Darkness doesn’t mean you’re broken. The process of spiritual transformation starts in the dark. You are a seed, and this earth is the ground you’ve been planted in. Too much sun, too much fertilizer, too much light all at once would destroy you. Darkness isn't evil. God keeps you in the dark because he loves you.
If you've ever felt stuck, on hold, or like nothing is happening, this conversation with the land will be the little bit of light you need to keep holding on.
Preparing to receive
1:45 PM Sunder Brook Park Sunday, Easter Sunday last year, I came to this land and received a beautiful touching story of Jesus and his Atoning sacrifice and what it was like for him to be on the cross and for the what happened during the three days that he was dead.
This Easter Sunday, I've simply come again to receive another story as I pray and prepare to receive. This spirit says:
All lands have stories to tell, not all need to be received at this time. Ask the land for the story that is necessary, ready to come forth at this time, and it will open its mouth to share.
So I ask the land, and this is what she says.
The land recognizes us
Oh, yes! Spring time and flowers, new life. Oh, the winter. The winter is so dreary. But the spring is beautiful and glorious. Do you not feel it in your bones, child? Does it not call out to you to come forth, to come out, to enjoy, to sit in the sun and the wind and the fresh air, to listen to the birds, and to see all the buds blooming, and the green? Listen to the messages in your bones, in your joints, in your sinews. They are tuned to hear.
Oh, I see. You are also a gatherer. Oh, I have a story for you. There used to be many gatherers upon the earth. If you are here, that means there are more who have come and will come.
There will always be those who don't understand these stories, pay them no heed. You are doing marvelous work. If only you could see, but alas, that would violate the principles of heaven. So you must learn to trust and to grow in your faith as all must. Now, are you ready to receive the story that you can share with the world?
Yes, I am ready, I eagerly reply.
The overlap of time, space, and place
Once upon a time, at another time, before this land became what you see before you, it was magical and mysterious and beautiful, full of light and love that danced and played.
The supernatural beings that you learn of and hear of are mystical and magical, but they are also real in the very sense of the word real. They simply exist in a different time, and space, and place. However, you have eyes to see, and that time, space, and place does, can, will, and has, and will, in the future, overlap with the one that you are now inhabiting.
This is why there are others as well who see spirits from a different time. They are not necessarily earthbound, child. They are simply from a different time. Yes, there are those that are earthbound, and you are truly not given to see those.
No, you are given to see the spirit realm, for that is your gift. To show others the beauty of the spirit realm. The spirit realm operates on order and precision. That is the difference between following the light that is Christ, following other lights that are not Christ or are impostors of him, and following darkness.
The less order there is, the more you move toward darkness. This is true for all beings on all levels of creation. To have more light in your life, you must continually seek for more order, more precision, more creation in the way that creation is intended to be brought forth.
Darkness isn't evil, it's where creation starts
Creation is glorious and beautiful, and there is a process to it. Would you like to know the process?
I would love to know the process, and I would love to learn more about creating this order in our lives so that we can have more light.
Very well. I will give you the piece that is mine to share at this time, and yours to receive. There are others who will receive more, are there not?
Yes. My understanding is that that is how it works. One person is not given to know all things, but it is scattered and shared among the children of men.
Yes. Oh, you are wise, child. OK.
Creation follows a process. It always starts with a seed that is planted in darkness. The darkness simply means that not all is known by the seed. The seed cannot know everything all at once, for that would cause overwhelm. It would actually be too much light, and it would be burning, and it would destroy.
Think about taking care of a child or an animal. If you gave them all of the food that they were ever to eat over their entire life in one day, how would that go for the child or the animal?
(JEN:) Not very well. First of all, they would not be able to consume it all. If they tried to consume all of it, they would literally die. And then they would not thrive for the rest of their life. They would be sick, and then they would starve and die.
Yes. Creation is the same way. You must take whatever you create, and it starts as a seed implanted in darkness. You must give it the nutrients, the nutrition, the guidance, the light that it needs, bit by bit, at the right time and in the right order.
As you have learned, there are many, many seeds that you could possibly plant. Most will not grow or come to fruition, and that is not the point. The point is to simply plant the seeds.
You are learning, through the constraint of time, how much effort is required to get a seed to grow, to nurture it.
If you truly want to learn how much effort is required to get a seed to grow, you focus all of your efforts and all of your time on one little seed.
However, even when you do that, it does not guarantee that that one little seed will produce and become fruitful and multiply itself. For not all seeds are given to produce and to multiply in this time and in this sphere, in the eternities, even. It is a process.
I have a little bit more to share, but I think it is not yet time to do so. I feel like it is not yet ready to be received. If you come back again tomorrow, or in a week, or in a year — in due time — I will share the rest of the story of creation with you.
Create order as Christ does
Now, creating order in your own life. Look at nature and how she orders herself, and look at Christ and how he creates order. There is a process.
You must be baptized. You must receive the Holy Ghost. You must be cleansed and purified. You must give and think of others and not yourself. This is the order. It is circular and ever improving and ever increasing and ever growing.
But if you choose to focus on yourself, if you choose not to be sanctified, if you choose not to be baptized, you are only creating according to darkness. There are many on this earth who seem to prosper according to the earth, but remember, child, the earth is death.
What gives life to the earth? The spirit. Just because you see life and growth in the earth does not mean that there is life and growth eternally in that same way.
Do not judge others for what they bring forth, and what they create, and what they produce. You do not know all that is in their hearts, and what they are creating for or from or toward.
You must have faith to create order that leads toward eternal life — faith in your Savior, who is the one true way and the one true source. That is the way that will return you to your Father, who is the All, the creator of all, through Christ, who created the earth.
I think we are done for today. Thank you for listening to my story. Please come back again another time, and I will share more.
Darkness isn't evil, it's temporary and necessary
I love these simple truths that help us understand the process of creation. When we are feeling impatient and struggling and wanting more light, we can remember that there is a time for all things. There is a time for all things and a season for all things.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord tells Joseph Smith that ye are now yet little children and cannot bear all things. So God gives us covenants and commandments and directions one bit at a time to make sure that we can follow it without being destroyed from too much light or too much expectation.
Where are you in your process of creation? In creating order, in being baptized, in receiving the Holy Ghost, being cleansed and purified, giving, thinking of others and not yourself? The darkness isn't evil, and it's not a bad place to be. It's temporary, a waiting and growing and learning space.
All of these stories I receive share little bits and pieces of these overlapping truths. Episode 53 has more about the laws of creation, and the spirit bringing life.
The state of being a seed and being in darkness can feel like it never ends. Indeed, it lasts an entire life for most humans. Episodes 7 and Episode 8 are insightful discussions with a ginkgo tree that go in depth into starting as a seed and dealing with the obstacles we face as we grow.
