0:00:00 - 0:00:24OK. This one's gonna be fun. Uh I'm going to begin this by reading some scriptures and then we will use those scriptures and then hopefully, we can deploy the information here uh with the least amount of resistance, triggering the least amount of resistance. So in D and C 58 we read for behold, it is
0:00:24 - 0:00:50not meet that I should command in all things for he for he that is compelled in all things. The same is a slothful and not a wise servant wherefore he receives no reward. Barely. I say men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause and do many things of their own free will and bring to pass must much
0:00:50 - 0:01:13righteousness for the power is in them wherein they are agents unto themselves and inasmuch as men do good, they shall in no wise lose their reward but he that doeth nothing until he is commanded and receive a commandment. Receive a commandment with doubtful heart and keepeth it with slothfulness. The
0:01:13 - 0:01:34same is damned sorry if I'm a little nasally more than usual even I'm fighting a cold. OK? So this is DNC 58 and we'll talk about this then we'll go somewhere else to talk about that and we'll go talk about something else. There's a lot in this, even though this is one of these scriptures that uh are
0:01:34 - 0:02:01well known by those who accept the doctrine and covenants as scripture or parts of it, at least. Um It's rarely unpacked because you have to know several keys like for example, what is righteousness, it is God. So righteous acts are acts that God would do. For example, righteous motives are God's motives
0:02:00 - 0:02:22. So it is what is like God because he is what is right. He's already solved the puzzle. So that's the key because it unlocks a lot of things. For example, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause. Do many things of their own free will and bring to pass much righteousness. So the goal is righteousness
0:02:21 - 0:02:46. Why? Because the power is in them wherein they are agents unto themselves. So we are made free because we know the difference between things. We have the ability to learn to differentiate and to progress in our understanding of the differences and to progress in our accuracy of our awareness of the
0:02:46 - 0:03:15options that are available. We have the ability to know more about what God is like and we have the ability to choose to be that way. That's how we are. We have the power. OK. Um And so as we do that, there is a reward that reward is being more like God and everything that comes with that. Um But if
0:03:15 - 0:03:43you wait around until you're explicitly told, do this, do that? How are you missing out on blessings? Well, because your joy is a function of your faith. If you are compelled in all things, the, the extreme of that is to flip the switch and we're back wherever we were before this world was created where
0:03:43 - 0:04:19we don't have that power to have a choice before us and make the choice. So there's no opposition. Um So as those commands have to become more explicit, the blessings for obeying them have to reduce. So that's why we're supposed to be proactive in thinking about what God would do and doing it. Now, of
0:04:19 - 0:04:48course, that doesn't have implications in just explicitly religious contexts. One of the main purposes for Jesus coming here and, and living as a man was to show us the translation of the Father's character into normal life. So that connection is essential and it's a process that applies to all things
0:04:47 - 0:05:16, not just what you do on Sunday, not just churchy things, everything. So, so that was fun. So that's DNC 58. So now let's flip over to um second knee 5 32 9. But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always and not faint, that ye must not perform anything unto the Lord save in the first place. Ye
0:05:16 - 0:05:40shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul. Ok. So don't do anything for God unless you pray and you're really sure that it's as well or it's for your benefit. And you know how these things
0:05:40 - 0:06:04are tied together here because the Lord doesn't do anything unless it's for the greatest benefit. Everything he does edifies the most. Right? So does this just apply to churchy things? No, we read elsewhere. He's given us an example in all things. We're supposed to feast upon his word because it will
0:06:04 - 0:06:29tell us all things what we should do, right? So this is really clear but hardly ever applied because it's not just in some random thing that we ought to pray, we should pray over our flocks and our herds, what we do all day long. We ought to be seeking the Lord's will. And that's not some weird search
0:06:29 - 0:06:52of, you know, heads or tails. What's it gonna be? It's, it's just learning his character and living it. There's always the bigger picture and that's where the answers come from. It's not. Should I use this wax on my car or this other wax on my car? It's, you know, just an arbitrary question. I need to
0:06:52 - 0:07:16pray to know because I have nothing to go off of. No, it's building a model of the Lord and having that model gained so much detail through prayer life experience studying scriptures, observing people who are more like him than you observing the the cost benefit cause and effect that there's so much
0:07:15 - 0:07:45detail there that you can distinguish in all things, which choice is the one the Lord would pick and why it's huge. This is huge. This is why we're here. OK. So we're supposed to be doing this at all times now, all that's an independent lesson. I should just cut the film and do a new, a new video, but
