I learned recently that the writers of the gospels each had a different target audience, specific groups at which they aimed their messages. Matthew wrote to the Jews, Mark to the Romans, Luke to the whole world, John to the Christians. Matthew wanted to convince the Jews that Jesus was their prophesied Messiah. Mark was probably Peter’s scribe, and they were missionaries working within contemporary Roman culture. John’s writings are the most esoteric of the four gospels, and so his intended audience was probably those who were already initiated into Christian teachings, a sort of advanced lesson for those who already had a strong foundation in the faith and accepted Jesus as the Messiah.
Luke’s narrative is about the journey of the Savior through Palestine. It seems he had first-person interviews with Mary; her point of view, things only she would know, show up in his gospel more than anywhere else in scripture.
Luke tells about Joseph and Mary, frantic and pained, as they scramble to look for the boy Jesus, finding Him at the Temple where He astonished the learned men with His answers and questions.
She brought Jesus to the Temple at Jerusalem as a baby, eight days after He was born. Simeon knew by the Holy Ghost that he would not die until he had seen the Christ. He was directed to the Temple by the promptings of the Spirit, “…and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
“Then took he him up in his arms and blessed God, and said,
“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
“For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
“Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
“A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:27-32).
This child was to be the Messiah in Israel, and the Savior of all people.
Mary and Joseph were amazed when this total stranger walked up and began prophesying about Jesus. Simeon was so glad to finally see the Messiah that he was content to die.
It was not the first time strangers had come to view the Infant Jesus. When Mary and Joseph arrived late at the caravansary, the resting spot for the night for a caravan (perhaps because Joseph slowed whatever animal she rode due to her delicate state) all the alcoves (“inns”) in the structure were full. She gave birth in the middle of a central courtyard at the caravansary, most likely, where the travelers huddled in the surrounding alcoves could keep an eye on their livestock. None of them would make room in their chosen sleeping spots for a young woman going into labor.
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
“And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8-11). He told the shepherds how to find Jesus: He would be lying in a feedbox. This is the least likely place to find a newborn baby. A choir of angels burst into song: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (v. 14). The shepherds ran and found Mary and Joseph and Jesus, and then told everyone about what the angel had said and the angels had sung about Him. (Those who made no room for Mary and Joseph in that moment must have felt low.)
All people—that is to whom the “good news” of the angel came.
There are many babies born each day, probably to have difficult lives, and there have been billions of babies born over the centuries. Why did heaven encourage the whole world to rejoice over this particular Child? Luke gives the general idea that this is a good thing, to all people; John explains in some detail the WHY behind all the singing and hosannas and hallelujahs.
Peace
Fast forward to the last days of Jesus’ mortal life, the night He was betrayed by Judas in Gethsemane. Jesus knew His poor Twelve would be distraught and darkened in their minds and hearts at what was about to happen, and so He offered them comfort during the Last Supper. John records in great detail what He said in those last moments with His Twelve disciples.
Peter is emphatic about his devotion to the Lord: “I will lay down my life for thy sake.
“Jesus answered him…I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice” (John 13:37-38). This is extremely depressing news—Peter will deny the Lord? We all deny the Lord to some extent, though. Each one of us sins, betrays the Lord by ignoring our consciences and His commandments, to some degree. “…the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41).
Jesus consoles Peter, and everyone else who reads the very next words in John’s account: “Let not your heart be troubled…
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you…
“…I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
“…because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:1-3, 19).
We all eventually go over the cliff we call death (though we avoid it strenuously), and we have very limited ability to see if anyone is waiting at the bottom to catch us. It is great consolation to know that Jesus has gone ahead of us, and prepared a landing place—but only consoling when we BELIEVE it. The stronger our faith in what Jesus says, the more peace we feel. How can we believe it when we cannot yet see it?
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). What is this other-worldly source of peace, beyond the consoling power of the five senses, of carnal security?
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26). The Spirit will confirm the validity of what Jesus says about preparing a place for us, and in a way more firm and convincing than the five senses can muster.
“…when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:13).
The information given through the means of the Spirit is pure, and the feelings that accompany this witness are stronger than mere emotions resulting from a belief; they transcend normal feelings, and provide peace beyond the physical crutches and vices the world frantically clings to in order to maintain calm, or ignore or forget the inevitability of death.
Love
The world is groaning for the lack of good feelings. Turn on the radio—you do not even have to listen to the news to hear dire words. The most popular songs are about the disintegration of love more often than they are about its success. It is catchy funeral music for the death of joy and love.
Pure love, like so many treasures the world seeks, is hard to find because it is hidden in the places where we are least likely to look for it.
“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love…
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:9-14).
Who looks for love in obedience? But Jesus says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). How does that lead to love? He continues:
“I will not leave you comfortless (the Greek here literally means orphans): I will come to you…
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest manifest myself to him…
“…If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:18, 21, 23). Can we always see God when He is near? No, but He comes near to those who are trying to do what He has told all people to do—keep the commandments, repent, do good.
This relationship is reciprocal: “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14).
Those who are bound to Jesus will find themselves close to others who share that same bond with Him. Forming loving relationships with this kind of people is easier, because they are changed by Him bit by bit to become more like Him (loving), and because He can act as a referee between those who love each other and Him.
Joy
Jesus also told His disciples about finding happiness that dark night before He was arrested.
“…your sorrow shall be turned to joy” John 16:20.
“Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
“…ask, and ye shall receive that your joy may be full” (John 16:23-24).
How does He give us joy? He has created an earth for us, full of good things that delight the senses, but He offers us a kind of joy that transcends those things. “Verily, Verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy…” (D&C 11:13).
The Holy Spirit is not just the Comforter; He also fills us with joy. The presence and power of the Spirit automatically increase joy, like a blanket increases warmth or sunlight improves vision.
“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This seems callous at first glance. We are stuck in the mud; Jesus made it out; why rejoice about His freedom when we are still bogged down? Because we get to inherit everything He has, things we cannot earn on our own. He suffered misery in our place; He offers us His joy reciprocally.
“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). We are not simply to follow Jesus; we are to put Him on, like putting on clothes (see Romans 13:14), borrowing all the enhanced powers we can from Him.
“…why was [Jesus] perfect? Because He was the Son of God, and had the fullness of the Spirit…” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 188). A fullness of the Holy Ghost also entails a fullness of joy. He wants us to share that joy, to always have His Spirit to be with us.
“Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full” (D&C 101:36). “But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59:23). Perhaps what feels like joy here will be mere peace by comparison to the real joy that awaits us in heaven.
All People, Everywhere
Because Jesus suffered for everyone, past, present, and future, all people everywhere can find peace, love, and joy through Him. We can inherit everything He has ultimately, because He invites us to follow Him and join Him where He is.
As sunlight becomes scarce, and the Holiday Season rolls around again, it seems to make those who are happy, happier, while it also exerts a powerful effect of making those who are unhappy even less happy. It might amplify our nagging doubts and worries. A combination of free time, memories of joys that used to be, unmet expectations and dashed hopes, mixed with liberal doses of sucrose all converge on those who are struggling and seem to magnify their problems. Loneliness becomes darker; desires and hopes seem even further out of reach; it is possible to feel like a stranded traveler on a train station platform, watching trains full of happy people going by without stopping to invite anyone aboard. Oddly, moments and even months and years of these kinds of trials are probably a part of what we signed up for before we were born into this world (which Truman G. Madsen once called a “spook alley”).
Why were we shouting for joy at the chance to come here, if it was going to be so treacherous and potentially painful? Because we (all people, everywhere) accepted the premortal Messiah. We believed He would get us out of this mess intact, and back to God, worthy to stay forever. I am finite, but I know that Jesus has infinite power to manage circumstances, and to work with individuals. Peace, love, and joy are the intangible yet real cargo He seeks to load us up with, if only we will learn and live a few simple rules, be humble, exercise some faith, repent, and follow the Spirit.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
The World
When I was a boy, I spent a week at Yellowstone National Park with other fifth graders. It was a joyful experience. The long bus ride home ended in the middle of the night. I had fallen asleep, and as a groggy eleven year old, I staggered around the rented coach, looking for my bags among the heap of luggage. Someone else was searching for a valuable—I was startled by the strong hand of my father on my shoulder. We hugged, he loaded up my bags in the car, and we drove home. I fell asleep in the car, and awoke in my bed the next morning with no memory of having walked into my room.
I enjoyed that trip, and think of it whenever I see large coaches like the one we rode. I knew that trip was only seven days—I would be home soon. In a similar way, we have all left the presence of God, the Father of our spirits, and we are here as mortals on earth, only for a temporary stay. However, the nature of this life sometimes fools us into thinking that it will go on forever, or that the priorities of this world are the priorities of eternity. It is easy to forget that it is not our permanent residence.
Dual Citizenship
Our spirits come from a celestial home, heaven, while our bodies are comprised of telestial materials of this earth. So we have two sets of laws tugging on us. Sometimes these rules conflict and we need to choose where our loyalties reside. Many of the laws of this world, the telestial kingdom, are compatible with the laws that govern our original celestial home in heaven. “And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy” (D&C 130:2). Love, friendship, and familial bonds exist in heaven and on earth.
But there are other laws that apply here that do not apply in heaven. Pain is a signal that something in us is broken, or malfunctioning. It can also be psychological, the result of unmet hopes, needs, or disappointed expectations. Watching our loved ones sin or suffer can be excruciating, even when we are physically healthy. Physical pain is native to earth; in heaven, our bodies have everything in place. However, we read that God Himself weeps for us (see Moses 7:28-37). Sorrow is still a possibility there, if only empathically.
Death is a part of this life. Think of how many professions arise out of fear of death and the attempt to prolong life, to avoid death. The soldiers, doctors, farmers, police, security guards, and a host of other professions arise from the need to prevent bodily harm and death.
Another law of this earth is ownership by force. In heaven, says Brigham Young, you do not own anything until you can command it, and it obeys you. In this world, the threat of bodily harm or imprisonment is used to stake a claim on natural resources and artifacts we create with them. Land, gold, cars, and other things are fenced, put in vaults, locked up and set with alarms and video cameras to protect them. Suspicion and distrust of others are not written explicitly on these objects, but the security devices protecting them scream louder than words about that assumption, that others are untrustworthy in the minds of their owners. (Movies actually begin with an overt warning about fines and imprisonment, which is dissonant with the happy fantasies of justice and triumphant idealistic benevolence played out afterward. Apparently we know which side our bread is buttered on.)
Satan tempted Jesus Christ atop a mountain. “And again, Jesus was in the Spirit, and it taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
“And the devil came unto him again, and said, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” (JST Matt. 4:8-9). In short, the quick way to worldly wealth and fame is to follow Satan. The more our hearts yearn for the things of this world, the more power he has over us. It is possible to procure the necessities of life through righteous labor, but if we want riches and superabundance, the quickest way to the top of the heap is to abuse others, to take advantage of others, and Satan promotes adherence to that kind of law.
He encouraged Cain to murder his brother Abel to get his flocks. In our society today, murder for money is considered evil, but enslaving others under the burdens of crushing debt, or holding the necessities of life (like medicine or a home or cars) for ransom and price-gouging those who need them is considered business as usual. It is a diluted version of the same principle: prospering at others’ expense.
Living here in mortality, it is easy to pick up some of the habits, rules, fashions, fads, and ways of thinking that dominate mortal life; when they run counter to the Gospel, we need to make certain they do not worm their way into our hearts and make us unable to live well in the presence of our actual Father, waiting for our return in our heavenly home.
Heaven
Heaven is not a theme park, where entry instantaneously confers joy; we need to belong there before we can be happy there.
“Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell” (Mormon 9:4). Who belongs with God naturally, in His presence?
Transparent
Jesus taught, “Suffer the little children to come unto me…for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). Little children are not always angelic. They can be downright mean and selfish at times. What quality makes them fit to dwell with God? They are not hypocrites. We tend to think of “pure in heart” as virtuous, chaste. Another possible definition presents itself in scripture: “…his heart is pure before me, for he is like unto Nathanael of old, in whom there is no guile” (D&C 41:11). Little kids do not posture or trying to hide anything.
Are we ready to live in a world where our thoughts are transparent, audible and visible to everyone? The Lord will even give us a true look at Himself:
“…that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is…” No wonder we need to become “purified even as he is pure” (Moroni 7:48). What other kind of person could stand such thorough scrutiny? We will feel our “nakedness” in His presence, too.
In this life, externals and appearances get all the emphasis, while motivations are hidden in the black box of the mind and heart. It is possible to do all the right things and appear good while being filled with resentment or wishing for the chance to go out and enjoy some telestial partying. Having our hearts trumpet that desire audibly, loudly echoing throughout the halls of the celestial world, will make heaven into a hell.
Clothes and fashions get such an emphasis in this world because they are all anyone can see. We become bizarre birds of paradise with clothing and paint on the outside, and gray oatmeal emotionally and mentally on the inside, under the influence of this world. (Sin is the great homogenizer.) One maxim states: “Clothes make the man.” What a pathetic thing to confess about ourselves, if that is what we really base our perceptions and priorities on.
In Lehi’s prophetic dream of the Tree of Life, the great and spacious building was “filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit (of the tree of life)” (1Ne. 8:27). Preoccupation with externals and regalia as status symbols is a symptom of living in this world for too long.
In heaven, we get every indication that the only thing people wear are simple white robes (see 1Ne. 8:5; 14:19-20; 3Ne. 11:8; JS—H 1:31-32). Who would need to express themselves with fanciful garments when every word in their heads is audible to everyone else? Our real selves would be on display all the time there. Even the light in our countenances would be proportional to our righteousness; we could not apply or remove it like makeup. That kind of faking is impossible there.
Is our identity so fragile that it depends on a few bits of cloth, however expensive or beautiful? Mercifully, the best things we incorporate into ourselves in this life will go with us into heaven, or even rise with us in the resurrection. Tailors cannot confer them, or take them away. (In his book, The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis even imagines angels running about naked in heaven. This is not the case, but even so, there is no lust there.) To be in heaven is not necessarily to be naked, but we are transparent to God there, and here, but there we will be next to Him and aware of our exposure.
“Have ye received his image in your countenances?” Alma asks (Alma 5:14). Every time I am aware of the presence or absence of this light in people’s eyes and faces, I remember the phrase, “O then, is not this real?” (Alma 32:35). It is not something cameras can capture, yet it is undeniable.
Rank
Preoccupation with status is another symptom of being here on this earth for too long. The world teaches that greatness, authority, preeminence, all hinge on the ability to compel or persuade others to see things our way, to force other people to do what we want.
As with so many things, the definition of greatness in heaven is inverted from the world’s definition. Jesus taught: “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
“And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Matt. 23:11-12). What a silly, unpractical paradigm, at least as viewed from the surface of this dog-eat-dog world. Compassion is seen as weakness; there is never enough of anything, and hording is a manifestation of that uneasiness.
Ownership
We can get some idea of what the economy of heaven is like, and prepare for it so that living there will be comfortable instead of intolerable, by studying the scriptures and looking at the covenants we must make to qualify to live there.
“…all that my Father hath…” (D&C 84:38) describes our reward if we are faithful. But if it’s all His, and all mine, whose is it really? It must belong to EVERYONE, which is another way of saying that in heaven, we live the law of consecration.
