"Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.
For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you."
Mormon 9:4-5
This is interesting stuff, explaining a little bit about why we wouldn't be happy to go to heaven and enter God's presence unless we repent and are purified by Christ... making the background point that our salvation is not just a free pass to do whatever we want, but a chance to change--we still have to become perfect before we can be happy to live in a perfect society. We don't get excused from that requirement. Instead, Christ helps us and makes it possible with his help.
The idea of our nakedness before God reminds me of the story of Adam and Eve after eating the fruit in the Garden of Eden... and I wonder if the nakedness referred to there was, like this, not just a physical thing, but a spiritual one as well. Symbolically, especially in comparison to God, we are completely unhidden and vulnerable. Without him we would certainly fall, and fail, and by ourselves we could never be more than that. It is WITH him that we find light and hope and possibility.
Today, let's remember that we're on a mission to improve ourselves and the world around us, and we desperately need God in order to do either or both of those things. We have to learn to be heavenly in order to be happy in heaven, and so part of learning to follow God is learning to understand him and why he has defined good and evil things the way he has, which means that we need open minds and hearts, because God sees and knows more than we do and we have a tendency to make hasty decisions. :) Let's work on not only walking God's path, but understanding why we are.
For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you."
Mormon 9:4-5
This is interesting stuff, explaining a little bit about why we wouldn't be happy to go to heaven and enter God's presence unless we repent and are purified by Christ... making the background point that our salvation is not just a free pass to do whatever we want, but a chance to change--we still have to become perfect before we can be happy to live in a perfect society. We don't get excused from that requirement. Instead, Christ helps us and makes it possible with his help.
The idea of our nakedness before God reminds me of the story of Adam and Eve after eating the fruit in the Garden of Eden... and I wonder if the nakedness referred to there was, like this, not just a physical thing, but a spiritual one as well. Symbolically, especially in comparison to God, we are completely unhidden and vulnerable. Without him we would certainly fall, and fail, and by ourselves we could never be more than that. It is WITH him that we find light and hope and possibility.
Today, let's remember that we're on a mission to improve ourselves and the world around us, and we desperately need God in order to do either or both of those things. We have to learn to be heavenly in order to be happy in heaven, and so part of learning to follow God is learning to understand him and why he has defined good and evil things the way he has, which means that we need open minds and hearts, because God sees and knows more than we do and we have a tendency to make hasty decisions. :) Let's work on not only walking God's path, but understanding why we are.
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