My Two Mormon Cents

Christ's Burden is Light. Ours Should Be, Too.

2011-03-12T12:44:00.001-07:00

Why is Christ's yoke easy and his burden light? Because he loves us just the way we are. We should spend more time loving not only ourselves, with our mortal foibles and weaknesses, but also all of those around us. That makes for a much lighter burden.

One of my favorite videos challenges us to "care for them just as He cares for you." It's called Love Them Like Jesus.

Why is life sometimes so hard? Because we make it that way. We're far too often much more critical of ourselves and others than we need to be. God gives us weaknesses that we may be humble, not that we may feel guilty, hateful, or angry.

As LDS Church First Presidency member Dieter Uchtdorf recently wrote:

We have a choice. We can seek for the bad in others. Or we can make peace and work to extend to others the understanding, fairness, and forgiveness we so desperately desire for ourselves. It is our choice; for whatever we seek, that we will certainly find.

Forgiveness. Now that is much less of a burden. As we follow Christ's example, the art of forgiveness is perhaps His choicest trait to be emulated. Through forgiveness, as we make others' burdens lighter, our burdens are lifted, too.

The Real Reason Adam Ate the Fruit

2011-01-22T07:36:00.003-07:00

It turns out to have been a good thing for Eve to have been the first to partake of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. It gave Adam a perfect chance to understand his highest priority.

In his book Men and Marriage, George Gilder explains what keeps men both civil and successful--the women in their lives. He retells the age-old story of the knight in shining armor who, each time he has righted the wrongs and conquered the monsters he set out to face each day, always returns home. Why does the knight always turn homeward when the day's work is done? Because his fair maiden awaits.

I've often heard very successful men state that they owe their success to the women in their lives--more particularly to their spouses. There is no doubt that in my own case this is true. I cannot imagine being where I am today without the leavening and counseling influence that my wife has had on me.

In the Garden of Eden, I imagine that Satan initially challenged Adam to partake of the forbidden fruit. Adam turned him down. But then

he sought also to ^cbeguile Eve, for he ^dknew not the ^emind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it became pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be ^adesired to make her wise, she took of the ^bfruit thereof, and did ^ceat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat.

Cleon Skousen, in his book The First 2,000 Years, has an interesting insight into how this event may have played out.

Here was his wife, given to him by God as a helpmate, tempting him to violate a specific commandment of the Lord.

Adam reasoned with her. She had been deceived. Eve reasoned right back. What if she had--were not the purposes of God being fulfilled by thus unlocking the doorway to mortality...?

But mistaken or not, the fact was plainly apparent to Adam that Eve had brought about the Fall and was at that very moment in a state of metamorphosis...

Eve had begun the process by which she was now transitioning from an immortal state into mortality. Adam had to think fast. If he didn't choose to eat the fruit as well and begin the same transformation, he would soon be alone.

Adam helped to further the eternal purposes of God by, with his wife, partaking of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which brought about the condition of mortality, wherein they could have children together. But this, I don't think, was the thought in Adam's mind at the time. His primary thought was on what he needed to do so that he would not lose the most important person in his life.

In my mind's eye, I picture Adam and Eve, arm in arm, leaving the Garden of Eden after their expulsion therefrom. I imagine Adam looking back toward their erstwhile Shangri-la, yearning to return to the comforts that it provided. But I also imagine a determined Eve, as she looked outward toward their new adventure, buoying him up with her confidence, her countenance imprinted with the words "Let's do this thing." And I picture Adam finding great comfort in Eve's determination that they would succeed in their new life together.

Adam got it. Women make the world go round. Real men don't ever forget that.

The Agony of the Damned

2010-03-14T19:18:00.005-06:00

The "sorrowing of the damned", the prophet Mormon explained, is not really sorrow at all, because it does not lead to repentance. It's really just anger. In a similar way, the "agony of the damned" is what happens to us when we "agonize" in the wrong way over the mistakes that our children make. The agony of the damned doesn't lead to repentance either.

We talked in Sunday School class a little bit today about the importance of loving all of our children, regardless of how righteous they might be. Later this afternoon, I was reading More Holiness Give Me, by Robert L. Millett. This statement on page 198 caught my eye.

Many [church members] have lived lives of quiet goodness. Their righteousness is unpretentious, their service spontaneous, unpremeditated, and silent. They love as the Lord loves. They are not immune from life's challenges. They agonize over children who stray. (Emphasis added.)

For some reason, when I read that last sentence about agony, the following scripture popped into my mind, where Mormon explains his plight:

But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin.

Mormon's Nephite warriors experienced the "sorrowing of the damned" because they could not be happy while committing sin. Such sorrow is not sorrow at all, because it is not "unto repentance". In much the same way, we are prone to suffer the "agony of the damned" when our children go astray. Such "agony" is not agony at all, because it, too, is not unto repentance--the repentance of our children.

Why do we "agonize" when our children go down the wrong paths? For their sake or for ours?

The etymology of the word "agony" is a surprising one, considering how we often use it. The word actually has a positive connotation. Webster's dictionary tells us that "agony" derives from Middle English agonie, from Late Latin agonia, from Greek agōnia meaning struggle or anguish, and further from the Greek agōn meaning gathering or contesting for a prize, and still yet from the Greek agein, which means to lead or celebrate.

Is that the reason that we agonize over our children's incorrect choices--as a means to help them turn their lives around, and to succeed and to ultimately celebrate? Not usually.

I think our agony is most often for several opposite reasons.

We think that their incorrect choices are a sign that we are a bad parent.
We are embarrassed among our social groups for the choices our children have made
We are annoyed that we now have something else in our lives that we must worry about
We are forlorn, because we feel that our children are doomed to eternal damnation

Authentic agony, on the other hand, involves undying love for our children, along with the hope that they can successfully turn their lives around and celebrate having overcome a weakness.

The father of The Prodigal Son understood and practiced "agony unto repentance". Although his son chose the wrong path, and this choice caused his father immense grief, his father never stopped praying for him, he was never forgotten by his father, and he never stopped being loved by him. This is evidenced by the fact that "when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."

It is natural, unfortunately, for us to withhold at least a portion of our love from our children when they make bad choices. Ironically, this is not agony. It is, rather, unproductive anxiety. Not only is it okay for us to love our children even when they wander, but the time they need our love the very most is when they make mistakes, and it is critical to their future success that our love for them remain constant.

True agony for the situation of others is never inwardly or self-focused. It does not deal in annoyance, anger, or embarrassment caused us by the choices of others in our lives. True agony is productive. Because agony comprises an environment of love and hope, only true agony can be transformed into true victory.

That Deer Might Have Saved My Life

2010-02-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

I don't usually receive a strong impression when I wake up in the morning to say my prayers. Which means that I probably forget more often than I remember to say prayers in the morning. But I got such an impression this morning, so I said my prayers, including the standard, nearly unthinking, "bless me to be safe today". It was kind of frustrating, then, twenty minutes later, to be smacking into a deer with my brand new car.

I was on my way to the indoor track for my morning run, which meant that I had to navigate a one-mile stretch of deer crossing country. I passed a car coming the other direction--a car that didn't have the courtesy to dim its bright headlights. I slowed down, nearly blinded, to 40 miles per hour. Just as I passed the other car, I noticed a shape on the right side of the road, so I slowed down some more. The shape was a deer, which was clearly agitated, not knowing whether to jump back over the fence or run across the road. When he finally ran across the road in front of me, I was down to about 10 or 15 miles per hour.

Even at that slow-speed, I experienced a feeling of surreality. As I came to a stop, I watched the deer, legs splayed out to all four sides, slide 30 feet down the middle of the road as though it had slipped on an ice rink. C'mon, little gal, get up! I thought. It was able to quickly get up on its front legs, but I wasn't sure how damaged its hind quarters were. After a few seconds it got up, and, though obviously bruised, it hopped gingerly away.

When I got back from the gym, I examined the damage to the front of my car. Although the only damage was a small crack in the plastic shroud below the bumper, and some of the paint was cracked and flaking off, all I could think about was, "That stupid deer ruined my new car!"

Later that day, I decided to examine the damage once more in the full sunlight. It actually didn't look as bad as it had in the twilight, but I was still miffed at the deer-induced flaws that my new car now exhibited. As I looked at the damage, though, the sunlight caught my back tire in an unusual way.

I looked a little closer. What I found surprised me. A large bulge ran the width of the sidewall on the back tire. There was no way I was going to drive the freeway home with that accident waiting to happen, so I took a few minutes and replaced the tire with a spare. When I took the damaged tire to my car dealer to get it repaired, he looked at the bulge and said "Boy, it's a good thing you saw that one."

It occurred to me as we further inspected the damage to the wheel, that I had hit a pothole a day or two ago that had likely caused damage to the tire (including the bulge), as well as the alloy rim. It also occurred to me that, had I not run into the deer this morning, I may have not noticed the bulge in my tire until a dangerous accident had occurred.

I'm glad the deer was okay. It could have been much worse--for the deer, and for me. So I think I'll leave the front shroud of my car, with the small crack and flaking paint, as it is--to remind me that Heavenly Father sometimes answers prayers in some pretty interesting ways.

Gratitude is Enhanced by a Proper Perspective of our Potential

2010-01-24T14:36:00.001-07:00

If we get the wrong idea about how seemingly impossible the atonement is, it becomes difficult for us to have proper gratitude for its ability to help us achieve perfection. Could it possibly be an aim of Satan to convince good people everywhere that only an elite few will achieve exaltation? Once we realize that many, many of God's children will return to and become like him, it suddenly seems like a much less daunting task, and a much less dog-eat-dog world.

It occurred to me today in Sacrament Meeting when someone said yet again that "they were preaching to the choir", that I don't like that phrase. It insinuates, in essence, that it's always the same "good" people who come to church and therefore the ones that don't come must somehow be evil. For the record, even though I go to church on a regular basis, I don't belong to that choir. I don't want to belong to that choir. I need as much reminding as anyone else. Claiming to be "preaching to the choir" is a very counterproductive statement to make. It contributes to the false notion that exaltation is a competition for select seating, and that only an elite few will "make it to heaven".

Where did we got the idea that very few of God's children will achieve exaltation? Is it because of the phrase "many are called but few are chosen"? Is it because the various kingdoms are described as having the glory of the sun, the moon, and the stars, and that there are millions of times more stars than there are suns? Wherever this false notion came from, it's quite comforting to know that it's just that--a false notion.

Why would a perfect being create a plan for his children to become like him and then make it impossibly hard for them to successfully complete that plan? It's quite likely that this idea comes from Satan, who has already failed, and who desperately wants you to believe that you will be a failure, too. The same negative spirit which convinces us from time to time that we are somehow worthless because we have sinned also (perhaps more often) convinces us that we are somehow better than others (i.e.part of "the choir") because, for example, we go to church and they don't or because we don't have any wayward children like they do.

We can, thankfully, be much more forgiving of ourselves and of others than Satan wants us to be, when we discover that Heavenly Father is much more forgiving of us than we've somehow been led to believe.

This is quite a gratifying and liberating perspective. Actually, it makes me feel more comfortable sharing the gospel with others knowing that they're not going to take my coveted spot in some exclusive club. Isn't it nice to know that heaven does not belong to an exclusive club at all?

When Christ appeared to the spirits in paradise following his crucifixion, he encountered

12 ...together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality;

13 And who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God, and had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer’s name.

14 All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

Innumerable. Unable to be numbered. Many. Likewise, when Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon saw the vision of the Three Degrees of Glory, they learned that those who achieve eternal life are

67 ...they who have come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of Enoch, and of the Firstborn.

68 These are they whose names are written in heaven, where God and Christ are the judge of all.

There's that "innumerable" word again. So many of God's children attain exaltation, that their number is hard to count. No wonder Jesus told us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Because it is! No wonder that Jesus commanded us to become perfect like him. Because, with his help, it is a goal that is easily within our reach.

When we understand the atonement more completely, we see a whole new potential, not only for ourselves, but also for the lady at the supermarket checkstand who's having a bad day, for the friend who can't stop smoking, and even for the highway patrolman that just gave us a speeding ticket. With this perspective of gratitude, it's much easier to understand how enjoyable it can be to share the gospel message with others. When we feel a gratitude worth sharing, we also feel the importance of patience both for our shortcomings and for the shortcomings of others.

Latter-day Saints may be a peculiar people, but we are not an elite club. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an organization that practically anyone can belong to, and that almost anyone can use as a vehicle in their quest to become perfect.

Even me. And that means that I have a lot to be thankful for.

Will It Really Be Harder to Accept the Gospel in the Spirit World?

2010-01-17T18:31:00.002-07:00

I'm sure you've heard someone in Sunday School say that "it will be ten times harder to accept the gospel in the spirit world." I guess I kind of believed that, until I read that it's not true. It's actually a whole lot easier.

Joseph Smith supposedly once said that "a man can do as much in this life in one year as he can do in ten years in the spirit world without the body." Similarly, Elder Melvin J. Ballard wrote that "It is my judgment that any man or woman can do more to conform to the laws of God in one year in this life than they could in ten years when they are dead."

I'm wondering if it's from either of these quotes that I got the idea that it would be harder to accept the gospel in the spirit world, after we're dead, than it would have been to accept it on earth. It turns out that I am wrong.

The above quotes make no mention whatsoever of how hard it will be to accept the gospel without our bodies. They only talk about how much harder it is to function without a body. This is the essence of why "the dead had looked upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage."

The truth is that it's easier to accept the gospel in the spirit world. Of course, this was no great news to my kids, who said, "Well, ya, it's easier to accept the gospel in the spirit world because by then you've found out that after you die you're really still alive." Note to me: the prophets and apostles agree with my kids.

President Wilford Woodruff taught that "there will be very few, if any, [in the spirit world], who will not accept the gospel."

President Lorenzo said "When the gospel is preached to the spirits in prison, the success attending that preaching will be far greater than that attending the preaching of our elders in this life. I believe there will be very few indeed of those spirits who will not gladly receive the gospel when it is carried to them. The circumstances will be a thousand times more favorable."

I wonder how many more misconceptions I have about the gospel? Don't answer that... ;-)

Where did the idea come from that it would be harder to accept the gospel as a spirit? Did you think it was a true statement? Did you just change your mind?

Testimony Meeting: A Barometer of Our Standing Before the Atonement

2009-11-01T18:49:00.003-07:00

We can tell whether the Atonement of Jesus Christ is effective in our lives each time we attend an LDS testimony meeting.

The reason that testimony meetings are so important is that we are given opportunities to feel the Holy Spirit bear witness of things that are true. Each time we feel the Holy Ghost bear witness to us that someone's testimony is true, we know that we are being cleansed from our sins and weaknesses. This cleansing process is proof to us that not only does our Heavenly Father love us, but also that the Atonement of His Son is working in our lives.

President Henry B. Eyring taught in 1989 that

President Marion G. Romney taught it this way: "Receiving the Holy Ghost is the therapy which effects forgiveness and heals the sin-sick soul" (Ensign, May 1974, p. 92). The Savior said it this way: "Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day" (3 Nephi 27:20). Moroni also spoke of being wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost after baptism.

Now that is a fact you can act on with confidence. You can invite the Holy Ghost's companionship in your life. And you can know when he is there, and when he withdraws. And when he is your companion, you can have confidence that the Atonement is working in your life.

In our discussions about the Holy Ghost, we regularly observe that He guides us, He warns us, He comforts us, and he teaches us. In those same discussions, however, we frequently leave out what is probably His most important role--cleansing us of our imperfections.

One thing we know is that we don't know everything. But that does not change the fact that we do know some things, and that we do have a testimony. The more we seek, the more we are cleansed. The more we are cleansed, the more we know.

One of the most important things that we know is that God lives. We know that he loves us. We know that he has prepared a way that, if we want it bad enough, we can return to live with Him and become like Him.

How do we know we are on that path? By attending sacrament meeting--and especially testimony meeting where the Spirit is poured out in rich abundance.

Ordinances for the Dead: A Great Way to Understand Our Relationship With God

2009-10-01T12:20:00.002-06:00

Joseph Smith called it “the most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel”. What do you think “it” might be? I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this topic since we talked about it in Sunday School a few weeks back. I chose to talk about this “most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel” because and understanding of “it” is also one of the best ways to help us understand the nature of God and our relationship to him. Because “it” has the ability quite unlike just about anything else to help us become like God, or to one day become Gods ourselves.

Not long before he was murdered, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “it is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God… to acquire faith unto salvation, one needs a correct idea of God’s character, perfections, and attributes, and that one needs to know that the course of life one is pursuing is according to God’s will”. He also added, “If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves.”

John Taylor taught that “As man is god once was, and God is man may become.” We know from our testimonies of what happened in the Garden of Eden, on the Mount of Transfiguration and in the Sacred Grove that we’re sort of like our Heavenly Father already, because our Heavenly Father has a body of flesh and bone, although His is a perfected body, enlightened by eternal glory (DC 130). Also, like us, our Heavenly parents have their freedom of choice, although, because they are perfect, they would never choose to do something that would cause them to “cease to be God” (Alma 42). From this we know we can trust them. But how did they get that way?

While being trustworthy is important in our quest for perfection, service and sacrifice are specific ways of developing and demonstrating that trustworthiness. So how did our Heavenly Parents become completely, perfectly trustworthy? One of the main ways they did so, I believe, is through thinking beyond themselves--through sacrifice and service for their families as well as their fellow men.

So now with those hints, let’s see if we can figure out what “it”—the “most glorious of all subjects” that Joseph Smith talked about—is. We know it involves service and sacrifice. So let’s compare a couple of scriptures that talk about service and sacrifice.

2 Nephi 9:7 tells us just how important a sacrifice that the atonement really was:

7 Wherefore, it must needs be an ainfinite batonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the cfirst judgment which came upon man must needs have dremained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

Put another way, Elder Paul Johnson said in the Oquirrh Mountain temple dedication a couple of weeks ago that without the cleansing power of the atonement, there would be no reason to have temples, because the ordinances would be of no worth.

In a similar way, D & C 2 talks about another sacrifice, without which, life would have no purpose or meaning. It says:

1 Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of aElijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and bdreadful day of the Lord.
2 And ahe shall plant in the hearts of the children the bpromises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.
3 If it [this “most glorious of all subjects”]were not so, the whole aearth would be utterly wasted at his coming.

The most important thing is to understand what the “it” in that verse is. Section 128 explains

18 …that the earth will be smitten with a bcurse unless there is a welding clink of some kind or other between the fathers and the dchildren, upon some subject or other—and behold what is that subject? It is the ebaptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect.

That’s why those two verses sound so similar

· 2 Ne 9—That without the atonement the flesh would lay down to rot and crumble, and
· D & C 2—That without ordinances for the dead, the earth would be utterly wasted a Christ’s second coming.

Because when we perform ordinances for the dead, in a similar way to Christ’s atoning sacrifice for us, we are doing something for someone else that they could not ever in eternity hope to accomplish for themselves. And that’s one of the best ways I can think of to learn about the nature of God and our relationship with him. And that, I hope, gives you a completely new perspective on temple work and a new determination to be more regularly engaged in temple work—to help those up who have died without the ordinances of the gospel.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “That which goes on in the House of the Lord … comes nearer to the spirit of sacrifice of the Lord than any other activity of which I know. Why? Because it is done by those who give freely of time and substance, without any expectation of thanks or reward, to do for others that which they cannot do for themselves” (Ensign, Mar. 1995, 62–63).

Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve said: “In our preexistent state, in the day of the great council, we made a certain agreement with the Almighty. The Lord proposed a plan, conceived by him. We accepted it. Since the plan is intended for all men, we become parties to the salvation of every person under that plan. We agreed, right then and there, to be not only saviors for ourselves, but … saviors for the whole human family. We went into a partnership with the Lord. The working out of the plan became then not merely the Father’s work, and the Savior’s work, but also our work. The least of us, the humblest, is in partnership with the Almighty in achieving the purpose of the eternal plan of salvation” (“The Worth of Souls,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Oct. 1934, 189).

Isn’t it remarkable that the requirement that everyone must be baptized in order to enter God’s kingdom makes it so that each one of us who participates in the work can develop a better understanding of how important the atonement is in our own lives?

Baptism was instituted at the beginning of the world. The Pearl of Great Price sheds greater light and knowledge on the Bible by teaching us that Adam and Eve were the first to be baptized. But when was baptism for the dead instituted? Baptism and other ordinances for the dead could not begin until after Christ died, visited the spirit world, and returned to earth in his resurrected form. Very little is known of the 40-day ministry during which Christ remained on earth after his resurrection to complete the organization of his church, but we do know that during this time he gave the church leaders authority to perform vicarious work for the dead. It was a very new ordinance, but it was very well understood by the Early-Day Saints at the time that Paul said

29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

In other words, if the resurrection is a reality, which it is, then so is baptism for the dead. Mormon researcher and author John A. Tvedtnes wrote that
In his epistle to the Corinthians, Paul cited the early Christian practice of baptism for the dead as evidence of a future resurrection and judgment. Most non-Latter-day Saint scholars have failed to note the importance of this passage. Some pass it off as an outmoded practice of the early church, while others believe it refers to an apostate doctrine.

But historical records are clear on the matter. Baptism for the dead was performed by the dominant church until [it became] forbidden by the…Council of Carthage in [the year] 397. Some of the smaller branches of the Church, however, continued the practice.

Hugh Nibley points out that after the apostles were all killed and no more priesthood authority existed on the earth, a great confusion arose as to what happened to people who died without baptism. Gradually the Catholic Church came to the mistaken conclusion that such of God’s children were to suffer in the fires of torment for eternity. This led to such stories as that told by Dante in the Inferno, who saw many great men and women who had lived but were now in hell. Said Dante

They are not here because of sin, [but only] for not having been baptized

By contrast, LDS Church doctrine teaches, in Article of Faith 3 that “all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” Interestingly, at about the same time that this confusion had completely overtaken the apostate church on the Asian continent, Mormon wrote to his son Moroni about the same despicable false doctrine that had crept in on the American continent:

11 And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins.
12 But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism!
13 Wherefore, if little children could not be saved without baptism, these must have gone to an endless hell.
14 Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he [is the one that] must go down to hell.
15 For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no baptism.

After Christ was resurrected, he instructed the leaders of the Church how to perform baptism for the dead and other vicarious ordinances. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one church on the earth today that still practices this ordinance. Joseph Smith could not possibly have known the details of baptism and other ordinances for the dead, yet as more and more ancient writings have come to light, the fact that the early church and the church today perform the same ordinances has become undeniable. Like so many other facets of the true gospel, baptism for the dead, taken all by itself, is enough evidence to prove that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the face of the earth, a truth that helps us understand the nature of God and that we have a loving relationship with him as we assist Him in this most glorious work of salvation of all mankind.

President Gordon B. Hinckley taught

It is tremendously significant to me that … this repetition of the wondrous words of Malachi concerning the work for the dead, was given to the boy Joseph four years before he was allowed to take the plates from the hill. It was given before he received either the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood, before he was baptized, and well before the Church was organized. It says much concerning the priority of this work in the plan of the Lord.

With that in mind, think back to the times that you have attended the temple. How many times have you planned to go to the temple and NOT had something come up that made it difficult to get there?

When you're trying to be like Christ by helping to save people, you can expect such hurdles. But now that you sense the importance, those obstacles seem a bit smaller, don't they?

;-)

Baptism for the Dead: Our Uniqueness in Practicing The Most Glorious of All Ordinances

2009-08-16T21:02:00.000-06:00

Centuries before the birth of Christ, the Prophet Isaiah foretold that Jesus would "open the door to the captives." Centuries after Christ opened the door of salvation to those who had not heard His gospel in this life, the Prophet Joseph Smith referred to the saving ordinances of the Church as the "most glorious of all the subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel."