The Prophet Joseph said that “God had often sealed up the heavens because of covetousness in the Church” (TPJS, p. 9). “Nevertheless, in your temporal things you shall be equal, and this not grudgingly, otherwise the abundance of the manifestations of the Spirit shall be withheld” (D&C 70:14).
If we want the riches of eternity, we must be willing to share them with others. Heaven is “an innumerable company” (D&C 138:12), not a retirement home for hermits parted by infinite space. How well do we get along with others? Can we forgive them when they accidentally step on our toes? Most of all, are we willing to share? The emotional habit of greed is a faux pas by celestial standards. God is generous; to be like Him means to be generous.
“For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves” (D&C 104:17). If there is scarcity in the world today, it is because it is being artificially created and maintained by us.
We worry that we will damage the virtue of hard work necessitated by the curse of Adam if we share with others; how valid is this concern, or is it an excuse? “And I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh…” (D&C 38:18). Again: “And, as I, the Lord, in the beginning cursed the land, even so in the last days have I blessed it, in its time, for the use of my saints, that they may partake of the fatness thereof” (D&C 61:17).
A scarcity mentality drives our insane dash to accumulate. Abusing authority is another way to get rich. Status and its symbols can be enough by themselves to convince others of rank. (I once entered a work site to do some manual labor as a temp worker, and the other workers assumed I was a supervisor because my shirt had buttons and a collar.) Position is respected automatically, instinctively, by something inside us. Those who are aware of this instinct will play it to the hilt to their own advantage. They will even get intoxicated with it, believing they really are great.
Leviticus 19 has a simple theme: This is the way the Lord is; YOU be that way also. “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor” (v. 15). Status and clothing and money (or their lack) do not cloud God’s view of another person; we should see in the same way.
Section 1 was dictated as a preface to the Doctrine and Covenants after many revelations had already been received: “I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh;
“For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.
“And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world” (1:34-36). Let’s not be worldy. This planet is a nice place to visit, but it will require extensive renovation before it is fit as a permanent dwelling for us and our real Father.
I enjoyed that trip, and think of it whenever I see large coaches like the one we rode. I knew that trip was only seven days—I would be home soon. In a similar way, we have all left the presence of God, the Father of our spirits, and we are here as mortals on earth, only for a temporary stay. However, the nature of this life sometimes fools us into thinking that it will go on forever, or that the priorities of this world are the priorities of eternity. It is easy to forget that it is not our permanent residence.
Dual Citizenship
Our spirits come from a celestial home, heaven, while our bodies are comprised of telestial materials of this earth. So we have two sets of laws tugging on us. Sometimes these rules conflict and we need to choose where our loyalties reside. Many of the laws of this world, the telestial kingdom, are compatible with the laws that govern our original celestial home in heaven. “And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy” (D&C 130:2). Love, friendship, and familial bonds exist in heaven and on earth.
But there are other laws that apply here that do not apply in heaven. Pain is a signal that something in us is broken, or malfunctioning. It can also be psychological, the result of unmet hopes, needs, or disappointed expectations. Watching our loved ones sin or suffer can be excruciating, even when we are physically healthy. Physical pain is native to earth; in heaven, our bodies have everything in place. However, we read that God Himself weeps for us (see Moses 7:28-37). Sorrow is still a possibility there, if only empathically.
Death is a part of this life. Think of how many professions arise out of fear of death and the attempt to prolong life, to avoid death. The soldiers, doctors, farmers, police, security guards, and a host of other professions arise from the need to prevent bodily harm and death.
Another law of this earth is ownership by force. In heaven, says Brigham Young, you do not own anything until you can command it, and it obeys you. In this world, the threat of bodily harm or imprisonment is used to stake a claim on natural resources and artifacts we create with them. Land, gold, cars, and other things are fenced, put in vaults, locked up and set with alarms and video cameras to protect them. Suspicion and distrust of others are not written explicitly on these objects, but the security devices protecting them scream louder than words about that assumption, that others are untrustworthy in the minds of their owners. (Movies actually begin with an overt warning about fines and imprisonment, which is dissonant with the happy fantasies of justice and triumphant idealistic benevolence played out afterward. Apparently we know which side our bread is buttered on.)
Satan tempted Jesus Christ atop a mountain. “And again, Jesus was in the Spirit, and it taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
“And the devil came unto him again, and said, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” (JST Matt. 4:8-9). In short, the quick way to worldly wealth and fame is to follow Satan. The more our hearts yearn for the things of this world, the more power he has over us. It is possible to procure the necessities of life through righteous labor, but if we want riches and superabundance, the quickest way to the top of the heap is to abuse others, to take advantage of others, and Satan promotes adherence to that kind of law.
He encouraged Cain to murder his brother Abel to get his flocks. In our society today, murder for money is considered evil, but enslaving others under the burdens of crushing debt, or holding the necessities of life (like medicine or a home or cars) for ransom and price-gouging those who need them is considered business as usual. It is a diluted version of the same principle: prospering at others’ expense.
Living here in mortality, it is easy to pick up some of the habits, rules, fashions, fads, and ways of thinking that dominate mortal life; when they run counter to the Gospel, we need to make certain they do not worm their way into our hearts and make us unable to live well in the presence of our actual Father, waiting for our return in our heavenly home.
Heaven
Heaven is not a theme park, where entry instantaneously confers joy; we need to belong there before we can be happy there.
“Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell” (Mormon 9:4). Who belongs with God naturally, in His presence?
Transparent
Jesus taught, “Suffer the little children to come unto me…for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). Little children are not always angelic. They can be downright mean and selfish at times. What quality makes them fit to dwell with God? They are not hypocrites. We tend to think of “pure in heart” as virtuous, chaste. Another possible definition presents itself in scripture: “…his heart is pure before me, for he is like unto Nathanael of old, in whom there is no guile” (D&C 41:11). Little kids do not posture or trying to hide anything.
Are we ready to live in a world where our thoughts are transparent, audible and visible to everyone? The Lord will even give us a true look at Himself:
“…that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is…” No wonder we need to become “purified even as he is pure” (Moroni 7:48). What other kind of person could stand such thorough scrutiny? We will feel our “nakedness” in His presence, too.
In this life, externals and appearances get all the emphasis, while motivations are hidden in the black box of the mind and heart. It is possible to do all the right things and appear good while being filled with resentment or wishing for the chance to go out and enjoy some telestial partying. Having our hearts trumpet that desire audibly, loudly echoing throughout the halls of the celestial world, will make heaven into a hell.
Clothes and fashions get such an emphasis in this world because they are all anyone can see. We become bizarre birds of paradise with clothing and paint on the outside, and gray oatmeal emotionally and mentally on the inside, under the influence of this world. (Sin is the great homogenizer.) One maxim states: “Clothes make the man.” What a pathetic thing to confess about ourselves, if that is what we really base our perceptions and priorities on.
In Lehi’s prophetic dream of the Tree of Life, the great and spacious building was “filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit (of the tree of life)” (1Ne. 8:27). Preoccupation with externals and regalia as status symbols is a symptom of living in this world for too long.
In heaven, we get every indication that the only thing people wear are simple white robes (see 1Ne. 8:5; 14:19-20; 3Ne. 11:8; JS—H 1:31-32). Who would need to express themselves with fanciful garments when every word in their heads is audible to everyone else? Our real selves would be on display all the time there. Even the light in our countenances would be proportional to our righteousness; we could not apply or remove it like makeup. That kind of faking is impossible there.
Is our identity so fragile that it depends on a few bits of cloth, however expensive or beautiful? Mercifully, the best things we incorporate into ourselves in this life will go with us into heaven, or even rise with us in the resurrection. Tailors cannot confer them, or take them away. (In his book, The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis even imagines angels running about naked in heaven. This is not the case, but even so, there is no lust there.) To be in heaven is not necessarily to be naked, but we are transparent to God there, and here, but there we will be next to Him and aware of our exposure.
“Have ye received his image in your countenances?” Alma asks (Alma 5:14). Every time I am aware of the presence or absence of this light in people’s eyes and faces, I remember the phrase, “O then, is not this real?” (Alma 32:35). It is not something cameras can capture, yet it is undeniable.
Rank
Preoccupation with status is another symptom of being here on this earth for too long. The world teaches that greatness, authority, preeminence, all hinge on the ability to compel or persuade others to see things our way, to force other people to do what we want.
As with so many things, the definition of greatness in heaven is inverted from the world’s definition. Jesus taught: “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
“And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Matt. 23:11-12). What a silly, unpractical paradigm, at least as viewed from the surface of this dog-eat-dog world. Compassion is seen as weakness; there is never enough of anything, and hording is a manifestation of that uneasiness.
Ownership
We can get some idea of what the economy of heaven is like, and prepare for it so that living there will be comfortable instead of intolerable, by studying the scriptures and looking at the covenants we must make to qualify to live there.
“…all that my Father hath…” (D&C 84:38) describes our reward if we are faithful. But if it’s all His, and all mine, whose is it really? It must belong to EVERYONE, which is another way of saying that in heaven, we live the law of consecration.
The Prophet Joseph said that “God had often sealed up the heavens because of covetousness in the Church” (TPJS, p. 9). “Nevertheless, in your temporal things you shall be equal, and this not grudgingly, otherwise the abundance of the manifestations of the Spirit shall be withheld” (D&C 70:14).
If we want the riches of eternity, we must be willing to share them with others. Heaven is “an innumerable company” (D&C 138:12), not a retirement home for hermits parted by infinite space. How well do we get along with others? Can we forgive them when they accidentally step on our toes? Most of all, are we willing to share? The emotional habit of greed is a faux pas by celestial standards. God is generous; to be like Him means to be generous.
“For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves” (D&C 104:17). If there is scarcity in the world today, it is because it is being artificially created and maintained by us.
We worry that we will damage the virtue of hard work necessitated by the curse of Adam if we share with others; how valid is this concern, or is it an excuse? “And I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh…” (D&C 38:18). Again: “And, as I, the Lord, in the beginning cursed the land, even so in the last days have I blessed it, in its time, for the use of my saints, that they may partake of the fatness thereof” (D&C 61:17).
A scarcity mentality drives our insane dash to accumulate. Abusing authority is another way to get rich. Status and its symbols can be enough by themselves to convince others of rank. (I once entered a work site to do some manual labor as a temp worker, and the other workers assumed I was a supervisor because my shirt had buttons and a collar.) Position is respected automatically, instinctively, by something inside us. Those who are aware of this instinct will play it to the hilt to their own advantage. They will even get intoxicated with it, believing they really are great.
Leviticus 19 has a simple theme: This is the way the Lord is; YOU be that way also. “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor” (v. 15). Status and clothing and money (or their lack) do not cloud God’s view of another person; we should see in the same way.
Section 1 was dictated as a preface to the Doctrine and Covenants after many revelations had already been received: “I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh;
“For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.
“And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world” (1:34-36). Let’s not be worldy. This planet is a nice place to visit, but it will require extensive renovation before it is fit as a permanent dwelling for us and our real Father.
Refining Definitions
It has almost become a cliché that those who are called to give talks on this or that subject will begin by defining name of their subject. (For example, Gospel literally means good news.) It can be good to update and refine our personal definitions of scriptural terms occasionally. When are they ever complete?
My first lessons about driving a car included instructions to walk around any car before driving and make certain the tires were inflated, and no gasoline or other fluids were leaking. Today I almost never stop to consider those things; I just get in my car and go.
In a similar way, it is easy to assume that we have the basics down—that our personal definitions of scriptural terms are compatible with the actual definitions. Most of them are, but often there are gaps in our understandings of the fundamentals, and this can lead us to incorrect actions or assumptions. We can falsely believe we have crossed the finish line when there is none.
Scriptural definitions of words and their secular counterparts are often quite different (e.g. converted means “convinced” in popular terms, but it means “altered by God” in the scriptures).
Below are some terms that are not as simple as they sound at first.
Faith
What could be simpler? Faith usually means “a belief one holds beyond physical proof.” The scriptures distinguish between mere belief on the one hand, and faith on the other. Faith is a subcategory of belief; it is a belief in things unseen but TRUE. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1; JST says “Now faith is the assurance…”).
“…faith is things which are hoped for and not seen…” (Ether 12:6). (The most important of these unseen but true things is Jesus Himself.)
In other words, to believe in something unseen and false, or to believe in something seen and true, are not scriptural examples of faith. It must be a belief in that which is unseen and true to qualify as the kind of faith the scriptures say we need.
The scriptures refer to faith as “evidence.” How can a belief in something be evidence of that thing? Again, scriptural terms are not as simple as they seem at first.
Alma 32 is generally considered the go-to passage in the Book of Mormon about increasing one’s faith. If you read it carefully, you recognize that Alma has a few assumptions, and one of them is that each person has some kind of built-in spiritual truth detector.
“…we will compare the word to a seed…if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlighten my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlarge my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
“Now, behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea…” (Alma 32:28-29).
Alma here assumes that if anyone hears the truth, and takes a chance by accepting it into his or her heart, the validity of the ideas will elicit certain responses in the person. It will cause feelings—“swelling motions,” good feelings, inside of a person. It will “enlarge” the soul, “enlighten” the understanding, and become “delicious” to a person. Just as the palate can detect the foul taste of poison or the sweetness of sugar, Alma is telling us that we have the ability to “taste” when an idea is correct, and that recognizing that sweetness will increase our faith (when we look for it).
Another assumption of Alma’s we often overlook is the roll of the Holy Ghost in this process of building faith—he says if we “will resist the Spirit of the Lord” it might short-circuit things. That is another element of faith that goes beyond secular or popular definitions—revelation. It is not just a man sitting in a padded cell reading the scriptures and achieving an epiphany on his own. A member of the Godhead is involved in the process of lighting the flame of our faith.
Almost immediately after the Savior appears to the Nephites, He tells them: “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 of the Father and me…” (3Ne. 11:35-36). Any old kind of belief will not suffice. Faith built on suppositions, assumptions, casual acceptance, leaning on the words of trustworthy authority figures, even witnessing miracles, is not enough; we must all receive some confirmation from God in our hearts before we have the kind of faith in Christ required of us.
Repentance
Sometimes we twist the scriptures by tacking another word onto a term, and suddenly it loses all its meaning, or gets warped into something else, sidetracked. The Savior says: “…the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me” (3Ne. 11:32).
In the scriptures, repentance is something everyone is commanded to do all the time. We are commanded by the Savior, “be ye…perfect,” (3Ne. 12:48, Matt. 5:48), and that is never fully completed for us here; it will come long after the resurrection. In other words, we are not to beat ourselves up, but we are not to rest on our laurels, either. For all practical purposes, legitimate repentance never ends—any improvement we make in this life counts as repentance.
In our Sunday schools and sacrament meeting talks, we have begun to tack a word onto repentance that does not follow it in the scriptures: “process.” This gives kids in the audience a false impression—that repentance is like a regimen of medicine you have to take for a while after you do something really naughty, something you can spit out and leave on the shelf when you have suffered enough.
This can create a negative stigma—that repentance is like a dunce cap or a scarlet letter, a badge of shame to punish those who have done something very terrible. When we hold to this mentality, any suggestion that we need to repent is tantamount to attacking us, impugning our character.
There is no neat, start-to-finish “repentance process,” unless the process is life-long. “…all men, everywhere…” must repent continually. Anyone who is not repenting is necessarily backsliding. A living tree always adds new rings of growth.
Feeling guilty all the time is not a legitimate part of repentance, either. We often conflate feeling sorry or depressed with genuine scriptural humility. Alma tells his wayward son, Corianton: “…only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance” (Alma 42:29).
