Saturday, November 9, 2019

Introductory Post


Why am I writing a blog?

I’ve never planned to write a blog and I begin this project with some anxiety.  To be honest, I don’t feel like I have much to say, and what I will present is a mix of ideas - some true and some inaccurate, incomplete or possibly false.  I am not much of an original thinker, either.  You will find the thinking of many others imbedded together in what you read from me, and sometimes even directly quoted – and I don’t really do citations, so you’ll have to figure out for yourself who authored what and what is true and what is not, but that’s ok – inquire of the Lord and let Him reveal the truth to you - the author shouldn't matter anyway.  The bottom line is that none of this will be credible, in the way we usually use that word, and none of it is authoritative, period. 

So, why am I writing this blog?  I never intended any of this material to be shared in a public forum like a blog.  I am sharing this because I feel strongly that the Lord has asked me to.  I’ve put it off as long as I can – basically for two years.  I hope it might be of some small value to you. 
 

What is the intent of this blog?

The intent of this blog is to help the two of us to truly come unto Christ in this life and be saved (or sealed up by Him) to eternal life.  It is a gospel doctrine blog.  You will not find much in the way of personal stories and anecdotes here.  Mine are not very interesting anyway!  It is the Doctrine of Christ, as found in the scriptures, that will lead us to Him.  So this is also a scripture blog. 

If this blog helps you in any small way to connect with the Lord Jesus Christ and eventually to come unto Him in the flesh, it has done what I have intended.  I am hoping it also helps me progress in my journey.

 
How will the posts be structured?

The doctrine of Christ is found in the scriptures.  Our job is to mine those words in a way that will open our minds to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, allowing God to teach us truths we hadn’t considered.  One of the best ways I’ve found to do that is by asking questions of the scriptures.  For a given scripture verse or block, I will share one or more questions, with some possible answers.  You will likely be inspired to think of many more questions I’ve not considered – and you will receive additional answers that will go far beyond anything I might share. 

My intention with this blog is to post twice a week – the first post will be a set of questions and the second will include my thoughts about the answers.  The first posts will likely be the most valuable, as it’s in deep reflection on the questions that the Spirit will teach you.  In fact, I’m almost considering not including a second post with answers because who am I to suggest any ideas to you?  We’ll play it by ear and see how it goes. 
 

Why are comments not enabled?

The nature of a scripture-questions-answers format lends itself very well to a discussion forum.  In fact, this blog had its origins in the creation of weekly Sunday school lessons.  And many of you will likely have much better answers to the questions than I have and are better suited to teach each other than I am.  So why have I chosen not to enable comments? 

Sadly, my experience observing people discussing these kinds of topics, on both social media and in classrooms at church, has been contentious, close minded, and partisan.  Frankly, I don’t want to deal with that on a blog I am responsible for, so the best way I can think to preempt it is to not enable comments.  And besides, the best way to learn is to go to God Himself and inquire of Him in prayer.  That’s how I received much of the material (and many of the questions) you’ll read in this blog. 
 

Why is the blog called Gramarye?

So why would a blog intended to try to enable people to know the Lord and come unto Him be called “Gramarye”?  If you google the word, the definition is “occult learning; magic.” 

I’ve named this blog “Gramarye” after the book of magic that the 11 year old boy in Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising receives to help him discover who he really is and the powers that exist inherently within himself but have laid dormant since his birth.  In Cooper’s story, the “Book of Gramarye” takes him on an experiential journey - as this blog is also designed to do - so that he could live and learn the secrets of the universe that he might have power to fight the Dark and enable the Light. 

The structure of this blog is intended to enable the Holy Spirit and the Lord’s true messengers to more easily open the scriptures to you, so that they can come to life in you and you can experience the same manifestations and learn through your own experience the things contained in them - that is the transformative magic I’m hoping for in this “Gramarye” blog.  After all, intelligence is light, truth, and the glory of God (see Doctrine and Covenants 93:36). 

So really the name is just an inside joke for me – reading Susan Cooper’s children’s books is not required!
 

In conclusion, as we begin…
 
The answers in this blog represent my understanding, as of today, and if you were to compare the text with what I so strongly believed to be the truth ten years ago, you would see fundamental differences. I fully expect that ten years from now, if I am blessed to “gaze into heaven for five minutes” (or more), that this blog would be fundamentally different again.

 I hope this blog will be useful to you in some way on your journey to find the Lord.  If not, please forgive me and just discontinue reading it.  Also, please ignore the many typos that I fail to catch.

Bentov: Consciousness

READ Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) pages 61-62 “We have described several instances in which time is being somehow manipulated. I’m n...