On Being Close to Divinity

As a psychologist, I am all about thoughts and feelings--I analyze the thoughts and feelings of others, and invariably my own; this has helped me gain a certain awareness for my feelings, thoughts, and any other messages my mind and body may speak to me. I am grateful for this gift, because among those messages I have been able to sense those times when I am closer to divinity, when the Spirit is stronger, and the veil seems just a little bit thinner. I would like to frame my words today around those times and circumstances, and how all of us can make those circumstances commonplace in our own lives.

The first step to doing this is recognizing when the Spirit is stronger in our lives. For me, I recognize these times as I notice that there is greater peace in my heart, and more clarity in my mind. I seem to be less distracted by media, pop culture, and social desirability and expectations. These more spiritual circumstances are naturally in areas where the Spirit more readily resides. Here are some examples of more spiritual places for me:

• The temple (when I am not rushed)
• In nature (the mountains, the forest, an empty beach or coastline)
• Any other place where I can be peaceful and contemplative (e.g., alone on an empty golf course)

Likewise, I find that there are certain types of people that seem to garner the Spirit in great quantities, and I am always grateful for their influence. These include leaders whose testimonies have been forged through experience, and friends and family who have received of the same Spirit; however, for me it also includes those whose lives are simple, but even more powerful than those who are overt examples to me. These often include newborn children and individuals with special needs; they exemplify truth found in Mosiah 3:19:

For the ^anatural ^bman is an ^cenemy to God, and has been from the ^dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he ^eyields to the enticings of the Holy ^fSpirit, and ^gputteth off the ^hnatural man and becometh a ⁱsaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a ^jchild, ^ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

Now, what is the common thread for these people and situations? To shed more light on what I think, looking at the very beginning is important:

And God said, Let the earth bring forth ^agrass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
...And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his ^akind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
...And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

...And God said, Let ^aus ^bmake ^cman in our ^dimage, after our ^elikeness: and let them have ^fdominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

...So God created man in his own ^aimage, in the image of God created he him; male and ^bfemale created he them. --Genesis 1: 11, 24-27

According to the doctrine of the Creation, we see that God sees that which is good is that which fulfills the measure of its creation, "after its kind." In my opinion, when God sees something as good, the Spirit also testifies of it, as that thing is fulfilling its purpose. In like manner, when I am surrounded by those who are doing what they are supposed to, the Spirit is in greater abundance. This goes the same for all of God's creations, like the mountains, the hills, and the trees. Perhaps this sounds a bit hippie-esque, but I believe it to be true. It is true for God's temples as well, which are set apart to be a place where the Spirit will always dwell.

So now that there's an idea about what it means to be close to divinity, how might we increase the feelings of ^"clove, ^djoy, ^epeace, ^flongsuffering, ^ggentleness, goodness, [and] faith" (see Gal 5:22) that we get which testify of this divinity?

The answer in my conception is both environmental and within-person. The environmental answer would be to fill our lives with things that are good, which fulfill the measure of their creation. Now, we can't always be in the mountains to contemplate life, and most of us will not be able to serve in the temple every day. Our angelic newborns will cry, need to be fed, and will eventually grow up. Those with special needs perhaps will become a little to needy for us to handle. So, what is the secret? The answer is that there is none. In my mind, having heaven here on earth lies in doing those simple things that our leaders have always exhorted us to do. If we strive to follow leaders who are inspired, keeping the commandments of God, we will fulfill the measure of our creation. This also covers the within-person aspect.

I know that as we do this, we will draw closer to the Divine, and will enjoy our lives to a fuller extent.

Have a great week!