Sorrow for sins should soon be replaced by resolve to live well—constant guilt morphs into shame, which can cripple progress along the Gospel path here and now (though there is a place and time for guilt when we repent). If misery were the essence of genuine humility, Satan would be humble. Genuine humility is closer to willingness—being ready and prepared and even eager to do what God commands us, coupled with an acknowledgement that we desperately need His help.
If there is a “repentance process,” it is a never ending one. Creating the false impression that it is a brief “process” can eclipse the fuller meaning of repentance—continual lifelong refinement.
Rebirth—A Mighty Change
All these terms funnel into another concept mentioned frequently in the Book of Mormon, but that is generally not well understood among us members of the Church—spiritual rebirth, the “mighty change of heart.” One member I talked with thought that being reborn meant the ordinance of confirmation after baptism. Rebirth might come at that moment, but often it does not.
The earth was baptized with the flood, but it has yet to be baptized with fire; many of us are in a similar condition spiritually. We have received ordinances, but not that rebirth, that change of heart.
One well-meaning speaker conflated the scriptural term “mighty change of heart” with the enthusiasm we feel after a rousing sermon. We recommit ourselves on special occasions, determined to try harder and do better. This enthusiasm is a good thing, but it ebbs and flows, comes and goes. It is not what the scriptures mean when the say “a mighty change of heart.”
This change is conversion, something the Lord does to us or in us; it is not something we work on, or cause through our own efforts alone. We can work on or practice at keeping the commandments, and these exertions are good, but they do not constitute or directly cause spiritual rebirth.
So often, we want everything in the Gospel to conform to what we can touch, see, and understand with our natural minds. We comprehend working harder and getting good at something, and that has application in the plan of salvation, but there are certain parts of the plan that do not make any sense to the natural man, yet are also critical.
For instance, why would being very, very, very humble before God, and having faith in Him, and being baptized and confirmed, make cigarettes unappealing to an addict? There is no physical connection between the two things, and yet the laws of God and His power, the power of the Atonement, can cause such a change. If we were supposed to rescue ourselves, why would we need a Savior? He does for us that which we cannot do for ourselves, including changing our natures to more closely align with His.
A lady I encountered on my mission (recently converted to the Church) told me and my companion that one day her nicotine addiction was simply gone—no work, no toil, no practice—the Lord had just changed her heart. This is a miracle, something that defies our assumptions about nature. Her husband, also a smoker, was not a member of the Church (and not interested in it). Yet even he was compelled to acknowledge, despite his lack of faith, that her sudden freedom from craving, or any symptoms of withdrawals, was remarkable. This is a practical example of that mighty change of heart.
This scares us members of the Church—it does not fit into our paradigm of working harder and seeing results. Also, it is not something one can bottle or distribute like an elixir. We would rather rely on the faulty arm of the flesh to get the Lord’s work done, and see mediocre results, than “relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save” (2Ne. 31:19).
This kind of a change is the result of coming to the Savior in deep humility and faith. When we are humble, He baptizes us “with fire and with the Holy Ghost” (3Ne. 9:20). This is not an increase in our enthusiasm—this change is something we might not be aware of: “…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” (3Ne. 9:20).
We can do our best to obey the commandments externally, yet miss out on this mighty change because we are not humble enough.
What constitutes real humility? “I’ll do it your way Lord—I need your help,” captures some of it. Another way to gauge our humility: Go through the list of things we love, and ask one by one, “Would I surrender this to the Lord if He asked me to give it up?” The point here is not to hate everything but the Lord, or to think that the things we love are necessarily bad; the real question is, Do we love the Lord more than anything?
Abraham loved Isaac, but he loved the Lord more. Isaac was not bad—he was a gift from God to his parents, a miracle child. Surrendering Isaac by itself was no virtue; indeed, it was appropriate for Abraham to love this boy. The real virtue was in keeping the first commandment—to love God before all else. That is authentic humility, and has nothing to do with belittling ourselves or feeling guilty.
The things we surrender are not what God wants (He already owns everything); what they represent, the offering of “a broken heart and a contrite spirit,” that is what He wants from us.
He will not overstep agency—God only changes our hearts when we surrender them to Him. The more we surrender our hearts, the more He will change them. Often that surrender is accompanied by some outward act, and we can confuse that outward obedience with the real cause of the sanctification we see in ourselves. Were the ten lepers healed because they started walking towards the priest, or were they healed because that show of faith increased their faith in Jesus and His power to heal them? Are we reborn because we keep the commandments outwardly, or because keeping the commandments (or attempting to do so) engenders that humility and faith in Jesus Christ that leads to conversion, a mighty change?
When we share or study the gospel, it is good to examine our assumptions about what terms mean. False assumptions that we fully comprehend Gospel vocabulary can impair our understanding, or even spiritual progress.
My first lessons about driving a car included instructions to walk around any car before driving and make certain the tires were inflated, and no gasoline or other fluids were leaking. Today I almost never stop to consider those things; I just get in my car and go.
In a similar way, it is easy to assume that we have the basics down—that our personal definitions of scriptural terms are compatible with the actual definitions. Most of them are, but often there are gaps in our understandings of the fundamentals, and this can lead us to incorrect actions or assumptions. We can falsely believe we have crossed the finish line when there is none.
Scriptural definitions of words and their secular counterparts are often quite different (e.g. converted means “convinced” in popular terms, but it means “altered by God” in the scriptures).
Below are some terms that are not as simple as they sound at first.
Faith
What could be simpler? Faith usually means “a belief one holds beyond physical proof.” The scriptures distinguish between mere belief on the one hand, and faith on the other. Faith is a subcategory of belief; it is a belief in things unseen but TRUE. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1; JST says “Now faith is the assurance…”).
“…faith is things which are hoped for and not seen…” (Ether 12:6). (The most important of these unseen but true things is Jesus Himself.)
In other words, to believe in something unseen and false, or to believe in something seen and true, are not scriptural examples of faith. It must be a belief in that which is unseen and true to qualify as the kind of faith the scriptures say we need.
The scriptures refer to faith as “evidence.” How can a belief in something be evidence of that thing? Again, scriptural terms are not as simple as they seem at first.
Alma 32 is generally considered the go-to passage in the Book of Mormon about increasing one’s faith. If you read it carefully, you recognize that Alma has a few assumptions, and one of them is that each person has some kind of built-in spiritual truth detector.
“…we will compare the word to a seed…if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlighten my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlarge my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
“Now, behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea…” (Alma 32:28-29).
Alma here assumes that if anyone hears the truth, and takes a chance by accepting it into his or her heart, the validity of the ideas will elicit certain responses in the person. It will cause feelings—“swelling motions,” good feelings, inside of a person. It will “enlarge” the soul, “enlighten” the understanding, and become “delicious” to a person. Just as the palate can detect the foul taste of poison or the sweetness of sugar, Alma is telling us that we have the ability to “taste” when an idea is correct, and that recognizing that sweetness will increase our faith (when we look for it).
Another assumption of Alma’s we often overlook is the roll of the Holy Ghost in this process of building faith—he says if we “will resist the Spirit of the Lord” it might short-circuit things. That is another element of faith that goes beyond secular or popular definitions—revelation. It is not just a man sitting in a padded cell reading the scriptures and achieving an epiphany on his own. A member of the Godhead is involved in the process of lighting the flame of our faith.
Almost immediately after the Savior appears to the Nephites, He tells them: “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 of the Father and me…” (3Ne. 11:35-36). Any old kind of belief will not suffice. Faith built on suppositions, assumptions, casual acceptance, leaning on the words of trustworthy authority figures, even witnessing miracles, is not enough; we must all receive some confirmation from God in our hearts before we have the kind of faith in Christ required of us.
Repentance
Sometimes we twist the scriptures by tacking another word onto a term, and suddenly it loses all its meaning, or gets warped into something else, sidetracked. The Savior says: “…the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me” (3Ne. 11:32).
In the scriptures, repentance is something everyone is commanded to do all the time. We are commanded by the Savior, “be ye…perfect,” (3Ne. 12:48, Matt. 5:48), and that is never fully completed for us here; it will come long after the resurrection. In other words, we are not to beat ourselves up, but we are not to rest on our laurels, either. For all practical purposes, legitimate repentance never ends—any improvement we make in this life counts as repentance.
In our Sunday schools and sacrament meeting talks, we have begun to tack a word onto repentance that does not follow it in the scriptures: “process.” This gives kids in the audience a false impression—that repentance is like a regimen of medicine you have to take for a while after you do something really naughty, something you can spit out and leave on the shelf when you have suffered enough.
This can create a negative stigma—that repentance is like a dunce cap or a scarlet letter, a badge of shame to punish those who have done something very terrible. When we hold to this mentality, any suggestion that we need to repent is tantamount to attacking us, impugning our character.
There is no neat, start-to-finish “repentance process,” unless the process is life-long. “…all men, everywhere…” must repent continually. Anyone who is not repenting is necessarily backsliding. A living tree always adds new rings of growth.
Feeling guilty all the time is not a legitimate part of repentance, either. We often conflate feeling sorry or depressed with genuine scriptural humility. Alma tells his wayward son, Corianton: “…only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance” (Alma 42:29).
Sorrow for sins should soon be replaced by resolve to live well—constant guilt morphs into shame, which can cripple progress along the Gospel path here and now (though there is a place and time for guilt when we repent). If misery were the essence of genuine humility, Satan would be humble. Genuine humility is closer to willingness—being ready and prepared and even eager to do what God commands us, coupled with an acknowledgement that we desperately need His help.
If there is a “repentance process,” it is a never ending one. Creating the false impression that it is a brief “process” can eclipse the fuller meaning of repentance—continual lifelong refinement.
Rebirth—A Mighty Change
All these terms funnel into another concept mentioned frequently in the Book of Mormon, but that is generally not well understood among us members of the Church—spiritual rebirth, the “mighty change of heart.” One member I talked with thought that being reborn meant the ordinance of confirmation after baptism. Rebirth might come at that moment, but often it does not.
The earth was baptized with the flood, but it has yet to be baptized with fire; many of us are in a similar condition spiritually. We have received ordinances, but not that rebirth, that change of heart.
One well-meaning speaker conflated the scriptural term “mighty change of heart” with the enthusiasm we feel after a rousing sermon. We recommit ourselves on special occasions, determined to try harder and do better. This enthusiasm is a good thing, but it ebbs and flows, comes and goes. It is not what the scriptures mean when the say “a mighty change of heart.”
This change is conversion, something the Lord does to us or in us; it is not something we work on, or cause through our own efforts alone. We can work on or practice at keeping the commandments, and these exertions are good, but they do not constitute or directly cause spiritual rebirth.
So often, we want everything in the Gospel to conform to what we can touch, see, and understand with our natural minds. We comprehend working harder and getting good at something, and that has application in the plan of salvation, but there are certain parts of the plan that do not make any sense to the natural man, yet are also critical.
For instance, why would being very, very, very humble before God, and having faith in Him, and being baptized and confirmed, make cigarettes unappealing to an addict? There is no physical connection between the two things, and yet the laws of God and His power, the power of the Atonement, can cause such a change. If we were supposed to rescue ourselves, why would we need a Savior? He does for us that which we cannot do for ourselves, including changing our natures to more closely align with His.
A lady I encountered on my mission (recently converted to the Church) told me and my companion that one day her nicotine addiction was simply gone—no work, no toil, no practice—the Lord had just changed her heart. This is a miracle, something that defies our assumptions about nature. Her husband, also a smoker, was not a member of the Church (and not interested in it). Yet even he was compelled to acknowledge, despite his lack of faith, that her sudden freedom from craving, or any symptoms of withdrawals, was remarkable. This is a practical example of that mighty change of heart.
This scares us members of the Church—it does not fit into our paradigm of working harder and seeing results. Also, it is not something one can bottle or distribute like an elixir. We would rather rely on the faulty arm of the flesh to get the Lord’s work done, and see mediocre results, than “relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save” (2Ne. 31:19).
This kind of a change is the result of coming to the Savior in deep humility and faith. When we are humble, He baptizes us “with fire and with the Holy Ghost” (3Ne. 9:20). This is not an increase in our enthusiasm—this change is something we might not be aware of: “…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” (3Ne. 9:20).
We can do our best to obey the commandments externally, yet miss out on this mighty change because we are not humble enough.
What constitutes real humility? “I’ll do it your way Lord—I need your help,” captures some of it. Another way to gauge our humility: Go through the list of things we love, and ask one by one, “Would I surrender this to the Lord if He asked me to give it up?” The point here is not to hate everything but the Lord, or to think that the things we love are necessarily bad; the real question is, Do we love the Lord more than anything?
Abraham loved Isaac, but he loved the Lord more. Isaac was not bad—he was a gift from God to his parents, a miracle child. Surrendering Isaac by itself was no virtue; indeed, it was appropriate for Abraham to love this boy. The real virtue was in keeping the first commandment—to love God before all else. That is authentic humility, and has nothing to do with belittling ourselves or feeling guilty.
The things we surrender are not what God wants (He already owns everything); what they represent, the offering of “a broken heart and a contrite spirit,” that is what He wants from us.
He will not overstep agency—God only changes our hearts when we surrender them to Him. The more we surrender our hearts, the more He will change them. Often that surrender is accompanied by some outward act, and we can confuse that outward obedience with the real cause of the sanctification we see in ourselves. Were the ten lepers healed because they started walking towards the priest, or were they healed because that show of faith increased their faith in Jesus and His power to heal them? Are we reborn because we keep the commandments outwardly, or because keeping the commandments (or attempting to do so) engenders that humility and faith in Jesus Christ that leads to conversion, a mighty change?
When we share or study the gospel, it is good to examine our assumptions about what terms mean. False assumptions that we fully comprehend Gospel vocabulary can impair our understanding, or even spiritual progress.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Mistaken Message
It is easy for us mortals to forget. Each week the bread and water, emblems of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, are distributed by the young men in the Church, and we hear the words “always remember Him.” This is mental exercise, and it requires exertion, especially when other things take precedence over Him in our hearts. It is also easy for us to step out the door without all necessary equipment in place.
Adam sacrificed sheep to commemorate the death, vicarious suffering, and resurrection of the Savior. This event was not meant to be a then-over-there abstraction; the blood and the smoke were vivid reminders, and the invitation to take the name of Christ upon us that we find in the sacrament was a part of Adam’s emblems and worship, too:
An angel appears to Adam, and asks, “Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
“And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
“Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore” (Moses 5:6-8).
It is easy to forget as we attend Church and partake of the sacrament and administer and receive ordinances that these things did not originate on the earth—they were committed to men by heavenly messengers, angels.
King Benjamin also had an angel appear to him. The theme of the message was sacrifice and the Atonement, only it was more detailed than what we have about the angelic appearing to Adam:
“And he shall be called Jesus Christ…
“…he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men through faith on his name…they shall…scourge him, and shall crucify him.
“And he shall rise the third day from the dead…
“For…his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam…
“…salvation cometh to none…except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
“…as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins
“…there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord…
“…men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:8-12, 16-18). This entire chapter is a direct quotation from an angel, delivered by King Benjamin to an audience gathered at the Temple.
Does this revelation from an angel address anything that worries us? If it does not, perhaps we are worried about the wrong things. People who have never experienced a car accident might not take their seatbelts seriously; do we feel indifferent about this message? This stuff must be more important than anything else, because the Lord’s servants repeat it so often. (We murmur because they always talk about the “same things.” Might we be in need of review on these subjects?)
