The ancient laver—that bronze basin where priests purified themselves before entering the sacred space—serves as a profound metaphor for the philosophies we allow to wash over our consciousness daily.

Just as the priests could not approach the holy without first cleansing themselves in the laver's reflecting waters, we cannot chart a course toward truth and enlightenment without first recognizing which philosophies we permit to cleanse or contaminate our thinking.

The laver's polished surface forced the priests to confront their own reflection, compelling honest self-examination before sacred service.

Similarly, the philosophies we "listeth to obey"—whether they be materialism, nihilism, humanism, or divine truth—act as spiritual lavers that shape not only how we see ourselves but the very course we chart through existence.

If we daily immerse our minds in philosophies that deny absolute truth, promote moral relativism, or reduce human beings to mere biological machines, we will inevitably navigate toward spiritual barrenness and despair.

Conversely, if we choose to be cleansed by philosophies that acknowledge transcendent truth of God, human dignity, and moral accountability, we chart a course toward wisdom, purpose, and ultimate fulfillment.

Yet before we can receive pure water, we must first empty our cup of the stagnant ideologies and false beliefs that have accumulated over time—for a vessel already full of bitter water cannot receive the sweet.

I'd like to note that even if we consider ourselves a good person, we've adopted beliefs from our childhood or other events in our lives that may not be true. These subconscious beliefs are also a part of our "truth-cleansing" journey. For example maybe your mother or father didn't nurture you and spend time bonding and connecting with you. Maybe you developed a belief, "young children aren't important and money is more important." These are also beliefs or philosophies we store in our subconscious.

The laver reminds us that the spirit we choose to obey through our philosophical commitments becomes the very water in which we daily wash our souls, determining whether we emerge purified for sacred purposes or further stained by the corruptions of a fallen world.

The Neuroscience of Choice:

Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Brain Science

As someone who has spent decades studying the intersection of neuroscience, consciousness, and human potential, I could see how they would be amazed by how ancient texts often contain profound insights that modern science is only now beginning to understand. Today, I want to explore a powerful principle found in the Book of Mormon that speaks directly to what we now know about neuroplasticity and the biology of belief.

The Universal Law of Energetic Alignment

The scripture in Alma 3:26-27 states:

26...that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.

27 For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth...

according to the spirit which they listed to obey

This isn't just spiritual philosophy—it's quantum physics in action. What this ancient text is describing is the fundamental principle that our thoughts, emotions, and intentions create our reality - much like a projector. When we consistently "list to obey" certain thought patterns, we literally rewire our neural networks to match that frequency.

If we listen to a particular Spirit Being and their accompanying spiritual-energy, we receive the level of coherence and love energy of that being, or the lack thereof. If we follow a less coherent spiritual being, we receive the energy and thus the accompanying bio-chemistry equivalent as a reward.

The Two Paths

Following Good and Evil Spirits

A Philosophical Examination of Absolute Truth and Moral Choice

The ancient principle that "every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey" reveals a fundamental law of existence—we become what we consistently choose to follow, and the universe responds accordingly.

Following the Evil Spirit: The Path of Corruption

Consider Marcus, a talented businessman who gradually begins to "listeth to obey" the spirit of greed and deception, whether a particular spiritual-entity or spiritual-energy, the consequences are the same.

Initially, this manifests in small compromises:

Early Stages:

• He begins padding expense reports by small amounts
• He withholds crucial information during negotiations to gain unfair advantage
• He starts viewing employees as expendable resources rather than human beings

The Descending Spiral: As Marcus consistently chooses to follow this corrupt spirit, the "wages" he receives compound:

• His conscience becomes increasingly seared, making larger ethical violations feel normal
• He attracts business partners and associates who operate by similar principles
• His relationships become transactional and superficial, based on mutual exploitation
• His success becomes dependent on maintaining an elaborate web of deceptions
• He experiences chronic anxiety, paranoia, and isolation, despite material wealth
• His capacity for genuine joy, love, and peace progressively diminishes

The Final Wages: Eventually, Marcus receives the full "wages" of the spirit he chose to obey:

• His business empire collapses when his deceptions are exposed
• He faces legal consequences and public disgrace
• His relationships crumble as people realize they were mere instruments to him
• He experiences profound spiritual emptiness and despair
• His very character becomes corrupted—he has literally become what he chose to follow

Following the Good Spirit: The Path of Truth

Now consider Sarah, a teacher who chooses to "listeth to obey" the spirit of truth, compassion, and service:

Early Stages:

• She consistently tells the truth, even when it's personally costly, of course she doesn't act like an autistic person and tell everything absolutely the way it is, she shows social consideration of others feelings when she speaks, but she follows the spirit of truth.
• She treats each student as inherently valuable and worthy of her best effort
• She chooses gratitude and hope, even in difficult circumstances
• She allows herself to feel discouraging feelings, but shows more self-care and compassion for herself when she falls short of the ideal she chooses to live. "The Spirit of Grace"

