We have thought it wise at this column to avoid too much discussion on political things, sensing that the answers to mankind's dilemmas and problems are, at root, spiritual and moral.
We are aware that the Master Himself said, "My kingdom is not of this world," thus correcting the false hope of His people the Jews that He would deliver them from the hated Roman occupation of their land.
I am not even a citizen of this once great nation, though I am a lover and defender of its basic institutions, its divinely inspired founding, and the Founding Fathers who brought forth, under the clear inspiration of the Almighty, its articles and documents of origin. I likewise am in an ongoing love affair with this land---this choice land of the Americas.
I live in the shadow of---less than a hundred yards away from---the beautifully white and lovely Saint George temple in southern Utah, in which sacred edifice it thrills me to recall daily those very same Founding Fathers, with George Washington as their united voice, appeared to Wilford to "demand", in Wilford's own word, their earthly ordinances at his hand. The large painting in the temple foyer where I attend often shows this remarkable and awesome event.
Having now disavowed overtly political discourse in these GIFTS articles and Sabbathoughts, I feel to speak in this one on a matter of real urgency with words of soberness and clarity, if the Lord will help me.
The title of this article---"Spiritual Wickedness in High Places"---is from Paul's epistle to the Ephesian Saints (6:12). The whole verse states, "For we [the Saints] wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Paul continues in the next several verses to show the Saints how to do this, how to resist the evil he has identified and described, and how to defend against it all, by putting "on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." In other words, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." And, "stand ye in holy places."
The purpose of this message is to assert in boldness that, as Paul and a host of prophets have warned, it is ominously clear as we look around that we are now "in the evil day." Please follow our reasoning here:
In this 400th-anniversary year of the miraculous bringing forth of the King James Version of the Bible, it is worth affirming again that we Latter-day Saints believe the Bible. It is the only place to learn of the life and mortal ministry of the Lord Jesus. It is the book of books, and the mighty Book of Mormon has been sent to confirm the truths, as a second witness---or Another Testament---that the Old and New Testaments are essentially true.
In 1979 the Church brought forth an LDS edition of this KJV Bible, complete with a footnote system and other study aids that would point up in clear relief that its central figure, the Lord Jesus Christ, is indeed the literal Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
These study aids have been warmly praised by the world's scholars, and the Church has received awards for this user-friendly Bible, which is true to the KJV text down to the last comma, jot and tittle, while also clarifying the text with the Joseph Smith Translation and numerous other study helps.
The purpose and value of these helps can be illustrated at our source scripture, Ephesians 6:12.
If you glance back to the text of this verse in the sixth paragraph above to refresh its content in your mind, it will be profoundly meaningful to learn that our LDS Bible contains footnote helps of many dozens of cross-reference verses for this verse 12 on Opposition, Flesh and Blood, Spiritual Darkness, Secret Combinations, Governments, and Wickedness---all found in the Topical Guide.
Profoundly, those topics or categories for further study, show the story of that verse 12 in a remarkably clear and specific way. Do you see the point? Have we said it clearly enough? That footnote summary is a terse, concise synopsis of our message here.
To illustrate further, and to be transparent in cryptic language (!):
I am not exactly computer literate. I know just enough to produce these articles and e-mail them out and do research to learn good stuff. That's about it.
A few months ago an urgent message appeared on my monitor screen, telling me of imminent virus dangers that could cripple my computer. The solution, said the urgent message, was to install anti-virus software to deal with the threat, at a cost of about $80.
I did not have the money, but trusting the dire warning and not wanting to lose computer access I bought and installed the software, charging it to an almost-maxed credit card. Two months later my computer "crashed" and my only recourse was to take it to the store where their "Geek Squad" of computer-savvy experts told me that such software companies as I bought the online "protection" from are able to smuggle or import a virus into your computer through the very software you bought, at high cost, to cure it.
Talk about adding insult to injury!
The Analogy (see if you can follow me here as I speak in code. Please read this slowly or you may miss it . . . !):
America Trojan-horsed into the very heart---even the head---of its central government a crippling virus that is destined by its own announced intentions (and if not checked and removed) to destroy the nation. To "fundamentally transform" this nation from the divinely inspired model of its foundings and moorings.
That viral threat has actually been installed---by the legitimate electoral process of the vote of the American people---as head of state. . . . I trust I make myself obscure, in order to allay any suspicion. (You may want to go back and read that again for clarity.)
Do we know the signs of the times? Do we know the true destiny of this nation, and its designed purpose to be the cradle of the Restoration of the gospel of life and salvation and happiness? Do we know the premium the Lord placed on this plot of land? Do we know the scriptures and words of the prophets that tell in plainness of these things?
For those of you who catch the impact of Ephesians 6:12 and our application of it here in our commentary, you cannot conceive in the world of politics and in the affairs of men of a greater irony---and a greater evil---than this.
These thoughts and comments are a companion to what we wrote for Independence Day three weeks ago: "Wherefore [that is, in view of these things], the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you . . . ."
May I ask, are you familiar with this passage? Are you aware who wrote it, and where it can be found? Are you fluent in the language and warning voice of the Book of Mormon? Do these things galvanize your attention and claim your best thinking?! Or is all well in Zion, with you?
The Lord's own voice: "Behold, verily [that is His trademark, His voiceprint, if you will; no one else says "verily", which means "truly" . . . you can count on this], verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving you this word of wisdom by revelation."
The Lord proceeded to reveal His Law of Health and Well Being for His Saints. Does anyone doubt that these divine words constitute a context and a warning for an even greater danger than tobacco and strong drink!
Especially in view of the Lord's own announcement that the whole Book of Commandments itself---now known as the Doctrine and Covenants---begins with a preface dictated by the Lord Himself in which He introduces it by defining it as "the voice of warning . . . unto all people", firstly unto His Saints, who are then expected to warn the world.
"For this is a day of warning, and not a day of many words. For I, the Lord, am not to be mocked in the last days."
May we ask: Is there anyone out there, reading this, who knows where those words are found? Do you---do I---know this book of Doctrine . . . and . . . Covenants . . .---this voice of warning---inside out, forwards and backwards, so that it comes out spontaneously when we speak in our families and in our testimonies and in our lessons?
May we reserve the right to visit this subject again soon? Is there more to be said on this subject? Do you have anything to say on it?
In conclusion, here is a prophet's key (and therefore the Lord's key) for this next critical national election in just over three months: "Therefore, choose you by the voice of this people, judges, that ye may be judged according to the laws which have been given you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the hand of the Lord." [So much for those who think the Constitution and the whole Judeo-Christian tradition back to Moses is now obsolete and out of date!]
The same prophet continues: "Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law---to do your business by the voice of the people." [The majority, or plurality vote in an election is the way to set up government leaders, unless!---now note this final verse. This is strong and powerful.]:
"And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land."
The inevitable questions: Do you know where to find that trenchant prophetic passage? Are you---were you before---familiar with those verses? And their meaning and context? Do you see how to apply these strong words to the national and local elections in November 2012?
I have chatted with a few people in Utah---a handful, no more---mostly LDS, and asked them who they voted for president in 2008. Their response stunned and dismayed me. They all were sheepish and confessed they did not know why, only that it seemed the thing to do---they did not know the candidate, nor the issues, not really, and they all now regret their vote.
Time to wake up.
Would I give offense, would it raise your wrath, if I said that it is a disgrace that an ignorant non-citizen from Oldham, England is bringing these things boldly to your attention?
