In The Bluebird, Maeterlink pictures unborn children summoned to earth life. As one group approaches the earth, the voices of the children earthward tending are heard in the distance to cry, "The earth! The earth! I can see it! How beautiful it is!"
Then, following these cries of ecstasy, there issued from out of the depth of the abyss a sweet song of gentleness and expectancy in reference to which the author says, "It is the song of the mothers coming out to meet them."
Maeterlink's fairy play is not all fantasy or imagination. Neither is Wordsworth's "Ode on Intimations of Immortality", wherein he said:
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.
It is given as a fact in revelation that Abraham was chosen before he was born. Songs of expectant parents come from all parts of the earth, and each little spirit is attracted to the peculiar situation for which that spirit has prepared itself.
If none of these spirits was permitted to enter mortality until they were all good and pure and great and could become leaders, then the diversity of conditions among the children of men as we see them today would indicate discrimination and injustice.
If, in their eagerness to take bodies, they were willing to come to any circumstance for which they were peculiarly worthy, or to which they were particularly attracted, then they were given the full reward of merit and were satisfied, yes, and even blessed.
---from a letter written by President David O. McKay and quoted
by Elder Harold B. Lee on 27 April 1969 in a talk given at Brigham
Young University.
"But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things."
Monday, June 20, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Sabbathought: She dreamed that she was bathing the Christ child
From the family history of our friend and mentor Joseph Fielding McConkie:
Many years ago in a small town in the southern part of the state of Utah, my great-grandmother was called to be the president of the Relief Society. During this period of our Church's history there existed a very bitter and antagonistic spirit between the Mormons and the Gentiles.
In my great-grandmother's ward one of the young sisters married a Gentile boy. This of course did not please either the Mormons or the Gentiles very much. In the course of time this young couple gave birth to a child. Unfortunately the mother became so ill in the process of childbirth that she was unable to care for her baby.
Upon learning of this woman's condition, great-grandmother immediately went to the homes of the sisters in the ward and asked them if they would take a turn going into the home of this young couple to care for the baby. One by one these women refused and so the responsibility fell completely upon her.
She would arise early in the morning, walk what was a considerable distance to the home of this young couple where she would bathe and feed the baby, gather all that needed to be laundered and take it with her to her home. There she would launder it and then return with it the next day.
Great-grandmother had been doing this for some time when one morning she felt too weak and sick to go and perform the service that had been her custom. However, as she lay in bed she realized that if she didn't go the child would not be provided for.
She mustered all her strength and went.
After performing this service she, and I suppose only with the help of the Lord, was able to return to her home, and upon entering her living room collapsed into a large chair and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
She said that as she slept she felt as if she were consumed by a fire that would melt the very marrow of her bones. She began to dream and dreamed that she was bathing the Christ child and glorying in what a great privilege it would have been to have bathed the Son of God.
Then the voice of the Lord spoke to her saying, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me."
Thank you, Joseph.
Many years ago in a small town in the southern part of the state of Utah, my great-grandmother was called to be the president of the Relief Society. During this period of our Church's history there existed a very bitter and antagonistic spirit between the Mormons and the Gentiles.
In my great-grandmother's ward one of the young sisters married a Gentile boy. This of course did not please either the Mormons or the Gentiles very much. In the course of time this young couple gave birth to a child. Unfortunately the mother became so ill in the process of childbirth that she was unable to care for her baby.
Upon learning of this woman's condition, great-grandmother immediately went to the homes of the sisters in the ward and asked them if they would take a turn going into the home of this young couple to care for the baby. One by one these women refused and so the responsibility fell completely upon her.
She would arise early in the morning, walk what was a considerable distance to the home of this young couple where she would bathe and feed the baby, gather all that needed to be laundered and take it with her to her home. There she would launder it and then return with it the next day.
Great-grandmother had been doing this for some time when one morning she felt too weak and sick to go and perform the service that had been her custom. However, as she lay in bed she realized that if she didn't go the child would not be provided for.
She mustered all her strength and went.
After performing this service she, and I suppose only with the help of the Lord, was able to return to her home, and upon entering her living room collapsed into a large chair and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
She said that as she slept she felt as if she were consumed by a fire that would melt the very marrow of her bones. She began to dream and dreamed that she was bathing the Christ child and glorying in what a great privilege it would have been to have bathed the Son of God.
Then the voice of the Lord spoke to her saying, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me."
Thank you, Joseph.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Sabbathought : "It's a matter of impersonation."
The Savior asked, "What manner of men ought ye to be?"
He answered, "Verily I say unto you, even as I am" (see 3 Nephi 27:27).
So, what kind of a man was He and is He? The answer is to be found in the Five Gospels---Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Third Nephi.
To start with, note this story told at BYU in 1984 by President Ezra Taft Benson:
There was a little crippled boy who ran a small newsstand in a crowded railroad station. He must have been about twelve years old. Every day he would sell papers, candy, gum, and magazines to the thousands of commuters passing through the terminal.
One night two men were rushing through the crowded station to catch a train. One was fifteen or twenty yards in front of the other. It was Christmas eve. Their train was scheduled to depart in a matter of minutes.
The first man turned a corner and in his haste to get home to a Christmas cocktail party plowed right into the young crippled boy. He knocked him off his stool, and candy, newspapers, and gum were scattered everywhere. Without so much as stopping, he cursed the little fellow for being there and rushed on to catch the train that would take him to celebrate Christmas in the way he had chosen for himself.
