A Truth Teacher’s Companion…
“Heh
Brother! What’s all this Stuff about Religion Anyway?
Straight
Talk about Religion
by Steven Marquis (exceptions noted) 8 AM
2/28/25
The plain and simple truths
explained plainly and simply!
http://peoplespassions.org/peoplesfaith/essays/Whats_all_this_Stuff_about_Religion_Anyway.htm
http://peoplespassions.org/peoplesfaith/essays/Whats_all_this_Stuff_about_Religion_Anyway.pdf
http://peoplespassions.org/peoplesfaith/essays/Whats_all_this_Stuff_about_Religion_Anyway.docx
Preface
Dear Friend,
If you are trying
to understand some principle that you intend to teach, you have the right order
of things! This collection of short essays may well help you in that endeavor. Over
the course of my lifetime, young people and occasionally some not so young, have
posed some interesting gospel topics that I had to think and ponder carefully on.
I prayed for enlightenment as I tried to capture each of those thought exercises
in short easy to digest essays. A few of the essays, written by others, were so
profound that I could do no better than to simply include them as noted in their
titles. The results of these short studies on topics that have perplexed and unnecessarily
divided whole religious communities evolved into this collection.
Up to now, I had
only given the evolving manuscript to departing LDS missionaries, as a sort of missionary
pal. Missing are very many stories and anecdotes common to many books. That might
have been suitable if this was a book centered on a particular topic, but the modus
operandi of this compilation is to take a subject, simplify it as much as practical
to the salient core of the matter. I felt that if a religious topic can’t be handled
in only a few pages, then I will have failed.
Most folks have
a hard time finding time for a whole book devoted to one topic yet they have many
gospel questions. I reasoned the reader may be able to find a few minutes to digest
one topic at a time.
Lastly as to style,
I try to write in plain occasionally pithy language if doing so gets your attention
to the point of the matter. Some might take offence at any jocular comment when
discussing a serious topic about our Savior, but I remind them of my motive and
the plain fact that God Almighty must certainly have a sense of humor as he made
you and me! OK if you had trouble with that line, stop reading now!
A note about how
I sign my name: After a few decades working in the youth ministry, I found that
when the youth became young adults it was very hard for them to transition from
the more formal Brother Marquis (last name being a common Mormon cultural norm of
this century) to the informal 1st name basis expected as adults. That
being the case, I thought it might be easier if they called me by “Brother Steve”
as youth. Time will tell if the transition is easier, but in the meantime, it suits
me. One inscription unlikely to find its way to my headstone would be “He was the
same”
To you a Fellow
Seekers of Truth, my best wishes and may God truly bless you and keep you his.
Your Brother, Steve
Table of Contents - Hyperlinked
Table of Contents
1. What’s
all this “Arguing” about anyhow?
2. What’s
all this “One True Church” stuff anyhow?
3. What’s
all this “Being Saved” stuff anyhow?
4. What’s
all this “Extra Biblical” stuff anyhow?
5. What’s
all this “Heaven or Hell” stuff anyhow?
6. What’s
all this “I Am a Child of God” stuff anyhow?
7. What’s
all this talk about Apostasy Anyhow?
8. What’s
all this stuff about “Seeing God” anyhow?
9. What’s
all this stuff about “One God” anyhow?.
10. Made
in His image; the “Anthropomorphic God”
11. How
Shall We Understand the Holy Ghost?
12. Love
is an Inequality, Jesus’ advice by the numbers.
13. “The
Evidence of Things Not Seen” by Robert Millet
14. “A
More Sure Way to Heaven or …”
15. Common
Practice of Profanity (lite) in Mormon Culture?
16. So,
What’s So All-Important About Baptism anyway?
17. Does
God Wear a White Coat?
18. Being
a Dad in the Good Old Days Sermon
19. Can
a Christian be a Democrat or a Republican?
20. What’s
all this stuff about not being Christian?
21. Keys
to Temple Preparation
22. A
letter to a Dear Friend [Catholic]
23. When
God reached out to one of His Sons (of my coming to Christ)
24. A
Different Jesus? The Christ of the Restoration by Robert Millet BYU
25. Is
God by any other name still God?
26. Society’s
Interest Promoting Marriage strictly between
Man and Woman
27. What
do the scriptures say about sexuality?.
28. In
Plain English, God Speaks about Sexuality
29. The
Heart of the Gospel; the Cause of Zion.
30. Forgiveness
and the Power of the Atonement
31. So,
Just Who Exactly Do We Pray To?
32. Is
Any Faith Equivalent? David O McKay
33. A
Historical Context for understanding the ‘Mountain Meadow Massacre’
34. Dear
Friends –On the Topic of Anachronisms and Oddities
36. Father’s
Day Sermon Readers Digest Version
37. Why
are you afraid of guns…?
38. Why
people cling to their notions of Biblical interpretations? …
39. A
Heart of Thanksgiving; Advice from Abe Lincoln,
40. Just
Whose Fault Is It Anyway? Letter to a friend
41. Who’s
Fault? Thoughts on Immortality and Agency
42. The
Mathematics of Faith and Doubt
43. How
can someone like me ever be anything like Him?
45. How
the Scriptures Brought Me to Christ
46. Why
I Don’t Not Believe - for believers
and skeptics
48. Teachings
on the Divine Potential of Man
49. Light
to those who struggle! Plausibility
50. On
the Topic of Plausibility and Proof
51. Why
I have Reason to Live!
52. God
Works His Will but Forces No Man, None.
53. The
Algebra of Faith Healings.
54. Deductive
Proof: there is more to Man than meets the eye.
55. A
Reason for Faith, Review and Commentary
56. Slower,
a Christian Approach to Living Life More Abundantly by A. Jensen
59. On
Approaching the Mercy Seat, a View to Atonement
61. Can
You Earn Your Way to Heaven or suffer your way out of hell?
62. Who
was Jesus and Why Did He have to Die?.
63. OK,
But What About Church History?
65. Do
You Worship the Great and Terrible Oz?.
67. How
Common is Common Sense?
68. Flattery
and the Pride Cycle Today
69. Can
God achieve his ends even with flawed People
70. Communism:
Satan’s counterfeit for the gospel plan
by President Benson
71. Cancel
Culture by Unknown Author
72. Manifesto
For Peace and Change
73. What
This War is All About?
74. God
is not a respecter of persons. Neither should we
76. A
Friend Offered "The Mormons got it right."
79. Experimenting
on God Making it Real!
80. What’s
all this Sex Stuff About anyway?
81. Regarding
the power of SNAP.
82. Is
quantum entanglement proof of God?
83. Is
It Possible for Compassion to Ever Be Misguided?
84. Thought
for the day... "I’m ready to go Now!"
85. Is
Darwin’s Natural Selection Idea Real Science?
87. Of
Church and Politics July 4th Flag Raising speech
88. Agency
vs God’s Interventions; Time and Revelation
89. In
Whom Is Your Faith Placed?
90. Religious
Exception to mRNA
92. On
Enos’ unanswered query. “Lord, how was it done?”
93. Examining
Key Gospel Words leads to understanding!
94. What
is Hell and How Can Jesus Get the Hell Out of You?
95. Addiction
and Sex - What’s the Connection and Why Would God Care?
99. When
is a Gift not a Gift but a Command?
100. Jesus
really is our Personal Savior, Advocate, Physician and Counselor
102. Avatars,
and Who is whispering in your ear?
103. A
View to Atonement Group Discussion
104. Clothing
the naked? Part 1 of2
105. Clothing
the naked? Part 2 of2
106. Is
the Second Coming Close? By Lynn Wilkey
109. The
renewing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ by Ruth Perry
110. What
is Meant by “God’s Will” or "God's in Control" or “He has a plan”?
112. Learning
Trust and having Faith in our Lord
Conversation
and Understanding
1. What’s
all this “Arguing” about anyhow?
2. What’s
all this “One True Church” stuff anyhow?
3. What’s
all this “Being Saved” stuff anyhow?.
13. “The
Evidence of Things Not Seen” by Robert Millet
38. Why
people cling to their notions of Biblical interpretations? …
39. A
Heart of Thanksgiving; Advice from Abe Lincoln,
88. Agency
vs God’s Interventions; Time and Revelation
89. In
Whom Is Your Faith Placed?
102. Avatars,
and Who is whispering in your ear?
Explaining and
understanding Basic Principles
3. What’s
all this “Being Saved” stuff anyhow?.
4. What’s
all this “Extra Biblical” stuff anyhow?
5. What’s
all this “Heaven or Hell” stuff anyhow?
6. What’s
all this “I Am a Child of God” stuff anyhow?
7. What’s
all this talk about Apostasy Anyhow?.
8. What’s
all this stuff about “Seeing God” anyhow?
9. What’s
all this stuff about “One God” anyhow?
10. Made
in His image; the “Anthropomorphic God”
11. How
Shall We Understand the Holy Ghost?
16. So,
What’s So All-Important About Baptism anyway?
21. Keys
to Temple Preparation
30. Forgiveness
and the Power of the Atonement
40. Just
Whose Fault Is It Anyway? Letter to a friend
41. Who’s
Fault? Thoughts on Immortality and Agency
42. The
Mathematics of Faith and Doubt
48. Teachings
on the Divine Potential of Man
59. On
Approaching the Mercy Seat, a View to Atonement
92. On
Enos’ unanswered query. “Lord, how was it done?”
93. Examining
Key Gospel Words leads to understanding!
94. What
is Hell and How Can Jesus Get the Hell Out of You?
102. Avatars,
and Who is whispering in your ear?
104. Clothing
the naked? Part 1 of2
105. Clothing
the naked? Part 2 of2
106. Is
the Second Coming Close? By Lynn Wilkey
110. What
is Meant by “God’s Will” or "God's in Control" or “He has a plan”?
Atonement
30. Forgiveness
and the Power of the Atonement
92. On
Enos’ unanswered query. “Lord, how was it done?”
93. Examining
Key Gospel Words leads to understanding!
94. What
is Hell and How Can Jesus Get the Hell Out of You?
100. Jesus
really is our Personal Savior, Advocate, Physician and Counselor
103. A
View to Atonement Group Discussion
109. The
renewing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ by Ruth Perry
Mathematics,
Science and Gospel Principles
12. Love
is an Inequality, Jesus’ advice by the numbers.
17. Does
God Wear a White Coat?
40. Just
Whose Fault Is It Anyway? Letter to a friend
41. Who’s
Fault? Thoughts on Immortality and Agency
42. The
Mathematics of Faith and Doubt
53. The
Algebra of Faith Healings.
54. Deductive
Proof: there is more to Man than meets the eye.
79. Experimenting
on God Making it Real!
82. Is
quantum entanglement proof of God?
85. Is
Darwin’s Natural Selection Idea Real Science?
Defending the
Faith
7. What’s
all this talk about Apostasy Anyhow?.
20. What’s
all this stuff about not being Christian?
24. A
Different Jesus? The Christ of the Restoration by Robert Millet BYU
25. Is
God by any other name still God?
31. So,
Just Who Exactly Do We Pray To?
32. Is
Any Faith Equivalent? David O McKay
33. A
Historical Context for understanding the ‘Mountain Meadow Massacre’
34. Dear
Friends –On the Topic of Anachronisms and Oddities
46. Why
I Don’t Not Believe - for believers
and skeptics
49. Light
to those who struggle! Plausibility
50. On
the Topic of Plausibility and Proof
51. Why
I have Reason to Live!
52. God
Works His Will but Forces No Man, None.
55. A
Reason for Faith, Review and Commentary
63. OK,
But What About Church History?
65. Do
You Worship the Great and Terrible Oz?
76. A
Friend Offered "The Mormons got it right."
104. Clothing
the naked? Part 1 of2
105. Clothing
the naked? Part 2 of2
Social Impacts;
Living the Faith
14. “A
More Sure Way to Heaven or …”
15. Common
Practice of Profanity (lite) in Mormon Culture?
18. Being
a Dad in the Good Old Days Sermon
19. Can
a Christian be a Democrat or a Republican?
26. Society’s
Interest Promoting Marriage strictly between
Man and Woman
27. What
do the scriptures say about sexuality?
28. In
Plain English, God Speaks about Sexuality
29. The
Heart of the Gospel; the Cause of Zion
36. Father’s
Day Sermon Readers Digest Version
37. Why
are you afraid of guns…?
43. How
can someone like me ever be anything like Him?
56. Slower,
a Christian Approach to Living Life More Abundantly by A. Jensen
67. How
Common is Common Sense?
68. Flattery
and the Pride Cycle Today
69. Can
God achieve his ends even with flawed People
70. Communism:
Satan’s counterfeit for the gospel plan
by President Benson
71. Cancel
Culture by Unknown Author
72. Manifesto
For Peace and Change
73. What
This War is All About?
74. God
is not a respecter of persons. Neither should we
76. A
Friend Offered "The Mormons got it right."
80. What’s
all this Sex Stuff About anyway?
81. Regarding
the power of SNAP.
82. Is
quantum entanglement proof of God?
83. Is
It Possible for Compassion to Ever Be Misguided?
84. Thought
for the day... "I’m ready to go Now!"
87. Of
Church and Politics July 4th Flag Raising speech
90. Religious
Exception to mRNA
104. Clothing
the naked? Part 1 of2
105. Clothing
the naked? Part 2 of2
112. Learning
Trust and having Faith in our Lord
Personal Journeys
23. When
God reached out to one of His Sons (of my coming to Christ)
24. A
Different Jesus? The Christ of the Restoration by Robert Millet BYU
45. How
the Scriptures Brought Me to Christ
Jesus once said.
DC 64:8 My disciples, in
days of old, sought occasion against one another and forgave not one another in
their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted and sorely chastened.
Jesus really spoke quite little about details of theology and he definitely
would not approve of unpleasant arguing or animosity associated with preaching the
gospel. He further declared that it was only
through the Spirit that anyone learns or is convinced of anything; so don’t be too
concerned about how sophisticated your presentation is. I remember a story of a college professor, who
had entertained several sets of missionaries over some time, but it was a tongue-tied
but humble Idaho farm boy that brought such a spirit to his office that his heart
was finally touched.
Math 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom
say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said; Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. And Jesus answered and
said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
1 Cor 2:3 Which things also
we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost
teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
D&C 50: 14 To preach my gospel
by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth.
This was really brought forth to me with clarity once on my mission to the
people of Norway. We had invited an elderly
couple to Sacrament meeting one week and I recall being somewhat concerned what
they would think about our rather noisy meetings (you know the rambunctious two
year-olds and dazed parents). Afterwards,
I hesitantly inquired as to their experience.
The gentleman replied, “That was the noisiest church service I have ever
attended,” now here’s the cool part, “but I definitely felt the Lord’s Spirit there”.
Shortly thereafter the couple was baptized!
This and other similar incidences had taught me that the Lord makes up the
difference for our weaknesses.
Ether 12:27 [To those who have] faith in
me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
D&C 133: 58 To prepare the weak for those things which are coming on the
earth, and for the Lord’s errand in the day when the weak shall confound the wise…
Remember even Moses had his companion, Aaron, to help. What is important is
to bring the Spirit of love and peace with you.
This comes of how you live your life before you share the gospel.
D&C 42: 14 And the Spirit shall
be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the spirit
ye shall not teach.
I remember an interesting story of Joseph’s early-married life where he had
had some argument with his wife, Emma. He
had left off to proceed with translating the Book of Mormon and found he was entirely
bereft of ability to discern the characters. He received understanding from God
that he should first be reconciled to his companion. This he immediately did and subsequently proceeded
with the translation somewhat wiser for the experience. This reminds me of Jesus’ advice:
Math 5:23 Therefore if thou
bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against
thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled
to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Remember one other important covenant that
you made at baptism; that you are to be a witness for Him. If in your conversations, an individual is willing
to hear the truth or at least have an open hearted dialog, then great. If on the
other hand, the individual only wishes to have a battle of wits, then you might
not want to burn the energy.
D&C 43: 15 Again I say, hearken
ye elders of my church, whom I have appointed: Ye are not sent forth to be taught,
but to teach the children of men the things which I have put into
your hands by the power of my Spirit;
Now you can’t pore water from an empty vessel. Even Jesus, in his ministry frequently quoted
from existing scriptures memorized in his youth.
D&C 11: 21 Seek not to declare
my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed;
then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God
unto the convincing of men.
D&C 11: 22 But now hold your peace; study my word which hath gone forth
among the children of men, and also study my word which shall come forth among the
children of men, or that which is now translating, yea, until you have obtained
all which I shall grant unto the children of men in this generation, and then shall
all things be added thereto.
I don’t think he is asserting that you have to digest everything that he has
ever said before he will reveal more to you, but I do believe he expects an effort
to try and learn from the written Word.
While the accompanying articles in this compilation of essays are designed
to give plainspoken explanations and support for true principles of Christ’s doctrine,
God has admonished us to leave place in our communication for His inspiration. Occasionally,
it may be appropriate to write out a talk, but that’s probably not the best approach
in interpersonal communication.
D&C 124: 97 Let my servant …
be humble before me, and be without guile, and he shall receive of my Spirit, even
the Comforter, which shall manifest unto him the truth of all things, and shall
give him, in the very hour, what he shall say.
D&C 100: 6 For it shall be
given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.
D&C 84: 85 Neither take ye
thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually
the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that
shall be meted unto every man.
So, I leave the reader with this comforting
thought; the Lord is in this thing! That the church is one if not the fastest growing major religious movement
on earth is not the remarkable thing. It’s that its missionaries are many times
ignorant and inexperienced; the speakers preaching on Sunday are seldom polished
presenters. The sometimes chaotic meetings are anything but the band playing, entertainment
extravaganzas of song and dance some of our Christian neighbors might be used to–
yet they keep coming and joining themselves with us. Truly this is His work and
it is a marvelous work to behold!
D&C 65: 2 The keys of the
kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel
roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain
without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth.
Isa. 29: 14 Therefore, behold,
I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and
a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of
their prudent men shall be hid.
PS:
One final note: Each man walks his own path and only God is his final judge.
Do not be dejected if you fail to see immediately the fruits of your proselytizing
efforts. It is our job to live the gospel
and to teach and invite. It is God who converts and the convert who accepts.
1 Ne. 14: 7 For the time cometh,
saith the Lamb of God, that I will work
a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting,
either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto
peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their
hearts and the blindness of their minds.
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
Jesus was being
questioned by Pilot an uttered these famous words;
John 18:38 Jesus answered, … for
this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every
one that is of the truth heareth
my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is
truth??? (emphasis added)
Pilots sarcastic rejection of the very concept of absolute truth is echoed by many in today’s society. As a pluralistic society, the influence from God’s adversary has, in the name of tolerance of differences and promotion of “diversity”, trained up a generation with the inability to judge anything. The adversary would have us believe that there is no absolute right and thus, no absolute wrong. This is the basis for the wave of moral relativism sweeping the western world.
It is actually becoming
common to hear someone talk of “true for me” as opposed to simply declaring, “this
is what I believe”. You might think this
is splitting hairs, but it is a significant distinction. Some people indoctrinated in the religious school
of diversity really believe that all systems of religion and culture are equally
valid. Jesus didn’t think so. The God of the Old Testament clearly didn’t think
so as He commanded the Hebrews to destroy inferior heathen societies in the “promised”
land. “True for me” implies that there is
no standard for truth. It thus implies there is no God; no reference that man may
depend on.
The scriptures speak rather harshly about anyone knowingly preaching false doctrine - implying the importance of truth:
Gal 1:8 If any … preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed.
2 Pet. 1: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture
is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will
of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Certainly, people
will argue about what they believe, but to maintain that any arbitrary system is
equally true implies that one reject even attempting to search out God and His wisdom.
The 11th Article of Faith declares:
“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to
the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them
worship how, where, or what they may.”
Notice that we respect
the individual’s right to believe without “respecting” the retrograde beliefs themselves.
There is right and there is wrong. This does
not mean that one should flaunt ones knowledge and denigrate others in the name
of God. One should always be very careful
to not offend one’s neighbors.
Jesus spoke to this
non-confrontational attitude when others, even in his own time, began setting up
churches in his name:
Luke 9:49 And John answered and said, “Master,
we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth
not with us.” And Jesus said unto him, “Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.”
Some folks get hung
up on the “One True Church” kind of language because they apply a meaning of exclusivity
not intended. The saint’s testimony of the
restored Kingdom does in fact assert a bold position. It declares that the whole
truth and God’s authority, power and direction exists though its living Prophets
and Apostles. It does NOT assert that only
our prayers are heard or that truth is not found outside our borders. It has to be clear, for example, that when one
church claims you must be baptized to be saved and another claims a canned prayer
does the job, that both cannot contain the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
I was raised, in
my early years, a member of another faith and I am grateful for the testimony of
Jesus and the truthfulness of the Bible I received therein. Subsequently, I have come to know, by experience
with the spirit, that God has restored His kingdom to the earth. This is a powerful
message to a world starving for direct guidance from God. We believe that one can sincerely pray to God
about this restored gospel message and receive confirmation to that effect. That is why our missionaries seldom do Bible “bashing”
or exhaustive scriptural expository and reasoning to “prove” the Gospel. I happen to believe, after fair study of other
faiths, that it is much easier to support our understanding of Gospel principles
from the Bible than any other faith, but I did not come to my conviction about the
restored gospel from an intellectual sparring session; it came via prayer and experience
with the Holy Spirit. I do not believe this
is an exclusive opportunity.
I’d have to say
one of the most damaging heresies repeated in many an anti-Mormon tract cautions
the reader to avoid praying about the theology, but to trust rhetorical arguments
about what the Bible is claimed to say by one debater or another.
The scriptures,
on the other hand, warn against depending on “man’s” wisdom to crack this
nut. Studying the scriptures is just not enough! After all, every religion has its’
scholars. They are not dummies! Look what
the scriptures teach us about using intellectual arguments to prove the faith:
Proverbs 3:5 ¶ Trust in the LORD
with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
2 Tim 3 1-7 This
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come…For men shall
…have a form of godliness, but [will] deny the power thereof: from such
turn away. [They are] ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of
the truth
Remember, the Jewish Sanhedrin and Pharisees were very
studied in the Holy Writ, yet failed to recognize the author when he stood yet before
them. Jesus chided the scholars of His day and denounced their reliance on the written
word as the source of salvation saying:
John 5: 39 “Search the scriptures!; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: [but] they are they which testify of me!”
It’s not that Jesus was denouncing reading the scriptures;
quite the opposite as he was well schooled in the same. The problem is when the
focus is so much on “the book” that when living oracles or even the Savior Himself
is standing before you they are not recognized.
We believe that
just as there was a falling away and loss of authority to act in God’s name prior
to Christ birth and that a new prophet was raised up (John) to prepare the way for
his 1st coming, that after the death of the prophets and apostles called
by Jesus that another falling away and loss of authority to act in God’s name occurred.
This falling away was prophesied as well as the final restoration in the last days.
2 Thes. 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall
not come, except there come a falling away first…
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the
land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the
words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even
to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
History is pretty clear that from roughly 150AD through the “dark Ages” the surviving church hierarchy suffered as predicted. Please note that God did NOT force this, but in general, man rejected the truth.
2 Tim 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching
ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned
unto fables.
Note the prediction
of people building up systems of thought that for whatever reason appeals to them. Paul also predicts that they will not endure sound doctrine. Many of the letters making up the New Testament were in fact
written to counteract false doctrine and internal corruption. While Paul and others
predicted a general apostasy, they also saw that a time of restoration would come
to prepare the world for the second coming of Christ, just as John prepared it for
the 1st coming.
Acts 3:21 {Jesus} Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution
of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since
the world began.
Some teach that one should not pray and expect any answer
from God, but the scriptures teach quite the opposite, that dialog with God is
the path to wisdom. In our time God did impart wisdom to a young man who was searching
for truth. He read these words:
James 1: 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him.
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants
the prophets.
Brother Joseph
was such an one who God used to restore the truths of the gospel and the power to
act in his name. Lest anyone think that he has no need of the gospel to be restored,
listen to the trump of an angel:
Rev. 14: 6 And I saw another angel
fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel
to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred,
and tongue, and people.
Clearly, the
angel had something new to add. We testify that the “everlasting gospel” is exactly
what was restored. I know it’s human nature to more readily accept miracles and
prophets of ages ago rather than here and now.
Even Jesus had the problem, because his own town’s folk could not believe
that the local carpenter could be the great prophet much less the messiah.
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and
Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were
offended at him.
This restoration
was prophesied long ago. The restoration
was indeed complete as the kingdom, as organized in Christ’s time, is upon the earth
once more.
Eph 1:10 …That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on
earth; even in him:
Eph 5:5 …One Lord, one faith, one baptism…
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; … For the perfecting
of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son
of God, …
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro,
and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in
all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Brother Joseph was that prophet of the restoration. The Book of Mormon and the kingdom are some of the fruits of that Tree. The beauty of this is it can be tested like any good science experiment.
1 Thes. 5: 21 Prove all things; hold fast that
which is good.
Moroni
10:4 And when ye
shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal
Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask
with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest
the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the
Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. And whatsoever thing is good is
just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth
that he is. And ye may know that he is, by
the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power
of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men,
the same today and tomorrow, and forever.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints doesn’t claim
to be the only church with truth in it, but it claims to be His Kingdom on earth
in the last days and to be directly led by God. It is not a democratic
conclave of like-minded individuals. It is the literal fulfillment
of Daniel prophesy so long ago:
Danial 2:45; D&C 65:2 The keys of the kingdom of God are
committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto
the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands
shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth.
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
First,
let me be quite clear, by sighting Biblical scripture in this note, I am not trying
to prove anything other than to point out that our doctrines are entirely consistent
with the Bible and I think easier than most, we can present our doctrine readily
there from. Other than being persuaded by sophistry, determining truth requires
revelation from God, but that is another subject. (see What’s all this “Arguing” about anyhow?
Most Catholic and Protestant believers trace roots of their theocracy from the Athanasia Creed dating from about 300 AD +. There is an almost comical phrase therein,
“…God the Father
incomprehensible, God the Son incomprehensible, and God the Spirit incomprehensible,
but not three incomprehensibles, but one incomprehensible...” Link
Now don’t get me wrong here. The thing that’s comical is not this drivel itself, but that the adherences of this creed could be so harsh in their judgments against the Mormons, who have by contemporary standards some unorthodox views about the nature of deity. If by their own platitudes, they have no knowledge about and don’t think God can be comprehended, why be so harsh on a group that simply claims an opinion on the matter.
After all, anyone who has had more than a few conversations with different Christian will most likely have encountered several different views on just what God really is. Yet, at any of thousands of “get your salvation here” offers proffered by internet, TV shows and one sheet pamphlets, one will not see a long litmus test of one’s gospel opinions on such matters as the price of celestial admission. No, for most folks it’s usually a quite simple 3 or 4 step plan:
Believe that
Jesus died for your sins. OK Ö
Raise your hand
and vocalize something like this phrase Ö
"I do now
accept Christ as my personal Savior".
OK Ö
(This one I
really like) Seek out a Christian Church and – “say buddy, can you spare a dime?”
double ÖÖ
The funny thing
is that if you ever get a hold of an anti-Mormon pamphlet with a “Get out of hell
free” script at the end, they usually add a few ‘extra’ clauses necessary to save
a Mormon. They are apparently somewhat harder to save than the average sinner.
Three Steps? What ever happened to that slick one step “death-bed” salvation
plan?
Romans 10:9 "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thy heart... thou SHALT be saved".
Again please notice
that the Apostle uses the future tense, “shalt be”, placing salvation in the future.
I like this analogy about salvation: You’re treading water in a shark-infested sea
praying for help when a ship maneuvers near to you. The captain calls out to grab
onto the life ring and hold on. You believe he speaks in your best interest and
so when the life ring is tossed to you, you grab a hold for dear life and thank
God for being saved. Are you in the boat yet? Could you decide you prefer treading
water again and let go?
The bottom line
in this analogy is that you can certainly declare yourself saved, but the
scriptures are replete with the theme of enduring to the end. At very least, our
rewards in God’s heaven, are somehow linked to a judgment about our works.
What then is the
plan for obtaining salvation? Only Belief? Accept Christ? Join a Church? Pay dues
every week?
Here are a few thoughts
that may straighten out some of the confusion as members of God’s Kingdom converse
with their Christian neighbors. Jesus and the Apostles spoke of many Mansions, and
three different Heavens. Perhaps the discrepancy has to do with being saved to what?
“Confess Christ with ones mouth may well gain one entrance to one of God’s kingdoms,
but one’s works will justly determine which! One of those works, if you can call
it that, is baptism. The Church of Jesus Christ teaches that the Celestial or Highest
heaven requires baptism as a requirement, but to be saved from outer darkness requires
only an acceptance of Christ.
Jesus spoke directly to the ordinance to Nicodemus:
John 3: 5
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except
a man be of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God.”
Some who are ignorant
that Paul’s frequent usage of “Works” or “Law” is really a reference to the “Law
of Moses” will say that you cannot be saved by any works; therefore they
would argue that you are not saved by being baptized in water. Since Baptism as
the Christians practiced it was not part of the Law of Moses, these two subjects
should not be mixed up. That is the fundamental mistake.
If you had trouble
with my last argument, I suppose I might just sidestep the whole question by simply
asserting that baptism is something that is done to you. All that you have
to do is to receive it. The same is true with receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.
It is a gift! It is done to you. All you must do is receive. Are you doing a work
if someone gives you a gift? If this is a work then the very act of vocally accepting
Jesus as your Savior or the repenting of your sins could also then be considered
works.
Baptism is quite
a central theme. Paul records
Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized everyone of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost".
Seems obvious to
me that if you can’t receive the gift of the constant companionship of the spirit
until baptized then how might one count on living with God? (What is Heaven and
Hell is elaborated in the essay “Heaven or Hell”
When I was a young
man, I read a book that dealt with Christian dogmas in early American history. I
remember in it reading the official catechisms of several prominent faiths. Several
of them shocked me due to their remarkably uncharitable positions. One, I set to
memory so long ago, said that the
“gates of hell are lined with the skulls of little children who
died unbaptized”
“Gosh,” I thought,
“can reasoning folk really believe God to be so obviously cruel???” I kind of dismissed
this until I knocked on a door in Norway. The man who answered seemed dumbfounded
that we would waste our time preaching to a “Christian” nation when, said he, “millions
of Africans die and go to hell from lack of preaching.”
You might similarly
dismiss this as definitely fringe, rather than official as it once was, but I have
to relate than many a “Christian” minister has taken the pulpit recently and even
locally to warn their congregations of the hell waiting for the “un-saved” Mormons.
The remarkable thing about such polar teachings is the incongruent assertion from
many a sect that all Christian roads lead to Heaven, except that is … the Mormon
road; they are going to hell for sure along with heaps of Muslims, Hindus, atheists
and other assorted agnostics!
Of those religions
professing Jesus, it has been my experience that for most, the egalitarian position
that all churches are equivalently acceptable stops short as soon as ones proselytizing
efforts robs one congregation’s coffers of parishioners (contributors). I suppose
that may sound cynical, but Christ’s sharpest critics and Joseph’s as well were
always those who stood to lose power and money. It truly is the Achilles heel of
any religion led by a paid clergy. They are inherently unmotivated to seek truth
beyond their own borders.
The Church of Jesus Christ teaches that God’s judgments are fair, accounting for a man’s desire and pursuit of truth and man’s efforts in following his conscience. It teaches that to live in heaven in God presence, each man must ultimately come to accept Christ as Savior and that one of the significant missions of the church is to offer baptism, even vicariously, to those who have passed on awaiting the promised resurrection. Surely, this is a most benevolent teaching regarding universally offered salvation and rings true with the mercy claimed to be inherent in our God.
Remember that thief,
who supposedly went to heaven for his last minute confession. Is that really what
happened? Remember, 3 days later, when Mary discovered Christ, he declared:
John 20: 17 Jesus saith unto
her, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my
brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to
my God, and your God.”
Clearly, the paradise
Jesus referred to was NOT the heaven that His Father dwells in as He said he had
NOT been there yet. Hmm, there’s another one of those pesky references to real physical
places and tangible beings! (see An Anthropomorphic God) Anyway, don’t get me wrong here,
I’m not even touching how this man was judged, but Peter did add some crucial insight
into the fate of the disobedient and ignorant.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened
by the spirit. By which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison. Which
sometime were disobedient…
But what’s the point
of preaching to departed spirits if they must be baptized to receive the fullness
of God’s kingdom? Again, the importance of the ordinance was underscored by Paul
as he spoke to the Corinthians about vicarious baptism and the reality of the physical
resurrection:
1 Cor. 15: 29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the
dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?
Most Christians don’t
know what to do with this passage, but it makes perfect sense when one reconciles
God’s mercy with his clear directives. Really, this is a remarkable dichotomy.
The “One true Church” preaches you need not actually belong to it to ascend
the pearly gates and carries out a massive effort to assist all to attain it,
while those who fain offence at the mere mention of the “One true” are quick to
assign the freeway to hell to oh so many of God’s precious children.
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
Rather than employing
the brightest scholars to argue the high ground on interpreting ancient writings,
the Church of Jesus Christ claims the literal restoration of Gods Kingdom, power
and revelatory influence. When Joseph asked
God which church he was to join, Jesus instructed that “they draw near to me with
their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments
of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” Certainly,
this is fulfilled as of various sects tremble at the thought of adding but commentary
to the holy writ. None but God’s anointed dare declare, “Thus saith the Lord”. If
anyone, like Joseph, did so, then that would mean the demise of many a cleric’s
profession. There is vested interest in NOT
having structure and order in God’s kingdom.
Many religions,
other than the Catholics, knowing they have no special authority, focus on one translation
or another of the Bible as their “authority”.
They do so seemingly oblivious that no two manage to actually agree on its’
contents. They often claim one cannot trust prayer and they reject the idea of modern
authoritative prophets. In Biblical times, though, the inspired writers and Christ
Himself pointed out that it was not God’s way to have a divided kingdom with divers
doctrines.
2 Pet. 1: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Mark 3: 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Ephes 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Ephes 11-14 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists,
and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth
be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,
by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to
deceive;
I’m saying all this
to set the stage for the (hopefully obvious) need for current revelation. Who can argue that we have come to a unity of
faith? Surely God can speak and he says here that he will through his servants as
listed above.
Some get all hung
up on the Idea of a growing canon of God’s word, knowing little of how it came to
be. First, we should know that the Bible literally means “Library” or “Books”. It is a collection of small-unrelated books bound
together. It is not a single narrative or
monolithic book! Furthermore, there is no
divine blessing ever recorded as to its veracity, or completeness save ironically
in the Book of Mormon of all places! Numerous passages in the Bible refer to scriptures
that were clearly considered authoritative and even worth memorizing, but are lost
at this time. When scraps of the Book of Enoch began surfacing in this century,
it became obvious that over a hundred passages from the lost work had been quoted
in sermons and other writings of the New Testament authors. Clearly they thought this and other “lost” books
of Old Testament times were very important and are mentioned and quoted from. Here is a partial list of the “Lost books” referenced
by the remaining biblical authors:
Book of the Wars of the Lord, Jasher, Acts of Solomon, Samuel the seer,
Gad the seer, Nathan the prophet, prophecy of Ahijah, visions of Iddo the seer,
Shemaiah, Jehu, Paul’s missing letter to Corinth …Book of Enoch and numerous others.
Still those with
a vested interest in having a free hand at interpreting the holy writ resist the
Idea of real “Biblical” revelation and hang their hats on a few references found
at the end of the compiled record.
Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the
words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things,
God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
This was actually
a rather common way to end a message in a time where a scribe altering a copy was
a very real problem. In the beginning of
the ‘Book’ of Revelations, John is told,
Rev 1:11 Saying,
I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, what thou seest, write in a book,
and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia;
John did send that
‘Book’ of Revelations to the seven churches and warned the scribes not to alter
its contents. He did this long long before
his letter ever was bound together into a collection. Funny thing is, compiled with other little books, the Book of
Revelations is out of chronological order – not being the last to be written at
all!
One can even find
similar injunctions in the Old Testament:
Deut. 4: 2 (2-3).Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither
shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the
LORD your God which I command you.
In fact, the only argument
that makes any sense at all is that God directed the compilation process and embedded
the rest of eternity’s advice into its finite pages, finally sealing it with a divine
self imposed gag order. Of course the idea
of gagging God is baseless in the writ and is merely a faith statement on the part
of sectarians who are personally bereft of real and current revelation.
There’s always a
heap of irony to go around in any discussions of these matters. I think the funniest is that the Book of Mormon
is also one of the best books to misconstrue, by someone so inclined. On many subjects
it contains by far the clearest declarations and explanations of key points of gospel
doctrine one can find, yet like any written document, it can still be misunderstood. For example, the Church teaches that ‘God’ is
plural with Jesus and his Father as separate individuals, yet the Book of Mormon
is far and above the best source of classic Trinitarian phrases like “which is one
God”. While the Church teaches that fire
and torture in the afterlife is figurative and in most cases of finite duration,
the Book of Mormon has plenty of talk about unending chain rattling hellfire and
damnation. It just goes to show you that
just about anything ever written can and will be misconstrued and screwed up.
Now this is a long preface,
but I wanted to set the stage for why it is ridiculous to assume that folks can
read anything, without direct intervention from the author, and always get it right.
If you are still not convinced, try reading the elaborate and almost impossible
to understand legal mumbo-jumbo in even a simple business contract.
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
The most common
misconception saints have about the 3 degrees of glory is to equate the celestial
kingdom exclusively with Heaven. Joseph mentioned something to the effect that “if
man knew how glorious the least of God’s kingdoms where’ they would kill themselves
to get to it. It has variously been popularized
that if one was judged to a lower kingdom, that the soul so damned would be eternally
miserable for the lost opportunities of a higher kingdom. I believe this is a mistake. Surely, each parent wants the best opportunities
for our children, but in God’s mercy, His judgments are intended to place us where
we best fit and ultimately will be most happy. Damned is not equivalent to being
tormented forever. It simply means ‘stopped’ or ‘limited’ as the word damned directly
implies. Now, damned souls that are awaiting final judgment may indeed be tormented
as the scriptures clearly illustrate with powerful language. I refer the reader
to the story of Lazereth and the rich man in Luke 16:19 But for those who accept
Christ’s forgiveness, if only in the spirit prison, the days of their torment are
numbered. Only those souls damned to outer darkness for rejecting God with a perfect
knowledge thereof with be consigned the fate of Satan and his angels. Only they will be removed completely from any
vestige of Gods influence – hence outer darkness. No man knows how to describe this.
Despite the considerable
enlightenment Latter Say Saints possess, since they focus their aspirations naturally
on Gods greatest blessing in the Celestial Kingdom, it seems a bit of confusion
lingers about the fate of the damned and the lost. One issue is whether the damned who subsequently
inherit a kingdom of glory must accept Christ as savior. Can a man through torments
alone atone for his own sins? The Catholics have a whole theology about the concept
of Purgatory. The nearest equivalent is the LDS “Spirit Prison”
DC 19:16-17 For behold, I, God, have suffered
these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
DC 88:24 And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide
a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he
must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory.
DC 88:34 And again, verily I say unto you, that which is governed by law is
also preserved by law and perfected and sanctified by the same.
This scripture makes
it clear that to enter the Terrestrial Kingdom one must at some point accept the
gospel and testimony of Jesus. Even your suffering only has the effect of bringing
you to the feet of the savior. It does not in it self absolve you of your sin.
DC 76: 81-89 And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, … These are they
who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus. These are
they who deny not the Holy Spirit.
These are they who are thrust down to hell. These are they who
shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord,
even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work.
These are they who receive not of his fullness in the eternal
world, but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial; And the
terrestrial through the ministration of the celestial. And also the telestial receive
it of the administering of angels who are appointed to minister for them, or who
are appointed to be ministering spirits for them; for they shall be heirs of
salvation. And thus we saw, in the heavenly vision, the glory of the telestial,
which surpasses all understanding;
Here the Lord speaks of His efforts to reclaim, even after physical death,
those who would not accept Him in life - that even those who suffered the pains
of hell might yet be partakers of one of his mansions.
DC 71:74 And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo,
these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the
church of the Firstborn who have received the fullness of the Father, even as that
of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament. Behold, these are they who died
without law; And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the
Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according
to men in the flesh; Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards
received it.
This scripture next
verse suggests that those who reject Gods messengers in full knowledge and seek
not the truth are subject to outer darkness.
DC 133:71-73 Behold, and lo, there are none to deliver you;
for ye obeyed not my voice when I called to you out of the heavens; ye believed
not my servants, and when they were sent unto you ye received them not. Wherefore, they sealed up the testimony and bound
up the law, and ye were delivered over unto darkness. These shall go away into outer
darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
There is notion
that only one with some kind of super station and exceptional situation would be
able to do a proper rejection of Jesus. This
is referred to as denying the Holy Ghost. This next reference is somewhat long,
but there is no better explanation.
DC 76:31 Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my
power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the
power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power—
32 They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it
had been better for them never to have been born;
33 For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with
the devil and his angels in eternity;
34 Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor
in the world to come—
35 Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having
denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves
and put him to an open shame.
36 These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone,
with the devil and his angels—
37 And the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power;
Note: This next verse points out that all others will be redeemed. They do
not earn their way to a kingdom.
38 Yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time
of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath.
39 For all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the
dead, through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the
bosom of the Father before the worlds were made.
40 And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the
heavens bore record unto us—
41 That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world,
and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;
42 That through him all might be
saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him;
Note: This next verse points out that all but Perdition will be saved.
43 Who glorifies the Father, and
saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the
Son after the Father has revealed him.
44 Wherefore, he saves all except them—they shall go away into
everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which is eternal punishment,
to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not,
and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment—
45 And the end thereof,
neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows;
46 Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed
unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof;
Here are a few thoughts
that may straighten out some of the confusion as members of Gods Kingdom converse
with their Christian neighbors. Jesus and
the Apostles spoke of many Mansions, and 3 different Heavens.
John 14: 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not
so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
2 Cor. 12: 2 knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the
body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such
an one caught up to the third heaven.
Paul describes the
resurrection with three different bodies.
1 Cor 15:40-42 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial:
but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial
is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the
moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another
star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead…
Perhaps the discrepancy
has to do with being saved to what? “Confess Christ with ones mouth may well gain
one entrance to one of God’s kingdoms, but one’s works will justly determine which
of those rooms! Actually, when you put it like that, most, but not all, preachers
will meet you on that point. There are just
too many references to being judged by one’s works to reasonably conclude other
than that ‘rewards in heaven follow works.’
James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein,
he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed
in his deed.
One of those works,
if you can call it that, is baptism. The Church of Jesus Christ teaches that the
Celestial or Highest heaven requires baptism as a requirement, but to be saved from
outer darkness requires only an acceptance of Christ. Herein is a key point lost on many; It is quite
possible, even likely, to be “saved” in one of God’s kingdoms in heaven and yet
be “damned” from Celestial glory and ultimately exaltation with God.
Rom 8:16-18 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with
Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
The difficulty that
has vexed so many in trying to find total consistency in the Bible is that many
of the words can have numerous meanings; God, heaven, hell, kingdom etc all require
a clear context or in some cases divine clarification! Jesus spoke directly about
“Kingdom” when referring to the physical ordinance of baptism to Nicodemus;
John 3: 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
When coupled with
the many passages about being apparently “saved” by confession alone, this passage
has so confused would-be-interpreters of the text that whole religious movements
have split over it. For the saints, who have much more additional enlightenment
from modern prophets, this passage presents no difficulty at all. It is indeed a
work of sorts necessary for admission to the “Celestial” kingdom. I refer the reader
to the essay on “Being Saved” for a more thorough study of this point.
Brother
Steve Back to Top of the Document
Generations of children
have grown up singing songs that teach that we are of a common family. Songs like “I am a child of God” and “Jesus Loves the little children…they are precious
in his sight” focus on our common heritage and intrinsic worth to God. Of the numerous
Christian faiths, however, only one has any rational explanation for God’s involvement
in man’s affairs. Why are we here?
One faith claims it’s a great showdown – a demo,
if you will, to prove a point. But this seems like a whole lot of pain and trouble
… besides, how many folks really learn from history anyway. So, that theory is pretty flat. No, most all religions
just avoid trying to explain it at all. With
no real reason to truly believe in the “brotherhood of Man” it’s no wonder neighbors
are oft treated as strangers, strangers as enemies and nations and cultures fodder
for extermination.
While most Christian
sects don’t accepts that God is going to clarify such questions personally any day
soon, the existing writ, generally accepted as blessed by Him does, in fact, have
a lot to say, both directly and indirectly. After all God’s efforts to reveal himself
to man, that Christian and Jewish sects could latch onto the idea that God is only
formless spirit with no intrinsic interest in mankind has for some time mystified
me. Here are a few of the comments addressing the matter in the Bible.
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created
he him; male and female created he them. (Note: The Bible is filled with truth. The simplest explanation is He meant what He said
rather than try and turn everything into metaphors to be manipulated by the readers
whim)
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. (Note: Who is the “us” and “our”
? In the Hebrew text, God's name Elohim, as in the 'us' of Gen. 1.26, refers to the
Mighty Ones)
Exodus 24:9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the
elders of Israel: And they saw the God of
Israel: and [there was] under his feet as it were a paved work. (Note: Seems God is
going out of His way to demonstrate a real physical presence that has all the appearance
of an exalted man. Is God trying to deceive us or reveal truth to us?)
Acts 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think
that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's
device. (Note: Offspring is a pretty explicit term)
Luke 3:38 Which was [the son] of Enos, which was [the son] of Seth, which was
[the son] of Adam, which was [the son] of God. (Note: This is a physical Genealogy)
Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall
cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Note: This was said of Adam & Eve. Whose Mother and Father
were they to leave?)
Rom 8:16 … we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of
God, and joint-heirs with Christ;
… (Note: Whether
adopted or born, could this be possible if we did not share in His potential? Can
a dog inherit his masters potential or be considered co-equal as in “joint-heirs?”)
On that same line of thought we further read:
Matt. 5: 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect. (Note: Would God command that which we could never attain?)
1 Jn. 3: 2 Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (Note: Not only shall
we see God, but we shall do so because we shall be like Him. Like Father –like son)
The Jews at the time of Jesus, like so many Christian sects today rejected the truth that we were of God’s race. Yet Jesus affirms this and uses their scriptures to prove it (paraphrasing):” Why are you making it out to be such a big deal that I called myself the Son of God when the scriptures you all preach from say that you yourselves are Gods?”
John 10: 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are
gods?”
Psalms 82:6 I have said, “Ye are gods; and all of you
are children of the most High.”
This truth, that we are the literal descendants
of God, is twisted and wrung by the philosophies of men until every kind of interpretation
possible is squeezed out of it except the plain and precious truth.
Jesus really went
the extra mile to demonstrate to the people that He, as a resurrected being had
a physical body that was very special. He said;
John 20: 17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my
Father : but go to my brethren, and say unto
them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
My point here is that he clearly has a very physical
body. That is completely unambiguous. It doesn’t really change the point here, but
some translations read “cling to me” I do though like to add one more corroborating
point that not only did he have a body at that moment, but that he did not jettison
the cocoon so to speak on the way to heaven. Oh – by the way, did you catch that
that heaven seems to be a place? So my extra
bonus point here is that this body of his was to be presented to His Father 1st
before ministering to the people and having them touch him – once again emphasizing
something very important about a physical body in the resurrected state.
I can only offer
that in the Westcott & Hort interlinear
Greek to English translation; Word for word, it still reads clear enough”
(WH IGE) John 20: 17 Is saying to her Jesus Not of me be touching,
not yet for I have ascended toward the father…
And when he was
resurrected and showed Himself to his disciples, they thought he was a spirit wherein
Jesus took pains to disabuse them of such a notion by actually eating and
letting them feel him;
Luke 24:37:40 But they were terrified and affrighted,
and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled?
and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh
and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them
his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and
wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of
a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.
The entire 15th chapter of Corinthians is devoted to the physical
resurrection. It wasn’t until after the death of the Apostles that the Greek rejection
of anything corporal took hold in the then leaderless Christian community.
What are the Negative Consequences of Mans Teachings about God? The philosophies
of men teach that man has no real relationship with god. Our destiny becomes, then,
much as the Greek mythologies teach - that we are the playthings or toys for the
gods.
If we were truly created from nothing by an all knowing and perfect being,
then that all knowing being must necessarily be responsible then for all the good
and bad his creations bring about. It is no wonder with such a distorted picture
of God that so many people have rejected him.
Why are these wrong philosophies
promoted? The scriptures teach us that the evil one who having lost his chance to
obtain the power and glory that a perfected and celestial being could attain, would
out of anger and envy that none of Gods children attain that power and glory either.
Nephi explains like this:
2 Nephi 2:17 And I, Lehi, according to the things
which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which
is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought
that which was evil before God. And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become
miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind. Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old
serpent, who is the devil, who is the father of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake
of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good
and evil.
In two grand attempts, Lucifer failed to foil Gods eternal plan for His children's
exaltation. In the Garden of Eden, Lucifer petitioned Adam and then his wife Eve
to partake of a fruit that would begin an inevitable destruction of their perfect
bodies. He had some hopes of possessing the bodies Adam and Eve would create just
as he had possessed the body of the serpent. But God put a shield between man and
the evil spirits and foiled his plans at obtaining these bodies. Only those who
freely give themselves could then be controlled by Satan. In rage and envy, he vowed
mans destruction. Since no imperfection could remain in Gods Celestial existence,
Adam and his posterity were relegated to this terrestrial sphere.
The devil, failing outright to foil Gods hope for all his children, has relegated
his fiendish troops to damning us one at a time. If the devil can get us to believe
that the physical is superfluous then we will not be motivated to take care of this
physical body or temple that houses our spirits. Instead of learning to control
the elements of this body by expanded faith, we might instead submit to control
by it.
When God created the worlds he inspected the work to make sure that the will
of his faith was faithfully obeyed by the elements. Our enemy has no desire for
us to become like God with ultimate powers over the physical worlds. If he can get
us to reject God outright by making God out to be so incomprehensible that thinking
people reject him outright, then he yet accomplishes his aim against mankind. (Remember
the Nicene Creed “…not three incomprehensibles, but one
incomprehensible…”
I said in the beginning that I had been mystified that sects teach that God
and man are ultimately only spirits and for this they hold us in open contempt.
It's clearer now, I hope, why Lucifer and a host of confused parishioners want us
to reject the true anthropomorphic nature of God and reject the simple truth; “I am a child of God”
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
- Did
apostasy change the doctrines?
It is clear that without Divine direction to the apostles and prophets harmony
was replaced by dissention, distortion of doctrines, heated argument and even bloodshed.
A few Old Testament verses speak to that point.
Prov.
29: 18 Where there is no vision, the people perish:
Amos 3:
7 Surely the Lord
GOD will do
nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
Amos 8:
11 Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord GOD,
that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the LORD:
The pattern of falling away and restoration was repeated several times and
predicted to occur yet again by the apostles prior to their demise:
2 Thes.
2: 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that
day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of
sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Acts 20:29-30 For I know this, that
after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away
disciples after them.
(From http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11044a.htm)
The year 325 is accepted as that of the First Council of Nicaea
The emperor began by making the bishops understand that they had a greater and better
business in hand than personal quarrels and interminable recriminations.
Note in this following excerpt how instead of divine revelation to answer
disputes (as say recorded in Acts 10:14) committees, lobbying, argumentation and
political influences are pressed into service to define the doctrines. Rather than
God telling the people His doctrines through the prophets, the people tell God what
they are going to believe via political intrigues.
2 Tim.
4: 3 For the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own
lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
Within a short span of a few hundred years many of the plain and precious
gospel truths had been lost or distorted. At last only a few regions of the Christians
championed by Arius maintained the doctrine of God as having a physical nature and
having a distinct nature from His Son or the Holy Ghost.
(Again, see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01707c.htm)
Daily sessions were held and that Arius was often summoned before
the assembly; his opinions were discussed and the opposing arguments considered. Arian is reported to have described the Son as
“a second, or inferior God, standing
midway between the First Cause and creatures; as Himself made out of nothing, yet
as making all things else; as existing before the worlds of the ages; and as arrayed
in all divine perfections except the one which was their stay and foundation. God alone was
without beginning, unoriginate; the Son was originated, and once had not existed.
For all that has origin must begin to be. “
The majority, declared themselves against the doctrines of Arius. In the
end the council formulated the following creed:
We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker
of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only
begotten of the Father, that is, of the substance [ek tes ousias] of the
Father, God of God, light
of light, true God of true God, begotten
not made, of the same substance with the Father [homoousion to patri], through
whom all things were made both in heaven and on earth; who for us men and our salvation
descended, was incarnate, and was made man, suffered and rose again the third day,
ascended into heaven and cometh to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy
Ghost. Those who say: There was a time when He was not, and He was not before He
was begotten; and that He was made our of nothing (ex ouk onton); or who
maintain that He is of another hypostasis or another substance [than the Father],
or that the Son of God is created,
or mutable, or subject to change, [them] the Catholic Church anathematizes.
(Again, see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01707c.htm)
All the bishops save five declared themselves ready to subscribe
to this formula, convinced that it contained the ancient faith of the Apostolic
Church. The opponents were soon reduced to two, Theonas of Marmarica and Secundus
of Ptolemais, who were exiled and anathematized. Arius and his writings were also
branded with anathema, his books were cast into the fire, and he was exiled to Illyria.
Finally the differences turned even to bloodshed, with
whole Arian communities being destroyed and with them the secrets of temple oriented
worship. Recent archeological finds in North
Africa find Christian communities where large number of their dead are found buried
in robes and garments that Mormon temple goers would find very familiar. Finally
the apostasy was complete leaving a very strange remnant indeed. Far from the knowledge
of God wherein Jesus says:
John 17:
3 And this is life
eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou
hast sent.
By about 500AD,the new Christians profess God as a mystical and unknowable. The Athanasian Creed of about 500AD still guides most of the Christian
sects.
The following is the Marquess of Bute's English translation of
the text of the Creed: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02033b.htm
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and
another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the
Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all One, the Glory Equal, the Majesty
Co-Eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.
The Father Uncreate, the Son Uncreate, and the Holy Ghost Uncreate. The Father Incomprehensible,
the Son Incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost Incomprehensible. The Father Eternal,
the Son Eternal, and the Holy Ghost Eternal and yet they are not Three Eternals
but One Eternal. As also there are not Three Uncreated, nor Three Incomprehensibles,
but One Uncreated, and One Uncomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty,
the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not Three Almighties
but One Almighty.
If you found that bit linguistic gymnastics a bit hard to follow, don’t worry,
its not just you.
1Timothy
4:1-3 NOW the Spirit speaketh expressly, that
in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared
with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,
which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and
know the truth.
The good news for our time is that we live in a dispensation where God has
once again, and in preparation for the second coming of Christ, restored the Gospel
in its’ fullness.
Eph. 1:
10 That in the dispensation
of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both
which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Brother
Steve Back to Top of the Document
This is one of those
obscure religious topics that produces much hoopla At first, it may surprise one that anyone would
really care. What difference should it make anyhow? Is anyone’s salvation at stake
whether Moses saw God as an entity or some apparition or projection of His power
into a bush? Maybe not, but then again, perhaps the Father of lies, might just have
a stake in such an argument. After all, a
‘unity of Faith’ as the scriptures say is hardly in the devils best interest. The
scriptures preach that we are God’s children.
How better to destroy us than to attack our divine origin; and with that
divine origin our divine potential.
Now, there are a lot
of scriptures that can be brought to bear on this topic. There are a very few scriptures
that on 1st inspection might support another view. Consider these two statements
from the same author:
John 1: 18 No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
John 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time.
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Its very seldom that the “as far as it is translated
correctly” clause ought to be invoked, but this is one of them. The present translation
of John 1: 18 and 1 Jn. 4: 12
is misleading; for these seem say that no man has ever seen God. Joseph’s
translation clarifies that “no sinful man hath seen God”
While most Biblical scholars today acknowledge
that certain passages have been various rendered and some mutated over time, many
of the masses have been indoctrinated with the ‘perfect Bible’ doctrine and may
have a hard time accepting that anything at all is amiss in the Holy writ. When presented with contradictions in the Bible
and evidence of missing authoritative texts, such individuals will simply assert
that that’s obviously not important to God and that the important things (their
favorite hobby horses) have survived in tack. These individuals cannot be reasoned
with on this level as they set themselves up as the arbiter of what is important
and tweak the rules as the conversation progressed to maintain the desired outcome.
Such individuals, however, usually allow the concept of taking all the scriptures
as a compendium to build a proper understanding.
It’s important to see
the events and passages as a whole. For example in this next verse before and after
is an understanding that the people would not be allowed in this circumstance to
see his face, but other parts of Gods physical being would be allowed to be viewed.
Ex. 33: 20 … for there shall no man see me, and
live.
Ex. 33:
23 … And I will take
away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
The seeming contradictory position of can you
see God or no; or you can see God, but just not his face, or you can see his face,
but not now… just points out that God reveals Himself variously and as He chooses.
To you He may reveal His face, but for me, I might wither from afar.
Noted scriptures state that there have been many
who have seen Him and even that same apostle we just quoted declares
that it is our standing with God that determines if one may see Him.
John 14: 7 If ye had known me, ye should have
known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
John 6:
46 Not that any man
hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
Sectarians wishing
to avoid the concept of a personal connection with God might interpret these scriptures
to mean that only Christ can see God. Fact
of the matter is, as long as there are two minds in the world, it will be possible
to wrangle two meanings, but it is just as easy to see in these scriptures man’s
divine potential as to avoid it.
The understanding that
man is a child of our Father in heaven and that we may become like him is like the
red thread that runs though the fabric of Holy Writ. The scriptures promise that
as His children we will see him because we shall be like him.
This is consistent
with the many stories listed in the Bible where many men definitely saw God. The real irony here is that the same folks that
obsess about not being able to see God are usually the same guys claiming that Jesus
is God the Father – remember the Athanasian Creed! So two should be able play this silly game. If
the claim is that ‘God’ can do the transformation thing to some form we can tolerate
– like for Moses or the Prophet Steven, just before being Stoned to death, why not
Joseph Smith indeed!
Acts 7: 55-56 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost,
looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing
on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened,
and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
The Bible is a testament to God because so many
people in fact saw him and said so. How it is done, one can conjecture: in or out
of the body etc, but that it is done can hardly be refuted. This next scripture
says that a certain group of folks have as yet not seen the Father, but refers to
the fact that He does in fact have a shape to behold.
John 5: 37 And the Father himself, which hath
sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time,
nor seen his shape.
This next reference talks about being caught
up to the 3rd heaven and spoke of a concept that to do so as a mortal
might entail actually leaving the body behind. Maybe the Children of Israel had
good reason to fear seeing God in their state of unrighteousness – being concerned
that they might just leave behind their mortal frame permanently!
2 Cor. 12: 2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen
years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot
tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
There are references of being physically drained
after encountering God.
Moses 2
And he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God
was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence.
Moses 9-11 And the presence of God withdrew
from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself.
And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth. And it came to pass that
it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength
like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is
nothing, which thing I never had supposed. But now mine own eyes have beheld God;
but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld;
for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me;
and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.
While those scriptures were long ago lost from
the Bible, the restored word gives one of the clearest pictures yet. Compare this
experience with that of Joseph Smith:
JS_hist 17 … When the light rested upon me I saw
two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above
me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing
to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!
JS_hist
20 …When I came to
myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I
had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree,
Some religions take such umbrage over the concept
of seeing God, when clearly He came and dwelt with us as the following scripture
points out. It appears obvious that if God
wishes to reveal himself to man, then God can figure out a way to make it possible.
Maybe what really galls them is the fact that He appeared to young Joseph and not
to them! Kind of reminds me of Samuel and Eli except Eli didn’t reject the Lords
visitation to Samuel.
John 14: 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been
so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen
me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
John 1:1-2 IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father,) full of grace and truth.
That Jesus as Risen
Lord indeed still had a physical body and that it was very important that
he had one is demonstrated when Mary attempts to touch him.
John 20: 17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not;
for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them,
I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
It was also very important
that we knew he had a physical body. This is attested in the following scriptures
and the whole 15th chapter of Corinthians:
Luke 24:36-45 And as
they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them,
Peace• be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they
had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts
arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle
me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they
yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it,
and did eat before them...Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand
the scriptures,
If he was only spirit, what of that charade?
Jesus (God) said He had a body – not just an ethereal force. Is it so hard to just
believe it? This would be my hope and prayer also, that the earnest seeker will
find understanding in the scriptures. Perhaps the forgoing explanations may be of
some help.
Sometime in the end, all the righteous will see
their Father again. May we be counted amongst them:
1 Jn. 3: 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear,
we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as he is.
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
Here’s a topic that
caused a lot of stir in the early Christian movement. Unfortunately for the cause
of truth, the matter was solved by the point of a sword – Emperor Constantine’s
to be exact - long after Christ and the Apostles had been taken from the world.
Two prominent bishops of the headless fragmented church fought for their respective
understandings of Deity. The main proponent of the proposition that God the Father
and Jesus where separate, but totally unified in purpose – thus “one God” was Arius. By 300AD however much Greek philosophy had crept
into the teachings and in the Council of Nicea, the Greek ethereal god position
prevailed. All the bishops save five declared themselves ready to subscribe to a
mystical formula, of three and one and much linguistic charades that that entails.
Yet the majority was “convinced that it contained the ancient faith of the Apostolic
Church. The opponents were soon reduced to two, Theonas of Marmarica and Secundus
of Ptolemais, who were exiled and anathematized. Arius and his writings were also
branded with anathema, his books were cast into the fire, and he was exiled to Illyria”
Both the Bible and
especially the Book of Mormon reference the concept that Father, Son and Holy Ghost
represent one God. Really. the only question at hand is whether that one
God is representative of their unity in purpose or unity in very substance. – Yes,
I know this bleeds into the topic: Does God even have
substance? – but one topic at a time!
To argue the latter,
theologians hang their apologies largely on interpretation of John 1 where Jesus
is referenced as being with God in the beginning and was God.
Ironically that very
exposition is one of the stronger arguments that they were in fact separate in substance
but collectively God; hence [Jesus] was with God and Jesus was God. Some scholars try to make some hay over nuances
in the Greek - translating it a bit more literally as … [Jesus] was with the
God and Jesus was a God. (Reference Westcott and Hort) But either
way you slice it, something more is going on here than just ‘Jesus was God in the
beginning.’ (non-quote)
Really, to argue that
God is not unity in purpose, but sometimes one and sometimes a separate and disassociated
being is to make God into a schizophrenic deceiver. By about 500AD the new Christians
professed God as mystical and unknowable.
The Athanasian Creed of about 500AD still guides most of the Christian sects.
The following is the Marquess of Bute's English translation of the text of the Creed:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02033b.htm :For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and
another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the
Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all One, the Glory Equal, the Majesty
Co-Eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.
The Father Uncreate, the Son Uncreate, and the Holy Ghost Uncreate. The Father
Incomprehensible, the Son Incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost Incomprehensible.
The Father Eternal, the Son Eternal, and the Holy Ghost Eternal and yet they are
not Three Eternals but One Eternal. As also there are not Three Uncreated, nor
Three Incomprehensibles, but One Uncreated, and One Incomprehensible…
So according to most
sectarians who promote this, God is incomprehensible and unknowable. (The essay on apostasy might be consulted if you are trying to understand
how anyone could come up with something like that) Jesus went out of his way to help us understand
who God was and told us:
John 17: 3 And this is life eternal, that they
might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
The following common
passages in the Bible make such easy sense when you understand the Godhead as a
unity of purpose. Conversely it requires considerable mental and linguistic gyrations
to read these from the sectarian view.
Gen. 1: 26 And God said, Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness:
Matt. 17:
5 While he yet spake,
behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which
said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
John 16:25-30 These things have I spoken unto you
in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs,
but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name:
and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself
loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world,
and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly,
and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest
not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from
God.
Note in
the forgoing how excited the disciples are that Jesus is speaking plainly and they
respond plainly. Isn’t it nice to just read the scriptures plainly? See how Jesus
plainly addresses His Father in the next passages. Alternately, put your head through a pretzel machine
to see how Jesus is really just speaking to Himself.
Luke 23: 34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive
them; for they know not what they do.
Mark 15:
34 And at the ninth
hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying… My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me?
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto
them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what
he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son
likewise.
Luke 23:
46 And when Jesus
had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit:
and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
Sectarians have clumsy
explanations for why the Bible isn’t to be taken literally and simply, but it sure
is a lot easier to do so. I believe God will witness this fact to the sincere seeker
of truth that God is the Father of us all and Jesus is His Son. Like Jesus said just before he ascended –
John 20: 17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not;
for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them,
I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Now, do you really
think he was trying to confuse us or do you think he could have simply been uttering
easy to understand truths? I vote for the latter.
I am convinced that
the reason the adversary has a stake in this discussion is simply that a mystical
God seems unfathomable and unreachable. Go figure as to why the devil would want
God to seem “incomprehensible.” Jesus and the apostles did their best while they
where yet amonst us to make God our Father real.
Acts 17: 29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring
of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or
stone, graven by art and man’s device.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Some are dissatisfied
with the imperfect human condition
Many people, when they experience
the difficulties of this fallen human existence, think "if only we could be
loosed from the shackles of this physical existence and exist in some purely spiritual
plane. I suppose we are often like youth - tired of school with its tests and demands
for performance. -- With but a few years of experience, bemoan as did Peter Pan
" I don't want to go to school and I don't want to grow up!" Well this is only the wishful thinking of the
ignorant and blinded. Those desperate to
be loosed from pain or trouble are certain that the "grass must certainly be
greener as a spirit on the other side of the veil." The savior reminded us, though, that the disembodied
spirits hold up in a possessed man were so desperate to retain a physical embodiment
that they would possess the bodies of pigs rather than be dismissed from the physical
world entirely.
Why do so many
reject Gods True Nature & His Relationship to Man?
After all God’s efforts
to reveal himself to man, that Christian and Jewish sects could latch onto the idea
that God is a spirit devoid of physicality and man’s resurrection only a metaphor
for some bodiless existence has for some time mystified me.
Let’s review
some of the points of scriptural references where God has revealed his nature to
man.
Genesis
1:27 So God created
man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created
he them. (Lets take the Bible on
it’s word)
Exodus
24:9 Then went up
Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10 And
they saw the God of Israel: and [there was] under his feet as it were
a paved work of a sapphire stone.
(If it’s so important for sectarians to argue that God is a disembodied spirit,
then why is God going out of his was to show that he has a body?)
Acts
17:29 Forasmuch then
as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is
like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.(Offspring is a pretty clear word! Likewise,
we ought not to think of God as a disembodied spirit either!) (Note also that an
entity called the Godhead is referenced here)
Luke
3:38 Which was [the
son] of Enos, which was [the son] of Seth, which was [the son] of Adam, which was
[the son] of God. (Note that this
is a continuous physical lineage.)
Genesis
2:24 Therefore shall
a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they
shall be one flesh. (This was said
to Adam. Who was his Mother and Father?)
Rom.
8:17 And if children,
then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with
him, that we may be also glorified together. (If we are not of God’s lineage, could we really inherit and be joint heirs?)
