The Second Coming is About Jesus

It may seem like a truism to say that the Second Coming is about Jesus returning to the earth, but as I listened to a Sunday school lesson on the subject last week, I recognized that, for some, the main focus was elsewhere. Wars, calamities, destruction, plagues, famines, political unrest, assassinations, and great wickedness all precede the arrival of Jesus among the Nephites in the the Book of Mormon. Since it was written for us in our day, I assume we can take their history as a template for the kinds of things that will play out before we see Jesus come again.

The beauties and prosperity and harmony that prevailed after Jesus ministered to the Nephites are also probably similar to what the earth will be like after Jesus comes in glory in our time. In any case, we do not have much time left before He comes, because He named the Church "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Latter means later, in other words, the last days right before He comes again.

In the scriptures, Jesus is called the Bridegroom, and the Church is called a bride. I remember one friend, a girl, on the verge of getting married. She was overjoyed, but her dreams and hopes were not centered on the man she had chosen, her groom. She joked that he did not even need to show up for the photography session. She was so happy to have her picture taken in her bridal regalia that the groom was out of the picture in her mind.

Just as a bride can become excited about the accessories and spangle and peril and anxiety of the wedding day—her dress, the rings, the food, the flowers, the guests, the weather, the dancing, the potential for disaster, in-laws getting along, and all the rest of the hullabaloo associated with The Happiest Day of Her Life, and end up marginalizing the groom in the process—so we, as members of the Church, often marginalize Jesus Christ as we talk about and fantasize about the negative and positive events surrounding His Second Coming.

In 3 Nephi, his arrival signals the beginning of several days when Jesus is the natural center of attention. The voice of the Father Himself introduces Jesus Christ, instructing the people to look and listen. They think He is an angel at first. They are transfixed, enthralled and silent. He invites them to come forward. The people clamor around Him, touch his hands, feet, and side, feeling His injuries suffered for them, and listen with rapt attention as He teaches them. He tells them He is going to leave, "And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them." When He leaves at night, excitement propels self-appointed missionaries to spend all night spreading the news that he will be coming the next day. (Talk about an adrenaline rush. Even sleep is forgone to announce Jesus.) Jesus is the star of the show in this scenario, not an accessory or incidental to the great events. He was the instigator of both the destruction of the wicked, for which He takes full credit in 3 Nephi chapter 9, and the subsequent peace and prosperity last about two centuries because of adherence to His teachings.

In D&C 88:51-61, you read a parable a Master visiting twelve servants, each working in their field, and each getting to see Him for one hour. Each one receives Him at an appointed time. But these are not dreary visits. "...I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance." "...I will visit you with the joy of my countenance." For Jesus to arrive in a place is to fill it with the same light and joy and glory that attends the Celestial Kingdom. In John 17:24, Jesus prays: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me..." That is more than a request that they be able to "hang out" with Him; He is praying that they can come to the Celestial Kingdom with Him! To be in Jesus' presence, if we are worthy, IS joy. Automatically. The Nephites experienced ineffable, incomprehensible joy as they saw, touched, and heard Jesus. They basked in His glory.

A person's description of what they think heaven will be like tells a great deal about that person. Usual descriptions of heaven by those of us who have never seen it involve fulfillment of physical desires and appetites. Rivers of chocolate, sex, toys, and vague descriptions of peace, love, and joy tend to characterize descriptions of imagined paradises and afterlifes. But those things exist here on earth, and this is not heaven. "We'll be completely happy in heaven," is the general idea, but there is no indication beyond meager fantasies of pleasure as to how this joy is to be created or made to last. The Nephites describe their joy as eyewitnesses of Jesus: "And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father" (3Ne. 17:17). They felt joy that exceeds the parameters of normal mortal experience. And Jesus was the direct cause of it. It has been pointed out to me that the lyrics of the hymn, "Joy to the World," are not about Jesus' birth, but are a description of the Second Coming.

As a Church, the collective bride, we are concerned about the food, decorations, guests, clothes, contingencies, the potential for tragedy, the cost of the events before the Second Coming, and we frequently slip into that syndrome of being apathetic about the Groom.

Matt. 25:1-13 gives the parable of the Ten Virgins. They await the arrival of the Bridegroom, who represents Jesus. Their status as virgins indicates that they were pure, and indeed, they have been interpreted by Church authorities to represent the Church itself: "The arithmetic of this parable is chilling. The ten virgins obviously represent members of Christ’s Church, for all were invited to the wedding feast and all knew what was required to be admitted when the bridegroom came. But only half were ready when he came" (Dallin H. Oaks, Preparation for the Second Coming, April 2004 Ensign). Let's not just get ready for famine and war and disaster, or daydream about picking fruit in paradise after He comes—let's be ready for Him.

"Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom—For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that I come quickly. Even so. Amen" (D&C 33:17). Let's be ready for the happiest day of our lives.

The gospel teaches us how to prepare, how to access the Atonement—faith in Christ, repentance of all sin, baptism by immersion, receiving the Holy Ghost and spiritual rebirth, and enduring to the end. These things allow us to have the Spirit now, and experience a foretaste of the joy to come. And they are the main way we prepare for the Second Coming.

Faith Versus Perfect Knowledge

What is the difference between believing in something, and knowing something? There are many everyday answers, but below is my understanding of the answer to that question in the context of the gospel. (This is woefully incomplete; books could, and have, been written on the subject. I guess I should put the same qualifier on all my posts, but this is a mutable blog, or internet diary, not a carved-in-stone edifice, and I should not need to apologize for having faith or opinions.)

In my opinion, faith is as far as we can reach on our own in God's direction. It is like leaning over the edge of a railing by a bottomless precipice, and hoping a hand will come out of the darkness and take ours. When that hand touches ours, we go from believing to knowing. It takes effort to believe: "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (John 6:29). So much for the faith-or-works disupute. Faith IS works!

We believe by hearing the word from somewhere: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). We have a reason to believe, but we do not yet have a certain knowledge. Even knowing a thing through the five senses is usually not enough to change behavior. (Today is Thanksgiving; people everywhere in America and elsewhere are going to demonstrate this principle at the dinner table.) The accounts of some people's rebellious and irrational responses to miracles is a great evidence for the validity of the scriptures. Their own five senses teach them that they have VERY good reasons to change their behavior. But the children of Israel see signs and wonders, and build a golden calf, or crucify the Savior. Laman and Lemuel see an angel, feel their bodies shocked by the power of God, and hear the voice of the Lord himself, and they murmur and rebel, and even become violent against Lehi and Nephi.

