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Endowed with Faith

Recently I read a blog that talked about choices and it included sage counsel from Thomas S. Monson, an apostle for the LDS Church. One quote in particular stood out for me, and of course, I focus on the word faith. It has been the center of my study for the past 28 years so I pick up on the word and analyze its use immediately. The quote reads as follows:

Each of us should remember that he or she is a son or daughter of God, endowed with faith, gifted with courage, and guided by prayer.

Thomas S. Monson

I begin to think about the phrase “endowed with faith” and taken at face value think of it as being provided with or supplied with faith as a child of God. When I ask people if they understand what faith is the most common reply is “Yeah, I know as much as anyone else.” But the question then becomes, “How much does anyone else really know?”

If you have read any of my writing, you will know that I love to go to the dictionary and thesaurus to gain a better comprehension of words. And in this case it is no different, so I look up the word endowed.

Roget's Thesaurus gives me a better insight of the word. Under the subtitle Notes it has an interesting point.

Notes: able is having the necessary power to accomplish something while capable means having the potential to accomplish something.

Entry for endowed

Main Entry: able

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: capable

Synonyms: able, adept, adequate, adroit, alert, bright, capable, cleft, competent, cunning, dexterous, easy, effortless, endowed, equipped, facile, fitted, good, intelligent, knowing, powerful, qualified, ready, smart, strong, worthy

Antonyms: incompetent, ineffective, inept, infirm, not able, powerless, unable, useless, weak

Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.3.1)

Endowed then is not necessarily the ability to do something rather the potential for its accomplishment and anyone knows that when it comes to human performance there is a lot of wasted potential!

As for the other two parts of the quote even though we are gifted with courage too many people live lives of fear. Prayer is another subject altogether, where has prayer gone? And if there is no prayer how can there be Divine guidance? It all boils back down to that endowment of faith and our ability to make faith work in our lives!

I was consulting with a friend the other day and he will tell you that he is a flat out atheist. We have never discussed my philosophy of COnCEPT Q but instead when I talk to him we talk finances and those things that he is expert in. When I brought up the topic that I was an expert in faith he said too many people think they are experts in faith and most people believe that they have ample faith. I agree. He proceeded to say that it was people like Mother Theresa in Calcutta that dedicate their lives in helping others or like the monks down in Brazil that selflessly give themselves to others’ service that really understand what faith is and are the faith experts.

I won’t disagree that these people have faith demonstrating hope for a better reward in a future afterlife, however, not everyone is willing to do as they do. It is therefore necessary that other forms of faith can be demonstrated and built upon than just merely claiming the possession of faith.

Faith is NOT passive. Faith requires action. Faith must be based on truth and upon knowledge. Faith is not a simple acclamation of beliefs stating, “Yeah I have faith.” And then turning around and doing things that are contrary to that person’s beliefs or simply change their beliefs so that their actions do not contradict what they say they believe. Faith requires focus and discipline, it requires direction.

In the afore mentioned blog its author is quoting Thomas S Monson who talks about story of Alice in Wonderland where he states:

“You will remember that she comes to a crossroads with two paths before her, each stretching onward but in opposite directions. She is confronted by the Cheshire cat, of whom Alice asks, “Which path shall I follow?” The cat answers: “That depends where you want to go. If you do not know where you want to go, it doesn’t matter which path you take.”

But he goes on...

"Unlike Alice, we all know where we want to go, and it does matter which way we go, for the path we follow in this life surely leads to the path we will follow in the next. Each of us should remember that he or she is a son or daughter of God, endowed with faith, gifted with courage, and guided by prayer. Our eternal destiny is before us. At times many of us let that enemy of achievement even the culprit self-defeat dwarf our aspirations, smother our dreams, cloud our vision, and impair our lives. The enemy’s voice whispers in our ears, you can’t do it. You’re too old. You’re nobody. This is when we remember that we are created in the image of God. Reflection on this truth provides a profound sense of strength and power.”

This is very true and has a profound impact on our ability to exercise faith. (More on this later.)

