Prayer is a tragically underutilized tool for receiving the revelation and guidance that God is willing to grant us. Through prayer, we can ask God, an omniscient being, any questions we want and we'll usually get pretty good answers.
In Dungeons and Dragons, there's a spell called Commune which has similar effects, except that only Clerics can cast it, it's a 5th level spell (meaning that only Clerics of 9th level or higher can cast it), you can only ask yes or no questions, you may only ask one question per Cleric level over a period of time that can last no longer than 6 seconds per Cleric level (meaning that a 9th level Cleric can only ask and get answers to as many as 9 in a total of 54 seconds). In addition, because Commune counts against the number of spells a Cleric can cast in a day, a typical 9th Level Cleric could probably only cast Commune once or twice per day, unless they bought a bunch of magic scrolls (at over 1000gp each), and there's an additional cost: Experience.
In Dungeons and Dragons, characters go on adventures and fight monsters to gain treasure and XP. When characters collect enough XP, they can advance in levels and thus become stronger and more skilled. Alternatively, they can spend portions of their XP to make magical items or cast incredibly useful spells. Most players choose not to have their characters make magic items or cast such spells often because they'd rather use the XP to level up their characters instead. Casting a spell like Commune, which has an XP cost, can provide some incredibly useful information or other affects, but it's extremely costly.
For us, on the other hand, prayer is free. Anyone can do it - not just Clerics, and especially not just high-level Clerics. We can ask any questions we want - not just yes or no questions. Sure, we're not guaranteed to get the answers we're asking for, but neither are the Clerics who cast Commune (if I'm reading the spell description correctly). We can pray as long as we want and ask as many questions as we want, and God can give us answers that are as detailed as He wants them to be, not being restricted to just 'yes' or 'no.' And it's not going to cost us any XP for asking.
If communing with deity was as easy in Dungeons and Dragons as it is in real life, it would dramatically alter the game. Every character, not just the clerics, would try to be at least somewhat religious so they could plop down on their knees and get divine information any time they had a question. Is this ring magical? Are there any traps down this hallway? Will that dragon wake up and eat us if we try to sneak in and steal from its horde? If they could pray as easily as we can, they would be praying all the time. So, why don't we?
Do we think God won't answer us? Still, it couldn't hurt to ask. Are we concerned about the amount of time it takes to pray? With the hours of time we waste doing trivial things, that not a great excuse, especially since prayers can be short and we can pray while doing nearly anything else. Are we worried that we might not like the answer we get? This one, I can kind of understand, but still, even if the answer isn't what we want to hear, we should probably ask anyway. It's often better to know about something ahead of time so we can prepare for it than for it to become an unpleasant surprise.
Whether we want to ask questions about the future, eternal truths and doctrine, or our own current standing with God, we can ask those questions and any others we can think of through prayer. Prayer is an unlimited and invaluable resource, and one which we should tap into more frequently.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Like Body, Like Spirit
I think that there's a link between the body and the spirit in that the condition of one is likely to affect the condition of the other. Mostly, I've noticed that when I'm hungry or physically weak, I feel spiritually weak as well (unless I'm fasting, in which cases the extra praying adds spiritual strength to counteract the weakness from hunger). When I'm sweaty or dirty, I often don't feel that great on the inside either. When a person's body is injured or attacked, it can cause them to have negative feelings to ward their fellow man, or even toward God, as though their spirit had been attacked as well - and it could be the case that it was.
I've said before, quite some time ago, that we are dual beings. Our bodies and spirits are strongly connected to each other, to the point where I believe that anything that happens to either one of them will probably affect the other. Anything that injures or weakens the body will injure or weaken the soul. At the same time, anything that strengthens or heals the body can bless the spirit as well.
Also, people with strong spirits often have unusually strong bodies. I'm talking about people who are very old, but have enough mental resilience to keep up a physically active lifestyle, and people who are faced with terrible illnesses but who have such powerful faith that they beat the odds and endure or overcome their physical conditions much longer or sooner than anyone expected them to. There are probably also some spiritually weak people who seem to always be suffering from physical pains or illnesses.
It could just be a frame of mind thing. If both the body and the spirit affect the mind, which they do, and the mind affects both the body and the spirit, which it does, then maybe there doesn't need to be a direct link between the condition of the body and the condition of the spirit to explain the apparent correlation. Perhaps feeling physically clean causes our minds to think of ourselves as being clean, which can help us to be spiritually clean as well. And when we feel spiritually strong, we think of ourselves as being strong, which can help us be physically strong as well.
