Tag: salvation

Freedom from Guilt

Joseph Dewey

Texas Gathering, Part Five
Freedom from Guilt

Question: With what you’re saying about the forces coming in, what if the forces are your own internal working, like those who have the airplane and the ability to wind the propeller but then they say, “Oh but I’m not worthy.” The ego or lower personality gets in the way, even while you’re doing it, that feeling of I’m not worthy.

JJ: This feeling is very powerful. It is a real biggie. It’s like when I had that experience with that schoolmate and I felt the spiritual energy going through me so powerful I thought I must not be worthy to do anything like this. I actually ran home because I was worried that God was trying to strike me dead because I was just this mischievous little imp that was doing something wrong. I felt that I must not be worthy to do any healing. I’ve felt this a number of times in my life as I’m sure all of us have. Every time I have, it has made me go backwards rather than forwards. You have to get over this unworthy feeling.

When the scriptures talk about salvation, what they’re really talking about is being saved from this feeling of unworthiness. It’s really a first step because to be truly saved, as is talked about in the scriptures, you have to eliminate guilt. To eliminate guilt you have to establish a relationship with God in such a way that you recognize that you are a son or daughter of God. When you realize this and really understand this knowledge your guilt is swept away. That’s what true salvation is. It’s to be relieved from guilt. You will not have guilt about anything anymore as long as you live.

The word for ‘sin’ in the New Testament Greek means to shoot an arrow at a target and to miss. To miss the target is what the original word ‘sin’ meant. So, when, in Bible times, they said someone sinned, it means they missed the mark. “Missing the mark” is the literal English translation. It was used by archers back in those days when the Greeks shot an arrow at the target and used this Biblical word. Do you think they shot an arrow and after missing the target said, “Oh, I feel so guilty. I’m such a bad person I’m not going to shoot an arrow at the target again.” We don’t think that way. The original word ‘sin’ was not meant to convey guilt. It was meant to convey missing the mark. When we really miss the mark is when we let guilt enter in and over ride us so much that we refuse to even try again because guilt makes you feel like you’re not worthy. When you feel like you’re not worthy you don’t try again. You give up trying. I’m not worthy, I’m not good enough. I’m not going to try because God will probably be mad at me if I try.

But if you realize that the original word for ‘sin’ means merely to miss the mark, then we look at the people who lived in the time of Jesus in a totally different light. When Jesus said, “Sin no more” He meant don’t make anymore mistakes or bad judgments. So we must learn to be like the ancient Greek archers who, when they shot an arrow and missed the mark they didn’t say they were a terrible person. Instead they took another arrow and tried to shoot again and again. If they missed the bulls eye they tried another one and tried until finally they got it. That’s the way we are when we have achieved the salvation that Jesus taught. We keep trying and trying again. Remember the principle of self-correction? Like our bodies keep correcting themselves, we need to keep correcting ourselves until we finally hit the mark.

That is what true salvation is. True salvation is being able to over ride guilt and negate it. When we make a mistake, instead of condemning ourselves and feeling unworthy or feeling like God is angry at us, we merely say, “Give me another arrow and I’m going to shoot again and hit the mark. I’m going to try again to be a good person. I’m going to try again until I become the type of person I want to be and nothing is going to stop me.” This is actually the true meaning of salvation. We’re saved from guilt which is the biggest missing of the mark there is, which means it is the biggest sin and when you’re saved from guilt you’re saved from your sins. And when you’re saved from guilt you have peace of mind. When you’re saved from guilt and make a mistake you no longer feel condemned. You merely think, “I made a mistake. I’ll try again.” You still have peace. Nothing takes away your peace because you know you’re doing the best you can, you know you’re human, you no longer have guilt about it and you just try again just like you would if you were shooting an arrow at a target.

So, this is an important thing in the point of tension. If we let guilt enter in, the little propeller we’re winding up will end up winding up backwards. The tension begins to be dissipated so that the tension will no longer be there. We must not let guilt enter in no matter how big of mistake we make; it’s just a mistake. You probably don’t want to do it again so let’s move ahead.

Think. If you have a son or a child and he/she makes a mistake, do you want him to feel guilty about it? If he’s willing to pick up and try again aren’t you going to nurture him? Aren’t you going to help him move ahead and support him? Jesus said, “if we being evil know how to give gifts to our children, will not God, being good know not how to do much more than we know how to do?” Yet we think that we will help our children when they fall down but if we fall down God will throw us in hell where we’ll burn forever. We’re going to suffer with this tremendous guilt and God will laugh with glee. No, Jesus didn’t say that at all. He said God is much better than us. He will give much better gifts and much more to His children than we can to ours because in comparison to God, we are very flawed. God is much better than us and He will be able to imagine much greater gifts for His children than we can for ours.

