Things as they really Are

My weblog essay of January 27, 2013 was titled Things as they really Aren’t.  Having just re-read it after 3 ½ years I would say that it was pretty insightful.

 

Today I will briefly treat things as they really are.  This phrase is taken from The Book of Mormon, Jacob 4:13, part of which reads, “. . . the Spirit speaketh the truth . . . it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls.” My earlier essay was a paraphrased variation of the same scripture.  This little nineteen page book (the book of Jacob from which the phrase came) goes on to speak of those things.

My treatment of the topic today, however, will not be primarily theological but simply observational—insightful, I hope, in a different way.  It will be because of a rather common occurrence experienced by people of my age.  I had cataract surgery recently that has restored my sight to what it was many decades ago. 

 

One of the first things that I observed came when I first looked in the mirror following the surgery.  I saw all the wrinkles and increasingly hoary gray hair. I am getting old, something now observationally validated but performancally (I know that I just coined a new word) denied until just the last couple of years. It was brought home to me that being limited in one of your senses limits you other ways. For the last 2-3 weeks I have just been walking around observing things (not just myself) with ‘different eyes.’

This brings me back to the scripture cited above.  Read it again.  It brings us to the point of this essay. 

    

The things in our world that are occurring around us, and that could be “manifested unto us plainly,” if noticed, should be a wake-up call to us that we must get our lives in order while we still can.  As we age and as the world comes closer and closer to the abyss and chaos that will precede the ultimate deliverance and victory by the Prince of Peace, there still are things we can do to protect and improve ourselves (“for the salvation of our souls”) and to be helpful to others who could benefit from our help and contribution to them—physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. 

 

Look at things as they really are in the sphere of our influence and see where we could better fit in to be useful as long as we are still around and competent to “act and not be acted upon.”