As horrific as were the beatings and scourgings, the spitting and slapping, the exhaustion and sleep-deprivation, the mocking and complete humiliation of the Lamb of God at the hands of the uncouth Roman Praetorian guard prior to Jesus' ascent to Golgotha, all of it together did not come close to the agonies of Gethsemane.
His total submission --- remember He is God --- to this extreme public ordeal is merely a signal clue that He was "willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father" (Mosiah 3:19). That verse from the angel to king Benjamin for our benefit and learning --- Mosiah 3:19 --- we normally see as a description of what natural, fallen man must do to come back to God. It is a perfect testament that Christ is our example in this, as in all things.
Such were the labor pains involved in the rebirth process of Atonement for us.
We cannot begin to fathom, explain or describe the agonies of Gethsemane. But they were so extreme that they caused the blood of a God to issue from every pore of His holy body, and for Him to tremble because of the pain, to the extent that He pleaded for some other means to make the sacrifice. This way was too awful. "Nevertheless" --- eternity hinged on that word, and a sigh of relief filled the heavens as "I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men" (D&C 19:18--19). He submitted and went through with it. And the "glory be to the Father" --- even then He disowned the credit! in favor of the necessities of the plan, the Father's plan. This is profound voluntary humility to add to the later humiliation.
Such labor pains --- "to suffer both body and spirit" --- think of that.
All of this leads to a question: does the birth of a child inflict any kind of labor pain on the child itself? I don't know the answer. I do know, from filmed accounts of the event, and from personal witness as a father, that the baby looks uncomfortable to say the least, desperate perhaps, gasping for life, and that the baby cries out in anguish and a bit of defiance (?) at its predicament and ordeal. We perhaps will not know the answer. But it is hard work --- for the baby, the mother, and the father, as he sweats and walks the floor of the waiting room or of the theater of the event. . . . The whole process is a miracle, a wrenching miracle.
Now, perhaps you can see where this is leading.
Are there profound pains involved in the rebirth process? As described here, the pains of rebirth are not of a mother this time, but of a Father, the father of the new birth. Jesus Christ is the Father of the new birth. And the process involves water, blood and Spirit, just as the first, physical, mother-birth did, as Moses 6:58--60 describes.
But are there expected labor pains for the "candidate"? --- for the person involved in being born again? You might want to ask Alma the Younger that question, and study and appreciate his answer in the latter part of Mosiah 27 and the whole of Alma 36.
Do we see and appreciate these passages of scripture? Do we give room for them in our hearts as we study and teach the Book of Mormon? When the verses from Mosiah cited here were reached in Sunday School classes this month, in many if not most classes, these verses were passed over, neglected, ignored if you will, because the doctrine they contain is not known and understood and embraced among us. We are uncomfortable with it and in it.
How do you know that, Stephen Cook?! You don't even attend Sunday School Gospel Doctrine classes, 'cos you're teaching your own youth Sunday School class. How would you know? . . . I just know. Leave it at that.
Time to conclude. Space runneth out.
Two last insights: just as the baptism of water as part of the rebirth process requires, in a strict and specific and supervised way, total immersion in the water, so the baptism of the Spirit --- of fire and the Holy Ghost --- requires total immersion. And many of us, in the words of the Prophet Joseph, "cannot stand the fire at all" (see Teachings, page 331). More detail on this important aspect later.
The final point: we are trying to amplify and summarize here all that we offered on the "broken leg" and the "currant bush" insights, the "whom God loveth, He chasteneth" idea, with a view to pointing out the real Christ and His work among those who would become His children in the rebirth process.
Jesus Christ is the Father of the new birth. His status as our Elder Brother, while doctrinally true and correct, is at best irrelevant here in mortality. He is our Father, the Father of our new birth. To call Him our Elder Brother is to obscure and miss Who He really is here in mortality, His role and its import and impact. And the scriptures testify of it clearly.
Do you recall in our post just before general conference and Easter we cited an insight from President Boyd K. Packer? --- to the effect that, "I used to think I knew what the word 'father' meant. I have come to know what it means. Brothers and Sisters, it is in the scriptures." [The link to that post is included in the e-mail that brought this post.]
