Pleasing God.

This is a portion of a letter I will be giving to my bishop.

What I Used to Think

I used to think that my meeting attendance pleased God. I was wrong. I gain nothing from God if I suffer through a vain and insipid meeting. There is no inherent value in meeting attendance. The only value is the light and truth that is imparted and received in the meeting. If there is none of that, it has been a waste. Period. It is a true sign of how far we have fallen when this is our measuring stick for righteousness.

I used to think that my fine dress pleased God. I was wrong. Our fine dress effectively casts out the poor. I believe this offends the Lord, who identifies Himself as the poor. To whom do we think Mormon was referring when he takes aim at “fine and costly apparel”? Well, who reads the book? Surely Mormon saw who would be reading his words. When we dictate to young men that they have to wear black socks to pass the Sacrament, we truly have become as the Jews of old. When we rely on outward appearances, it truly is a sign that we have lost inner holiness. Surely, the Lord looketh upon the heart. If my heart is right with Him, I do not need to show it with fine dress and if it isn't, surely no amount of outward splendor would compensate for my inner ugliness.

I used to think that my busyness pleased God. I was wrong. I can gain more from God with sixty minutes of intense prayer, crying to the Lord, than I can gain from years of going from meeting to meeting from activity to activity. It is largely fruitless. I have spent about 1000 hours in Bishopric, PEC and Ward Council meetings. What a waste it largely was. Is some of this my fault, sure it was. I can think of any of the times I have cried out to Lord with my whole soul and each one of these is of more value than ALL of my busyness. God wants my heart. He has spoken to me in my mind and has asked for my heart. “I want your heart”. This is the sacrifice He wants. Surely, earning merit badges and participating in ward Hollywood squares is fruitless. It is all vain. Our cultural smog is so thick we can't see how immersed we are in the deception that it is. I gain so much more by slowing down, cutting out the activities, pondering, praying, meditating and pausing. I'll let the world pass by in its hyper rush to the end.