Grace vs. Works - Featuring Joe the Gentile

LDS/Christian

Beginning Dialog

Gentile Joe - Do you have to go to the celestial kingdom to become a god?

LDS- Yes

Gentile Joe - Do you have to be forgiven of your sins to go to the celestial kingdom?

LDS - Yes

Gentile Joe - Do you have to truly repent to be forgiven of your sins?

LDS - Yes

Gentile Joe - Does true repentance involve forsaking sin?

LDS - Yes

Gentile Joe - Have you forsaken all sin?
LDS - No, nobody has.
Gentile Joe - If you haven't forsaken all sin, then perhaps you have not truly repented.  If you have not truly repented, perhaps you are not forgiven of your sins.  And if you are not forgiven, perhaps you are not headed to the celestial heaven.

Desire

LDS - Well, first we must have the desire to change?

Gentile Joe - Spencer W. Kimball said "Desire is not sufficient".  "The saving power does not extend to him who merely wants to change his life.  True repentance prods one to action."  (Miracles of Forgiveness pg.163)

Trying to do our best

LDS - We always have to try and do the best we can.

Gentile Joe - Kimball said "Trying is not sufficient".  He used the example of a soldier with his army officer.  "And army officer called a soldier to him and ordered him to take a message to another officer.  The soldier saluted and said, 'I'll try, sir! I'll try!'  To this the officer responded: 'I don't want you to try, I want you to deliver this message.'  The soldier, somewhat embarrassed, now replied: 'I'll do the best I can, sir.'  At this the officer now disgusted, rejoined with some vigor: 'I don't want you to try and I don't want you to "do the best you can."  I want you to deliver this message.'  Now the young soldier, straightening to his full height, approached the matter magnificently as he thought, when he saluted again and said: 'I'll do it or die, sir.'  To this the now irate officer responded: 'I don't want you to die, and I don't want you merely to do the best you can, and I don't want you to try. Now, the request is a reasonable one; the message is important; the distance is not far; you are able-bodied; you can do what I have ordered. Now get out of here and accomplish your mission.' "  Kimball went on to say, "To 'try' is weak.  To 'do the best I can' is not strong. We must always do better than we can."  (Miracles of Forgiveness pg.164-165)

Former sins return

LDS - Nobody is perfect.  No one can completely stop sinning.

Gentile Joe - Spencer W. Kimball focused on D&C 82:7.  This verse says, "Unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord you God."  He describes it in this way, "To return to sin is most destructive to the morale of the individual and gives Satan another hand-hold on his victim.  Those who feel that they can sin and be forgiven and then return to sin and be forgiven again and again must straighten out their thinking.  Each previously forgiven sin is added to the new one and the whole gets to be a heavy load."

      Here is my old, incorrect view of D&C 82:7:  If I were to repent of lying and stopped lying for 15 years, I would be doing well.  But if I then told another lie after that 15 years, the guilt of all my former lies would come back on me.  The Doctrine and Covenants passage does not separate sins into categories.  It simple says "sin".  If you repeat a sin, the guilt of all your former sins returns to you.

No Commandment

LDS - It is impossible to be 100% perfect.

Gentile Joe - 1 Nephi 3:7 says, "...the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."  This verse does not say we can accomplish half of the commandments God has given.  It does not say we should be able to accomplish 90% of God's commandments.  It says God has only given commandments that we can accomplish.

Sufficient grace

LDS - God gives us grace to follow the commandments.

Gentile Joe - Moroni 10:32 gives us an if-then statement.  We are all familiar with this if-then statement:  "If you finish all your vegetables, you can have some desert."  Moroni 10:32 is an if-then statement:  "...if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ;..."  According to this verse, God's grace is only sufficient for us if we do four things.  We must deny ourselves of ALL ungodliness.  We must love God with all our might, mind and strength.  Has anyone denied himself of all ungodliness?  Does anyone love God with all his might, mind and strength?  If we prayed for 20 minutes, could we have prayed for 25 minutes?  If we have fed the hungry, could we have done more?  According to this verse, who can really qualify for God's grace?

After all we can do

LDS - 2 Nephi 25:23 say, "...for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

Gentile Joe - When will you have done all that you can do so you can be saved by grace?  What if you only accomplish 98% of all you can do?  Will the 98% be close enough to all you can do?

No unclean thing

LDS - I believe forgiveness is a long process.

Gentile Joe - If a person is in the process of forsaking sin, then they haven't completely forsaken sin.  Alma 11:37 says, "And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven?  Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins."

Forsake sin

LDS - I believe repentance is a gradual process

Gentile Joe - D&C 58:42-43 implies that there are two states - repenting and forsaking sin or not repenting and not forsaking sin.  These verses say, "Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.  By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins - behold, he will confess them and forsake them."

