Touch These Stones - Ether 3 - Deliberate Faith

Just a thought about the brother of Jared. Chapter 3 is great.

VV 4-5

And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea. Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this.

I like that the brother of Jared is so deliberate in his faith. He doesn't vacillate or hesitate, but he goes boldly to the throne of grace and doesn't even ask. He just states his level of faith and confidence in the Lord. To embellish a little on what he said adding my own personal expression to it, here is the gist of what he said to the Lord:

"I know You have all power" - "I know You can do anything and You are the most powerful being in the universe. You created the universe! You can do anything! You are God! And you just asked me, the tiny little brother of Jared, what I would have You do. So here is my answer: Touch these stones. Make them shine in darkness. You can do this. Do it."

I love this deliberate command. It isn't bossy or inappropriate. It is the response to a request from God. And his response is bold and full of confidence in the Lord's ability to do anything.

I want this same confident and deliberate faith. So I can come boldly to the throne of grace (like Paul teaches) and say to the Lord: "I know thou hast all power," followed by my deliberate response. We are all crossing a dark ocean and need to have light in our vessels.

Possible deliberate responses could include:

• Heal me
• Change my carnal nature to eternal nature
• Touch my heart
• Fill me with light
• Pour down pure intelligence upon me in revelations
• Endow me with further light and knowledge
• Fill me with Charity
• Make me holy

Don't get me wrong. He was humble. He asked for forgiveness for his possible ignorance. He repented before coming to the Lord. And he showed pre-prayer, faith-action (see verse 3): Behold these things which I have molten out of the rock. He went to all the trouble of mining and chipping and melting and molding - all with faith that this was his going to be his response. Then he showed deliberate faith. 

Touch these stones, and I know they will glow. 

And the Lord touched them. And the stones became lights.

This is the power of deliberate faith.

2 Nephi 2 - Lehi's Doctrinal Discourse to Jacob

This Chapter is probably one of the most jam-packed chapter in all of scripture. So full of doctrine that is mind-expanding and soul-saving. Many doctrines are difficult to explain when only using the Bible (like the fall and the atonement). This chapter is the perfect "rosetta stone" to understand these. It has other nuggets of truth as well. I won't cover everything now. But I want to dive into a few verses of doctrine.

V. 11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

Holiness-----------------------Misery

Good-------------------------------Bad

Life------------------------------Death

Incorruption--------------Corruption

Happiness---------------------Misery

Sense---------------------Insensibility 

I only put these here because they are all placed as polar opposites to each other. It is especially interesting that Lehi places Holiness and Misery as opposites just as he places happiness and misery as opposites. 

Opposition is so important. Dr. Slife was one of my favorite professors in university. He spoke so much about the fact that we can't truly understand something until we have at least considered its opposite. This is very true. He would use the example of writing your own eulogy and considering your death. Considering the opposite to understand more deeply. I really like that. It seriously helps. It is a great teaching tool for almost anything. To understand its value, it really helps to make things make sense. Light and dark. Day and night. Anger and forgiveness. Confusion and Clarity. 

Verses to talk about later:

V. 21 The days of the children of men were prolonged according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened... 

V. 25 

2 Nephi 9 - Chalk Full

I just want to comment on a few passages from this chapter that are a part of my love for the gospel and are fundamental to my understanding of it.

V. 16 - "They who are righteous shall be righteous 

still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still..." 

This affects my theological thinking because our whole lives we are becoming something. We are going one way or another. We won't just be magically changed when we die. We will keep the same habits and moral struggles or moral strengths. It is like Mormon 9:14. We will continue in the path we have created for ourselves. This will not change by simply passing through the veil. 

V. 27 "Wo unto him that has the law given, yea, 

that has all the commandments of God, like unto 

us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth 

the days of his probation..."

I never want to be counted among this group. Sadly, I believe that I frame myself as one who has all the commandments and transgresses them. Not all of them, but I do not keep every commandment that I know is right. This is something that I believe I will work on my whole life. However, I don't think I am wasting the days of my probation. I believe that with my constant process of messing up and repenting, my character is being strengthened. And all the while my desire is to become like God - to become more holy. So even though I am messing up along the way, I am generally pointed in the right direction. And have constant course corrections, like Pres. Uchtdorf said. 

V. 28 - 29 "When they are learned they think they are wise, 

and they hearken not to the counsel of God, for they set it 

aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore their 

wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they

 shall perish. But to be learned is good if they hearken

 unto the counsels of God."