"And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily" (3Ne. 7:18). Miracles do not necessarily change behavior. To know for certain, and keep sinning, heaps even greater condemnation on us; for God to give us knowledge we cannot live up to is to damn us (Alma 32:19; D&C 82:3). Knowledge and the ability to live up to it must be in a person simultaneously. If the discrepancy between them becomes too large, disaster results. Part of the blessing of this life is that we can receive knowledge (slightly, "line upon line") sooner than we have the ability to live up to it, and learn from our mistakes rather than be condemned by them; this is because we are operating largely off from faith instead of knowledge, and especially because we are covered by the Atonement, which affords us the chance to repent when our knowledge exceeds our behavior. This is good when we are aimed in an UPWARD direction via repentance. In the case of those in open rebellion, however, light and knowledge are stripped away (Alma 12:11), probably to protect them from added culpability, but also as a negative consequence of deliberate and grievous sin.

Wilford Woodruff said this of Oliver Cowdery, March 3rd, 1889: "I have seen Oliver Cowdery when it seemed as though the earth trembled under his feet. I never heard a man bear a stronger testimony than he did when under the influence of the Spirit. But the moment he left the kingdom of God, that moment his power fell like lightning from heaven. He was shorn of his strength, like Samson in the lap of Delilah. He lost the power and testimony which he had enjoyed, and he never recovered it again in its fullness while in the flesh, although he died in the Church. It does not pay a man to sin or to do wrong." (The Deseret Weekly News, Vol. 38, p. 391.) Knowledge is a potentially dangerous thing to us; humility is like the balance pole of an acrobat that stabilizes his walk across the tightrope of mortality.

In the Lord's plan, knowledge, and the capacity to live up to it, arrive simultaneously. Mosiah 5:2 says, "And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." They reached out to God in faith; He reached back to them by changing their hearts and confirming their faith, etching knowledge and certainty into souls and overshadowing doubt.

They believed first, and then were given a certain knowledge of the Savior and the plan of salvation described by King Benjamin, because their hearts were changed. Rather than see, hear, taste, touch, or smell something, they experienced an invisible inward change. Revelation and rebirth were part of the same package. This pattern is attested to by Jesus himself when visiting the Nephites:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost. And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one. And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things" (3Ne. 11:34-36).

First we believe in God and repent. Then we are born of God, visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, like the people in Mosiah 5:2. That is when we go from believing to knowing; when the Holy Ghost changes our hearts to the point where our behavior and desires are more compatible with such knowledge. Knowledge begets responsibility, and culpability when actions do not conform to it. Satan tried to destroy Adam and Eve by giving them more knowledge than they had the ability to live up to. They gained a sense of modesty or shame at nakedness from eating the fruit, but Satan's proposed solution was inadequate—their fig leaf aprons left them immodestly dressed. The Lord gave them tunics that covered everything modestly, i.e. the ability to live up to their new level of understanding. The same model holds true with other forms of knowledge. Those who seek signs will be destroyed by them, because their knowledge will exceed their behavior. In D&C 63:7-9, the Lord explains, "And he that seeketh signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation. Verily, I say unto you, there are those among you who seek signs, and there have been such even from the beginning; But, behold, faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe."

Rebirth removes doubt in a more indelible way than physical forces detected by our five sense, and it also gives us the capacity to live up to the new knowledge by changing our natures. Doing what we know is right becomes natural to us, rather than a burden.

Finding What We Are Looking For

I recently watched a presentation by an author. Her recently published book had enjoyed wide distribution, phenomenal success. And her talk was mostly a lament that her best work was "behind" her. I will not name the book or the author, but the plot is biographical. It recounts her divorce, and a subsequent journey around the world to find fulfillment. She seeks fulfillment in food, philosophical spiritual enlightenment, and a temporary sexual encounter.

In the talk about her success, she finds herself in a quandary: nothing she ever does again will generate the acclaim of the book she wrote. She may enjoy writing, but no one will laud or buy her books as much as the one big hit she had. And this is very depressing to her.

Her proposed solution for this problem is to blame her success, or failure, on forces outside of herself. She speaks of the ancient Roman tradition of artists having a "genius," a spirit who attends creative people and inspires their great works, and can also abandon them capriciously. She said that, although she does not recommend adopting such beliefs, maintaining some sense that great works are partly to blame on cosmic forces beyond our control relieves us of the burden of depression when our attempts to perform (poetry, sculpting, writing, dancing, composing music, etc.) cannot duplicate previous success. She sees her problem in terms of how good she is or is not, and sees the solution as putting the blame for success or failure somewhere else.

My diagnosis of the problem is widely different from hers. I believe her real problem is that she has a swollen ego, in other words, pride. Rather than defend and accommodate this sore, swollen organ of the spirit, like someone shifting positions in a chair to avoid putting pressure on a painful boil, she should lance the thing and drain the infection out. Yes, it would be painful, but not as inconvenient or painful as carrying the encumbrance around with her everywhere, and shifting her beliefs into nonsense in the attempt to avoid bruising the useless sac of pus. Pride and truth are incompatible, and accommodating ego means making some departure from the truth.

Another insight I gleaned while listening to her speak was that, for all her efforts, her search around the world for happiness had not yielded anything lasting. She still felt uneasy, seemed devoid of foundation, as if her conclusions were experimental and tentative, rather than certain. Fame, wealth, power, and the pleasures of the flesh will lead to our destruction and misery if we make them the object of our efforts and searching.

Contrast this sad exercise in futility with a story of Abraham from the Midrash. He was a hundred years old, not feeling well at all, and sitting in his tent, surveying the desert. It was high noon, and extremely hot, a day "like the breath of hell." Abraham became worried that someone might be lost in the deadly heat, and sent his servant, Eliezer, to look for anyone in trouble. He came back and reported that no one was out there. Abraham said "I do not believe you," and went out himself to look for wayfarers. When he came back to his tent, the Lord was standing there. Abraham ran to meet Him, and bowed himself before the Lord. It was then that the Lord promised Abraham that Sarah would beget Isaac. To have a child was Sarah's and Abraham's fondest desire.

The author I mentioned above went out into the lush parts of the world to find satisfaction in self-absorption and indulgence of every appetite, and came away empty. Eccl. 2:10-11: "And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." She fell for an old decoy.

Abraham went out into a hellish desert to look for his fellow men, and instead he found God, who granted him the thing he had longed for his whole adult life. Only God could provide it; Abraham was one hundred years old, and Sarah was ninety. He needed a miracle at this point in order to have a child, and the Lord provided one. The Lord has what each of us is actually looking for. We need to know how to look for it. Most great blessings tend to come in through the back door, not when we are looking for them, but when we are otherwise engaged, sometimes in unrelated, mundane tasks. I remember a time when I was cleaning my room, alone, when I was arrested by an intense impression from the Lord—that He loved me. It was a simple message, and I was not really doing anything of great import at the time. And the times when I have actually been engaged in serving others have yielded joy, the assurance that I was helping the Lord by helping His children.