Ps.
82:6 I have said,
Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. (Who are we to argue with God?)
Gen.
3:22 And the LORD
God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: (Who is this us God is talking about?)
Luke
24:37 But they were
terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38 And he said
unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do
thoughts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold
my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath
not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. (Why is Jesus going out of his way to verify the reality of a physical resurrection?)
Heb.
12:9 Furthermore
we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence:
shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? (A clear statement
here of the dual nature of man. Can we not conclude the same about God?)
One has to do frequent
and elaborate explanations and literally turn the Bible into a series of metaphors
and lies to avoid the simple conclusion that we are God’s children. The Bible is
twisted and wrung by the philosophies of men until every kind of interpretation
possible is squeezed out of it except the plain and simple truth that we are the
literal descendants (offspring) of God.
What are the
negative consequences of man’s teachings about God?
The philosophies of
men teach that man has no real relationship with God. Our destiny becomes, then, much as the Greek mythologies
teaches - that we are the playthings or toys for the gods. If we were truly created
from nothing by an all knowing and perfect being, then that all-knowing being must
necessarily be responsible for all the good and bad his creations bring about. It is no wonder with such a distorted picture
of God that so many people have rejected him.
Why are these
wrong philosophies promoted?
I believe that these
are philosophies promoted by that evil one who having lost his chance to obtain
the power and glory that a perfected and celestial being could attain, would out
of anger and envy that none of God’s children attain that power and glory either.
Nephi explains like this:
2 Nephi
2:17 “And I, Lehi, according to the things which
I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is
written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that
which was evil before God. 18 And because he had fallen from heaven, and
had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind. Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old
serpent, who is the devil, who is the father of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake
of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good
and evil.”
In two grand attempts Lucifer failed to foil God’s eternal plan for His children's
exaltation. In the Garden of Eden, Lucifer petitioned Adam and then his wife Eve
to partake of a fruit that would begin an inevitable destruction of their perfect
bodies. He had some hopes of possessing the bodies Adam and Eve would create just
as he had the body of the serpent. But God put a shield between man and the evil
spirits and foiled his plans at obtaining these bodies. Satan, then, could control
only those who freely give themselves. In rage and envy, he vowed man’s destruction.
Since no imperfection could remain in God’s celestial existence, Adam and his posterity
were relegated to this terrestrial sphere. Nephi teaches that if we had remained
in that state we would have become as the devil and subject to him.
2 Nephi 9:8 “O the wisdom of God, his mercy and
grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise
no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence
of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. 9 And our spirits
must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut
out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery,
like unto himself;
The devil, failing outright
to foil God’s hope for all his children, has relegated his fiendish troops to damning
us one at a time. If the devil can get us to believe that the physical is superfluous
then we will not be motivated to take care of this physical body or temple that
houses our spirits. Instead of learning to control the elements of this body by
expanded faith, we might instead submit to being controlled by it. When God created
the worlds he inspected the work to make sure that the will of his faith was faithfully
obeyed by the elements. Our enemy has no
desire for us to become like God with ultimate powers over the physical worlds.
If he can get us to reject God outright by making God out
to be so incomprehensible that thinking people reject him outright, then he yet
accomplishes his aim against mankind.
As a historical note,
the true nature of God was widely held by many of the Christians until about 300AD
when the religion was converted from being persecuted to being sponsored by the
state. (see essay on apostasy)
I said in the beginning that I had been mystified that sects teach that God
was a disembodied spirit and for this they hold us in open contempt. It's clearer
now, I hope, why Lucifer and even some well-meaning but confused Christian followers
want us to reject the true nature of God.
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
After Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, they began to till the earth
and work at other tasks for their living. They had many children, and their sons
and daughters also married and had children. Thus, spirit children of our Heavenly
Father began leaving his presence to come to the earth as they had been promised. As they came to earth, the memory of their heavenly
home was taken from them. But our Father
did not shut them away from his influence. He sent the Holy Ghost to comfort and
help and guide all of his spirit children.
Moses 5:4-11 And
Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice
of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they
saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.
And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the
Lord their God….And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.
An angel of the Lord came and taught Adam and Eve the plan of
salvation.
And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record
of the Father and the Son and to teach Adam and Eve the gospel.
Through the power of the Holy Ghost, Adam “began to prophesy concerning
all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of
my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again
in the flesh I shall see God”. And because
of the witness of the Holy Ghost to Eve, she said, “Were it not for our transgression
we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the
joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient”
It is evident in the
first days of this earth’s existence our dependence on the Holy Ghost was vital
and necessary.
But who is the Holy Ghost - Let’s look in John;
1 John 5:7 For
there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost;
and these three are one.
The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead. Doctrine
and Covenants 130:22 says that the Holy Ghost is a spirit that has the form and
likeness of a man and that he can be only one place at a time, but his influence
can be everywhere at the same time.
DC 130:22 The
Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the
Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were
it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.
Remember the account of Jesus walking on water or when the resurrected Lord
appeared to the disciples in the closed room.
Each time, Jesus had to convince them that He was in fact NOT just a spirit
saying:
Luke 24: 39
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for
a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
Yet, without divine revelation to clarify these things, some have stumbled
in their understandings of this. There are
many facets of what we call God, but if we isolate just one facet and presuppose
that represents the entirely of God, we are going to err substantially. For example:
even though we have just read how Jesus dramatically and emphatically declared that
he was not just spirit, one need just flip to John to read:
John 4: 24 God is a Spirit: (note: in this instance that the apostle does
clarify in the next breath that) they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
This is like the blind boy who encountered an elephant and 1st
felt his long nose and concluded that the elephant must be like a snake. Unlike
the Athenasian creed, memorized in theological seminaries the world over, which
declares that God is quote “…not three incomprehensibles,
but … one incomprehensible,” we declare, as the writer in John did, that God is knowable:
John 17: 3 …this is life eternal, that they might
know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
We often use the term Godhead to describe the unified nature of God. Paul
used this term when he wrote:
Acts 17: 29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring
of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or
stone, graven by art and man’s device.
Jesus was very clear about this concept that
he acted in complete concert his Father.
John 5: 30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment
is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath
sent me.
This is also true of the Holy Spirit, a key member
of the Godhead. Jesus said:
John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and he
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not,
neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in
you.
So when Jesus uses
phrases like,
John 14:20 “I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I
in you,”
it is the unity
of the Godhead that makes that a sensible statement. Since the Holy Spirit acts, along with Jesus,
in complete harmony with the will of the Father, the influence of the Holy Spirit
in others extends this principle of unity even to angels and his prophets. He declared:
D&C 1: 38 … though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass
away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my
servants, it is the same.
In Revelations an
angel appears to John, yet the angel speaks in 1st person as if he were
the Lord Jesus. The nature of the Godhead has been variously revealed to man. To
the Israelites exiting the pantheon of Egyptian and pagan gods, few such details
were revealed. But to others, earnest seeker of truth, He is willing to reveal more
of Himself.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments,
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved
of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Only a few thousand
ever saw Jesus; but a handful His angels, even fewer the Father. The Holy Ghost,
then, is the principle means for the Godhead to influence man. He is the comforter
in times of trial or sorrow. He is the light that inspires and is the revealer of
hidden knowledge. He is the testifier of the Christ and the means to soften our
hearts to accept Him as Savior.
We have a sure promise to all mankind who earnestly seek God, that through
the power of the Holy Ghost, truth will be revealed.
Moroni 10:4-5
And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would
ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true;
and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ,
he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
Just as Jesus promised
Peter;
Matt. 18:18 Verily I say unto you, “Whatsoever
ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
He also promises
us that when we enter into the covenant of baptism that he, through the laying on
of hands, will grant a special gift of the Holy Ghost, where the striving saint
may expect the Lord’s influence as more that a fleeting experience, but as a daily
indwelling of the Holy Spirit’s influence.
D&C 8: 2 Yea, behold,
I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come
upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
It is imperative that we maintain our lives in a state of striving for good and repentance, for the Almighty declared:
And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light
which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the
Lord of Hosts. (D&C 1: 33)
But this promise comes with a warning that:
A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him
and not tarry with him. (D&C 130:23)
Let us all ask ourselves, as Alma did to his people so long ago, this question and then act accordingly:
(Alma 5:26-34)
26 And now behold, I say
unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have
felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?
27 Have ye walked, keeping
yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this
time … that your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of
Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?
33 Behold, he sendeth an
invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he
saith: Repent, and I will receive you.
34 Yea, he saith: Come unto
me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and
drink of the bread and the waters of life freely;
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Jesus gave
some advice that grates against our more common notions of justice. He said, for
example, “Do good to those who despitefully use you!” How can that make any sense?
How is that fair?
A lot could
and has been said about eternal justice and even “vengeance is mine”, but consider
this mathematical concept that might shed some light relating key human behaviors
in a gospel context. It begins with the basic concept of a desire for some fairness
in some aspect.
Listed are
a few examples of where we commonly demand fairness, though the concepts are extensible
to many others:
Remuneration ($), Revenge,
Forgiveness, Work or Chores, Favors ….
Fairness
is another word for equality. Writing a "fairness equation” can be enlightening:
We begin by a simple inequality and then
expand with more refinements that improve the modeling. Consider the following example
with Chores (C) as the main variable. If you felt that each person should share
an equal load, then as long as your(y) workload is less than or equal to others(o)
then a sense of equity is maintained:
Cy <= Co
If you have
a sense of Altruism(Ay) and are willing to do some percent of excess and still feel
OK about the arrangement then we modify the equation as follows:
Cy <= AyCo
For example
if my Ay is 2 ie I am still OK working 2x as the other:
Cy <= 2Co
This means
that as long as I am working no more than twice as hard as the other person, then
I am still OK with that and my sense of equity is still maintained.
Then, (THIS
IS KEY) we must acknowledge that the natural man often Perceives(Py) his own contributions
in excess of actuality(> 1), whereas we can never know or Perceive(P) the real
extent of others work. I, for example, can
seldom appreciate all the work my wife does unless I was bird-dogging her all day
long. Therefore my Perception(Po) of her work will always be less than 1. Therefore,
perceived equity (from your perspective) is achieved when we modify the equation
as follows:
CyPy <= AyCoPo : Where Py>>Po
This means
that since your perception of your own work generally exceeds reality, you need
to work harder than what you perceive to be equitable to in actuality
just hold your own end up. Conversely, since the other actually works harder
than your perception could ever likely reveal, they would have to work far harder
than would actually be equitable before you ever perceived them as pulling
a fair share of effort. The ratio of Py, Po can me written as:
Pk=Py/Po
The actual
relationship of Relative Perception defined by Px might easily have a Perception(k)
value of 2-10; mine is probably around 5. Substituting above we get:
CyPy <= AyCoPo ; Py=PkPo
Cy(PkPo) <= AyCoPo
CyPk <= AyCo
Cy <= (Ay/Pk) Co
As an example:
If my perception
ratio Pk is 5 and my Altruism factor Ay is 2 then:
Cy <= 2/5Co then
Cy 2.5 <= Co
If you are
not much for the altruism part you get:
Cy 5 <= Co or Cy <= Co/5
This Reads like: You "feel" equitable when Chores(Yours) is no more than 1/5 of the Chores(others)! YIKES!
This means
that the other person would have to actually work 2.5 – 5 times harder than me before
I ever likely perceived that they were pulling their fair share!!!!
Consider
the implication for forgiveness. This means if the same ratios held, you’d have
to forgive the other person 5 times more than seems ‘tit for tat’ before actually
achieving equity. No wonder Jesus told us not to judge, forgive without limit etc.
Useful
References:
1 Cor 13:12 (AMPC) For now we are looking
in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle
or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and
face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and
understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully
and clearly known and understood [by God].
Math 5:44 Doing Good despite fairness, See Mathew 7. Beatitudes
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Brigham
Young University-Idaho Devotional
January
27, 2004
Robert
L. Millet
Some
time ago I sat in my home ward and listened with much interest as four children
moved to the front of the chapel and in turn bore their testimonies. The first one
could not have been more than seven years old, and yet she spoke with a confidence
that one might expect from a seasoned adult member of the Church. She said, essentially,
“I want to bear my testimony that I know that the Church is true, that Joseph Smith
was a prophet of God, and that President Gordon B. Hinckley is our living prophet
today.” She then shared some personal feelings and sat down. I pondered on her words,
on the depth of sincerity evident in her voice, and I wondered: Does she
know? Does she really know? How much could she know? Later during
the day I reflected on the experience and had affirmed to my mind and heart that
little children can come to know the things of God, by the power of the Spirit of
God, (1 Corinthians
2:11-14) and can speak words
of truth and wisdom, just as their adult counterparts can (Alma 32:23). A testimony is not something you either
have or don’t have, but rather an impression of the Spirit as to the truthfulness
of eternal things, an inner awareness that ranges along a spiritual continuum from
a simple peaceful feeling to a perfect knowledge.
It has
wisely been observed that the strength of this Church lies not alone in the powerful
witnesses of the fifteen men we sustain as prophets, seers and revelators, but rather
the deep reassurance and resolve that rests in the souls of individual Saints of
the Most High from Alabama to Zanzibar. A testimony may begin through trusting in
and relying upon the witness of another, of one who knows for sure; to believe on
the faith of another is indeed a spiritual gift, a gift that can lead to eternal
life (Doctrine and
Covenants 46:13-14). And yet
surely each one of us desires to possess our own witness, an independent knowledge
of the reality of God our Father, the redemptive mission of Jesus the Christ, and
the divine call of Joseph Smith and the work of the Restoration.
It was President Heber C. Kimball that warned us
of a test to come, a test that would separate out those who professed membership
in the Church but did not possess a personal testimony sufficient to see them through
hard times.
“The time will
come when no man or woman will be able to endure on borrowed light,” he said. “Each will have to
be guided by the light within himself. If you do not have it, how can you stand?”
(Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball Salt Lake City: Bookcraft,
1973, 446, 449-50).
Faith
in the Unseen
A few
years ago a Baptist minister friend and I were driving through Boston in an effort
to get to the LDS Institute of Religion at Cambridge. As has been my custom most
every time I have been to Boston, I was absolutely lost and had no idea where we
were. We stopped several times for directions, and each helpful person would point
to us the way and say with much assurance “You can’t miss it.” After having heard
that phrase five or six times, I asked our seventh helper for directions and began
my question with “Please don’t say you can’t miss it, because I assure you that
we can, for we have done it again and again.” During our scavenger hunt of sorts,
we chatted. My colleague commented on a matter that we had discussed several times,
namely the idea that Latter-day Saints are more prone to rely upon feelings than
tangible evidence for truth of religious claims. In response, I asked: “Do you believe
in the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ?” The look he gave me was similar
to that which a sixteen-year-old would give to someone who had asked what the teenager
felt to be an inane question. “Of course I believe in the resurrection, Bob; I’m
an ordained minister.” I followed up: “Why do you believe in the resurrection? How
do you know it really happened?” He answered: “Because the New Testament teaches
of the resurrection of Jesus.” I shot right back “But how do you know that the New
Testament accounts can be trusted? How do you know the Bible can be trusted? Maybe
someone just made all of this up. Maybe the Bible is a giant hoax.”
“No,” he said, “There is strong evidence to support
the truthfulness of the Bible.” “Like what?” I asked. “Well, there are archaeological,
historical and cultural evidences that what is being described actually happened.”
I then queried. “And so that’s how you know the resurrection is real?”
“Yeah, I suppose so,” he said. At this point my
mind began to race. And I found myself saying something I hadn’t planned to say.
“You know, I feel a great sense of sadness right now.” My Evangelical friend was
surprised and asked “Sadness? Why are you sad?”
“I was just thinking of a good friend of mine,
an older woman in Montgomery, Alabama.” My partner asked: “What about her?” I then
said, “Well, I was thinking of how sad it is that this wonderful and devoted Christian,
a person who has given her life to Jesus and studied and memorized her Bible like
few people I know, a woman whose life manifests her complete commitment to the Savior,
is not really entitled to have a witness of the truthfulness of the Bible.”
“Why is that?” he followed up. “Well, she knows
precious little about archaeology or languages or culture or history or manuscripts,
and so I suppose she can’t really know within her heart that the Bible really is
the word of God.”
“Of course she can,” he said. “She can have her
faith, her personal witness that the Bible is true.” I pulled off to the side of
the road and stopped the car. I turned to him, smiled, and stated: “Do you mean
that she can have the power of the Holy Spirit testify to her soul that her Bible
is completely trustworthy and can be relied upon as God’s word?”
“Yes, that’s what I mean.” My smile broadened as
I added: “Then we’ve come full circle.”
“What do you mean by that?” he asked. I said: “You’re
telling me that this good woman, one who has none of the supposed requisite background
or knowledge of external evidence, can have a witness of the Spirit, including deep
personal feelings about the Bible and that those feelings are genuine and heaven-sent.”
At that point my friend looked into my eyes and he smiled. “I see where you’re going
with this.” We then engaged in one of the most productive conversations of our time
together as friends. We agreed between us that it is so easy to yield to the temptation
to categorize and pigeonhole and stereotype and even demonize persons whose faith
is different than your own. It is so easy to overstate, to misrepresent, to create
“straw men” in an effort to establish your own point.
We agreed
that “traditional Christians” and Latter-day Saint Christians both base their faith
upon evidence—both seen and unseen. While saving faith is always built upon that
which is true, upon an actual historical moment in time, upon something that really
existed in the past, true believers will never allow their faith to be held hostage
by what science has or has not found at a given time. I know, for example, that
Jesus fed the 5,000, healed the sick, raised the dead, calmed the storm, and rose
from the dead—not just because I have physical evidence for each of those miraculous
events (because I do not), nor even because I can read of these things in the New
Testament, which I accept with all my heart. But I know these things actually happened
because the Spirit of the Living God bears witness to my spirit that the Lord of
Life did all the scriptures say he did, and more.
A prominent historian of religion,
Randall Balmer, has written:
I believe because
of the epiphanies, small and large, that have intersected my path—small, discrete
moments of grace when I have sensed a kind of superintending presence outside of
myself. I believe because these moments . . . are too precious to discard, and I
choose not to trivialize them by reducing them to rational explanation. I believe
because, for me, the alternative to belief is far too daunting. I believe because,
at the turn of the twenty-first century, belief itself is an act of defiance in
a society still enthralled by the blandishments of Enlightenment rationalism. .
. .
Somehow, I don’t
think Jeffrey [who asks how he can know there is a God] wants me to rehearse the
ontological, the teleological, and the cosmological arguments for the existence
of God. . . . So instead of dusting off the teleological argument, I think I’ll
remind Jeffrey about Karl Barth, arguably the most important theologian of the twentieth
century. Toward the end of his life, after he had written volume after volume on
the transcendence of God and the centrality of Jesus, Barth was asked to sum up
his work. The good doctor paused for a minute and no doubt looked out the window
and played with the stubble on his chin before responding with the words of a Sunday
school ditty: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so” (Growing Pains: Learning to
Love my Father’s Faith (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Brazos Press, 2001), 34, 61-62).
Many
years ago, on a Sunday morning I opened the door and reached down to pick up the
morning newspaper when I saw beside the paper a plastic bag containing a paperback
book. I brought both inside and laid the newspaper aside as I browsed the paperback.
The cover was a lovely picture of a mountain stream, but the title of the book revealed
to me what in fact the book was all about—it was an anti-Mormon treatise. Many of
the arguments in the book against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
were old and worn-out ones, dead horses that have been beaten since the days of
E. D. Howe. Latter-day Saints had responded to the issues posed scores of times,
but they continued to crop up. One section of the book did prove, however, to be
of some interest to me. Let me paraphrase what was essentially said about 130 pages
into the text. The author pointed out that eventually two Mormon missionaries would
come to the reader’s door. If they do come, he pleaded, don’t let them in. If, however,
you do let them in, then don’t listen to them. If they are allowed to tell you about
their message, about Joseph Smith and angels and golden plates, they will ask you
to kneel and pray about the truthfulness of these things. Whatever you do, don’t
pray! The writer then made this unusual observation: In ascertaining the truthfulness
of a religious claim, there are three things a person can never trust: (1) your
thoughts; (2) your feelings; (3) your prayers. I was all ears at this point, wondering
how we could ever know anything. I didn’t have to wait long, for the writer then
noted that the only thing that could be trusted was the Holy Bible itself. I shook
my head and felt a deep sense of sadness for the author, for I wondered how indeed
a person could even know of the truthfulness of the Bible if he or she could not
think, feel, or pray. I had a collage of feelings at that moment. As indicated,
I felt sad for the writer, for it was obvious that he could not see the blatant
inconsistency and irrationality of his own words. I tried to put myself into the
place of a reader who was not a Latter-day Saint and wondered how I might feel upon
reading such things. To be honest, I would feel insulted, knowing that I could not
be trusted enough in my pursuit of truth to rely upon my mind, my heart, or even
the most tried and true method of obtaining divine direction—prayer itself.
An Evangelical Christian colleague,
Craig Blomberg, once observed:
“You know, it’s ironic:
The Bible considers it praiseworthy to have a faith that does not require evidence.
Remember how Jesus replied to doubting Thomas: ‘You believe because you see; blessed
are those who have not seen and yet believe.’ And I know evidence can never compel
or coerce faith. We cannot supplant the role of the Holy Spirit, which is often
a concern of Christians when they hear discussions of this kind.
“But I’ll tell you this; there are plenty of stories
of scholars in the New Testament field who have not been Christians, yet through
their study of these very issues have come to faith in Christ. And there have been
countless more scholars, already believers, whose faith has been made stronger,
more solid, more grounded, because of the evidence—and that’s the category I fall
into” (Cited in Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan)
1998), 52-53).
In writing of faith in the unseen,
a Roman Catholic New Testament scholar, Luke Timothy Johnson, explained:
“Belief in the existence
of God is already an act by which one ‘entrusts’ oneself to a world that is not
entirely defined by what can be seen and counted, heard, and accounted for.” Further:
“Christians need to begin by insisting, first of all to themselves, then to each
other, and finally to the world, that faith itself is a way of knowing reality.
They need to insist that faith establishes contact with reality in a way different
from, but no less real than, the very limited (though, in their fashion, extremely
impressive) ways of knowing by which the wheels of the world’s empirical engine
are kept spinning.” As an illustration, “If religion can hold as true only what
is ‘within the bounds of reason,’ and if ‘reason’ is defined in terms of the empirically
verifiable, then the resurrection is excluded by definition. But if the resurrection
is excluded, why should Christians continue to revere Jesus, who is then only one
of many figures from antiquity worthy of attention and honor?” (The Creed: What
Christians Believe and Why It Matters (New York: Doubleday, 2003), 45, 101,
180).
True
believers will always be challenged by those who refuse to see. In a very real sense,
believing is seeing. No member of the Church need feel embarrassed when they cannot
produce the golden plates or the complete Egyptian papyrus. No member of this Church
should ever feel hesitant to bear testimony of those verities that remain in the
realm of faith, that are seen only with the eyes of faith.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell has written:
“It is the author’s
opinion that all the scriptures, including the Book of Mormon, will remain in the
realm of faith. Science will not be able to prove or disprove holy writ. However,
enough plausible evidence will come forth to prevent scoffers from having a field
day, but not enough to remove the requirement of faith. Believers must be patient
during such unfolding” (Plain and Precious Things (Salt Lake City: Deseret
Book, 1983), 4.).
Similarly, President Ezra Taft
Benson pointed out:
“We do not have to
prove the Book of Mormon is true. The book is its own proof. All we need to do is
read it and declare it. The Book of Mormon is not on trial—the people of the world,
including the members of the Church, are on trial as to what they will do with this
second witness for Christ.”
“We are not required to prove that the Book of
Mormon is true or is an authentic record through external evidences—though there
are many. It never has been the case, nor is it so now, that the studies of the
learned will prove the Book or Mormon true or false. The origin, preparation, translation,
and verification of the truth of the Book of Mormon have all been retained in the
hands of the Lord, and the Lord makes no mistakes. You can be assured of that.”
(A Witness and a Warning (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1988))
President Gordon B. Hinckley put
things in proper perspective when he taught:
“I can hold [the Book
of Mormon] in my hand. It is real. It has weight and substance that can be physically
measured. I can open its pages and read, and it has language both beautiful and
uplifting. The ancient record from which it was translated came out of the earth
as a voice speaking from the dust. . . .
“The evidence for its truth, for its validity in
a world that is prone to demand evidence, lies not in archaeology or anthropology,
though these may be helpful to some. It lies not in word research or historical
analysis, though these may be confirmatory. The evidence for its truth and validity
lies within the covers of the book itself. The test of its truth lies in reading
it. It is a book of God. Reasonable individuals may sincerely question its origin,
but those who read it prayerfully may come to know by a power beyond their natural
senses that it is true, that it contains the word of God, that it outlines saving
truths of the everlasting gospel, that it came forth by the gift and power of God.”
(Faith: The Essence of True Religion (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989),
10-11.)
We place
a great deal of emphasis in this Church—as we should—upon the singular role of the
Book of Mormon, of its vital place in our own witness of the overall truthfulness
of the restored gospel. In the meridian of time, the resurrection of the Master
stood as the physical evidence for the Savior’s divine Sonship, the tangible witness
that Jesus was Lord. Either he rose from the dead, as he said he would, or he was
a fraud and Christianity was a giant hoax. So, with our own dispensation: the Book
of Mormon stands as the tangible evidence of a spiritual reality—that God has spoken
anew in our day; has made known his mind and will and purposes through Joseph Smith
and his prophetic and apostolic successors; that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is in deed and in fact the kingdom of God on earth.
Recently President James E. Faust
told the story of a Latter-day Saint lecturer at London University, Joseph Hamstead.
Brother Hamstead once
spoke to a group at the university of the LDS faith, including its youth and family
programs. One of those in attendance responded as follows: “I like all of this,
what is being done for families, etc. If you could take out that bit about an angel
appearing to Joseph Smith, I could belong to your church.” Hamstead retorted: “Ah,
but if you take away the angel appearing to the Prophet Joseph, then I couldn’t
belong to the Church because that is its foundation” (Personal correspondence
to James E. Faust; cited in Faust, “Lord, I Believe; Help Thou Mine Unbelief,” Ensign,
November 2003, 19-20).
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has written:
“To consider that
everything of saving significance in the Church stands or falls on the truthfulness
of the Book of Mormon and, by implication, the Prophet Joseph Smith’s account of
how it came forth is as sobering as it is true. It is a ‘sudden death’ proposition.
Either the Book of Mormon is what the Prophet Joseph said it is, or this Church
and its founder are false, a deception from the first instance onward. . . . Joseph
Smith must be accepted either as a prophet of God or else as a charlatan of the
first order, but no one should tolerate any ludicrous, even laughable middle ground
about the contours of a young boy’s imagination or his remarkable facility for turning
a literary phrase. This is an unacceptable position to take—morally, literarily,
historically, or theologically.”
Elder Holland went on to explain:
“If Joseph Smith did
not translate the Book of Mormon as a work of ancient origin, then I would move
heaven and earth to meet the ‘real’ nineteenth-century author. After one hundred
and fifty years, . . . surely there must be someone willing to step forward—if no
one else, at least the descendants of the ‘real’ author—claiming credit for such
a remarkable document and all that has transpired in its wake. After all, a writer
that can move millions can make millions. Shouldn’t someone have come forth then
or now to cashier the whole phenomenon?”
(Holland, Christ
and the New Covenant (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997), 345-47.)
With this in mind, perhaps we
can better appreciate why Joseph Smith stated simply:
“Take away the Book
of Mormon and the revelations, and where is our religion? We have none” (History
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., ed. B.H. Roberts
(Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957), 2:52).
While we seek to make friends
and build bridges of understanding with persons of other faiths where possible,
we do not court favor, nor do we compromise one whit on what we believe. Some doctrines,
like the doctrine of “only true and living church” (D&C 1:30), by their very nature, arouse antagonism
from those of other faiths. Would it not be wise to avoid or at least downplay such
divisive points? Perhaps, some say, we should consider focusing on matters we have
in common and put aside, for the time being, the distinctive teachings of the Restoration.
Elder Boyd K. Packer declared:
“If we thought only
in terms of diplomacy or popularity, surely we should change our course. But we
must hold tightly to it even though some turn away. . . .
“It is not an easy thing for us to defend the position
that bothers so many others. But, brethren and sisters, never be ashamed of the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Never apologize for the sacred doctrines of the gospel.
Never feel inadequate and unsettled because you cannot explain them to the satisfaction
of all who might inquire of you. Do not be ill at ease or uncomfortable because
you can give little more than your conviction. . . .
“If we can stand without shame, without hesitancy,
without embarrassment, without reservation to bear witness that the gospel has been
restored, that there are prophets and Apostles upon the earth, that the truth is
available for all mankind, the Lord’s Spirit will be with us. And that assurance
can be affirmed to others” (Conference Report, October 1985,104, 107).
The Significance of a Matter
In the end, the only way that
the things of God can and should be known is by the power of the Holy Ghost. These
things are what the scriptures call the “mysteries of God.” Another way of stating
this is to suggest that the only way that spiritual truths may be known is by the
quiet whisperings of the Holy Ghost. How did Alma the younger know? Was it because
he was struck to the ground by an angel? Was it because he lay immobile and speechless
for three days while he underwent a confrontation with himself and his sinful and
rebellious past? No, Alma knew as we know: he may have undergone a serious turnaround
in his life through the intervention of a heavenly messenger, but the witness that
drove and directed this magnificent convert was the witness of the Spirit. In his
own words,
“Behold, I testify
unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how
do ye suppose that I know of their surety? Behold, I say unto you they are made
known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many
days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that
they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit;
and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me” (Alma 5:45-46).
On the
other hand, we can come to sense the significance of a spiritual reality
by the loud janglings of opposition it engenders. For example, what do the following
locations have in common: Portland, Dallas, Atlanta, White Plains, Nashville, Denver,
Stockholm, and Ghana? Clearly in each of these places the announcement that a Latter-day
Saint temple was to be built there brought opponents and even crazed zealots out
of the woodwork. If I did not already know by the quiet whisperings of the Spirit
within me that what goes on within temples is true and is of eternal import, I just
might sense the significance of the temple by the kind of opposition that seems
almost to flow naturally from those who refuse to see.
Consider
another illustration. Why is it that so many people throughout the world write scathing
books, deliver biting addresses, and prepare vicious videos denouncing the Book
of Mormon? What is it about black words on a white page, all of which are uplifting
and edifying, that invite men and women to come unto Christ and be perfected in
Him, that would arouse such bitter antagonism? Once again, if I did not already
know, by the quiet whisperings of the Spirit, that the Book of Mormon is truly heaven-sent
and indeed Another Testament of Jesus Christ, I would recognize its significance—its
power to settle doctrinal disputes, touch hearts, and transform men and women’s
lives—by the loud and hostile reactions people tend to have toward it.
Hugh Nibley, one of the greatest
minds of this dispensation, a defender of the faith throughout his life, stated:
“The words of the
prophets cannot be held to the tentative and defective tests that men have devised
for them. Science, philosophy, and common sense all have a right to their day in
court. But the last word does not lie with them. Every time men in their wisdom
have come forth with the last word, other words have promptly followed. The last
word is a testimony of the gospel that comes only by direct revelation. Our Father
in heaven speaks it, and if it were in perfect agreement with the science of today,
it would surely be out of line with the science of tomorrow. Let us not, therefore,
seek to hold God to the learned opinions of the moment when he speaks the language
of eternity” (The World and the Prophets (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book
and F.A.R.M..S., 1987), 134).
Conclusion
I have
learned a few things as I have learned a few things over the years. I thank God
for the formal education I have received, for the privilege it is (and I count it
such) to have received university training. Education has expanded my mind and opened
conversations and doors for me. It has taught me what books to read, how to research
a topic, and how to make my case or present my point of view more effectively. But
the more I learn, the more I value the truths of salvation, those simple but profound
verities that soothe and settle and sanctify human hearts. I appreciate knowing
that the order of the cosmos points toward a Providential Hand; I am deeply grateful
to know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that there is a God and that he is our
Father in heaven. I appreciate knowing something about the social, political, and
religious world into which Jesus of Nazareth was born; I am deeply grateful for
the witness of the Spirit that he is indeed God’s Almighty Son.
I appreciate
knowing something about the social and intellectual climate of nineteenth-century
America; I am grateful to have, burning within my soul, a testimony that the Father
and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith in the Spring of 1820, and that The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is truly the kingdom of God on earth. In short,
the more I encounter men’s approximations to what is, the more I treasure those
absolute truths that make known “things as they really are, and . . . things as
they really will be” (Jacob 4:13; compare D&C 93:24). In fact, the more we learn, the more we begin to realize what
we do not know, the more we feel the need to consider ourselves “fools before God”
(2 Nephi 9:42).
Those who choose to follow the
Brethren, believe in and teach the scriptures, and be loyal to the Church—no matter
the extent of their academic training or intellectual capacity—open themselves to
ridicule from the cynic and the critic. Ultimately, doctrinal truth comes not through
the explorations of scholars, but through the revelations of God to apostles and
prophets. And if such a position be labeled as narrow, parochial, or anti-intellectual,
then so be it. I cast my lot with the prophets. I am one who sincerely believes
that education need not be antithetical to conversion and commitment; it all depends
on where one places his or her trust. “True religion,” Elder Bruce R. McConkie testified,
“deals with spiritual
things. We do not come to a knowledge of God and his laws through intellectuality,
or by research, or by reason. . . . In their sphere, education and intellectuality
are devoutly to be desired. But when contrasted with spiritual endowments, they
are of but slight and passing worth. From an eternal perspective what each of us
needs is a Ph.D. in faith and righteousness. The things that will profit us everlastingly
are not the power to reason, but the ability to receive revelation; not the truths
learned by study, but the knowledge gained by faith; not what we know about the
things of the world, but our knowledge of God and his laws” (Conference Report,
April 1971, 99).
I know,
as I know that I live, that God lives, that he is our Father in heaven, that he
has a body of flesh and bones, and that we are created in his image. I know that
Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that he was crucified for the sins
of the world. I know that through genuine, godly sorrow for sin, we can have our
garments washed in the blood of the Lamb and enjoy peace and happiness here and
eternal glory hereafter. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God, a
covenant spokesman for Deity, the preeminent prophetic revealer of Christ and the
plan of salvation, the one called to stand as the head of this final gospel dispensation;
through his instrumentality, precious doctrinal truths and divine, saving authority
have been restored to the earth. Further, my witness is current. I know that Gordon
B. Hinckley stands in the shoes of Brother Joseph, that he holds the keys of the
kingdom of God in their fulness, and that it is our privilege to live at a time
when prophets and apostles walk the earth. This Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is in the line of its duty, and it is preparing a people for the second coming
of the Son of Man.
These
things I know. I have come to know them by the same means and in the same manner
that Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16-17). My knowledge of things spiritual, like
all true faith, is based on evidence that is not seen. I chose to believe,
and in the process I came to see, to know. At the same time, I possess what
the apostle Peter called a reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15). That is to say, my witness is as satisfying
and stimulating to my mind as it is settling and soothing to my heart.
God grant
that you and I, as a peculiar or a purchased people, may cleave unto Him who is
the Truth; that our total trust, our complete confidence, and our ready reliance
will always be in Him; that our lives will reflect more and more what we know and
believe; and that we will “shew forth the praises of him who hath called [us] out
of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
Back
to Top of the Document Speech by Robert L. Millet
To those who struggle;
a word of advice and warning:
Those who leave “the
fellowship of the ring” often followed same “7 Step plan for misery”.
There is but one straight
and narrow road. All others lead to hell starting with the one of our own making.
Jesus said to take up
your cross and bare it for his burden is light.
He did not say there
was no burden, but it is definitely light by comparison to Satan’s “balloon plan.“
The Devil’s burden seems light, as a hot air balloon, until he pops the bag leaving
his hapless followers to crash – and great is their fall.
For those who are hoping
that God is a Sugar-Daddy doling out on our schedule good times for good behavior,
I might recommend a review of the prophet’s lives. Paul’s wife died when he was
yet a young man. Numerous prophets were stoned to death for their efforts, Lot’s
wife so loved the sinful environment of her community, she turned back to her destruction
even while God was leading her out to safety. Joseph Smith endured trial after trial
from sources external and even close to home.
If that sounds like
– “Then what’s the point?” it is this, even in trial if your heart is at peace,
if you can find clarity of mind and heart, then you can endure about anything. Trials
endured well bring about a peace that as the scriptures say, “surpasses all understanding”
and that leads to Life more abundantly – even everlasting Life with the Father and
Son.
It is not always clear
to man as to the mind of God. He only expects
us to plod on his path, doing our best with what we have rendering 10 fold or 50
or 100 fold depending on our several abilities, but not comparing our success with
another’s. Recall the story of Zion’s Camp when the Lord told Joseph to rescue the
embattled saints in Missouri that they marched under hash, harsh conditions some
1000 miles to come within striking distance of their enemy only to be told to return
home. Some were furious and questioned God and the Prophet. Some rejected one, others
both; why after all would God command us to do such an arduous journey only to fail?
But many grew in strength from that effort, became refined from the trial, grew
in faithfulness and became the key pillars of leadership that held the church and
brought the kingdom to safety in the west after the prophet’s death.
I am reminded of a family
who really struggled with failures. The husband sometimes struggled as a breadwinner
and their large family of children were almost all catastrophes, choosing bad friends,
lawless behaviors, drugs and sex over God. I worked with some of her kids and I
can tell you sometimes they were a plague.
In the time frame I knew this family, one child was actually murdered by a deranged
boyfriend and several were in and out of jails; then they moved. Some years later
I received this note:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Dear Friends,
In our
hearts you will ever be our friends! For so many years we shared with you our never-ending
catastrophes and continual crisis-but undying testimony. Now, we want to share our
good fortune, unbelievable blessings and still undying testimony.
After we
moved to Idaho we got involved in the business of working with teenagers who have
A.D.H.D and who are struggling with life. We have a year-round outdoor program and
a year-round residential academic program for these teenagers. We also do foster
care in our home. The rewards are so great as we see families reunited and lives
put back together again.
We have
witnessed these very same things in our own family. Our oldest son... was re-baptized
this summer. He and his wife are planning a temple sealing this next summer... They
are both Psychology majors. Our next three oldest sons are all currently serving
missions [around the world]. We only have four children left at home; ...
Yes, all
of these children that were the source of our greatest sorrows are now the source
of our greatest joys. We think that even [our daughter’s] death was part of the
plan. Because, now, we are so dedicated to helping other families, so dedicated
to sharing the gospel, and so dedicated to the work of the temples.
She concludes:
It is heaven on
earth to us. We hope that it is the same
for you...With much love and best wishes for you and
your families.
Stay the course, keep
the faith, finish the race. That is what God requires. That is what will bring us peace and in the end
exaltation. We cannot do wrong and feel right. We cannot turn from the light that
God has given us and see but darkness. Even if we cannot see the whole way, yet
walk within the short patch of light at our feet. Stay, hold to that light.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
In actual practice, Latter Day Saints have more compliance with God’s lifestyle
commandments than is generally the case in “Christian” societies. This is born out
in such studies as Soul Searching:
The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, by Oxford University
Press…. Their demonstrated goodness, relative to the world, which surrounds them,
creates a stark contrast. Yet generally LDS people eschew accolades to that effect;
being taught to avoid the appearance and actuality of pride and personal comparisons.
So it is that some LDS may be tempted to brush with, but not indulge in, off color
language or behavior to avoid, perhaps subconsciously, the “dread” label of ‘Molly
Mormon’ or the like. Generally, Mormons have a reputation for eschewing all forms
of profanity, but I believe a growing minority of saints have begun a dalliance
with what I’ll call profanity-lite. It hurts the individual and damages the churches
reputation.
In the category of off-color language, “c..p” would have to be the favorite
tolerated language of those Mormons who indulge followed closely in popularity by
various profane modifiers such as “Holy c..p.” For the most part this kind of profanity
is not seen as such by those who use it. Yet, when Mormons are taught and take a
moment to address the topic few would argue for its usage nor would they
likely use such language in the presence of respected Church leaders.
When comes the usage of forms of expletives? To emphasize a point, people
who lack other linguistics means, might use some out of context word from one of
two categories; Extreme regard and/or Extreme disregard. In the category of “Regard”
you typically find to reference to God, Religion and/or Mother. A few examples are;
Holy Smokes, Jesus, Holy Mother of God etc (note below: Holy is one of God’s names)
In the category of Disregard you find references to Hell, Damnation, sexual impurity,
excrement etc.
For the most extreme emphasis or outright shock value, the clever user of
profanity will directly juxtaposition words from both categories. Mormon version:
Holy C..p. NonMormon version: Holy S..t.
Certainly more benign,
but rooted from a common vein are found other people who also lack better linguistics
skills, but whose moral upbringing precludes the more extreme proscribed language.
These have developed a whole vocabulary of curse-lite word; words that sound very
similar to the “forbidden” words;
friken, flippin, dang, dag blasted, shoot etc.
In some cases the words
are oh so close to their more shocking counterparts, where as others are safely
removed from the true curse words they may have derived from so as to be generally
acceptable.
From my read of the
Scriptures, it appears that God does not want us to mix into our daily speech any
such profane speech. Rather we should use language to precisely describe things
as they are. I.e. If we are hurt the response is “Ouch” or such. Likewise, the only
time to use language such as c..p is when we need to explain what we are scraping
off our shoe.
Listed below is some of the doctrinal basis for avoiding profane speech:
Lev. 21:
6; They
shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God
Lev. 20: 3; And I will set my face against
that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath … profane[d]
my holy name.
Moses 6: 57: Wherefore teach it unto your
children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the
kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence;
for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name.
Math 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time,
Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s
throne:
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it
is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head,
because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more
than these cometh of evil.
Lastly the 13th Article of Faith declares
that Latter Day Saints should be pursuing lovely and virtuous things. So I leave
that datum as the standard to judge against. If your language or actions can pass
that muster, then I’m sure you are in good shape. If not, then quit making excuses
and find some other way of expressing your thought. – or maybe – just maybe don’t
express it at all for as our mothers used to say, “If you cant say something nice,
then don’t say anything at all!”
Article of Faith 13: We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent,
virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition
of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things,
and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely,
or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Sermon given by Steve Marquis at the baptism of Hiram
Morrell 11/5/05
When announced, Enter Wearing
mud caked - filthy overalls & cowboy hat
To Latter
Day Saints, baptism is central, the gate to the Celestial Kingdom with God.
It’s waters symbolize a washing – a renewal where we enter the
waters to be cleansed of sin and emerge a new man.
3 Nephi 27: 19 And no unclean thing can enter into
his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have
washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of
all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.
<Remove filthy overalls and
position laid out on the ground with your hat>
Baptism
can be likened to a washing where we shed the filth of our sinful tendencies and
replace them with a determination to follow Christ, strengthened in our resolve
to do so by His Holy Spirit.
Do you recall the death of a loved one or perhaps even a pet:
The waters of Baptism are always at ground level such that Baptism also symbolizes
death; in this case the death of the sinful tendencies. Then, when we are raised
out of the water by a man ordained of God we then see therein the future resurrection
of the body and also the creation now of a new man - free from any desire to sin.
Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is
crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is
freed from sin.
My
baptism into this Church was one of the highlights of my life. My family had just
converted to the Church, but I was not quite 8 yet so I had to wait a few months.
I remember the day of my baptism vividly. To be baptized, I went to the old Stake
Center, as our building was just being constructed and the font was not completed.
As
I looked around the room at the people gathered, I was surprised to see a classmate
from school – also dressed in white and also my teacher from school. I came to know
that day that I was joining the Kingdom of God and that I would not be alone on
this journey.
Nevertheless, I also came to know that
the journey was not like an effortless bus ride to the pearly gates – more like
a Mt Climb with encouraging companions. Like any climb, to end up on the right peak,
you have to start out on the right trailhead. Baptism, in the right place, by someone
representing the Lord. is the gate to that trail. Climbers on the Lord’s trail carry
rope so that if someone amongst them stumbles and falls, he can be caught before
he really hurts himself. Each one of us promises that we will bear each other’s
burdens.
Mosiah 18: 8 … as ye are desirous to come
into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s
burdens, that they may be light;
9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort
those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times
and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye
may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that
ye may have eternal life.
10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have
you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that
ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments,
that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?
11 And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands
for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.
We
had done an activity at the Morrell home some time back where I let Hyrum dangle
from a rope slung over some rafter beam and then let the whole family try and hoist
him in vain, but when he could climb a ladder, then the family could take up the
slack and protect him- this of course spoke to our individual duty and efforts on
the one hand for our own salvation and on the other our duty in the kingdom to support
our brothers.
<Cut off a small section of
climber’s rope and give to Hyrum>
This
is to remind you that this journey requires effort and desire – you cannot be pulled
and dragged into heaven. The church and fellowship is there to help you but you
have to do the walking and it is equally there for you to be able to help others.
Now,
my father, who had been baptized just a few months before, had recently been ordained
a priest and was able to baptize me. One of the folks baptized that day was not
totally immersed, and so the ordinance was repeated. This was necessary because,
as we just read, “baptism symbolizes cleansing,
death, burial, and resurrection and birth, and this only can only be represented
by immersion.”
The Savior
also taught us that all men and women must be born again. Nicodemus, one of the
rulers among the Jews, asked Jesus what should one do to inherit life with God.
John 3:2 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
3 Nicodemus was bewildered and asked: “How can a man be born when he is
old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”
Jesus explained that He was talking about being born spiritually. He
said:
4 “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and
of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
So Baptism also represents the birth
of a new creature. From this day forth you
will not be the same – your eternal life was bought at a price – hence you are not
your own but willingly follow a master who we will serve all of our lives – not
out of force, but out of our desire to be like Him.
Alma 5:14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually
been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced
this mighty change in your hearts?
A story is told of the son of King
Louis XVI of France. As a young man, he was kidnapped by evil men when they dethroned
the king. For six months he was exposed to every filthy and vile thing that life
had to offer, yet he never buckled under the pressure. This puzzled his captors,
and they asked him why he had such great moral strength. His reply was simple: “I
cannot do what you ask, for I was born to be a king” (see Vaughn J. Featherstone, “The
King’s Son,” New Era, Nov. 1975, 35).
You were born to be a son of a King.
By being baptized, you have been promised the blessings of royalty. Knowing who
you really are should make a difference in your determination to realize that destiny.
When my
son, Jared, your old Sunday School teacher, was about to depart for war, his commander
spoke to the departing soldiers and their families saying, “The thing that will
get you though this is your faith in God and the training we’ve given you.”
You have
goodly parents and loving friends and church leaders who will give you the training
to prepare you for the battle. And the battle is very real for the hearts and souls
of men. It is being fought right here at home at your school and in our community,
The Lord needs strong men and women to stand up and be counted. That is what being
called a Christian is all about – not shrinking from the fight, but defending Christ
with boldness in word and deed.
May your
faith grow and carry you safely and victorious.
In Jesus’
Name – Amen Brother Steve Back
to Top of the Document
A silly silly response with a serious message.
I work in a high tech industry where a fellow coworker posted
a Doonesbury cartoon which sarcastically dressed down President Bush for questioning
the religion of the left (science mingled with pseudo-science).
It's an interesting anachronism, considering it's origins embraced
"Question Authority" but thinking a bit more, it occurred to me that all
the left has done is to replace God as The authority with a community of
‘the’ intellectuals; trading the white robes for white coats as it were. When the
Oracles speak we must all bow or be branded heretic or worse 'for those who worship
their own intellect" a simpleton.
When Reagan correctly pointed out that the lion share of summer
haze was due to trees and natural vegetation decay, the sarcastic hoot and holler
of "Cut me down before I kill again" dismissed any serious discussion
and that - followed up by rounding up anyone else spouting such nonsense to the public flogging.
There were no ‘Doubting Thomas’s’ amongst The Union of Concerned
Scientists as they demanded without proof that the "linear" model for
radiation exposure be the "faith statement" of the pious and unbeliever
alike; Booming from the media pulpit, “better to pay a tithe of high energy prices
to men in white coats than risk the ultimate damnation of death by cancer” - The
parishioners shudder and pay the dues to the deacons of non nuclear society.
Global Warming is prophesied as the just torment of the careless
-- damned to roast in bare cracked deserts of their own making. Heretic scientists
(doubters in
sheep’s clothing) are burnt at the media stake for noting that
Mars and even Pluto are showing similar climate change in sync with the sun's vacillating
displeasure. "Silence ye fiends!" or worse "Ye ignorant fools."
The evolutionists hold the seer stones to the past - conjuring
up estimates of ancient carbon concentrations to be held as sacrosanct as life itself...
Ahhh changed daily. Yes well, after all, the Theory of Change is Law and
in due obeisance no “Physics Today” article would be proper without beginning with
the catechism, "This changes our fundamental understanding of..."god hath
spoken it! and who should doubt his word - spoken even by his mouthpiece, Professor
Aaron of the Holy Order of the White Coat.
The parallels between the new faith and the old are astonishing.
But sadly, the new religion beats on the consciences of the new parishioners with
the same old rod - fear; the former with fear of eternal death or damnation and
the latter with near term death and disease.
But at least in the former, man had an eternal destiny and importance.
With the “New” faith, man is reduced to complex reactive action potentials (C.R.A.P.). Oh dear, I sense a Columbine coming on from one
of the new faith believers - but, don’t worry; after all, even your worry is just
C.R.A.P. You'll get over it and then you'll S.T.O.P. (Systems Terminated - Offline
Permanently).
Then praise them, those valiant Oracles in White Coats. May they
function long as they search for the Rosetta stones certain that in the finding
they will finally be able to decipher the ultimate meaning of S.T.O.P.
Oops time to go. I hear
the university bells announcing ‘call to meeting’.
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
by Steve marquis 6/18
2006 Snoqualmie Congregation.
(Holding
up the scriptures) The words of our forefathers captured in this writ tell poignant
stories of relationships of fathers and their sons. I have written many letters
to my own sons – one day maybe they’ll let me publish them – You see. that’s what
much of these scriptures are – and the most memorable ones are like good campfire
stories; trouble,
conflict and resolution sometimes happy and sometimes
sad. You can be assured of one thing – there is nothing new under the sun.
Few if
any of us, rich or poor, escape this life without trials and if its commiseration
you want – you’ll have good company snuggling up to this for bedtime consolation.
Take Lehi
for instance – the perhaps eccentric, definitely visionary prophet with at best
begrudging - tentative respect to extremes
of life-threatening rebellion of his older
sons.
And then
there’s old Eli – You remember the High priest with his two rascals for sons who
would shake down the temple goers. Can you imagine that instead of blessing the
sacrament, if the Bishop’s son, and his gang would rough you up in the hall lift
your tithing envelops and womanize instead of worship at the Temple grounds?
Or what
about Abraham – some members of this congregation, sadly, may have had some part
of their life injured by abuse of one form or another. Abraham’s apostate dad tried
to have him offered up as a blood sacrifice. That’s some serious abuse.
And then
there’s Joseph – starting off married life with the potential embarrassment of an
out of wedlock pregnancy and personal betrayal who nevertheless stepped up to the
role of step dad.
It’s so
easy to excuse our own struggles raising children and at once be critical of some
figure whose whole life story is condensed to a few pages. Old Eli is a great case.
He is best known in the scriptures as the High Priest that failed to reign in his
sons. He is the favorite whipping boy for permissive parenthood. I got some taste
for the complexity of these matters when as a 15 year old, my son took my truck
past our private road to joy ride up Lake Alice. Coming down, he lost control and
totally destroyed the truck and knocked himself silly. To claim with insurance the
loss of my new truck meant I’d have to file with the police a stolen car report
against my son – which I did not do. Suddenly Eli’s dilemma, where his sons lives
could be forfeit, took on new dimensions; a complexity that merits some empathy.
I do agree
with the classic “lessons learned” that settings standards and sticking to them
is imperative, but now I am less likely to rush to judgment against another parent
with troubled teens. Raising children is
a complex business and while there are definite effects from the nurture
environment, I have every reason to conclude that much of our children’s response
is innate and God’s judgments on our children will not be flawed due to a parent’s
imperfection.
Does it
make sense that Mr. Joe Visitor’s eternal destiny is dependent on how well Brother
Marquis preaches today. If anything, these stories teach us is that if someone is
going to go bad, it will not matter how good the family environment. Likewise, some
will overcome all no matter how bad the circumstance. Like cream in fresh milk from
the cow – some children just rise to the top – aka Abraham who became the great
prophet and patriarch. Conversely, I’ve often wondered if God doesn’t send sometimes
his most head-strong cases to certain homes to truly give them the best shot.
In engineering,
there is a concept called the natural response. To determine the natural response
you drive the system with an impulse function. This is exactly how a tuning fork
works. You whack it with an impulse and it rings as its own natural
frequency response is revealed. (Whack tuning fork)
While
in any Gospel Doctrine class you are sure to hear Eli get a drumming of critique,
I had struggled for some time feeling that Lehi could have done this or Lehi could
have said this or why did he roast Lamen and Lemuel publicly – couldn’t he have---
what if he had spoken privately, what if, what if.
The fact
of the matter was that all Lehi & Sariah’s children got basically the same loving
environment but some chose a different path. The opening line speaks volumes. “I Nephi having been born of goodly
parents.”
I learned
some wonderful things from Dad like patients in adversity, duty to God as exemplified
in Scouting and dedicated care to others. Was he perfect; of course not – sure he
was human, but I can say he really tried to do right by us and 4 of 5 children are
married to this day in the temple and all his children’s children are active in
church, still married and love the Lord. Shall I stand in judgment because of my
one prodigal brother or just maybe I should dispense from playing God and shew forth
mercy and hope knowing God Loves all his children.
Back to Lehi; those campfire stories told of events of their
lives; getting the plates, constructing and sailing a ship, struggling for food
etc were all impulse functions as God tested the metal of their characters. Those
stories show that the prophet was a man with esome faults and weaknesses, but they
also show that God’s hand is outstretched individually to each of His children
and individually each man or woman will walk though those pearly gates and
stand before God to answer.
Standing
there blaming some mistake your parents made won’t mitigate the judgment because
God’s mercy will already have accounted for life’s innumerable handicaps.
So the
take away here is to stop blaming your hardships and rise like the Cream God intends
and claim your salvation and exaltation with God and Christ.
What I
learn from this whole complex is that God is the judge. All will be taken into account
in the judgment. Neither our children’s salvation
nor their exaltation is in our hands – they are in the hands of our Lord Jesus.
Only our own salvation and/or exaltation is under our direct choice.
God expects
each one of us to do our best to be good parents or goodly children. We will
be judged on our works, but one needed fret over a son or daughter’s heavenly reward
–
My
children’s future is in God’s capable hands. Remember he is the father of us all
and that should provide peace.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
A follow-up letter
and additional commentary regarding a sermon delivered by Steve Marquis Dec 2005
Snoqualmie LDS Congregation.
Dear Friends
My comments and testimony
last month inspired some questions afterwards in the hallway. Let me 1st
try and refresh what I intended to convey. Don’t hold me to order; it’s tough enough
to remember the content!
Now that’s all I said, and I stand by those comments as within the scope
of the stated teachings of the brethren.
My comments were intended to provoke our thoughts and hopefully action to
the cause of public righteousness.
If you would like to explore the questions about party affiliation posed
in the hallway, I’ve prepared an outline and brief of my thoughts. If not – simply
toss the next few pages and this note should be considered the end of my response.
Church and State
Let me get to the root of what I gather may have been the concern. I didn’t
couch the questions in this clarity when I spoke, but one brother inferred them
- so lets examine them.
·
Can a faithful
Christian be a member of the Democrat party?
·
Can a faithful
Christian be a leader or elected representative in the Democrat party?
·
Can a faithful
Christian vote for a Democrat?
Before I address
these specific questions, let’s gather a little bit of background on the church
and politics.
In the Mormon churches’ early days in
Kirkland, Missouri, Illinois and Deseret, the saints tended to vote, publicly so,
as a block. Among other things, this caused
a great deal consternation on the part of the political parties. Switching from
one party to another did not alleviate the problems, as neither party trusted the
Mormons to be in their pocket. In other words,
they were not easily manipulated as they took their major influence from the church
hierarchy – not the party bosses. This explained much government-sponsored persecution
aimed at breaking the church as a theocracy.
With Utah
becoming a state, the church wanted to avoid the previous criticisms and assured
that a 2 party system would succeed. They literally had bishops designated the left
side of a congregation to one party and the right side to other party!
The 1st
senator from the state of Utah, an apostle, was refused a seat and sent packing
back to Utah – elected or not. The next election, Reed Smoot, son of polygamists
came to Washington. With Roosevelt’s help and the famous speech from a fellow Senator
(“I would rather sit with a polygamist who won’t polyg than with a monogamist that
won’t manog”), he retains his seat.
From those
days and true until the 1950s or so, issues of morality did not play any significant
role in state or national politics. Differences were largely confined to fiscal
and international policies. In the 50’s and 60s the Democrat south was largely against
civil rights for blacks. The civil rights
act of 64-65 was proposed, promoted, and carried by the majority Republican support.
President
Johnson, a noted racist, suddenly got Civil Rights religion and determined that
by offering handouts he anticipated generational fealty to his party. By creating
dependence, the former slave class would willingly join their plantation! By the
end of the 1960s and into the 70s, the Democrat party swung radically to embracing
social politics of dependency. This scheme
began to build a new dedicated voter block. If a group could be identified and justified
to be one that Government $ can be funneled, then a circular dependency was exploited.
I bring
this “dependency” point up in this context because a key unique LDS doctrine comes
into play.The Democrat party preaches that society should guarantee (control) the
outcome of all personal behavior (unless you are in the communal elite). Therefore,
any personal failure of an individual becomes an indictment to the process that
(by their way of thinking) should have educated, monitored and controlled that individual’s
behavior. Everyone is a victim in need of the party’s protection.
This is,
in fact, one of the fundamental differences between what I call the social-crats
and the conservatives; individual responsibility, VS the communal control. This
expresses itself in a variety of issues from fighting tort reform, attack on the
second amendment to our military situations like the Abu Grad prison. It should
not be lost on a student of LDS philosophy, that the Mormon understanding of Lucifer
is one who wanted to guarantee that none would fail. His process would assure to that. Naturally, to accomplish that - all power, authority
and glory would be invested in him (the devil) or the ELITE.
The
most important dependency cycle of all is the control the public schools by fighting
all forms of competition (vouchers). The
Democrats have enjoyed the fruits, across the nations, of the unionization of teachers.
They also affect the teaching of major issues via the NEA. Influencing the next
generation to be sympathetic to Democrat Party issues is crucial for party survival. But just what are those Democrat Party values
that touch on moral issues? Examining them
one by one, it would be exceptionally difficult to claim that the Democrat Party
platform in any way aligns with church teachings.
But
rather than party labels, often the best approach is to examine each issue. But
sometimes even that suffers. I’ve met LDS persons who voted Democrat because they
supported access to abortion! Their logic was distorted and far from church principles
– largely suffering from a classic plague called ‘lack of proportionality.’ In this
case, it was acceptable to kill 10s of millions of babies to save discomfort of
perhaps a few thousand incest victims. This distortion of the virtue of empathy
is rampant in the ranks of politics. Despite
repeated warning about Pride and Government, way too many LDSs voted for a dead
end candidates or even an avowed socialists because – Pride. The current president
was not sophisticated and was sometime annoying in speech and did not have the praise
of France and Hollywood. Like rooting for a team they wanted to “feel” like a winner.
I can’t tell you how many people spoke about how poorly they thought EU felt about
the president…They were really speaking about how they thought that popularity reflected
on them…That’s the Pride Cycle the Book of Mormon repeatedly warned about and many
of our people could net even see that they were speaking about us in our time! (See
essays 64, 68, 83)
Nevertheless, at least these questions should be examined
carefully for any candidate:
Public Acknowledgement of Deity
10 commandment displays
National Motto – In God we Trust
National Anthem
US supreme Court call to order
Prayer in schools
Football games, Commencement
Prayer in public
Military colleges
Senate - City meetings
Homosexual (or alphabet soup) “Rights”
Defense of Marriage Amendment
Abortion policy
Notification of Parents
Permission of Parents
Medical Disclosure requirements
“Cooling off” requirements
Infanticide (Partial Birth abortion)
Pre-marital Sex
Pregnancy prevention
Condom distribution in schools
Death Penalty
2nd amendment rights (the right that guarantees
all the other rights)
Government dole
Pornography
Library policy
Internet filtering
Women in combat
Women in the workplace
Other issues???
So – back to the
key questions.
·
Can a faithful
Christian be a member of the Democrat party?
Certainly.
A classic political scheme is to vote in primaries for the better (or occasionally
- deliberately for the worst) of two candidates and then to vote in the final election
for a member of the opposite party. Many
LDS people feel they can affect some good – especially at the local level by staying
involved in both major parties. It is harder to avoid, though, the appearance of
association with evil given the current Democrat party platform. This is a tough one of late as the parties have
begun to strongly align themselves on moral issues. There has begun to be crossovers/defections
in both directions. The ability to appoint
goodly judges has been substantially hurt this last few years by one stealth republican
defecting to the democrats.
·
Can a faithful
Christian be a leader or elected representative in the Democrat party?
In the traditional Democrat south and religious communities like
Utah – yes. The support base is so strong
that national political $ cannot oust popular officials, but make no mistake that
key leadership position and party dollars will not be available to such a rare non-party
line Democrat. Looking at the record of various
key telling votes, there are precious few such examples.
·
Can a faithful
Latter Day Saint (or Christian) vote for a Democrat.
Certainly, if the alternative was worse or the Democrat in question
fit the rare mold outlined above.
As I have
tried to point out, times have changed and the parties have taken clear positions
on moral issues that LDS people should take special note of. The church recently
commissioned a poll of LDS folks to determine our level of involvement in the voting
process. It was determined that if we (1) actually voted and (2) voted for a common
cause or candidate, our numbers were sufficient to swing elections.
Now I am
perfectly aware that there are some Republican scoundrels and some Republican party
positions that do not represent the moral positions as squarely as I would like,
but this pales with the moral turpitude espoused by the vast majority of Democratic
candidates and codified by a party platform that could only be inspired from the
depths of hell.
Lastly,
there are some fringe candidates who have no chance of getting voted into office
that I could cast my vote for, but I have to decide if I want to be able to effect
the situation and how best to do that. Perhaps in the South or Utah, there may be
some rare shining light in the Democratic sea of darkness worth elevating to office,
but in most states, the moral distinctions are so clear, that to vote for a Democrat
for anything higher than dog catcher is to deny one’s faith. The Catholic bishops have it dead right when they
announced recently that elected officials supporting abortion in their policies
should not be granted communion. Multiply
that by the dozen or so other moral issues, where the Democrats align with the dark
side.
So, if you
detected an inference to a particular party in my testimony, I can only hope that
you were not alone and that God pricks the hearts of all those good men and women
who have in times past simply done nothing.
When you consider affiliating with a party, remember that you are known
by the company you keep.
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
by Steve Marquis.
One of my young friends once lamented about how his Christian
friends at school berated him for belonging to a church which they insisted did
not believe in Christ. “I explained that
we did believe in Jesus,” but his friends were not persuaded by his argument that
the Church is named after Jesus.
I have long been of the conclusion that the LDS success as a
evangelical organization is at the root of this stubborn opposition. These opponents
feign offence at our bold assertions regarding revelation and priesthood authority
and are quick to condemn our knowledge so derived. While claiming no revelation for themselves, they
take a stance that our Christ is not THE Christ (as they define him) and therefore
we are not “Christians.” This is all the more ironic considering the expressed lack
of understanding and definition offered by their own ranks.
Most Catholic and Protestant
believers trace roots of their Trinitarian theocracy from the Nicene Creed dating
from about 300 AD. Consider the base catechism espoused by nearly all Catholic and
protestant derivatives.
“…God the Father incomprehensible, God the Son incomprehensible,
and God the Spirit incomprehensible, but not 3 incomprehensibles, but 1 incomprehensible...”
By their
own “clear” catechism, these folks claim not to be able to comprehend God.
For a group to be so offended by another’s opinion of the God Head while spouting off such is astounding
hypocrisy. This is all the more troubling in light of Jesus’ own pronouncements
of the importance of knowing him.
John 17: 3 And this is life eternal, that they
might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
The Church
of Jesus Christ declares that Jesus of Nazareth is the Savior of mankind,
who took upon him the sins of the world and in a miraculous experience we call the
atonement experienced our troubles in a way that allows him and him only to transform
our lives so that when we see him we will be like him. The cleansing of our sins
is not just a whitewash, but a transformation where we no longer have desire to
sin – else heaven would be populated with evil smuggled in behind the cloak of Christ.
1 Jn. 3: 2 Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is
The Church
of Jesus Christ further declares that each person is entitle to his own revelation
as to the Godhood and mission of Christ and his kingdom on earth which is led by
Prophets and Apostles who receive His word for the governance of the Church and
the benefit of mankind.
Math 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered
and said; Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed
art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
The Church of Jesus Christ furthermore takes the same stance toward
our fellow Christians as our master espoused long ago in Jerusalem. Jesus spoke to this non-confrontational attitude
when others, even in his own time, began setting up churches in his name:
Luke 9:49 And John answered and said, Master,
we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth
not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not
against us is for us.
With that charitable attitude, we fight against none but those who espouse
evil and invite all to come and learn about Christ and experience His salvation
and join in building up His kingdom on earth.
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
by Steve Marquis. Back to Top of the Document
Dear [Friend]
I was thinking about
you and felt impressed to write a note to you, not as a church leader for which
I am not, but as a brother.
I was talking to my
sons in Family Home Evening about the temple and how we often talk about going to
the temple as ‘an event’. Sometimes we may
be tempted to think of our activity in general in God’s kingdom as checkboxes Ö - “well done that! What’s next?” I wanted to help them understand that the gospel
and in particular, the temple is even more so a place of learning, communion with
God and Covenant making; a place where God in turn grants us an endowment of knowledge,
power and ultimately exaltation with Him.
This endowment
is alluded to in D&C 132: 19 (abbreviated)
And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife…by the
new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise…it
shall be said unto them—Ye shall …inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and
powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then … it shall be done unto them in all
things …in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they
are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are
set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon
their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever
and ever.
And referenced again
in DC 121:45:46
…then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence
of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews
from heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an
unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting
dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.
Among other things,
the temple covenant and associated endowment involves the basic lessons taught by
the prophets of old.
The Law of
the Gospel teaches us Love and Repentance
and Forgiveness.
The Law of Chastity teaches us the sacred nature of the creative powers and to reserve it strictly for within the covenant of Temple Marriage.
The law of
Sacrifice, as taught in the old
testament for instance, (like the story of Abraham and Isaac) teaches us to be willing
to give all to God; to put Him 1st above all things. I would like to
elaborate somewhat on this point. Consider the Apostle’s response to the call of
Jesus.
Matt.
4:19-22 And he saith
unto them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And they
straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he
saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in
a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And
they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
Luke 9:59-62
And he said unto
another, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury
my father.” Jesus said unto him, “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and
preach the kingdom of God.” And another also said, “Lord, I will follow thee; but
let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.” And Jesus said
unto him, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for
the kingdom of God.”