Isn’t that a wonderful teaching to contemplate? Yet how many of the churches teach it? How many of the churches instead teach, “Boy, God’s going to take care of you! All the angles in heaven are going to laugh with glee when they get a hold of you in the next life because you haven’t gone to church lately. You haven’t done some silly little thing that conforms to what some man here on the earth wants you to do.

Guilt is a tremendous method of control. Every person in this room is worthy of the presence of God. If you don’t feel worthy it’s because you’re deceived. Someone has tricked you to think that you’re not. Yea, but I’ve done some naughty things. Like Rob over here has done some naughty things over the past week, right Rob? (laughter) You’ve been a very naughty young man! It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. Nothing can stand between you and the presence of God except for you. You’re the only one that stands in between. If we are really the children of God and God is capable of going much farther in helping His children than we are in helping ours. How far would you go to help your children? Who has kids here? Somebody with a kid raise your hand. Garrett, how far would you go to help your kid get through college?

Response: Whatever it takes

JJ: Say your kid had a car accident and hurt somebody. He didn’t mean it. It was an accident. Would you condemn him? You wouldn’t, would you? What would you do for him? Suppose he was crying and feeling terrible. He was guilty. It was a terrible mistake. Would you be happy to see him suffer? Then why do people think that God is happy to see us suffer? Isn’t that about the biggest deception you can think of? If Jesus was right when He said, “God will go many more steps and He’s much better at giving good gifts to His children than we are to ours.” Yet look at how far Garrett will go to help his kid, even though he had an accident and it was his own fault. He didn’t mean it but it was a stupid thing that he did. The kid is condemning himself. What does Garrett do?

Response: Help him to realize it was just an accident. To do all he can do to correct it then move on with his life.

JJ: Do you give him a big hug to make him feel better? You do, don’t you? And Rob here, even though he’s done some naughty things over the week and irritated somebody he’s working with, he probably even irritated one of his teachers at school. Rob wants to be embraced by God. Do you think God is going to say you don’t deserve a hug? This is the true non-judgmental attitude. It’s that of a father or mother or parent accepting their children when they make a step in a forward direction they will accept them no matter what, especially if the child is making a step in a forward direction. Even though he’s guilty as all get out, the parent will accept him, even parents of murderers or really dastardly people. Human parents, no matter what the kid does, are still there to help them. Most loving parents will be. So no matter what we’ve done there is nothing to remove the barrier between us and the presence of God except for us. We’re the ones who condemn us. It’s just a natural thing that happens when we ourselves, are deceived.

So perhaps the greatest thing that I could present tonight is that every single person is worthy of your next step. Whatever that next step is, you are worthy of it. But when you take it every force in the world will come and try to convince you that you’re not ready, you’re not worthy and you shouldn’t take it or you’ve made a mistake in taking it. You need to go backwards, back to where it’s safe.

So, to create the point of tension, perhaps the most important thing is to take that step to decide then to focus on that decision and follow the highest you know within yourself. Moving ahead following the highest you know continues to create the point of tension as you wind up the little rubber band engine on the little airplane we’re visualizing. As you wind that up by moving ahead and focusing and not retreating, the point of tension is created. When the point of tension is there, you will sense it and things will begin to happen. If you want to go into the next stage of consciousness where you have communion between you and the spirit of God, when the point of tension is reached, one of the greater lives will say, “Behold the seeker has moved a step forward. Let us go greet him. Let us go commune with him. Let us sup with him and he will sup with us. Let us share our presence with him. Let us unfold a new energy with him that he has not felt before and see how he handles it.”

When you have created that point of tension and you’re proceeding along the spiritual path a new energy will unfold within you. It will be something that you’ve never really felt before. You may have felt things in the past but there are new things. You will feel a new energy, a higher energy and you will eventually adjust to it until this new energy becomes a part of your life. Then there is another step after that. There is always another step as long as you’re living here as a mortal being there is always another step in this sphere that we’re in. If you are here and you’re capable of pinching yourself and feeling something you have another step to take. Don’t be deceived into thinking that you’ve taken all the steps that you need because there is always another step to take.

So I want everyone to focus on the idea of drawing the attention of the Christ and His associates and Him sending us an endowment of spiritual energies that we can feel the presence of higher spiritual energies. I know a number of people have desired this and haven’t reached that point yet and want to reach it. There is nothing to stop us. If everyone in this room can stay focused and believing and positive in their mindset, not feeling any ill will toward any other person, not letting any negativity circulate, then we as a group can be elevated together to where we have never gone before.

To this end I’d like to end this meeting with a group prayer that we’ll all say together. Part of the reason for this is that I’ve had several people tell me that as soon as they decided to come to this gathering or think about coming to the gathering that all hell seems to have broken loose in their life. It seemed like something didn’t want them to come here. I know a number of you have told me about this and probably a number who have not mentioned it have also had this happen. I have felt this energy pulling on the group and it seems like the negative energy gave up a day or two ago because it realized it wasn’t going to stop you people from coming. So I’m glad to see everyone here.

