For the past few months, this blog has focused on a true
principle with a profound promise:
“I think we pay too little attention to the value of meditation, a principle of devotion.In our worship there are two elements: one is spiritual communion rising from our own meditation; the other instruction from others, particularly from those who have authority to guide and instruct us. Of the two, the more profitable introspectively is meditation.Meditation is one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord" (Pres. David O. McKay, “Consciousness of God: Supreme Goal of Life,” Improvement Era, June 1967, pp. 80–82).
It is true that "It is a great thing to inquire at the
hands of God, or to come into His presence." (Teachings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, p. 22). Yet imbedded
within the scriptures lies a real pattern which we can replicate to communicate
with God on the grandest, most sublime level possible.
In successive posts, we’ve read how:
- Pondering is a form of meditation which often involves deeply contemplating the words of God. Several scriptures demonstrate that pondering the word of God can catalyze the veil’s parting (Enter the Presence of the Lord) – a process which is both simple and reproducible. (Pondering the Word of God, Part 2)
- By pondering the things of the Spirit, you become more attuned to the intimations of the Spirit and can better respond to its promptings. You literally become a divine tuning fork, resonating the Spirit itself. (Pondering the Word of God, Part 1)
- Meditation, on the other hand, involves repositioning oneself away from the storms, turmoil, chaos, loudness and confusion of life to a solitary, peaceful environment to become better attuned to, and eventually enjoy the presence of, divinity. (Meditation, Part 1)
- Unlike prayer, the meditative state has "tune out" the world (unlike prayer, where you’re "tuning in" to God). This is done by "emptying your cup" of all your thoughts, cares, concerns of the world. With prayer, you are filling yourself with the influence of the Holy Ghost, whose responsibility is to bring you to Christ. (Meditation, Part 2)
- Throughout the millennia, holy men have successfully approached God in their own sacred groves – almost always in nature, such as a mountaintop or forest. (Meditation, Part 3)
- Not only is a proper place, but a proper time is also appropriate for those serious about meditating. Again, time after time, the scriptures show us another pattern: early morning is the best time to meditate. (Meditation, Part 4)
- As you successfully tune out the telestial kingdom in these sacred spaces and times, you’ll find it easier to calm your body (Meditation, Part 5) and your mind. (Meditation, Part 6)
- At this point, you have successfully “lost yourself in the Spirit”. You have submitted yourself to the sacred signals of the Spirit and, as a result, have spiritually empowered yourself. (So Long, Self)
Behold God’s Greatest Temple
Time and again, we have read ho holy men (and holy women) have sought God in holy places and sacred times …and found Him. These places where temporal time and place touched eternity and everlasting expanse were not man-made, but natural or God-made temples (people have also found God in man-made temples as well, which is not the focus of this particular blog post).
What these men and women discovered, in sometimes very
poignant and beautiful manifestations, is that they themselves were God’s
greatest creation.
And, by implication, God’s greatest and grandest temple.
Ponder this scripture.
I mean really ponder it:
“What! know ye not that your body
is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye
are not your own?” (JST 1 Cor 6:19)
Our bodies are temples of God. We should not think of
entering one of the temples of our God and desecrating His holy house. The
temple of the body which houses a spirit child of God is far more important to
Him than brick or mortar, for has he not said that his work and glory is to
bring to pass the immortality and the Eternal Life of man? (Delbert L. Stapley,
How to Resist Temptation [Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, 1974], pp. 20-22.)
So serious is God about these grandest temples, that he
stated via His scriptures,
"If any man defile the temple of God,
him shall God destroy; for the temple
of God is holy, which
temple ye are" (1 Cor. 3:17).
“The elements are the tabernacle of
God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is
defiled, God shall destroy that temple.” (D&C 93:35)
Similarities to
Man-Made Temples
How we operate the brick-and-mortar temples (which the church builds) provides you with a terrific insight in how to truly activate and empower your own bodily, portable temple. Let’s contemplate this for a minute.
1. Temples can be choice places to meditate.
Temples are modern-day sanctuaries from a sinful society, a temporary oasis from the storms of life. There, we may be privileged to enter sacred rooms where a still, soft environment can enable us to escape telestial thoughts and enjoy peace -- a perfect prerequisite for effective meditation.
Likewise, as you enter your own "sacred grove" at a still time of the day, while calming your body and mind, you, too, can enjoy a state of peacefulness.
2. Temples open in the early morning hours.
The temples built by the Church are
typically open pretty early in the morning. Like them, we are also told that we
can expect blessings by arising early. As we read in D&C 88:124,
“Cease to be idle; cease to be
unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is
needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that
your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.”
Not only are early risers the
beneficiaries of greater spirituality – they’re temporally more productive as
well. Research by Christoph Randler, a biology professor at the University of Education
at Heidelberg,
concludes that morning people are more likely to succeed in their careers
because they are more proactive than evening people. Randler says:
“When it comes to business
success, morning people hold the important cards. My earlier research showed
that they tend to get better grades in school, which gets them into better
colleges, which then leads to better job opportunities. Morning people also
anticipate problems and try to minimise them. They're proactive.”
(http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23852426-why-morning-people-rule-the-world.do)
How are you doing with respect to
“arising early”?
3. Temples are selective regarding
admission.
They wall off that which is of the world, unholy and impure, and allow inside only they who have been found good and pure. With this fact in mind, how are you doing with respect to:
- The food you eat and liquids you drink (what goes into your mouth)?
Are there not substances in our
diets which may contribute to hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, high
triglycerides – or what is called “metabolic syndrome”?
Are there not substances in our
drinks which artificially stimulate our bodies, and others which contain
excitotoxins that radically, negatively alter our brain pathways?
As the Word of Wisdom elaborates
in D&C 89, how “sparingly” do you consume “the flesh also of beasts and of
the fowls of the air”?
