When Close To God

[Dr T]

Hello all,

I've been thinking about this all day. Can you tell me what, in you life, happens when you are the closest to God? I mean, what does it look like for you? In other words, if I met you on the street and you were "walking closely with God" what would I observe? What is happening internally that I can't see?

Thank for giving me your thoughts,

Dr. T

[Traveler]

Hello all,

I've been thinking about this all day. Can you tell me what, in you life, happens when you are the closest to God? I mean, what does it look like for you? In other words, if I met you on the street and you were "walking closely with God" what would I observe? What is happening internally that I can't see?

Thank for giving me your thoughts,

Dr. T

The covenant of marriage and executing the responsibilities of parenthood.

The Traveler

[Ray]

Hello all,

I've been thinking about this all day. Can you tell me what, in you life, happens when you are the closest to God? I mean, what does it look like for you? In other words, if I met you on the street and you were "walking closely with God" what would I observe? What is happening internally that I can't see?

Thank for giving me your thoughts,

Dr. T

You can't see my thoughts or my feelings inside me, but you can see my actions that result.

And you can show me your faith by showing me your works. If you don't your faith will be dead.

[Dr T]

Hi Traveler,

When you say,

The covenant of marriage and executing the responsibilities of parenthood.

You are saying you feel close to God when you are married. In this marriage, what behaviors would you say brings you closer to God?

Thank you

[Traveler]

Hi Traveler,

When you say,

The covenant of marriage and executing the responsibilities of parenthood.

You are saying you feel close to God when you are married. In this marriage, what behaviors would you say brings you closer to God?

Thank you

Some points to consider:

1. Jesus often refered to the marriage covenant as an example of the covenant one makes with G-d.

2. The creation is the one most refered to work of G-d that most believers in G-d use to establish his greatness - It is in marriage that G-d blesses a man and a woman as creators with him of human life.

3. G-d does not bless any other relationship or devotions of mankind with powers of creation.

You asked about becoming closer to G-d. I believe that one can only come closer to G-d by understanding who and what he is. For example, we call G-d our Father in Heaven. We learn to love as he loves as a father (or mother) loving their children. (even when the children misbehave). We learn to have mercy as a Father (or Mother) having mercy for children.

One can say that they can learn this things without being a parent - having had experiences of being a parent and experiences with other outside of parenthood - I do not believe it. A parent is a prototype g-d to their children - the type of parent they are demonstrates what the believe of G-d the Father.

The Traveler

[shanstress70]

Some points to consider:

1. Jesus often refered to the marriage covenant as an example of the covenant one makes with G-d.

2. The creation is the one most refered to work of G-d that most believers in G-d use to establish his greatness - It is in marriage that G-d blesses a man and a woman as creators with him of human life.

3. G-d does not bless any other relationship or devotions of mankind with powers of creation.

You asked about becoming closer to G-d. I believe that one can only come closer to G-d by understanding who and what he is. For example, we call G-d our Father in Heaven. We learn to love as he loves as a father (or mother) loving their children. (even when the children misbehave). We learn to have mercy as a Father (or Mother) having mercy for children.

One can say that they can learn this things without being a parent - having had experiences of being a parent and experiences with other outside of parenthood - I do not believe it. A parent is a prototype g-d to their children - the type of parent they are demonstrates what the believe of G-d the Father.

The Traveler

I think that the God some worship is no where near as loving as human parents (not speaking specifically on behalf of your beliefs, Traveler). For example, would you condemn to hell your child if he/she believed something that far from the truth?

Would you send a tsunami to kill your children because the area they are living in is corrupt?

For the record, this is not the God I worship. The one I worship will always be understanding and wants the best for His children, even when they screw up and believe there is no God.

[Dr T]

Hello Ray,

You can't see my thoughts or my feelings inside me, but you can see my actions that result.

And you can show me your faith by showing me your works. If you don't your faith will be dead.

I know that I can't see your thoughts or feelings, Ray. What I'm searching for is the "actions that result." Those actions may also consist of internal things such as increased prayer or outward works such as "X" was is the "X" that you tend to do more of when you are walking closely with God. What are the internal things? More happiness, etc.?

Thank you Ray,

Dr. T

[Ray]

The only people going to Hell will be the people who will love it in Hell, or in other words, the people who will love the fact that they're not going to Heaven.

And death is no big deal if you can see it from an eternal perspective. It's over in a very short time and then we are "rewarded".

[Ray]

What is the "X" that you tend to do more of when you are walking closely with God. What are the internal things? More happiness, etc.?

Thank you Ray,

Dr. T

More happiness sometimes, yes. But there are also some times when I truly feel sadness, either for myself or the people I love who still need to grow up.

And even though it's not easy I know it is worth growing up to be like Him.

[Dr T]

Hi Ray/everyone,

Maybe this will make it easier to answer. Has there ever been a time when you felt seperate from God? Now, what about when you feel really close to Him? What was different? How did you act and think differently?

Thanks

[Ray]

When I feel close to God I feel His love, for myself and other people, and when I don't feel as close I don't feel I feel as much of God's love... even if I think of myself and feel love for myself and other people, or all of the good things that I have in my life right now which give me pleasure.

... which later prompts me to want to "forget myself" as I was trying to explain in that other thread. :)

[Dr T]

Anyone else?

Thanks

[Ray]

There are a lot of other people out there. And the best that is out there is God. :)

[Dr T]

Ok. Thanks Ray. Any other site members have any thoughts on this?

[Ray]

Yes. I'm sure there are. Now if we could only get them to speak up. :)

[Dr T]

That's what I'm looking for Ray. :)

[Ray]

Me too, Doc. I get tired of doing all of the talking.