Joseph Smith once said
that "a religion that does not require the sacrifice
of its members will not have the power to save them." In an age where imposters clothed in black robes
with folksy drum and rhythm bands promote ‘microwave salvation’ and ‘drive up window
communion’, the Kingdom of God preaches the simple message of repentance, sacrifice
and through priesthood ordinances sets the people of God on the road to salvation
and exaltation.
This is very
much in contrast to what the world teaches us – especially our young women; The
idea that you can “have it all”. The reality is, in life,
there are always trade-offs. Sometimes we have to leave one good thing to reach
for that which is more excellent.
DC 10:10 And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay
aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better (part).
Notice that in one sense
we learn to put God 1st; Football, Rock climbing, etc, even education
and jobs come a distant 2nd. Yet
we learn that putting our striving for God 1st does in no way leave us
destitute as to our physical needs and desires.
When we put God truly 1st, He in turn blesses our lives immensely.
For all their sacrifice and efforts in the Kingdom, the saints are in general much
better off in their family life, occupation and education than those who do not
know God. It seems it is very hard to out-give God. Even when the early Utah Pioneers were in desperate
need to lay up food for the winter, Brigham Young admonished that if ever they needed
Gods blessings, it was now and they should worship on the Sabbath and leave off
from the fields that day.
What sometimes happens,
though, as we clutter up our lives, one new commitment at a time, with “wholesome”
activities, that suddenly we discover that we have no time or physical energy to
put God 1st during the week and even His Sabbath gets overrun with leftover
activities and occupations best left for another day. For the adversary to
win he needn’t get us to overtly choose evil, he merely needs to get us engaged
in one pursuit after another until we are too worn out to serve God. Remember that sacrifice in the days of old meant
giving up something desirable; the best lamb, the 1st fruits. The apostles
left their nets to follow Him. Jesus in turn called his disciples His friends. To be labeled that by God is a blessing indeed.
To the saints of his time, Alma challenged them to examine their standing before God. This is something each one of us needs to do throughout our lives. His words are provocative:
Alma 5: 26 And now behold, I say unto you,
my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing
the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?
The Gospel is a lot
more than just the challenge of new set of things to do. The center is not activities;
the circumference is neither leadership nor the path - a set of check boxes. It is Love in your heart and a feeling of desire
in your heart to seek God with all your might mind and strength. (See Mark 12:30).
Life has a way sometimes of creeping up and obscuring our perspective on what is truly important. On the job, the field or one social commitment or another, we so easily conceive of ourselves as indispensable. “How can XYZ go on without me?” This is a classic problem with folks like myself. Wisdom teaches, though, that the world will go on and the sun will rise with or without us and the only place where one cannot be replaced is in one’s family and the family of God. There are so many things I wish I could devote myself to, but when circumstances hedge up upon me such that I cannot serve God and Family, then I occasionally have to regroup and bridle one aspiration or another – then refocus on God’s will. Even Jesus himself said, “father, not my will but thine be done”.
Well, [Friend], you
are one of God’s great children. May he bless
you and keep you on your journey and search for His will in your life.
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
Dear Friend
I must say, I have quite
enjoyed getting to know you and am always impressed with people like yourself who
seek. After all, Jesus, said, “Seek and Ye
shall find”
I hope it’s ok that
some of your gospel questions were shared with me. I felt you would be kindly disposed
to hear a few thoughts from a fellow sojourner. Some years back as a missionary,
I was an ordained minister of our Lord and had many opportunities to explain the
gospel and testify about our Savior and His Kingdom on earth. This Kingdom is ‘the Church’, you hear about so
often. So when one of the LDS youth says
something like “I know ‘the Church’ is true.” That’s ‘Mormonese’ for a lot of things bundled together.
He is saying, “I know that Jesus is my Savior and is the head of this Church and
Jesus guides it directly through his living prophets and perhaps much more. Personally, I like the detail of someone’s testimony
as I find “the Church is true” can be a bit vague, but I generally understand it
to mean they believe this is Gods Kingdom on earth and contains the fullness of
the gospel – thus “Is True” rather than just contains truth.
In today’s pluralistic
society, the socialcratic influence from Gods adversary has in the name of tolerance
of differences trained up a generation with the inability to judge anything. The adversary would have us believe that there
is no devil. This is the basis for the wave
of moral relativism sweeping the western world.
There is right and there is wrong.
This does not mean that one should flaunt ones knowledge and denigrate others
in the name of God.
I think you have seen that in a church setting
our people share and strengthen one another in word and deed, but in the community
are very careful to not offend or put down our Christian or non-Christian neighbors. It is after all the 11th Articles of Faith which declares:
“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to
the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them
worship how, where, or what they may.”
Jesus spoke to this non-confrontational
attitude when others, even in his own time, began setting up churches in his name. He said:
Luke 9:49
And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and
we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid
him not: for he that is not against us is for
us.
I myself was raised,
in my early years, a member of another faith and I am grateful for the testimony
of Jesus and the truthfulness of the Bible I received therein. Subsequently, I have come to know, by experience
with the spirit, that God has restored his kingdom to the earth and this is a powerful
message to a world starving for direct guidance from God. We believe that one can sincerely pray to God
and receive confirmation to that effect.
That is why our missionaries seldom do Bible bashing (Study) to “prove” the
Gospel. I happen to believe after much study
of others faiths, that it is much easier to support our understanding of Gospel
principle from the Bible than any other faith, but I did not come to my conviction
from an intellectual sparring session; it came via prayer and experience with the
spirit. I do not believe this is an exclusive
opportunity.
We believe that
just as there was a falling a way and loss of authority to act in Gods name prior
to Christ birth and that a new prophet was raised up (John) to prepare the way for
his 1st coming, that after the death of the prophets and apostles called
by Jesus that another falling away and loss of authority to act in Gods name occurred.
This falling away was prophesied as well as the restoration in the last days.
2 Thes. 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first…
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the
land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the
words of the Lord:
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they
shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
History is pretty clear that for a substantial time corresponding roughly from 300AD to the end of the “dark Ages” that the Church Hierarchy suffered as predicted. Please note that God did NOT force this, but in general, man rejected the truth.
2 Tim 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but
after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables.
Then, as predicted,
a time of restoration came to prepare the world for the second coming, just as John
prepared it for the 1st coming.
Acts 3:21 {Jesus} Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution
of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since
the world began.
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants
the prophets.
You may find this quote interesting:
A
Catholic Utterance
In a pamphlet
entitled The Strength of the Mormon Position,
the late Elder Orson F. Whitney, of the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, related the following incident under
the heading “A Catholic Utterance”:
Many years ago a learned man, a member
of the Roman Catholic Church, came to Utah and spoke from the stand of the Salt
Lake Tabernacle. I became well-acquainted with him, and we conversed freely and
frankly. A great scholar, with perhaps a dozen languages at his tongue’s end, he
seemed to know all about theology, law, literature, science and philosophy. One
day he said to me: “You Mormons are all ignoramuses. You don’t even know the strength
of your own position. It is so strong that there is only one other tenable in the
whole Christian world, and that is the position of the Catholic Church. The issue
is between Catholicism and Mormonism. If we are right, you are wrong; if you are
right, we are wrong; and that’s all there is to it. The Protestants haven’t a leg
to stand on. For, if we are wrong, they are wrong with us, since they were a part
of us and went out from us; while if we are right, they are apostates whom we cut
off long ago. If we have the apostolic succession from St. Peter, as we claim, there
is no need of Joseph Smith and Mormonism; but if we have not that succession, then
such a man as Joseph Smith was necessary, and Mormonism’s attitude is the only
consistent one. It is either the perpetuation of the gospel from ancient times,
or the restoration of the gospel in latter days.”
I know it’s human nature to more readily accept miracles and prophets of ages ago rather than here and now. Even Jesus had the problem, where his own town’s folk could not believe that the local carpenter could be the great prophet much less the messiah.
Mark 6:3 Is not this the
carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon?
and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
Eph 1:10 …That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together
in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even
in him:
See also Eph 4: 5, 11-14
Brother Joseph was the prophet of the restoration and the Book of Mormon and the kingdom are the fruits of that Tree. The beauty of this is it can be tested like any good science experiment.
1 Thes. 5: 21 Prove all things; hold fast that
which is good.
Moroni
10:4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that
ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are
not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith
in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. And whatsoever
thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ,
but acknowledgeth that he is. And ye may
know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that
ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of
the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.
I hope this wasn’t
too long. I thought I’d just touch on the
big picture. May your search be fruitful.
Your Friend,
Ps Check out the
Church web sites:
Lds.org
scriptures.lds.org
mormon.org
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Dear Young Sister,
Normally I’m kept quite
busy in my ministry to the youth with only our young men, but occasionally I feel
impressed to share a word or two of encouragement to a young lady. From the 1st time we met, I felt there was something
special about you. It’s more than your amusing
wit and good-naturedness. I think God has
some special things in store for this young lady. Generally, you’d have to be on a Mt peak somewhere
to hear about my conversion, but I felt impressed
to share my testimony with you my young friend
by letter.
Not too long ago, when
I walked the trail you now tred, I questioned whether the faith of my fathers was
more than just a good feeling. I was inundated as a young man with the theology
of Darwinism, promoted as the State religion. In my biology and physiology classes
it was proclaimed loud and trumpeted from the hilltops as truth and 'science', yet
the unavoidable conclusions of the state’s official theology left me empty - a life
void of any meaning.
Surely there was more? Was I really just a complex of electro-chemical
reactions doomed to vanish, never to have consciousness apart from this brief spark.
"I think, therefore I am", a philosopher once mused. I contemplated; Doctors
have found the command centers in our brains, but have they found the commander?
It was so confusing; was it just dross and empty nothingness or eternal progression
and trails of glory. If only the God of Heaven would come and speak to me! How could others claim they knew and it be so
dark and murky for me?
I worked for a 24/7
gas station at the time to pay the bills. It was owned by a Mormon fellow, but on
a Highway corner, we all took turns manning the post on Sunday. Now at that time
of my life, Sunday was another time to spend with my girlfriend at church (that
was the purpose, the girl, not the God) and
I just noticed this one Nigerian exchange student I worked with was never ever scheduled
for a Sunday shift. Frankly I was envious and curious. So I asked him, how he managed
it. What he said makes me chuckle even today,
“ Oh, no man. I no work’n Sunday. Its ‘gainst ma religion man” “Huh? Its against everybody’s religion!”, said
I. He again repeated the same thing with even greater emphasis. So now he had me super interested; Islam, what?
I asked, “So what is your religion?” What
he said flummoxed me, “Beer wine and women, man”, nodding his head in self-approval,
“beer wine and women!”
That funny exchange
got me to serous thinking – He was obviously more committed to that religion – so
called - that I was about mine! So what did I believe? That odd conversation
set me on a journey – a quest – I had to know.
The public school’s
theology of Darwinism left me empty - a life void of any meaning. Was I nothing more? Was I really just a complex of electro-chemical
reactions doomed to vanish, never to have consciousness apart from this brief spark.
If only the God of Heaven would come and speak to me!
Frankly, in the bustle
of life as a teen, I had all but forgotten miracles small and large my own eyes
had seen. I had all but forgotten His interventions. Looking back, I now remember
that moment of vision where I saw a high-speed collision about to transpire in a
blind intersection. It was early 5:30AM while delivering the morning newspapers
in my dad’s car. In the residential district, I was racing 60MPH through a totally
blind 4way stop. Instantly, I saw in my minds eye another young driver entering
the intersection at equal speed from my left. I ‘knew I had only one chance by slipping
to the right to save our lives. In a blink of the eye I slipped right as I entered
and by that same small margin I had slipped, we missed each other! I had maneuvered
my car blindly to cheat an early grave from my reckless driving.
I had forgotten only
a year later that I was 'impressed' one day to step back from where I had just stood
working on Mom’s car as a branch silently but deadly came crashing down from a hundred
feet above to where I had just stood.
I had forgotten the
sudden healing I received at the hands of my newly ordained father when I was but
8 years old when I had a major concussion from a bad fall at school, but I did remember
the inner warmth of singing a hymn...
This may seem odd,
but miracles both small and large that I had experienced did not in themselves drive
me to any conclusion and my lifestyle
was definitely taking me in another direction making it increasingly easier for
me to dismiss former convictions. . I think it was our
Seattle Patriarch Bateman who said:
“People go one of two ways: they either make effort
to conform their lives to their convictions or they abandon their convictions to
conform to their actions. We cannot long tolerate a significant disparity between
our actions and our convictions.”
Math and a little
inspiration A thought experiment with two possible and startling conclusions.
At this same time,
I was in college during a time when nuclear war with Russia was a serious possibility.
It occurred to me to run a thought experiment where I postulated the end of the
earth when all are suddenly vaporized; what then is left to supply meaning or significance
to any of the activities before the terrible end?” I could find no significance
whatsoever. In fact, a microsecond later it was as if the earth and its inhabitance
and all that had transpired there had never existed at all. I was also studying
calculus at the time and using some of the proof methodology for limit theorems
I iterated my variable of time and deduced that no matter how far back from that
grand event – the end conclusion of meaninglessness never changes. It was thus proven
that “If life means nothing at infinity,
it means nothing today…..”
The proof restated is:
1)
Given - we mean nothing at infinity+1
2)
Does anything transpiring at infinity-n change the
1st axiom?. No.
3)
Letting n -approach infinity. brings me right back
to today with that same unavoidably depressing conclusion.
But then a spark of
enlightenment; I think the Almighty inspired me with this small but critical epiphany.
I reversed the corollary to an equally profound axiom, that “If life does means something at infinity, then
of necessity it means everything today!”– a revelation, if you will, that “if
we did have significance at infinity, then we must have significance now.”
This couplet is what
led me on a quest to earnestly find God; who was also claimed to exist outside of
the constraint of time. If I could only somehow touch the “existing one”, outside
of time, then I would know that life did have significance. Now, that brighter
conclusion, that our lives might mean something beyond electrochemical reactions,
certainly seemed desirable but that desirability was by no means proof.
I came to some crux in that 18th year,
where I could no longer live with the schism between my actions and my former convictions.
Autobiography excerpt 1975:
“So it was that I found myself alone in my apartment; free from anyone, wondering
is this all there really is? In this quiet
moment, I remembered the words "prove me herewith", "ask and ye shall
receive", "trial of your faith", "if it is a good fruit",
"...with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of
all things", "if you lack wisdom".
So I did. Steeped in the rules of scientific investigation, I knew that conclusions with no experiment were just opinions. I took the challenge laid out by the ancient prophets, James’, Alma's and Moroni's and read their writings with open and real intent. I followed the procedure, even fasted and each night for several weeks I spoke to the heavens. When I got so far as to read 2 Nephi 33, I was impressed.
2Nephi 33:3
But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth,
and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine
eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith,
and I know that he will hear my cry.
I was struck by a compassion he had for others that I had never known and remembering the story of King Lamoni’s plea, “Oh God, if there is a god….”, I uttered something to that effect – but not flippantly, I was intrigued by the man Nephi’s passion and compassion for others – how does anyone have so much concern for others. I didn’t have it, but I could see the value of having purpose and vision. My question was sincere and I was willing to hear. Perhaps more importantly I was willing to respond.
“the scene opened to my 'eyes' where I saw through his (Nephi’s) eyes and felt what he felt for his people with such impact as I had never imagined. That evening I experienced something lifechanging. Vision, dream? It was very real. I knew what love meant.
Then in this experience I found myself on a trail that crossed a stream. I slipped and was swept into the fast-flowing stream. The banks were slippery with mud and the water dark, filthy and cold. I reached for the only stable hold and found it an iron rod. Even with one hand clinging it was not enough and I realized I had to hang on with both hands. So, I held on for all my strength as the current buffeted and dragged at my body.
I came to myself and 'knew' that it was people like me Nephi was weeping over and the ‘filthy water’ was the life that was sullying my future. I understood that if I was to survive, I’d have to hang on to the words and commandments of God with both hands and place both feet on the path.
Continuing: Somehow
God had reached down to speak to one of His. Overnight, I had a new heart and conviction
to follow the iron rod leading to life. I was born again as a new creature with
compassion for others and a clear vision as to the trail I would walk. I sought
out the bishop of our church to clear the stumbling blocks and set my life in order.
I asked my folks if I could return home as I prepared myself to serve God. I think
that was quite a surprise, but Mom let me know that I’d have to help out and follow
the rules. That was never going to be a problem again.
I have never looked back except to with clarity to see God’s hand
in reaching out and preserving His son. I used to wonder, "Come on, how could
individuals have experiences with God and blow it off", but hadn't I done the
same? I came to know that only those who want to know, who seek truth with all their
hearts, will find it.
One thing I did have going for me was that the girl I was dating was supportive
and really relieved that I was taking a new direction in my life and our relationship. We had been together so long that I really didn’t
know whether this was “the” girl for me or whether it was just habit. I was in a rut. That I wanted to serve God at
this time worked out well to resolve that question. They say it only takes 4 weeks to break a habit.
For sure 2 years would do the job. I told her that I was going to go on a mission
for God and that she should see other boys while I was gone. If we still thought each other Mr. & Mrs.
Right when I came back - then great. After
all Jesus had said:
Mark 10:29 Verily I say unto you, There
is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or
wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
But he shall receive an hundredfold
now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children,
and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
The young lady honored God as well and bid me well. There is nothing so strengthening to a man as
a Godly woman and nothing that will tear a couple apart as disunity in faith. Believe me, if you can’t start out marching in
the same direction, you certainly wont end up in the same direction. ( ps.
I did write often and keep her picture on my desk while in Norway and Oh Yes, that
young lady is now my dear wife)
Your Friend,
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
See this Link https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/jesus-christ-son-god-savior/8-different-jesus-christ-restoration
Robert Millet Dean of Religion BYU
In the previous essay,
“What’s all this stuff about ‘One God’ anyhow” we discussed the classic
Trinitarian concepts of God and introduced the doctrine of the godhead as an answer
to the confusion. We should not be too hard
on the doctors of religious philosophy though as God has revealed his nature variously
and his followers, prophets and translators of the written word have not always
been too careful to elucidate on the various terms used.
To make matters worse
yet for the student of the word trying to navigate Father, Son, Lord, Jehovah, Elohiem
etc, these word can and often are used in one context or another to describe each
or all of the members of the Godhead. It should be noted that that word is only
used three times in the new testament by writer who left so little explanation that
scholars wrestling with the same topic 2000 years later.
The introduction
of the Book of Mormon at one look extensively uses the language of Trinitarians,
such as on the title page, that “Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God”, and in the 3 witnesses testament,
“to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God.” Uniquely and true
to the character of many of the Book of Mormon prophets, they break the ice, to
some extent, and explicitly describe why Jesus might in some contexts be called
the Father and in other places “the Son.”
Mosiah 3:8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the
Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.
Note that he uses the term Father,
but then follows up with Creator
Mosiah 7:27 And because he said unto them that Christ was the God, the Father of
all things, and said that he should take upon him the image of man, and it should
be the image after which man was created in the beginning;
or in other words, he said that man was created after
the image of God, and that God should come down among the children of men, and take
upon him flesh and blood, and go forth upon the face of the earth—
Mosiah
15:1 And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that
ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men,
and shall redeem his people.
2 And because he dwelleth in flesh
he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of
the Father, being the Father and the Son—
3 The Father, because he was conceived
by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father
and Son—
4 And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of
earth.
Frankly, this is only partially helpful, but the key takeaway
is that the terms ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ are clearly allegorical or at best contextual.
As a grandfather, I am still also son of my father. In engineering business, I could
be considered the father of designs and programs; so we try and understand the context
of such broadly available terms.
One of the doctrinal
gems brought to life from the Joseph Smith vision was the obvious separateness of
the members of the Godhead. In other writ, such as
Matt. 27: 46 … My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
From ‘Why hast thou forsaken me?”
we can logically deduce their separateness.
It is yet more explicit
when Jesus is baptized and a voice from Heaven attests –
Mark 1:10 And straightway coming up out of
the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon
him:
11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
In the Joseph Smith
Vision, he sees the Man of Holiness behind the voice “this is my beloved son” and
speaks with the risen Lord.
JS_H 1:17 When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness
and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake
unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son.
Hear Him!
He later cleared up all doubt:
D&C 130:22 The Father
has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also;
but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit.
Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.
Of course this all makes a lot of sense, with his calling us his sons, and
Jesus being called the 1st fruits
of many brethren and Adam being listed in the genealogy record as the Son of god
in a long line of Son of’s. It really is amazing how the truth sets us free to understand
easily what has baffled the scholars for so long.
Do I wish that our present understanding and clarity of usage was prevalent
and consistent amongst the ancient writing – you bet, but at least I have the knowledge
God granted us about his nature to go back and better understand what the ancient
prophets were trying to communicate. In some
cases, it is just not possible to tell which member of the Godhead is being referenced,
but as many of these writers declare – it is after all “One God.”
Lastly and principally, there are those who pray
to Jesus, and there are those who pray to the Father of Jesus. Jesus said this:
John 16: 23 … Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall ask
the
Father
in
my
name,
he will give it you. … 26…I will pray the Father for you:
See also 3rd Nephi to see how Christ interacts with the
people and then in turn prays to the Father in their behalf.
Some, often make such a to-do over the directive
to pray to the Father that they forget that they are really praying Jesus to bring
their petition to the Father and that it will be the Holy Ghost who will in all
likelihood bring the word of the Father or the healing influence of their advocate,
Christ back to them.
1st Jn. 2: 1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And
if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous:
It was after all Jesus who hung on the cross
and suffered in Gethsemane and it is He, through the instrumentality of the Holy
Spirit, that heals you.
Alma 7: 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death
which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels
may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according
to the flesh how to succor
his people according to their infirmities.
I pray that Jesus through the Holy Spirit can heal you and bring your petitions
to the Father; that in so doing you may indeed have a personal relationship with
Jesus our Savior. It will not be academic, it will be personal as it is he through
the Holy Spirit which He sends that heals you and knows your troubles, the physician
that knows you like no other and has the right healing balm for your soul.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
While it
is true that some individuals have always deviated from the familial pattern (man & women) established by God, it is the
only pattern blessed by Him.
It
is a great and magnanimous society that tolerates the sinner. Jesus famously dined
and communed and showed social kindnesses with sinners. That is the example he set
for us; for we all sin and come short of the glory of God. That was one of Jesus'
points, yet let us not forget His follow-on admonition, "Go and sin no more!".
While all of us sin, only a fool promotes sin. What society
sanctions, society promotes.
Society has a legitimate interest in promoting
the kind of family relationships it thinks are best for society's long term interest.
Marriage, then, is a system of laws bundling privileges and responsibly for the
promotion of the kind of stable family units that it deems most conducive for nurturing
children.
That is why divorce may be made deliberately cumbersome or why states may
outlaw plural marriage. Society gets to choose how best
to promote it's own future.
If folks want to commune together, they can. IF they want to set up partnerships,
joint accounts and mutual living wills and powers of attorney, they can. The law does not interfere. However, if it is
to be argued that society has neither interest nor right to promote through its
laws human behavior and relationships, then how can any conceivable or inconceivable
relationship be disallowed? Why not 2 men and their 3 wives? After all they seem
loving and committed! (BTW this is not ridiculous slippery slope logic; polygamy
lawsuits are already before the courts)
The constitutional provision of freedom of association does not require a
universal and arbitrary approval and promotion.
The society of man is not a free-for-all with no limits. Those limits come from God. If we are just electro-chemical
reactions, then dog eat dog, we could blow it all up tomorrow, Columbine, so-what,
if there is no God nor eternal soul in man, then it’s just noise in the cosmos. But, there is a God,
and He established what is right and what is wrong even if we can’t see the meaning
in it and that is the only justification for any civility and order we enjoy. This is in no way establishing a religion to acknowledge
that our justification for right and wrong, mercy and justice derives from that
revealed knowledge.
We must not promote what God has forbidden.
We must not send the message to our land that such a massive departure from God’s
pattern for families is an acceptable "alternative". It is not.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
(All scriptures are KJV unless noted otherwise)
The Bible is not an authority unto itself. It is the "Manufacturers
Operating and Maintenance Instructions" and "Warranty" that is provided
to us for the care and maintenance and successful operation of our bodies, including
our minds.
The authority lies with God who created us and gave us the Bible as instructions
and as a recorded example of what happens when we do "right" by his standards
(and receive blessings and eternal life) or do "wrong" by his standards
(and receive cursing and eternal death)
(Deu. 30:15, 19). See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death
and evil; 16 In that I command thee
this day to love the LORD
thy God, to walk• in his ways, and to keep his commandments
and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the
LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land
whither thou goest to possess it. 17 But if thine heart turn away, so that
thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that
ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan
to go to possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you,
that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore
choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.
All specific mention of homosexuality in scripture shows it to be condemned
by God. The first is the account of Sodom and Gommorah, (from which became known
"sodomy") and in this account it is the only "sin" mentioned.
Gen. 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great,
and because their sin is very grievous;
Gen 19:4-7 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom,
compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came
in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. 6 And
Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, 7 And said,
I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
In the middle of a list of sexual sins including incest, adultery, fornication,
bestiality, and child sacrifice by burning them alive, it is specifically condemned
in Leviticus 18
Leviticus. 18: 22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall
any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
The penalty in the days of Moses was death:
Lev. 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them
have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall
be upon them.
It is also condemned in Deuteronomy.:17-18,
Deut 23:17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite
of the sons of Israel. 18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price
of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination
unto the LORD thy God.
(the "price of
a dog, in the context of "the hire of a whore", refers to male prostitution).
It is also mentioned as "wickedness" in Judges 19-21:
Judges 19:22 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of
the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at
the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth
the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.
23 And the man,
the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren,
nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come
into mine house, do not this folly.
It is called "sodomy" in 1 Kings 14 and is referred to as an "abomination"
associated with idle worship and orgies (groves).
1 Kings 14:23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves,
on every high hill, and under every green tree.
24 And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according
to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
Asa is declared righteous for "taking away the sodomites out of the
land" (killing them or driving them out)
and for putting an end to idolatry, 1 Kings:
1 Kings 15:11 And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, aas• did David his father.
12 And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols
that his fathers had made.
Lesbians appear to be included in the term "sodomites" as seen
in 2 Kings 23:
2 Kings 23:7 And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were
by the house of the LORD,
where the women wove hangings for the grove.
Paul, a prominent teacher of Christianity, shows that both homosexuality
and lesbianism were still condemned after Christ's death and resurrection, Rom.
Rom. 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like
to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their
own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the
creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women
did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned
in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly,
and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil
things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection,
implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are
worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
He also mentions it in a list of sins in 1 Timonthy:
1 Tim. 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for
the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane,
for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for
perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
Those who do not repent of these sins shall not inherit the kingdom or eternal
life. 1 Cororintians:. 6:9-10
1 Cor 6:9 Know
you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers
of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous , nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God..
There are some "churches"
and some "ministers" who accept homosexuality. Some refer to certain scriptures
regarding David and even regarding Christ and express their opinion that these men
had homosexual relationships with others. This requires reading meaning "into"
the scriptures. It also requires that one ignore all the above scriptures as they
cannot be explained away.
Please note that we
are not condemning anyone here. Nor suggest any unkindness but an outreach in love.
Every man or woman condemns himself by his own wrong choices. This expository details
what God has said through His prophets. We didn't write The Book, we just point
out what God made obvious. We are all free to choose blessing or cursing, life or
death. We encourage everyone to choose eternal life with God’s blessings.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
The Bible is very clear on the subject of sexuality and in particular,
homosexuality. In Leviticus 18:22 it reads
Do not
practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin.
But why is it a sin, one might ask? Answer -Because it’s an
eternal aspect of our being. The intelligent spark that makes you you, is an eternal
thing; not created but manifesting in one’s spirit and now in the flesh. Satan desired
to destroy those in the flesh and to degrade their experience while here and frustrate
God’s familial plan as he’s outlined it. What better way than to get one to live
for the moment while undoing eternally significant opportunities!
I'm sure by now you've heard people using the excuse for their
sexual desires as "being born gay". Let's address that right now. Sometimes
they challenge is launched as, “Why would God create a person with homosexual desires
when his laws call for death because of it?
1st its not certain they are born with these tendencies any more
than another is born to be a philanderer. If not inbred, then where do these feeling
come from?” Let's look to the Scriptures.
Romans 1:21-24 reads:
“They
knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they
began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their
minds became dark and confused...”
So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their
heart desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's
bodies. You see that sin causes these unnatural feelings within us. You must stay
close to God to overcome these feelings! 1 Corinthians 10:13 reads:
“Remember
that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what other experience.
And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you
can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out
so that you will not give in to it.”
I urge anyone struggling with Homosexuality
to go to the Scriptures for guidance. God is very clear where these feeling come
from. Pray for forgiveness, for God can and will forgive you. IE help you change
both behavior and the feelings behind the behavior. Hebrews
8:12
reads:
I will
forgive their wrongdoings and I will never again remember their sins.
And if you're wondering what will happen if you choose not to
follow God's word, read 1st
Corinthians 6:9-10
Don't
you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don't
fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers,
male prostitutes, homosexuals... none of these will have a share in the Kingdom
of God.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Letter to our youth Sunday school
class,
We often hear and sing of Zion as “the kingdom” but today I want
to discuss the underpinnings; the key that makes Zion possible, Zion - the pure
in heart. I’d like to talk about another
form of heart health and I promise not to collapse in a heap during the discussion!
Moses 7: 18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor
among them. 19 And Enoch continued his
preaching in righteousness unto the people of God. And it came to pass in his days,
that he built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion.
I recall a church leadership meeting where someone spoke something
very hurtful to me. I took immediate offence at the cutting remark, but somehow
managed to bite my tongue as I recalled Jesus’ advice for just such an occasion:
Math 5:23
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother
hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled
to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
This individual and I had a long friendly association and I was determined
to not lose him over this slight. So right
after the meeting I corralled him and told him how that comment had hurt me. I did
not rail at him, I just told him how I had been wounded by that comment but that
I valued him too much as a friend and brother to let something like that fester
and damage our relationship. I suppose if he had been a lesser man he could have
rubbed it in even more, but instead he profusely apologized and begged my forgiveness. We continue to value that friendship.
From Enoch (and again in 3rd Nephi) I learned of large
groups of people that did achieve on a sustained basis this utopian principle in
human unity. It doesn’t mean there are no conflicts, but it does mean that folks
learned to disagree without being disagreeable and forgiveness was tendered to each
other as oft as it was requested of God and even when not requested. We know then
that it is possible and achievable and Jesus gave us simple guidelines, though I
will readily admit easier said…
This striving to be one then is central to the “cause of Zion”. God
declares as much:
D&C 6: 6 Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments,
and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion;
D&C 82: 14 For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her
stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily
I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments.
What then is referred to by “her beautiful garments?” I think he
is referring to the outward effects, the visible effects of a Godly life. How we
treat each other – those we interact with on a daily basis. Like the study of chemistry
– it’s the nearest neighbors that count in the reactions. What kind of reactions
are we engendering?
D&C 82: 19 Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with
an eye single to the glory of God.
D&C 38: 24-25 And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself.
DC 38:27 Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as
I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.
If we truly believe that we are
God’s children then we see each other as worth saving; our squabbles worth resolving
and our friends and family worth redeeming. We have all seen or at least heard of neighborhood squabbles; the
noisy dog, the fence line 6” off the mark etc and how these disputes often turn
into long term animosities that never are resolved. Why? Because, we do not esteem
our neighbor as ourself. The relationship
is abandoned as seemingly not worth the investment. That is the crux
of almost all failed marriage relationships and friendships. This simple principle
admonished by Jesus is at the root of every convict – even international wars.
Even pious men of God on one level can fall prey to this all too
human flaw:
D&C 64: 8 My disciples, in days of old, sought occasion against one another and
forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted
and sorely chastened.
Jesus showed us by example how his arm was ever extended to recover
the sinner. We should be as anxious to recover our friends and family and even our
enemies.
I shared a mission story of a gal I met at a doorstep who spoke with
some bitterness how she as a new 17 year old convert had been unjustly accused of
stealing a purse at a branch activity. She was so wounded and embarrassed that she
left the church association and for 10 years lived a difficult life in the world.
I am reminded of the Lord’s counsel:
DC 82:21 And the soul that sins against this covenant, and hardeneth his heart
against it, shall be dealt with according to the laws of my church, and shall be
delivered over to the buffetings of Satan until the day of redemption.
I told her that I could arrange for a church court to air this grievance
against this branch president, but advised that the court is a court of love intended
to reconcile the offender and that a prerequisite would be her willingness to forgive
this man’s insensitive and unjust rebuke. If she could do that I would arrange the
court. She stood stunned for a moment and then tears welled up in her eyes and she
just shook her head, “Neh, Det blir ikke nudvendi” (No, it won’t be necessary.)
She returned to fellowship and brought quite a few friends and relatives with her
including her mother who later became the Relief Society President.
Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels
of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one
another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even
as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15 And
let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one
body; and be ye thankful.
It is key that we not abandon our friends and family over disagreements,
anger and disputes. Can we so easily claim kinship with God as His son or daughter
and yet discard others when they offend or do not measure up to our view and standard?
Jesus cautioned:
DC 82:23 Leave judgment alone with me, for it is mine and I will repay. Peace
be with you; my blessings continue with you.
Math 7:1 Judge
not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be
measured to you again.
He reminded
us again of the God like characteristic of forgiveness in his famous prayer:
Math 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive
us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is
the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
We need to see these admonitions in light of our divine potential
as the literal children of God and recognize that to claim that birthright God would
have us receive of His Spirit which gives us the inner strength to express to our
family, friends, neighbors and even our enemies those Godlike attributes:
Math 6:14 For if ye forgive men
their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Math 5: 43 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor,
and hate thine enemy. 44 But
I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that
hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:
for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which
love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only,
what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Notice, my youthful friends,
that what appears at 1st to be some magnanimous outreach on your part
is at one level the spark of Divinity that God wishes you to cultivate, but on another
level it is just good, even selfish advice that allows you to live in greater harmony,
to retain your love ones, friends and neighbors as though they are all your very
flesh and blood. Imagine that? Actually, treating those around you as if you really
believed God that we are all his children.
Imagine.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
PS – a small historical tidbit
"According to the account given by George
A. Smith, while the Saints were in Far West, Missouri, 'the wife of Thomas B. Marsh,
who was then President of the Twelve Apostles, and Sister Harris concluded they
would exchange milk, in order to make a little larger cheese than they otherwise
could. To be sure to have justice done, it was agreed that they should not save
the strippings (to themselves), but that the milk and strippings should go all together.....Mrs.
Harris, it appeared, was faithful to the agreement and carried to Mrs. Marsh the
milk and strippings, but Mrs. Marsh, wishing to make some extra good cheese, saved
a pint of strippings from each cow and sent Mrs. Harris the milk without the strippings.
A quarrel arose, and the matter was referred to the home teachers. They found Mrs.
Marsh guilty of failure to keep her agreement. She and her husband were upset and,
'an appeal was taken from the teacher to the bishop, and a regular church trial
was held. President Marsh did not consider that the bishop had done him and his
lady justice for they (that is, the bishop's court) decided that the strippings
were wrongfully saved, and that the woman had violated her covenant.
'Marsh immediately took an appeal to the High Council, who investigated the question
with much patience, and,' says George A. Smith, .....'Marsh.....made a desperate
defense, but the High Council finally confirmed the bishop's decision.....This little
affair,' Brother Smith continues, 'kicked up a considerable breeze, and Thomas B.
Marsh then declared that he would sustain the character of his wife even if he had
to go to hell for it. The then President of the Twelve Apostles, the man who should
have been the first to do justice and cause reparation to be made for wrong.....went
before a magistrate and swore that the 'Mormons' were hostile towards the state
of Missouri. That affidavit brought from the government of Missouri an exterminating
order, which drove some 15,000 Saints from their homes and habitations..... What
a very small and trivial thing--a little cream over which two women quarreled. But
it led to, or at least was a factor in, Governor Boggs' cruel extermination order
which drove the Saints from the state of Missouri." ("Ensign"
Magazine, May 1984, p. 83.)
Back to Top of the Document by Steve Marquis
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities,
Can simply declaring Jesus make you compatible with a heavenly existence? If sinners, subject as we are in our current state, do so easily fall short of the glory of God, and yet we retain our agency then how can we ever be brought to live in God’s presence without making an instant hell out of it? Some describe the Atonement in terms of payment made as if to a real entity with an accounting sheet (justice must be satisfied!) Rather than reconciling some grand sin debt account, another voice addresses the concept of Jesus Atonement (at one ment) as making you “one” with Christ Jesus. In other translations it might be rendered, to remove or wipe out the sin or difference – suggesting then …becoming compatible with God.
Consider that Heaven is not filthy.
Paul clearly denounced as futile any claim at living the human condition sinlessly save Christ only.
Romans 3: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Nephi corroborates this view and notes that God’s existence is fundamentally incompatible with sin. Lest heaven become hell, things that are filthy must remain in another place, Jesus called it outer darkness, others - variously hell.
1 Nephi 15:34 But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy.
John shares this view seeing also in vision the glorious end state of the justified and the sorry state of the damned:
Revelations 22: 11 He that is unjust let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Judgment
in terms of scales; your Good vs. Bad deeds
It takes little self- introspection to be appropriately concerned – even alarmed at the rigorous standard and the obvious conclusion that none can measure up; everyone will be found wanting. I say obvious, but in the early days of Christ’s Church in Jerusalem, Paul vigorously contended with the common notion that one’s good works would be weighed against one’s sins and a judgment cast based on the tip of the scales. Perhaps this stems from God’s past dealing with Israel such as with Saul, David, and Tekel where clear judgments were cast based on specific performances.
Daniel 5:27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
Lest one be tempted to argue that New Testament understandings regarding the judgments of God deviated from Old Testament views in accounting for the works and deeds of man, notice John’s clear vision:
Revelations 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Emphasis added)
It must be appreciated that “dead” may be all dead or the spiritually dead (those who no not Jesus), but the point here is that it is hardly without precedence in the cultures of both Jews and Gentiles to see God’s judgment in term of scales. However, Paul of the New Testament, pointed out that since no one can fully keep the commandments, the individual was left in a state of some sin and as such unable to attain the perfection needed to dwell with God in heaven. One can assert that “Jesus has you covered, so your good!” But that glib reply seems to simply redefine sin as non-sin, You are sinning but not to worry, you are not a sinner….So we see this brings us right back to the problem of retaining our agency, how can we retain our very self, without simply being turned into a robotic automaton incapable of sinning?
Exploring the very old debate of faith and works and reconciliation, for all his clarity of the importance of the expressed faith, James also backs up Paul’s contention of our fallibility vs. the rigorous standard of perfection.
James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Many Christian movements, including my own faith, reject the scales of justice notion arguing that your good does not cancel the bad but they fail to entirely leave behind the “scales” concept. Instead, they simply assert that while justice must be paid, only the sinless Jesus could pay it!
Judgment
in terms of scales; Jesus’ Righteousness vs. Your Efforts
There is a curious line in a popular movie where the protagonist implores to the officer, “I really really would like not to go to jail” to which comes the reply “Someone’s got to go to jail!” (National Treasure) This notion, carried in the religious discussion, sees the atonement as paying off a debt to some cosmic sin account to wit that ‘the eternal scales of justice’ remain in balance.
Contemporary Christians as well as some Latter Day Saint circles often paint the atonement as this grand scale of justice wherein Jesus “makes up the difference.” One book, “Believing Christ,” – tells a story about a child desiring to purchase a bike. She comes up well short of the price but the remainder is given freely by her father. This allegory is intended to show God’s mercy – making up the difference, balancing the scales;
“Someone has to pay…”.
But
does that really work?
If, I commit a crime, shall the law be satisfied if they hang my brother, if he be willing to sacrifice? What of the debt – the scales of justice; are they balanced? Am I reformed? What then is important; reformation or payment of a sin debt to a real or abstract keeper of “Justice” or both?
Alternately, consider the concept of the royal whipping boy. It was likely argued that the young prince would have mercy on the boy abused on his account and would alter and improve his behavior out of his sense of mercy for the scapegoat. That is a rather weak concept, though, as primary mechanism for how “by his stripes we are healed” …
This is a conundrum and some of the greatest theologians and apostles have wrestled with finding a suitable allegorical approach to explain the atonement concept. In this next passage Amulek gives it his best shot and concludes “therefore there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world.” (Alma 34:11).
10 For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.
11 Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another. Now, if a man murdereth, behold will our law, which is just, take the life of his brother? I say unto you, Nay.
12 But the law requireth the life of him who hath murdered; therefore there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world.
It is clear that Jesus’ suffered for our sins, but perhaps the allegory we strive for to explain how that reconciles us is flawed. He is correct that it was infinite and comprehensive but did anything really get “paid off?” We were all taught that ‘two wrongs don’t make a right!’ Yet here Amulek at first agrees with that maxim but then appears at 1st read to figuratively put his hands in the air and suggests (my words) that therefore nothing but an infinite amount “of wrong” (punish the wrong person) will make it right! (absolve the sinner) I’m afraid he left too much for the student to figure out in the sweeping “therefore it must be infinite!” I’m not saying the man of God was wrong, Its infinite all right but what did he mean?
If we need an analogy, for our finite minds to grasp the infinite, perhaps try this. A soldier in battle may be called upon or even volunteer for some great deed to save his comrades or a battle. In many cases that sacrifice, the punishment rendered to his body is fatal, but its effect is to save, to win the day. He was not punished to win the day, but he went through ‘punishment’ and even hell to bring his friends through to safety. When the Israelites were sacrificing animals and spilling their blood, many missed the point that that final sacrifice it pointed to was not a punishment for sins but a punishing event because of sins to save and recover us FROM sin.
We will again return to that “therefore” shortly but however the “therefore” worked, most all writers in our scriptural collection hasten to make this key point that there is an expectation of reformation and improvement from the heavenly influence.
If then an “infinite atonement”, does that leave us free to sin or at least committing sin, whats the point? “God forbid,” exclaims Paul.
“How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
(Romans 6:2).
His dead to sin might imply it has no effect or perhaps we have no desire to deliberately sin….another exercise for the student!
But we can find plenty of other statements from the inspired writ that God’s grace in not carte blanche to ignore the damage done by our sins. Christ’s Atonement in capacity is infinite, but conditional.
“And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name… and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.” (Alma 34:15).
Christ requires that His disciples believe
on Him and repent – which includes the desire to set right the wrongs they’ve caused. “Go and sin no more” was Jesus’ subsequent command.
But what about ‘call on his name and be saved?’ Is heaven like the story of Alibaba, “open sesame” and the treasure mountain door opens. Is that all? Speak the name of Jesus and the pearly gates swing open?
This struggle with explaining Jesus’ atonement as a payment of a sin debt is at the root of the whole faith vs. works debate that has occupied theologians and whole religious movements.
Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Seeing the atonement as simply or exclusively a payment to balance the books, as it were, can lead some to the view that no outward expression of faith has any bearing on salvation.
The debt payment view, taken by itself, is at odds with many of Jesus’ pronouncements about one’s walk. Clearly the action of the atonement, if it is effective, changes the man. Rather than argue Faith-vs-Works, a unified approach proposes a concept of “Faith that Works”. This concept is sometimes called sanctification and is a keystone.
What is Personal about “Being Saved?”
Paul argues that when one truly believes, his heart is given over to God and while his members might yet sin, his heart, given to God does not want to sin. Paul is acknowledging a key point that the very nature of the earth experience, with the veil between us and our prior experiences with God and the many temptations in this mortal sphere handicaps us, but for such a man as is truly given over to Christ, he will, though never attaining in this life a state free of sin, yet attain the heavenly prize; those earthly handicaps accounted for in God’s judgment. Referring to the Jewish system of laws…
Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (Further reading verses17-21.)
Taken with the many statements from Jesus himself about ones “walk” implies a faith that is expressed in actions where one is no longer readily given over to sinful lusts. One’s faith should indeed show in the outward behavior and if not, one might rightly wonder to what extent if any the Spirit of God has actually affected the individual.
Some religions use terms like “Saving Faith” to try and describe sincere devotion to God and the working of the Holy Spirit in return. Consider Enos’ experience as he was “Born Again”:
Enos 1:4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. 5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed. 6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
7 And I said: Lord, how is it done? 8 And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. … go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.
9 Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them. (Emphasis added).
This is really a key point, that “Saving Faith” necessarily leads to a change of desire and desires to behavior and was the thrust of the letter from James perhaps in clarification to some of Paul’s writings saying:
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
James 2:24 Ye see then
how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.
So Paul says, “man is not justified by the works of the law” (Jewish law) and James says, “by works a man is justified.”
To reconcile this conundrum, I want to again emphasize that the atonement (being saved and sanctified) has to do with healing us and justifying us to God. Justifying in the sense that Paul uses, does not have to mean to excuse or to explain, but might better be interpreted as a carpenter might use the term – to straighten, to align to a reference. In this case the reference is Christ himself.
1 Pet 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Isa. 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Notice the application and the effect. You are not just absolved, you are healed – made better, reformed, re-aligned- justified. Your desire to do evil is replaced with striving for good!
If
Christ then is the good physician, how is he able to turn the hearts as Enos experienced?
In what are perhaps the most insightful statements ever promulgated into this great mystery, the miracle of the atonement, we read from Alma:
Alma 7: 11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
Alma 7: 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. (Emphasis added)
Notice the connection – He experienced – therefore. People talk glibly about “Personal Savior” but this explains how and why. In this grand unfathomable (infinite) experience, where time and space and all events, future and past, collapsed into a singularity that Jesus God could examine, where each life experience was reproduced and experienced vicariously by Jesus, this occurred in such a real and graphic way that it caused God himself to blanch:
DC 19:18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.
Alma continues his admonition to take hold/advantage of this great event to be born again as a new creature and by so doing lay hold of the power to actually effect a new level of mastery over sin, selfishness and all the other vises of the world.
Alma 7: 13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.
Alma 7: 14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.
Alma 7: 15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.
Then Alma continues and implies a continual striving for excellence and perfection not unlike Jesus’ own admonition to his flock:
Matt. 5: 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Reconciling these two angles is the matter at hand in our discussion. Continuing with Alma:
Alma 7:16 And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.
For individuals receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost – receiving as it were the equivalent of “Power Steering” in their efforts to follow Christ, they are able to achieve a greater degree of perfection than would have otherwise been possible. Taken as a whole, we see that being “willing to repent of your sins” (Alma 7:15) is an ongoing concurrent action - striving to keep the commandments. It will always be a goal not perfectly attained.
Paul, on the other hand, who some try to argue was implying works mean nothing, was speaking largely about the Jewish fixation on certain performances that could and often were executed without any devotion or love. Paul was focused on these; writing on the condition of the heart. He further acknowledged that even if the heart was right before God that the conditions of the flesh and the world, could still cause us lamentably to occasionally do wrong.
Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
I emphasized, occasionally, because some who bare the Christian label excise Paul’s comment here from the broader commentary and thereby abuse this set of verses to justify free indulgence in sin of all sorts Monday through Saturday as long as they can praise the Lord on Sunday!
Look how marvelous the reformation:
Alma 36:17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am bin the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
Alma turns his life around and become a great missionary – reminiscent of the Saul/Paul saga.
Paul attempts to separate the heart from the actions and he emphasizes the heart first; trusting that if that is right, despite our failings, the godly actions will follow. This reconciles how Jesus could still declare, “None of those who cry out, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of God but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
True biblical faith (some say “Saving Faith”) then is not idle. It aligns our inner self with Christ. We are justified (think a carpenter’s square) to Him and if truly so, we are born again as new creatures that cause us to strive to walk in God’s ways. For all the times Paul is quoted for “faith, faith, faith,” I, who have that faith, am most impressed by Paul’s additional admonitions to back that faith up with running a solid race and “to fight the good fight.” 1Tim6:12
True it is that Paul wrote about being "saved by grace," some twenty-one times, but he was also identified as one who stressed the importance of good works and deeds over eighty times. Looking at this with a personal perspective, Paul wrote as he did knowing that if the atonement was truly functional in my life, my heart would be healed by the one physician intimately familiar with my wounds and He would send the Holy Spirit with exactly the balm I need to help me turn my actions godward.
Our works, then, become aligned to our faith or you could say our faith is justified to or as James says, “by your works.” A Catholic, Marcellino D'Ambrosio Ph.D, writing in “I Believe - The Heart of Catholic Faith” coined it well saying, “So really, it’s not faith or works. It’s faith that works.”
Jesus indeed set a high goal; a commandment to become:
Mathew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect (completeness), even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Another, some say a better translation for “perfect” (completeness) goes well with the famous slogan of the US Army, “Be All that You Can Be.” So it is that when the veil of this life is lifted and we are brought before God to be judged, he will see our perfect hearts having been healed by Christ by His Holy Spirit of the desire for sin and grant us life Eternal in His kingdom. Our actions will be viewed in the context of the handicaps of the flesh. He will judge our lives in light of “all we can be,” the weakness of the flesh and the full of sin world environment we are saturated in. When we are brought before God, we, who have given ourselves over to God and had Christ’s healing balm of Gilead applied to our souls, will be stripped of the earthly handicaps and our perfect heart will express itself in the perfect members or our resurrected body. The scripture say He will remember no more our former sins. He sees us for who we are and can be not for what we in the past have done.
1 Jn. 3: 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
Our rewards in heaven will be as the bodies Celestial, Terrestrial and Telestial; the sun the moon and the stars. Our works will certainly play a role in the mansion He has prepared, but only those who have had their hearts cleansed and transformed (born again) will partake. Whether in this life or in the spirit state prior to resurrection, one must come to the Physician and be healed or truly be weighed and be found wanting!
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
Conclusions about salvation, Grace and Heaven
Peter continues to explain that the Good News is this: that for all mankind, whether dead physically or currently (in a spiritual sense) we can be justified; i.e. aligned to Christ in our spirits, the flesh being accounted for in God’s mercy and wisdom. Truly, that is good news indeed.
1 Peter 4:6 For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
God, then, through the Atonement of Jesus, has made it possible to be cleansed of our sinful nature and desires. Not a whitewash of our surface garments but a change in the inner man. The circumstances of the flesh interfere with our best efforts. This is understood, but for all Paul wrote about being saved, Paul clearly points out that this is not some game where we can fool God as to the character of our heart. A good heart cleansed of the desire to sin will drive its members toward perfection. Good works will naturally abound in such a man.
Paul to the Galatians 6:7-9 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Note familiarity with Alma 7:16)
Note “if we faint not” teaches that finishing the race with your eyes toward heaven is requisite. Likewise, we read in John that our walk will reflect the condition of our heart, imperfectly yes, but cleansed of the desire to sin, our heart (or inner spirit) will drive its members toward perfection.
That is the evidence of the “New Man” The blood of Christ cleanses of sin, not by some mystical debt exchange, but by a real change, a healing and perfecting of the inner man.
1John1:5-7 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
There’s a tight relationship with the walk and the cleansing; this is not just a payoff of some sin account. When we are cleansed, the healing changes our walk and that is the proof of the effectiveness of the new birth; you begin to walk the talk. It is a lifelong process,
1Peter 5:10 The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
Notice the process starts as an event is more than just a one and done event. Jesus will not be smuggling sinners over the wall to heaven, nor will he be placing his finger on the scales of justice to fool the Father. Truly, God expects us to see the Christ when He comes, because we, His children have the capability and the power through the heeling balm of Gilead to have become like him in heart and to a greater degree than we can often imagine - even in deed. (Ref 1 Jn. 3: 2) God be with you! Brother Steve
“In the name of Jesus…”
Jesus gave explicit permission – even a commandment that we could and should
address our petitions to His and our Father in Heaven.
“pray ye like this….”
Critics of the restored
gospel fault the saints for giving lip service to Jesus just as we fault the sectarians
for fabricating from their sincere desire to serve - the authority to so act.
There is some validity
to each claim. In all practical matters the saints are faithful to God’s commandments
and sincerely strive to lead the kingdom by inspiration and revelations from the
HG. So if we pray to the Father and the HG does most of communication, save a personal
visitation from Jesus himself, what active role does our Savior play?
In the Sacrament service, one contemplates the
Saviors sacrifice and ones walk, but for some the relationship is one of feta comply
rather than an active ongoing relationship. Such is not contrary to LDS doctrine,
quite the contrary as we have previously shown, but culturally, the atonement is
seen by some, as a payment long ago rendered to which one strives to be worthy of.
In the essay “Forgiveness and the Power of the Atonement” by Jordon Marquis, considerable
discussion is extended on the topic, but in this brief note, we will just address
the element of formal prayer.
Consider that it
is not simply a technicality to invoke Jesus’ name. He is not simply a stamp to
the envelope addressed to the Father. Rather he is the interpreter, the advocate,
the physician, who consults with the Father and from His personal experience in
that garden and the cross returns with the just the right cure delivered generally through the agency of the
third member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.
So, when you pray, remember that it is the intersession and conjoined effort
of the Godhead that your prayer is heard and answered. How an individual visualizes
that is not hard-coded in doctrine. When we teach prayer, let us not be correcting
of those who see the Lord Jesus as an integral part, but rather, use the Savior’s
words gently inviting us – permitting us to direct our petition to His Father and
our Father.
John 14: 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even
the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither
knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
John 14: 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy
Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things
to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I
will pray the Father for you:
John 16: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and
have believed that I came out from God. 28
I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the
Father.
Col. 3: 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, ado all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
When we understand Jesus
central role (especially in prayer to our Father), and we close in His name it will
not be mumbled or a rushed epilog but a sincere
invite to our brother and advocate to intercede in our behalf…
In the name of our Lord
Jesus! Can I get an Amen?
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
with
commentary from Steve Marquis
Teachings of President McKay:
President David O. McKay was always kind and respectful to people
of other faiths, and he praised the good work of all churches. However, he was firm
in his testimony that the fulness of the gospel is found only in The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. To teach the importance of obeying the principles and
ordinances of the restored gospel, he spoke of membership in the Church as citizenship
in a great kingdom:
“All churches and all creeds contain some good which lead toward
the kingdom of our Father; but to become a citizen of that kingdom everyone must
conform to the requirements made by the King. Indeed, there is only one way
in which entrance into the Church of Jesus Christ may be obtained, and that is the
way marked out by Jesus Christ, the Lord. ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6.)
1 Ne. 14:10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one
is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore,
whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church,
which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.
Indeed since there are so many churches in the strict sense of the word,
that I believe Nephi’s use of “church” in this sense goes beyond a particular organization. Indeed I believe he uses the term in the same
sense as the savior spoke when queried about “others” who attempted Christian practices,
but who were not acting under the direction of Jesus, “
Mark 9:38 ¶ And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils
in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not
us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man, which shall do a
miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40 For he that is not against us is on our part
41For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because
ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
Luke 9:49 ¶ And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils
in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against
us is for us.
So if God can take such a charitable attitude toward “casual followers” and
if in the end one is judged based on what you know then why all the effort to spread
the gospel since God will justify each man according to his circumstances anyway?
2 Ne. 9:26 For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those
who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster,
death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless
torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy
One of Israel.
Mosiah 3:11 For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have
fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning
them, or who have ignorantly sinned.
Indeed the same question
might have been posed regarding the “chosen people” and even more narrowly the tribe
of Levi.
Since there are so may
people on the earth and so few in the kingdom – let alone in the good “church” it
should strike one with awe that you have been chosen out of this chaos of competing
philosophies to carry the light of truth in an otherwise dark corner of the world.
Teachings of President McKay:
.” (D&C 76:22–24.) “That by him, and through him,
and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten
sons and daughters unto God
Those who have such
assurance in their hearts accept him as “The Way, the Truth, and the Life,” as the
one safe guide in this perplexing universe
It is also a task of
Herculean proportions to see to the task of ordinances for all. For while Jesus
was very generous about who he called His friends, he was sharp as a sword in delineating
the entrance requirements for the Kingdom.
Repentance and good works followed by baptism.
Teachings of President McKay:
“The means of obtaining
citizenship in the Church of Jesus Christ are very explicit; so clear, indeed, that
it is surprising that so many seemingly intelligent and well-read people … [assume]
that they can gain entrance by other and various means.
“There is only one who
has the right to prescribe the means of human salvation. Surely he spoke not meaninglessly
when he said what is necessary to citizenship in his kingdom.
“Note how explicit are
his words: ‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’
[John 3:3; italics added.] In explanation of
this seemingly enigmatical saying to Nicodemus, the Master continued:
“ ‘Except a man be born
of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’ [John 3:5; italics added.]
“Evidently Peter, the chief
Apostle, attached significance to this requirement as an essential means of gaining
not only citizenship in the Church, but also salvation in the kingdom of God, for,
when the multitude pricked in their hearts cried out, ‘Men and brethren, what shall
we do?’ [Acts 2:37] he answered and said:
“ ‘Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.’ (Acts 2:38.)
What is the difference between belief and faith?
Teachings of President McKay:
What we need today is faith in the living Christ, which is more
than a mere feeling, but a power that moves us to action—a faith that will put purpose
into life and courage into the heart. We need the gospel of application. 8
The Church does not accept the doctrine that a mere murmured belief
in Jesus Christ is all that is essential to salvation. A man may say he believes
but if he does nothing to make that belief or faith a moving power to do, to accomplish,
to produce soul growth, his protestation will avail him nothing. “Work out your
own salvation” is an exhortation to demonstrate by activity, by thoughtful obedient
effort the reality of faith.
Repentance:
What is the difference between belief and faith? I once had a billboard decrying
the immoral positions of a certain politician running for office. A certain main
claiming the Christian faith vandalized and tore up my billboards because he did
not think I should disparage sinners because God would justify all “saved” sinners.
2 Ne. 28:8 And there shall also be many which
shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing
a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words,
dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for
tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with
a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.
Teachings of President McKay:
It is inconceivable to think that anyone can even question the
essentiality of repentance. Every principle of the gospel when studied carefully
reveals a harmony with truth that is simply sublime. Each seems to be all comprehensive,
either leading into or embracing other principles. Thus, faith in a perfect being,
inspiring one to live righteously, seems to include repentance.
John Wesley’s mother
“Would you judge of the
lawfulness or unlawfulness of pleasure? Take this rule: Now note—whatever weakens
your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God,
takes off your relish for spiritual things, whatever increases the authority of
the body over the mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may seem in
itself.”
Teachings of President McKay:
It is not uncommon for people to have remorse for mistakes made,
for follies and sins committed, but to have no turning away from such frailties
and evils. They may even feel penitent; but “penitence,” we are told, “is transient,
and may involve no change of character or conduct.” Repentance, on the other hand,
“is sorrow for sin with self-condemnation, and complete turning away from the sin.”
It is, therefore, more than mere remorse; “it comprehends a change of nature befitting
heaven.”
Bottom Line here is
that the Kingdom of heaven can accept repentant sinners because we will no longer
be sinners - having our hearts turned away from sin. It is common for some Christians
to assert that God the Father will see Christ’s cleanliness and not our filthy rags.
In other words Christ is smuggling in sinners acting as a shield. We assert that God the Father will see Christ’s
cleanliness and ours having been washed in his blood and kept clean though the working
of the Holy Spirit who helped change our nature. We will see his face because we
will be like him. What a difference!
Brother Steve Back to Top of
the Document
By Steve marquis
In the PBS special on the Mormon church, the “Mountain Meadow Massacre” section
was poorly represented by conjecture and reports from 1800’s eastern papers rather
than court facts, diaries and 1st hand contemporary accounts. They drew
from late 1800’s "thriller" magazines such as a story entitled, "I
Survived the Mountain Meadows Massacre," an account written under the name
of Elizabeth Baker Terry, a 3 year old child survivor. However, Mrs. Terry did not
write the story, it was taken from an interview with her as an older woman by a
professional writer. This is an example of the classic “sources” that antagonists
of the church have drawn from since there are no eye witnesses nor a single confession
to draw from.
The popular, sensational; eastern press accounts
of the 19th century that PBS drew from placed the context in isolated fanaticism
and the motives in revenge and hatred. After
a 150 years, PBS referenced the same editorials as prima fascia facts. It was such a sad event, no-one in the church
leadership wants in the least these days to be seen as defensive and anything other
than apologetic and so the worst interpretation of the events are promoted and no
rational explanation is proffered leaving the conclusion unanswered that “Mormon
fanaticism” was the root problem and by extension if then, why not now.
The Church’s original position was that the Indians
did it. That may well be fundamentally true,
except it is equally undeniable that John Dee Lee and the militia he was steward
over were definitely involved in the tragedy but in a way that makes the true history
stranger than fiction.
From the 1st hand primary sources we learn of a time of an approaching war
machine with 25% of all US federal troops marching on Utah itching for a blood fight,
a land and people responding under martial law and a distant outpost with standing
orders to at all costs avoid another conflict with the Indians as the territory
could not afford a 2 front war. The territory
had just suppressed a 10 year bloody Indian war and it was Brigham’s promise to
defend the Indians as an ally and that the white people would freely share of their
food and cattle.
On a war footing , the Mormon settlers in this remote outpost had cached
almost all the settlement’s surplus supplies in the mountains in anticipation of
a pending gorilla war effort. As such they were in no mood nor position to share
with passing settlers; particularly so for these who, when denied supplies, overtly
declared themselves enemies of the Mormons. With the refusal to assist in resupply,
these passing embittered settlers were emboldened in their animosity perhaps ultimately
sealing their fate. Reports circulated that these Missouri/Arkansas immigrants had,
on the way through the settlements, harassed and openly bragged at being part and
hand at the Prophets assassination and (this is key) threatened to raise an army
and return from California to fight the Mormons from the South.
Under this context, this obnoxious group of settlers traveling though Southern
Utah bound for California was reported to have also initially refused the Indians
food, poisoned a well, and murdered one of the hungry Indians. When finally some meat was offered the Indians,
other deaths occurred including at least one white settler who was reported to have
died from handling the poison meat.
The treatment and manner of the murder so enraged the Indians that they gathered
a group of tribes together and attacked and held the offending wagon train for a
number of days to the point that the wagon train was nearly out of water and suffering
considerably. Being well armed, however, they managed to continue to inflict casualties
on the Indians. The Indians went to the head of the nearby town militia and demanded
of Bishop John Dee Lee (JDL) that Brigham's promise of mutual protection take the
form of revenge on the men of the wagon train or they would re-ignite the Utah-Indian
war. There were one or more visits from white settlers with the Indian siege which
some interpreted as variously collusion or even instigation – even masquerading
– but the treaty of mutual protection\assistance with enemies is a more likely scenario.
It is apparent that from the 1st hand accounts that militia leaders
were conflicted as to how to proceed. JDL was between a rock and a hard place and
he sent a truly heroic express rider all the way to Salt Lake riding Pony Express
style all the way – non-stop to Brigham and back with a message to do no harm to
the members of the wagon train (possibly) allowing the Indians the goods only as
compensation, but he arrived back with BY’s message a precious few hours too late…
What took place in those preceding hours can only be comprehended under the
context of the duress of threatened war from the Indians and the wagon train settlers
themselves and a threatened southern war front should the settlers proceed.
JDL came up with a plan to get some or possibly all of the settlers out.
There are really only three likely possibilities from there.
Despite what any yellow press sensational rag of the day printed nor what
PBS repeated over a hundred and fifty years later, only scenario #2 listed above
is remotely possible, though #3 is what JDL held as true to his dying day.
JDL to his moments before the firing squad saw what happened as a tragedy,
but neither he nor any other Mormon settler ever admitted to murder. For a long
time the church protected him and all involved.
President Buchannan issued a blanket pardon for all acts during the “Utah
War,” but reneged on the Mountain Meadow trials claiming the action unrelated to
the war. In the 1st trial, all participants but one were acquitted. JDLs
trial ended in a hung Jury with 1 person voting guilty. 10 years or so later, with
the church under intense persecution and the eastern presses unceasingly demanding
blood for blood, Brigham, JDL’s adopted father, removed the churches’ protection
and essentially offered up JDL as the sacrificial lamb at another trial. That was
a bitter pill for JDL who voluntarily returned from hiding to be immediately found
guilty. He wrote bitterly of his abandonment and went to the firing squad claiming
he did no wrong. His final words were simply, “Aim well boys.”
Only in the context of the war does this take on a new light that they would
have agreed (truly or otherwise) to help the Indians. While it is clear that JDL’s militia escorted
the settlers from the besieged wagon train, and they may have executed the
men, there is no actual evidence that JDLs men fired even one shot - none of those
involved ever admitted to their dying day to have killed the men let alone killing,
butchering and hacking up the women and children with knives and hatchets.
On the other hand, given the circumstances of war, and the enemy status of
the settlers themselves, it is conceivable that they did execute some of the men
but there is neither direct evidence nor eye witness testimony to that end. Conversely,
it is inconceivable regarding the savage treatment of the women and children. However,
the fate of the women and in particular - which children were killed vs. which were
saved, is quite consistent with the practice of the Indian’s warfare at that time.
This much is certain. The “Young’s wild rampaging mob of vengeful Mormons” theory wallowed in by enemies of the
church just doesn’t hold water, but the context of the imminent war on a lonely
isolated and threatened outpost makes all the sad pieces fall into place.
Ps: The reader is no doubt wondering how I came
to this narrative. This synopsis was not intended as a documented thesis, but I
can recommend the inquiring reader an exceptionally frank, scholarly, well documented
treatment, “The Mountain Meadows Massacre” by J Brooks. My conclusions are my own.
You might want to start with the last chapter “Cause and effects,” positioned just before the almost equally impressive
appendix.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
I felt impressed to send this note
to a friend who had some concerns about Temple worship or possible other anti-Mormon
materials – there is a lot out there. I share
it with you readers now who are concerned that such beliefs endanger one’s salvation.
Salvation as a topic is addressed in some detail in: “What’s all this ‘Being Saved’ stuff anyhow?”
When my family was 1st
investigating the church we were at 1st very interested and then some
(I presume well-meaning) relative sent us pamphlets describing in great unseemly
detail what was claimed to transpire behind those great doors. I was young at the time but my parents severed
our relationship with the missionaries immediately. “What a strange cult,” they
thought.
A few weeks later, the
local bishop who happened to be a near neighbor stopped by and asked if we had some
concerns that led to our withdrawal. After some coaxing, Mom showed the Bishop the
materials. He briefly read some about the Temple and started to laugh; descriptions
of naked orgies and other nonsense filled the pages. Some short time later my whole
family joined ourselves with what we knew was the kingdom of God. It is the only
thing that makes sense out of this existence and this is the beautiful part – God
has not left us alone and we can reach Him to learn the truth of His restored church.
It has subsequently been my lot and privilege on
several occasions to address such accusations; some in the form of books and others
in pamphlets. Some were written by competitors if you will; other preachers and
some by former friends. Some of the worst is by former friends, Judases if you will
with some axe to grind who either never understood their religion in the 1st
place or who had a falling out. Others have fallen into sin or find the commitments
to some of God’s laws encumbering and to justify themselves and slake their conscious
attempt to find fault in former leaders or doctrine.