According to King Benjamin’s recitation, ignorance means innocence, and little children get a break, but the rest of us must be repenting continuously to be saved by Jesus Christ.
There is a temptation to look for finish lines in the race of salvation where there are none. There is no brief “repentance process,” any more than there is a one-time “breathing process.” We must breathe continuously to stay alive; we must repent all the time, the remainder of our lives to be saved. Humility is not a temporary state we achieve in order to be forgiven, something we discard when we are done feeling sorrow for our sins; it is a virtue we need to have stamped onto our souls in a permanent fashion if we want to belong in heaven.
The Natural Boogey-Man
King Benjamin spoke at the Temple; the themes of sacrifice, taking the name of Christ upon ourselves, the Fall of Adam, and Atonement or reunion, being healed of the Fall, are all pertinent to that sacred place.
Part of his speech, Mosiah 3:19, has become an oft-quoted passage from the Book of Mormon:
“For the natural man is an enemy to God…” What is the “natural man?” Natural has the same etymology as native, nativity, navel…it just refers to the way we are predisposed to be. We try to make it sound like the natural man is some They or Them, those evil monsters out there. The natural man becomes a scapegoat, a boogey-man who haunts us. No, it IS us; we are all born and so inherit Adam’s nature. The natural man has some good traits; he instinctively takes care of children and loves his friends. Some of our natural proclivities are also horrendous; prisons are full of people who stepped outside of society’s codified laws.
But there are socially accepted thoughts, feelings, and actions that are repugnant to the laws of God. Just because our neighbors wink at them and give us a pass does not mean we can fool God. His stamp of approval is not the world’s, and vice versa.
It is not enough to look righteous, to put on a show. To be motivated to do good by social pressure can be as detrimental as sinning outright, because it conflates our desire for social approval with our love for God which should be our main motivation. Nephi classes popularity along with the lusts of the flesh, power, and wealth as temptations. We will be destroyed when we pursue them. Keeping the commandments to get social approval is really just another play for popularity, and it is a subtle trap that can keep us from experiencing true conversion. Perhaps the Prodigal Son had an advantage over his grouchy yet obedient brother—at least he had come to himself, seen himself and his father in the light of truth. The other son only thought he was being righteous, but we get a hint that he also wanted to be out partying. Neither, at first, was content to be home with Dad, laboring on the farm.
Natural Man, Supernatural Solution
Vilifying the natural man is not the solution to having a fallen nature. We do not wait until a broken leg is set and healed before we go to the doctor; why do we tend to hide from the Lord when we are sick with sin? Social pressure would promote hiding sins; the Lord wants us to open up to Him, to come as the messes we truly are, so that healing can commence.
“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless…” Unless what? What comes next? A checklist of duties? An admonition to comb our hair and sit up straight? Encouragement to run ourselves ragged, shotgunning goodness everywhere at random until we collapse with fatigue? These things are NOT what the angel tells King Benjamin, but unfortunately that is the essence of what many Latter-day Saints perceive, the message they take away, when they read this verse—try harder, keep using your mortal wisdom, strength, and resources, exhaust yourself, whip and prod yourself with guilt and shame, etc. No wonder we get fatigued and grouchy. Is that peace, love, joy, or salvation?
(I fear that many who become disaffect from the Church are not apostatizing from the Church at all, but from what they perceive as the Church, an unfair list of demands bereft of joy, rather than an invitation to be saved from bad desires and filled with good desires, so that all these chores become a joy instead of a burden.)
What follows the “unless” is no invitation to apply man’s wisdom or powers to our predicament. Jesus Christ is our Savior, not a chef who provides stone soup while we bring the real carrots, potatoes, the actual food. We say He is our Rescuer, a Savior, but then we insist that the key to our salvation is OUR efforts and exertion. Is that faith?
Is gagging down unpleasant assignments from the Lord a sign of virtue, or should we be finding a way to be changed to enjoy our duties? At some point we have to begin to believe and apply all this stuff in the scriptures, if we want to see actual progress inside and outside ourselves.
What follows the “unless?”
“…unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord…” This is no call to increase our numbers, work harder, put on a show, be more frenetic or fanatical or judgmental in our observances, pretend that we enjoy stuff we hate, etc., because none of those things have the power to change our natures significantly. We are not invited to scuff our feet on the carpet to make electricity; we are invited to put up our lightning rods and access greater power.
Changed First, Then Greatness Follows
There is an inextricable connection between accessing this power, and our internal attitude, humility: “…and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit…” These words sicken our modern ears. Humility is not the American way, as Elder Holland noted. Yet this unpleasant virtue is a key that opens the door—that activates heaven’s power in us. Instead of increasing our output, the invitation is to be more and more humble. We can increase our exertion without any significant change in our natures; Laman and Lemuel did everything they were told to do.
Nephi experienced a change of nature by the Lord before he began his journey, and he cites that as the main difference between himself and Laman and Lemuel: “…I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.
“…Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart” (1Ne. 2:16, 19). His humility enabled him to be born again, changed from his carnal and fallen state to a state of righteousness, having no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. He offered his whole self to the Lord, and then the Lord changed him. Nephi experienced this mighty change of heart BEFORE his journey began.
Suited Up First
We are so caught up in the romance of upward struggles the Lord demands of us that we forget that we need to be suited up by Him, changed by Him, and prepared to tackle our duties successfully. (Adam and Eve received their clothes from the Lord before they left the Garden to face the difficult fallen world.)
The natural man believes in what his physical senses confirm and report to him after experimentation. We tend to hear only a call to work-work-work harder when we hear Church leaders or read the scriptures because miraculous intervention is outside of the boundaries of what the natural man will accept. We cannot bottle, buy, or sell a change of heart; we cannot prove that divine intervention enables us to resist temptations; and who wants to be humble enough to enjoy these things, anyway? We can just work harder and feign substitute versions without being humble.
Eventually, anything of this world that we rely on will break down, fail, malfunction, and leave us stranded. We cannot successfully perform the Lord’s work by relying on the arm of the flesh. Other sources cease to make us whole at some point, and this rock-bottom state is exactly where most of us discover the power of God, because it is the moment we let go of our own wisdom and strength, and decide to trust the Lord. When our humility increases, we qualify for spiritual rebirth: “And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost…” (3Ne. 9:20).
Again: “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble…for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27).
Does our obedience play a role? When it grows out of that humility, or increases it, yes, it will.
It is easy to forget that the point of all these commandments and assignments is salvation for us and others. They are not ends unto themselves; sanctified, resurrected souls united as eternal families are the final products of this life, not clean meeting houses, Temples, full pantries, or astonishing numbers that can be graphed on charts.
To work ourselves into exhaustion obeying the Lord’s commandments without experiencing spiritual rebirth first is like a child, eager to help Mom, taking something out of the oven without protective mitts and burning himself. He does not understand that his welfare is more important to Mom than preventing burnt cookies. He might even think He is brave or loyal because he burned himself for Mom, but is it really what she wants? Proper use of some protective gear will enable him to help Mom and prevent injury, and both ends are served.
Adam sacrificed sheep to commemorate the death, vicarious suffering, and resurrection of the Savior. This event was not meant to be a then-over-there abstraction; the blood and the smoke were vivid reminders, and the invitation to take the name of Christ upon us that we find in the sacrament was a part of Adam’s emblems and worship, too:
An angel appears to Adam, and asks, “Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
“And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
“Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore” (Moses 5:6-8).
It is easy to forget as we attend Church and partake of the sacrament and administer and receive ordinances that these things did not originate on the earth—they were committed to men by heavenly messengers, angels.
King Benjamin also had an angel appear to him. The theme of the message was sacrifice and the Atonement, only it was more detailed than what we have about the angelic appearing to Adam:
“And he shall be called Jesus Christ…
“…he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men through faith on his name…they shall…scourge him, and shall crucify him.
“And he shall rise the third day from the dead…
“For…his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam…
“…salvation cometh to none…except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
“…as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins
“…there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord…
“…men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:8-12, 16-18). This entire chapter is a direct quotation from an angel, delivered by King Benjamin to an audience gathered at the Temple.
Does this revelation from an angel address anything that worries us? If it does not, perhaps we are worried about the wrong things. People who have never experienced a car accident might not take their seatbelts seriously; do we feel indifferent about this message? This stuff must be more important than anything else, because the Lord’s servants repeat it so often. (We murmur because they always talk about the “same things.” Might we be in need of review on these subjects?)
According to King Benjamin’s recitation, ignorance means innocence, and little children get a break, but the rest of us must be repenting continuously to be saved by Jesus Christ.
There is a temptation to look for finish lines in the race of salvation where there are none. There is no brief “repentance process,” any more than there is a one-time “breathing process.” We must breathe continuously to stay alive; we must repent all the time, the remainder of our lives to be saved. Humility is not a temporary state we achieve in order to be forgiven, something we discard when we are done feeling sorrow for our sins; it is a virtue we need to have stamped onto our souls in a permanent fashion if we want to belong in heaven.
The Natural Boogey-Man
King Benjamin spoke at the Temple; the themes of sacrifice, taking the name of Christ upon ourselves, the Fall of Adam, and Atonement or reunion, being healed of the Fall, are all pertinent to that sacred place.
Part of his speech, Mosiah 3:19, has become an oft-quoted passage from the Book of Mormon:
“For the natural man is an enemy to God…” What is the “natural man?” Natural has the same etymology as native, nativity, navel…it just refers to the way we are predisposed to be. We try to make it sound like the natural man is some They or Them, those evil monsters out there. The natural man becomes a scapegoat, a boogey-man who haunts us. No, it IS us; we are all born and so inherit Adam’s nature. The natural man has some good traits; he instinctively takes care of children and loves his friends. Some of our natural proclivities are also horrendous; prisons are full of people who stepped outside of society’s codified laws.
But there are socially accepted thoughts, feelings, and actions that are repugnant to the laws of God. Just because our neighbors wink at them and give us a pass does not mean we can fool God. His stamp of approval is not the world’s, and vice versa.
It is not enough to look righteous, to put on a show. To be motivated to do good by social pressure can be as detrimental as sinning outright, because it conflates our desire for social approval with our love for God which should be our main motivation. Nephi classes popularity along with the lusts of the flesh, power, and wealth as temptations. We will be destroyed when we pursue them. Keeping the commandments to get social approval is really just another play for popularity, and it is a subtle trap that can keep us from experiencing true conversion. Perhaps the Prodigal Son had an advantage over his grouchy yet obedient brother—at least he had come to himself, seen himself and his father in the light of truth. The other son only thought he was being righteous, but we get a hint that he also wanted to be out partying. Neither, at first, was content to be home with Dad, laboring on the farm.
Natural Man, Supernatural Solution
Vilifying the natural man is not the solution to having a fallen nature. We do not wait until a broken leg is set and healed before we go to the doctor; why do we tend to hide from the Lord when we are sick with sin? Social pressure would promote hiding sins; the Lord wants us to open up to Him, to come as the messes we truly are, so that healing can commence.
“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless…” Unless what? What comes next? A checklist of duties? An admonition to comb our hair and sit up straight? Encouragement to run ourselves ragged, shotgunning goodness everywhere at random until we collapse with fatigue? These things are NOT what the angel tells King Benjamin, but unfortunately that is the essence of what many Latter-day Saints perceive, the message they take away, when they read this verse—try harder, keep using your mortal wisdom, strength, and resources, exhaust yourself, whip and prod yourself with guilt and shame, etc. No wonder we get fatigued and grouchy. Is that peace, love, joy, or salvation?
(I fear that many who become disaffect from the Church are not apostatizing from the Church at all, but from what they perceive as the Church, an unfair list of demands bereft of joy, rather than an invitation to be saved from bad desires and filled with good desires, so that all these chores become a joy instead of a burden.)
What follows the “unless” is no invitation to apply man’s wisdom or powers to our predicament. Jesus Christ is our Savior, not a chef who provides stone soup while we bring the real carrots, potatoes, the actual food. We say He is our Rescuer, a Savior, but then we insist that the key to our salvation is OUR efforts and exertion. Is that faith?
Is gagging down unpleasant assignments from the Lord a sign of virtue, or should we be finding a way to be changed to enjoy our duties? At some point we have to begin to believe and apply all this stuff in the scriptures, if we want to see actual progress inside and outside ourselves.
What follows the “unless?”
“…unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord…” This is no call to increase our numbers, work harder, put on a show, be more frenetic or fanatical or judgmental in our observances, pretend that we enjoy stuff we hate, etc., because none of those things have the power to change our natures significantly. We are not invited to scuff our feet on the carpet to make electricity; we are invited to put up our lightning rods and access greater power.
Changed First, Then Greatness Follows
There is an inextricable connection between accessing this power, and our internal attitude, humility: “…and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit…” These words sicken our modern ears. Humility is not the American way, as Elder Holland noted. Yet this unpleasant virtue is a key that opens the door—that activates heaven’s power in us. Instead of increasing our output, the invitation is to be more and more humble. We can increase our exertion without any significant change in our natures; Laman and Lemuel did everything they were told to do.
Nephi experienced a change of nature by the Lord before he began his journey, and he cites that as the main difference between himself and Laman and Lemuel: “…I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.
“…Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart” (1Ne. 2:16, 19). His humility enabled him to be born again, changed from his carnal and fallen state to a state of righteousness, having no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. He offered his whole self to the Lord, and then the Lord changed him. Nephi experienced this mighty change of heart BEFORE his journey began.
Suited Up First
We are so caught up in the romance of upward struggles the Lord demands of us that we forget that we need to be suited up by Him, changed by Him, and prepared to tackle our duties successfully. (Adam and Eve received their clothes from the Lord before they left the Garden to face the difficult fallen world.)
The natural man believes in what his physical senses confirm and report to him after experimentation. We tend to hear only a call to work-work-work harder when we hear Church leaders or read the scriptures because miraculous intervention is outside of the boundaries of what the natural man will accept. We cannot bottle, buy, or sell a change of heart; we cannot prove that divine intervention enables us to resist temptations; and who wants to be humble enough to enjoy these things, anyway? We can just work harder and feign substitute versions without being humble.
Eventually, anything of this world that we rely on will break down, fail, malfunction, and leave us stranded. We cannot successfully perform the Lord’s work by relying on the arm of the flesh. Other sources cease to make us whole at some point, and this rock-bottom state is exactly where most of us discover the power of God, because it is the moment we let go of our own wisdom and strength, and decide to trust the Lord. When our humility increases, we qualify for spiritual rebirth: “And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost…” (3Ne. 9:20).
Again: “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble…for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27).
Does our obedience play a role? When it grows out of that humility, or increases it, yes, it will.
It is easy to forget that the point of all these commandments and assignments is salvation for us and others. They are not ends unto themselves; sanctified, resurrected souls united as eternal families are the final products of this life, not clean meeting houses, Temples, full pantries, or astonishing numbers that can be graphed on charts.
To work ourselves into exhaustion obeying the Lord’s commandments without experiencing spiritual rebirth first is like a child, eager to help Mom, taking something out of the oven without protective mitts and burning himself. He does not understand that his welfare is more important to Mom than preventing burnt cookies. He might even think He is brave or loyal because he burned himself for Mom, but is it really what she wants? Proper use of some protective gear will enable him to help Mom and prevent injury, and both ends are served.
