Introduction


¹God loves everyone and wants each of us to find joy
and satisfaction. ²To help us towards that goal, God
gave us reason, conscience, and the ability to
choose. ³Our responsibility is to sincerely follow
the dictates of our conscience, guided by reason,
while respecting the equal privilege of others to do
the same.

⁴Weʼre accountable to God for our choices. ⁵Each of
us can have a personal relationship with God. ⁶God
communicates with each of us as needed, ⁷and sends
messengers to different times, places, and cultures
to guide us. Studying the messages that are intended
for us can enlighten our understanding.

⁸God knows the vastness of human diversity. Just as a
skilled optometrist prescribes eyeglasses to compen-
sate for a patientʼs shortcomings, God guides us to a
prescription thatʼs optimized for our spiritual
growth. Our prescription may differ from, or coin-
cide with, that of our peers. ⁹Because of this diver-
sity, a community of believers can strengthen and in-
spire one another.

¹⁰Details about Godʼs nature and methods are largely
a distraction from the proper focus of our lives: a
lifelong migration towards joy through our personal
choices.

—

¹¹While striving to live the principles described
above, I felt guided to prayerfully undertake the
actions below. The results are for my own benefit and
may not benefit others in the same way.

—

¹²Create a prioritized list of essential command-
ments to help me focus on what matters most and to re-
solve conflicts that may arise between those command-
ments. This became the Digest of Priorities.

¹³Write pairs of essential virtues whose opposing
demands I must balance in my own life. This became
the Digest of Virtues.

¹⁴Try different methods of prayer, listening careful-
ly to understand which are most effective at strength-
ening my relationship with God. Codify those
practices and observe them regularly. This became the
Digest of Prayer.

¹⁵Record short stories that God has used to clarify
my understanding of certain principles. This became
the Digest of Parables.

¹⁶Study the teachings of those who are widely consid-
ered to be messengers of God. Abridge those messages
by selecting the most practical and important
teachings for guiding my life. This became the
Messages. I refer to them as The Message of Solomon,
The Message of Jesus, etc.