A new member, the Blakeys,
who received such “helpful materials,” just as my family did, asked me to review
and respond to a book’s anti-Mormon accusations. This actually takes a significant
effort. I researched and wrote a paragraph by paragraph response and one evening
presented my findings. After reviewing 3 or 4 pages together with nary a paragraph
without distortion, error or deception, Brother Blakey stopped me and said that
would be enough. I was surprised (considering all the effort it had taken) and he
continued, “If there are that many errors on the 1st few pages, it’s
not worth reviewing the rest!” And so it is that much of the critiques are unfounded
or simply erroneous.
What is remarkable to
me is how much effort, truly remarkable effort, is expended by some to tear down
another faith. I wrote a short piece on that topic that you may find useful. “What’s all this 1 True Church” stuff anyhow?”
I came to understand that intense unrelenting opposition and persecution
was actually a key sign of God’s true religion. Who else would the Devil spend so
much effort on?
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
There are others however,
well-meaning individuals, coming from our modern world of fashion and sophistication
who find the Temple worship singularly archaic. This reminds me of a friend, who
said “ I love everything about your church, the focus on the Savior, family and
the outreach to the members; If you could just lose that story of the angels and
‘golden plates’, I could join this church!
He seemed to miss the fact that to be God’s kingdom there better be some
stories of extreme encounters with the Divine or it would necessarily be just another
club of like-minded folks. Without the Angles and prophets, miracles and yes ancient
rituals, I couldn’t be a member!
A key concept in the true religion
is the concept of our kinship with God and our ultimate possibilities. It is surprising that few religions even attempt to explain why we are here
and where we are going.
The Bible on practically page 1 describes some of the characteristics that
what makes man different than animals and like Himself; one of those is being self-aware
with reasoning capability. Gen 3:22
And the
LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil
In the Ps. 82:6 God himself declared
our astonishing potential saying:
I have
said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High
And in Acts 17:21 the inspired
writer further connects the dots
Forasmuch
then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like
unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
Who are we to argue with that? This kinship is addressed in some detail in
this short article on the topic of Being Children of God and the true Brotherhood
of man:
“What’s all this ‘I Am a Child of God’ stuff anyhow?”
Additionally, the dual spiritual and physical nature that God and man share
is addressed in more detail in this next article: “Why are some folks so bent out of shape over
the idea of ‘an Anthropomorphic God’?”
In fine, the scriptures teach us that we are God’s children and saints of
God’s kingdom believe him. We do not suppose God was deceptive and we take Him on
his word. Without apology or quote marks we, along with the ancient inspired writers,
declare that He is our Father and you are my brother or sister. It changes everything
when this light of knowledge dawns.
With that knowledge come the realization, that if children, then our possibility
are limitless. Jesus himself said to his disciples that even now we had greatness
in us as recorded in Matthew 17:20.
He said
to them, “…For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and
nothing will be impossible for you.”
I have to tell you that sounds like pretty god like capabilities to me! Jesus
set the standard and I presume it is eventually possible to achieve it when he commanded
his disciples in Math 5:48:
Be ye therefore
perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Lastly, while our finite circumstances at present make it impossible for
us to fully comprehend how such capability is part of our destiny, but God said
it so I believe it. 1 John 3:2:
Beloved,
now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him
as he is.
God does make it clear, though, that while being saved from Eternal banishment
from God’s presence (Hell, if you will) comes by our faith, rewards and destiny
in the here-after are related to our desire and efforts and that is where His kingdom
on earth comes in – to help bring us back to His presence where we would be glorified
beyond what we can comprehend: Romans 8:14-17
The Spirit
itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
While our relationship with God is fundamental, the New Testament records
many other things that are strange to most present day “Christian” denominations
yet are quite familiar to LDS Temple going saints. Even these “small” things turn
out to be a hallmarks of true religion. Again from the Bible 1 Cor 1:27we read:
But God
has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
For example, consider
the idea that some things are withheld from the world; the whole secret/sacred debate.
Consider these few anachronisms that were anciently spoken about. These concepts
are very familiar to LDS temple worshiping saints but contemporary Christians are
at a lost to do more than a passing glance as they hurry on to more familiar texts
that better suit their attention.
A secret new song or verse that
is to be taught to select individuals Rev 14.3
And they
sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders;
and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who
had been purchased from the earth.
Hidden knowledge and a new name
and a stone are mentioned related to personal revelation Rev 2:17
I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a
white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives
it.'
Discussions of Baptism for the
dead IE vicarious ordinance work for another is found in 1Cor 15:29
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if
the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
Then there are some detractors of our religion who take the sacred and attempt
to make light or take one meaning and construe another out of it. For example, some
detractors make much sacrilegious light of the LDS temple clothing. I am reminded of God’s warning recorded in 1 Cor 2:14.
But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness
unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
If temple worship is
of ancient origin, as claimed, I would argue that at its root, it must be ancient!
You might well expect aspects to seem out of time. But to men of the world, even
some who share much of our Christian teachings, they would in their ignorance rather mock what God
has called sacred.
On a 4 day mountain climb I had this amusing
encounter with a couple lay-Baptist ministers who were my climbing partners on that
trip extracted from Adams2010_journal.
“the other two fellows had ‘til now never joined in our conversation
but today being a bit closer something must have been said that cued the other fellow
– (yes another Baptist preacher) that there was a Mormon in their midst.
I must interject that the other 3 fellow are all from Tennessee
and all seemed to delight almost as a redneck contest as to who could out-drawl
the next fellow. Even I began to speak southern “smack talk” as they called it.
With that in mind, the prison minister blurted out in his best
smack.” Say, did you say, Ah mean did ya say that you was a Mormon, Ah mean are
you really a Mormon??? you know with the magic underwear and all? Ah ah are you wearen’ ‘em right now???
I flung it right back “dyed in the wool through and through
but unlike many ministers that wear their priestly vestments outside for everyone
to see, I wear mine close to my heart to remind just me of my promises to God.”
That seemed to put a cork in it and Jeff and I proceeded down
the snowy road continuing our discussion, but I did ask Jeff; now in my best southern
smack talk, “say is that a weddin’ ring? Ah mean is that there a weddin’ ring on
your finger? So, what does it mean?” Jeff would offer several suggestions and I
would ask for more until all the common symbolisms had been vetted. I then pointed
out the similarities in those symbolisms to the Mormon priestly vestments; commitment
to what is right, to constraining our passions and to daily prayer kneeling in supplication
for God’s guidance. That seemed to cement the point and we then moved back onto
discussing the remaining 13 Articles of Faith. “
A few thoughts regarding Temple Clothing: Have you ever wondered how hats continue to play such a roll in defining
station? Consider the soldiers, police officers. These are forms of crowns used
to define the kings and queen’s lofty station. Religions have, throughout the world,
used many variations of head covering to this day; Jewish men’s yarmulke, Sikh turbans, Muslim, Jewish
and some Christian women with head coverings and almost all women with veils - at
least on their wedding day. Shriners and
Masons all have extensive symbolic garments; and then there is that odd cap and
gown used in graduation ceremonies when you are given a special diploma and title…
Speaking of gowns? Have
you ever wondered where those odd looking Caps and gowns come from used at graduation
ceremonies? Ever been in a court of law and seen a judge? Ever heard of a kingly
robe? Clothing used to have meaning. To this day, it is still echoed that “clothing
makes the man.” There is something special and ancient about clothing; it was God
himself that made the 1st coverings for Adam and Eve – and for the PETA
people, he did it out of animal skins!
The Jews were commanded
to wear a number of articles of clothing; each with symbolic significance to the
wearer. Burial shrouds found in ancient Coptic Christian cemeteries show key markings
that members of our religion would recognize.
Priests of many religions wear outer garb and sometimes hats representing
their station. In our religion, we too wear priestly garments but rather than advertise
our station, we keep them close to our heart as a personal reminder of our covenants
with God. It’s that simple. If you find some similarities in garb and symbols found
in LDS temples with other faith traditions, rather than assume some plagiarism,
it is equally probable that a common and ancient origin is the root of those similarities.
I vote for the latter explanation.
As for specific ceremonies, much anti-Mormon material takes the church
to task for a previous variation of the temple ceremony that used mock penalties.
The concept was to express that what was being taught was so sacred, that you would
rather die than reveal it; much like we used to say as kids – “cross my heart and
hope to die” That is all it meant. To make anything sinister or threatening out
of it is nonsense. Still because some detractors did manage to misconstrue it, the
language and gestures were replaced by a simple admonition - more appropriate to
today’s sensibilities.
Likewise, the ancient
practice of washing and anointing, while always tasteful and modest and never done
except in a unisex environment, has been for reasons of modern cultural sensibilities,
minimized to eliminate most touching that some found uncomfortable. The message
is the same. The mode of conveyance was modified for reasons of culture – nothing
more.
Special handshakes?
Even the Boy Scouts has them. The early Christian had their special greetings –
this concept is very very old and so it should be. Anyway, I suspect all the details of the LDS temple
ceremony are only prototypes of what we will learn, but regardless, I will maintain
the sacred nature of the instruction as promised without regard for whether the
sacred is still secret. That is between me and the lord.
So, my good friends, if it is peculiar to say you want to be like God our
Father, then I glory in the possibility of peculiarity. If the Almighty wants us
to clap our hands or wear hats to remind our forgetful souls of this or that, then
show me the hat rack! I will go or do what He asks because His wisdom is wisdom! A unique scriptural reference
central to Jesus’ restored gospel is as follows: Moses 1:39
For behold, this is
my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
That nicely encapsulates
our relationship with God, our Father. We used to sing a children’s song that said
“Jesus wants me for a sun beam to shine for him each day. And so, to the best of
my ability, amplified greatly by God’s Holy Spirit, I attempt to shine, just a little
– each day.
Yours
in the Lord,
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
given
on 6/21/15 by Steve Marquis:
Trust
in our Father
·
Rewards of Fathership,
·
Sacrifice
of Fatherhood
·
Effective
Fatherhood
·
Strength
of our Fathers
·
A
partnership with God
3 Nephi 14:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good
things to them that ask him?
DC88:118 Seek ye diligently and teach one another words
of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even
by study and also by faith
I chose to discuss this with a series
of short personal stories and vignettes; recapped lessons learned are highlighted
in black bold text.
Index
Intro
Trust in our Fathers
Jump and I will catch you.
Perspective is what Dads get by
walking the trail before us.
Fathers play roll of advance recon
IF the children allow it.
Rewards of Fatherhood
Natural man is interested in equity,
There Goes My Life
Sacrifices of Fatherhood
Ultimate Sacrifice and the greater
Love
Lose Your Life to find it
Service to God and fellows
God does not need servants
50 miler and the frying pan.
50 miler and the boots.
Methods of Effective
Fatherhood
Covey story about love.
Choose the Battles Wisely; Brother
Foultch’s advise.
Exercise influence VS control
Strength from our
fathers.
Stories that bind
I was privileged to be my Fathers
companion
Fathers, Be one with god in this
partnership of parenting.
Fathers; be one with
God
How can we be thought anything like God?
Being ‘One’ with God starts by “Listening”
Wrap Up
Young men and young Women appreciate correction.
Jared taught Enoch - Enoch received instruction
Be the Leader, the Good salesman
In closing, I go to be gathered with my fathers
Intro
When I was a young father
I was camping out in the ‘back 40’ with the kids. My youngest 4 at the time and
I were looking up at the stars when a dense cloud layer rolled across our view covering
up all the stars. “Look Jordon! All the stars are gone. What shall we do?” He immediate
replied, “Dad, you need to ask Heavenly Father to bring them back!” I looked at
him in wonder.
Not long after that
as the troops were returning in great fanfare from the war in Grenada, amidst all
the band playing and honors, out of nowhere he says. “Some of the dadies aren’t
coming home, Huh?” I wondered again, “What
sort of spirits had I been entrusted with?” As we are all spiritual beings having a human experience, we are all like
Joseph and Mary; step-parent to God our father’s spirit children.
Rom 8:16
The spirit of God witnesses to our spirit that we are the Children of God and if
children then heirs”
Trust in our Fathers
Jump and I will catch you.
Trust in our father.
This is a tough one. I’m a 10-11 year old on one of Dad’s many Boy Scout Hikes in
Alum Rock Park and we are up along the rocks above the old railroad bridges and
the mountain goat trail just dead ends and you have to jump to the other side of
a cleft in the rocks to pick up the trail again. I make a quick calculation and
determine I cannot safely make the leap. Dad beckons me from the other side “Jump,
I’ll catch you!” I hesitate at first. “Don’t worry,” he encourages. “I won’t drop
you!” So I take a leap of faith and, well, I’m here to tell the story!
Learning to trust in
our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus follows the same trajectory. We cannot see
how it can be done, but we have faith in His love and ability.
Enos asked, after making
the leap of faith into the arms of his Brother Jesus, “Lord
How is it done?”
To this day I’m not sure how my Dad caught me.
It seemed impossible from my perspective. It may seem unfathomable how our spiritual
father could experience us where time and all events collapsed to a singularity
that God could experience but my dealings with our Father has shown that the Lord
does know us individually and His arms are outreached continuously after us if we
will just take that leap of faith in Jesus.
Perspective
is what Dads get by walking the trail before us.
One of my passions is Mountaineering
There are times when
I want that Luis and Clark experience but more often I prefer to follow the best
known path. God has given us Fathers to accompany
us and scriptures to learn from our forefathers
and the wise take advantage of both of them.
Confucius
say there are 3 ways to learn wisdom.
The 1st
is by reflection, which is noblest.
The 2nd
is by imitation, which is easiest.
The 3rd
is by experience which is bitterest.
Choose your path wisely
We see as through glasses darkly
We see life “as through
glasses Darkly”, as Paul said, but if we can realize that our fathers are just a
bit farther down the trail we can benefit from that foresight. We don’t know what
we can’t see, but if we sons and daughters can experience just a bit of wisdom,
we will sense that we see only partially; like
man born blind, we can’t quite comprehend what we don’t yet know but the wise see
through the wisdom of others.
Fathers
play roll of advance recon IF the children allow it.
The Talk!
Another time an older brother and I were on an
8 day 50Miler and come Sunday we found out my Dad had to go out do to a work commitment.
I was in awe as we had come in Sat a grueling 15 miles and for Dad to leave meant
not rest as we got but 15 more miles just to have spent the day or so with us. Dad
wanted to take us both out on a short walk to speak with us. I could sense it was an important time; maybe
even THE talk! But my brother was all into his friends and would have none of it
and kicked and argued and so embittered the moment that they finally scuffled. It
was a sad moment and I was flabbergasted at my brother’s stubbornness to show respect
to our Father. My Father left and I was robbed of a precious moment and what advice
and insights I could have had.
Young people, Honor your Father and Mother that
your days may be long upon the land. My brother actually had many fine qualities
but failure to follow this key commandment cost him dearly and his days were short
– far too short upon the land.
Lift up your eyes in honor to your Earthly Fathers
who love you and then extend them farther to your Father in Heaven whose love is
eternal … and Live.
Come down boys, You need me!
If you ever saw the
Broadway play “Cheaper by the Dozen” (the original) the Father of a large family
who is an efficiency expert by trade finds out he has but months to live and goes
on a mission to impart all the wisdom of life to his family in his few remaining
days. His kids and wife, who knew nothing
about his fate, think he’s just about gone nuts with the sheer intensity of the
effort and only after he is gone realize what he was trying to accomplish. I often
felt that way that my time with my boys was melting away like a snowball on a summer’s
day. At 1st I would call them to come help me with something, but as
often as not I could do it as fast with them as without but one day it dawned on
me that I was saying the wrong thing. So when I wanted to impart some method to
replace a U-Joint on a drive shaft or some such deal, I hollered. “Come down boys, You need me!” at 1st they
thought I misspoke, but they soon got the idea that Dad wanted to impart some knowledge
or wisdom.
I wonder if God our Father isn’t calling us all
the time, “Come here Boys, You need me”, when he calls us on missions and as Sunday
school teachers and YM an YW assignments and so forth.
To the brother of Jared, our Lord said, “Come to
me with your weaknesses and I will make weak things strong!” saith the Lord.
Rewards of Fatherhood
Natural man is interested in equity,
Selfish children are
miserable persons and if they remain so become narcissistic men. A father’s role has little in apparent equity
as he sacrifices all he has for his family. But like the refrain "sacrifice brings
forth the blessings of heaven" so to, fathers are blessed.
There Goes My Life
One of my favorite country
western songs “There Goes my Life” speaks of a young man who thought the arrival
of a child in his life came at the cost of all his dreams and then comes to see that little girl as his greatest
purpose and joy.
Sacrifices of Fatherhood
Ultimate Sacrifice and the greater Love
My great grandfather
served with the Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, My grandfather in WW2. My father and Father In law served in the Korean
War and I have a son who served in Iraq and currently in Kuwait where that sort
of heroics is clear and present reality. We often think of ultimate sacrifice in
context of war and great heroics.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends..
Lose Your Life to find it
But there is another way to lay one’s life down
that Jesus described when he said "He that would lose his life for my sake
shall find it."
Mahatma Gandhi captured
the practical implication when he said, “the best way
to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Service to God and fellows
King Benjamin
said, Mosiah
2: 17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that
ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in
the service of your God.
God does not need servants
Do you really think
that means you help your fellow beings to please or get reward from God. Does he
really need servants? The point is that no man worthy of that title is trying to
get his kids to serve him and neither does our God need servants; what He wants,
what He glories in is when we become one with Him and His son Jesus. We inherently desire the welfare of those about
us not to please God and carve out a more palatial residency in the Celestial worlds,
but because we are becoming more and more like Him.
50 miler and the frying pan.
As a young person, for
some reason, I don’t recall giving my father’s work and efforts for me and our family
a second thought until we were on a 50 Miler Hike together as a tiny 12 year old.
Now I loved my Dad and enjoyed doing all sorts of things together, but I just sort
of took it for granted. I never really contemplated his role until my 1st
big backpacking trip. I think I only weighed 98 lbs and somehow my 8 days of gear
and food came in under 25 lbs. It’s a doable load that with serious effort I bore
day after day until Thursday came and the menu was pancakes. Now I had the flower
mix and a bowl and a saucer-plate but it suddenly occurred to me that I had no fixings
nor pan or oil. You can bet I did not call
Ghost Busters, I went to my Dad and to my shock, he pulled out of his backpack dehydrated
syrup, Tang powder and – and get this - a serious frying pan. To this day I swear
it was cast Iron! I marveled at the load
he bore for me and that translated to Love. Our Fathers can be prototypes of the
love the father of our salvation has expressed and bore for us
50 miler and the boots.
On another 50 mile hike,
my brother related this story. We didn't have a lot of disposable income growing
up but we never thought of ourselves as poor, just not terribly rich! But coming
down a steep trail the pounding of the heavy packs on what turned out to be practically
ancient worn-out Marine boots left over from his service in the Korean war took
their toll as the hob nails holding the heel on poked through the thin pad and made
blisters the size of your palms on each foot. We only knew of this sacrifice by
watching Dad attempt to doctor them with mole skin bandages – and that without any
verbal complaint. This event showed me how much Dad sacrificed his own well-being
for us even his blood.
Subsequently as
a young adult, when I heard this song “I stand all amazed”
about our Heavenly Father and Son’s sacrifice, it took on greater meaning
as I saw and witnessed true sacrifice from my Dad
I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me
I tremble to know that for me He was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, He suffered, He bled and died
Methods of Effective Fatherhood
Covey story about love.
“My wife
and I just don't have the same feelings for each other we used to have. I guess
I just don't love her anymore and she doesn't love me. What can i do?"
"The feeling isn't there anymore?" I asked.
"That's right," he reaffirmed. "And we have three children we're
really concerned about. What do you suggest?"
"love her," I replied.
"I told you, the feeling just isn't there anymore."
"Love her."
"You don't understand. the feeling of love just isn't there."
"Then love her. If the feeling isn't there, that's a good reason to love her."
"But how do you love when you don't love?"
"My friend , love is a verb. Love - the feeling - is a fruit of love,
the verb. So love her. Serve her. Sacrifice. Listen to her. Empathize. Appreciate.
Affirm her. Are you willing to do that?”
Choose the Battles Wisely; Brother Foultch’s advise.
Seeing how exacting
and demanding I was being with my own boys in the troop, one of my assistants, a
grandfather, took me aside and shared a lesson he learned too late; that not every slight and shortfall need be
confronted - else so much of your experience with your sons will be one of confrontation.
As a scout leader I
learned this just barely in time for my own kids the value of influence vs coercion;
though they might wonder about that.
This is captured in
DC121. Now I advise scout Advisors with children in the program and Dads who come
along to allow and specially arrange that other adults take care of discipline for
their child should it be called for, allowing you to enjoy the time and build that
positive bank account. You get the fun and
someone else is the heavy; and then you return the favor with other’s boys.
You don’t want to go negative and overdraft in
the personal account.
Exercise influence VS control
God does not force man
to heaven neither should our earthly fathers.
1. Know
this, that ev'ry soul is free
To choose
his life and what he'll be;
For this eternal truth is giv'n:
That God will force no man to heav'n.
2. He'll
call, persuade, direct aright,
And bless
with wisdom, love, and light,
In nameless ways be good and kind,
But never force the human mind.
As soon as reason is possible, Fathers should
use every effort to persuade rather than coerce.
DC121:41
No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood,
only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
42 By
kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy,
and without guile
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Strength from
our fathers.
Stories that bind
Lowe’s 3 marriages and determination
Grandpa Lowe’s 1st wife
died several years after giving birth to my grandmother of tuberculosis. He remarried
a rather eccentric woman who pushed my grandmother into acting and the two of them
traveled widely; stage-mom and daughter. This eventually bankrupted my grandfather
and the strain contributed to eventual divorce. Grandpa picked himself up remarried
a sweet lady that my mother greatly admired. He retrained and started a new business
as a pharmacist and became the Mayor of Fremont district Seattle.
He never quit.
I believe he started
the tradition of handing down the Poem If from Rudyard Kipling to the children as
they came of age.
If poem excerpt
by Rudyard Kipling
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
…Or watch
the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
Family History and Resilience
Study
shows that “The [children] who knew more about their families proved to be more
resilient, meaning they could moderate the effects of stress,” Dr. Duke told the New York Times. https://www.lds.org/church/news/want-emotionally-healthy-children-tell-family-stories?lang=eng&query=resilience
Cross-generational
family stories play an important role in children’s self-definition. When children
see themselves as part of a larger family narrative, they
Feel more
secure and more confident.
They have
a stronger sense of self.
As a result,
they have a greater ability to overcome challenges,
Greater
emotional resilience in the face
of life’s ups and downs.
The researchers
are quick to point out, however, that simply knowing family stories is not really
the most important factor in this area of children’s development.
What gives these
stories their power is the means by which they are conveyed—frequent, meaningful
parent-child interaction or, in short, family time. And the dinner table still seems
to loom large as a place for passing along family lore
I was privileged to be my Fathers companion
I got to be my father’s
Home Teaching partner as a youth, He remembered people’s birthdays. He and my Mom
learned Sign and Finger language to help a dear but a very physically challenged
Brother Kenergenny.
I learned what true love is by examining its
prototype as demonstrated by my Father.
Fathers, Be one with god in this partnership of parenting.
Fathers; be one with God
John 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may
be one, even as we are one:
How can we be thought anything like God?
I was sitting in the
foyer of the temple waiting for my wife and admired a painting of the Savior in
a contemplative mood overlooking the city Jerusalem and it struck me that this was
the God who made the universe and the planet he now humbly inhabited and yet that
immensity was contained somehow and expressed in a child that grew from infant,
learned line upon line at his mother and father’s knee. At some point, perhaps greater
view of his unfathomable capability came to him but at best certainly not at first.
He was not remarkable or even unusual. "Is this
not the carpenter’s son? Are not his brothers and sisters yet with us"
He was like us. He took pains to place us in
the same relation. "Your father and my father"
your god and my god.”
So when the Pharisees
of his day took great umbrage over the implication that he was more than man, He
who would know, replied "why do you decry that
I said I was the son of god. Do not your scriptures declare that ye are gods and
children of the most high?”
Jesus taught us that we have great potential
and that we have but a fraction of our capability revealed and available to us at
present. So when Jesus said, “You can say to this mountain be removed and it would be removed
hence” know that this is possible because just as Jesus spirit is immense
in capability, he taught us though Paul that “ the Spirit
witnesses to our Spirit that we are the Children of God and if Children then Heirs,
joint Heirs with Christ.”
Recall that Enoch actually
did remove a mountain and change the course of a river! So while our Fathers may sometimes seem limited, perhaps even all thumbs,
know that greatness is there and worthy to be honored.
Being ‘One’ with
God starts by “Listening”
What shall I do with this kid
Lord?
There
was a particular evening when I and one of my sons had exchanged some cross words. I was completely out of ideas as to how to deal
with the situation that seemed to be auguring downwards into a destructive place.
So I’m on my knees talking with God bereft of ideas lamenting the situation, when
crystal clear my mind is flooded with the thought, “Go and apologize to your son”
I looked up at the heavens and said, “Huh? What for?!!!” Clearly I was perfectly
faultless in this matter. Uhhuh! But it came to me again, “Go apologize to your
Son.” Well, when I get such direction - especially if it cuts across my own instincts,
I’ve learned to just get up and act. So I went straight way to his room still wondering
what I would say. It was later at night and I knocked on his door and opening just
said something like, “Son, I apologize that we had such cross words. I did not intend
for us to have hard feelings. I love you.”
That may sound weak but it was what I could muster. And you know what? Things
immediately improved between us and changed our trajectory.
Dad, I want to join the Army
When my
1st born son was about 17, an Army recruiter was over speaking effusively
about the benefits of Army life and how no wars or significant conflicts were even
on the horizon. I took the matter to God that evening and what I heard was startling;
“There will be a war but send him anyway. He’s in my hands.” The following year,
Jared was in boot camp when the Twin Towers were hit.
As the
Invasion of Bagdad progressed, with my son’s Army engineering group up in front
with the Marines, the Lord met Jared in a profound way. I like to say that he found
the God of Abraham out in the sands of Bagdad. It is good to have God as a partner, confidant and advisor in this enterprise
of raising his children.
*Another
one of my favorite country western songs is called Love
Without End, Amen by George Strait
When I
became a father in the spring of '81
There was no doubt that stubborn boy was just like my father's son.
And when I thought my patience had been tested to the end,
I took my daddy's secret and I passed it on to him.
Last night I dreamed I died and stood outside those pearly gates.
When suddenly I realized there must be some mistake.
If they know half the things I've done, they'll never let me in.
And then somewhere from the other side I heard these words again.
Chorus:
And he said, let me tell you a secret about a father's love,
A secret that my daddy said was just between us.
He said, daddies don't just love their children every now and then.
It's a love without end, amen, it's a love without end, amen.
This speaks soundly to the Love and Mercy of
fathers; Can I get an AMEN?
Wrap Up
Young men and young Women appreciate correction.
Proverbs
3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:
12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth
Jared taught Enoch – but Enoch received instruction
Moses
6:21 And Jared taught Enoch in all the ways of God. 31 And when Enoch had heard these words…and spake
before the Lord, saying: Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am
but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy
servant? 40 And there came a man unto him…and said..: Tell us plainly who thou art,
and from whence thou comest?
41 And
he said unto them: I came out from the land of Cainan, the land of my fathers, …
And my father taught me in all the ways of God. 42… as I journeyed …, I beheld a
vision; and…and the Lord spake with me, and gave me commandment; wherefore, for
this cause, to keep the commandment, I speak forth these words.
A father
can do no greater work than to introduce his children to God and a child in turn
can do no greater thing than to turn that introduction into an eternal relationship.
Be the Leader, the Good salesman
Fathers try not to think of yourselves as a dictator
or professor/lecturer but as a good salesman who carefully brings his clients to
the right conclusion.
In closing, I go to be gathered with my fathers
Children
of God, young and old, male and female, of all your doings and of all your gettings,
direct your life’s course, correcting your path using the grace of Jesus so that
when you too are old and ready to depart this life, you can say;
2Tim 4:7: I have fought
a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith and now I go to be gathered with
my fathers and your father, with my God and your God.
Yours in the Lord,
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
As we are all spiritual
beings having a human experience, we are all like Joseph and Mary; step-parent to
God our father’s spirit children.
To this day I’m not
sure how my Dad caught me. It seemed impossible from my perspective. It may seem
unfathomable how our spiritual father could experience us where time and all events
collapsed to a singularity that God could experience but my dealings with our Father
has shown that the Lord does know us individually and His arms are outreached continuously
after us if we will just take that leap of faith in Jesus
God has given us Fathers
to accompany us and scriptures to learn from our forefathers and the wise take advantage
of both of them. Choose wisely.
…like man born blind,
we can’t quite comprehend what we don’t yet know but the wise see through the wisdom
of others.
Young people, Honor
your Father and Mother that your days may be long upon the land….. Lift up your
eyes in honor to your Earthly Fathers who love you and then extend them farther
to your Father in Heaven whose love is eternal … and Live.
I wonder if God our
Father isn’t calling us all the time, “Come here Boys, You need me”, when he calls
us on missions and as Sunday school teachers and YM an YW assignments and so forth. “Come to me with your weaknesses and I will make
weak things strong!” saith the Lord.
But like the refrain
"sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven" so to, fathers are blessed…
and then he comes to see that little girl as his greatest purpose and joy.
But there is another
way to lay one’s life down that Jesus described when he said "He that would
lose his life for my sake shall find it."
Mahatma Gandhi captured the practical implication when he said, “the best
way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
We inherently desire
the welfare of those about us not to please God and carve out a more palatial residency
in the Celestial worlds, but because we are becoming more and more like him.
Subsequently as a young
adult, when I heard this song “I stand all amazed” about our Heavenly Father and
Son’s sacrifice, it took on greater meaning as I saw and witnessed true sacrifice
from my Dad
"My friend,, love
is a verb. Love - the feeling - is a fruit of love, the verb. So love her. Serve
her. Sacrifice. Listen to her. Empathize. Appreciate. Affirm her. Are you willing
to do that?”
…not every slight and
shortfall need be confronted else so much of your experience will be one of confrontation….
You don’t want to go negative and overdraft in the personal account.
As soon as reason is
possible, Fathers should use every effort to persuade rather than coerce.
Grandpa Lowe & IF – Rudyard Kipling What gives these stories their power is the means
by which they are conveyed—frequent, meaningful parent-child interaction or, in
short, family time. And the dinner table still seems to loom large as a place for
passing along family lore
I learned what true
love is by examining its prototype as demonstrated by my Father.
Jesus taught us that
we have great potential and that we have but a fraction of our capability revealed
and available to us at present. So when Jesus
said, “You can say to this mountain be removed and it would be removed hence” know
that this is possible… So while our Fathers may sometimes seem limited, perhaps
even all thumbs, know that greatness is there and worthy to be honored.
It is good to have God
as a partner, confidant and advisor in this enterprise of raising his children.
He said, daddies don't
just love their children every now and then.
It's a love without end, amen, it's a love without end, amen. This speaks soundly
to the Love and Mercy of fathers; Can I get an AMEN?
A father can do no greater work than to introduce
his children to God and a child in turn can do no greater thing than to turn that
introduction into an eternal relationship.
Fathers try not to think of yourselves as a dictator
or professor/lecturer but as a good salesman who carefully brings his clients to
the right conclusion.
Yours in the Lord,
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Preface. Is this a topic
of religious import? To protect the innocent and preserve the peace against evil
is a religious duty. That we should never act in rage and should “turn the other
cheek” and eschew violence as the last resort is understood but is not an excuse
to allow evil to reign and have its way with innocent people, yourself included.
Paul said that for a man to not take care of his family was worse than an infidel.
IE you should know better that it is your duty to take care of and protect your
family and by extension your neighbor. And who is your neighbor?
In a discussion of the place of weapons in society rather than dive right
into statistics and sophistries about this scenario or that, I want to address somethings
more fundamental – subliminally - why do some feel the way they do and how might
that color how those stats and arguments are either accepted or rejected?
Perhaps more in the last 50 years, notably our schools have impressed the
idea that there is no justification for violence. If a kid fights back to defend
himself, both kids are suspended without question. While it might be just practical,
avoiding the “who did what to who 1st,” what is overtly taught is that you do not
have a right to defend yourself period; that sovereignty is transferred to the teachers
or administrators no matter what the circumstances. Even judgements are argued to
be suspended in the name of tolerance of differences and promotion of “diversity”
thus training up a generation with the inability to judge anything. The adversary would have us believe that there
is no absolute right and thus, no absolute wrong. This is the basis for the wave of moral relativism
sweeping the western world. The society’s PC police will take care of the thinking
for you. Our intellectual sovereignty is expected to be transferred to the collective.
Bear with me, hang on to that thought. This bit of psychology yet plays a key role in this conversation about Gun control/confiscation.
Now, the media with its vast reach across the whole country, is able, no
matter how statistically infrequent, to bring to our living room - virtually every
day - some sad act of violence making it feel frequent and immediate and too close
to home. Obviously once is too many, but I’m talking in this note about how we perceive
the situation which may or may not align with reality.
I was discussing this once with a very articulate spokesman for gun confiscation.
We spared deftly for several days about statistics and policies … and then it got
personal; though not in the normal bad way. Personal, in that he finally revealed
something that helped me see what, deep down, was motivating his every energy on
this topic. It colored and diminished any of the facts I put forth to support my
arguments and amplified to religious fervor any argument he suggesting as to why
we should remove from society ‘all the sharp objects’.
Wow, what was that? Simply this; it wasn’t so much that he specifically did
not trust me with weapons, no, it came to this. He actually did not trust himself
with weapons and if he didn’t trust himself he sure wasn’t going to trust you, me
or another stranger!
Not trust yourself? Really? Why would that be? Think about the common narrative
in just about any “if it bleeds, it leads” news story of late. Does this sound familiar? “He seemed like just
the kid next door.” “He was never in any trouble.” “He even passed a back ground
check.” That’s the narrative. What’s the
subliminal message? It’s suddenly obvious.
If he was just a normal person then what about me? If I was placed in the same
circumstances , maybe I too would flip out and kill dozens of 5 year olds, or at
least my boss and that annoying coworker; maybe my wife too!
When I list it out like that, our high level brain functions kick in and
refutes that as ridiculous but our gut level has been impacted by years of training
to transfer your sovereignty, mind and body to the collective. Remember that side
discussion about being trained to avoid making judgements? Time after time our gut
is being reinforced that the beast within is uncontrollable and just waiting for
that perfect storm of bad luck and annoyances to express itself in an amoral explosion
of rage. This is the message we keep receiving from the would be masters of our lives;
that you cant trust You!
12 years in public education, reinforced by daily news fare culled and fashioned
to keep this narrative ever before the populous, we are steeped in the notion that there is no
circumstances that a man should ever use force; that to defend yourself or an innocent
victim is not your job nor right. Why – again subliminally - because you cannot
be trusted to behave reasonably under trying difficult situations.
Men, who have for thousands of years taken the roll of defending the weak
and the innocent, the virtuous and especially their families, have in the last 50
years been systematically talked into, trained against and indoctrinated to a state
of passivism and have transferred sovereignty back to the kings and lords and their
knights. The end game is a corresponding push to avoid having any opinion informed
or otherwise (unless promoted by the elite).
The passivism works well for the elite masters - those who would be our lords
- because the same submissive mindset makes for a compliant co-dependent populous
that is easy to control. Tyrants world over have long known that weapons are as
bad as ideas. Said Joseph Stalin, “Ideas are more powerful than guns. We
would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas.”
So this all begs the questions, “Are they right? Are we all ticking time
bombs ready to grab the nearest sharp object when distressed to wreak havoc on innocent
men women and if at all possible little children?”
Let me now focus attention on the basic premise – the narrative of “normalcy -> suddenly gone estranged from humanity.”
Is that really true? NO. It’s not true. The
truth is that these nut case, asocial misfits with mental issues simply had not
YET expressed violence. Almost all of them would or did pass a background check,
yet I can’t think of a single case of asocial behavior that did not have a seriously
disturbed actor behind it. “He kept to himself” “His mother was worried about him”
“He was always angry” and on an on – none of them were normal guys – all had clinical
signs that could be spotted a mile away if someone was simply looking. And something
else. Something too familiar. With few exceptions they had no fathers and no Christian
religious practice. No fatherly influence, No accountability, No morality.
No, they were nothing like you and me. That is what I want you to take away
from this discussion. You need not worry that just any random person with a bad
hair day is going to flip out, run some kids over with his car on his way to stabbing
the butcher on his way to blowing up the elementary school.
AND you need not be concerned that having a gun for protection is going to
make you a psychopath if you touch one. That’s not how life works. That is what
experience tells us. That is what our founding father depended on when they declared
that a free society depends on the virtue of the people. We the 1000 or 1000,000
to 1 good guys to bad are the source of maintaining that freedom;
not the knights, the soldiers or police – we the vast concourses of good moral guy
and gals with guns are the palladium for liberty and peace.
May it ever be so. Steve
For further reading
of what God in the scriptures had to say about people defending themselves and other
may I refer the reader to these to short and very well considered references.
www.gotquestions.org/Christian-gun-control-Bible.html 1 Tim
5:8
http://www.gotquestions.org/war-Bible.html
http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/06/jesus-christ-was-not-a-pacifist-2/ Luke
3:14
http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/War_and_Peace
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Preface I work in downtown San Francisco where every day I encounter passionate
preachers of many persuasions – like every corner!. I admire the dedication. Honestly
Discussion is fine and I appreciate the outreach, but sometimes I see it get outside
the bounds of civil discourse. Why do people fight about religion? Why are many
Christian denominations overwrought with concern that someone who shares a different
conception is headed for hell? How is it that they are so sure? I’ve scarcely found
a one claiming to have seen a ‘burning bush’ yet so many remain adamant that their
unique view is spot on and the one sure ticket to paradise? How can that be? I mean
the Bible is such a sparse data set that a thousand religious can comfortably claim
it perfectly supports their unique view!
Well I finally figure it out and I captured that insight in a letter to my
Niece a departing missionary for our Church.
Dear Amara,
Have you wondered why
individuals cling so tenaciously to a philosophy – totally convinced that they are
right? In the case of Christian faiths, the
adherence will be quite adamant, no - supremely confident, that their understanding
is the correct one and oddly can’t seem to grasp the import that other equally
intelligent people are reading the very same words with different understandings.
How could that be? A dear sweet lady I met in Norway taught me this important –
no crucial lesson. This is what happened.
I met Fru Jonson in
Arendal Norway just out visiting folks in their homes as a missionary. She said
at the door that she had been baptized into the Mormon faith several years back
but left the association not long after that, and that prior to that had actually
been a missionary for the Jehovah’s Witnesses for more than a decade. This was clearly
an interesting lady! I asked her if she would share her story with us. She invited us in to what became one of the most
enlightening conversations on religion I would ever have.
Not so much about what
she or I and my companion said but what God would speak through all of us in the
course of these conversations that would stretch out a couple months.
I asked her why she
had left associating with the Mormon faith. Fru Johnson spoke of her many years
studying the Bible with the JWs and how they had very specific understandings of
how the scriptures “argue” various dogma but in LDS church meetings there was never
forum for such apologetics (trained, logical arguments and proofs) The dissonance
between what her head knew from all those years and what her heart told her about
the new found faith was irreconcilable and so he just stepped back from attending,
though never formally withdrew. As a student of the Bible, I offered to take as
much time as she needed to go page by page to answer her every question. And so
we began 1st with Genesis. Where else !?
Paraphrasing a longer
discussion, she began the conversation by presented the JWs standard view of how
God intended Adam and Eve (and their children) to live forever in peace and harmony
in the perfect garden and basically Adam and Eve screwed up – rebelled against Gods
greater wisdom and were punished with physical death, permanent gone forever, end
of story death for their rebellion and that God was using the next 8000 years of
their children’s further rebellion to prove to all angels and future observers that
in the end God wins, so learn from history.
As I was asking God
for enlightenment (what do I say to that?) this thought came to me like a bolt of
lightning. While the narrative was perfectly consistent with the scriptures, there
was numerous points of sophistry interjected fleshing out the narrative. I called
them “unsupported premises”. Foundational assumptions …and then I saw that our religion
too had these; now in some case they were supported by the Book of Mormon or some
modern Prophets utterance but restricting oneself to just the Bible, it too would
look like an unsupported premise. So we carefully, with no judgments, identified
them from both religion’s narratives.
For example, the LDS
church teaches that:
1)
In their
innocent state Adam and Eve not only failed to recognize they were naked, there
were no desires associated with that recognition and were incapable of begetting
children. Not found in the bible! (Book of Mormon yes).
2)
Man is a
Spirit intelligence, whose essence or intelligence or life force is itself eternal
and not created.
3)
God knew
from the beginning they would choose mortality. He planned it that way creating
perfection, but allowing man to create a mortal state of imperfection.
Regarding the JW narrative,
the list of unsupported premises were:
1)
God chose
NOT to look into the future so was “surprised” that they chose to eat of the fruit.
2)
Adam and
Eve were capable of begetting Children even in their innocent state.
3)
Their children/decedents
would not have ever sinned or eaten of
the fruit,
4)
Adam and
Eve could not and did not repent of their “sin.”
5)
Eating of
the fruit was an act of open rebellion an constituted unforgivable “sin” worthy
of death with no forgiveness.
6)
Earth life
is thus a show case for future generations of beings to learn from that God always
wins in the end. He is the wisest – to be yet proven so by this demonstration.
7)
Such a demonstration
would be so convincing that no future being would ever rebel against God.
8)
Man is dirt;
electro-chemical reactions and nothing more.
9)
It is possible
for God to create a being entirely but yet not be responsible for how that being
functions.
You just can’t prove
that stuff from the Bible. It’s too sparse, too vague, too contradictory in several
instances and a 1000 Christian sects clearly demonstrate that. So we proceeded along that wise dissecting every
statement – parsing out the parts that would stand incontrovertible from the parts
filled in by lots of hand waving allegories and yak - not found explicitly in the
Bible. The only rule was that any concept had to by some sophistry or another fit
the scriptures to be considered and any “yak” to glue the concepts together, not
found explicitly in the Bible, would be added to the lists of unsupported premises.
Story after story, chapter
after chapter, book by book we proceed. We never argued, always prayed for enlightenment
and God’s Spirit to guide us – NEVER placing judgment on an argument - simply racking
and stacking the hard facts from the assumptions/sophistries and so about 2 months
later by meeting twice a week for an hour or so we arrived finally at Revelations.
The Mormons argue that
the book referred to in Rev 22:19 is the same Book of Revelations John is commanded
to be sent to the 7 churches as referenced in Rev 1:11. Protestants argue that God
would know that some 2-300 years later the compilers of the Bible would re-position
this letter from John to the last part of Bible tacitly sealing the work shut and
that God had nothing more to say to mankind. God was done speaking!
Now I think it’s a lot
less of a leap as we would argue it, but somehow I managed to refrain from pressing
that judgment as we had on all the other topics and added those to the list of unsupported
premises. Either view could be derived.
So as we closed the
Bible and I asked two simple questions.
1)
Have we
satisfied that either faith can be reasonably
represented from the Bible – based on additional unsupported assumptions?” “Ya.” “So both the LDS doctrine AND the JW doctrine
can both be consistent with a reading of the Bible!”
Huh…interesting conclusion! Note: I had not asked this next question (on
purpose) until just this time…
2)
“Fru Jonson,
Why did you join the Mormon Church?”
She looked at me and
said, “I felt the spirit of God when I read the Book of Mormon and prayed about
it.” Then I was given to ask, “Do you think He would answer you again?”
Now I want the reader
of this journal to appreciate that I could “feel” the Spirit of God as I asked that
– not bodily per se - it’s hard to place
words on this feeling of peace and simultaneous enlightenment, but I’ve learned
to recognize when its truth being distilled for my consumption.
She said, “Ya” and so
we just all knelt down that very moment and prayed. It’s been too many years since
to remember exactly what was said or who said what, but when we got up from that
prayer she said she knew it was true religion and the Book of Mormon was part of
that truth.
She came back to church
and became a stalwart member and even heading up the local branch of the women’s
auxiliary when finally I left the country. I have long since lost contact but will
never forget how God did not forget his searching daughter nor his servant who learned
to hear His voice to a greater degree than previously was the case.
Uncle Steve
Back to Top of the Document
- Inspiration from the Book
of Mormon.
As an
engineer I have experienced a few brief moments of glory when finally, the gizmo
is shown to work, but for the most part I live in a churning sea of troubles. We
engineers look for them, are thrown into them and are frankly bored without them!
It might appear to the uninitiated that we tend to pessimism where no positive assertion
goes unqualified, and doom and disaster are frequent points of conversation. After
all, would you like to use a bridge where the engineer hadn’t considered if his
design was strong enough or in other words at what load is it too weak? So while
it may seem otherwise, ultimately an engineer can be incredibly optimistic; building
what has not been done before, risking reputation and resources and often life and
limbs (usually other peoples!) in forever uncharted territory.
So here
is the dilemma; how does one living and focused on problems keep a thankful attitude
when even the tools to solve the problem have problems?
I am reminded
of the history behind our Day of Thanksgiving and how it was instituted by Abraham
Lincoln -, not in his day of victory but in his darkest moments of national and
personal distress. In these extremities Lincoln found God and reason to be thankful.
How did Lincoln go from a fairly secular country lawyer to the President-Prophet
he came to be revered as? Here is the little known story drawn from the seminal
work, “The Lincoln Hypothesis.”
Abraham began his presidency with clear pronouncements that the Civil War was not about freeing slaves but about keeping
the Union and Federalism. But his war to preserve the Union dragged on badly with
revolts to his forced conscription on one hand and failure after failure on the
war front on the other– and that despite clear material superiority. And that’s
how it went, from bad to worse….and then something bad happened personally…
His beloved
son, who he devoted himself to, died. Abraham was devastated and had a choice, hate
God or seek God. He chose the latter and began reading from many world religion
source works to try and find meaning and guidance in the midst of these tragedies.
At that time his ally guarding the South West war front, one Brigham Young of Utah
Territory, sent Abraham Lincoln a copy of his most precious possession; the Book
of Mormon. The book was placed in the Library of Congress, rare books section after
Abraham read and dog-eared all the pages in the book related to ‘America as a land
of promise providing it served the Lord.’ That’s a lot of dog eared pages as it
is a recurring theme in the Book.
Then things changed.
In speech
after speech he taught a new principle often quoting the key passages from Isaiah
duplicated in the Book of Mormon about the land of promise. His second inaugural
address reads more like the admonitions of an impassioned prophet than a war weary
president. He told the nation that God had a different purpose in mind for the War
independent of the goals of the North or the South – He spoke as an enlightened
Prophet that what he termed a “national sin” must be purged from the land to recover
God’s blessing. He taught that its citizens, as a whole, must turn back to God in
prayer and thanksgiving to expect His protective and guiding hand. He called for
a national day of fasting and prayer and forgiveness. He called for national day
of Thanksgiving set for the last Thursday of November.
He made
a proclamation that the slaves of the occupied and war-torn territories were free
men; a controversial executive order based on the ironic legal concept of “confiscated
property during war” as he had not the constitutional authority yet to free the
slaves in his own territory in the Northern states. He waged a relentless, seemingly
hopeless, task of obtaining the passage of the 13 amendment; his most important
victory and a battle he nearly lost!
From the
moment he changed the goal from power and control to serving God and ALL his children
as equal under the law, things changed. Battle after battle turned in the Union’s
favor; sometimes in miraculously manner. The famous Gettysburg address carries the
feel of reverence for the mission and of reconciliation.
Finally,
as the war drew to a close, he emphasized thanksgiving, not pride, forgiveness and
national reconciliation, not punishment and over-lording power. Before the contest
was over with the passage of the 13th Amendment, he freed all the slaves and set
the nation forever on a better trajectory.
Who knows
how much better things would have been had he been allowed to live and guide the
nation in the post war period when for many decades forces tried to undo his effort.
It took the pains of a 2nd world war before the nation fully embraced his teachings
making Thanksgiving a national holiday. The national day of prayer he instituted
continues to this day and “in God We trust” now resides as reminder on all the realm’s
coin and currency and was also added to The Pledge of Allegiance.
May we
always remember as Lincoln taught that things are possible for the nation that serves
the Lord in a spirit of thanksgiving.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
I shared this with a friend I met in San Francisco.
I’ve removed the personal detail – but this touches on the fundamentals of what
this life is all about and is a suitable introduction to the Essay Just Whose Fault
Is It Anyway, Thoughts on Immortality and Agency.
Dear [Redacted – available upon request]
I’ve been meaning to write you since our conversation last Thursday, I want to express
how grateful I am that there are good men and women like you and your wife trying
to make a positive dent.
Again my deepest condolences for recent the death of your son. I’d like to say I
don’t have any words, but knowing me you know that would be a lie, but perhaps what’s
true is that I may not have the right words to assuage what pain you and your wife
must feel.
No matter what one believes or knows to be true about afterlife/eternal life, in
the best of circumstances we will miss our loved ones greatly. I just shipped my
wife off to Los Alamos to do her grandmother thing with a new arrival but I will
miss her in even that month she is gone. Even though she is alive – she is yet gone.
I feel to say the similar thing to you {Redacted – available upon request}, though
your son is gone, yet is he alive; not in a book nor a God’s tape player.
I was very curious and I think it was you that
I asked “why you believed strongly enough to find yourself standing on a street
corner when so many competing beliefs might vie for your acceptance” and I think
the reply was not that “God spoke to me” or something direct and definitive but
simply – “this was the most logical explanation for the holy writ you could find.”
Perhaps I have you mixed up with another fellow but I’ve heard that more than once.
But even with that best guess strategy, It is generally acknowledged that some views
espoused by {Redacted – available upon request} have changed on a few topics as
better enlightenment presented; so perhaps, maybe you might be open to more of that?
I’ve never approached our conversation as me
trying to argue my perspectives or directly challenge yours. I genuinely wanted
to know why you believed and have appreciate your explanations. Obviously, I have
my concerted views and my own reasoning’s that I don’t mind sharing - but it’s not
my mission to persuade – I’m perfectly satisfied that God will have a mansion in
heaven for anyone like you with his heart set on doing right. Still if I could offer
you and your wife, in your time of trial, a glimpse of something even more grand
than being a “memory stick” in God's archive - a more sure relationship with the
divine, I would, if I could.
As we broached the topic the other day of our
inherent worth or worthlessness, it seemed clear that scriptural references could
readily interpolate the fundamental nature of man as either an inherently eternal
spiritual being OR with a different perspective be interpreted much more glumly
as just “talking gadgets -Memorex tape.” That latter interpretation also leaves
us sadly with the unavoidable conclusion that whether we are resurrected or not
doesn’t matter at all to the individual Not resurrected. AND if you believe the
promise about “no tears” in the future heaven/paradise then even those that are
resurrected won’t miss them! Huh! Yup that’s what you have to walk away with – the
logic is solid and most poignant.
In my efforts to come to grips with my own previous dabbling with atheism and the
scientific attempt to claim that artificial intelligence can be achieved, I dug
in and came away with what I feel was some enlightenment from God. There is just
so much evidence that our ability to choose is a God like characteristic that cannot
be duplicated with gears and levers. Trust me that’s essentially all that electronics
is. I can make a machine that chooses. That’s not a problem, a traffic light computer
chooses but it’s just a machine that is all darkness inside, whirling gears and
sliding levers, mere electrons running around – That ability to be self-aware, to
step outside of yourself- actually proves that our root entity IS essentially “outside
of ourselves” or at least this physical part. And when this shell fails, that sentient,
self-aware part that's outside of ourselves “goes back to God who gave it. “
I captured this in a
short writing that I hope you can find useful. You seem like a searcher and unless
your truth bucket is already full up, then perhaps something God gave to me may
be useful to you.
God Bless you
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
By Steve Marquis
If religion is anything
it should attempt to explain ‘why we are here’, ‘how did we come about’, ‘what we
should be doing’ and ‘where we are going?’ Surprisingly, most religions leave out
the Why, What and the How altogether. This leads to many thinking individuals having
no faith at all or distorted, hazy, at best half formulated answers that satisfy
only the most shallow investigation.
Based on what most say
about God, you would have to conclude that Its God’s Fault. –all or it – every good
deed, every bad – all acts of war, each lie, each kiss – absolutely everything is
God’s fault IF ….
…IF God made the very
essence of our beings, if our physical beings (and for those who believe in a spiritual
self, if that “self”, the life force, spark of intelligence that makes you you)
was created wholly by God, then by God, He is responsible for the outcome.
But what if that’s not the case…?
With only casual thought,
many – even most, glibly reply, “No, no, no, God gave man his agency, his
free will, his ability to choose…so is not
God’s fault! Hmmm let’s see – does that make
any sense? If I make a machine that can choose, what would be the mechanism for
that? – If I make the thing perfect then what causes the perfect thing to execute
one way today and another way tomorrow? You would need something like a random number
generator. If the device, so endowed, chooses “right” one day and “left” the next,
shall fault be found with the device for doing what it was created to do? Ought
not the maker be asked what was his intent, that He should have discontent in His
creation - considering that it behaves precisely as designed! How could it do otherwise?
Note: The word Agency has multiple somewhat overlapping meanings; 1) the
ability to make independent thought (freewill-Intelligence was not created or made,
D&C 93:29)
and 2) the environment where choices are possible (See 2 Nephi 2 and
3) the accountability for having been empowered to make the choices (See, the man
is become as one of us, to know good and evil Genesis 3:22)
For a Deeper treatment of that topic see this essay “Agency in LDS Theology: A Misunderstood Concept
When claiming that the
perfect God made the perfect man – all aspects thereof - as a perfect being - it
is not consistent to then claim that it is also flawed – It’s a logical
contradiction!
There is insight into
this topic by examining the character of “god” as a self-existing, self-motivating
being. If I were to try to define what to be ‘a god’ was, I suppose I should start
with what God himself said about the matter in this classic passage when God is
speaking to another God (or just talking to Himself as some theologians have Him
doing a lot) and said, speaking of Adam and Eve, “They have become as one of us, knowing good from evil.” This came about
by the expression, or in other words, the exercise of agency or free will. So, we
learn that a keen attribute of a class of God-beings to be able to act and to be
aware of your circumstances; a sentient being.
Unlike inanimate objects,
plants and even simple animals, each of these must be acted upon. They react and
their programmed instincts play out, but God is self-motivating, self-aware, able
to act and not just be acted upon.
Notice how God places
man as “one of us…” Many a “Bible believing”
sect has all but rejected a strict plain interpretation of that and minimize that
otherwise profound import. If you don’t try to make an allegory out of such striking
statements, one can find in the Bible some very revelatory truths connecting God
with mankind; not as His collection of talking gadgets, but as His children
and all that implies.
But, by saying “implies”
one need not infer that I am teasing some obscure meaning from the plain-spoken
Biblical text. I’m saying that it’s hard to not
see what the scriptures plainly say.
In several Biblical
passages, a powerful being, variously called Lucifer, Satan, Son of the Morning,
rebels from God and is cast out of the presence of the God called Father. He, Lucifer,
believed he would be greater that the Father God. “How would that be possible -
to be greater than God the Father, the one said to be the “Beginning?” …How indeed
could such a thought be even conceived… unless…. there is more to the nature of
God’s Children than a mere metaphor!
We already discussed,
“they have become as one of us knowing good an evil,” but I hasten to add that this
sentient awareness was but ½ the equation, the inherent ability to act independently
was the other. Without awareness, there really cannot be independent action, only
reaction. This is KEY. Some theologians ever
anxious to denounce adding to the word of God do just that adding popular phases
not found at all in the writ like “God granted to man free agency.” Remember our
discussion on agency? Did God really “grant” them anything they did not inherently
possess?
What then are we? What
is our essence? Examining the nature of spirits, it is claimed that “God is Spirit”.
Other Scriptures like Rom 8:16-18 speak of God’s Spirit speaking to Man’s Spirit
and declaring that man is His children and that we are on some par with Christ Jesus
himself.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Jesus affirmed the same saying,
John 20:17
… Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and
say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your
God.
Satan was another sentient
being also defined as a Spirit being. Story after story is told in the Biblical
record of even multiple beings possessing a common physical being – even animals
and that these spiritual beings could then control the physical. It would seem from
all that was said that the Spirit is what animates the body. For example, when Jesus
died, - “He
gave up the Spirit. Math 27:50” In another place it reads, “…the spirit returns
to god who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7” It’s just untenable to cling to the
notion that we are talking about breath! The repeated context does not support that.
This is not just air, but animation and interaction at a high level.
After the crucifixion, the disciples seeing Jesus thought it was a spirit, implying obviously that a spirit is a being – another dimensional existence? Perhaps?? What is then Spirit? What about seeing the spirit? One scripture reads that “You cannot see the face of God and live”. Well, that implies that God has a face that under some circumstance could be seen. Recall the Israelites who were invited to meet God and they being convicted of their imperfections were afraid and blanched at the opportunity. In fact, at one point they saw God or parts of His being but God covered His face to keep the visitors from perishing. This all sound very real and in some dimension perhaps tangible. See( Essay76.................................... On seeing God)
So, what does establishing
the Spirit nature of Man’s essence have to do with agency? Again, what is ‘free
agency’, if not the Ability to Act for themselves and not be simply acted upon.
We observed that that was a key and salient attribute of God – being an independent
actor. So, spiritual beings have ‘agency’
as an inherent quality. That is the connection between God and man.
Indeed, it was Jesus
himself that affirmed the ancient prophetic statements that “Ye are Gods! [and
let the follow-up axiom sink in] and children
of the most high! John 10:34” Lest we wrestle obscurity and nonsense out of
the plain and clear, this affirms why
God is interested in us. God says that “We are gods”. The definition is then ‘a
self-motivated being; a being with power and the inherent spark of life and intelligence.’
This is one of the most profound statements in the Bible [though ignored and oft
avoided] and it is uttered by none other than the acknowledged God himself “Ye are gods! and
children of the most high! Psalms 82:6” The context of that profundity is
fully supportive. The Pharisees were criticizing Jesus because he claimed to be
the Son of God and he retorted paraphrasing ‘Why do you think it so strange that
I said I was the Son of God when your own Scriptures teach – Ye are gods!’
I know some might turn
that exchange into allegory, the favorite means to dismiss something important,
but the critique being levied against Jesus was about his lineage; who He was and
they thought it blasphemy to claim direct ancestry with God. To say Jesus sidestepped
that fundamental accusation with a clever play on words is weak and out of character.
What was in common character was for Jesus to place us in the same intimate relation
to His father as He Himself and that was what He did again when answering the Pharisees.
Can you see where we
are going with this? God was obviously involved in forming man’s physical body,
but somehow God our Father was also involved in forming our spirit – I am going
to suggest that like we have demonstrated, that the essence of living man is the
spirit that resides in man, that that spirit hath elsewhere its beginning, that
like our Father who had no beginning in essence, that the essence of man likewise
has no beginning, and that solves the great riddle as to how man was supposed to
have an eternal existence, yet had a ‘beginning’. That man was nothing and then became everything was always an inherent contradiction
and as we see a contradiction inconsistent with the truth.
That truth, so cleanly
expressed by Jesus, explains the actual brotherhood of man. God, then, is not a
metaphorical father but a Father indeed of our spirits making us in reality brothers
and sisters; perhaps in some dimensional existence –tangible beings.
"If you examine
the import of the observation, "I think therefore I am" it is speaking
to the idea that there is an intrinsic extrapolation of the self from the
self. This might sound like Jabberwocky at 1st but consider
that one can iterate the thought about thinking about the fact that one is thinking....Your
body, in fact, becomes a sort of avatar! Consider if a person lost an appendage.
Does the person no longer think he is the person? In other words, your arm is not
you. The concept of conscious awareness also entails the concept of abstraction;
of you from your physical self. Religions that appreciate the concept of a soul
or spiritual self, thus see the body as a true avatar and the mind as a processing
engine and keyboard connecting the actual self from the physical interface. Consider
a mechanical computer. It is levers and gears and conditional sliders and so forth.
An electronic computer is nothing more nor less that lots more of the same. If you
observed a room full of sliders and gears and levers would it be logical think that
a sufficiently bigger and bigger room of the same would be self-aware? No! Self
awareness is of necessity the ability of that real self to not in very fact to be
part of that physical self."
It is our self-existing intelligence that makes
us independent actors and thus responsible for those acts. Agency was not created
or “granted” to man or Lucifer or any other spiritual being, but is inherent in
the substance and thus while God somehow gave that substance form and expression
as Spirit entities, the expression is fundamental and fully explains one of the
grand questions of who we are and why we are so important to God. We are clearly
of great potential – God has foreseen it!
William Wordsworth 1770-1850 Ode - Intimations of Immortality from Recollections
of Early Childhood
|
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: |
|
|
The Soul that rises with us, our life's
Star, |
|
|
Hath had elsewhere its setting, |
|
|
And cometh from afar: |
|
|
Not in entire forgetfulness, |
|
|
And not in utter nakedness, |
|
|
But trailing clouds of glory do we
come |
|
|
From God, who is our home: |
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
How is it that men of
Science can come up with diametrically opposing views about a subject such as human
caused global warming? Why can intelligent, sincere individuals review the same
information about a matter of faith and one individual moves closer to God as a
result and another retreats? The answer to this confounding behavior lies in mathematics;
in particular the convolution.
For the non-engineers,
please bear with me through this paragraph! The convolution procedure is the basis
for digital filters, like a stereo’s tone control. A signal over time is fed to
a multiplier which has a set of coefficients (numbers) that are multiplied one at
a time to the incoming signals in just such a way that frequencies you want are
accentuated and frequencies you don’t want are diminished.
It turns out we do that
all the time; often without thought or awareness that we are filtering the information
that is presented to us. Unless we are very careful, without hardly noticing it,
events that match our political or religious and even technical proclivities with
be boosted in relevance and veracity and things that don’t match our expectations/desires
will be diminished, even dismissed as irrelevant. No matter how significant the
data, our internal convolution function can multiply it by a zero and poof, it is
gone from significance- we have effectively filtered out the annoying signals that
we do not want. We do this for the most part without any conscious thought!
There is a scene presented
in the Lehi Vision story of a “great and spacious building” The inhabitance are
seen in an act of mocking the individuals that are proceeding to and partaking of
the Tree of Life. Some of those become embarrassed by the mocking and abandon the
quest and are lost to what he called “forbidden paths”.
1Ne 8:28 And after they had tasted of the
fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell
away into forbidden paths and were lost.
Because of the herd
mentality, the natural need to fit in, lest we be aware, our filter function adapts
and we receive exactly the signal we are tuned to.
In addition to this
filtering of information, many individuals naturally point their antenna to only
supportive signal sources. If it’s of naysayers, that’s what they hear - almost
exclusively. They focus most of their time and energy listening to detractors and
only precious little to apologists that might add supportive insight and explanations. This is just as true for questions of science
or the divine. You can’t hear what you are not listening for. You cannot see what
you do not observe. Especially when signals are small and buried in noise, you need
a good antenna and it needs to be directed and focused to pull out the signal from
the noise. There are those who look in all the wrong places to address a concern
about science, the Church or God. Jesus said
it this way,
“They have ears but cannot hear and eyes that cannot see.”
But there is yet one
more consideration the seeker of truth must appreciate (yes one more key aspect
to muddy the water) related to something mathematicians call ‘Chaos Theory’; where
there is order to be found embedded in noise. Often the noise can be much larger
than the signal (or truth you are looking for); yet the signal is in fact present.
Weather, for example, is a massively complex system making predicting it a non-obvious
task. So it is with matters of faith. Real life presents massive clutter that can
obscure the salient points. When NASA scientists want to communicate with the Voyager
Deep Space probe, the signal is so week we must train hundreds of antennas at that
tiny distant point, all tuned to just that frequency, gather that signal and combine,
adding it all up, so the signal finally begins to emerge from the noise and clutter.
Like gathering that
tiny signal, on the quest for truth on any topic, science or faith, one must understand
the nature of the undertaking. There may be dozens of variables to consider making
the solution non-obvious and may require considerable effort over some time. Then,
as previously discussed, there are influences playing a “convolution” role in our minds that can obscure the truth rather than
extract it from the clutter of noise. Unless you understand this “math” you may
miss the small signal and not even know it is there. Beware that you don’t actively
filter or “tuned it out.” This is what Nephi describes as a “mist of darkness.”
1
Ne 8:23 And it came to pass that there arose a mist
of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they
who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were
lost.
To Summarize:
·
Be ‘eyes
open’ aware that external peer pressure and personal motivations can and most likely
will color how you weigh information. Truth may be ignored or marginalized if it
does not fit the “desired” narrative even if this motivation is subconscious. So,
raise the level of “consciousness” and do some self-examination! Everyone needs
to do this occasionally; no one is immune.
·
Give
at least as much attention and time to supportive information as subversive. Subversive
material is often pushed to you; you may have to reach out for supportive. Sadly,
it seems that the adversary is all but knocking down your door, whereas you may
have to “knock” to have the door of truth opened.
·
Most
things are actually far more complex than a cursory review might suggest and a full
understanding is often non-obvious. Einstein
opined that “all things should be made as simple as possible, but not more so.”
Beware of the oversimplification and the quick answer. You may have to gather information
from many sources over time for the realized truth of a matter to emerge from the
clutter.
Active filtering (convolution), exclusive focus
and truth buried in clutter.
Yes, It’s easy to lose your way! To hear the “still small voice” requires tuning
to the right frequency, a certain focus and appreciation that it may take some effort
and sometimes just time to extract a full picture from the chaos of clutter.
In other words, Seek
truly with eyes that are willing to see. Faith in God comes from experience with
God. Just like scientist’s hypotheses are ratified by experiments, so should you
experiment on His word! Doubt and clouded
judgements buried under clutter come of neglect to that relationship. Finding truth
then just takes common sense and maybe a little understanding of math and experimental
science…
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Ever since man could
gaze upon the heavens he has contemplated his place in the universe and ever since
God 1st spoke with man, and spoke that we are his sons and daughters
we have asked, “How is it possible that we be sons and daughters of God, to be perfect
as Jesus commanded? How could we limited vessels have any part in the immensity
of God? We get a glimpse to His attributes when He declared the “He created us in
His image, male and female,” but Enoch’s encounter with a very personal God has
special insight to me.
Moses 7:29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst
weep, seeing
thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?”
We seem like nothing
against such immensity but yet He, who would know, calls us His children and as
Enoch saw, demonstrates personal genuine concern for each of us.
The Holy record describes
Christ’s life as human, like one of us, who suffered life and temptations just as
we do. I am persuaded that his human experience was much like ours, that even he
had the veil of separation from the heavens and to reach His father he did so as
you and I do, with prayer and that he found times where he was left to himself to
resolve the matters; “Father why hast though forsaken me?” Have not each of us occasionally wondered as ‘A
Child’s Prayer’ song says, “Heavenly Father, are you really
there and do you listen to every child’s prayer?”
Yet this same Emanuel;
(meaning God is with us) was the very Jehovah that had created the very earth he
now struggled to find so much as a place to lay his head. That immensity, manifest
in the mortal sphere, was hidden. “Wait!,” you might say, “did not he command the
wind and the waves and even walk on water?” “I can’t do that!” I would retort, “…but
Peter did and Jesus, speaking of his miracles to his apostles said, “you will do even greater.”
Recall from the Pearl
of great Price the writings of Enoch where he spoke and changed the course of rivers!
Do we believe Jesus when he uttered these profound words?
Math 17:20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith.
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this
mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible
for you."