Oh, that we need to know our stuff! All of this is consistent with the Lord's command in the Olive Leaf for the School of the Prophets---which school should now consist of all the Latter-day Saints---to "teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom . . . theory . . . principle . . . doctrine . . . the law of the gospel . . . all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God . . . Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been [history], things which are [current events and common knowledge and truth], things which must shortly come to pass [!], things which are at home [!], things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations [!], and the judgments which are on the land [weather?!]; and a knowledge also of countries [Norway? . . . the Arab world?] and of kingdoms--- [And why all of this?] That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify [your] calling" to warn and bless and heal and save the nations. (This was given at Christmas 1832.)
There is more to be said. I would love to hear you say it. . . !
God bless us all,
Steve
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
GIFTS: Christ : Kolob :The Greatest of All
Elder Rex D. Pinegar of the Seventy (emeritus) shared this experience:
"[Elder Octaviano Tenorio of the Seventy] told me his young son had been reading the Book of Mormon and, as parents often do when their children are reading any book, he asked the boy, 'Who do you like most in that book, who is your hero?'
"Elder Tenorio said he expected his son to name Nephi, Ammon, King Benjamin, Moroni, or some other great person in the book. Instead, this five-year-old boy said, 'Daddy, there is only one hero in the Book of Mormon. That's Jesus. He is the one everybody went to for help.'
"That taught me a great lesson," said Elder Pinegar. "Here was a child who, in his purity, grasped in just a few moments what the Spirit was able to communicate. I've thought of that story and find myself asking, 'When we teach from the Book of Mormon, what do we teach? Do we teach of Ammon's defense of the king's flocks, or do we teach about where Ammon's power came from? Do we teach about Ammon's courage, or do we teach of his humility, such as when he said, 'I have no power; this is the power of the Lord" --- the greatest of all.
-----------------------------------------------------
A little astronomy lesson . . . or is it more than that?
In the third chapter of Abraham we find "Abraham learns about the sun, moon, and stars by means of the Urim and Thummim" (chapter heading).
"And I [Abraham] saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it.
"And the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set this one to govern all those . . . .
"And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons . . .
" . . . which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord's time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets . . . .
" . . . And he said unto me, Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights . . . .
"If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them; therefore Kolob is the greatest of all the Kokaubeam that thou hast seen, because it is nearest unto me."
To be frank, this is a bit deep for me. But it gets my attention, it galvanizes my spirit to note that Kolob is something special --- nearest to the throne of God, set to govern all the others, after the manner of the Lord, or the exact likeness, and is the greatest of all.
I hear echoes of Isaiah, " . . . the government shall be upon his shoulder . . ."; the "Son [is] the brightness of [Father's] glory, and the express image of his person" (Hebrews 1); He, Jehovah or Jesus "was in the beginning with the Father" (D&C 93), and "was in the bosom of the Father" (D&C 76).
The astronomy is, for now, a bit out of my reach, but the familiar personage of the Savior---well, I can see Him here and relate to Him and rejoice in Him. Can you too?
In addition to being a great star, Kolob is a parable or a metaphor for Jesus, the greatest of all.
When you look closely at the Milky Way and all its massive splendor, and realize that there are billions of such galaxies, and "That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created"---even by Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ---it is comforting to know that He is good . . . as well as magnificent and all-powerful. He is good, and He is loving, and He is aware when a little sparrow falls on the most distant of those planets.
Indeed, He weeps over the follies of His brethren---you and me.
"And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?
"And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations."
In other words, if you could grind this earth into powder and separate and count the particles of powder---and multiply the process by millions of earths like this, you still would not come close to the total number of His creations.
This is Someone you want to be on the right side of, Someone to be reckoned with, Someone you want to please and make pleased. Indeed, He is the Greatest of All. And yet He said, "my Father is greater than I" (John 14:28).
So, Joseph, in pain in Liberty Jail, "The Son of Man hath descended below [all these sufferings]. Art thou greater than he?"
"Beautiful Savior"
by Author Unknown, 1677
Translated by Joseph A. Seiss, 1823-1904
"[Elder Octaviano Tenorio of the Seventy] told me his young son had been reading the Book of Mormon and, as parents often do when their children are reading any book, he asked the boy, 'Who do you like most in that book, who is your hero?'
"Elder Tenorio said he expected his son to name Nephi, Ammon, King Benjamin, Moroni, or some other great person in the book. Instead, this five-year-old boy said, 'Daddy, there is only one hero in the Book of Mormon. That's Jesus. He is the one everybody went to for help.'
"That taught me a great lesson," said Elder Pinegar. "Here was a child who, in his purity, grasped in just a few moments what the Spirit was able to communicate. I've thought of that story and find myself asking, 'When we teach from the Book of Mormon, what do we teach? Do we teach of Ammon's defense of the king's flocks, or do we teach about where Ammon's power came from? Do we teach about Ammon's courage, or do we teach of his humility, such as when he said, 'I have no power; this is the power of the Lord" --- the greatest of all.
-----------------------------------------------------
A little astronomy lesson . . . or is it more than that?
In the third chapter of Abraham we find "Abraham learns about the sun, moon, and stars by means of the Urim and Thummim" (chapter heading).
"And I [Abraham] saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it.
"And the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set this one to govern all those . . . .
"And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons . . .
" . . . which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord's time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets . . . .
" . . . And he said unto me, Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights . . . .
"If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them; therefore Kolob is the greatest of all the Kokaubeam that thou hast seen, because it is nearest unto me."
To be frank, this is a bit deep for me. But it gets my attention, it galvanizes my spirit to note that Kolob is something special --- nearest to the throne of God, set to govern all the others, after the manner of the Lord, or the exact likeness, and is the greatest of all.
I hear echoes of Isaiah, " . . . the government shall be upon his shoulder . . ."; the "Son [is] the brightness of [Father's] glory, and the express image of his person" (Hebrews 1); He, Jehovah or Jesus "was in the beginning with the Father" (D&C 93), and "was in the bosom of the Father" (D&C 76).
The astronomy is, for now, a bit out of my reach, but the familiar personage of the Savior---well, I can see Him here and relate to Him and rejoice in Him. Can you too?
In addition to being a great star, Kolob is a parable or a metaphor for Jesus, the greatest of all.
When you look closely at the Milky Way and all its massive splendor, and realize that there are billions of such galaxies, and "That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created"---even by Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ---it is comforting to know that He is good . . . as well as magnificent and all-powerful. He is good, and He is loving, and He is aware when a little sparrow falls on the most distant of those planets.
Indeed, He weeps over the follies of His brethren---you and me.
"And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?
"And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations."
In other words, if you could grind this earth into powder and separate and count the particles of powder---and multiply the process by millions of earths like this, you still would not come close to the total number of His creations.
This is Someone you want to be on the right side of, Someone to be reckoned with, Someone you want to please and make pleased. Indeed, He is the Greatest of All. And yet He said, "my Father is greater than I" (John 14:28).
So, Joseph, in pain in Liberty Jail, "The Son of Man hath descended below [all these sufferings]. Art thou greater than he?"
"Beautiful Savior"
by Author Unknown, 1677
Translated by Joseph A. Seiss, 1823-1904
1. Beautiful Savior,
King of Creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I'd love Thee,
Truly I'd serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my Joy, my Crown.
2. Fair are the meadows,
Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in flowers of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer;
He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.