The explanation of that cryptic insight can be found in this writing from Elder McConkie:
"We are well aware that all men are children of God, the offspring of the Father, his sons and his daughters. . . . What is not so well known is that nearly all the passages of scripture, both ancient and modern, which speak of God as our Father and of men on earth being the sons of God, have no reference to our birth in preexistence as the children of Elohim, but teach rather that Jehovah [Jesus Christ] is our Father and we are his children [through the rebirth process of the gospel plan as expounded here]" (Promised Messiah, pp.351--2, emphasis added).
Labor pains? Yes, and more than we can imagine as the Lamb has to witness our neglecting and ignoring, our indifference to these truths, which neglect and apathy only adds to the pain, for Him and His prophets (see 2 Nephi 32:7 and many other passages we will share upon request).
One we shall share here: "Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people [not just disappointed or hurt] because they will not understand [the word will indicates there is a measure of agency at work in our neglect] thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son" (Alma 33:16). Ponder again on the labor pains described here. And understand that we must measure up in bearing our part of the labor pains in our own rebirth.
These are given that we may understand what has been done for us, and that we may start to wholeheartedly enlist in the process by willingly submitting to what He sees fit to inflict upon us, like the little lamb with the broken leg, and the weeping currant bush, until we are ready to truly "partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption . . . [and] come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him" (Omni 1:26). That will take some labor pains. But it's all for you and me, and the plan for our happiness.
Are not these things of monumental significance? Are they of more than passing interest? These truths are given to us by Joseph, and cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth, to testify of the best blood of all times.
Steve
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Sabbathought: Brief report from our man in southern Utah on solar eclipse---film at 10.
Actually there'll be no film on the ten o'clock news; I didn't take my camera. But I noticed all the other 3000 watchers did.
I drove forty miles north to Kanarraville, which was advertised as the prime spot in all of Utah to view the annular solar eclipse. I had to look up "annular" so I wouldn't be drawn into thinking it meant annual or something similar. Turns out it means "forming a ring" so that an annular eclipse describes "a thin outer ring of the sun's disk not covered by the smaller dark disk of the moon" (Webster). And that's exactly what we saw.
I've always been fascinated to note that the sun and the moon appear to be very similar in size from our vantage point on earth. Of course, the sun is in reality much larger but appears the same size because it is much further away.
Here's a bit of relevant trivia: the second contestant to win $1 million on the American version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? --- Dan Blonsky --- had to answer this for his million-dollar question: What is the approximate distance from the earth to the sun?
I thought that a simple million-dollar question. We should all know that, I thought. How about you, do you know the answer?
The four choices given were: A. 9.3 million miles, B. 930 million miles, C. 930,000 miles, D. 93 million miles.
Dan got it right with D. 93 million miles. I figured most people would know that.
A $500,000 question once asked for the circumference of the earth at the equator. Another easy one? They're all easy if you know the answer! 24,900 miles seems simple to figure out from the choices given? Perhaps not. I just think such trivia should be general knowledge (see our post three months ago on The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America). We should all know the parameters of the solar system and the planet on which we live. Yes? . . . in case we have to travel around at some future time.
One million-dollar winner only struggled over one question: Who was the first settler and governor of the Utah Territory? Choices: A. Brigham Young, B. Alfred Cumming, C. Wilford Woodruff, D. Joseph Smith. Lucky for him, the audience knew it was Brigham. He suspected it was Joseph (who never came to Utah).
Enough of that. Back to the eclipse.
There were hundreds of cars parked on each side of the road at little Kanarraville (population 300). All of the thousands of people seemed to spend most of their time with their cell phones and ipods, perhaps checking out online reports and live video of the eclipse, with their backs to the sun. It reminded me of the rag-tag bunch gathered in Close Encounters of the Third Kind to witness the UFO fly-by.