When you love someone, seeing them in pain causes pain in you. The Lord loves all people, and aches for us when we are in pain. But the point of this life is to play by the rules, and those rules include a kind of separation from God. If someone is lost in the desert, they really can die of thirst, and the Lord lets it happen because those are the rules of this world we are playing by. Yes, God could intervene, but only He knows when it is not a violation of the rules to do so. But there is no rule against an Abraham going out to look for lost wanderers, and there is no rule against inspiring an Abraham to know where to look for them. The Lord takes it personally when we hurt or help others (Matt. 25:35-46). "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Three times the Lord asked Peter if he loved Him, and three times Peter responded affirmatively, and three times the Lord told Him: "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-17). Lost sheep are the Lord's concern, and He is close to those who help Him search. He fills the longing of our hearts in the process.

Charity: a Christmas Present?

It is easy to read the description of how charity behaves, and assume that it is a list of commandments for us to "work on" or practice until we get it right. But a closer examination of the last verses in Moroni chapter 7 indicates otherwise to me.

"...charity is the pure love of Christ...whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him." "Wherefore...pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ..." (Moroni 7:47-48, emphasis mine). These phrases give the sense that charity is instilled in us. Rather than acquiring the attributes listed in verse 45 (suffer long, kind, envy not, not puffed up, etc.) one at a time through practice, Mormon is telling his audience to pray for charity to be given to them as a unified whole, like installing a program on a computer. Faith, hope, meekness and lowliness of heart are all listed as precursors to this installation. In verse 48, he continues: "...that ye may become the sons of God..." Rebirth is the subject here, not our piano-practicing paradigm of self-improvement.

According to Mormon, faith, hope, meekness, and being a true follower of Jesus Christ are necessary to receiving charity, but it is still a gift, "bestowed upon" us. "...that when he shall appear, we shall be like him...that we may be purified even as he is pure" (Moroni 7:48). It is the difference between doing the right thing because you have to, and doing it because you want to (because the Lord changed your desires).

A Strange Explanation

In 1Ne. 11:8-23,  Nephi is having an interview with an angel, who comes to fulfill Nephi's request to know the meaning or interpretation of the tree his father saw. He comes to understand the meaning of the tree, but I have been baffled for several years now about exactly how this was accomplished. Nephi tells the Spirit of the Lord he wants to know the interpretation of the tree, the Spirit disappears, another heavenly messenger arrives, and shows Nephi a series of images in vision, familiar to us from the New Testament. "...in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair..." He sees Mary. Then the angel says, "Knowest thou the condescension of God?" "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." "...the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh." (Nephi sees "the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.") The angel continues, "Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?" (Now comes the part that confused me:) "Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things." (I love the angel's response here:) "Yea, and the most joyous to the soul."

There it is. Nephi sees what we call "the Nativity Scene," and suddenly he knows that the tree of life in his father's dream represents charity, the love of God. Nephi records how charity tastes or feels; Mormon explains how charity looks in action (Moro. 7:45 is as much a list of actions as it is a list of attributes).

In verse 25 he says, "I beheld that the rod of iron...was the word of God...which led to the fountain of living waters...which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God." It sounds as though he suddenly understands through revelation, rather than hearing a verbal explanation. Nephi witnesses the baptism, ministry, miracles, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the next few verses, condensing the four Gospels into two pages. Nephi spends a few chapters recording the entire vision, which includes the fate of his descendants and the arrival of the gentiles in the Americas. But before this lengthy vision even begins, the event singled out by the Spirit, which he commands Nephi to bear record of, is the arrival of the Son of God (1Ne. 11:7).

A Precious Gift

The love of God "sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men," a free gift from God. Those in Lehi's dream who hold fast to the iron rod, which Nephi tells us represents the word of God, come to the tree of life and partake of the fruit, "...most desirable above all things," and "the most joyous to the soul." Alma elaborates: "And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst." (Alma 32:34).

So many gifts, toys and possessions, given at Christmas or any other time, become dilapidated, wear out, or simply become boring. It is so easy to become disenchanted with the things of this world. Any promise of genuine satisfaction and happiness in the scriptures begins to jump off the pages as I get older, because I have basically seen what the world has to offer, and had the faculties of my brain and body stimulated in most of the ways the world can do so. And it has left me hungry and thirsty. The effects of the Atonement as delivered to my heart by the Holy Spirit do not suffer from that quality that characterizes the world's offerings, namely boredom. As depicted in Lehi's dream, these things are decoys and detours from the path leading to the genuine happiness we all hunger for. The fruit of that tree is one gift that actually meets the promise made to the buyer, while the games and toys of mortality all fall short of the touted joy they are meant to procure. Charity needs no warranty or expiration date, because "charity never faileth...it endureth forever..."

It is not surprising angels were singing at Jesus' birth. "...how great the importance to make these things known to the inhabitants of the earth..." (2Ne. 2:8).

Get Thee Behind Me

Many Church leaders have stressed the importance of not being preoccupied with Satan or darkness, or things related. Our eye should "be single to the glory of God" so that we may be "filled with light" (D&C 88:67). Nevertheless, I have assembled here a list of helpful quotes and scriptures about how to get Satan off our backs.

"All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him. The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power" (TPJS, p. 181).

Joseph Smith "said he had a subtle devil to deal with, and could only curb him by being humble" (TPJS, p. 225). Like holds to like—"...intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own..." (D&C 88:40). It makes sense then that the more our attitudes and feelings resemble those of heavenly beings, the more those beings will cleave to us, and also the reverse. "Pride is a switch that turns off priesthood power. Humility is a switch that turns it on" (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Pride and the Priesthood, Oct. 2010). That power includes discerning and casting out Satan.

The word "devil" means accuser, and not false accuser, either. Just because something is true does not mean we should condemn or criticize others for it. D&C 50:33 tells us that when commanding Satan to depart, we should not do it "with railing accusation, that ye be not overcome, neither with boasting nor rejoicing, lest you be seized therewith." Enmity makes us like Satan, and gives him access to us. When we fight Satan using his tactics, we have already lost. We should avoid fear. Moses saw "the bitterness of hell" when he began to fear (Moses 1:20). Joseph's sense that destruction was imminent in the sacred grove was undoubtedly real to him, but I personally heard Elder Bruce C. Hafen at a fireside explain that Satan "cannot hurt you" physically. (I add, unless expressly stated otherwise by the Lord or his appointed servants; there have been rare exceptions).

We can command him to leave in Jesus' name. "Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (Luke 4:8). (Notice Jesus' familiarity with scripture contributing directly to His ability to rebuke Satan.) "Know that any person who has a body has power over one who has not. Satan is denied a body; so if ever you are confronted with temptations, know that you outrank all those temptations if you will exercise the agency given to Adam and Eve in the garden and passed on to this very generation" (Boyd K. Packer, Truths Most Worth Knowing, Nov. 2011).

