The word 'love' has been hijacked by people claiming spirituality but not Godliness. People who are part of the new age movement seek spirituality but not religion. I referred to this the other day when I talked about morals vs. ethics. One is from God, one is man-made. One teaches right living based on God, one teaches right living based on self. I don't call new age teachings spirituality I call it psychology.
Of course when a person learns a better way they open themselves up to more love but that's not spirituality! Spirituality comes from God when you follow his commandments and he pours out his spirit upon you.
The new age movement teaches a person not to feel bad about themselves because they did something "wrong". They say it's not wrong and that confuses people. It reminds me of when I went to a new age seminar in Salt Lake City. A guy stood up and said he was LDS and felt guilty because he'd had unmarried sex (which the Church teaches breaks the law of chastity) and the leader of the seminar told him that what he did wasn't wrong and that he shouldn't feel guilty. I thought 'you need to repent and confess to your bishop and change your life so you don't feel guilty'.
Gods plan for our lives includes giving us the freedom to choose even though some people will choose 'wrong' and by their wrong choices take themselves out of God's light. Our conscience kicks in when we do something wrong so that we'll get back on the right track. I believe our conscience is the Holy Ghost and He lets us know when we've broken one of God's laws by causing us to feel guilty so we will repent and correct our behavior and get back into Gods light.
The new age spirituality movement is so close to Godliness people can get confused, but it's not spiritual and it certainly isn't Godly. People don't want to feel guilty but they don't want to change their behavior. They want someone to tell them that what they're doing is okay when they know it's wrong. Leaders of the new age movement like Eckhardt Tolle, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, etc. are treated like gods because they are "so smart". In reality they have just learned about human behavior and others don't have their knowledge so they are looked upon as "smart".
I believe in learning human behavior (psychology) but I also believe in God's plan which teaches that all people can make their own choices and if they make the wrong choice they can repent through the atonement of Jesus Christ and get back on track. It says in the scriptures "even the elect will be deceived" and Joseph Smith told Brigham Young in a dream to tell the people to "stay close to the Holy Ghost and it will lead them right". We need to listen to our conscience so we know when we are doing right or wrong.
Just because people don't believe in Heavenly Father's plan doesn't mean it doesn't exist. People want spirituality in their life but they are confused as to what to believe. When they find correct teachings they are happy. I am glad that our Church has a missionary program that teaches the truth about God and Jesus Christ. Other religions teach what they know about God but some things aren't true and some people are confused. When the truth about the Gospel was restored through Joseph Smith a lot of teachings were restored so people wouldn't be confused.
When missionaries teach the truth about God and Jesus Christ some people don't want to be baptized into God's church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) because they don't want to go against the culture in which they were raised. If they were raised as a Catholic they don't want to become Mormon, which is really a true follower of Jesus Christ, because they don't want to go against their culture. It really has nothing to do with religion. They probably don't even know what their religion teaches, they might even believe in what the Mormon Church teaches, but they've been a Catholic all their lives and becoming a Mormon would be like turning their back on Catholics. They are really turning their back on Catholic teachings not on Catholic people. They are turning their backs on a religion that doesn't teach the truth about God and Jesus Christ and embracing a religion that does. Just because you turn your back on teachings doesn't mean you have to turn your back on people.
I think that's why people embrace new age teachings because they can stay a part of their culture but have an "awareness" of themselves. Again, just because someone becomes aware doesn't mean they become spiritual! Spirituality comes from being in Gods light and feeling the presence of the Holy Ghost. Love and awareness, or spirituality as new-agers call it, aren't the same thing.
Of course when a person learns a better way they open themselves up to more love but that's not spirituality! Spirituality comes from God when you follow his commandments and he pours out his spirit upon you.
The new age movement teaches a person not to feel bad about themselves because they did something "wrong". They say it's not wrong and that confuses people. It reminds me of when I went to a new age seminar in Salt Lake City. A guy stood up and said he was LDS and felt guilty because he'd had unmarried sex (which the Church teaches breaks the law of chastity) and the leader of the seminar told him that what he did wasn't wrong and that he shouldn't feel guilty. I thought 'you need to repent and confess to your bishop and change your life so you don't feel guilty'.
Gods plan for our lives includes giving us the freedom to choose even though some people will choose 'wrong' and by their wrong choices take themselves out of God's light. Our conscience kicks in when we do something wrong so that we'll get back on the right track. I believe our conscience is the Holy Ghost and He lets us know when we've broken one of God's laws by causing us to feel guilty so we will repent and correct our behavior and get back into Gods light.
The new age spirituality movement is so close to Godliness people can get confused, but it's not spiritual and it certainly isn't Godly. People don't want to feel guilty but they don't want to change their behavior. They want someone to tell them that what they're doing is okay when they know it's wrong. Leaders of the new age movement like Eckhardt Tolle, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, etc. are treated like gods because they are "so smart". In reality they have just learned about human behavior and others don't have their knowledge so they are looked upon as "smart".
I believe in learning human behavior (psychology) but I also believe in God's plan which teaches that all people can make their own choices and if they make the wrong choice they can repent through the atonement of Jesus Christ and get back on track. It says in the scriptures "even the elect will be deceived" and Joseph Smith told Brigham Young in a dream to tell the people to "stay close to the Holy Ghost and it will lead them right". We need to listen to our conscience so we know when we are doing right or wrong.
Just because people don't believe in Heavenly Father's plan doesn't mean it doesn't exist. People want spirituality in their life but they are confused as to what to believe. When they find correct teachings they are happy. I am glad that our Church has a missionary program that teaches the truth about God and Jesus Christ. Other religions teach what they know about God but some things aren't true and some people are confused. When the truth about the Gospel was restored through Joseph Smith a lot of teachings were restored so people wouldn't be confused.
When missionaries teach the truth about God and Jesus Christ some people don't want to be baptized into God's church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) because they don't want to go against the culture in which they were raised. If they were raised as a Catholic they don't want to become Mormon, which is really a true follower of Jesus Christ, because they don't want to go against their culture. It really has nothing to do with religion. They probably don't even know what their religion teaches, they might even believe in what the Mormon Church teaches, but they've been a Catholic all their lives and becoming a Mormon would be like turning their back on Catholics. They are really turning their back on Catholic teachings not on Catholic people. They are turning their backs on a religion that doesn't teach the truth about God and Jesus Christ and embracing a religion that does. Just because you turn your back on teachings doesn't mean you have to turn your back on people.
I think that's why people embrace new age teachings because they can stay a part of their culture but have an "awareness" of themselves. Again, just because someone becomes aware doesn't mean they become spiritual! Spirituality comes from being in Gods light and feeling the presence of the Holy Ghost. Love and awareness, or spirituality as new-agers call it, aren't the same thing.
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