Some people here are worried about people at home. So, what I’d like to do is to do a group prayer together and send energies to all of our loved ones so that everyone here can be at peace within themselves, knowing that all of their loved ones are taken care of, wherever they are. I’ll say the words then after I say them, everyone repeat them after me.

Our Father/Mother/God, hallowed be thy name
Let your presence be here upon the Earth as it is in heaven
Let our presence be in heaven as it is upon the Earth
May your spirit be one with our spirits
We call upon you with great faith
And send forth love to all mankind
We know that by the power of faith the innocent are protected
And we send this power to all of our loved ones
That they will be protected from harm
That their spirits will be elevated
That the love of God will surface in their hearts
That they will sense a fullness of joy on the horizon
That we all may be comforted in one
Through the One Spirit
Aumen, Aumen, Aaauuummmen
Aaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmenn

Delivered May 24, 2002 at the Gathering in Wimberly Texas.

Copyright By J J Dewey

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The Atonement, Salvation and Forgiveness

Joseph Dewey

12/4/99

The Atonement, Salvation and Forgiveness

First let us cover the forgiveness of sins. Does this concept apply to modern people of today or was it just dreamed up by controlling old men in the past to dominate an ignorant people? Let us see how the Bible actually handles this subject by examining the real meaning of the words involved.

The word sin comes from the Greek word HAMARTANO which means “to miss the mark.” In other words, when the Greeks 2000 years ago, shot at a target with an arrow and missed they “sinned” (HAMARTANO) or missed the target.

Is this how the word “sin” is used today? Verily no. When the religious person thinks of sin in our age he generally thinks of being unclean and ridden with guilt.

Now when you shoot at a target and miss the bullseye do you feel degraded and guilty to the extent that you feel paralyzed and even feel unworthy to shoot again? No. Of course not. When you miss you may find it mildly irritating, but you generally can’t wait to have another try at it.

Now guilt has been identified with sin by those who have sought to control the souls of men, but among the enlightened prophets it was not always so. To them sin was seen as a human error and salvation from sin is the path that leads to a correction of error. The prophets in times past did not seek to control through guilt, but sought to shift consciousness from error to perfection as they saw it.

Now let us look at the second major word – “forgiveness,” for the scriptures always talk about the obtaining forgiveness of sins.

Forgiveness in the Bible is translated from the Greek APHIEMI. The trouble is that this word does not mean forgiveness as we understand the word today, even though it seems to when it is used in connection with the forgiveness of sins. But unknown to most the real meaning of the word is difficult to decipher and is translated a number of different ways. Here are some verses where the word APHIEMI is used

Mark 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Mark 7:8 For LAYING ASIDE (APHIEMI) the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

Matt 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have FORSAKEN (APHIEMI) all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

Matt 19:29 And every one that hath FORSAKEN (APHIEMI) houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

John 14:18 I will not LEAVE (APHIEMI) you comfortless: I will come to you.

John 14:27 Peace I LEAVE (APHIEMI) with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I LEAVE (APHIEMI) the world, and go to the Father.

Matt 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, YIELDED UP (APHIEMI) the ghost.

Now if you substitute the modern word forgiveness in each of the above cases you will see that it just does not make consistent sense. For instance in Mark 7:8 do we forgive the commandment of God or in Matt 27:50 did Jesus forgive the ghost when he seemed to die?

If you go through the New Testament and examine all the places where APHIEMI is used you will see that the most consistent meaning of the word is “to give up, let go, yield or release.”

Now in this light let us retranslate the Biblical term “forgiveness of sins.” A much more accurate translation would be “the letting go or giving up of error.”

So how about salvation from sin? What would that mean then?

Salvation comes from the Greek SOLTERIA which literally means “to rescue or deliver.” Therefore salvation from sin is really a deliverance from error.

If one is taught the truth about guilt and its cause and release and the person accepts this teaching as correction then he is saved from sin or delivered from a great error in his thinking.

In the old days many people believed that the world was flat. But when Columbus proved to the them that it was round it could be said that Columbus saved the world from its sin. In other words, he delivered (saved) the world from its error (sin) in thinking.

When it is said that Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world the truth is that the world made a grave error in crucifying him.

When it is written that Jesus saved the world from its sins the meaning is simply that he left the teachings and example necessary to correct the world from it’s error in belief and thinking. Most people did not believe a man could rise from the dead. Jesus corrected this error by demonstrating power over death, thus he saved the world from sin in this matter.

Does being saved from sin or obtaining forgiveness of sin (the giving up of error) nullify the law of cause and effect or karma? In other words, if you robbed a bank in the past would the slate be wiped clean?

No. The scriptures do not bear this out. Concerning the law Jesus said: Matt 5:18 “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (accomplished).”

The law of cause and effect is one of the laws of God and this will stay in place until heaven and earth pass away.

