Phomjachana

Sorry it was a busy end to the week. unfortunately... We are commanded to keep the Sabbath Day holy. An aspect of keeping it holy is showing or demonstrating our willingness to keep our covenants. That is most notably done by partaking of the Sacrament, at church. So we are to attend church every week to partake of the Sacrament. I'm confused by your question about letter. its a saying paired often with the "spirit of the law." An example of "letter of the law" regarding prayer, is we are commanded to pray to God, and the Lord has taught us that we should pray morning and evening. So, I could go through the motions and offer up my prayer, but the great benefits and blessings really come when I obey the spirit of the law, or the point, the purpose, or the reason for offering a prayer. Likewise I can read my scriptures, but get nothing out of it because I was trying to read a page as fast as I possibly can so I could check it off my list or say I did it, but did it change who I am? Did it cause me to grow and develop? That is what abiding by the spirit of the law does. It changes us and our spirits. Quite literally the "law is dead." Obedience for obedience sake is good when we have an off day because that maintains our discipline and perseverence, but if it is the norm, then one day it will be really easy to question what's the point of reading and then we stop doing it because understanding the importance of why we read or pray is not really known. Then we are no longer abiding the letter of the law or the spirit of the law. the letter of the law is simply doing what the law states. Abiding the spirit of the law is about where our heart is when we are attempting to be obedient. and this leads to the idea that we may not attend church, read scriptures, pray the way we've been taught, and yet we are still blessed as if we had done those things. The spirit of the law deals with mercy and understanding our individual circumstances to bless us accordingly. The letter of the law is about justice and there is no middle ground, you either did it, or you didn't. do or do not there is no try. The comment of pooping, at least to me, wouldn't have the Lord withhold his blessings because you had a bodily function get in the way and you were doing your best to get to church on time. Now if you were using that as an excuse for not getting to church and didnt care to make it to church, then (again I dont know your heart but you do and God does) it would seem the letter of the law applies more than the spirit of the law, meaning you would need to repent. (at least this is how i'd view this situation with myself.) This also highlights the importance of our heart in being obedient and that repentance is more importantly about our heart than what we do, because I can do something and my heart is not in it and it doesn't bless me near as much as it would if I kept the commandment cheerfully. I could also fail to do something but yet I'd be blessed for my efforts and heart in attempting to do it. (home teaching, we are supposed to visit families, but some families wont let us in so we letter of the law we failed to make a visit, however, the effort to connect and be there for them can still be applied and if so, then the spirit of the law(or the purpose behind visiting) has been abided by.) i apologize about the bad grammar too btw, and maybe that explains what i meant by letter of the law, and the law i was pointing to was keeping the sabbath day holy and partaking of the sacrament.

Well that kinda leads to the point. I'm not his judge. And I don't know why he missed church, but at face value (letter of the law) he sinned. Do I personally make that judgment? No, one because I'm not his judge, and two I don't know all his circumstances anyways. I presume (because he was so good) there was a good reason, but again idk. Part of the reason this is ingrained in my head with judgment is I remember someone saying off cuff that it's not good that he missed those two weeks and his facial expression and tone were quite condemning and suggesting that he did not endure to the "end." And I did not agree that he should be condemned. I think along with this guy's comments, there was a rumor that he missed church to work, which to some is an unacceptable reason to miss church. The op highlighted some fear of what if he was to die while trying to repent and other things. And I believe this story addresses those concerns.

I should also note that the example of the man above, is a real story of someone I know.

I don't believe we are judged based on what we've done as much as our attitude and disposition. Everyone has something they struggle with and have not completely overcome. It's a weakness to keep us humble and turn to the Lord. Take for instance a man who has been faithful for years, made huge sacrifices to follow the Lord, and then misses church the last 2 weeks of his life and then gets in a car crash. Do you think those 2 sins of not going to Church will keep him out? No, unless you live by the law of justice which then of course he wouldn't be going. I liken it to the talk given that suggests that when we take the sacrament, we do not need to have completed the repentance process, but that we are in it, and that we are striving to be better than we were the last time we took it. I see it as a similar thing with our lives. If our lives have been striving to repent and do better then our heart is striving to improve our view of God and follow him. Isn't that the essence of a Celestial life?

Over the last few years my view has changed on what it means to be valiant. I feel that an individual will make it to the celestial kingdom if they do not "give up." What that means, is that we strive to do our best to live the Gospel and magnify it. Our best will vary, and for some may simply be demonstrated by an addicted and destroyed life that makes a passing thought to God which snowballs with many ups and many downs to a state of continuing to push for following God regardless of how many times he/she slips up and fails. Valiance as I see it is throwing in the towel once one has received the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus also, at least to me, seems to be more than a simple testimony of knowledge that Jesus is the Son of God. The testimony that seems to be indicated in D&C 76 is one that entrenches itself deeply into the soul and governs how one acts so that it is the guiding principle of that persons life. It allows for the drive that I indicated in the above paragraph so one does not give up, because the inherent nature of the individual is changed to not give up.

I just wanted to say there is a distinction between a rod and a staff. A staff is for help walking, but the rod is shorter and used to protect and defend the sheep as well as clearing a path. It is a symbol of power. Hence it was fitting that the rod's of all the leaders of the tribes of Israel put their rod in but only Aaron's rod budded, signifying that it was through his line that power to officiate rites and ordinances could happen. Also interesting to note is not only did it bud, it also produced 3 different stages of almonds at the same time, the bud, the fruit, and some middle stage which I am blanking on what it's called. Traveler, the word your looking for is הַכְּרֻבִ֗ים or Cherub literally. The Ch is a k sound when it has a dagesh or a dot in it. There is a definite article so it should read "the Keruvs." What is also very interesting is the word play with sword, which is also Cherev. הַחֶ֙רֶב֙ The voweling is slightly different but the consonants would sound exactly the same if it were not for the dagesh(dot) in the first one. A possible meaning for the flaming sword could be a symbol for Jesus. Think about what the Cheruvs and the sword are guarding, also Isaiah 49:2 presents interesting imagery of a sword and a mouth. The idea that it's flaming is interesting too, Job 41:21 and many Isaiah passages suggest flame is giving a judgment or justice. I don't want to get more specific here. Further to add to the discussion, the word "to keep" could also be translated as "to watch," or "to preserve." And it should be important to highlight that the object is "the way..." or "the road..."

You can use those things but it doesnt truly build trust. I wouldnt consider that a dishonest thing. It is just a major lack of trust on your part and it wont help at all. I suspect he is cheating, as I caught my wife cheating recently. Check history of your internet browsers, and facebook. An often less noticed thing is cookies. It records the website, though not when, that has been accessed on your computer. Does he hide passwords for emails, facebook or other communicating sites? Do you get your a list of all calls for your phone bill? How long have there been troubles? Also porn can cost money so how on top of your finances are you? I would also suggest that there are marital issues. I'd suggest you go talk to the bishop with your husband. He'll help refer you to counseling and getting your marriage in the right direction. The last thing is when you meet with your bishop, mention to him beforehand what you suspect and so in the meeting while talking about marital problems, he can be mindful or watchful for anything suspicious that he might be able to catch. I'm really sorry if this is presumptuious. But in light of recent events for me, I think these things should help you find out and see what else you need to do as the Bishop will help. I suspect there are marital problems because I can see you aren't trusting him. If you did, then you wouldn't be concerned about this. I'm speaking from experience on that one. Trust is the foundation of any relationship. Without it there isn't much of relationship in my opinion, just parasites and freeloaders.