Val's Email Sunday School: Who is Your God?

One thing that has stood out to me in the scriptures throughout 2020 and 2021 is how often they mention the people being “stirred up to anger.” The reading this week mentioned this phenomenon multiple times as well saying, “Satan stirreth them up, that he may lead their souls to destruction. 23 And thus he has laid a cunning plan, thinking to destroy the work of God. . .”

Okay, so this simple scripture can say a lot. We learn that Satan is the source of people being stirred up, and he does this in an attempt to thwart the work of God. What is the work of God? There are a few ways to answer this. Moses 1:39 tells us that God’s work and his glory is to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Immortality is self explanatory, but eternal life is defined as “the quality of life that our Eternal Father lives” and as “exaltation, [or] to live in God’s presence and to continue as families. . .” If Satan is always diametrically opposed to God, then his work is to make sure that we don’t have the quality of life that our Heavenly Father lives, and that we do not live in God’s presence, and to undermine families.

What does it mean to live with the same quality of life God has? When we talk about the fruits of the spirit, and all things that are good, we are talking about calmness, peace, happiness, contentment, etc. I like the following graphic because it helps us understand what is of God, and what is not. Sometimes it’s easier to understand what something is by contrasting it with what it is not. Scriptures in James and Psalms tell us that all good things come from God. So God encompasses all that is good and edifying, and Satan encompasses all that is bad. We're told in other scripture that "men are that they might have joy." Are we joyful? These are some of the simplest, easiest ways for us to understand what is “good” and what is “bad”, what is “of God” and what is “of Satan.”

Snagged this Pin from Pinterest (Don't know who to attribute it to)

Other goals/works of God include the Gathering of Israel and building the kingdom of God on the earth. I’ve written a lot about what these two phrases can mean, but basically bringing people to the knowledge of their inheritance and making the world better and more equal for everyone are some brief explanations.

People against God “Deceive and lie in wait to catch, that ye may destroy; behold, this is no harm. And thus he flattereth them, and telleth them that it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie, that they may destroy him. . . they who do not fear me, neither keep my commandments but build up churches unto themselves to get gain, yea, and all those that do wickedly and build up the kingdom of the devil—yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, that it is they that I will disturb, and cause to tremble and shake to the center.”

I used to think that when the scriptures talked about churches being built up for gain, literally meant churches, like religions. I thought it was maybe permissive mega churches that were twisting scriptures or something and trying to get money out of their congregations. Now I have a different perspective. Churches are groups of public worship or organized believers. One of the biggest misconceptions I had was thinking that the churches referenced in scripture had anything to do with God. There are many, many churches, and only some of them have anything to do with God. 

There are churches of anti-racism with their concepts of Original Sin, penance, and guilt. There are churches dedicated to diversity, inclusion, and equity. There are churches that revolve around gender and sexuality. All of these churches have their high priests who dispense dogma. Many have their heresies, scriptures, and punishments for heresy. These churches are monetarily profitable for some. Who have we chosen to be our God? What religion to we follow? We all have a religion, even if someone specifically doesn’t believe in God. Religions aren’t about God, they’re about frameworks to view the world and interpret events, past and present. Churches or religions are belief systems. Some religions are centered on God or Christ, and some are not. Who is our God? Who, or what, is prevailing in our lives?

This is how I encourage us to evaluate our belief systems, our habits, and our priorities. Are the places we spend our time helping us to feel more peace, happiness, or contentment? Believe it or not, some of these aforementioned religions find it heretical for their acolytes to be happy or grateful. Does our religion encourage discontent? Does it encourage guilt instead of gratitude? As we observe the fruits or effects of some of these religions, it becomes more clear whether or not they are good or bad. Does our belief system make us happier? Does it encourage unity or hate? Does it help men to love one another?

The scriptures this week said that God/Christ seeks to “establish my gospel, that there may not be so much contention; yea, Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them.” Are our hearts being stirred up to contention? Or are we at peace? If we are more unhappy, more discontented, and more contentious, then we are straying from the path of Christ.

Christ tells us “Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. 68 Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church.” The doctrine of Christ is repentance. The doctrine of Christ is about improvement, betterment, peace, happiness, contentment, and love. It is about self reliance, emotional resilience, stability, happiness in hardship, progression, redemption, and love. Are our beliefs improving our lives and the lives of others? If not, we might need to reevaluate our “church” and our “god.” Where do you spend your time? Who is your God?