Paul also said it well:

“For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Gal 6:5-7

Here we learn that every man will bear his own burden and reaps that which he has sowed. In other words, he will suffer an effect for every cause he initiates.

The words of Jesus ring true to this principle:

“Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.” Matt 5:26

Every cause will be counterbalanced by effects to the uttermost farthing.

Now if anyone should have had the effects of sin neutralized it would have been the severely persecuted saints in Biblical times, but of them it is written:

“And it was given unto him (the antichrist) to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” Rev 13:7

Here we are told that the dark powers overcame the saints and a few verses later we are given the reason for their suffering:

“He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” Rev 13:10

The saints were led into captivity because sometime in their past they led others into captivity. They were killed with the sword because sometime in their past they killed with the sword. This is why (says the scripture) the saints must have “patience” and “faith.”

Even though these great souls were “saved from their sins,” or delivered from error in thinking, they still suffered the effects of their sins or mistakes.

To forgive does not mean to neutralize the law of cause and effect, but it does mean that we let go of grievances for the holding of grievance is a great error in thought as taught in the Course in Miracles.

Let us say that Jim was in a car accident that was caused by a mistake on his part and he ran into Rick, an innocent driver. Both of them were badly injured. For some time after the accident Jim was racked with tremendous guilt and cursed himself daily for making a stupid mistake. Rick also has problems for he feels a strong grievance toward Jim for the pain and suffering he has endured. Finally, Jim seeks to rectify the situation and visits Rick, explains his feelings and grief and asks for forgiveness. Rick is touched and lets the grievance pass. They hug each other and cry and both depart company feeling peace of mind again. Jim still realizes he made a dumb mistake, but decides to accept the fact that sometimes mistakes just happen. Rick realizes that Jim did not mean him harm and corrects his own thinking by letting go.

Now that forgiveness has taken place and both men are filled with peace has the actual physical effects been neutralized? Are Jim and Rick’s cars suddenly restored to their new condition? Of course not.

Are the scars they bare removed?

No.

Are the hospital bills miraculously paid?

No again.

All the effects of every cause still remain in place. But this is a good thing because love and forgiveness are causes which produce the effects of joy and peace and thus the law of Dominating Good works through cause and effect for the long tern benefit of all.

Copyright by J J Dewey

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Keys to Liberation

Joseph Dewey

March 1, 2017

Keys to Liberation

The various religions have different ideas of salvation. The most popular one for Christians is that we will be saved if we merely believe in the right version of Jesus. If you accept the wrong version then you will go to hell.

If you ask them what they are to be saved from they’ll usually just say hell.

It is pretty vague exactly what heaven and hell are except that hell is bad and heaven is good.

Other Christians require more than a mere belief and demand members do good works in addition to believing in their version of Jesus.

The Mormons place a somewhat different idea as to our fate. They think that all but a small handful that sin against the Holy Ghost will be saved and go to a place better than this present world. The goal for good Mormons is to be exalted. In this state they will still have sex and family relationships and can progress to become like God. To be exalted they have to go through the temple and keep all the commandments given though the prophet.

Those of us who study the Ancient Wisdom and accept reincarnation rarely use the word salvation. Instead we use the term liberation.

Actually, liberation is closer than salvation to the original Greek word used in the days of Jesus. The word “saved” comes from SOZO which is “to save or deliver.” The similar word “salvation” comes from SOTERIA which is more correctly rendered “deliverance” or “rescue.”

A liberation is very close in meaning to a deliverance. Our goal is to learn all the needed lessons of mortal life through a series of incarnations. When finished we will graduate from the earth school and be liberated from the need of further lessons here. We can then go on to even greater challenges and fulfillment.

Today I’ll present a question for consideration.

How far will a regular religion take the pilgrim toward liberation?

Let us suppose that Jim believes in Jesus, does good works and obeys all the commandments that come down the pike. He does everything he is told to do in his religion.

How far down he path of liberation will this take him? What is his next step likely to be? What additional steps will he need to take to obtain liberation?

 

March 2, 2017

The First Three Steps to Liberation

Good comments on liberation my friends.

Adrian says that “Liberation is a never ending process.” Very true statement. All of us high and low are seeking to learn more and gain more power so limitations can be removed. The tricky thing is that sometimes the path to the next step of liberation is much different than appears.

Next Adrian says: “Religions can take one so far, then the soul will sense there is more to be had. I consider most earthly religions are akin to kindergarten – they serve a useful purpose but one would be bored if one stayed there beyond the end of term.”

This is a problem that many thinking people have with religion. No matter which church you go to the sermons and Sunday School lessons pretty much repeat the same basic things over and over.

I didn’t attend church until I was thirteen. The reason was not that I was a non believer, but church just bored me silly. Finally, at that age I started attending because of a sense of duty. Then, around age 16, I read the scriptures for the first time and found them very fascinating and thought to myself,” How can church be so boring when they have such great material as a base? Do the members even read them?”

