"He who falls in love with himself will have no rivals." -Benjamin Franklin
Dear Missionaries:
". . . Between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD . . ." -Ezekiel 8:16
I'll bet you thought I was going to say, "Between the porch and the altar, the Bridegroom changed his mind." But it was only Ezekiel's way of saying, "Between the Devil and the dark blue sea, are many men with their backs toward the light of "Eternal Joy" and their feet turned toward the victories of the grave, for they worship themselves."
Between the scenes we can hear the Apostle Peter say: "And many shall follow their pernicious ways . . . presumptuous are they, [and] self-willed . . . and . . . speak evil . . . things . . . they understand not . . . sporting themselves with their own deceivings (How do like the way he said that? -- Sporting themselves with their own deceivings) while they feast with you." (Typical hypocrites! every one of them.) -II Peter 2:2, 10, 12, 13
Then somewhere in the conversation James speaks up and says: "But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not . . . for where envying and strife is, there is confusion and . . . evil work[s]." -James 3:14, 16
In a "nut shell": To glory in self more than God is the Humpty-Dumpty of the soul, and the dragon "laugheth up his sleeve" at the fall thereof.
"Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God . . ." -D. & C. 4:2
Hermana Brown