0:07:44 - 0:08:17I want to reveal why I'm saying all this. Um OK. So I would wager a guess that that's not how you live your life. That's how I live my life. That's how we all should live our lives. But you're probably still working on that. Some of you though, when you get into a churchy context, all of a sudden you
0:08:16 - 0:08:36, there's some software that has a snap to grid function where you're doing some layouts or something and then you push the button and everything will move to the closest grid orientation. It all lines up on this grid. Some of you have a snap to grid function that the second you cross over into churchy
0:08:35 - 0:09:04things, you go into your old churchy mindset of false traditions where for example, you won't do religious things unless someone with a special religious hat or something comes and tells you this is what you should do. You have special rules and conditions for religious stuff that you don't practice
0:09:03 - 0:09:32in any other part of your life and that separation needs to end. OK? Cause it's all one thing God doesn't give temporal commandments. It's all one thing, it's all for the greatest benefit of the world. It's all to, to know more of what he's like and become more like Him. That's everything, every single
0:09:32 - 0:09:58thing in your life when you stub your toe, it's designed to teach you more about how God is, give you greater reasons to be like him and to help others to do the same. Everything is for that. So I got a funny email the other day and I don't want to offend this person at all by saying this. If you watch
0:09:58 - 0:10:27this, don't be offended. I'm not, you know, not angry or anything, even if I was, it does matter. I'm not, but just trying to help. Ok. Um I'm trying to patiently unfold why this thing jarred so much with the flow here and here's the comment. So he's given me some really useful insight on some details
0:10:26 - 0:10:48of this planned website thing that I've been kicking around the idea for and ask for feedback on. And at the conclusion of all that, it's like, hey, looking forward to things if and when the Lord commands it, I will donate to your ministry. Now, I'm not going to send a follow up email to the guy to find
0:10:47 - 0:11:07out exactly what he means by that. And if, what I'm about to say is different than what he meant. That's fine. I assure you there are people out there who do think what I'm about to say. So, whether it's this person or not, whatever, it doesn't matter if and when the Lord commands it, I will donate to
0:11:06 - 0:11:32your ministry and the mindset is, well, I don't wanna change my church. I don't want to stop going to church unless the Lord explicitly tells me to do so. I don't want to change the way I pray. I'm just making things up here churchy things unless the Lord explicitly tells me to do so. I don't want to
0:11:31 - 0:11:56increase how much I read the scriptures or change the way I do that unless the Lord explicitly tells me to do so. I don't want to take over the spiritual responsibility with my family as a father. Uh And as a mother unless the Lord explicitly tells me to do so. Do you see how weird this is how inconsistent
0:11:55 - 0:12:21it is? Let me break it down more just using this specific example because it's not about this, but it's a bigger picture, but this is the thing that happened, happened. So we'll roll with that example. OK. Do you watch movies ever? Or TV? Or your phone? Do you scroll through Instagram? Do you ever do
0:12:21 - 0:12:55that? Or, or do you do you only do that when God commands it? No, you don't. In fact, you probably never think about God before, during or after that. Do you give money to do those things or read a book or listen to music? Yeah, you do. Probably a lot of money. In fact, some people spend a lot of money
0:12:55 - 0:13:18a month on streaming or cable or whatever it is. They have, uh, everybody has to pay for internet. Right. If you have a phone, if you have an iphone 256.5 whatever, it might be 1500 bucks that you paid for that stupid thing. If you got suckered onto all the add ons by the guy at the store, uh, you, you're
0:13:18 - 0:13:39probably paying per month on that on top of all that for some silly things you don't need that don't make any sense. Um And on and on and on. You see my point. Why is there such a different process for evaluating the worth of things that could be perceived to fit into the religious mold and those that
0:13:39 - 0:14:04couldn't, can't, I'll tell you one of the brightest beacons that pulled me to God as, as an 18 year old. And what kept me away from all the churches I was exposed to through family members and friends. And there were a lot growing up was the fact that life and religion did not touch. And if they did
0:14:04 - 0:14:29, it was like, sorry, I'm trying to make a Venn diagram. Fist Venn diagram. It was like that sorry, it's really hard to do this. Uh, maybe I'm just really bad at it. But it was like this religion, life actually. Let's put religion back here because the camera is making my other hand look a lot smaller
0:14:28 - 0:14:52. Ok. It was like holidays or, you know, some special age where some special rite had to happen or on Sundays or Saturdays if you're Jewish, whatever. Um, that was it. And it was like, yeah, we're, we're gonna walk the walk and talk the talk and then the rest of the week it's different. We're just gonna
0:14:52 - 0:15:20be like everybody else. Something inside of me from the earliest age screamed, this is reversed. Life ought to be a subset of religion, not the other way around that religion. Like religious people see it, but as in God is everything, therefore, whatever we do ought to fit inside of that. Right? You
0:15:20 - 0:15:47can't be outside of that. So if you don't understand how everything maps to that, there's a problem, a big one, like a huge mystery that should probably draw all of your attention until you figure it out because nothing else could be more important. Right? So, um, if, if, if someone put you in a sealed
