Some concerns that I need to share with my loved ones in the face of adversity

I have been told that one of my family members has spread word about his apostasy that is of concern to others of my loved ones, causing some to question the faith. I have not kept myself informed of what he has written and so please do not see my comments as being comments on what he has written.

In about the early 1990s a friend of mine asked me to vouch for a product that he was wanting to market. He felt that my authority as a scientist would help his marketing campaign. I think that he was upset when I declined, not because I had reason to question his product or doubt his claims, but because it would take me many hours, maybe years, to research sufficiently to be able to state authoritatively that the claims of the manufacturers were valid. Similarly, it would take me much time to investigate what our family member has researched in order to comment with any intelligence on the conclusions that he has drawn. So I am only going to share my own research and experience.

In 1973 I was a missionary declaring to those around me that God the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ had appeared to a young man by the name of Joseph Smith. I declared that they had called him as a prophet, and that through him the priesthood and the fullness of the Gospel had been restored. After some time I started to feel uneasy in upsetting the equilibrium of the good people with whom I interacted. Good, believing, honest, upright people in the NG, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic and other religions. I knew that by declaring my message to them, I was putting them in a position from which they never could retreat. Was I sure of what I was saying? What right did I have to upset their apple carts?

I became seriously ill and for a while I was troubled, I guess in a way, like Alma the younger was, I was harrowed up by the memory of my weaknesses and inadequacies. I fasted and prayed to know what I should do - was it appropriate for me to continue bearing witness of the restored Church and Gospel? I did not doubt the Gospel - I doubted my testimony. I had had enough experiences as a child and a teenager to know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that the Holy Ghost is a real companion, even to a less than perfect youth such as me.

As I was thus troubled, I had an experience that has remained bright and clear to me to this day. Jesus Christ Himself bore witness to me, your far from perfect brother, husband or father, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is 'the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually— For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance'. 

My family, I could no longer deny, or worry that I had no right to declare this restored Church and Gospel without being ashamed. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself had borne that witness to me. And so, I once again bear that witness to you, my dear loved ones.

Besides this, I have pondered and researched for more than forty years, and I have come to a firm conclusion that God lives, that He created this Earth for us, that the Plan of Life and Salvation are true. Those of you who have access to the Family History folder in my Dropbox are welcome to read the promises in this regard given to me in the year 1969 in my patriarchal blessing. I have had, and continue to have, the special experiences that were promised.

As a scientist, being taught of chemistry, physics, botany and zoology, evolution and other sciences and philosophies of men, I have never had anything that caused me to doubt, but only to affirm, that testimony that I have. Science always has more questions than it has answers - that is what drives science - the questioning mind. 

As I have written in my blog, I know that without the superior force, power, or influence of our Heavenly Father, this universe would have 'run down' as it were. The time of sunrise on 13 June in the year 1900 was the same time as it was this morning, and according to a calculator on the internet, would be the same in 2099. But - I am very aware that there is much on the internet that sounds authoritative, and is written in many cases by well-meaning people, but they cannot have repeated the experimentation, or measurements, to confirm their own results, applying all of the methods, to draw the same conclusions that thousands of individual scientist have done over centuries to come up with the numbers of stars in the Universe, or the millions of years that it has taken in geological time for sandstone to develop or weather, or any other 'scientific fact'. 

Many things we (you and I) accept without question, but others we doubt. And that is fine - you may believe as you wish to believe. But please remember that, just as there is compelling argument on the internet that the Earth is flat, I suggest that you have no cause to doubt me when I declare my personal experience and conclusions that it is round. I taught on mission that just 500 years ago many people believed that the Sun revolved around the Earth and persecuted Galileo for declaring that the Earth was round and that the Earth revolved around the Sun. People who declare truth will usually be persecuted or put to death because error prevails in this Earth where Lucifer has bought up armies, navies, false priests who oppress, and tyrants that reign with blood and horror on this Earth.

Science on trial

https://physicsworld.com/a/the-galileo-affair/

I share my solemn conviction that I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which the Lord is well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually— For He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. Please, think, ponder, study, pray and fast carefully for yourself and do not be swayed by what anyone else says. The things that you and I declared as missionaries or at other times have not changed. The truth is still the truth - it is we that have changed. If any of us will do the Father's will, we shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether Jesus Christ spoke of Himself, or whether I, speak of myself.

Me, a marathon runner? Nah! Or am I?

We all started out as babies, and almost every one of us learned to move, then to turn over, to crawl, to toddle, to walk, to run.

Some of us went on to run in school races. Some to school competitions, inter school competitions, regional competitions, provincial competitions, inter-provincial competitions, national competitions, international competitions, and a small number to a global arena like the Olympic Games!