When Jesus was being
interrogated by non-believers about his claim to be the son of God, He recounted
that the inspired psalmist had written,
“Ye are gods and children of the most high.”
Paraphrasing this exchange,
Jesus asks, ‘Why do you find it so preposterous for me to claim to be the son of
God if your own holy book claims that you yourself are gods, seeing you are children
of God.’
Is it not natural and
plausible that the son can become as the father? Notice that the question is one
of intimate, direct relationship. He is clearly not using some metaphor as he is
using that relationship to describe his own!
He later caries this
line further when he said
John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, “Touch me not; for I am not yet
ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my
Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”
Notice the context he
places us with His Father. Paul understood from his former Greek background those
who relished the mystical and speaking to the people of Athens,
Acts 17:22 “Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye
are too superstitious. 23 For as I
passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO
THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.…
Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead
is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.”
The restored gospel
of Jesus, likewise declares to a confused world that He is not “incomprehensible”
as the both protestant and Catholic catechism says, but in fact “to Know Him IS Life eternal.”
The holy book teaches
that Jesus was “the 1st born of many brethren” and
we in His restored kingdom understand that he is our eldest brother, and part of
the God Head and while our life seems so
limited, we have his example to lean on that even the one who created the universe
could be housed in this limited circumstance and we also have his confidence that
we have great potential too. There is much more to us as spirit children of a Heavenly
Father than meets the physical eye; like an Iceberg, there is much much more to
us.
Rom 8:16The Spirit
itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17And if children, then heirs; heirs
of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may
be also glorified together.
So we can understand that we are not playthings
or creatures, but children of great promise. The great Elohim, Father God, himself
declared as recorded in Moses 1:39
For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the
immortality and eternal life of man.
So when regular life makes it seem such a distant
impossible potential, remember that even Jesus lived a life and grew up learning
a trade. He grew up and connected with his Father and learned His father’s will
and so therefore can we; The inspired prophet wrote,
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not
yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be
like him; for we shall see him as he is.
To that I add my own testimony, from personal
experience with the divine, that the Lord Jesus lives and loves us and holds each
of us in great value as Sons and Daughters of God. I have experienced a withered
heart restored and seen great miracles. I am so persuaded that our potential, expressed
in even a tiny measure at present, is simply glorious.
DC136:20 Then
shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting
to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all
things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because
they have all power,
and the angels are subject unto them.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
King Louis
the Sixteenth of France had been taken from his throne and imprisoned. His young
son the prince had been taken by those who dethroned the king. They thought that
inasmuch as the king's son was heir to the throne, if they could destroy him morally
he would never realize the great and grand destiny that life had bestowed upon him.
They took him to a community far away, and there exposed the lad to every filthy
and vile thing that life could offer. They exposed him to foods the richness of
which would quickly make him a slave to appetite.
They used
vile language around him constantly. They exposed him to lewd and lusting women.
They exposed him to dishonor and distrust. The young Prince was surrounded twenty-fours
a day by everything that could drag the soul of a man as low as one could slip.
For over
six months he had this treatment but not once did the young lad buckle under pressure.
Finally, after intensive temptation, the captors questioned him. Why had he not
submitted himself to these things? Why had he not partaken? All of the things that
were offered provided pleasure. Things that
would satisfy one's lusts and things that were desirable to everyone else. And all
of them were offered to him! Why wouldn't
he partake of them?
The boy
said, "I cannot do what you ask for I was born to be king". As retold
by Vann Featherstone
I cannot vouch for the historical accuracy of this story, but the sentiment
is poignant to remember your grand potential as sons and daughter of the Most High
God and be less concerned with finding the “right guy or gal” and more focused on
engaging the Holy Spirit for becoming the right guy or gal. Be less focused on having
friends and more thoughtful about being friendly. Lose your life in the service
of others and you will begin to find the godliness inside yourself. The essence
of the gospel is to let that inner light shine forth by repenting and engaging the
Holy Spirit to unlock your unlimited potential for expressing those godly traits;
after all we were born to be Kings and Queens to the Most High God.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Sermon Given by Steve Marquis 10/29/2017 Issaquah Wa
Preface:
Its
quite a rarity I am asked to speak over the pulpit. I think I do my best around
a camp fire with young folks, but I was asked to deliver an address this Sunday
about how the written word of God played a role in bringing me to Christ. The circumstances
of my coming to know the Lord were unique to my needs and powerful and provided
a resilient base that has survived all critique. What I describe really happened
to me and so I am not stating a believe or view point. I am giving you my explanation
to consider as to what I personally experienced and I hope some may find helpful.
My takeaway is that God can and will reach our reaching in the way each of us needs...if
we want it and are willing to act on it. How God will talk to you will be on your terms.
Note that I did not read this sermon as I don't talk the way
I write, but this written form has the intent of what I felt inspire to share and
is faithful to most of what was said!
I was born of Goodly
Parents, and from My mother’s knee I was taught that
God was my Father. I was taught every evening out of the Bible and somewhat in all
the learning of father who was both a Nuclear Engineer and a man of Faith. Having
been taught somewhat by the preaching of the Methodists, I learned all the significant
stories of the Old and New Testament by the time I was 8. My father and mother were
schooled by the great world wars and had seen many afflictions in the course of
their days, nevertheless, I was raised in a time of when I’d have to say
I was highly favored to be introduced so diligently to the Lord. As a lad, my parents
wanted more answers to the great questions and after a couple years of seeking my
family joined ourselves to the restored kingdom of God.
In the New Testament,
I found the Writings of Paul intriguing as
he seemed to use every opportunity to tell his story – He would say, “Let me tell
you about what happened to me!” His testimony
was a recital of the events he personally experienced. I want to tell you a little
about my struggle with the Lord or more correctly my struggle to know the Lord.
As I mentioned, my parents
and other earnest teachers introduced me to God and gave me every opportunity to
know Him, yet for much of my formative years I seem to keep one foot in and one
foot out of the church - You might say I
did the hoky-poky with God. I was tempted
in various ways common to youth and at times gave those who cared about me cause
to raise up their voices to God in my behalf. I was a longer haired, raggy bellbottomed,
tank top wearing youth that was more than once suspended from school! Church was
sometimes spiritual and sometimes a casual affair for me. Often enough, seminary
I attended as a teenager was more a social event to show off to the girls by making
an appearance on my motorcycle!
I was enough obstinate
trouble that when I was 17, I actually left home to be on my own over some stupid
matter of doing a simple household chore. I got a PHD in DUMB. To survive on my
own, I worked at a 24-7 Gas station while
also attending junior college – that that is where my Road to Damascus begins.
A Nigerian student friend who also worked at the station was never scheduled for
Sunday and I asked him one day how he managed to never be so scheduled. ( I wanted
more time with my girlfriend on Sunday too) He replied completely straight faced, “Beer Wine and Woman Man!” “What???”
“ Yo Man! Beer Wine and Woman!” That sent me reeling thinking “Wow, he must have been quite convincing! So,
what do I really believe in?”
I questioned whether
the faith of my fathers was more than just a good feeling. The public school’s theology
of Darwinism left me empty - a life void of any meaning. Was I nothing more? Was I really just a complex of electro-chemical
reactions doomed to vanish, never to have consciousness apart from this brief spark.
If only the God of Heaven would come and speak to me!
Frankly, I had all but
forgotten about miracles small and large my own eyes had seen. I had all but forgotten
His interventions. Looking back, I now remember that moment of vision where I saw
a high-speed collision about to transpire in a blind intersection and so maneuvered
my car blindly to cheat an early grave from my reckless driving. I had forgotten
that I was 'impressed' to step back as a branch came crashing down from a hundred
feet to where I had just stood working on Mom’s car one day. I had forgotten the
sudden healing I received at the hands of my newly ordained father when I was but
8 years old when I had a major concussion from a fall at school, but I did remember
the inner warmth of singing a hymn...
This may seem odd, but
miracles both small and large that I had experienced did not in themselves drive
me to any conclusion. I think it was our Seattle Patriarch Bateman who said:
“People go one of two ways: they either make effort
to conform their lives to their convictions or they abandon their convictions to
conform to their actions. We cannot long tolerate a significant disparity between
our actions and our convictions.”
Math and a little
inspiration A thought experiment with two possible and startling conclusions.
I was learning mathematics
at college at this same time and with possible war with Russia it occurred to me
to run a thought experiment where I postulated the end of the earth when all are
suddenly vaporized; what then is left to supply meaning or significance to any of
the activities before the terrible end?” I could find no significance whatsoever.
It would be as if nothing had ever existed.
No matter how far back
preceding that moment, the result of insignificance at the end did not change. I
proved with this thought experiment that “if
we meant nothing at infinity+1, we meant nothing at infinity-n” Letting n ->infinity
brought me right back to today with that same unavoidably depressing conclusion…
but then I think the Almighty inspired me with a small epiphany - reversing that
axiom– a revelation, if you will, that “if
we did have significance at infinity, then we must have significance now.”
This couplet is what
led me on a quest to earnestly find God; who was also claimed to exist outside of
the constraint of time. If I could only somehow touch the existing one, outside
of time, then I would know that life did have significance.
James
1:5 If Ye lack Wisdom Moroni 10:4 As with Real intent
Somewhere about my 18th
year, I found I could no longer live with the schism between my actions and my former
convictions.
Autobiography
excerpt 1975: “So it was that I found myself alone in my apartment;
free from anyone, wondering ‘is this all there really is?’ In this quiet moment, I remembered the words learned
from church, "prove me herewith", "ask and ye shall receive",
"trial of your faith", "if it is a good fruit, it must be a good
tree", "...with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest
the truth of all things", "if you lack wisdom"; things I had learned
but never applied in earnest.
I remembered
Alma’s challenge to “Experiment upon my word” so, being all in to science I did
just that. Steeped in the standards rules of scientific investigation, I knew that
conclusions with no experiment were just opinions. I took James, Alma's and Moroni's challenge and
read their writings with open and real intent. I followed the procedure, read the
scriptures, even fasted. Each night for a few weeks I spoke to the heavens but I don’t recall anything of significance until
I read 2Nephi33.3. This was Nephis last will and testament.
“…For
I pray continually for my people by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night,
because of them;…”
I was struck - intrigued
by an intense compassion he displayed for others at a level I personally had never
known, but I saw in that moment a value and purpose.
“Oh God if there be a God”…I recalled from one of those rare Seminary moment
when something was retained, about one Lamoni who reached out to an unknown God
and so I sincerely uttered something similar, to the effect of, “Oh God, if there
be a God, help me to understand what this Nephi is experiencing”…ref Alma 22:18 & Acts
2:17
A most remarkable experience unfolded. A scene opened to my 'eyes' where I saw through
Nephi’s eyes and felt what he felt with such impact as I had never imagined. Further
that night, I dreamed a dream or continued in that state (I cannot tell) wherein
I was on a trail that crossed a stream. I slipped and was swept into the stream.
The banks were slippery with mud and the water dark, filthy and cold. I reached
for the only stable hold and found it an iron rod. Even with one hand clinging, it was not enough
and I realized I had to hang on with both hands or be swept away. So, I held on
for all my strength as the current buffeted and dragged at my body.
When I came to myself
again I 'knew' that it was people like me Nephi was weeping over and the filthy
water, the life that was sullying my future. The message received - the conclusion
of my experiment was that I knew that if I was to survive, I’d have to hang on to
the words and commandments of God with both hands and place both feet on the path.
(No more Hoky Poky!)
I said I knew. How is
that? When I came to myself, I found that same understanding and deep feeling of
empathy for others I had asked about remained with me. Somehow, God had reached
down to speak to one of His. Overnight, I had a new heart and conviction to follow
the rod leading to life. It was as if I had
acquired a heart transplant where my selfish stony one was replaced, in one
life changing event, with a fleshy one. Recall the scene in the Grinch that Stole
Christmas when his heart grows! That’s about what is was for me.
In that moment, I was born again as a new creature with compassion for others and a clear vision
as to the trail I would walk. I sought out the Bishop to clear the stumbling blocks
and set my life in order with God. I asked my folks if I could return home as I
prepared myself to serve God. I think that was quite a surprise and Mom let me know
that I’d have to help out and follow the rules. I told her that was never going
to be a problem again. I have never looked back except to with clarity to see God’s
hand in reaching out and preserving His son.
I came to know that those who want
to know, who seek truth with all their hearts, and are willing to act on that truth
will find it. That small expression of faith – an experiment upon the word, as Alma said,
became knowledge by experience, and that experience and those that followed have
been both anchor and lighthouse in a life that otherwise would have been tossed
about with uncertainty; even despondency. Fear had been trumped by faith. I knew
that God knew me. I knew that when I prayed in Jesus’ name that He advocated my
words to His Father and used His personal experiences, having suffered for my sins,
to know how to reach my reaching and provide the balm unique to my spiritual ailments.
So, what
was the greater miracle – a survival from certain death on more than one occasion or a heart transplant?
– Frankly I’m not likely to ever forget either. Each journey is tailored. It’s no
badge of honor to need such a kick in the pants; Far better had been had I ,by reflection
as a much younger man, found the Lord Jesus eager to save and heal and exalt. Each
of us will have our own Road to Damascus story that is tailored to your unique situation.
It may instead be more like a Road to Amaeus story when the Lord Jesus touches our
life and you say, “Did not our Hearts Burn within us?” It may be a deep assurance,
a crystallization of faith in believing the words of others.
This is my testimony,
my story to you, that I was healed and made
something I was not before – and for the asking. Now, I hear Him speaking from
every page of the Scriptures. I have subsequently read and taught from the pages
of all the Holy Scriptures. Recently, I was teaching Gospel Doctrine from the New
Testament, one of my favorites, and then last year from the Book of Mormon and found
each week that God spoke to me, sometimes from chapters I had previously glossed
over. By listening for His direction, I was able to bless the lives of many and
myself too.
But just like our parents, local church leaders
and even the prophets are just people and if like me seriously flawed people! Scriptures
were written by inspired people, but they were all just people. So, take care that
you do not condemn because of imperfections.
You will surely find them. So, I asked God to help me know what to teach. Flaws
that used to annoy me, I now saw as natural culturalisms and time compression; the
results of real people writing with their human limitations. I understood why they
would pen, “Do not condemn because of our imperfections!”
Even in so called “war
chapters” I was inspired by how relevant every page was to some modern problem of
persons and communities. I keenly saw how focused the writings were on Jesus and
his atoning sacrifices meant to lay out our path back to Him.
I do believe that my
experience of healing and enlightenment, by searching His words and sincere prayer,
is not unique. By sincere prayer, I mean as the King Lamoni uttered, “I will give
away all my sins to know thee,” He will answer.
Alma 22:15-18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there
is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will
give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and
be saved at the last day...”
I think about how my brother, Dr. Dave, challenges
his patients. He is willing to give advice for healing but only they are willing
to comply. Consider the language of the Sacrament Prayer. Are you willing to put your pride, your past
ways and harsh speech and personal habits on the alter – to give all to know Jesus
and be saved from your sins and healed from your imperfections?
If you haven’t done
that already, are you willing to say that
in personal prayer to the Lord today? I am
certain that He who gave all, who knows you at an intimate level, is ready to heal,
to enlighten, to forgive, to enable - He
will reach your reaching.
Jesus is the power multiplier in prayer! When you pray in His Holy name, repeated time
and time again in the pages of the Holy Writ, it will not be a rushed epilog … but
a whisper to the ear of your Advocate to the Father to bring his atonement daily
to your small but sincere efforts and thus multiply and make you - even each day,
into a new creature and to impart to you His vision for what you can be.
The blessing of Jesus
as a multiplier, is that you can begin to see yourself as He sees you and from that
new perspective you can also begin to see others about you as He sees them.
Life is hard and few
of us leave this without hardships and challenges to overcome. Life is just easier with Jesus and certainly
a better journey when you can see…really see your value and destiny.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
A couple years ago I was asked
to teach New Testament and the following year, the Book of Mormon. Living in the
San Francisco area, I had plenty of opportunity to dialog with those who do not
believe. I even had opportunity to discuss matters of faith with those whose former
faith had waned in the flux of pseudo-intellectual attacks from all quarters, former
believers and never believers alike.
There are, after all, plenty of
topics to challenge one’s faith regardless the holy writ one clings to. As a student
of the Bible, I would have been asleep at the wheel to not be aware of controversies
like constructing the earth in a few days, no rain until a world-wide flood, celestial
impossibilities like the sun standing still, people coming back from the dead, oceans
parting, over-packed arks, walking on water, talking donkeys and walking conniving
serpents just to name a few more prominent anachronisms to the modern mind.
The Book of Mormon adds its own
collection of improbabilities to the sciences; animals that weren’t thought to habitat,
civilizations undergoing frequent and massive cultural seesaws, rare metals and
materials….
To those who make a life’s work out of undermining other’s faiths, there is plenty
of fodder to work with… and yet I still believe. Why? And what do I mean that “I
don’t not believe?”
Simply this; science is an uncertain
art that is constantly correcting and re-enlightening itself. History is even worse
as the sources are few, biased and void of testability for veracity. So, I have
come to conclude that to base one’s beliefs about God on the outcome of an intellectual
sparing session would not be a solid foundation to springboard one’s life.
I could choose to ‘Not Believe’
the spiritual content and value obtained from the Book of Mormon or the Bible for
lack of my ability (at present) to examine the alloy of stainless steel in the sword
wielded by Laban or a plausible explanation for the solar stand still, but that
might be a bad call should for example they unearth that steel treasure down the
road a piece as my life comes to a close. I could choose to scoff at the talk of
Jesus walking on water having failed in the attempt to reproduce the event in my
own laboratory!
You see where I am going with this? I have watched a number of ‘Ahahs’ reveal themselves
in just my own short life; like pre-Columbian horse and Hebrew DNA being finally
discovered as predicted by the Book of Mormon - but in no case, did that shake,
let alone break, my faith in bleaker years.
Why not? Because in the very beginning
I chose wisely to test the very premise of Christianity and the restored gospel.
My experiment on the word asked the most fundamental question right up front; as
the children’s song says, “Heavenly Father, are you really there and do you listen
to and answer every child’s prayer?”
So, when I hear someone say, “I question if Joseph Smith was Prophet” because of
historical hit pieces, either real but generally not, I think to ask – “Have you
asked the only source that matters?” Have you never had encounters with the Divine
that you are left to but your own devices to ferret out truth from the clutter of
opposing or even hostile forces?
For my understanding, testimony is not belief and contrary to popular lingo, I don’t
think you strengthen or weaken it. It can only be added to or forgotten due to long
neglect. In my parlance, it is direct experience. Belief, however, can come from
experience or an extrapolation from hope. Let me explain that seemingly reverse
or perhaps circular order.
I had a profound experience with
God when reading the writings in the Book of Mormon as a young man. I have written
more extensively about this elsewhere(link). It was life altering and
heart changing. I knew God existed because he changed me pretty fundamentally -
instantly. From that encounter, I ‘believed’ the Book had to come from a divine
source and by inference the man who produced it too.
I took that experience of a mighty
change of heart and when called, answered the call to preach the good word to the
people of Norway. When explaining the story of Joseph Smith’s first visionary experience,
without belaboring this discussion with so much detail, I and all in the room shared
another revelatory event where body and mind are lifted and enlightened - a singular
moment of pure knowledge and epiphany. Like explaining what a spoonful of sugar
must taste like for the first time, all I can say is you don’t forget those moments
any more than any other event you might witness.
So, I added that event to my book
of testimonies. An experience had become testimony and that in turn led to a belief
that was subsequently replaced by a testimony. My stories of direct encounters,
enlightenments, revelations, healings, and directions have grown and have not dimmed
by time nor diminished by sophistries demanding instant answers.
Patience has been my friend; sometimes
after years of trial of my faith, it revealed “ahah” moments that have been precious
to me. After all, even agents of the most high God appreciate seeing comforting
signposts along the path to Zion.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
The basic premise for
the existence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is revelation;
that God is not dead, nor asleep or on a long trip nor has He lost interest in us
or simply has nothing more to say.
1 Kings 18:27 And in the middle of the day, Elijah made sport of them,
saying, Give louder cries, for he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or he may
have gone away for some purpose, or he may be on a journey, or by chance he is sleeping
and has to be made awake.
In the Bible, we learn
that to know God requires revelation. James 1:5
Matthew 16:17 Jesus replied, Blessed are you,
Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by
my Father in heaven.
James
1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God,
who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
Even to understand what
has been written takes continued revelation and to execute his will in the kingdom
of God most certainly does- Furthermore, practically speaking to be called “His
church” requires both his authority and his ongoing revealed will.
2
Pet 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture
is of one's own interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will
of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians
4:11 So Christ
himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
There is much written
by the acknowledged seers and revelators about the continuity of God’s interaction
with man. To reject that God can or would continue to do so is to reject the very
nature and power and love and even the current existence of God.
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing,
but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets
Reviewing what previous
biblical writers have said on this keystone must first start with the last verse
found in the biblical cannon as this is a common chestnut brought up in this discussion.
For proper context,
it should 1st be understood that the word “Bible” is just a translation of the Latin
for “books”. Biblieotek, then, means “library”. In Norwegian, for example, the word
for pamphlet is simply “little book”. It must therefore be understood that “the
Bible” is but a collection of these small books that make up the current cannon
of scripture in both the old and new testaments. The arrangement of these books
is acknowledged by nearly all biblical scholars as not in chronological order.
This last verse in the “small book” of the Revelation to John (placed out
of time sequence in the Cannon) is pretty much the only verse used to claim God is finished talking to us. But even a casual
inspection of the context reveals that the warning listed is specifically applied
to the letter or the small book comprising
just the revelations John was sending to 7 churches. See Rev 1:11
“…Write on a scroll
what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira,
Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
Noting also that the
collection of books called the Bible would not take place for a century, that John
is referring to this specific letter is the obvious context. Recopying and altering
copies by scribes was a constant problem prior to Zerox! John places a warning to
not alter his letter and uses the same language used by prophet’s generations earlier
struggling with the same trouble with plagiarism, imposters and miscopies. See Deuteronomy.4:2,
12:32 To avoid such by error the Hebrew language incorporated a sort of check sum.
Deuteronomy 4:You shall not add to
the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the
commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
Deuteronomy 12:32 Whatever I command
you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.
Others who reject God’s
ability or interest in further communication with mankind hone in on Biblical authors
using language like “once and for all”. Consider in Jude 3 as we read
Jude 3 I was very diligent to write to you concerning
our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend
earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Yet this writing is
also neither the last compiled into the Biblio nor the last written chronologically.
Likewise consider this
prophesy about something big happening at end times.
Rev 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying overhead, with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth — to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.
This is precisely what
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is claiming took place. Obviously,
God felt he had more to say else why a new messenger? Since God is unchanged in
his concerns for mankind then how can any reasoned individual possibly argue that
he doesn’t speak any more?
Furthermore, what books
fill the shelves of Christian book stores – Bibles only? Not even close! Are the authors to argue that
they received no inspiration? Probably not. What of the congregations of Christian
churches, are they arguing God gives them no guidance? For sure not, so why all
the animus against this church for simply clearly making that claim? I would propose
one reason and one reason only professional jealousy.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
What exactly is “Mormon Doctrine” regarding the Divine potential
of man? While some doctrines are clearly part of the cannon of scripture, pronounced
by the prophets as accepted and derived from God, other pronouncements may sometimes
rise to the stature of official doctrine without being voted on per se. When many
of the accepted prophets preach with clarity the same doctrine, it would be fair
without that formal process to consider it valid Mormon doctrine. No it is not canonized
per se but in that light, I include this compilation of statements from many of
our latter day prophets on this clarion doctrine regarding man’s destiny and relation
to deity,
The following
was complied by Bruce K. Satterfield BYU Idaho Department of
Religious Education
Man, The
Offspring of God by Lorenzo Snow
Our spirit birth gave us godlike
capabilities. We were born in the image of God our Father; He begot us like unto
Himself. There is the nature of deity in the composition of our spiritual organization;
in our spiritual birth our Father transmitted to us the capabilities, powers and
faculties which He Himself possessed -- as much so as the child on its mother's
bosom possesses, although in an undeveloped state, the faculties, powers, and susceptibilities
of its parent. [Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, p.4]
First Presidency
Message: Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, Anthon H. Lund
Man is the child of God, formed in
the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son
of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the
undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages
and aeons, of evolving into a God. [Messages of the First Presidency, 4:206]
Joseph Fielding
Smith
We believe in the dignity and divine
origin of man. Our faith is founded on the fact that God is our Father, and that
we are his children, and that all men are brothers and sisters in the same eternal
family.
As members of his family, we dwelt
with him before the foundations of this earth were laid, and he ordained and established
the plan of salvation whereby we gained the privilege of advancing and progressing
as we are endeavoring to do.
The God we worship is a glorified
Being in whom all power and perfection dwell, and he has created man in his own
image and likeness, with those characteristics and attributes which he himself possesses.
[Conference Report, April 1970, p.4]
God's Work
and Glory Moses 1:39 For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring
to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
Spencer
W. Kimball
If we are true and faithful, we shall
rise, not alone in immortality but unto eternal life. Immortality is to live forever
in an assigned kingdom. Eternal life is to gain exaltation in the highest heaven
and live in the family unit. [Conference Report, Oct. 1978, p. 109; or Ensign, Nov.
1978, p. 72]
Marion G.
Romney
Immortality connotes life without
end. Eternal life, on the other hand, connotes quality of life--exaltation, the
highest type of immortality, the kind of life enjoyed by God himself. . . . The
crowning work and glory of God is, therefore, as he has said, to bring to pass the
eternal life of man. Such is the worth of a soul. Surely it "is great in the
sight of God" (D&C 18:10). They should be of like value in the sight of
men. As God's work and glory is to bring to pass the eternal life of man, so the
desire, hope, and work of every man should be to obtain eternal life for himself.
And not for himself only but also for his fellowmen; and it will be when he fully
appreciates who and what he is--his nature, origin, destiny, and potentiality. In
comparison to eternal life, all else sinks into insignificance. For, as Jesus said:
"What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his
own soul? "Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37.)
[Conference Report, Oct. 1978, p. 19; or Ensign, Nov. 1978, p.14-15]
Bruce R.
McConkie
Since it is the prophetic purpose
to lead men to full salvation in the highest heaven of the celestial world, when
they speak and write about salvation, almost without exception, they mean eternal
life or exaltation. They use the terms salvation, exaltation, and eternal life as
synonyms, as words that mean exactly the same thing without any difference, distinction,
or variance whatever. [The Promised Messiah, pp.129-130]
Achieving
Godhood: The Purpose of the Gospel by Gordon B. Hinkley
The whole design of the gospel is
to lead us, onward and upward to greater achievement, even, eventually, to godhood.
This great possibility was enunciated by the Prophet Joseph Smith in the King Follet
sermon (see Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 342-62) and emphasized by
President Lorenzo Snow. It is a grand and incomparable concept: As God now is, man
may become! (See The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, comp. Clyde J. Williams, Salt Lake
City: Bookcraft, 1984, p. 1) [From October 1994 General Conference, Ensign, November
1994, p. 48; also Teachings of Gordon B. Hinkley, 179).
Brigham Young
The Lord created you and me for the
purpose of becoming Gods like himself; when we have been proved in our present capacity,
and have been faithful with all things he puts into our possession. [Discourses
of Brigham Young, p.57]
Joseph Smith
on Man's Potential for Godhood
God himself was once as we are now,
and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret.
If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit,
and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible,
-- I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form --
like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created
in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and
walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another.
. . . Here, then, is eternal life -- to know the only wise and true God; and you
have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God,
the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree
to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from
exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and
are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who
sit enthroned in everlasting power. And I want you to know that God, in the last
days, while certain individuals are proclaiming his name, is not trifling with you
or me. [Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.345-346]
The first principles of man are self-existent
with God. God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because
he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have
a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us
in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has power to institute laws to instruct
the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with himself, so that they might
have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory, and intelligence,
which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits. [Teachings of
the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.354]
Brigham
Young
Intelligent beings are organized
to become gods, even the Sons of God, to dwell in the presence of the Gods, and
become associated with the highest intelligences that dwell in eternity. [Discourses
of Brigham Young, p.245]
[Mankind] is brought together, organized,
and capacitated to receive knowledge and intelligence, to be enthroned in glory,
to be made angels, gods -- beings who will hold control over the elements, and have
power by their word to command the creation and redemption of worlds, or to extinguish
suns by their breath, and disorganize worlds, hurling them back into their chaotic
state. This is what you and I are created for. [Discourses of Brigham Young, p.48]
The Lord created you and me for the
purpose of becoming gods like Himself; when we have been proved in our present capacity,
and been faithful with all things He puts into our possession. We are created, we
are born for the express purpose of growing up from the low estate of manhood, to
become gods like unto our Father in heaven. That is the truth about it, just as
it is. The Lord has organized mankind for the express purpose of increasing in that
intelligence and truth, which is with God, until he is capable of creating worlds
on worlds, and becoming gods, even the sons of God. [Journal of Discourses, Vol.3,
p.93]
John Taylor
A man, as a man, could arrive at
all the dignity that a man was capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed
a God to raise him to the dignity of a god. For this cause it is written, "Now
are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know
that when he shall appear we shall be like him" And how and why like Him? Because,
through the instrumentality of the atonement and the adoption, it is made possible
for us to become of the family of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; and that
as He, the potential instrument, through the oneness that existed between Him and
His Father, by reason of obedience to divine law, overcame death, hell and the grave,
and sat down upon His Father's throne, so shall we be able to sit down with Him,
even upon His throne. [Mediation and Atonement, Ch.20]
[Man] is not only the son of man,
but he is the son of God also. He is a god in embryo, and possesses within him a
spark of that eternal flame which was struck from the blaze of God's eternal fire
in the eternal world [The Gospel Kingdom, p.54]
Lorenzo
Snow
Obedience and purity are requirements
of godhood. That exalted position was made manifest to me at a very early day. I
had a direct revelation of this. It was most perfect and complete. If there ever
was a thing revealed to man perfectly, clearly, so that there could be no doubt
or dubiety, this was revealed to me, and it came in these words: "As man now
is, God once was; as God now is, man may be." [Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, p.5]
Heber J.
Grant
These duties and obligations are
calculated to make us godlike in our disposition. They are calculated to make gods
of us, and to fit and qualify us that we may become joint heirs with our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. [Gospel Standards, p.38]
Joseph Fielding
Smith
Mortality is the testing or proving
ground for exaltation to find out who among the children of God are worthy to become
Gods themselves, and the Lord has informed us that "few there be that find
it." (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:69-70)
This mortal probation was to be a
brief period, just a short span linking the eternity past with the eternity future.
Yet it was to be a period of tremendous importance. It would either give to those
who received it the blessing of eternal life, which is the greatest gift of God,
and thus qualify them for godhood as sons and daughters of our Eternal Father, or,
if they rebelled and refused to comply with the laws and ordinances which were provided
for their salvation, it would deny them the great gift and they would be assigned,
after the resurrection, to some inferior sphere according to their works. [Doctrines
of Salvation, 1:69]
The purpose of this mortal life is
to prepare us to become gods; even the sons and daughters of God. In the minds of
many misguided people, this thought appears as blasphemy. For an elder of the Church
to speak of the just becoming gods through obedience to the words and laws of the
gospel stirs their souls to bitterness and anger. Yet this is one of the plainest
of all the teachings in the Bible. The real intent of mortality is that we might,
through the trials, tribulations and blessings of the mortal life, come back into
the presence of our Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ, to share all the blessings
of a glorious exaltation. [ Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol.2, p.x]
Spencer W. Kimball
Mortal man has not become what he
may become. Perhaps there is something else that we will learn as we perfect our
bodies and our spirits in the times to come. You and I -- what helpless creatures
are we! Such limited power we have, and how little can we control the wind and the
waves and the storms! We remember the numerous scriptures which, concentrated in
a single line, were stated by a former prophet, Lorenzo Snow: "As man now is,
God once was; as God now is, man may be." This is a power available to us as
we reach perfection and receive the experience and power to create, to organize,
to control native elements. How limited we are now! We have no power to force the
grass to grow, the plants to emerge, the seeds to develop. (The Teachings of Spencer
W. Kimball, p.26)
Ezra Taft
Benson
As God's offspring, we have His attributes
in us. We are gods in embryo, and thus have an unlimited potential for progress
and attainment. (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.21)
While not formally doctrine as the Prophet Hinkley demurred,
I’d say that counts as doctrine that I’m comfortable with!
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
In these first essays
(1-7) on truth seeking, I focused on underlying motivations, often hidden from our
conscious thoughts, that might color or even subvert our quest for truth and how
God speak truth to me, you and even the prophets.
1. Previously I wrote on deep,
even hidden motivations that can drive folks from truth and God, the source thereof.
2.
Then we discussed methods and hindrances to truth gathering.
41: The Mathematics of Faith and Doubt
3.
Then I shared my own personal testimonies as an outgrowth of actual
experiences with God; not simply conviction with the takeaway that each needs to
sprinkle their own life’s journey with their own ongoing God experiences.
44: How the Scriptures Brought Me to Christ.
4.
The last addition I wrote in this series, emphasizes experience and
details clearly the differences and dependencies between testimony, belief and conviction.
45: Why I Don’t Not Believe - for believers
and skeptics
5.
As I write today about specific contraindications, I do so on the
shoulders of the thoughts I previously discussed about oddities.
34: Dear Friends –On the Topic
of Anachronisms and Oddities
51: God Works His Will but
Forces No Man, None.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
In this note, I am writing a synopsis
to specific trouble spots for some; to the naysayers or those whose faith is challenged,
I’d like to discuss the topic of plausibility.
In Norway, I met a woman who had been a Jehovah’s Witness full time missionary for
17 years, then was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint,
but subsequently struggled on points of theology. That is where I, as a missionary,
was able to hear God’s voice speaking in her behalf, and light entered into both
our lives. The whole story is found in Essay 37: Clinging to Biblical interpretations. but the quick take away from that
remarkable experience was that people do deeply desire Proof, but if not proof then
at least plausibility. There are, however,
times when neither of those going to be available. As mentioned previously, I had
to wait nearly 2 decades to acquire plausibility and proofs of horse and sheep DNA
and DNA proof of Middle East lineage in American Indian populations. I will write
about such happy moments as the last in this series. Clearly people have lived and
died without having ‘proof for their minds’ replace ‘faith in their hearts’; so
it’s no given, but still we strive. This essay describes some of those strivings
regarding the common touch stones of the detractors.
But before I step into that, it
is worth noting that I have never heard of such a concerted negative effort from
virtually day 1 in 1830 to now to undermine a philosophy. These naysayers and ardent
opponents are spending so much life energy. Seriously, who walks door to door like
Philastus Hurlbut did to get affidavits. How is it that an entire anti-Mormon book
was written only 3 years after the 1st 6 guys meet in a farm house? The
guy was a sleaze ball and this was THE guy at the heart of almost all subsequent
and persistent efforts to undermine the faith. How can it be that so much negative
effort had been pursued over so many years since then? Did a bunch of folks from
day one simply have a collective overly developed sense of revenge or animus for
something that had no impact to their lives or maybe Paul’s description, speaking
to a the broader picture, is germane:
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Oliver, Sidney, Joseph, the Apostles
and many others spent so much of their live is battle mode. Many of them at some
point or another became very disaffected by the personal slights, policy argument,
leadership screw-ups, money debacles and sometime doctrinal differences such as
accepting polygamy, yet none of them to their dying day gave hint to anything but
re-affirmation to the divine origin of the work. In what gang of conspiratory thieves
does such persistence to the cause exist? Who volunteers freedom in their hand for
a certain death as Joseph and Hyrum did for a goofy get rich quick scheme that hadn’t
gotten anyone rich in 20 years. Who persists in a failed phony enterprise as you
are burying your children from that very cause?
I’m sorry for those who have excess
negative energy to spare in writing tomes on who knew who or claimed to say what
200 years ago, but the whole ‘grand conspiracy of rouges and thieves’ theory just
doesn’t match my expectations of human behavior; and not just one, but so many.
This would be a conspiracy of dozens! Remember a lot of folks saw and handled the
plates.
Rouges and conspiracy of thieves?
That just doesn’t pass the sniff test. On the topic of plausibility & proof,
here are a few:
Joseph Smith and
Polygamy
Some years after writing a paragraph
by paragraph rebuttal to an anti-Mormon book, detailed in Essay 37 (that took a
lot of work), I was presented with yet another hack job purporting to be research.
It was called ‘The Thirteen Wives of Joseph Smith’. Page after page, chapter after
chapter, I attempted to follow the references and the logic or lack thereof. It was a good spicy read but finally, I set the
work down as so unreliable, as a scholarly work, as to not be worth more of my time.
So many of the supposedly scholarly looking footnotes simply led to more non-primary
sources; it was a veritable mesh of anti-Mormon linkages referring to more of the
same. Subsequently to me setting that work of smoke and mirrors aside, DNA research
on Joseph Smiths progeny has completely refuted the whole of it.
Plausible. Sealing into the family of God seemed to be a concept that was
fleshed out in practical detail over time rather than being revealed in detail all
at once. For a while, dozens of individuals were being sealed to prominent leaders
before and even after deaths. It is entirely plausible that this is the explanation
for apparent sealings even to women who were separated but perhaps not formally civilly divorced (a rarer
event in those days). Detractors of the church, like Fawn Brodie, had made much
claims about supposed children by such relationships in an attempt to discredit
the Prophet as salacious, but modern DNA research has shown all such claims to be
false. See DNA solves a Joseph Smith mystery.
Proof: The available evidence does not support the claim that Joseph had
intimate relations with married women or other women sealed to Joseph.
·
Michael De Groote wrote “DNA solves a Joseph Smith mystery” published in the Deseret
News 7/9/11
·
“What is known about possible children through
Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages?”
Plausible: Actual real “consummated” polygamy was taught and practiced by many
of the early saints. It was not unusual in those days and region for girls 14 going
on 15 to be married and women separated from husbands remarried often without a
court order. The actual DNA evidence doesn’t support that Joseph Smith participated
in either such unions but if…if it did it would not be the 1st prophet
to be so criticized for his multiple wives.
Numbers12:1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against
Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite
woman.
Book of Mormon
Changes
It should be understood that forwards
and chapter headings are embellishments by modern editors. The standard of perfection
demanded by some detractors of the Book of Mormon seem wholly out of reasonability
given the astounding number of significantly different translations made available
by the faithful in the Bible. So why this harsh view of any changes, perhaps because
Joseph Smith called it the Most correct book
“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and
a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” (History of the Church, 4:461.)
It should be obvious, but it seems
to escape detractors, that he did not claim it was absolutely perfect; simply the
best available at the time! In the text, itself, the ancient Book of Mormon authors
plead that we be not too critical of imperfections in their writings and rightly
so because there are some patterns of speech used by the authors that can be easily
misunderstood in today’s culture. Take for example several passages that have been
commonly thought related to skin color. At least one was modified even by Joseph
Smith himself to speak to countenance, not color. Now at some point in my career
of gospel study I was reasonably satisfied that we were simply reading the human
condition that could involve racism. Its certainly common enough, but the apologists
at http://blacksinthescriptures.com/ and others, like the Genesis group,
have very studiously shown that passages that seem to be plainly talking about skin
color are actually referring to spiritual darkness or even depression. These were
ancient Biblical era forms of speech and to find it in the Book of Mormon is in
fact one of the more odd but valid forms of internal proofs of its ancient origin.
So, if the forward changed ever
so slightly by subsequent better informed editors to more accurately explain the
genetic mixing with other indigenous population, we should cut them some slack.
Not every commentary by every last church General Authority is cannon. In fact, little of it ever is, but the core scriptures
have remained remarkably stable over the nearly 200 years since its 1st
publication and I think that still qualifies for the “most correct” designation.
Brigham Young
and other Leaders on Racism
If we review many of the revelations
of God, many if not most of them came by open minded inquiry. I am of the mind that
God does not force his way about - even in His own Church. The ‘finger writing on
the wall’ event was just as rare as the parting of the Red Sea. Consider the issue
of Peter and allowing preaching to other races. In this instance God did intervene
after some time in a dream to confirm what one of Peter’s colleagues had laid plainly
on his doorstep - that He, Peter, was behaving like a cultural racist! But Peter
could have just dismissed the impression as a bad dream!
It has been claimed by some Church
Authorities that God will never allow the Prophet to lead us astray but if perfection
is the standard for church leaders then Peter failed that test for several years.The
policy of restricting blacks was wrong in the same way too. While that “astray”
statement has actually never been added to our cannon, some people take that to
an extreme implication that Prophets never make mistakes in how they run the church.
That is plainly false. Joseph clearly made a number of errors, especially related
to financial matters in the church. People thought everything he said was imprinted
by God, and it probably was not!
It is very easy as a Church leader
to get a big head about one’s own importance so even a local leader needs to hear
this advice passed on by President Faust to President Uchtdorf about humility.
“They will treat
you very kindly. They will say nice things about you.” He laughed a little and then
said, “Dieter, be thankful for this. But don't you ever inhale it.”
Some people think that God has
a Red Phone hotline to contact the prophet, but that is simply not the way. I recall
the Old Testament story of the Gideon who was called to lead the people but he wasn’t
quite sure he heard God right even after some pretty serious God demonstration so
he actually tested the Lord with the famous 1st of its kind double blind
experiment using the fleece (Judges 6).
My takeaway is that when we as
a people and even the leaders are willing to hear and harken to what will be said
and knock, then God opens the door for enlightenment. It would appear that most
the people of America in the 1800s– even the most abolitionists were not in favor of freely intermingling, through
marriage, the races. When one of the ordained black Mormon elders began taking white wives, it would be fair to say that
Brigham Young reacted unfavorably and used much the same theological explanations
used by Southern and English preachers to justify slavery to justify barring them
from full participation.
For all the statements in those
early years about Blacks, there is never a “thus saith the Lord” revelatory assertion
amongst the whole of it. It was never ratified as doctrine, ever. Several later
Prophets, uncomfortable with the practice of limiting black African descent individuals
from priesthood functions, reviewed it in detail and each concluded that there was
no legit basis for it, but based on ‘stare decisis’ gave undo deference to previous
administration’s acquiescence and/or did not seem to think that bucking the social
norms during their day was wise. This inertia played poorly for the Church. If they
had made the change in the 50s or even the 60s when many other churches and institutions
were desegregating (something the LDS church almost never did in the 1st
place) then it would have been par but due to this inertia, they ended up being
one of the last large institutions to purge racist influences in their practices.
I can’t help but think that if former leaders had asked God to reveal his will instead
of calculating and studying and had the social backbone to lead out on the matter
that things would have gone more gracious for the church.
As for the ‘Never Lead You Astray’
part, it should be recognized that never happened in the fundamentals of salvation
which is really all most other churches have anything to say about. I don’t mean
to diminish this flaw, and the personal impact of so many being denied this privilege.
It only shows God has pretty flawed humans to work with. My point is that most of
humanity never had that privilege in their lifetime or even the privilege to be
baptized or even hear about the lord. Israel was the ONLY chosen people for some
time, do recall. In the Lords timing, we LDS people understand that all will have
that chance and the grand work in the temples speak to that final equity even if
it took our people a good 150 years to fully extend the mercy God already had.
Brigham Young and Blood
A great deal has been made about
the fiery rhetoric of Brigham Young as Governor of the Territory of Utah. Given
these fellows fought for their very lives daily on the ragged frontier and at least
for the 1st 10 years were a complete theocracy I think it fair to judge
some of the statements coming from Brigham young in that light. In other words,
the death penalty was a common remedy back then and Brigham and assistants like
Jedediah Grant used harsh and vivid language to threaten lawbreakers at a number
of public affairs, nearly all of which freely blended the secular and the theological.
Despite lots of brash rhetoric in those days and even finding its way into former
temple ceremonies that used to be laced with “Cross my heart and hope to die” styled
oaths, there were no such penalties carried out beyond as expected by the secular
law.
As both Secular and theological
leader, they often used the language of the church to describe the Death Penalty
as atoning. They even argued that to have any hope of exaltation that a murderer
would have to atone for their own crime (making amends, blood for blood, AKA Old
Testament rules). Detractor have tried to make that into rampaging death squads
suitable for a great salacious novel (and more than a few of those were produced
during the late 1800s) but the supposed bodies never showed up. In fact, there doesn’t
appear to be a single documented case. This is not related to salvation as is often
mixed up in this discussion, Brigham seems to be referring to exaltation a rather
important distinction. Most Christians who believe that faith in Christ is the prime
ingredient to enter heaven but they mostly agree that ones rewards in heaven are
related to ones works – It may well be that that theme informed Brigham’s Old Testament-like
views on restitution and capital crimes.
In the last of this series I will
celebrate what I call my list of AHAS Stay tuned…
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Of all the gospel topics I have written about, If I’m not right
about this point, I have no logical reason to live another day.
I have yet to hear any argument, even a weak one, from any
other religion or secular atheist philosopher to give them logical reason for drawing
one more breath either. This topic is that critical and not surprisingly it always
makes the naysayer’s list; persistent foes who seem to delight in giving their listeners
in effect, ‘no reason to live’. But I will direct you to the Rosetta stone for life
– and that more abundant.
What is it then? Forgive this long infomercial preface, but
I feel compelled to pick up this hot touch stone that seems to drive a lot of clash
between positive and negative energy. It’s such a huge issue and frankly its why
many thinking individuals find such interest in the Mormon church and conversely
why those few that leave the church, for the most part, become depressed or at least
ambivalent atheists who stumble through what is left of their life, sadly coming
to believe and accept that life actually doesn’t
have any meaning. I’m talking about the unique
Mormon doctrine that we are actually God’s children. (No quote marks!)
Perhaps one hurdle is the penchant for self-debasement by many
who adhere to most of the great religions of the earth. While Jesus always spoke
upliftingly of our equivalent relationship with His (and our) Father, detractors
have a near apoplectic fit at the concept that the sons of God might actually have
the potential to become like their father. That
is because they just don’t believe God! They believe a lie that you are nothing
but a talking gadget to God and frankly if that were true then, yes, you would be
worthless because the Takie2.2 release is due any day…Think deeply about this. Why
would God send His Son(or Himself) to die for a failed Takie 2.1 model? This is explored significantly in Essay10. It’s not that I don’t like the classic Christian
answer, it their utter lack of answer that perplexes.
This is just sad. If religion is anything it should attempt to
explain ‘Why We Are Here?’ Surprisingly, most religions leave out the Why altogether
and for the most part barely touch on her brothers . ‘how did we come about’ and
‘where we are going?’ This leads to many thinking individuals having no faith at
all or distorted, hazy, at best half formulated answers that satisfy only the most
shallow investigation which accounts for most of humanity actually, else there would
be a lot of depressed aimless folks walking about! Their ignorance actually saves
them from the torment of their imagined uselessness.
The Gospel however teaches that we are of great worth for a very
good reason and not just because God loves his gadgets. The root of Spirit is Agency;
the ability to act. This is explored significantly
in Essay40. It can be demonstrated that the
ability to think and act independently is the essence of God. It is also and not
coincidentally the essence of man. So, who or what is man then to God? The answer hits the fundamental
question of why man would be worth anything to God. King Mosiah emphasizes humility
and uses pretty stark language to that end– your nothingness, dust, and so forth.
Such pronouncements would tend to argue against our great potential,
but remember that Jesus was born in a stable! There is a lesson in that. As with
many conversations in the scriptures, the context of the discussion often demands
many perspectives. These same prophets also understood that deep humility was the
odd companion to greatness.
Joseph taught a profound concept that explained perfectly the
meaning of life and our relationship to God. Some years later, the Prophet Lorenzo
Snow contemplating those words received an inspired couplet consistent with what
was revealed the Joseph, a couplet in its simplicity that shocked the theological
community.
“As man is now, God once was;
as God is now man may be.” Lorenzo Snow
It should be noted that Lorenzo
Snow actually places the context on his famous couplet in context of Jesus (God).
See this FairMormon link for a thorough treatment.
Thus, since Jesus is also God, Lorenzo’s couplet could easily be transcribed thusly,
“As man is now, Jesus once was; As Jesus is now,
man may be.”
Since Jesus as (a)God lived
with us, was limited as us , in all particulars was one of us, this variant of the
couplet might make an easier entry to our limited psyche. Lorenzo’s couplet can
be written either way, so when Hinckley was asked “if God the Father was once a man?” he replied that we don’t talk much about
it and even said “I don’t know much about it.” This is precisely correct; we have
precious little to no revelations giving additional understandings about the Father.
Hence Hinckley eschewed speculation about that possible interpretation of Joseph
or Lorenzo’s statements. Certainly latter day saints speculate, but speculation
is not doctrine.
Did not Jesus
claim that we were like him? Did he not command us to be perfect as our Father in
Heaven. – That is the emphasis – to become
and the possibility to do so says everything about our and God’s origins or more aptly our mutual lack of origin!
Obedience and purity are requirements
of godhood. This may appear to some minds as something very strange and remarkable,
but it is in perfect harmony with the teachings of Jesus Christ and with His promises.
He said:
“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Revelation
3:21).
The Apostle Paul also taught
in this wise:
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).
“This is the high destiny of the sons of God, they who overcome,
who are obedient to His commandments, who purify themselves even as He is pure.
They are to become like Him; they will see Him as He is; they will behold His face
and reign with Him in His glory, becoming like unto Him in every particular.” (Lorenzo
Snow.)
While some detractors criticized
President Hinckley for what they think he understands about the nature of God, but
they should spend their time trying to understand the “Incomprehensible God” they
claim to believe in. After all, it is important for our eternal salvation to know
God.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3, emphasis added).
Let me leave you with full purpose
of life in the knowledge that you are intrinsically of great worth with brothers
and sisters who share a great destiny. Our potential is limitless. God hath spoken
it. Ask Him if you do not yet believe.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
With the passing of President Monson, our new prophet was ordained
and set apart by the 12 to lead the church and lead he did. Almost immediately,
President Nelson was announcing revelation and guidance for the church’s affairs;
some modest structural changes to the duties and organization of the priesthood
and relief Society and recently changes that were prophetically timely given the
current world wide medical crisis! It was quite thrilling to watch but also a bit
puzzling. Did it take a new prophet to receive a new direction?
Was this revelation “new” with President Nelson?
Certainty, there are situations, such as the long-overdue revelation on allowing
all races to participate in the Priesthood, that point to the fact that our human
natures can get in the way of revelation. Better then to consider the nature of
our human condition as root difficulty to accepting change. It would seem from evidence
that God governs the church and His children somewhat passively; perhaps reactively
would be a better fit. In the modern vernacular – “Free Range Parenting!” That is,
when asked and ready to receive, the Lord reveals. Consider how long it took Peter
to accept gentiles… His racist/bigoted attitude was difficult to overcome, but dreams
and friendly and not so friendly arguments from his friends finally held sway and
he was finally in a place to be able to receive revelation as recorded in the Bible.
In a similar vein, Mark
mentions that Jesus was unable to do many miracles in His own land because of the
dearth of faith of the people.
Mark 6:4Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is without honor only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household.” 5So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay
His hands on a few of the sick and heal them.…
So, there we have it
that God was limited in what he could (or would) do because the people were (by
God’s design) actually a significant part of the equation. God could, Sodom and
Gomorrah, style intervene rather dramatically, but more often than not choses to
stay below the radar; so to speak. More often than not, He requires us to invite
to receive. Recall,
Math 7:7 “Knock and it shall be opened unto you”…
Note the order. Faith
precedes the miracle. Consider Jesus’ comment to the Centurion concerned after his
faithful servant recorded in Math 8:13:
“Go! As you have believed, so will it be done for you.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.
The initial focus of
my thoughts was to answer ‘why can’t our esteemed leaders, who do seem to acquire
inspiration and revelation in their tenure, receive all the mind of the Lord
right away? I think the answer might be basically “they either didn’t ask or were
not ready to receive!” In some cases God has His timing, but, the real and more
salient takeaway is far more personal. What does God know right now for me, that
for my lack of asking or willingness to receive, I will never know? Asking, to know
the mind of the Lord, seems to be what Jesus was spectacularly adept at. He once
stated that “he does nothing but what
he as seen His Father do.” Ok, that also opens up a whole other nuance-to
enlightenment, but let’s hold off and retain this one useful nugget that a daily
mission should be for each of us to be open for change in attitudes/behaviors and
to seek the will of the Father for our lives today - shall
we not?
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
I was tasked with teaching about Faith healing to 8 years-olds today. That
meant I really had to come to terms with more than the easy answers. I had to understand.
Here is what came to me as I petitioned God for understanding.....and yes I did
successfully teach them the math part too.
One of the great questions that often goes begging for
a suitable answer relates to when God does or does not intervene either directly
or through the administrations from His servants. How is it that a trivial question
of finding a lost item goes answered but another brother loses a battle with cancer,
prayers and administration nevertheless? These are the grand questions.
From personal experience, I know that God does hear and
ratifies His servant’s administration - but not always.
When I was but a lad having just joined the Church of
Jesus Christ, I was pushed over at school and fell straight backwards striking soundly
the base of my skull on a concrete curb. I was dizzy, throwing up and in poor shape.
These days it would have been a trip to the hospital but was brought home. My Dad
was already there and newly ordained as an Elder anointed me and blessed me to recover.
We then drove the 5 miles to Dr. Kroger, who had stitched me up at least once before,
to be examined, but by the time we got there all my symptoms were gone.
Years later, as a missionary a lady we were teaching
asked if we, as representative of the apostles, had the power from God to heal the
sick. “Yes, we do,” was the reply to which she presented her mother who had a frozen
elbow unable to move its position - low a dozen years. The words came to me to command
In Jesus name that her arm to be made whole, which in retrospect seems bold since
we don’t see that sort of drama often! As we removed our hands she raised and articulated
her arm as new, to my wonder and supreme gratitude!
Yet, despite experiencing God’s mighty power, some years
later as my wife lay critically ill for a couple weeks with “valley fever” it did
not come to me to simply offer my hand! Finally, when she was to be admitted the
next morning to the hospital, she asked me for a blessing – and I did with no hesitation,
but I have to ask myself – why did I wait? Her fever broke shortly thereafter -
that very night and never was admitted to the hospital.
And yet there are those who’s righteous desires for healing
do not come about. Clearly this is a complicated calculus. The scriptures assure
us that life happens! Jesus taught it in this wise:
Mathew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for
he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just
and on the unjust.
So, we ought to be careful to not impugn motive and directive
making all things as God’s will or intention. We may never know whether it is simply
Gods’ will that we endure the trial well rather than His Will as causal.
The Story of Job teaches that in some cases the devil
can place stumbling blocks as tests but even that story does not suggest God was
plotting out Job’s trials. Jesus taught about a person who was born blind saying,
“…that the glory of God might be manifest…”. Did that mean that God blinded the
infant or was Jesus asserting that even in distressing circumstance God’s glory
could be manifest. I’ve often thought that the compassion and patience in the individual,
his family and friends were as great a manifestation of God’s glory as the final
event when Jesus healed the man. After all, it is God’s glory for us to become like
Him!
This passage can be better rendered, “But let the works
of God be displayed in him.” So, the whole passage would read as follows:
John 9:3 “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered, “but let the works of
God be displayed in him. We must work the works of Him who sent us while it is day…”
This better translation makes good sense; biblically.
Jesus shows us that the question to ask is not, “Who sinned?” but “What can we do
to help the situation?”
Sometimes there is purpose and a learning opportunity
to be had but other times its more random and just life. The test then is how we
endure it; well or do we reject God for not being a Sugar Daddy doling out good
things for good behavior? It should be appreciated that many a prophet was killed
while doing good things!
The Story of Shadrac Mishak and Abendigo teaches a keen
point. When challenged as to would or could their God could save them from the King’s
seven times hot fiery furnace they responded with these amazingly brave words.
Daniel 3:13-16 King Nebuchadnezzar “If you do not worship it, you will be
thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue
you from my hand?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar,
we do not need to answer you carefully about this matter. 17 If we are thrown into
the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will
deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to
know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold
you have set up.”
Paul likewise, once he came to know God, spoke of his
trials, losing his wife to an early death and acquiring a permanent illness or disability
he called a thorn. Asking for its removal got this response from God.
2Cor.12:7-10 “in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn
in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the
Lord to take it away from me. But he said
to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s
power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in
insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then
I am strong.
I recall friends of mine, a brother and a sister who
as teenagers joined the Church of God. A few years later Jeff, the older of the
two, joined the military. On the way back to base from a family visit, his companion
fell asleep at the wheel and all in the car lost their lives in a terrible crash.
Becky, his sister, lost faith in God and stepped off the path… Why do some turn
from God and others turn to Him in their extremities? I believe it
has to do with actually knowing God beforehand; not knowing about God, but knowing God.
As the poet wrote, “Some sail East and some sail West
by the self-same wind that blows…”
So, as I return to my original complexity, I thought
to try and write it in the plane language of math to reduce the confusion to understanding:
Consider then variables
·
W – will
·
F -faith as an assertive
power
·
H -Healing
And subscripts
·
g – god and
·
m – man
·
s – servant of God n-number of servants exercising faith
then Hm
= Wg*Fg*(1+(Wm*Fm + Wm*Fm*Sum(1-n){Wsn*Fsn})
) or factored differently
then Hm
= Wg*Fg*(1+(Wm*Fm (1 + Sum(1-n){Wsn*Fsn})
) )
This equation
teaches that Divine Healing in a man/woman happens when God’s will either aligns
with man’s and his servants or overrides it altogether! It explains that a person’s
faith is the key to healing with rare exceptions and that healing can take place
even when the servant’s faith might be weak but clearly when the person’s faith
and the servant’s faith is strong then the powers of heaven can be readily unlocked.
Of course, God can do what He wants but more often than
not He works in the confines of our faith which He wants us to exercise as an active
power too.
Mark 6:4-5 Jesus
said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his
relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay
his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
Whether the trial is natural happenstance or purposeful
linkage, our own faith is a significant element in God’s calculus - or in this case
simple algebra.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Like a perpetual motion machine,
some concepts are logically impossible. The following deductive reasoning demonstrates
why the sentient ‘3CPO’ is impossible – not simply improbable or awaiting the next
improvement in complexity.
Let me preface this assertion by
pointing out that you may well be able to program a self-optimizing algorithm that
could mimic human response like making the sounds of speech, but that machine has
no consciousness or self-awareness no matter how convincing the act of aping our
behavior. Why? Consider the Babbage calculator remarkably designed some 200 years
back! (See photo of the author standing in front of a replica of this marvel.)
|
|
As the gears whirl and the shift
levers click away is there any reason to anticipate that the gears or the collection
of mechanisms can be “aware” of itself? It seems plain enough as you watch the gear
motions that it’s just metal clanking away and the metal is just that with no inherent
intelligent property to make such a self-judgment - each gear is just a metal gear.
If you can accept that premise, then let’s add one more gear and turn the crank.
Did the outcome change? Are the gears somehow aware of themselves due to the addition
of one more? Note that electronics is just gears and states and levers- that have
identical analogs to our mechanical setups illustrated by the Babbage machine and
even analog representations in our human anatomy.
What if we added so many gears
and gates and holding states that the machine now could answer your question perfectly
- maybe even broadcast the sound sequence of “I think therefore I Am?” Even output
the sounds of “Ouch” if you kicked its tilt sensor? Looking at the gears whirling
and self-optimizing the calculation - are the gears ‘aware’ of their own motion?
No, because once again it’s just metal gears and levers and the metal has no inherent
property outside of being metal. If for N gears and levers and gates and holding
states the gears do not in themselves have awareness or consciousness of self, a
sentient property and N+1 does not, then for all complexity N+[ ] the machine remains
just more gears, in other words, all darkness inside no matter what sounds or actions
mimicking our behavior the machine produces.
If the Human brain and our usage
thereof can be reduced to a series of wires, gates; in fine, a self-optimizing calculator
with gain, gates and memory states which we have just demonstrated is unavoidably
dark inside then the human too would be dark inside - reacting to the world but
not able to “sense” anything even though it be festooned with sensors and broadcasting
“ouch” as you kicked its tilt sensor!
But you say, I think and sense
and feel and imagine and so much more- Yes and that only demonstrates that you must
be more than gears because the deductive proof just outlined is logically sound.
Consider that you are watching
yourself (out of body) reading this short essay. You are Iteratively extrapolating
yourself from yourself. That ability is what separates man from machine. There is
clearly something more to man than the body’s machine parts. The part that makes
you ‘you’, as demonstrated by that exercise, is separate from the mortal carrier.
Religions have attempted various explanations. Call it spirit or the breath of life,
the spark of intelligence - it’s just not the dust as this deductive proof demonstrates.
The only way we can experience
consciousness is to, in some respect, be separate from the body; exactly what religions
the world over have been trying to put words to for millennia. Perhaps we can thus
think of the body as a carrier and the brain as an interface with cache memory and
sensor preprocessing functions.
The spiritual side thus plays an integral role
in what we call consciousness; the substance that interprets and interacts through
the physical body. Those who dedicate themselves and strive to find in the evolutionary
dust all answers have found consciousness the conundrum. The fact of the matter
is that a computer-machine running a simulation about building a machine is still
just a machine of lifeless parts flipping states; there is no life from lifelessness.
Likewise, physicists are grappling with the impact
of consciousness on the origin of matter itself as we have begun to prove that matter
at a particle level actually responds to being observed! Viewed at a quantum level
super-positioned wave states don’t collapse until observed or measured. The big
bang could not have initiated unless it was observed! Looked at from that perspective,
consciousness did not evolve if it took consciousness to initiate the big bang!
So it is not the physical that begets or evolves into consciousness with sufficient
complexity but consciousness that creates the reality of the physical.
New Experiments continue to stack up showing Consciousness
Affects Matter. In over 600 experiments by university labs over several decades
this effect has been thoroughly proven. Said, Dean Radin Ph.D at University of Arizona,
“Consciousness is an active participant in reality”. (Ref https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRSBaq3vAeY)
Have you ever wondered, “OK, but what happened
before the big bang? What changed?” I’ll let one of the most ancient religious text
speak the last word, “The consciousness spoke and the worlds were created.”
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
There
is a very well put together anthology called "A
Reason for Faith" that I'd like to pass on to any of my or your friends whose faith
has been challenged by Science or Historical hit pieces on Classic Christian and
particularly the tenants of the Mormon Christian faith.
If
you are just mentally anguishing over some argument, this book is going to be a
big help to resolve that conflict, but CONFLICT implies there is something arguing
otherwise. If you don't have those spiritual events to be in conflict with, then
my dear friends, THAT is a or perhaps
the biggest problem to rectify, but if
this helps at least give you a reason for hope, then Hope leads to Belief and Belief
begets Faith, and Faith engenders Confidence and Confidence - well that provides
Peace. How would a heaping helping of peace of mind sit with you when the world
just told you are a worthless pile of dust soon enough to die. By that logic you
aren't really alive now! Unsettling unless you ignore that conclusion with busy-ness
and/or sensuality until you have no choice but to face the grim reaper. Would it
not be so much better to have purpose and peace and run to the light in the end? That confidence can be obtained or recovered.
Consider this experience I
had some while back as I helped a new convert (former Jehovah’ Witness) to our faith
who was struggling with what is best described as Cognizant Dissonance, a syndrome
I think may be at the root of others struggles.
She had had spiritual confirmation
of the truth of the restored gospel and the validity of the Book of Mormon, but
some nagging questions remained. Since we don't usually do the classic Bible Study
where folks try to prove their faith with layers of proofs and sophistries, there
remained a number of questions Re. understanding passages that just went unanswered
and thus doubt festered and plagued her.
I was a student of the Bible
and offered to walk through the pages with her and we did so from Genesis to Revelations
over a couple months. God inspired me to do this one key thing and NOT do another
thing. Do - look for unsupported premises. Don't try to prove, only support but
also acknowledge my own unsupported premises.
This is really simple - my
loving family and friends of different viewpoints. The Bible is full of dangling
thoughts and un-fleshed out ideas that theologians enjoy filling in the blanks for
with their own. What??? OK here's a classic: Adam, Eve are booted out of the garden
right? For eating the forbidden fruit. So far so good (or evil) ha. But theologians
assert that that was a HUGE mistake we are all suffering from. Why? because say
they, “If they hadn't royally screwed up then everything would have been super duper
and all of us would be happy and sin free - its all on them!!!”
OooooK so lets take that apart.
What are the unsupported assumptions? 1. They could have had children in their innocent
& immortal state. 2) Any Children and progeny down to today would have been
perfect or had their agency removed and forced to obey perfectly.
Where is that written??? Easy
nowhere. OK that's 2 - next page.... Se how it goes all the way to Revelations.
So I successfully helped her
to see that there were other logical explanations. No proof , but reasonable alternatives
to the same data set. So then I asked
her, "Why she joined in the 1st place", and here is the takeaway – If you got this far! She said, "She felt the Spirit of God in the pages of the Book
of Mormon...." So now that her dissonance problem was addressed, I asked if
she thought maybe God might answer her again? Nodding affirmative we knelt and she
prayed and came up rejoicing and was now able to embrace her new faith without reservation
- I guess with both halves of her brain, or Mind AND Spirit if you will.
But
beyond satisfying our natural desires to be intellectually consistent, one has to
have that other – even more important part, the spiritual experiences, the anchors
OR YOU GOT NOTHING to hold you when opposition hits you up... Personally, I had
to place DNA research off on a shelf for about 15 years as it initially reflected
a rather dim light on our viewpoint but now with the latest research, I feel quite
bullish about it. I feel largely vindicated (last time I looked) but can you imagine
if I anchored my ship to the whims of the fellows in white lab coats 15 years ago?
I'd be sunk by now!
Fortunately,
the only solid anchor is the Rock of Salvation. Personal experience with the Lord
Jesus can be a steady source of confidence! If this is ever lost, know that His
hand is still outstretched. When we meet Him even part way it’s like your ship’s
got its rudder back and you can confidently sail into the unknown with Him as Pilot
and Navigator.
The
authors of "A
Reason for Faith" take a rather pessimistic but some might argue a realistic, assessment of the
evidence, granting in many cases what could be disparaging testimony but then argue
from those positions; those ‘facts’ notwithstanding. This approach results in very
powerful arguments. Very different tacks could be taken than the approaches used
in several of those essays, but if one can hold their faith with those reasoned
approaches, that’s a very stable position. I highly recommend this work to all who
would love to build or rebuild their Reason for Faith.
Building
our relationship with the Almighty involves reaching for Gods already outstretched
hand - an invitation worth our every effort.
Blessing Friends,
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
I don’t know about you, but it’s
been a doozy of a year for me. At times it’s been exhilarating - arms straight up
on the rollercoaster. Other times, I’ve been screaming to get off. There have been
times when I’ve been pushing as hard as I can and times when I’ve been pushed as
hard as I can stand. It’s been a year of self-reflection and sometimes a year of
self-pity. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve cried a lot. I’ve felt all the feelings.
I say this because I felt like
this year swallowed me up and spit me out right before December hit. And I was exhausted.
Maybe you’ve felt like this. At a time when the party was just getting started and
celebrations and festivities were gearing up to go all out this season - my tank
was empty.
I started to crave something. And
the something, was nothing. I wanted to clear the schedule. I wanted SIMPLE. I wanted
to burn a ton of candles. I wanted to read piles of Christmas books with my kids.