I sat in the car for a couple of hours and contemplated the scene, fascinated at the occasion and full of anticipation. I pondered on the surrounding colors, the reds and honey hues of the rocky hills, and the lush greens of the foliage. As the eclipse reached its annular climax of full coverage, the atmosphere changed. The colors went to pastel hues of almost a psychedelic aura. It made me think of the colors in the 1950s movie South Pacific. The camera lens had a color filter added for the scenes of Bali Hai, to heighten the gorgeous colors of the tropics and for dramatic effect. That was what it felt like tonight, as the twilight gathered quickly, but then full daylight returned an hour later. Eerie and beautiful.
As the moon first started to inch across the sun it resembled a pie with a piece missing. Then it looked like the Pac Man game of early computer lore as the moon gradually gobbled up the sun.
Eventually the full annularity was reached and to me it resembled a giant wedding ring, vibrating with rainbow colors and profound energy as the halo effect throbbed and shimmied with power.
A family parked just in front of me came to me and offered special viewing glasses. "We noticed you had no glasses to see it with. Take a look through these." The effect was total darkness with a different picture of the event as the moon seemed to fill more of the sun's space than was visible to the naked eye. I thanked the family and we visited for several minutes. They had driven down from Salt Lake, some 300 miles. Many likely drove even further. I exulted with them over the singularity of what we were witnessing, marveling at the awesome majesty of it all. I said, "I don't know if you're LDS (they were) but it reminds me of the passage in section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants: " . . . and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power" (v. 47), and they agreed. We chatted on how baffling that anyone could think, let alone believe, that all this was some random spontaneous event that the sun and moon had somehow configured by themselves. I can never fathom how people can think that way. They agreed. I thanked them for their kindness and we had a lovely home teaching visit.
I read some years ago from Hugh Nibley that the Egyptian papyrii Joseph translated spoke of the earth being in quarantine, as part of the divine plan, with no contact with other planets, whereas they enjoy some measure of communication among themselves. This is a special earth, as shown by the fact that the Savior came to this one to perform His Atonement that would affect billions of earths like this. This is where He got His body. Special insight. I take it that this insight answers the whole extra-terrestrial / UFO visit phenomenon embraced by a good number of folk. It seems to be confirmed by D&C 130:5 and other glimpses in the Book of Abraham.
Did you know that Joseph translated over one hundred times more from those papyrii than the five chapters we currently have in the Book of Abraham? We could have had much more treasure from Joseph, but what would we have done with it?
As I drove home I played hide-and-seek with the sun / moon eclipse as the mountains obscured them from view. And I thought on the fact that perhaps the doctrinal insight for the whole experience was the idea expressed by Joseph McConkie some years ago. That most teachers cause what he called a "spiritual eclipse" by standing in the way of the Son when they teach His gospel, instead of letting the full light and glory of the Savior shine through by relying on His scriptures rather than on manuals and lesson supplements and videos and lesser things.
These were my thoughts.
Our man in southern Utah signing off. Back to the studio. . . .
I drove forty miles north to Kanarraville, which was advertised as the prime spot in all of Utah to view the annular solar eclipse. I had to look up "annular" so I wouldn't be drawn into thinking it meant annual or something similar. Turns out it means "forming a ring" so that an annular eclipse describes "a thin outer ring of the sun's disk not covered by the smaller dark disk of the moon" (Webster). And that's exactly what we saw.
I've always been fascinated to note that the sun and the moon appear to be very similar in size from our vantage point on earth. Of course, the sun is in reality much larger but appears the same size because it is much further away.
Here's a bit of relevant trivia: the second contestant to win $1 million on the American version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? --- Dan Blonsky --- had to answer this for his million-dollar question: What is the approximate distance from the earth to the sun?
I thought that a simple million-dollar question. We should all know that, I thought. How about you, do you know the answer?
The four choices given were: A. 9.3 million miles, B. 930 million miles, C. 930,000 miles, D. 93 million miles.
Dan got it right with D. 93 million miles. I figured most people would know that.
A $500,000 question once asked for the circumference of the earth at the equator. Another easy one? They're all easy if you know the answer! 24,900 miles seems simple to figure out from the choices given? Perhaps not. I just think such trivia should be general knowledge (see our post three months ago on The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America). We should all know the parameters of the solar system and the planet on which we live. Yes? . . . in case we have to travel around at some future time.
