Moroni Saw Me

Moroni Saw Me: Hope is the essence of faith in things that are true. Through the challenges of life, a young boy journeys for peace, acceptance, and joy. The story is about budding faith that grows into the thriving flowers of hope with the guided hand of the divine. Rodric, the boy, finds challenges that seem constant with the loss of a loved one or the challenge of standing alone. 

Longing for a paternal relationship he never gets, Rodric finds his Father in God as he turns to Him for support. He goes through humorous experiences, daring adventures and near-fatal rendezvous all with the same goal in mind, hope in something more, which he finds! 

The boy grows into a man dealing with more love and loss and the realities of racism even in the face of religion. Finding faith alone is not enough urges him onward to discipleship as he suffers greatly to refine himself more to become like his Master Jesus Christ. 

Experience the passion, the joy, the journey and the hope of one man under the prophetic eye of Moroni, an ancient American prophet who provided the guide that led Rodric to Christ. Hope is the driving force of the human condition to reach for greatness. Will it last? Yes! Reach with him!

Getting Personal With Christianity: Overcoming Doubt

I never thought of prophets as perfect. The Book of Mormon even claims prophets are not perfect. I did not believe in Jesus as a God until I read the Book of Mormon since I had lost my faith as a young Christian--if I had faith at all back then. I suppose I had tradition and I accepted the things that were familiar to me.

Over and over, the prophets in the Book of Mormon claim that if there are mistakes in the record, they are errors of men. To me, that is an admission that there would be mistakes--that we should expect some! Joseph Smith, Mormon, Moroni and Nephi were all important men associated with the coming forth of the book to us. If they made mistakes how do they diminish God's role in revealing to them the truth? It does not change the fact, in my case, that I spoke to God about their work/writings and He told me that they are true, a true testament to the divinity of Jesus Christ.

God told me in answer to my prayers certain things. I care, but less what Joseph did before he became a prophet or how many wives he had. And? 

It kills my spiritual high sometimes when people find out that I am a LDS Christian and they say, “Well, you know that they don't like Black people." 

I want to say, "Really? I am so glad you told me that! I've been in this faith for more than twenty years, and I just could not tell! I just assumed they were nice to me because they were Christian, but know YOU let me know that they were pretending! Yeah, and all the Black Mormons had to be pretending a nice also since there are so many of them in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now!"

Umm, yeah! The members of the church come in all the variety of humanity. I wish that I could say it and it be overwhelmingly accurate that because LDS claim to have the restored truth that it makes us better people. 
Who doesn't want to think their faith makes them the best? Humble people don't want to think that I suppose.  If anything, our faith makes us more accountable before God since we claim to have a direct line to God through a prophet, but people are people.  Israel had a direct line to God through prophets and look at what happened to then. They still worshiped false gods! 
People will be good or bad regardless of the religion. I hope that as Christians, we are more inclined to do good deeds rather. It has been my experience at the beginning of my walk with Christ that LDS earnestly endeavor to live the teachings of Christ. 
I have been a LDS Christian too long to assume someone will be nice to me just because we go to the same church. It is not the case. I have met people with racist ideas and notions. I have met rude people. I met these people in church!

So, do I believe that Mormons have been racist in the past and that some are still racist? Yes, I do believe that. Since when did being a disciple of Christ, mean that we are instantly perfect as a person, community or faith? It is not the church I am converted to per se, but the faith, the teachings of God through the imperfect people in the church.

People cannot accept that I asked God on many occasions about the church and His prophets and He tells me they are authorized to act and speak for Him. I trust God, so I accept the prophets as His official reps on the earth.

I still have my doubts and my issues about this or that doctrine or policy, which I speak about appropriately, but my purpose is to promote faith in others and challenge the things that make me doubt. I still have bouts with God about if He is there! I could see myself slip away from Him if I were to stop praying because then He becomes a distant memory and His revelations just the fanciful whimsy of my simple mind.