When taken in the improper frame of mind, temple service, including being baptized for the dead, can seem like drudgery. When we understand that it is essential not only to others' salvation, but to our own as well, service in the temple takes on a whole new meaning.

In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Christ draws an important conclusion that escapes members of religions other than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While in this life, the rich man had it within his power to help Lazarus, but upon their deaths, as Lazarus found himself in paradise and the rich man in hell, Lazarus could not help the rich man. This was due to an impasse between them. Lazarus told the rich man that although he wanted to help, he was at that time unable to.

between us there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot...

That gulf was bridged when Christ, following his death, appeared to noble men and women in the spirit world (among whom was Lazarus) to organize and give them authorization to preach the gospel among the spirits of the dead. It is poignant to contemplate that one of the first people to whom Lazarus probably went following this bestowal of authority was the rich man.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is unique in Christendom, and likely unique among all the religions of the earth, in its practice of baptism and other saving ordinances for the dead. Other religions teach a veneration of ancestors, but they do not claim an authority to perform saving work for them.

Many Christians are dumbfounded when first shown that evidence exists in the Bible that the true Church practices baptism for the dead. Paul inquired of the Corinthians:

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead.

In other words, says Paul, if you believe in the resurrection of God's children, you must necessarily also believe in the ordinances that can save (exalt) them.

One of the very first doctrines that Joseph Smith was taught--not long after his interview with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and prior to his bringing forth the Book of Mormon and organizing the Church--was the importance of baptism for the dead and other saving ordinances. Moroni, when he appeared to the young Joseph on September 21, 1823, taught him that Elijah

..shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.

Doctrine and Covenants 2:2-3

Later on the intricacies of that doctrine were made more clear.

...the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children...and what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead...[the] most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel... For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect.

D & C 128:18,17

Since baptism and other ordinances for the dead must be performed here on earth, it is easy to see why those who have gone before us without hearing the gospel must rely on us to become perfect. But it is also important to remember why we cannot become perfect without them--God became perfect because, among other things, he has a perfect love for his fellow beings and is willing to sacrifice everything for them. President Gordon B. Hinckley taught:

That which goes on in the House of the Lord … comes nearer to the spirit of sacrifice of the Lord than any other activity of which I know. Why? Because it is done by those who give freely of time and substance, without any expectation of thanks or reward, to do for others that which they cannot do for themselves
(Ensign, Mar. 1995, 62–63).

Similarly, Elder John A. Widtsoe, once a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of Twelve Apostles taught that

In our pre-existent state, in the day of the great council, we made a certain agreement with the Almighty. The Lord proposed a plan, conceived by him. We accepted it. Since the plan is intended for all men, we become parties to the salvation of every person under that plan.

For reasons known perhaps only to God, some of us have received the blessings of the gospel in our mortal lives, while some of us have not yet been able to do so. It is not hard to imagine, however, that all of us looked forward in our pre-mortal life to receiving those blessings here on earth. It is also not hard to imagine the devotion we felt to our eternal brothers and sisters--that those of us who were lucky enough to find that eternal treasure first would do everything in their power to share it with everyone else.

Some of our closest friends, the memories of whom have been temporarily erased through the advent of our births, may not yet have received the blessings of the gospel. Some of them may even have already passed from this mortal existence into the world of spirits. But, like Lazarus, who eventually was able to share the gospel with the rich man, we can share it with even those of our friends who have passed on.

And we can become participants in the most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel.

My What "Beautiful Garments" You Have!

2009-07-11T14:52:00.001-06:00

What is your reaction when you see someone who is elegantly dressed? "Wow, he sure looks sharp!" "Boy, she's pretty," you'll probably think. You definitely notice. Well, you might be surprised to discover that in the scriptures we are actually encouraged to be elegantly dressed. Not physically, mind you, but spiritually. To be elegantly dressed spiritually, we will very likely have to forgo the garments that the world considers beautiful, though.

Doctrine and Covenants 82:14 states that

Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; ...yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments.

Zion "must" put on her beautiful garments. Zion will become elegantly dressed. The only question for you is whether you want to be a part of it.

How is that? We put on our own beautiful garments by acting spiritually and socially the way we know we should. When, so elegantly dressed, we look out for the welfare of others, church members and non-members alike will be drawn to us and to our Church. When we put on the beautiful garments of service we will find those around us wanting the peace and happiness that we have.

A favorite seminary scripture mastery passage comes from Section 82 of the Doctrine and Covenants as well--just above the verse I previously quoted. Verse 10 teaches:

I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.

We know what God means generally by this promise to be bound, but it's important also to understand the specific context in which He made the promise. If we don't understand, chances are good that we'll continue to walk around in spiritual rags. If so, few people will notice us and what we have. And even fewer will want it, because it won't look like much.

The secret is this--that when we earnestly strive to help others obtain their own set of beautiful garments, then the Lord's promise becomes sure. Section 82 continues:

17 And you are to be equal, or in other words, you are to have equal claims on the properties, for the benefit of managing the concerns of your stewardships, every man according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his wants are just—

18 And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church—

19 Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.

Joseph Smith taught that

A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his own family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.

History of the Church 4:227

Blessing the whole human race becomes much more difficult when we live in tough economic times. And we live in tough economic times. Elder Robert D. Hales reminds us that

The ecoomic clouds that have long threatened the world are now fully upon us The impact of this economic storm on our Heavenly Father's children requires a gospel vision of welfare today more than ever before. Whether we are rich or poor, [these welfare principles] are for us.

Elder Hales continues:

It takes great faith to utter those simple words, "We can't afford it." It takes faith that life will be better as we sacrifice our wants in order to meet our own and others' needs.

Economic hardship compels us to look inward. When we prepare ahead of time to weather the economic storms that sometimes come, we also prepare ourselves to look outward--whether to those who didn't themselves prepare or whether they have been less fortunate than us, it doesn't really matter. Even during rough economic times we can patiently and gradually pull ourselves out of the debt that enslaves us, to the point that we can begin to look outward again.

There is, somewhere, an economic line below which "every man" no longer has the ability to "improve upon his talent," below which self-sustainment can be one's only focus. It is our duty, as we seek beyond our families to bless the whole human race, to find these people and lift them above that line. Each person who finds his way above that line can then and only then begin to look outward again.

In the process of reaching a hand down to help someone up, we may have to go without that nice new suit or dress that we really wanted. We may have to settle for that late-model car or be content to stay in what we once thought was only a starter home. But, surprisingly, these choices won't seem like hardships. In the process of sharing with others the important things that we have carefully accumulated not just for ourselves, our neighbors and our friends will begin to regularly notice, "My, what beautiful garments you have!" Many of them will even ask how they can become so elegantly dressed.

And you'll have the answer. After all, aren't those the kind of beautiful garments that really matter?

We Don't Need to Rub Our Noses in the Pain of Our Mistakes

2009-05-31T20:37:00.001-06:00

When we do things wrong we suffer the consequences. We don't need to make the suffering worse by rubbing our noses in the pain that we've already caused ourselves. Parents frequently lose teaching moments by compounding their children's suffering by rubbing their children's noses in the already existent pain of consequence.

I remember vividly the day my mother taught our remorseless cat how not to poop in the house. She slathered its face in the deposit it had left on the bedroom carpet and then tossed the cat in a high arc to the grass outside. To my recollection, the cat never did its duty in the house again.

Cats don't have the reasoning power of humans; instead they live on instinct. So they don't know about most of the mistakes they make, let alone learning from them. We can "teach" cats by rubbing their noses in their mistakes, but with children of God it invariably makes matters worse.

Humans do learn from their mistakes. Mistakes bring consequences--the great teachers in life. In the Book of Mormon, Alma taught that

17 Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?

18 Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man.

Because of eternal law, our mistakes bring us pain. We don't need someone to rub our faces in that pain for it to be a learning experience. Just as well, we don't need to rub our own faces in our personal mistakes. In fact, rubbing our faces in our mistakes often destroys the process of learning from them.

In the recent movie, Forever Strong, Highland High School rugby Coach Larry Gelwix illustrates just how important it is to let the perpetrator suffer the consequences--but nothing more. Coach Gelwix doesn't rant and rave about juvenile delinquent team member Rick Penning's mistakes, either before or after he joins the rugby team. He, rather, sees Rick as what he can become. In explaining to a reluctant Penning why he will make an excellent team captain, Coach Gelwix says

You've just got to learn to listen, and pay attention to that spirit inside you. Learning to listen--that takes a lot of discipline.

We only have one...rule. Don't do anything that would embarrass you, the team, or your family.

Coach Gelwix never call Rick Penning an idiot--he never even thinks it. Coach Gelwis never even raises his voice against him. He simply taught his wayward player the rules that would bring him happiness and success. And when Rick broke one of those rules, Gelwix agreed with him that once the consequences of his actions were served, Rick could continue on with his life, hopefully on a more positive vector.

After having learned that he would become a team captain, Penning confesses to haven taken drugs during his time on the team. Gelwix immediately praised Penning for his forthrightness in admitting his mistake. If, instead, the coach had rubbed the player's nose in his pain, a magnificent teaching moment would have been forever lost. Instead, Rick Penning learned that

Good decisions don't make life easy, but they do make it easier.

You're going to have to sit out the Boise game. But, I'm sure you'll find a way to captain your forwards from the sidelines.

And that was that. Penning went on to have a stellar season with the Highland rugby team.

One of the great mistakes parents make is to rub their children's noses in their pain. Children are not like cats. They have the powers of reason. Most of the time they know perfectly well that they made a mistake. If we allow them to suffer the consequences without compounding the suffering, they will emerge from their pain a better person.

And the next time we make a mistake we'll be less likely to think that we have to rub our noses in it.

How Well are You Living the Law of Consecration? Better than You Think.

2009-04-26T19:50:00.000-06:00

In Middle Eastern cultures, when something is said three times in succession, it is meant as one of the most important things for us to pay attention to. On three of the last four Sundays, I have been taught about the law of consecration. I'm paying attention. Not only have I learned a great deal more how this law is critical to the success of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I also realized that many Church members are already living the law of consecration better than we think. And we're proving that it works.

LDS Prophet Brigham Young taught that if inequality exists among us, then the Church has not yet achieved its

Existing government welfare programs should be a constant reminder that we as a Church have not become the light, example, and support to the world that we should have become. We should perhaps keep this in mind the next time we salivate over that larger house or nicer automobile that we don't really need.

mission. It seems that all across the world, the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer.

If we wait for governments to solve this equality gap, we will see failure. Government welfare programs are the diametric opposite of the law of consecration, because government programs work largely by force, while consecration works completely by free will. Government programs seldom encourage work in exchange for welfare, while the LDS Church welfare program almost always does. You can be fined or thrown in prison for failing to do your part for government programs, but if you do not live the law of consecration, the only thing you will lose is blessings. You won't even lose your membership in the Church.

Think of how the following scripture applies in this context:

And let every man deal honestly, and be alike among this people, and receive alike, that ye may be one, even as I have commanded you.

Doctrine and Covenants 51:9

Now, let me ask you this question: when you are forced to give something to someone else, how likely is it that you will have love for the person whom you gave it to? On the other hand, if you give of your means to someone of your own free choice, do you feel differently toward them? Of course. This is the second great difference between government programs and voluntary welfare assistance. Freedom to choose to give engenders compassion between the giver and the receiver, while being forced to give does not. The harder government tries to force us to "be alike" and "receive alike" the less likely we are to become so.

Existing government welfare programs should be a constant reminder that we as a Church have not become the light, example, and support to the world that we should have become. We should perhaps keep this in mind the next time we salivate over that larger house or nicer automobile that we don't really need.

Although we do find ourselves in the midst of great inequality in the world, the Church is not completely failing in its effort to live the law of consecration. The fast offering program is the Law of Consecration in microcosm.

Our LDS Stake president has challenged stake members to double the fast offering donations that we make each month. Since then, not only have we not noticed a hardship in heeding this challenge, but we have noticed additional temporal and spiritual blessings as a result of taking that leap of faith. Of greatest note is how our Stake is benefiting from the increased fast offerings. Before the Stake President's challenge our stake often had to seek assistance from general

Although we do find ourselves in the midst of great inequality in the world, the Church is not completely failing in its effort to live the law of consecration. The fast offering program is the Law of Consecration in microcosm.

church funds to cover our local fast offering needs, while since the challenge was issued, we have been able to take care of our own and even send some of our local surplus funds to Salt Lake City. That is the Law of Consecration as it is supposed to function.

Not only is there a great difference between LDS Church welfare versus government welfare, there is also a great difference between the "free market" of the Law of Consecration versus the "free market" of capitalism. Whereas unbridled capitalism often turns into a macabre game of survival of the fittest, the law of consecration, when practiced correctly, leads to greater and greater cooperation.

The gospel not only warns us against the dangers of using force to provide welfare, but it also teaches us that a truly free market is made up of industrious individuals who look out for everyone else's welfare, and not just their own. Why? Because

...all this is for the benefit [of all], that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord's storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church.

Doctrine and Covenants 82:18

In other words, it is in our best interest to see that everyone else has sufficient for their needs. If families' incomes are at or below the poverty level, what do they contribute to society? Not much. Out of concern for where their next meal is coming from, they are likely not going to be very productive producers. Not only that, but also because of concern for themselves and their families, they will likely not be very good home teachers or serve with much distinction in community or other church capacities.

This is why we give of our surplus to help the poor. Because more entrepreneurial hands are far better than just our own. Every person deserves a basic minimum level of subsistence, and if they, through misfortune, are not able to achieve that subsistence level, it is to our benefit to help them and not to wait for government to do it.

President Gordon B. Hinckley counseled us strongly in 1998 to get out of debt. I used to think that this challenge was meant for my personal peace of mind. Now that I understand the law of consecration better, I can see that my own economic well-being isn't the half of it.

A generous fast offering is a great start toward putting us on the road to living the full law of consecration. As we take the leap of faith to give even more generously, we quickly find that we are blessed in temporal and spiritual ways that we never thought possible. Even better, as such generous giving becomes more and more widespread throughout our communities, we are blessed yet again to find that those communities become stronger, more compassionate, and more vibrant.

You, Too Can Be a "Provident Provider"

2009-04-04T12:09:00.000-06:00

A "provident provider" is one who can provide for not only him- or herself and family, but also for his or her neighbors. If we are burdened by debt, not only is our personal liberty limited, but we are deprived of the opportunity of provident providing. It's possible for anyone, however, to get out from beneath crushing debt and become an outward-looking, provident provider themselves.

A fellow blogger recently told of a friend of his who has stored up a large amount of foodstuffs for himself. He has also, however, stored up a large quantify of weapons and ammunition, in order to prevent his neighbors from getting at his cache of food. This man seems to be missing at least half the point of becoming self reliant.

He only cared about himself. He may have been living providently, but he was not a provident provider. Provident providing means that if we have enough for ourselves, we can then begin to store up more in order to help others that might be in need, regardless of their reason.

We can't be provident providers, however, if we are in the bonds of debt. For many of us to become provident providers, Elder Robert D. Hales taught in April 2009 LDS General Conference, we must overcome the addiction for things that we don't really need.

It is God's work to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life. Therefore, if we are to become like God, we must learn not only to provide for ourselves, but to provide for others. It is in this regard that Elder Marion G. Romney warned years ago that we

must preserve our talents of self-sufficiency, our genius for creating things for ourselves, our sense of thrift and our true love of independence. [We must avoid the result of spiritually] starving to death because [we] gave in to the ‘something for nothing’ lure [of government welfare].

God does not issue temporal commandments. Neither does he decree political ones. Each commandment is for our spiritual benefit. One does not understand the import of President Romney's warning unless we grasp it in its intended spiritual context.

President Gordon B. Hinckley counseled members of the Church in 1998 to get out of debt. If you didn't heed his counsel, is it too late for you to become a provident provider? No. No matter when we accomplish it, being free from debt is a very liberating and exhilarating feeling.

If we are not debt free, we miss one of the main opportunities of life, to watch out for and care for others. Being in bondage to debt tends to focus one's energies inward, while being debt free allows us to take advantage of a multitude of selfless service opportunities.

A provident provider, like the one whom Joseph Smith taught is "filled with the love of God, [and] is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race."

"If Ye Have [Been Warned] Can Ye Feel So Now?"

2009-03-15T11:55:00.002-06:00

As we become warned about the gospel, we are encouraged to warn our neighbor. But it's not a one-time thing. Being warned is a lifelong process, and we must feel properly warned continually if we expect to be able to really warn our neighbors.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:81 teaches us

I have sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.

From time to time we might imagine warning our

If we don't understand what we are warning our neighbors about, as well as the spirit of love in which we should warn them, we can do a lot of damage. As we pay careful attention to the doctrines of the gospel, we should also pay attention to loving and serving our fellow man.

neighbor to be the process of declaring them a heathen and pronouncing that they will burn in hell if they do not change their ways. If that's what we think, then we haven't really been warned ourselves.

As I was reading Section 88 of the D&C this morning, the "mighty change of heart" in verse 26 of Alma chapter 5 in the Book of Mormon crossed my mind, and it helped me gain a much clearer understanding of what it means to be warned.

...if ye have experienced a [mighty] change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?

And it caused me to realize that to be warned is to have a mighty change of heart that enables us to share the gospel with our neighbors in love rather than in mocking condescension.

It takes a great deal of knowledge as well to consider ourselves warned. If we look at D&C 88:81 in context, we see that we should

...be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in 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, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass, things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are upon the land; and a knowledge also of countries and kingdoms--

Doctrine and Covenants 88:78-79

If we don't understand what we are warning our neighbors about, as well as the spirit of love in which we should warn them, we can do a lot of damage. As we pay careful attention to the doctrines of the gospel, we should also pay attention to loving and serving our fellow man.

Then, as we recognize that we are properly warned, we can expect that our warning to our neighbors--in a spirit of love--will invoke in them a mighty change of heart as well.

This Tent is Home

2009-01-18T12:06:00.006-07:00

If we can stop ignoring Nephi's simple statement in the beginning of his record that "my father dwelt in a tent", we can probably learn some pretty important lessons about the importance of home.

Moroni wrote that he couldn't include even a hundreth part of the writings of the Nephites in what we now have as The Book of Mormon. Although it was probably more than a hundredth part of his history, Nephi obviously didn't include very much of his own history on the small plates. Considering that it was hard to write on gold plates, and that so much of the history couldn't be perpetuated on them, have you ever gone beyond thinking it strange that Nephi included the words

And my father dwelt in a tent.

Okay, so he put up a tent and lived there for a while, I used to think. Then a friend of mine gave a talk in church about "the tent", and I gained a whole new perspective. It turns out that whether we live in a mansion or trailer house, or whether we are fleeing the destruction of an ancient city and are required to sleep in a tent, that mansion, trailer, or tent is all we need to have a home.

How do you suppose Lehi and his wife, Sariah, tried to make their tent a home? Were they perhaps able to bring any decorations from their home at Jerusalem in order to make it a place that their children would enjoy staying during their sojourn in the wilderness? If we allow ourselves to wonder, it might be easy to imagine not only their evening family discussions, but also their regular reading of the brass plates. I'm sure they had some favorite family games that they were able to play together there in that tent.

If we let ourselves wonder for a time why it was important to know that Lehi "dwelt in a tent", eventually we come to realize that Lehi's tent isn't just a big piece of cloth draped over a bunch of poles anymore.

Imagine the temptation of "home" that Laman and Lemuel (and perhaps even Nephi and Sam) might have experienced as, just a few days removed from having lived there, the brothers went back one last time to gather all of their possessions in order to trade them with Laban for the brass plates. Even though the formerly bustiling domicile was now strangely silent, do you suppose they dallied a while and wished they could stay? Maybe...

But they wouldn't want to have stayed--because it was no longer home for them. Home was now where Lehi and Sariah had assembled their tent in the wilderness.

Laman and Lemuel were angry with their father for having given them a difficult assignment. They were even more angry with Nephi in their realization that, without him, they would have failed in their mission. They were frustrated enough at having to give their prized possessions to Laban as an exchange for the brass plates, but to make matters worse, he not only kept their offering, but nearly killed them as well when he discovered their designs. Yet despite all this, and despite having been humiliated by an angel for their lack of courage, still they journeyed back to that tent in the wilderness where their father and mother dwelt.

Because that, for them, wasn't just any old tent. It was their new home.

As parents, we may not be able to afford the nicest of accommodations for our children. But that's not what really matters to them. On a bad day, they may contrast their little cracker box of a house with the mansion of their freind from school, but what really matters is that home is a place that our children like to come home to. It's a place where they should like to be.

They're more likely to find home a haven if their family has something that makes it unique. They're also going to find much greater comfort at home if they know that they can trust that their family can be found there doing the things that really matter--like laughing together, like reading the scriptures together, like playing games and watching good movies together, like fasting together, and like having Family Home Evening together.

Even if things aren't going their way, even if they're angry at the world, and even if they're angry at us, if we try to make our "tent" a home, it will always be a place that they will want to come back to.

Is your "tent" home? That's what matters.

The Book of Mormon: Did the Nephites Really Never Have It?

2009-01-04T18:04:00.010-07:00

There are some indications in the Book of Mormon itself that the Nephites possessed its teachings. President Ezra Taft Benson taught that "[t]he Nephites never had the book." Are these two statements reconcilable?

Yes, they are. While the Nephites had portions of what are included in the Book of Mormon (and probably quite a bit more), they were not privy to exactly those things that Mormon and Moroni were inspired to put into what we now know as The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

As a child, when I learned that the Nephites didn't have the Book of Mormon, I imaged the people as being largely illiterate, that only the prophets could write, and that they didn't have paper. Otherwise why would they not have their own scriptures? It turns out that I was wrong and that they did have their own scriptures--just not in the uniquely abridged way that their records eventually came down to us.

Instances do exist of the records of Book of Mormon prophets being promulgated among their people. One such instance occurred during King Benjamin's speech. So many people came to listen to the prophet king that many of them had to set up camp outside the sound of his voice. The solution?

And it came to pass that he began to speak to his people from the tower; and they could not all hear his words because of the greatness of the multitude; therefore he caused that the words which he spake should be written and sent forth among those that were not under the sound of his voice, that they might also receive his words.

Mosiah 2:8

His speech was probably quite a bit longer than what we have in the Book of Mormon today. Mormon just happened to make sure that we got the most important parts.

In the days of Helaman large portions of the writings of the prophets were spread among the populace for their profit and learning.

Now behold, all those engravings which were in the possession of Helaman were written and sent forth among the children of men throughout all the land...

Alma 63:12

Apparently, the Nephites who cared to know were able to read way more

Maybe, once we understand the high-value sliver that Mormon was inspired to leave with us, we will be allowed to see the greater detail. But until then, we have a lot of work to do.

than just the hundredth part of their record, which is roughly the portion that we have today.

But the abridgement that we have today? That's a whole different story. The Nephites didn't have that. Speaking of the Book of Mormon that has gone forth to the earth today, President Benson taught:

Mormon wrote near the end of the Nephite civilization. Under the inspiration of God, who sees all things from the beginning, he abridged centuries of records, choosing the stories, speeches, and events that would be most helpful to us.

Each of the major writers of the Book of Mormon testified that he wrote for future generations.

A Witness and a Warning, p. 19

The Nephites had something that we did not--more detail. We, in turn, have something, targeted especially for us,

What we have is less detailed but much more spiritually nutritious.

that they weren't able to read; what we have is less detailed but much more spiritually nutritious. Maybe, once we understand the high-value sliver of the writings that Mormon was inspired to leave with us, we will be allowed to see, along with the doctrine contained in the sealed portion of the golden plates, the greater detail of Nephite society and learning that was abridged away.

But until then, we have a lot of work to do.

