Posted by rayww on April 5, 2004, at 10:09:27
The most repeated questions on PBF are those having to do with faith and depression. Everyone who is ill wonders why God can't just heal them. We often wonder when we have a religious spiritual experience, if it is a figment of our imagination, or part of the mental disorder. When we are depressed it is hard to accept that anyone cares about us, especially God. So, when he makes his presence known in our lives, we down play it, as though it is part of the illusion. God communes to us through our own language, in words of our own understanding, be that what it may.
I have struggled with some of these things. But what I have learned is that when we need God the most he is the nearest, even though we are confused. Whenever we call Him, He answers. He is a loving Creator, a caring Father.
There is so much controversy about who God the Father is, and his son, Jesus Christ. The Christians have one view, the Mormons have another. The Buddhists, Islams, Hindu, all have another idea. And it does matter. If God the Father wanted us to know exactly who he is he would have told us, but He wants us to believe his prophets, and through faith discover for ourselves.
I beleive God the Father is the creator of the whole universe, and that Jesus, under the direction of the Father, created this earth, and is the God of this earth. It is hard to distinguish between the two in the scriptures, because Christ has divine investiture to speak in the name of God the Father, thus he is the father and the son. Divine investiture is the same as power of atourney.
Mormons beleive that God the Father has a tangible glorified body of immortal flesh and bone, just as Christ's after his resurrection. We believe he is our literal father of our literal spirit, which dwells inside us, therefore we are born with divine origin, with inherited divine potential. The commandments are the means by which we can improve our lives and progress toward that end, following Jesus' example.
From reading here and communicating with some through email I have come to the conclusion that there are two Christian types of religions.
1. The Believers
2. The FollowersOne group has their head in the clouds, thinking only of their pre-arranged salvation. The other has their nose to the ground, doing all they can to help one another through this life, never sure of their exaltation. One group thinks their greatest cause is to put down the different beliefs of others and force their views upon them. The other group accepts the good in all religions and tries to make bad men good and good men better.
A person who does what God says will come to know who God is.
Knowing who God is opens the healing conduit that illuminates our path out of the dark hole of depression. Since the correct medication and treatment is paramount, only God knows the correct answer and who on earth we can trust. When we become frustrated it is all right to cry out, "What on earth are you doing in Heaven"
poster:rayww
thread:332829
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20040113/msgs/332829.html