Sincere Greetings to my Fellow Christians willing to ponder a few Scriptural thoughts, (See John 7:51)
Before I begin to share the things I have in mind, I feel to give a little background of where I am coming from to perhaps be more meaningful for what I am about to delve into. I would like to introduce myself to you:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16*). I agreed and accepted Him at a revival in Sunnyside, Washington, at about age nine and, except for my transgressions, I have never departed from that decision.
Now, I would like to kind of introduce, in a different way, our personal selves to ourselves.
Being somewhat immersed in the study of the Old Testament this past calendar year, I felt impressed that the Israelite Tabernacle (forerunner of the Temple later on) can be easily likened unto us, our mortal, physical bodies. Paul taught in the New Testament to the Corinthians: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and the spirit of God dwelleth in you?” It appears to me that the word temple here refers to our body and the word spirit to the Holy Spirit and even to us, that spirit-child of God, which we really are within our mortal bodies.
The Israelite Tabernacle had three main parts, the Outer court, the Holy place, and the Holy of Holies. The Outer court, available to all comers, is like our mind, aware, through the five senses, of all that is about us. The Holy place, likened to our heart, is protected from worldly people and things that only the worthy may go in. The Holy of Holies is reserved for only the prophet of Jehovah who is ordained of, or covenanted to, the Lord. Our holiest bodily part is the Loins, to be only shared with the one to whom we are married and covenanted to. Do you see how that kind of fits? To me, it is a good analogy of these three essential, basic elements of our mortal body which I will be addressing.
[My personal justification for this writing: Knowing these attributes and understanding each of their functions, I am in a far better place to manage and live my life. Otherwise, I am apt to be a victim of others, of circumstances, and especially of my own making. Likened to electricity, I want to know that the power plant source is reliable, the transmission of the power is trustworthy, and that my usage of the wattage, voltage, etc. is well controlled. Otherwise, I could well be a victim and not free to choose my actions. I personally know this for as a young man I fell “victim” of a high-voltage electrical shock. (“And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” – John 8:32)]
May we here then ponder together the major attributes of THE MIND, THE HEART, AND THE LOINS
Attributes of the Righteous Mind:
If likened unto the Hebrew Tabernacle, the Mind would be the “Outer Court” where it is exposed, through the five senses, to all of the worldly experiences.
- Needs to preside over its thoughts and the rest of the body, excluding natural bodily functions, i.e., heart, lungs & etc.
- Submits to promptings of the Spirit, the Conscience, truths, natural laws, and genuine loving feelings of the heart.
- Rejects force, compulsions, unrighteous dominions, and attempts to control other’s thinkings, feelings, and actions.
- Should preside to evaluate one’s own perceptions from the Conscience and the Promptings of the Holy Ghost.
(TRUTH: “things as they [really] were, [really] are, and are to come” – See 1 John 2 & D&C 93:24-25).
- This conscious mind is capable, and can continually be mindful of its thoughts, feelings of the Heart, and of the Loins.
(“Take heed unto thyself…thou shalt save thyself, and them that hear thee.” – 1 Tim. 4:16; Mosiah 4:30)
- Controlled moral thinking assists protection from vein and/or immoral thoughts. (See Genesis 8:21; Helaman 12:4,5)
- Should preside over what is allowed into the Heart, that “Sacred Ground,” to protect from any abuses of the Heart.
- Must preside over the promptings any Loin’s-caused thoughts of that “Most Holy Place,” “the Holy of Holies.”
- Receptor of the messages of the Holy Ghost. A warning of an error is the “stupor of thought,” in the Mind. (D&C 9:9)
- For protection, be aware of philosophical influences & worldly misunderstandings of what is really good or true.
(Be judgmental based on your own understandings of all known truths. – Common sense is a good-thinking tool.)
(Dreams, visions, impressions, insights, and any Heart experience, can surface to the Mind’s consciousness for purposeful mental mindfulness to be evaluated and supervised. Hopefully any of this is cushioned in the Light of Christ and by promptings of the Holy Ghost in one’s protected righteous heart – See 1Timothy 1:5).
- A poor presiding entity if it is exercised by creating personal justifications. A loving Heart of kindness is necessary!
- Moral thoughts will produce moral beliefs and acts. Immoral thoughts can produce the immoralities of life.
A thought worth pondering for us and for our children: It is easier to repent of an immoral thought than a resulting immoral act.
And likewise, a justifying thought to not love or serve another, than the resulting withholding of love or service.
We mortals use our Minds to do our thinking. Our thinking is usually in words. Our vocabulary of words is then received into our Heart. Hence, the expression: “As a man thinketh in his heart” (Proverbs 23:7). For what it is worth, I prefer, “thinking into his heart.”
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*All Biblical references are of the King James Version and the few other references are published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, such as the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C), and books in the Book of Mormon.
NEXT TIME: ATTRIBUTES OF THE HEART
Upon asking Dorothy Harris what made her different than other good Christian girls I had become acquainted with, she replied, “Oh, I might get it wrong. You better just read the Book of Mormon.” That reading gave me so much better understanding of Bible teachings that I marveled and sought to know more!
Since then, I have served as a Latter-day Saint Missionary to the Native Americans inSaskatchewan, Blacks in Southern Africa, and Polynesians in Samoa. My wife Ulene and I are the parents of eleven successful Christ-involved children.
My career has been instructing public school, religious education, the “Science of Personal Achievement” by Napoleon Hill, the “Choice” seminar of the Arbinger Institute, and speaking at a wide variety of conferences, a variety of church groups, and community associations.
My formal education includes Bachelors, Masters, and then a Doctorate degree in Family Relationships – with schooling at Washington State University, Brigham Young University, and George Wythe College.
- Letter to Christians IV - February 4, 2023
- Letter to Christians III - January 7, 2023
- Letter to Christians II - December 24, 2022