Mormon: Tell a Child What They Are, and That's What They'll Become

2008-11-23T12:48:00.007-07:00

Do we spend more time telling our children about their skills and positive qualities, or do we accentuate the negative on a regular basis? Ammaron's tutelage of the child Mormon provides an excellent example of how praise helps children reach their potential. By reading between the lines, we can guess where Mormon might have ended up had Ammaron not seen his qualities.

When the future prophet Mormon was but a lad of ten years old, a man named Ammaron came to him and pointed out something that he had noticed about Mormon. Fortunately, he didn't say:

"I haven't seen you at church for the last several weeks."

"Your seminary teacher said you've been messing around in class a lot lately."

"Your mom and dad told me that you haven't been cleaning your room lately, and that you've been teasing your brothers and sisters a lot."

Mormon may have been any or all of these things, but we don't know whether or not this is the case, because this is not what was recorded in the scriptures about him. Instead of pointing out what negative traits Mormon may have had, a wise Ammaron accentuated the qualities he saw in the young child.

2 ...I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe;
3 Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; and when ye are of that age go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.
4 And behold, ye shall take the plates of Nephi unto yourself, and the remainder shall ye leave in the place where they are; and ye shall engrave on the plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people.

Because Mormon appreciated that his mentor noticed his qualities, he was willing to accept a huge challenge--that of taking over the writing of the gold plates.

How often do we forget to accentuate the qualities of our

Every child has something that they're not only good at, but which they excel at. This is what we as adults need to discover.

own children, instead finding it easier to focus on their negative traits? No one likes to be told on a regular basis how they are not measuring up, but everyone loves to have pointed out what they are good at. Regardless of what we point out, though, whatever we spend most of our time telling our kids that they are--that's what they'll most likely become.

Every child has something that they're not only good at, but which they excel at. This is what we as adults need to discover. It was the sobriety and the skill in observation that Ammaron noticed in Mormon that helped shape Mormon's future life dramatically. Because Ammaron trusted him enough to give him a future assignment to write on the golden plates, Mormon very likely took it upon himself to continually improve upon the skills that an adult had noticed in him. Knowing the challenge that he had been given, among other things, he probably became an exceptional journal writer.

A few years later, Mormon note that

I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus.

It's interesting to wonder whether Mormon would have developed into someone who was visited of the Lord if Ammaron had not been a mentor to him and noticed his qualities. In like manner, when we more often accentuate the positive characteristics of our children than point out their negative traits, they will accept our praise as a challenge to become much more excellent than they otherwise would have become.

I Hope You're Happy. Jesus Was...Wasn't He?

2008-10-19T14:55:00.007-06:00

We had an exercise in our Sunday School class where we were asked to described Jesus' characteristics. Several adjectives were volunteered, such as loving, obedient, meek, and perfect. No one mentioned happy. In such discussions, the word happy is almost never mentioned. Was Christ happy? If so, why do we never mention it?

Quick, picture in your mind Jesus during his earthly ministry. In that picture in your mind's eye, was Christ happy...or not? Maybe it comes as a result of our Catholic Christian heritage, but we don't often imagine Jesus Christ being happy during his life on earth. We seem to just imagine that he was doing his job because he was perfect--and because he had to.

I'm not sure about you, but if I had to describe Jesus Christ's life in about 50 words or less, I'd say something like: beginning with Satan's temptations in the wilderness, about half the people Jesus knew were teasing and persecuting him. The other half were bugging him all the time asking for food or other favors for themselves or their friends or family members. Then he was betrayed. Then he suffered in Gethsemane and on the Cross. Then he died.

Does that about sum up the way we usually think about it? Why do we forget to think that he was happy? He was...wasn't he?

Of course he was. Nearly, everything he did, he did for us. Because he was perfect, he was pure in heart. Because he was pure in heart, he spent most of his time thinking about everyone but himself. That is a recipe for happiness.

When are we ourselves the most happy? When we are thinking about and serving others.

In the Beatitudes, we are taught to

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven...

Matthew 5:12

I think we interpret this almost as though, on top of all the other burdens we have, that we are commanded to somehow force ourselves to be happy as well. At least that's the way we seem to interpret it, because about half the time we either are being or expect to be teased or persecuted for our beliefs, and about the other half of the time we feel like people are bugging us for service and other favors, such as doing our church callings. Maybe that's why we forget so often that Jesus was pretty much always happy.

The way this same verse is written in the Book of Mormon should make all the difference, however, in our perspective. Instead of happiness being a commandment, it's a natural blessing of following all the other commandments. Christ tells the Nephites:

For ye shall have great joy and be exceeding glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven.

3 Nephi 12:12

It's more clearly stated in the Book of Mormon that as we emulate the life of the Savior, by looking outside ourselves to bless others, that joy and happiness will be a natural byproduct of our actions.

So, next time you're asked in Sunday School to describe Christ's characteristics, I hope "happy" is the first word that comes to mind. And I hope you're happy, too.

Anyone Can Go to The Temple

2008-10-19T12:35:00.004-06:00

Some who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claim that many people are prohibited from going into LDS Temples, and that what goes on there is secret. Nothing in the temples is secret, and anyone can attend the temple when they are ready, including brand new members of the church.

What goes on in the temple is very sacred, and therefore, those who attend must be worthy and spiritually prepared for what they will learn there. Additionally, because a certain maturity level

If new members are 12 years of age or older, they can make immediate preparations to attend the temple.

should be obtained before one enters the temple, young children are not given the opportunity, except in cases where they are being sealed together with their family members as a family for eternity.

Children must be 12 years of age to otherwise enter the temple. Beginning at this age, they can participate in baptisms and confirmations for those who have passed on from this earth life without having had that opportunity.

What interests me most on this subject is what I recently learned about new members of the church. For certain temple experiences, such as being married for time and eternity, new members must wait one year from the date they were baptised and confirmed. But if new members are 12 years of age or older, they can make immediate preparations to attend the temple to perform baptisms and confirmations for the dead.

In chapter 8 of the missionary manual called Preach My Gospel, a list of commitments is given for missionaries to use in challenging those who are investigating the gospel. The last challenge on that list says "participate in proxy baptisms." Wanting to know more about this, I asked my bishop, and he said that new members can immediately receive a temple recommend interview in which they can demonstrate their worthiness to attend the temple.

The pamphlet entitled The Holy Temple has these words:

With great effort we urge every soul to qualify and prepare for the temple experience. It was never intended that knowledge of these temple ceremonies would be limited to a select few who would be obliged to ensure that others never learn of them. It is quite the opposite.

The Holy Temple, page 2

You've heard it said before that temples are not secret, but rather sacred. What you probably didn't know is that this sacredness is immediately available to most new members. As a new member you can immediately prepare to enter and serve in the temple. Your continued service prepares you to receive greater and greater blessings.

With careful preparation, all of the blessings of the temple are available to everyone.

My October 2008 LDS General Conference Top 10 List

2008-10-05T18:40:00.002-06:00

When I was a kid, and even when I was in college, I thought LDS General Conference was sort of boring. Not anymore. There are so many interesting and scary things going on in the world now, that maybe that's why I'm so much more piqued by what LDS Church leaders have to say.

Here are the top ten tidbits that I took away from October 2008 LDS General Conference.

President Monson - Be good citizens and neighbors and reach out to those of other faiths. So often we feel so pressed upon to be good missionaries that we don't take the time to appreciate the religious diversity that is around us, let alone the great people behind that diversity. A world with only Mormons would, I think, be kind of boring.

President Uchtdorf - Whether moving a grand piano from the chapel to the cultural hall, or serving in some other capacity, "Lift where you stand". Some people want to lead, while some people want to hide, whereas we should all be content to serve where we are called. I have a calling that I give about 75% of my effort to. I guess that makes me somewhat of a hider, because my excuse is often that I am too busy with the other things that I think are more important.

President Eyring - Skillful peacemakers search for anything on which opposing parties agree. I once served on a city council, and my overarching goal was to set an example of decorum. I have not been so successful in other areas of life, but in the council chambers I am happy to say that overall decorum improved markedly during my 5 1/2 years of service. As a blogger, I (usually) try to point out constructively and kindly how I might disagree with someone's point of view. I'm glad in some instances, however, that I have reviewed what I typed before I clicked the submit button!!

Elder Ballard - Our challenges are not any more severe than those of the early saints--they are just different. We're not required to walk across the continent for the church, but rather just across the street to share the gospel message with our neighbors. I'm getting better at "walking across the street". I find that if I imagine and pray about ways of introducing gospel topics to friends and acquaintences that those opportunities come along much more often.

Elder Hales - We should answer contention with kindness. We should communicate using such means as letters to newspaper editors and blog comments to correct errors of fact, but we should always be cordial. We should speak out to help others understand the truth, but never to score points or to defend our egos.

Elder Scott - Husbands should show respect to their wives by taking charge of Family Home Evening and other activities. We should pay them more compliments. Bishops should show more respect for the insights of women on the ward council. Priesthood leaders should respect women's opinions and perspectives as much as their husbands'. Men's condescending actions toward women, including sometimes husbands toward wives, are similar to their actions toward people of other races and cultures. They are sometimes well meaning, but they are not perceived that way. In any circumstance we should try to perceive how we would feel if we were talking like that to ourselves. If a woman is as capable as a man of doing a job, she should be paid as much as the man would be paid.

President Monson - Told the story of the father who cancelled an emergency business appointment because 'the circus keeps coming back, but childhood doesn't. Also said that the fingerprints on those things around the home that you have just cleaned will disappear all too soon, so cherish them while they're there. My wife and I, as part of being debt-free (knock on wood!!) have discovered that we have more means to make memories with our children. Our youngest will turn 9 in a couple of weeks, and we're starting to wonder how so much of it has already passed us by.

Elder Cook - With the current economic crisis, there is great concern throughout the world. There will in the future be more lean years as well as plentiful years, but if we're prepared in either event, everything will be alright for us. Along these lines, President Monson encouraged us to be self-sufficient so that we can come to the aid of those over whom we have responsibility when they are in economic hard times. Considering the current economic situation, my wife and I talked yesterday that we are so glad that we avoided the temptation to buy a bigger home, because had we done so, we would have become so preoccupied with our own situation that we would have been much less able to help and serve others.

President Packer - During July 24th, 1849 celebration, the Saints in the Salt Lake Valley celebrated their patriotism to the United States despite the fact that Congress had not come to their assistance when they were losing $2 million in property and had otherwise been been persecuted for their faith. It occurred to me like it hadn't before that in some small way we can relate to blacks, women, and other minority populations who have not always been included in the group of "all men [who] are created equal", yet we understand the genius of America's founding documents and continue to use our liberties to strive for freedom and justice for all.

Bishop McMullin - Told the story of Chinese official who visited LDS Welfare Square and was so impressed with the integrity of the Church that he paid his fast offering in a "red pocket" envelope. He said "If the world loved like this, it would be a much better place." Government diplomacy may or may not be the best solution to any adversarial situation, but it has worked very well for the Church over the years. In a plethora of circumstances, including President Monson's story of how the example of Julius Fuseg of Poland caused Polish leaders to welcome the LDS Church into that country with open arms.

Okay, so I lied. These are not my top ten. Well, maybe they are. I don't know. As I wrote these, I thought of so many more.

General conference weekend is, on the one hand, leisurely, because we don't have to get dressed for church on Sunday morning, but on the other hand, it requires a great deal of effort. For priesthood holders, it requires as much as ten hours of one's time. For me, this was one of the more productive weekends that I have spent in...at least the last six months!!

. . .

One of the best parts of the weekend was sitting around the dinner table this evening quizzing the kids about conference. I was particularly impressed with what they actually heard when I thought they were just playing, drawing, sleeping, or staring off into space.

Brett’s favorite story: From Elder Cook—How the wife of the man killed in a head-on collision met the parents of the son who caused the collision and also died. They now attend the temple together.

Jacob’s favorite story: From Elder Holland—How the young man was rescued by his angelic father after he went across the river to look for some lost cows.

Feel free to add to the list, because I know I forgot a bunch of favorites!!

Zion Does Not Not Have Obscene Levels of Income Equality

2008-10-04T16:14:00.007-06:00

Instances have occurred in American history where socialists and atheists cared for their neighbors in a much better way than many Christians ever thought of doing. Too often we think that gain is godliness, forgetting that in a Zion society there are no differences in economic equality. In October 2008 LDS General Conference, Elder D. Todd Christofferson made this concept clear to people like me who have spent so much time thinking that if people are poor it is their own fault.

I was wrong. But it took the backdrop of a national economic collapse for me to notice it.

A profound change in my thinking occurred several years ago when, on a Brigham Young University-produced video, The Education of Zion, Chauncey Riddle stated that the socialist Karl Marx had correctly assessed various economic problems in the world, which occurred then and still are in existence today. That perked my ears up, because I couldn't understand why someone would agree with Karl Marx. It made more sense to me, though, as Professor Riddle stated that Marx may have seen the problems, but he arrived at exactly the wrong solutions for them.

Before the Communist revolution in Russia, several similar but smaller revolutions occurred in America, better known as worker's strikes. One of the best

Karl Marx and other socialists teach almost the same thing that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches, except for one thing: we don't advocate the forcible leveling of society. Rather, it must be done in love. But it must be done if society is to succeed.

known of these events is known as the Haymarket Square Rally in Chicago in 1886. What began as a peaceable assembly of workers striking for subsistence wages turned into a slaughter in which the Chicago Herald claimed more than fifty people were killed. People like this banded together and helped one another when they were down. Not clearly understanding what they desired, and not in the least attempting to sympathize with them, we instead revile them.

We should be ashamed.

Robert B. Reich, former US Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton notes that the first casualty of this income inequality was the stay-at-home mother:

The first coping mechanism was moving more women into paid work. The percentage of American working mothers with school-age children has almost doubled since 1970 - from 38 per cent to close to 70 per cent. Some parents are now even doing 24-hour shifts, one on child duty while the other works.

The new, second coping mechanism is working harder.

To be a Zion society, we must eliminate poverty. Are we able to eliminate poverty in our neighborhoods and wards, or are we too busy eliminating just our own?

More people work two jobs, and we are working the equivalent of two weeks longer per year than in 1970.

Our Heavenly Father's plan is much more simple. To achieve social accord, we should look out for our neighbor and help him when he is down, in part because someday he might be in a position to help us.

From the other side of the political aisle from Robert Reich (as the aisle and the sides are drawn--incorrectly, if you hadn't noticed) Ron Paul agrees with the former Labor Secretary. Congressman Paul decries

It's too bad, I think, that in these economically perilous times most of the Latter-Day Saints are unready to demonstrate the positive effects of such living to the rest of society.

the massive transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich that is ongoing.

During the Saturday afternoon session of October 2008 LDS General Conference, Elder D. Todd Cristofferson of the Church's Quorum of Twelve Apostles described the antidote to severe economic malaise. He reminded us that, contrary to popular belief, gain is not godliness. Zion has no poor. I suspect that Zion has no greedy, either, but Elder Christofferson didn't talk about that. He did teach that members of the church, if they want to be part of Zion society, must give liberally to the poor and the needy. It's too bad, I think, that in these economically perilous times most of the Latter-Day Saints are unready to demonstrate the positive effects of such living to the rest of society.

Why was Karl Marx at least partially right?

Early American socialists banded together and helped one another when they were down. Not clearly understanding what they desired, and not in the least attempting to sympathize with them, we instead revile them.

We should be ashamed.

What about Robert Reich and Ron Paul? They were right because they agreed with the revealed word of God, whether they knew it or not. Karl Marx and other socialists advocated for societies living together in equality. It's almost the same thing that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches, except for one thing: we don't advocate the forcible leveling of society. Rather, it must be done in love. But it must be done if society is to succeed.

Any Zion society must be unified, be holy, and eliminate poverty among its members. Are we able to eliminate poverty in our neighborhoods and wards, or are we too busy eliminating our own?

This article also appears on Simple Utah Mormon Politics under the title "A Healthy Society Does Not Not Have Obscene Levels of Income Equality".

Joseph Smith was a Scientist Extraordinaire

2008-08-17T13:41:00.004-06:00

Not many people think of Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as a scientist, but he was. It didn't have nearly as much to do with his own scientific abilities as it did with what was revealed to him, though.

I've learned many times before that Joseph Smith was way ahead of his time in revealing to us the health code known as the Word of Wisdom. What I don't hear so often, however, is just how accomplished he was in the sciences of chemistry, physics, and astronomy.

Chemistry. We still can't really

The more we learn from science, the more our testimony of the prophethood of Joseph Smith is (or should be) strengthened. The evidence mounts that testifies that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.

see them, but we know they're there. But even before modern-day scientists knew much about the predictable behavior of atoms and molecules at all, Joseph Smith taught this:

37 And there are many ^akingdoms; for there is no ^bspace in the which there is no ^ckingdom; and there is no kingdom in which there is no space, either a greater or a lesser kingdom.

38 And unto every kingdom is given a ^alaw; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions.

Physics. Evolutionists and Intelligent Design advocates both bring excellent insights and philosophies into the debate about the purpose of life. However, before these debate had hardly begun, we learned about the orderliness and predictability of the universe from Joseph Smith the scientist.

29 Man was also in the ^abeginning with God. ^bIntelligence, or the ^clight of ^dtruth, was not ^ecreated or made, neither indeed can be.

30 All truth is independent in that ^asphere in which God has placed it, to ^bact for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.

Astronony. Before modern man could peer very distantly into the universe, Joseph Smith knew some of what they would find, because it had been revealed to him.

In translating the Abraham papyri, Joseph Smith discovered how the planets and stars move and are governed with relation to each other

5 ...The planet which is the lesser light, lesser than that which is to rule the day, even the night, is above or ^agreater than that upon which thou standest in point of reckoning, for it moveth in order more slow; this is in order because it standeth above the earth upon which thou standest, therefore the reckoning of its time is not so many as to its number of days, and of months, and of years.

6 ... these ^atwo facts exist, behold thine eyes see it; it is given unto thee to know the times of reckoning, and the set time, yea, the set time of the earth upon which thou standest, and the set time of the greater light which is set to rule the day, and the set time of the lesser light which is set to rule the night.

7 Now the set time of the lesser light is a longer time as to its reckoning than the reckoning of the time of the earth upon which thou standest.

8 And where these two facts exist, there shall be another fact above them, that is, there shall be another planet whose reckoning of time shall be longer still;

The more we learn from science, the more our testimony of the prophethood of Joseph Smith is (or should be) strengthened. The evidence mounts that testifies that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.

It's good to have scientists today who continue to search for the truth. We can learn a great deal about the workings of the earth and the heavens by reading what they have to say. No doubt in many cases they are inspired. But none of these scientists have received pure revelation on the subject as has Joseph Smith.

Which makes Joseph Smith the greatest scientist of them all.

For a discussion on how Joseph Smith shed important light on the Origin of Life debate, read The Origin of Life: Intelligent Design?...Probiotic Soup?...or No Origin at All? on Simple Utah Mormon Politics.

Lamoni's Father: A King Comes of Spiritual Age, and a Society Prospers

2008-07-22T20:44:00.007-06:00

Most kings cause more problems than they are worth. Such was Lamoni's father--before he learned about the gospel of Jesus Christ. After he saw the light, he learned the importance of freedom of choice in the lives of his people.

When King Henry broke with Rome in 1533, he didn't just change his own religion. He changed the religion of his whole people. Many of his subjects were persecuted and killed until they left England in search of freer religious pastures.

When Nikolai Lenin took over Russia and re-labeled it the Soviet Union, he decided that the official religion would be atheism. A plethora of vibrant religions were quashed for nearly 100 years. The Chinese, under the reign of their Communist despots, have still yet to be able to worship freely. Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Cuba are other examples of the draconian way in which "kings" destroy religion.

At one time, the man known in the Book of Mormon as Lamoni's father was such a man. His religion was one of eternal

The Book of Mormon not only teaches how individuals--but also entire societies--can be transformed by the regenerative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Earth in the 21st century still has a ways to go, but there must be at least one or two "Lamoni's fathers" out there.

Nephite hatred. When he discovered that his son had joined the Church of Jesus Christ, he attempted to kill him. A near-death experience at the hands of the missionary Ammon caused him to reconsider. What happened later, however, when Lamoni's father was taught the gospel by Ammon, is far more remarkable. Following his conversion, the king required religious freedom in his empire.

1 Behold, now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a ^aproclamation among all his people, that they should not lay their hands on Ammon, or Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren who should go forth preaching the word of God, in whatsoever place they should be, in any part of their land.

2 Yea, he sent a decree among them, that they should not lay their hands on them to bind them, or to cast them into prison; neither should they spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their ^asynagogues, nor scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them, but that they should have free access to their houses, and also their temples, and their ^bsanctuaries.

3 And thus they might go forth and preach the word according to their desires, for the king had been converted unto the Lord, and ^aall his ^bhousehold; therefore he sent his proclamation throughout the land unto his people, that the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go forth throughout all the land, that his people might be convinced concerning the wicked ^ctraditions of their fathers, and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness.

4 And now it came to pass that when the king had sent forth this proclamation, that Aaron and his brethren went forth from ^acity to city, and from one house of worship to another, establishing churches, and consecrating ^bpriests and teachers throughout the land among the Lamanites, to preach and to teach the word of God among them; and thus they began to have great success.

Unlike nearly every other king in history, Lamoni's father, when he converted to another religion, did not compel his subjects to do the same. This is the mark of a leader who has found the truth.

The world needs a whole lot more leaders who lead by persuasion and not by force.

The greatest devastations in history have been caused by dictatorial leaders, as well as by other leaders who prop them up through world political intrigue, rather than propagating freedom that the enslaved peoples so crave.

Great devastation can be healed when leaders grant freedom to their enslaved peoples. Lamoni's father shows what remarkable social progress can occur when a leader becomes transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ into a leader who understands and reveres the importance of freedom of choice for all. By no means everyone dropped what they were doing and joined Lamoni's father's new church, but society prospered greatly because of a newly found freedom of choice.

18 And they began to be a very ^aindustrious people;

The Book of Mormon not only teaches how individuals--but also entire societies--can be transformed by the regenerative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Earth in the 21st century still has a ways to go, but there must be at least a few "Lamoni's fathers" out there.

Laying Down Our Weapons of Rebellion

2008-07-13T19:34:00.004-06:00

In the Book of Mormon, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies determined it would be best to die rather than take up arms in self-defense. How could death be more important than self-defense? When self-defense leads to rebellion against God, a willingness to die is eternally more important. We can learn from the example of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies by laying down the weapons of our personal rebellions against God.

When Alma and the sons of Mosiah went as Nephite missionaries among the Lamanites, they were able to persuade and convert thousands of those who had previously been taught to hate the Nephites due to a propagandiacal litanty of supposed historical wrongs done to them by their former brethren. As the unconverted Lamanites witnessed the stream of defectors turn into a torrent, those not touched by the message of Christ and his gospel became enraged at their erstwhile Lamanite cohorts.

Why was it, then, that the converted Lamanites buried their weapons of war deep in the earth, knowing full well that an attack upon them by the uncoverted Lamanites was very likely? Of this occasion, the Book of Mormon states that

they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.

Having been taught in all the propaganda and warfare against the Nephites that was the Lamanite social custom, it is likely that the Anti-Nephi-Lehies had previously, as Lamanites, become very skilled in the art of death. It is also very likely that they buried their weapons of war because, had they taken them up in self defense they may have found that they still enjoyed the bloodlust of killing that they had been conditioned to enjoy. Rather than taking a chance on rebelling once more against God, and rather than losing their testimonies of the truth, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies chose instead the likelihood of death.

What sorts of weapons of rebellion do we have in our own lives? One that I am personally aware of is gambling. In my college days I hung out with people who liked to drive to Nevada and gamble occasionally. I gradually found myself enjoying the thrill of the money chase. On the day that I noticed myself on the verge of a gambling addiction, I foreswore the practice, and I have never gambled since. I'm still afraid of what the result might be.