One million-dollar winner only struggled over one question: Who was the first settler and governor of the Utah Territory? Choices: A. Brigham Young, B. Alfred Cumming, C. Wilford Woodruff, D. Joseph Smith. Lucky for him, the audience knew it was Brigham. He suspected it was Joseph (who never came to Utah).
Enough of that. Back to the eclipse.
There were hundreds of cars parked on each side of the road at little Kanarraville (population 300). All of the thousands of people seemed to spend most of their time with their cell phones and ipods, perhaps checking out online reports and live video of the eclipse, with their backs to the sun. It reminded me of the rag-tag bunch gathered in Close Encounters of the Third Kind to witness the UFO fly-by.
I sat in the car for a couple of hours and contemplated the scene, fascinated at the occasion and full of anticipation. I pondered on the surrounding colors, the reds and honey hues of the rocky hills, and the lush greens of the foliage. As the eclipse reached its annular climax of full coverage, the atmosphere changed. The colors went to pastel hues of almost a psychedelic aura. It made me think of the colors in the 1950s movie South Pacific. The camera lens had a color filter added for the scenes of Bali Hai, to heighten the gorgeous colors of the tropics and for dramatic effect. That was what it felt like tonight, as the twilight gathered quickly, but then full daylight returned an hour later. Eerie and beautiful.
As the moon first started to inch across the sun it resembled a pie with a piece missing. Then it looked like the Pac Man game of early computer lore as the moon gradually gobbled up the sun.
Eventually the full annularity was reached and to me it resembled a giant wedding ring, vibrating with rainbow colors and profound energy as the halo effect throbbed and shimmied with power.
A family parked just in front of me came to me and offered special viewing glasses. "We noticed you had no glasses to see it with. Take a look through these." The effect was total darkness with a different picture of the event as the moon seemed to fill more of the sun's space than was visible to the naked eye. I thanked the family and we visited for several minutes. They had driven down from Salt Lake, some 300 miles. Many likely drove even further. I exulted with them over the singularity of what we were witnessing, marveling at the awesome majesty of it all. I said, "I don't know if you're LDS (they were) but it reminds me of the passage in section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants: " . . . and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power" (v. 47), and they agreed. We chatted on how baffling that anyone could think, let alone believe, that all this was some random spontaneous event that the sun and moon had somehow configured by themselves. I can never fathom how people can think that way. They agreed. I thanked them for their kindness and we had a lovely home teaching visit.
I read some years ago from Hugh Nibley that the Egyptian papyrii Joseph translated spoke of the earth being in quarantine, as part of the divine plan, with no contact with other planets, whereas they enjoy some measure of communication among themselves. This is a special earth, as shown by the fact that the Savior came to this one to perform His Atonement that would affect billions of earths like this. This is where He got His body. Special insight. I take it that this insight answers the whole extra-terrestrial / UFO visit phenomenon embraced by a good number of folk. It seems to be confirmed by D&C 130:5 and other glimpses in the Book of Abraham.
Did you know that Joseph translated over one hundred times more from those papyrii than the five chapters we currently have in the Book of Abraham? We could have had much more treasure from Joseph, but what would we have done with it?
As I drove home I played hide-and-seek with the sun / moon eclipse as the mountains obscured them from view. And I thought on the fact that perhaps the doctrinal insight for the whole experience was the idea expressed by Joseph McConkie some years ago. That most teachers cause what he called a "spiritual eclipse" by standing in the way of the Son when they teach His gospel, instead of letting the full light and glory of the Savior shine through by relying on His scriptures rather than on manuals and lesson supplements and videos and lesser things.
These were my thoughts.
Our man in southern Utah signing off. Back to the studio. . . .
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Sabbathought: "Oh how much He loves you! But Oh how good and pure He is!" . . . Therefore . . . .
It was Elder Henry B. Eyring, soon after his call to the Twelve, when he taught our seminary district, saying with typical emotion for him:
"Oh how much God loves you! . . . But, Oh how good and pure He is! . . . And Oh how clean we must be to go back to Him and dwell with Him!"