Anyhow, whether there's any scientific or scriptoral evidence to back this up or not, I think that there's a link between the body and the spirit, so that anything that strengthens or blesses one will strengthen and/or bless the other. The point of blogging about this is to remind myself to take better care of my physical body. I mean eating more fruit, practicing better hygiene, getting more exercise, and establishing better sleeping patterns. There are even commandments relating to most of those things, so keeping those commandments has got to do something beneficial to my spirit somehow, whether it's the result of some innate link, the blessings of keeping commandments, or something else.
I'm going to go do some exercise, and then take a shower. I bet my spirit will feel pretty good after that.
I've said before, quite some time ago, that we are dual beings. Our bodies and spirits are strongly connected to each other, to the point where I believe that anything that happens to either one of them will probably affect the other. Anything that injures or weakens the body will injure or weaken the soul. At the same time, anything that strengthens or heals the body can bless the spirit as well.
Also, people with strong spirits often have unusually strong bodies. I'm talking about people who are very old, but have enough mental resilience to keep up a physically active lifestyle, and people who are faced with terrible illnesses but who have such powerful faith that they beat the odds and endure or overcome their physical conditions much longer or sooner than anyone expected them to. There are probably also some spiritually weak people who seem to always be suffering from physical pains or illnesses.
It could just be a frame of mind thing. If both the body and the spirit affect the mind, which they do, and the mind affects both the body and the spirit, which it does, then maybe there doesn't need to be a direct link between the condition of the body and the condition of the spirit to explain the apparent correlation. Perhaps feeling physically clean causes our minds to think of ourselves as being clean, which can help us to be spiritually clean as well. And when we feel spiritually strong, we think of ourselves as being strong, which can help us be physically strong as well.
Anyhow, whether there's any scientific or scriptoral evidence to back this up or not, I think that there's a link between the body and the spirit, so that anything that strengthens or blesses one will strengthen and/or bless the other. The point of blogging about this is to remind myself to take better care of my physical body. I mean eating more fruit, practicing better hygiene, getting more exercise, and establishing better sleeping patterns. There are even commandments relating to most of those things, so keeping those commandments has got to do something beneficial to my spirit somehow, whether it's the result of some innate link, the blessings of keeping commandments, or something else.
I'm going to go do some exercise, and then take a shower. I bet my spirit will feel pretty good after that.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Protection From Evil
Protection From Evil is a 1st Level spell, meaning that even beginning spellcasters can cast it. Bards can't cast it because it isn't on their spell list. They deal more with illusions and mind-affecting enchantments than with magical protection spells like Protection From Evil. Similarly, Druids and Rangers can't can't Protection From Evil either, since they deal more with nature than with the battle between Good and Evil. But nearly any other spellcasters, including Wizards and Sorcerers, and more especially Clerics and Paladins, can cast Protection From Evil, assuming they can cast any spells at all.
Protection From Evil, as its name suggests, provides magical protection against attacks made by evil creatures. It surrounds a single individual, usually the caster, or someone the caster wants to protect, with a magical barrier that helps to deflect attacks made by evil creatures. It also helps the protected individual resist the magical effects of evil creatures, such as an evil wizard's spells, or an evil monster's poison or supernatural effects. (At least, I think it works on an evil monster's poison attacks. I haven't tested that yet.)
In addition to protecting a person's body, Protection From Evil also shields the protected person's mind and soul. An individual warded by a Protection From Evil spell cannot become possessed, whether by having another soul put into their bodies or by having their own souls taken out. In addition, as long as the Protection spell lasts, the shielded person cannot be controlled or influenced by magic charms or compulsion effects. This protection works even against creatures that aren't evil. As long as the Protection From Evil spell is protecting you, no one can take over your mind or body.
Protection From Evil has a duration of one minute per caster level. For example, if a 1st Level (inexperienced) Wizard cast Protection From Evil, its effects would last for one minute. A more experienced 5th Level Wizard's Protection From Evil spell would last 5 minutes. Some magical items and creatures can make the effect last pretty much permanently. For example, a Unicorn has an effect similar to Protection From Evil around itself constantly, and it extends that magical protection to anyone who's close to it for as long as they remain close.