The blog’s author then makes an observation,

“As I watch my children grow, especially at this time my stepson, who has no goals, no motivation, little ambition and direction, I reflect again on that statement and twist it to apply to myself as well “if you don't know what you want, it doesn't matter what you do.” But I know what I want, and it does matter, and yes, side projects are fun and keep me busy, but what is it that I really want, and what I am willing to give up to get it? Some of you have read my rants lately, the experience of the last month has left me rather bitter towards my wife, and while we still maintain a fragile hold, the discussions we have had basically revolve around this one issue... “Where are you going, and does it matter what path you take?”

“YES, it does, radically. One cannot study mechanics and then practice medicine. You can’t plant corn and harvest wheat. If you want wheat, you plant wheat. I told a friend of mine recently (actually several friends) if you want to meet someone who doesn’t drink; don’t go to a bar on Saturday night. You reap what you sow…”

And so it is!

My friend’s blog brings out some important aspects of exercising faith. Faith in part is a hope for things not seen yet they are true. This is an ample subject that I will not tackle at this time rather than to emphasize that the choices you make affect your final destination, ALWAYS. That is the eternal law upon which faith is based!

You can’t hope for wheat when you plant corn! You can’t expect God to help you if you don’t ask for his help. But most importantly you can’t expect Him to do it for you if you won’t move your butt either, that is FAITHLESS!

We are endowed with faith, yes, we have the capacity, we just need to learn to use it. And we are gifted with courage, but what good is a gift that we are unwilling to use? Fear of the unknown can be overcome by courage and guided by prayer, but we can only be guided if we are willing to pray.

Know who you are and what you want. If you don’t, then take time to find out. Monitor what you constantly tell yourself! You CAN do it! You are NOT too old! You ARE somebody, you are a child of God! Faith is an endowment, but it doesn’t mean that you are an expert in its use. Spend time to gain an understanding of how it works. The scriptures are a great source. If you haven’t read them in a while, pull them out, dust them off and give’em a read. COnCEPT Q is another excellent visual way of understanding faith and your inner power. conceptq@sabermountain.com

Faith is an endowment; LEARN TO USE IT!

Don-Alan Rekow is the author of There is No Power in Chaos, How To Be Empowered and Eliminate Chaos From Your Life, (SAbER Mountain Publishers, to be released Feb 2007.)

A Return To Innocence???

Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own
governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.

James Madison

In this recent era there are new-age philosophies that scour the planet devouring any intelligent understanding that a person might have gained in their youth within a sound Christian* upbringing. Satan, the Master Deceiver is totally existent, whether you want to believe that he exists or not. If you don’t believe that he is real it is to his benefit, and then he can maneuver about without you suspecting him. But he is not stupid. He will mix philosophies to the point that they can and do fool the unstudied and weaker in spirit.

The following is such a philosophy that on the surface can suck in many of those weaker spirits that wane in spiritual intelligence and maturity. I will allow you to read in its entirety and then I will dissect it and pull from it the blinding error that is meant to draw its victim into further ignorance.

It is your freedom to be miserable or to be blissful,
to remain in darkness or to live a life of light.
This is the prerogative of human beings.

The moment you accept total responsibility,
you become free to be whatever your nature deserves.
And only when you fulfill your destiny-alone-finding your path,
risking everything for the search,
then life is no more just vegetating.

Then life is a song, a dance, a deep ecstasy.
But you have to drop the idea that anybody else can do it for you.

You have to drop the idea that knowledge gathered from scriptures can do it.
You have to be mature, you have to accept that
"This is my life and only I can do something for it".

In this way you become individual.

In this way you become free from organizational religions,
in this way you become free from any political,
philosophical ideologies.

In this way you become innocent again.


Wasn’t that beautiful? A bunch of pooh is what it is! If by chance you liked it and think that it describes your attitude or someone’s attitude you know lets take a minute and reason together. If this describes you, bear with me a minute and I ask you to drop your defensive attitude and just think about it. Words are very powerful things. They describe feelings, ideas and thoughts. Properly placed they can represent truth, however slightly mixed with untruths they can distort an idea. They become tainted with error and lies. Words therefore can be grouped together that represent the same idea, thoughts and principles. And upon that basis we will examine groups of words.