Some of us ran because our parents encouraged us to. Some ran because our friends ran and we were just following the crowd. Some ran because we became seriously passionate about it and because the runners' high was so - well, worth it!

Running is wearying... It comes with discomfort, sore muscles and blistered feet, sweat and probably tears.

Whatever the reason that we ran, we would have felt some benefits of running. These include the runner's high, feeling good about the achievement (improved self-esteem), burning calories, shedding and burning fat from the body - and keeping it off, and low-cost exercise... An internet search for 'benefits of running' shows that there are many other benefits to physical, emotional, spiritual and mental health from running.

I never was a marathon runner, but I did participate in inter-school badminton (and I was not particularly good in inter-school cricket...) and so I can relate in a small way to the satisfaction that comes from working at sport. I did some cross-country races, sprinting, hurdles, high jump, and other athletics at school, but I was not passionate about that. But I do take off my hat to those who have a passion for, and who excel in, running marathons and other great achievements.

But - can you consider someone who regularly ran marathons, initially because her parents expected it of her while at school, then her peers dragged her along, then she became a self-starter and ran for the love of it. And she really loved it! She has certificates showing her accomplishments. She has several witnesses to the fact of her running, completing gruelling marathons - and loving it! But life changed. She lost interest, stopped exercising, stopped enjoying the benefits of running, and even became very deriding of anyone who runs. She denies that she enjoyed it. She always blames her parents for making her run against her will. She has become flabby and insulting of those who run, telling of many important reasons to not run - why no intelligent person would run.

Does that sound like a story that I concocted, or are there people like this? Do you know people like this?

Paul related Gospel living to running a race (1 Cor 9:24, Heb 12:1) and says of himself that he had 'fought a good fight' and finished his course (2 Tim 4:7). I have known so many people who have run valiantly and have medals, certificates and witnesses to prove that they ran spiritual races. The evidence attests that they ran with great passion and success while they were in trim spiritual condition, exercising every day by studying, pondering, praying, fasting, obeying the commandments, and that they had felt that spiritual runner's high. They personally spoke of their love for running spiritual marathons. 

I know that there is a real spiritual scientific experiment that has been conducted by thousands of people. They have studied the subject, applied the method, tested the promises, obtained the results, and reached the conclusion that the method is sound and the results are consistent. I know that if anyone will follow the same method and apply the same tests that they will obtain the same results and draw the same conclusions. 

Despite all of this evidence, there are people who have never conducted the experiment who are certain that the results are false and the conclusion is erroneous. There are those who did conduct the experiment and who experienced the results and bore personal testimony that the results were sound and true, but have changed their mind after ceasing to live the way that yields the results of spiritual health and well-being.

So - while I was never a marathon runner like the tens of thousands who run the Two Oceans or Comrade's Marathons in South Africa, or the over 800 marathons run throughout the world each year and almost on a weekly basis, I guess that I can say that I have been running a spiritual marathon for just about all of my life. There were times when it was because my parents encouraged me, or friends were dragging me along, but most of it is because I have kept going because I have felt the benefits of maintaining that level of spiritual fitness - and revelling in the runner's high.

I have come to know God. At school, church and university I learned about the scriptures, religion, god, evolution, natural selection, and other philosophies. Through my personal study and exercising my faith I have come to know God and that the scriptures are His word to us. I hope that I shall always keep myself in spiritual peak condition so that I can continue to feel the spiritual runner's high. It is a wonderful feeling - and it can only be appreciated by personal experience - no-one can adequately describe it to persuade anyone that it is worth the effort required to experience it. I hope that this inspires you to work on being spiritually fit so that you will enjoy the benefits of running our spiritual marathon in order to reach the finishing line with honour. I know that it is worth every effort!

See also:

https://runrepeat.com/what-running-does-to-your-body

https://www.podiumrunner.com/culture/10-amazing-benefits-running-might-not-known/

https://www.shape.com/fitness/cardio/11-science-backed-reasons-running-really-good-you

https://www.womensrunning.co.uk/health/the-health-benefits-of-running/

https://www.active.com/running/articles/6-benefits-of-running

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/running-everyday#benefits

https://www.letsdothis.com/blog/7-benefits-of-running-for-just-30-minutes/

https://www.businessinsider.co.za/health-benefits-of-running-2018-4?r=US&IR=T

https://www.openfit.com/benefits-of-running

https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20808326/26-tips-for-running-your-best-26-2/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon

Remember what you know before just believing what others tell you ...

I was given a lot to think about when my brother Tim posted something on Facebook on 12 Nov 2018.

 

I see the image may not display because it contained text. It was the great pyramid with its geographical coordinates. I am trying again, this time with a cropped picture as well...