Someone who has never been tempted by the addiction of alcohol can perhaps associate with friends who do drink and not be themselves tempted to drink. But the person who has overcome an alcohol dependency would be foolish to associate with such a crowd.

We all know our limitations. To flirt with those limitations is to rebel against God--and our potential to become Gods ourselves. It would be much better for us, recognizing those limitations, to bury our own "weapons of rebellion" deep in the earth, as did the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.

So That's Why We Don't Know the Date of the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood!

2008-05-17T14:00:00.005-06:00

Why is it that we know the exact date and almost the exact place that the Aaronic Priesthood was restored to the earth, but we don't know such details about the Melchizedek Priesthood? Joseph Smith deplored the fact that this information wasn't recorded, but there seems to be good reason for it.

On May 15, 1829, the Aaronic Priesthood was restored to earth by John the Baptist when he appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on the banks of the Susquehanna river not far from where the prophet was living at the time. Not long thereafter, Peter, James, and John appeared to Joseph and Oliver and gave them the priesthood. The date and exact place are not recorded. Why don't we know more about it?

Because of this oversight, Joseph later said that

Now we cannot bear record to the church and to the world, of the great and glorious manifestations which have been made to us, with that degree of power and authority [that] we otherwise could...

Ivan J. Barrett,Joseph Smith and the Restoration, p. 125

In Doctrine and Covenants 128, we learn that the Melchizedek priesthood was restored "in the wilderness between, Harmony, Susquehanna County, and Colesville, Broome County", a much less precise description than that of receipt of the Aaronic priesthood. There is our first clue. Joseph and Oliver didn't know exactly where they were when they were visited by the ancient apostles.

Joseph and Oliver were frequently on the run from the mob during that time. In his book, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Richard Lyman Bushman tells us that the mobs were combining regularly against Joseph, Oliver, and their fledgling new religion that was becoming more and more popular. Laying in wait, men attempted to tar and feather them. They tore down dams that had been put in place in order to baptize members into the church. And foremost, various detractors brought Joseph and Oliver--over and over again--up on trumped-up charges for which they had to appear at trial.

Erastus Snow reported later that

Peter, James and John appeared to Joseph and Cowdery "at a period when they were being pursued by their enemies, and they had to travel all night, and in the dawn of the coming day, when they were weary and worn, who should appear to them, but Peter, James, and John, for the purpose of conferring upon them the apostleship."

Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, page 118

Addison Everett later testified similarly that it was at one of these so-called "legal proceedings" that Joseph and Oliver were able to escape from a window of the courthouse and run into the dense forest nearly all night long to escape their captors.

...some of the time in deep mud and water, and in the afterpart of the night Oliver became exhausted, and he (Joseph) had to almost carry him. Just at the break of day Oliver gave out and exclaimed, 'How long, O Lord? How long, Brother Joseph, have we got to endure this thing?' 'There,' said Brother Joseph, 'At that very time, Peter, James, and John came to us and ordained us to the Apostleship.'

Joseph, despite being frustrated for not recording the date of the restoration of the Melchizedek priesthood, definitely had a good excuse!

LDS General Conference Reflections - Sunday Afternoon

2008-04-06T16:02:00.003-06:00

Saturday afternoon's General Conference session made me realize just how this General Conference sped by. I'm glad I took notes, so that I can hopefully go one better than just remembering that it was a "really good" conference weekend. The settling of the prophetic mantle, memories of war, the importance of mothers, and how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is undeniably Christian--these are the punctual thoughts of my Saturday afternoon.

I think I maybe know why President Monson didn't look so well when he held his first news conference after becoming president of the Church. I did not realize that his wife Frances had been in a coma for 27 days after a bad fall. Last night during the Priesthood session he looked great!

The Mantle of the Prophet Descends - I admit to having felt something remarkable as I watched President Monson speak in the Priesthood session last night. No, not the fact that he can wiggle his ears--that was remarkable as well--but that he is different now that he is the prophet. This afternoon, Elder Jeffrey Holland described it better than I can when he described the settling of the prophetic mantle upon Thomas S. Monson. And now I know what it was that I felt--the same thing that Elder Holland did.

Memories of War - Elder Lance Wickman brought some poignancy to my afternoon with his memories of the Vietnam war, where he served as an infantry officer. Despite the fact that my almost two years removed from Iraq hardly rival Elder Wickman's 42 years away from the war ravages of Vietnam, I have a feeling that my etched memories will be as unerasable in 40 years as his are now. I find it remarkable that Vietnam is such a thriving country today, and hope that the gospel will go there soon.

The Unconquerable Role of Mother - It was very refreshing to hear Elder M. Russell Ballard talk of his--albeit few and far between--experiences with "motherhood" that have given him a newfound respect for his wife, daughters, and granddaughters. He wisely counseled that there is no one perfect way to be a mother, including the fact that some mothers have to find employment to supplement their families' income. Husbands should take a more active nurturing role, although they aren't as natural at that task, and they should show respect and recognition to their wives for all that they do.

Unassailable Evidence of our Christianity - From an interest level, there was no talk better for me than the one given by Elder Jeffrey Holland. The concept, which was a continuation of his October 2007 Conference talk, is interesting enough that I hope he writes a book about it. He elucidated how unreasonable it is to think that the scriptural canon should be closed, especially because the Bible we have today was not assembled into its current form for centuries after the Book of Revelation (as well as the other books in the New Testament) was written. There were those who called themselves Christians long before the Bible was assembled, so to simply define someone as a Christian by the Bible is not correct or reasonable. Similarly, it is wise to remember that Christ did not say that all power was given to the books that had been written about Him, but to Him. As the sage Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "God is--not was. God speaketh--not spake."

LDS General Conference Reflections - Sunday Morning

2008-04-06T11:49:00.005-06:00

In the Sunday Morning session of General Conference I learned of a promise for obeying the law of tithing that I had never heard before, re-established my testimony that we are a Christian church, that the church is magnificently organized, and I envisioned like I never have before just how international is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In the October general conference I received during President Boyd K. Packer's talk a confirmation like I haven't for a long time that the leaders of our church are called of God. Similarly I was impressed by what he said this morning.

Church Authority and Organization - President Monson explained very clearly--especially for those who are not familiar--the process by which 14 apostles took their places in the Quorum of Apostles until, following President Gordon B. Hinckley's funeral, they met fasting in solemn assembly to follow the process of sustaining President Monson as the next person authorized to hold all the keys of the priesthood on earth--a process that is clearly established and carefully followed each time a prophet passes. I couldn't help but think about the confusing and difficult contrast with which other churches select new leaders.

Similarly, President Packer made a profound point about the authority in the LDS Church. Clearly the Savior established the his church with authority vested in a quorum of apostles. Ironically, the LDS Church, the only church which still has such a quorum and such an evidence of Christ's authority, is described as a non-Christian church.

I was impressed as well with the retelling of President Kimball at the statue of Christ and the apostles in Denmark. Pointing to the keys held (I think) by Peter, he told the accompanying stake president, "Tell everyone that I now hold those keys."

The Mighty Change May be Gradual - Elder D. Todd Christofferson answered for me a question that I sometimes struggle with--why does it seem that I have never had a mighty change in my heart? His answer--I probably have. Those whose mighty change is sudden make up a very small percentage of those who experience that change. Besides, we should experience such changes on a regular basis.

Respect for Diversity of Religion, Culture, etc. - I think it is a bit dogmatic to claim that because someone does not join the LDS Church in this life that they won't have another chance. This opinion seemed to be buttressed by the words of President Uchtdorf. It is often that people of other faiths become impressed by the doctrines of the restored gospel, said President Uchtdorf, but they fear to disappoint their ancestors by leaving a faith that has been part of their heritage for generations. Members of the church come from all cultural backgrounds, political situations, cultures, and religious traditions. These are facets of life that we as members of the church should become more aware of and respectful of. In realizing that he is related to Martin Luther, President Uchtdorf developed a newfound honor and respect for people of all religions--something we all could cultivate a little more of in our lives.

Tithing - A New Blessing - I've seen many blessings in my life from tithing, but I've only ever noticed the temporal ones. We've always had enough for our needs, we've often found good deals on various purchase items, and we've had automobiles that have lasted far beyond our expectations--not to mention the dates they were completely paid for. When, Elder Child taught that our spiritual sense is sharpened through the paying of tithing, I'll admit that it's something I had never quite thought about before. Because we are entitled and even encouraged to expect blessings from our faithful payment of tithes, I will now add to my list to notice and be thankful for the spiritual ones as well.

LDS General Conference Reflections - Saturday Afternoon

2008-04-05T15:57:00.016-06:00

In the Saturday afternoon session of LDS General Conference I noticed not only the importance of showing love to those in and out of our faith, and how the holy Spirit speaks to us, but I learned about some powerfully valid metaphors--gates and cookbooks. I noticed as well a common thread in both Saturday sessions--a reminder that scientific and spiritual truths compliment each other.

I don't recall whether the prophets before President Gordon B. Hinckley talked in nearly every session of general conference, but it is interesting to note that new church President Thomas S. Monson has not spoken in either of the Saturday sessions, except to conduct the morning one.

The Gate Metaphor - While Elder L. Tom Perry spoke of baptism as a gate to a binding covenant between God and man, Elder Gerald Lund portrayed a gate metaphor that I hadn't heard before. He spoke of the Holy Ghost coming into our heart, but asked whether the gateway to some of our hearts is sheathed with padlocks and razor wire.

The Science of the Holy Spirit - The Holy Ghost brings the confirmation if truths unto our hearts, but we must let that confirmation into our hearts. God will not force us to accept the truth. The Holy Ghost is Spirit so that He can speak directly to our spirit. It will be fantastically interesting to someday understand the science behind how that process--spirit meshing with spirit--works.

The Importance of our Social Lives - A hispanic member of the seventy (sorry, I was talking during the intermediate hymn!) spoke of the effect of service on our lives--it makes us feel less selfish, less offended by others, more cheerful, and more at peace. I need to work on this one; sometimes I get so wrapped up in the books I read that I don't take enough time to see how others are doing. We should make it a part of our general conversation, Elder Oaks said, to discuss facets of the gospel with others, including to praise our children's testimonies in additional to already praising their academic and athletic accomplishments. This is one of my favorite things to do--in the past week I have discussed with non-member friends the Fast Offering program and the Church's stand on the theory of evolution, and I taught a couple of my kids the difference between immortality and eternal life--before Elder Perry talked about it Saturday afternoon! Oaks also reminded us not to speak shrilly, even when correcting misconceptions that others have about our church, but to remember that "one being is as precious in his sight as the other."

Cookbooks and Recipes - It was a simple metaphor, but one that will be hard to forget now that Elder L. Tom Perry described it. The scriptures are like the cookbook that shows us a completed recipe so that we can envision what we can accomplish if we follow the directions correctly. If at first we don't succeed, we have the picture to show us the ideal, and we can improve by trying again.

Scientific and Spiritual Knowledge - Elder Oaks taught that while all knowledge is gained by doing something, not all knowledge is based on physical evidence. Spiritual knowledge is based on spiritual evidence, which is the fruits of asking for truth or confirmation in prayer, studying the scriptures, and (interestingly enough) the bearing of testimony (which is strengthened as a blessing for the bearing of it.)

LDS General Conference Reflections - Saturday Morning

2008-04-05T11:55:00.004-06:00

The solemn assembly proceedings of LDS General Conference Saturday morning were almost magical--as we sustain the leaders of the church, we stand with God, who sustains them as well. I never would have guessed that D. Todd Christofferson would be the new member of the Quorum of Twelve. I wondered how I would feel to sustain President Monson after the death of President Hinckley. I now know--President Monson is a prophet of God.

Here are some of the more interesting and poignant thoughts I've had during the Saturday Morning Session:

Elder Christofferson - The Deseret News was the first organization to report on the calling of D. Todd Christofferson to the Quorum of the Twelve. The St. George Daily Spectrum was second. Among bloggers, Bob Agaard appears to have taken the prize--and beaten all news organizations to the punch.

Family - Sister Cheryl Lantz spoke of the importance of family traditions. For Spring Break this year, we are going to Grand Canyon. Elder Nelson referred to the family as "God's laboratory of love and service." Someone said that stable families hold society together. Interestingly, many forces in the world today, including governments, are trying to tear the family apart. Big mistake.

"A Vibrant Orchestra of Personalities" - I hope I got Elder Wirthlin's quote right, but however he said it, I absolutely loved the metaphor. He reminded us that no LDS meetinghouse has any sign that says "Restricted Entrance--Perfect People Only." Some people feel that because they are different than some imaginedly established norm that they do not belong in the church. Everyone is different in some way, and this knowledge should enable us to put our arm around anyone--whether they want to be a part of our church or not--whether they be homosexual or straight, black, brown, or white, Republican or Democrat, American or from some other country.

The Importance of Respect for Natural and Spiritual Law - My favorite talk of the session, because of an issue that I have been studying in depth lately, was from a general authority whose name I don't even know. He said

Scientists did not create the laws of nature; rather they discovered it.
We can know of these laws of nature, according to the Apostle Paul, through the help of the Spirit.
Natural and spiritual laws keep life in balance. Understanding and keeping laws enables progress toward perfection.
No law (neither natural nor spiritual) was established based on popularity.
Spiritual laws are not as tangible as natural laws, but they are just as impactful in our lives.

The Inevitable Success of the Church - Only the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has the authority to seal--to act in the name of God. The Great Apostasy was tragic, but it was foretold. The church will not only not be taken from the earth again, but it will get better, as Christ's Church will be spiritually prepared for his coming. That should make us determined to meet that criteria. There is great power in every corner of the Church. It is marvelous to contemplate what "the same sociality" will be like in the next life, when coupled with eternal glory. The church will increase in rate of numbers as its members seek out, help, and invite those who are trying to escape the problems of the world (immorality) or to endure them (natural disasters).

President Eyring bore powerful testimony as he spoke of having already seen several distinct evidences that God not only called, but sustains President Thomas S. Monson as President of the Church.

Only Contrite Spirits Look Forward with an Eye of Faith

2008-03-10T18:18:00.007-06:00

If all we have is a broken heart when we commit sin, we'll only wallow in self pity and never get anywhere. Only with a contrite spirit will we be able to imagine ourselves as we really can become.

I have often wondered why we can't just have a broken heart when we commit sins, but that we must also have a contrite spirit.It recently became much clearer to me.

A broken heart might be broken only because its sins were discovered by someone else. Contrition, on the other hand, embodies sincere sorrow for sin as well as a sincere desire to make things right. Contrition is

sorrow for and detestation of sin with a true purpose of amendment, arising from a love of God for His own perfections

The Nephite warriors in Mormon's army suffered a broken heart, while the Nephites who heard King Benjamin's speech also had contrite spirits. If we feel sorry for ourselves and think we are worthless, we are only seeing the broken-heart part of the repentance equation.

Some time ago I heard of a basketball study that was done. A group of people were split up into two equal groups. For a period of time, members of one group was to shoot 100 free throws per day. During that same period, individuals in the second group were to go through the mental motions of shooting 100 free throws per day.

At the end of the week, members of both groups had improved nearly equally in their foul shooting. Why? Because what we think or imagine can have a great effect on us--for good or evil.

In our priesthood lesson Sunday, I received a new insight about the following scripture

15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

I'd read it before, and I'd noticed it before, but until yesterday, I didn't really understand what it means to have "an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality". It's all about imagination.

Just like the free throw shooter who doesn't really ever shoot free throws, yet still gets better, I can imagine myself getting better by deciding in my mind to avoid situations that I may not have yet encountered. Ultimately, Alma 5:15 reminds me that I can imagine myself becoming like God.

. . .

I've committed my fair share of sins. Haven't we all? If all I have is a broken heart, I'll just be focusing on myself, and I'll never be imaginative. But if I combine with my broken heart a contrite spirit, suddenly I can become anything I can imagine.

Mormons, Blacks, The Priesthood, and Eternal Life

2008-03-05T07:36:00.005-07:00

Great controversy has surrounded the fact that at one time Black men could not hold the Priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. What is not controversial, however, is that blacks and members of all races have always been able to qualify for eternal life in God's kingdom.

We still don't know why Blacks for a time could not hold the priesthood. Various people gave their opinions as to why, but the only thing we know for sure is that that episode is all behind us. Every worthy male can now hold the priesthood.

What was never in doubt though, is that blacks could be members of the Church, and that they could qualify for eternal life. Joseph Fielding Smith said it this way:

The only souls coming to this world who are under restriction are the Negroes, and they cannot hold the priesthood; but Negroes may be baptized, and we have many Negroes in the Church. Therefore, by what right or reason are we going to deprive innocent children whether they are black, brown, or yellow who die in their infancy-innocent and without sin-from entering the celestial kingdom? If a Negro can receive the celestial kingdom by baptism, and the Chinese, Japanese and all other races, where would there be consistency in saying that any children, because they are born under adverse circumstances, should be deprived of entrance into that kingdom? It seems definitely clear that the Lord means exactly what he said to the Prophet Joseph Smith.”

Doctrines of Salvation 2:55

It's interesting, in a time of continuing racism, inspired by liberal eugenicists at the turn of the 20th century, that the LDS Church was unfairly branded as racist for its policy on blacks and the priesthood. There was no racism, only a wait for revelation. Blacks were never denied the full blessings of the gospel, which is something much more commendable than the racist policies of some that exist to this day.

Someday we'll know why blacks couldn't hold the priesthood for a time. But we'll never have to answer the question: why couldn't blacks qualify for the celestial kingdom.

Because they always could, and just like any other of God's children, they always can.

Without Resurrection and Revelation, We Would All Be Monsters

2008-02-24T19:14:00.007-07:00

In a world that is constantly tending toward atrophy and decay, it is refreshing that revelation and resurrection are realities. Without these, all mankind would eventually become monsters. Revelation and resurrection are the perfect helps for introspection and progression in a direction opposite of atrophy.

We discussed today in Sunday School class the words of Jacob. Particularly striking on this occasion to me were these:

O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

It occurred to me (things occur to us over time in concentric circles of more definite understanding) that we are saved from the grasp of this two-headed monster by two separate blessings from God:

The resurrection saves us from physical death.
Revelation rescues us from the monstrosity of spiritual stagnation.

Resurrection

Nearly every Christian creed except the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has become enmired and confused in various creeds and philosophies that attempt to dilute the simplistic grandeur of the resurrection. Ironically, the same scriptural reference (New Testament - John chapter 17) used as a basis for the incomprehensibility of unity of the trinity found in the Nicean and Athanasian creeds actually begins with an invitation by Christ to come to know our Heavenly Father. Elder Jeffrey Holland reminded us that resurrection is a fundamental part of the whole point of existence.

If the idea of an embodied God is repugnant, why are the central doctrines and singularly most distinguishing characteristics of all Christianity the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the physical Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ? If having a body is not only not needed but not desirable by Deity, why did the Redeemer of mankind redeem His body, redeeming it from the grasp of death and the grave, guaranteeing it would never again be separated from His spirit in time or eternity? Any who dismiss the concept of an embodied God dismiss both the mortal and the resurrected Christ. No one claiming to be a true Christian will want to do that.

Our bodies enable us to have power over the one who decided that usurping God's power was more important that gaining a body himself.

8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.
9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself...

Revelation

After God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, one of his first acts was to send heavenly messengers to teach Adam and Eve the Plan of Salvation, so that (a) they would not be spiritually dead forever, and (b) they could teach these things to their posterity.

Revelation is easy, so long as we listen and learn. Some, however, feel that they can get by on this earth without God's help.

The Mulekites came to ancient America without the aid of scriptures or revelation. In short order, not only had their language become corrupted, but they had forgotten all about God. Their social life suffered markedly.

Joseph Smith taught that

We admit that God is the great source and fountain from whence proceeds all good; that he is perfect intelligence...a moment's reflection is sufficient to teach every man of common intelligence, that all these are not to the mere productions of chance... (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, page 39)

Yet there are many people of "common intelligence" who do not believe in God at all. Often such people live strict moral codes, but forgo the advantages they would have by ascribing to the power of personal revelation, which frees the mind from incorrect philosophies and traditions.

. . .

Without resurrection, to rescue our bodies, and revelation, to rescue or spirits and our minds, we would have continually devolved toward further atrophy and eventual chaos. With nothing to rescue us, we would have become just like Satan. In fact, we would have become subject to the Devil himself--a situation that would have been truly monstrous indeed.

Another Look at Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life

2008-01-20T18:14:00.001-07:00

The Book of Mormon teaches us something new every time we read it. It was this way with me when we discussed Lehi's (and Nephi's) vision of the tree of life in Sunday School today. I learned what God's greatest gift really is, how temptingly beautiful the great and spacious building must have been, and what a river of filthy water might actually be like.

The River of Filthy Water

A story was reported in the news yesterday that put the river of filthy water for me in stark perspective. A man who had only recently begun to work for a farming operation in northern Utah went to round up some stray cattle and didn't realize the the ice he was walking over was a thin veneer atop an eight-foot-deep manure pit. Once he fell in, it was like quicksand, and he could not free himself from its clutches. Other farmhands, noticing he was missing, called public safety officials. They followed his footprints in the snow to the edge of the pit, and with probes and ropes were able to find and pull his dead body from the morass.

The river in Lehi's dream was not just fast flowing, from which a skilled swimmer might escape. Rather, it was filled with filth, that once you get into it, it is nearly impossible to get out. For me, now, this filthy water is like the manure pit. God will help me to not be tempted beyond that which I am able to bear, but if I choose to cross that line and jump head first into the filthy water, chances are that I'm on my own.

The Beauty of the Great and Spacious Building

I used to think that the allure of the great and spacious building was that if you went there, people would stop making fun of you. That's part of it, but as I contemplate the exquisite whiteness of fruit of the tree of life, I think that the building must have had some of its own--but counterfeit--allure.

Imagine the most beautiful building on earth that you have ever seen. Now imagine how badly you want to go inside it, to see how beautiful it must be inside. But then imagine that you have a choice. You can go into the immensely gorgeous edifice and partake of its lavish architecture, or partake of the exquisitely white fruit of eternal life? Does the choice seem a little more difficult now?

Man can create very beautiful things, but we can create nothing in comparison to God's beauty.

The Tree of Life is Different From the Fruit on the Tree

If you would have asked me before today, "What does the tree of life represent?" I would have said "The love of God." If you had asked me what the fruit on the tree symbolizes, I would have said "I already told you!--The love of God!" Today, though, I realized that they are NOT symbols of the same thing. It occurred to me that they couldn't be the same if Lehi wanted to share the fruit with his family. He already had love for his family, as does our Heavenly Father, but sharing with us the tree and its fruit. What Lehi realized is that they had to choose for themselves whether the partake of the fruit of the tree, and he feared that some of them wouldn't. The fruit of the tree is eternal life.

Nephi explained this concept to his brothers at the end of chapter 15 of 1st Nephi when they couldn't understand their father's explanation of the tame and wild olive trees.

7 And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive-tree, and also concerning the Gentiles.
8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?
9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.

How convenient. Nephi, on the other hand, was not only willing, but excited, to give what it took to learn what his father had learned. He saw, then, the same vision, and was able to explain to his older brothers what it was all about. Particularly, he told them that the fruit was God's greatest gift to us.

36 Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God

The greatest of God's gifts to us is eternal life, as we learn from Jacob chapter 5, where, several times, the fruit is spoken of as being "laid up against the season", or sealed up unto eternal life.

Never in my life did I realize that the fruit and the tree are two different things, but now it seems so obvious that God's love (the tree) makes it possible for me to gain something different--eternal life (the fruit)--to live with and become like Him.

