The Problem With the Idea of Preparing to Meet God vs Being One With God
A changed perspective after learning about the Essenes
For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold, the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
Alma 34:32
I quoted that from The Book of Mormon. This scripture is believed by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be another testament of Jesus Christ. And those who read it will come closer to Christ.
This is why the members of this church emphasize reading this book a lot.
I have done this multiple times throughout my lifetime, especially when I served the church as a full-time missionary for a year and a half in the Western Islands of the Philippines.
But what is wrong with this verse?
Is there really a problem with it?
Learning more and more about the Essenes and their connection with Jesus changed my perspective on how I previously understood this scripture verse.
I will tell you the difference between how this scripture affected me beforeas a member of the said church and then my perception about it now that I already turned my back on it.
How did Alma 34:32 affect me in 38 years
As a child, I strived to be obedient because I was afraid of going to hell or even just the lowest glories. I wanted to be with my family in the Celestial Kingdom, our heaven, so I tried so hard to be a good daughter, a good member of the church, and a good friend.
I wrote about the difference between my church’s heaven and hell from the typical Christian perspective.
What David Archuleta’s “Hell Together,” Really Mean
Is he really encouraging everyone to go to hell together? I don’t think so.
During those times, I wore this CTR ring with me that looked silver and had green paint in the middle shaped like a shield, then on top, the letters CTRwere embossed.
It meant “Choose the right.”
I always wore it, even in school, to remind me that I should always make the right choice.
I wore all the time until that part on my finger had a bronze discoloration because it wasn’t real silver.
As I grew up, it was no longer just about fear.
I wanted to earn the Celestial glory. I was also worried about what other people taught about me. So, I am cautious. I try to be.
However, I haven’t noticed this before, as I do now, but I have begun to focus more on other people than myself.
I wanted to tell everyone what I learned in my church and desire that they become a member of my church as well. If they don’t, they will never attain the Celestial glory – our heaven. And that means they can never be with their families forever.
I believe our church is the only true church on earth and the proper authority to continue building the Kingdom of God here. This was the only church of Jesus Christ on earth that was only restored through the prophet Joseph Smith.
I saw myself as someone lucky to know the truth and a member of the only true church of Christ on earth, and, unfortunately, others are not.
They have to know.
They have to accept.
And whenever they seem to take what I tell them lightly or reject the message I share that is supposed to be good news, I have resistance in my heart. I get hurt. Yes, that means I get offended.
I was focusing more and more on other people than myself, which all started by focusing on my work – my actions.
The focus was outward, expecting that doing so would help prepare me enough to meet God; that’s why I’m also helping others to do the same.
It was tough to apply what Jesus taught in Matthew 7:4–5
“Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”
And I couldn’t understand why it was hard for me to apply this to my life.
Now I understood why. It was because there was a beam in my eye. How can I see clearly if I have that?
How did Alma 34:32 affect me now
There was a shift in my perspective, and upon seeing this verse in the Book of Mormon, I questioned it.
Is this life really the time for us to prepare for God?
If Jesus taught that He is One with the Father, does it mean He’s teaching us the same way about ourselves?
Are we not One with God the Father ourselves?
How do you feel if we reread the verse from this perspective?
For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold, the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
Alma 34:32
This verse focuses on our own doing and that we are separated from God.
If we believe, as Jesus taught, that we are One with God, we will believe that God is already with us.
That means we are not separate from God, so it will be impossible to focus on the lack of Him in our lives. We could believe that love is abundant in us because we have His love – God’s love.
This is not just the belief of the Essenes but also the belief of Hinduism, that God is everywhere and in everyone – in each of us.
If we look at it from this perspective, we are focusing on the inward, not outward. We are focusing on the being, not just the doing.
Then you’ll understand that this life is the day for men, not just to perform their labors and pay off debts but to learn from all of them.
Learn from your life.
Learn from your experience of having this physical body.
You learn what is in the way of you from being one with Him.
Then, your spirituality increases. You level up.
So, this life is not just about passing the test or the judgment day in the end; it’s about learning. And the more we learn, the more we improve our lives and spirits. That is a more effective way to change, improve, or evolve.
When you are with God, reaching your higher potential won’t be as hard as you look at it because of a different perspective, a higher perspective.
On Teaching Fear instead of Love
I used to believe there was nothing wrong with saying, “You should fear God, fear the judgment day, so you should prepare for it!” Then, it was also taught in our church that fear and faith shouldn’t co-exist.
Isn’t that confusing?
So, I work hard. I keep the faith, believing I lack it and need it. I keep the Ten Commandments. I read the scriptures daily because they will help me become a better person so I can be with God one day.
Did it help me to be good? Yes.
Well, sometimes. Why do I falter?
Did it help me to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ?
Well, I thought I did.
But to be his disciple means to follow him. Follow what he’s teaching. Follow his ways. Follow the way.
And even though I did all that, I was still from being his disciple. I still felt that it’s hard to gain the love of God enough for me to be allowed to live with Him in the end.
There was no progress at all.
It was like being a hamster in a hamster wheel, repeating everything with no progression. However, some members believe that they are moving towards that.
Fear won’t help us progress.
Initially, it allows us to follow God, but when your kids are finally teenagers or adults, fear won’t work anymore. But if you begin with teaching love, it will never falter. It will always work, even if your kids grow old.
If you don’t change your perspective now, you will always be far from the more evolved you.
The you who has learned.
The you who has grown.
You who is progressing bit by bit to be like the Messiah who showed us the way.
On Teaching about the Judgement Day
I do not understand this perspective about being unable to escape meeting God on the last day.
To even see some people thinking that they want to escape meeting God, or not seeing that as necessary, is like judging them just because they disagree with us.
What Jesus taught is to love everyone. He never instilled fear in everyone just because he disagreed with what he was saying.
Why would we put ourselves in a position to someone who lacks God? To always act in the hope of meeting him?
Preparing for exams is stressful; why would we compare this life to one we need to get too stressed about to be ready to meet God?
Is it easier if we position ourselves as if God is already here? Because, in reality, He is here. He is everywhere. Your body is His temple. He is already with you.
We attract what we focus on.
The thing that most people misunderstand about the laws of the universe is this. What we focus on, we attract.
If we see ourselves as someone who needs to do the job to be physically fit, so we have to go to the gym, we have to put it in our schedule and squeeze it in somehow so we’ll have better health or better looking body, what we attract is the fact that we do not have all this, that is why we need it.
But if we see ourselves as someone who is physically healthy and fit, that is what we’ll attract. And going to a gym or choosing physical fitness wouldn’t be seen as some strenuous activity that we have to do because you know that it is already a part of you.
It is you.
That is the same with meeting God.
Look at the life of the Master himself, Jesus Christ. he is the perfect example for all of us. He said follow me. He is our guide, and to really be with God, what we need to do is be like him and follow him and his ways.
We already have a perfect example: someone who knows how the universe works knows the laws, is one with the laws, and is one with God.
If Jesus sees himself as one with the Father, why would it be hard for us to know that you yourself are already one with the Father? If you do this, everything else is unnecessary.
Your neighbor,
Wam