It was only a matter of seconds before the second commuter arrived on the scene. He stopped, knelt, and gently picked up the boy. After making sure the child was unhurt, the man gathered up the scattered newspapers, sweets, and magazines. Then he took his wallet and gave the boy a five-dollar bill. "Son," he said, "I think this will take care of what was lost or soiled. Merry Christmas!"
Without waiting for a reply the commuter now picked up his briefcase and started to hurry away. As he did, the little crippled boy cupped his hands together and called out: "Mister, Mister!"
The man stopped as the boy asked, "Are you Jesus Christ?"
By the look on his face, it was obvious the commuter was embarrassed by the question. But he smiled and said, "No, son. I am not Jesus Christ, but I am trying hard to do what He would do if He were here."
And that, my friend, is what it means to be a Christian, even on Christmas eve. It's a matter of impersonation.
Now---wait on a minute---our story goes deeper.
We want the story to end there, satisfied and happy at the point and the punchline. But it goes further . . . . It has to.
Our job as Christians and as Latter-day Saints is to find out what manner of man Jesus was and is, and then to imitate Him. Elder McConkie taught, "True worship is emulation."
The story of the kind man and the crippled boy is wonderful and rightly claims our attention. But is it enough? Is it the full picture? Does it bring us to "the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ," as Paul taught (see Ephesians 4:13)?
For many Christians there is no need of anything beyond the loving kindness and compassion shown by the second man in the story. Certainly we would all agree his actions were kind and signaled his discipleship in Christ. This is a good man, a true disciple of Christ, we all affirm, for he "went about doing good" (see Acts 10:38).
Our own President Thomas S. Monson is known, by those who know him best, as just such a man. It is common for him on the way to a meeting or appointment to instruct his driver to "take this exit, I just need to visit someone," and he delays his journey to call upon a widow or someone in need. He always goes about doing good, and urges us to do the same.
Let us ask a key question at this point: Who is the greatest man upon the earth today?
The correct answer has to be this: By virtue of the keys which he holds, President Thomas S. Monson is the greatest man on the earth today.
The issue has little to do with his goodness and kindness (Jesus Himself corrected a man who called Him "good"---see Matthew 19:16--17), but has to do with an eternal perspective.
If we Latter-day Saints aim only at being good, decent, kind and loving, honorable men and women---and ignore or neglect the weightier matters restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, we shall end up in the terrestrial kingdom.
Now it is not a matter of choosing one path or the other---of charity and goodness or ordinances and covenants---"these [things] ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone", but we cannot afford to settle below the Restoration, short of the things that "cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined world."
It goes way beyond love and kindness. Joseph Smith was raised in a loving home filled with goodness taught by kind and wonderful parents; he did not restore love and kindness to the earth. He restored root things of bigger import and greater consequence for the human family and its eternal well being.
What a wonderful story with which to introduce this Sabbathought! What a fine Christian gentleman it was who helped the little crippled boy in his distress! How great it is to have these things in our character and deep in our soul!
You may wonder why we chose a story set at Christmas time. Because every Sabbath day is a Christmas day---or should be. And as we approach the middle of the year (how time flies!) it is worth while to remind ourselves that the Sabbath is the Lord's day and so is Christmas. They go together; in a real sense they are interchangeable.
[On a personal note, if I may, and if you'll permit me: I can only write a Sabbathought when I feel the inspiration to do so, when I am impressed with an important idea that points to the true Christ. When I feel it, I can't hold back, I can't stop.
Please . . . pray for me and my family . . . as I pray for you and yours.]
Elder Packer said nearly twenty years ago, "No one of us can survive in the world of today, much less in what it soon will become, without personal inspiration." This was a generation ago.
He went on to plead for a Spirit of reverence in all of our meetings on the Sabbath and in the lives of every member of the Church, so that the inspiration may flow unhindered. Reverence invites revelation, he said. Elder Packer is a seer and a prophet.
Salvation is to learn of Christ, and to become like Him, to emulate Him. What was He like? The stereotype we have in mind of Him is not the true Christ; it is a false Christ. The real Christ is a deeper, finer, greater soul than the shallow idea we carry of Him. The true Christ can be found in the Five Gospels, and as Elder David Bednar promised, He is a different Christ than the one we think we know unless we really seek to find Him in a serious sustained way, and then having found Him, to emulate Him . . . for it is all a matter of impersonation.
More on this later. . . .
God bless.
Steve
He answered, "Verily I say unto you, even as I am" (see 3 Nephi 27:27).
So, what kind of a man was He and is He? The answer is to be found in the Five Gospels---Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Third Nephi.
To start with, note this story told at BYU in 1984 by President Ezra Taft Benson:
There was a little crippled boy who ran a small newsstand in a crowded railroad station. He must have been about twelve years old. Every day he would sell papers, candy, gum, and magazines to the thousands of commuters passing through the terminal.
One night two men were rushing through the crowded station to catch a train. One was fifteen or twenty yards in front of the other. It was Christmas eve. Their train was scheduled to depart in a matter of minutes.
The first man turned a corner and in his haste to get home to a Christmas cocktail party plowed right into the young crippled boy. He knocked him off his stool, and candy, newspapers, and gum were scattered everywhere. Without so much as stopping, he cursed the little fellow for being there and rushed on to catch the train that would take him to celebrate Christmas in the way he had chosen for himself.
