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August 17, 2020 Dear Copper Hills 8th Ward Members, If you were brainwashed, conditioned, and programmed on a regular basis to believe a concept that the Holy Ghost won’t verify as truth, how long would it take, and how difficult would it be, for you to be de-programmed sufficiently, that you could completely let go of that false belief? If you’re up for a challenge, if you’re not afraid, you might consider seeking for the Holy Ghost to verify the truth of what Joseph Smith taught, that “all blessings come from obedience to laws of God they’re predicated upon.” For, this statement leads us to have mindsets that seek to get blessings, but Christ, the one we’re to follow, had the opposite mindset of only seeking to bless others. Greetings! This is my 23rd postcard. I’ve sent my postcards, three times each year. Because my mailing list is outdated, you might be receiving this, and yet, not be a member of the LDS church. If this is the case, please pardon me, or feel free to read what I have to say. Have you ever thought deeply about how the entire church program is wrapped up in this concept? In the church’s sacrament prayers, you’re promised that if you “keep the commandments,” you’ll be blessed to “always have the Spirit to be with you.” In the church’s third article of faith, it states, “we believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” In the Book of Mormon, over and over again, it’s written that the Nephites and Lamanites were blessed and “prospered in the land,” when they were obedient to the commandments. Church worthiness interviews always focus on obedience. “Worthiness” is judged, based on obedience to church given commandments, to determine whether or not a member is qualified for the church’s blessings of being able to take the sacrament, hold callings, hold priesthoods, or attend the temple. In essence, over and over again, members of the church are led, and trained, to believe that seeking to be blessed, through obedience to commandments, will result in their salvation and exaltation in the hereafter. But, is this actually true? Will the worthy, will the obedient, obtain salvation and exaltation? Does the Holy Ghost verify this way of thinking, as truth? Jesus, the one who showed us the way to salvation, wasn’t and couldn’t be found guilty of disobeying any law, but it wasn’t because he obeyed any law, for He was led in all things by the Holy Ghost, and thus, never walked outside the confines of the law. To illustrate this concept further, that those who walk in the Spirit, aren’t guilty of breaking the laws of God, Paul taught, that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” And, the scriptures teach, in multiple places, that love fulfills the law. Also, it’s written, that those who are led by the Spirit of God, are the sons/daughters of God. Jesus never sought to be blessed, through obedience, but rather, because He was always inspired of the Holy Ghost, because His motivation was always based on giving to and loving others, He only sought to bless others, never thinking to Himself, “what’s in it for me?” So, if you think you’re following Christ, by being judged worthy, by your obedience, where you hope for the future blessings of mansions and glory in heaven, you’re sorely mistaken, for this is not what Jesus did or taught. Rather, Jesus explained, “my disciples will be known by their love,” by how they’ve sought to bless others, and not by how they’ve sought to be blessed. Yet, in the church, in worthiness interviews, members aren’t asked about their love for others. In the church’s sacrament prayers, love isn’t mentioned. In the church’s temples, love isn’t mentioned. Instead, these events and places, teach members to seek to be blessed, rather than to love. How is it, that the entire church, even millions of members, have been brainwashed, conditioned, and programmed regularly to believe that seeking blessings is the way to the highest heaven, rather than being taught to follow Christ, to only love, to only seek to bless others, to not think “what’s in it for me?” Why is it, that church leaders are determined to keep members on the path of seeking to be blessed through obedience to their dictates? Why is it, that church leaders have continued to ignore my requests to have one simple question answered? I’ve now asked the church, 178 times, by a letter sent every 10 days, to please verify whether or not the church considers 2 Nephi 32:5 to be true, or not. This passage states, “…if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.” How many of you believe this, that the Holy Ghost will show you all things what you should do? How many of you are guided by the Holy Ghost in all that you do? Contrary to what the church teaches, that one must first obey the commandments, that they must first be worthy, in order to enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost, the truth is, that there’s absolutely no worthiness required, in order for a person to be led by the Holy Ghost, to love and bless others, in fact, because those who seek to be “worthy” are in the mindset of thinking about a reward for their obedience, they’re actually prevented from being led by the Holy Ghost in that selfish mindedness. In other words, the only thing required, in order to enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost, to be led by the Spirit, is to exercise faith in the principle of love, in the principle of blessing others, rather than selfishly thinking, “what’s in it for me?” Anyone can love. Anyone can give. There’s no worthiness required. Worthiness is only and always associated with deserving to “get” blessings. It’s a selfish concept. It’s a concept that opposes love. So, how long will it take, for this concept to sink in and take root, that love fulfills the law, that salvation is through exercising faith in the principle of love, that being led by the Holy Ghost doesn’t require worthiness? How difficult will it be, for you to unravel the constant brainwashing, conditioning, and programming of the church to the contrary, where you’ve been controlled by the church’s dictated commands, because of your desire to obtain the blessings they’ve promised you, through obedience? It’s my testimony, that being led by the Holy Ghost, enjoying the Spirit as a constant companion, where it always leads me to bless others, is far more heavenly, peaceful, and joyous, than the hope of any blessings the church has to offer, through obedience. Do you believe Christ, that love fulfils the law, or do you believe church leaders, that obedience to law, and a desire for blessings, is the way to heavenly bliss? It’s my testimony, that heavenly bliss is available now, that you can live