The Gift of Both the Father and the Son

2007-12-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

As another Christmas season has almost passed into the New Year, I wanted to share with you some thoughts I had about the Christmas gift. Christ gave the gift of his life, but our Heavenly Father Gave the gift of His Only Begotten Son.

I'm sure, if you've ever watched an NFL football game, that you've seen someone in the endzone holding up a yellow sign that says "John 3:16". That verse of scripture reminds us of something that we often forget--that Christ's was not the only divine gift given to man.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

As coincidence would have it, 1st John 3:16 has a very similar message.

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us..

In one verse, God the Father gives us the gift of His Son. In the other, God the Son freely gives his life for us that we can rise from the grave in the resurrection.

In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Nephi discusses these two gifts together, but if you aren't looking, you may not notice it (1st Nephi 11).

14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?
15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.
16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?
17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

The Heavenly Messenger here reminded Nephi that God loved the world enough to condescend to give the world the gift of his only begotten son. Not much farther along in the vision Nephi sees another scene, including a similar condescension:

26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!
27 And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.
28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.
31 And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.
32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was ataken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.
33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.

Christmas time is a time when we focus on the birth, life, and gift of our Savior, but if occurred to me this year that I will make my Christmas more meaningful if I also focus on our Father's gift as well. Without His gift, the gift of the Son would have have been possible.

So when you think of John 3:16, don't forget to think of 1st John 3:16 as well. And when you do it will remind you that both the Father and the Son condescended to gift the greatest gift that has and could ever be given--eternal life.

He was a 14-Year-Old Boy, For Heaven's Sake!!

2007-12-05T06:36:00.000-07:00

Anti-Mormons in our day assail the character of the adult Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They say he was a money grubber, that he had the bizarre habit of looking through seer stones, and that he was an adulterer because of his polygamous relationships. But they do not assail the character of Joseph Smith the 14-year-old boy, because it cannot be done. In that one fact is the key to one's conviction of whether or not the Church that he founded is true.

A 14-year-old boy generally has an unassailable character. There is nothing that anyone knows about the 14-year-old Joseph Smith that would make this generalization about him untrue or inappropriate. It's important, then, to decide if this 14-year-old boy could have grown up to become a man of ill repute. Possibly, but most unlikely.

Rather than attack his boyhood character, the only way anti-Mormons can hope to assail Joseph Smith at age 14 is that "he couldn't possibly have seen Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ". If Joseph Smith the adult had had his first vision, then this might be a valid concern. But it happened to a 14-year-old boy whom everyone respected, who was not know at that time to be in search of buried treasure, who did not yet even know about seer stones, who had not had sexual relations with anyone, and whom everyone--including the pastors that told him he would burn in hell if he didn't join their church--knew to be a young man of honesty and upstanding character. Is it likely that he lied about it? Not hardly. Is it likely that he made it all up? How could anyone--let alone a 14-year-old boy--make something like the First Vision up in its intricate detail?

Either Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in 1820, or he didn't.

If he experienced the First Vision as he said he did, in which God told him to re-establish Christ's church, is it likely that God would allow him to continue in that capacity if he were a money grubber, a necromancer, or an adulterer? Of course not. If His prophet failed, why would God also allow His Church to fail?

Joseph McConkie said it appropriately: Here We Stand. If you believe that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in the Sacred Grove, then you can believe that every other essential prophecy, ordinance, and event is true as well. It means that Joseph Smith wasn't just a money grubber. It means that Joseph Smith had a good reason for and skill in using seer stones. It means that he took on additional wives because he was commanded to. It means that he couldn't possibly have been a 'dirty old man'. It means that he became a prophet and continued to be a prophet until the day he was murdered.

That's it. The fact that he was an upstanding and unassailable 14-year-old boy makes the reality of his Vision and the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints themselves unassailable. But that's not really the point.

The point is for you to ask God yourself whether it's true. It's that simple. Have you come to know that Joseph Smith saw what he said he saw?

Josef Stalin and King Noah: Joseph Smith Couldn't Have Made This Stuff Up!

2007-08-19T11:04:00.001-06:00

Among other skills, Joseph Smith would have had to have a remarkable understanding of human nature if he thought up the text of the Book of Mormon all by himself. A good example is the story of King Noah and how similar his personality is to that of Josef Stalin.

What's the first thing you do when you come to power if you want to consolidate and perpetuate your power? Get rid of anybody who might be a threat. King Noah did this in much the same way as Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Joseph Smith couldn't have known about something like this.

In the Book of Mormon, a fairly righteous man, named Zeniff, began to be old, so he appointed his son, Noah, to be king in his stead. Noah was a twit. He changed everything, making himself great palaces, consorting with all sorts of harlots, and creating around himself a cult following. Josef Stalin did all these things, too, but the most interesting of their likenesses is the way each solidified and perpetuated his power, as described in Mosiah 11:5:

For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts.

I someone is a megalomaniac, it's important to get people in their hierarchy that are beholden to their leader and to their own powerer, so that they will help the leader maintain that power.

Here's how Michael Voslensky describes Stalin's similarity in Nomenklatura: The Soviet Ruling Class

The only way of wiping out the old guard was to destroy its moral authority and turn its long years of service...into a crime.

The [newcomers] needed only a signal to fling themselves like a pack of wolves on the enfeebled old fogies who were keeping them out of good positions [in the government].(p. 54)

The newcomers to the nomenklatura...coveted the leading positions occupied by these old [leaders]. Why did the nomenklatura need [NKVD Commissar] Yezhov's terror? It needed it because the elite consisted of...Leninists and Stalinists. The latter were...chosen [by Stalin] for their political reliability. The Leninist old guard [could not be trusted.] p.53

...every appointment to a leading position in the state apparatus was carefully vetted [by Stalin or his closest associates]. He was the creature of his creatures, and he knew that they would scrupulously respect his wishes only so long as he respected theirs. p. 52

We don't have nearly as many details of the society which made the transition from life under King Zeniff to life under King Noah, but we can be assured that it was nearly as dramatic and traumatic as the October Revolution in Russia. Those who can't deal with the debauchery of such leadership sear their consciences by becoming harlots or members of the nomenklatura. When a leader whose chief goal when he comes to power is to perpetuate that power, even his eventual destruction does not return life to the normalcy that it once was. The Nephites were luckier than the Soviets (as they returned to normal life more quickly), but not by much.

King Noah had someone in his entourage who, when confronted with the testimony of the prophet Abinadi, realized that he could no longer respect King Noah. Alma, one of Noah's priests, fled into the wilderness with his small but growing band of followers, and began teaching them the truth about life and the proper role of leaders and government.

It was ultimately largely because of the dissent of Alma that King Noah fell from power. The Soviet Nomenklatura, though, realizing what equal monster they had created, had neither an Abinadi nor an Alma, so they had to hold their breath until they were sure Stalin was dead.

Muhammad's Night Journey: Vision or Physical Reality?

2007-08-18T10:44:00.000-06:00

There has been some controversy among Muslims over whether Muhammad's Night Journey to Jerusalem was a vision, or if he actually went there. The prevailing train of thought is that he actually visited Jerusalem. But if he didn't it ruins the basis for other Muslim claims to "Al Quds".

In the absence of an actual "Night Journey" by Muhammad to Jerusalem, the beautiful city still has very important ties to Islam. But if the Journey was only a vision, a lot of Islamic claims ring hollow. The city itself is not even mentioned in the Koran.

Contemporaries or near-contemporaries of Muhammad taught that the Night Journey was in reality a vision--that he didn't physically go there. Hasan al-Basri, born a handful of years after Muhammad's death taught this. Muhammad's favorite wife Aisha told others that it was only a vision. Mu'awiya, founder of the Ummayad dynasty said the same thing.

Abdullah ibn Umar al-Baydawi, "the most authoritative interpreter of the Koran", points out that in the year 620, when the vision supposedly occurred, al Masjid al Aqsa ("The Farthest Mosque") was not yet built. Incidentally, but not necessarily importantly, Jerusalem was ruled by the Persians during this period.

The inconvenient fact of the mosque's yet future existence has caused many scholars to translate this part of the Koran as bayt al maqdis or "House of the Holy", meaning Holy Temple, which did exist at the time. A shortening of bayt al maqdis today gives us al Quds, an Islamic reference to Jerusalem.

Still others claimed that Muhammad visited al Masjid al Aqsa, but that it existed in heaven rather than Jerusalem. Ja'far al-Sadiq, revered by Sunni Muslims from the Hanafi and Malaki schools, and founder of the main Islamic law school of Shia', is of this opinion. When asked whether Muhammad actually went to Jerusalem, he implied that it didn't matter, because the Mosque in Kufa was more important anyway.

Source: The Fight for Jerusalem, by Dore Gold, pages 90-92

It's Still Only Grace That Saves Us

2007-07-29T17:43:00.000-06:00

It's very important that we do good works while we are in this life. But if that was all we had to go on, we'd never be saved.

A member of an LDS Stake High Council in one of my former Brigham Young University wards had, before converting to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, been a minister of another faith. He observed that, while non-Mormon Christians rely overly much on the grace of God to be saved, Latter-Day Saints, it seemed to him, relied way too much on our good works. The reality is somewhere in the middle. Both are important.

The Book of Mormon teaches "for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." (2 Nephi 25:23). Another way to think of it is this--despite all the good works that we do (and they are important), only the grace of God can ultimately save us.

If it weren't for the grace of God we'd be in a terrible fix. Think what would have happened had Satan been able to prevail against Christ at any point in his earthly ministry.

7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite batonement—save it should be an infinite atonement ... this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery... (2 Nephi 9)

The Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that laws are "irrevocably decreed in Heaven" (D&C 130:20). Along these same lines, Alma 42 explains several times that God himself is governed by these laws. For example:

Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.

This is why the atonement is necessary. Natural law requires God to be a God of justice. If there were nothing to mitigate this justice, then our cases would be hopeless. But because He is a perfect God, He has a perfect plan to help us return to be with and like Him.

13 Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.

14 And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.

15 And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also. (Alma 42)

"I Stand All Amazed", that although God is a perfect God and a perfectly just God, he also has a plan of mercy that is open to all and that is effective in the lives of those who show forth good works as an effort to show reverence and appreciation for the Atonement of his Son.

UVCC: Learning the History of Harmony and Fayette

2007-07-18T22:45:00.000-06:00

Monday was a long driving day, but it was punctuated by two stops that made the hours of travel worthwhile--Harmony, Pennsylvania, and Fayette, New York.

By early afternoon we had dipped from southeastern New York into northeastern Pennsylvania, where we spent some rewarding time at a place called Harmony. It was in Harmony that Joseph Smith translated the greater part of the Book of Mormon, with first Martin Harris as his scribe, and then Oliver Cowdery after the loss by Martin Harris of the first 116 pages of translation manuscript. It was also here that John the Baptist visited Joseph and Oliver and bestowed upon them the preparatory, or Aaronic, priesthood.

In our visit to Harmony, we walked down the path past the spring where Joseph and Emma once fetched water, until we arrived at the banks of the Susquehanna River. It is not known exactly where John the Baptist’s bestowal of priesthood powers to Joseph and Oliver occurred, but it is profound to contemplate that we were standing at least in the vicinity of where that restorative event took place. As the sun kissed the surrounding greenery and shimmered across the undulations of the softly flowing river, the choir sang Children of Zion.

After a bit of out-of-the-way driving, we arrived at Fayette, New York, home of the April 6, 1830 restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We arrived there significantly later than closing time, but the LDS Missionaries waited for us to get there. The Fayette chapel was acoustically very agreeable to the combined voices of the choir. Following the singing of For the Beauty of the Earth, I Never Stand Alone, and When Love Came Down there was hardly a dry eye among the missionaries who had waited for us. A subsequent tour of the visitors center and the replica of the Peter Whitmer home gave the missionaries opportunity to intrigue us with various insights into the history of the church in that area.

For us, today, Fayette and Harmony are seemingly close geographically, but for Joseph Smith and his contemporaries, they were quite distant. Yet Joseph and others traveled the roads between the two towns on many occasions. Many important and miraculous things happened in these two places. As we study and become a part of history, it puts for us into proper perspective the magnificent contributions that many men and women of this area made in the early years of the church--the blessings we of today often take for granted.

UVCC: To Where it All Began

2007-07-17T22:04:00.000-06:00

The 2007 Utah Valley Children's Choir's One Nation Under God tour finished the tour part of the tour at the Mecca of Mormon theology--the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah.

A short ride yesterday morning was all it took to get us to the Joseph Smith homestead and the Sacred Grove, where Joseph Smith's query to God changed the world forever. Greg Duffin videotaped today each choir member's description of their favorite experience while on tour, and nearly everyone mentioned the Sacred Grove. One young lady told me, "I've never been able to say that I know the church is true, but only that I believe it. And then I went into the Sacred Grove. At first nothing happened. And then something did that is hard to describe, and now I can say that I know."

It was remarkable to observe a remarkable group of youth each having their own remarkable experiences as I walked the Grove's paths. Some quietly contemplated individually or in small groups as they walked the trails in reverence. Others read scriptures or wrote in their journals. Still others bowed their heads in prayer. Everyone was struck by the gravity of what had happened here 187 years ago.

As I walked, then sat on a bench, all the while pondering, the music and the words to the last verse of My Native Land coursed through my mind:

Yes, I hasten from you gladly
From the scenes I love so well
Far away ye billows bare me
Lovely native land, farewell.

The song, which I'm sure was written as a tribute to those who left their native lands to come to America, became in the Sacred Grove for me a tribute to all of us who, comfortable in our pre-mortal existence, shouted for joy as we hastened gladly from the scenes there that we loved so well. It is because of Joseph Smith that I have the knowledge that we came from a pre-earthly existence in the presence of our Heavenly Father, and that we can return to Him again some day.

For lunch, Subway catered a whole bunch of really big sandwiches at a park near the Erie Canal. We were able to visit one of the locks of the canal and watch a dredge boat painstakingly fish something from the canal floor that was obstructing the passage of water vessels on the canal.

After lunch we visited the E. B. Grandin Press in Palmyra, New York, where the Erie Canal had been built just in time for Mr. Grandin to purchase just in time a (for that time) state of the art printing press that had been invented just in time for the Book of Mormon to be printed in substantial quantities. Interestingly, Palmyra became a boom town during the era just after the Canal first came through, but since its participation in the perfect timing for the first printing of the Book of Mormon, Palmyra has relatively languished.

The elements weren't exactly tempered last night at the pageant like the stuff of Mormon legend, but at least it didn't rain cats and dogs like it has the ability to do here, and at least nearly everyone had a rain poncho. The performance was magnificent from start to finish, a product of technological marvel. One theme that seemed to be particularly accentuated was a particular sign of a failing society--an increasing disparity between rich and poor. From Lehi's dream of the tree of life, to the gluttonous portrayal of the wicked King Noah, to the annihilation of the battles of 400 AD, the pageant kept our attention throughout despite the steady and slightly cold drizzle of rain.

The events of Tuesday July 17, 2007 reminded us of why we believe. Actually...why most of us now know.

UVCC: Give Me Liberty, or Give Me...Another Bus Breakdown

2007-07-15T05:25:00.000-06:00

Saturday’s visit by the Utah Valley Children’s Choir to New York City had its ups and downs—we were way up when we visited the Statue of Liberty and way down when bus 4 broke down for yet a third time.

It was a spectacular experience to see the object of the choir’s devotions up close and personal for the first time. The Statue of Liberty is much more magnificent when you are there, and it’s easy to get caught up in the picture taking, in order to make sure that the moment is not missed.

Standing at the base of a gigantic beflagged flag pole with the New Colossus among its audience, the choir sang The Star Spangled Banner and (of course) I Hear Liberty Singing. I’d never heard I Hear Liberty sung with such fervor as on this day when we finally became acquainted with the lady the choir had been singing of for so long.

Saturday was also park ranger Bill’s last day before retirement after a lengthy career with the National Parks Service, and he waxed emotional as he told the children how they would never fully understand how much their musical eloquence meant to him on the eve of his retirement. As token of his appreciation for their music, Bill gave us an unscheduled guided tour of Liberty island.

It was only appropriate as we left Lady Liberty behind that the choir sang from the upper deck of our ferry, Miss Liberty, I Hear Liberty Singing for a final time. The cool sea breeze on our faces as the Statue crossed from right to left between us and the Manhattan skyline made the perfect backdrop for an equally perfect musical moment.

Our trip from the Battery Park bus pickup zone through Manhattan and into Queens could have been worse, but I’m not sure by just how much. Bus 4 could have broken down in the melee of Manhattan traffic, although it didn’t, which made its breakdown manageable. But it was still frustrating. After the breakdown, conversations could be heard on bus 4 such as “Are you going to book your extended family excursion with [name of bus line redacted]? “ To which the reply was “Not now!” At least we weren’t having to scramble to get to a concert last night, but we did cause several host families in Little Neck and Plain View to have to wait quite an extra amount of time.

As I wallowed in my frustrations—such repetitive mechanical failure would never be allowed to happen by the military in a combat zone—I was impressed by the contrasting aplomb with which Karl and Sueann Bowcutt handled the setback. Sueann spoke to us about the confusion resulting from the bus breakdown, reminding us that the difficulties we encountered along the way were simply preparation for something marvelous to happen at our concert in Queens tonight. I’m excited to discover in what ways she will be proven right.

UVCC: Philadelphia Becomes the Measure of Our Endurance

2007-07-13T20:49:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of the tour, performances were followed by long hours of riding on the bus, so choir members could stay up till the wee hours of the morning at the host families and still get their sleep on the bus the next morning. Near the middle of the tour, however, drive distances and times are significantly less. This is punctuated by the fact that tonight's performance in Philadelphia was the fourth in four nights.

Rush hour traffic from D.C. through Delaware and on into Philadelphia was much more pronounced than we had planned for. So we got to Independence Square about 90 minutes late with nary a place to park the buses. Finally drivers decided that buses would perform two two-bus drop-off sorties, and the occupants would make a mad scurry up the aisle, down the stairs, and onto the sidewalk. The tactic worked almost flawlessly.

Our biggest disappointment of the day was the first news to greet us--we needed tickets to get a tour of Independence Hall, and all tickets had been handed out for today.

We did make the best of our time, however. Places to see included the Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklin's burial place, the United States Mint, the Visitors Center, and the National Constitution Center.

Our circuitous trip out of the city became culturally eventful and overshadowed the fact we were 45 minutes late to the Valley Forge stake center. Across the Ben Franklin bridge from Philadelphia is a part of God's vineyard called Camden, New Jersey (we found out that we couldn't find the 676 freeway there), which has received more than its fair share of blight. Run-down housing tenements and schools dotted the landscape, a significant number of which were unoccupied. The same can be said for many of the stores in the business district. In some ways it made one wonder whether everyone was looking for a ticket out of that town. We didn't see any shootings, but we did witness a drug deal take place in front of our noses (which were hidden behind the tinted glass of the bus windows).

We were still a bit wide-eyed from the experience as we arrived at the stake center.

The performance was again very well attended. Members of the congregation bonded with members of the choir as they sang from the aisles When God Came Down to Earth and True to the Faith. After a pause following the last number, one brave soul began to clap, and it was followed in short order by sustained applause, which, to all in attendance, seemed welcomely appropriate. It is a great growing experience for a young member of the choir to be able to speak with someone they don't know--sometimes much older than they--who expresses appreciation to them for providing them with such a life-altering and testimony-building experience.

Surprisingly almost no one fell out of tonight's concert and went to "sick bay". The daily doses of vitamin C are hopefully helping, and perhaps one or two more knocks on wood will get us through the rest of the tour without serious health problems.

UVCC: Conversion, One by One, Song by Song

2007-07-12T19:42:00.000-06:00

Our second day in Washington D.C. was eventful, but no event was more choice than the announcement after the evening choir performance of one woman that "I want to be baptized."

Our drive back to Washington D.C. from the Baltimore area was befuddled first by some forgotten clothing (a round trip back to a host family home cost us about 45 minutes) and then by that time secondly, rush hour traffic. We didn't arrive in Washington D.C. until a bit after noon. We stopped near the capitol building, where the choir sang and posed for pictures. It was then a free for all for about two hours before we had to be back on the bus. The three favorite destination spots during our short stay were the Holocaust Museum, the National Archives, or the Smithsonian. There was not enough time to visit any one of these places completely, let alone try to visit all three. But in that short space of time, lives were touched as we attended sacred places.

Our attempt to get a semi-close-up look at the White House was scuttled by some sort of security incident. Security personnel would let us approach the White House fence no further than to see from an angle the red tulips in bloom near the front edge of the White House lawn. The closest we were able to get was a peek from the Washington Monument.

As we returned to the buses, an older tourist couple became interested in the choir and asked if they could be serenaded. The members of the choir who had returned to the buses were more than happy to oblige them and other passers by with two patriotic numbers.

Washington D.C., with its heavy traffic, does not make for a good place to hold a 7 PM performance on a weeknight. At the beginning, a small crowd was on hand, but by 7:30, it had filled in to become one of the best turnouts of the tour.

Among our guests at the Washington D.C. performance was a woman who was investigating the LDS Church. As she looked into the eyes of one of the young men, his song bore witness to her heart, and the choir performance became the catalyst for her to announce to the missionaries that she would like to be baptized. It was gratifying to hear the story told on the bus this morning by a young man who understood that even he could make a profound difference in someone's life. In the myriad experiences of the tour it is beyond joyful on that rare occasion when we learn there and then of the Utah Valley Children's Choir's powerful impact.

What a world it would be if every youth could experience even once the life-changing moments of a choir tour.

UVCC: Respecting Our Fallen War Heroes

2007-07-11T21:35:00.000-06:00

There have been several days which, if they were the only day of the 2007 Utah Valley Children's Choir tour, the tour would still be worthwhile. We visited Washington D.C. today, and today was one such day. Most of us had never gotten to experience firsthand reverence for the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and Arlington Cemetery. Now we have, and our lives are forever changed.

The Lincoln memorial is much grander than it appears in pictures and on television. The imposing figure of President Abraham Lincoln, flanked by walls containing some of his wisest and most somber statements compels a sense of awe at the realization that the fabric of America might have been torn asunder without his masterful leadership.

Without official permission, as it turns out, the Choir entertained and inspired visitors from the steps of the Memorial with renditions of The Star Spangled Banner and I Hear Liberty Singing. At the conclusion of I Hear Liberty a park official informed us that we didn’t have permission to sing, but it was okay, because we had planned to sing only two songs anyway.

As we approached the Vietnam Wall, I noticed a gentleman locate, using a large catalog, the name of a perhaps fallen comrade. As we walked down the gentle incline toward the mall, my attention was drawn toward a small group of people tracing with pencil onto a paper the name of an extended family member who had fallen in battle. Items of tribute had been placed at the base of the granite walls of the Vietnam memorial, put there to honor our heroic dead by friends and family members. Various pictures, American flags, a pair of jungle combat boots here, and a baseball cap there reminded us of the cost of freedom and how that cost is paid to some extent by us all. As I stood where the Washington Monument and the pinnacle of the White House dome were able to reflect themselves from one of the memorial panels and into my camera lens, I contemplated the history of United States' attempts to instill liberty across the world, sometimes with great success, and other times with monumental disaster and sorrow. For me, the Vietnam Wall seems to me a place of healing for both American sides of a divisive political conflict.

We arrived at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the stroke of midday, just in time to make way for the approach and changing of the guard. The process takes all of 12 minutes and is performed with flawless precision. Interred in the Tomb of the Unknown are representative remains of service members from World Wars I and II as well as the Korean War. The remains of representative of the Vietnam fallen were subsequently identified with the use of DNA, and it is now likely that the Tomb of the Unknown will no longer need to house the remains of service members from current and future wars.