It was only a matter of seconds before the second commuter arrived on the scene. He stopped, knelt, and gently picked up the boy. After making sure the child was unhurt, the man gathered up the scattered newspapers, sweets, and magazines. Then he took his wallet and gave the boy a five-dollar bill. "Son," he said, "I think this will take care of what was lost or soiled. Merry Christmas!"
Without waiting for a reply the commuter now picked up his briefcase and started to hurry away. As he did, the little crippled boy cupped his hands together and called out: "Mister, Mister!"
The man stopped as the boy asked, "Are you Jesus Christ?"
By the look on his face, it was obvious the commuter was embarrassed by the question. But he smiled and said, "No, son. I am not Jesus Christ, but I am trying hard to do what He would do if He were here."
And that, my friend, is what it means to be a Christian, even on Christmas eve. It's a matter of impersonation.
Now---wait on a minute---our story goes deeper.
We want the story to end there, satisfied and happy at the point and the punchline. But it goes further . . . . It has to.
Our job as Christians and as Latter-day Saints is to find out what manner of man Jesus was and is, and then to imitate Him. Elder McConkie taught, "True worship is emulation."
The story of the kind man and the crippled boy is wonderful and rightly claims our attention. But is it enough? Is it the full picture? Does it bring us to "the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ," as Paul taught (see Ephesians 4:13)?
For many Christians there is no need of anything beyond the loving kindness and compassion shown by the second man in the story. Certainly we would all agree his actions were kind and signaled his discipleship in Christ. This is a good man, a true disciple of Christ, we all affirm, for he "went about doing good" (see Acts 10:38).
Our own President Thomas S. Monson is known, by those who know him best, as just such a man. It is common for him on the way to a meeting or appointment to instruct his driver to "take this exit, I just need to visit someone," and he delays his journey to call upon a widow or someone in need. He always goes about doing good, and urges us to do the same.
Let us ask a key question at this point: Who is the greatest man upon the earth today?
The correct answer has to be this: By virtue of the keys which he holds, President Thomas S. Monson is the greatest man on the earth today.
The issue has little to do with his goodness and kindness (Jesus Himself corrected a man who called Him "good"---see Matthew 19:16--17), but has to do with an eternal perspective.
If we Latter-day Saints aim only at being good, decent, kind and loving, honorable men and women---and ignore or neglect the weightier matters restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, we shall end up in the terrestrial kingdom.
Now it is not a matter of choosing one path or the other---of charity and goodness or ordinances and covenants---"these [things] ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone", but we cannot afford to settle below the Restoration, short of the things that "cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined world."
It goes way beyond love and kindness. Joseph Smith was raised in a loving home filled with goodness taught by kind and wonderful parents; he did not restore love and kindness to the earth. He restored root things of bigger import and greater consequence for the human family and its eternal well being.
What a wonderful story with which to introduce this Sabbathought! What a fine Christian gentleman it was who helped the little crippled boy in his distress! How great it is to have these things in our character and deep in our soul!
You may wonder why we chose a story set at Christmas time. Because every Sabbath day is a Christmas day---or should be. And as we approach the middle of the year (how time flies!) it is worth while to remind ourselves that the Sabbath is the Lord's day and so is Christmas. They go together; in a real sense they are interchangeable.
[On a personal note, if I may, and if you'll permit me: I can only write a Sabbathought when I feel the inspiration to do so, when I am impressed with an important idea that points to the true Christ. When I feel it, I can't hold back, I can't stop.
Please . . . pray for me and my family . . . as I pray for you and yours.]
Elder Packer said nearly twenty years ago, "No one of us can survive in the world of today, much less in what it soon will become, without personal inspiration." This was a generation ago.
He went on to plead for a Spirit of reverence in all of our meetings on the Sabbath and in the lives of every member of the Church, so that the inspiration may flow unhindered. Reverence invites revelation, he said. Elder Packer is a seer and a prophet.
Salvation is to learn of Christ, and to become like Him, to emulate Him. What was He like? The stereotype we have in mind of Him is not the true Christ; it is a false Christ. The real Christ is a deeper, finer, greater soul than the shallow idea we carry of Him. The true Christ can be found in the Five Gospels, and as Elder David Bednar promised, He is a different Christ than the one we think we know unless we really seek to find Him in a serious sustained way, and then having found Him, to emulate Him . . . for it is all a matter of impersonation.
More on this later. . . .
God bless.
Steve
Friday, May 6, 2011
Elder F. Enzio Busche, 27 January 2001, BYU Studies Academy meeting
Elder Busche began by relating the key to making the gospel powerful in our lives: Humility. He spoke of having lived in humiliating circumstances---forced humility. He was drafted into the German Army at the age of fourteen, had very little education or access to academic things, and grew up with a poor vocabulary as a result.
Now that he is an emeritus General Authority he has some free time, so he is currently studying European History. He says he hears a lot of words but has trouble understanding the meaning behind them, so it is an in-depth study of European History. He is convinced there is a broad lack of understanding of true history today.
His calling into the First Quorum of Seventy was out of ignominy; his conversion to the Church was only possible because of the Spirit of the Lord. It is vital to learn how to ensure the Spirit in our lives.
There are marked similarities in the thinking and pronouncements by the leading intellectual philosophers of Europe at the time of the Restoration of the gospel. They were searching for the gospel, but did not know it. Socialism is not dead; there are socialist governments today [2001] in Germany, France, and Great Britain. They dream still today of a Utopia, of a "United Order," of wiping away human tears, but they don't know how to do it. They have given up on established religion. It is amazing to Elder Busche to see our missionaries knocking on doors in Europe and there is no interest in their message at all, to speak of. (Examples of European scholars whose thinking reflects gospel interest.)