I choose not to indulge my doubts. I am sure President Thomas S Monson has issues that his family would confirm if they were inclined to do so. That would not change the fact that for me, God has told me Monson is a prophet. He, Monson, will have to repent of his sins just like I do, but he still represents the Lord officially as His spokesman.

Prophets can fall and lose their way just like any person, but they can also repent and be forgiven without losing their calling. They can also be wrong about something all the days of their lives and teach it as if it is right! That is the reason God gave us the Holy Ghost so that we can discern.  That is why we have 15 prophets instead of just one. We as a people have to learn to trust our personal revelation. We must also learn to keep the commandments so that we are not being led astray because the devil can give revelations too!

We are never to trust the prophet in a way that we exclude prayer and due devotion to God ourselves. If we did, it would be Satan’s plan: to follow blindly in obedience.

Apologists have the wrong idea. I used to be one before I came to my senses. I received such a convincing jolt to my misunderstanding of my faith that I rebooted. I found out that I knew only these two things: that God is real and the Book of Mormon is true. This happened post-mission 12 or so years ago.  Apologists rattled me to the core. I alarmed my wife and friends. They had warned me to stay away from it.

See, foolishly, I had stopped reading my scriptures much and praying with faith while I engaged in apologetics. I only wanted to debate with people about the LDS religion and its preeminence over all others. What rattled me was something that ended up being false anyway! I was just so far from my relationship with God my mind was weak. Doubt worked its way into my mind. Apologetics is great if it is tempered by sincere faith.

We do not NEED to prove the faith or make exceptions for it. I find it comforting that there are people willing to give intellectual explanations for things that are not clear. Those exercises on intellect should never replace sincere and abiding faith in Jesus Christ on a foundation of keeping the commandments He has provided.

Faith is to believe in the absence of proof, which comes with revelation after the trial of our faith. I can promise any of you who are struggling with your faith that read this blog that if you keep the commandments prayerfully, God will reveal the truth to you as many times as you need it.

He set it up this way so that we would seek Him. I know I would not pray as often if I had all the answers right now. What need would I have to talk to Him or develop an open communication with Him at all? It is hard! I have to put my remote down and stop entertaining myself to do that!

There is no proof of any religious belief other than personal revelation. God designed life that way so that we can have the freedom to pursue the gospel or reject it without condemnation if we lose sight of the truth.

For example, we know the law gravity exists, so if we jump off a building expecting it to go away, we will suffer the immediate consequences. It is not so with the gospel. If we choose to leave the gospel level of consciousness we espouse, Mormon, Baptist, Muslim, spiritualism, etc., we lose a little bit of our testimony at a time until it is all gone. We are not doomed to outer darkness but only to a lower kingdom which is still a part of heaven if we fail to repent. Atheists, in my estimation, still go to heaven! Devil worshipers still go to heaven!

I find comfort knowing I can still mess up and get a great reward. I have not seen God, so I do not qualify for outer darkness. But, oh boy for those who have seen Him and decided to reject Him afterward. There are few people with that reward. Nephi lets us know that the hell they will endure exists only for them, and the devil.

So, it is okay for you all to have your doubts. Just, doubt your doubts more than you doubt the things you know. Since many of us still have not seen God face to face, we can get away with more. However, since some of us have heard His voice, we need to think hard how we dismiss past spiritual experiences.

Mormonism is a culture, but the gospel is more than a culture, it is the truth, and I would give up all my heritage and cultures for that.

Getting Personal With Christianity: Who is my neighbor?

Conflict resolution has to start with somebody. It might as well be me. 

One of my neighbors blasted vulgar music throughout the entire cul-de sac. I could hear the rancorous lyrics with all the windows closed as they rattled through.

I opened the front door and it assaulted me! I screamed across the cul-de sac to no avail until I said: "Cut that Crap off!"

Two young people, one adult and the other a teen approached. The young woman calmly expressed "My momma pays rent just like you do over here. I will turn it down, but not off."