Four members of the Choir tour—Scott Carson and me, who both served in Operation Iraqi Freedom; Darwin Thomas, who served during World War II; and Sam Bowcut, who recently graduated from Basic Training--received the distinct lifetime honor and privilege of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The ceremony was simple, but nonetheless profound in a way that no member of the Choir tour is likely to forget. The fact that we were able to lay the wreath was an achievement of the somewhat miraculous. At first the wreath that was delivered was not in accordance with protocol, so a new wreath had to be sent, which arrived just in time. However, because we arrived slightly behind schedule, we were told that we would no longer be able to perform the ceremony. As we walked away thinking of what might have been, we were called back and informed that we could perform the ceremony after all. Hence the pieces fell into place that allowed us to accomplish a task the which I would never have dreamed to be a part of.

I had begun to wonder, as each successive choir tour performance came and went, whether my rapt attention to the choir would begin to dim. With our visit to the sacred shrines of Americana fresh in my memory, tonight's performance in Baltimore would not be that night. I still thrilled to the rousing final verse of I Bid My Native Land Farewell, and a stirringly unique version of The Star Spangled Banner, complete with silent video accompaniment. The music of the Utah Valley Children’s Choir’s One Nation Under God Tour will never become old.

UVCC: The Bus Breakdown on I-95

2007-07-10T21:23:00.000-06:00

There’s a first time for everything. Tonight’s performance was the first time that the choir performed in their T-Shirts and street clothes, and all because of a bus breakdown.

We were on Interstate 95 about 20 miles from the Fredericksburg LDS Stake Center, and we were way behind anyway because of the rush hour traffic. As we wondered how we’d make up for lost time, bus #4’s brakes locked up while the bus was traveling in the middle lane of freeway traffic. Cars and trucks streamed around both sides of the wounded behemoth, and it was with some trepidation we limped it to the shoulder of the road. It was quickly determined that the choir children would pile onto one of the other buses in order to make it to the church on time. But bus 4 contained the luggage of nearly every member of the alto section.

The choir did make it to the stake center in good time, got a quick bite to eat, and performed to a very appreciative crowd of about 400 people. Those of us who had stayed behind to transfer luggage from the disabled bus made it in time to hear the final two numbers: I Never Stand Alone, and True to the Faith.

We had the great good fortune of staying with Brother and Sister Maurice and Alicia McBride in Fredericksburg. Maurice works as an attorney for a petroleum consortium in Washington, D.C. Both Maurice and Alicia had been involved with similar choirs in years past in the Washington D.C. area, and wished they could start up another choir.

Fredericksburg is the site of various battles that cost the greatest number of lives during the Civil War (Antietam is known as the battlefield where the greatest one-day loss of life occurred). The boyhood home of George Washington is also in the Fredericksburg area.

UVCC at Lincoln's Tomb

2007-07-09T20:37:00.000-06:00

Before traveling as far as Columbus, Ohio for the night, the Utah Valley Children's Choir and chaperones paid their respects at the tomb of Abraham Lincoln.

The Choir sung beneath the majestic Lincoln’s Tomb in Springfield, Illinois this morning under balmy skies. Those who were not of our group enjoyed the thrilling music as much as we did. Sometimes I wonder if the children of the choir sing so often that it loses the spiritual magic for them. It is a surety that it does not for their parents and other chaperones. As they sang I looked down the long train of grass to the flag and tree-lined streets to the south, and to the grave-lined hillsides sheltered by trees to the east, and I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful place to hear such music as The Battle Hymn of the Republic, The Star Spangled Banner, and I Hear Liberty Singing.

The choir and entourage walked slowly and reverently through the long halls of Lincoln’s tomb. Also buried there are President Lincoln's wife and children.

Later in the day, the clientele of the Columbus, Ohio Hometown Buffet were treated to a rendition of I Hear Liberty Singing.

Utah Valley Children's Choir Visits Springfield, Illinois

2007-07-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

The second stop for the Utah Valley Children's Choir (UVCC) was Springfield, Illinois, where we spent the weekend.

Tour members stayed Friday and Saturday nights with host families from one of two Springfield LDS wards. The ward that I attended met at 9 AM for their 3-hour block of meetings. Chaperones staying at the hotel thought that the second block of meetings began at 1 PM, but since it actually started at 12:30, they were slightly late.

LDS life outside of Utah is much different, bringing logistical problems that we don’t often think about, and revealing mindsets that can’t be taken for granted here like they are where more than half the people are Mormon. The Springfield stake covers 70 miles square. The ward that we attended has an activity rate of less than 30%. Because of the wide geographic area, home and visiting teaching require large amounts of dedication, especially when so many ward members seldom or never attend church. One way that this cat has been skinned is to give home and visiting teachers primary and secondary home teaching lists. Those on the primary list are visited hopefully every month, while for those on the secondary list (those that are more apt to attend church meetings) a quarterly visit is seen as successful. As is practical, people are assigned to each other in as close proximity as possible so that it doesn’t take the better part of a day (or more) to visit families widely dispersed around the ward.

In our ward back home, fast offering routes are split up into areas each comprising 3 or 4 square blocks. Not so here. Fast offerings are collected here on a much more limited basis. A higher percentage of fast offerings are donated in conjunction with tithing. Because you must drive to collect fast offerings, fathers accompany their sons on their fast offering routes. But because some homes are so far from the church, fast offerings are collected on a rotational basis, perhaps every other month, and sometimes even less.

More so than in Utah, visits from the Bishopric, group presidencies, or home/visiting teachers are the only contact that some members have with the church. Sometimes fast offering visits provide that only contact. Because of the high inactivity rate in this area, there are many ward members that other ward members have never met. Recently the Springfield wards enlisted the help of the full-time missionaries in finding the members who had become lost. In several cases, ward members hadn’t lived at the addresses known to the church for several years. This has the unintended consequence of increasing the actual percentage of activity in the ward, but the unfortunate side effect often is that more membership records are sent to church headquarters as “forwarding address unknown”. Interestingly, internet search engines have been helpful in some instances of finding where former ward members have moved to.

The non-Utah Saints don’t take kindly to being referred to as “the mission field,” by the way. This is a provincial colloquialism that I don’t especially like to hear from church members in Utah, either. Isn’t the entire earth the mission field?

The Springfield ward building was packed to capacity tonight as the choir performed. Members and friends came from as far away as Decatur to be in attendance. One college professor who attended with a member friend was very particularly impressed with the choir’s performance. He said “I have decided that your church has the goods.” Hopefully he will soon choose to be baptized.

It is inspiring to observe when the Spirit strikes with great power individual members of the choir as they sing their message, which I noticed that it did with some of the girls in the alto section near whom I was sitting tonight. Being one whose emotions of that sort are constantly close to the surface anyway, I was overcome while watching them sing through Spirit-filled hearts and tear-filled eyes.

Part of the irony of the performances is hardly ever knowing whether or how the clear spiritual motivation provided by the choir specifically motivates those in attendance to re-charter their lives for the better. What is usually clear—and tonight was no exception—is that such a motivation was evident and that many people’s lives were touched by it.

Utah Valley Children's Choir Invades Topeka

2007-07-07T20:21:00.000-06:00

The Utah Valley Children's Choir has begun its 2007 summer tour. For the next few days I will be posting here some of the highlights of the tour. Our first stop was Topeka, Kansas.

The 21-hour bus ride from Spanish Fork, Utah was long, but it was endurable and was over almost as suddenly as it began. With various scheduled rest breaks, everyone was able to go to the bathroom, refill their water bottles, and stretch their legs. The only complaint was that most of us wished we could have taken a shower before the first concert of the Utah Valley Children’s Choir “One Nation Under God” Choir Tour for 2007.

Our first concert stop was beautiful Topeka, Kansas.

About 250 members of the Topeka community were in attendance for the inaugural performance. Something happened during this concert that had never happened before. Near the end of each performance, the choir sings “I Never Stand Alone [when I stand with God].” During that rendition, members of the choir stand at random to indicate that they stand together, until near the end of the song, all members of the choir are standing. This time, though, as the last choir member stood, a sister in the congregation stood as well, to show her solidarity with the choir. Gradually, other members of the audience rose to their feet, until nearly everyone in the chapel was standing together with God.

It wasn’t noticeable to the audience, but many choir members’ voices wavered for a moment in appreciation for the one individual who stood with the choir. There was hardly a dry eye in the room, however, as the sister’s solitary standing example began to have a rippling influence on the rest of us who found the courage to stand. One choir member said his voice wavered when the first woman in the audience stood, and he could barely sing as many of the other members of the audience stood as well. Many other singers agreed with that sentiment.

The congregation was visibly moved by the performance. Ironically, LDS Church policy against applause in chapel performances contributed to one of the most significant acts of any UVCC tour performance. The woman who first stood during the rendition of “I Never Stand Alone” later told us that she was so moved by the spirit that she had to find a way (other than applause) to demonstrate her overflowing appreciation for the choir performance. She found that outlet by standing with God and with the Utah Valley Children’s Choir.

The Double Importance of Bothering the Unjust Judge

2007-06-17T18:28:00.000-06:00

One lesson immediately jumps out at us as we read the parable of the widow and the unjust judge in the Bible. The other lesson is not so obvious, but is equally important.

As the Savior taught, the parable of the widow and the unjust judge reminds us how important it is to pray. In the story, the judge became sick and tired of the widow's ceaseless questions, so he finally redressed the wrong for which she had bothered him for so long. If an immoral person will finally redress our wrongs, how much more likely is it that God will do so?

And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? (Luke 18:7)

The key to the second meaning of the parable is found in the above-quoted verse. The earth is rife with injustice and unfairness, such that for some it becomes nearly impossible to deal with the problems, let alone to think that they can be solved. A few take matters into their own hands, become laws unto themselves, and 'solve' the injustice with even more injustice. Suicide bombings and gang killings are examples of such retaliations.

Many more, however, fall victim to despair of the unjust judges in their lives, feeling that they are powerless to make a change for the better. So, rather than attempting repeatedly to seek a redress for the wrongs done to them as they should, they withdraw into themselves and cease trying to make a difference in society, when their difference could be so profound. It is remarkable in so many free countries across the globe how voter apathy is indicative of the despair of injustice that so many feel.

Christ taught in the parable of the unjust judge that developing the habit of consistent prayer will result in great benefits to the one who prays. He says

Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (verse 8)

The answer to the question: If I develop a habit of prayer in my life, then, yes, there will be at least one on the earth who has faith when he comes again. But he also says

I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.

As we pray in secret, let us not forget to stand up always for what is right as well. We may not always receive redress for our wrongs in this life, but God will at some future day make everything right--and just and fair.

The Ironic Sin of Calling the Rich Sinners

2007-06-17T16:23:00.001-06:00

It is easy to look on those who are wealthy and naturally assume that they became rich through ill-gotten means. This is the case far less often than we might think.

If a person became rich through breaking the law, they should be punished by the law. If they became rich simply by not sharing with others, this is lamentable, but to dwell on this can cause a canker in the souls of us not-so-rich.

Zacchaeus was a tax collector who lived at the time of Christ. He was rich, and for this he was not well liked. Many Jews thought that Zacchaeus, because he was a rich tax collector, must be a sinner. Many were incensed that Jesus singled him out by asking if He could dine with him.

...they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. (Luke 19:7)

It turns out that Zacchaeus was not a sinner, at least in the regard that the multitudes of people thought. The laws of the society were such that tax collectors had to collect taxes. Had he not done his job, he would have been breaking the law. In the course of doing his job, he became wealthy. Interestingly enough, however, he gave half of all his increase to the poor, and if he had ever been involved in an unethical transaction, he made it right with the taxpayer.

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. (Luke 19:8)

According to the definition of sin, those who accused Zacchaeus were the sinners. Jehovah taught "Thou shalt not steal." But He also warned, "Thou shalt not bear false witness" and "Thou shalt not covet." Zacchaeus' accusers assumed, although incorrectly, that he was a thief. In judging without the facts, they were actually bearing false witness, probably in large part because they coveted what he had.

Marxism teaches those less fortunate to hate the rich because of their riches, convincing them that they can't become rich themselves. In many cases, the wealthy bless many others with their wealth, as did Zacchaeus. In some cases they may not share with others, but dwelling on this obscures the fact that in any free society, anyone has the opportunity to become wealthy. It is an even more rare occurrence that the wealthy become that way through illegal means.

It is essential to our personal well being that we do not, as the Jews did to Zacchaeus, commit the ironic sin of unjustly accusing the rich of sinning when actually they have not.

Would My Prodigal Return to Me?

2007-06-12T13:39:00.000-06:00

Many of the great teachings of the parables of Jesus are those that are unwritten. So it is with the parable of the Prodigal Son. One of the most important ideas, when we read between the lines, is that the prodigal realized that he had a father who would take him back if he returned.

We're not sure exactly what the prodigal son did when he left his father. We are left to imagine what it means to "wast[e our] substance with riotous living." (Luke 15:13). It could easily have been adultery, gambling, or laziness. Today that prodigal son--or daughter--might become pregnant, join a gang, or turn to homosexuality. Just as it is important that we teach our children early that they are the captains of their own souls, we must as parents not rule out the possibility that our children may turn to prodigal ways that we would not have chosen for them.

We must then also determine how we would look upon such transgressions.

Do our statements and actions indicate whether we will be there for our children at the end of their prodigal moments? Does our pride that every one of our sons has served a mission alienate the last son who is having second thoughts about whether he wants to serve? How does it make a child feel if we say something such as "I would rather die than have you be immoral"? Is our personal reputation so important to us that a child who professes homosexuality or is thrown into prison would be disowned?

The son, returning, deprecated himself to his father with these words:

[I] am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

But the remarkable thing that made his return even possible was that he knew his father would be there to welcome him and love him just the same. Even while deprecating himself, he yet knew that his father still esteemed him as his own flesh.

Nothing that they can do will ever change the fact that they are our progeny. We should make it clear that we will love them regardless of what prodigal choices they may make.

We are commanded to become perfect. But we cannot do it on our own. Why, if we require the assistance of the Atonement, should we expect our children never to make mistakes?

Mingling Men's Philosophies with Our Scripture

2007-05-05T21:02:00.000-06:00

Summary: Occasionally we are warned in the church to avoid mingling the philosophies of men with scripture. That does not mean, however that we should be ignorant of what those philosophies are. It also means something more...

We are commanded to

78 Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;
79 Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, 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; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—

But it is also common to hear the warning that we should not mingle the philosophies of men with scripture. Some members of the church appear to think (having perhaps forgotten the commandment restated above about the importance of learning) that the second statement gives them a license to be ignorant of other people and peoples. Not only this, but I think it sometimes gives us a sense of smugness in that we think we are somehow not required to associate with people not of our faith. In my opinion, this feeling is wrong. We should keep ourselves unspotted from the world, but that is much different than thinking it's okay to keep ourselves from the world. Not only is this not possible, it also gives people who aren't members of the LDS church a negative feeling about the church when they see our untoward example.

Here's a question: what happens when there is no scripture that disagrees with a certain philosophy of men?

For example, what does the church teach about evolution? Actually, nothing directly. One prophet (David O. McKay) was of the opinion that evolution made some sense (because the ultimate step in evolution would be perfection), while another (Joseph Fielding Smith) wrote a book assailing evolution when he was president of the Quorum of the 12 (during the same time that David O. McKay was president of the church).

Opinions in the church regarding evolution have been given pro and con. But as far as this particular philosophy of men—there is no scripture, other than about the unequivocal fact that Adam was the first man on earth. As far as I know, nothing has been revealed by a president of the Church on the subject of evolution.

Joseph Smith taught that the LDS church circumscribes all truth, from whatever source derived. It is important when there is scripture on a certain subject that we develop a testimony regarding that which has been revealed, but that we also respect differing opinions on the subject, from those in and out of the Church. However, we need to be careful that we don’t unnecessarily hold ourselves aloof from things (or from people) that we incorrectly assume to be the philosophies of men, simply because we think that there is somewhere a scripture that disproves or disagrees with those philosophies. Likely, that "scripture" we think we know is only in our own mind.

Men, Women, and Priesthood Power

2007-05-04T15:38:00.000-06:00

Summary: In a perfect world, there would be no controversy about whether women should hold the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Too bad it's not a perfect world.

That's where the trouble comes in.

But let's look at what the priesthood is to be used for.

1. It is to be used to bless others. It can't be used to bless one's self directly. Women can bless others without having the priesthood. Women, due to their femininity, are much less likely to want to 'bless themselves' than men are.

2. The priesthood is to direct the affairs of the church. Under no circumstances should the privilege of directing the affairs of the church cause the aggrandizement of the person who does so--but unfortunately it does, sometimes in one's own eyes, but more often in the eyes of those who come under the direction of the one who uses the priesthood to direct church affairs. This 'syndrome' occurs more often as the office of the priesthood holder becomes more general, particularly as that office holder is the President of the Church. This feeling obscures the reality that we are all children of God, that we are all equal in His sight, and that some of us just happen to be in positions of leadership. This misinterpretation of the essence of priesthood power is very likely caused in turn by a general misinterpretation of what is meant by those designated as "noble and great ones" and of whom God said "these will I make my rulers." Briefly put, first--many females as well as males were likely among the throng of noble and great ones, second--many noble and great males have held no office in the priesthood other than Elder, and third--true noble and great ones would never use their office to flaunt themselves or to abuse others.

3. The priesthood is to preside.

...more to come...

The Real Reason for Paying Tithing

2007-04-15T20:55:00.000-06:00

Summary: Despite what detractors claim, tithing is not to make the church rich. We can still be members of the church and never pay a cent of tithing. But the blessings that we forgo when we don't pay tithing are too good to pass up.

I recently read a book by a former, very disaffected member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The book contained speeches and other writings in chronological order. The author's earlier writings are pervaded with not only excellent insights, but with a positive outlook on life. As he descends more and more into false accusations and personal priestcraft, his observations become gloomy and bizarre.

One of the writer's later harpings is on the fact that the LDS church is not completely open and detailed about its finances. He states that the LDS church is in impeccable financial health, which is very likely true, so they should let people know about it. Then he homes in on what is real beef is--tithing. 'Why should the church, then,' he asks, 'require its members to pay tithing, some of whom are very poor, and some who take out loans and use credit cards to pay their tithing?'

The first answer to his question is: no one is required to pay tithing. The second answer is: to look at tithing from a perspective of how much we have to pay is to look at it all wrong.

In a world fraught with instant gratification, it seems easy to want to know the answers to all our questions immediately. For people trying to become more like their Savior, this is too easy. We become better by doing things for which we are not instantly rewarded.

But the rewards of tithing come just the same. On more than one occasion, a prophet of the Lord has reminded us that the only way that some families can make ends meet is to first have the faith enough to pay a full tithe. Of course an indirect benefit of tithing is to fund church buildings and activities. But this has never been the primary reason nor benefit of the tithing program.

My wife and I early on learned the maxim "Pay the Lord first." Even in times of need, it has never steered us wrong. When we do what the Lord asks of us (and it helps when we realize that it is the Lord asking us, and not just a bunch of old men) we have a right to be blessed.

In ways that we scarcely imagine, unless we consciously look for them, we are blessed by the fact that we pay tithing. As I've looked throughout my life, I've noticed. In a way, tithing can be looked at from a self-serving perspective.

In other words, I have decided that I can't afford NOT to pay tithing.

Get Thee Hence, [Neighbor]

2007-04-15T20:38:00.000-06:00

Summary: Why do Latter-Day Saints avoid getting to know some of their neighbors? It might be in part because of a misinterpretation of LDS scripture.

Several years ago a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve reminded Latter-Day Saints that it is wrong to avoid allowing our children to play with other children simply because they are not of our faith. As I discussed this with some friends at the time, one of them told me how as a child his wife's neighbor children could not play with her and her siblings because they played with 'non-member' children in the neighborhood.

Latter-Day Saint scripture includes the story of Moses' encounter with Satan. Rather than even have a conversation with Satan, Moses simply said: "Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not;"

Members of the LDS faith are often counseled to "avoid the appearance of evil" and that to repent is much more difficult than to not have sinned in the first place. These counsels are wise, but they should not cause us to avoid getting to know our neighbors, for fear that they may entice us away from the principles that we hold dear. The closed-mindedness of Latter-Day Saints (and members of many other religions) cause us to avoid making many interesting and worthwhile friendships.

Of all religions, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teaches that man is inherently good. We LDS should put this principle into practice. Even if others don't want to hear our version of the gospel, we can still make a lot more friends than many of us habitually do.

We will be surprised to find that our "mysterious" neighbor, rather than trying to entice us away "into forbidden paths", will actually be glad, not only that we have confidence in our faith, but confidence enough in ourselves that we dare be a good neighbor.

Viewing Others' Faults Through a Personal Lens

2007-04-06T19:34:00.000-06:00

As we go through phases of our lives, some of them are not very beneficial to us or to those around us. When we hear someone admonish us to improve in a certain area, it's easy for us to say "I don't have that problem." In the most recent LDS General conference I heard something that, as I thought about it, I decided "That IS my problem."

Are you a generally impatient person? I am. Do you ever notice that you generally ascribe to others the same impatience that you would exhibit if you were in their same situation? I do. But do you ever wonder after the fact if they probably weren't impatient like you would have been? They probably weren't.

I've had a problem with this at work lately. And it all started because I was first becoming very impatient with myself, because I was working under some heavy-pressure deadlines. I have a tendency to be hyper-critical of myself when I don't achieve my self-imposed deadlines, let alone when I'm trying to comply with someone else's. And I found that my hyper-criticism of myself started to spill over onto others.

Elder Jeffrey Holland had this to say in his most recent LDS General Conference address:

..negative speaking so often flows from negative thinking, including negative thinking about ourselves. We see our own faults, we speak—or at least think—critically of ourselves, and before long that is how we see everyone and everything. No sunshine, no roses, no promise of hope or happiness. Before long we and everybody around us are miserable.

It didn't dawn on me at first, but as I listened to the talk again a few days later, I thought--that's me. That talk came at a good time for me. Let's see if I can start a new phase--a good one.

Keeping My Neighbor's Sabbath Day Holy

2007-03-28T12:52:00.000-06:00

Christ teaches us to overlook the mote in our neighbor's eye and rather concentrate on the beam that is in our own. That is nowhere more applicable than in our Sabbath day observance.

We talked in Sunday School class the other day about the Sabbath, and it turned into a big discussion about whether we should go to the supermarket or buy gas on Sunday. (The fact that we don't have to make anybody work on Sunday to get gas at automatic credit-card pumps is a discussion for a different post ;-) ).

Have you ever bought gas on Sunday? I have. How about gone to the supermarket? Me--only when I really, really needed to, which hasn't actually been very often. But what do we think when we see someone we know at the gas station or the grocery store. C'mon, admit it! If your first thought isn't "Sabbath breaker!" then you are a better person than I.

I'm getting better though. It's important that we remember, and that we teach our children, that we have certain ways of showing our devotion to God, and that others have other ways of doing it. Even if they're doing something that we would never do on Sunday, who are we to judge.

Ironically, after that Sunday School lesson, and after church I saw one of the families in the ward go skating past our house. I will admit, my first thought was...well, you know what my first thought was. But I immediately replaced it with something like "That's a great family activity."

Jesus taught that the Sabbath was made for man, and not the other way around. It's our choice what we do on that day, and if we choose the better things, we'll be better off. But the beauty of freedom of choice is that everyone gets to do it.

I remember last summer wondering what the neighbors thought when our whole family was being very rambunctious playing a game of soccer in the back yard after church. Needless to say, it was an extremely family-building experience.

When it comes right down to it, I shouldn't need to care what other people think of the way I choose to observe the Sabbath. And neither should you. We should be content to be friends and love one another.

So the next time I see you at the gas station on Sunday, I'll either honk and wave or stop and chat for a minute, but I won't stick my nose in the air.

The Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost

2007-03-11T16:48:00.000-06:00

The Light of Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost are both very important powers. But they perform different functions. What do they do? How would you explain to someone that they are different?

The doctrine of the Holy Ghost is fairly commonly understood. What is not so understood is the Light of Christ. The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints defines the Light of Christ as follows:

And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;

Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—

The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.

Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made. (Section 88, verses 11-13, 7)

Although the Light of Christ undergirds many things, the most common name for it is our conscience. Although some people do not seem to have a conscience, everyone is born with one. Some Christian denominations teach that man is generally evil. I think, because of the doctrine of the Light of Christ, that the LDS church teaches that man is generally good.

Imagine a world where the Light of Christ did not exist. Would anyone have any reservation about stealing? Would anyone would stop at traffic lights? Would we have governments? Would the crime rate be much higher than it is today? Or would we even have a concept of what crime is?

What's the difference between the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost? We can see the difference by asking a couple of questions. Which power influences:

the fact that we don't steal something even when nobody is watching?
that we come to another's aid when he or she is in distress?
that we have a good feeling when we read the scriptures?
that we can tell whether someone is telling us the truth or not?

The first two items in the above list are influenced by the Light of Christ. The last two are influenced by the power of the Holy Ghost. The Light of Christ helps us understand what is right and what is wrong. The Holy Ghost goes much further--it helps us understand what is true and what is false. The Light of Christ is critical--without it we would probably not be here. But so is the Holy Ghost--without it we won't get much farther in our existence than what is here and now.

The Light of Christ tells us that Jesus Christ was a great man, while the Holy Ghost helps us to know that he is our Savior, the Son of God.

The Light of Christ helps us to understand what is good and virtuous in life, but only the Holy Ghost can truly help us to come to know and become like God.

"Does Anybody Hear Her?"

2007-01-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

It's not a commandment, although some of us think it is. What happens if you're trying to be "in the world, but not of the world", and then someone that you know and love declares that they are firmly planted therein? So many people need our caring and consideration, but because they are different, we shun them. Christ would not act that way.

Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even knows she’s going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints talk about being "in the world but not of the world" so much that they think it's a specific commandment. It's not. I'm not sure where the saying comes from, but it's based on a handful of New Testament scriptures that say such things as

"If ye were of the world , the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world , therefore the world hateth you" - John 15:18-19

or

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." - 1 John 2:15

I don't like the saying. It has become very cliche' for one thing. But for the main thing, I think a lot of people think it gives them license to avoid worldly problems that they should be vested in. Things like:

What do I do if someone I know confides in me that they have a homosexual orientation? Some LDS people wouldn't associate with them thereafter.
What happens if my unmarried daughter says she is pregnant? Some LDS parents shun their daughters.
What if a new neighbor moves in who is not only not LDS, but also has several habits that I don't approve of, such as drinking, smoking, or filthy language? Some LDS members would avoid their neighbors as much as possible.

'Being in the world but not of the world' is for some LDS church members camouflage for "I should avoid every person, incident, or thing that could possibly cause me to sin." Such an attitude is wrong. Such an attitude is held by members of the church (and I'm sure many other churches and religions) who are neither comfortable with their religion nor their testimonies of it.

The lyrics at the beginning of this post belong to the group casting Casting Crowns. Here are the rest of them:

She is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction
She is trying
But the canyon’s ever widening
In the depths of her cold heart
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She’s another two years older
And she’s three more steps behind

She is yearning
For shelter and affection
That she never found at home
She is searching
For a hero to ride in
To ride in and save the day
And in walks her prince charming
And he knows just what to say
Momentary lapse of reason
And she gives herself away

If judgement looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can’t see past her scarlet letter
And we never even met her

So many people need our cares, our concerns, and our prayers. But because we are trying so hard to live a non-commandment, we ignore those who need us most. Christ said that if we do it unto them, we do it unto Him. Let's stop hiding behind a cliche' and start loving people--everyone.

The Mother of the Son of God

2007-01-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

Billions of people, living and dead, the world over consider Jesus Christ the most important person ever to live on the earth. Imagine what it must have been like for Mary to realize that she would be his mother.

Prophets from the time of Adam foretold the advent of the birth of Jesus Christ. But they also knew that he would be born of a virgin. Isaiah tells us:

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

It is possible that Old Testament prophets knew the name of Jesus' mother, and I think it's very likely they did. However, we have no evidence of this. Book of Mormon prophets did know of her name, though.

The prophet-king Benjamin taught his people that:

.

..he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.

Likewise, Alma teaches that Mary would be his mother, and Heavenly Father would be his father.

And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.

Being a "precious and chosen vessel", Mary must have been one of the few who were looking for the imminent coming of Jesus Christ. Knowing that someone would be his earthly mother, she must have thought "What an honor it would be to be the mother of the Son of God. I wonder who it will be?"

Imagine the initial shock that you would have felt if you had been Mary, and the angel Gabriel appeared to you and said "It's you." "You can't possibly be serious!" I'm sure she thought. But she said, "Be it unto me according to thy word. I will do it."

Shortly thereafter, as she visited with Elizabeth, she said in wonderment: "he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden...for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.". In other words, "Everyone in the world will know and revere Jesus, and therefore they will revere me because I will be his mother. So how can God have possibly thought of me as the one worthy of the task of bring into the world His Only Begotten Son?"

A perfect Son required an exemplary mother. God knows whom he can trust for his most important tasks. As with any calling we receive, Mary initially felt very inadequate at her ability to perform the task. But perform she did, as she was with her Son to the very end of his mortal life.

Jesus the Christ

2006-12-25T00:56:00.000-07:00

During this Christmas season of 2006, let us pay tribute to the Man who has done more for the inabtitants of earth than any other who has lived on it.

A great deal is made each Christmas season as to whether Christ was born on December 25, or as to whether he was the Son of God or a figment of people's imagination who was mythologized following his death. Cults such as Mithraism garner a great deal of credit for the similarities that they have with Christianity.

The answer to the first concern: it doesn't matter what day Christ was born. To know that he was and who he really is is sufficient.

In answer to the second: Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He was born of Mary, a mortal mother, and of God our Heavenly Father, an immortal Father, that He might be subject to mortal death, but that also He could have power to give up His body in death and to take it up again.

Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father, advocated the Father's plan for us in our pre-earthly existence, wherein we would be allowed to come to earth to choose whether we wanted to become like Him and our Heavenly Father.

All of the prophets in earth's history, beginning with Adam and Eve, knew of and looked forward to the advent of his birth and life.

Jesus Christ created this earth.

Not many years after being born of Mary, the Christ knew of his most important mission, and he prepared for it throughout his life by avoiding every mistake to which all mortals are prone. He healed the sick and the lame and the blind and the deaf. He raised the dead. He walked on the water. He taught and served and loved and blessed His fellow man.

While in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross of Calvary He freely chose to suffer for the sins of all mankind. His greatest suffering was in the moment that he was shut out from his Father's presence. Then, knowing that his suffering of the weight of the world was sufficient, he freely gave up his own mortal life.

Following death, Christ visited the spirits already departed this earth life who eagerly awaited his coming to the realm of spirits. He taught them more fully of his life and now-successful mission, and organized them to teach the multitude of other spirits who had not learned of him while on the earth.

On the third day, Jesus took up his body again, this time in an immortal and perfect state. He visited his disciples, who were allowed to examine the wounds in his hands, feet, and side. He visited those on other continents, whom he termed his "other sheep", giving them also a more perfect knowledge of his mission and resurrection.

The babe born in Bethlehem condescended from his lofty status as the creator of this earth, that he might provide a means for all of God's children to return to Him and become like Him.

The Man of Perfect Love did not betray the trust that billions of God's children placed in him, and because of his matchless sacrifice, life for all of God's children is immortal and can be eternal.

Merry Christmas, 2006.

The Power of Positive Peer Pressure

2006-12-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

We often think of peer pressure as negative, but it can also be a good thing. This thought occurred to me as I was pondering the Bible story of Shadrack, Meschach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.

Our Sunday School class was studying the book of Daniel in the Old Testament yesterday. While we were examining the story of Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, a thought occurred to me that hadn't before.

What if only one of them had to stand before the king and stand up for his principles? Would he have had the courage to go it alone?

I suspect in the case of these three great men, that any one of them would have still stood up for his principles in the face of the intimidation of the king.

But I'm not sure whether I would have been that unwavering.

Perhaps none of us will be cast into an actual furnace like these three men were, but we all have our fiery furnace moments from time to time. It is usually when I am alone that my fiery furnace moments happen. And sometimes I fail.

But I can imagine, if I had some of my peers with me during these fiery furnace moments, I feel like it's much more likely that I would overcome such moments. My friends, my coworkers, and especially my wife and children, look to me and expect much of me.

When it comes to my fiery furnaces, I am glad when they are with me, because I don't want to disappoint them. I am glad I have peers to pressure me into living up to the values that I know I should, but that I am sometimes not strong enough to live up to when I'm all alone.

Islam, Slavery, and Continuing Revelation

2006-10-28T11:28:00.000-06:00

Muslims who claim that Islam no longer allows slavery would be on much more solid ground if Islam adhered to the principle of continuing authority and revelation. Without these principles, they are left to debate and struggle about slavery and other issues endlessly.

Of all Christian denominations, only the Church of Jesus Christ subscribes to the view that God speaks to man today. Every other Christian church teaches that the canon and the heavens are closed.

Such is the belief as well of Islam. Muhammad came in the seventh century, so the belief goes, and gave the words of Allah to a benighted people, helping them to become much more loving and considerate of their fellow men. Much exegesis goes on in the Muslim world, but it is very difficult to determine what Muhammad must have meant about various issues. Differences in opinion of what Muhammad must have meant have resulted in the deaths of countless numbers of Muslims and others.

An issue that has created some controversy is that of slavery. While some Islamic nations still hold slaves and allow slavery as legal, some Islamic scholars believe that slavery was not sanctioned by the Qur'an. In much the same way that the Constitution of the United States' referral to slavery does not countenance slavery, but rather seeks to see its gradual eradication, there is some historical basis for believing that Muhammad seeked to abolish slavery as well.

Muhammad lived in a time when there were a plethora of human rights abuses on the Arabian peninsula. One of these vices was slavery.

Shehzad Saleem, director of the Institute of Islamic Studies in Lahore, Pakistan, has this to say about slavery and the Qur'an:

“Islam had adopted a gradual process to abolish the institution of slavery because of the social conditions prevalent in Arabia at that time. It must be kept in mind that slavery was an integral part of the pre-Islamic Arab society.”

If this is true (meaning, what Muhammad intended), and I think it is, it puts several verses in the Qur'an into a completly different context. Robert Spencer, in his book Islam Unveiled, thinks the worst when it comes to what the Qur'an says about slavery. For example, see the following verse:

“The penalty for a broken oath is the feeding of ten
needy men with such food as you normally offer to your own people; or
the clothing of ten needy men; or the freeing of one slave” (Sura 5: 89)

Spencer thinks this indicative that slavery was and would forever be a common course in Islam. I, however, think it is much more logical to believe that the important point to highlight here is that means were established for the freeing of slaves.

“Blessed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers; who avoid profane talk, and give alms to the destitute; who restrain their carnal desires (except with their wives and slave-girls, for these are lawful to them)” (Sura 23: 1)

During Muhammad's time, male domination of women in the Arabian Peninsula, including rape was fairly common. This verse can be seen as prescribing a gradual limitation on that urge to dominate. Furthermore, in Muhammad's next revelation, Allah states:

“Take in marriage those among you who are single and those of your male and
female slaves who are honest” (Sura 24: 32).

Someone taken in marriage would, in my view, no longer be a slave.

Along with the fact that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believes in ongoing revelation from God, we believe that Priesthood authority makes it very clear who can speak for the entire church. This president of our church (currently Gordon B. Hinckley) is commonly referred to as "the prophet". The prophet continually receives revelation for the church, much of which clarifies previous revelation.

Islam has no processes and procedures like this. On the one hand, Muslims say that the Qur'an is the end all and be all of Islam, yet there have arisen thousands of Islamic scholars who attempt to explain, without any authority, what Muhammad must have meant. It's difficult to imagine if we'll really know.

Muhammad was a great man in his time. The LDS Church lists him as someone who brought great spiritual improvement to the people among whom he lived and served. He is unjustly villified by many. But it cannot be clear what he meant--about slavery, and about many other issues--because he is no longer here (and he lived a much shorter life than he may have expected, leaving much work undone). If, like the LDS Church, Islam had continuing revelation, it would probably be clear that Muhammad did not mean for slavery to continue forever. But because Muhammad did not have a process for promulgating his authority, the question will be forever debated and fought over.

Proving God's Willingness to Bless Us

2006-09-16T11:52:00.000-06:00

It is sometimes easier than we think to prove to ourselves that our Heavenly Father is willing to bless us. Simple prayers are one way to strengthen our faith in this principle.

When I was a child, I would always hear stories about how someone prayed to find something, like their car keys, that they had lost, and they quickly were able to find them. I didn't have many (if any) experiences like this. Probably because I was afraid how I would feel if my prayer wasn't answered.

Recently, though, I heard or read somewhere about how God is much more willing to bless us than we give him credit for. My return from Iraq put me in vacation mode for a while, and I'm sad to say that my spirituality went on the same getaway as my body. So the impression I had to test God's willingness to bless me was doubly emphasized--I needed to get back on a regular prayer and scripture study schedule anyway.

Although they have not been earth shattering, my experiences have been remarkable. Most of my prayers have been about simple things, but nonetheless, to see them answered has been interesting, educational, and faith building.

The most recent was a couple of days ago when I developed a terrible headache on a day that I had pressing issues at work, and I had to attend a "can't miss" meeting immediately following work. The headache was causing me nausea, and at that point I not only didn't think I would make it to the meeting, I was just about to leave work early. My quick prayer was something like "Heavenly Father, I can't afford to have this headache right now. Please take it away from me." Such headaches, I know from past experiences, are long lasting. But in this case, it immediately began to subside and was gone in 30 minutes.

The most educational was what happened about a week ago. We had been to a very large church meeting as a family, and after coming home, we learned that my daughter had lost a significant amount of money. We went back to the church building, I initially thinking, okay, there's no way we'll find it, but this will be a very expensive lesson for a daughter who takes money to church without putting it in a purse. But I felt impressed to pray that I knew there would be no way we would find the money this long after the meeting. There were a handful of people left at the building, but our chances were looking more slim. Then back into the room came someone who had been sitting near us. He had heard something about someone finding the money, and that person just happened to still be among the 10 or 15 people who were still at the building. After what seemed like an impossible situation, the money was found. And I became somewhat embarrassed at my initial lack of faith.

From these and several other experiences in the past few weeks I have come to the conclusion that our Heavenly Father does have a simple plan of coming to our aid when we ask for it, making it more obvious to us that He is there and that He cares.

Why I Like Country Music

2006-08-26T21:00:00.000-06:00

Not all country music is uplifting--in fact some of it is downright terrible. But far more country music is wholesome and uplifting than any other popular music genre of today.

The old riddle asks what you get if you play a country music record backwards. Answer: you get your wife back, you get your job back, you get your car back...

I was about to do a comparison of country music versus rap and pop music, but after a very short research project, in which I gained enough information to know that today's pop and especially rap is vulgar and filthy, I decided to stick to giving examples of what I like about country music.

Before I get back to my main point though, let me ask a new riddle: What do you get if you play a rap record backwards? Among other things, you get people coming back to life, women being respected, people off drugs, and a reduction in racism.

Country music, perhaps especially of late has really been impressive in its championing of excellent causes.

Importance of Family

Here are some words from a fairly recent Martina McBride song:

Blessed
I get kissed by the sun each morning
Put my feet on a hardwood floor
I get to hear my children laughing
Down the hall through the bedroom door
Sometimes I sit on my front porch swing
Just soaking up the day
I think to myself, I think to myself
This world is a beautiful place

I have been blessed
And I feel like I've found my way
I thank God for all I've been given
At the end of every day
I have been blessed
With so much more than I deserve
To be here with the ones that love me
To love them so much it hurts
I have been blessed

Respect for God

A currently popular Tim McGraw song had me wondering the first few times I listened to it, but then it dawned on me--I don't have any room to judge other people, because I have enough problems myself, so I should be friends with everyone, even if they have problems. But the last verse of the song is the most thought provoking.

I Got Friends That Do
This is for yours truly
Just a little verse to remind me
We've all got somewhere to turn
And I may not know what it's like
To send my only Son to save the world and watch Him die
And I may not know how it feels
To hang there on the cross to prove that love is real
But I got friends that do
Yeah, I got friends that do
Yeah, I got friends that do
You know we all got friends that do

Belief in Life After Death

Brad Paisley, along with help from Dolly Parton has this to say:

When I Get to Where I'm Going
Yeah when I get where I'm going
There'll be only happy tears
I will shed the sins and struggles
I have carried all these years
And I'll leave my heart wide open
I will love and have no fear
Yeah when I get where I'm going
Don't cry for me down here

I'm gonna walk with my grand daddy
And he'll match me step for step
And I'll tell him how I missed him
Every minute since he left
Then I'll hug his neck

So much pain and so much darkness
In this world we stumble through
All these questions I can't answer
So much work to do

But when I get where I'm going
And I see my maker's face
I'll stand forever in the light
Of his amazing grace
Yeah when I get where I'm going
There'll be only happy tears
I will love and have no fear

Similiarly, Brooks and Dunn have a recent release that talks about the ultimate triumph following the trials of this life:

I Believe
Later on that night, I laid there thinkin' back
Thought 'bout a couple long-lost summers
I didn't know whether to cry or laugh
If there was ever anybody desevred a ticket to the other side
It'd be that sweet old man who looked me in the eye, said

I raise my hands, bow my head
I'm finding more and more truth in the words written in red
They tell me that there's more to life than just what i can see

I can't quote the book
The chapter or the verse
You can't tell me it all ends
In a slow ride in a hearse
You know I'm more and more convinced
The longer that i live
Yeah, this can't be
No, this can't be
No, this can't be all there is

What Comes First--Your Religion or Your Country?

2006-08-15T13:30:00.000-06:00

Many Muslim fanatics say that they are Muslims first and a citizen of their country second. What about me? Am I a Mormon first and a US Citizen second?

A Christian talk-show host recently posed the question: "Does your religion come first or does your country?" This question was asked within the context of a story on Muslim fanaticism. The news recently reported that a huge percentage of British Muslims, including those born in Britain who have converted to Islam, say that their religion comes first.

In the case of Muslim fanatics, I've always thought I understood why their religion comes first. Because they are fanatics. So I was pretty sure that my answer would be opposite--my country comes first before my religion. I based this opinion additionally on the fact that in at least one instance, a citizen of Nazi Germany was told by LDS authorities to obey the law of the land rather than to defy Hitler.

The talk show host taught me a great lesson, though. In a way, I really am just like a Muslim fundamentalist. Based on that segment of the talk show, I have determined that I am a Mormon first, and a US Citizen second. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints actually makes this quite easy for its members.

Our 12th Article of Faith states:

We believe in being ^asubject to ^bkings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in ^cobeying, honoring, and sustaining the ^dlaw.

Additionally, although reminding members about not using church facilities for political purposes, church leaders encourage all members to inform themselves politically, and to involve themselves in the political process by at least voting and even by running for public office.

So I've changed my mind. My church (and my God) comes first. Because if I live my church's teachings, I will do what I can to make my country a better place to live, and I will obey, honor, and sustain its laws, including the ones I don't like, until I can influence their being changed.

But in only a superficial way am I like the Muslim fanatic.

If I do not like the laws of my country, no matter which country that is, my church forbids me from becoming a terrorist. Muslim fanatics, on the other hand it seems, somehow feel that God commands them to terrorize and destroy anyone or any government who goes counter to their interpretation of what constitutes Islamic purposes.

“An Added Measure of the Spirit” by Reading the Book of Mormon

2006-05-03T05:45:00.000-06:00

Summary: In my various readings of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ in the past 18 months, I have received an added measure of the Spirit of God as promised by a modern-day prophet.

This morning I came across an old copy of the Ensign magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was the August 2005 issue, which contained President Gordon B. Hinckley’s challenge for members of the Church to read the 531 pages of the Book of Mormon by the end of the year.

A couple of statements President Hinckley made in the article impressed me particularly. First he said:

The Book of Mormon…in its descriptions of the problems of today’s society, is as current as the morning newspaper, [but] much more definitive, inspired, and inspiring concerning the solutions to those problems.

At the end of the article, he made this promise:

Without reservation I promise you that if each of you will observe this simple program, regardless of how many times you previously may have read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.

I want to describe how this promise was fulfilled in my life.

I currently serve in the United States military in Iraq. Knowing some of the perils I might face, I found myself turning to God a little more fervently than I had done in my recent past. In this regard, I had read the entire Book of Mormon between the months of January and September 2005. It was at about this time that I found out about President Hinckley’s challenge. I thought to myself, “Wow, I’ve already accomplished that. I’m already done!” But then I thought to myself, why not do it again?

During my second iteration of reading the Book of Mormon, I began to notice that my goal was to read the minimum number of pages each day to keep on pace, so that I could hurry and get to the other books that I found so interesting. One day I found myself thinking, “Why am I more interested in other books as opposed to scripture?” I made an effort from that day on to read more. Soon I was reading 10 pages a day, then 15, and sometimes 30. I began to feel in some measure like Parley P. Pratt, who when he first discovered the Book of Mormon in 1830, wanted to do nothing else but read it. Insights flooded into my mind that had never occurred to me in the many other times I had read the Book of Mormon.

I finished reading the Book of Mormon for the second time before the end of the year. At about that time, my wife mentioned on the phone that back home she and our children were nearing completion of their reading. I wished them a Happy New Year on my January 1st, 2006, to find that in their 10-hour time difference they still needed to read the book of Moroni in order to complete the Book of Mormon. I later found out that they accomplished the task.

I have now completed the Book of Mormon three times while I’ve been on deployment. For my third time, I tried an experiment. I downloaded the audio version from www.lds.org and listened to every chapter on my MP3 player. I listened to a chapter whenever I had free time, including when I had time off to go jogging or to our operating base gym. Listening to the Book of Mormon gives one an entirely different perspective as well.

My reading of and listening to the Book of Mormon has been a testimony-strengthening experience as well as a great source of comfort while I have served in a combat zone. I have noticed many modern-day parallels with the Book of Mormon here in Iraq. I have applied President Hinckley’s challenge, and have noticed “an added measure of the Spirit” in my life. I have also noticed (while I was on 15 days leave and when I talk to them on the telephone) a similarly added Spirit in the lives of my wife and children.

The promise is that if we read the Book and ask God with real intent if it is true, he will tell us whether it is. It just so happens that the “whether” always turns out to be “that” it is true. This is based on the testimony of millions of people across the globe. But this challenge does not mean that we simply ask once and receive the testimony of the Spirit as to the Book’s truthfulness once and for all. We are entitled to receive that same witness, over and over again, that the Book of Mormon is true, as many times as we read or listen, and as many times as we ask.

Learn by Study and by Faith

2006-04-15T05:57:00.000-06:00

Summary: LDS Doctrine teaches to “seek learning…by study and…by faith.” Study includes using reason as part of the learning process. Faith helps us understand who and why we are, as well as compensating for our inability to reason perfectly. A new book explains that the early Christian fathers successfully used the reasoning process much more than we thought. Study and faith together dramatically accentuate the learning experience.

The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ teaches:

And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach ye one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.

D & C 88:118

In this verse of scripture, we are encouraged to apply both our reasoning power and our yearning power.

St. Augustine celebrated the reasoning power, rhetorically wondering why God would make us in this way greater than the animals if He didn’t expect us to use it. It is reasonable to assume that through reasoning we can come closer to a true knowledge of God.

