Whispered Warnings

Something I have begun to notice more is what the Holy Ghost is doing when we are sliding down the Chemical Scale. For years I have trained to notice how Satan messes with me to drag me down the Scale, but over the last several months I have noticed more how the Spirit is also working to persuade me to climb back up the Scale.

He is more noticeable during the Level 4 -Irrational Conversation where he is often actively trying to persuade you to live in alignment with your values. But I have also begun to notice the warnings of the Holy Ghost between Level 2 and Level 3 on the Chemical Scale. In fact, I frequently receive a warning almost immediately before the Level 3 - "Dude!" Moment. This seems to be part of what Elder Boyd K. Packer meant when he said, "It is not expected that you go through life without making mistakes, but you will not make a major mistake without first being warned by the promptings of the Spirit. This promise applies to all members of the Church" (Counsel to Youth, October 2011 General Conference).“No member of this Church—and that means each of you—will ever make a serious mistake without first being warned by the promptings of the Holy Ghost” (“How to Survive in Enemy Territory,” New Era, Apr. 2012,

I have found that this nudge, prompting, or reminder is usually a turning point in the battle. When I honor the prompting, I move closer to Level 0 and almost always win. When I fail to honor the prompting I drift into an Irrational Conversation and almost always lose.

The simplest way (though not necessarily the easiest way) to honor the reminder is to follow through and act on the reminder. If that's to read you scriptures, you start immediately. If that's to text the family you've been called to minister, you pull out your phone and start typing. If it's to not watch that YouTube video, you close the window and do something productive.

Sometimes it's not wise or appropriate to act on the reminder when it comes. For example, perhaps you remember while you are in math class that you committed that morning to clean the kitchen before it becomes time to begin cooking dinner. In the middle of math class is the wrong time to begin washing dishes.  Or maybe you are driving in the car when you recall that you have not yet read scriptures today.  It is definitely not wise or appropriate to begin reading scriptures while driving.  But if you simply tell yourself that you will do it later, or that you will remember to do it later, you have not acted on the prompting and will slide further down the Chemical Scale.  So how can you still act on or honor the nudge or prompting?

One way to honor the prompting is to make appropriate modifications to the action that needs to be done.  For example, if you are driving alone in the car and get the reminder that you have not yet read from the scriptures you could ask your smartphone to read your scriptures to you.  Other times that just isn’t possible.  Unless you have a robotic butler, you probably can’t use technology to wash the dishes for you while you are in math class.  In situations like this, you will need to use a reminder system.  By activating a reminder you are honoring the reminder even though you cannot yet complete the task. That might mean writing down a reminder. Perhaps if you are driving and receive a reminder, you can ask the virtual assistant on your phone to set a reminder. If you are in a situation where you cannot create or activate a reminder system, you can pray and ask God to remind you again. It is helpful to suggest a specific time or location that you would like to receive the reminder. In this way, you are honoring the nudge you received and drawing closer to Level 0 and victory.

As you begin to recognize these nudges, promptings, and reminders you will become more aware of where you are on the Chemical Scale. Acting on these reminders will bring you closer to Level 0 and make it much easier to win that battle.

How's Your Soil? - your soul is a garden

When my parents moved into a new house it had a large patch of bare dirt in the back yard that was intended to be a garden. Because they bought the house in Autumn, nothing was done with it. The next Spring it was thoroughly weeded, but little else was done because my brother and new sister-in-law needed a place to keep their horse until they could afford to board it themselves. The few things that grew in the garden were eaten or trampled, then the garden became the horse's corral for the winter. Horses doing what horses do, the garden patch was soon covered in manure. The horse was eventually moved to better-suited boarding, but it took a long time to remove the make-shift corral and deep blanket of "fertilizer" that it left behind.

 

Another winter came and went.  When Spring came that little garden was full of life, full to the brim and completely choked by weeds.  My family tried to pull the weeds by hand, but there were so many that very little progress was made.  Drastic action was needed to be able to find the soil underneath, so my parents bought a flame thrower.  The tool was designed for annihilating weeds, and it was an exhilarating and terrifying thing to use.  I walked back and forth over the weed patch spraying fire at the plant life.  We quickly discovered that dead weeds from the previous summer quickly went up in smoke, but everything that was alive, and green was incredibly resistant to the flames.  My parents bought some weed killer and sprayed the garden.  Then they torched it again with the flame thrower.  They sprayed again, and torched again, and finally clear.

 

In many ways, the story of this little garden represents our lives.  Your mind, heart, and life are much like a garden.  All of our gardens are in need of refinement.  The gardens of our hearts, minds, and souls can become filled and choked by weeds.  Poor choices, unwanted habits, harmful patterns of behavior, or addictions are “cumbering the ground of our vineyards,” to misquote the Allegory of the Olive Tree from Jacob chapter 5 of the Book of Mormon.

 

Sometimes the process of repairing a poor choice is like pulling a small weed.  You grip near the base, gently tug, and the whole thing comes out.  You can toss the offending plant in the waste pile and move on.  Often times, it is more difficult than that.  Sometimes a soul is choked by addiction and drastic measures need to be taken.  You must dig around the plant and rip it out by the roots.  The weeds need to be sprayed and burned, repeatedly, to expose the soil underneath.  But whether or not we have an addiction, annihilating the weeds is not enough.

 

Soil rarely remains empty for very long.  Once the offending plant has been removed, it must be replaced. If you leave a hole in your soil and don't fill it with a plant of your choosing, the garden will fill it with a plant of its choosing.  You cannot simply remove undesirable behaviors, bad habits, or addictions, they must be entirely replaced.  This is where improved Border Patrol activities become essential.  These will be better patterns of behavior, wiser choices, new habits, PWR goals, and Passion Projects.

 

These new patterns, PWR goals, and Passion Projects are the plants you have chosen to replace the weeds. They will fill the holes and empty soil of your garden.  And because you will care for and fertilize them, the new plants will receive even more nourishment than the originals.

 

At first, caring for these new plants will take intentional effort. Frequent watering, weeding, and nourishing will be necessary to help them develop healthy roots. Over time your garden will require less intense effort and will only need routine maintenance. There will be seasons that require more effort (like planting new habits or schedules in the Spring and harvesting their fruits in the Fall) and seasons that need less (like early summer or the winter). Doing the appropriate work in the appropriate season will help your garden continue to improve. But if you ever stop caring for your garden then weeds will begin to pop up. Left neglected long enough, or exposed to the wrong kinds of seeds, your garden will go wild again.