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