A world without God

August 11, 2013

After I sent last week’s note on Concho and the wonders of life as a believer in God, a nephew posed a very special question; “What would your world be like without a God? I have thought about this question all week and found that the only way I can answer the question is to answer in the affirmative; thus, sharing what we have in our world under the careful eye of God. The opposite of each item will obviously be the way the world would be if there was no god.

Over the millennia history records wars, wars, and more wars. Most have a fundamental root in jealousy, cleverly disguised as religious passion. The crusades, the Holocaust, the contemporary Middle East war epic, drug wars across the face of the planet all stem from one group or another telling Abel, the son of Adam and Eve that he (in this case, Cain) wanted more. War, anger, malicious intent, comes when people choose to think and act contrary to the laws of God which tell us to love God; to love our neighbors, and to love ourselves. We will have contention, strife, and war as long as God’s children choose to be jealous and disobey his most fundamental laws.

Each morning I arise and thank God for one more day with my family. As believers we have each associated ourselves with those with whom our personal understandings most closely relate. I choose to be a Christian, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The following items are based on the beliefs of this church. Some will vary with what you believe and that is wonderful. “We claim the privilege of worshiping 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. So, this is how I see God’s hand in my life:

·         God’s hand is in all things and will be with us throughout eternity.

·         We existed as spirits with knowledge in the preexistence. We made the determination to come to earth, gain a body, and test our ability to remain strong and true to God’s law. A third of the host of heaven declared that they wanted to be guaranteed success, so they rallied around Lucifer/Satan and became our constant nemesis. The powers of Satan and his legions are real and menacing, causing many to fall away from God’s law.

·         We come to this earth with trailing remembrances of the preexistence, but soon forget all as the veil between God’s eternal realm and our mortal existence becomes our way of communicating with God through prayer. Our lives are filled with growing and learning. The diversity of opportunity, of understanding, of economic access, of family associations, is so staggeringly, starkly different as to make one wonder. God loves all his children. He has a plan through which every person who experiences the earth has an opportunity to share in the blessings and knowledge of life eternal in God’s kingdom. LDS Temples, genealogy, and family research are all part of God’s plan which enables all to share in eternal blessings. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

·         God’s law notes that we are to forgive everyone, not just once; not seven times seven times, but seventy times seventy times; that we are to forgive all. God has provided A Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has atoned for our sins and our sorrows. We believe that because of the atonement, we will all be resurrected and return to Paradise, where we will await the opportunity to report our lives from the books of our memory. We will have determined the level of commitment we have experienced in our lives from this experience.

·         We have “Church”, as a value added. Since we are, by mortal nature, weak; it is our blessing to participate in spiritual activities, to receive the Sacrament, to share testimony, to receive counsel, to be taught the principles of Christ Centered living.

Thank you for asking the question, “What would life be like without a God.

God bless us as we strive to live worthy of the blessings we have; that we may give back and share of our bounty in all ways at all times.

Duane Jacobs, Father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and fond friend