When Joseph Smith speaks of knowledge he is speaking of it in a totally different way than the world speaks of it: his is not just brain knowledge, but revelation knowledge. Elder Busche spoke of being involved in the translation of the Church handbook into German, which later went into Russian. "I worry. I worry that we give a thick handbook to a new Russian branch president. They have been through bureaucracy and rules and procedures. I worry."
"Preach nothing but repentance" (see D&C 19:21; see also 5:19). Are we blind to the threat posed by psychiatry and psychology? Phrases like "biogenetic disposition" and "chemical imbalance" are common among our people, and are used as reasons---excuses really---for people's behavior. "Compulsive", "obsessive", "stop blaming yourself", "don't feed the guilt monster" all stop our members from repenting. We might be surprised to learn that no less a notable than Carl Jung said, "Ultimately every psychological problem comes down to a matter of religion."
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only power to save and heal people of their psychological problems. Elder Busche emphasized that he is not saying psychology is wrong, but it goes unchecked, unchallenged by us. Elder Busche's son started to study psychology with a view to a career. He had to drop it; he found it incompatible with his core beliefs, found himself arguing with his professors. Is it possible for BYU to replace Freudian psychology with gospel understanding? Twenty percent of the U.S. population today is being treated for psychotic illness, mainly with drugs.
The future of the gospel in Germany: When we bring the true gospel message there---repent, repent, repent---we will have success in Germany. The present condition of society there is one of prosperity and social success, but the people are not happy. They need repentance desperately. (Account of Elder Busche's being in hospital in Germany recently: patient in next bed, grouchy, negative, asked why Elder Busche was so happy in his illness and pain. Elder Busche answered, "Because I have the gospel of Jesus Christ!" Elder Busche could see the effects of an unrepented life in that man, with his hidden pornographic magazines, and his negative attitude to everything. He told the man, "You need to repent. You need to change." But it is hard for them. We must show them how.)
There are some outstanding Latter-day Saints in Europe---mostly second-generation---but not enough of them. President Hinckley's contribution to bringing the Church out of obscurity---with his book and interviews with the New York Press Club, and so forth---is remarkable, but we are not yet good at presenting our message of repentance to the world. There are many great bookstores in the great cities of the world, with miles and miles of shelves full of books, and NONE on the Restoration of the gospel! Not even the Book of Mormon is there.
His testimony.
Now that he is an emeritus General Authority he has some free time, so he is currently studying European History. He says he hears a lot of words but has trouble understanding the meaning behind them, so it is an in-depth study of European History. He is convinced there is a broad lack of understanding of true history today.
His calling into the First Quorum of Seventy was out of ignominy; his conversion to the Church was only possible because of the Spirit of the Lord. It is vital to learn how to ensure the Spirit in our lives.
There are marked similarities in the thinking and pronouncements by the leading intellectual philosophers of Europe at the time of the Restoration of the gospel. They were searching for the gospel, but did not know it. Socialism is not dead; there are socialist governments today [2001] in Germany, France, and Great Britain. They dream still today of a Utopia, of a "United Order," of wiping away human tears, but they don't know how to do it. They have given up on established religion. It is amazing to Elder Busche to see our missionaries knocking on doors in Europe and there is no interest in their message at all, to speak of. (Examples of European scholars whose thinking reflects gospel interest.)
When Joseph Smith speaks of knowledge he is speaking of it in a totally different way than the world speaks of it: his is not just brain knowledge, but revelation knowledge. Elder Busche spoke of being involved in the translation of the Church handbook into German, which later went into Russian. "I worry. I worry that we give a thick handbook to a new Russian branch president. They have been through bureaucracy and rules and procedures. I worry."
"Preach nothing but repentance" (see D&C 19:21; see also 5:19). Are we blind to the threat posed by psychiatry and psychology? Phrases like "biogenetic disposition" and "chemical imbalance" are common among our people, and are used as reasons---excuses really---for people's behavior. "Compulsive", "obsessive", "stop blaming yourself", "don't feed the guilt monster" all stop our members from repenting. We might be surprised to learn that no less a notable than Carl Jung said, "Ultimately every psychological problem comes down to a matter of religion."
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only power to save and heal people of their psychological problems. Elder Busche emphasized that he is not saying psychology is wrong, but it goes unchecked, unchallenged by us. Elder Busche's son started to study psychology with a view to a career. He had to drop it; he found it incompatible with his core beliefs, found himself arguing with his professors. Is it possible for BYU to replace Freudian psychology with gospel understanding? Twenty percent of the U.S. population today is being treated for psychotic illness, mainly with drugs.
The future of the gospel in Germany: When we bring the true gospel message there---repent, repent, repent---we will have success in Germany. The present condition of society there is one of prosperity and social success, but the people are not happy. They need repentance desperately. (Account of Elder Busche's being in hospital in Germany recently: patient in next bed, grouchy, negative, asked why Elder Busche was so happy in his illness and pain. Elder Busche answered, "Because I have the gospel of Jesus Christ!" Elder Busche could see the effects of an unrepented life in that man, with his hidden pornographic magazines, and his negative attitude to everything. He told the man, "You need to repent. You need to change." But it is hard for them. We must show them how.)