0:15:46 - 0:16:03box and, and it's heavy and they threw you into the sea, you probably need to figure out how to get out of that box more than anything else, you're not gonna sit there and say it's a great time to learn how to sketch. Look, there's pencils and paper in here. Do do do, right? It's like we gotta get out
0:16:03 - 0:16:30of this box. We need some Macgyver stuff to get out of this box. Let's use this, the sketch stuff to try to make a bomb and get out of here or whatever. Right? So everything will be focused on that till you figure it out. And that's how big of a problem it is if you can't map life into religion. So there
0:16:29 - 0:16:51should not be some different process for deciding what you're gonna do when the switch flips into religious stuff, explicitly religious stuff. All right. So point being right, let's suppose there's a person and I don't, I have no idea what this person's involvement is with watching and reading things
0:16:51 - 0:17:15that I produce. But let's say you're a person and you watch a good deal of what I record. Uh, you, you read the books, you read the blog post, let's say you spend 40 hours a month, which I don't know if that's a lot or a little, everybody's gonna be in a different place. I certainly produce more than
0:17:14 - 0:17:43that a month, reading or thinking about these things, right? Or listening to or watching whatever, but just participating in this 40 hours a month. How much do you willingly pay for entertainment that occupies 40 hours a month? Which um, I really hope is worth less than this. Uh Because if it's not one
0:17:42 - 0:18:08or both of us is really doing something wrong. Um, so 40 hours a week is a lot. Right. So, like if I say, pay 100 and $20 a month for internet and that's what supplies, let's say, I just use it for entertainment purposes. Then I'd look at that and say, yeah, ok. And 40 hours a month I'm gonna be using
0:18:08 - 0:18:33it. Cool, whatever. But if someone comes along and says, no, no, I just wanna give all this stuff away for free, but I will accept donations for those that feel so inclined, which is the current message, it will change over time. Fair warning. Um Just because there are more ideas that are involved with
0:18:32 - 0:18:52the Lord's doctrines on money that that people don't seem to understand even though that's all of the scriptures. But this is a simple beginning message. If you've found value in this, please help me continue to do it. So essentially you're buying my future time so I can continue to spend more time doing
0:18:52 - 0:19:23this than I would making money to pay my bills. Um And then you say, well, I'll only do that if the Lord commands me to. Right? Isn't this bizarre? So, going back here to, well, first off, we talked about te 5 32 9. Um That's good and you should look for his command in all things. However, going back
0:19:23 - 0:19:47to DNC 58 his command in all things isn't thou shalt thou shalt not. Here's sign seal, deliver, here's a scroll from heaven. We're gonna unwrap it with angels, you know, the cute little baby cherub artwork kind, you know, and uh with the scroll conveniently placed over parts you don't want to see and
0:19:46 - 0:20:18it's, it's gonna write, you know, in these, in these glowing letters. Thou shout, contribute to this ministry, right? The, the command is the character of Jesus and you should support good things. You know, he said are the best books, right? If it edifies great, that's not an exact quote. Um The book
0:20:17 - 0:20:42of Rob 27, if identifies great. But do you get my point? I don't have to drone on about this and do things and say things that I think are hilarious and you all are just gonna roll your eyes or click off of this. Um You shouldn't want to be compelled and all you should ask in all things and start with
0:20:42 - 0:21:03the example he's already provided, start with the model you already have and a good indication of how well you're living your temporal life and your spiritual life is how much they are the same. And if they're out of whack, you have to decide whether to bring this one over this way or this one this way
0:21:03 - 0:21:24in whatever facet you're looking at. So like maybe we should pray more about Netflix, less about spiritual things, not that you should ever pray less about anything but but I'm saying, wait for some explicit command from the heavens before you choose which movie you're gonna watch or maybe don't wait
0:21:24 - 0:21:47for that so much on the spiritual side. Just learn how to figure out what's good and do that as the default and always check in with God to say here's what I'm doing. Here's why I'm doing it. I fully believe it's what you want me to do. But I'm checking in, did I mess up and he'll check you against your
0:21:47 - 0:22:06reasons? Sometimes you say, well, here's why and I've thought about this and I looked into that. Is there anything else I'm missing here? What do you want me to do? He says, yeah, green light where he says nothing or he says, hey, reason three, here's what you're not thinking about or hey, this is about
0:22:05 - 0:22:35to happen. You had no idea, but I'm helping you out, right? So hopefully, this helps with that big picture of understanding these two things ought to be the same and the threshold, we need a default action. And that default action is always, always follow the example of God, which is to say, always do
0:22:35 - 0:22:57what benefits the most for the world. And always pray to give God ample opportunity to set you straight if you're ready for a better way and there is one. So I hope we're consistent on that because it's super duper important