3. Fair is the sunshine,
Fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer,
Than all the angels in the sky.
4. Beautiful Savior,
Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor,
Praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be Thine!
Jesus is fairer . . . is purer . . . is greater . . . is finer . . . .
As Napoleon said, He is the epitome, the ideal man, the sublime, the Almighty. Best to get on the good side of Him, don't you think?
There is more to explore on this. What a delightful journey! --- across His universe . . . .
Steve
Sabbathought: The Greatest of All
This phrase---"the greatest of all"---appears seven times in scripture. Seven times only. Each time it points us to the same answer. How do you answer the question, "Who or what is 'the greatest of all'?"
It may serve us well to take a cryptic path in discussing this. To speak in headlines and terse telegram language so as to give you a chance to arrive at the correct conclusion.
Perhaps we should just pose the question and leave it to germinate in your mind. And then come back to it after a suitable season of plodding around it. Surely it is of interest and importance to know what the scriptures say is "the greatest of all."
Perhaps we can identify the greatest of all, and then leave it with you to work out the seven places where this four-word phrase appears, and see for yourself the context of them.
Too much like a homework assignment? I agree. But then it is good to do our homework.
In a talk given to a Young Adult audience in San Diego in 1977, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland --- he was simply "Jeff" to thousands of us back then --- spoke of the untold value of the scriptures.
"Do we get books from angels every day?" he asked. "And yet we can't even give it away." Speaking, of course, of the Book of Mormon.
In a stake conference, he asked, would it really be expecting too much if the stake president said, "Laura, would you come up and speak for ten minutes on the theme that runs through the Book of Hebrews, please?" Brother Holland wondered aloud if that is really too much to expect from a Latter-day Saint youth. He was, and is, of the mind that we all should know our scriptures, and Him of whom they speak. He invited all those in the audience who had read the Old Testament from cover to cover to meet him outside after the meeting in a phone booth . . . !
Ironically, the theme that runs through the Book of Hebrews answers our basic question here: What or who is the greatest of all? --- although the phrase itself does not appear there.
Surely by now it is obvious that the Greatest of All is Christ. For He is.
We'll illustrate our point with just one of the scriptural instances where we find the phrase.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Saints: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
Now, as we have observed before, a text without a context is a pretext --- an excuse to make anything say what we want it to say. The correct context of these words from Paul is found in Mormon's sermon on the subject delivered in a Nephite synagogue.
There Mormon taught: "Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail---
"But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever . . . ."
So, what is charity? It is the greatest of all. Meaning what? Charity is the pure love of Christ. That is why it is the greatest of all. Because it originates and proceeds from Him who is the Greatest of All.
The mistake we have made is in thinking that the key word in this phrase is "love" --- or "pure" --- or "charity". Not so. The gospel does not deal in abstract things. We are not following an abstraction, or a list of principles or doctrines. We are following a Person. And that person is the Christ. And He is the greatest of all, so the pure love that proceeds from Him is rightly called the greatest of all.
It is a simple idea, but one that has evaded most of us. So that we have followed the philosophies of men and adopted the half-baked idea that love is the greatest of all, and that All You Need Is Love.
We'll visit this again another time, with illustrations of the other places in scripture which speak of Christ as the greatest of all.
In the meantime, we'll conclude with this remarkable description from---of all people---Napoleon Bonaparte whose main virtue is that, for all his vanity (he crowned himself emperor because he judged the Pope of the day to be unworthy to do so), he knew truly Who it is that is the Greatest of All.
Napoleon's words:
"From first to last Jesus is the same, always the same---majestic and simple, infinitely severe and infinitely gentle. Throughout a life passed under the public eye, He never gives occasion to find fault. The prudence of His conduct compels our admiration by its union of force and gentleness.
"Alike in speech and action, He is enlightened, consistent, and calm. Sublimity is said to be an attribute of divinity. What name then shall we give Him, in whose character were united every element of the sublime? I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Everything in Him amazes me. His spirit out-reaches mine, and His will confounds me.
"Comparison is impossible between Him and any other being in the world. He is truly a being by Himself. His ideas and His sentiments, the truth that He announces, His manner of convincing are all beyond humanity, and the natural order of things.
"His birth and the story of His life; the profoundness of His doctrine, which overturns all difficulties, and is their most complete solution. His gospel, the singularity of His mysterious being; His appearance; His empire; His progress through all centuries and kingdoms---all this is to me a prodigy, an unfathomable mystery.
"I see nothing here of man. Near as I may approach, closely as I may examine, all remains above my comprehension---great with greatness that crushes me. It is in vain that I reflect---all remains unaccountable! I defy you to cite another life like that of the Christ."
Powerful testimony. . . . And Napoleon was only speaking of Christ's character and life. . . . No mention, nor perhaps insight, into His Atonement and His mission. Profound indeed.
More later on this.
Steve
[Dedicated to Charlie Leavitt.]
It may serve us well to take a cryptic path in discussing this. To speak in headlines and terse telegram language so as to give you a chance to arrive at the correct conclusion.
Perhaps we should just pose the question and leave it to germinate in your mind. And then come back to it after a suitable season of plodding around it. Surely it is of interest and importance to know what the scriptures say is "the greatest of all."
Perhaps we can identify the greatest of all, and then leave it with you to work out the seven places where this four-word phrase appears, and see for yourself the context of them.
Too much like a homework assignment? I agree. But then it is good to do our homework.
In a talk given to a Young Adult audience in San Diego in 1977, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland --- he was simply "Jeff" to thousands of us back then --- spoke of the untold value of the scriptures.
"Do we get books from angels every day?" he asked. "And yet we can't even give it away." Speaking, of course, of the Book of Mormon.
In a stake conference, he asked, would it really be expecting too much if the stake president said, "Laura, would you come up and speak for ten minutes on the theme that runs through the Book of Hebrews, please?" Brother Holland wondered aloud if that is really too much to expect from a Latter-day Saint youth. He was, and is, of the mind that we all should know our scriptures, and Him of whom they speak. He invited all those in the audience who had read the Old Testament from cover to cover to meet him outside after the meeting in a phone booth . . . !
Ironically, the theme that runs through the Book of Hebrews answers our basic question here: What or who is the greatest of all? --- although the phrase itself does not appear there.
Surely by now it is obvious that the Greatest of All is Christ. For He is.
We'll illustrate our point with just one of the scriptural instances where we find the phrase.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Saints: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
Now, as we have observed before, a text without a context is a pretext --- an excuse to make anything say what we want it to say. The correct context of these words from Paul is found in Mormon's sermon on the subject delivered in a Nephite synagogue.
There Mormon taught: "Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail---
"But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever . . . ."
So, what is charity? It is the greatest of all. Meaning what? Charity is the pure love of Christ. That is why it is the greatest of all. Because it originates and proceeds from Him who is the Greatest of All.
The mistake we have made is in thinking that the key word in this phrase is "love" --- or "pure" --- or "charity". Not so. The gospel does not deal in abstract things. We are not following an abstraction, or a list of principles or doctrines. We are following a Person. And that person is the Christ. And He is the greatest of all, so the pure love that proceeds from Him is rightly called the greatest of all.
It is a simple idea, but one that has evaded most of us. So that we have followed the philosophies of men and adopted the half-baked idea that love is the greatest of all, and that All You Need Is Love.
We'll visit this again another time, with illustrations of the other places in scripture which speak of Christ as the greatest of all.
