When I read The Arkwelder’s recent post on Baptism, Confirmation, and the Ideal of Zion, I was glad to
hear someone finally point out the misled hypocrisy of baptism of children - particularly
in mormonism, which has scripture clearly condemning it.
I also enjoyed his description of the fruits of the Holy
Spirit -Warming sensation, Love for everyone and everything around you, and
that "AHA!" feeling. Some time ago, that "AHA!"
enlightening effect of the Holy Spirit pointed out to my mind the danger of the
Church’s over-emphasis on the “burning bosom” feeling as the primary or sole result
of the Holy Spirit’s presence. It is dangerous because this heart warming
sensation is the easiest to IMMITATE of all the fruits of the spirit. When it
is isolated then it will soon deteriorate to “warm fuzzies” and the devil is
successful in leading us further and further away from God. Arkwelder’s
threefold description of the effects of the Holy Ghost sounds strikingly
similar to the effects of a certain strain of wholesome herb.
Which brings up a perfect example of how the Holy Spirit
(Supernatural) works in a sacred relationship with substances that we call
(Natural). While it may be true that a ritual like baptism is symbolic and
holds “no inherit magic”, we can not say that the ritual serves no purpose. Like
anything which can have magical effects on the hearts and minds of men, it is
ironically the hearts and minds of men which first channel meaning into those
elements. Comparing the ritual to the flesh then, yes, we could say that
without spirit it is dead. So why even have physical bodies? The truth is that
physical things (WATER, in the case of baptism) exist only because they exist as
their spiritual counterpart on a spiritual plane. The native understanding that
everything possesses spirit is crucial to the concept of Zion. Knowing that all things possess some
portion of spirit explains why God would require some ritual act of bathing.
That it is symbolic, is true…but it is deeper and the symbol and that which is
symbolized are always intimately connected. If not, then it is because the body
or work finds itself in some stage of corruption moving towards death. And while
some life remains, we should not be deceived as to what direction we are moving
in.
D&C 29: 31 For by the
power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and temporal—
ALL THINGS CONTAIN SPIRIT FROM GOD
32 First spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work— SPIRIT&WORKS ENJOY AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP
32 First spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work— SPIRIT&WORKS ENJOY AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP
33 Speaking
unto you that you may naturally understand; but unto myself my works have no
end, neither beginning; but it is given unto you that ye may understand,
because ye have asked it of me and are agreed. — SO INTIMATE IN FACT THAT
BEGINNING AND ENDING CREATE ONE “BEGENDING”
34 Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal— RITUALS ARE NEVER COMPLETELY SYMBOLIC/TEMPORAL.
WATER is made up of molecules, each containing a portion of spirit. Those molecules serve as vehicles. A vehicle can bring things or take things away. Does the water and act of bathing literally wash away sins?? It most certainly CAN. Can anyone deny this when we have all born witness to the power of the shower or a long hot bath? After a day of work (which on average is a grueling 8 hrs minimum in today’s wicked world) we have far exceeded the levels of evil which Jesus deemed “sufficient unto the day.” But upon taking a shower or bath we experience some relief, relaxation, remission of sins. We will find that, the more intentional the act, the more effective it is in its physical, psychological and emotional cleansing effects. Whereas simply acting out of routine or focusing our thoughts entirely on the goal to remove physically visible dirt for the purposes of appearance and social acceptance, is the equivalent of what we do when being baptized into a church. It is possible that in many cases a good old fashioned shower or bath would bring more cleanliness than the “baptism” due to the additional element of SOAP.
34 Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal— RITUALS ARE NEVER COMPLETELY SYMBOLIC/TEMPORAL.