in the presence of God, not in the future, after “all you can do,” but you can live there now, through being led by the Holy Ghost in everything you do. It’s true, I know there’s a happiness associated with membership in the church, I experienced it until my excommunication, which was carried out because I didn’t want to seek blessings for myself, but only wanted to be led by the Holy Ghost, to love and bless others. And, believe it or not, where the church would say that it’s impossible for an excommunicated member to be happy, it’s actually much happier, when all thoughts of wanting to be blessed are removed from you, as the Holy Ghost shows you a different way, where your heart is filled with nothing but love for others, even for your enemies. In this world, especially at the present time, we’re definitely experiencing a situation where there’s so much hatred. There’s always something being talked about that people are encouraged to hate. But, are we supposed to hate? The church teaches, that people should hate sin and love sinners. But, is it good to even hate sin? When people are led by law, with the hope of reward for their obedience, their happiness is based on reward. And, when their happiness is based on reward, they can’t help but hate sin against law, for according to this mindset, sin will disqualify them from “getting” their reward. Hatred is always associated with being prevented from “getting” something. Only those who seek to “get” blessings, have problems with hatred. Those who seek to “give,” who seek to love and bless others, don’t feel any hatred. Also, it’s a fact, that all hatred actually stems from a belief in obedience to law. All people who hate, judge others by some sort of law/rules they want them to abide by. Thus, law and hatred go hand in hand. And, this is why Jesus taught, “don’t judge,” because if we didn’t ever judge, we wouldn’t ever hate. Basically, if we want to be led by the Holy Ghost in all things, as stated in 2 Nephi 32:5, where it shows us all things we should do, the only thing we must do, to qualify for this guidance, is refrain from judging, or in other words, refrain from hating. And, really, people who love law, who love to impose law/rules on others, aren’t so interested in giving good treatment to others, but are more interested in “getting” good treatment from others, which is selfishness, where they “hate” those who won’t obey their wishes. Also, it’s explained in scripture, that through Christ the law was done away with. All sin, under the law, was paid for and atoned for by Him. Jesus gave us a new commandment/covenant to abide by, a path that few would find, to love others as He loves, and He said that His disciples would be known, not by how obedient and deserving of blessings they were, but by how much they loved and blessed others. Jesus taught, “in all things, whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets.” With this one simple instruction, the entire law was replaced with love. And, when Paul taught, the letter(law) killeth, but the Spirit(love) giveth life, he was referring to the fact that obedience to law can never provide a heart filled with love, because there’s always judging and hatred associated with it, which will kill us spiritually. So, I’m not sure why Joseph Smith taught, that the Lord’s house is a house of order, where all blessings come from obedience to a dictated law. I don’t believe the Holy Ghost will verify the truth of these teachings. This way of thinking is a direct contradiction to what Jesus taught, who clearly explained that His house is a house of love, filled with disciples who love, who aren’t seeking to be blessed, but who are seeking to bless others. So, what do you think? Rather than remain in the darkness of church based order and obedience based thinking, can we break free from this imprisonment and simply love, which is to be led by the Spirit, which according to Paul, gives life? Rather than thinking about a future reward, can our reward be the bliss of a positively energized life here and now, as we walk in the constant light of the Spirit of God? Worthiness isn’t required. By God’s grace alone, through faith alone, we can walk in love. And, when we walk in love, we walk in the presence of God, who is love. If you want the most amazing bliss in your life, the only way I know of, is to walk in love. But, don’t take my word for it. Experience it for yourselves. You know it’s the true path. The Holy Ghost has told you it’s true. Don’t let the church lead you astray from this path. For a time, after my excommunication, I actually wanted to come back to the church, because I wanted again the hope of Celestial glory associated with membership, that was taken from me. But, I was kept from coming back, because that Celestial hope, was not as strong as the love I felt in my heart, through rejecting the church’s law, obedience, and blessing seeking mentality. Ironically, through rejecting the church’s way of thinking, of seeking to be blessed, and instead, thinking only of blessing others, it turned out that my life is so much happier, where I ended up being wrapped up in Celestial love, even the presence of God, which is no longer a future hope, but is now a present reality within me. And, this is why, I believe, the scriptures teach, that the kingdom of God is within you. Over the years, each time I discovered within myself, that I didn’t feel complete love for others, I prayed to God, and by the grace of God, my heart was changed each and every time, where I was delivered from the darkness of feeling anything less than love. And, because a loving heart is beyond our reach, as it isn’t within our power to experience a loving heart without divine intervention, there’s no self-glory, nor self-righteousness in it, as a loving heart is only received by the grace of God through humble prayer. Now, compare this to those who obey commandments, who don’t love, who don’t seek to bless others, but who seek to be blessed, through obedience, who can’t help but self-glory, who can’t help but feel self-righteous, because they believe they’ve earned or deserve great blessings, who carry the heavy burden of obedience proudly, who aren’t lowly of heart, but who think very highly of themselves. Jesus declared, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto to your soul, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Isn’t Jesus saying, that His easy yoke and light burden, is to possess a lowly heart of love for others, like He has? I’ve found this to be true, that with a love filled heart, my life’s yoke and burden is very light. Anyway, enough said. Hopefully, this has given you food for thought. Please let me know if you have any questions. Best, Aaron McMillan |