I wanted to have time to actually think about Christ. And so, I took my December
back. At the beginning of the month, Scott and I decided we would pick 5 things
that we wanted to do this month. And that was it. They were pretty simple things.
I mean one of the things was: get a Christmas tree. But let me tell you, this newfound
sense of control has changed us and I’m happy to say it’s been one of the best Decembers
we’ve had in years. I’ve felt peace at this time of year that I haven’t felt for
a long time. I feel like I can finally breathe and I’ve been able to stave off the
feelings of bitterness and resentment that seem to creep in at this time of year
as a result of trying to take on too much.
But why am I telling you this?
Well, maybe you are like me. Maybe you get a little excited, a little overzealous
about life sometimes. It’s fairly easy to do. But pretty soon we are trying to manage
all of the expectations, all of the things we imagine we are “supposed” to be doing.
I try to imagine what the Savior sees when He looks at our lives. Does He think
it is too much? Does He shake His head as we scream and shout about our stress levels
because He knows there is an easier way? It makes me wonder. And it’s not just December
that’s the culprit. The whole year has become a whirlwind that leaves us feeing
breathless much too often, I’m afraid.
It’s no secret that we live in
a time of extreme activity. We are constantly on-the-go. So many things are designed
to save us time, but so much of it rarely does. We just cram more into the empty
space. It’s like an empty closet that we just purged of all the things we never
wore and now we can’t wait to go shopping. We putter around town going through the
drive-thru for dinner, our prescription meds and to pick up cash at the bank. We
do it all so we have time to go the soccer game that night, the youth activity,
the event with co-workers, the whatever. We try to make a plan for every bit of
time so that we can feel productive, feel like we accomplished all the to-do’s,
that we were “enough” for whoever was counting on us that day. Let’s face it, we
can’t even rest on the couch without feeling like we should log in to our e-mail
to see who needs a response. Every minute counts! We can see that it’s a bit unhealthy,
but we keep at it anyway. After all, those kids have to grow up and be good at something.
The bills have to get paid. The weeds won’t pull themselves. Dinner won’t appear
out of thin air. The list goes on….we justify
it all. We feel it’s all necessary, it all has to fit. There is room for all of
it.
Isn’t there?
There is a bit of a buzz word going
around these days called “slow living.” You’ve probably heard of it. You probably
think it’s something about pristine zen-like homes, or walking along the beach in
a white linen outfit, or sitting down to a Pinterest-worthy effortlessly styled
rustic outdoor picnic dinner table that bears your effortlessly grown vegetables
from your own organic garden. That sounds nice.
And while Instagram and Gwenyth
Paltrow would have us believe that these peaceful scenes truly are possible on a
daily basis and should come as naturally as breathing, that’s not necessarily what
slow living is all about. Reality is that we have a schedule to keep. People who
depend on us. Needs that must be addressed. Swinging from a hammock all afternoon
sounds great, but it doesn’t get the laundry folded.
If you’re confused about this concept
of “slow living” and what it’s all about, allow me to share this quote from author
Brooke McAlary in her book “Slow.”
“Slow living is a curious mix of
being prepared and being prepared to let go. Caring more and caring less. Saying
yes and saying no. Being present and walking away. Doing the important things and
forgetting those that aren’t. Grounded and free. Heavy and light. Organised and
flexible. Complex and simple.
It’s about living in accordance
with the important things in life. And more specifically, living in accordance with
the important things in your life.
It’s about cultivating self-awareness,
letting go of the excess stuff in our homes, learning how to live mindfully, getting
in touch with our personal values, and choosing which advice applies to our circumstances,
happily releasing the ideas that don’t fit our homes, families, jobs or values.
It’s about life. The living part,
specifically. It’s about paying attention to it and spending time in the noticing.
The hand-holding and the tear stains and the sunrises and the uncertainties. The
love and the anger and the joy and the envy.” - From “Slow” by Brooke McAlary
Jesus was a master in slow living.
Yes, He lived simply. He even probably had the white linen outfit. But He definitely
still had an agenda. Things on His to-do list. He knew His time was limited and
He wanted to make the most of it.
But Jesus understood something
that most of us probably do not. The agenda, His to-do list, was not the total picture.
He stayed flexible. And by staying flexible, He was able to accomplish some important,
unforeseen things. I’d like to talk about some of those things with you today. They
are stories you have heard many times before, but they are actually stories that
were not supposed to happen. They are stories that happened while another story
was in the works. They are unexpected moments for Jesus. Things that perhaps He
did not plan on doing when He woke up that day. I do not know for sure.
One day, one of the rulers of the
synagogue, Jarius, runs to Jesus in hysterics and begs him to come and save his
dying 12-yr old daughter. Jesus drops whatever He is doing, obliges and follows
Jarius back to his home, but something happens on the way. A woman touches his cloak.
She is healed without Jesus even saying a word to her. But he notices. He didn’t
have to notice. His attention was desperately needed elsewhere. Someone was dying!
And the person who asked Him to come was a very important person - a ruler of the
synagogue! But He stopped. He did not let the crises of what was waiting for Him
at Jarius’ home overwhelm Him. He knew it would all work out. But someone needed
Him for just a moment. Just one very important, brief moment. And in that brief
moment, a life was changed.
Another story. Jesus had received
some devastating news. His dear cousin, John the Baptist, had been brutally killed
and Jesus had just found out from his disciples. Judging by Jesus’ subsequent desire
to leave the area and be alone to process this news, it deeply affected Him. But
even though this alone time was certainly deserved, He did not get it. Five thousand
people wanted His attention. They wanted to be spiritually fed, probably at a moment
When Jesus Himself wanted and needed comfort. Perhaps He felt drained, like He had
nothing left to give in that moment and that some self-care was in order - but the
scriptures do not say. They only describe for us His actions in that moment: “He
received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had
need of healing.” (Luke 9:11) But He didn’t stop there. He wanted to make sure they
were physically taken care of as well. He wanted to feed them! Which was a problem,
because there simply wasn’t enough food. If you’ve ever tried to plan a menu for
a ward function, you can sympathize with the fact that this is a big ask. Five thousand
people. The tabernacle in Salt Lake can’t even fit that many. But this didn’t stop
Jesus. No, He probably used whatever energy He had left and performed a miracle
by multiplying the food so that there was enough and to spare.
Another story. Jesus is invited
to a Pharisee’s house for dinner. Now, you don’t have to be an expert in scripture
to know that this was a rare event. Not too many times Jesus was actually invited
to socialize with the Pharisees. What a teaching opportunity! A chance to show them
that He wasn’t actually as terrible as they all thought! But someone crashed the
party. A woman who was a sinner. A nobody. Riff raff to the Pharisees. And she wanted
to see Jesus. Here was His chance to make a good impression, and look who shows
up! But Jesus didn’t turn her away. Quite the opposite. He doesn’t care if people
think he’s a joke by paying attention to her. He lets her wash His feet. The party
guests are disgusted. But He doesn’t apologize for His actions, or for hers. Instead
He teaches them a parable and then He forgives her. And before she can incur any
wrath or embarrassment from the onlookers, he lets her leave quietly, with her dignity
intact.
Jesus was never too busy for people.
He knew what things could fall by the way side so that His attention could be directed
to what was the most important. When I read these stories in the scriptures, I find
myself engaged in the following self-talk:
“If you are too busy for people,
you are too busy. If you are too busy for your family, you are too busy. If you
are too busy to read your scriptures, you are too busy. If you are too busy to help
someone who is asking for help, you are too busy.”
Now, by saying all of this, I do
not mean to imply that self-care is not important. Because it is. Jesus definitely
took time to ground himself spiritually, emotionally and mentally by taking time
to spend alone, to pray, to fast, to spend time in nature. And perhaps this was
how He was able to give so much to others. He was already grounded and had aligned
Himself with Heavenly Father. It’s an important thing to consider as we look around
and ask if we are doing enough. We cannot shortchange ourselves or our own needs
before we decide to look outward.
Picture yourself on December 31st,
2019. You’ve had another long year, full of ups and downs. You’re tired, pulling
out the toothpicks to prop your eyes open so you can say you stayed up until midnight
with the kids. You start to think about 2019 and what happened to you. You ask yourself:
Did I show up for what really mattered
this year? Am I closer to the Savior now than I was at the beginning of the year?
Do I wish I spent more time doing something? Do I wish I spent less time doing something?
Did I spend my time really living? Or was I just going through the motions and checking
each day off the calendar?
I’ve always loved this quote by
Marjorie Pay Hinckley that puts life into perspective for me a bit and encourages
me to really live life to the fullest:
“I don't want to drive up to the
pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair
expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive
up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches
for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails
from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky
kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to
know I was really here and that I really lived.”
As we head into the new year and
a shorter church meeting schedule, the Lord has given us some time back. What will
we do with it? Will we see it for the opportunity that it is? And by opportunity,
I don’t mean that the Sunday nap can just stretch a bit longer. And trust me, I
love to nap. In the words of Jim Gaffigan, I am a “nap enthusiast.” But will we
take the time and do what He has asked us to do with it and be joyful about the
request? I look at this extra hour as such
a gift. It’s almost like Heavenly Father sees how jam packed our lives are, how
many demands are on us for our time and He says, ok. I’m going to make it a little
easier. I’m going to give you some time back. That’s something that rarely happens
in today’s world. And with that time, He asks that we really live. That we spend
it with the people we love the most, talking and learning about the things that
matter the most.
But why limit it to just an extra
hour every week? Isn’t there more we can be doing with our families to really connect?
Is there less we should be doing of something else to make sure that we are spiritually
where we need to be? Do we need to start saying no to some things so that we can
say yes to others?
I know that the Savior is mindful
of what our lives are like in today’s world. He feels our stress. He sees our overwhelm.
He wants to help. I bear testimony that if we let Him, if we make room for Him first,
our lives will become more balanced, more rich, more fulfilling and the problems
will seem less crushing. I am so grateful for His ability to calm our storms, to
bring peace to us all, through HIs simple, unfailing love that is available for
each one of us.
Ashley Jensen Back to Top of the Document
This next dialog is actually one of the weekly follow up notes I would send
to the parents of the 7-8 year olds we taught!
Dear Parents of these super kids.
The thing I like about teaching youth is that I need to understand it deeply
to distill it, make it simplified enough to be received, but the truth is - that's
the way I need to hear it so that I can receive it and make it real.
Today's lesson was a simple enough
title, "I can Be Like Jesus"
REALLY? HOW! He walks
on water, commands the wind, moves mountains & heals the acutely sick and deformed? Goodness, I'm still struggling with knot tying
and occasionally squabbling over toys!
So exactly what do you mean?
But before we got to that, two
other short but keen lessons came to the foreground. I wrote a short phrase on one
of the student's paper, "Where ever you are - BE THERE, fully."
This brought some conversation
about the Holy Spirit instructing us as we are prepared , attentive, listening,
and eager to receive and respond.
Entering our classroom I encountered Jeff Dance, a good friend and businessman,
and I introduced him to our class as a businessman who makes deal- lots of them.
The deal....I explained, often has a written contract that is an enforceable instrument,
a tangible external proof of the deal, but that the real deal was struck well in
advance when the hand was extended and received. (we shook hands dramatically)
What prompted this was a few comments
I heard from the kids that tied baptism as THE instrument of salvation and forgiveness;
THE day they would be fully clean…This is a common enough assertion but not the
best nor the most enabling understanding. So, we discussed how Jesus IS the deal and its His hand that's outstretch right
now to bring the atoning power to their lives right now. We again
emphasized that Baptism is not necessarily THE moment or the only moment and to
wait even a small moment to have His atoning sacrifice work in your life is a day,
a week, or months way too long. We taught that forgiveness comes from accepting
Christ as Alma the younger did. Baptism then is the outward symbol of that atoning
event and the day to be officially numbered with the saints, to enter the ‘kingdom
of God’, but forgiveness and salvation can be today. It was thusly recommended to
take His hand now as it is continually outstretched.
I recall one precious child bowing
her head that very moment. She recounted to me the following week that she had that
moment given herself to God. A month later a young fellow approached me after his
baptism and stated, “I want you to know I prayed and accepted Jesus as my savior
as I was entering the water.” I was very touched by that.
Back to our lesson that day, we hit the topic nicely of Jesus,
the boy, embodied
in the song "Jesus Once Was a Little Child." Steve Olsen and I - lead
singers of the 'Croaking Frogs' grunge band, tried to sing and teach the song. Add
tambourine and bongos and our class will be primary rock stars! But seriously, the lesson asked some giggle questions
and some serious ones aimed at seeing Jesus the man; Jesus the boy as real and reachable.
Did Jesus pee his pants as an infant? Giggles but No scripture provided!
Did he ever mess up some carpentry
work piece as his Dad tried to teach him the trade? Luke 2:52 teaches he grew as others - "the
carpenter son" (Kids had fun trying to use an ancient draw knife on a beam.)
Did Jesus ever do something that
earned a correction from his parents? Luke 2:41-52
Did Jesus ever get mad and what
would be the difference between angry vs losing his temper? This story shows a calm
but righteous indignation. He discussed this somewhat here. John 2:15
Did Jesus ever experience impatience?
Mark 9:19
Did Jesus ever show frustration?
Math 8:26
Turns out Yes is the answer to each question yet he sinned not. Sin starts in the
heart and that is the best lesson for us in that we can deeply truly desire nothing
but what is right even if our execution in this human condition is less than desired.
Jesus, the man, the boy, is the model that is real and reachable. So, let us ask
the Holy Spirit each day to reach our reaching and to strengthen our resolve to
do right and to be closer to the perfection Jesus exemplified.
Brother
Steve
Back to Top of the
Document
Today I was asked to
help clean an apartment of a newly baptized member. This new saint had made major strides turning
away from alcoholism to a productive state now holding a job and attending church
regularly – making real efforts to make a new life that included our Lord – and
that latter part is crucial as calling upon the power of heaven will be key to any
lasting change.
Entering the home, I
grumbled - more than once, as I worked to remove clutter and clean grime from surfaces.
At first, I marveled that so many folks would stoop to such efforts at cleaning
for another whom we barely knew. Trailer after trailer of trash was removed and
piles of dishes and so much more.
Then suddenly, it dawned
at me that this is exactly what our Savior did for us- experiencing each of our
lives, cluttered with sin and foolishness; besmirched with filth of impure thoughts
and foul language and years of neglect of things of higher purpose and need.
When I prayed for forgiveness
of my bad deeds done and good deeds left undone, did I appreciate that our Savior
had to wade though a room full of junk and clutter and washed with his sweat and
blood the left over filth so he could take away my guilt and present me anew a fresh
opportunity for a new life? As I scrubbed the tangible grime readily managed with
a liberal application of soap and water, what sprung to me was Jesus’ own experience
– begging Father to let this cup pass from him if it were possible. But he did not
back away from the effort. He experienced my clutter and yours and bag after bag
took the trash out and burned it so that we might not so suffer and be forever encumbered
by that unwanted soil and baggage.
The dear sister, who’s
household was overwhelmed by the season of neglect, prayed a prayer of thanksgiving
for the team of saints who came to rescue her physical debacle and humbly begged
that we might see her as the Lord saw her; not defined by the mess we saw but by
what the Lord knew she could now become; a prayer that well applies to each one
us who came that day to rescue her.
Brother
Steve
Back to Top of the
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On this Easter weekend
my mind is full of gratitude for the Love Jesus offers me. That he rescued a soul
so rebellious and proud as mine as the hymn goes. “How was it done?” the prophet
Enos asked. That question posed long ago has occupied many conversations and even
books. Allegorical approaches often take two approaches that lead to some critique
and may even get in the way of those who otherwise might accept the glorious message
of redemption and reconciliation. Let me explain the problem and then offer another
approach that may help the truth seeker. Before I do that please understand that
if the various allegories, flawed or otherwise have brought you to seek and obtain
a relationship with the Lord then how could I be but happy for you, but if those
approaches leave you with questions that have become stumbling blocks then this
next conversation might be very helpful. Those of non-Christian heritage may find
this approach to understanding a very meaningful gateway.
Without much elaboration, these are the common approaches/phrases employed
·
Jesus
died for my sins
·
Jesus
paid the price for my sins
·
Jesus
opened the gate and set me free
·
Justice
was satisfied
·
Jesus
makes up the difference
·
Jesus
intercedes and the Father sees Jesus robes and not your filthy rags
To work, these approaches need to resolve some issue.
·
Outside
of accepting the Savior, Jesus would have to take away our future free agency and
alter our makeup.
·
Outside
of ancient tribal warfare (blood for blood regardless of who’s), we have no acceptable
concept where one person can be punished for another and call it justice.
·
There
is no cosmic sin accountant called “Justice” to be satisfied; unless there really
is a ‘volcano god’ that needs virgins sacrificed to keep it appeased!
·
Accounting
for sin with a ledger (making up the difference) implies a table of punishments
and misbehaviors and what does punishment (stripes) mean? When you try to add specificity
to this ledger approach it breaks down.
In a somewhat longer
article, I wrote a while back a view on the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus that centers
on what some term Sanctification; the perfecting of the soul. I refer the reader
to that somewhat longer treatment Forgiveness and the Power of the Atonement.
Boiling down the article
it comes to this. You need to change to be compatible with heaven and no paying
off or hiding or shielding or diversionary tactics or “whipping boy” vicarious punishments
will do that. If Heaven is not going to become an instant hell for our entry we
need to get the hell part out of us! If you
got past that rather crude way of expressing it – good because good is what you
need to be. The question then is how to get there without just becoming a robot
or marionet for God. Clearly what he wants is for us to be like Him and apparently
as he commanded it (Be Ye therefore Perfect), we can get there…with the help of
Jesus.
But what about the many
places in scripture speaking to Justice and Payment and so forth? The simple answer is that He did pay a price-
a rather steep one to become acquainted not just with grief but with YOUR grief.
The atonement was NOT him being punished for your crime but by experiencing your
crime, pain grief and everyone else’s - that
was plenty punishing – to the point of drawing blood. To God, time does not exist
and all events were experienced in that Garden experience. That is the miracle –
that time and space and events collapsed in a singularity to be personally experienced
by Jesus who thereby became savior for us all - placing him in the position of truly
the kindred spirit with exactly the means and remedy - just for your unique spirit.
Justice being satisfied
in that we are reformed in His image by our willing participation, His guidance
and multiplying power. Heaven stays heaven lest it turn into hell – and that would
simply not be just! Hence Justice is satisfied. This makes sense.
This approach is scriptural, satisfying, bridging for all faiths and deep inside
just feels right. Let me know if this insight helps or if you have a perspective
of your own to add to the conversation.
All My Best and may
His Holy Spirit make you His.
Brother
Steve
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This is a collection
of links to organizations and research on the both vanguard and regressive history
of the modern church and its relation to members of the African race.
In its earliest days
the church under Joseph Smith was way out in front integrating the races but after
the prophet’s death when some black saints began taking multiple white wives the
culture of separating people by race was too great a challenge and Brigham Young
and others for many decades sought theological cover for finding reason to keep
that status quo. This remained until the Prophet Spenser Kimball prayed for and
received revelation from God that that policy was in error and should be done away
with.
These links discuss
these topics.
·
http://www.mormondna.org/mormons-blacks/church-know.html
·
http://www.keepapitchinin.org/2009/12/28/the-long-promised-day/
·
http://www.ldsgenesisgroup.org/
·
http://mit.irr.org/blacks-mormon-priesthood-and-book-of-abraham
·
http://blacksinthescriptures.com/skin-color-and-curses/
"There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the
troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the negro race before the public. Some
of these people do not want the negro to lose his grievances, because they do not
want to lose their jobs. There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don't
want the patient to get well."
- Booker T. Washington
1911
4th Nephi 1:15 And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.
16 And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of
lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand
of God.
17 There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites,
nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.
Brother
Steve
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In the topic Heaven and Hell, I broached a topic related to purgatory or
spirit prison but did not close the matter. There are those who latch on to a couple
verses to the exclusion of others and conclude that one can earn, through their
own suffering, a place in one of the lower kingdoms of heaven. This is the same problem Methodists might have
with Presbyterians regarding the latter’s advocacy of predestination There are a few verses attributed to Paul that
in their plainest read could be employed to argue for God picking and choosing the
saved and the dammed and then making dammed sure of that outcome! Others read the
same and find, with just an extra dab of sophistry, a more merciful interpretation
in keeping with the general view of a loving Father and children with real agency.
While our access as
Latter Day Saints to modern day revelation has helped a great deal to avoid most
doctrinal trip ups, as long as there is a man between God and the rest of us there’s
going to be oversight, holes and ambiguities. It’s the nature of language to require
some iteration to clear up human errors when transcribing inspiration. This very
work (this collection of essays) that I feel had the hand of God assisting me, yet
has errors. Its unsettling because we want everything we attribute to God to be
perfectly rendered and it may well have been perfectly communicated and yet imperfectly
received or remembered and transcribed to paper. My own visionary experienced finding God as
a younger man has gone through
several revisions; sometimes adding significant detail missing in the 1st
tell.
For Latter Day Saints,
two scriptures, that have been related to the faith/works debate, get misunderstood
enough that folks outside the religion have picked up on the matter; claiming our
religion teaches you can work or suffer your way to heaven. The passages are these:
DC19: 16 For behold,
I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would
repent; 17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
DC138 57 I beheld
that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life,
continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption,
through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness
and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead.
58 The dead who repent
will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God, 59 And
after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean,
shall receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation.
The root of the misunderstanding
is rooted to the conceptualization of punishment. It is common but wrong to assert
that God’s justice is vengeful actively meeting out pain and suffering to the damned.
(Ref #Forgiveness and the Power of the Atonement for a thorough treatment on that fallacy)
Another approach sees
punishment as experiential – a natural result. Alma described it this way:
Alma 11:43 …and we
shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know
now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.
This is what Jesus was
referring to. If your sins remain with you, the results of those sins are retained
in your spirit. Those feeling of guilt cause us to separate ourselves from God.
Those clear recollection of guilt are like an unquenchable fire; hell, if you will.
Ok, but what was the
man of God quoted in DC138 saying then? DC138:59 And after they have paid the penalty of their
transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their
works, for they are heirs of salvation.
Recall, he had just
written about Jesus’ sacrifice and His gospel of repentance being preached and then
he says, “The dead who repent will be redeemed.”
He speaks of ordinances
(like Baptism for the dead) then comes the comment about “after they have
paid the penalty” Its not the best
way, but for some pain is a powerful teacher.
Consider what Alma the Younger says about the turning of his heart.
Alma 36:12 But I
was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was
harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.
13 Yea, I did remember
all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I
saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.
…
14…in fine so great
had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my
God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.
15 Oh, thought I,
that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might
not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.
16 And now, for three
days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.
17 And it came to
pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while
I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins,
behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning
the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
18 Now, as my mind
caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God,
have mercy on me, who am bin the gall of bitterness, and am encircled
about by the everlasting chains of death.
19 And now, behold,
when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed
up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light
I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
21 Yea, I say unto
you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains.
Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing
so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
If we allow the language
in DC138:59 to not be sequential to 58 but simply elaborating 58 then both are simply
rephrasing what Alma recounted about his experience in hell.. “as I was wracked with pain…I remembered…” Now we can see the consistency and
that pain of guilt and clarity of its ramifications is hell. Hell is a harsh teacher
that then brought him to reach out to Jesus, who healed and cleansed him. That cleansing
made him worthy of salvation and a reward according to his works. In fine, he did not suffer for his sins
in the sense of paying of a debt to some sin accountant, he suffered because or
as a natural result of his sins. You don’t want Jesus, OK see what a clear recollection
of all your guilt feels like…some serious suffering (as I have suffered!) That is
what Jesus was saying in DC19 You can learn
the easy way or the hard way, but to get into the peace of heaven, you have to be
heavenly….Thats why the Holy writ says “the dead WHO REPENT will be redeemed” “and washed clean and shall then receive a reward
according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation.”
It is understandable
how a simple read can be interpreted one way or another, but taken in context and
in light of all we believe about the central role of Jesus, to make an exception
that one could go to any part of heaven without accepting and being cleansed and
readied for heaven is out of character; actually unprecedented. A faithful understanding
of the love of God and Jesus’ atonement allows us to see the majestic truth that
His hand is continually outstretched to all his children; even in death to those
who may have previously rejected Him. It is His atoning sacrifice and that alone
that can bring us all (who will) home; By His balm we are transformed, sanctified
and made worthy and compatible with the mansion He prepared for us.
In other words, one
neither earns your way to heaven nor suffers one’s way out of hell to get to heaven.
Only through the balm of Gilead, prescribed by the great physician himself and applied
by the Holy Spirit, can we be transformed, refined and made compatible (justified
or aligned) with the heaven we are now made worthy to partake in.
Brother
Steve
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Who was Jesus? How did he do what he
did for humanity and why in particular did he have to die?
Setting the stage for that discussion,
(see Essay
57) we begin to understand Jesus by looking
at ‘Jesus the boy’ and tried to appreciate what the children’s song “Jesus Once
was a Little Child” was trying to convey. Then in (See Essay 45) we examined ‘Jesus the man’; “How can someone like me ever be anything like
Him?” I love this picture of Jesus overlooking Jerusalem, captured by the artist
Greg Olsen.
His contemplative mood speaks to Jesus’
perplexity working with His followers who seemed to be a bit slow to catch on as
illustrated by his occasional impatience…
Math 17:16 I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.”
Then, we tackled the big question.
Great Men of God have described Jesus as the “final Sacrifice” or augmented the
theme with words like “an infinite atonement” and a
host of allegorical approaches have been offered but the basic idea that one person
can be punished for another’s deeds seemed unfair and conceptualizing paying off
a debt seemed non-effectual. In Alma, the Man of God makes this very point
Alma 34:8–12 11 Now there is not
any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another.
Now, if a man murdereth, behold will our law, which is just, take the life of
his brother? I say unto you, Nay.
But then Amulek kind of throws up his hands and says
that this is something else. He doesn’t know how to describe it other
than to say ‘its Infinite’.
12 But the law requireth the life of him who hath
murdered; therefore there can be nothing which is short of an infinite
atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world.
Taken on its face it could be read
like “Yes, it’s the wrong concept but if the wrong thing is done infinitely
then it becomes a right!” I don’t think that was his intent. He simply did not have
the words to explain that this atonement would be “infinitely” different
in both its scope method and end effect. In fine, if the point of punishment is to effect change,
how does punishing the wrong person accomplish the goal? It wouldn’t. Jesus’ atonement
must mean something different. In fact, the word used is the tell. (To become one
with or to unite with)
Those topics were previously addressed
in Essay 59 and in
much more detail in the seminal Essays
30 wherein we discussed the metaphysical Jesus; His atoning sacrificial experience
between all of us and Himself. That miracle, by any human understanding, permits
our effective healing and reformation – even our sanctification, being made ready
to experience heaven, having become heavenly.
So clearly to bring his children home,
as we also learn in the ‘Parable of the Prodigal Son’, God Holds back nothing to
that end. What is taking place is that important! This is poignantly captured in
the famous utterance:
For God so loved
the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may
not perish, but may have life everlasting. ... For God loved the world in this way
John 3:16: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
will not perish but have eternal life.
But why then the final sacrifice
of his mortal life? Why is his untimely, even violent death, integral and concluding
to Jesus’ atoning experience? The key concept clarified in the Book of Mormon is
that Jesus’ atoning sacrifice largely took place in the Garden of Gethsemane, away
from the eyes of the crowd; the pain unseen and unperceivable by all but Jesus.
DC 19 18 Which suffering caused myself, even
God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore,
and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup,
and shrink—19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations
unto the children of men.
Even the great drops of blood went
largely unseen as an angel attended him in the ordeal. What the people saw was the
subsequent public spectacle; the betrayal, the public lies, the rejection by the
crowd, the spitting, flogging and finally the heavy cross and the cruel nails. That
was a sacrifice they could palpably understand and empathize with.
Jesus foretold of the spectacle of
His final hour paraphrasing ‘I will die is Jerusalem at the hands of the Elders
and the Gentiles’ and yet be glorified as to My person’. In this allegorical statement
He speaks of the important outcome:
John 12:23-24 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the
Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain
of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces
much grain.
It is said
Jesus experienced life like us and in the garden atoning experience He actually
experienced us; personally, individually. Experienced life like us? How so?
He was
born in poverty, a refugee, a blended family, rejected by at least some brothers
and then by his whole town attempting to kill him; a recurring theme later. He was
a vagabond, a homeless wanderer, experiencing temptations of all kids, fame to failure.
Remember his plea_John 6:67 “will you leave me also”…Triumph in the grand Jerusalem entrance
and then quickly back to back tragedy and betrayal. He suffered the death of his
earthly father and also his dearest friend Lazareth. Then simply the Holy writ says,
John 11:35 Jesus Wept.
OK but why die an ignominious death
or die at all? I think is comes to this.
Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Based on his life, his personally experiencing you, all
will know and confess that nothing we experience was outside the scope of Jesus’s
understanding. He truly is the kindred spirit. But He was not only like us in life’s
experience, but also in death. Nephi speaks of Jesus conquering both Death
AND Hell His atonement began in that garden but finished on the cross.
He Descended below all things; nothing held back, even his life.
But If he had to suffer , could it
not have been foreshortened? Perhaps, but time means nothing to God and even we
ourselves cannot feel time once it has passed but is simply recalled as a series
of events.
Of all the gifts we hold dear, life is above all most precious and we cling
to it tenaciously, yet Jesus held nothing back. He is my Hero in the truest sense
of the word.
John 15:12 …love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
As for redeeming Death and demonstrating
conclusively that man is a spiritual being having a mortal experience, that
there is ultimate justice and eternal mercy, He had to first die just like the rest
of us and that death needed to be so public that no one could reasonably deny that
Jesus of Nazareth died. If a claim is to be made that the bands of death have been
broken, the death to begin with needed to be witnessed and by a lot of people!
Acts 26:26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak
freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this
thing was not done in a corner.
The key preface for the Book of Mormon
likewise lays claim:
1 Nephi 13:40 …and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people,
that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and
that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.
I love that line, “This thing was not
done in a corner!” To triumph over death, to demonstrate and provide confidence
that there is life after death, Jesus needed to return FROM the dead. So, His death could not reasonably be faked. Likewise, Jesus’ resurrection
had to be witnessed by many people in different locations. Ascending from his last
visit (40-day ministry) 500 folks saw him. That his faith propagated so quickly,
that all his apostles and thousands of his followers willingly gave themselves to
gruesome deaths to defend their faith, speaks to the veracity of the claim that
many many people saw and witnessed to their dying breath that Jesus lived AFTER
death.
Finally, let me add my own testimony
that I asked God the Father in Jesus name if He was and is. He came through the intercession of the Holy Spirit
to me in my mind and heart and healed me and revealed a new way of being. I became
a new creature after experiencing Jesus. So that’s how I know He lives and what
a comfort that sweet sentence is. Ref my
personal story See Essay47.How
the Scriptures Brought Me to Christ
Ref Hymn by Samuel Medley
I know that my Redeemer lives.
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead.
He lives, my ever-living Head.
He lives to bless me with his love.
He lives to plead for me above.
He lives my hungry soul to feed.
He lives to bless in time of need.
He lives to grant me rich supply.
He lives to guide me with his eye.
He lives to comfort me when faint.
He lives to hear my soul's complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears.
He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart.
He lives all blessings to impart.
He lives, my kind, wise heav'nly Friend.
He lives and loves me to the end.
Brother
Steve
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I have thought long
about our conversation I had with and old friend who when confronted by works of
opposition to our faiths early history had come to question not only the faith but
faith altogether. I was recently introduced to a marvelous historian who runs a
fireside style blog site on Facebook called HistoryOfTheSaints by Rawson. He speak intimately to the roots of those concerns.
Ignoring my own personal
unimpeachable interactions with God on these matters, the analytical logical side
of me has to manage the conflict of evidence. The naysayers have been doing yeoman’s
work for 200 years to attempt to build a circumstantial case for a cabal of conspirators;
Rigdon, Cowdery, Smith plagiarizing and making up perhaps the grandest fraud of
all time. Why such a dedicated effort to bring down another faith is maybe worth
its own book, but for my study, the problem rests on the utter lack of real hard
evidence. There is no silver stake to the heart such as a claimed “Manuscript Found”
nor can you go to a museum to view for yourself the lab certified golden plates.
So, we can but look to witnesses…and there are quite a few.
We have in fact a plethora of unimpeachable witnesses
not part of ‘The Three Amigos’ comprising the proposed conspirators. There are so
many people beyond the inner trio, who like that inner circle, lost all, and many
who became completely, ferociously disaffected from Joseph. It’s just flat out unprecedented
for so many of a disintegrating conspiracy to hold such a terribly intricate secret
to everyone’s last breath. Keeping that stupendously complicated lie straight would
be quite a deal!
Then we have those who
intimately new the trio and experienced miracles and revelation. Consider how many
touched and saw the tokens of the story and never recanted either. Like Martin Harris
losing his wife and farm and being humbled many times for his trouble. Such a cabal
there never was! Even when everything is falling apart, all is lost and your very
life has been nearly lost and threatened again....and again...and for what?
Even after the focus of the story, Joseph, is gone, voluntarily going to his certain
death (for the lie???), the company comes back to join themselves once again with
NOTHING but debasement and humility to be rewarded with. Yet each man, each woman
goes to their graves with the truth of the gospel story on their lips.
Now that is some kind of spellbinder - I’d have to say.
The remarkable thing is that millions and millions of the world’s peoples who never
saw the tokens marking the origins of the church and have been challenged to do
just one thing, “Ask God?” and they walk away with their own “Golden Plates” experiences
that changes their lives forever.
In one case, some fellow or gal oddly spends a good chunk of their life to weave
together a tale of circumstantial stories to argue an origin in lies and more often
than not the non-existence of God and his hand in our lives. On the other hand,
we have numerous folks with personal intimate hands-on knowledge of all the particulars
and stuck to the story of an honorable but flawed prophet and gold plates and an
alive and very active God.
I just look back using Occam's Razor as a guide for my logic. What is more reasonable
or at least plausible?
My hard logic favors
the LDS story. My own experiment with God matches that logic so there is no cognitive
dissonance as the testimonies match my own reality.
Glen Rawson is a historian and master story teller who draws often from more obscure
but verified journals and letters to give you a close in, behind the scenes, view
that will make the few stories offered by the haters dissipate like mold under intense
light.
His firesides should be a must hear to every person struggling with what they been
presented as “logic”. If someone has woven a circumstantial tale that has caused
you to question your own experiences with God, then listen to some of the witnesses
who were there. Lend an ear to back stories you probably never heard or as Paul
Harvey used to say, “the rest of the story”.
In that light, I highly commend this Video Blog called HistoryOfTheSaints by Rawson for your consideration.
God is real, I’ve heard all sides to this topic and weighed the evidence and found
the naysayers wanting and God’s restored Kingdom of Jesus Christ to be exactly what
it purported to be.
Brother
Steve
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FLATTERY and PRIDE; It's an unusual
but repeated them in the Book of Mormon that for many years I could not relate with
- It would describe how a personality would use flattery to gain prominence - I
could not understand how that would be and then this year it finally hit me what
they were talking about.
We often think about flattery is a direct statement, but that is easily spotted
and just as easily dismissed as gratuitous but when flattery is indirectly applied
our alerts are not piqued and we can be subtly seduced.
Consider a sports team for your town and how so many people attach their
sense of well-being to whether the team wins or losses. Consider how often a politician
is promoted; so smart, so successful... like the equivalent of the English Royals
- they become celebrities and surrogates for our own popularity or success. Vote
for us. We are smart. We are popular and if you support us - you vicariously are
smart & popular.
We saw this play out with the election of one of the US presidents. “Oh he’s
a college professor – He’s so smart and he’s black”….the implication – if you vote
for him you must be smart and as a bonus you receive absolution for
your white guilt! Such a deal; you get Flattered and Pride boost in one pull of
the lever!
In contrast consider the election of another president with none of the spit
and polish of a politician who appealed to the people and won. His detractors incessantly
posited that he was unpopular with both celebrities and especially with Europeans
that ‘we desperately need approval from as they are always sooo sophisticated with
Oh those wonderful accents.’ The implication not so subtly delivered was that ‘If
he’s not popular with Hollywood or sport ‘heros’ you don’t want to hook your horse
to that wagon! What would that say about you! Clearly only rubes and peasants
would support such a bumbkin in the Whitehouse.’
And thus by subtle flattery and appeal to pride, the adversary leads even
good people carefully down to subjugation. The Book of Mormon repeatedly teaches
us to liken the scriptures to you own day to be especially aware of Pride and Flattery.
Now I see why.
Brother
Steve
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I had a pleasant, but in the end, a rather disturbing conversation
the other day with a co-founder of a Christian based youth organization, Trail Life,
aimed at replacing what the BSA organization had provided before its drift to the
left.
At some point in our rather lengthy probing conversation he
just came out and said it; ironically couching that while he was not the judge he
was certain that only possibly a few members of my church, The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints, would be saved and our worship of a “different Jesus, or God”
disqualified us from participation in any sponsorship or leadership role in their
group!
Some years back on the first climbing adventure with an evangelical
acquaintance, my friend admitted that prior to meeting me that, “He didn’t think
it was possible for a Mormon to be saved, but feeling the spirit of God in all our
conversations he concluded that the only way that was possible was if I was saved;
a thought he had never thunk!” I suppose based on that and according to Trail Life’s
“non-judgmental” co-founder, I must be one of the very few lucky Mormons destined
to squeak my way past the pearly gates after all.
So, what's all this angst about anyway? When I was a young
man, I read a book that dealt with Christian dogmas in early American history. I
remember reading the official catechisms of several prominent faiths. Several of
them shocked me due to their remarkably uncharitable positions. One, I set to memory
said:
“the gateway
of hell are lined with the skulls of little children who died unbaptized.” “Gosh,”
I thought, “can reasoning folk actually believe God to be so obviously cruel???”
I kind of dismissed this until, as a missionary, I knocked
on a door in Norway. The man who answered seemed dumbfounded that we would waste
our time preaching to a “Christian” nation when, said he,
“...millions of Africans are dying and going to
hell from lack of our preaching.”
You might dismiss this as definitely fringe, rather than official
as it once was, but I have to relate than one too many a “Christian” minister has
taken the pulpit recently and even locally to warn their congregations of the hell
awaiting the “un-saved” Mormons. The remarkable thing about such polar teachings
is the incongruent assertion from many a sect that all Christian roads lead to Heaven,
except that is … the Mormon road; they are going to hell for sure along with heaps
of Catholics, Muslims, Hindus, atheists and other assorted agnostics!
Of those religions professing Jesus, it has been my experience
that for most, the egalitarian position that all churches are equivalently acceptable
stops short as soon as one’s proselytizing efforts robs one congregation’s coffers
of parishioners (contributors). I suppose that may sound cynical, but Christ’s sharpest
critics and Joseph’s as well were always those who stood to lose power and money.
It truly is the Achilles heel of any religion led by a paid clergy. They are inherently
unmotivated to seek truth beyond their own borders.
The lynch pin of their anxious concern is the claim that “how
you imagine ‘God the incomprehensible’ in your finite puny mind” somehow precludes
the immensity of God to respond with grace to you and to accept your striving to
reach him. If you do not visualize ‘the invisible God’ the way they visualize what
can’t be seen in the flesh, then that great and terrible Oz will strike you down
and roast you in unbearable torment – not ‘til you wise up and get the right vision,
but for all eternity!
Do I paint the picture correctly or do I exaggerate? I may
have spoken starkly and perhaps a bit glibly, but I lay the claim out as their parishioners
would have heard it - minus the wise crack about Oz; I’ll admit.
When they say “You worship a different Jesus or God” – there
might well be something to that. But, does how we worship change God? What does
‘to worship’ or ‘to Love’ mean anyway?
The scriptures teach to Love God:
Math 22:36-37“Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”
Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first
and greatest commandment.…
Let’s start with what is meant by those words, “worship” and
“Love.” The 1st commandment speaks to exactly those words, but words are symbols
for thoughts and actions. When we say, “I love a person,” there are two paths:
1) A relationship
involving communication or exchange of benevolence. He grants me blessing. He inspires
me, He saves me, Etc. This speaks to a personal, intimate experience.
2) An admirable
characteristic; a superlative of perfection in some characteristic: Counselor, Everlasting,
All Powerful, All Knowing, All Loving, All Wise, Full of Grace and Truth, the Prince
of Peace, Etc.
Addressing the 2nd, I just have to ask the reader, if we added
to the list of God’s attributes these other superlatives - tormentor, capricious,
dictator, ferocious, unmerciful, illogical, angry….would those words describe the
being that roasts Mormons and Hindus and unsaved Africans alike – and that even
for his good pleasure as the Calvinists actually believe and write extensively about??
He who would know called us His children. He claims to love
us and extends His hand to us to bridge the gap and that hand is continually outstretched.
Is it then consistent with a loving Father that if you can’t comprehend his astrophysics
and calculous in time that he will beat you with fire brands and pull your fingernails
with unending tortures? Is that what FEAR God was intended to mean?
May I suggest that God is NOT a creature of our mental gymnastics
– NOT a creature of our construction or puny imaginations. And if your imaginations
or visualization as a child changes and expands or even shrinks as an adult, that
same God that answered your prayer as a child is still there to reach your reaching
as an adult however you attempt to see the invisible power that made us all.
If your God is a god of peace and magnanimity, then perhaps
we do worship the same God after all. But regardless of the nature or your worship,
God will not change for your imagining nor alter his nature whatever name or language
you use to reach Him. He will still be there and I'm confident will reach your reaching
because he reached mine and made me a new creature and set my feet on a new path.
He replaced my stony heart with a fleshy one. I know that Jesus Lives because he
answers my prayers and saves me and since I am not unique I'm quite certain my experience
can be duplicated.
A dear LDS friend Jay Whiting responded
to the same critique in this wise – a sentiment I fully endorse,
“I worship the Jesus who died on the cross for me, who suffered and
bled from every pore for me, who rose again the third day and overcame death and
…who still lives today! The Jesus whose grace sets me free, who forgives my sins
and floods my soul with the Holy Ghost every time I come to Him with a broken heart
and a contrite spirit, whether it be from godly sorrow for my sins, or the misfortunes
and trials of life, or even when the weight of my gratitude and love for Him and
all He gives me - causes my heart to break in thanks and praise!”
All my best to you fellow seekers,
Brother
Steve
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In this recent election each party or
candidate made every effort to show their special difference - the reason you should
vote for them. Fair enough but after the dust settles on these contests the real
work of governing and living together in peace and prosperity begins. If we continue
to focus on that Diversity Without emphasizing Unity (common goals and aspirations)
it can only lead to Destructive Chaos.
But With common goals and Unity, like
glue in plywood, the whole is far stronger than the sum of the parts. In a previous
post I had pointed out that Our nation’s flag, with its stripes, stands for such
diversity of people’s and regional interests - working together and bound to each
other by the aspirational goals of Peace Justice and Liberty for All.
Likewise, those 50 stars represent each
state’s commitment to those unifying goals declaring that, ‘Together We Are Great.’
These are critical understandings as popular
culture, businesses and political parties beat this drum of multiculturalism as
if in an end to itself and the results are a society that at times seems at the
verge tearing itself apart!
You can have peace and prosperity with
a unified mono culture or with a unified poly-culture but nothing will go well if
the emphasis is on the differences rather than what is in common.
So, tolerate diversity; appreciate its
value, even enjoy its variety but above all else, Celebrate Unity! Jesus said it
this way, “If you are not one you are not mine” and later reminded his followers
that “a house divided cannot stand.”
Let us all find unity in the message of
‘Old Glory’ as we collectively lock arms and strive for the common goals of Peace,
Justice and Liberty for All.
Brother
Steve
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You look at the political map and two
things emerge about areas around the big cities where government dependency is high
and tech areas where the number of folks with formal education is high. What causes
otherwise intelligent people to chose evil and captivity over righteousness and
liberty?
It’s been my observation that “common”
people have retained the most common sense. I’m finding that being highly educated
is just a nice way of saying there’s a good chance you’ve been highly indoctrinated
and brainwashed. Yes, it may have taken 4 years or even 8 but it’s effective at
Washing almost any common sense out of a good many of them...not all but all together
too many.
It’s surprising how many of those, who
like myself, are “degreed” can’t tolerate even a simple conversation about what
I’ll call ‘the nonsense of human cause global warming’ or what is patently obvious
- ‘the human caused pandemic!’
These educated fools will literally shut
the conversation down as heresy. The intellect that both educated and common folk
posses is blinded by fanatical devotion to what is no more nor less than the secular
dogma of earth worshipers.
They even sacrifice babies on alters to
appease the gods of their own making. These modern day high priests of Baal learned
well from the ancient dictators on how to appeal to sensuality and devalue persons
to no more than commodities soon to vanish.
But those who resist the messages from
the re-education camps, who reject the siren songs of their cultural high priestesses
manage to retain that God given common sense that tells us we are of Eternal Value;
why? because we are the very children of God and what a difference that makes when
we recognize our rights are NOT granted by a democratic majority but are inalienable.
Thomas Jefferson was spot on when he declared what every ‘common’ man still understands,
that “we hold these truths self evident.”
And so it is.
Brother
Steve
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I think there are some folks that so prefer the flattery of
smooth-talking politicians they will countenance virtually any evil from communism
to tearing baby’s apart limb from limb as long as they speak sweet nothings into
our "itching ears". If there is any lesson I learned from the Book of
Mormon, it was how flattery and pride could be used by smooth talkers. Dangling
shiny object, they could bamboozle even virtuous populations into society destructive
actions. Jesus warned and advised us to use a tree's fruit as proof - not the outward
appearance and language and "to avoid heaping upon ourselves teachers, having
itching ears."
FLATTERY and PRIDE is a repeated theme in the Book of Mormon
that for many years I could not relate with - It would describe how a personality
would use flattery to gain prominence - I could not understand how that would be
and then this year it finally hit me what they were talking about.
We often think about flattery is a direct statement, but that
is easily spotted and just as easily dismissed as gratuitous but when flattery is
indirectly applied our alerts are not piqued and we can be subtly seduced.
Consider a sports team for your town and how so many people
attach their sense of well-being to whether the team wins or losses. Consider how
often a politician is promoted; so smart, so successful... like the equivalent of
the English Royals - they become celebrities and surrogates for our own popularity
or success. Vote for us. We are smart. We are popular and if you support us - you
vicariously are smart & popular.
We saw this play out with the election of Barak Obama. Oh he’s
a college professor – He’s so smart and he’s black….the implication – if you vote
for him you must be smart and as a bonus you receive absolution for your white guilt!
Such a deal; you get Flattery and Pride in one pull of the lever!
In contrast consider the election of Donald Trump. His detractors
promoted that he was unpopular with celebrities and Europeans that we desperately
need approval from as they are always sooo sophisticated with Oh those wonderful
accents. If he’s not popular with Hollywood or sport ‘heroes’ you don’t want to
hook your horse to that wagon! What would that say about you! Clearly only rubes
and peasants would support such a bumkin in the Whitehouse.
And thus, by subtle flattery and appeal to pride, the adversary
leads even good people carefully down to subjugation. BOM repeatedly teaches to
be aware of Pride and Flattery. Now I see why.
Brother
Steve
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There is a scripture
in the book of Ether about a King Morinanton:
10 And after that he had established
himself king he did ease the burden of the people, by which he did gain favor in
the eyes of the people, and they did anoint him to be their king.
11 And he did do justice unto the people, but not unto himself because of his many
whoredoms; wherefore he was cut off from the presence of the Lord.
12 And it came to pass that Morianton built up many cities, and the people became
exceedingly rich under his reign, both in buildings, and in gold and silver, and
in raising grain, and in flocks, and herds, and such things which had been restored
unto them.
I am not suggesting
this describes any of the current candidates but this scripture is instructive.
This election is not about a Man, it’s about a tipping point for a radical departure
from the America our founder bequeathed to us.
In an interview with Bernie Marcus, the founder of Home Depot
was asked.
“Why are you voting for Trump? He’s rough, rude, aggressive—completely
un-presidential. I don’t understand.”
Bernie smiled and quietly replied.
“Well, you know, I thought about General Patton. He used coarse
language, his manners weren’t pleasing to the ladies, and his language sure offended
a lot of Christians. But we needed him to win a war. Trump is our General Patton,
and we’re in a war we have to win.”
I believed then and I believe even more strongly now that our
battle is against powers and principalities. And in a war between good and evil,
we’ve seen the demons loosed and the masks come off. Evil forces aren’t even pretending
to be civil anymore. I am on my knees for my children and grandchildren; I’m daily
interceding in prayer for my beloved country, my cherished Christian heritage, and
so much more. With all due respect and appreciation for the kind, well-spoken orators,
it’s time to wake up and welcome our General Patton.”
This speech should
be heard by every man
Brother
Steve
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If a party is
leaning towards socialism/communism...it is leaning to weaken individual liberty...and
constitutional law.
“Communism is not a political
party nor a political plan under the Constitution; it is a system of government
that is the opposite of our Constitutional government. …
“Since Communism, established,
would destroy our American Constitutional government, to support Communism is treasonable
to our free institutions, and no patriotic American citizen may become either a
Communist or supporter of Communism. …
“We call upon all Church
members completely to eschew [shun] Communism. The safety of our divinely inspired
Constitutional government and the welfare of our Church imperatively demand that
Communism shall have no place in America” (signed: Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark,
Jr., David O. McKay, The First Presidency, in Deseret News, 3 July 1936; italics
added).
More recently,
President Marion G. Romney, in the First Presidency Message in the September 1979
Ensign, wrote:
“Communism is Satan’s counterfeit
for the gospel plan, and … it is an avowed enemy of the God of the land. Communism
is the greatest anti-Christ power in the world today and therefore the greatest
menace not only to our peace but to our preservation as a free people. By the extent
to which we tolerate it, accommodate ourselves to it, permit ourselves to be encircled
by its tentacles and drawn to it, to that extent we forfeit the protection of the
God of this land” (p. 5).
The truth is,
we have to a great extent accommodated ourselves to Communism—and we have permitted
ourselves to become encircled by its tentacles. Though we give lip service to the
Monroe Doctrine, this has not prevented Cuba from becoming a Soviet military base,
ninety miles off our coastline, nor has it prevented the takeover of Nicaragua in
Central America, the surrender of the Panama Canal, or the infiltration by enemy
agents within our American borders.
A Witness and
a warning
Ezra T
Benson: was
President of the church when He testified of this truth. Back to Top of the Document
I used to think I was pretty much just a regular person, but
I was born into a two-parent household which now labels me as "Privileged".
I am a fiscal and moral conservative, which by today's standards, makes me a fascist
because I plan & budget. But I now find out that I am not here because I earned
it, but because I was "advantaged” and stayed in school..
I am heterosexual, which according to some folks, now makes
me a homophobe. I believe the Lord did not give me the heart to judge others. I
am not a Muslim, which now labels me as an infidel. I believe in the 2nd Amendment,
which makes me a threat to the liberals. I am older than 40, making me a useless
person with outdated ideas and values. I think and I reason, and I doubt much of
what the "mainstream" media tells me, which makes me a "Right-wing
conspiracy nut”.
I am proud of my heritage and our inclusive American culture,
making me a xenophobe. I believe in hard work, fair play, and fair compensation
according to each individual's merits, which today makes me a target of socialists
and Antifa. I believe our system guarantees freedom of effort - not freedom of outcome
or subsidies which must make me a borderline sociopath.
I believe in a strong defense and protection of America for
and by all citizens, now making me a militant. I am proud of our flag, what it stands
for and the many who died to let it fly, so I stand and salute during our National
Anthem - so I must be a sell out. I kneel only for The Father, which makes me racist.
I think that all lives matter, which labels me as a racist. I think the riots and
destruction of property around our country are wrong and are just an excuse to push
a political agenda, so I'm labeled a racist.
I support our law enforcement, servicemen and women, which
labels me as an Uncle Tom.
I question how fear is being used to control us during the
COVID-19 pandemic and think the crisis is being used for political gain, so I'm
labeled careless and non-sympathetic. Yet I know the virus is real.
Liberals have tried to make me feel bad about who I am! Based
on everything above, some want me to believe I am a bad person; I'm not, I'm a good
person who loves my God, my family and my country
Unknown
author
The narrative that some are being oppressed based on race pushed
by the BLM movement was spearheaded initially by Obama and currently is enthusiastically
being backed by the Democrat party as our cities burn. Others, not aware of the
communist agenda behind BLM, have fallen in line, either believing the propaganda
or in some cases essentially buying protection from the mob.
But there is a deep wound being created and enlarged daily
by telling people they should be aggrieved. Like the stories in the Book of Mormon,
segments of the society are being taught to hate and feel ripped off. Sideling up
to the BLM narrative in any way is setting the stage for our society being torn
apart.
This man's hatred (Ref Article) springs from the BLM movement.
To turn this emerging civil strife to a healthier place, where
we can all live in peace and prosperity of our own devices, these 4 points are made
manifest:
·
We need to educate, embarrass and or shame ANY movement or action
(starting with this one) that is based on anything beside the content of a person's
character.
·
We need to remove from the Law books ANY vestige that accounts for
or provides advantage based on anything beside the content of a person's character.
·
We need to outlaw any employment application that accounts for or
provides advantage or disadvantage based on anything beside the content of a person's
character and his skills for the job.
We need to remove from office anyone who does not support this
manifesto.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
I have always been pointed and outspoken, but of late I have
been rather strident (perhaps too strident for my more liberal minded friends) about
the war we are entering. Yes, I said war. In a moment I will bring to bear what
3 modern day prophets had to say about this, but I must first speak to a psych-ops
that has been perpetrated on our population, preparing the minds of many of our
people for the unfolding events of late bringing us to the edge of a political revolution:
In a discussion recently, a couple friends claimed to Not be
trying to push a opinion, just a conversation…yet by the things posted and commentary
that’s exactly what was taking place, but why would there be a claim of some moral
superiority to feign some aloof detachment from the obvious position being asserted?
There has been an idea pushed about for some years now that
to be uncommitted in a thought was somehow equivalent to being open minded and thus
a place of moral superiority. But I think it no virtue to be Unable to draw
informed conclusion and act and advocate thereupon.
Perhaps more in the last 50 years, notably, our schools have
impressed the idea that there is no justification for violence. If a kid fights
back to defend himself, both kids are suspended without question. While it might
be just practical, avoiding the “who did what to who 1st,” what is overtly taught
is that you do Not have a right to defend yourself period; that sovereignty is transferred
to the teachers or administrators no matter what the circumstances.
Even judgments are argued to be suspended in the name of tolerance
of differences and promotion of “diversity” thus training up a generation with the
inability to judge anything.
The adversary would have us believe that there is no absolute
right and thus, no absolute wrong. This is the basis for the wave of moral relativism
sweeping the western world. The society’s PC police will take care of the thinking
for you. Our intellectual sovereignty is expected to be transferred to the collective.
Covid has actually been a very useful tool to reinforce the
abrogation of personal choice and to prepare the population to total dependency
on the state. They are taking away freedom of choice. They are taking over business
and outlawing religious practice. Any question as to motives or methods is met with
almost religious fervor and even violence.
The LDS people have a somewhat expanded understanding as to
WHY the devil rebelled and it had to do with proposing to forgo man’s freedom of
choice – Lucifer would guarantee at least outward righteousness and for that feat,
he would ascend even greater than God….Do you see now why there is so much alignment
with the former Slave Masters, the Democrat elites and the Communist dictators?
The red thread running through them all is the “moral” justification
for power and control over the underclass and pride and arrogant self-exultation
on the part of the would-be ruling class. Believe me Democrats feel great self-satisfaction
spending your money to attempt to fix some underclass’s problem. Just the attempt
is sufficient to achieve the euphoria of the power trip; results can always be improved
with more money... next election cycle.
Please listen to what the prophets said!
The Prophet Ezra T Benson wrote,
”It is a time, therefore, that every American become
alerted and informed about the aims, tactics, and schemes of socialism and communism
which are essentially a war against God and [his] plan for [our] salvation, which
is based on freedom of choice.”
The Prophet David O McKay added,
“No true
[Christian] and no true American can be a socialist or a communists OR support programs
leading in that direction! These Evil philosophies are incompatible with Americanism
and the true gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Apostle ,Statesman, Legal Professor,
Ruben J Clark said,
“The paths
we are following, if we move forward thereon, will inevitably lead us to socialism
or communism and these are like two peas in a pod in their ultimate effect upon
our liberties…We may first observe that communism and socialism –cannot live with
Christianity, nor with any religion that postulates a Creator such as the Declaration
of Independence recognizes…. under statism God must go and with Him goes freedom
of conscience and of religion…”
To ignore these prophets is at one's peril and unfortunately
my fate is linked to those about me. “I told you so” will hardly serve to assuage
my anguish if the socialist/communist take the unfettered reigns of power over our
lives this November. They are not even hiding the intent of the Sanders Socialist-communist
platform!
Hear the words of these prophets if you cannot hear mine. Complaining
about harsh sounding tweets as a reason to allow the communists to finally take
over openly is going to sound mighty hollow. Let it not come to that. This will
not be a choice between the lesser of two evils but simply which choice leads to
cherishing the American way and preserving our freedoms vs one more catastrophic
failed attempt at statism.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
I watched these crazed rioters harassing and brutalizing others
in the 'holy' name of anti-racism and saw even Governors and a former president
pandering to the crowd self-righteously fanning the flames of anger by instantly
assigning racists motive to every unpleasant encounter of a black tinted individual
with police.
The worst part of Racists (clannish or tribal) attitudes is
it’s as infectious as Covid and is not reserved for any particular color of skin.
In a recent post, a drunk white fellow was describes ranting obviously feeling threatened
by all things black and was lashing back with crazed anger. Once you start this
cycle rolling it can pick up momentum from all corners. It only stops with me and
it stops with you.
As a young preteen (white), I was attacked by a jealous crowd
(like 50) brown skinned individuals. After getting robbed and roughed up I escaped
running bare foot across a field strewn with broken glass....I learned for the 1st
time that one of these was not being treated like the others. I had never noticed!
That's how I was raised; Jesus loves everybody...
As a high school kid walking through a doorway at school I
was clobbered on the head with high heeled shoes by a group black girls. I was reminded
again that one of these was not like the other. Fortunate for me I was raised in
a home that knew Jesus and understood "Father Forgive them for they know not
what they do."
Not everyone has that training and exposure to a more forgiving
path. So, the takeaway besides inviting to "meeting" is to follow MLK’s
advice and behaviorally try to stop judging and treating each other by skin tone.
When we identify by color, like BLM does, we emphasize color. For good or
evil we are racist when we treat people better or worse by reason of skin color.
I recall a classic Star Trek Episode where they encounter a
warring people who are black on one side and white on the other. Kirk is perplexed
and then flummoxed while negotiating with the two factions when finally, one of
them points out that the other fellow is white on the wrong side!
From an interview with Morgan Freeman:
Mike Wallace: “How are we going to get rid of racism….?”
Morgan Freeman:
“Stop talking about it. I'm going to stop calling you a white man, and I'm going
to ask you to stop calling me a black man. I know you as Mike Wallace. You know
me as Morgan Freeman. https://www.cnsnews.com/.../flashback-morgan-freeman...
Brother Steve Back
to Top of the Document
One general comment. There has been an idea pushed about for
some years now that ‘to be uncommitted’ in a thought was somehow equivalent ‘to
being open minded’ and thus a place of moral superiority. But I think it no virtue
to be unable to draw informed conclusion and act and advocate thereupon.
In my writings and public addresses, I don't discuss for amusement
or to pass the time and I don't view being uncommitted to a viewpoint as a particular
virtue, just an uncompleted journey.
I discuss to pass on information or to make a point if I think
the data warrants that now informed opinion. I hear discussion to get information
and logical connections and occasionally are persuaded by new data and logic to
change my conclusions.
In fine, I follow the data and I strive for logic. Anyone should
feel free to keep adding data and argument - preferably free of obvious logical
fallacies and if I happen to trip into a fallacy myself(yes it happens), call me
out on it (with verifiable data and logic). I can take it and even appreciate it!
Steve, I hope you don't mind if I share your
first paragraph in my seminary class? I'll be mixing it with James 1:8 and back
to Alma 27:14... Good stuff.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
A Friend Offered in a conversation
on social media, "The Mormons got it right” Then someone asked simply, "I’m intrigued. What did they
get right?" Good question and intrigued myself I offered this exchange for
consideration:
"I cant speak for my friend, but its been quite fulfilling
for me. This may be a bit long to craft a brief synopsis but this comes to mind.
1) Despite the bold claims of being
the restored Kingdom of God and a huge missionary outreach, it actually makes no
claims of exclusive access to God or salvation or even truth, though its a great
place to find all of the above.
2) The focus on Jesus is so pervasive
and very much on sanctification. What I mean by that is readily found in Rom 8:16
that we are children of God with great potential because, like God, we have a spirit.
3) This very literal interpretation
of the Bible (no quote marks required) makes it astonishingly clear why Jesus would
take such extraordinary effort to save us; a nonsensical position if we were just
Talkie-gadget 2.0. When our potential as true children is appreciated, the whole
world and our troublesome experiences are seen in a whole new uplifting light.
4) With a proper understanding
of who we are to God, that which was intolerable we now see a blessing to be found
worthy to experience! that when He appears we shall see him, (WHY?) because we shall
be like him.
5) In other words, the atonement
of Jesus was not to pay off some cosmic sin accountant, but the price Jesus paid to be acquainted with our sins; "By His stripes we are healed.
Notice the emphasis on becoming, being healed. He experienced us personally
and is the kindred spirit, the ultimate physician with just the right medicine for
each of us.
He knows how to speak "Steve-speak."
because he experienced me. Many focus on loose language about paying for sins, making
Jesus to be a sort of sin smuggler (forgive the crudeness of the analogy) but Jesus'
entire ministry focused on becoming compatible with heaven and made no such
promise that with a snap of God's finger you would cease to be you.
6) Our Christian experience should
be making changes daily; incrementally bringing us back to God. Too many who get
"saved" are handed their "get out of hell free" card and use
it freely! crucifying Jesus anew as the Bible warns. The restored gospel's emphasis
(certainly not unique) on becoming is healthy and often refreshing.
7) Last in a list that could be
much longer, is ‘order.’ Priesthood or the power to act in God’s name, is not a
free-for-all grab bag. When we get sent to do His work it’s not because we lobbied
and got the most votes it’s because we were called and responded to that call. His
house is a house of order."
Brother Steve Back
to Top of the Document
What does a flag stand for... ?
Nearly 20 years ago at the beginning of the Iraq war, some
folks who found fault with our nation began to protest. I found this blank ugly
vacant rock retainer wall in Preston WA near our home & began putting up patriotic
themed messages supportive of our troops and their mission. It became a safe place
to show our love of America. In little time other patriots joined the effort and
I looked on with admiration to what those patriots added.
Not all those in our midst love or appreciate America though
or perhaps just focus on its deficits and at least once placed a mocking disparaging
comment. In the local paper and a personal note to the individual, I publicly informed
of the history and intent of that spot and I am pleased to say that for these many
years that intent has largely been honored by our local citizenry.
Recently with the angst of Covid detention raising tempers
and tragic events that were used to showcase grievances, a beautiful sign honoring
the goals of ‘Peace, Liberty & Justice’ was briefly sarcastically editorialized/graffitied
by what must clearly be a fundamental misunderstanding of what our nation’s flag
is.
Our nation’s flag is NOT a monument to an accomplishment. It
is a banner to rally about and toward to fight for a cause. In the last verse, seldom
sung, of our national anthem are these words: “Praise the Power that hath made and
preserved us a nation.Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this
be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
I love the sentiment that we can be justly pleased that God’s
blessings have yet manifest itself in so many ways that the masses of the world
still flock to our shores- and for good reason - but I also love that sentiment
because those who see the glass 1/2 empty, a promissory note not fully backed by
those precious goals of Peace Liberty and Justice, can also rally around that flag
that represents those ideals in perfect form.
Prudent citizens are able to see both sides; the progress and
the deficits and are thankful to be in this great nation that deeply desire those
ideals and it’s people pray daily to “mend its every flaw” as the song “America
the Beautiful” aspires.
To that end, to clarify the meaning of a flag, I recently added
another flag just above the stated goals of “Peace Justice Liberty” with the words
interwoven in the stripes and referring to the many displayed flags...
“Symbolizes Our Unity in Striving Toward Precious Ideals of...”
“Peace Justice Liberty” which I think may be helpful to many.
May God bless America and soften our hearts one to another
as neighbors that we as a people remain worthy of His protective hand.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Today, at church we were studying
modern revelation and in particular what is called 'the 1st Vision' where Joseph
Smith testifies that he saw God the Father and His Son Jesus. This has much troubled
the broader Christian community, who more generally would argue, 'that's impossible,'
referencing Exodus 33:20
"You
cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.” Ironically this was followed
by the elders Seeing various parts of God...."
So you can See God....sometimes...under
certain circumstances!
The problem with taking that "cannot
see God" too broadly is that there are multiple places where the Bible recounts
others SEEING God, in some cases explicitly 'Face to Face'. For example, Genesis
32:30 "...
“I have seen God face to face, and yet my
life was spared.”
Even more illustrative, we have
Stephen in the New Testament being stoned to death for this pronouncement, Act 7:56
"“Look,” he said,
“I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand
of God.”…
The narrator quoting what Stephen
was heard to say was obviously trying to reconcile the "You cant See"
with the "I just Saw" event by adding
"...and saw 'the glory of' God and Jesus
standing at the right hand of God. “
It really takes a linguistic origami
exercise to make that say something other than its plain meaning that two
figures where seen.
Furthermore, if one is to argue
that Jesus IS the Father and one is just a different manifestation but both are
God, then clearly one CAN see God.
It follows then if one can argue
that Stephen can SEE Jesus standing on the right hand of God, that same means
would certainly be available to Joseph Smith. The advantage though is that this
time the person having the visionary experience with Jesus on the Right hand of
God lived long enough to write his 'own' descriptions of what happened to him rather
than being interpreted by someone not actually participating in the event.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Discovering Christ in and through the Book of Mormon & Bible
Mosiah 5:13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart? Takeaway – If you want to know God you have to experience God
Experiencing Christ by:
· Personal Connection though Prayer and Scripture Study and Fellowship
· Forgiveness, Redemption and Sanctification
· Service to others and family
Following
Christ by Staying Focused on the Lord,
Avoiding Pitfalls, Building Bridges,
· Sharing, Reading, Praying & Serving; Keeping your eye on the ball by staying involved
· Avoiding Spiritual Crocs; Pitfalls that damage, blind and deviate your course
· Relishing uplifting experiences that build Brotherhood/Sisterhood
Testifying
of Christ by Recognizing and Sharing
Experiences
Alma32:21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.
Alma 32:28 It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
· Shared Enlightenment – Like a great recipe - it was Delicious to me
· Outreaching to other seekers and the lost
“TESTIMONY” can be intimidating for a person wondering, “What do I have to offer? Where is my burning bush?” 1st of all, it’s Ok, maybe even preferable, to drop the formality; It doesn’t have to be a prayer structure. It may not even be doable to couch it so.