There are some outstanding Latter-day Saints in Europe---mostly second-generation---but not enough of them. President Hinckley's contribution to bringing the Church out of obscurity---with his book and interviews with the New York Press Club, and so forth---is remarkable, but we are not yet good at presenting our message of repentance to the world. There are many great bookstores in the great cities of the world, with miles and miles of shelves full of books, and NONE on the Restoration of the gospel! Not even the Book of Mormon is there.
His testimony.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Extra Sabbathoughts for Easter
By some oversight, we omitted to sing Easter hymns in our church service this morning. Fortunately the prayers and the sacrament and the talks focused us appropriately. Strange that we do full honor to His birth throughout December but Easter seems to pass often unnoticed. That is probably consistent, however:
"How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is giv'n . . . ."
But really, ought we not to remember as a people as well as in our hearts individually? It just seems to reflect much of what we have lamented in these Sabbathoughts: that we do not yet know Him, and His gospel is the best-kept secret among us.
As the Savior entered Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday, the people---the "children of the kingdom" as Joseph rendered it---cried out in the way and in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David . . . Hosanna in the highest."
We get Hosanna mixed up with Hallelujah. The "children of the kingdom"---appropriately---were crying out, "Hosanna---Save us now!" a fitting plea to the Savior whose act of redemption in a few short days would indeed make available salvation to us all. Save us now!
Hallelujah means Praise to Jehovah. A fitting tribute, but Hosanna is the right word here on this occasion. Recall when we Latter-day Saints render a similar Shout with white handkerchiefs. . . . Save us now! Now we see the purpose and the center of the temple.
The Gospel of John shows that Mary saw two angels, as she stooped down, weeping, to look into the sepulchre, the tomb. They were "in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain."
Might we speculate on the identity of these two angels? It seems entirely correct to think that one was Michael (who is Adam), and the other Gabriel (who is Noah). When we ponder on the role each of these mighty men played in the drama of the story, and when we consider what the Prophet has taught, it fits. . . .
May we ask, Is the Resurrection still taking place, meaning, Are people being resurrected as they are ready, soon after they die?
It seems the Resurrection is on hold for now, that Joseph and the other great prophets of this dispensation are not yet resurrected but that Joseph will be the next to be so. Then the Resurrection will resume in order, on back to the New Testament days. We know from Matthew, and from Paul, and from the Book of Mormon that "many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them" at the time of the Savior's resurrection, He being the firstfruits, of course. The only ones on record who died after Jesus, but who have been resurrected before His Second Coming, are Peter, James, and Moroni.
A good friend in my seminary-teaching days served his mission in the Philippines. While there he once had the privilege of picking up at the airport Elder Gordon B. Hinckley. It was Good Friday, and as they drove through the streets to the mission home they saw dozens of men nailed to crosses in agony, their way of commemorating the Crucifixion. Elder Hinckley wept openly, was very disturbed by the scene. "Oh how they need the restored truth of the gospel!" he lamented.
In the ninth chapter of Hebrews Paul makes it clear that Jesus suffered and died once for the sins and pains of all mankind.
From Genesis to Revelation there is not to be found in the Bible a clear definition of resurrection, of what it means to be resurrected. As a result there is a fog of confusion on the doctrine in the world.
But the Book of Mormon---in the Book of Alma---contains clear and marvelous teachings on the Resurrection and abundant details on the doctrine.
The Resurrection---of the Lord, and of all mankind--- is a central theme of the Book of Mormon, as the Lord told Enoch it would be. In a vision of the Last Days---"the days of wickedness and vengeance"---the Lord showed Enoch that "righteousness will I send down out of heaven [angels, priesthood keys]; and truth will I send forth out of the earth [the Book of Mormon plates], to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men" (Moses 7:62).
The actual, literal, physical resurrection of all mankind, each person who has had a body, as well as all the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms---the whole created earth---is a reality and a central doctrine of the true gospel. The world does not know this. . . . So, "how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth" (2 Nephi 2:8).
This is the message, the comfort, the doctrine, the reality, the power of the Easter Season and its consoling truths.
"He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind."
Would you like to discuss these things further? Would you like a glimpse as to how we know these things? If so, let me know---either by the Comments box below, or by e-mail.
God bless you.
Steve
"How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is giv'n . . . ."
But really, ought we not to remember as a people as well as in our hearts individually? It just seems to reflect much of what we have lamented in these Sabbathoughts: that we do not yet know Him, and His gospel is the best-kept secret among us.
As the Savior entered Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday, the people---the "children of the kingdom" as Joseph rendered it---cried out in the way and in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David . . . Hosanna in the highest."
We get Hosanna mixed up with Hallelujah. The "children of the kingdom"---appropriately---were crying out, "Hosanna---Save us now!" a fitting plea to the Savior whose act of redemption in a few short days would indeed make available salvation to us all. Save us now!
Hallelujah means Praise to Jehovah. A fitting tribute, but Hosanna is the right word here on this occasion. Recall when we Latter-day Saints render a similar Shout with white handkerchiefs. . . . Save us now! Now we see the purpose and the center of the temple.
The Gospel of John shows that Mary saw two angels, as she stooped down, weeping, to look into the sepulchre, the tomb. They were "in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain."
Might we speculate on the identity of these two angels? It seems entirely correct to think that one was Michael (who is Adam), and the other Gabriel (who is Noah). When we ponder on the role each of these mighty men played in the drama of the story, and when we consider what the Prophet has taught, it fits. . . .
