11.

OUR MIND COMPUTER

 Written in 2000 with some updates in 2013

Just imagine with me a time in the distant past, when under the direction of our Heavenly Father, the creation of our Universe was begun.  The Son was the overseer, the Lord of the Universe, the Creator Son of our Universe.  Eventually our world was created and our first parents began to reproduce on this earth.  Parents had children and children grew to adulthood and became parents to their children.  Billions, if not trillions of human beings have now lived and died on this earth.  Now it is our time- 1932 to 2013. 

Each of us have received a body and our Father has sent HIS Spirit to be with us during our earth experience. As babies we are born with a small brain with neurotransmitters run by chemicals and body electricity.  The chemistry is derived from the food that we eat each day.  If we eat a balance of proteins, fats, cholesterol, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and drink enough water each day, our brain function will work at its optimum capacity.  If we do not have a balanced diet our bodies and brain will malfunction. Gradually the brain grows until sometime in the teen years when it is complete in size. In addition to our brain, God has given us a mind. Our brain is like the housing of our computer, the plastic holder. Our mind is the delicate 'Mother board' with the memory chips.  How interesting that they call it a 'mother board', when we are taught that our mind is a gift of the Holy Ghost who functions as a creative loving Spirit to us.  We receive that mind according to the brain capacity we have received from our genes.  Perhaps it is like being able to buy a computer with various amounts of (MHz) Megahertz, more ram, higher memory capacity.

As we grow, we gradually begin to be self conscious and to learn the language of our parents.  Our brain develops, our personality develops and we realize we are a unique individual and that we have freewill to think and learn to make decisions and choices:  We can listen and obey our parents and find joy in life, or we can be disobedient and suffer the consequences of our wrong choices. In other words we have the freedom to choose Eternal Life or the freedom to eventually cease existence. 

Each morning we awaken to a new day in this adventure of life.  When we wake up it is like turning on our mind computer.  Our Power PC. (Power Personal Computer)  We could call it our "Power Perfection Center".  We choose the programs to run in our Personal Computer each day because we have been give the amazing gift of FREEWILL - FREEAGENCY to choose.  On my Macintosh I have a launcher where I can open various programs to work on.  Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PhotoShop, ClarisWorks, Epson Digital Photolab,  Microsoft Office 98 (which is what I am using to write this paper) My Quicken financial record,  Painter 5.0, QuarkXPress, Ready Set Go 4.5, Script Editor, Simple Text, Spirit Endowments, and The Print Shop Deluxe. By count I have 12 programs of software which I have access to each day.  Some I use every day, some just occasionally, and some I have never used, but they were put on my launcher by those who helped me connect my computer in the first place.  

One of those programs, Spirit Endowments, I installed myself of my own agency. It is a program which reminds me that I have the marvelous opportunity each day to open three programs, from our Heavenly Father, his son Jesus Christ and from the Holy Ghost, into my Power Personal Computer each morning.  I do that by choosing to have my personal prayers.  The spiritual programs are opened in my mind when I sincerely tell Heavenly Father that I want to do what HE wants me to do that day.  His Father's Will program is opened, and in mind I often see there are other things I can do that day which I did not think about just using my self will program.  

During my prayers I express gratitude to Jesus for coming to our earth and for his life and teachings and for a wonderful Church organization and for revelation which shines a light on and gives a glimpse into Eternity.  I ask Jesus to fill me with his Spirit of Christ program.  There are many scriptures which tell us that we all have the spirit of Christ within us, but we need to OPEN that program daily.   When I open the door of my mind and heart and ask Jesus to be with me that day, HIS program is open in my personal computer.  The beautiful Sacrament prayer is made real in my mind for that day, that I will always remember him and have his Spirit to be with me.  He assures us that if we ASK we will RECEIVE. 