A magical item that generates such an effect would be fairly valuable. Magic items that continually produce a spell-like effect have a cost equal to the spell's Spell Level, times the minimum Caster Level needed to cast the spell, times a special modifier based on how long the spell normally lasts, times a base price of 2000 gold pieces. Since this particular spell is of 1st level and even a 1st level spellcaster could cast it, the only parts of the cost we have to worry about with this particular spell are the base price and the special modifier. The modifier for a spell with a duration of one minute per caster level is x2, so a ring of Protection From Evil would cost 4000 gold pieces (plus the cost of the ring itself, if it's made of something valuable, like gold or silver).
To put that amount of money into perspective, with 4000gp, you could buy five sets of clothing suitable for nobility, five sets of jewelry to complete the outfits, a fancy carriage (assuming a "fancy" carriage costs five times as much as a normal one), two strong horses, such as Clydesdales, to pull the carriage, and the stabling fees to house those two horses (plus a trained servant to personally take care of your horses) for five whole years, and you'll still have enough money leftover to throw a grand banquet for over 50 guests to show off how incredibly wealthy you are.
I just bought a ring of Protection From Evil (commonly called a CTR ring) for seven dollars.
But you don't need 4000gp worth of magical items to protect your mind from evil. You just need a sufficient level of wisdom and a strong amount of will-power. You just need to be vigilant enough to notice when you're being tempted and valiant enough to resist the temptation. God will bless us with victory if we put forth our best effort and pray for His help.
However, despite a knowledge of these truths, I often find myself lacking the wisdom and will-power to successfully resist temptation. I even lack the mental capacity to remember to pray for help when I know I need it. That's why I invested seven dollars in a 4000gp magical ring; to remind me of the powers that I already had - the power to recognize and resist temptation and to pray for help in doing so. You may or may not need a similar "magical" ring - that's up to you to decide - but I decided that I could really use one. As of yesterday, I finally got one. Now, I just hope it works.
Protection From Evil, as its name suggests, provides magical protection against attacks made by evil creatures. It surrounds a single individual, usually the caster, or someone the caster wants to protect, with a magical barrier that helps to deflect attacks made by evil creatures. It also helps the protected individual resist the magical effects of evil creatures, such as an evil wizard's spells, or an evil monster's poison or supernatural effects. (At least, I think it works on an evil monster's poison attacks. I haven't tested that yet.)
In addition to protecting a person's body, Protection From Evil also shields the protected person's mind and soul. An individual warded by a Protection From Evil spell cannot become possessed, whether by having another soul put into their bodies or by having their own souls taken out. In addition, as long as the Protection spell lasts, the shielded person cannot be controlled or influenced by magic charms or compulsion effects. This protection works even against creatures that aren't evil. As long as the Protection From Evil spell is protecting you, no one can take over your mind or body.
Protection From Evil has a duration of one minute per caster level. For example, if a 1st Level (inexperienced) Wizard cast Protection From Evil, its effects would last for one minute. A more experienced 5th Level Wizard's Protection From Evil spell would last 5 minutes. Some magical items and creatures can make the effect last pretty much permanently. For example, a Unicorn has an effect similar to Protection From Evil around itself constantly, and it extends that magical protection to anyone who's close to it for as long as they remain close.
A magical item that generates such an effect would be fairly valuable. Magic items that continually produce a spell-like effect have a cost equal to the spell's Spell Level, times the minimum Caster Level needed to cast the spell, times a special modifier based on how long the spell normally lasts, times a base price of 2000 gold pieces. Since this particular spell is of 1st level and even a 1st level spellcaster could cast it, the only parts of the cost we have to worry about with this particular spell are the base price and the special modifier. The modifier for a spell with a duration of one minute per caster level is x2, so a ring of Protection From Evil would cost 4000 gold pieces (plus the cost of the ring itself, if it's made of something valuable, like gold or silver).
To put that amount of money into perspective, with 4000gp, you could buy five sets of clothing suitable for nobility, five sets of jewelry to complete the outfits, a fancy carriage (assuming a "fancy" carriage costs five times as much as a normal one), two strong horses, such as Clydesdales, to pull the carriage, and the stabling fees to house those two horses (plus a trained servant to personally take care of your horses) for five whole years, and you'll still have enough money leftover to throw a grand banquet for over 50 guests to show off how incredibly wealthy you are.
I just bought a ring of Protection From Evil (commonly called a CTR ring) for seven dollars.
But you don't need 4000gp worth of magical items to protect your mind from evil. You just need a sufficient level of wisdom and a strong amount of will-power. You just need to be vigilant enough to notice when you're being tempted and valiant enough to resist the temptation. God will bless us with victory if we put forth our best effort and pray for His help.