May we ask, Is the Resurrection still taking place, meaning, Are people being resurrected as they are ready, soon after they die?
It seems the Resurrection is on hold for now, that Joseph and the other great prophets of this dispensation are not yet resurrected but that Joseph will be the next to be so. Then the Resurrection will resume in order, on back to the New Testament days. We know from Matthew, and from Paul, and from the Book of Mormon that "many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them" at the time of the Savior's resurrection, He being the firstfruits, of course. The only ones on record who died after Jesus, but who have been resurrected before His Second Coming, are Peter, James, and Moroni.
A good friend in my seminary-teaching days served his mission in the Philippines. While there he once had the privilege of picking up at the airport Elder Gordon B. Hinckley. It was Good Friday, and as they drove through the streets to the mission home they saw dozens of men nailed to crosses in agony, their way of commemorating the Crucifixion. Elder Hinckley wept openly, was very disturbed by the scene. "Oh how they need the restored truth of the gospel!" he lamented.
In the ninth chapter of Hebrews Paul makes it clear that Jesus suffered and died once for the sins and pains of all mankind.
From Genesis to Revelation there is not to be found in the Bible a clear definition of resurrection, of what it means to be resurrected. As a result there is a fog of confusion on the doctrine in the world.
But the Book of Mormon---in the Book of Alma---contains clear and marvelous teachings on the Resurrection and abundant details on the doctrine.
The Resurrection---of the Lord, and of all mankind--- is a central theme of the Book of Mormon, as the Lord told Enoch it would be. In a vision of the Last Days---"the days of wickedness and vengeance"---the Lord showed Enoch that "righteousness will I send down out of heaven [angels, priesthood keys]; and truth will I send forth out of the earth [the Book of Mormon plates], to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men" (Moses 7:62).
The actual, literal, physical resurrection of all mankind, each person who has had a body, as well as all the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms---the whole created earth---is a reality and a central doctrine of the true gospel. The world does not know this. . . . So, "how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth" (2 Nephi 2:8).
This is the message, the comfort, the doctrine, the reality, the power of the Easter Season and its consoling truths.
"He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind."
Would you like to discuss these things further? Would you like a glimpse as to how we know these things? If so, let me know---either by the Comments box below, or by e-mail.
God bless you.
Steve
Friday, April 22, 2011
Sabbathoughts for Easter
Happy Easter, everybody.
Today, as we write, is Good Friday. It is the day we remember that the Lord Jesus was tried (illegally), sentenced, and crucified. We may ask, What is Good about it? Let Jesus Himself answer:
"O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
"Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" --- to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. ". . . Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.
"And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.
"And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
And as Lehi in the Book of Mormon taught: "Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth . . . ."
So, what's good about Good Friday is that it is the day the Good News of the gospel became valid and effective and was consummated in His sacrifice and suffering and subsequent resurrection.
Just as the word gospel comes to us from the old Saxon, "Godspel", meaning God's story, or God's news, or Good News, so we can see that Good Friday is really "God's Friday", as He finished the work His Father had given Him to do.
How marvelous it all is!
As the tour guides in Old Jerusalem say when they show tourists the Garden Tomb: "This tomb is different from all other tombs; this one is empty!"
The greatest victory of all time was announced not in these six words, "Manchester United --- Six, Manchester City --- Nil," nor in these eight words, "Brigham Young University --- Sixty, University of Utah --- Zero," but in these eight words: "He is not here: for he is risen."
Because, O my! it was Jesus Christ, / The Savior of mankind;
He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind.
That is the chorus of a song my family and I wrote in the mid--1970s at Easter, entitled The Borrowed Tomb. Here's the rest of it:
Saw them take Him down Friday evening, / His face was ghostly white,
And the thunder was rumbling around the cross, / It was such a chilling sight.
Then they laid Him down in that borrowed tomb, / Quickly now, it's the Sabbath Day,
From womb to tomb in just thirty-three years, / Thirty-three years and one day.
And, O my! it was Jesus Christ, / The Savior of mankind;
He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind.
Sunday morning in that Garden, / When Mary came to see,
The stone of the tomb was rolled away / And a voice spoke tenderly;
But Mary thought it was the gardener / So she didn't raise her eyes to see,
But, O my! it was Jesus Christ! / The Savior of mankind;
He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind.
Thomas came along with doubt in his heart, / The Apostles said, We've seen the Lord!
Thomas said, Until I've felt His wounds, / I can't believe a single word.
But, O my! it was Jesus Christ! / The Savior of mankind;
He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind.
Now this is what we witness to everyone, / That the Lord is risen today;
And the wonder of the Resurrection is / That we'll all rise in the same way,
Because, O my! it was Jesus Christ! / The Savior of mankind!
He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind!
Truly, what died at that first Easter was Death itself, swallowed up in the Atonement and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Do we know what these words mean? Do we understand the wonder of it all?
As Peter said (and he should know; he was there), "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."
These things we know of a surety based on the knowledge received through the Prophet Joseph and the Restoration. Truly, a new Prophet has come to the world to bear new, solemn witness to what is being eroded and lost to the world of mankind.
Happy Easter, everyone, you defenders of the faith!
Steve
Today, as we write, is Good Friday. It is the day we remember that the Lord Jesus was tried (illegally), sentenced, and crucified. We may ask, What is Good about it? Let Jesus Himself answer:
"O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
"Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" --- to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. ". . . Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.
