Posted on Facebook by Samoa Lualim
What many find difficult to grasp is this truth: the soul grows through development, yet it can only truly develop when its actions are selfless. Growth does not come from focusing on the self, even though the self is being refined.
Consider the physical body as an illustration. When change or healing occurs, it shows how self-development works best when self-centered motives are set aside. This lesson applies not only to this individual, but to all who seek growth without falling into self-absorption.
As the great Teacher taught, no one acts by personal power alone; the works are accomplished through the divine force working within. When a person relies solely on personal ability or seeks to magnify their own mental or physical qualities, they draw only from themselves. This is self-centeredness, and it neglects the creative, renewing source within. But when mind, body, and spirit give themselves in service—offering help, hope, and upliftment to another—they draw instead from the divine source, allowing higher power to work through them.
In the soul’s development, there exists a deep desire to be used by the Creative Forces—to become a channel through which others may awaken to the spiritual life within themselves. This calling is not about personal identity or recognition, but about helping others discover their own purpose, responsibility, and relationship with the divine. This intention is already written within the soul and safeguarded by higher guidance, so that the path may unfold without stumbling.
To become a clearer channel, one must turn inward—renewing the inner life so that outer actions may align with divine purpose. This requires trust, and a conscious awareness of the divine presence within the heart and soul. When this awareness awakens, every part of the being—mind, body, and spirit—becomes attuned to higher activity and renewal from within.
There is already the ability to give to others. Enter the inner sanctuary of the heart, cleansing it and consecrating its desires to the divine will. As what is given flows outward in service, unity forms between human intention and divine purpose. Through patience and surrender, the soul becomes aware of its oneness with higher guidance.
In this awareness, one knows that divine life moves through every thought and action. The soul joins in mercy, grace, peace, and light—becoming an instrument of healing and intercession for others. Through selfless activity, others may recognize the spiritual seal within, and know that love, redemption, and truth are made real through a life given in service.
275-39 Paraphrased
Offer your energy and efforts freely, guided by the higher law, understanding that the source of all good and perfect gifts is always available to those who seek it—not for themselves alone, but through giving themselves in service to higher purposes.
182-2 Paraphrased
(Q) What teachings were studied during my time in the Temple Beautiful that helped me come into greater harmony with the development of a refined body?
(A) The central teaching was that true purification of matter comes from spiritual fire—the inner force that burns away selfish and purely physical impulses. When the body and soul are guided by no concern for personal gain or physical form, but are instead filled with divine love and devotion to the Creative Source, that love transforms everything it touches. In such self-forgetfulness, the mind, body, and soul are purified, and even the physical condition and surrounding influences are elevated within the material world.
(Q) Do I possess an ability to write in a way that helps others?
(A) When one communicates what has been found meaningful within oneself—not for personal recognition, but to honor the higher motivating force—such expression becomes a gift to others. When writing arises from service rather than self-satisfaction, it carries real power. In this way, this soul has a great capacity to give through writing.
264-45 Paraphrased
Each soul enters earthly experience with a purpose: to express itself in the material world within certain surroundings, conditions, and inherited tendencies shaped by both environment and soul history. These influences form the setting—but not the outcome—of the soul’s growth.
What determines whether an experience leads to growth or delay is not the experience itself, but how the soul responds to what it knows of the Creative Forces at work in life. What a person does with that knowledge reveals what the soul truly honors as its ideal.
If the ideal is alignment with the Christ-consciousness, growth follows. If the ideal is personal gain, self-glorification, or indulgence in purely physical ambitions, then the soul must experience the consequences of those choices. Life continually places before each soul the choice between higher and lower paths—between selflessness and self-centeredness—and the soul’s development depends upon what it chooses through its own will.
Environmental and hereditary influences often appear as challenges or stumbling blocks, yet they merely reveal where growth is needed. What a soul accomplishes each day depends on whether its ideal is elevated or diminished, and whether its faith expresses itself through selfless living.
The assurance given by the Creator is this: through the Son, divine strength is always available to meet every need, crisis, and trial. This truth is continually demonstrated in human experience. Yet many become stumbling blocks to others when their outward behavior contradicts the faith they profess with words alone. Such inconsistency hinders rather than helps.
For this reason, impersonality and selflessness must become guiding principles. Growth comes through love, faith, hope, and charity—not as concepts, but as lived expressions. Where these qualities are active, the spirit of the Master works through the individual.
When fear, doubt, greed, or selfish desire dominate, the soul distances itself from truth and life. Every experience contains both light and shadow, yet the soul may overcome all conditions by trusting that the Christ stands ready to meet them on its behalf—if faith and hope in the divine promise are held above all else.
The central teaching remains unchanged: love the Divine with the whole being—heart, mind, body, and soul—and express that love through love of others. What was once a teaching became a living example through the life of Christ. To follow Him is not merely to speak His name, but to let thoughts and actions reflect His presence within the conscience.
This is the way of fulfillment. The promise is sure: those who live in this spirit are never alone. Judgment of others only returns as unrest within oneself; therefore, let love guide all action.
Make truth known not through speech alone, but through kind, selfless activity of mind and body. In this way, the soul develops. Remain patient through difficulties, faithful in daily responsibilities, and confident that all entrusted to the Divine is safely kept.
Do not fear. The Presence walks with you.
288-36 Paraphrased
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