Upset, I determined rent has nothing to do with blasting the neighborhood with profane music.
"Blast your music in your rented house then," I spit back at her.
As she spoke I smelled liquor and knew that I would not be able to reason with her. "You reek of liquor," came out of my mouth with such venom and judgment that she started to become emotionally volatile.

I warned them, "I am calling the police!" She continued to use vile language because I had upset her when she had approached me with a measure of reason on her side. "Get off," I said pointing to the yard of my rented property.
I was amazed at level of anger and how wickedly I behaved toward my neighbor. I even had my shirt off like I was going to fight!

The boy that was with her had concern in his eyes because we knew each other, but I dismissed that because of the woman cursing at me for telling her what to do at her mother's rented house while standing in front of my rented house.

I called the police, 911. I told them what was going on and was directed to the non-emergency line.
The NON-emergency line! It was not an emergency.

I thought about the police coming to my rented house or going to their rented house. We are both Americans with African descent. They were drinking and playing loud music. I was upset about it, that young woman had become crass and combative.

Those young boys at that house were large, tall, Black boys--intimidating to those who may not know them. They fit the profile for cops to shoot as has been in the news. I did not know what type of cop would pitch up if I called--the nice ones that ask them to keep the music down or the authoritative ones that would agitate things further.

I changed my mind and repented. I waited until I knew I was calm and went out to where there were about seven young men and women talking.
I saw Ree, the intoxicated and easily agitated woman to whom I spoke and apologized for my threatening language. I made peace. We are neighbors.

I can stand up for decency without involving anger and the police.
The last thing I want is to be the means of sending someone to jail or worse, death!

Black lives do matter. I did not understand what that meant until today. I don't agree with the organization that sponsors the big national movement, but I do agree that my neighbor's life matters more to me than for her to go to jail because she is inebriated and not fully intellectually there while being Black.

When I think of Black Lives, I think of all people of color. I think of my son and his friends also, who are Caucasian. My son's life matters to me and to them. His Black life matters. We are all connected by our associations. All lives matter.

My neighbor's life matters enough to try and resolve the issue peacefully rather than call the police immediately like did.

My neighborhood has seen enough conflict without bringing in the police. The police are out every night trying to catch fleeing criminals and I had the audacity to call them because my neighbor played her music too loudly!

The scriptures tell me to love my neighbor as I love myself. I would not want someone to call the police on me for playing my music too loudly. I would want that irritated person to come to me and tell me to turn it down respectfully.

I did not do that, but I made amends and repented of attempting to treat my neighbor differently than I would want to be treated.

O my people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among you, and ye list to obey the evil spirit... there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to obey that spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law of God contrary to his own knowledge... Mosiah 2:32-33 

If I had continued to list to obey the evil spirit of pride that wanted to avenge my wounded ego that Ree used foul language and was inebriated publicly blasting loud music, events that followed could have radically changed her life and mine.

I would have died in my sins--figuratively first, of course --because hatred would rear its ugly head each time we saw each other. The kids would have felt awkward to associate anymore since the youngest son and daughter of that family went to school and Young Women's activities at church with my daughters. I could have started a rift that would destroy my own family's life.

My punishment for giving into this pride would have been no peace. I talked causally with the youth for about 20 minutes following my apology. I was introduced to another neighbor that I did not know. I was showered with attention and hails of respect.

One young man said that most people would have just called the police rather than talk to them. They all were shocked that I of all the neighbors went out to tell them anything about the music or the police.

I found that they held me, and my family in high esteem. I did not know that, but because I repented, I found out something good about my neighbors that I did not know before or would not have known had I crossed that line into feuding.

They are people. All we have to do is speak respectfully and try to come to a mutual agreement so that we can all feel comfortable in the neighborhood.

Ree, ol' crazy self, told me that she was ready for the police. She, of course, was drunk. I noticed that the other people there, mostly youth, were not drunk or drinking.  I at least know now that they are not bad people as has been rumored to me--at least were not towards me. That is a different issue, though....