We are trying, with these Sabbathoughts and Gospel Insights From The Scriptures [GIFTS] posts, to use this miracle of electronic communication to help "make popular that which is sound and good, and unpopular that which is unsound" in the Gospel story.
I say "we" are trying to do this because it is certainly not an individual effort. It involves the Spirit of the Lord or it would never have the ring of truth. It also draws on the wisdom and feedback and comments of many of you. My wife Alison has contributed whole paragraphs of insightful words of doctrine and thought.
It is a bold undertaking for it will necessarily draw criticism from some quarters, not least from those who think an ordinary, garden-variety elder of Israel, aided and abetted by like-minded folks, has no right to expound doctrine and offer corrective counsel in areas of the gospel.
To this we humbly reply with Joseph McConkie, "Validity draws the fire." If what we say is valid, it will provoke resistance and even anger from the enemy who will stir up the feelings of a few whose foundation in the gospel is built on the sands of man's philosophies, prejudices, and traditions of error.
Our main purpose has been to show a different character in the Person of our God than we readily suppose Him to be. Such a view is dependent on the scriptural picture of Him as shown in the life and ministry of the Son, Jesus Christ. This view is brought into focus through the lens of the Book of Mormon, the doctrinal basis of our religion.
Such a view is informed and augmented by a careful study of those whose ministries and writings clearly show that they know Him.
We hope that it is transparently clear in these columns that, not only we, but He Himself has something to say about His own character, as in when He says, "Ye never knew me."
From scripture that is not yet perhaps part of the canon we embrace such words in our pursuit of holy things as the counsel to "militantly proclaim" the gospel message as it has been restored through living prophets, chief among whom is the Prophet, even Joseph Smith the Seer.
We are in this way made aware that "we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them;" . . . that these things should be "attended to with great earnestness."
We know that true faith --- faith that has the power to heal and save --- is not found in a false idea of God and His holy character and nature as revealed in scripture. So we seek to know Him as He really is, as found in those divine sources. Nothing less will do.
We know that a false idea of Christ is a false Christ, as the Lord Himself warned and forewarned us against.
For these reasons, we began this by citing Elder Eyring's cogent and insightful words.
We conclude by offering this from C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia wherein he writes early in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when Susan asks Mr. Beaver whether Aslan is a safe lion. "Course he isn't safe," replies Mr. Beaver. "But he's good."
And when Susan's brother Peter says, "I'm longing to see him [Aslan], even if I do feel frightened when it comes to the point," we recognize that Jesus is the Lion of Judah, as well as the Lamb of God. He is the God of Battles, as well as the Prince of Peace. He is Justice as well as Mercy. That His saving mercy is not automatic or unconditional, but "can come only by covenant," as Elder Packer has taught.
This is a different Jesus than the one we might think we know.
Oh how good He is. But, Oh how clean we must be to come unto Him!
And He Himself has provided the way and the means for us to get clean according to His terms. Such is His great love for us. But it can be on His terms only.
That is a central part of the reason for these columns.
God bless. Have a lovely Sabbath day.
Steve
"Oh how much God loves you! . . . But, Oh how good and pure He is! . . . And Oh how clean we must be to go back to Him and dwell with Him!"
We are trying, with these Sabbathoughts and Gospel Insights From The Scriptures [GIFTS] posts, to use this miracle of electronic communication to help "make popular that which is sound and good, and unpopular that which is unsound" in the Gospel story.
I say "we" are trying to do this because it is certainly not an individual effort. It involves the Spirit of the Lord or it would never have the ring of truth. It also draws on the wisdom and feedback and comments of many of you. My wife Alison has contributed whole paragraphs of insightful words of doctrine and thought.
It is a bold undertaking for it will necessarily draw criticism from some quarters, not least from those who think an ordinary, garden-variety elder of Israel, aided and abetted by like-minded folks, has no right to expound doctrine and offer corrective counsel in areas of the gospel.
To this we humbly reply with Joseph McConkie, "Validity draws the fire." If what we say is valid, it will provoke resistance and even anger from the enemy who will stir up the feelings of a few whose foundation in the gospel is built on the sands of man's philosophies, prejudices, and traditions of error.