However, despite a knowledge of these truths, I often find myself lacking the wisdom and will-power to successfully resist temptation. I even lack the mental capacity to remember to pray for help when I know I need it. That's why I invested seven dollars in a 4000gp magical ring; to remind me of the powers that I already had - the power to recognize and resist temptation and to pray for help in doing so. You may or may not need a similar "magical" ring - that's up to you to decide - but I decided that I could really use one. As of yesterday, I finally got one. Now, I just hope it works.
Monday, June 30, 2014
...Is Okay.
I feel like a jerk for what I said yesterday. It really isn't my place to judge. Everybody's different, and everyone's entitled to worship differently. Our church even proclaims that as one of the articles of our faith! "We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." If others choose to worship God through music that I would deem as "irreverent," it's really not my place to say anything about it. Perhaps, if I had spoken to someone who worships like that on a one-to-one basis and said something to the effect of "I think it's great that you draw closer to God through music. Here's some music that I find uplifting and might help you even more than what you're already listening to," then perhaps my counsel would be less offensive and more appropriate. My saying "your music may help you think about Jesus, but it drives His Spirit away" isn't going to help anyone, mostly because no one would want to hear my message if I said it like that.
Besides, we've got a total beam-and-motes scenario going on here. "Who am I to judge another [person's choice of music] when I walk imperfectly?" I should be more concerned about my own flaws and irreverent moments than I am about theirs. And anyway, they're probably better off with it than without it. Anyone who goes from rock and rap to Christian rock and Christian rap is at least heading in the right direction, and it'd be completely counter-productive of me to criticize any part of that. It's better than a lot of other stuff they could be listening to. Sure, there's music that's even better than that, but I have no right to demand that they change their choice of music just because it might be better for their souls. Sure, I might make a suggestion, but it's totally their choice, and it's not even the worst choice they could have made - not by a long shot.
So, I guess this blog post is a retraction of pretty much everything I said yesterday. Not that it wasn't true, but it simply wasn't very nice to say. Christian rock, and even Christian rap, is better than I gave it credit for in my previous blog post. If you feel like listening to it helps you draw closer to God, you go ahead and keep doing that, and just forget I said anything yesterday.
Besides, we've got a total beam-and-motes scenario going on here. "Who am I to judge another [person's choice of music] when I walk imperfectly?" I should be more concerned about my own flaws and irreverent moments than I am about theirs. And anyway, they're probably better off with it than without it. Anyone who goes from rock and rap to Christian rock and Christian rap is at least heading in the right direction, and it'd be completely counter-productive of me to criticize any part of that. It's better than a lot of other stuff they could be listening to. Sure, there's music that's even better than that, but I have no right to demand that they change their choice of music just because it might be better for their souls. Sure, I might make a suggestion, but it's totally their choice, and it's not even the worst choice they could have made - not by a long shot.
So, I guess this blog post is a retraction of pretty much everything I said yesterday. Not that it wasn't true, but it simply wasn't very nice to say. Christian rock, and even Christian rap, is better than I gave it credit for in my previous blog post. If you feel like listening to it helps you draw closer to God, you go ahead and keep doing that, and just forget I said anything yesterday.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Irreverent Worship Music
Last night, my family and I enjoyed some nice, patriotic music. We also heard other music which was religiously themed, but not, in my opinion, appropriate to be played or listened to on the Sabbath. As Elder F. Enzio Bushe once said, "divine light develops in places of peace and quiet." There was nothing peaceful or quiet about most of the music I heard last night.
In that music's defense, I'll admit that its lyrics helped me to draw my thoughts toward God and reminded me of a few true principles, but I could hardly feel the Spirit testify to the truth of those principles, mostly because of the music. Whether it was because the Spirit wasn't comfortable around such music or whether I simply couldn't hear the Spirit over all the noise, either way, listening to that music was not a spiritual experience for me. Our missionaries are instructed to "not listen to music that... dulls your spiritual sensitivity by its tempo, beat, loudness, lyrics, or intensity." I'd say that much of last night's music matched that description.
In our church, we take a more reverent approach to worship music. We play music more quietly, on a piano or organ only (usually), and the congregation sings along... without clapping. The lyrics of our music invite the Spirit, and the relative peace and quiet of our music allows Him to stay. I look forward to the hymns we'll sing in church today because I know I'll feel the Spirit as we sing them, which, unfortunately, is more than I can say about the worship music I heard last night.