This is a great passage. My whole life, I want to become more and more learned. I will never stop learning and will never end my education. This is a life-long journey for me. I believe that there is a mix of reason and revelation that is the perfect formula for being endowed with knowledge that is lasting and truth everlasting. Without reason and the ways of learning acquired by the ways of man and the world's lens of education and seeking after truth, you cannot learn as deeply and profoundly. God will not be able to teach you in ways that you would have been able to learn otherwise. It is like the difference between the revelation that Henry Eyring (the world renowned scientist) and a seventh grader. The 7th grader can indeed receive revelation, but the amount of knowledge that Dr. Eyring has would allow for much deeper insights. It's like the classic essay by C.S. Lewis "The Weight of Glory." He describes this very well. On the other hand, those who seek intellectual and rational knowledge alone, cannot make the same discoveries, or find the same truths that those who are inspired and aided by the source of all truth - God. He can quicken any seeker of truth with His Spirit to learn 100 times faster and more than someone who has not allowed for divine aid. Joseph Smith said: "Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would learn more than you would by reading all that was ever written on the subject." (TPJS p. 324). There can be a perfect mix of reason and revelation to be endowed with a "perfect storm" of truth. 

Here are the others that I will have to talk about later, but that I will type in now:

V. 39 To be carnally minded is death and to be spiritually minded is life eternal.

V. 40 The words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken. 

V. 44 I stand with brightness before him.

V. 51 Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy...feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness. 

And My Soul Did Long To Be There - Alma 36

I love Alma's life-changing experience and everything around it. He was the vilest of sinners and was intersected by an angel who shook the earth. An angel whose voice shook the earth. This is amazing. And at the end of his encounter with this angel, he fell into a 3 day coma of sorts.

Later in life Alma recounts his journey though his heart and mind as he was in the coma. He was racked with torment because of his sins. I have definitely felt this way before. I am no perfect man and though I have often been an example for my family and friends of faithfulness, there is a dark side to my moon. I am not proud of that side, nor do I desire to make that side a part of me. But as a citizen of the second estate, I have been given a "natural man" or "carnal man" that comes out every once in a while. The key for me is to not let this carnal role become a part of who I allow myself to accept as my true identity. Yes, I (Andy Proctor) have done things and acted against what the highest in me would dictate. Deeds have been done, and acts acted. The confession of which do not make me feel comfortable with any holy person, let alone God.

On the other hand, I have been a witness to many sacred and holy things. I have walked on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, the streets of Jerusalem, the top of Mt. Sinai, the Palmyra grove where God the Father and Jesus the Son stood. I have prayed there. I have witnessed the birth of a baby, and the death of multiple people. I have given blessings with and received blessings from Especial and Special witnesses of Jesus Christ (seventies and apostles). I have witnessed the very powers of Satan stopped in their tracks as I gave a priesthood blessing in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the holy Melchizedek priesthood. The darkness dissipated and light immediately prevailed in these moments. I have received revelatory dreams of guidance and comfort, visions of warning and instruction, and voices that lift and strengthen. Even pure intelligence flowing unto me about a course of action in my life, or how to be a blessing in the lives of others. In all of these moments of enlightenment, I feel at home. I feel at peace. I feel more real than at any other moment. The bright side of the moon is the real me. In fact I would venture to say that the real me is not a moon at all, but a star. Not living on borrowed light like the moon.

I only say these things because I love Alma's expression as he contemplates his own experience gazing into heaven.

Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.

 My soul longs to be there too. I think all of our souls long to be there. Our better selves long to be true to who we really are.

The other part about being there - heaven and not here - is that right now, I feel like it would be such a relief from all the things stressing me out in this life. Okay mostly right now it is politics, money, and social life with girls. But I guess all those things are things that God is complete in. Perhaps politics is a very mundane and mortal thing that will not exist in the next life, though leadership most definitely will exist. Money management and mastery is something that I think is eternal. It is not money that matters, but the principle of keeping a balanced budget, efficient use of assets, saving (having patience), investing (having patience), and stewardship and accountability over inheritance. And social life will definitely exist there, especially with one woman who I eventually marry and family that we create as well as the ones we come from. So I do long to be there partially because I am weary of the struggle in this life (mainly in the above mentioned areas) and partially because I can't wait to be outside of the grind of temptation and sin that is just rampant here. I just don't feel at home with it all. And I do feel at home with the heavenly experiences I have had. I believe that I think about heaven a lot. But probably still, not enough.

Either way, my soul longs to be there. 

Moroni 10

This chapter always reminds me of committing people to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. I loved that invitation. I love the Book of Mormon so much and this chapter reminds me of my love for it.

Verses 3 - 5 are paramount:

Behold I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will mainfest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. 