But just 24 posts before 4000 posts. Maybe this time I'll get a gold watch for retirement. :)

[LionHeart]

Hello Dr. T.

Reading in the D&C, (I don't recall which section) there is a place that says we should not seek after signs, for people who do such are wicked; but we should first exercise our faith in the Lord and then signs will follow. That is how we will know we are on the right path. Because if we place our faith in a statue, for example, the statue has no power to give us the signs, therefore, our faith will not grow. The Lord, on the other hand, has the power to give us those signs; so when we excercise faith in Him, and do so by living His commandments, He has the power to show us that we're on the right path.

I will tell you of an experience I had. I, likely as well as most people, have my spiritual ups and downs. One particular time when I was on an up cycle, I was doing alot of scripture studying and really striving hard to act and conduct myself the way the Lord wanted me to. Whenever I was faced with a decision, I would ask myself: "What would the Lord have me do in this situation?" and I would act accordingly. One particular day, I was at work and a certain machine wouldn't work. I knew it was an electrical problem so I started walking to the shop to get an electrical tester. As I walking, I saw a short piece of wire laying on the ground. At that moment a feeling came over me and told me that that wire was what I needed to get the machine running. I shrugged it off and continued on my way. So I arrived at the shop and got the electrical tester and started back. On the way, I looked down and saw the wire again, and the same thing happened. The feeling came and told me I needed that wire. So this time I picked it up. I wasn't sure how it was going to help me but I assumed it was to jam the contactor. Ffor those who don't know, a contactor is like a light switch except it is built for more electrical current and it is switched on and off by an electro-magnet. Contacters also have buttons you can push for manual operation but they spring back out upon releasing them. I thought this wire was to jam the button in, because the problem I had was that the contactor was not pulling in on its own. So I attempted to jam it with no success. So what did I do? I, of little faith, took the wire and tossed it away. I then proceeded to check circuits with the electrical tester and discovered that a fuse was bad. There were no new fuses around and I needed that wire to bypass it. I looked around everywhere and could not find that wire, so eventually I had to do some scrounging around to find something else that would work; when all I really needed to do was to listen to that voice and I would have been taken care of.

So in answer to your question, during the times I feel closest to God, I am trying to treat every situation in the same way the Lord would; and the Lord steps in and gives me those signs assuring me that I am on the right path, and also helps me out in my daily challenges. But most of all, it assures me that my Lord has not forsaken me due to my short comings.

[Dr T]

Great post LionHeart. Thank you.

[prisonchaplain]

I think that the God some worship is no where near as loving as human parents (not speaking specifically on behalf of your beliefs, Traveler). For example, would you condemn to hell your child if he/she believed something that far from the truth? Would you send a tsunami to kill your children because the area they are living in is corrupt? For the record, this is not the God I worship. The one I worship will always be understanding and wants the best for His children, even when they screw up and believe there is no God.

I understand the spirit of this post. God is love, and some interpretations of Scripture paint him as "other than loving."

On the other hand, if God is God, then we must let him be who he is, and exercise extreme caution about describing him as we want him to be. On one extreme, some would paint God as one of great justice, bringing "shock and awe" judgment against wicked doers. The other extreme is to say "No one can out-sin God's love--everyone will eventually be saved."

It's quite possible that when I come to understand something God has done, I will, in my limited understanding, not like it or him much. Yet, if I'm convinced he is true, I will worship him nonetheless. At that point, I've truly embraced God as God.

[LionHeart]

Well said P.C. God is who God is; regardless of what anyone wants Him to be. I have heard some people say: "I refuse to worship a God that is such and such!!" And perhaps if we learn certain things about Him, we, in our limited wisdom, might not like it, however if we could see the whole picture, we might realize that things are that way for a definite purpose. And if we give up on Him over something we don't understand about Him, how great will our disappointment be when we finally see the whole picture?

[MBASS]

I'll speak up! When I was "away" from the church, drinking, slumming, etc I never felt the spirit. I got into bad situations and always felt alone. I had very low self esteem and felt unworthy of church, decent men, etc. When I began the repentence process, started praying again, etc I felt the spirit of the Lord. I felt good, my self esteem was better, I felt like a true daughter of my Heavenly Father. Now, when I feel closet to Him, it is usually when I am serving my fellow man and I get a sense of total peace in my heart. Also when I am in the temple, I feel extremely close to the Lord. Hope thats close to what you were looking for?!

[Ray]

I, for one, love to hear good thoughts from other people. But I don't like hearing any evil thoughts, or what I usually refer to as negative thoughts from people... because I don't think they really help anybody... except maybe to point out what is bad... but if I don't know what good things to do about bad things to make the bad things better, a bad thought does nothing to help me know better... unless I hear some good thoughts from other people.

Does anyone really know any better way to be without feeling they are closer to God?

[StrawberryFields]

I feel closest to God when I am walking in the light of His Son. In order for me to get there I need to be doing things that Jesus would do. Helping others is a big one, along with not judging others but to see them through the eyes of Him.Other times when I feel close to my Father in Heaven is when the human side of me needs to totally let go, such as in a crisis. That is when I am being carried by Him, and that is when I know that I too am loved by Him in spite of my short cummings.

[MBASS]

I, for one, love to hear good thoughts from other people. But I don't like hearing any evil thoughts, or what I usually refer to as negative thoughts from people... because I don't think they really help anybody... except maybe to point out what is bad... but if I don't know what good things to do about bad things to make the bad things better, a bad thought does nothing to help me know better... unless I hear some good thoughts from other people.

Does anyone really know any better way to be without feeling they are closer to God?

Im not sure if that was directed towards me or not. I was answering Dr t's question about the differences in feeling away from God or close to him. I wasnt trying to be EVIL or negative in my thoughts. However your post is very confusing so Im not quite sure what you mean?!