In that music's defense, I'll admit that its lyrics helped me to draw my thoughts toward God and reminded me of a few true principles, but I could hardly feel the Spirit testify to the truth of those principles, mostly because of the music. Whether it was because the Spirit wasn't comfortable around such music or whether I simply couldn't hear the Spirit over all the noise, either way, listening to that music was not a spiritual experience for me. Our missionaries are instructed to "not listen to music that... dulls your spiritual sensitivity by its tempo, beat, loudness, lyrics, or intensity." I'd say that much of last night's music matched that description.
In our church, we take a more reverent approach to worship music. We play music more quietly, on a piano or organ only (usually), and the congregation sings along... without clapping. The lyrics of our music invite the Spirit, and the relative peace and quiet of our music allows Him to stay. I look forward to the hymns we'll sing in church today because I know I'll feel the Spirit as we sing them, which, unfortunately, is more than I can say about the worship music I heard last night.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Have a Nice Day!
As I've said before, Joel Osteen gives really good quotes. This one reminds me of the moment in The Hobbit in which Bilbo wishes Gandalf a "good morning," and Gandalf lists several possible meanings of the phrase, including that Bilbo might "mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not." The thing is, I'm not sure it could have been.
We each have to choose what kinds of attitudes we have and what attitude we have determines what kind of day it is. I think that if Gandalf didn't want to have a "good morning," he could have maintained a grumpy attitude and had a bad morning no matter how "good" the morning originally was. No matter what happens on any particular day, we have at least some choice in how we feel about it and what we do about it. Even if we're having a "bad day," we can make it a good one either by doing good or at least by keeping a positive perspective. Sometimes, that's much easier said than done, but I think that it's always possible, and if having a good day is always an option, I think we should continually take it.
I hope you have a good day today, and by that, I'm mean that I hope you make this day a good one.
Friday, June 27, 2014
God Helps Me Blog
I once again find myself with nothing interesting to blog about, but having committed to blogging daily, I have to post something anyway. Perhaps I spoke too soon when I said that I was good at coming up with analogies and blogging about them. Actually, why don't I blog about that?
Part of me believes that any talent we have is at least mostly God-given. That is, if we're naturally good at something, we're good at it partly because God's helping us, and we'd do well to acknowledge that and give God most, if not all, of the credit for what we're able to accomplish.
If I'm good at blogging, or writing in general, it could be that I have some inherent talent for writing and blogging, so much so that I could do pretty well at it even without God's help, but that seems not to be the case. It's God's Spirit that inspires me and helps me see spiritual meanings in ordinary things. It's His Spirit that inspires me to know what words to type. In fact, now that I'm being humble and grateful enough to accept God's help and admit that I need it, I feel His Spirit in me right now, helping me to know what to say.
With God's help, a lot of it, I've been able to write a number of good and inspiring blog posts. In fact, I've written enough of those blog posts that I started to think that I was good at it on my own and to give myself the credit for that success. However, as most good artists do, I realize that my works would be nothing without God's help to inspire me and to aid me in writing.
The bottom line is that I need to focus on God more than I have been in these last few days. I need to seek God's help more and give Him the credit for what I, with His help, accomplish. I couldn't do it without Him, and I need to do better at admitting that.
Part of me believes that any talent we have is at least mostly God-given. That is, if we're naturally good at something, we're good at it partly because God's helping us, and we'd do well to acknowledge that and give God most, if not all, of the credit for what we're able to accomplish.
If I'm good at blogging, or writing in general, it could be that I have some inherent talent for writing and blogging, so much so that I could do pretty well at it even without God's help, but that seems not to be the case. It's God's Spirit that inspires me and helps me see spiritual meanings in ordinary things. It's His Spirit that inspires me to know what words to type. In fact, now that I'm being humble and grateful enough to accept God's help and admit that I need it, I feel His Spirit in me right now, helping me to know what to say.
With God's help, a lot of it, I've been able to write a number of good and inspiring blog posts. In fact, I've written enough of those blog posts that I started to think that I was good at it on my own and to give myself the credit for that success. However, as most good artists do, I realize that my works would be nothing without God's help to inspire me and to aid me in writing.
The bottom line is that I need to focus on God more than I have been in these last few days. I need to seek God's help more and give Him the credit for what I, with His help, accomplish. I couldn't do it without Him, and I need to do better at admitting that.
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