Our main purpose has been to show a different character in the Person of our God than we readily suppose Him to be. Such a view is dependent on the scriptural picture of Him as shown in the life and ministry of the Son, Jesus Christ. This view is brought into focus through the lens of the Book of Mormon, the doctrinal basis of our religion.
Such a view is informed and augmented by a careful study of those whose ministries and writings clearly show that they know Him.
We hope that it is transparently clear in these columns that, not only we, but He Himself has something to say about His own character, as in when He says, "Ye never knew me."
From scripture that is not yet perhaps part of the canon we embrace such words in our pursuit of holy things as the counsel to "militantly proclaim" the gospel message as it has been restored through living prophets, chief among whom is the Prophet, even Joseph Smith the Seer.
We are in this way made aware that "we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them;" . . . that these things should be "attended to with great earnestness."
We know that true faith --- faith that has the power to heal and save --- is not found in a false idea of God and His holy character and nature as revealed in scripture. So we seek to know Him as He really is, as found in those divine sources. Nothing less will do.
We know that a false idea of Christ is a false Christ, as the Lord Himself warned and forewarned us against.
For these reasons, we began this by citing Elder Eyring's cogent and insightful words.
We conclude by offering this from C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia wherein he writes early in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when Susan asks Mr. Beaver whether Aslan is a safe lion. "Course he isn't safe," replies Mr. Beaver. "But he's good."
And when Susan's brother Peter says, "I'm longing to see him [Aslan], even if I do feel frightened when it comes to the point," we recognize that Jesus is the Lion of Judah, as well as the Lamb of God. He is the God of Battles, as well as the Prince of Peace. He is Justice as well as Mercy. That His saving mercy is not automatic or unconditional, but "can come only by covenant," as Elder Packer has taught.
This is a different Jesus than the one we might think we know.
Oh how good He is. But, Oh how clean we must be to come unto Him!
And He Himself has provided the way and the means for us to get clean according to His terms. Such is His great love for us. But it can be on His terms only.
That is a central part of the reason for these columns.
God bless. Have a lovely Sabbath day.
Steve
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
GIFTS: "I'm the Gardener here! --- the Good Shepherd too!"
Are you familiar with the personal account given by Hugh B. Brown of the Currant Bush? Not all of us are aware of the story and the deeply profound lesson it carries.
In a nutshell, the story speaks of how Elder Brown pruned back the currant bush in his garden so it would bring forth more fruit the following year. As the sap oozed from the wounded stubs of the bush he thought he could hear the currant bush saying through its tears of sap, "How could you prune me back so harshly? I was going to bring forth much fruit this season. How could you do that?"
To which Elder Brown replied, "I'm the gardener here. . . . I know what is best for you."
In later life, Hugh B. Brown was denied a Canadian Army promotion that was rightfully his, because he was a Mormon. In his bitter anguish at the Lord for this greatly painful and undeserved slight, he complained, "How could You allow that to happen?! That promotion was mine!"
Through his bitter tears, he paused and seemed to hear a Voice say, "I'm the Gardener here."
Not long afterwards, Hugh B. Brown was called to be an Apostle of the Lord in the Quorum of the Twelve, an office that rendered his desired Army promotion of no import.
Think of the wandering lamb whose leg is dislocated or broken by the shepherd to stop it from wandering at its heart's desire. "I'm the shepherd here," he says. And in our lives, if He loves us enough to chasten us until it hurts abominably, He says, "I'm the Shepherd here. . . . Even the Good Shepherd, for I know what is good, and what is best, for you."
As you can plainly see, it is a deeply profound lesson. It is a lesson of maturity only for the spiritually mature. And yet even a child can start to understand the message, especially if the child is blessed to have parents who are united in their determination not to spoil or indulge the child.
To further illustrate:--
When President Brigham Young heard Orson Pratt proclaiming plausible but flawed and speculative doctrine one time, Brigham said to Orson, "No it isn't, Orson, and I'll rub your ears until I get you right!"