In the meantime, we'll conclude with this remarkable description from---of all people---Napoleon Bonaparte whose main virtue is that, for all his vanity (he crowned himself emperor because he judged the Pope of the day to be unworthy to do so), he knew truly Who it is that is the Greatest of All.
Napoleon's words:
"From first to last Jesus is the same, always the same---majestic and simple, infinitely severe and infinitely gentle. Throughout a life passed under the public eye, He never gives occasion to find fault. The prudence of His conduct compels our admiration by its union of force and gentleness.
"Alike in speech and action, He is enlightened, consistent, and calm. Sublimity is said to be an attribute of divinity. What name then shall we give Him, in whose character were united every element of the sublime? I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Everything in Him amazes me. His spirit out-reaches mine, and His will confounds me.
"Comparison is impossible between Him and any other being in the world. He is truly a being by Himself. His ideas and His sentiments, the truth that He announces, His manner of convincing are all beyond humanity, and the natural order of things.
"His birth and the story of His life; the profoundness of His doctrine, which overturns all difficulties, and is their most complete solution. His gospel, the singularity of His mysterious being; His appearance; His empire; His progress through all centuries and kingdoms---all this is to me a prodigy, an unfathomable mystery.
"I see nothing here of man. Near as I may approach, closely as I may examine, all remains above my comprehension---great with greatness that crushes me. It is in vain that I reflect---all remains unaccountable! I defy you to cite another life like that of the Christ."
Powerful testimony. . . . And Napoleon was only speaking of Christ's character and life. . . . No mention, nor perhaps insight, into His Atonement and His mission. Profound indeed.
More later on this.
Steve
[Dedicated to Charlie Leavitt.]
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Sabbathought: President Boyd K. Packer: "Who had it harder, the pioneers or us?"
At Christmas 1997 I was privileged to attend President Boyd K. Packer's ward for sacrament meeting. Apparently he speaks in his home ward once a year, and this was it.
That year (1997) was the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the pioneer Saints arriving in the Salt Lake Valley. Throughout the year sacrament talks had centered on pioneer journals and anecdotes to focus us on that salutary event in our history.
In his talk that day President Packer asked a profound question: "We know how hard it was for those brave pioneer Saints to trek across the plains---1500 miles---to Zion. We have heard, throughout this year, of frostbite and feet amputated, of makeshift graves on the plains, of unspeakable heartache and hardship. Question: Who had it harder, the pioneers back then, or us today?"
After a long pause, he continued: "Without any question, we---our young people---have it immeasurably harder. Considering the array of evil that surrounds them and all of us today, it is much harder to fight the adversary and adversity today."
Allow me to share an account which will tend to verify President Packer's statement.
I tuned in to the BYU devotional on the Tuesday following last April's general conference. The speaker was Derek Marquis, managing director of KBYU TV. His talk was centered around the miracle of technology we see today: ipods, cell phones, satellite technology---the whole gamut of it all.
He repeatedly asked, "What's on your playlist?" as he developed his remarks. And then he shared this profound story to illustrate the warning he was eager to impress on the BYU students he was addressing.
Here is the story, in Derek's own words:
Several years ago I was visiting with a friend—Dale Andersen—from Mesa, Arizona. At the time Dale was serving as a stake president in Mesa, and he shared a personal experience with me that, with his permission, I’d like to share with you this morning. He said:
I was preparing for our stake conference and having a bit of a stupor of thought on what I should share with the members of my stake. On the Friday night prior to conference I had a most peculiar dream—one of those dreams that was as real as any experience I have ever had while awake.
I dreamed I was at a family reunion with my entire family—my wife, my children, and my grandchildren. We were all gathered in the backyard of our home and enjoying a wonderful spring afternoon together.
And then I saw a most amazing and beautiful sight. It was a flock of blackbirds—but not an ordinary flock of blackbirds. This was one of those flocks that must have had tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of birds, all flying gracefully in perfect unison.
The birds would dart one direction, and then, as if cued by their leader, they’d immediately dart the other direction. Not a bird missed a beat. I stood there with my family—eyes transfixed. It was beautiful and captivating.
President Andersen continued:
As we watched this spectacle, the birds came closer and closer to us. It was all very exciting to see. And as we watched, we noticed the birds were pairing off two by two, and it appeared as though they were landing in the yards of all of the homes in my neighborhood. I thought this was rather peculiar. And then, as they got closer to my own backyard, the scene began to come into focus, and I realized in an instant that these were not blackbirds after all. These were dark, evil spirits!
Immediately I panicked and yelled to my family to run into the house and to lock the doors and windows. I was frantically trying to make sure all the members of my family were accounted for and safe—my sweetheart, my children, and their children. We ran through the house slamming the windows and shutting the doors and locking them tight. I gathered everyone together in our family room, where we would be safe, but then, as I turned around, there they were. I found myself standing between these two terribly evil beings and my precious family.
President Andersen said:
A window had been left ajar in the basement, and they had found their way into our home.
You know and I know that the adversary and his evil spirits are descending upon our families and trying to find their way into our homes, our apartments, and our dorms. At first they appear to be beautiful, enticing, and captivating—even to the point that, if we are not careful, our families will stand right in their path gazing upon them as though we were extending an open invitation to them to enter our homes.
So again I would ask that you consider the question “What’s on my playlist?”
-------------------------------------------------
As Elder Holland has said: "Two cheers for the internet. . . ."
President George Albert Smith, President of the Church from 1945 to 1951, hailed what he called "the age of inventions." On a flight from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles he dropped a message to a friend as they flew over Saint George (one of the first airmail deliveries?!). Amazingly, the friend got the message! After an overnight stop in Las Vegas President Smith continued on to Los Angeles the next day.
Air travel has improved since those days. President Smith was clear in saying that "the Book of Mormon heralded the age of inventions." As we look closely at the pattern of pushing back the frontiers in science, technology, and every area of human endeavor since the Book of Mormon opened up the work of establishing the Church and kingdom of God in the earth, who can doubt his observation?
And yet, two cheers---not the full three cheers!---for many of the inventions. What is on my playlist indeed! President Packer in a multi-stake conference broadcast from BYU's Marriott Center in December told of many missionaries entering the MTC in Provo with a serious addiction to texting. They need extensive therapy to help them break the habit.
Two cheers . . . only.
These tools, revealed by the Lord in these Last Days to "hasten my work in its time", to speed up the flooding of the earth with the Book of Mormon (see Moses 7:62), all to gather covenant Israel in preparation for His coming, and all in fulfillment of ancient prophecies, these tools are good servants but bad masters. Just look around at the vast number of hours young people spend, or rather waste, on video games, texting, tweeting and the rest.
The enemy has hijacked this wonderful technology for his own evil ends.
For a long time the number one destination on the worldwide web has been the LDS Family History site, with millions of visitors. In second place is an evil virus in its many forms.
The battle is heating up, the battle lines are clearly drawn, and we are in the Last Days.
Was it harder for the pioneer Saints or is it harder for us today? The evidence is clear that we must be extremely vigilant over what we allow---invite?---into our homes and into our minds.
The Lord says repeatedly in our Doctrine and Covenants for us to stand in holy places . . . to watch and be sober and vigilant, for "I come quickly". Note His warning and His promise in December 1830:
"Keep all the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound; and I will cause the heavens to shake for your good, and Satan shall tremble and Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish;
"And Israel shall be saved in mine own due time; and by the keys which I have given shall they be led, and no more be confounded at all.
