MEDIUM GLORY: Such people, for example, would laugh at the belief my wife and I have that the LDS missions we served rank among the greatest acts of humanitarian service ever provided to the earth.
HIGH GLORY: To be fair, secular progressives are not the originators of the doubtful spirit that permeates our culture. Secular progressives are just spouting words given to them by the Master Of All Lies. I do not believe that we have to be victims to this doubtful spirit. In fact, we are, in large measure, responsible for letting that vile spirit of disbelief seep into our homes and lives, binding us and our children.
The chains of hell Nephi spoke of were detected by Supertramp in 1979, when they sang the "Logical Song",
When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily,
oh joyfully, oh playfully watching me.
But then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible,
logical, oh responsible, practical.
And then they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
oh clinical, oh intellectual, cynical. (Supertramp, 1979)
Unless we 'become as little children', this doubtful spirit will robs us of much glory that we could otherwise claim as our own. Even practiced believers, tend to delay and remain quite circumspect about things they could believe. Caught in a 'culture of disbelief' they claim glory much later and less abundantly than they could have otherwise.
For example, so often times we strive, worry and live through various life events for days, months, years or a lifetime...and then finally, only at the end of such period of time, (at the very time when the secular progressives would cynically say, "see the funny religious persons trying to make lemonade from lemons") we finally choose something we could have chosen long before. That is, we finally choose to believe, to lay claim, and testify to glorious miracles and purposes that were hidden from our view, but attending us "all along the way..."
I want to claim the glory sooner and in greater abundance. So, without further delay I hastily, and with little reserve, testify to something Satan would have liked me to wait a long time to believe, if at all.
This story came as God helped me sense the spirit of disbelief that is all around me and binding me from believing something new and glorious. As I write this testimony I realize I am thwarting the Devil, and the spirit he has sent abroad to make us significantly underestimate the glory of who we are, who others are and the glorious work we are about.
PARTING THE VEIL: ZION UNDER CONSTRUCTION
LOW GLORY:
A friend of mine, Edward, is a pharmacist. He is also quite an expert at I would call "working the system by working with the system." For example, as director of the pharmacy at his hospital, he is responsible to make sure his office practices are in alignment with a very burdensome, rigid and often illogical set of standards that are imposed by an, often self-serving, certifying board called JCAHO. Many hospitals desire to tout that they are "JCAHO-certified", meaning they follow JCAHO standards.
My friend is now legend for his ability to conform to JCAHO just sufficiently; without overconforming. Meanwhile many of his peers (doctors, nurses) overwork themselves trying to conform to JCAHO.
A little while ago, he told me, with a grin, that a nurse was watching him during a JCAHO conformance meeting. She said to him afterwords, "as I looked at you Edward, I was thinking to myself, 'I'll bet Edward is not over there thinking to himself, like I am, how am I going to ever conform with these new JCAHO directives but instead he is probably thinking, so, how is it that I am already conforming to these standards.' "
Rationalizing (believing) this way is not the ONLY thing Edward does. Sometimes he makes adjustments in his work practices, not just adjustments in his beliefs.
But Edward's gift has shown his peers a new way to approach JCAHO conformity and life generally. For Edward 'first-things-first' means doggly searching for evidence that what he is doing is already sufficient. This conservative spirit of existing abundance frees Edward to be open to making changes that he finally relents are warranted.
In short, Edward is open to changes, but he is a 'hard sell' (see last paragraph of 'The Hunt Is On!).
MEDIUM GLORY: I used to mostly only look forward, as a future event to the time when Zion will be built upon the American continent. I have a real hankering for excitement. In fact, I have been planning to start taking some very specific actions in the next few years to demonstrate to myself that I am building Zion, and thereby convince myself that Zion is, piece by piece, bursting forth (in my home, community, etc.). In other words, Zion-building was on my agenda of things to do.
HIGH GLORY: I delight that recently Alpha and Omega, the God of All Creation, revealed to me a humbling truth. I paraphrase what God told me, "Zion is and has been under construction ever since my servant Joseph set the stone rolling...it is now up to you to reveal to yourself and anyone who will listen that I am doing the work....and it is much further along than you had ever supposed....I, God, will build Zion, not you....but you have been chosen to pull back the veil and reveal how you and others (and circumstances) are already building Zion....yes there will be changes you will need to make, but the first change I command you to make is to reveal how and to what extent you and others are already fulfilling the prophesies that you have been anticipating would someday be fulfilled. This is your first work and main work."
So like Edward, I will do first things first....using my energy not to do something new, but to believe (and testify) that what I am already doing in my life and what others are doing is to an overwhelming extent the very things I have been anxiously anticipating the Lord would roll forth at some future period. I will believe that Zion is mostly under construction, not in the blueprint phase, and has simply been veiled.
In doing so, I will begin to better meet my needs for greater hope, excitement, wonder and glory.