John Taylor, third President of the Church, in a Tabernacle address, said: "I heard the Prophet Joseph say, in speaking to the Twelve on one occasion: 'You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and (said he) God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God" (JD, 24:197; emphasis added).
The Twelve are models and examples for how we should each be, for as James teaches: "Take . . . the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience" (James 5:10).
Jesus will break your heart too if He has to.
Indeed a "broken heart and a contrite spirit" is a requirement in the gospel plan of repentance (see 3 Nephi 9:20), so what a blessing if the Lord were to change your heart in that way (see Alma 5:7), if it is "set so much upon the things of this world" (see D&C 121:35). For a heart to be changed it must first be broken then reset properly, reset in His image (see Alma 5:14, 26, 38--41, take a moment to look at these verses; you'll be glad you did, I promise).
God bless.
Steve
In a nutshell, the story speaks of how Elder Brown pruned back the currant bush in his garden so it would bring forth more fruit the following year. As the sap oozed from the wounded stubs of the bush he thought he could hear the currant bush saying through its tears of sap, "How could you prune me back so harshly? I was going to bring forth much fruit this season. How could you do that?"
To which Elder Brown replied, "I'm the gardener here. . . . I know what is best for you."
In later life, Hugh B. Brown was denied a Canadian Army promotion that was rightfully his, because he was a Mormon. In his bitter anguish at the Lord for this greatly painful and undeserved slight, he complained, "How could You allow that to happen?! That promotion was mine!"
Through his bitter tears, he paused and seemed to hear a Voice say, "I'm the Gardener here."
Not long afterwards, Hugh B. Brown was called to be an Apostle of the Lord in the Quorum of the Twelve, an office that rendered his desired Army promotion of no import.
Think of the wandering lamb whose leg is dislocated or broken by the shepherd to stop it from wandering at its heart's desire. "I'm the shepherd here," he says. And in our lives, if He loves us enough to chasten us until it hurts abominably, He says, "I'm the Shepherd here. . . . Even the Good Shepherd, for I know what is good, and what is best, for you."
As you can plainly see, it is a deeply profound lesson. It is a lesson of maturity only for the spiritually mature. And yet even a child can start to understand the message, especially if the child is blessed to have parents who are united in their determination not to spoil or indulge the child.
To further illustrate:--
When President Brigham Young heard Orson Pratt proclaiming plausible but flawed and speculative doctrine one time, Brigham said to Orson, "No it isn't, Orson, and I'll rub your ears until I get you right!"
John Taylor, third President of the Church, in a Tabernacle address, said: "I heard the Prophet Joseph say, in speaking to the Twelve on one occasion: 'You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and (said he) God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God" (JD, 24:197; emphasis added).
The Twelve are models and examples for how we should each be, for as James teaches: "Take . . . the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience" (James 5:10).
Jesus will break your heart too if He has to.
Indeed a "broken heart and a contrite spirit" is a requirement in the gospel plan of repentance (see 3 Nephi 9:20), so what a blessing if the Lord were to change your heart in that way (see Alma 5:7), if it is "set so much upon the things of this world" (see D&C 121:35). For a heart to be changed it must first be broken then reset properly, reset in His image (see Alma 5:14, 26, 38--41, take a moment to look at these verses; you'll be glad you did, I promise).
God bless.
Steve
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
GIFTS: "Jesus will break your leg if He has to."
This comes from Ann Barnhardt, until
recent market corruption caused her to abandon her business, a commodities
broker in livestock, using her degree in animal husbandry:--
"Long story short: When a shepherd
would go out and search for a lost sheep that had wandered off, when he found
the lost lamb, he would BREAK OR DISLOCATE ITS LEG, and then carry it back to
the flock on his shoulders. This husbandry technique is called "hobbling."
We have all seen that image. Yeah. He wasn't carrying it because it was fun. He
was carrying the lamb because he had intentionally crippled it.
"Why? Why break the animal's leg?
First, to keep it from wandering off again. Second, in order to train it to
stay with the flock. While the leg was mending, the lamb would NOT wander off
and learned to stay with the fold. This was done not just to protect the
straying lamb, but also to protect the rest of the flock. Sheep are very
gregarious. If one is heady and heads off on some tangent, the rest of the
flock might go after it instead of staying with the shepherd.