"Lift up your hearts and be glad, your redemption draweth nigh.
"Fear not little flock, the kingdom is yours until I come. Behold, I come quickly. Even so. Amen."
He also said, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise."
It is easy for the faithful to see why Brother Packer said in the early 1980s that there is no geographical safety for what is coming, and now---a generation later---is here among us. "The only safety is in the scriptures," he said.
There are those of us who do not believe and act upon this, lulled away into a false sense of carnal security by the enemy and his well-organized host of blackbirds. See 2 Nephi 28.
We exaggerate not.
God bless! Have a lovely weekend and Sabbath Day.
Pass this on to others you know that I don't. Give me your thoughts.
Steve
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Sabbathought: Independence Day---" . . . Awake to a Sense of Your Awful Situation . . . ."
Independence from whom? I often would ask my American seminary students or Sunday School youth when the subject came up, or at this time of year. Independence from what or from whom?
Very few had a ready answer.
Measured against the original Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of King George and the rule of Great Britain it seems past time for a return to the founding principles of this once great nation. We need a declaration of independence again today.
"If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Note the condition: "If" . . . .
There is an appalling ignorance, even among Latter-day Saints, of the founding origins of America. Today, 2 July, it has been sad to read even LDS-website and e-mail messages that celebrate the Constitution. The founding document of this nation was in fact the Declaration of Independence, written principally by Thomas Jefferson and finally approved by Congress on 4 July 1776. That is the focus of this celebration.
The Constitution of the United States---the foundation of laws for this new republic---was adopted after much deliberation and divinely inspired diligence by the Founding Fathers in September 1787, eleven years after the Declaration of Independence from Britain. We get confused because we don't know our stuff.
The details of these events, and the documents themselves, do not get examined, explored, and taught in the schools and colleges of America very much anymore---certainly not in their true inspired context and with the awe and reverence that they deserve. As we say, even among the Saints there is a deficiency, a lack of clarity of vision and understanding on these vital matters.
The prophet-historian Moroni, writing some sixteen centuries ago, warned us of the secret combinations and spiritual wickedness in high places that would abound across the globe in the Last Days, and specifically on this choice land of the Americas when he wrote to us:
"Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you . . . ."
He went on to describe the origins of evil in this combination, and its purpose, "to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies."
Some clear doctrinal background is necessary:
We know from scripture that it was the purpose of Satan "to destroy the agency of man . . . to deceive and to blind" mankind, "to lead them captive at his will." Satan "knew not the mind of God" and God's plan for man's happiness and salvation, "wherefore he sought to destroy the world" (see Moses 4).
"Satan . . . sought to destroy the agency of man"
We most often think that Satan's design was one of compulsion, of force, of intimidation to obey. An idea of, "I'll beat you up if you don't do it. I'll compel you to obey."
Think of it: Can you imagine one in three of our Father's children voting for such a plan of coercion?
Neither can I.
Agency is the power to act, far more than just the power to choose.
The root word agency produces this family of words: agent, act, action, actor, actual, and active. Far more than a passive choice, a mental assent, a nod of the head, a raise of the hand in a vote of approval, agency has to do with action. Positive action. Doing. Acting, or being true, loyal, showing through active works where your heart lies and who you truly are.
All Satan had to do to destroy the agency of mankind would be to deny them the privilege of acting on their own initiative, of working by the sweat of their brow, of diligent obedience, of seeking excellence by their own will.
"I'll take care of it," says he. "You won't have to struggle and sweat at all. In this way I'll save every one of you. And surely I will do it!" he said, "and the glory and the credit will come to me."
And thus he would have destroyed the agency of man, the liberty of man to act in his own best interests, the freedom to work out his own salvation in fear and trembling, always relying on the merits and mercy and atoning blood of the Redeemer.
As you look around you today at the growing dependency society that has dominated in Europe for decades and which is now well advanced in the great nation of the United States, does something look and sound familiar when you measure it against the doctrine? . . .
Free lunch? Entitlement society? Dependence on the government? Social plan of safety and security? Guaranteed benefits? . . .
Mankind's best plans for a utopian society are not the same as the Lord's for Zion. The two are not the same---not even close.
Can you see the great pressing need to know "the very points of [the Savior's] doctrine", so that even the humble followers of Christ, the elect according to the covenant, will not be deceived by the father of all lies?
From our observation most of us are not very aware of these things: of good sound doctrine, of the truth that is in Christ, even the doctrine of Christ, of the reason and purpose for the founding of this nation, for the Declaration of Independence from tyranny and despotic laws, for the Constitution---"And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land," said the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ [see Ether 2:12], "by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood"---, and the sequence and the order, and the vital necessity of it all.
These things are not incidental . . . nor coincidental, nor random, nor by caprice. They all belong together. So that we see in 1877 the Founding Fathers of these United States and other eminent men and women appearing to Wilford Woodruff in the Saint George temple to claim their temple blessings at the hands of the priesthood of God:
"Every one of those men that signed the Declaration of Independence, with General [George] Washington, called upon me as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Temple at St. George, two consecutive nights, and demanded at my hands that I should go forth and attend to the ordinances of the House of God for them" (Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, pp. 160--6).
Which he did.
-----------------------------------
President Ezra Taft Benson taught: "The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and lays down contention. (See 2 Nephi 3:12.) It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day. . . . God, with his infinite foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and philosophical concepts of our time" (A Witness and a Warning [1988], p. 3).
Shall we be subtle here or shall we be bold? . . . As Joseph said, "Truth cuts its own way."
Most of us in the Church do not know much about the Book of Mormon---its purpose, its doctrine, its value, its message. We should know it inside out. We don't.
We are for the most part in the same standing on the Book of Mormon as we are on the founding of this nation. Profoundly ignorant.
The enemy has succeeded in keeping us a good distance from a clear understanding of the founding doctrines and documents of both the Church and this nation.
Our hearts and minds are riveted on other things.
At the bicentennial celebration of the founding of America and its Declaration of Independence, in July 1976, the prophet and President of the Church, Spencer W. Kimball, gave us an article in the June 1976 Ensign entitled, "The False Gods We Worship".
In it he said: "I use the word 'idolatry' intentionally. . . . This I find to be a dominant theme in the Old Testament. Whatever a man sets his heart and his trust in most is his god, and if his god doesn't also happen to be the true and living God of Israel, that man is laboring in idolatry."
Is it time for me and you to wake up? It is past time. Past time to "awake to a sense of your awful situation."
God bless us all to do so.
Feel free to share this with others, and to send me your thoughts.
Steve
Very few had a ready answer.
Measured against the original Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of King George and the rule of Great Britain it seems past time for a return to the founding principles of this once great nation. We need a declaration of independence again today.
"If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Note the condition: "If" . . . .
There is an appalling ignorance, even among Latter-day Saints, of the founding origins of America. Today, 2 July, it has been sad to read even LDS-website and e-mail messages that celebrate the Constitution. The founding document of this nation was in fact the Declaration of Independence, written principally by Thomas Jefferson and finally approved by Congress on 4 July 1776. That is the focus of this celebration.
The Constitution of the United States---the foundation of laws for this new republic---was adopted after much deliberation and divinely inspired diligence by the Founding Fathers in September 1787, eleven years after the Declaration of Independence from Britain. We get confused because we don't know our stuff.