The problem that came later after I absorbed the scriptures, church history and the best from authorities in my religion was that I hungered for more and at that point there was nothing more for me. I found myself on my own to search within as well as without and to my delight I found there is more to learn than I imagined.

Shakespeare was certainly correct when he said:

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

Then Bryan gave an amusing account of what may be the result of religious people’s own thoughtforms as they go to their self created heaven or hell. It kind of reminded me of the Twilight Zone episode when the guy died and thought he was in heaven, but later found out he was really in hell.

Ruth mentions the important point that the authority of the beast must be overcome. Good points were also made by Olivia, Tom and Jason.

As students who have been with me know there are three major hurdles that must be crossed before one can really be saved, or have his calling and election made sure.

In speaking of this attainment I am talking about the seeker reaching a point on the path where he is no longer in danger of retrogression but will receive a “Well done, good and faithful servant” when crossing the veil at death.

This point of attainment is much more difficult than believed by church goers. Just going to church, being a decent person and following the rules is at best a beginning step.

There are three hurdles that must be mastered before our Higher Self and Higher Lives will see the seeker as one that can be trusted to not backslide, or choose a dark path.

The first is the pull we receive from the material world that diverts our attention way from Spirit. This deceptive pull is called maya in the Ancient Wisdom.

In this cycle, consisting of many lifetimes of learning, the seeker must master and control the pull of sexual attraction and learn to not misuse these energies. He must also learn the right use of money, possessions and material things. His use of them should not be for purely selfish purposes and he will follow a harmless path as he seeks to provide himself and loved ones with the necessities of life. He must learn to value things of the spirit above the material and when he reaches a point of attainment in this cycle he will have a spiritual experience that will give him great encouragement to keep moving forward upon the path. This experience often convinces the seeker that salvation is secure, but he still has a long way to go.

In the next cycle he learns to master his emotional self, his ego and all the glamours associated with them.

In the third cycle he learns to master the mind and use it to unravel illusion to see a reality not obscured by fog. He learns to be guided by reason and wisdom tempered by basic common sense as it applies to his purpose in life.

Work in these three spheres of mastery may overlap, but one will always master the first before the second and the second before the third.

Question:

How much mastery in the three areas can one accomplish in a religion? What must be accomplished outside of an organized religion?

For more on maya, glamour and illusion go to this link:

 

March 3, 2017

The Three Guardians

The door to liberation is protected by three guardians that must be mastered before the disciple can pass through into true spiritual vision.

The first is an extremely handsome man, who does everything in his power to divert the seeker’s attention away from the door through the use of vast material powers. He will use beauty, sex, money and power all placed in locations far away from the door so attention will be on them, keeping the door away from the angle of vision.

The second is a beautiful woman who puts the sirens of Ulysses to shame. She deceives through the distortion of love, emotion, feeling and authority. She deceives the seeker into thinking that love has elements of possession and selfishness. She directs the attention away from the door by causing him to love his own ego first while professing the love of Christ. Because his ego comes first his motives are built around its satisfaction. He is deceived into thinking he is more important than he is, smarter than he is, more popular than he is, more loved than he is, stronger than he is and more. He draws to himself friends who feed his ego and continue to take his attention away from the door.

The third guardian is a master magician who directs the seeker away from the door with trickery and illusion. The magician causes the seeker to see things that are not there or to not see correctly see what is in front of him. Worst of all, he sees the door where it is not and nothing where the door really is.

This final guardian will require the seeker to use all the powers of mind, reason and intuition to unravel all of his tricks.

In a nutshell, to pass by these three guardians the seeker must overcome the attractiveness of materialism, master the emotional self and assume the full power of the mind to see through illusion to behold the real door.

How far can an organized religion take the seeker in his quest to pass by the three guardians?

Actually some that make significant demands on the followers assist with the first step. Self-control is needed to master the first guardian and it takes significant amount of it to be a good member of many of them. They will demand such things as:

To be a faithful mate

Various degrees of prescribed sexual behavior, some of which mar require significant discipline.

Giving money to the church. Some require 10% or more. It indeed takes some control of self to part with one’s money.

Various demands on what to eat and drink. Mormons, for instance, are forbidden to smoke, drink alcoholic beverages, tea and coffee. Muslims and Jews do not eat pork. Some religions do not allow any meat consumption.

Many religions advocate some form of fasting or giving up something desired.

They make demands of the member’s time through church attendance and various assignments given.

Overall a religion and give the seeker some structure to his life and assist in developing self discipline which is needed to defeat the first guardian.

Even if his path takes him away from his religion he can still take with him the virtue of self-control. The main difference is he will then decide what needs controlled rather than church authorities doing it for him.