I give the following as my opinion: When Satan pesters you in your mind, you need only tell him to depart silently, in your mind. You reclaim the space in which your voice sounds.

Jesus' disciples were having difficulty casting an evil spirit out of a boy. Jesus did it for them, and they said, "Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" (Matt. 17:19-21). Greater faith, fasting, and prayer are all listed by Jesus as curative against Satan.

There is no contest between the Lord and Satan. He can sweep Satan away like lint blown by a fan, or shadows disappearing before light. The many ministering angels sent by God are also invested with power to disperse Satan. However, "When our conduct hedges up the way of angels how can they bless us?" (Brigham Young, Young Women's Journal, p. 262).

The real battle is the salesmanship tug-of-war occurring in our own hearts and minds—Satan and the flesh inviting us to sin, and the Lord and our own spirits, our consciences, inviting us to repent and obey. Satan cannot force us, and the Lord will not. It is possible to choose our way into a trap, such as addiction, but we can be pried loose from those as well, if we repent and humble ourselves, and exercise faith in Christ.

Repentance also loosens Satan's grip on us. We have received a universal command to repent from Jesus Christ Himself (D&C 133:16, etc.). In fact, you could conceivable characterize every commandment as yet another way to stave off Satan and escape his influence. But the gospel is not centered around Satan; it is focused on Christ, and that is probably one of the reasons why we are counseled not to dwell too much on the adversary or related things. How do you examine a shadow? It is much easier to learn about light.

All Are Fallen

Comparisons can distort our view. It is easy to think that another person is so very much more righteous, or smart, or handsome, or intelligent, or wealthy, or whatever, than we are. I must occasionally remind myself that what goes on here on earth must seem fairly goofy compared to heaven. The few faces and bodies considered "perfect" by our mortal standards must pale in comparison to beauty of spirits and resurrected beings in heaven. The same goes for intelligence. Spirits have a "perfect" knowledge according to Nephi, and a "bright recollection," according to Amulek. Mortals tend to forget. Athleticism, wealth, musical ability, any positive attribute or virtue you can think of here, must be dwarfed by its heavenly counterpart.

Here on earth, we are easily impressed. It is very easy to assume that a person must be very righteous, virtuous, pure, etc. Someone who keeps ninety percent of the commandments most of the time seems to deserve praise or a medal or a trophy. But simply keeping all the commandments all the time is the MINIMUM requirement for righteousness. Dirt is more righteous than we are, because it consistently obeys God."O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth. For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God" (Hel. 12:7-8). "And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law" (D&C 88:25). The earth abides a celestial law, which is simply to do what God tells it to. Do we deserve praise for simply doing what we are supposed to? Should an audience of onlookers begin to applaud wildly when we obey traffic regulations? No; it is our duty, what is expected of us.

Jesus' interaction with the rich young ruler in Mark will give us a clear picture of our current situation: "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions" (Mark 10:17-22).

God is the only "good" one. The rest of us fall short of the requirement. Instead of praising the rich young man for his obedience to some of the commandments, Jesus asked him to obey the rules he was struggling with (commandment one, "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me," two, "No idols," and ten, "Thou shalt not covet." He was actively breaking all three commandments in his heart with his treasures.) Jesus was asking him to live the law of consecration, and the rich young man balked. He had reached his personal limit, and was shown exactly what he needed to work on, and repent of.

Ether 12:27 says that "...if men come unto [Christ], [He] will show unto them their weakness." That is exactly what happened here.

Peter noted with some pride that he and the other disciples had passed the test by leaving their worldly goods and following Jesus, and was eager to cross the finish line like the rich young ruler and receive a commendation or award or something. By comparison, they looked very good. Jesus hinted that Peter had hurdles he would trip over as well—he later denied the Lord three times.

So there we are. From our perspective, when we finally start doing the right thing, we deserve praise, but in reality, we are just beginning to do what is expected of us, the default behavior of obedience. "For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made" (Alma 34:9). Jesus has bought time for us to repent, and covered our sins to soften the blow of despair that Peter and the rich young man felt when they reached their personal limit and broke the rules. If He has gone to such great lengths for us individually, despite our flaws, we should also be willing to excuse each other and forgive ourselves and others who fall short.

I believe the distance between a good person and a bad person is smaller than the distance between a good person and God. How many attributes would any mortal have to acquire (or rid himself of) before he could be equal to God? The Brother of Jared was a righteous man, so righteous that he saw Jehovah face to face, the pre-mortal Christ. But listen to the words he prayed just moments before that interview took place: "...O Lord...do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires."

I think this is the real meaning of the word "weakness" as used in Ether 12:27. It is not talking about weaknesses (bad eyesight, poor inhibition of appetites, temper, or other foibles); it is referring to our fallen nature, all weakness together, our inheritance from Adam of living in the fallen world, with fallen bodies, and tripping under the load and disobeying the commandments. This verse is often conflated with the construct or paradigm of modern self-improvement literature, in which we pick out one flaw and "work on it." But that is not what the verse is about. Our work is to obey the commandments (D&C 11:20). Jesus' work is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. We can change our behavior, but that is not enough; He can change our natures, and that is what we are looking for. Receiving strength to improve behavior in spite of our nature (grace), and ultimately to have our natures changed so that we are no longer susceptible to temptations—that is what it means to have "weak things made strong unto" us. We become fit for heaven as He cleans us up, gives us strength to do what we are supposed to, and makes doing it desirable instead of drudgery. We help in the process by surrendering our hearts and agency to Him (humility), and that gets our agency out of the way, for He will not overreach agency.

Comparison to each other creates false impressions about who is good; comparison to the actual rules creates a realistic sense of how great a distance we still have to go. How do we avoid being overwhelmed by the disparity between what is and what should be? Hope through the Atonement of Christ. Not just believing the words in the scriptures, but taking the impressions of the Spirit as evidence that He is far from giving up on us, and is still working on us. A lump of clay does not look anything like a shining, colorful piece of pottery, but the kneading and pressure of the Potter's hands on the surface of the lump is evidence that He is busy molding it into what it should be, and that He sees it in terms of what it can become.

Where Art Thou?

It seems to me that God looks for us first, and in the end we search for Him. Not that God does not know where we are, but He wants us to be aware of where we are in relation to where we should be.

In the Old Testament: "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" (Gen. 3:9). "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15). "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word" (1Kings 18:21). "...the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I" (1Sam. 3:4). "And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?" (2Kings 19:13). "I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear..." (Isa. 66:4). "...I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not..." (Jer. 7:13). "...when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear..." (Isa. 65:12). "...when I called, was there none to answer?" (Isa. 50:2). "...when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount...the voice of the trumpet [was] exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled...and they stood at the nether part (foot) of the mount" (Ex. 19:13, 16, 17). "Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts." (Mal. 3:7).