Children are not called to put their hands into the oven unprotected; we are called to work for the Lord after some preparation, a change in our natures. Those who become tired of the Church are probably thinking that Father is mean because He seems to be asking us to burn ourselves regularly; really, we are to suit up first through a change of heart, and THEN do all our assignments. Then they will hold more joy, and less pain, and we will not look to the world as much for consolation.
Spiritual rebirth enables us to do our duties well, without getting grouchy or emotionally fatigued. The prerequisites are deep humility and faith. Then we can be suited up properly. Externals, even important ones, can distract from this important internal effort, to have faith and be more humble.
Spiritual rebirth enables us to do our duties well, without getting grouchy or emotionally fatigued. The prerequisites are deep humility and faith. Then we can be suited up properly. Externals, even important ones, can distract from this important internal effort, to have faith and be more humble.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Nametag
“Take upon you the name of Christ…
“And as many as repent and are baptized in my name, which is Jesus Christ, and endure to the end, the same shall be saved.
“Behold, Jesus Christ is the name which is given of the Father, and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved;
“Wherefore, all men must take upon them the name which is given of the Father, for in that name shall they be called at the last day;
“Wherefore, if they know not the name by which they are called, they cannot have place in the kingdom of my Father” (D&C 18:21-25).
This invitation is repeated in numerous places throughout the scriptures; repent, have faith in Christ, and take His name upon ourselves. What does it mean to take His name upon ourselves?
A Nametag Parable
Imagine you are invited to a party at a mansion. There is a gate leading into the gardens where people are mingling. At the gate, the host meets you, and hands you a nametag. You expect to read your own name, but instead you see the name of the host on the sticker. You protest that this is not your actual name, but the host explains that to enter his party in his garden on his grounds at his mansion, guests must all be called by his name. You shrug your shoulders and comply; it’s just a paper sticker on your lapel, a small admittance fee. You walk through the gate into the garden with the wrong name on your HELLO, MY NAME IS __________ sticker.
A butler calls you by the host’s name, and asks if you would like anything. This amuses you; you mention hunger and thirst; the butler calls forth an army of servants carrying silver platters covered with sumptuous foods, as well as dozens of silver pitchers and glass bottles containing every beverage imaginable. This delights you; you ask for a place to sit. A large banquet table is furnished with a plush chair you worry about spilling food on. You pursue the meal with vigor, determined to sample everything, though you know that you could not possibly eat everything on the table.
You complain of a stiff neck to the butler. He summons a servant who begins setting up a massage table. You begin to discuss your faltering automobile; the butler hands you a set of keys to a sports car. You mention longing to travel; the butler arranges plans for a flight to an island. You mention your dingy studio apartment; the butler assures you that there are multiple mansions and summer homes in beautiful locations around the country where you could reside for any amount of time.
Bewildered by these extravagant party favors, you ask why the butler and the servants are doing all this. The butler tells you it is because the wealthy host who invited you to feast at his mansion had given instructions to all his employees to treat you as though you were he. You inquire how long this special treatment will go on, and you are informed: as long as that nametag is in place.
The host put his name on you when you entered at the gate, that little nametag, and told employees to treat you accordingly. Your hand involuntarily touches the tiny, cheap, weightless piece of paper stuck to your lapel, and you worry that something will smudge or tear or otherwise remove this now-coveted possession. Your host appears, and you thank him for his beneficence. Still bewildered by this indulgent generosity, you ask what conditions he has for his kindness.
“Follow my lead, my specific instructions, when I give them, continue pretending to be me by acting the way I act and becoming more like me all the time, and you can continue to borrow my name and my privileges.” You quickly ask where to sign in order to formalize this new arrangement.
Caution
This parable is fairly transparent. Alas, we are not as eager to take the name of Christ upon ourselves as we would be to wear the host’s nametag in this story. After years of enjoying such lavish privileges, though, we could imagine taking that generosity for granted; something similar happens in the Church. We become careless about the name of Christ.
The scriptures make it sound like we will have to impersonate Jesus Christ in order to enter heaven. His name, his countenance, his heart, must all become ours in order to enter.
“Behold, I am from above…
“…I am…Jesus Christ.
“Wherefore, let all men beware how they take my name in their lips—
“For…many there be who…use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not authority.
“Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit; and in this there is no condemnation, and ye receive the Spirit through prayer; wherefore, without this there remaineth condemnation” (D&C 63:59-62, 64). It is having the Spirit direct our words that makes it alright to speak the Lord’s name and that keeps us from violating the commandment, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” when we speak it.
Selling Our Nametags
There are other ways to take His name in vain than speaking it casually.
Jesus appeared to His Nephite Apostles when they prayed to know what to call the Church He had established among them, and He responded:
“Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;
“And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.
“Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.
“…if it be called in my name then it is my church, if…they are built upon my gospel” (3Ne. 27:5-8).
Then He prophesies to these same disciples: “But behold, it sorroweth me because of the fourth generation from this generation, for they are led away captive by him even as was the son of perdition; for they will sell me for silver and for gold, and for that which moth doth corrupt and which thieves can break through and steal” (v. 32). Priestcrafts led to their destruction.
Companies and private persons will do battle in court to claim exclusive rights to brand names, logos, slogans, mottos, trademarks, and other symbols and emblems. Penalties can be huge when a company steals another person’s intellectual property and uses it for their own purposes. What will be the cost if we monetize the name of Jesus Christ, “sell” Him to get rich? This must be another form of taking His name in vain.
Artists, authors, speakers, and anyone else who promotes anything having to do with Jesus Christ and His gospel should check closely to make certain that the Spirit approves of their actions. As D&C 63 reminds us, only the Spirit gives “authority,” and we are supposed to speak by “constraint of the Spirit” when we share the gospel with others.
“…by the Spirit ye are justified…” the Lord tells Father Adam (Moses 6:60).
Imitating Him
Why do we close all our sermons “in the name of Jesus Christ?”
This dates back to the beginning. Adam was sacrificing sheep without knowing why.
“And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
“And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
“Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forever more” (Moses 5:6-8).
The sudden mention of the name of Jesus Christ in this passage seems like a non-sequitur at first, unless we have a little bit of background about animal sacrifice.
Before a sheep was offered as a sacrifice, the one sacrificing it to atone for his sins would place his own hands on the animal’s head. This was not simply symbolic of him wiping his grimy sins onto this innocent animal; it represented trading identities with it. Remember our little parable about the rich host lending us a nametag? If the host in that story had worn his guests’ nametags, and adopted their poverty, debt, and mediocre living conditions, it would have mirrored reality better.
Jesus took our names, our debts, and the subsequent penalties, onto Himself in Gethsemane and on the Cross. He suffered in our place, and analogies explaining this abound in scripture and modern talks. Seldom do we mention that taking His name upon ourselves is the corollary to that suffering—that when we take His name we get to enjoy His portion of the Spirit, and all the peace and power that entails—borrowing His innocence and joy and freedom from sin is our end of the bargain. These are unlike the physical treasures mentioned in the parable; we cannot buy or sell them; they are so portable that we can carry them with us when we die. But O, how the world is yearning for peace, love, joy, contentment, meaning, knowledge, honorable identity, and loving interaction with God!
It is no digression for the angel to talk to Adam about doing all things “in the name of the Son,” because trading identities with the innocent sheep was part of the sacrifices. We speak in church, perform ordinances, and should be living our whole lives so that at any moment, we might accurately state that we are acting “in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
Speaking Well
The Jews became so paranoid about breaking the third commandment that the name of Jehovah becaem unspeakable for the faithful. We Christians tend to be more casual about His name, hanging out at the other end of the spectrum. How do we speak it properly?
“Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;
“For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.
“But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things.
“And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say” (D&C 100:5-8).
The Spirit and revelation are like a rudder, the invisible force that steers our words when we speak, teach, or generally share the gospel. Meek hearts and behavior, the tone of our words, is a sign of authentically representing the Lord. Inspired words, spoken solemnly and meekly, are certified by the Holy Ghost to an audience. This kind of testimony may truly be spoken “in the name of Jesus Christ,” for it is what He would be saying if He were in our place.
This attitude of solemn humility is a touchstone we can use to determine whether any messenger is speaking on behalf of Jesus:
“Wherefore he that prayeth, whose spirit is contrite, the same is accepted of me if he obey mine ordinances.
“He that speaketh, whose spirit is contrite, whose language is meek and edifieth, the same is of God if he obey mine ordinances.
“And again, he that trembleth under my power shall be made strong, and shall bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom, according to the revelations and truths which I have given you.
“And again, he that is overcome and bringeth not forth fruits, even according to this pattern, is not of me” (D&C 52:15-18).
The admonition to be solemn and humble is is not an invitation to completely lose sight of our own goofiness; if we cannot smile about anything, something is malfunctioning (“long-faced hypocrites” was a catchphrase of the Prophet Joseph to describe pious accusers insisting that sour expressions were the essence of godliness. We take the Lord seriously; ourselves, not as much). But at some point we have to be humble and solemn when we take the Lord’s name upon ourselves, or in our lips, or speak in His name, in part because that is how He is, and because His name is our only means of entry into heaven. Eternity hinges on it.
We should jealously guard that little nametag.
“And as many as repent and are baptized in my name, which is Jesus Christ, and endure to the end, the same shall be saved.
“Behold, Jesus Christ is the name which is given of the Father, and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved;
“Wherefore, all men must take upon them the name which is given of the Father, for in that name shall they be called at the last day;
“Wherefore, if they know not the name by which they are called, they cannot have place in the kingdom of my Father” (D&C 18:21-25).
This invitation is repeated in numerous places throughout the scriptures; repent, have faith in Christ, and take His name upon ourselves. What does it mean to take His name upon ourselves?
A Nametag Parable
Imagine you are invited to a party at a mansion. There is a gate leading into the gardens where people are mingling. At the gate, the host meets you, and hands you a nametag. You expect to read your own name, but instead you see the name of the host on the sticker. You protest that this is not your actual name, but the host explains that to enter his party in his garden on his grounds at his mansion, guests must all be called by his name. You shrug your shoulders and comply; it’s just a paper sticker on your lapel, a small admittance fee. You walk through the gate into the garden with the wrong name on your HELLO, MY NAME IS __________ sticker.
A butler calls you by the host’s name, and asks if you would like anything. This amuses you; you mention hunger and thirst; the butler calls forth an army of servants carrying silver platters covered with sumptuous foods, as well as dozens of silver pitchers and glass bottles containing every beverage imaginable. This delights you; you ask for a place to sit. A large banquet table is furnished with a plush chair you worry about spilling food on. You pursue the meal with vigor, determined to sample everything, though you know that you could not possibly eat everything on the table.
You complain of a stiff neck to the butler. He summons a servant who begins setting up a massage table. You begin to discuss your faltering automobile; the butler hands you a set of keys to a sports car. You mention longing to travel; the butler arranges plans for a flight to an island. You mention your dingy studio apartment; the butler assures you that there are multiple mansions and summer homes in beautiful locations around the country where you could reside for any amount of time.
Bewildered by these extravagant party favors, you ask why the butler and the servants are doing all this. The butler tells you it is because the wealthy host who invited you to feast at his mansion had given instructions to all his employees to treat you as though you were he. You inquire how long this special treatment will go on, and you are informed: as long as that nametag is in place.
The host put his name on you when you entered at the gate, that little nametag, and told employees to treat you accordingly. Your hand involuntarily touches the tiny, cheap, weightless piece of paper stuck to your lapel, and you worry that something will smudge or tear or otherwise remove this now-coveted possession. Your host appears, and you thank him for his beneficence. Still bewildered by this indulgent generosity, you ask what conditions he has for his kindness.
“Follow my lead, my specific instructions, when I give them, continue pretending to be me by acting the way I act and becoming more like me all the time, and you can continue to borrow my name and my privileges.” You quickly ask where to sign in order to formalize this new arrangement.
Caution
This parable is fairly transparent. Alas, we are not as eager to take the name of Christ upon ourselves as we would be to wear the host’s nametag in this story. After years of enjoying such lavish privileges, though, we could imagine taking that generosity for granted; something similar happens in the Church. We become careless about the name of Christ.
The scriptures make it sound like we will have to impersonate Jesus Christ in order to enter heaven. His name, his countenance, his heart, must all become ours in order to enter.
“Behold, I am from above…
“…I am…Jesus Christ.
“Wherefore, let all men beware how they take my name in their lips—
“For…many there be who…use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not authority.
“Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit; and in this there is no condemnation, and ye receive the Spirit through prayer; wherefore, without this there remaineth condemnation” (D&C 63:59-62, 64). It is having the Spirit direct our words that makes it alright to speak the Lord’s name and that keeps us from violating the commandment, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” when we speak it.
Selling Our Nametags
There are other ways to take His name in vain than speaking it casually.
Jesus appeared to His Nephite Apostles when they prayed to know what to call the Church He had established among them, and He responded:
“Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;
“And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.
“Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.
“…if it be called in my name then it is my church, if…they are built upon my gospel” (3Ne. 27:5-8).
Then He prophesies to these same disciples: “But behold, it sorroweth me because of the fourth generation from this generation, for they are led away captive by him even as was the son of perdition; for they will sell me for silver and for gold, and for that which moth doth corrupt and which thieves can break through and steal” (v. 32). Priestcrafts led to their destruction.
Companies and private persons will do battle in court to claim exclusive rights to brand names, logos, slogans, mottos, trademarks, and other symbols and emblems. Penalties can be huge when a company steals another person’s intellectual property and uses it for their own purposes. What will be the cost if we monetize the name of Jesus Christ, “sell” Him to get rich? This must be another form of taking His name in vain.
Artists, authors, speakers, and anyone else who promotes anything having to do with Jesus Christ and His gospel should check closely to make certain that the Spirit approves of their actions. As D&C 63 reminds us, only the Spirit gives “authority,” and we are supposed to speak by “constraint of the Spirit” when we share the gospel with others.
“…by the Spirit ye are justified…” the Lord tells Father Adam (Moses 6:60).
Imitating Him
Why do we close all our sermons “in the name of Jesus Christ?”
This dates back to the beginning. Adam was sacrificing sheep without knowing why.
“And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
“And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
“Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forever more” (Moses 5:6-8).
The sudden mention of the name of Jesus Christ in this passage seems like a non-sequitur at first, unless we have a little bit of background about animal sacrifice.
Before a sheep was offered as a sacrifice, the one sacrificing it to atone for his sins would place his own hands on the animal’s head. This was not simply symbolic of him wiping his grimy sins onto this innocent animal; it represented trading identities with it. Remember our little parable about the rich host lending us a nametag? If the host in that story had worn his guests’ nametags, and adopted their poverty, debt, and mediocre living conditions, it would have mirrored reality better.
Jesus took our names, our debts, and the subsequent penalties, onto Himself in Gethsemane and on the Cross. He suffered in our place, and analogies explaining this abound in scripture and modern talks. Seldom do we mention that taking His name upon ourselves is the corollary to that suffering—that when we take His name we get to enjoy His portion of the Spirit, and all the peace and power that entails—borrowing His innocence and joy and freedom from sin is our end of the bargain. These are unlike the physical treasures mentioned in the parable; we cannot buy or sell them; they are so portable that we can carry them with us when we die. But O, how the world is yearning for peace, love, joy, contentment, meaning, knowledge, honorable identity, and loving interaction with God!