So, how about the other two guardians? Is the religion of any assistance here? It may help a little with the second if the member takes to heart teachings of brotherly love. Loving your neighbor as yourself takes attention away from the ego. A problem though is many who are not members of a religion believe that the religious ones show no more love to their neighbors than they do.

This may be true in many cases, but some members do take teachings concerning love to heart and this will help them on their journey.

A religion can often add to the problems of defeating the second guardian by feeding his ego with a feeling of self importance because he is righteous, saved, had spiritual experiences, or is special in some way.

Religion is of zero help in aiding in the seeker’s mastery of illusion as there is much illusion in the religion itself. The only way one can say that it is of assistance in mastering the third guardian is that the religion itself is an illusive maze that challenges the seeker. If he figures a way out of its prison he has taken a major step to overcoming other illusions.

An organized religion can assist with overcoming the first guardian, but the seeker is pretty much on his own in mastering the other two. His thinking that he is saved, or on the way to an exclusive heaven, is generally based on an illusion that is holding him hostage to the second and third guardians holding him back from real deliverance.

Copyright by J J Dewey

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Eternal Lives, Chapter 9

Joseph Dewey
This entry is part 9 of 17 in the series Eternal Lives

The Return To God

For the past few generations the LDS church has had a wide gap in its definitions of “salvation” and “exaltation”. The authorities say that exaltation requires great effort; whereas salvation is freely given to all and requires little or no effort. We are told that when one is resurrected he will achieve salvation and all men will be resurrected whether they want to or not. Jesus grants this salvation to everyone.

I cannot blame one for reading the above doctrine into the scriptures for before I read them carefully I believed it myself. However, a closer reading of the prophets certainly reveals that salvation is not obtained with an effortless resurrection, for we already have shown that the immortal resurrection must be obtained through great effort. It is true, however, that when one does obtain the incorruptible resurrection he is saved (from rebirth). Before one can obtain this though, he must pass from “exaltation to exaltation,” as Joseph Smith said.

The scriptures plainly reveal that salvation must be earned. Paul said “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Phil 2:12. Alma said “ye should work out your salvation with fear before God.” Alma 35:37.

The word “salvation” is translated from the Greek SOTERIA which literally means to “rescue” or “deliver”. The word is really quite relative, but it’s meaning is quite consistent in the scriptures. There are three main things the scriptures tell us we will be delivered from: (1) Death, (2) Sin, and (3) Destruction at the end of the age. Deliverance from this destruction will enable one to reign in the kingdom of God during the millennium. We are told: “If thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the end, thou shall be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the Gift of salvation.” D&C 6:13

Generally salvation refers to deliverance from all of our enemies as Joseph Smith clearly said: “Salvation is nothing more nor less than to triumph over all our enemies and put them under our feet. And when we have power to put all enemies under our feet IN THIS WORLD, and a knowledge to triumph over all evil spirits in the world to come, then we are saved, as in the case of Jesus, who was to reign until he had put all enemies under his feet, and the last enemy was death,” DHC 5:389 Joseph Smith also said again and again that man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge.

Keeping the above quotes in mind we clearly see that salvation simply means deliverance from enemies through knowledge. Since this is so, how can the ignorant be saved unless they acquire knowledge? The Book of Mormon clearly tells us that the wicked will not be saved unless they make an effort: “But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance.” Mos 3:12 “But behold, and fear and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemed none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have willfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection. Therefore ought ye not to tremble? FOR SALVATION COMETH TO NONE SUCH; for the lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such.” Mosiah 15:26-27. “He shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and SALVATION COMETH TO NONE ELSE.” Alma 11:40.

It is clear then that salvation is not an automatic thing that happens to everyone in a universal resurrection as the church teaches, but is something that must be obtained by faith and knowledge.

Even though the prophets indicate that salvation will require considerable effort they also indicate that all will eventually obtain it. Joseph Smith was once reported by Mathew S. Davis in a letter to his wife as saying that all would eventually return to the presence of God: “Here he entered into some explanations, which were so brief that I could not perfectly comprehend him. But the idea seemed to be that the soul of man, the spirit, had existed from eternity in the bosom of Divinity; and so far as he was intelligible to me, must ultimately return from whence it came.” DHC 4:79

Jesus said something similar: “Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Matt 18:14. Paul also agreed: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” I Tim 2:3-4. People who doubt the scripture will say that God’s will is not always done, but they forget that “For with God NOTHING shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37. They also forget the prayer of Jesus: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matt 6:10. I contend that if it is the will of God that none shall perish, then that will of God shall be fulfilled. I say that if God “allotteth unto men according to their wills” Alma 29:49 then God shall surely be able to fulfill his own will. If God cannot fulfill his will then you and I have great reason to tremble and fear for he may not even be able to save us if we repent! What else can the believing mind accept except that God’s will, will be done and eventually through free agency “ the last weary pilgrim will find his way home.