In my prayer time I express gratitude to our beloved Holy Ghost and request that the Holy Ghost will fill me with the Holy Ghost Program.  I am fulfilling the promises I made after my baptism when my Father laid his hands on my head and having been given the power of the Melchizedek priesthood - the power to act in God's name on this earth - he said to me, "Receive the Holy Ghost."  It was given to me that day when I was eight years of age, but I gradually began to realize that we need to RECEIVE the Holy Ghost daily in our personal mind computers.  Our awareness and mental request in our prayer time is what opens the programs into our minds that day.  

These are Spiritual Software that has been given to us, has been installed in our personal mind computers, but they can just lay there dormant on the screen of our mind, or we can activate them to open and utilize the amazing features of their eternal gifts. Some of those gifts are very much like word processing facilities on our computers:

You are able to express your gratitude to Father, Son and Spirit. In your prayer time, much like having a file titled: gratitude journal on a PC where you record the things you are grateful for.

In prayer time you are able to ask for the things you are in need of, as you would do on a word processing program where you record your desires.

During your prayer time you may receive insight into scriptures you are reading and have questions about as it is possible to go on the internet and find the scriptures available for research and study.

But there is one important step that is missing at this point and it is the vital 'listening' time.  Let's think of it this way, when you want to upgrade your Server for example, like Netscape or Safari, you can go to the Netscape site and ask to have the new faster version downloaded into your machine.  You have to wait while it happens.  That is the important step after we have opened our spiritual software - our prayer time.  We can do all those things, thank, ask for help, remember scriptures and close your prayer, but then we need to do as the book of Psalms advises us - to "BE STILL AND KNOW GOD".   It is like being patient waiting for a download to be accomplished!  Wait and the Lord will answer.

These programs hold an eternal guarantee.  By using these programs we are facilitated to eventual worthiness to receive the great gift or endowment of ETERNAL LIFE.  The programs offer us an EDUCATIONAL ADVENTURE OF PROGRESSIVE PERFECTION AND SERVICE!  We have the promise of endless possibilities that as human beings we cannot even dream of or imagine.

Do you see why our prayer time is such a precious time and we should valiantly strive to make it a habit in our life?  When we awaken in the morning we should have our prayer time and express our gratitude to our Heavenly Parents for this time to live on this earth and ask to have their spiritual programs opened in your personal mind computer that day.  

Remember in all of this that balance of our whole self is very important.  The physical, intellectual and spiritual parts of us need to grow together.  To say it in a mathematical way, the growth of the parts does not equal the true maturity of the whole.  When one part of you grows faster then the other parts our Spirit is not able to reach us in communication.  I read that, "It is to the mind of perfect poise, housed in a body of clean habits, stabilized neural energies, and balanced chemical function- when the physical, mental and spiritual powers are in triune harmony of development - that a maximum of light and truth can be imparted."  "How unkind to defile or otherwise deliberately pollute the physical body, which must serve as the earthly tabernacle of this marvelous gift from God- our Spirits.  All physical poisons greatly retard the efforts of the Spirit to exalt the material mind, while the mental poisons of fear, anger, envy, jealousy, suspicion, and intolerance likewise tremendously interfere with the spiritual progress of the evolving soul."

It is my prayer that all of my children and their companions and all of my grandchildren will see the importance of daily prayer and receptivity in your lives.  May you not think of prayer as a routine monologue which you do out of habit.  Yet, may you get in the good habit of praying.  May you realize that prayer is a dynamic reality of actually communicating with the Father of all, and his son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.  As you practice the art of praying you will gain a firm testimony and know that you are being heard. As you utilize your Power PC -Power Perfection Center - Your marvelous mind computer - you will stand all amazed at the possibilities of your life on this earth and the life to come in the Heavens beyond.  Remember that God has given EACH of us a task for us to do, a special mission for our lifetime.  It is up to us to find out what it is and then let it develop and evolve in our life.  Earth life is actually a thrilling adventure.

May you open your GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT program each morning and then be quietly receptive while the Spirit downloads your days plan.