CORE Truths...

CORE truths are guiding stars for our sojourn on earth. They remind us why we are here, what the purpose of life is, and who we are meant to become. CORE truths are invaluable weapons against darkness, distortion, and distraction. They have the power to guide us, awaken us, and fill us with light.

I have gathered various CORE truths on my journey on this earth. I read them each morning, to keep myself centered, and keep my eye single to HIS Glory. Christ promised us in Doctrine and Covenants 88:67, that if our eye is singled to HIS Glory, our bodies shall be full of light, there shall be no darkness in us, and we shall comprehend all things. CORE Truths help me stay there, looking unto HIM in every thought, doubting not, and fearing not.

Each one of these subjects merits their own post. However, I share the following CORE truths, as tested guide posts, that I hope, will help you find your own way, and will help lead you back to HIM...

GOD IS REAL AND LOVES US.

God is real, we are HIS children, and He loves us. PERIOD.

The LORD Jesus Christ is God's son.

He paid for me and loves me so much, he not only lets me experience hardship, but also pays the cost of healing me when I experience that pain/hardship.

Christ is my friend, my companion, my personal redeemer, and MY GOD.

My WORTH comes from God, and no one else. Period.

I cannot earn my worth.

I cannot grow my worth.

I cannot grow or shrink my worth. 

I AM LOVED BY GOD (Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother) 

We are FREE TO CHOOSE.

Because of God's grace, and love, he has made us free.

I AM FREE TO CHOOSE what I think, feel, say, do. 

It is up to me if I am receptive to (worthy of) God's love.

God has given each of us agency.

Trying to control others is self-destructive, and flouts God's purchase of each of us.

You are only in control of one thing/person: YOURSELF - and you can bring about great change by being YOUR TRUE SELF, and fulfilling God's plan for you.

MY PURPOSE IS GLORIOUS. TO LEARN TO BE LIKE GOD.

I came to earth, to BECOME like God (Moses 1:39) and help others along the way. Making my eye single to this purpose fills me with LIGHT (see D&C 88:67). Any other purpose that takes priority over this purpose, is vain, and risks reaping sorrowful distraction. Choosing this as my purpose will lead me to Him. (See D&C 93:1).

I choose to be RECEPTIVE to God’s word, light, truth and love, by reading, praying, writing, listening, having faith, and looking unto HIM in every thought.  Knowing him is eternal life. (See JOHN 17:3).

Each of us were made to grow BRIGHTER AND BRIGHTER until the perfect day. 

PRAYING for others helps me see them as Christ sees them. And when I can see others as Christ does, I am overwhelmed by the beauty and potential glory that surrounds me.

C.S. Lewis has a great quote on this. He wrote:

“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”

My PURPOSE is to know Christ, become like God, and help others do the same.

“The scriptures teach us that Satan desires to lead people into darkness. His every effort is to shut out the light and truth of Jesus Christ and His gospel. As Lehi taught his children, the devil “seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” If Heavenly Father’s “work and … glory” is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of [men and women],” Lucifer’s “work” is to bring to pass the misery and endless woe of God’s children. Sin and transgression dim the Light of Christ in our lives. That is why our quest is to bask in the Light of Christ, which brings peace, joy, and happiness.” 

- Elder Russell Ballard - General Conference April 2019

MY EXPERIENCES DO NOT DEFINE ME.

PAIN says nothing about me, rather it is a gift/an invitation to come to Christ. 

PLEASURE says nothing about me, and it is incomparable to PEACE.

NOTHING IS PERSONAL. EVERYONE IS IMPERFECT (EXCEPT CHRIST).

Brigham Young once said, "He who takes offense when no offense is intended, is a fool." Powerful isn't it? But the Prophet followed it up with something even more potent. He added, and "he who takes offense when offense is intended is a greater fool." You are children of God. Your divinity and worth is fixed. The rantings, slander, abuse, and distraction of your brothers and sisters here on earth, only adjusts your perception of that truth, it does not change it.

Buying into another's efforts to prove to you that you are little, only closes you off to the truth that you are one of God's offspring, an heir to eternity, and destined for eternal happiness and glory.

This exercise in deception is similar to the exercise of trying to convince a swan that it is a motley duck. Or to convince a stallion that it is a shrinking frog. While we humans can be affected by such distortion, it does not change who we are. We are children of the God who loves. Period. Don't buy the lie. Stay true to you.

Often LISTENING is the most powerful speech. 

Change through action, not empty promises, is most loving.

True Love includes Boundaries.

Boundaries help me control myself (to show up safe, and trustworthy), not to control others. 

To love others without letting them hurt me, I start with LOVE and BOUNDARIES. 

I CAN OVERCOME FEAR by LOOKING UNTO HIM in EVERY THOUGHT.

Christ taught in John 14:12, that if we believe in Him, we can do greater works than what we saw Him do. Looking unto Him, doubting not, and fearing not, is what allowed Peter to walk on the water. It's what allowed Moses to divide the Red Sea and allow the children of Israel through on dry ground. It is how we can cut through darkness, distraction, and distortion.

I am RESPONSIBLE. 

Choosing to see as God sees cuts through, distortions, darkness, fear.

I can help my family by seeing them as a God sees them. I don’t have to heal them. Rather, I get to see them and love them in truth. 

I have a commitment to myself, to read these each morning. They fill my system with light.