Unholy temples

LDS - I don't believe God expects us to be perfect.

Gentile Joe - Helaman 4:24 says, "...the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples."

The heart

LDS - I believe that God looks at our heart.

Gentile Joe - That is true but Jeremiah 17:9&10 states, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?  I the Lord search the heart,..."  We can often look good on the outside and have bad things in our heart.  We can smile at someone and shake their hand but hate them in our heart.  We can lust after someone in our heart even though we do not act on those thoughts.  The heart is harder to manage.

A space of time

LDS - I believe that there will be a space of time between this life and the celestial heaven where we will gain more knowledge and have time to perfect ourselves.

Gentile Joe - If we were to compare 1st grade math to calculus, we could say that 1st grade math is easier.  It takes a larger knowledge base to pass calculus.  If you were to gain 10 times your current knowledge during that space of time, you would have 10 times as many commands to obey.  The more you know, the more responsibility you have. If you can't be perfect now, it will be much harder to be perfect with more knowledge.  Spencer W. Kimball also believed that it would become harder to repent after this life.  On page 11 of the Miracles of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball quoted Apostle Melvin J. Ballard. "This life is the time to repent. That is why I presume it will take a thousand years after the first resurrection until the last group will be prepared to come forth.  It will take them a thousand years to do what it would have taken but three-score and ten to accomplish in this life."

Wages and Debt

LDS - I believe it is a combination of works and faith together.

Gentile Joe - Romans 4:4&5 says, "Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.  But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,..."

Submit to God's Righteousness
LDS - I do not believe that a person can just say a sinner's prayer and then go live anyway he wants to.  How can he be saved to the Celestial heaven?
Gentile Joe - According to the book of Mormon, that person is not born again.  Mosiah 27:25-26 says, "...Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God."  Romans 10:3-4 tells us that we are to lean on the righteousness of God rather than our own righteousness.  "For they being ignorant of Gods righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."  When we become a son of God, we should have our eyes focused more on Christ and his work on the cross.  We should have less focus on our own works.

Schoolmaster

LDS - I believe we can draw closer to God by following his commandments.

Gentile Joe - The commandments can make us feel farther away from God.  As you go through the 10 commandments, you will probably find that you have broken most of them.  In Matthew 5:21&22 Jesus said, "Ye have heard that is was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."  In Matthew 5:28&29 Jesus said, "Ye have heard that is was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."  If I compare myself to somebody down the street, I might look pretty good.  When I compare myself to God's law, I look like a sinner.  Then I realize I desperately need a savior.  So the law points me to my need for Christ.  It is my schoolmaster. Galatians 3:24-25 says, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.""

Daily Repentance
LDS - God has given us the gift of repentance.  I repent of my sins everyday as part of my forgiveness process.
Gentile Joe - In April of 1995, Richard Scott quoted Joseph Smith in General Conference.  Joseph Smith declared: “Repentance is a thing that cannot be trifled with every day.  Daily transgression and daily repentance is not … pleasing in the sight of God.”  If you had a friend that confessed he lied to you, apologized and never lied to you again, you would call him a true friend.  If you had a friend that lied everyday to your face and apologized daily, you would never call him a genuine friend.  You would probably start avoiding that so-called friend.

Ephesians 2:8&9

LDS - I still believe that we are saved by grace after all we can do.

Gentile Joe - Ephesians 2:8&9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."  

My Happiness?

      Does our heavenly Father want us to always be happy?  Is our happiness his main goal?  There is a church pamphlet on Chasity that is very good.  We would all be better off to live our lives according to God's laws.  The author of this pamphlet begins by saying that our heavenly Father loves us and wants us to be happy today and forever.  Could the author have used the word "holiness" instead of happiness?
      If you study church history from the days of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, you may find that they set aside their own happiness to embrace plural marriage.  The put what they believed to be the laws of God ahead of their own happiness.  Life was very hard for the early Mormons as they traveled west through danger and cold winters.  Many died or lost children to sickness.
      The apostle Paul set aside his own pursuit of happiness to follow God.  In 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 he writes, "Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?"
      Jesus made an unpopular statement that is related to "our happiness" in Matthew 16:24-26: "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
      Jesus said those who are persecuted are blessed and should rejoice in Matthew 5:10-12.  "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
      According to James, we should be joyful in trials because they are necessary for our maturity.  James 1:2-4 says,  "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."
      After you have lived a number of years, you will probable experience a very sad event that is hard to understand.  Not having the answers to difficult circumstances is a trial in itself.  God is all-powerful and yet He allows things to happen to us.  Job, in the Old Testament, is an incredible story and example of this.  He lost all his children, his riches and his health.  At the end of the book, God blessed him with more children and great riches.  I think it is fair to say that our immediate pursuit of happiness is not God's top priority.  He may put our need for maturity, holiness and future rewards ahead of our pursuit of happiness.  

