the body! It is a part of the Grand Man! And as such, what would happen in
our body if we were to get an infection or abscess on our earlobe? Our immune
system would do everything it could to fight the infection, and everything it
could do to heal.
We are all a part of one body. And though in this world that body is bound
to be imperfect, bound to have sickness, and bound to struggle within itself,
we must work together to bring peace within struggle, to heal sickness, and to
grow toward perfection. And here is the most important part of all of this: We
are all here for a reason. That reason is not just to answer our own individual
questions. The reason is not just to bring our church into a healthy state within
itself. The reason why we are all here, in this church, is to come together as one
body to work for the happiness and salvation of those within our influence.
We are told that the Lord’s ruling love is for the salvation of the human
race. He demonstrated that most notably through taking on a human body
and fighting in temptation to restore order and freedom in the world and
in our lives. The Heavenly Doctrine also tells us that heaven as a whole, the
Grand Man, works together for that same purpose.
The sphere of the Grand Man is the sphere of divine truth conjoined with
divine love, expressed in the use of leading people to heaven. And since the
Lord’s Church in this world is meant to reflect heaven, the purpose of church
is also to lead people to heaven.
We cannot do that as individual members. A hand can help a person up,
but it cannot perceive that someone is down. A heart can express love, but
it will only be true love if it is filled with wisdom as the lungs fill blood with
oxygen. It is also true that the heart and lungs can become unhealthy, and the
only way to keep that from happening is through regular exercise in the rest
of the body, and a healthy diet, so our muscles and digestive system must get
involved.
In the Lord’s Prayer we pray that His kingdom will come, “as in heaven,
so upon the earth.” As a church we hope to grow into the reflection of heaven
and work in conjunction with heaven and the Lord to teach and lead people
to the blessed state of salvation. We can only do that together, and we can only
do that with the Lord.
We all came here this morning hoping for direction, inspiration, comfort
and fellowship. May we depart with the knowledge that all of these things will
be more immediate and more perfect the more that we work in conjunction
with each other, interdependently focused on the uses we love to do for the
Church, for our loved ones, and for society.
We came to church for a reason this morning. And though we may mostly
think about church as an individual act, an act which hopefully helps us
individually grow toward heaven, it is also very important to remember the
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