The details of these events, and the documents themselves, do not get examined, explored, and taught in the schools and colleges of America very much anymore---certainly not in their true inspired context and with the awe and reverence that they deserve. As we say, even among the Saints there is a deficiency, a lack of clarity of vision and understanding on these vital matters.
The prophet-historian Moroni, writing some sixteen centuries ago, warned us of the secret combinations and spiritual wickedness in high places that would abound across the globe in the Last Days, and specifically on this choice land of the Americas when he wrote to us:
"Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you . . . ."
He went on to describe the origins of evil in this combination, and its purpose, "to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies."
Some clear doctrinal background is necessary:
We know from scripture that it was the purpose of Satan "to destroy the agency of man . . . to deceive and to blind" mankind, "to lead them captive at his will." Satan "knew not the mind of God" and God's plan for man's happiness and salvation, "wherefore he sought to destroy the world" (see Moses 4).
"Satan . . . sought to destroy the agency of man"
We most often think that Satan's design was one of compulsion, of force, of intimidation to obey. An idea of, "I'll beat you up if you don't do it. I'll compel you to obey."
Think of it: Can you imagine one in three of our Father's children voting for such a plan of coercion?
Neither can I.
Agency is the power to act, far more than just the power to choose.
The root word agency produces this family of words: agent, act, action, actor, actual, and active. Far more than a passive choice, a mental assent, a nod of the head, a raise of the hand in a vote of approval, agency has to do with action. Positive action. Doing. Acting, or being true, loyal, showing through active works where your heart lies and who you truly are.
All Satan had to do to destroy the agency of mankind would be to deny them the privilege of acting on their own initiative, of working by the sweat of their brow, of diligent obedience, of seeking excellence by their own will.
"I'll take care of it," says he. "You won't have to struggle and sweat at all. In this way I'll save every one of you. And surely I will do it!" he said, "and the glory and the credit will come to me."
And thus he would have destroyed the agency of man, the liberty of man to act in his own best interests, the freedom to work out his own salvation in fear and trembling, always relying on the merits and mercy and atoning blood of the Redeemer.
As you look around you today at the growing dependency society that has dominated in Europe for decades and which is now well advanced in the great nation of the United States, does something look and sound familiar when you measure it against the doctrine? . . .
Free lunch? Entitlement society? Dependence on the government? Social plan of safety and security? Guaranteed benefits? . . .
Mankind's best plans for a utopian society are not the same as the Lord's for Zion. The two are not the same---not even close.
Can you see the great pressing need to know "the very points of [the Savior's] doctrine", so that even the humble followers of Christ, the elect according to the covenant, will not be deceived by the father of all lies?
From our observation most of us are not very aware of these things: of good sound doctrine, of the truth that is in Christ, even the doctrine of Christ, of the reason and purpose for the founding of this nation, for the Declaration of Independence from tyranny and despotic laws, for the Constitution---"And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land," said the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ [see Ether 2:12], "by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood"---, and the sequence and the order, and the vital necessity of it all.
These things are not incidental . . . nor coincidental, nor random, nor by caprice. They all belong together. So that we see in 1877 the Founding Fathers of these United States and other eminent men and women appearing to Wilford Woodruff in the Saint George temple to claim their temple blessings at the hands of the priesthood of God:
"Every one of those men that signed the Declaration of Independence, with General [George] Washington, called upon me as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Temple at St. George, two consecutive nights, and demanded at my hands that I should go forth and attend to the ordinances of the House of God for them" (Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, pp. 160--6).
Which he did.
-----------------------------------
President Ezra Taft Benson taught: "The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and lays down contention. (See 2 Nephi 3:12.) It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day. . . . God, with his infinite foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and philosophical concepts of our time" (A Witness and a Warning [1988], p. 3).
Shall we be subtle here or shall we be bold? . . . As Joseph said, "Truth cuts its own way."
Most of us in the Church do not know much about the Book of Mormon---its purpose, its doctrine, its value, its message. We should know it inside out. We don't.
We are for the most part in the same standing on the Book of Mormon as we are on the founding of this nation. Profoundly ignorant.
The enemy has succeeded in keeping us a good distance from a clear understanding of the founding doctrines and documents of both the Church and this nation.
Our hearts and minds are riveted on other things.
At the bicentennial celebration of the founding of America and its Declaration of Independence, in July 1976, the prophet and President of the Church, Spencer W. Kimball, gave us an article in the June 1976 Ensign entitled, "The False Gods We Worship".
In it he said: "I use the word 'idolatry' intentionally. . . . This I find to be a dominant theme in the Old Testament. Whatever a man sets his heart and his trust in most is his god, and if his god doesn't also happen to be the true and living God of Israel, that man is laboring in idolatry."
Is it time for me and you to wake up? It is past time. Past time to "awake to a sense of your awful situation."
God bless us all to do so.
Feel free to share this with others, and to send me your thoughts.
Steve
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
GIFTS: The Lord Did Not Give Us a Social Gospel
The Lord did not give us a social gospel.
The gospel plan restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith is not first and foremost a social or a collective endeavor. It is a plan of individual salvation, made complete and meaningful through the family.
This is well illustrated through the ordinances of salvation. Each ordinance comes to us on an individual basis. We do not baptize groups of people all at the same moment, but one by one. . . . We each receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost individually, separately, one at a time.
We receive the covenants, the tokens, individually. And we go through the veil individually.
When we have in place all that is necessary we meet as a couple at the altar to be sealed together and start a family.
The ordinance of holy matrimony is the crowning ordinance, of course, but it is only meaningful as we cleave to the covenants we have already made. And then we may with full trust cleave to each other, with the Lord as a third partner, since we have by this time made solemn and sacred covenants with Him, separately and individually.
True religion first looks up to God, not sideways to others.
The first and great commandment, as reflected in the first four of the Ten Commandments, centers on God and our love for Him, our duty to Him first and foremost, our sacred obligation to Him. Only when this relationship is fixed and firm and deeply set can we consider our duty and obligation to others.
It is easy to put others---those we can see and hear and feel close to us---first, and the invisible God of our fathers fades into the misty background.
How is it done? How do we put Him first?
In a real sense it is a simple matter, for one thing is needful. . . . We simply learn how to do it from Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, our great example in this as in all other things.
Notice:
"Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked," said a certain woman to Him one day, paying honor to Him by praising His mother, Mary, and His upbringing.
"But he said, Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." This was His reply. He corrected her, refocused her, realigned her thinking. First things first.
-------------------------------------
"Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
"But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
Did Jesus later apologize for those rough words to Peter? He did not. He was first and foremost always loyal and true and fiercely protective of the mission given Him of His Father---the Atonement.
--------------------------------------
Again, "While he yet talked to the people, behold his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. . . .
"But he answered and said . . . Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
"And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
"For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Do you see it? In this last example where was His loyalty and first allegiance? To His mother, Mary? To His half-brothers in Joseph and Mary's family? To His disciples, His followers, the "people"? Or was it to Someone Else? It was to Someone Else---again---it was to His Father.
He is our example of how to do it. Of how to put God first, to love God with all our heart, might, mind, will, strength, and soul. This is the path and the pattern that He has given us. And it is not first and foremost a social gospel.
No, we are not teaching a social gospel, nor an ethical gospel. We are teaching a redemptive gospel. Where a law was broken (the Fall) in an ordinance in a Garden long ago, and which can only be fixed and repaired in another ordinance called by us the Atonement---also in a Garden---by Him who alone could perform it. And we remember it all in another ordinance called the sacrament.