Those who say that the Lord has doomed the wicked to eternal banishment from his presence have not read the scriptures: “And now, behold, I say unto you, never at any time have I declared from my own mouth that they (the wicked) should return, for where I am they cannot come, for they have no power. But remember that ALL MY JUDGMENTS ARE NOT GIVEN UNTO MEN.” D&C 29:29-30. Here the Lord leaves the field wide opened, for he tells us that all of his judgments are not given, and why? “Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore IT IS MORE EXPRESS THAN OTHER SCRIPTURES, THAT IT MIGHT WORK UPON THE HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN OF MEN, altogether for my name’s glory.” D&C 29:7

If the Lord told previous generations clearly that a way is opened for the wicked to eventually repent and return to his presence many would have become spiritually lazy and wait for the next life to repent, and their progression would be greatly delayed. Many are effected badly enough by the teaching that there is some repentance in the spirit world. Others say that since the telestial kingdom is supposed to be wonderful beyond our understanding, then that is good enough for them.

One can see why the Lord thought it wisdom to conceal the fact that all men will eventually return to his presence. But when you approach it logically one must ask, what loving Father would give up working on the deliverance of his sons and daughters? Is not God as good a father as we are? God has indeed prepared a way for all eventually to return. Whereas this knowledge may have an adverse effect on the laggards, truth will always inspire the righteous to greater heights. Think not that this has anything to do with Lucifer’s plan, for the Lord’s plan is predicated entirely on free agency, whereas Satan introduced a shortcut by taking it away. It is by no means the doctrine of the devil that God will always work for the salvation of man for it is written: “All flesh shall see the salvation of God”. Luke 3:6 Not only will many come back and see temporal salvation in Zion in the last days, but eventually all will gain the knowledge necessary to overcome his enemies. Will God ever stop a man from acquiring more knowledge? Verily, No.

Several scriptures referring to salvation also give indications of reincarnation. For instance we are told: “But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.” What is meant by “the end”? The word “end” comes from the Greek TELOS which is most appropriately translated “consummation”. This refers to the consummation or end of the age just prior to the ushering in of the millennium of peace. The next verse makes this crystal clear: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the END (Consummation) come.” Matt 24:14.

Obviously enduring to the end does not mean the end of one’s life, but to the end of the age. How can one endure to the end of the age unless one is reborn here so he has the opportunity to endure?

Paul said that Jesus “gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world.” Gal 1:4 If, then the salvation of Jesus was to deliver us from this world, no salvation is to be confined to it. How can one be confined to mortal earth without reincarnation?

Since Joseph Smith said that all must ultimately return to God (DHC Vol 4; pg 79) it obviously follows that all will eventually be saved. This promise as well as many others must be cast aside unless we consider reincarnation.

Copyright 1996 by J J Dewey

Eternal Lives, Chapter 15

Joseph Dewey
This entry is part 15 of 17 in the series Eternal Lives

Who Was Jesus?

The greatest mystery man of all time is, of course, Jesus himself. What is his history? There is not a lot of information in the scriptures about his past, but there is some.

One of the strongest hints of an ancient past is found in the gospel of John:
“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” John 21:2

Now according to orthodox belief, the apostles only knew Jesus for three years and this was not enough association to even write a book. Each of the gospels that were written about him was only the length of a short story, not enough material for one book let alone books so numerous that they would fill the earth.

When did Jesus do all these thousands, perhaps millions of deeds so numerous that they would fill thousands of volumes??? There is no way that so many works could be done in a mere 33 years. Such a voluminous history would have to span many lifetimes.

Another hint of the Past of Jesus is given in this scripture: “And John saw and bore record of the fullness of my glory, and the fullness of John’s record is hereafter to be revealed. And he bore record saying: I saw his glory, that he was in the beginning, before the world was. (In other words before the “age” was or before the days of Adam.) Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, EVEN THE MESSENGER OF’ SALVATION” D&C 93:6-8.

Thus we see that in the dawn of time here on the earth that Christ was one who was called the “messenger of Salvation.” It is quite obvious that he must have had many lives of service to become what he was when he appeared to the Jews and one or more was as a “messenger of salvation.”

The scripture continues: “And I, John, saw that he received not of the fullness at first, (In his first life), but received grace for grace; and he received not of the fullness at first, but continued from grace to grace, (life to life), until he received a fullness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fullness at first… I give you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, (That is he, the Christ, is a man like unto ourselves, but with more experience), that ye may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time (after sufficient incarnations) receive of his fullness… He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.” D&C 93:12-14,19,28.

The scriptures make it obvious that Jesus lived more than one short life of thirty-three years: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but WAS IN ALL POINTS TEMPTED LIKE AS WE ARE yet without sin.” Heb 4:15. Before I accepted the doctrine of reincarnation I often wondered how Jesus could have been tempted in all points as I have been for I have often thought that I have been in many circumstances that he could not have been in. But if we consider reincarnation, we can see how this scripture is actually true, that during his long probation of lives he has been tempted in every way possible and came off victorious in his last life without sin.