Disobeying the Commandments

 Prophets  

     Are you obeying the commandments from the right God?  The heading on chapter 13 of Deuteronomy says, "The Lord tests his people to see if they will worship false gods-..."  Verses 1-4 say, "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us sere them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  Ye shall walk after the LORD you God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him."
     There are many ideas about what God is.  Moroni 8:18 says, "For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity."  Have you been praying to a "changeable being"?  Has your god always been god from "all eternity to all eternity" or did he have to ascend into godhood?  Is he a progressing, exalted man?
      These verses do not ask us to pray about a prophet.  We are not instructed to seek a certain feeling about a prophet.  The Deuteronomy passage is not subjective.  It is objective.  It is a thinking decision to decide which prophet to accept.  If you are praying to an exalted man, then you are not praying to the God of Moroni 8:18.  It is impossible to follow God's commands if you are following the wrong god.

Spirits

      In 1 John 4:1-3, we are commanded to try the spirits.  "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that is should come; and even now already is it in the world."

      Again, this verse does not mention prayer or subjective feelings.  A number of religions believe in Jesus, but Matthew 24:23-24 gives us a Christ warning.  "Then is any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it no.  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."  As we try the spirits, do they give witness to the Jesus of the Bible or of another Christ?  John 3:16 says that Jesus is God's "only begotten son."  Are we praying to the son of an unchangeable being or the son of an exalted man?  If the spirit bears witness to a christ that is the son of an exalted man, then that spirit is not from God.  Christ, the son of a "changeable being" is a false christ.  Let us follow God's command to "Try the spirits".

Gospel

      In Galations 1:8&9, the apostle Paul commands us not to follow other gospels.  "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."  There are stories of an angel with a sword confronting and commanding people to receive the teaching of plural marriage or receive damnation.  D&C 132:4 says, "For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory."  Here is a gospel that says receive plural marriage and be saved by faith after all you can do.  Paul was very careful and accurate in describing the gospel message to the church in Galatia.  He preached salvation by grace through faith.  He strongly stood against those commanding circumcision and the law for salvation.  The apostle Paul does not ask anyone to pray about the gospel or have a certain feeling of it's truthfulness.  It was objective, not subjective.  They were only to receive the gospel of salvation by grace through faith.  Polygamy was not a part of his gospel.  Paul preached about having good works, but he did not include it in his salvation message.  Are we following Paul's command to stay away from other gospels?

      May you follow the commands of the God who is an unchangeable being from all eternity to all eternity.  May you only be led by the Holy Spirit that testifies of the true Christ.  May you cling to the Apostle Paul's simple gospel message.  May God be with you always.

Translated correctly???

      Can the Bible be trusted today?  Has it been corrupted through thousands of years of translations, corrupt scribes and wicked churches?
      In Psalm 119:127, the psalmist greatly valued God's word.  "Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold."  Psalm 119:72 says, "The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver."  David also spoke of God's teachings in psalm 19:10, "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."  But what about today?  Was God able to preserve his word through the centuries?  Is that within his great power?  Mosiah 3:5 calls God Omnipotent.  This is attributing to God infinite power.  If God has unlimited power, then he would be able to preserve His word in spite of the corruption of finite men.  2 Nephi 9:20 and Moroni 7:22 state that God knows "all things".  If God knows all things, then He would know how to preserve his word.  God clearly has the power and know-how to preserve his word, but did He say He would preserve it?  In Matthew 24:25, Jesus gave this promise, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."  The apostle Peter compared people to God's word in 1 Peter 24-25, "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.  The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever...."  These are big promises!!  God word will endure longer than heaven and earth and longer than man and his glory.  That is a long time!
      Because of the fine work of modern archeologists, we have thousands of manuscripts to study.  There are around 2,000 Old Testament, Hebrew and Chaldean manuscripts or manuscript fragments.  These date back to the 7th century BC.  There are between 5,000 and 6,000 New Testament Greek Manuscripts from a variety of countries.  Because of persecution, the early church was spread out over a number of countries.  If there were doctrinal changes, we would be able to track them over the thousand years of writing and from different countries.  There are small writing errors, but the doctrine of the Bible has remained consistent throughout time.  That is an amazing feat.  We have an amazing God!
      (An exception may be the Alexandrian text.  It is said to be weaker on the deity of Christ.)
   