And all of this is to redeem us, to ransom us from all of the effects of the Fall. This is the redemptive gospel. This is the reason and purpose of the sacrament, of the gospel, of the Church, of the holy Sabbath day.
But if our time and thoughts and attention are centered on others and not on Him, we will miss the point of the sacrament, and of the Sabbath, and still think we have fulfilled our purpose in being to church because we have seen our friends, the people we know and love, have sung and prayed with them, have greeted them, and left satisfied.
But we have been given not first and foremost a social gospel. Our religion is centered on a redemptive gospel, with Jesus Christ and His exquisite sacrifice, bleeding at every pore, at the center. "Could ye not watch with me one hour?"
It is for us, for our eternal salvation and happiness, but it is not first and foremost about us. It is about Him. That is true religion. That is our context. That is the very point of His doctrine when it comes to our priorities, as He showed us by example in His life and in His death.
"Our affections should be placed upon God and His work more intensely than upon our fellow beings," taught the Prophet Joseph Smith.
And from the thirteenth President of the Church: "The world largely ignores the first and great commandment --- to love God --- but talks a lot about loving their brother. They worship at the altar of man. Would Nephi have slain Laban if he had put the love of neighbor above the love of God? Would Abraham have taken Isaac up for sacrifice if he had put the second commandment first?
"The attitude of the world is reflected in a phrase of falsehood that reads, 'Presume not God to scan, the proper study of mankind is man.' But only those who know and love God can best love and serve His children, for only God fully understands His children and knows what is best for their welfare. . . .
"When we fail to put the love of God first, we are easily deceived by crafty men who profess a great love of humanity, while advocating programs that are not of the Lord" (President Ezra Taft Benson, CR, Oct 1967, p. 35).
First things first.
"When our priorities are out of order, we lose power."
Our priorities should be, must be, the same as the Lord's. His life and ministry are the great example for us of how to put God first in our lives. It may well come to offending family or friends (see Matthew 19:29). But if we are going to offend anyone, let us not offend the Lord.
If friends or distant family arrive unexpectedly from out of state just as we are leaving for sacrament meeting, we have two choices: "Please come with us to church. We'd love to have you join us." If they prefer not to come with us: "Well, it's good to see you! There's the fridge, help yourselves; make yourselves at home. We'll be back in a couple of hours."
Is there a third option? To stay home from sacrament meeting so as not to offend the visitors who have traveled a long way to see us?
If we are going to offend anyone, let's not offend the Lord.
Righteousness comes before relationships. (Thanks for that, Jack.)
We are not teaching a social gospel, we are teaching and living something that goes far beyond social and temporal considerations.
That same prophet, President Benson, taught: "Social, ethical, cultural, or educational converts will not survive under the heat of the day unless their taproots go down to the fulness of the gospel which the Book of Mormon contains."
Our job is to learn that fulness, and get it so deep into our souls, into our consciousness, that it comes out spontaneously in our every-day thinking and actions and habits. And the Book of Mormon is where we start.
Elder Packer once said, "This is not the Church of the Comfortable Chapel."
You see, we are being tested, proved, to see if we will stay true at all hazards. It is a greater thing to be trusted than it is to be loved. Can you see it from His point of view? We are not the center of it all. . . . He is. That is good doctrine, good religion.
I would love to hear from you who read this. Does it resonate with you? Can you sense something different---something deeper, grander, and finer---than what we usually think of in the Savior's example and habits? Now that we are halfway through our study of the New Testament in Sunday School do you sense yet a different Jesus than the one you thought you knew before?
This Jesus says to us: " . . . If you keep my commandments you shall have power to build . . . .
"If you keep not my commandments, the love of the Father shall not continue with you, therefore you shall walk in darkness."
Let me hear from you.
God bless,
Steve
The gospel plan restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith is not first and foremost a social or a collective endeavor. It is a plan of individual salvation, made complete and meaningful through the family.
This is well illustrated through the ordinances of salvation. Each ordinance comes to us on an individual basis. We do not baptize groups of people all at the same moment, but one by one. . . . We each receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost individually, separately, one at a time.
We receive the covenants, the tokens, individually. And we go through the veil individually.
When we have in place all that is necessary we meet as a couple at the altar to be sealed together and start a family.
The ordinance of holy matrimony is the crowning ordinance, of course, but it is only meaningful as we cleave to the covenants we have already made. And then we may with full trust cleave to each other, with the Lord as a third partner, since we have by this time made solemn and sacred covenants with Him, separately and individually.
True religion first looks up to God, not sideways to others.
The first and great commandment, as reflected in the first four of the Ten Commandments, centers on God and our love for Him, our duty to Him first and foremost, our sacred obligation to Him. Only when this relationship is fixed and firm and deeply set can we consider our duty and obligation to others.
It is easy to put others---those we can see and hear and feel close to us---first, and the invisible God of our fathers fades into the misty background.
How is it done? How do we put Him first?
In a real sense it is a simple matter, for one thing is needful. . . . We simply learn how to do it from Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, our great example in this as in all other things.
Notice:
"Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked," said a certain woman to Him one day, paying honor to Him by praising His mother, Mary, and His upbringing.
"But he said, Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." This was His reply. He corrected her, refocused her, realigned her thinking. First things first.
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"Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
"But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
Did Jesus later apologize for those rough words to Peter? He did not. He was first and foremost always loyal and true and fiercely protective of the mission given Him of His Father---the Atonement.
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Again, "While he yet talked to the people, behold his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. . . .
"But he answered and said . . . Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
"And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
"For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Do you see it? In this last example where was His loyalty and first allegiance? To His mother, Mary? To His half-brothers in Joseph and Mary's family? To His disciples, His followers, the "people"? Or was it to Someone Else? It was to Someone Else---again---it was to His Father.
He is our example of how to do it. Of how to put God first, to love God with all our heart, might, mind, will, strength, and soul. This is the path and the pattern that He has given us. And it is not first and foremost a social gospel.
No, we are not teaching a social gospel, nor an ethical gospel. We are teaching a redemptive gospel. Where a law was broken (the Fall) in an ordinance in a Garden long ago, and which can only be fixed and repaired in another ordinance called by us the Atonement---also in a Garden---by Him who alone could perform it. And we remember it all in another ordinance called the sacrament.
And all of this is to redeem us, to ransom us from all of the effects of the Fall. This is the redemptive gospel. This is the reason and purpose of the sacrament, of the gospel, of the Church, of the holy Sabbath day.
But if our time and thoughts and attention are centered on others and not on Him, we will miss the point of the sacrament, and of the Sabbath, and still think we have fulfilled our purpose in being to church because we have seen our friends, the people we know and love, have sung and prayed with them, have greeted them, and left satisfied.
But we have been given not first and foremost a social gospel. Our religion is centered on a redemptive gospel, with Jesus Christ and His exquisite sacrifice, bleeding at every pore, at the center. "Could ye not watch with me one hour?"
It is for us, for our eternal salvation and happiness, but it is not first and foremost about us. It is about Him. That is true religion. That is our context. That is the very point of His doctrine when it comes to our priorities, as He showed us by example in His life and in His death.
"Our affections should be placed upon God and His work more intensely than upon our fellow beings," taught the Prophet Joseph Smith.