It is no digression for the angel to talk to Adam about doing all things “in the name of the Son,” because trading identities with the innocent sheep was part of the sacrifices. We speak in church, perform ordinances, and should be living our whole lives so that at any moment, we might accurately state that we are acting “in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
Speaking Well
The Jews became so paranoid about breaking the third commandment that the name of Jehovah becaem unspeakable for the faithful. We Christians tend to be more casual about His name, hanging out at the other end of the spectrum. How do we speak it properly?
“Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;
“For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.
“But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things.
“And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say” (D&C 100:5-8).
The Spirit and revelation are like a rudder, the invisible force that steers our words when we speak, teach, or generally share the gospel. Meek hearts and behavior, the tone of our words, is a sign of authentically representing the Lord. Inspired words, spoken solemnly and meekly, are certified by the Holy Ghost to an audience. This kind of testimony may truly be spoken “in the name of Jesus Christ,” for it is what He would be saying if He were in our place.
This attitude of solemn humility is a touchstone we can use to determine whether any messenger is speaking on behalf of Jesus:
“Wherefore he that prayeth, whose spirit is contrite, the same is accepted of me if he obey mine ordinances.
“He that speaketh, whose spirit is contrite, whose language is meek and edifieth, the same is of God if he obey mine ordinances.
“And again, he that trembleth under my power shall be made strong, and shall bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom, according to the revelations and truths which I have given you.
“And again, he that is overcome and bringeth not forth fruits, even according to this pattern, is not of me” (D&C 52:15-18).
The admonition to be solemn and humble is is not an invitation to completely lose sight of our own goofiness; if we cannot smile about anything, something is malfunctioning (“long-faced hypocrites” was a catchphrase of the Prophet Joseph to describe pious accusers insisting that sour expressions were the essence of godliness. We take the Lord seriously; ourselves, not as much). But at some point we have to be humble and solemn when we take the Lord’s name upon ourselves, or in our lips, or speak in His name, in part because that is how He is, and because His name is our only means of entry into heaven. Eternity hinges on it.
We should jealously guard that little nametag.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Fathers and Sons
The Gospel abounds in mirror images, symmetry and opposites. We tend to speak of opposition as painful; maybe it is better to think of opposition as necessary balance. Light and dark, good and evil, life and death, physical and spiritual, temporal and eternal—each one is paired with its antithesis in the scriptures so that we can more easily distinguish one from the other. Putting extreme opposites side by side highlights the difference and educates us. We often wish for a world without problems or pain, but Lehi says:
“For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor miser, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility” (2Ne. 2:11). Opposites educate us; they also keep the physical universe from being a stationary blob of matter.
Abstract principles and forces of nature are paired with their distinct opposites in the scriptures. People, or their roles, also serve as opposites to one another. Nephi’s obedience and faith stand in stark contrast to Laman’s and Lemuel’s doubtful disobedience. Lehi and Nephi form a father-son duo and witness the start of their nation, while Mormon and Moroni form a father-son team who witness its destruction.
Two such contrasting figures in scripture are Adam and Jesus Christ.
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1Cor. 15:22). It is possible to characterize the ministry of Jesus Christ as undoing all the negative consequences of the Fall. Some consequences were not bad, but Jesus provides His own versions of those, too.
Adam ate the forbidden fruit that brought death; Jesus IS the life, associated with the fruit of the Tree of Life (see 1Ne. 11).
Adam was cursed to labor for his food; Jesus multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish and fed 5000.
Adam was subject to disease and death; Jesus healed the sick, restored the dead to life, and even prepared a way to open the grave permanently for all through His own resurrection.
Adam fell and Satan took power over men’s hearts; Jesus cast out devils.
Adam’s fall brought children into the world physically; Jesus allows us to be spiritually reborn through His Atonement.
Adam was willing to die to stay with Eve; Jesus Christ is called the Bridegroom, and He died for the Church, metaphorically His bride.
Adam physically begot a race of sinners; Christ spiritually begets saints.
We inherit the natural man from Adam; we inherit saintly desires from Jesus Christ.
Jesus helped to create the paradisiacal world in which Adam lived; Adam caused it to fall and become the telestial world in which Jesus Christ lived; He will restore it to its paradisiacal glory in the future.
Adam was cast out of God’s presence, and took us with him; Jesus came down from God’s presence to bring us back.
The parallels are numerous.
Fathers
It is easy for children to develop an irrational contempt for their parents. Growing pains as they age and take over their own lives are common. “…we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates,” says Jacob, “hoping that…our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents” (Jacob 4:3).
We inherit more than life or property or physical appearance from our fathers—we also inherit all the mortal weaknesses of the flesh—sinful tendencies in our natures, inevitable deterioration and death. Even on a subconscious level, this awareness can make our parents loathsome to us (until we become reconciled to and accept it).
Good and great fathers with imperfect sons are common in the scriptures, beginning with our Father in heaven losing one third of His spirit children to rebellion; who can say He made mistakes in raising us premortally when we “received our first lessons in the world of spirits” (D&C 138:56)? Adam and Cain follow shortly.
Abraham’s circumstance is stranger—he was the good son of an idolatrous man. What, then, constitutes good parenting?
“…God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.
“He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death…” (Hel. 14:30). Providing an initial education of some sort is obvious; the part about making kids free is less comfortable; the part about letting them “choose life or death” is brave beyond most accepted parenting styles. But that is part of God’s way of parenting us (as well as making provisions for our salvation, should we need a second chance and repentance).
Enoch had one of the most extraordinary visions in scripture. “…the God of heaven looked upon…the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying…
“…How is it that thou canst weep…?”
God’s response to Enoch is among the most frank and touching disclosures God makes in holy writ: “Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
“And unto thy brethren I have said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood…
“…among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren.
“But behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them…wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?” (Moses 7:28-29, 32-33, 36-37).
Perfect parenthood does not guarantee perfect children; parental flaws are also not an automatic sentence of doom, since children are free to choose life or death.
Sons
The baptism of Adam is extraordinary—it parallels the baptism of Jesus Christ.
In a fragmentary writing found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, a story about Enoch and others living during his time is given. Giants (“Nephilin”) are discussing disturbing prophetic dreams. They want Enoch to interpret the dreams:
“[And behold] all the giants were terrified [and] c[al]led Mahawai and he came to the con[gr]egation of [the Nephilin(?)] And the giants sent him to Enoch…and said to him, Go [to him…] previously you listened to his voice and say to him that he should expl[ain to you the inter[pretation of the dreams…” (p. 550, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English Translated by Geza Vermes, Revised 2004).
The “Mahawai” in this story is sent to interview Enoch, but that is where the fragment ends. Oddly enough, Mahijah (a name found nowhere in the Bible) shows up to interview Enoch in the Pearl of Great Price (written about a century before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered): “And there came a man unto him, whose name was Mahijah, and said unto him: Tell us plainly who thou art, and from whence thou comest?” (Moses 6:40). (It is strange that one man should say “tell us,” unless he represents a group.) Enoch’s reply is lengthy, and includes the account of Adam’s baptism and spiritual rebirth.
Adam asks (like any eight year old child) about the ordinance of baptism: “Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water?” (Moses 6:53). What does water baptism have to do with salvation? The Lord responds by describing the parallels between physical birth and spiritual rebirth: “…inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of the Only Begotten…
“For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit are ye justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified…” (Moses 6:59-60).
Jesus’ clandestine midnight conversation with Nicodemus (who wants his discipleship kept hush-hush) uses similar procreative terminology:
“Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…
Nicodemus responds incredulously: “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”
Jesus responds: “Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:3-5).
Physical birth and spiritual rebirth are reflexive. The physical ordinance of baptism is emblematic of the grave and resurrection, but also of the womb and birth.
Male-Female is another set of contrasting opposites in the Gospel plan. In order to leave the presence of God, we must be born physically of a woman. Everyone is subject to this process in God’s plan for us. Even Jesus condescended and submitted both to physical birth and the care of Mary, His mother. In order to return to God’s presence, we must be spiritually reborn, and this includes priesthood ordinances (like baptism) administered by men. Jesus also submitted to water baptism by John.
Born
After God explained the whys of baptism to him, “Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.
“And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man” (Moses 6:64-65). We hear much about the pesky “natural man.” What is this “inner man?” Physical birth is a huge external change from our previous state as spirits in the presence of God. Spiritual rebirth also entails a massive, yet invisible and internal, change.
“Quickened” means brought to life in the scriptures. Just as we inherit spiritual and natural death, and natural man issues from Adam with physical birth, so we inherit the inward traits of Christ, His nature, with spiritual rebirth. The change has outward manifestations, like improved behavior (“deeds…wrought in God” c.f. John 3:21). Outwardly our countenances will be lighted up, but the most important part is the change in our hearts: “…I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?” (Alma 5:14).
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2Cor. 5:17).
We die spiritually when we leave God’s presence and are exposed to a world of sin. Rebirth reverses that process, and brings us ultimately back to God, and back into His family, to become heirs of all He possesses once again.
“And he (Adam) heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever;
“And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.
“Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. Amen” (Moses 6:66-68).
This spiritual rebirth anticipates physical resurrection: “For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again, a spiritual body.” The quality of spiritual influence we are currently receiving in this life determines what kind of resurrection we will have:
“They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
“Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness” (D&C 88:27-29).
Our inward weaknesses are strengthened first; our physical weaknesses are abolished later in the resurrection.
We often speak of the Atonement as the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ; this definition is correct, yet there is more. The words translated as “atonement” also denote our future reunion with God; the price Jesus paid paved the way for our return, built a bridge over the gap between us and our Father in heaven. That reunion with our Father is also an At-One-ment.
In the Book of Mormon, the brother of Jared experiences such a reunion:
“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 3:13-14).
“For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor miser, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility” (2Ne. 2:11). Opposites educate us; they also keep the physical universe from being a stationary blob of matter.
Abstract principles and forces of nature are paired with their distinct opposites in the scriptures. People, or their roles, also serve as opposites to one another. Nephi’s obedience and faith stand in stark contrast to Laman’s and Lemuel’s doubtful disobedience. Lehi and Nephi form a father-son duo and witness the start of their nation, while Mormon and Moroni form a father-son team who witness its destruction.
Two such contrasting figures in scripture are Adam and Jesus Christ.
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1Cor. 15:22). It is possible to characterize the ministry of Jesus Christ as undoing all the negative consequences of the Fall. Some consequences were not bad, but Jesus provides His own versions of those, too.
Adam ate the forbidden fruit that brought death; Jesus IS the life, associated with the fruit of the Tree of Life (see 1Ne. 11).
Adam was cursed to labor for his food; Jesus multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish and fed 5000.
Adam was subject to disease and death; Jesus healed the sick, restored the dead to life, and even prepared a way to open the grave permanently for all through His own resurrection.
Adam fell and Satan took power over men’s hearts; Jesus cast out devils.
Adam’s fall brought children into the world physically; Jesus allows us to be spiritually reborn through His Atonement.
Adam was willing to die to stay with Eve; Jesus Christ is called the Bridegroom, and He died for the Church, metaphorically His bride.
Adam physically begot a race of sinners; Christ spiritually begets saints.
We inherit the natural man from Adam; we inherit saintly desires from Jesus Christ.
Jesus helped to create the paradisiacal world in which Adam lived; Adam caused it to fall and become the telestial world in which Jesus Christ lived; He will restore it to its paradisiacal glory in the future.
Adam was cast out of God’s presence, and took us with him; Jesus came down from God’s presence to bring us back.
The parallels are numerous.
Fathers
It is easy for children to develop an irrational contempt for their parents. Growing pains as they age and take over their own lives are common. “…we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates,” says Jacob, “hoping that…our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents” (Jacob 4:3).
We inherit more than life or property or physical appearance from our fathers—we also inherit all the mortal weaknesses of the flesh—sinful tendencies in our natures, inevitable deterioration and death. Even on a subconscious level, this awareness can make our parents loathsome to us (until we become reconciled to and accept it).
Good and great fathers with imperfect sons are common in the scriptures, beginning with our Father in heaven losing one third of His spirit children to rebellion; who can say He made mistakes in raising us premortally when we “received our first lessons in the world of spirits” (D&C 138:56)? Adam and Cain follow shortly.
Abraham’s circumstance is stranger—he was the good son of an idolatrous man. What, then, constitutes good parenting?
“…God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.
“He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death…” (Hel. 14:30). Providing an initial education of some sort is obvious; the part about making kids free is less comfortable; the part about letting them “choose life or death” is brave beyond most accepted parenting styles. But that is part of God’s way of parenting us (as well as making provisions for our salvation, should we need a second chance and repentance).
Enoch had one of the most extraordinary visions in scripture. “…the God of heaven looked upon…the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying…
“…How is it that thou canst weep…?”
God’s response to Enoch is among the most frank and touching disclosures God makes in holy writ: “Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
“And unto thy brethren I have said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood…
“…among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren.
“But behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them…wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?” (Moses 7:28-29, 32-33, 36-37).
Perfect parenthood does not guarantee perfect children; parental flaws are also not an automatic sentence of doom, since children are free to choose life or death.
Sons
The baptism of Adam is extraordinary—it parallels the baptism of Jesus Christ.
In a fragmentary writing found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, a story about Enoch and others living during his time is given. Giants (“Nephilin”) are discussing disturbing prophetic dreams. They want Enoch to interpret the dreams:
“[And behold] all the giants were terrified [and] c[al]led Mahawai and he came to the con[gr]egation of [the Nephilin(?)] And the giants sent him to Enoch…and said to him, Go [to him…] previously you listened to his voice and say to him that he should expl[ain to you the inter[pretation of the dreams…” (p. 550, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English Translated by Geza Vermes, Revised 2004).
The “Mahawai” in this story is sent to interview Enoch, but that is where the fragment ends. Oddly enough, Mahijah (a name found nowhere in the Bible) shows up to interview Enoch in the Pearl of Great Price (written about a century before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered): “And there came a man unto him, whose name was Mahijah, and said unto him: Tell us plainly who thou art, and from whence thou comest?” (Moses 6:40). (It is strange that one man should say “tell us,” unless he represents a group.) Enoch’s reply is lengthy, and includes the account of Adam’s baptism and spiritual rebirth.
Adam asks (like any eight year old child) about the ordinance of baptism: “Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water?” (Moses 6:53). What does water baptism have to do with salvation? The Lord responds by describing the parallels between physical birth and spiritual rebirth: “…inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of the Only Begotten…
“For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit are ye justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified…” (Moses 6:59-60).
Jesus’ clandestine midnight conversation with Nicodemus (who wants his discipleship kept hush-hush) uses similar procreative terminology:
“Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…
Nicodemus responds incredulously: “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”
Jesus responds: “Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:3-5).
Physical birth and spiritual rebirth are reflexive. The physical ordinance of baptism is emblematic of the grave and resurrection, but also of the womb and birth.
Male-Female is another set of contrasting opposites in the Gospel plan. In order to leave the presence of God, we must be born physically of a woman. Everyone is subject to this process in God’s plan for us. Even Jesus condescended and submitted both to physical birth and the care of Mary, His mother. In order to return to God’s presence, we must be spiritually reborn, and this includes priesthood ordinances (like baptism) administered by men. Jesus also submitted to water baptism by John.
Born
After God explained the whys of baptism to him, “Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.
“And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man” (Moses 6:64-65). We hear much about the pesky “natural man.” What is this “inner man?” Physical birth is a huge external change from our previous state as spirits in the presence of God. Spiritual rebirth also entails a massive, yet invisible and internal, change.