"You know, KINDA LIKE PEOPLE.
"In terms of the actual breaking of
the leg, you might be thinking that a broken leg would kill an animal or be massively
cruel. You would be wrong. The folks who taught me the cattle business used to
herd and drive wild animals like elk and reindeer up on the tundras of Canada.
One time they came across a large herd of elk and one of the animals had a
totally fractured hind leg. The bone was totally severed and the leg was
flopping completely free as the animal ran with the herd on three legs. When
they came back to that herd a few weeks later, they spotted the animal, and its
leg was almost fully healed. It had a slight deformity, but it was running on
the broken leg. The point is that animals have a massive pain tolerance such
that their perception of pain is fundamentally different than that of human
pain. Additionally, they have a capacity for physical healing that humans
likewise do not have. An untreated compound fracture in a human leg would kill
the human. But animals are different, so the shepherding technique of breaking
or dislocating the leg of a straying lamb would have been standard operating
procedure.
"I looked this up, and sure enough,
up until just within the last century, people understood the symbolism of the
Good Shepherd fairly widely, as many people were still involved in animal
agriculture on roughly the same technological level as that of 2000 years ago.
The Church, and thus the people understood that if God gently guides you back
to the fold, but you keep persistently wandering off and being disobedient to
God's perfect will, endangering not only yourself but the rest of the flock as
well, JESUS WILL PROVERBIALLY BREAK YOUR LEG, hoist you on His shoulders and
haul you back to the flock. The alternative would be to let you get eaten by
the wolves, and entice the wolves to attack the rest of the flock.
"When Jesus says, 'I am the Good
Shepherd,' He MEANS IT. CRACK!
"Finally, this also illuminates the
prophecy in Numbers 9:12 that the Passover Lamb shall not have any of its bones
broken:
"'They shall not leave any thing thereof until morning, nor
break a bone thereof, they shall observe all the ceremonies of the phase'
--Numbers 9:12.
"This was specifically emphasized by
John in his Gospel:
"'For these things were done, that the scripture might be
fulfilled: You shall not break a bone of Him' --John 19:36.
"Jesus is the Lamb of God (Agnus
Dei), slain for the sins of the world (Qui tollis peccata mundi). He was slain
without any of His bones being broken because He is the perfect Lamb, in
perfect union with the Will of the Father, Who never, ever strayed, and thus
His bones, in particular His legs, were not broken."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is easy to imagine that the "God's Love Is Unconditional" group will be shocked, confused, and offended by this insight, if they read it at all.
Ann is not a Latter-day Saint so her doctrinal insights are less than perfect. But her glimpse into the nature and total loyalty of the Good Shepherd is instructive for us here.
When Nephi said that "the Lord God . . . doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world" (2 Nephi 26:23--4), I think most of us would see that in a sentimental light, that Jesus is totally supportive of the self-esteem of His children and would not do anything to offend or to hurt them.
But our theme here today brings three passages from Paul to the Hebrew Saints into sharp relief:
1) "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
2) "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." A scourge, of course, is a whip used to inflict pain. The Lord Jesus was scourged by the specially trained Roman Praetorian guards prior to His crucifixion. See Romans 8:17 for the implications of this stunning point.
And the third Hebrews passage: 3) "For our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 10:31; 12:5--6; and 12:29).
We largely rely on a sentimentalized view of our Savior, the Good Shepherd, our Redeemer. This view prevents us from coming to know Him. We see only the meek and mild Lamb. But He is also the Shepherd. And He takes both roles seriously so as to not leave undone any part of the Father's plan for our safety and salvation.
The Prophet taught that a correct idea of God's character and attributes is essentially necessary in order for any rational being to exercise faith in Him unto life and salvation. We harbor many false or misleading notions that we have heard from the world, from the philosophies of men. The seriousness of Jesus' loyalty and discipleship to His Father is an example for our own loyalty and valiant discipleship. And we must expect to be chastened on the way, for we are not yet as He would have us become. Our submission shows Him that we would be like Him. There is no other way.
Steve
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