The Ascending Path: As Sarah consistently follows this elevated spirit, she begins receiving corresponding wages:

• Her character develops greater integrity, wisdom, and inner peace
• She attracts like-minded individuals who share her commitment to truth and service
• Her influence expands as people recognize her authenticity and trustworthiness
• She experiences genuine joy and fulfillment, regardless of external circumstances
• Her capacity for love, empathy, and understanding grows stronger
• Opportunities for meaningful service and positive impact naturally arise

The Ultimate Wages: The spirit Sarah chose to obey ultimately transforms her entire existence:

• She develops unshakeable inner peace and purpose
• Her relationships are deep, authentic, and mutually enriching
• She becomes a source of light and hope for others
• Her work takes on profound meaning beyond mere career advancement
• She experiences what the ancients called "paradise"—a state of harmony with absolute truth
• Her very presence becomes healing and uplifting to others

The Philosophical Implications

These examples illustrate several absolute truths about moral reality:

1. Character Formation is Inevitable We cannot remain neutral. Every choice moves us either toward greater alignment with truth and goodness, or toward corruption and darkness. In coming days it will not be possible to live in the neutral territory or on a neutral ground. We must choose to live in coherence, or we will be steam-rolled by the on-coming energy of increasing in-coherence.

2. The Law of Spiritual Attraction Like attracts like in the moral realm. Those who consistently choose truth attract truth-seekers. Those who choose deception attract deceivers. This is not mere coincidence but a fundamental law of existence.

Thus the importance of healing our hearts and minds to come into alignment with our true spiritual self.

3. The Compound Nature of Moral Choice Small choices accumulate into character, and character determines destiny. The "wages" we receive are not arbitrary punishments or rewards, but the natural consequences of the spirit we have chosen to embody.

4. The Reality of Absolute Good and Evil These are not mere human constructs but objective realities. Good spirits lead to flourishing, truth, beauty, and genuine happiness. Evil spirits lead to corruption, deception, ugliness, and ultimate despair.

The Moment of Choice

Every human being stands at this crossroads countless times each day. The spirit we choose to follow in small, seemingly insignificant moments shapes the trajectory of our entire existence. The ancient wisdom reminds us that this choice is both absolutely free and absolutely consequential.

We are not victims of circumstance but architects of our own moral destiny. The "wages" we receive—whether they manifest as peace or torment, truth or delusion, love or isolation—are the natural harvest of the seeds we have chosen to sow through our daily choices. This also influences the social atmosphere of spiritual beings we keep near us. If we give access to evil spirits to dominate our thoughts, feelings and life, they become our friend group. Likewise if we grant angels and spirits of loving coherent qualities into our life... we will inherit a friend spiritual group of angels that look out for us, support us and guide us towards greater light and truth.

The phrase "you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with" also applies to spirit-beings.

In a world that often denies absolute truth, this principle stands as an unchanging law: we become what we consistently choose to follow, and the universe itself conspires to give us exactly what we have truly chosen through our actions and intentions.

The question that confronts each soul is not whether this law exists—it operates with mathematical precision regardless of our belief.

The only question is
which spirit will we choose to obey?

The Neuroscience Behind the Scripture

From a neuroscientific perspective, this verse reveals three crucial elements:

Energy Follows Attention: When we repeatedly focus on specific thoughts or emotions, we strengthen those neural pathways. The brain doesn't distinguish between what we vividly imagine and what we actually experience—it simply responds to the electrical and chemical signals we generate through our focus.

Coherence Creates Reality: The phrase "according to the words of the spirit of prophecy" suggests a coherent state between our conscious intention and our subconscious programming. When our thoughts and emotions align, we create a powerful electromagnetic field that influences our external reality.

Truth as Frequency: "Therefore let it be according to the truth" points to the universal principle that truth resonates at a specific frequency. When we align our inner state with truth, we become a vibrational match for experiences that reflect that truth.

Christ is that most loving and coherent frequency. He is the light, the Spirit, the Truth. Or call it Truth (and I'll silently think in my mind Christ)... it's the same thing.

The Paradise State of Consciousness

Alma 40:12 provides another fascinating insight

12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.

This describes what I call the "elevated state of consciousness"—a neurological condition where the brain produces specific brainwave patterns associated with peace, joy, and expanded awareness. Modern neuroscience shows us that when we consistently practice elevated emotions like gratitude, compassion, and love, we literally change our brain chemistry and activate the parasympathetic nervous system, creating a biological "paradise" within our own bodies.

Thus wouldn't it be expedient to conclude that our Spirit becomes "comfortable" in the neurology of happiness, paradise, rest and peace: then it would be reasonable to assume that our spirit is vibrating at the level of happiness, paradise, rest and peace more frequently, that's the same resonance we take with us when we depart from our body.