And from the thirteenth President of the Church: "The world largely ignores the first and great commandment --- to love God --- but talks a lot about loving their brother. They worship at the altar of man. Would Nephi have slain Laban if he had put the love of neighbor above the love of God? Would Abraham have taken Isaac up for sacrifice if he had put the second commandment first?
"The attitude of the world is reflected in a phrase of falsehood that reads, 'Presume not God to scan, the proper study of mankind is man.' But only those who know and love God can best love and serve His children, for only God fully understands His children and knows what is best for their welfare. . . .
"When we fail to put the love of God first, we are easily deceived by crafty men who profess a great love of humanity, while advocating programs that are not of the Lord" (President Ezra Taft Benson, CR, Oct 1967, p. 35).
First things first.
"When our priorities are out of order, we lose power."
Our priorities should be, must be, the same as the Lord's. His life and ministry are the great example for us of how to put God first in our lives. It may well come to offending family or friends (see Matthew 19:29). But if we are going to offend anyone, let us not offend the Lord.
If friends or distant family arrive unexpectedly from out of state just as we are leaving for sacrament meeting, we have two choices: "Please come with us to church. We'd love to have you join us." If they prefer not to come with us: "Well, it's good to see you! There's the fridge, help yourselves; make yourselves at home. We'll be back in a couple of hours."
Is there a third option? To stay home from sacrament meeting so as not to offend the visitors who have traveled a long way to see us?
If we are going to offend anyone, let's not offend the Lord.
Righteousness comes before relationships. (Thanks for that, Jack.)
We are not teaching a social gospel, we are teaching and living something that goes far beyond social and temporal considerations.
That same prophet, President Benson, taught: "Social, ethical, cultural, or educational converts will not survive under the heat of the day unless their taproots go down to the fulness of the gospel which the Book of Mormon contains."
Our job is to learn that fulness, and get it so deep into our souls, into our consciousness, that it comes out spontaneously in our every-day thinking and actions and habits. And the Book of Mormon is where we start.
Elder Packer once said, "This is not the Church of the Comfortable Chapel."
You see, we are being tested, proved, to see if we will stay true at all hazards. It is a greater thing to be trusted than it is to be loved. Can you see it from His point of view? We are not the center of it all. . . . He is. That is good doctrine, good religion.
I would love to hear from you who read this. Does it resonate with you? Can you sense something different---something deeper, grander, and finer---than what we usually think of in the Savior's example and habits? Now that we are halfway through our study of the New Testament in Sunday School do you sense yet a different Jesus than the one you thought you knew before?
This Jesus says to us: " . . . If you keep my commandments you shall have power to build . . . .
"If you keep not my commandments, the love of the Father shall not continue with you, therefore you shall walk in darkness."
Let me hear from you.
God bless,
Steve
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Sabbathought: The most important passage in the Book of Mormon
You perhaps have a favorite verse or passage or chapter in the Book of Mormon.
Consider this in a sober way:
Always true to the Restoration and to his great-great-great-uncle through whom it came, our friend and mentor Joseph Fielding McConkie some years ago taught us a new and instructive way to view his namesake the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the book translated by him under the power of God, known to us as the Book of Mormon.
The prophet Isaiah wrote, " . . . for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider" (Isaiah 52:15).
When the resurrected Lord quoted this passage (twice) to the surviving Nephites, He added this:
"For in that day [when the Book of Mormon shall come forth as a sign of the Gathering of Israel], for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them" (3 Nephi 21:9, emphasis added).
Who is this "man" who shall declare the great and marvelous work?
The Savior continues: "But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred [martyred] because of them."
His enemies shall not hurt him, although he shall be martyred by them!
"Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil."
(The account by Seth Adam Smith of Joseph's last dream sent out with this Sabbathought makes clear who the man is.)
And then this from the Lord Jesus:
"Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant."
And there we see the most important passage in the Book of Mormon---3 Nephi 21:9--11.
It is a clear endorsement and witness by the Lord Himself of the power and calling given to Joseph Smith.
The Restoration of the gospel proceeded through Joseph Smith, starting with the Vision he had early in the Spring of 1820 wherein he saw the Father and the Son---together, separate and distinct Beings of flesh and bone.
The Book of Mormon plates were next delivered to him to translate by the power of God, which he did in the face of great opposition.
Priesthood keys followed, and line upon line of restored doctrine as he then proceeded by divine command to translate the Bible unto a more perfect testament of Christ. All that is necessary to exalt men and women in the highest heaven followed, precept upon precept: the fullness of the everlasting gospel.
Until today we now see flourishing across the globe this marvelous work and a wonder.
The day after tomorrow's Sabbath---27 June---marks the 167th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph along with his beloved brother Hyrum, the great-great-grandfather of Joseph McConkie. In Hebrew, the name Hyrum carries the meaning, "My brother is noble (exalted)". . . .
And thus we see that the Lord works in this way.
Joseph and Hyrum were true. They sealed their testament with their blood. They were true prophets whose main role, assigned by the Lord Himself, was to reveal the true Christ of the Bible, and to mark the true path to Him. This they did, and continue to do, if we will give close and sober heed to what they have left us.
Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah---and to his brother Hyrum!
Warm regards, everyone!
Steve
Consider this in a sober way:
Always true to the Restoration and to his great-great-great-uncle through whom it came, our friend and mentor Joseph Fielding McConkie some years ago taught us a new and instructive way to view his namesake the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the book translated by him under the power of God, known to us as the Book of Mormon.
The prophet Isaiah wrote, " . . . for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider" (Isaiah 52:15).
When the resurrected Lord quoted this passage (twice) to the surviving Nephites, He added this:
"For in that day [when the Book of Mormon shall come forth as a sign of the Gathering of Israel], for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them" (3 Nephi 21:9, emphasis added).
Who is this "man" who shall declare the great and marvelous work?
The Savior continues: "But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred [martyred] because of them."
His enemies shall not hurt him, although he shall be martyred by them!
"Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil."
(The account by Seth Adam Smith of Joseph's last dream sent out with this Sabbathought makes clear who the man is.)
And then this from the Lord Jesus:
"Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant."
And there we see the most important passage in the Book of Mormon---3 Nephi 21:9--11.
It is a clear endorsement and witness by the Lord Himself of the power and calling given to Joseph Smith.
The Restoration of the gospel proceeded through Joseph Smith, starting with the Vision he had early in the Spring of 1820 wherein he saw the Father and the Son---together, separate and distinct Beings of flesh and bone.
The Book of Mormon plates were next delivered to him to translate by the power of God, which he did in the face of great opposition.
Priesthood keys followed, and line upon line of restored doctrine as he then proceeded by divine command to translate the Bible unto a more perfect testament of Christ. All that is necessary to exalt men and women in the highest heaven followed, precept upon precept: the fullness of the everlasting gospel.
Until today we now see flourishing across the globe this marvelous work and a wonder.
The day after tomorrow's Sabbath---27 June---marks the 167th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph along with his beloved brother Hyrum, the great-great-grandfather of Joseph McConkie. In Hebrew, the name Hyrum carries the meaning, "My brother is noble (exalted)". . . .
And thus we see that the Lord works in this way.
Joseph and Hyrum were true. They sealed their testament with their blood. They were true prophets whose main role, assigned by the Lord Himself, was to reveal the true Christ of the Bible, and to mark the true path to Him. This they did, and continue to do, if we will give close and sober heed to what they have left us.
Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah---and to his brother Hyrum!
Warm regards, everyone!
Steve
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