WATER is made up of molecules, each containing a portion of spirit. Those molecules serve as vehicles. A vehicle can bring things or take things away. Does the water and act of bathing literally wash away sins?? It most certainly CAN. Can anyone deny this when we have all born witness to the power of the shower or a long hot bath? After a day of work (which on average is a grueling 8 hrs minimum in today’s wicked world) we have far exceeded the levels of evil which Jesus deemed “sufficient unto the day.” But upon taking a shower or bath we experience some relief, relaxation, remission of sins. We will find that, the more intentional the act, the more effective it is in its physical, psychological and emotional cleansing effects. Whereas simply acting out of routine or focusing our thoughts entirely on the goal to remove physically visible dirt for the purposes of appearance and social acceptance, is the equivalent of what we do when being baptized into a church. It is possible that in many cases a good old fashioned shower or bath would bring more cleanliness than the “baptism” due to the additional element of SOAP.
At church we have all heard mention of our spirit bodies but
in our ignorance and sometimes pride, we rarely pause to ask Sunday School
teachers, Priesthood™ leaders or even ourselves about these bodies. It is not
too surprising that we should be generally unaware of our spirit bodies. We
are, after all, awakening from a Deep
Sleep that came upon us directly after the formation of our physical bodies
was completed. The old FHE or MTC teaching technique of comparing the body to a
glove which is animated when the hand slips into it and left lifeless when the
hand withdraws, only goes so far in illustrating the mechanics of body and
spirit functioning as one. We now know that the spirit dwells not only within
but without the physical tabernacle. It is a seamless magnetic field emanating
from our core, out through our poles and creating a torus of energy, similar to
the magnetic field of our planet. The word ‘torus’ comes from the Latin word
for ‘cushion’ and we were told that – “Inasmuch
as we do not defile them, they will be shields and a protection to us until we
have finished our work on the earth.” Kirlian photography shows our outer
temple yard alive with dazzling light of various colors. At least it can be lit
when activated through confirmation. Receiving the Holy Spirit means simply
acceptance of our spiritual selves as the Holy Ghost itself. Most Christians
perform the ceremony of baptism in the name of the The Father, The Son, and The
Holy Ghost. Joseph Smith taught that the original words for God, The Son and
Man are Ahman, Son Ahman, and Sons Ahman, respectively. Who cares whether these
terms are actually in the Adamic language. They do provide a curious key to
understanding these three sections of the Godhead. With our astral (spirit)
bodies extending far beyond the limits of our skin, do we really think that
there is not much spiritual filth that collects in and on our spirit bodies
over time? Everyone could do with a BATHTISM from time to time. Even children
who are pure inside might at some point benefit greatly from washing off all
the SINS OF THE FATHERS!
So, what kind of meaning is being supplanted here in the case of The Arkwelder’s sweet young nephew’s
baptism? It is the purveyors of doctrine who provide the meaning to the moment.
Well, at least they try and in many instances succeed in inundating (by
immersion if possible) the innocent initiate who has desires to follow in
Jesus’ footsteps, with their indoctrination. They have literally done the
market research to gage the best way to establish LCR -Life-long Customer
Relationships which will pay out big time for their church service. LCR could
also stand for Locus Control Region, which is a scientific term used in
epigenitics. The basic idea in epigenetics is placing the locus of power or
Locus of Control (to borrow a related term used in personality psychology)
OUTSIDE of one’s self - outside of the channels fore-ordained by the Lord for
communicating to the souls of men. But the Satan-inspired, man-made counterfeit
is so close that it would SEEM as if the messages resonate from within. This
very subtle scientific targeting of the human genome in an attempt to mimic the
voice of God and get Israel
to bend and twist in the Devil’s direction is sneaky/snaky to say the least. It takes the stakes and wards
backwards from Israel
to Jacob (literally Hebrew for supplanter,
crooked, twister, trickster). The only way to rectify the situation is to
“wrestle with God” and find ourselves spiraling along “Jacob’s Ladder” from our
very DNA outwards. NOT THE FROM THE OUTSIDE IN. Then when we bend the universe
bends with us, as in the movie, The Matrix.
Then we may, in honesty, know and state
the often heard, vainly repeated, catch-phrase of LDS Testiphonies --“With
every fiber of my being.”
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