Choice and Consequence in Neural Terms

The concept from 2 Nephi 2:29 about choosing whom to follow relates directly to what neuroscientists call "neuroplasticity." Every choice we make creates new neural connections while weakening others. We are literally sculpting our brains moment by moment through our decisions.

29 And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh ("Ego / False self part") and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom.

When we choose thoughts of limitation, scarcity, or fear, we strengthen those neural networks and create a biological tendency toward those states. Conversely, when we consistently choose thoughts of possibility, abundance, and love, we rewire our brains for those elevated experiences, and rewire or reenergize our spiritual body towards those experiences.

The devil loses power when our spirits and bodies becomes so in "coherence" with Truth, Light and Christ.

Practical Application: Becoming Who We Choose to Obey

The profound truth in these scriptures is that we are not victims of our circumstances—we are creators of our experience.

Here's how to apply this ancient wisdom:

1. Become Conscious of Your Thoughts: Throughout the day, notice what you're "listing to obey." Are you following thoughts of possibility or limitation? (This doesn't mean living a loving life doesn't have restrictions, it does. Eternal-love has conditions, just like our body has conditions for oxygen. It's when we meet those conditions with the "Grace of God" that our spirit lives in possibility.)
2. Practice Coherence: Align your thoughts and emotions. Don't just think positive thoughts—feel the elevated emotions that match those thoughts.
3. Create New Neural Pathways: Through meditation and mental rehearsal, practice being the person you want to become before your external reality changes.

The Coherence-Reward Connection: The Biology of Holiness

Here's where this ancient wisdom becomes even more profound: the level of coherence of the spirit we "listeth to obey" directly determines the magnitude and quality of our rewards—both biochemically and materially.

When we examine this principle through the lens of quantum biology, we discover that coherence isn't just a spiritual concept—it's a measurable electromagnetic phenomenon. The more coherent our heart-brain state becomes, the more organized our energy field becomes, and the more powerfully we influence our external reality.

Could it be possible that "Sacred Ordinances" organize us according to the pattern of the Son of God? Thus we are becoming in coherence with the highest expression of love and light.

The Rigor of Elevated Consciousness

What ancient texts call "holiness" or "righteousness," modern science recognizes as highly coherent states of consciousness. These elevated states require what I call "spiritual rigor"—the disciplined practice of maintaining coherence even when our external environment challenges us to return to familiar, lower-vibrational patterns.

The greater the rigor we apply to maintaining coherence with elevated emotions like unconditional love, gratitude, and compassion, the more profound our biochemical rewards become. Our bodies literally produce different chemistry when we sustain these states:

• Elevated DHEA levels promote longevity and vitality
• Increased oxytocin production enhances our capacity for connection and trust
• Optimal dopamine regulation creates sustainable motivation and joy
• Enhanced gamma brainwave activity associated with heightened awareness and insight

The Material Manifestation of Spiritual Coherence

But the rewards extend beyond biochemistry into the material realm. When we achieve high levels of coherence with elevated consciousness, we become walking electromagnetic signatures that literally reorganize matter and energy around us. This isn't metaphysics—it's quantum field theory in action.

The ancient principle reveals itself: those who "obey" higher-frequency states of being receive proportionally greater "wages" in the form of:

• Synchronicities and opportunities that align with their elevated state
• Enhanced intuition and creativity that opens new possibilities
• Improved relationships and social connections as their coherent field influences others
• Material abundance that reflects their internal state of wholeness

The Proportional Law of Spiritual Investment

The scripture's wisdom becomes clear: we receive wages proportional to the level of consciousness we choose to embody. Someone who maintains coherence with love and gratitude for minutes a day receives different rewards than someone who sustains that coherence for hours. Someone who practices this rigor only when it's convenient receives different wages than someone who maintains it through challenge and adversity.

This is the biological reality of holiness—the more rigorously we align with elevated states of consciousness, the more our bodies and our external reality reflect that alignment through measurable, tangible rewards.

The Wages We Receive

Remember, we truly do "receive wages" from whatever we choose to obey. If we obey thoughts of victimhood, we create a victim's reality—complete with the corresponding biochemistry of stress hormones and limitation. If we obey thoughts of empowerment and possibility with true coherence and rigor, we create an empowered reality backed by the biology of elevated consciousness.

These ancient texts remind us that this isn't just wishful thinking—it's a fundamental law of consciousness that modern science continues to validate. We are far more powerful than we've been conditioned to believe, and every moment offers us the opportunity to choose which master we will serve:

our past conditioning or our future potential.

The choice, as always, is ours. But now we understand that the level of rigor and coherence we bring to that choice determines the quality and magnitude of the wages we receive.

And as a side note, I'd like to say make sure to live in the Spirit of Grace and Love towards ourself as well as the Spirit of Justice in being real and completely honest with ourselves. It is in full honesty that the spirit of Grace can most generously be applied.