both emotional ties and sexual bonding are subsequently taking place. To attempt to do both at once, is to establish a weak foundation and alter the intended approach of that relationship. The psychology of a physical relationship is such that it creates feelings of well-being and emotional security - whether those feelings are foundationally present or not! Thus, a sexual relationship that takes place while emotional ties are weak or non-existent leads to feelings of confusion, and weakens one's ability to correctly rationalize right and wrong. A false feeling of love may be felt and emotional attachment may be present - but it may be attachment to the wrong thing.
One of the main causes of divorce in this country and across the world is because of the rapidity in which couples engage in physical relations at the beginning of a relationship. This rush into physicality produces those feelings which may suggest to a couple that the perpetuation of such is sufficient to establish a marriage on. Then once the honeymoon is over - both literally and figuratively - the couple realizes that they are incompatible for one reason or another, or that their relationship is not built on a strong enough foundation of faith, trust, respect, and wholesome values - but rather rests alone in the throes of promiscuity.
I believe this is why the Lord commands that couples abstain from sexual activity prior to marriage - so that He can ensure that full agency is present between the couple, and that deep emotional bonds may be established where the gospel can be an integral compass in the relationship and where God becomes the focal point for perpetuation of feeling rather than the temporary physical feelings that exist otherwise.
Thus, to abstain from such activity prior to marriage is not only God-pleasing in nature, but also brings with it a strengthened ability to master one's self and develop personal attributes that will serve one well later on during the creation and nurturing of a gospel-centered family. In addition, compliance with this commandment entitles the couple (and later on family) to lay claim upon the Lord's promise of blessings to them for their obedience. In this way, the Lord is able to maintain order while allowing the blessing of individuals and families accord to His promise.
In conclusion - to my friend, I would say to her that if she truly desires all of her physical needs to be met, then she must understand that they should be met at the appointed time by God and that she needs to master herself. No amount of physical interaction can substitute or fill emotional, spiritual, or mental void in one's life. Instead, by mastering yourself and allowing yourself to follow the order of God - it will allow you to build a strong emotional relationship with whomever you choose, and when that leads to marriage, your will find your physical desires adequately met and you'll find that you're a much more equipped individual to handle all the other struggles that life brings with it.
Those are more of my thoughts for the night! More to come tomorrow!
The first conversation was in relation to her feeling down about some of the decisions she had made in relation to her affiliations with members of the opposite sex. She had expressed her desire to have a relationship in which there was emotional attachment between herself and another guy, but at the same time be able to have all of her deepest physical desires not only satisfied, but continually met on demand. While that is a high demand for many individuals regardless of who is involved, her stance on things caused me to engage in a train of thought in which I came to the conclusion of many things.
The subsequent conversation with my roommate was not only enjoyable, but it also seemed to confirm many of the things I had been pondering, while at the same time "tying up loose ends" that seemingly did not have any connection to them in any form. The crux of our conversation was centered around the simplicity of the gospel and its relation to everything within it. There is not one thing in the Lord's word that does not relate to another, nor does it leave anything unanswered -- if we humble our hearts and focus our minds to understand the simplicity of it.
Now, some may argue that if the gospel is so simple, that the focusing of our minds is overkill and wholly unnecessary. To them, I rebuke them and suggest to them that they are confounded by the "philosophies of men mingled with scripture." Why? Think about those times in which we receive the most Spiritual guidance in our lives - such as during Church meetings or while pondering things in the temple. These are times in our lives when most of the world around us is blocked off and our minds are at rest and at ease. Similarly, the gospel is most easily understood when we have a relaxed mind and countenance that we can grasp that understanding.
To my friend who has the desires of both emotional closeness and physical closeness in her heart, I would say that her inability to obtain such is not necessarily in the decisions she makes concerning who she associates with, but rather her own personal decisions and utter lack of self-mastery. Though she may want to, she cannot even blame her lack of success on God himself, because her current predicament is completely the result of her opposition to God and her lack of understanding of His nature and inflexibility within the bounds of eternal law.
In Doctrine and Covenants 82:10 we are reminded: I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say way; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise. The use of the word promise is very curious in and of itself. In our day and age, when we say someone has promise, it means that they have potential. I do not believe that this is what the Lord is referring to however. Instead, He is referring to the fact that our disobedience to His command disqualifies us from the claim we may have upon Him for specific blessings to be fulfilled.
A number of commandments come to mind when thinking about this, most specifically the Word of Wisdom, the Law of Tithing, and The Law of Chastity, but the one I would like to focus on most at this time is the Law of Chastity.
Throughout the scriptures we are taught that the God is not only unchanging and unyielding to the changes of the world - because of His eternal nature - but that His house is a house of order. As such, we have been prescribed certain standards according to which we must abide by in order to lay claim to the blessings of obedience to those standards. Such is especially true as it relates to the Law of Chastity and marriage.
The Lord has mandated that we save all sexual relations for the time in which we are legally and lawfully wedded to another of the opposite sex and not before then. The prevalent argument among society is that its "just sex" or that its "fun" and such commandments are old-fashioned and outdated. As with the case of most of society's norms - its wrong.
The psychological physics of a relationship do not allow a solid, foundational relationship built on correct principles to occur with both emotional ties and sexual bonding are subsequently taking place. To attempt to do both at once, is to establish a weak foundation and alter the intended approach of that relationship. The psychology of a physical relationship is such that it creates feelings of well-being and emotional security - whether those feelings are foundationally present or not! Thus, a sexual relationship that takes place while emotional ties are weak or non-existent leads to feelings of confusion, and weakens one's ability to correctly rationalize right and wrong. A false feeling of love may be felt and emotional attachment may be present - but it may be attachment to the wrong thing.
One of the main causes of divorce in this country and across the world is because of the rapidity in which couples engage in physical relations at the beginning of a relationship. This rush into physicality produces those feelings which may suggest to a couple that the perpetuation of such is sufficient to establish a marriage on. Then once the honeymoon is over - both literally and figuratively - the couple realizes that they are incompatible for one reason or another, or that their relationship is not built on a strong enough foundation of faith, trust, respect, and wholesome values - but rather rests alone in the throes of promiscuity.
I believe this is why the Lord commands that couples abstain from sexual activity prior to marriage - so that He can ensure that full agency is present between the couple, and that deep emotional bonds may be established where the gospel can be an integral compass in the relationship and where God becomes the focal point for perpetuation of feeling rather than the temporary physical feelings that exist otherwise.
Thus, to abstain from such activity prior to marriage is not only God-pleasing in nature, but also brings with it a strengthened ability to master one's self and develop personal attributes that will serve one well later on during the creation and nurturing of a gospel-centered family. In addition, compliance with this commandment entitles the couple (and later on family) to lay claim upon the Lord's promise of blessings to them for their obedience. In this way, the Lord is able to maintain order while allowing the blessing of individuals and families accord to His promise.
In conclusion - to my friend, I would say to her that if she truly desires all of her physical needs to be met, then she must understand that they should be met at the appointed time by God and that she needs to master herself. No amount of physical interaction can substitute or fill emotional, spiritual, or mental void in one's life. Instead, by mastering yourself and allowing yourself to follow the order of God - it will allow you to build a strong emotional relationship with whomever you choose, and when that leads to marriage, your will find your physical desires adequately met and you'll find that you're a much more equipped individual to handle all the other struggles that life brings with it.
Those are more of my thoughts for the night! More to come tomorrow!
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