THE VIEWPOINT FROM THE GREAT AND SPACIOUS BUILDING

The viewpoint from the Great and Spacious Building is very precarious

The viewpoint from the Great and Spacious Building is very precarious. It is way up high in the Tree of Knowledge of Good vs Evil, where Self righteousness and Self Exaltation and “Separation Theology” is taught. It is destined to come crashing down with a great fall. It is the viewpoint of Pride – pride in “self”, and what self is doing to earn an important position in life, to earn salvation and power, to earn “all that the Father hath”. It is the viewpoint that we are here in telestial life to make our “self” righteous and to perfect our “self” and to exalt our “self” - to become just like Christ. It is the viewpoint of Pharisees, who believed and taught that we can exalt our self to become God - if we just learn all natural laws and by strict obedience to those natural laws, we can perfect our nature, and our attributes and character to be someone of divine stature. We are enticed to believe that others will at that point of attainment and achievement, view us as leaders of greatness to look up to.

We have been taught by Pharisees all of our lives, to look toward achievement and greatness and exaltation of the self – to build and strengthen the self, and to perfect the self to never do anything ill-legal or “wrong”. That develops the attitude that results in ladder climbing – to get to the top of the hill or the top position, passing by others who are not as strong as we are, and sometimes we need to pass others who are “Slower than me” and to judge others who are not as strong as me, and to judge myself as to how far up on the ladder am I achieving? This self-achievement oriented attitude is based upon lusts for position and power and possessions, and pleasures for self, and praise from others. It is usually accompanied with a massive ego that tends to step on others in the climb to the top of the corporate ladder. It is the attitude that I am better than you, so get out of my way - either lead me to greatness or get out of my way!

It is the attitude that I heard from a local leader: “The only thing Christ ever did for me, was to teach me how to perfect my “self”. From this position way atop the Great and Spacious building, the tendency is to point fingers of scorn at those who are Re-Ceiving the fruit from the other tree that we may live in. Those who live by the Spirit and by the Pure Love of Christ are seen by “Achievers” as “wimpy” and weak and “not important” and a bit too “Spiritual”, and definitely not as STRONG and beautiful as “me” (the Achiever of Greatness).

There are several major problems resulting from the Pride of being atop that ladder as taught us by our loving Father & Mother:

1. That ladder is leaning against the wrong wall and results in frustrations and anger when people don’t cooperate with my goals, aims, and my will.

2. That attitude is “head-strong” and does NOT bring us into Harmony with God, but against God’s will for us. It is not worship of God, but worship of Self. Self is an Idol, a picture of our own possibility of greatness, and is Lust for self-importance.

3. That attitude of perfecting my Self usually results in frustrations, with others and hence distance and estrangement from others, and bitterness in not being able to have loving relationships with others.

4. That attitude usually results in bouts of discouragement, fear of not “being enough”, complaining that things are not going “my” way, nagging others to “get your Stuff together”, fits of anger at others for not doing things “my” way.

5. That pride in self is “enmity” against God and others – and with that enmity, we will never experience the Love and Joy and Peace that come ONLY from surrender to Christ.

6. That attitude of “I can do it” pushes God away from me and is a classic denial of Christ’s Love and peace, a denial of Christ’s healing power, a denial of Christ’s Spirit to guide us, a denial of Christ’s Loving Grace, and a denial of Christ’s Gift of Eternal Life in Christ’s PRESENCE.

7. It literally grows into a lust to become the greatest “I” can be, regardless of what that does to others, and achieve that place where I am all-knowing and all-seeing (omniscient), and all-power-full (Omni-potent), and all-seeing (omniscient) and Omni-Present – as GOD IS. It is then a lust to become my Own Savior and my Own God, to the point that I possess “all that the Father hath” (and more???).

8. D&C 1:15 For they (ye) have strayed from Mine ordinances, and have broken Mine everlasting covenant;

16 They(ye) seek not the Lord to establish His Righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own (Self as) god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.

9. That attitude and pride in my own doings and my own greatness leads to a rejection of god’s counsel to be humble and meek and lowly of heart – as Christ is.

10. The sanctification of Self only comes when we completely surrender our heart and will to God, instead of "striving" and vying to become our own God. (See Helaman 3:35)

11. That attitude leads to a belief that I do not need Christ, since I am “Striving” to make my own Calling and Election (to Greatness and Godhood) SURE.

12. That is the attitude that there is always more I could be doing and more I could Possess, and “More” I could be looked up to.

13. That viewpoint leads to constant judgment and ridicule of others who are not as strong and powerful and important as I am.

14. That viewpoint leads into “iniquity” – which literally means: Lack of inner peace.

15. That viewpoint leads into a hell of my own creation, where I am stuck in the Natural Man Ego Self, and never able to get out of until I cry out: “O Jesus, Have mercy on my soul”, and a realization of my “Nothingness”.

Joseph said: Mans’ torment, man’s hell, is not a place, but is in man's own mind" – where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth for as long as I choose to stay in that attitude and viewpoint.

16. 2 Nephi 2: 4-8 And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free. 5 And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become miserable forever. 6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the HolyMessiah; for he is full of grace and truth. 7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered. 8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah

17. Mosiah 3: 19 For the natural man is an enemy TO God, and has been from the fall , and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint (sanctified of self) THROUGH the at-ONE-ment of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things, even as a child doth submit to his Father/Mother.

18. That Attitude and teaching to achieve exaltation of Self IS the very “Abomination that maketh us Desolate”.

If we consider that we are as Jesus explained clearly: I AM THE VINE, ye are the branches, my Father is the HusbandMan. Ye can do NOTHING without me, If you cut your self off from Me and my strength and nourishment by your pride in self, then you are good for nothing but to be gathered up and burned as a DEAD branch.

19. Romans 9: 30-33 The Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is OF faith.

31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on “Him” (the Rock of Offence, our stumbling stone) shall not be ashamed.

10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

3 For they being ignorant of God’s Righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is OF the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

6 But the righteousness which is OF faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? [that is, to bring Christ down from above] (in English – to make Christ just like one of us; whom we can imitate – become like Christ?)

20. The Prophet Joseph said: "The righteousness of man is Sin, let no man call himself righteous, do not call me righteous for I am not."

21. Alma said: If you are not (Completely) Stripped of all pride (ego, self-Importance), you are NOT prepared to meet (see or be with) God. See Alma 5:26

22: God said: D&C 112: 14 What I say unto you, I say unto all: Arise and gird up your loins, take up your cross, follow Me, and feed My sheep. EXALT NOT YOUR “SELF” – for he that will be exalted shall be brought down low.

D&C 49:10 For that which is now exalted of it “self” shall be laid low of power.

23. Our salvation is a Free Gift through the Mercy and Merits and Grace of Christ and can never be earned or purchased or paid for by our efforts. And our search for greatness will never give us the humility to Re-Ceive that Gift.

24. The fact of the matter is that we will NEVER fix, exalt, nor perfect, nor save our natural man egotistical Self. The Self must be crucified, annihilated, put off, sacrificed on the altar of God – but not from an attempt to gain something. All that “self” is the dross that we need burned out of us, in order to see the Gold of the Eternal Spirit is that hidden deep within us.

25.We are not here to win anything, but LOSE our Self – For Christ. And in losing our “self” for Christ, we find what true Eternal Life is: The Joy and Peace and Glory of being with and IN Him.

THE VIEWPOINT FROM THE GREAT AND SPACIOU

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