The distortion of an idea molding it to our own liking is detrimental to spiritual health. Using it to excuse our faults, cover our shortcomings and sooth our guilt of what we know we must do, eventually sabotages all of the truly good things in life that we could have enjoyed. That is the objective of Satan and through deceit he gently leads us into paths of destruction. Let’s look at the foregoing philosophy.

It is your freedom to be miserable or to be blissful,
to remain in darkness or to live a life of light.
This is the prerogative of human beings.

This is a true statement. It is your choice to choose misery or bliss. To remain in the darkness of ignorance or be enlightened with knowledge and understanding is our right as children of God. He will not force us one way or the other. His way is to gently persuade us into the light. And He gives us direction to be able to do so, if we will just ask, but the choice still remains with us as individuals. Satan’s way is to craftily lead us into darkness and destruction.

The moment you accept total responsibility,

This one is loaded to the brim!

Parents are overjoyed when their children finally accept total responsibility, but that does not mean that it happens when they turn eighteen. Sometimes it happens in their twenties, sometimes in their thirties and some in their forties. Some never accept total responsibility. You see, being responsible means to be accountable. It means you are at fault for what you do, or what you don’t do. It means that you are bonded, bound and constrained. It means you are censurable, culpable and guilty. It means you are in authority, in charge and in control of yourself, your actions, your words, your thoughts and your life. It means that you are liable, obligated and subject to rules and regulations of all sorts and kinds.

you become free to be whatever your nature deserves.

And Baby… the moment you accept total responsibility you deserve exactly whatever your nature is…and if your nature is that of an a**hole then you deserve sh*t. (I do not like to swear and use foul language but this statement fits well for simple-minded people.) Attitude plays an important role of developing your nature. If freedom is what you are seeking, freedom from accountability, freedom from consequences and freedom from responsibility, then don’t grow up!


And only when you fulfill your destiny-alone-finding your path,
risking everything for the search,


This one is a tough one. Not tough to find its foible, but tough on the person who buys into it! No, no…don’t misunderstand me, I don’t pretend to be tough on the person who believes it, but the person who gives credibility to this statement is in for a tough life! Anyone who is trying to fulfill their ‘destiny’ alone finding their path in life is a fool. Especially if everything is risked for the search! Man (or woman) was never meant to be alone and the lone ranger caught alone is like a sheep amongst ravenous wolves. In business, the lone ranger dies a painful death. Any person with a bit of sense knows that teachers, mentors, counselors and parents are essentially beneficial in finding your path in life. Who in their right mind wants to make mistakes that are harmful to your joy and happiness? Mentors can help you avoid such. Any one who risks everything foolishly deserves to end up with nothing in the end.


then life is no more just vegetating.

In our day and age there are too many forms of passive entertainment that cause the vegetation of youth. Being inert, just existing, hibernating and being idle by loafing and passing time cause youth to deteriorate, stagnate, and weaken in many ways. That weakening causes a resistance for anything that requires effort and moral control on their part. Parents must be aware that plopping a child in front of TV, Nintendo, computers, Gameboys, etc. is considered Entertainment Dependency Training. (EDT) Too much EDT will create this state of vegetating that is being described.


Then life is a song, a dance, a deep ecstasy.

??? Since when is life a song, a dance or a deep ecstasy??? Wake up Jack, you're dreaming, drunk or on drugs and that definitely is NO WAY to go through life!

But you have to drop the idea that anybody else can do it for you.


This is something that your Mom and Dad have been trying to tell you for a long time! You sooner or later must choose to do things for yourself, and accept the responsibility and consequences of what you decide to do.