Do you give thanks for your food
except in a meaningful way, or in a perfunctory fashion?
"The body is the temple of the Spirit. The body is sacred. It was created in the image of God. It is something to be cared for and used for good purposes. It ought to be taken care of, and this thing which we call the Word of Wisdom, which is a code of health, is most helpful in doing that.” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, "This Thing Was Not Done in a Corner", Ensign (CR), November 1996, p.48)
However, taking care of our bodies
can also be taken to extremes. I have
seen others, even good friends, who placed a greater price on improving their physique
than their spirits. They lost marriages,
families and potentially eternal glory by worshiping the created, not the
Creator.
- The media you expose yourself to (what goes into your eyes and ears)?
Do you actively prevent
pornography from entering your home by blocking questionable TV channels?
Is your internet filtered at the
desktop level (where safeguards are easily circumvented) or at the server level
(where it’s much harder to circumvent)?
Just how much time do you spend on
the internet, instead of on such things as family history, studying the
scriptures or visiting the sick or elderly?
- The thoughts you think (what goes into your mind)?
Just how are you doing at
controlling your thoughts?
What kind of environment do you
expose yourself to?
Are such things as hymns and
uplifting music – which carry with them positive, enlightening vibrations -- an
active part of your life?
“If you want to have the blessings of the Spirit of the Lord to be with you, you must keep your body, the temple of God, clean and pure" (Teachings Of Presidents Of The Church: Harold B. Lee, p.185)
4. Temples are extremely well maintained,
both internally and externally.
How modest do you dress?
Is there anything in your wardrobe
that diminishes your ability to feel the spirit?
Do you hearken to competent medical
counsel to keep your body operating as best it can?
“Things can and do go wrong with our physical bodies. They can be injured and are surely subject to illness. Our Maker has instructed us to care for them and not to defile them. We are encouraged to avail ourselves of competent medical counsel and heed it. We are to honor the body as a temple of God, and allow no forbidden thought, sight, sound, or substance to enter its sacred precincts.” (Russell M. Nelson, The Gateway We Call Death, p.6)
Are there more similarities between the temple of your body and
the temples built by the church?
Again, these are questions for you to ponder, for
“As truly as the living God dwelt
in the Mosaic tabernacle, and in the temple of Solomon, so truly does the Holy
Ghost dwell in the souls of genuine Christians; and as the temple and all its
utensils were holy, separated from all common and profane uses, and dedicated
alone to the service of God, so the bodies of genuine Christians are holy, and
all their members should be employed in the service of God alone.” (Clarke's
Commentary on the Bible)
Conversely,
“God has declared that he will not
enter a defiled temple, whether that temple be the body of a man or a dedicated
grove or a mountain top, or a house, like the temple. The Holy Spirit will
withdraw from a defiled place. People who have no faith in temple worship, who
desire simply as tourists to inspect unsympathetically our holy house, in spite
of themselves, defile it. We desire to present our temple ordinances to those
who are believers. Moreover, visitors in temples would interfere with the
procedure of the work…” (Archibald F. Bennett, Saviors on Mount Zion,
p.167)
If you feel some of these questions deserve action, then
consider this statement by Pres. Spencer W. Kimball:
“How often do Church members arise
early in the morning to do the will of the Lord? How often do we say, ‘Yes, I
will have home evening with my family, but the children are so young now; I
will start when they are older’? How often do we say, ‘Yes, I will obey the
commandment to store food and to help others, but just now I have neither the
time nor the money to spare; I will obey later’? Oh, foolish people! While we
procrastinate, the harvest will be over and we will not be saved. Now is the
time to follow Abraham's example; now is the time to repent; now is the time
for prompt obedience to God's will.” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of
Spencer W. Kimball, edited by Edward L. Kimball, p.174)
I encourage you, I plead with you, to contemplate the
profound nature of God’s greatest temple – you.
As you softly and silently speak with God about this, I can guarantee
you that somewhere out there will be a Heavenly Father who will be so proud of
you -- of who you are, what you’ve become...
…and what you are capable of doing.
Part the Veil
When you meditate, you are entering one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which you can pass into the presence of the Lord. So saith a prophet of God.
As you seek to you lose yourself and your ego…
As you seek to increase your level of light…
As you seek to improve your ability to resonate with the Spirit
like a true temple
of God…
…you will experience transcendent peace, joy and
enlightenment.
…you will you will find yourself perfectly positioned to engage
in pure prayer.
…and you will find yourself even more capable of one more
thing:
parting the veil.
And thus begins a new series of blog posts from me...
…to you.
Thank you very much! This is wonderful and we eagerly await a new series of blog posts!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for all these wonderful blog posts. Can hardly wait for the next series!
ReplyDelete“What! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
ReplyDeleteI had read this scriptures many times and taught about it too. Usually we mention the fact that the "Holy Ghost" (aka the gift if the Holy Ghost) can dwell in us and we should thus take care or our body. But we do not really believe it is a temple. It is a metaphor.
Recently i've been thinking a lot about the holy ghost/spirit, the Holy Ghost (the personage) and "His Spirit" (as found in the sacrament prayer). After pondering the above scripture I know our body is a temple in the true sense of the term. The material are far greater than brick or marble. They are more intelligent too and have a "higher degree" of agency.
To me the holy ghost wich is referred to in this scripture is our own spirit. In our temple, our spirit is the one who communicates with the spirit of of the Lord. Many people who have had near death experiences recollect the fact that spirits communicate in a different way in the other world. We do not necessarily need to use words in order to express ourselves. There's a speechless communion between spirits that carries far more than words. It carries knowledge, feelings, appreciation, love etc.
Those hidden treasures in the scriptures !
Thanks for this invitation to really ponder the word of God.