I wrote about this in my other Book of Mormon binder. There were many things it reminded me of. Praying after finishing the Book for the first time and receiving the voice that told me: "Andy, you already know." Then inviting so many on the mission and watching them receive their answer. Then praying to refresh my testimony and conviction. President Eyring said that the promise of the Holy Ghost doesn't just apply once and it doesn't just apply to the truth about the Book of Mormon, but that we should use it over and over to refresh our testimony about the Book of Mormon and about the truth of ALL things.

The next section is about the gifts of God. "For they are many" and they are given by the Spirit of God:

• To teach the word of wisdom
• To teach the word of knowledge by the same Spirit
• Exceedingly great faith
• Gifts of healing by the same Spirit
• To work mighty miracles 
• To prophesy concerning all things
• The beholding of angels and ministering spirits
• All kinds of tongues 
• The interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues

All these gifts never will be done away as long as the world shall stand (19). The only way that they will be done away is if we don't believe. But if we believe, they will be possible. 

I love 27

And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust?

He lies not. And this will happen. Joseph Fielding Smith said: "No member of this Church can stand approved in the presence of God who does not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon." (CR, October 1961, p. 18). 

"Arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments..."

This is the point of the Book of Mormon. This is it's message if you understand the language. We are to arise from the evil things and put on the garments that cover us = take upon ourselves the covering and transformation of the atonement. The garment is a symbol of covering our nakedness. Our sins cause us to be naked in the presence of God, but when we use the atonement, we will put on the beautiful garment and we will be covered from our nakedness of sin and imperfection. 

And 32 is a great summary of the intent of this book and of the purpose of this life:

Yea, come unto Christ and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if you shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. 

There is so much in this verse. I will talk about what I have been studying lately in relation to what is taught here. There are five key teachings that I want to review.

Be perfected in Him

• This comes only with grace. See below. And it is part of eternal living. Denying ourselves of all ungodliness. Becoming eternal or complete. Most other references to perfection in the scriptures are actually translated as "complete."

Deny yourself of all ungodliness

• This goes along with the eternal living chapter that I have been thinking about. We are not here to earn heaven, but to learn heaven. If we really want eternal life, we need to become eternal...godlike. So we need to deny ourselves or get rid of all ungodliness. To do this, we have to become more and more like God and live more everyday in a way that God would live. This means learning how God is and constantly striving to become that. 

Love God with all your might, mind and strength

• I think might, mind and strength is an expression that is basically denoting that you are loving Him with everything. All of you is devoted to God. I believe this is what it is getting at. This goes back to becoming godlike. 

Then His grace is sufficient

• I think that this goes along with the denying ourselves of all ungodliness. Once we are in this pattern of godlike living or eternal living, we are together with Him and together with the Lord and we are endowed with the grace of Christ. Here is what I will say though. The grace of Christ is always sufficient. It has been, is and will always be. We don't have to be perfect to qualify for His grace. This verse lays out these principles in a certain order which I think we may need to look at. Grace is there the whole time and is the only way that any of the others are possible. We can't be perfected, OR love God with all of ourselves, or deny ourselves of ungodliness without His help and His help comes because of grace. So it could almost say: 

"Come unto Christ, through His grace. And through the grace of Christ be perfected in Him, and with the enabling power that comes with the endowment of grace, rid yourself of all desires for anything other than godliness. And through His grace, your nature can be changed so that you actually desire to love God with all your heart - and your might, mind and strength. Now do you see that it is by His grace that you are sufficient to do these things? And, if you accept His grace, and use it to the fullest all along the way, you can be perfect in Christ (through His grace). And if ye are perfected through His grace, you can in nowise deny the power of God (which I will now explain). 

 The Power of God

•  In John 1:9 it says "and to all those who believed in him, gave he power to become the sons of God" and in Moroni 7:48 it says "that ye may become the sons of God..." I believe that this is the same context. Ye can in nowise deny the power of God (to become His sons and daughters). Why? because when we have become the sons and daughters of God, we have done all of the above. We have denied ourselves of ungodliness, and become godly and eternal. 

The Greatest of All the Gifts of God (in this life)

Any time I need to regain my spiritual footing, the most sure-fire way for me is to study the Holy Ghost. I've had a couple of rough weeks and instead of getting closer to God, I have somehow stepped further away.  So I studied the Spirit.

Robert Millet said that eternal life is the greatest of all the gifts of God, but that it will only be bestowed after this life ends. So what is the greatest gift of all the gifts of God in this life?

The Gift of the Holy Ghost.