And for the most part few of the faithful have seen the parting of seas. Has there been a time when you felt close to God? – What was it that happened? If you felt that then can you feel so now? A burden was lifted. Guilt or remorse was transformed to joy and confidence in a new direction.
Building “testimony” means gathering experiences with God and remembering what happened. What about service and how you felt really good about it and it made you happy – even transformative? For example; I felt the Love of God today in our meeting. Our experience sharing dinner with Godly friends left me lifted and enlightened. I experienced a crystallization of knowledge and joy and complete comfort in that knowledge. Doubt vanished. I found a new direction. I became a new creature. I found strength to overcome.
Just tell us what happened to you. What did you see? What did you feel?
What did you experience? How were you enlightened? What burden was lifted? How have
you become a better person? How were you changed? How were you healed?
Experiment on God to find out what is real.
Scientific Method for Ferreting Out Truth “I am the truth”
To discover is
to un-cover what is already true Ref Alma
32:16-43(27)
God is the ultimate scientist
|
God Is an astrophysicist |
Let there be
Light |
Gen 1:3, Moses 1:4, Abr 1:31, 3:10, DC 88:12 |
|
God
is an Geologist |
Let waters … gather…let dry
land appear |
Gen 1:9 |
|
God
is a Botanist |
Place vegetation on the earth
|
Gen 1:11 |
|
God
is a Biologist |
Place animals- multiply in their
own sphere |
Gen 1:20-25 |
|
God
is Surgeon/Molecular-Biologist |
Take a rib and fashion a woman |
Gen 2:21; Moses 3:21 |
|
God
is our Father |
Let us make man..they have become
.. us |
Gen 1:26; |
|
God is the great Physician/ Healer |
he know[s]..
how to succor his people |
Alma 7:12, Jeremiah 33:6 3, Ne17:7 |
God authored, approves of and uses the Scientific Method (In other words “follow the data!”)
|
Prove me here with |
3 Nephi 24:10 (Malachi
3:10) |
|
Trial of your Faith more precious
than gold |
1Pet 1:7 |
|
Witness (knowledge) comes by
trial of faith |
Ether 12:6:7 |
The Scientific Method is God’s
Method (Alma
32, James 1:4-6)
|
Hypothesis |
A statement
of faith in an idea or principle |
Alma 32:26 |
|
Method |
“Trial of your
faith” |
Alma 32:28 |
|
Analysis |
“If you feel the… you must conclude…” |
Alma 32:29 |
|
Conclusion |
Ye have tried the experiment
and know! |
Alma 32:33 |
|
+ Next Steps |
“Oh then is this not real?” |
Alma 32:35,42 |
Experiment:
Hypothesis: God Exists and will make
Himself known to those who sincerely seek Him. IE being willing to respond and change
to His will. In other words, you are 1/2 the experiment. Math 7:7 Ask, Knock, Seek Failure to experiment with Light leaves one IN
Darkness John 8:12, Math 13:12, 2Ne28:30
Method -Procedures:
· Serving Fellow beings
· Immersion in His written word
· Prayer-Meditation
· Following His commands cheerfully - Experiencing is not just showing up
Data Record Experience: (James 1:2-8 ) listening, use your God given senses; Taste, Feel, Touch, Experience, Meditate, seek epiphany and the confirming spirit of peace/enlightenment
Analysis/review/retry: What did you experience? What did it mean or do within you?
· Clarity? Luke 24:32
· Peace? John 14:27.
· Enlightenment/Epiphany? Psalm 18:28, Daniel 2:22
· Forgiveness? Strength/Resolve/Determination, Love, Patience, (Alma 26:6, Alma 36:19)
Conclusion: If you have
discovered a power greater than yourself, what will you do with that knowledge?
How will that one key anchor you in the storms of difficulties and future doubts?
How will it propel you to experiment and bootstrap to become greater than you were? Brother Steve Back to Top of the
Document
In the secular world, IE “In the world”, sexuality has always been a blur - almost since Adam and Eve left the garden. The LGBTQ… list of blurred acronyms keeps growing yearly to encompass near every variation on possible forms of human sexual expression. Even science is set aside in preference to whatever is socially convenient. They have no datum for truth and thus no bounds to their imaginations.
Theological apologists search for useful explanation as to the strictures nearly all religions have placed on sexual expression. But they generally do a shaky job of the explanation. Consider this opening paragraph from an article offered by ‘Focus on the Family’ (Link) an organization I also highly value.
“If God is both genders - or contains both genders - shouldn't people be free to choose their own gender identity? …doesn't this mean that God is androgynous - male and female at the same time? If this is true, wouldn't it further suggest that human beings made "in His image" have the prerogative of being either male or female - or perhaps both male and female - according to personal preference?”
The rest of that short article uses some reasonable sophistry to claim that ‘only the union of male and female is the “locus par excellence of the image of God in man.” ’ He concludes with, “This is why it is so important to maintain the distinction between male and female as originally designed and implemented by the Creator.” In fine, speaking like a sociologist, he claims, ‘this is the best way’ but note while true, this is hardly something that smacks of eternal significance, like say salvation!
There is great irony in that author’s sociological approach at finding reason in God’s command to only join ‘male and female.’ It sprung from clinging to a self-imposed maxim to assiduously avoid what God keeps saying “God” is; an entity that is a unity or as Paul said, “a Godhead!”
In the garden, God said, “let Us make man in Our image. Male and Female made He them.” Later “Look (who is he talking to?!) Behold, the human is become as one of us.” Gen 3:22
That followed from this statement "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother" Gen 2:24
Think about the fact that there is an eternal spirit that animates us and IS who we really are with or without this outer crust. That eternal spirit is what places us in the realm where God Almighty calls us “gods and children of the most high.” John 10:34, Psalms 82:6.
Now you can say, “God didn’t really mean what he said or that God should have chosen His words more carefully,” but I would not want to be in that position of either blindness or arrogance. How about we just accept what He said for once that His “oneness” is a descriptor of one of the attributes describing the Godhead.
Consider what Jesus said, speaking to His Father,
John 17:21-23 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Ironically, for how the question was posed, Jesus Himself also quoted the same passage. This understanding IS the ONLY rational justification for the scriptural strictures that only male and female sexual expression joined in marriage is sanctioned by God. Clearly our male and femaleness is something of eternal importance.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
2 Corinthians 6:18. “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
It is a logical fact, things that are eternal don’t have a beginning or end. By extension, if our intelligence itself is eternal and that’s what make you unique and real it's reasonable to deduce that even the didactic nature, our male and femaleness, is also eternal and unchangeable.
Put all that together and you can see why God in the Old Testament and Jesus (also God) claimed that We (male and female) are the Children of the most High!
While not found in the cannon it had become all but cannon by the Church published songs - beautiful hymns like "Oh My Father" penned by the inspired General Relief Society President Eliza R Snow containing these famous lines that read:
3.
I had learned to call thee Father,
Thru
thy Spirit from on high,
But,
until the key of knowledge
Was
restored, I knew not why.
In
the heav’ns are parents single?
No,
the thought makes reason stare!
Truth
is reason; truth eternal
Tells
me I’ve a mother there.
4.
When I leave this frail existence,
When
I lay this mortal by,
Father,
Mother, may I meet you
In
your royal courts on high?
Then,
at length, when I’ve completed
All
you sent me forth to do,
With
your mutual approbation
Let
me come and dwell with you
This is a rather ennobling understanding
and finally explains why you are so important to God and not just Talky Gadget 2.0.
Can you imagine suffering an ignominious painful death for a toy. No, the truth
is so much more grand and enabling; even glorifying as He said.
Moses 1:39 This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and Eternal Life of man[kind].
It could be equally asserted that the work of the devil is to thwart that work and what better way than for him to confuse God’s children as to their possible destiny and capability, to busy them in the present with amusements and pleasures and so lost in the fog we might wander from the brighter path and so lose our birthrights for a bowl of pottage as Esau did as recorded in Genesis 25:29–32.
It has been argued from
the DC 132 that only those who show themselves capable of handling the great powers
of Life and Death will have them in the hereafter. So, we can then see the theory
- the doctrine behind the rules!
Is there room to recover
from a wandering path. Yes! But like breaking my leg its not an easy path back and
too many never do make it back.
Shall we not rather keep a vision of who we are and what is our immense possibility as Sons and Daughters of the most High God and Live? Knowing who we are and appreciating our noble heritage is key to being true to that heritage and those eternal possibilities as Sons and Daughters of loving Heavenly parents; male and female.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
When we were young, our guidelines were rather simple in regards to the opposite sex; not much theory, just a line you weren’t to cross. In practice, however, too many young folks crossed that guideline; even some who had at one point known the Lord. What they may not have known was the power of SNAP.
Theory is another word for Doctrine. It’s the reason behind the rules. Let’s discuss the theory of ‘magnetic attraction.’ At some distance, the forces from a magnet are so small they cannot be felt at all. Only when quite close can one begin to feel even strong magnets; but cut that distance in half and the force is so strong the magnets will likely be pulled from your fingers and “SNAP!” This is because the forces are not linear but exponential. Halving the distance doesn’t double the force - it quadruples it and at some point, even 8 times to force and so forth for each halving of distance. It becomes almost impossible with just your hands to control it. You can try this by hot gluing a couple magnets to popsicle sticks. Each person holds one of them at their ends so as to sense the earliest sensation of the forces and then see if you can halve the distance without…SNAP. You might glue a bit of paper or felt on one magnet’s face to protect the magnets from their smashing encounter!
From some scrap laying around in the shop we made a crude apparatus to measure this relationship of force to distance with a couple neodymium magnets. Within 2 halvings, the force was flying off the chart!
If you are not ready for that, having joined FIRST in the bonds of marriage, then the only logic is to immediately step back when those forces/feelings are FIRST encountered - like Joseph of Egypt did when encountering a woman who wanted to entice him with her ‘animal magnetism.’
Joseph backed away and got
some distance; the only sure way to escape the power of the force. Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
‘Proof’ is actually and remarkably subjective, but the concept is consistent and explanatory of some of the things God is claimed to be able to do and did. For example, given our understanding of superposition of quantum wave states, the theoretical Big Bang could never have had its birthday day without a Super Consciousness switching its state by observing it. In other words, the Big Bang needed a blasting cap! That’s what the Science speaks to. The Bible has it this way, ‘God Spoke, and then there was light!’
Or how about God’s acclaimed ability to communicate instantly over vast distances…If we believe the claim that nothing including communication can take place faster than the speed of light, that would be miraculous. But what if miracles are just our way of saying, ‘we don’t know how….yet.’ But, a hundred years ago Einstein opined about “spooky interaction at a distance” a sub-space quantum behavior that is now a demonstrated reality.
If God can impact the superposition of wave states and we are claimed to be his children, then can we too impact the wave states /quantum behaviors? Turns out this too has been soundly demonstrated.
New Experiments continue to stack
up showing consciousness affects matter. In over 600 experiments by university labs
over several decades this effect has been thoroughly proven. Said, Dean Radin Ph.D
at University of Arizona, “Consciousness is an active participant in reality”. (Ref
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRSBaq3vAeY)
Beings of Light: A decade ago I proposed that all matter was constructed of electromagnetic waves; not that matter had wave like properties, but that is waves – light that instead of flying along in a straight line was wrapped on itself much like a baseball is wound by string, head to tail, to create a local energy minimum that was or for the most part stable. Unwrap that ball and a huge amount of energy is released as we observe in nuclear reactions. The quantity thereof is not surprisingly proportional to the speed of light squared….hmm just like all energy equations like momentum – all velocity squared… nice that it all fits together! So, the particles are simply waves wrapped on themselves to give then shape - “standing waves” or a stationary force field. In scripture God called us such beings, using words like “Light and Truth” to describe our core being….Ref DC93 Discussion here. Perhaps there is additional reason when God revealed himself that He is always described in terms of light – brighter than all description!.
Regarding Consciousness, it is beginning to be acknowledged that even our neurons perform their functions impacted by quantum effects at their synapses. The Origin of agency and consciousness as a topic was taken up in my essay 54. Deductive Proof: there is more to Man than meets the eye
Another quantum affect predicted by the ancient ones was the odd assertion that there is “ No empty space” expressed dramatically in the most unusual LDS Hymn IF You Could Hie to Kolob. What an odd assertion to make in 1800s by some backwoodsmen! How would they know about neutrinos popping into and out of existence and the endless universe and mult-ivers….
…unless the great Consciousness (God) so revealed it to those simple but inquiring minds? It may be that that attribute; the seeker, the asker, the one ready to receive, is the one who does!
If one says ‘they have the answers’ there is no room to add - which is why Jesus said, “Seek and Ye shall Find. Knock and it shall be opened.” So it is with Light and truth; it is only poured into the cup that is not already full.
Possible &
even Plausible Functional Description
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
I was teaching an adult class in Gospel doctrine. Previously I taught the New Testament and this year we are examining the Book of Mormon. I felt led and inspired to teach a lesson one Sunday taken from a story in the Book of Mormon that I fully anticipated could be discomforting to at least some of the audience. I petitioned the Lord as to how I could reach his people in a way that might elicit change and not simply bring out anger in the self-convicted. The lesson focusing on the story of Korihor as detailed in Alma 30. This fellow was the original secular humanist. He denied life after death, Christ’s atonement and any moral rules - “law of the jungle” and strength of your own arm where the only limits.
He goes about preaching his gospel of self-gratification until the wave of adultery came to the attention of the authorities and he is brought to the court to answer for what amounts to in today's parlance “inciting to riot” or in this case adultery. (a punishable offense before the law in those days)
Alma, the chief judge tries to reason with Korihor (who reiterated his atheist claims). Alma points out that nature itself witnesses that there is a God. As the story progresses Korihor demands a sign from God – who accommodates him – generally not a good thing as he loses his voice! In writing, the now penitent Korihor, confesses that he was deceived by the devil (and this the key takeaway) because it appealed to his ‘carnal nature’.
It was this aspect I found most intriguing- why do otherwise good people justify in some circumstances a lie or countenance evil policies? How are we as individuals deceived? Mormons are generally pretty conservative but here and there I found some individuals who would countenance abortion – even partial birth abortions! Some people of faith actually supported laws that enabled and promoted homosexuality. Some voted for known adulterers and communists and wore it like a badge of honor! How could that be that people with so many shared moral values could possibly execute the practical aspects of their public life in a way so contrary to their stated beliefs …. and then this story of Korihor finally spoke to me.
It came to me that appealing to one’s carnal nature can encompass other, even altruistic, aspects that are not thought classically as self-gratifying. If you for example, had a son who engaged in the sin of homosexuality, out of natural compassion, out of our desire for mercy for our loved one, it might simply be natural to soften and bend and accommodate, perhaps even justify and finally enable. See it? It is our compassionate nature we are placating! Compassion in some circumstance is good, but there are some cases where “tough love” is the truly compassionate act. It is really the same lesson we should have taken from the story of the Priest Eli and his wicked sons as detailed the Old Testament (next year’s study!). I don't gather that Eli was a fellow acting out of bad intent but I see now that he acted out of misguided compassion.
It is a classic dilemma – can you do wrong to accomplish some perceived good? I think it’s not generally possible. The ‘means’ and the ‘ends’ both matter! Compassion for the dilemma of an unwanted pregnancy cannot be the source of legitimacy for abortion as the enormous negatives outweigh the anticipated relief. Allowing a sexually confused individual access to the wrong sexes’ bathroom might seem like compassion for the confused individual on one level but actually fails that individual on more other levels and harms others who the bathroom was created for in actuality. You cannot do wrong and be right. It was prophesied that in our day people would change the language calling light dark and darkness light. Perhaps one of the reasons we see this happening, even to intelligent people of faith is to accommodate the very false compassions discussed here.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
When Brigham Young asked for volunteers to leave within a couple days to
be avant garde to the famous handcart rescue effort, Ephraim Hanks famously responded,
simply, “Brigham, I am ready to leave now!” This astonishing statement was repeated
by two other individuals who had been preparing for much of their lives to be the
Lords’ minuteman. Without any earthy person asking, they had showed up ready and
loaded for a very serious journey! They heard the voice of God and responded immediately.
When life gets crazy, can we stay ready to hear the Lord’s call? – Let us
live our daily walk in such a way to always be able to say, even in a moment’s notice,
“I’m Ready to go, now!”
Part of ‘being ready to go now’ is preparation physically, but other aspects
are intellectual, psychological and obviously -spiritual. But even real believers,
fully desirous to serve, may not be able to bear the load if they are not prepared
to carry it!
I have taken special note that boys that eschew outdoor challenges are often
the same young men that struggle with the challenges of missionary service later
on; they are simply not prepared. Conversely, I’ve seen boys scared of simple things
and unreasonably shy, blossom by accepting those challenging, uncomfortable activities
and then go on to take on such callings, being successful in His service and return
masterful speakers, ready for life as real and godly men.
If we are to be God’s hands and ministering angels, here or in the here-after,
we need to be ready to go!
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Origin of the Cell? Darwin missed the mark entirely by titling his most famous
work “The Origin of Species” in that nowhere in his work does he argue beyond how
a given species might adapt and tweak its basic structure to the circumstances.
It all assumes that the immense complexity of a single cell was achieved just one
tweak at a time. It’s important to note that even that narrow part of his theory
has never been demonstrated. But more importantly, what Darwin could not have known
is that even that one cell comprises an entire city of structures and interdependent
services that in and of themselves do nothing - but only altogether form the miracle
of life. He only offered an overly simplistic idea as to how life might change;
not how it could start.
The Cell is a city of interdependent complexity: Take even a small part of that
complex away and the cell can't function. Just to name a few of many, the lauded
DNA instruction set itself is quite useless without RNA and a variety of small mechanical
agents that work like tug boats to transcribe instructions and even repair bad ones!
Without the cell wall, one of the many parts to this little city, providing a safe
confined environment (with special doors) with all the agents safely in place, the
DNA can’t do anything. If you were wondering, RNA is even more fragile yet. Far
more so!
The scant few experiments attempting
by random processes to construct a couple DNA scraps from amino acids, could not
accomplish anything even if it were possible (given enough time like they enjoy
repeating) if the city-like cell was not already in place. This chicken/egg problem
is truly a conundrum that does not appear to be solvable. This writer has not heard
of even a lame attempt proposed let alone a persuasive one. The problem is so profound
that for those who claim science as their religion and go about preaching Natural
Selection as the means to the ends demonstrate great religious faith indeed. There
are simply no facts or postulates to address this sequence dependency -It’s an impossibility
not just an improbability and so far, we are not even discussing probability. That
is another conundrum for the religion of Darwin.
Accompanying sweeping gestures
of the hands by these secular religionists comes the phrase, “given enough time,
anything is possible.” But is that true?
Consider these two key factors Probability (likely hood of making the thing)
and Entropy (probability of it falling apart) This latter effect is universally
ignored by the “faithful.” Let's examine each aspect.
Probability For something to happen, it needs,
·
A means - We can grant that random chemical processes can produce
amino acids
·
Opportunity -There need to be interactions with the building structure.
In other words, it's not sufficient that it can happen somewhere, it has to happen
here, and it has to happen now. So, the probability of the event is reduced by the
time and spatial requirement. This adds many orders of magnitude of improbability.
·
Repeat, Restart - That sequence must be repeated randomly requiring immense numbers
of iterations! Only 1 sequence in 2^77 possibilities actually works to make just
one of the simplest DNA strands that could code a single simple protein structure.
To appreciate how improbable that is – even without including
the impact of space and time on that sequential built-up, that number is close to
the estimated number of atoms in the known universe! There simply are not enough
chances even in 14 billion years to shake that bag of parts enough Not by over 10^1300
power! That’s how far off the “shake the bag” postulate is from any chance at all
of being a possible candidate.
Entropy:…but even if there were enough time… then there is that bugaboo
‘entropy’ – which really is like a silver stake into the heart of the Darwin-inspired
Vampire.
The Cell
is an exceptionally protective, well-organized environment for a very fragile and
exceptionally complicated molecule. The cell is a hive of very carefully integrated
activities. If DNA were to be just laid out in an open environment, it breaks apart
very easily.
DNA is vulnerable. It breaks down in sunlight
and even water, and there are abundant enzymes in that proposed soup that naturally
destroy it; bleach, rusted iron, excessive heat, UV – all present and abundant in
the very soup the Darwinist suggest this grand secular miracle occurred. What then
about the probability of random assembly VS forces of entropy. It’s like hundreds of orders of
magnitude harder than trying to build a skyscraper tower of little wood blocks in
a room chock full of two-year-olds. Who do
you think will win?
So, if its only being put together
at one rate by a proposed lightning bolt soup environment (which is a very slow
rate if at all) but it can be destroyed even water or Light (yes very easily and
quickly too) then we
can conclude that time is NOT the friend of random evolution but its ardent enemy!
To state it more formally, Entropy
is a much stronger function than random probability in a chaotic environment.
God does not make junk! Scientific hubris seems to be the norm and when DNA was 1st
understood just a little the mantra was all about Genes and the DNA between these
so-called coding sections were labeled “Junk DNA”. That was how they made the claim
“see we are 98% the same as monkeys!” …fast forward decade of such misinformation
and now we see there are sequences and timers and counters coded into what they
called 3-dimensional gibberish. It was like hearing a foreign language and to the
science faithful it was jabberwocky speak. But as we realized that proteins were
not strings but 3D Lego blocks, we suddenly realized that those noncoding “junk”
regions were performing all sorts of critical function from being instructions on
how to use the genes to scaffolding to allow the string to fold into immensely complex
fashions. Like origami those sections played a key roll in building 3D blocks with
a function, a mission and means. This is why it is so improbable to randomly find
a working DNA sequence (I in 2^77 for a simple one). The slightest tweak in much
of the structure and it can’t fold properly and it falls apart.
Irreducible Complexity: Up to now we have examined the very thing Darwin himself mentioned
he was most concerned and vulnerable about; the actual ‘origin’ part I used a term Darwin did not – “Random evolution.”
Darwin’s idea was “Natural Selection”. Some small tweak could give you a longer
beak and that gave your progeny better access to food and more of them survived
thus moving the species in the direction of your genetics tweak….that was the gist
of the idea.
But that idea had problems. One
problem is that small variations (like beak size) might actually be accommodated
in the code itself (called gene expression) without the need for mutation. The second
was deeper. The deepest problem Darwin failed to address was in explaining species
jumps wherein a whole new feature is introduced. The coding (that Darwin had no
idea about) to create even a simple new protein with hundreds, thousands or millions
of new “Lego blocks” all predesigned to play together is mind-bogglingly complex.
If you are waiting for untold thousands
of random mutations to stack up - that’s not going to happen in a single generation
or even many generations and almost any mutation is far more likely to kill or debilitate
the individual or it’s progeny. Let that sink in. As we know from sad experience
when a mutation occurs, we all know it can debilitate or kill the unfortunate victim.
Therefore, there actually is NO
force driving natural selection for an immense period of time but instead there
are huge negative forces killing off the predecessors with partially mutated code.
Remember that just one or even many mutations are not going to make a new and useful
feature. Much more likely to just kill you.
No initial natural advantage to selectively and preferentially be passed on the
future generations.
In the book Darwin’s Black box
by Dr Michael J. Behe, this concept of “irreducible complexity” is deeply studied. This
molecular Biologist’s challenge shook established evolution and biology science to their core and remains
largely unimpeachable as a valid critique to this day.
Recapping
the Problems in Evolution as science::
To recap:
1) Despite Darwin’s “click-bate’
title, he failed to provide ANY explanation for actual origin.
2) At a molecular level the cell
is a city of activity. The much-lauded DNA needs that safe city in place for it
to do anything. Even making DNA (they can’t) does nothing by itself.
3) Probability theory demonstrates
there isn’t enough time in the universe even if the deck of chance was shuffled
in your favor; not enough time even in a perfect lab!
4) Probability has a mortal enemy
called Entropy and entropy is a much much MUCH bigger dog in this fight
5) DNA Codes in 3D and vastly
increases the complexity of achieving useful results from random process. Proteins are 3D Legos of immense
complexity.
6) So called non-protein coding regions that
previously were thought as junk by the Darwinian priest class are now being understood
perhaps like the “Main” in software with those jeans more like subroutines.
7) Irreducible complexity deprives
random evolution and its cousin Natural Selection of its key forcing function. “Natural selection may not even explain small
changes as there may well already be legit coding for selecting, for example, a
longer beak. Natural selection, as a scheme, simply doesn’t work when it would take
a million non-fatal code changes, not just one or two to make some new useful feature.
8) Already in the code ‘gene expression”
has been validated as THE cause of variations such as moth color or beak length,
not mutation.
9) Claims that bizarre or unusual animals disproves ‘a designer’
only speaks to our own arrogance in their designation as such.
10) Claims of “unnecessary features”
that would refute “a Designer” fails on multiple fronts:
·
They were wrong about claims of junk DNA.
·
Claiming ‘the appendix is useless, turns out to be wrong
·
Claiming tonsils are just trouble with no benefit’ was also wrong
·
In fine, even if a feature was thought useless, the “common designer”
concept implies one would expect to find reused concepts.
In Summary, it is clearly demonstrated
that the theory of Random Evolution or Natural Selection, when examined in the light
of modern science, and a bit of common sense has no logical foundation to explain
either the origin or the significant changes. Those philosophies survive like some
other religions - by faith alone!
An interesting ancient
Mayan text called the Popol Vu reads (paraphrasing from memory); ‘The 3 Gods created
the world after thinking and meditating upon it.’
Additional reading
or listening:
1) Darwin’s Black box by Dr Michael J. Behe
2)
Life's Origin: James Tour and Stephen Meyer
3)
Cell Construction & Assembly Dr James Tour
5) The
Mathematical Impossibility Of Evolution
6) Hidden-Treasures-In-Junk-DNA
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
I have written more extensively
in these essays about justice and mercy, (see essay 30) but a corollary topic is
Mercy verses Revenge or Vengeance; the difference being commonly referenced as punishment
being delivered personally or by a third party like God. vengeance is mine sayeth
the Lord. Does that make God then out to be a sort of executioner? In the common
modern use of the word, that disparaging interpretation could be implied and so
perplexed me a bit as incongruent to the merciful God we prefer to understand.
So I dug in a bit to better understand
the words finding their French and Latin roots and - well my eyes were opened!
Vengeance means to see and act
or care; exactly what we anticipate from a loving God.
I am wearing my “I am the Chosen Army” T-Shirt to remind that while our founders
may have given us this remarkable nation with liberty but it is up to us, each generation
to keep it. We were reminded last week that there is no political litmus test in our church but that the brethren…
“teach correct
principles and allow the people to govern themselves.”
but that freedom to self-govern does not promote “safe-space” to ignore those “correct principles.” For example
those same prophets have repeatedly denounced socialism, communism and like trendy ‘isms as antithetical to gospel principles of
liberty. The other day, I had a pleasant but poignant conversation with a young
BYU student who said of his political leanings:
“I compartmentalize
my faith from practical realties”
This came across as a sort of ethical schizophrenia wherein his trendy but
fake woke was in reality a walking waking nightmare. I learned upon further conversation
that by this mental ‘slight of hand’ he dismissed one “correct principle after another,
such as the lives of the unborn, the expectation of work ethic, sanctity of marriage
as God defined. Even taxation as God taught was compartmentalized away. I suggested
in a somewhat more gentle manner that the correct principals of our religion should
inform all those very decisions and not to be sectioned off as only relevant on
Sunday.
Our Church is more than just a philosophy. It is also community and culture,
and has a unique revelation identifying this land as a land of promise. Its’ founders
testified as to the ‘hand of providence’ that attended their work. This nation’s
constitution, incorporated the best ideas learned from thousands of years of failures
and not just a little divine inspiration; this fact, God Himself attested to.
From extensive study of history, our founders understood that power corrupts
both individuals and communities and so they built in layers of safeguards to keep
both king-men and tyrannical mobs at bay. They codified in that remarkable document
the ability in the future to right every wrong, including a few glaring ones.
Correct principles drawn from our common history will be as Patrick Henry
said, “Like a lamp unto our feet - guiding our future.”
Last July, my wife spoke about Lincoln and how he received a copy of the
Book of Mormon from his new war ally Brigham Young. A book, “The Lincoln Hypothesis”
documents that Lincolns copy of the Book of Mormon has dogeared pages where God
speaks of this land of promise. From those correct principles, found on those dog
eared pages, I can appreciate why Lincoln would have radically changed his presidency’s goal from power and control to serving
God and treating ALL his children as equal under the law . When he did so everything
changed. Rapidly! Battles turned in the Union’s favor; often miraculously. His addresses like at Gettysburg carry the feeling
of reverence and reconciliation – not conquest and subjugation.
Lincoln Learned correct principles and upon applying them, with God’s help,
changed the course of the world’s history.
History and correct principles go hand in hand for the enquiring mind. But
that constitution, we hold as divinely inspired, is being eroded and redefined and
the knowledge canceled. For example, in the case of the 16th amendment
that allows one man to be taxed differently than another – they simply set aside
and tossed a protection to treat all men equally. Do our young minds appreciate
that was actually the brainchild of the founder of communism, Carl Marx, not George
Washington?
To preach correct principles then we must both educate ourselves and our
family as to what political forces were responsible for rejecting our founder’s
inspired wisdom! Regarding the battle for our children’s future, President Reagan
alerted:
“Freedom
is never more than one generation away from extinction…”
Each generation must be taught its history so as to learn those correct principles
as Lincoln did from those dog-eared pages of the Holy writ.; not have it canceled
and lost from memory. We should emphasize the good, but also learn from the bad
and yes even the ugly. a
Our people must be taught their history and to seek God and value Liberty
or become in one generation “a people who knew not Joseph and find themselves in chains to a new pharaoh.
Even as I speak, what was deplored as evil only a few scant years ago is now preached
as saintly good in our very public schools. I can’t help but hear the echo of Joshua
crying out to the people of this day:
Joshua 24:15 And if
it seem evil unto you to defend the words of the Lord, choose you this day whom
ye will serve; whether the gods of Darwin and Marx, which your fathers served that were on the other
side of the flood, or the politics and social norms of the Amorites, in whose land
ye dwell: but as for me and my house, I will teach my children to believe in this
heaven blessed land and to serve the Lord.
Brother
Steve Back to Top of the Document
This note is really just that – notes of a conversation with my brother. On the way home from our father’s impromptu Memorial at Sunny Rose, my brother and I continued our most interesting conversation on free agency & God’s intervention/non-intervention that we had started on the way south. We also delved deeply into the arguments surrounding atheism using the article I put together about Agency as a key focus.
He brought up the classic question about “Intervention and the benevolent God”. It became apparent from our conversation that the single determinant as to the likelihood of intervention from God was its impact to agency of others. While there are a few recorded events where God does part the sea for the strategic preservation of a people, this is very rare. What is far more likely might be some intervention, healing or guidance which benefits but does not hinder anyone’s action.
We also discussed time in the context of why couldn’t God foreshorten suffering while not directly stopping it an interrupting agency. It was determined that if the idea was to provide a non-big brother experience – that such intervention, even foreshortening suffering would be obvious prima fascia evidence of deity.
But that led to a discussion about the theory of time and I posited that that time doesn’t exist anyway and is represented as a series of singularities. You don’t perceive time in the past but only in the present. You do not and cannot “feel” the passage of time in an event already in the past. The flow of time is perceived thus as wave of singularities -each representing past events. No matter how “long” the event was, once its in the past it is perceived as a singularity. Thus foreshortening of some tragedy or harm is not even useful. This is consistent with the concept of Christ’s atonement allowing him to examine and experience all events – even events that are in our “future”.
It explains why we don’t perceive past events as passage of time, but as events – as singularities. Like sex or any other appetites that seems to demand our attention and we relish the moment and immersion, but after the meal or pleasure is over, you are hard pressed to even feel the former demand! It’s now a memory of an event regardless of the duration. The same is true of pain and other displeasures – even great tragedies lasting years collapse to singularities and are not relived as current reality.
In fact, those who by mental illness live in their memories have distorted existences – a break from reality.
Our last matter in this far ranging conversation addressed when God does and does not reveal….Suggesting that revelation from God is often reserved for those ready and willing to accept the knowledge and act upon it – otherwise the very receipt would be a sort of condemnation to the individual casually making the request. When you are resonant with God…power flows. That’s the way physics works too.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
In one-off, little churches, if the pastor messes up, they just fire the person and hire a new teacher and few think the whole of the organization is worthless as most of these groups eschew making any such claims of authority. They know they have no such claim! This was a necessity as few claim any sort of grand supernatural event attend their founding and only the most amorphous ongoing divine influence is posited. As expected, with no organizing and rectifying influence, a thousand different denominations dot the Christian landscape. When Jesus asserted that His house was a house of order, this current structure hardly seems to satisfy that maxim. Perhaps this ramshackle shanty town actually isn’t His house after all even through the inhabitance are often doing the best they can. Jesus actually had a very charitable view to those who sinserely used his name, “but did not walk with us.”
When Joseph Smith asked which of the many churches he should join, he was instructed to join none of them but that he would become and instrument in the Lord’s hands to restore His kingdom one more time – one last restoration after many - in preparation for His second coming in final glory. The building of His kingdom would begin again in humble circumstance, among the simple and humble, but hard working and upright. It would not be the great and the mighty nor the learned of the time but by those who were supple and teachable.
We all know that even at our best we have disagreements and misunderstandings. We make technical and strategic mistakes. Sometimes we are humble and reaching for advice and wisdom and other times we are full of ourselves and certain of our way; though it leads to a pit. It would be awesome if none of our leaders, our parents, our friends ever devolved to our more human flawed states but reality says that should be the expected state; at least occasionally. Just recall a bit of in house squabbling that may have taken place at one’s home….those same people are running board rooms and temples.
Certainly, the Holy spirit should be making a sizable impact, making us more divine and less the flawed human, but while we never quite escape the grip of this flawed flesh.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Prophesies that none will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the
beast, are being fulfilled as demands for Papers, QR codes, RFID chips are all proposed
and becoming used to block commerce and employment. When some establishments began
prohibiting non-vaccinated persons from entering their stores and companies (my
firm Microsoft announced that unvaccinated employees would be fired), then the ancient
prophesies of our day came to mind that this may be fulfilled in my days, "
that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one
who has the mark, {either} the name of the beast or the number of his name." Microsoft even owns
a patent of a behavior motivating concept whose patent number actually is 060606
1)
Use
of force and coercion is the hallmark of Satan. The devil's path was always coercion and lies
and suppression of light. So when slews of doctors and scientists and even my own
brother, a medical Dr genius in his practice serving many dozens of covid related
patients, were deplatformed and threatened - I took notice.
2)
When I was personally threatened with loss of my livelihood if I
did not accept 'the mark'....I had to think long and hard if my economic security
was worth giving up liberty and religious convictions...
What price would I be willing to pay to 'go along to get along.....'
or would I like Patrick Henry demand “Liberty or Death.” Benjamin Franklin once
said: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary
Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." There is evidence that those who have fallen for
this experimental medical craps shoot may rue the day they did.
This fear based situation will never end until
we stop living in fear. “God hath not given us a spirit of fear” There is no mass
crisis and well validated prevention and therapeutics are available; peer reviewed
and deeply documented by medical researchers.
I can appreciate that not all have
the same information and such and could come to different conclusions so I don’t
fault our leaders for expressing their personal views publicly - but is that to
be interpreted as policy? As doctrine, the word of the Lord?
To whom are we to be placing our faith in? I’m an engineer by trade and I prefer to use faith
for God but data for government. President Reagan recounted, "Trust but
verify." I would add to that, "When your trust has been shaken; "Verify, then trust!"
As this man made crisis has devolved to a coercive divisive political tool
by some, it began taking on the feeling of 1938 with Stars of David on the sleeve
being replaced by QR codes and papers and even chips. French Distopia and soon USA This is really just a page out of a very old
playbook taken from 1938 Prewar Germany See
Article
Never Been Found Naturally': Unique Genome Indicates COVID-19 Is Man-made, Say Top US Experts
I began to be apprised as to how Dr. Fouci and his ilk in quiet labs
across the world had been tinkering with God's gift of life for a long time. In
fact making Franken-Viruses was a life’s work for the ‘good’ Dr Fouci. Like 3-year-olds
in a chemistry lab, sooner or later a test tube dropped and Pandora's box escaped;
in this case from Wuhan to plague the world. But the plague, like Caesars’ dagger,
had far more fingerprints than just Chinese. Fouci’s fingerprints and many others
were all over the bloody knife.
US, Canada, France, and many other nations secret labs had
been amplifying viruses for reasons that span the range of altruism to weapons.
With so many fingerprints on the Covid dagger, it's no small wonder that many involved
circled the wagons in self-protection to blame nature's God. But then, true to Satanic
schemes, one if not the chief instigator of this plague, then steps forward, wiping
Caesar’s blood from his hands, and presents himself as the savior of mankind. An
Anti Christ is someone who presents as a false savior, more like a mirror image
or mirage. For a lost people, many who had replaced God for Government and now lived
in fear of death, Fouci, one of the chief contributors to the plague, ironically
became their savior.
Dr Fouci turns out to be one of the co-creators/contributors
of this Pandoras box and is not my Savior and the government who paid him for this
monstrosity is not my God. Why would anyone put so much faith in government? This
would not be the 1st time Government used a population for medical experimentation…for
the good of the people of course.
My request was denied.
For a more thorough treatment of my objections
- Link
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
A few years
ago my wife and I were teaching some pretty young kids, 7-8 year olds, the concept
that they are the children of God. The fascinating takeaway from being a child of
a being who is understood to exist for all time, is the necessarily conclusion that
we exist essentially outside time too. We too must be a being with an infinite nature,
else it is a logical inconstancy!
This philosophical
mind bender is actually at the heart of the source of agency. I argue that only
the gods can choose! If it is created, no matter how wonderfully, it must be deterministic
or at least dependent and thus predicable. It is simply a logical impossibility
for God to create man and then step back and claim He is not responsible. Glibly
tossing out that he gave man agency only begs the question of what means to make
something called agency and then claim you are not responsible for the algorithm?
The only
answer is consistent with the first assertion that agency is root to the nature
of intelligence (life force), the heart of what many call Spirit and that intelligent
force is co-eternal with God.
If this
seems pretty heavy for a kid...the trick is to distill. If a child can understand
it, the sheer elegance deserves appreciation.
Try this
experiment.
1) Look at an object on a table and consider it.
2) Stop thinking about the object, but allow yourself a single regression where you visualize yourself sitting at the table thinking about the object.
3) Stop thinking about the virtualization of yourself thinking about yourself thinking about the object, and consider yet another iteration of yourself thinking about thinking about thinking....
As you can
see, like planning multiple chess moves, it is possible to take the adage, "I
think therefor I am" to an infinite level of regression. A machine cannot do
more than calculate and produce predictive outputs; it cannot even think the 1st
iteration, let alone the regression.
If we are
wholly created machines, whether Darwin or even if God was the designer, it could
not think nor extrapolate himself from himself. The only thing that makes agency
possible is that the 1st assertion is the truth. We are in fact the children of
God and if children then Heirs and all that implies. Rom 8:16-17
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Reflecting on Enos’ unanswered query. “Lord, how was it done?” we previously explored and clarified the Language of Atonement and attempted to move beyond the common allegorical approaches to a more direct functional explanation.
See that detail in these essays
30. Forgiveness
and the Power of the Atonement
92. On
Enos’ unanswered query. “Lord, how was it done?”
93. Examining
Key Gospel Words leads to understanding!
94. What
is Hell and How Can Jesus Get the Hell Out of You?
100. Jesus
really is our Personal Savior, Advocate, Physician and Counselor
103. A
View to Atonement Group Discussion
Also: A scholar’s review of Penal Substitution Theology (PCT) by Stephen D. Morrison (see https://youtu.be/s8DZYeCvaM0?si=5TTrREa7IQ6vC2as)
There is yet another functional aspect that deserves a deeper dive regarding our part in the process. My wife, who has spent so much of her life in compassionate service, pointed out that a person has to be ready to receive healing – it is not just ‘done to you’ She was addressing as example situations of extreme loss and hurt; “the walking wounded” to use an Army term.
In the story of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed, He said, power left me (was transferred from me) but then pointed out –her faith healed her. Both actually transpired. God’s will and power coupled with her faith. Each variable played a critical role. This calculous is explored in 53: The Algebra of Faith Healings. This is crucial to appreciate that God’s timing may not be ours but being prepared with faith to receive is imperative.
Like hearing God, we need to be tuned in to be resonate with God. We are part of the equation. If you had experienced, for example, a great loss at someone else’s hand and vengeance festered in your soul and yet you wanted peace and relief – there might not be any place for that relief presuming God wanted to send it! Peace, Happiness, Joy, Comfort are emotional states that accompany thoughts and actions, but are not thoughts per-se. For God to impact that, we need to be ready to receive by making room. This is why the Lord said, “Vengeance is mine!” He’s not being selfish or off putting, He’s letting us know he cannot resonate with our emotions and provide that influence when there is no room for His influence!
I hasten to repeat that God is a key part of timing. Sometimes a good desire is met at once and other times not. That can be frustrating. Paul wrote that God left a thorn in his side (we think a physical ailment) that he opined helped to keep him humble. That may or may not have been God’s motivation. His mind is not our mind, as the saying goes, but he came to accept that trial and to bear it gracefully.
There are multitudes who have righteous desires that at best are not met in our time expectations. Children, Spouse, Job, physical or mental health. After a couple years of my company failing, then being unjustly fired from another, then being let go for refusing a MRNA shot…I was inspired to pull up our tent stakes and move to Missouri. Each of those events brought me to a new place mentally and emotionally and finally physically. I work hard, plan when and where I can for success, petition the Lord for my flocks and herds and family while striving to accept His will. The challenge is to not fret with angst when the timing or direction or events don’t pan out. I’m not perfect in any of that, but I know the formula, and just keep striving to align with what I know better.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
I may have related how we spent literally hours defining language
with one of my Baptist minister friends that enabled a lengthy and enlightening
conversation sans argument. From that experience I've come to be firmly convinced
of that value - to focus on the meanings of the words we use:
With one understanding, the phrase - "He paid for my sins"
is allegorical, metaphysical, beyond our grasp. We can't really articulate - "what
is a stripe exactly?" or how that would fix anything anyway. With another understanding
of that same phrase - that it was punishing to experience us" the event clarifies,
is tangible, understandable - albeit the massive scope is beyond the view, its application
to us is fully grasped.
Words are mere symbols for concepts or things and as long as
both sender and receiver have the same translation for those symbols a unity of
understanding can take place. But this condition is actually more rare than we’d
like to believe and is responsible for many a court case finding its way to our
supreme court.
Consider the terms: Mercy, Justice, Atonement, Price and Payment
What if Mercy didn’t simply imply a condition
of undeserved generosity but meant additionally - applied love; a forward-thinking
outcome-based emphasis?
What if "Justice must be satisfied"
didn’t refer to retribution or revenge or placating an angry god in need of appeasement
by sacrifices nor balancing the scales of cosmic Ying and yang?
What if Justice simply meant that things
are and remain what God has defined them to be. Heaven is heaven and remains a place
of superlatives like peace and goodness (also defined by God). If you go to heaven
its because you are heavenly.
What if Atonement did not mean punishment
as some sort of appeasement but instead meant precisely what the concatenated parts
of this interesting word communicate; to "be-One-Destined" or "Destined
to be one."
What if terms like Price and Payment are
describing not some arbitrary unrelated physical torment like scourging (by his
stripes (allegory) we are healed) but the process of God connecting with us intimately,
Jesus' incurred ardor and difficulty in the task of so experiencing us that He becomes
the perfect counselor, the physician with the right medicine that when applied is
sanctifying and correcting?
Certainly, that would be a virtually infinite task for correcting
billions of souls such that they are or become, through that effort, compatible
with the assigned heaven – thus satisfying the concept of justice. Heaven stays
heaven!
Forgive the crude vernacular but What if the Good News of Jesus
is not that he’s the ultimate virgin sacrifice to an angry god that must be paid
off and appeased so that favors of heaven are showered on the adherence but instead
that Jesus and the Holy Spirit and our Heavenly Father have arranged a sort of clinic
– a process – a means for the children they love to be cured of sinful tendencies
to the point that we never desire to do or knowingly pursue wrong?
Even if our execution in this world may be flawed, our desires
really can be perfected. What if when the shackles of this earthy veil are lifted
our execution will likewise be perfected?
Would that not be Good News indeed?
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
(or get you out of hell if that’s where you are hanging out)
A friend was somewhat
confused about one of my essays touching on Jesus' Atonement for us. This was written
in some response to that:
Alma speaks of
hell as a condition of anguish and then informs of Jesus’ intercession in our behalf
- referring to hell as having “a clear recollection of all your guilt” IE being
immersed in the full ramifications of all your sins. (Alma 36:16)
It is said that
that clear immersion in that ugly truth will be so heavy to bear that you
would feign have the rocks cover you up than stand in the presence of perfection
in that tarnished state. But it is also stated that Jesus went down to hell and
back… to rescue souls as rebellious as ours. (Alma 12:14, 1 Peter 3:18-21)
Alma said Jesus
suffered all things both body and spirit THAT he would be able to succor us. Ask
yourself what would cause even Jesus to sweat great drops of blood – it wasn’t physical
stripes (ref Isaiah) then what? When Jesus said how he suffered – many had similarly
suffered bodily of that cruel cross. That alone could not be it. Bleeding from his
pores happened before the scourging and final physical traumas. (DC 19)
Alma offers that
Jesus suffered (Alma lists off several forms of sufferings and sinful states) THAT
he might know how to succor His people. NOTE that Alma does not glibly assert that
“hey, He’s God. He can do anything”….no he offered that there was method – there
was actual experience. The record says “He took upon him the sins of His people.
Well, let that sink in! HOW would you do that except to literally take those experiences
IE ‘experience’ those experiences THAT He may know HOW to succor His people! It
must be appreciated that Alma heaps suffering which is independent of sin and actual
sin of your own in the same bucket that he suffered for.
Clearly, even
if there was some eternal law that demanded somebody (anybody) be punishment for
sin, then why also punish the innocent as sacrifice for sufferings? How is any of
that going to help anybody let alone satisfy this eternal angry-god law concept?
That’s quite an angry god that needs someone’s arbitrary pain even to address suffering. Let that sink in.
That was exactly
the horrid concept that the God of the Old Testament ordered the Israelites to utterly
destroy where the people were literally burning their children to enhance crop production
and other desired favors of Baal and Molech.
Do you see it
now? The great miracle is not like some virgin sacrifice to pacify an angry fabled
god. The great “infinite” miracle that Amulek called appropriately ‘the atonement’
is that He didn’t just experience stuff 'like' what some of us experience, He vicariously
experienced each and every one of us in all time. If that wasn’t punishment, then
we need a new word. “By His stripes”, that punishing experience, he came, as Alma
said, "to know how to succor his people." Alma 7:11 Alma 34:8-12 He is
called the physician, because he has the cure for the disease. He is not paying
off some fine so the Father will look the other way, He has the cure to change and
refine and thus make compatible with heaven.
Sometimes a person
in some acute, perhaps unique pain, will fly back at someone who dares suggests
‘they understand’ with, “You could not possibly understand what I am going though.”
Yet, it is argued in many scriptures that “Jesus Knows YOU!” I hope this helps you
understand how this is possible for Him to know you intimately. His experience in
that Garden was transcendent in scope and depth. Yes, He experienced YOU. (DC 19)
I hope this helps
you to be motivated to reach out to Jesus, as Alma the younger did, that Jesus may
bring you the specific Balm of Gilead you need. He knows the medicine and how to
apply it uniquely; just for you!
Enos asked, “How
is it done?” When you pray to the Father in Jesus name, appreciate it is not just
a formality, but an active invitation for your partner and advocate to intercede
with the Father in your behalf. After all what better advocate could you have. He
who calls us His friends, knows you as well as if He was you - because ... He experienced
you.; which is at first a scary, but then comforting thought - all wrapped up in
one.
Ref also: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2001/06/justification-and-sanctification?lang=eng
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Beginning with the latter question 1st, From all that has been revealed (admittedly a short list) even our sprit and the root intelligence, the spark of consciousness that is the driving force behind all life, is unchanging and in the case of who God called His children we come in two flavors: male and female. It’s who we are at the most fundamental level. So, not a social construct, but of eternal importance and as such comes under special attack by our adversary. If he can get us to reveal a fundamental inability to be in control or to abandon what is of paramount importance for the transient, this miserable influence has his way. Yet our spirit may, despite faltering in this hampered environment, yet rally to God for sustaining power and rise above, develop and perfect mastery of this physical existence. You can still succeed by “looking to God and live.”
Addiction is a key tool of the adversary. Uncontrolled, unlimited self-gratification is the root of all addictive behavior. The closer one approaches the uncontrolled, unlimited aspect of just about anything, the more psychologically addictive it is.
Of course, some chemical addicting substances may actually alter the satiety parts of one’s brain itself. But behaviors themselves also alter the brain; being both connective and chemically sensitive. It may take time to heal but fortunately the brain can be retrained & restored.
You may find that much of the church’s advice focuses on self-control/mastery. This is in part why self-gratification in regard to sex also makes the grade for prohibition.
This is also the connection between self-pleasuring (sex) and homosexuality and all variants; it starts with an addition to sex and morphs to the easiest place to get the fix; and what more productive to that end than to engage with individuals of like focus. If one can remove the barriers like attractiveness and just focus on the access to the ‘pleasure button’ then again that plays double – a push/pull towards addictive focused relationships which are especially common in same sex relationships.
With fairly rare exception, when women get past the oxytocin (I’m in love) phase of a relationship, the interest in sex drops dramatically – this can happen remarkably quickly after marriage and that new dynamic has to be a managed arrangement unique to each couple; but it is well known. What the man in the relationship quickly learns is that its not all about sex. Accessing that part of the relationship is gated by his spouse. That controlled aspect – a sort of throttle is primarily responsible to avoiding the runaway addictive cycle more commonly seen outside of marriage (as God ordained). Sex becomes a part of the relationship; Just enough access to keep the interest but not with abandon and on-demand characteristic of addictive arrangements pushed by our adversary – all well expressed in popular media of late..
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Let’s face it, you might not have heard common Christian dogma called “Appeasement Theology” but the whole idea that Jesus was cruelly killed (add in suffering in the garden if you like) and that action somehow absolves you and 11 billion other sinners of all wrongdoing AND somehow makes you suitable for coexisting as your miserable, but ‘paid off’ self is simply ludicrous. There’s no logic to it. No plausible explanation for how this keeps Heaven from becoming hell. In its essence, it is no different than pagans sacrificing virgins to appease the ever-angry volcano god.
However, by simply understanding the same classic words from a different view and all those concerns are resolved.
· Sin for example has natural consequence of anguish when a clear recollection is experienced.
· The law of Justice is that heaven is and remains just that - and
· if you are not compatible with Gods presence, Justice is you must remain elsewhere - the natural consequence. That's the punishment.
So, No. I don't believe that the phrases "law must be satisfied" and similar must be interpreted in the common sectarian view of God roasting victims or of some undisclosed means to actively abuse Jesus to balance out the Christian equivalent of Ying and Yang! i.e. someone’s got to pay!
And anyway, why oh why would Jesus be abused for my sorrows? Sin might have nothing to do with my sorrow! Yet the holy writ bundles up His atonement event as addressing both. The classic ‘punishment to pay off the sin debt’ concept can’t explain that. So, to reiterate, the old 'sacrifice the virgin to the angry god (appeasement) theology to make things right' simply does not fit with our enlightened understanding of a loving Heavenly Father.
Oh, our faithful elder brother Jesus sacrificed plenty to know us! He did that in that atoning garden experience and then the cross where collectively He experienced vicariously all my blunders and yours. That was, for certain, plenty punishing but all that was for love and for our healing and rectifying or justifying us (like a carpenter’s square) with heaven, so we are changed and made heavenly. It’s not explaining away or excusing our follies nor paying of an angry God or keeper of scores or karma but an act whose result ends is in actually changing us. So, when we say, “Justice = might be satisfied.” It is because we compatible ie we become heavenly and appropriately...are in Heaven. And those that aren't ...aren't.
Try explaining classic Appeasement Theology to an atheist or say a Hindu….tough sell!
But explain Jesus as vicariously experiencing ALL of us out of love to be our Counselor and thus Savior …is still a big sell… but sure easier than the whole volcano god story.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Jesus was really quite the radical!
·
Do good to those who despitefully use you
and abuse you.
·
Set your fancy gifts aside and 1st go recover
your estranged relative.
·
Do not give railing for railing…
·
Blessed are the peacemakers. Why for they
will be the children of God.
The final straw may be this chestnut: “Justice is mine saith the Lord so Judge not that ye be not judged!”
“Well, Why not???” Came the quick defense. “He/she did this and that! The @&^@$)! He/She should roast in hell!” Ahh and that’s just the root of the matter right there. A person saw or personally experienced a horrible situation and are just so certain there is nothing redeemable or mitigatable and their sense of “justice” is based on pain for pain, railing for railing!
Recall this tough nut: “Forgive those who have trespassed against you. Why? So that your Father in Heaven will forgive you.” Hmmm so that sounds weird Why should forgiving my little splinters be held up for me not forgiving that big beam that Nogoodnik whacked me with??? Why would there be any connection whatsoever?
I suppose I could sum up the whole collection of seeming inequalities being demanded of us in comparison to the offenses real or perceived in this simple phrase; We are learning heaven.
You see, the root of Justice is Not punishment but compatibility. Let that sink in a bit.
We use pain and withdrawal and other negative tools as teachers. Did we punish our children because we hate them? I hope not! The good book says, “Whom the Lord Loveth, He is whom the Lord chasteneth” In fine, the point is not supposed to be revenge but recovery. Now, some are just slow learners, and only the college of hard knocks – direct experience with some hell brings us to some humility and recognition that there must be a better way.
That’s what we learned from Alma the Younger. “For three days, I suffered the pains and anguish of a damned soul with a clear recollection and understanding of all my sins and the full understanding of all the murders. The thoughts of how I had harmed others so harrowed up my soul in profound chains of sorrow as to be like an unquenchable fire.
So, I ask you – is that punishment? Sure sounds like it to me. But is God roasting him on a spit out of spite and revenge and retribution? NO! His pain was the natural result, the law affixed – the punishment is living with the truth. Justice is an = sign. You reap what you sow.
What then is God’s interest in this affair? Read on in Alma’s account and you see the utility of the pains of hell are just like we used with our own kids in “time-outs” IE reconciliations, recovery, correction! “and then I recalled my father telling me about one Jesus and I called out to him in my pain and said. Jesus, thou son of God, have mercy on me who is in the gall of bitterness.
The rest of the story has Jesus healing him and making something great of out him. It's very much a Saul/Paul story and in fact, IS ALL of our stories. The Good News is that Jesus is not about overlooking our sins and shortcomings and hate and evil, it's about healing us, changing us, and making even the most evil of us ready for heaven.
In essence, we are practicing heaven here and Jesus is the coach and counselor, and physician. All we need to do is follow His direction, accept his counsel, and take the medicine to be healed and ready for heaven.
Essentially, we are learning heaven lest when we are granted entry we make an instant hell out of it! You simply can't be in heaven with hate in your heart. So, to be in heaven you have to get the hate and hell out of you! Jesus is in the business of accomplishing that - in part by teaching us the same infinite level of mercy as he has so when we get there we will be like him already!
Sounds too hard? Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Be not deceived!
Be careful that we are not forcing our counsel on the Lord!
It would appear,
given that Judas committed suicide (by one account), after Jesus was crucified,
that he did not anticipate Jesus would allow himself to be killed but rather he
would rise up and assume the role of Messiah and King as was commonly anticipated
by the whole nation.
He may have been
impatient with Mr. Meek and Mild having seen His majesty and power over life and
death and wind and waves! The master just needed a nudge; force the matter by creating
imperative circumstance to get him to step up and claim his divine role …. beginning
by purging the land of the hated Romans! That is how zealots of the day thought.
When Jesus tacitly
and calmly - almost matter of fact, pointed out that Judas would betray him and
then said, “see to it,” it’s quite plausible, even reasonable, to imagine that Judas
may have concluded that the all-knowing Master was actually accepting of Judas’
unstated plan to “out the lord.” In effect, that Jesus was “in on it” or at least
resigned or acquiescing to the scheme. After all he had just orchestrated a rather
grand Royal entry on a donkey; a day we still celebrate as Palm Sunday. (See Math
21) and had told his inner circle to obtain weapons!
That Judas did
not anticipate that his action would lead to Jesus’ horrific death is further confirmed
by Judas subsequently throwing the 30 pieces of silver back at the Sanhedrin …
Mark 27:4 Saying, I have
sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to
us? see thou to that.
5 And he cast down the pieces
of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
So yes, Satan
inspired and deceived him (“entered Satan into him”) but perhaps in some way, much
like he deceived Eve; mixing truth with lies; he appealing to Judas’ sense of justice
or more likely - revenge against the occupiers.
There are lessons
to learn from Judas’ sad end. It is key that we “Counsel not the Lord” but rather
‘to take counsel from God’. Our goal ought to be to understand and align
our will with His and not the other way around.
Perhaps, to use
a recent example - picketing the Church Office building to try and force our social
viewpoints on the Lord is unlikely to be the way to find let alone change God’s
will. Our goal should always be to obtain Gods will.
Aside from that valuable lesson we just drew from that story, the question arises considering the final state of Judas, whose very name has come to mean the ultimate traitor. Is there forgiveness? Some say, “No!” Jesus seemed to call him a ‘Son-of-Perdition’. That label is translated also as lost, or destruction.
Two questions come to the foreground. If ever so labeled, is that person forever destined for outer darkness along with the devil himself? Second, to be cast to outer darkness implies irredeemable but surely this endless fate is not because of God’s inability to extend that grace but that the person actively with full knowledge in perpetuity rejects such grace without desire to ever receive it.
·
Sons
of perdition deny the Holy Spirit after receiving it, D&C
76:35.
·
Sons
of perdition deny the Son after the Father has revealed him, D&C
76:43.
The record, however, shows that Judas was instantly repentant when he saw that his outing of Jesus resulted not in His becoming King but in His death! He was sorrowful to the point of committing suicide. He tried to give the blood money back and acknowledged that Jesus was innocent of any sin. Some writers try to vilify Judas calling him a thief and others envious and scour the record for possible offences he could have built up into a murderous rage, but the simplest answer consistent with the documented actions is he was a zealot with a zealot’s viewpoint as to the role of the messiah. This was his mistake and sin; taking for himself the role of master. He did this to his sad end but ironically fulfilling Jesus’ destiny and ultimate triumph over death and sin.
Did that triumph over sin include Judas’ sin? Some try to imply that Judas had a perfect knowledge of Jesus and worked against him and on the face of it the Holy Spirit too. They site John 17:12 where John records Jesus’ prayer:
” While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.”
https://biblehub.com/john/17-12.htm See Perdition, Loss, Ruin
LDS proponents of Perdition for Judas point to that utterance and then assert that he must have had perfect knowledge from the Holy Spirit. Because he had perfect knowledge and rejected Jesus, he is Perdition….That circular reasoning struggles against the facts of the story that show a penitent Judas in search of grace and redemption for his error in judgment; not rejecting of Jesus.
One has to ask, Is Jesus not the Shepard that goes after to recover even the lost sheep; the physician that reaches even to hell to bring back the life in ruin? It was not long after that public betrayal that Jesus forcefully slammed another of the twelve, Peter with “Get thee behind me Satan.” I’m not sure what’s harsher to be referred to as Satan or the Son of, but I’m inclined to believe that Jesus’ atoning efforts extend to all who repent and none but those who with perfect enlightenment reject that light are left permanently in darkness.
The plain record says Judas was flummoxed by what happened from his poignant public betrayal scheme and was not in the least his expectation. He showed a penitent state attempting to right the terrible outcome and even gave his own life in futile atonement for his error…or was it futile?
When we make a sin or an error of judgement, especially due to insufficient understanding of the whole picture, we often use a lesser term called ‘a transgression’. Perhaps in God’s mercy, Jesus’ atoning sacrifice may cover even his betrayer’s act along with the others whom Jesus petitioned His father saying near the end, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
There is common culture that teaches exclusivity to what is called THE Gift of the Holy Ghost. A problem emerges instantly as to how that is defined. The Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is as often spoken of as an entity as an influence. That influence is more often described in terms of gifts (plural) than A gift. There is one passage in the New Testament when a group was asked if they had received the Holy Ghost and they remarked they had not even heard of the concept. Then the brethren laid their hands on them and gave them ‘the gift’. So, what did they give exactly?
Acts 8:15-17 rehearses how the apostles pray that the Holy Spirit might come to, fall upon, or be received by the saints in a certain city. Then they laid hands on them and it says, “They received the Holy Ghost.” In verse 20 Paul calls it “a Gift of God.”
There are cases where the Gift or influence simply came and other cases when it came from praying and then then others when the elders laid hands on the people. There is much confusion. In the case of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who has a structured priesthood, it is often presented that the gift or ‘fulness of the gift’ is only available to individuals that have had the laying on of hands by elders of the restored church. It is treated as a necessary sacrament and taught often as a gateway to the Holy Ghost. This leads to an assumption of exclusive access to God’s Spirit.
Examining though the wording of the LDS confirmation sacrament, it reveals not a bestowal per se but a command. “I say unto you, Receive the Holy Ghost!”
So, is it valid that one could NOT have experienced the Holy influence to the same degree or manner before the laying on of hands by emissaries of Christ? Would that view not force the conclusion that other religion’s pastors and priest and parishioners could not experience the same divine guidance, visions, influence or frequency or intensity as a baptized LDS believers? This view is common in LDS culture and some literature.
There is also plenty of anecdotal evidence that post baptism spiritual experiences do multiply for many implying it acted as a gateway of sorts; or is there another explanation? It is equally true that believing individuals of other faiths would be adamant that their life is frequently, even daily, influenced by that Holy Spirit and would scoff at the notion of exclusivity.
Conversely there are plenty of other Christian sects that so tie their expectation for the gifts of the spirit to theological purity of their own persuasion that it is beyond them to believe that an unorthodox believer like a Latter Day Saint could ever experience the Gift(s) of the Holy Ghost as they do.
This pattern of Holy Spirit exclusivity is backed by narrow interpretations and carefully stacking scriptures to that cultural end by both LDS(see essay57 Baptism Misconceptions) and non-LDS sects.(For the author’s personal experience with this pattern of exclusivity see Adams2010_journal.) The negative result is distancing individuals and groups one from another when the ties that could align are so much greater!
The great irony is the same circles that might promote the exclusive Holy Spirit concept touting the “Constant companionship of the Spirit” also acknowledge periods they might call “Divine Silence!” The facts seem to suggest its not even constant with prophets!
Rather than exclusive access by an event like baptism or even the laying on of hands, the scriptures do speak to preparation, worthiness, readiness to receive influence. But we must not extend “worthiness” to earning and owed; as if God’s will was slaved to our performances; however divine in practice.
The explanation to these seemingly contradictory references in the writ and our personal experiences might simply be in the concept that when we align ourselves with God’s will, when we seek His will and influence, when we are doing good and following His commandments, THEN we are positioning ourselves to resonate with God. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit will accompany us more often because we are ready to receive when God chooses to send that gift of influence!
Naturally, when a person steps into the waters of baptism and is in prayer and receiving the laying on of hands by emissaries of our Savior there may well be outpourings of a spiritual nature. This will continue as one serves God, but it may be no more or less than before joining our faith if that life before baptism was a life also spent in God’s service.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
It’s been a while since my good friends have heard from me but after our lesson on Sunday I felt impressed to provide a brief epilogue to an unfinished conversation.
A while back I tried to advance to some of my LDS friends an understanding - an answer really, to the prophet Enos’s query, “Lord, how was it done”
I wasn’t able to get too far with that conversation at that time. Perhaps my presentation may have been a bit too impertinent and seemingly unorthodox.
So it was with some gratitude and relief to hear in our church's general conf the talk “Jesus Christ is relief” that further quoted our prophet Nelson saying, “Because the Savior, through His infinite Atonement, redeemed each of us from weakness, mistakes, and sin, and because He experienced every pain, worry, and burden you have ever had, then as you truly repent and seek His help, you can rise above this present precarious world.” That is the relief Jesus Christ offers us!” This was the crux behind all I had desired to share!
He did not experience stuff ‘like’ our troubles, the miracle was he experienced MY unique troubles. Out of time he vicariously experienced me. That’s the takeaway. It explains the how it might be reasonable to call Jesus, "your personal savior!"
The collateral knowledge is the assertion that THAT garden and subsequent cross experience was 'the punishment' we all talk about. The prophet Alma 7:11,12 spoke that such experiences were part of the “how” he knew how to succor us.
· THAT personal experience with each of us is how he can be the perfect advocate to the Father for us.
· THAT is how he knows how to talk our unique language when He sends the Holy Spirit to touch us.
· That punishing event of experiencing each of our lives was not a payoff to some angry god in need of appeasement but a preparation - as he said, DC19:19 "I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."
The end result is we can be healed by the balm he uniquely provides and thus event by event be prepared and perfected with the end game of being made compatible with heaven.
Thus when we are ushered in through those pearly gates we are ready and heavenly, else it simply would not be just.
Thus by his gracious mercy, Justice, right and truth are all satisfied as we become new creatures.
Thus, Heaven is Heaven and so are you!
Blessings to all my friends
Till we meet again
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
An open letter to my dear aunties,
In a day when many wonder if the last shoe will soon drop presaging Armageddon, the people who believe in Jesus as the Christ need more than ever to come together to fight together the onslaught of evil. There is so much that should unite us as believers and what divides is sometimes so obscure and difficult to articulate that it may be surprising how sharp the divide has been! Let’s face it, if the ancient writings were crystal clear, there would not be arguments! More often than not, it’s just a little tweak in understanding an ambiguous concept that can divide, but let that wedge be set aside -> unity is possible! You get what you focus on.
As an example of a small tweak in understanding
a concept, take the
topic of describing God. God has been called ‘the invisible god’ because few (some
say none) have ever seen God and there are places that read, “no one can see god
and live” suggesting you can see him but doing so may be fatal!. Yet there are various
encounters, like when Stephen who sees God the Father AND notably Jesus by His side,
and of course none other than Moses claims to have seen and talked with god face
to face! Well, that’s what was said!
Ex
33:11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend
Then, if we are to assert
that Jesus IS God, for sure, folks saw his face! So clearly under some circumstances
God has a face to be seen and can show it when he wants to!
Even when seen, it might be further questioned if by one’s physical
eyes or in a vision? So, what does it mean to “see” god anyway? Paul said (likely about himself) “I know a man in Christ
who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the
body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.” This suggests ‘a loophole’ in
the whole ‘cannot see god’ stricture! That stricture is clearly a qualified one
at best.
Take Saul on the way to Damascus when he hears a voice and light yet the guys next to him hear a voice but saw no man speaking (and it’s a bit ambiguous if they ever saw the light.) In our LDS faith when Joseph claimed to have, like Stephen of old, seen a vision of the Father and Son, he recounts how he found himself on his back after the encounter…If his spirit left his body like Paul’s, consider how that would account for his essentially dead body left behind during the encounter. Anyway, the point is, it can be ambiguous as to these details. And for those who can’t quite appreciate that God even has a body at all, all this chatter about dying if you see His face (vs say his back view) must seem quite confusing - hence apologists do linguistic gymnastics allegorizing the plain to the metaphoric!