God is Spirit? Alma 18 & 22

      "God is a great spirit" and "God created all things" are two concepts that go well together in the book of Alma.  Alma 18:26-29 says, "And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?  And he said, Yea.  And Ammon said: This is God.  And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?  And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth;..."  Alma 22:9-11 says, "And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem?  And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this?  And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things, and I desire that ye should tell me concerning all these things, and I will believe thy words."
      If these Alma passages stated that God was confined to a physical body, it would be a problem.    Creating a physical body requires matter.  The matter in this physical body would need space to exist in.  It would also need time to exist in the space.  These passages state that God has created all things in the earth.  Matter, space and time are things that exist in the earth.  So, according to these passages, matter, space and time were created by God.
      Is it possible that God is subject to his creation?  Did he create himself?  If God was confined to a physical body, he could not have existed before time, space and matter were created.  Moroni 8:18 says, "For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity."  The words from all eternity to all eternity mean from an infinite amount of time in the past to an infinite amount of time into the future.  God has always existed just the way that he is today.  He has never changed.  He existed before time began.  He is greater than matter, greater than space and greater than time.  He is not subject to them.  Matter, time and space are subject to him.  These are things he created.  These two passages say that God is a Spirit (not confined to a physical body).   So, the concepts of creating all things and God being a spirit, go well together.

Should the LDS name be on the Holy Bible?

       Should the name “The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints” be printed on the binder of the King James Bible?  Should the Bible be considered Mormon scripture?  Is it worthy enough? 

The story of the woman at the well, in John 4:4-42, is a very gracious story.  Since Jesus was a Jew, it was strange that he would walk through Samaria.  The Jews did not associate with Samaritans.  Jesus started a conversation with the woman at the well.  She does not sound like she was worthy to be in the presence of Jesus Christ.  Jesus said that she had had 5 husbands and the man she was currently with was not her husband.  I think we can assume that she was not “temple worthy”.  She probably didn’t have a temple recommend.  I doubt that she had been paying her tithing.  She does not sound like a religious person at all.  She probably had plenty of bad works and a bad reputation.  Suddenly she was in the presence of Jesus Christ.  As Jesus was talking to this UNWORTHY woman, he told that her if she had known the “gift of God”, she would have asked him for living water.  In John 4:14 he said, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”  When Jesus mentioned her 5 husbands and current man, she changed the subject by talking about worship.  She said in John 4:20, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”  Jesus answered her question.  In John 4:21, 23, 24 we read, “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father…But the hour cometh,…when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”  If this was not enough, he went on to tell her that he was Christ, the Messiah.  As you continue reading the story, you find that she went on a little mission trip and brought many Samaritans to Jesus.  The Mormon Church seems to have a focus on worthiness.  However, this is a story of an unworthy person and Jesus.  Should this story be considered scripture? 

            There is a temple story in Luke 18:9-14.  “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee and the other a Publican.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”  This story focuses on two men.  One was not only unworthy but called himself a sinner.

      Luke 5:30-32 is another passage that compares worthy and unworthy people.  “But the scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?  And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  The focus here is on the unworthy also.

      The temple in the Old testament must have drawn a lot of unworthy people.  If you sinned against God, you went to the temple with your goat or other animal and the priest sacrificed the animal for your sin.  They did this at least once a year.  The temple was a place for unworthy sinners to come. 

      Moroni 10:32 has more of a Mormon flavor with attention given to worthiness.  “…if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you,…”  The next verse says, “And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ,…”  You probably know 1 Nephi 3:7, “…the Lord giveth no commandements unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”  According to this verse, it should be possible to keep every commandment.  So we are without excuse.  2 Nephi 25:23 says, “..;for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” 

      So here is the question:  If you were in President Monson’s shoes, would you say that the King James Bible is “worthy” enough to be considered scripture or is it too focused on the “unworthy”?  Should the name, “The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints” be associated with it?

Depression

      When I was about 14 or 15 years old, my ambitions were to become a professional bike rider and a professional musician.  One day I realized that those ambitions would not bring real happiness or satisfaction in life.  I went into a deep depression.  I felt like my life was about as valuable as a pile of beans.  It was actually a spirit of depression that was oppressing me.  It seemed hopeless.  When I was home alone, I got down on my knees and asked God to help me.  Suddenly I realized that God wanted me to put Him first.  To follow God completely, he had to be the most important part of my life - not music, not bike riding, not fame, not success but God.  Even though I had gone to church I had not realized this.  I thought to myself, "why didn't people tell me".  Maybe they did and I didn't listen.  I told God I would give Him the number one place in my life if He would help me.  Then the depression went away and I felt God's peace!  It was incredible!
      This was not the end of the problem, however.  When I was 11th grade, I had another time of heavy depression.  I know I prayed for a number of hours.  I remember I was sitting in a crowded Spanish class at my high school, when the answer came to me.  It was the same spirit of depression  It had returned to oppress me again.  As I prayed specifically about it, God took it away from me.  During high school, I put God first in my life.  It was the most spiritual time of my life.  I felt very close to God.  
      The Bible tells us that we can be spiritually attacked.  I Peter 5:6-8 says, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"  Ephesians 6:10-17 says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."