Here is why I think the Spirit is so important for me:

• It grounds me. It always brings me back to my Spiritual safe-haven. How?
• It reminds me of the truth. Most times when I am off, it is because I allow myself to believe something that is not true. So it helps me to remember important truths that are fundamental to my daily progress and daily motivation. For example, Satan tries to get me to believe that I failed in accomplishing the thing that was most important in life (marriage). But when I feel the Spirit, I remember the truth. I remember the power of the atonement, and of forgiveness and that God understands much more than I do and has a plan that is all-encompassing. And that I have all the potential (and more) that I ever had. 
• It brings perspective. It's like the talk by Neal A. Maxwell: Grounded, Rooted, Established and Settled. The Spirit helps me to look at the bigger picture. It enlarges my memory backwards to the times that I was my highest self, and it stretches my vision forward to my potential as a higher self. It reminds me of the fact that the purpose of this life is becoming. Becoming more like a being who would be comfortable in the presence of godlike characters - and even in the presence of God Himself. 
• As a part of the above, it reminds me of who I really am. The scripture I just memorized says that the "Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not" and "it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be..." and I would add to that, that the Spirit also speaketh of things as they always have been. 
• It purifies me
• While I feel or receive the Spirit, it acts as a purification process. It purifies. Anytime you feel the presence of the Holy Ghost, it lifts your soul to a higher level. You are cleaner inside than you were before. It's like walking through a filter that purges you of your carnal desires. I literally feel lighter. Last week I ran a trail race in Southern Utah and it rained the whole time - this made it into a mud run. Every stride resulted in more mud getting caked to my shoes. And my shoes just kept getting heavier and heavier until I would just stop and kick the mud off or scrape it off with a rock or a stick. And at the very end of the race, I just took my shoes to the shower and totally purged them of the mud and clay. I thought that was a perfect visual because this life is like that. We are running a mud-race and our shoes get heavier with every step through this mortal life. If I stop and get the mud off with the Spirit, I can run faster and overtime, probably do better personally than if I ran with heavy feet. The Spirit makes me lighter and cleaner. I just feel cleaner and lighter with the Spirit. 
• It sanctifies me
• When I truly receive the Holy Ghost and partake of the Spirit, I am given a new me. I am born anew. I am lifted to a higher level. It takes me from being the every-day Andy who is just an internet nerd that is trying to earn enough money and pay the bills, to a holier Andrew Scot Proctor that is the one who was valiant from before the foundation of the world, who fought for truth and agency with the mighty angels in the war that began in heaven. 
• It teaches and confirms the truth
• Anytime I am reading or learning in any way, the Spirit helps me to know when something is a true principle. I feel it and I am quickened. 
• It increases my confidence
• There is an absolute difference between the confidence that I have after I have been Spiritually recharged and when I am not. It is tangible. It is stark. It's the difference between being naked in a public place and being clothed. I am backed and I am freed to become my highest self. Like D&C 121:45-46 says: "...then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God...The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion..."
• It gives me a new vision
• Elder Maxwell said it best:
• "With the Holy Spirit as our guide, our conscience stays vibrant and alive. Things which we had never supposed come into view. Seeming routine turns out to be resplendent. Ordinary people seem quite the opposite. What we once thought to be the mere humdrum of life gives way to symphonic strains. Circumstances or a mere conversation which look quite pedestrian nevertheless cause a quiet moment of personal resolve, and a decision affecting all eternity is made. Sometimes you and I even sense it as it happens, but there are no bands playing, and there are no headlines. What seems commonplace seldom is..."
• It reveals
• I have dreamed vivid dreams that I know were messages from heaven. I have seen things that God wanted me to do, and done them. I have had strong impressions from above. I have heard voices of encouragement and warning. I have had scriptures opened up to me and my mind's eye was opened to an expanded view. 
• D&C 42:61
• If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things--that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal. 
• "There is no limit to the revelations [we] may receive" - Bruce R. McConkie
• It fills me with light
• I just feel brighter. People have even told me this. Those who have and feel the Spirit are lighter and brighter. They have a heavenly resonance that you don't experience otherwise. You can literally feel their warmth. I think of Gloria Carvajal, Daniel Summerhays, Anna Hargadon, Dena Smith, and so many others who in certain instances have just shown with light because of the Spirit that they possess. 

Parley P. Pratt summarized all these and more in one of my favorite quotes:

"The gift of the Holy Ghost adapts itself to all...organs and attributes. It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, expands and purifies all the passions and affections; and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates and matures all the fine-toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation and social feeling. It invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens, and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears and life to the whole being. In the presence of such persons, one feels to enjoy the light of their countenances as the genial rays of a sunbeam. Their very atmosphere diffuses a thrill, a warm glow of pure gladness and sympathy to the heart and nerves of others who have kindred feelings, or sympathy of spirit." (from The Key to the Science of Theology, p. 101). 