In the Doctrine and Covenants, we find the questioning reversed: "O God, where art thou?" (D&C 121:1). "O hear, O hear, O hear us, O Lord!" (D&C 109:78).

"In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me" (D&C 101:8). Joseph Smith obviously took the Lord's counsel seriously, but for the rest of us, problems drive us to seek for the Lord.

We get an assurance that God will answer when we come looking for Him: "...ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matt. 7:12). "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5). When we are fasting properly, we get this: "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am" (Isa. 58:9). The Lord commands us to seek after Him and ask for what we need: "...the Lord came...unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours...the Lord chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord" (Ether 2:14). "O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires" (Ether 3:2).

Finally, after all this seeking on the part of the Lord and man, the Brother of Jared meets up with the Lord: "...the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood..." "Sawest thou more than this?" "Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me."

"And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you. Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters" (Ether 3:6, 9, 10, 13-14). The breach that separates man and God is healed.

It seems that first, like Adam, we get ourselves into such a mess that the safest and preferable option appears to be hiding from God. Then the Lord puts us in circumstances so unbearable that the option of returning to Him becomes the obvious choice (like the prodigal son, or Jonah), and we seek Him desperately. The subsequent reunion with God reminds us of the fuller meaning of Atonement—to be at one with God.

I love the reassurance in D&C 54:10: "And again, be patient in tribulation until I come; and, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, and they who have sought me early shall find rest to their souls." We should start the process early rather than late. Seeking the Lord directly is good, commanded even, but there is a hint in Ether 3 about motives when seeking for God. Why did the Brother of Jared go up the mountain? Partly for himself, but also on behalf of everyone else in his community. I think that when we are looking for our lost brethren, seeking their welfare, trying to help others, then the Lord is inclined to answer our prayers more directly, quickly, and clearly. The word "revelation" generally refers to "new information" in Sunday school parlance, but we should remember that it eventually will include more than verbal commands or directions; one day, sooner or later, we will be standing face to face with our Father in heaven.

To What Do These Things Lead?

I have been a Latter-day Saint my whole life, and have attended church almost every Sunday, as well as many firesides, conferences, meetings, institute and seminary classes. I like to boil things down to their essence, to encapsulate them in a convenient nugget of summary. As the years have gone on, I have searched for a common thread binding all subjects taught in these many lessons, classes, schools, meetings, and also informal private conversations (like this).

What is the point of it all?

I feel that the actual answer to that question probably exceeds the grasp of a finite mortal mind, which is what I am currently using. But I feel that my answer to the question gives a good measuring stick for charting spiritual progress, including mine. While I hope my answer is continually updated (this hopefully indicates learning, growth, and progress), I am beginning to hit nearer to the mark in answering that question.

Of course, the answer is to get us back to God again. But how is this accomplished? We want to be reunited with Father in heaven, to be at one with Him. Jesus Christ suffered, died, and was resurrected, and we call this the Atonement. How do we receive the effects of the Atonement? The Holy Ghost. He is the agency that delivers the strengthening grace, and sanctifying fire of the Atonement to our minds, hearts, spirits, even our bodies. And it is not like a light switch, either. You can experience the power of the Spirit to varying degrees. The greater the portion of the Spirit, the greater the power of the Atonement inside us, and the greater that power, the more we are changed to become like Christ. Therefore, all activities we are encouraged or commanded to engage in have one common thread: they invite the Holy Ghost.

Take the necessary ordinances. Baptism is incomplete until we have received the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and incomplete until we are born again, baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost. Men are ordained to the priesthood, but when the Spirit is withdrawn from a priesthood holder because of sin, he loses authority. The final phrase of both sacrament prayers, the "therefore what" of the whole ordinance, is "that they may always have [Jesus'] spirit to be with [us]." One of the purposes of the Temple listed in D&C 109, the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple, is to receive "a fullness of the Holy Ghost." Temple marriage is not eternal until after it is sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. In 3Ne. 19:9, the Nephite Twelve whom Jesus ordained prayed for what they desired most, which was the Holy Ghost. They had recently seen Jesus in person, yet they desired the Holy Ghost more than anything. All ordinances, firesides, etc., are not of God unless the one who preaches and the one who receives both do so by the Spirit of truth (D&C 50:13-22).

"...the ability to receive and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill we can acquire in this life. With it we cannot fail; without it we cannot succeed" (Julie B. Beck, Relief Society President, Relief Society History: a Look at the Lord's Vision for His Daughters, Sept. 2011 Ensign). Now comes my "therefore what" of this blog post:

Is anything worth losing the Spirit of the Lord? That movie, book, music, friendship, etc., are they worth it? The answer is a resounding NO. There is nothing more important than having and following the promptings of the Spirit. The gift of the Holy Ghost means we may have His influence and guidance always, and He leads us to the Father and the Son, and into all truth.

Moroni's parting words are about the Holy Ghost, its guidance, gifts, and sanctifying power. I feel it is no coincidence that he speaks of final judgment and and the vital importance of the roles of the Holy Ghost in such close proximity to one another.

"...because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer..." (Moro. 8:26). Mormon teaches his son how to get and keep the Spirit, what work we have to engage in.

I have not mentioned one thing about the Spirit that is not only critical, but dear to me. That is that He is the channel through which I can receive the voice of God. In other words, when I have the Spirit, those promptings and words and messages and impressions are written, composed, and stamped by the Lord. To be with God is to be happy; we are not with God, but the Spirit gives us a taste of that premortal joy, communion, bliss, peace, hope, and love. To be separated from earthly loved ones is made more bearable through letters, phone calls, and other means of less than direct contact. If joy is the ultimate objective of all human endeavor, as some have suggested, then the Holy Ghost becomes the compass in that pursuit.

Let's avoid what we know will offend the Spirit, and do what we know will invite the Spirit, and repent when we fall short of this.

Big Little Sins

"...little evils do the most injury to the Church" (TPJS, p. 258). Why does Joseph Smith say that?

We each get to a point in our spiritual progression where we are neither engaged in heinous, grievous sin, nor are we conversing with angels on a daily basis. This middle-of-the-road state is probably where most of us are. What keeps people from progressing beyond this state? Little sins, pet sins, the ones we don't want to part with.

Most of us want to kill off the plant of sin one branch at a time, hoping to enjoy the others before we get rid of them (which we all plan on doing "later.") But we are not commanded to keep some sins and repent of others. We are commanded to repent of all sin (see Alma 22:16, Morm. 7:5, Moro. 6:2, 3Ne. 30:2, Hel. 14:13, D&C 42:77, 49:26, 54:3, 117:4, etc.). Selective repentance is not what we are called to engage in. Total repentance is what we are asked to do.