This helps us understand another scripture: “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” Heb 2:18. Now we see that he is able to succor us because in his vast experience he has undergone every temptation imaginable. We see that “though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” Heb 5;9-10

Now we can apply a larger perspective to the interpretation of this scripture. Christ learned obedience by the things which be suffered in past lives. His suffering in his life as the Christ took place after he was already perfected, but he learned obedience by the things which he suffered in past lives which prepared him for a life as the Son of God. We are told that after he learned obedience by suffering that he was “made perfect” and “became the author of eternal salvation”. What does this mean, and what is perfection?

Perfection seems to mean different things to different people, and from a human standpoint it could be defined as the highest ideal of any individual. But since the highest ideal of each individual is somewhat different, then perfection would be different for almost everyone. For instance Jesus was by no means perfect in the eyes of the learned Pharisees and Scribes. They thought the perfect Messiah would idolize their law and traditions as they themselves did. The Christian world in the days of Joseph Smith thought he was far from perfect for they thought a prophet should be very pious. Of course, he did not live up to this standard and even many converts were disappointed when they met him. Joseph once said that if Jesus himself were with them they would find many faults with him.

Thus we come to a question. If perfection by human standards is the highest ideal of an individual, is there any such thing as real perfection? After all, no matter how high a person’s ideal is, there is yet another higher throughout all eternity. There is no limit to a person’s will-to-good. Unfortunately when something higher than a person’s ideal is presented, the individual cannot recognize it unless he elevates his thoughts. If he does not do this the person will stand in absolute blindness when faced with the greater reality, a blindness so great that nothing from without can penetrate it.

Therefore, the Jews were completely ignorant to the fact that Jesus represented a greater reality. They thought he was less than perfection and presented a threat to their perfection; thus they sought to destroy him. Would this mean that there is a greater reality than Christ? Yes, and he admitted it for he said: “My Father is greater than I am.” John 14:28 Jesus was able to recognize one greater than himself, but the Jews could not and this was why they were condemned. They saw perfection as only their highest ideal and could not accept the fact that there was nothing higher and were called “the blind that lead the blind and both shall fall in the ditch”. The first step toward eternal progression is to remove this blindness and always be “opened” to the possibility that there may be somewhere out there a greater reality than we have ever before imagined. Many who read these words now will be amazed a few years down the road at all of the greater realities they will discover.

Taking the above logic into consideration we may safely conclude that perfection as it is understood by humanity is an illusion and does not really exist, for there is no ultimate in achievement. Even as far as Christ is concerned, he is just a junior achiever in relation to his Father, and his Father is a mere junior executive in comparison to the Gods above him for his Father’s main responsibility is this planet whereas other’s govern solar systems and galaxies and have a consciousness above anything that can be imagined even by Christ himself.

If this is so then what is meant by the scripture which tells us that he was “made perfect?” To understand this we must examine the Greek. The words “made perfect” are translated from the Greek word TELEIOO which really has little to do with perfection as we understand it. As a matter of fact there is no Greek or Hebrew equivalent for the English word perfection as it is applied to deity for they had enough common sense to realize that such a word was meaningless. The word TELEIOO is more appropriately translated as “finish, fulfill, or consummate” and in the text of this scripture it implies “To accomplish an assigned mission” Jesus himself used this word in a similar context when he said: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish (From the Greek TELEIOO) his work.” John 4:34. Paul also said: “Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish (TELEIOO) my course with joy.” Acts 20:24.

Thus we see that after the Christ had finished his assigned task that he became the author of “eternal salvation”. These are another interesting pair of words for neither one of them mean what they seem. “Eternal” comes from the Greek AIONIOS which can mean one of three things: (1) Something which can last for an age or a long period of time. (2) Having an ageless quality or (3) At the end of an age. One has to look at the content to see how the word was intended to be used and the key is given in the word salvation which comes from the word SOTERIA which is more correctly rendered “deliverance” or “rescue”. An equivalent Hebrew word is used in Joel: “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. and it shall come to pass, that WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE DELIVERED (saved): for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.” Joel 2:30-32 Here we see that this word is used to indicate a deliverance at the end of the age rather than a spiritual atonement. We see that the righteous will be “saved” from the calamities which will come upon the world.

Taking this into consideration let us retranslate the scripture in question which reads: “And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all that obey him.” It could be more correctly rendered: “And completing the work which was expected of him he made possible our deliverance at the end of the age.” In other words the work of the Christ made possible and paved the way for our deliverance at this time thousands of years later. This deliverance could be multiform. It could be a deliverance from physical calamities, but could also imply a deliverance from our lower nature as the teachings of Christ finally sink into our consciousness at the end of the old and the beginning of the new age.

Copyright 1996 by J J Dewey