It gives:
Speed of light: 299 792 458 m/2
Coordinates of the Great Pyramid of Giza 29.9792458°N
COINCIDENCE?
His comment was 'Not in billions of years is this by chance........'

I posted the comment:

That depends... The pyramid spans about 29.97817°N to 29.98019°N, One of about 20200 points with 7 decimal place, each about 7 mm apart, along the approximately 150 m stretch from the northern to southern edges of the pyramid is indeed 29.9792458°N. That point is about 10758 out of about 20200, so reasonably close to the middle of the pyramid. It is TRULY REMARKABLE, but you have to have real faith in the precision of the surveyors of about 4578 years ago to think that they calculated the speed of light and plonked the pyramid on the ground at precisely that point to match that great number :-). This requires just about the same amount of faith as those have who believe that the millions of species in the world are the result of natural selection and the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life rather than the work of an intelligent God :-). But thanks for giving me something to think about :-)

I thought a lot about that.

The pyramid was built around 2580 to 2560 BC.

The speed of light was first considered about 1676 AD, and postulated by Albert Einstein in 1905 AD.

One has to ask why it was decided that a circle can be divided into 360 degrees, and that the Earth must span from 90°S to 90°N rather than any other number of degrees.

Then - the second is based on 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day - instead of some other numbers for seconds, minutes and hours.

The length of a metre is defined based on the length of a path traveled by light in a vacuum - instead of some other number like foot or yard or mile or something else.

These decisions and postulations put the pyramid close to 29.97817°N.

When I teach the process of georeferencing, or assigning geographical coordinates to record where museum or herbarium specimens were collected, I teach that one should not use more than 5 decimal places, nor less, because 5 decimal places puts one appropriately within 1 metre of the determined place, and using more decimal places adds false precision. So, I would have georeferenced a specimen of a bird or lizard with 'the Great Pyramid of Giza' as its location at about 31.13425°N, 29.97925°E, with a confidence of about 150 m representing the radius of a circle surrounding and including all four corners of the pyramid. If it had been a plant, then I would have given it within about 300 m or even 1000 m from the centre of the pyramid. Something like a bird or lizard can be 1000 m from the pyramid and can feasibly move onto the centre of the pyramid, whereas a plant is pretty much stuck in one place from the time of germination to its death, and is not likely to have been growing on the pyramid itself, and looking at aerial photography or satellite imagery shows the nearest visible vegetation at about 300 m from the pyramid.

My GPS is good to about 5 m - and I have benefited from that precision by locating a small plant ten days after recording its locality with my simple GPS, so I know. To get less than 1 cm precision in 2018 requires using a Differential GPS, costing many thousands of Rands or hundreds of Dollars.

What prompted the pyramid consulting engineers to place their pyramid precisely there? Perhaps an all-wise, loving, gracious and merciful God prompted them about 4600 years ago so that this picture would be posted on Facebook in November 2018 so that I would think about the question and saying to me 'It's OK, Les. I am here' :-).

Hopefully my comments will prompt you to search your thoughts and remember what you know.

So - think.... remember.... ponder.... dare I say pray?....

Appreciating Providence

Today is Christmas eve. As I prayed this morning, I was thinking  about a TV set. It has become what it is to support the great industry that creates the content. Without the content, there would be no TV such as we have it. Entertainment, news, sport, learning, whatever the content, it's there, and so the means of presenting it to you on small to large screens was invented, developed, refined, marketed – all the steps involved in the process – and you get to watch the content. 

But you cannot enjoy the content without access to those devices that bring you the content, ensuring power and signal to those devices, and, in most cases, a paid subscription. The content is there whether you watch or not, but so many things are entirely within your control and choices that you make determine what content you view. 

When viewing, almost everything is living someone else's dreams and not particularly bringing you any closer to any of your own worthwhile dreams. All too often, time that we choose to spend watching what other people have dreamed actually prevents us from achieving some of the dreams that we really do want to achieve for ourselves!

I love the beauty of the sun today, the rain that fell yesterday that is so much needed in this severe drought, the fresh air, the mountains, great rivers and small streams, vegetation, all manner of life. All things that beautify this Earth whereon we dwell, that please the eye and gladden the heart. I praise my Messiah for His great providence and I desire to do all that I can to benefit from the 'content' that He wants me to enjoy. That is why He created it all. I love Him for it. 

This Christmas, and in the next year, let us enjoy the providence of a loving creator who has made so much 'content' available, by having the devices, power, signal, subscriptions, or whatever is required and within our control, to enjoy what He makes freely and abundantly available to us. 

I hope and pray that each end every one of us will give our love and devotion to Him – Jesus Christ – and His and our Heavenly Father, this Christmas and throughout the next year, to enjoy and benefit from His providence. I know that He is the great Creator. I love His creations. 

