Abhor

Topics without scriptures: Abba, Abed-nego, Abel.

As I was studying this topic, I noticed three general categories of scriptures. Those that talked about God abhorring his people because they were wicked, those that talked about the people abhorring those that were righteous, and those that talked about the righteous abhorring that which was wicked.

I do not think that God hates people. I think he hates what they do with themselves and their choices - but when it says that God abhors his people because they turned away from him and are doing all sorts of awful things, I think it is not saying that God was trying to say "I hate you all." I think it is really just God being very very disappointed with his children who really should have known better.

What I really got out of this study was a call to self-evaluation. In Romans 12:9 it says "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." God is calling and asking me to abhor evil, but my question is how do I know when something is evil? The sunday school answer is "The Spirit" or "The Light of Christ" (more commonly called a conscience) - but in order to be attuned to the Spirit to learn things you have to be living relatively good. It seems like an endless cycle that I can't really jump into. I guess that is where faith and the commandments step up - they are my ticket in. By having faith I'm opening myself up to the Spirit to speak to me - by living the commandments I'm removing already the black and white things that God has said are evil.

I guess the next point this brought up was am I really paying attention? Do I just kind of move through the motions of my day without thinking "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" "Will this make me a better person?" "Is this something that God wants me to do/say/think?" When I'm faced with something that is good, how do I react? And likewise, what is my reaction to something that is bad? Finally, what does that say about the state of my own spirit?

In some ways, this was a wake up call. Not to go out to be over zealous and paranoid, but just to take a little extra time and effort to observe, process and THINK.

Abate

When I first saw this topic - I honestly wondered why it was included. It only had one reference, Genesis 8:3 where it talks about the waters abating from off the face of the Earth after the flood. Then I tried to think - maybe there is some symbolism in here that I could learn from. I mean, the Old Testament is pretty much filled with nothing but types and shadows of Christ - and the flood is a pretty big story as far as defining God and his relationship with us.

There seems to be two camps in Christianity - one that believes that most of the stuff in the beginning of Genesis was symbolic, and one that believes that it literally happened word for word. I'm more in a third camp that really doesn't care if it happened exactly how it said aslong as I can draw something from it that can help me get back to Heaven. Right now I believe the flood really did happen - I've heard that ancient civilizations from all over the place talk about a great flood - but I'm really not interested in scientific particulars as far as this matter goes. I don't base my faith on non-faith based sources.

If I was to look a the story of the flood symbolically and apply it to me taking particular interest in this idea of the waters abating - I guess it would go something like this: There is stuff happening in my life that is less than wholesome, it is all washed away, and when it is fully gone or abated all that is left is a new and clean me ready for a whole new world to begin on. The story of the flood is suppose to be like the Earth's baptism by water, and when I was eight years old I got that baptism. But every week I get to partake of the sacrament and renew the covenants I made at my baptism and be "washed clean" of the sins I did that week if I repented of them.

What I've really taken from this is a new outlook on repentance and staying safe. Noah waited to step out into the world until the waters had gone down enough for it to be safe for him to exit the ark. If I'm having a really hard time with something - something that would pretty much drown and kill me if I were to go into it - then maybe I should wait and avoid whatever it is for a while. Life happens, situations change, flood waters get abated. Patients keeps us safe from spiritually and physically harmful dangers, and as I use to be told constantly while growing up - Timing is Everything.

Abase

Topics without scriptures:

Aaron; Aaron, Descendants of; Aaronic Priesthood; Abarim

So, to start out with - I needed to look up "Abase" in my handy-dandy pocket dictionary. Apparently it means to "humiliate or degrade." So my thoughts instantly turned to "Oh, this must be about humility!" However, I learned that humility actually has several parts to it - and abasing is just one.

The main sort of message that these scriptures seemed to be saying is that those who are brought low, or abased, are the ones that God will exalt - while those who seek to be exalted are the ones who will be abased. It is kind of funny how you get what you aren't really striving for as far as God is concerned - but maybe being "exalted" isn't what we think it means at first.

Those seeking to be exalted remind me of the people who built the Tower of Babble, or the Pharisees who prayed on the street corners to be praised by man. They wanted to get to Heaven, but they also wanted their definition of a "Heaven on Earth" that required everyone else to see what great followers of God they were. Let's face it - a giant tower is kind of hard to miss, and someone yelling out their prayers is kind of hard to ignore as you pass by. But the people who are the ones simply and anonymously going about worshiping God and trying to be the best people they can be are the ones who will be exalted by God. Personally, I think that they are in this life as well as in the next life.

Bringing this to our day and age - who are our role models? When we start thinking about marriage or dating - do we turn to the celebrities of our time for a perfect love story? Or to that 80 year old couple down the road who still hold hands when they walk into the super market? When I was a teenager I had an eye opening experience. I've always admired and idolized Madame Curie, so I decided to read a biography on her. Was she an amazing scientist? Yes. But she also had a messed up relationship with her daughters - according to this book. There is a quote that says "No amount of success can make up for failure in the home" - and my young mind was shattered by the reality that this great woman who I was trying to base my life off of actually turned out to be not quite the role model I was looking for.

Another point that I drew from the scriptures for this topic - is that when we share the gospel, our goal is to uplift them. In a lot of ways, we really do need to forget ourselves. Sure there comes a high when you do something good - but I guess in order to really let the Spirit in to do His thing (since He is really the teacher not us) you need to push aside any ego you have.

The last point I got is that even though we are suppose to live this kind of degraded life where we aren't seeking praise and exaltation - that doesn't mean that when God sends us blessing that we should reject them! There is a time and a season for everything, that includes a time to feel satisfied and secure. I guess it is a warning to not be so focused on living an aspect of how you interpret God's will that you reject what God is willing to give you.

Introduction

I, like many people, have read the scriptures and study the gospel. From cover to cover, and from one Sunday School study guide to another, I have been able to find symbolism and truth in the stories and sermons of the ancient witnesses of God and His Son Jesus Christ. Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price; their stories are familiar to me like an old friend and the testimony they have helped me develop is a priceless treasure.

My name is Marinda and I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - or more commonly known as LDS or Mormon. This blog is a place where I would like to share my thoughts and impressions while endeavoring to study through the entirety of the Topical Guide published by my church on different gospel subjects. Each subject is a word, and the scriptures listed are selected places within the text of the books mentioned above where that word appears. I'm hoping to achieve a new level of understanding and testimony as I approach my gospel study from commonality between verses of scripture rather than chronologically.

I am not going to set an amount of time to finish this study, and I'm not going to promise to write everyday. The Topical Guide is 598 pages long and has 3513 sections, and though I have a goal to study the scriptures everyday - sometimes life happens. Though 3513 is a lot of topics to get through, not all topics have scriptures associated with them and merely reference other sections within the Topical Guide. The Topical Guide that I will be using can be found at scriptures.lds.org/en/tg/contents.

I hope that you, whoever you are out there, finds this blog interesting at the very least - and inspiring at the very most. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I would like to say that I SPEAK ONLY FOR MYSELF. I AM NOT AN OFFICIAL SPOKES PERSON FOR THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. Everything I say are MY thoughts and impressions, so don't go off believing that the Church's doctrine is exactly how I say it. For the Church's official doctrine and beliefs, visit www.mormon.org or www.lds.org.