(Exodus 33:19–23). To protect
Moses, God put him “in a cleft in the rock” and covered him with His hand as He
passed by (22). “Then,” God promised, “I will remove my hand and you will see my
back; but my face must not be seen” (23).
We can take it as-is, the plain reading, or explain it another way. Moses isn’t here to defend his meaning, so, if both concepts can be argued and rationalized from the same script, can we not cut each other some slack on leaning to one view or another? It is just a tweak in perspective that leads to one corner of the mental arena or another! For a more thorough treatment on seeing God try this link.
Speaking of tweaks in understanding, consider another
example starting with what the Athensian creed had to say about the nature of God
as the theologians struggled to avoid being accused of polytheism with 3 Gods.
Bishop Athanasia’s creed dating from about 300+ AD has this to say about God from a trinitarian viewpoint: (quoting in part)
“…God the Father incomprehensible, God the Son incomprehensible,
and God the Spirit incomprehensible, but not three incomprehensibles, but one incomprehensible...”
Link
I’d like to think he had a whimsical side to him as to how he penned that but I do think he was quite serious, basically arguing, “yeh we can’t figure out why this make sense but we believe it because it is said, ‘God is One’. Since we have what appears to be three Gods, we reconcile it by just asserting “we cant explain how God seems to be split up into distinct even estranged entities at times!” Which would not be too tragic if it weren’t accompanied with, “you’d better believe it or else!” “Or else we will disown you and separate you and assert God will discard you to the pit,” if you don’t sign up for this catechism.
But, was there no other explanation for that “God is One” reference? Turns out there is – a simple little tweak in the definition of what was thought to be incomprehensible and invisible! If three Gods are in perfect harmony, they in effect make up one God– “the Godhead” as Paul referred to it. Jesus said it like this:
John 17:21-23 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent
me.
Personally, that make so much more sense than having one part
of God talking to himself and complaining he’s being abandoned by himself or himself
asking his other self what he should be doing...It’s the sort of stuff one gets
sent to a shrink for! Someone else may make a better argument for it but in the
end seeing it one way or the other comes down to a simple tweak in the definition
of one word, ‘God’.
How folks get so worked up over how someone might personally
visualize the invisible and incomprehensible is a bit beyond me. Both schools of
thought believe there is ‘one God’ and its most unreasonable, based on the loving
god concept, to presume that this loving God
would reject and punish or otherwise ignore the prayers of millions who might
define or mentally picture the incomprehensible God one Tweak different than another
earnest seeker.
I am not arguing the ultimate difference in understanding might
not be profound, only pointing out that the writ was ambiguous enough that just
a nudge, a tweak in one simple concept ultimately brought about that divergence.
Each would argue they worship the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and each would
assert they worship “just one God!” If you want to find trinitarian language, it’s
on the cover page of the Book of Mormon. Even there, it’s ambiguous at times even
when the writer is trying to be clear!. It’s the nature of language.
Perhaps Jesus said it best, as he prayed…to God Jn 17:21 “that they may be one, even as we are one” For a more thorough treatment on “One God,” see this short essay: Link
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
We are taught that we are spiritual beings having an earthly
experience. We are admonished to “invite God’s Spirit” into our lives and activities.
In fine might think of our Mind, Body, Spirit connections very much like Avatars.
This body, like a drone, has core and cache memory, sensors and preprocessing functions,
stabilizers and safety reaction capability to autonomously safe the system with
little need for oversight once trained. There is no consciousness needed in any
of that. As adults we’ve all driven aways only to realize we were lost in our thoughts
and have no recollection of the details of the drive!
The reaction centers can also even provide what to say and pull up from memory reactive
thought. IF we allow the Avatar to just react, we become as the scripture says,
the natural man which is an enemy of God.
It can be an enemy because just like leaving weapons on a battlefield we
can leave this avatar unattended and the enemy can pick it up, influence it and
use it for his own nefarious purposes. There are various ways we can “leave” it
unattended and vulnerable. Drugs, can separate our spirit from control. Allowing
the “natural man” to be in control, essentially giving over complete control to
the reaction centers like anger, sex and appetites all provide an opening for another
spirit to jump into the driver’s seat as it were.
If we are wise, like the cartoon, we give heed to the input from God and good friends. Choosing good friends is one of the most important decisions a young or even an old person will ever make. Choosing to be surrounded by a majority of bad friends is like inviting that little imp to park on your shoulder! You, as salt, can compensate for the bitter, but too much bitter and your salt will have lost it’s savor. Choose your school, your activities and work environments with the same care as your choice of friends. The adage that you will be known by the company you keep has some validity as the influence of good or bad friends is again quite like that cartoon!
An old
grandfather was teaching his grandson about life:
“A fight
is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is
a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil–he is anger, envy, sorrow,
regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false
pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued,
“The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness,
empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
The same
fight is going on inside you–and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson
thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win?”
The grandfather
simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Even when we try and think we are managing and guarding our spirit-body defense, we must appreciate that our limited Avatar body has limitations. It has limits in those sensors! In actuality we all tend to see life and experiences as through a soda straw. Even the little light we do perceive is but a tiny fraction of the spectrum that could be seen . We don’t have God’s perspective; just a soda straw view. Try closing your other eye and look through a straw and imagine that is all you were born to be able to see. After a while that would become your new normal. Lo we are careful, we may convince ourselves that our viewpoint, what we see and understand, is all there is to see. In the Bible, we are advised that, “we see as through a glass darkly!”
If
we are wise, we realize that we don’t see all or even much! We actually don’t know
nor understand much either! (Walk through the stacks of a large library sometime
and you’ll realize your ignorance.) Likewise, our emotional skills and knowledge
are limited and we must appreciate that it’s pretty hard to feel another’s pain.
Bottom line? We can school the reactive centers of our body, slow them down and
give our spirit and God’s spirit a bit of time to command the body what to do, how
to feel and have to respond…slower is often better!
In
fine, we must school our emotional centers and bridal the reactions. Understanding
that the sensors are limited allows us to have grace for each other and for ourselves.
By not allowing the natural man to be ruled by emotions and avoiding open doors
caused by drugs and addictions, maintains walls of defenses from influence from
evil spirits that do not serve our cause and who’s am is to take control. Learning
to school this body, to control this avatar, is after all one of our primary missions.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Hand Out for Discussion –
There are at least 7 Atonement concepts; two are most common:
Penal Substitution or appeasement
Theology is perhaps the most common idea across most of Christianity, but there
is another voice or understanding that sees Jesus’ atoning efforts in context of
healing from suffering human anguish and trials; freeing us from the guilt of sin
by removing the desire to sin and its legacy. While sinning can be conceptualized
as somehow addressed by retribution IE punishment, Jesus’ atonement accomplishes both purging the
results of sin AND all those healing aspects resulting in sanctification ie as being
readied for heaven.
Its about your direction, not so much about your past
LDS teachings inform that God has demonstrated His concern for your future
actions, the past being an indicator but not a determinant for the future. Hence,
he offers a way to sponge out the past and set the person aright; IE compatible
with perfection and the kingdom he is destined to.
The key concept then is sanctification. Appeasement is not to be found!
On examination, appeasement theology is inconsistent with our basic understanding
of Father God; full of grace and Love. The eternal law related to justice that McConkey
wrote about is nicely illuminated in last April’s conference “Jesus Christ is relief”, “Pres Nelson reminded us what Jesus said to the Nephites, “Will
you not now return to me and repent of your sins and be converted that may heal
you.” Notice there is no payment
here; only converting(change) and healing! Again
from Nelson, “He can heal you from sadness and fear” and “from the wounds of the world.”
Words have multiple meanings!
What if Mercy didn’t simply imply a condition of undeserved
generosity but meant additionally - applied love; a forward-thinking outcome-based
emphasis?
What if "Justice must be satisfied"
didn’t refer to retribution or revenge or placating an angry god in need of appeasement
by sacrifices nor balancing the scales of cosmic Ying and yang? What if Justice
simply meant that ‘things are’ and remain what God has defined them to be! Heaven
is heaven and remains a place of superlatives like peace and goodness (also defined
by God). If you go to heaven its because you are heavenly.
What if Atonement did not mean punishment
as some sort of appeasement but instead meant precisely what the concatenated parts
of this interesting word communicate; to "be-One-Destined" or "Destined
to be one." To be ‘covered’ or changed. A rebirth.
What if terms like Price and Payment are
describing not some arbitrary unrelated physical torment like scourging (by his
stripes (allegory) we are healed) but the process of God connecting with us intimately,
Jesus' incurred ardor and difficulty in the task of so experiencing us. In so doing
He becomes the perfect counselor, the physician with the right medicine that when
applied is sanctifying and correcting!
Certainly, that would be a virtually infinite
task for correcting billions of souls such that they are, or become, through that
effort, compatible with the assigned heaven – thus satisfying the concept of justice.
IE Heaven stays heaven!
Forgive the crude
vernacular but What if the Good News of Jesus is not that he’s the ultimate sacrifice
to an angry god that must be paid off and appeased so that favors of heaven are
showered on the adherence, but instead that Jesus and the Holy Spirit and our Heavenly
Father have arranged a sort of clinic – a process – a means for the children they
love to be cured of sinful tendencies to the point that we never desire to do or
knowingly pursue wrong?
Even if our execution
in this world may be flawed, our desires really can be perfected. What if when the
shackles of this earthy veil are lifted our execution will likewise be perfected?
Would that not
be Good News indeed?
We are of stupendous potential and we cant see or hardly fathom it yet!
How can someone like me ever be anything like Him?
Additional short studies on Jesus’ Atonement: http://peoplespassions.org/peoplesfaith/essays/Whats_all_this_Stuff_about_Religion_Anyway.htm#_top
30. Forgiveness and the Power of the Atonement
93. On Enos’ unanswered query. “Lord, how was it done?”
94. Examining Key Gospel Words leads to understanding!
95. What is Hell and How Can Jesus Get the Hell Out of You?
101. Jesus really is our Personal Savior, Advocate, Physician and Counselor
Key Takeaways
·
Penal
Substitution Theology (PST) is an untenable approach rejected by Amulek (Alma 34:8–12 ) and
common sense and was historically derived from pagan sacrificial schemes to appease
the pantheon of gods.
·
LDS
teachings emphasis that the Garden experience provides the time, place, and scriptural
supports for a personal one-on-one atonement wherein our sanctification (ie being
readied for heaven) is accomplished. (Jesus called it a ‘preparation’ DC 19)
·
Jesus’
atonement, as a personal experience for each of us, individually, must have occurred
outside of classic earth-time given the shear immense numbers of unique souls to
save!
The agony and anguish of personally interrogating and vicariously
experiencing each of our lives was the exquisitely difficult, punishing experience,
that allowed Him to uniquely, intimately, know you and so was able to be that perfect
advocate, the perfect physician, the kindred spirit and counselor able reach us
and heal us. That experience WAS the payment, or the punishment as Isaiah said;
“by His stripes, we are healed.” Note -not paid off but healed!
·
The
ignominious death was part of the claim of descending below all things though perhaps
ingenious wicked people may have found something worse – hard to say - but can we
agree, “close enough?”
·
Jesus’
public ignominious execution was also needful in this wise: to establish His power
over both life and death; fulfilling His self-prophecy of “destroy this temple and
I shall raise it up again in 3 days”, His death needed, for those reasons at least,
to be so public as to be indisputable in fact. (“these things were not done in a
corner” Acts 26:26
·
What’s
in a word or turn of a phrase?
How then to understand the phrases and words that littler the way of misunderstandings like PST? Words are symbols;
Phrases are collections of thoughts that have multiple possible meanings. With one
meaning things make gospel sense. With another it doesn’t even make common sense
let alone fodder for a convincing argument a gentile might be able to accept.
·
Understanding
and speaking the language of your audience, So what’s the problem?
To share the greatest event in mankind’s history, one has to understanding
their perspective. Your presentation must make sense; common sense in their language.
It must make common sense in your language too!
Sharing the “Good
News”
As an evangelical, missionary
minded church and people we want to share our understanding and introduce Jesus
to all. You need to understand your audience.
Atheists: For the most part believe we are simply machines
and don’t find any meaning in anything and live for the moment, and for sanity ignore
the nihilistic epilog to their-philosophy
Muslims: Don’t believe in perfection and see god weighing
good vs bad; like a scales. Just need to tip it in the right direction to get into
heaven or Die in Jihad and then its a sure ticket in.
Hindus: Believe in perfection but provides infinite
iteration to achieve the goal
Buddhist: Like Hinduism provides infinite iteration to
achieve the goal of perfection but Focuses on identifying causes of suffering and
methods to address suffering which are often the results of sinful behavior; in
fine it is like a detailed instruction manual to achieve perfection and thus an
exit from reincarnation cycle
Christians: Comes is a few flavors but many/most have Jesus
being punished as the price or ransom that is thought to satisfy or appease an otherwise
angry God or in some variants a concept that God has to enforce a law that even
supersedes God. God is thus compelled to
execute some sort of punishment that is proposed to be equivalent to the misdeeds.
The notable takeaway is that this concept is actually proposing to fix a God problem,
not your problem. It is God that must be appeased or some law that God feels compelled
to enforce.
However, if Jesus is
punished instead of the sinner, that still qualifies to satisfy the angry god; thus
a sort of loophole in that so called law.
This is the same as a scape goat or whipping boy concept; somebody has to
pay and it doesn’t matter who!
In theological circles this is called Penal Substitution.
https://youtu.be/s8DZYeCvaM0?si=5TTrREa7IQ6vC2as
I called it Appeasement Theology.
A better approach
is addressing how sanctification can be a reality – how you are readied for heaven This talk by the renowned Robert Millet is worth
the listen:
https://speeches.byuh.edu/devotionals/the-atonement-of-christ-infinite-in-scope-intimate-in-nature
Likewise this conference
talk speaks to the concept of Jesus Anointing effort is for change and healing.
Jesus Christ is Relief by By President Camille N. Johnson, Relief Society General
President
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04/42johnson?lang=eng#p5
r
What’s in a word?
Words are symbols for
concepts and things
|
Term |
Common Meaning |
Gospel Consistent Meaning |
|
Payment
(Jesus) |
Dread,
Beatings Blood letting or tortuous anguish intended to assuage some likewise unspecified
individual; possibly Father God or in some minds an unknown force/law that even
God must obey. |
Becoming
acquainted with your grief and your sins, was intrinsically painful to the point
of failure of his body while His spirit endured the trauma. He paid a personal
price to know you. |
|
Payment
(You) |
You
are subjected to some unpleasant unspecified thing, like fire or tortuous anguish
intended to assuage the angry God or perhaps some unspecified individual who suffers
instead on your account; Apparently there is a table of “stripes” for various
sins. Stripes are not well defined but for sure is unpleasant. |
If
you are suffering from your sin it is the natural result of a clear understanding
(guilt) of that sin’s effect – If that unrelenting hell causes you to finally
look to Jesus then Hell had a useful purpose not to pay off the sin accountant
for your sins but to school you to the better way.. the only way; Jesus who saves. |
|
Sacrifice
or Sacrifice for sin |
You
sinned, Jesus agreed to sacrifice by doing something hard and sore to balance
out or appease the “demands of Justice”, This understanding of “justice” is like
tribal retribution between the Hatfield’s and the McCoys. It does not care who
pays! |
You
sinned, Jesus agreed to sacrifice by doing something hard and sore in the process
of becoming so acquainted with your grief and sin as to know how to reach you
and change you and thus sanctify you; ready for heaven |
|
Punishment |
Harsh
Law is enforced by either an angry god or a reluctant but powerless God who is
compelled to punish |
You:
The natural result. A perfect recollection and understanding of your sins (guilt)
and its complete ramifications. Jesus
Experiencing your life x billions was a traumatic (punishing) experience |
|
Mercy, |
For
His good pleasure He chooses who he will save |
From
infinite love, He prepares a way to recover, heal and sanctify His children readied for heaven |
|
Justice, Justified, Justice must be satisfied |
This
is either a concept of retribution or an actual entity like an angry god who’s
nature demands a balance of pain with imperfection/error. To
justify is to hide the sins from Father God’s view. Could be thought of as a willful
self deception on God’s part |
Justice
is like a concept of fairness; like an
= sign. Things are what God says they are!. If heaven is heaven then only the
heavenly can be there… else it would cease to be heaven. Like
using a carpenter’s square is used to justify a wall with a reference, to be justified
it to be made right. |
|
Atonement/ Covered |
The
be overlooked or ignored or forgotten |
To
be transformed. Also like a “mare is covered” we are made to be fruitful of righteousness.
To be made one or compatible |
Lord How
was it done?
|
The
“How” from Jesus’ Perspective |
|
The “How” from Our Perspective |
|
What if in the Garden, Jesus
experienced each of our lives individually? Outside of time, Jesus experienced
ALL of our sinful behaviors and all the anguish and unseemly ramifications therein.
All the traumas and the good too; more intimately than if he had read page by
page your whole life’s book. |
|
You Accept that Jesus, God, is
THE healer, Counselor, your Savior; you might say, “your personal savior” and
it would not be a trite saying! |
|
He advocates to the Father for you when you pray - like the
good lawyer that knows “his client” like himself. |
|
You Accept Jesus as your perfect
advocate to the Father as He experienced you. He knows you “like a book.” |
|
Based on His love, foreknowledge,
and perfect empathy he acquired specifically and uniquely for you, He reaches
your reaching and sends the Holy Spirit with the right sized customized balm to
strengthen and amplify your resolve and efforts while yet in the flesh. |
|
You Reach out to the Godhead,
repent of past misdeeds and with God’s help (Jesus) strive to put sin behind you Like having power steering, Jesus is the difference
in your success and perfection. |
A
View to Atonement Group Discussion
Steves
Notes to Guide Discussion:
A popular song in our
hymn book reads , “A law was broken Jesus died, that justice might be satisfied”.
That’s one seriously packed phrase that leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Enos,
likewise, experienced redemption, relief from guilt, change and healing all at once
in His encounter with Jesus.. and then asked “Lord, how was it done?”
Jews were taught to
sacrifice animals “for their sins” and that was supposed to be a reminder; pointing
to some final great sacrifice that would happen yet in the future to take away the
result or impact of all sin. Over time, that connection was sadly lost on most folks
who came to think of that the sacrifice event as the mechanism in its entirely
as means to purge the ledger of your misdeeds.
The missionaries, Alma
the younger and Amulek, provided some insight
in Alam 7:11-12 and Alma 34:8-17
Amulek says things like
“Take upon Him the transgressions” “Atone for”
He says we are “Hardened”
“Lost” “Fallen” “a sacrifice must me made” but must be an infinite and eternal”
By Mercy (as in undeserved)
this event or process “overpowers justice”
But in verse16 he ties mercy to a repentance, IE change; so not just once
and done. It’s a process. He also uses legal argument to point out that simply paying
of a sin ledger as a concept is flawed and not the right understanding,
Yet this sectarian notion
of a ledger in the cosmos that must be balanced and paid, like the yin and Yang
persists in many, even most, parts of Christianity.
Steven Richardson in
his work, “Believing Christ” used a now famous
Bike purchase allegory to try and explain how ‘Jesus makes up the difference’ as
your sins and deeds and misdeeds are weighed and found wanting (Islam) …In that
allegory, Jesus apparently places his finger on the scales of Justice and makes
up the difference.
Then Brad Wilcocks comes
along and being a master of wordplay says, ”no no no Jesus doesn’t make up the difference,
He IS the difference!” IE he helps you along
the way to become different.”
SO thats pretty good
about the What Jesus did, but still leaves Enos’ question “Lord HOW was it done”
yet unanswered.
In Camill Johnsons recent Conference talk, “Christ is Relief,” she quotes
our Prophet President Nelson who
offered,
“Because the Savior, through His infinite Atonement,
redeemed each of us from weakness, mistakes, and sin, and because He experienced
every pain, worry, and burden you have ever had, then as you truly repent and seek
His help, you can rise above this present precarious world.”7 That is the relief
Jesus Christ offers us!”
This is helpful enlightenment from our pulpits:
Robert
Millet Robert L. Millet is a professor of ancient scripture and emeritus
Dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah then brought out these enlightening
words:
The atonement of Christ, brothers and sisters,
is intimate in that God's (can I say it this way?); God's infinity does not preclude
either His immediacy or his intimacy. In ways that we cannot comprehend, even though
our Savior is the Savior of an innumerable host of people, He is first and foremost
my Savior and your Savior.
Recently,
at our General Conference, Elder Merrill J. Bateman of the Seventy made this observation.
"For
many years," he said, "I have thought of the Savior's experience in the
garden and on the cross as places where a large mass of sin of was heaped upon Him.
Through the words of Alma, Abinadi ,Isaiah, and other prophets, however, my view
has been changed. Instead of an impersonal mass of sin, there was a long line of
people. As Jesus felt our infirmities, bore our griefs, carried our sorrows and
was bruised for our iniquities."
Elder
Bateman continues,
"The
atonement was an intimate, personal experience in which Jesus came to know how to
help each of us. The Pearl of Great Price teaches that Moses was shown all the inhabitants
of the earth, which were numberless as the sand upon the seashore. If Moses beheld
every soul," Elder Bateman says, "then it seems reasonable that the Creator
of the universe has the power to become intimately acquainted with each of us. He
learned about your weaknesses and mine. He experienced your pains and sufferings.
He experienced mine. I testify that He knows us. He understands the way in which
we deal with temptation. He knows our weaknesses, but more than that. More than
just knowing us, He knows how to help us if we come to Him in faith." That's
the end of the quote from Elder Bateman
Time stood still for
Jesus the Almighty God who finished his preparations for each and every one of us.
That preparation was so punishing, so full of anguish, that caused Jesus – even
God, to suffer to the point of death.
A
View to Atonement Group Discussion
Follow up to discussion:
I tried in this short
note to gather what points I think was generally agreed by all in our discussion
and maybe tie it together better than my stumbling attempt. It was clearly a lot
to try and put together in our minds so quickly. We are all appropriately passionate
about this key topic. I get that. Here, then, is a synopsis.
1) The “Law” is a law of natural eternally valid
consequences. If you do wrong, it is wrong, it feels wrong and stays wrong. In the
next life, our spirits have the blessing (and curse) of perfect clarity, hence perfect
peace or perfect anguish.
From Alma
the younger, “racked with eternal torment, harrowed up racked with all my sins, tormented, pains of hell; rebelled, murdered, led to destruction; racked my soul with
inexpressible horror, be banished, become extinct, pains a damned soul, torment”
2) Jesus experienced you and all your wrongs
(amongst other experiences shared) So doing, Jesus would indeed be “bearing
your sins/transgressions” and be experiencing your “natural punishment,” the “just”
results of the laws broken and actually to a greater extent than you do presently
because He would be experiencing the full wake of your sin, the full ramifications
and extent like Alma (above) described. Punishment indeed or better worded, “a punishing
experience!” Justice. ie the result of natural law, is not ignored but “satisfied”
or realized; not ignored or whitewashed but experienced. Because Jesus experienced
it, as God, He was uniquely positioned to use that awful experience to “prepare”
to correct the flaws and as “a man intimately acquainted with grief (our grief),”
he became the great physician, counselor, to heal the wounds he was now so intimately
acquainted with. It was not magic. It was method. This is likely why Jesus
called that experience, Not payment, but “preparation unto the children of men.”
3)
His
experiences with us virtually in that Garden, and also being among us as a living
soul Himself, gave him perfect empathy to succor us. Hence, as Isaiah said, “By
his stripes we are healed.” In this light, it all makes perfect, logical, rational,
loving sense.
4)
So,
it is not a matter of appeasing an angry father god who demands pounds of flesh
for misdeeds, nor a pagan tit for tat sacrifice, or even some form of tribal retribution,
but a punishing experience of ‘learning us’ that Jesus went though to be that physician,
even our friend who gave up his life for us.
5) The natural “just” consequences were there and experienced and was the mechanism for teaching/healing of our souls and readying us for heaven; else it would simply not be just.
I hope this approach to those very same words and phrases lifts and makes it easier to share the joy of our redemption with your friends and family. Back to Top of the Document
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
In the beginning God made clothing of animal skins for Adam and Eve. Why? His reason was because “they have discovered their nakedness” Also as even Satan said, “you have a new world here! Quick make coverings of fig leaves. God will see your nakedness, Hide!”
Yes, a new world indeed, from innocence to new understanding, new appreciation, new interests that also made them sexually capable. When our children are young it is common to bath together without regard to sex. They are innocent.
But as they age into preadolescence they begin to, like Adam and Eve, to discover their nakedness” and we separate such activity, sleeping and bathing and “we cover their nakedness.”
When a bride is married, she symbolically removes the veil for her husband and in private without shame removes that covering of her nakedness. Likewise with the man, as husband and wife, there is no shame. They are as one.
In much of our society, this pattern has been all but lost. Gone is the veil and most of what used to cover that nakedness. In some cases, even the sacred garment symbolizing God’s covenant with us is also lost in the effort to not reserve for the marriage bed, but to advertise and show one’s “assets” to any and all. Teaching a group of teenagers, I once pointed out – “Why don’t men show of chest cleavage?” The obvious answer was. ‘There are no functioning breast to show off.” Why do girls wear hot pants and scant skirts and dresses that more resemble negligees? (even in chilly weather; mind you!)? The obvious answer again is to draw the eye to her most private(prized) parts…or what used to be private. To the person who might claim, “Not so! I just like the way I look.” The real question is “who’s looking and what’s being shown off?” The reality is we dress in public for others. Whether by design or just to fit in with the crowd by wearing the latest fashion, if that fashion is an advertisement for your sexuality then it should not be a surprise if the advertising works! Furthermore, if that desire is for admiration, that form of pride is right next door in the sin list with unsanctioned sexuality. One often leads to the other. Its often enough a surprise for young women to discover just what effect their visual attire has on a young man. It may even engender a feeling of empowerment. A young woman, who honors God and desires God-minded young men as companions would not deliberately dress to so entice. God set that time and a place and circumstance for that intimacy; we call it marriage.
The reason then we clothe and separate young children by sex, and why we wear clothing, in part, is obviously to avoid turning on untimely, unsanctioned sexual behaviors, and as Jesus added; even improper thoughts. It is curiously then, that we note a small but emerging trend wherein some are tossing those God given cautions along with the garments that the Almighty intended to cover their nakedness. It is not surprising when they reap the expected harvest; starting with a loss of the covenant with God in exchange for garnering the pride of the world. Too enough, by enticing sexual thoughts outside of the marriage covenant, this also leads to the breaking of God’s commands on sexual purity with all its attendant destructive fallout.
Just as often this worldly pride focused behavior also leads to loss of faith in God. It was once said that “You cannot long live with disparity between your actions and beliefs. You will either change your actions to match your believes or you will change your beliefs to match your actions.”
Society clearly shows the results of setting both God and modesty aside. It is readily measured by the rampant number of children born out of wedlock. Too many of these same children, who are raised without their father, are not incidentally filling the prisons and terrorizing the cities.
Too often today, that sacred bond of intimacy, which God intended to bind the marriage couple, is well used and spent before the knot is ever tied. Even when marriage is subsequently entered, the ‘try before buy’ commitment is often a bit sketchy. Subsequent broken marriages can just as often find the cause of their failure in behaviors that well preceded those unions.
God had it right when he gave Adam and Eve an Holy garment to cover their nakedness and modern society with its ever changing ‘show it all’ fashion has it demonstrably wrong. Fancy that!
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
In the beginning, God made clothing of animal skins for Adam and Eve; but not simply to cover them from the elements and other’s eyes. At that same time, we learn that God made a covenant with Adam and Eve and their posterity and marked or shall we say ‘wove’ the four key provisions and performances of that agreement into that garment. The four marks or glyphs, though simple, each contain a whole thought.
* Contain your passions into the bounds the Lord sets. God will provide wisdom and instruction as a map to define and conduct your direction and path in life.
* Live your life striving for perfection and right; seek after the Holy Spirit who will give you power toward that end.
* Appreciate that you see only a little and as through a dark lens. Hence like a blind man, seek assistance daily from He who sees and knows all and give liberally to those who humbly seek His guiding hand.
* Subordinate
your wisdom for His wisdom and worship daily in humility and awe and He who is above
all will exalt the weak and humble.
Notice both parties have performances
and responsibilities gated by those provisions. I think it safe to say He will hold
up His end of that covenant!
In the LDS temples, ceremonies and reenactments
of that first covenant teach how Jesus’ Atoning sacrifice was in fact “preparation”
for each of us, and a most difficult experience that enables Him as part of the
Godhead to perform God’s end of the bargain. How He became the perfect Counselor,
Comforter, Advocate, Your friend in actual deed is explored in several essays (See
Atonement in TOC), but the point to focus on here is that it is through Jesus we
are made perfect and in the end compatible with the kingdom of glory we are suitable
for. He really is at the pearly gate. You take His hand and He lets you in if “He
knows you”.
In the Temple ceremony at the veil to
the Celestial room, we, like the apostles of old, take his hand and feel the prints
of the nails and like Thomas figuratively thrust our hand into His side and witness
that Jesus is the Christ. If we are prepared to enter, the Lord says Let him/her
enter. It is not about a payoff or bribe
to sneak past the guard. It’s about one friend receiving another to a place you
belong because we are like Him. We enter heaven because though His efforts we have
been made ready. In fine, we go to heaven because we are heavenly. Jesus makes that
change possible. Remember - Counselor, Comforter, Advocate! Here a little, there
a little, we change and slough off the rough edges until a shining diamond emerges
with no desire to sin, but to do good continually. We go where we belong!
All that for so
so little from us; just a willing heart, a humble repentant attitude. Paul admonished
us to put on the whole armor of God. The Temple garment is a symbol of the four
covenants. God hardly needs reminding of His end of the bargain, but it does help
us, if we allow it, to be reminded of our end. The wise count themselves fortunate,
even blessed to hold that bargain close to our person each day and night.
It is convenient,
trendy, fashionable? Those questions, in the light of the covenant, bargain, agreement,
handshake we made are sort of irrelevant to men and women of our word. Selfishly,
there’s too much at stake not to fulfil my end to the best of my ability! Casually
setting the garment aside is similar to shredding a business contract. It may have
psychological effect on someone but God still has His copy and will fulfil His end
as we return to that covenant path.
I had this fun
exchange high on a mountain climb with a Baptist minister asking about that contract
etched in cloth, Link to essay excerpt.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Sacrament Mtg Gallatin MO 8/11/2024
In Queen Esther’s story, as told in the Old Testament, she accepted a very difficult task given to her by her adoptive father Mordecai that could have easily cost her her life. But she went forward with both faith and courage on an inspired mission that ultimately saved her people, the Jews, from destruction. To Esther, Mordecai said, “who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” In other words, Esther, this may be your life’s mission and the very reason for your existence at this very time.
Today, I will speak about someone of whom I would say the very same thing that Mordecai said of Esther, “who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” That someone of whom I will speak is Russell M. Nelson, the Prophet, Seer and Revelator of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I testify that President Nelson is God’s duly called Prophet who has received and holds all of the keys of the Priesthood necessary in our day to administer the ordinances of the gospel.
The purpose of my talk is to highlight and share some of President Nelson’s warnings, given directly to us from the time he became the prophet six years ago. These constant warnings cause me to believe that President Nelson was born for “such a time as this” and that the Second Coming is near, even at the doors.
I grew up in the Church and have heard most of the General Conference addresses for the last 60 years, from the time I was a teenager. When I was about fifteen years old, I was strongly impressed with the thought that I would be alive when Christ returns. I still believe that. Over the course of those 60 years Prophets and Apostles have spoken on occasion in General Conference about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. However, in the last six years since President Nelson has been the Prophet he has referenced the Second Coming and what we need to do to prepare for it in nearly every session of General Conference. As we will see, his warnings have been both prolific and specific.
Some members of the Church think the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is still a long way off because, they reason, there are too many things that need to happen first. Some members believe that we don’t need to think about or pay attention to or watch for the Second Coming because, they reason, the Prophet will warn us before the Savior comes so that we can be prepared. Well, here is what John the Revelator said about that. “If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”
In addition, Jesus said in Matthew 24, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
And then, in Matthew 25, Jesus gave the parable of the ten virgins which clearly is talking about his Second Coming where He said, “Watch ye therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”
So, though we don’t know the specific day nor the hour of Christ’s coming, we can know the season if we are watching for the signs spoken of. In Matthew 24 Jesus gave the parable of the fig tree. “When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.”
I believe, based on the prolific and specific warnings we are receiving from President Nelson, which I am about to share, and from watching the signs of the times as given in the scriptures, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is very near.
Now, here is a sampling in chronological order of what President Nelson has said about this eminent event.
In his first Conference address as our Prophet, in April 2018, President Nelson shared this:
“Think of your duty as God's mighty army to help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord. This is our charge. This is our privilege.”
“Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again… But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
In that same month of April of 2018, at a Worldwide Youth Devotional the Prophet said using a baseball analogy:
“We are in the last half of the ninth inning. Our Heavenly Father and His Son chose you to be on Their team when the game is on the line. This means They know you, They trust you and will help you fulfill your personal mission on this earth.”
Six months later in the October 2018 Women’s Session of General Conference President Nelson closed his remarks with the following:
“My dear sisters, we need you! We need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices.”4 We simply cannot gather Israel without you.
I love you and thank you and now bless you with the ability to leave the world behind as you assist in this crucial and urgent work. Together we can do all that our Heavenly Father needs us to do to prepare the world for the Second Coming of His Beloved Son.”
Five months later in March of 2019 at the dedication of the Rome Temple, President Nelson declared that we are at:
“a hinge point in the history of the Church. Things are going to move forward at an accelerated pace. The Church is going to have an unprecedented future, unparalleled. We're just building up to what's ahead now.”
One month later in the April 2019 General Conference, President Nelson made a plea:
“As president of His Church, I plead with you who have distanced yourselves from the Church and with you who have not yet really sought to know that the Savior's Church has been restored. Do the spiritual work to find out for yourselves, and please do it now. Time is running out.”
Six months later in the October 2019 General Conference, President Nelson said:
“Let me be very clear about this: if the world loses the moral rectitude of its women, the world will never recover. We Latter-day Saints are not of the world; we are of covenant Israel. We are called to prepare a people for the Second Coming of the Lord.”
“The crowning jewel of the Restoration is the holy temple. Its sacred ordinances and covenants are pivotal to preparing a people who are ready to welcome the Savior at His Second Coming.”
Six months later in the April 2020 General Conference, President Nelson shared a pre-recorded video of himself standing in the Sacred Grove reading a proclamation at the bicentennial of the first vision.
“Now as we contemplate this significant time in the history of the world and the Lord's charge to gather scattered Israel in preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, we, the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles, issue the following proclamation: Its title is “The Restoration of the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World.”
“We have front-row seats to witness live what the prophet Nephi saw only in vision, that ‘the power of the Lamb of God’ would descend ‘upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.’ You, my brothers and sisters, are among those men, women, and children whom Nephi saw. Think of that!”
Six months later in October 2020 General Conference President Nelson declared:
“The Lord placed you here now because He knew you had the capacity to negotiate the complexities of the latter part of these latter days. He knew you would grasp the grandeur of His work and be eager to help bring it to pass.”
“(Moroni) helped his people create areas where they would be safe-- places of security” he called them… Similarly, as turmoil rages around us, we need to create places where we are safe, both physically and spiritually.”
“For centuries, prophets have foretold this gathering and it is happening right now! As an essential prelude to the Second Coming of the Lord, it is the most important work in the world!”
Six months later in the April 2021 General Conference President Nelson said, speaking to the brethren:
“The future is bright for God's covenant-keeping people. The Lord will increasingly call upon his servants who worthily hold the priesthood to bless, comfort, and strengthen mankind and to help prepare the world and its people for his Second Coming.”
Six months later in the October 2021 General Conference President Nelson said:
“The Lord declared that He would hasten his work in its time, and He is doing so at an ever-increasing pace. We are privileged to participate in His holy work.”
Later in the same conference he said, speaking of the restoration of the Salt Lake Temple:
“We are sparing no effort to give this venerable temple… a foundation that will withstand the forces of nature into the Millennium. (Meaning it will stand into the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ.) In like manner, it is now time that we each implement extraordinary measures--perhaps measures we have never taken before--to strengthen our personal spiritual foundations. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.”
“My dear brothers and sisters, these are the latter days. If you and I are to withstand the forthcoming perils and pressures, it is imperative that we each have a firm spiritual foundation built upon the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.”
Six months later in April 2022 General Conference the Prophet said:
“Prophets have foreseen our day, when there would be wars and rumors of wars and when the whole earth would be in commotion… Dear young friends, you are each vital to the Lord. He has held you in reserve until now to help gather Israel.”
Six months later in October 2022 President Nelson said:
“So many wonderful things are ahead. In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior's power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns ‘with power and great glory,’ He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.”
“One crucial element of (the Gathering of Israel) is preparing a people who are able, ready, and worthy to receive the Lord when He comes again, a people who have already chosen Jesus Christ over this fallen world… I call upon you, my dear brothers and sisters, to become this righteous people.”
One month later in November 2022, in a Nevada Devotional, President Nelson said:
“The Lord is hastening His work and urging us to prepare for His Second Coming… I cannot overstate how vital you and your choices are.”
Five months later in the April 2023 General Conference President Nelson gave us an invitation. He said:
“I invite you to study again the account of the Savior's appearance to the Nephites in the Americas… Not long before that appearance, His voice was heard among the people, including these words of supplication: ‘Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive.’
Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ extends that same invitation to you today.”
“I know that His power is descending upon his covenant-keeping people, who are armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great Glory.”
In October of 2023 President Nelson said this regarding the building of Temples:
“When someone you love attacks truth, think celestial and don't question your testimony. The Apostle Paul prophesied that ‘in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. There is no end to the adversary’s deceptions. Please be prepared… The Lord is directing us to build these temples to help us think celestial.”
Finally, in April of this year, 2024, President Nelson said the following:
“Joseph Smith's dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple is a tutorial about how the temple spiritually empowers you and me to meet the challenges of life in these last days. I encourage you to study that prayer recorded in Doctrine and Covenant section 109.”
Now brothers and sisters, as I said in the beginning of this talk, some members believe that we don’t need to think about or pay attention to or watch for the Second Coming because, they reason, the Prophet will warn us before the Savior comes so that we can be prepared. I testify that we have been warned. President Nelson has been both prolific and specific in his warnings about the urgency of us preparing for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I again testify that Russell M. Nelson is God’s Prophet for our day, “for such a time as this.” I further testify that God is our Father, His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, and He is coming soon. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
In the action movie “Night and Day,” Tom Cruise’ character implores the girl that her survival had way better chances “with him, than without him!”
I often think of Jesus in the same way. Life with Him, better; life without him, not so good! Likewise with His church/kingdom on earth. The Church, as we like to call it in short hand, is not by a long shot perfect but sooo much better with , than without. I suppose that’s just an artifact of the imperfect folks in the pews and at the pulpit. Some years back, my son was contemplating leaving home when he was still in his mid-teens and in dialog I wrote him a list of sorts; “With us, Without us” to help him see tangible impact of leaving the home community and launching out at that point on his own. Some items were tangible with costs. Other items were more social, but the list made it clear what the extensive benefits at home were vs the dearth of the same on his own! He stayed.
We did not fix his every objection, few in fact, but he wisely determined that with us was better than without us. It’s that way with the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s not that other religious paths don’t do some good or have some truth. That’s not the point. Jesus had a very charitable view for those who “spoke in His name but did not walk with Him.” But, what a difference it makes with Him and His earthly kingdom vs going your own way without Him at the helm of that church.
So, what are the benefits with
the restored gospel of Jesus Christ?
A knowledge
of the nature of the God head.
With us: Its Plain and simple; Father is Father, a Son is just that and the Holy Spirit is what the words say. He Father and son, at least at this time, have clothing their spirit-intelligence, physical bodies.
Without us: God is complicated, has no form or physical existence …except occasionally… and is explicitly taught as a mystical incomprehensible mystery; somewhat of a changeling who is one thing to some at one time and to others at other times something else entirely. A being that schizophrenically talks and even prays to the other mystical part of him and at other times even complains that his alter-ego is not there or not listening and won’t help him.
A tangible
inspiring connection with God:
With us: Its Plain and simple; When Jesus said “I go to my father and your father,” when the scriptures refer to us as “children of God”, we believe it and are inspired to desire the perfection He set as our goal . No Quote marks needed, just inspiration to our immense potential.
Without us: God is God and we are dust and inherently evil but for reasons not understood God loves these unworthy gadgets/creatures.
A reasonable
believable explanation for agency of mankind:
With us: Its Plain and simple; Intelligence, the basic spark of life that makes you you is eternal , just like God which also explains why God did not lie or exaggerate when He called us His children; hence the brotherhood of man! Since that unique intelligence is not created, it is the very basis for your agency.
Without us: God made you like any other gadget. Depending on the sect, either of dust or of dust & spirit – Either way God made you and thus God is logically responsible for every kiss and every stab in the heart. Even so-called free agency is just an algorithm and God made that too so if you are Good or Bad destined for heaven or Hell - ultimately it’s because God made you just that way.
Concept
for Jesus Atonement?
With us: Its Plain and simple; A believable explanation teaches that Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane experienced each of us personally and thus prepared Himself to be that physician, councilor, advocate, and judge with perfect empathy and intimate knowledge of each of us. He knows how to reach us and heal us and make us ready for heaven.
Without us: The angry Father part of the split God personality must be appeased. Like a violent volcano god, virgins are needed to satisfy its justice. Once satisfied, all is right including wrong as you cannot sin. Father God will see His alter ego Jesus’ perfect robes and not your filthy rags as Jesus ushers you into heaven, thus shielding you from and satisfying His other self’s wrath.
A Woman’s
place in heaven:
With us: Its Plain and simple; The male and female attribute is eternal and part of the unity of God. The concept was purged from the Bible by the Deuteronomist who also removed all physical aspects of God, Atonement and that Father had a female co-companion from the writ and the temple. The writings of Isaiah, predicting Jesus only survived as it was largely coded. Your physical body matches the spirit body God made for you (ie your intelligence) In fine, like God the Father, you too are eternal and of infinite value. You have a place.
Without us: There really isn’t a place were God lives per se as God isn’t in a place or a body. Speaking of body your femaleness is irrelevant in heaven (if that where you end up). You don’t need such body parts so in all likelihood your body will be an IT. And that husband concept also is out the window too.
Marriage
Relationships
With us: Its Plain and simple; When people say and singers sing about love that never ends, it can be your reality. When Jesus told Peter that ‘whatever he bound on earth would be bound in heaven,’ we believe Jesus! He did not exaggerate. Families can be forever. The marriage bond can be forever. When the Father said, “They have become as us … therefor, they left their father and their mother…for reasons of sacredness we don’t talk that much about this truth that the Father God has a female companion/wife . Seeing what happened to the Catholics and how many curses are invoked with Mary’s name, we don’t talk too widely on this truth….However the lofty teaching is widely believed that “God” has a female component! Its in one of the hymns…and it Just makes sense!
Without us: It should be understood that by rejecting the restored gospel one is initiating a latent divorce proceeding from one’s spouse. Remember that outside the restored gospel it is understood that God made you like any other gadget. You are nothing like god and at best, as a lone individual “it”. Plan on playing a harp or joining the cheer leading squad singing praises night and day ….forever.. that is if you were preselected by God ….
Male,
Female Our Didactic nature
With us: Its Plain and simple; Just like God, who said HE is eternal and unchangeable, your basic nature including the HE and/or SHE part is also eternal and unchangeable. Your didactic nature is thus not a social construct and God’s laws of behavior are simply consistent with your eternal potential. Learning to control the physical elements of the body, he or she, is one of the lessons to learn.
Without us: There might not even be a He or SHE in heaven. IT might be a better descriptor. God also is more an IT than father or papa (Abba). The only guidance for human sexuality are the rules God made. In other words. “I said so.” Hard to argue with that but some sects do and will sanction and even encourage all sorts of deviancy from God’s standard for the sexes. All those deviant roads lead to heartache - no matter what the so-called pastor said could be interpreted from the Good Book.
On Being
Ready for Heaven
With us: Its Plain and simple; Justice is that if you are in heaven, its heavenly and not Hellacious. In other words, Jesus’ atonement is about sanctification wherein you are refined and become compatible with that destination.
Without us: The angry Father version of God must be placated for all acts of evil by His own creations. His demand for revenge (justice) for the wrongdoing (He caused) must be satisfied. So, like medieval self-flagellation, the Father divides Himself and orchestrates events so as to violently punish His other self(Jesus). Once satisfied, God can then allow the evil doers into heaven. Perhaps by the snap of His non-fingers or some other undisclosed means, the evil doers are transformed to something else (perhaps Human angel 2.1) and ushered in.
On Helping
the Poor
With us: Its Plain and simple; Church welfare is second to none in success as it strives to lift folks out of poverty. The focus is on Teaching to Fish and we only collaborate with others to hand out fish.
Without us: Mostly just Hands out fish
Education
for the poor
With us: Its Plain and simple; Church Perpetual Education fund is a success as it strives to lift folks out of ignorance and into business opportunity in their native homelands across the world
Without us: Hands out fish
Regarding
Temples
With us: Its Plain and simple; They are the equivalent of the Mountain of the Lord; a holy place. When on the move it was an elaborate expensive tent affair; later stone. In each case, Creation sequence and man’s ascension to heaven is modeled. Jesus declared Solomon’s Temple as “My Father’s House.” He then went about cleaning it up. Our modern day temple ceremony models that sequence and the veil to the Celestial sphere models Jesus at the Gate on multiple levels. It’s all symbolic; teaching basic ideas of God’s promises and our potential using various schemes that have understandably changed over time. The form or garments and ceremonies change but the basic message of covenants ie God’s promises are timeless.
Without us: There is no specific knowledge offered parishioners about the afterlife except “til death do you part” Pretty much all non LSD would not anticipate marriage in heaven. Harp playing and singing is about the extent.
Giving
and being part of the community including Major disasters
With us: Its Plain and simple; The Church has perhaps the largest disaster relief fund of any religion- freely allocated in disasters the world over.
Without us: There is good done by all with many smaller churches aggregating their donations to huge comparable funds.
Education
for All
With us: Its Plain and simple; Church Education department creates adult education opportunities spanning a wide swath of financial and emotional needs.
Without us: Not too much happening outside a isolated missions in 3rd world countries.
In fine, LDS Theology is ennobling, passes common sense test,
is Christ centered. It does not lower God, but lifts man and benefits mankind everywhere
it is found.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
When Jesus said, speaking of cursing, “But let your communication be, yea, yea; nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” (Math 5:37) Does that mean we cannot speak any other words than Yes or No? Weve all seen some movie where the lawyer demands curtly, “Answer the question: Yes or No!!!” Yet we know from the story’s context the answer is more nuanced and of necessity demands more than ‘a Yes or a No’… The lawyer is not interested in truth, but is intentionally trying to lose the context to make his case. He thusly makes the truth into a lie. Context is everything.
To Joseph Smith God said, “As pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil.”(DC 98:7) The context was ‘laws that are constitutional’. So, when the people voted to change the constitution in 1913 to allow arbitrary taxation instead of uniform taxation, did that mean the new laws that came out of that terrible change are all good? Some nations have horribly devised constitutions. What then was the context of that good/evil maxim? Clearly, it was US laws that were constitutional at the time of the revelation.
In another revelation to Joseph, God said using similar language, “and whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning. (DC 93:25) What was the context of that? Jesus was speaking of salvation and the saints receiving the “fullness and grace” of His father. He spoke of our spirit’s essence and our mutual ‘non-origin’ with God. It’s quite a mouthful really, uttered with so few words, and then He says, like John the Revelator , and “Whatever is more or less than this is evil and of the devil.” So, does that mean ignore the 10 commandments? Toss the Tora! Chuck most of the ‘Sermon on the Mount’? or just perhaps we should narrow the stricture to the context and common usage (don’t change my words) and retain some common sense while we are at it?
This same phraseology, uttered by Jesus in numerous contexts, is unfortunately used by some detractors to shut up the mouth of God and claim that he cannot speak or reveal His will any more. It’s a close corollary to the false claims that the Bible (66 to 73 books) is a closed cannon and God is forevermore mute based on the final warning in John’s letter to the 7 churches saying, “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life…” (Rev 21:18) Again context, context and yes a better translation also helps. ( It translates literally as a papyrus roll, a diminutive of biblos; a roll.) This was simply a letter to the seven churches. It was not the Bible as we know it and not at all the last revelation God uttered to the apostles. Context!
In the Book of Mormon 3 Ne 12:1, we also find a familiar warning but again what was the context?
· Jesus in that conversation claims, “I am God of the whole Earth and took upon Him sins of the world and was ultimately slain for that cause.“
· Gave power to baptize, so no not anyone is so authorized; How and what language to use.
· I did the will of the Father, I ascended back to the Father.
· He and His mission was prophesized.
· He referenced (in verse 28)“Points of Doctrine” but did not at that point in the record detail what those other points were…since he references it, It must have been communicated but not written or included in this chapter during the abridgment.
· His relationship of unity in the Godhead is reiterated
· Repentance, emphasized, Lack of angry disputation underscored
Then in verse 40 is recorded this utterance: 40 “And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation.”
The answer that does not put an unnecessary cork in the mouth of Almighty God is simply context.
To prove the point that that Jesus’ previous utterance (and warning) was not the final act of God, in the very next chapter Jesus tells a whole lot more “saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve” (3 Nephi 12:1) Were they bound and gagged from speaking on the 10 commandments ? Not likely! Then, His very next recorded comments were a restatement of the Semon on the mount! That was a LOT of added comments. If someone concluded that ALL his doctrine was in getting baptized then should we not toss out that following sermon! Especially that topic about “being perfect?”
In conclusion, gagging God is likely a bad idea. It’s bad because its source is pride to arrogantly assert a superior position to that of God. It’s a precarious position to posit one’s self as the arbiter of cannon. The fact that massive groups of Christians to this day cant agree on which books to include in their precious Bible should give one pause for thought especially in claiming God broke His silence of near 2000 years to bring forth the Book of Mormon and the threw his new prophet under the bus and promptly went on vacation clear to this day. Isn’t it so much easier to just let God be God, and while we are at it let’s assume the Almighty doesn’t make mistakes like calling a fallen prophet. Truly, that would make Him blind as well as dumb!
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Sermon
12/30/24 Galatin Ward MO
As I pondered the principle of renewal I thought of three stories, each one highlighting a different aspect of our being:
In the book of Judges in the Old Testament, we read of a woman who was renewed physically and was able to bear a child named Sampson. He later became a Judge who, in his lifetime began to free Israel from the Philistines. This woman experienced a physical renewal of her body (Judges 13).
We read of the father of King Lamoni who was the King over all the land of the Lamanites who was renewed spiritually (Alma 22). He pled with Aaron to be taught the things of God and said he was willing to give away his whole kingdom to know these things.
In Alma 22:15 we read of his spiritual renewal:
“And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these
things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal
life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his
Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day?
Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake
my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.”
Emotional renewal is illustrated in the story of W.W. Phelps who wrote The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning and other hymns. He became so upset with Joseph Smith and the Church that he testified against Joseph before Officials of the State of Missouri which ended in Joseph spending several months in the Liberty Jail under inhumane conditions. Later he experienced a change of heart and wrote this to Joseph:
“I am as the prodigal son . . . I have seen the folly of my way, and I tremble
at the gulf I have passed . . . I know my situation, you know it, and God knows
it, and I want to be saved if my friends will help me . . . I have done wrong, and
I am sorry. The beam is in my own eye . . . I ask forgiveness . . . I want your
fellowship; if you cannot grant that, grant me your peace and friendship, for we
are brethren, and our communion used to be sweet” (History of the Church
4:163–64).
On 22 July 1840, the Prophet replied:
“It is true, that we have suffered much in consequence of
your behavior—the cup of gall, already full enough for mortals to drink, was indeed
filled to overflowing when you turned against us. . . “Had it been an enemy, we could have borne it.”
. . . However, the cup has been drunk, the
will of our Father has been done, and we are yet alive, for which we thank the Lord... Believing your confession to be real, and your
repentance genuine, I shall be happy once again to give you the right hand of fellowship,
and rejoice over the returning prodigal. . .
“Come on dear brother, since the war is past, for friends at first, are friends
again at last” (History of the Church 4:163–64).
Both Joseph Smith and W.W. Phelps experienced this emotional renewal.
We ourselves are at a time when many people seek renewal. Renewal of goals, interests, and promises to themselves, others, and God. What renewal have we seen in our own lives this year? Are we new creatures having gone through the things we have waded through over this precious time we have been given?
I would like to take a moment and share a few scriptures that caught my eye about renewal that might help with this introspection:
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
What experiences have we had this year that have transformed our minds?
2 Corinthians 4:16 … though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
Think of that, we have been given the tools to be renewed day by day. Have we taken that opportunity this year?
Again we are reminded in Ephesians 4:23 … be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Are we heeding these pleadings?
Colossians 3:10 And have put on the new man, which
is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Have we gained knowledge this year? And are we new people because of if?
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing
of the Holy Ghost;
This we do as we partake of the sacrament each week and renew our covenants we have made. We renew our connection to the Holy Ghost as we repent and strive to do right. The Sacrament embodies the renewing power of the Atonement and gives us a visual to know of its reality.
Hebrews 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again
unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put
him to an open shame.
Do we come back and allow Him to renew and heal us after we have fallen?
Doctrine and Covenants 84:33 For whoso is faithful unto
the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their
calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.
What grand promises, we can avail ourselves to if we will.
Doctrine and Covenants 84:48 And the Father teacheth him
of the covenant which he has renewed and confirmed upon you, which is confirmed
upon you for your sakes, and not for your sakes only, but for the sake of the whole
world.
In the October 2015 General Conference, Elder Oaks taught,
“…apart from death and sin, we have many other challenges as we struggle through mortality. Because of …[the] Atonement, our Savior can provide us the strength we need to overcome these mortal challenges”.
He went on to say,
“Because of His Atonement, the Savior has the power to succor—to
help—every mortal pain and affliction” (Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ).
Every type of renewal is only possible through and because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He makes it possible for us to be renewed in body, mind and spirit. He has the power, even His name has power to heal us, renew us and to make us whole again. I love Him and have seen the strength He has given me in my life. There have been times that I am too weary, sick or even to sad to get out of bed. Then I am reminded of the promises in the temple and I even begin to repeat the words in my mind that I have learned there and I feel the renewal come to me and I am able to get up and do the things that seemed too impossible just minutes before. Many times, I am completely overwhelmed with what is before me to do and I am exhausted in mind, body and spirit and I pray for strength to make it through the day and all that is required of me. I am given the strength and even inexplicable joy in the process that I would not have found in any other way.
In Doctrine and Covenants 89 we learn of a special kind
of renewal because of the things we partake of or abstain from. We are instructed
that this was given specifically for us in these last days, “showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of
all saints in the last days”. That ought to catch our attention. If that
doesn’t this should, “In consequence
(or because), of evils and designs which do and will exist
in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have
warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto
you this word of wisdom by revelation.
Then He goes on to teach us the details of this instruction. He ends with this astounding promise:
“And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings,
walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their
bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall
run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise,
that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel,
and not slay them. Amen.”
I am in awe of those promises every time I read them and know with certainty I want to partake of those blessings and promises. It makes me giddy with excitement every time I read those verses.
And yet Isaiah takes it to another lever when he promises in chapter 40 verse 31, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” I love to ponder about what all of those promises mean and if I really can take them literally at some point.
I would like to bear testimony that I know Our Father’s promises are sure and through the Atonement of His Son Jesus Christ we can have all that we need, to do all that is required of us, and to become all that we have to potential to become. I bear testimony of this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Its pretty common among believers of many faiths, Christian and others too to say almost as a mantra, “God Willing, or “It must have been God's will…”
The trouble with that choice of words is that "God's Will" has
a couple very different meanings.
1)
One
meaning is it is literally God’s design AND His desire AND His infinite force ensuring
it takes place! Some religions do in fact believe in that version of predestination
and assert not only that it is God’s foreknowledge at play but his active involvement
in what is taking place. He then is the motivating force and thus His will(desire)
IS done.
2)
Others,
while accepting the concept of God's foreknowledge to the events at hand, allow
that with few exceptions “God's will” is that God’s desire for Free agency trumps
God’s desire for a better outcome or scenario.
3)
Another
variant teaches that all things, even suffering, if weathered well, can with God’s
influence, work to our good. Ref Genesis 50:19-21 20 But as for you, ye thought
evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day,
to save much people alive. Note that at least
in that particular instance there does seem to have been some strategic maneuvering
going on but in other cases – perhaps most - it is the inner man that is benefited
by God’s Spirit assisting the person enduring the trial.
Unfortunately, at least in English, the word “will” has multiple meanings
that can even change depending on if it’s a noun or a verb or adjective!
• I’m willing this in writing” is an active assertion. I am the cause of
the action even if it is in response to some other external root event!
• Ironically one could have said, “I’m willing this in writing even though
it is Not my will!” Translating to more narrowly defined words could yield, “I’m
putting this directive in writing even though it is Not my desire!”
In fine, “Will” can be a directive OR a desire OR even to acquiesce to something
not ideal or currently desirable but in a bigger context tolerable of even useful
- hence allowed by an all powerful God.
So, when some fellow says, “It must be God’s will” or a corollary, “God’s
in Control,” it most often is NOT in the context of God orchestrating a particular
misery or that this scenario is what He had wanted! Rather, He’s just a master at
what I might call dynamic planning; IE making lemonade out of lemons, as the saying
goes.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
I was showering
the other morning, a place and time, strangely, that fosters contemplation and an
occasional epiphany.
It struck
me that I was caught in a mobius loop of thought; thinking about the fact that I
was thinking about thinking. You may have to run that past yourself a few times!
Words like
'sentient', 'conscious', 'self-aware' whirled about my head. It became clear that
no amount of software programming, no complexity of organic connections could produce
anything more than the duplication of instinct or the outward appearance of what
we call life. One could indeed create a machine that mimicked every imaginable human
responsiveness and even speak the words, "I think, therefore I am!" and
yet there would be only darkness inside.
Some scientists
search for purely organic explanations for our every behavior such as the 'god gene'
attempting to demonstrate that even my thoughts about thinking are mere complexities
of instincts programmed by the eons into my genetic coding to play out like pavlov's
dogs - induced not by the ringing bell, but by the water rushing over my face.
As a young
man I ran a thought experiment examining the impact of mankind the day after - say
a super nova snuffs out all that we call life. It was clear that there was no concept
of worth or value or significance of anything the carbon based life forms had. Like
the planet, all the complexity of every ecosystem, all the electro-chemical reactions
of every mind were gone. It was for all eternity as if "it" had never
been. If then “it” meant nothing the day after, I asked could any meaning be attached
to the day before?
No amount
of contrived worth in this thought experiment about ‘the day before’ changed the
stark and total abject worthlessness ‘the day after.’ By extension, ‘the n-1 day’
too. Letting ‘n’ be large arrives one conclusively to the depressing thought that
the premise that ‘the entirety of man is electrochemical reaction’ leads one to
despair - that man is intrinsically worthless today - if, that is, that dust is
all we really are.
Thus, the
saying that “the worth of a soul is great” reaches that reaching for worth - that
the root of you and I is only to be found in eternity and not at all in this dust!
In like manner, God declared His worth - embodied by His very name, I Am!
And so Am
I.
Brother Steve Back to Top of the Document
Sermon notes:
delivered Gallatin MO 2/23/25 by Steve Marquis
I would like to share with you a personal journey of learning to Trust and have Faith in our Lord; lessons I learned a little here and a little there…Perhaps one or more of them may be useful to someone here today.
Prov 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in
all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
As a younger child on a hike with my dad who was the Scoutmaster, we came to a cleft in a high rock outcropping that had to be jumped. The much older boy scouts each made the easy leap, but being a little tike, it seemed well beyond my capability. “It’s too far for me I can’t jump that far.” I said to my dad on the other side. He looked right at me extended his arms and said, “Just Jump. Trust me. I’ll catch you!” So I leaped into space, and you guessed right He did his part too!.
About that time, we had joined this Church of Jesus Christ and my dad had just been ordained an elder. At school some goofball thought it would be funny to push the lead kid in a tightly pack line. I’m sure initially it looked hilarious…like a run of dominoes the entire line fell back and landing one after another on the next child until it got to the last kid. Yeh me, and over I went too, but instead of another soft kid to land on I fell back hard, smacking the back of my head to a concrete curb. I was dizzy, throwing up, and had a headache to go with the goose bump. Mom picked me up, and dad came home from work soon after. He laid his hands on my head and blessed me in the Lord’s name to be healed. Dr Kroger was just 5 min away so dad packed me into the station wagon and drove to his office. The thing is my vision and balance was now fine. My headache gone and the queasy stomach gone too. I can’t recall about the bump.
We read a lot of Old Testament Bible stories as kids. The Sory of Shadrach Meshach and Abendigo made a keen impact on me. All were commanded to bow to the golden alter or be thrown into the furnace. The furious and arrogant King Nebuchadnezzar, said, “and who is this god who can save you from my 7 times hot fiery furnace. Their answer was remarkable, so confident, almost with a smirk. “Ok great King, we are not even careful about how to answer you. Yes our God can indeed save us from your 7 times hot fiery furnace…” and here’ the key. “but if not know this that we will not bow down to your idle of gold.” Soldiers died that day just tossing them in – so it was seriously 7 times hot as bragged, but they were saved that day without even the smell of smoke on their clothes.
In the Book of Mormon is a story with a more heart touching conclusion when believers in God were put in a similar quandary with similar faith. “Our God can save us but if not….” They met their fate that day in a more tragic manner but in the end game are in the bosom of the Lord. Faith sometimes means ‘playing the long game’ Trusting the Lord that all will be well.
I am reminded of the refrain from Come Come Ye Saints, “and should we die, before our journey’s through, happy day all is well, ….with the just, we shall dwell, but then the refrain rises with “but if our live are spared again to see the saints their rest obtain, oh how well make the chorus swell all is well all is well!
I had left home young and was at least agnostic for a while. I wasn’t sure If there was a God. But Jesus knew me and reached after me, speaking though mathematics he led me back to His fold. It’s too long of a story to recount this morning, but one night, He performed open heart surgery, transplanting a new heart to replace my shrunken stony one.
I had to learn a new language and memorize an entire book in Norwegian in a paltry 2 months. Both impossible tasks. Using the arm of my own flesh I was doing poorly, but one day Jesus spoke again in a way that reached me. I needed to Love as He loved, quit focusing on me and love and bless my companions and that meant jogging at the break of dawn. That morning I suddenly could remember everything I had been taught or tried to learn. I memorized that book and boarded the plane able to carry on a conversation and teach His word.
We stood over a new town in Norway that had not seen missionaries as far as our records could inform. My senior companion said something entirely illogical that we should dedicate the town to our preaching and promise God that we would visit every last home in the town before we were sent elsewhere. Since we don’t control or even influence how long we stay in an area this promise seemed empty and given the size of the town virtually impossible anyway you sliced it. Yet his faith seemed compelling. Listening for the lord’s insight some how for no logical reason whatsoever it just seemed suddenly the right thing to do. Commit we did. We then spent about 11 months together having unprecedented success and not a week after visiting the last household, my senior companion received his transfer. It was obvious that our Lord was in this thing. We had felt inspired by God, committed to do what seemed improbable at best and the Lord provided the harvest.
That same companion bounded out of a mtg with our new zone leaders who had just done the unfathomable, teaching 21 discussions in the worst inner-city district in Norway. We were already, in my opinion, doing the near impossible at twice the mission standard of only 7 per week. I could not imagine what more we could possibly do and balked at such ambition. Finally, he prevailed, and I agreed to covenant with God to do what seemed impossible. I have no idea how, but 9:20pm Sat night we walked quickly to our bus, grateful and in wonder having taught 21 souls that week. We saw this miracle duplicated across our district, then zone, then the whole nation as God opened the hearts of seekers.
As a missionary, one transfer had a 1000-mile journey to get
to a new area. It began 100 miles above the artic circle on a bus winding through
mountainous eye-popping wonder. I was sharing Joseph Smiths testimony with a gal
sitting beside me. Occasionally I’d whip out my miniature camera and snap a shot
or two and return to our conversation. It was not uncommon for me to experience
car sickness and at one point I was so sick Id just point to a paragraph and ask
her to tell me when she was done reading it! Finally, I retired to the restroom
at the back of the bus and kneeled before the white throne to make an offering.
I raised my voice to God. “Lord, I cannot hardly preach your words being so sick.
Straight away, these words appeared in my mind, “You’re on my dime!” “Ohhh, Message received!” I replied. I felt better
somehow and got up and finished my discussion with that lady. Sickness was gone
and as well as my status as part time tourist. Then the bus drove onto an open ocean
ferry. Yet, I taught two more times on the boat but never, not for the rest of my
life, ever got motion sickness again. I learned that day that trusting God means
being all-in; holding nothing back.
When my kids were teenagers one of the boys had been a real bitter pill for while and I tried real hard to not be offended or give offence but the day had been just unpleasant. On my knees that night, as I poured out my heart asking for advice, these words appear in my mind, “Go apologize to him!” I looked up and said, ”For what?!” “Go apologize!” was the only reply. I knew that was not from me, so trusting God, I got up and headed to his room but I still had no idea what to apologize for as I knocked on his bedroom door. Somehow these words came, “I’m sorry the day did not go as I had hoped between us. I just want you to know I love you…”
There are times we cannot see the way forward; maybe more often than not. The scriptures remind us that “we see as through a glass darkly.” My oldest son wanted to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps as a Marine. A recruiter came to our home and made a pretty convincing pitch; no wars on the horizon, a long list of benefits; just needs your fathers signature. So that night I’m asking what the Good Lord had to say, and these words appeared in my mind, “There will be a war, but send Him anyway. He’s in my hands.” He was in bootcamp when the Trade Towers were hit and was in the spearhead into Baghdad. God was mindful of my boy and he came home sobered and with renewed faith.
I’ve spent all of my life in science-oriented work and study. But science sometimes gets it wrong. I determined to not place it too high on a pedestal... Worshiping men in white lab coats as a stand in for God, “trusting science,” as was popularized a few years ago, seemed like a bad plan. So, 20 years back when early DNA research was used by naysayers to “disprove” the Hebrew origin of the book of Mormon, I had to just put that one on a shelf for a good while. A few LDS biologists actually left our company over that challenge. Trusting in the Arm of the Flesh is begging for disappointment. Trusting in the Lord on the other hand yields wonderful “ahah” moments such as when the fellows in white coats finally did confirm Hebrew DNA in just the tribes Joseph said would be descendants. In Proverbs 3:5-35 we read:
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In
all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
I have spent most of my life entwined in science and engineering,
yet found no need nor desire to fit my faith to the world nor worship men in white
coats. I've personally experienced a conversion from agnostic to transformed believer
by an experience with 1 Nephi that demonstrated he was real but like tasting salt
you have to do your own experiment to find out what it tastes like. See When God reached out to one of His Sons (of my coming to
Christ)
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