How to Transform Reality
What constitutes reality? There are several theories about what constitutes reality or what it can be reduced to. These include only things that can be observed or measured or that reality is primarily spiritual or mental in nature. Dualism suggests that both mind and matter constitute reality. Others suggest that reality is socially or culturally constructed and subjective. Each presents ideas we can consider as we think about reality.
Jesus taught us that we can’t change our physical makeup simply by thinking about it. He said, “…thou canst make one hair white or black” and “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” You could argue that we can dye our hair, but that is an illusion. We could wear high heels to make ourselves taller, but shoes are not part of us. However, how we present and comport ourselves can change how we act and others perceive us. We can organize and keep our things clean, changing how we interact with the world around us. So, there are ways to change ourselves and the physical world around us that affect reality.
Idealism posits that reality is primarily mental or spiritual in nature. This means that the physical world is dependent on consciousness for its existence. Again, we face the illusion problem if we think that way to excess. However, there is some utility in bending reality with our minds if we face extreme or dire circumstances. Victor Frankel wrote about his own and others’ experiences in a Nazi concentration camp that allowed them to survive in this physical hell. His methods for dealing with his situation include finding meaning, choosing one’s attitude, maintaining hope, finding moments of beauty and hope, and finally, transcending the self. (More on that later.)
I don’t think that any one of these theories can fully explain reality, but combining them can almost get us there. The one reality that secular thought refuses to consider is the reality of God. Leaving Him out of the equation can never satisfy a complete reality. This gets us to the point of today’s message.
In the first few chapters of the Book of Mosiah, King Benjamin delivers an address at the temple to his people that changes reality. He sets the stage by recounting a visit from a messenger from God that showed him that the “Lord Omnipotent” would shortly come to earth to redeem all mankind. Benjamin laid before them the life and mission of the Savior with powerful language that conveyed the extremities of the mission of Christ.
Next, he made convincing arguments that caused people to view themselves as they really are. “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.”
After showing the people the contrast between an all-powerful God and their fallen nature, they viewed themselves as less than the dust of the earth and cried out, “O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.” I want to point out something they did that is a vital part of the transformative process and something we must do if we want such a reality-altering experience; they verbally expressed their desire to change or be changed by the atonement. Later in the Book of Mormon, Alma finds himself in a similar situation but unable to speak or move. He says, “I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.”
Benjamin’s people and Alma have similar experiences after pleading for the mercy of the atoning sacrifice of the Savior, as demonstrated in these two quotes, “And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.” Alma exclaimed, “And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
The stories continue, with the people at the temple in Zarahemla saying that they experienced “a mighty change of heart,” and Alma said, “And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! …and (I) did manifest unto the people that I had been born of God.”
The final step in the transformation process was for them to be “willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days…”.
If we expect to transform our reality, we must follow the pattern described in these chapters. It starts with faith in Jesus Christ and concludes with making covenants. For Benjamin’s people, the covenant included becoming the children of Christ as described here, “And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters. And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.
In the covenant we make at baptism, we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, and when we receive the sacrament, we promise to always remember him. When we go to the temple fully prepared, we make additional covenants with the Father through Christ that will help us grow in grace to receive all that the Father has and become one with God and his Christ so that we can be admitted into God’s presence.
In the New Testament, Paul describes the transformative power of the Spirit in 2 Corinthians 3:18 this way, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” In the verses preceding verse 18, Paul says, “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Liberty is another word for agency, our power to choose, and when we choose well, we have the Spirit of the Lord with us, and it transforms us.
What do you want your reality to look like? Less bad habits? Stronger and better relationships? More stability and integrity? More self-control? The beauty of reality is that you get to choose what it is. But transformation is more than simply choosing; it requires you to see yourself as you really are, view Christ and his mission and power to redeem you from your fallen state, and then covenant with God to keep commandments and make additional covenants in the temple. All these things allow the Spirit of the Lord to transform us into the image of Christ and receive his Glory.