This is what I want more than any other thing. 3 Nephi 19:9 makes much more sense now:

And they did pray for that which the most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them.  

Charity Strife - "Thinketh No Evil"

And charity suffereth long and is kind, envieth not and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, and is not easily provoked. Thinketh no evil and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

"Thinketh No Evil"

Mission Journal:

I love this one because it involves the deepest root of an action. Any action begins with a thought. No one will do something that he or she has not thought about. We have the ability to think so that we can (mentally) choose and then act on our thought-up choice. If this was not so agency would be nothing and we would all be, as Satan's plan wanted, robots, just actors - ALL ACT and not thought. Just pure act, and no ability to choose, learn of make mistakes so that we may know pain and loss - then joy and love. But this is not God's way, as it says in Moroni 7:15-16 "it is given unto you to judge; that ye may know good from evil, and the way to judge is plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge as the day light is from the dark night. For behold the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil." So if every man is given to know with a perfect knowledge (as day from night) what is good from evil, then also we are free to ACT for ourselves as it says in 2 Nephi 10:23, then we combine these principles and we are free to think evil or to think good - and likewise free to ACT according to those thoughts. We also know what is good and what is evil, so if we know what is good and what is evil, and we are free to choose either one - AND we choose to think no evil and in turn DO no evil...then we are automatically thinking and acting and doing good, and no evil. This shows that we love God because Moroni 7:17,22, and Alma 41:5. If a man desireth evil all the day long (thinketh evil) he shall have reward of evil. Like "as a man thinketh, so is he." So in thinking no evil, we indirectly do good, and therefore are following the ways of Christ. And most especially thinking no evil of others and of anything they do. For once again - they are free to act for themselves and as it says in Alma 30:7 - "for there was no law against a man's beilef; for it was strictly contrary to the commands of God..."

My thoughts now:

Thinking no evil. Evil is an interesting thing. I like what I said above and it is interesting in the context of agency, but incomplete (I am okay with that because 8 years have passed). From a worldly standpoint, evil is often seen as relative. The reason is because what some cultures and societies view as evil, others may not. And this is where I will say what I believe is the way that I see evil in my perception. Evil is the opposite of good. So dualistically evil is on the opposite side of good in a line:

This is probably the easiest way to grasp and define what evil is. Otherwise there are all kinds of dangling factors that would have to be defined. For example, Christ is usually the embodiment or personification of GOOD and Satan is the embodiment or personification of EVIL. But did good exist before Christ and did evil exist before Satan? Most definitely. What is the fundamental root source of good and the fundamental root source of evil? Satan was not always Satan - Lucifer was once fundamentally good before becoming Satan. So what was the evil force that crept into his heart and allowed him to think, and then become the personification of evil - or the antithesis of good. Likewise on the other end (the source of good that Jehovah partook of and consistently chose - to become finally "more intelligent than they all." (Abr 3:19)? For now I just want to talk about evil and good as opposites and not as a universal force (which I believe they are, but will not discuss now). 

We are commanded to become like God. And God is the epitome of good, the highest good and the ultimate personification of good. So we are to change our natures in such a way that we are the opposite of evil. Maybe we could include in this "thinketh no evil" segment that we are to "always think good." Because if we think evil we become evil, and likewise thinking good continually, we become good. 

Thinking of evil as a dualistic concept can be good though. I believe in order for us to understand the good, we also must have a concept of evil. So I think that if we think evil for the purpose of becoming evil or the conception of evil deeds, that is different than understanding evil for the purpose of knowing its opposite. For example, one of the best ways to appreciate life is to consider your death. Considering the dualistic opposite really helps to see the good from a different (and usually stronger perspective).

Here is the key: don't become evil. I know that sounds pretty elementary, but hear me out. We are here on earth to become something. Before we came to this earth, we already became what we are now, before we were born. I believe that even if evil thoughts lead to evil acts, we can still eventually become fundamentally good. Not if we consistently do evil acts and have evil thoughts, because then we will become evil - fundamentally. Elder Hafen said that a person whose character is essentially good won't be condemned for a life filled with sinful acts - if in the end they have become good through the atonement. And an person whose character is essentially evil cannot be saved, by their life filled with good acts - if in the end they desire evil and are essentially more evil then good.

So if you think evil to the point of actually carrying out an evil act (or many), all hope is not lost. We can still become good, even if we have done evil acts in the past. As long as our fundamental desire is good.

I refer to this quote all the time, but here it is again:

"We can have eternal life if we really want it. But only if there is nothing else we want more." (Bruce Hafen).

Evil character VS acts