"And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.
"And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
And as Lehi in the Book of Mormon taught: "Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth . . . ."
So, what's good about Good Friday is that it is the day the Good News of the gospel became valid and effective and was consummated in His sacrifice and suffering and subsequent resurrection.
Just as the word gospel comes to us from the old Saxon, "Godspel", meaning God's story, or God's news, or Good News, so we can see that Good Friday is really "God's Friday", as He finished the work His Father had given Him to do.
How marvelous it all is!
As the tour guides in Old Jerusalem say when they show tourists the Garden Tomb: "This tomb is different from all other tombs; this one is empty!"
The greatest victory of all time was announced not in these six words, "Manchester United --- Six, Manchester City --- Nil," nor in these eight words, "Brigham Young University --- Sixty, University of Utah --- Zero," but in these eight words: "He is not here: for he is risen."
Because, O my! it was Jesus Christ, / The Savior of mankind;
He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind.
That is the chorus of a song my family and I wrote in the mid--1970s at Easter, entitled The Borrowed Tomb. Here's the rest of it:
Saw them take Him down Friday evening, / His face was ghostly white,
And the thunder was rumbling around the cross, / It was such a chilling sight.
Then they laid Him down in that borrowed tomb, / Quickly now, it's the Sabbath Day,
From womb to tomb in just thirty-three years, / Thirty-three years and one day.
And, O my! it was Jesus Christ, / The Savior of mankind;
He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind.
Sunday morning in that Garden, / When Mary came to see,
The stone of the tomb was rolled away / And a voice spoke tenderly;
But Mary thought it was the gardener / So she didn't raise her eyes to see,
But, O my! it was Jesus Christ! / The Savior of mankind;
He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind.
Thomas came along with doubt in his heart, / The Apostles said, We've seen the Lord!
Thomas said, Until I've felt His wounds, / I can't believe a single word.
But, O my! it was Jesus Christ! / The Savior of mankind;
He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind.
Now this is what we witness to everyone, / That the Lord is risen today;
And the wonder of the Resurrection is / That we'll all rise in the same way,
Because, O my! it was Jesus Christ! / The Savior of mankind!
He's won the victory over the grave / And He won't leave us behind!
Truly, what died at that first Easter was Death itself, swallowed up in the Atonement and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Do we know what these words mean? Do we understand the wonder of it all?
As Peter said (and he should know; he was there), "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."
These things we know of a surety based on the knowledge received through the Prophet Joseph and the Restoration. Truly, a new Prophet has come to the world to bear new, solemn witness to what is being eroded and lost to the world of mankind.
Happy Easter, everyone, you defenders of the faith!
Steve
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Sabbathought: "Jesus wept" --- Why did He weep?
"Jesus wept." . . . The shortest single verse in all scripture. . . . John 11:35. . . . Jesus wept.
Jesus wept. . . . God wept. . . . Does God weep often? Over what does God weep?
Does He weep over the death of a departed loved one? Is that a cause of mourning with Him? He who had previously said, "Let the dead bury the dead," when a disciple asked leave to follow Jesus later, when it was more convenient, for now he had to bury his father who had recently died. . . . Let the spiritually dead bury their dead, is His meaning here. Let the spiritually alert and alive seek to build up the kingdom of God without a moment's delay.
Death is not the end. It is a release, a passage to a better state. The Jews, the Nephites, we in modern Israel should know this well.
Does God have feelings of sentimental concern for those who pass away? The Jews certainly did---any natural man in his natural state would have such feelings, such sentiments. It is only human; it is only natural. And weeping and mourning has its appropriate time and place and has the sanction of the Lord Himself (see D&C 42:45). (We'll come back to the Jews "mourning" over Lazarus in a moment.)
But He who said, "My ways are not your ways," is He likely to have sentimental regrets over the passing of family-member Lazarus, especially when He knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead in the next sixty seconds?
Do we have other instances of God weeping? . . . We do. Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem and her inhabitants the Jews because they would not repent and let Him gather them and protect them and save them.
Jesus, as Jehovah, in the days of Enoch, wept with Enoch over the wickedness of the people who would not repent and who would therefore be destroyed in the Flood (see Moses 7:23--67).
Jesus, God Himself, as the Book of Mormon so clearly teaches (see 1 Nephi 19:10; Mosiah 7:27; 13:28, 34; 15:1, 5--9; 17:8), wept with the faithful Nephites as they wept with gratitude for His healing ministry among them (3 Nephi 17). His bowels were filled with compassion towards them on this occasion and He wept openly, and His joy was full.
But notice this, in the middle of this sublimest moment of joy and healing, of peace and praise, in the whole record, as He blessed their little children, we find this:
"And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought. . . .
"And . . . when they had all been brought, and . . . the multitude . . . had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel."
Now bear this in mind as we go back to the Bible record.
In Mark 5 we find this, "And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly." . . . Professional mourners, you see.
"And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
"And they laughed him to scorn. [Footnote: they ridiculed him.] But when he had put them all out, . . . he took the damsel by the hand, and" raised her from the dead. Is the big picture becoming clear?
Back to Lazarus in John 11:--
The key verses are 31--38. Study them closely for yourself and see if Jesus wept out of His great love and compassion for Lazarus. Where do we get the idea that this was the reason for His tears? From the disbelieving Jews. The professional mourners. See verse 36. And many among us---so steeped in the false doctrine of His unconditional love and infinite mercy for all men on all occasions at all times---are left with no other reason and conclusion. . . . And it is a false conclusion. A false conclusion based on the false idea we borrowed from the world of false ideas, of God's unconditional love.