“Quickened” means brought to life in the scriptures. Just as we inherit spiritual and natural death, and natural man issues from Adam with physical birth, so we inherit the inward traits of Christ, His nature, with spiritual rebirth. The change has outward manifestations, like improved behavior (“deeds…wrought in God” c.f. John 3:21). Outwardly our countenances will be lighted up, but the most important part is the change in our hearts: “…I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?” (Alma 5:14).
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2Cor. 5:17).
We die spiritually when we leave God’s presence and are exposed to a world of sin. Rebirth reverses that process, and brings us ultimately back to God, and back into His family, to become heirs of all He possesses once again.
“And he (Adam) heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever;
“And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.
“Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. Amen” (Moses 6:66-68).
This spiritual rebirth anticipates physical resurrection: “For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again, a spiritual body.” The quality of spiritual influence we are currently receiving in this life determines what kind of resurrection we will have:
“They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
“Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness” (D&C 88:27-29).
Our inward weaknesses are strengthened first; our physical weaknesses are abolished later in the resurrection.
We often speak of the Atonement as the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ; this definition is correct, yet there is more. The words translated as “atonement” also denote our future reunion with God; the price Jesus paid paved the way for our return, built a bridge over the gap between us and our Father in heaven. That reunion with our Father is also an At-One-ment.
In the Book of Mormon, the brother of Jared experiences such a reunion:
“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 3:13-14).
Sunday, August 30, 2015
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
The parables of Jesus are characterized by their poignancy and brevity. They are vivid, memorable, yet brief.
They are not simply moralistic fables; many are prophecies representing events that will transpire. One such parable is the Parable of Ten Virgins. It is a story about the need to be prepared, a prophecy about events before and during the Second Coming:
“And then, at that day, before the Son of Man comes…” adds the Prophet Joseph Smith to the beginning of the parable. It is about things that are going to happen in our future.
Prophets have also told us that this parable is speaking of members of the true Church in the last days. It is not about the rest of the world at all. (One general authority noted that the 50/50 ratio in the story is disconcerting.)
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
“And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
“They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil in their vessels with their lamps.
“But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
“Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
“And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
“But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
“Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
“But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 25:1-13).
The main questions anyone who takes this prophecy seriously will ask are: What is the oil, and how can I get more of it? We find an answer in modern revelation to the Church of Jesus Christ, in the Doctrine and Covenants:
“And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.
“For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day” (D&C 45:56-57). It is fitting that the oil is emblematic of the Holy Spirit—in the parable, it serves as fuel for their lamps, as a source of light in the dark.
We often speak of having the Spirit, or not having the Spirit, as though it were all or nothing. The scriptures speak of receiving “portions” of the Spirit—the light can grow brighter or dimmer depending on us. The foolish virgins did have some oil, just not enough. The English says “our lamps are gone out,” but the Greek is closer to “are going out.”
The parable says that while they awaited the arrival of the bridegroom, “they all slumbered and slept.” Life can create the illusion that it will go on forever. As we go through our daily routines we can get lulled into a false sense of permanence, a sense that we can put off this or that attempt to repent or grow spiritually, that we can procrastinate indefinitely. But the day of reckoning always comes.
Receiving the Spirit
Who is ready for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? Those who “have received the truth, and taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived…” Having the Spirit with us, and receiving it in a greater measure, depends not only on what we have in our lives, but what we do not have in our lives. A good garden gets sun, water, and has fertile soil; it also lacks rocks, weeds, and crop-destroying pests.
This is a parable about Church members at the Second Coming; all ten women are referred to as “virgins,” i.e., they are trying to live the commandments. (There is an overtone of emphasized chastity in this parable—virgins waiting for a bridegroom and a wedding feast—living the law of chastity will play a key role in being ready for the Second Coming.) All ten were virgins, and this suggests that the differentiating factors between “wise” and “foolish” will be more subtle. It is fairly easy to be a member of the Church outwardly, going through the motions and putting on a show, while our hearts are elsewhere.
Matthew 25 gives us ominous views of the Second Coming and the final judgment. In verses 31 and 32 it says that “…the Son of man shall come in his glory…
“And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate…sheep from the goats.”
One difference between sheep and goats is that sheep are more selective in what they are willing to eat; goats will eat anything. Popular media, music, and videos can contain elements that offend the Holy Spirit. They diminish the portion of the Spirit we receive. What are we willing to put into our minds and hearts through our ears and eyes? If we find ourselves justifying media choices by silently arguing in favor of our media libraries in our minds, perhaps we should ask ourselves if we are not arguing with the voice of the Spirit.
Eliminating bad things from our lives is not enough—we must also include good, if we want the Spirit to be with us in an added measure. Do we attend sacrament meeting mentally as well as physically each week? Do we participate in lessons? Is our understanding of the scriptures superficial or deep? Is our Temple attendance perfunctory, or do we go because we actually prefer being there? Are we ashamed to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ, or are we willing to take the unpopular stance in public? Are we embarrassed of the standards set forth by the Church and currently promoted by its leaders? Do we apologize for unpopular doctrines and practices? Or are we filled with missionary zeal?
Hearts
1 Sam. 16:7 consoles our insecurities about personal appearance. Our social lives are dominated by external appearances. It is reassuring and comforting to see the Lord’s priorities are elsewhere: “But the Lord said…Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
At first blush, this appears to be a statement about the Lord not caring about the physical flaws we see in the mirror. The last phrase, “the Lord looketh on the heart,” is not as cuddly or trite as we tend to think.
“Our heavenly father is more liberal in his views, and boundless in his mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive, and at the same time is as terrible to the workers of iniquity, more awful in the executions of his punishments, and more ready to detect every false way than we are apt to suppose him to be” (Joseph Smith, Letter to Nancy Rigdon, 1842, The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, Dean C. Jessee, p. 509).
In the final judgment (and all the interviews and self-evaluations leading up to it), the Lord will probe our secret thoughts, our innermost feelings, our hearts. It is our hearts that will be weighed in the balance at the last day. The first commandment is to love God; it is possible to go through the motions without feeling any love for Him. (If we do not go through the motions of obedience we do not love Him either, viz. John 14:15.)
When Joseph Smith had his First Vision, he asked Jesus Christ which church of all churches he should join. “I was answered that I must join none of them…‘they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me…’” (JS—H 1:19).
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). What do we really want? What do we love most? If perfect obedience is the price of having a greater portion of the Spirit, then we are sunk (at least at first) because we do not obey perfectly. But those who love God more than anything else, and whose efforts spring from that love, succeed or fail, can expect to find God. He can take a heart that loves Him, and change it until our behavior matches our good desires.
A lamp with a bright gem flame, and a jug dripping with golden oil, are both visible and tangible. In this parable, these things are emblems of the influence of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is invisible and intangible; there is no way to bottle it or store it. What is the receptacle, then, if it is not a lamp or a jug? “…the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell…” (Alma 34:36). The power and influence of the Spirit must dwell in us. We are the lamps and the jugs.
As Isaac Watts said, “let every heart prepare him room.” If the top space in our hearts is occupied by something other than the Lord, the Spirit gets crowded out. It might sound hard, making the Lord our highest priority when there are so many other things vying for our affection, time, and attention, but we occupy the center of the Lord’s affections: “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation” (2Ne. 26:24). It is fair to ask us to love Him more than anything else because He loves us that way.
“And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost” (3Ne. 12:6). We can put on a show and fake good intentions, but we cannot fool the Lord or fake a condition of the heart. He knows what we really want; we will receive the Spirit according to what we want as much as according to what we do. The program, the plan of salvation, is to get sinners back out of danger and into the light; since we are all sinning or doing or thinking something wrong to some degree, we are trying to get the Spirit when we are technically not worthy of His companionship.
Our degree of willingness to try again (and again, and again) is as big a factor in receiving the Holy Ghost as our actual success in obedience. If we cannot muster perfect obedience at first, but we are humble and have faith and love the Lord, He can give us His Spirit in spite of our failure, and that infusion of the Spirit, grace, allows us to improve our obedience. Instead of trying harder to be obedient, we should try harder to be humble first, so that we can receive a greater portion of the Spirit. This will enable us to obey well.
Burning Low
In recent months leaders of the Church have emphasized weekly Sabbath observance as a key to keeping faith alive and robust in a world that is increasingly defined by skepticism. The five foolish virgins noticed at the arrival of the bridegroom that their lamps were “going out” (in the Greek; “gone out” is the English King James translation). There is a kind of fashionable secular agnosticism, based more on what it does not accept or believe than on any confirmed set of beliefs, springing up in the world. People are dismissing and disregarding the faiths of their ancestors, much like the people in Lehi’s dream.
“…they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost” (1Ne. 8:28). Who was immune to the mockery from the well-dressed crowd in the great and spacious building? Those who were “continually holding fast to the rod of iron” (the word of God) in verse 30. Those who fell away were merely “clinging” loosely.
Lehi gives another key: “And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not.
“…For as many as had heeded them, had fallen away” (v. 33-34).
The opinions and morality of the world shift like clouds, slowly yet perceptibly to anyone who pays attention. And the priorities of the world are growing ever more distant from those described in the scriptures.
Latter-day Saints are in the position of someone standing on the gangplank of an ocean vessel while the vessel is pulling away from the land. We must eventually let go of the land or the ship—we cannot choose both. We must eventually decide which we love more, the world, or God and His Church, specifically because the world is becoming antagonistic towards God’s values, principles, and His prophets.
Those who try to hold to both will find in the end that they have actually chosen only the world. We cannot come to the Lord and offer Him half of our heart, and expect to find Him. He offers us everything; we must reciprocate with our all, however small it might be.
In the End
There are few images as sad as the five foolish virgins pounding on the locked door of the wedding feast.
“Lord, Lord, open to us.
“But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”
The Book of Mormon urges, “For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God…
“…I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate…
“Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this…
“For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his…” (Alma 34:32-35).
How do we come to know the Lord? Quiet moments of study and meditation create a space in which we can become familiar with the whisperings He sends through His Spirit. Serving Him, whether following commandments from scriptures, living prophets, or those still whispers of the Spirit, will make us more like Him, and teach us about His priorities. Missionary work, Temple work, and parenthood each prepare us to meet Him again and not feel alien in His presence.
Perhaps a good way to measure our progress in that direction is to gauge the appeal this world has for us. If we love the temporary things of this world less, there is more room in our hearts for the eternal things of the next world.
They are not simply moralistic fables; many are prophecies representing events that will transpire. One such parable is the Parable of Ten Virgins. It is a story about the need to be prepared, a prophecy about events before and during the Second Coming:
“And then, at that day, before the Son of Man comes…” adds the Prophet Joseph Smith to the beginning of the parable. It is about things that are going to happen in our future.
Prophets have also told us that this parable is speaking of members of the true Church in the last days. It is not about the rest of the world at all. (One general authority noted that the 50/50 ratio in the story is disconcerting.)
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
“And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
“They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil in their vessels with their lamps.
“But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
“Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
“And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
“But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
“Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
“But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 25:1-13).
The main questions anyone who takes this prophecy seriously will ask are: What is the oil, and how can I get more of it? We find an answer in modern revelation to the Church of Jesus Christ, in the Doctrine and Covenants:
“And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.
“For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day” (D&C 45:56-57). It is fitting that the oil is emblematic of the Holy Spirit—in the parable, it serves as fuel for their lamps, as a source of light in the dark.
We often speak of having the Spirit, or not having the Spirit, as though it were all or nothing. The scriptures speak of receiving “portions” of the Spirit—the light can grow brighter or dimmer depending on us. The foolish virgins did have some oil, just not enough. The English says “our lamps are gone out,” but the Greek is closer to “are going out.”
The parable says that while they awaited the arrival of the bridegroom, “they all slumbered and slept.” Life can create the illusion that it will go on forever. As we go through our daily routines we can get lulled into a false sense of permanence, a sense that we can put off this or that attempt to repent or grow spiritually, that we can procrastinate indefinitely. But the day of reckoning always comes.
Receiving the Spirit
Who is ready for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? Those who “have received the truth, and taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived…” Having the Spirit with us, and receiving it in a greater measure, depends not only on what we have in our lives, but what we do not have in our lives. A good garden gets sun, water, and has fertile soil; it also lacks rocks, weeds, and crop-destroying pests.
This is a parable about Church members at the Second Coming; all ten women are referred to as “virgins,” i.e., they are trying to live the commandments. (There is an overtone of emphasized chastity in this parable—virgins waiting for a bridegroom and a wedding feast—living the law of chastity will play a key role in being ready for the Second Coming.) All ten were virgins, and this suggests that the differentiating factors between “wise” and “foolish” will be more subtle. It is fairly easy to be a member of the Church outwardly, going through the motions and putting on a show, while our hearts are elsewhere.
Matthew 25 gives us ominous views of the Second Coming and the final judgment. In verses 31 and 32 it says that “…the Son of man shall come in his glory…
“And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate…sheep from the goats.”
One difference between sheep and goats is that sheep are more selective in what they are willing to eat; goats will eat anything. Popular media, music, and videos can contain elements that offend the Holy Spirit. They diminish the portion of the Spirit we receive. What are we willing to put into our minds and hearts through our ears and eyes? If we find ourselves justifying media choices by silently arguing in favor of our media libraries in our minds, perhaps we should ask ourselves if we are not arguing with the voice of the Spirit.
Eliminating bad things from our lives is not enough—we must also include good, if we want the Spirit to be with us in an added measure. Do we attend sacrament meeting mentally as well as physically each week? Do we participate in lessons? Is our understanding of the scriptures superficial or deep? Is our Temple attendance perfunctory, or do we go because we actually prefer being there? Are we ashamed to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ, or are we willing to take the unpopular stance in public? Are we embarrassed of the standards set forth by the Church and currently promoted by its leaders? Do we apologize for unpopular doctrines and practices? Or are we filled with missionary zeal?
Hearts
1 Sam. 16:7 consoles our insecurities about personal appearance. Our social lives are dominated by external appearances. It is reassuring and comforting to see the Lord’s priorities are elsewhere: “But the Lord said…Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
At first blush, this appears to be a statement about the Lord not caring about the physical flaws we see in the mirror. The last phrase, “the Lord looketh on the heart,” is not as cuddly or trite as we tend to think.
“Our heavenly father is more liberal in his views, and boundless in his mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive, and at the same time is as terrible to the workers of iniquity, more awful in the executions of his punishments, and more ready to detect every false way than we are apt to suppose him to be” (Joseph Smith, Letter to Nancy Rigdon, 1842, The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, Dean C. Jessee, p. 509).
In the final judgment (and all the interviews and self-evaluations leading up to it), the Lord will probe our secret thoughts, our innermost feelings, our hearts. It is our hearts that will be weighed in the balance at the last day. The first commandment is to love God; it is possible to go through the motions without feeling any love for Him. (If we do not go through the motions of obedience we do not love Him either, viz. John 14:15.)
When Joseph Smith had his First Vision, he asked Jesus Christ which church of all churches he should join. “I was answered that I must join none of them…‘they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me…’” (JS—H 1:19).
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). What do we really want? What do we love most? If perfect obedience is the price of having a greater portion of the Spirit, then we are sunk (at least at first) because we do not obey perfectly. But those who love God more than anything else, and whose efforts spring from that love, succeed or fail, can expect to find God. He can take a heart that loves Him, and change it until our behavior matches our good desires.
