I

People have too many demands of God and they ask too much of Him, they lack even the slightest bit of reason. People are always demanding that God do this or that and are unable to completely submit to Him or worship Him. Instead, they make unreasonable demands of God based upon their own preferences, demanding that He be very magnanimous, that He never be angered by anything, and that whenever He sees people, He should always supply them with the truth and fellowship on the truth with them.

II

They also demand that He always be patient and that He keep a pleasant expression around them. People have too many requirements; they are too finicky! Human reason is so poor. Not only are people not able to completely submit to God's orchestrations and arrangements or accept all that comes from God, on the contrary, they impose additional requirements upon God. How can people with such requirements be loyal to God? How can they submit to God's arrangements? How can they love God?

III

People all have requirements for how God should love them, tolerate them, watch over them, protect them, and care for them, yet none of them have any requirements for how they themselves should love God, think of God, none of them have any requirements for how they themselves should be considerate toward God, satisfy God, have God in their hearts, and worship God. Do these things exist in people's hearts? These are things that people should accomplish, so why do they not press forward diligently in these things? Some people can be enthusiastic for a time and can somewhat forsake things and expend themselves, but it is not lasting; running into a little setback can cause them to become discouraged, lose hope, and complain. People have so many difficulties, and there are too few people who pursue the truth and seek to love and satisfy God. Humans are utterly lacking in reason, they stand in the wrong position, and see themselves as especially valuable.

from The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three"