You have to drop the idea that knowledge gathered from scriptures can do it.
You have to be mature, you have to accept that

Coy, real smooth, Satan, you think you can slide this by? Get out of here! Only an ignorant person would believe this. There is a simple scripture in John 8:32 that says “the truth shall make you free.” Knowledge and truth, no matter where it is gathered, is power and has power to pull you out of darkness and from being bound by every miserable thing that is associated with ignorance. This alone is a brazen statement that shows the misunderstanding that this philosophy gives. One grain of truth from the scriptures is worth far more than these confused and deceitful ideas that play on a child’s mind. We are talking about being mature! Being mature is being complete, cultivated, developed and prepared. How can you be cultured if you buy into something as insidious as that?

(Oh, by the way, excuse me if I use complicated words, I have a bad habit of reading the dictionary as well as scripture. I suppose though that my life is just vegetating by reading such literature. )

On a lighter note, it confuses me to think that we began by talking about freedom and being free and then all of a sudden I have to drop an idea and I have to be mature and I have to accept something. Where is my freedom now?

On to the next…


"This is my life and only I can do something for it".

Selfish, individualistic, and childish are ways of explaining this is my life, its mine and you can’t have it! Even an idiot understands that other people can help you in life. Only I, my and me … (this sounds like it could be a catchy little tune)

Only I, my and me
Can be what I want to be…
Leave it just to me
My life is just for me…

Supposing the foregoing to be true then the Chinese must also be wrong in their wisdom:

He who helps others helps himself.
Chinese Proverb

Accordingly, if everyone didn’t let anyone else help them, then none of us could ever do anything for ourselves. What a dilemma!

Continuing on…

In this way you become individual.

Absolutely correct! You become alone, lone, odd, reserved, secluded, separate, singular, solitary, uncommon, unusual and anything but ordinary.

I like that…NOT!


In this way you become free from organizational religions,
in this way you become free from any political,
philosophical ideologies.


The way that this is written I assume it is supposed to have a negative connotation to it as if religions, politicians and philosophical ideologies hold you at gunpoint. ‘Free’ in these sentences must mean independent, permitted, unattached, uncommitted, unconfined, unconstrained, unengaged, unfettered, unhampered, unimpeded, unobstructed, unregulated, unrestricted and untrammeled to do whatever you feel like doing. Now some where in there I can feel a contradiction to the definition of mature. The author of this reverie and muse of words must be seeking condolence for wrongdoing and absolution for it.

But at least the whole thing is ended in truth. That is a relief…


In this way you become innocent again.

This is truth, but don’t misunderstand the meaning of innocent. It is pretty and nice and leaves a twittery feeling if you associate innocent with blameless, angelic, chaste, clean, crimeless, faultless, good and not guilty. Words like untainted, upright and virgin along with the others are all found as synonyms in this sense of the word.

But… change for a moment the meaning of innocent to naïve and its synonyms also change to credulous, gullible, ignorant and inexperienced. Words such as unacquainted, unfamiliar, unschooled, unsophisticated and unstudied then begin to describe the freedom that this philosophy talks about. This innocence is ignorance! And the last line then should read:

In this way you become ignorant again.

Frankly, as an editor, the style and word usage are extremely poor. This looks as if it were written by an immature mind seeking to get away from responsibility. In a feeble attempt, a few potshots were taken at religion and politics in an effort to condone poor personal conduct. Personally I would advise anyone who thought that this had substance to it to grow up and get a real life.

Don-Alan Rekow is the author of “There Is No Power In Chaos, How To Be Empowered And Eliminate Chaos From Your Life” which uses COnCEPT Q, a Model of Faith to give a better understanding of a person’s inner power.

*This could mean Christian, Jewish or Islamic or any other as long as the principles taught adhere to the correct teachings of each religion and not radical diversions.

© 2006 Don-Alan Rekow This article may be freely copied and distributed as long as the reference to the author remains intact.