A lamp with a bright gem flame, and a jug dripping with golden oil, are both visible and tangible. In this parable, these things are emblems of the influence of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is invisible and intangible; there is no way to bottle it or store it. What is the receptacle, then, if it is not a lamp or a jug? “…the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell…” (Alma 34:36). The power and influence of the Spirit must dwell in us. We are the lamps and the jugs.
As Isaac Watts said, “let every heart prepare him room.” If the top space in our hearts is occupied by something other than the Lord, the Spirit gets crowded out. It might sound hard, making the Lord our highest priority when there are so many other things vying for our affection, time, and attention, but we occupy the center of the Lord’s affections: “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation” (2Ne. 26:24). It is fair to ask us to love Him more than anything else because He loves us that way.
“And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost” (3Ne. 12:6). We can put on a show and fake good intentions, but we cannot fool the Lord or fake a condition of the heart. He knows what we really want; we will receive the Spirit according to what we want as much as according to what we do. The program, the plan of salvation, is to get sinners back out of danger and into the light; since we are all sinning or doing or thinking something wrong to some degree, we are trying to get the Spirit when we are technically not worthy of His companionship.
Our degree of willingness to try again (and again, and again) is as big a factor in receiving the Holy Ghost as our actual success in obedience. If we cannot muster perfect obedience at first, but we are humble and have faith and love the Lord, He can give us His Spirit in spite of our failure, and that infusion of the Spirit, grace, allows us to improve our obedience. Instead of trying harder to be obedient, we should try harder to be humble first, so that we can receive a greater portion of the Spirit. This will enable us to obey well.
Burning Low
In recent months leaders of the Church have emphasized weekly Sabbath observance as a key to keeping faith alive and robust in a world that is increasingly defined by skepticism. The five foolish virgins noticed at the arrival of the bridegroom that their lamps were “going out” (in the Greek; “gone out” is the English King James translation). There is a kind of fashionable secular agnosticism, based more on what it does not accept or believe than on any confirmed set of beliefs, springing up in the world. People are dismissing and disregarding the faiths of their ancestors, much like the people in Lehi’s dream.
“…they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost” (1Ne. 8:28). Who was immune to the mockery from the well-dressed crowd in the great and spacious building? Those who were “continually holding fast to the rod of iron” (the word of God) in verse 30. Those who fell away were merely “clinging” loosely.
Lehi gives another key: “And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not.
“…For as many as had heeded them, had fallen away” (v. 33-34).
The opinions and morality of the world shift like clouds, slowly yet perceptibly to anyone who pays attention. And the priorities of the world are growing ever more distant from those described in the scriptures.
Latter-day Saints are in the position of someone standing on the gangplank of an ocean vessel while the vessel is pulling away from the land. We must eventually let go of the land or the ship—we cannot choose both. We must eventually decide which we love more, the world, or God and His Church, specifically because the world is becoming antagonistic towards God’s values, principles, and His prophets.
Those who try to hold to both will find in the end that they have actually chosen only the world. We cannot come to the Lord and offer Him half of our heart, and expect to find Him. He offers us everything; we must reciprocate with our all, however small it might be.
In the End
There are few images as sad as the five foolish virgins pounding on the locked door of the wedding feast.
“Lord, Lord, open to us.
“But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”
The Book of Mormon urges, “For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God…
“…I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate…
“Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this…
“For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his…” (Alma 34:32-35).
How do we come to know the Lord? Quiet moments of study and meditation create a space in which we can become familiar with the whisperings He sends through His Spirit. Serving Him, whether following commandments from scriptures, living prophets, or those still whispers of the Spirit, will make us more like Him, and teach us about His priorities. Missionary work, Temple work, and parenthood each prepare us to meet Him again and not feel alien in His presence.
Perhaps a good way to measure our progress in that direction is to gauge the appeal this world has for us. If we love the temporary things of this world less, there is more room in our hearts for the eternal things of the next world.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Ether 4 as Antithetic Chiasmus
The presence of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon has been well documented and well known for a long time now. The simple symmetry of ideas that repeat in reverse order is not so simple; try composing something in a chiastic form.
She walked her beloved dog
They went to the butcher shop
She got her dog a bone to chew
His wagging tail thanked her for the bone
They walked home from the butcher shop
The dog knew she loved him as they walked
This improvised example took real effort to create (and extensive revision), and it is lousy, awkward communication. It takes serious effort to employ this literary device. Getting the first stanza and the last stanza to reference a similar idea, and the second and second to last also reference similar ideas, etc., is a taxing interruption to the typical linear flow of composition.
Joseph Smith dictated the whole Book of Mormon during the translation process without going back to repeat himself or make corrections, without notes or manuscript. He was very busy with other concerns during the approximately sixty five working days the translation occupied. To compose chiasmus and incorporate it into a narrative without a manuscript or opportunity to slow down or think it through would have required literary genius not often found on the edge of frontier America in the 1820s. His explanation was that he received divine power to translate what had already been written by someone else.
The entire chapter of Alma 36 is chiasmus; the first and last verses use similar vocabulary and broach similar subjects, the second and second to last verse do the same, the third and third to last, and so on until we reach the middle of the chapter.
Many examples of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, like Alma 36, are reciprocal; the pattern is a symmetrical repetition, like the following:
A
B
C
D
D
C
B
A
Or,
Up
Big
Run
Fly
Fly
Run
Big
Up
This kind of repeating, mirror image chiasmus, where similar ideas, words, and phrases parallel each other in reverse order, is not the only kind found in the Book of Mormon.
There is also antithetic chiasmus in the Book of Mormon—it involves paralleled opposites, like the following:
Up
Big
Run
Fly
Fall
Crawl
Small
Down
Instead of finding the exact same ideas repeated in reverse order, we find their opposites, the antithesis, repeated in reverse order. Up is the antithesis of Down; Big is to Small; Run is to Crawl; Fly is to Fall.
Antithetic Chiasmus in Ether 4
Alma 36 is a masterpiece of same-to-same chiasmus. The entire chapter of Ether 4 is the antithetic type, made of phrases that are literary foils, opposites.
Below all 19 verses in Ether 4 are rearranged so that the matching opposites are fitted together side by side. There is some flexibility here—the boundaries of the verses do not exactly contain all the matching parallels, but it comes fairly close to that.
Opposite words and phrases are italicized, followed by parenthetical notes that explain why they seem to belong side by side. Each verse retains its numbering to keep us from getting lost as we work our way from the outer ends of the chapter to its center:
1 And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people.
19 And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.
(Ups and downs are juxtaposed. Going down from God’s presence contrasts with dwelling permanently in His kingdom.)
2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest.
18 Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name.
(Christ shows Himself empirically to one group, and openly manifests His appearance to the brother of Jared; He commands another group to believe, to have faith.)
3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is none save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should hide them up again in the earth.
17 Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.
(One group is universally apostate and in unbelief; the next group knows for certain that the work of the Father has commenced everywhere. The record is hidden in the earth in one verse, received in the other.)
4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.
16 And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.
(Moroni is writing the private record of a personal manifestation to the brother of Jared; John’s writings and revelations will be made manifest publicly.)
5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.
15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.
(Moroni is obedient; we are in a state of hardness of heart. He has sealed up these great revelations; we are to rend the veil of unbelief to receive great and marvelous things.)
6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.
14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.
(The Gentiles are a foil to the house of Israel, both contrasted against each other throughout scripture. These great things “shall not go forth” to the Gentiles (until they repent); “it shall be made manifest unto” the house of Israel (after they believe). The Gentiles must become clean; the house of Israel is in ignorance because of unbelief.)
7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.
13 Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief. 12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.
(Verse 7 lines up with opposites in 13 and 12. First we read in 7 of exercising faith in Christ and becoming sanctified; then we read about not believing His words in 13. When they “exercise faith” in Him, He will “manifest” great things and unfold “all” His “revelations;” they are currently “hid up because of unbelief.” Jesus Christ mentions His titles in verses 7 and 12—“the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth;” “I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.” Exercising faith and receiving manifestations and revelations contrasts with not believing and knowledge which is consequently hidden.)
8 And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh. 9 And at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away, even so as by fire.
10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the last day. 11 But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.
(8 and 9 comprise one block; 10 and 11 are their mirror opposite segment. In 8, Jesus warns that “I am he who speaketh.” In 10, we read “…and if it so be that I do not speak…” In 8 He says He will “show no greater things” to those who deny the Book of Mormon’s testimony of Him; in 11 he says that he that believeth will He visit “with the manifestations of [His] Spirit. In 9 Jesus talks about destroying the inhabitants of the earth with earthquakes and fire; in 11 He “persuadeth men to do good.”)
We have reached the center of the symmetry.
Evidences Seen and Unseen
It is a struggle to keep up, merely to summarize this. Composing anything comparable to it would be difficult, even without time constraints and with the opportunity to revise it afterward. Doing it in one pass the way Joseph Smith dictated it would require divine intervention.
The amazing thing about all this complexity in the Book of Mormon is that it does not dilute, nor detract from, the consistent doctrinal message: Jesus Christ is our Savior, and faith in Him is a prerequisite to being saved, progressing spiritually, and learning new truth.
In Ether 4 Jesus tells us He is still waiting to give us revelation, if only we will believe and repent. He will still give us revelation as fast as we can prepare to receive it. He also affirms that the Book of Mormon is His word to the world, “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.”
Internal evidences like chiasmus are not meant to be the foundation of our faith. Instead, they confirm faith we have already exercised by following the promptings of the Spirit. Without that still small voice, seeing empirical evidence is insufficient to sustain us. Faith can grow better when fed with spiritual food than it can on tangible evidence. Tangible evidence comes more readily as we exercise faith and follow spiritual promptings.
“For I am God…and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name” (D&C 35:8).
She walked her beloved dog
They went to the butcher shop
She got her dog a bone to chew
His wagging tail thanked her for the bone
They walked home from the butcher shop
The dog knew she loved him as they walked
This improvised example took real effort to create (and extensive revision), and it is lousy, awkward communication. It takes serious effort to employ this literary device. Getting the first stanza and the last stanza to reference a similar idea, and the second and second to last also reference similar ideas, etc., is a taxing interruption to the typical linear flow of composition.
Joseph Smith dictated the whole Book of Mormon during the translation process without going back to repeat himself or make corrections, without notes or manuscript. He was very busy with other concerns during the approximately sixty five working days the translation occupied. To compose chiasmus and incorporate it into a narrative without a manuscript or opportunity to slow down or think it through would have required literary genius not often found on the edge of frontier America in the 1820s. His explanation was that he received divine power to translate what had already been written by someone else.
The entire chapter of Alma 36 is chiasmus; the first and last verses use similar vocabulary and broach similar subjects, the second and second to last verse do the same, the third and third to last, and so on until we reach the middle of the chapter.
Many examples of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, like Alma 36, are reciprocal; the pattern is a symmetrical repetition, like the following:
A
B
C
D
D
C
B
A
Or,
Up
Big
Run
Fly
Fly
Run
Big
Up
This kind of repeating, mirror image chiasmus, where similar ideas, words, and phrases parallel each other in reverse order, is not the only kind found in the Book of Mormon.
There is also antithetic chiasmus in the Book of Mormon—it involves paralleled opposites, like the following:
Up
Big
Run
Fly
Fall
Crawl
Small
Down
Instead of finding the exact same ideas repeated in reverse order, we find their opposites, the antithesis, repeated in reverse order. Up is the antithesis of Down; Big is to Small; Run is to Crawl; Fly is to Fall.
Antithetic Chiasmus in Ether 4
Alma 36 is a masterpiece of same-to-same chiasmus. The entire chapter of Ether 4 is the antithetic type, made of phrases that are literary foils, opposites.
Below all 19 verses in Ether 4 are rearranged so that the matching opposites are fitted together side by side. There is some flexibility here—the boundaries of the verses do not exactly contain all the matching parallels, but it comes fairly close to that.
Opposite words and phrases are italicized, followed by parenthetical notes that explain why they seem to belong side by side. Each verse retains its numbering to keep us from getting lost as we work our way from the outer ends of the chapter to its center:
1 And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people.
19 And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.
(Ups and downs are juxtaposed. Going down from God’s presence contrasts with dwelling permanently in His kingdom.)
2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest.
18 Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name.
(Christ shows Himself empirically to one group, and openly manifests His appearance to the brother of Jared; He commands another group to believe, to have faith.)
3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is none save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should hide them up again in the earth.
17 Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.
(One group is universally apostate and in unbelief; the next group knows for certain that the work of the Father has commenced everywhere. The record is hidden in the earth in one verse, received in the other.)
4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.
16 And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.
(Moroni is writing the private record of a personal manifestation to the brother of Jared; John’s writings and revelations will be made manifest publicly.)
5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.
15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.
(Moroni is obedient; we are in a state of hardness of heart. He has sealed up these great revelations; we are to rend the veil of unbelief to receive great and marvelous things.)
6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.
14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.
(The Gentiles are a foil to the house of Israel, both contrasted against each other throughout scripture. These great things “shall not go forth” to the Gentiles (until they repent); “it shall be made manifest unto” the house of Israel (after they believe). The Gentiles must become clean; the house of Israel is in ignorance because of unbelief.)
7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.
13 Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief. 12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.
(Verse 7 lines up with opposites in 13 and 12. First we read in 7 of exercising faith in Christ and becoming sanctified; then we read about not believing His words in 13. When they “exercise faith” in Him, He will “manifest” great things and unfold “all” His “revelations;” they are currently “hid up because of unbelief.” Jesus Christ mentions His titles in verses 7 and 12—“the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth;” “I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.” Exercising faith and receiving manifestations and revelations contrasts with not believing and knowledge which is consequently hidden.)
8 And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh. 9 And at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away, even so as by fire.
10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the last day. 11 But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.
(8 and 9 comprise one block; 10 and 11 are their mirror opposite segment. In 8, Jesus warns that “I am he who speaketh.” In 10, we read “…and if it so be that I do not speak…” In 8 He says He will “show no greater things” to those who deny the Book of Mormon’s testimony of Him; in 11 he says that he that believeth will He visit “with the manifestations of [His] Spirit. In 9 Jesus talks about destroying the inhabitants of the earth with earthquakes and fire; in 11 He “persuadeth men to do good.”)
We have reached the center of the symmetry.
Evidences Seen and Unseen
It is a struggle to keep up, merely to summarize this. Composing anything comparable to it would be difficult, even without time constraints and with the opportunity to revise it afterward. Doing it in one pass the way Joseph Smith dictated it would require divine intervention.
The amazing thing about all this complexity in the Book of Mormon is that it does not dilute, nor detract from, the consistent doctrinal message: Jesus Christ is our Savior, and faith in Him is a prerequisite to being saved, progressing spiritually, and learning new truth.
In Ether 4 Jesus tells us He is still waiting to give us revelation, if only we will believe and repent. He will still give us revelation as fast as we can prepare to receive it. He also affirms that the Book of Mormon is His word to the world, “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.”
Internal evidences like chiasmus are not meant to be the foundation of our faith. Instead, they confirm faith we have already exercised by following the promptings of the Spirit. Without that still small voice, seeing empirical evidence is insufficient to sustain us. Faith can grow better when fed with spiritual food than it can on tangible evidence. Tangible evidence comes more readily as we exercise faith and follow spiritual promptings.
“For I am God…and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name” (D&C 35:8).
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