The Secret & Reality

Life is all about values we choose to champion. There is a big market for making people's dreams come true. It goes by different names, but the premise is that if a person simply fulfills conditions A, B & C his wish will come true.

It's a bit like having your own genie. I like to compare it to an ATM machine. Just punch in the right password and you can access the money.

Let's not make any mistake about it, it really boils down to the MONEY. Everyone wants more of it and will find any way possible to cut corners to get it...legally, of course. When money becomes the ultimate goal, other values take second seat.

Values like character, family, patriotism, and altruism all fade into irrelevance. It may be true that visualizing a desire long enough, or "attracting" good fortune mystically works every time. If that is the case, then one could attract only good times into one's life. Good times, care-free living, a life filled with pleasure are all symptomatic of a world addicted to self-gratification.

 But, we know from experience that character is forged in adversity, not in good times. Deprivation and suffering are what make us stronger, define us. So, you can see there is a conflict here. If character is the measure of success, then asking for good times and for endless worry-free living is really counterproductive. Becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will forge your character. I can personally guarantee it.

Living the standards of the Church is not going to produce the password to instant riches. The Church is not an ATM machine. It's more of an incubator for inner transformation. As I mentioned in my last post, we consider transformation into a god-like person to be the ultimate achievement in life. It's a fact that many bad people enjoy very comfortable lives, and some very good people suffer through unspeakable trials. In the final analysis, it's not who has the most toys at the end of this journey that wins. After all, we came into this world with nothing and will leave with nothing.