Think of the sacrament prayers. We don't really promise to keep the commandments; rather, we "witness" (show, demonstrate) that we are merely "willing" to keep all the commandments all the time. We may be far from the finish line, but we pledge through that ordinance that the prow of our ship is pointed in the right direction—we want total freedom from sin. Sins we commit during the week between taking the sacrament are then rightly classified as mistakes, errors, tripping, rather than open rebellion. The ordinance is more than a pledge for the future. It gives us a chance to evaluate where we need to improve from the previous seven day's performance.

One thing that makes those little sins we want to keep around so destructive is that we can lie to ourselves and believe that they are "normal," even a healthy part of life. We rationalize that we are good enough, and don't need to repent. But the absence of serious transgression is not the same thing as not needing to repent. Many people in the Church have what I refer to as "Prodigal Son's Brother's Syndrome." One brother did the right thing, the other brother did the wrong thing. At first blush, it is obvious who is good and who is bad. But a closer inspection shows that one brother wanted to go out into the world and play, and did, while the other brother wanted to go out into the world and play, but did not, staying home to murmur about his distasteful duties. While it is always better to do good and shun evil, behavior alone does not qualify one for entry into heaven. Neither brother was yet fit for Celestial glory, because they both had their hearts set on the world. That's the syndrome: doing the right thing, while secretly lusting after the world, and believing that this state is the best we can be or do. But righteousness includes a change of desires as well as a change of behavior. Repentance must go deeper, or it is incomplete. Many are fooled into not repenting continuously: "And others will [Satan] pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell" (2Ne. 28:21).

Those afflicted with this syndrome are in for serious problems, in my opinion. Either they will succeed in going an entire lifetime without experiencing the mighty change of heart necessary for entry into heaven (Mosiah 27:25-26), or they may end up like King David. One seemingly minor omission (being at home instead of on the battle front) led to his downfall. Figuratively speaking, he rode the snooze button into temptation, and followed temptation to destruction. The illusion of invulnerability or entitlement to a vacation from strict standards of behavior is as big a weakness as an outright addiction, because they both give Satan a wide opening in one's armor. All is NOT well in Zion; we must keep on our toes continually, or face destruction.

Joseph Smith referred to the Kirtland Temple dedication as a "feast" (Hyrum and Helen Andrus, They Knew the Prophet, quoting Elizabeth Ann Whitney, p. 39). Many at that time felt the outpouring of manifestations and blessings signaled the end of all trouble, the arrival of the new millennium. This sense of invulnerability may have led to relaxed guard, for it was immediately followed by a period of mass apostasy. Many of the highest officers in the Church left when dishonesty combined with a nationwide depression sank the Kirtland Safety Society, their community bank. The concern for actual bread, money, the things of this earth, made a community largely forget the sweet, heavenly manna they had eaten.

The distortion of truth through skillful manipulation of words can flatter us into thinking a little wrong-doing won't hurt, or sell us ideas we would not normally buy. It is so easy to feel smart or superior, and this inflated sense of competence is a diving board into troubles and sins, great and small.

What little evils plague us today? I can only report what I see around me; I cannot look into hearts. But I do see some common pet sins cherished by my local Utah Latter-day Saints. I do not exclude myself from having participated in any of them; rather, I point them out to show where WE  need to improve, if we plan on progressing spiritually.

Dances—I read an article written by Elder Perry recently, and these words describing his youth stung my conscience: "Ward dances involved the entire family" (The Tradition of a Balanced, Righteous Life, Ensign, Aug. 2011). Most Church sponsored dances I have attended featured dancing and music I would not want my family to hear or see. Why do the brethren permit them? I can think of several reasons, such as needing a way for young people to meet, and providing a better alternative than non-Church dances. But we can do better. We HAVE done better. I attended a Church sponsored date dance where the music was performed by a live band playing big-band era swing and jazz, and what I saw and heard there was was clean and virtuous.

Food—In D&C 89, the Lord's "word of wisdom" warns about "conspiring men." Drug dealers are not the only peddlers of addictive, destructive substances. Most sweet foods are addictive, and actually serve, ultimately, to intensify hunger. Heart troubles are what kill most Americans, and heart attacks happen largely because sugar changes cholesterol profiles in the blood. Large LDL particles are healthy; sugar causes the production of small LDL particles, and these are what causes arterial plaque. The difference between cigarettes and lollipops is that the lollipops are marketed and accepted as innocent and mildly unhealthy. Both are addictive, and both lead to poor health. Sugar was my emotional crutch of choice (sound like a drug addiction?) from childhood up to a few years ago. "Foodolatry" is not too strong of a word to describe the social undercurrent of Utah LDS culture. It took me about three decades before I actually experienced what the Lord describes in D&C 59—joyful fasting. The concept remained foreign to me for most of my life up to that point.

Violent entertainment—I find it strange that we can shun pornography like a disease, yet openly embrace graphic images of death and violence as entertainment. Is blood-lust compatible with the Holy Ghost? No. Video games, movies, books, etc., that glamorize violence have been warned against numerous times in General Conference, and elsewhere. "Thou shalt not...kill, nor do anything like unto it" (D&C 59:6). This world is so huge and varied, with so many people and so many things to do, and our time in it is so brief. Is the spectacle of death, explosions, murder, gunshots, sword-slashes, and the like, really the only thing we can find that appeals to us?

Worldliness—The Book of Mormon mentions clothes as a status symbol repeatedly, and the instant they go from being simple bits of cloth that protect us from the elements and keep us modest to status symbols, trouble begins for the Nephites. It never ceases to amaze me how much people can own and still think of themselves as poor. Why do we feel poor? Comparison to those who have even more than we. Following fashions religiously is like worshiping clouds. The minute you choose one, it changes and disappears. Perhaps this is bragging, but I feel a deep sense of peace and satisfaction when I hear about this or that movie, actor, or actress, and have no idea what anyone is talking about. If it is not a big deal in heaven, why should it consume my heart and mind?

I could go on, but these are just a few examples of things I see around me that keep us straddling the line between God and Satan, worldliness and heaven. Language, Sabbath observance, not dating, might also get a paragraph or two, but I hope the things I chose accepted widely enough that you were taken aback, offended even. No one likes to have their pet sins attacked, but they need to die if we are to become who we are meant to be. Thinking of any sin as "little" immediately upgrades it to a major threat, at least for the person who thinks of it that way.

Reproductive Semantics

Words may be an inadequate form of communication; so much that is relevant occurs outside the realm of verbal expressability. "Describe the taste of salt" is the anecdotal example, and there are probably millions of things like it, all of them experiences that contribute to making us who and what we are, that is, humans.