By the same token, there are some things that cannot be reasoned (or reasoned easily). Faith includes a fundamental desire to know who and why we are. It also acts to us as an incentive to seek expert guidance when our reasoning ability falls short. Faith often becomes to us a placeholder for something which we cannot yet attain through knowledge, a seed that begins to swell and grow (Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ - Alma 32:28) within the interstices of our knowledge until our understanding of that thing becomes perfect.

Once in a great while a book comes along that has the ability to shift our thinking paradigm. Such a book is The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark. Mr. Stark makes use of an extensive bibliography to show that, contrary to what has been taught about a Dark Ages and an Age of Enlightenment, the great scientists of the Enlightenment era rest upon the scientific thought of their predecessors of several centuries. This scientific tradition came about because men came to believe that God and his creations are knowable, and that one can exercise reason to gain that knowledge.

Mr. Stark also makes another, more startling observation: reason and the scientific method developed only in areas where Christianity was predominant. Islam and Judaism placed the greatest emphasis on how one must act. Eastern religions taught that ‘god’ was an essence that was unknowable and whimsical. Greeks, whose philosophy animated Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, subscribed to a theory similar to the eastern religions, and thus never developed a scientific method either. Islamic and Jewish scholars were able to understand Greek thinking, but they were never able to expand on that thinking. But whereas other religions helped to develop alchemy and astrology, Christianity was able to parlay these fields—through the application of reason—into astronomy and chemistry.

Mr. Stark reveals further that science did not develop equally in all areas of Christendom. It only developed in those areas where freedom prevailed. It developed first in some of the city-states of Italy and then migrated north throughout Europe as the places and conditions allowed. I believe it to be a culmination of sorts, then, that the ultimate form of reason, divine revelation, was restored in the United States, the nation that has enjoyed the most freedom of any nation in earth’s history. In 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was organized, and since then God again speaks to man on earth.

If truth is eternal and knowable, and if God is reasonable, it is reasonable that God would assist man in his search for knowledge. This is called divine revelation. Theology, as taught by the early Christian fathers, is the study of divine revelation. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is led today by divine revelation. Members of the LDS church benefit by both reason and revelation.

The Church subscribes to all truth, regardless of its source. The Holy Spirit confirms unto us what is ultimately reasonable, and therefore what is true. One can approach God by learning physics, mathematics, and history, as one can approach Him by learning gospel doctrine; the LDS Church teaches of the added benefit of study by faith—on those occasions when we have stretched our reasoning power to the limit, we may turn to the ultimate expert in all of these fields to have our knowledge of them improved beyond ways we would be able to accomplish by ourselves.

Thus, through reason combined with revelation—to wit “by study and also by faith”—our ability to know God and the truths of the universe is exponentially accelerated.

Show Respect for Religion

2006-04-15T05:34:00.000-06:00

Summary: It is never appropriate to show disrespect toward another’s religion. It is common nature, when asked to teach someone who does not share our beliefs about our beliefs, that we exude an air of ‘my religion is better than yours.’ Acting in this manner is both inappropriate and counterproductive. For most people, religion is finely engrained into their personality and a very important part of their lives. Since we should respect all people, we should also respect their religion.

Introductory Note: In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, congregations (called wards) generally meet for a 3-hour time block on Sundays. One of these hours is called sacrament meeting. The second hour is referred to as Sunday School, where adult classes are offered in the scriptures, as well as similar classes tailored to the various youth and children age groups. During one of the three hours the men meet together (called Priesthood) and the women meet as a separate group (called Relief Society) where each calendar year we study the teachings of one of the prophets of our Church. Curricula are coordinated, but tailored to the specific age group, so that family members can discuss common topics upon returning home from church meetings.

In a recent priesthood meeting we discussed the words of President Wilford Woodruff (prophet from 1889 to 1898) wherein he teaches about the importance of sharing of our gospel message with others. Considering that I currently serve with the US Military in Iraq, where the incidence of fundamentalist religionists is higher that in the United States, one particular subtopic of the lesson impressed me deeply. President Woodruff taught:

“Never…attack any one’s religion, wherever you go. Be willing to let every man enjoy his own religion. It is his right to do that. …Do not spend your time pulling down other sects and parties. We haven’t time to do that. It is never right to do that.”

He goes on to say:

“[t]he voice of wisdom will not tell us to spend our time in warring against the sects of the day, opposing the opinions of men, ridiculing the religions that surround us, thereby cutting off the ears of the hearer; barring the hearts of men against light and truth; the opinions and religions of other men are dear unto them as ours are unto us.”

As I read those words, a thought occurred to me. For anyone (like me) who has been placed in a new city or country with unfamiliar circumstances, the feeling of discomfort is palpable. The likelihood that one’s culture and beliefs are different than the prevailing attitudes in the new place is high. I can think of few things more uncomfortable in such a situation that to have someone tell me that I can or should no longer practice my religion because it is deemed substandard. This mental exercise helped me to see more clearly that, because religion can become so ingrained in one’s character, it can be very invasive to a person to have their religion disrespected in any way.

I can, however, expect it to happen that I will come across someone’s path who looks down on my religion. (I actually already have.) For example, someone may produce a movie that denigrates my church or tradition. Someone may publish cartoons that are offensive to my beliefs. If I prepare myself for such eventualities, my reaction can be that I personally am not affected by the offense, most likely because the offense comes out of ignorance on the part of the offender. This, by the way, is how most Muslims have reacted to offensive portrayals of Muhammad in various media.

Nearly every religion has truth to a greater or lesser degree. I happen to believe that my church has more (in fact all) truth than any other church, but I applaud anyone else for simply having any religion to inform and motivate their lives. I am interested in learning about all religions. Since before I came to Iraq I have studied Islam, and I have in fact found many similarities between my religion and Islam. To a lesser degree I have studied Buddhism, also finding concepts that are strikingly similar. God loves all his children, regardless of what religion they choose. He wants to give them everything He has, if they are willing to receive it.

In this regard, we should be grateful for opportunities to learn about each others' religions, because that which we understand we are less likely to belittle. I will be glad to teach you of the doctrine and culture surrounding my church, but I hope that I am strong enough to never disrespect your religion in the process. And at the same time I will be glad to learn about your religion, because it is safe to assume that yours is as important to you as mine is to me.

Teaching Children Sexual Purity

2006-03-31T13:56:00.000-07:00

Summary: Children don’t immediately have the ability to understand the concept of sexual purity. But they immediately recognize what it means to be modest when it is explained to them, and if it is explained to them early enough in their lives. From there, it becomes very easy to talk about what they learn in human physiology books, and, then ultimately, to explain the joys and the bounds of sexual intimacy between man and wife. Modesty is taught and exemplified in all areas of life, including such activities as going to a swimming pool or to the movies.

Maybe we as parents don’t teach our children as much as we should, because we think that they won’t be able to retain it—after all the older we get, the harder it is for us to retain the things we hear or study (maybe that’s because our Heavenly Father expects us, the older we get, to rely less on our own brains and more on the Holy Spirit to acquire wisdom). At any rate, children’s minds are much more elastic than ours. They crave learning, especially of the spiritual kind, and their new and elastic brains are one of the main reasons for this phenomenon. Our children will learn. It all depends on us who they learn from and what it is that they internalize.

The children in our household will often lengthen our Family Home Evenings or family scripture study substantially when we stimulate their thinking simply by teaching or asking them something spiritually interesting. Immediately questions abound, and the rest of the discussion becomes a lesson in the art of diplomacy as my wife and I try to give equal weight to the plethora of questions that each child asks, each asked and answered according to the asking child’s level of intellectual maturity. Through this process, individual confidence is enhanced, and as time goes on, our children’s questions (and, of course, their answers) become measurably and synergistically more thoughtful.

Among the many things my wife and I have taught our children in this way is the concept of sexual purity. We didn’t start out by teaching this term to our children; rather we first talked to them about the basic concept of modesty. Children will immediately recognize the concept of modesty when it is taught to them, provided it is taught to them early in their lives before outside influences have skewed what they come to think of as modest.

For example, we might teach them why it’s important to cover up our bodies with the proper clothing, or why we don’t go to the bathroom outside of the house when there is a perfectly good bathroom just inside the house. This begins to awaken in our children the understanding that our bodies are special; indirectly it gives them a greater respect for our Heavenly Father and the rest of His creations. They begin to dress and act modestly, because the Spirit teaches them that it is a true concept, and it makes them feel good inside to do good things. They also develop a strong relationship with their parents, implicitly understanding the importance and sacred nature of the concept that their parents have taught them.

Later in their lives they begin to learn about the physical differences between the male and female sexes. Because from previous experience they know that modesty is something we can talk about, our children naturally come to understand that sexual differences are something we can talk about as well. At this point (usually beginning somewhere around the age of 8, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be this way) we as parents begin to talk with each child individually about why the sexes are different physically. (I will admit that my wife has done the greater part of this teaching in our family…okay nearly all of it ;-) ).

In the next couple of years of our children’s lives, when changes begin to take place in their own bodies, they once again feel comfortable asking about what these changes mean, and because of previous discussions they usually already know to expect these changes and something of why they begin to occur.

It is important to note that modesty should be exemplified constantly in the family so that it is internalized as a bedrock principle in the lives of our children, and so that no confusion ensues. Using this metric, it would not be appropriate to dress our young daughters in two-piece bathing suits when they are young—perhaps because we think it is cute—and expect that we can forbid them from doing the same when they are older. We also should be very careful to avoid movies that depict immodesty as normal or otherwise okay. There is perhaps something to be said in this regard about the movies we as parents watch that we would not allow or want our children to watch (certain thematic elements may be too difficult for children to deal with, while being educational for adults, but depiction of immodesty is very seldom if ever one of those themes.)

Sexual purity brings the greatest of joy in marriage. That couple who enjoys sexual purity in marriage finds that the joy experienced on the honeymoon and in the early part of marriage—once imagined to be the pinnacle of intimate joy—is surpassed again and again as the measure of the husband and wife’s love for each other somehow continues to outdo itself as the years go by. This great joy can begin with the planting of a small seed—the seed of modesty.

The Great Apostasy

2006-03-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

Summary: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teaches that not long after Christ was crucified and resurrected, the teachings of His church were changed and the authority to act in His name was lost. Evidence exists, from LDS and non-LDS sources, that this apostasy was well underway by the end of the 1st century AD. This post discusses how persecution and loss of authority to act in God's name became a death-knell for his church. The thoughts expressed in this post are based on my reading of The Great Apostasy by James E Talmage.

One of the criticisms of the early Christian church was of its simplicity. Attempts were made (successfully) early on to indroduce mystic ceremonies and rituals into the church. Paul may have been referring to this trend when he wrote that the "mystery of iniquity doth already work." (2 Thessalonians 2:7)

Shortly after the apostles deaths lived Hegesippus and Eusebius, who already claimed to see patterns of apostasy among those who claimed to be in Christ's church.

Early persecutions were clearly aimed against the leaders of the church. When they were gone, traitors in the midst could influence the doctrine any which way, uninfluenced by the spirit--exactly as Luke, Paul, and others had predicted.

Joseph Milner, who wrote History of the Church of Christ, noted that at the beginning the church retained the Holy Spirit and thus taught with power, but gradually human corruption and the crafts of Satan caused the spirit to be lost. He noticed "a gloomy cloud hung over the conclusion of the first century..."

Judaism was the only other religion besides Christianity that believed in a Supreme Being. All other religions were pagan. Part of the bitter Jewish hatred of Christians was that if Christianity became ascendant, the Jews would be blamed for murdering their Messiah.

Opposition to Christianity was Judaistic (a system rather than the people) rather than Jewish, as most Christian converts were themselves Jewish lineage.

Several early leaders were imprisoned very soon after Christ's resurrection. Stephen was killed, and others escaped death miraculously. Generally in Palestine and all the Roman provinces, Judiazers led the way in claiming and framing followers of Christ as seditionaries from the Roman government.

Based largely on Christ's prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, most Christians moved out of Jerusalem to the outlying provinces, and the persecution followed them, becoming more pronounced in the provinces and less acute in Jerusalem itself.

Roman emperors, good and bad, persecuted the Christians, because, although every kind of religion was allowed, all Roman subjects were required to bow down to the Roman gods, which thing the Christians would not do. Their failure to worship in Roman temples, it was believed, angered the gods and put the Roman state in danger of divine wrath.

Constantine (ruled from 306-337 AD) decreed Christianity to be the official Roman religion in 313, designating the cross as an official Roman symbol. It became socially important to be a Christian, and the office of bishop became more important than a military general. Thousands of Romans joined the church. The capital was moved to Byzantium, which became known as Constantinople.

The Holy Spirit Testifies of All Truth

2006-03-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

Summary: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints welcomes truth from whatever source it is derived. We are encouraged to study about wars, culture, history, science, etc. As we conform our lives to what God expects of us, we can be assured that the Holy Ghost will assist us in our search for truth. He will make it clear to us what is true and what is not true. With a strong testimony of the gospel, we can be confident in recognizing truth wherever it may be found. Truths to be found outside the church often agree with truths first revealed to the church.

Some Christian denominations teach that everything we need to know about God and the world is contained in the Bible. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does not share this view. First of all, we believe that continuing revelation from God not only still occurs, but has provided great benefit to those who have lived according to what has newly been revealed.

Second of all, members of the Church are encouraged to

Teach ye diligently...that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain to the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;

Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, 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 judgements which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and kingdoms--

Doctrine and Covenants 88:78-79

Not only are we to study the doctrines of the church, but theories and principles of the world as well. It is important for Church members to get outside of their provincial comfort zone and learn about other nations and their cultures as well as what can be gleaned from wars or calamities that they (or we) endure or have endured. This helps us to be more empathetic for other nations and peoples, and also helps us to understand which ideas and activities do and do not work in life.

Jesus Christ promised his disciples the Comforter, or the Holy Ghost (John 14:26), who will "lead us into all truth" (John 16:13). These scriptures do not simply promise that we will be able to understand gospel doctrine with the help of the Holy Spirit, but that He will help us to understand truth wherever it may be found. The Holy Ghost helps us to undogmatically study what men such as Darwin, Engels, Adam Smith, or Marx have taught, and determine which is truth and which is in error. Not only that, we can often square what we have felt to be true in these arenas with what we have felt to be true in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The prophet Joseph Smith once exclaimed that truth tastes good (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 355). I think this is because it feels good to learn true things. I think in many cases these are things that we knew in our 'pre-existence' before we came to this earth, but were caused to forget--so that we could learn here on earth by faith.

The 'good taste' we get in our souls when someone speaks truth or we otherwise learn something true is the Holy Ghost at work, giving us confirmation that we have discovered something eternally important, and encouraging us to search for more. As we spend more time studying, we discover more and more truth and gain a greater and greater desire to learn more. Moreover, our ability to assimilate truth is increased. It is with greater and greater confidence that we come to understand that the Holy Ghost, so long as we are trying to live Christlike lives, will never lead us into falsehood, whether we are studying church doctrine, mathematics, politics, or the theory of evolution.

Some truths are revealed to the church before there is a body of knowledge concerning the topic of the revelation; yet in each case, knowledge corroborates what was previously revealed to the church. A very commonly cited example is the Word of Wisdom of the Church, whose wisdom in the enjoining of strong drinks and tobacco was far ahead of its time. Also, recently "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" warned against lifestyles the danger of which are now becoming more readily apparent.

Isaac, Ishmael and Family Membership: Lineage or Adoption Makes No Difference

2006-03-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

Summary: Because Abraham and Sarah did not have children well into their old age, Sarah gave her handmaid, Hagar to Abraham to raise up seed. Hagar bore Ishmael. Thirteen years later, Sarah surprisingly conceived and bore Isaac. Confusion ensued about who was the birthright son, so Sarah asked for Hagar and Ishmael to go away. Ishmael is the progenitor of the Muslims. In the grand scheme, it doesn't matter whether you belong to the lineage of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, or whether you are adopted into the House of Israel. Just as a legally adopted child enjoys all the rights and privileges of the family he is now a part of, those adopted into the House of Israel receive all the blessings as though they had been born into the House of Israel.

Abraham of the Old Testament and his wife, Sarah went into their old age without bearing children. The custom of that era was that the fortune of a man without sons would pass on to someone else’s family. It was also customary for the wife to give her handmaid to the childless husband in order to raise up seed in such a situation. In the case of Sarah, she gave Hagar, her handmaid, to Abraham for this purpose.

Hagar subsequently conceived and gave birth to a son who received the name of Ishmael. Thirteen years later, Sarah surprisingly gave birth to a son, whom they named Isaac. For those 13 years it had been assumed that to Ishmael would accrue the benefits and responsibilities of ‘the birthright’ (a double inheritance portion that would be used to care for his parents in their old age). Some confusion ensued the birth of Isaac. Sarah felt, in order to put an end to the confusion, to ask Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away from them. This thing troubled Abraham greatly; he therefore asked God what he should do. God instructed him to send them away, and that he would protect them and make of Ishmael a great nation. It is Muslim belief that Hagar and Ishmael eventually settled in Mecca (in present-day Saudi Arabia), and that Abraham maintained contact with them.[1]

Generally speaking, in our day Jews and Christians descend from Isaac. And in the same general sense, Muslims descend from Ishmael. Interestingly enough, the concepts of lineage that were so important during the life of Abraham are still important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

In Shia’ Islam, the belief is held that only direct descendents of Mohammed can hold the title of Imam. These descendents often refer to themselves as ‘ahl al bayt’ or people of the prophet (literally ‘people of the house’).[2]

Christians have a similar belief, that God’s chosen people are descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob. Jacob’s name was later changed to Israel, and subsequently the chosen lineage has come to be known as the House of Israel.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints clarifies what it means to belong to the House of Israel. Just as a married couple may legally bring into their family a child by adoption, so may an individual who chooses to come into the Church be lawfully adopted into the House of Israel. Joseph Fielding Smith, tenth president of the Church explains:

Some may come into the Church in our day who are not of Jacob’s blood lineage. No one need assume the he or she will be denied any blessing by reason of not being of the blood lineage of Israel…it makes no difference if the blessings of the house of Israel come by lineage or by adoption.

Ultimately, then, because the adoption is legally recognized, the adoptee enjoys all the blessings of the family as though he or she were born into that family. Whether this regards an earthly family, or the family of God, it is all the same. Those of direct lineage and those adopted into the family enjoy equally the same blessings, rights, and privileges.[3]

[1] Bentley, Douglas T., Becoming Christ’s Children of the Covenant: Understanding God’s Plan for the Salvation of Man (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Incorporated, 2005) pp. 66-67

[2] http://www.islamfortoday.com/shia.htm

[3] Bentley, p. 78

My Two Mormon Cents

Christ's Burden is Light. Ours Should Be, Too.

The Real Reason Adam Ate the Fruit

The Agony of the Damned

That Deer Might Have Saved My Life

Gratitude is Enhanced by a Proper Perspective of our Potential

Will It Really Be Harder to Accept the Gospel in the Spirit World?

Testimony Meeting: A Barometer of Our Standing Before the Atonement

Ordinances for the Dead: A Great Way to Understand Our Relationship With God

Baptism for the Dead: Our Uniqueness in Practicing The Most Glorious of All Ordinances

My What "Beautiful Garments" You Have!

We Don't Need to Rub Our Noses in the Pain of Our Mistakes

How Well are You Living the Law of Consecration? Better than You Think.

Although we do find ourselves in the midst of great inequality in the world, the Church is not completely failing in its effort to live the law of consecration. The fast offering program is the Law of Consecration in microcosm.

You, Too Can Be a "Provident Provider"

"If Ye Have [Been Warned] Can Ye Feel So Now?"

If we don't understand what we are warning our neighbors about, as well as the spirit of love in which we should warn them, we can do a lot of damage. As we pay careful attention to the doctrines of the gospel, we should also pay attention to loving and serving our fellow man.

This Tent is Home

The Book of Mormon: Did the Nephites Really Never Have It?

Maybe, once we understand the high-value sliver that Mormon was inspired to leave with us, we will be allowed to see the greater detail. But until then, we have a lot of work to do.

What we have is less detailed but much more spiritually nutritious.

Mormon: Tell a Child What They Are, and That's What They'll Become

Every child has something that they're not only good at, but which they excel at. This is what we as adults need to discover.

I Hope You're Happy. Jesus Was...Wasn't He?

Anyone Can Go to The Temple

If new members are 12 years of age or older, they can make immediate preparations to attend the temple.

My October 2008 LDS General Conference Top 10 List

Zion Does Not Not Have Obscene Levels of Income Equality

Karl Marx and other socialists teach almost the same thing that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches, except for one thing: we don't advocate the forcible leveling of society. Rather, it must be done in love. But it must be done if society is to succeed.

To be a Zion society, we must eliminate poverty. Are we able to eliminate poverty in our neighborhoods and wards, or are we too busy eliminating just our own?

It's too bad, I think, that in these economically perilous times most of the Latter-Day Saints are unready to demonstrate the positive effects of such living to the rest of society.

Early American socialists banded together and helped one another when they were down. Not clearly understanding what they desired, and not in the least attempting to sympathize with them, we instead revile them.We should be ashamed.

Joseph Smith was a Scientist Extraordinaire

The more we learn from science, the more our testimony of the prophethood of Joseph Smith is (or should be) strengthened. The evidence mounts that testifies that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.

Lamoni's Father: A King Comes of Spiritual Age, and a Society Prospers

The Book of Mormon not only teaches how individuals--but also entire societies--can be transformed by the regenerative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Earth in the 21st century still has a ways to go, but there must be at least one or two "Lamoni's fathers" out there.

Laying Down Our Weapons of Rebellion

So That's Why We Don't Know the Date of the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood!

LDS General Conference Reflections - Sunday Afternoon

LDS General Conference Reflections - Sunday Morning

LDS General Conference Reflections - Saturday Afternoon

LDS General Conference Reflections - Saturday Morning

Only Contrite Spirits Look Forward with an Eye of Faith

Mormons, Blacks, The Priesthood, and Eternal Life

Without Resurrection and Revelation, We Would All Be Monsters

Another Look at Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life

The Gift of Both the Father and the Son

He was a 14-Year-Old Boy, For Heaven's Sake!!

Josef Stalin and King Noah: Joseph Smith Couldn't Have Made This Stuff Up!

Muhammad's Night Journey: Vision or Physical Reality?

It's Still Only Grace That Saves Us

UVCC: Learning the History of Harmony and Fayette

UVCC: To Where it All Began

UVCC: Give Me Liberty, or Give Me...Another Bus Breakdown

UVCC: Philadelphia Becomes the Measure of Our Endurance

UVCC: Conversion, One by One, Song by Song

UVCC: Respecting Our Fallen War Heroes

UVCC: The Bus Breakdown on I-95

UVCC at Lincoln's Tomb

Utah Valley Children's Choir Visits Springfield, Illinois

Utah Valley Children's Choir Invades Topeka

The Double Importance of Bothering the Unjust Judge

The Ironic Sin of Calling the Rich Sinners

Would My Prodigal Return to Me?

Mingling Men's Philosophies with Our Scripture

Men, Women, and Priesthood Power

The Real Reason for Paying Tithing

Get Thee Hence, [Neighbor]

Viewing Others' Faults Through a Personal Lens

Keeping My Neighbor's Sabbath Day Holy

The Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost

"Does Anybody Hear Her?"

The Mother of the Son of God

Jesus the Christ

The Power of Positive Peer Pressure

Islam, Slavery, and Continuing Revelation

Proving God's Willingness to Bless Us

Why I Like Country Music

What Comes First--Your Religion or Your Country?

“An Added Measure of the Spirit” by Reading the Book of Mormon

Early American socialists banded together and helped one another when they were down. Not clearly understanding what they desired, and not in the least attempting to sympathize with them, we instead revile them.

We should be ashamed.