If you don’t keep a scripture journal of some kind, I suggest you start now. I just came across these thoughts I wrote years ago. I may have unwittingly been channeling Elder Maxwell when I recorded them:
Even the wicked who have been taught the truth have learned to “liken the scriptures” unto themselves, since the hardened taketh the truth to be hard, but they confuse the still small voice with a whispered murmur. Their eye has become single, but they confuse the first commandment with looking out for #1. They know that faith cometh by hearing the word of God – so they try not to hear it, supposing that so long as they don’t believe in the truth, they are not accountable to live it. But this wresting of the scriptures does not lead them to the final state of rest that is promised to those who hear the truth and live according to it.
Many revel in their individualism, forgetting that they are not free from influence, but have merely chosen to heed a different influence. They seek validation in their distinction by being unique in their wickedness, hoping open-mindedness will earn them the greater reward, expecting mercy in spite of justice.
What they are forgetting, however, is that there is only one path to happiness, and it is straight and narrow.
Those who do not understand the true nature of agency often confuse accountability with rights. They demand rights, but seek to change or hide from the consequences of their choices. Carried away in their own vain imaginations, they justify themselves by accusing the prophets of foolish imaginations.
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Chas Hathaway is the author of the books Scripture Study Made Awesome, Marriage is Ordained of God, but WHO Came Up with Dating? and Giraffe Tracks. Learn more at chashathaway.com. Please participate in the conversation by adding comments and sharing with friends on the web!Gospel Living Made Awesome is not an official work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If Chas says something stupid, it's his own fault.