In spite of this deficiency, words are exceedingly important. President Monson recently quoted a study in which young people were asked to name a moral dilemma they had recently faced:

"The interviewers asked open-ended questions about right and wrong, moral dilemmas and the meaning of life. In the rambling answers, … you see the young people groping to say anything sensible on these matters. But they just don’t have the categories or vocabulary to do so.

"When asked to describe a moral dilemma they had faced, two-thirds of the young people either couldn’t answer the question or described problems that are not moral at all, like whether they could afford to rent a certain apartment or whether they had enough quarters to feed the meter at a parking spot" (quoted by Thomas S. Monson, "Dare to Stand Alone," Liahona, Nov. 2011; my emphasis).

Indeed, the lack of vocabulary can paralyze us, or even put us to sleep. To believe, plan, anticipate, command, assert, all require the correct words, even if they only sound inside one's head.

"When a man works by faith he works by mental exertion instead of physical force. It is by words, instead of exerting his physical powers, with which every being works when he works by faith...Faith, then, works by words; and with these its mightiest works have been, and will be, performed. . . .

". . . The whole visible creation, as it now exists, is the effect of faith. It was faith by which it was framed, and it is by the power of faith that it continues in its organized form, and by which the planets move round their orbits and sparkle forth their glory" (Lectures on Faith, 72–73; see also Matthew 17:20 ; Jacob 4:6, 9; taken from http://institute.lds.org/manuals/pearl-of-great-price-student-manual/pgp-2-m2-01.asp ).

Animals lack the intelligence to form intensely abstract language on their own, but interestingly, most of the more intelligent ones can be trained to respond to verbal commands from people.

My point is that the power of words for good has a flip side—that inaccurate or distorted words can impede all manner of good, and facilitate all manner of immorality. On an internal level, they can ameliorate a guilty conscience. The scriptures use the phrase "deceiving you own selves" (James 1:22). A rich person can look out his windows and see beggars starving on the streets below. The abnormally early frost is the reason why they have less food than last winter; "It's an act of God," he tells himself, and so transfers the responsibility to care for the his less fortunate brethren elsewhere. He has eliminated the anxiety of conscience through the use of words.

I wish to discuss the way this applies to abortion, by examining its popular terminology.

I take umbrage with the phrase "reproductive rights," especially as currently applied to abortion. What does it mean to "reproduce?" It implies the creation of a new member of the same species, not to the formation of an unwanted mass of tissue. If surgical removal of unwanted tissue is in question, then we are not speaking of reproduction. If reproduction is the activity in question, then abortion is taking a human life. The phrase "reproductive rights" implies as much, at least, and I wish to point that out for the benefit of anyone who has not yet thought of this. To say one has "non-reproductive rights," or maybe "anti-reproductive rights" might be more accurate. But they still imply murder by including "reproductive" in the phrase.

Perhaps "unwanted tissue removal rights" would be consistent with a legal system and society that considers the taking of human life to be illegal and immoral. If you truly believe a fetus is not human, then it makes no sense to associate the word "reproductive" with it. But what if the word "reproductive" is a reference to the particular organs in question, the womb, etc.? My reproductive organs have an unwanted mass of tissue...

This thought still suffers from the association of new human life and the word "reproductive." Were the organs in question malfunctioning? It would be hard to argue that abortion is a corrective surgery to fix a malfunction. All life is currently engaged in a mad dash to reproduce. The fruits and vegetables we eat, the grains, the livestock, the wild animals, the bacteria, the fish, whales, all of them are the results of the attempt to reproduce. Everything but a few nervous, selfish humans are anxiously attempting to create the next generation. Massive drifts of cottonseed and pollen, blooms of glowing red algae, plumes of eggs from spawning fish, and seeds scattered everywhere represent these attempts. Most are unsuccessful; many actually take root. When the same thing happens in humans, life itself has succeeded in its defining mission: to beget new life. Casting success as failure is the province of rhetoric, salesmanship, advertising, public relations, propaganda, hype, and sophistry. It is the function of word play, skillful manipulation that complicates the obvious, trivializes the momentous, and confuses, warps, and mutilates the plain and simple truth.

"Euphemism" is a synonym for a word we find distasteful. "Reproductive rights," and "pro-choice" ring with boldness, liberation, and freedom, and other vaguely positive feelings. To see photographs of what they are actually referring to fills the heart and gut with anything BUT positive feelings. This is the power of warped words. My own personal belief is that abortion is a sin unless the mother's life is endangered by the pregnancy, or in cases of rape or incest. In most cases the correct time to prevent an unwanted pregnancy is when a couple is deciding whether to have intercourse. Unlike most of the lifeforms on this earth, we are aware of the consequences that can come from the reproductive act, and we have the mental equipment to say yes or no, depending on our desired outcome. Not only "reproductive rights," but "reproductive responsibility," find accurate expression in this context.

We are burning humanity a both ends, so to speak, aborting the unborn and euthanizing the aged and infirm. If the average person is shifting from being appalled at these practices to their acceptance, what are the wickedest, most vicious people becoming? Where will this trend lead? I think it will lead to a view of humans as disposable plastic cups instead of valuable glass dishes. Let's curtail this trend. Let's call things by accurate names and correct words, rather than obscure our guilt and silence our consciences with distorted words.

Because "Nobody Else Wanted To"

In the 1970 musical, "Scrooge," Jacob Marley welcomes Scrooge into hell, and informs him that, "Nobody else wanted to." Humility is probably the least loved and least understood of the virtues. It is essential to salvation, and yet it gets so little airtime. A speaker at a YSA activity joked that if you claim to be humble, you aren't (a condensed version of his joke; the gist with the funny stuff removed for brevity). Yet Jesus says: "...learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart..." (Matt. 11:29). If claiming to be humble did not eliminate humility from Jesus' list of character traits, then I take the speaker's statement as evidence that we collectively do not understand what humility even is.

Humility is easily mistaken for its supposed symptoms—crestfallen countenance, drooping shoulders, self-deprecation, verbal devaluation of one's talents, etc. But God sees through all of this hypocrisy and posturing. He must be asking us for something more real. We have plenty of smoke to offer, but what about the wick, the wax, and the flame? You cannot grasp a candle by the smoke; you cannot offer symptoms in exchange for the real thing.

More Than Social Deodorant

If someone trips you, a sincere apology seems to discharge all debt. That contrition is often the only thing we look for when we are offended. A simple willingness to admit that one is, or may be, in the wrong, can go miles in diffusing ill will. When I demonstrate that I am aware of my shortcomings, that is almost as good as repenting of them. My imperfections don't stink as badly when I show that I am aware of them, and apologize for them. Humility can act as a social lubricant to keep our rough edges from rubbing people the wrong way. But it is far more than that. It takes on large dimensions in the eternal scheme of things.