I have talked to Heavenly Father in prayer, and He has talked to me through the scriptures. This is not just some urban legend that I am sharing that someone somewhere sometime may have experienced, but this is my firsthand witness that I share from Cape Town on this, the day before Christmas 2016.

Do our spiritual muscles also ache when exercised after a long break?

Yesterday I exercised after six weeks of not specifically exercising.

I have spent a wonderful break with family and at the Temple, and I did walk and bend and lift and climb, but I did not do specific exercises that worked the muscles and heart. Then I did my normal 20 to 30 minutes of stretching, bending, running and lifting and today my muscles are letting me know all about it. Not too serious, but definitely aware of these muscles, especially in my legs and back.

This set me wondering as to whether someone who has not been exercising their faith might feel some pain and discomfort when doing some spiritual exercise such as pondering, scripture study, pondering the scriptures, or starting some form of spiritual activity? I suspect that the feeling of remorse about sins of omission or of commission, feelings of guilt or uncleanness, or anything else prompted by our conscience might give us similar discomfort, reminding us of those 'spirit muscles' and we may be tempted to complain and stop exercising. But, just as with physical exercise, it is important to continue exercising, and gradually, but determinedly, increase the pace and frequency of the exercise to get the spiritual heart pumping in a healthy manner and to improve the spiritual muscle tone and decrease the spiritual fat.

If you have been neglecting your spiritual exercise, or are feeling those discomforts from sudden exercise, I encourage you to exercise well and press forward with with a steadfastness in Christ, and persevere. The gain will definitely outweigh the pain.

Does this scenario describe you?

Imagine you are at home on a Sunday afternoon - a typical Sunday. The time is about 3 pm. Which of the following would you most likely be doing?

• Sleeping
• Reading a novel
• Reading a magazine like a TV guide
• Reading the newspaper
• Watching sport or something like that on TV
• Listening to loud music
• TV is on for the children to watch whatever is being broadcast
• Vacuuming the house
• Washing the dishes
• Preparing a meal
• Reading the Ensign, New Era, Friend or Liahona
• Reading the material for priesthood, Relief Society, Sunday School or other participation in Church
• Doing family history or FamilySearch Indexing
• Reading the scriptures
• Watching Mormon Messages, Bible Videos or something from LDS.org
• Pondering and praying what you are studying

What is your normal kind of activity on a Sunday?

What is the spirit like in your home? Is it the kind of spirit described by the statement 'Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness.'? Would an angel want to linger in your home if he or she stopped by?

Now imagine that there is a knock at the door. You are not expecting anyone. Who could it be?

Who would you most dearly like to have standing at your door? Who would you feel the most blessed or honoured to have visit with you on this Sunday afternoon?

• Your grade 7 teacher
• Your last school principal
• The mayor of your city
• The president of your national parliament
• A childhood friend
• The one relative of yours that you most dearly love - mother, father, husband or wife (who may have left the house without keys and so is locked out), child, grandparent, or whoever is most dear to you
• Your home teachers or visiting teachers
• Your bishop
• Your Stake president
• Your Area president
• An Apostle of the Lord
• The president of the Church
• An angel from Heaven
• The Lord Jesus Christ, or God, the Eternal Father

Peeping through the peep hole of your front door, and seeing that it is the Lord Jesus Christ, do you throw open the door and welcome Him with open arms and invite Him into your lounge?

I was thinking this morning about the scriptures and one that I often ponder and wonder how well I live it is Doctrine and Covenants 20:68-69 about the duty of members after they are baptised. Does my home have the kind of spirit that a home does where there is a 'godly walk and conversation, ...works and faith agreeable to the holy scriptures—walking in holiness before the Lord.'? Am I doing my duty? How well am I doing in it?

The Sabbath is the Lord's day, not mine. Am I honouring it and living it as he would have me live it?

In thinking about how I would receive Him if He knocked at the door, remembering what He said as John recorded in Revelation 3:20 'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.' Are we eager to have Him enter our homes on a Sunday afternoon, or at any time?

My thoughts also turned to Doctrine and Covenants 84: 35-38 where we read:

 35 And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;
 36 For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;
 37 And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;
 38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

If it is a visiting teacher, home teacher, bishop or any other servant - do we receive him or her with open arms and treat him or her with equal honour and respect as we would the Lord Himself? Are we ready to receive the Father as we receive His servants?

I hope and pray that when representatives of the Lord visit, that our members could have the spirit in their homes so that the home feels like a Temple when we enter. I hope that someone who enters my home, even if it could be just one person, might just feel that it is a holy place. I hope that I am ready to open the door to the Saviour when he knocks, and welcome Him in to sup with me, and I with Him.