A Greater Understanding to Your Inner Power

It is Monday morning and it is the only time I sit down and have Coffee. But I don’t drink coffee, I have Coffee with Kevin Hogan. He’s my mentor. In this week’s e-zine he writes, “The question that came in this week was a difficult one and it wasn’t the first time someone would ask.... “Kevin? Can you really believe and achieve? I do the ‘believe’ part but it doesn’t seem to work. I read about the idea that you’ll get something when you believe it...or that you believe that you already have it. ‘You’ll See it When You Believe It.’ Instead I experience the opposite and I feel like I do have to see it to believe it. How come?”
Michael (not his real name) was obviously feeling badly, judging from his request for help. And over the years a lot of people have asked this question.
The answer to Michael’s question is...not so easy to give because there are two answers that are based on two very different philosophies that SOUND very similar. The philosophy that Michael was referring to was that of some current writers in the “new age” movement. Those writers took some powerful philosophies from geniuses like Napoleon Hill and changed them to make them sound more appealing, more magical, more mystical, and far more likely to carry a person down the wrong path. Tragically so-- sometimes.”

Man did I just about do back flips out of my computer chair. I wanted to yell and say YES! Kevin, this one has an easy answer!!! And EVERYONE CAN and SHOULD know it! It is all about tapping into our own personal power. It is all about being a Bruce Banner and breaking out the Big Green Guy inside! But you know what? Even though it is easy to explain it is not all that easy to do. There are a lot of things that keep us from being green, (and in more ways than one!) Unfortunately only about 20 percent of the population ever figures it out and the other 80 percent of us just spends money on tons of stuff that helps with our confusion.

I am like Michael (not his real name) and I have spent countless hours reading through materials from everyone including Napoleon Hill and have spent thousands of dollars helping other people get rich only to be frustrated myself. In 1986 I was working at Success Motivation Institute in Texas when I had an inspiration that led me to begin a course of study. The pattern that I was inspired with excited me way back then just as it does now. I began to write about it only to stop it about half way through realizing that I didn’t know much about it. I spent many more years in learning and getting nowhere just making a living and getting my family by.

My inspiration, COnCEPT Q, was finally born on August 8, 2000 after about 15 years of conception. But guess what? The father of this brainchild still wasn’t completely ready to be a dad to such an idea. There were more things to figure out and learn through the school of hard knocks. There were lessons yet to be learned. There was no accidental millionaire here! In fact, I could probably easily be grouped with the 80% of the strugglers. I had plenty of knowledge but no ability to apply it. Even at that, one thing that has been made certain, that it’s wisdom is still as good today as it was 20 years ago and will not be out-dated, no not even in the days to come.

We are more in an age that everyone wants to become rich at such a high speed than ever and it ought to outlawed (or at least put a speed limit on it.) A wise man once said, “When men act upon (correct) principles, they are sure of obtaining all their hearts’ desire, sooner or later; if it does not come today, it may come tomorrow; if it does not come in this time, it will in the next.” And so what if it takes 10 years to become a millionaire? And so what if it takes 20? As long as we correct our actions in the process and refine our course and forge ahead persistently, we will come to that promised land of abundance. In so doing, we will be far wiser and more capable of retaining that which we generate along the way as well. Michael, don’t despair, seek to understand your power within and continue your course ahead, constant and persistent and in due time all good things shall come to pass. Oh, by the way Michael, it was wise of you to seek someone that could mentor you through the rough spots, it has made a lot of difference for me.

Don-Alan Rekow is the author of There Is No Power In Chaos, How To Be Empowered And Eliminate Chaos From Your Life. (To be published by SAbER Mountain Publishers Feb 2007).

Faith is Power

Faith is power, but only on the terms provided by the principles that govern faith. Faith is a word that has (for too long) been misunderstood and its meaning misused in common language. Faith is despised, rejected and shunned for the simple reason that it sounds like religion. And where today’s society is headed, religion is becoming an unpopular concept. Religion and anything that has to do with God seems more and more out of style.

The only problem with that is; it is not style or fashion that determines the amount of personal power that we are able to control. It is the amount of faith that we exercise and understand that determines our power.

Faith is a subject that I have studied for the last 28 years and actively written about for the last 20. In my new book, There Is No Power In Chaos, due out the first of 2007, I completely breakdown faith into terms that help you to be empowered and to eliminate chaos from your life.

Power governed by faith delivers awesome results!

I would like comments or questions from anyone on this subject.



Don-Alan Rekow
Author of There Is No Power in Chaos