Not Just for Sinners

A false notion floating around is that humility is for sinners. "When you've done wrong, it's time to hang your head in shame; until then, continue as you were." Moroni says that the resurrected Jesus Christ talked with him "in plain humility." Apparently, if we are ever exalted, humility will become a perfected and permanent part of our personalities. Again, this begs the question of what constitutes acceptable humility—it must be very important.

What Is It? Near the Nucleus

I do not think I am able to completely get at the root of the essence of humility, or even if the English language could adequately convey the idea even if I had grasped it, but I think I have found something near enough to the nucleus to get us going in the right direction: absolute deference to truth. In heaven, truth is the hinge upon which galaxies and eons and plans all swing. Conversely, here on earth, truth is ancillary to the pursuit of wealth, power, popularity, and the pleasures of the flesh. Truth takes a back seat to many things. To call truth "inconvenient" is almost redundant. But to manfully, dutifully accept whatever pain or inconvenience comes from deferring to truth is, in my opinion, the essence of humility.

Nephi catches two main strands in the braided wick of humility in his oft-quoted 1Ne. 3:7. They are willingness to obey God's will, and acknowledgment of our dependence on God. "I will go and do;" willingness. "I know the Lord...prepare[s] a way to accomplish the thing which he commandeth;" acknowledgment of his dependence on God. Complete deference to truth is a prerequisite for both of these essential elements of a scripturally compatible definition of humility. Notice how humility of this sort is less of a defeated, hand-wringing, self-deprecating sort, and more proactive and mobile. It is inconvenient because it asks us to change course, not because it requires giving up altogether.

The Virtue That Hurts You

Humility requires honesty with others and with self. A painful look in the mirror can not only induce humility; it often requires humility. It can be an extremely inconvenient virtue, and one that very few, if any, are predisposed to. Every ego aspires to assert its worth, to claim more than its share of whatever is available, to mutilate the truth in attempts at justification. Read Mosiah 4:11-12. We cringe at the words: "I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel." OUCH! I winced as I first read those words, and my ego was so wounded by them that I completely missed the promise in the next verse (most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not even aware that this promise is in the Book of Mormon): "And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true." Permanent happiness guaranteed as a direct result of humility? Unfathomable. Like spending all day looking for your keys, only to be told that they are on Neptune, or some other place you would not expect to find them. People are searching for happiness everywhere else but in humility.

A Prerequisite for Other Virtues

Why is it so important to God? "...none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart..." (Moroni 7:44). Neal A. Maxwell noted that without other virtues to balance it, a single virtue becomes a monster. Patience without diligence is sloth; diligence without patience is a grouchy monster that tramples others in the mad dash to get the job done. Think of the list of other virtues, and consider how many of them presuppose humility. Can we have the trust implicit in faith without humility? Without a measure of humility in the mix, patience turns to demandingness, forgiveness disappears, love takes on an unpleasant competitive edge, kindness becomes calculated for appearances, and gratitude turns into a sense of entitlement.

I used to read Alma 32, the great sermon on developing one's faith, and I would impatiently trudge through the first 25 verses or so to get to what I considered "the good stuff." Now I see those introductory verses quite differently. In about 25 verses, there are about as many references, whether direct or indirect, to humility. Faith in Christ is the first principle of the gospel; perhaps humility is the zeroth principle, a kind of basement that undergirds the other principles and ordinances. Faith in Christ, Repentance, Baptism, and the Holy Ghost, and the anecdotal fifth principle of enduring to the end, all presuppose a large measure of submissiveness, meekness, lowliness of heart, contrition, i.e. humility. We cannot even get off the ground without the foundation in place, and Alma's initial attentions to his audience are to point this fact out, with apparent glee. He is excited to finally find people who are prepared to hear what he is saying. They ask the golden question each missionary longs to hear: "What shall we do?" That question is an admission of several things: 1. I am lost. 2. What I am doing is not working. 3. I am willing to make changes to myself, my course, my behavior. 4. You have my attention. 5. And my trust. The question itself is a symptom of genuine humility.

How Humble?

The scriptures refer to "depths of humility." This indicates that instead of being like a light switch, either humble or proud, humility is like a volume knob or dimmer switch, involving levels of brightness or sound, or levels of humility. In 3Ne. 9, Jesus speaks to the people, a disembodied voice in the dark they all hear together. In verse 20, He replaces the law of blood sacrifices: "And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." I have heard a few sacrament meeting speakers falsely interpret this as mere contrition for sin. (Why be humble when you're not repenting?) But this commandment is to everyone, regardless of whether or not we have sinned.

What is "a broken heart and a contrite spirit?" Broken really does mean broken—"broken to shivers," and "the beaten-out spirit" in Clarke's Commentary on the Bible. "Crushed in spirit" is closer to the original Hebrew. Apparently, an aching, smashed humility is what the Lord is asking for, and this life seems designed at times to bring us to that point. Why? Is there not an easier way? I believe the changes God wants to make are in us, or to us, and that means our free will is in the way. Once we surrender it to Him, then Jesus can proceed to make changes to our souls—baptism with fire and with the Holy Ghost. Any humility that does not go that deep means there is still willful pride blocking access to our hearts, and Jesus will not overstep our freedom to choose. The barrier of pride is gone when it is "broken," "crushed."

Paradox

"He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that abaseth himself shall be exalted" (D&C 101:42). It seems to me that we are deemed fit to receive greater prominence and blessings as long as it does not go to our heads, make us proud, puff us up with self importance. 1Sam. 15:17 records the essence of Saul's fall from grace: "And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?" When he was a nobody in his own mind, God considered Saul a fit king; when Saul considered himself of great importance, he fell out of favor with God. There is a kind of symmetry to this concept, and it is a paradox we find throughout scripture.

Moses 4:1-4: "And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice."

Satan was Lucifer, a son of the morning; pride made him from a member of God's inner circle into a universal enemy. He went from claiming he would save humanity, to trying to destroy it. And he wanted credit for it all. Meanwhile, Jesus said He would do what God wanted, and let His Father have the glory. Jesus was given the task to rescue humanity, and one day "every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ," "that he is God" (Mosiah 27:31).

President Hinckley said: "It is so very important that you do not let praise and adulation go to your head. Adulation is poison. You better never lose sight of the fact that the Lord put you where you are according to His design, which you don't understand. Acknowledge the Lord for whatever good you can accomplish and give Him the credit and the glory and [do] not worry about that coming to yourself. If you can do that, you'll get along all right and will go forward with a love for the people and a great respect for them and try to accomplish what your office demands of you" (From Deseret News/Church News interview, Feb. 25, 2000).

I hope all this helps to define a mostly forgotten and unloved virtue, and help it regain its status among the other virtues—not that it minds having little prominence or status (just that our relationship with God and our salvation depends so much on it).