Jesus wept, but not for the reasons our shallow surface reasoning produces. As among the Nephites in 3 Nephi 17, we find that He "groaned in the spirit, and was troubled" (John 11:33). And in 11:38, "again groaning in himself."
Elder McConkie points out that "these phrases as given in the revised version say that he 'was moved with indignation in the spirit' and 'being moved with indignation in himself.' Apparently Jesus was expressing sorrowful indignation, in the first instance because of the shallow and ritualistic weeping of the Jews and in the second case at the baseless criticism poured upon him for failure to come and heal Lazarus prior to his death" (DNTC 1:532--3).
There is more to say on this, and we shall visit it another time. But let Nephi have the last word as he closes out his record, in tears:
"Behold, this [the preceding dozen verses in 2 Nephi] is the doctrine of Christ, . . .
"And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.
[And then, over the page to p. 116, . . . this:]
"But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people [who are of the house of Israel]. 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 [and preserve this record for them to read, so they will come unto Christ, repent, learn of Him, and be saved]."
Jesus wept. Nephi wept. Both for the very same reason. Do you see it?
Please---your comments. Feedback. Thoughts. Space is short here for me. More later. Have a glorious Sabbath.
Steve
Jesus wept. . . . God wept. . . . Does God weep often? Over what does God weep?
Does He weep over the death of a departed loved one? Is that a cause of mourning with Him? He who had previously said, "Let the dead bury the dead," when a disciple asked leave to follow Jesus later, when it was more convenient, for now he had to bury his father who had recently died. . . . Let the spiritually dead bury their dead, is His meaning here. Let the spiritually alert and alive seek to build up the kingdom of God without a moment's delay.
Death is not the end. It is a release, a passage to a better state. The Jews, the Nephites, we in modern Israel should know this well.
Does God have feelings of sentimental concern for those who pass away? The Jews certainly did---any natural man in his natural state would have such feelings, such sentiments. It is only human; it is only natural. And weeping and mourning has its appropriate time and place and has the sanction of the Lord Himself (see D&C 42:45). (We'll come back to the Jews "mourning" over Lazarus in a moment.)
But He who said, "My ways are not your ways," is He likely to have sentimental regrets over the passing of family-member Lazarus, especially when He knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead in the next sixty seconds?
Do we have other instances of God weeping? . . . We do. Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem and her inhabitants the Jews because they would not repent and let Him gather them and protect them and save them.
Jesus, as Jehovah, in the days of Enoch, wept with Enoch over the wickedness of the people who would not repent and who would therefore be destroyed in the Flood (see Moses 7:23--67).
Jesus, God Himself, as the Book of Mormon so clearly teaches (see 1 Nephi 19:10; Mosiah 7:27; 13:28, 34; 15:1, 5--9; 17:8), wept with the faithful Nephites as they wept with gratitude for His healing ministry among them (3 Nephi 17). His bowels were filled with compassion towards them on this occasion and He wept openly, and His joy was full.
But notice this, in the middle of this sublimest moment of joy and healing, of peace and praise, in the whole record, as He blessed their little children, we find this:
"And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought. . . .
"And . . . when they had all been brought, and . . . the multitude . . . had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel."
Now bear this in mind as we go back to the Bible record.
In Mark 5 we find this, "And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly." . . . Professional mourners, you see.
"And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
"And they laughed him to scorn. [Footnote: they ridiculed him.] But when he had put them all out, . . . he took the damsel by the hand, and" raised her from the dead. Is the big picture becoming clear?
Back to Lazarus in John 11:--
The key verses are 31--38. Study them closely for yourself and see if Jesus wept out of His great love and compassion for Lazarus. Where do we get the idea that this was the reason for His tears? From the disbelieving Jews. The professional mourners. See verse 36. And many among us---so steeped in the false doctrine of His unconditional love and infinite mercy for all men on all occasions at all times---are left with no other reason and conclusion. . . . And it is a false conclusion. A false conclusion based on the false idea we borrowed from the world of false ideas, of God's unconditional love.
Jesus wept, but not for the reasons our shallow surface reasoning produces. As among the Nephites in 3 Nephi 17, we find that He "groaned in the spirit, and was troubled" (John 11:33). And in 11:38, "again groaning in himself."
Elder McConkie points out that "these phrases as given in the revised version say that he 'was moved with indignation in the spirit' and 'being moved with indignation in himself.' Apparently Jesus was expressing sorrowful indignation, in the first instance because of the shallow and ritualistic weeping of the Jews and in the second case at the baseless criticism poured upon him for failure to come and heal Lazarus prior to his death" (DNTC 1:532--3).
There is more to say on this, and we shall visit it another time. But let Nephi have the last word as he closes out his record, in tears:
"Behold, this [the preceding dozen verses in 2 Nephi] is the doctrine of Christ, . . .
"And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.
[And then, over the page to p. 116, . . . this:]
"But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people [who are of the house of Israel]. 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 [and preserve this record for them to read, so they will come unto Christ, repent, learn of Him, and be saved]."
Jesus wept. Nephi wept. Both for the very same reason. Do you see it?
Please---your comments. Feedback. Thoughts. Space is short here for me. More later. Have a glorious Sabbath.
Steve
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