The Spiritual Side

I like to think everytime I write, readers can see my spiritual side. I am what is known as a believer. A Christian. A Woman who knows God loves her. I read God's word and sometimes, I even go so far as so to trust it.

Today at church, I learned the four signs of a spiritually-minded person. These are from an article in the Liahona Magazine in 2001 by a Elder Douglas L. Callister of the quorum of the seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He gave the following four characteristics of a spiritually-minded person:

1-"observant of the beauty in the world around him."
2-"aware of grand music, literature, and sublime art."
3-"scripture reading becomes more reflective."
4-"improves prayer."

As I sat in the congregation today, I grabbed a pen and wrote furiously of how I might continue to improve my realtionship with God. This realtionship can become strained and almost non-exsistant at times. I will let myself forget who I am and what I believe, in order to default to something I know takes less work.

This bit of truth this morning was enough to remind me, intelligence is of God. Poetry, music, literature, the physical earth, the physical body, scripture and the simple act of communication, is all of God.

Many years ago, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints published 13 Articles of Faith. It is our religion in a nutshell. It answers every question and today I was reminded of number 13:

"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul- We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."



God dwells in living. I almost forgot how vital it is for us to recognize that. Things get hard, even horrid. But, if you will have patience, I would like to share one more quote.

C.S. Lewis wrote a book about something I am terribly interested in: devils. He wrote a very popular book of letters between a devil and his demon-student. It is a very odd thing to read. You almost feel like you are reading personal letters which are none of your business, yet they are too close to home to put down.



Yesterday, I found my favorite quote, that (even being the cold-hearted wench I am) brings me to tears. It is a devil writing to his demon student about faith. (Note: the "Enemy" in this quote is God... remember these are devils writing).

"Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys." (Lewis, 40).

need I say more?

Bibliography (because I majored in English):
-Callister, Elder Douglas L. The Liahona, 2001 Lds.org
-Smith, Joseph , The Articles of Faith, History of the Church, Vol 4. pp. 535-541
-Lewis, C. S., The Screwtape Letters pp 40.