Addressing Two Misunderstandings

Statements often have assumptions and false premises woven into them. I recently encountered two.

The first was expressed by a sincere, good woman.

She apparently was operating under the assumption that “trying to be like Jesus” meant attempting to behave and think in stereotypical male ways. She took that admonition as a commandment to be more masculine, or at least have more sympathy for men, try to see the world the way men do.

She followed her disclosure of this mistaken notion with a request that men would learn to reciprocate by seeing the world through female eyes, since she thought she had been asked to perceive the world through a male lens.

This is misguided, and what follows is my response to her sincere, misled attempt to do the right thing.

Spheres

“All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence” (D&C 93:30). As intelligences native to light and truth, we have been placed by God in our individual spheres. This includes our surroundings, our relationships, our environment, our internal world, and our bodies, natures, gifts, talents, and attributes.

These are unique for each individual. How, then, are we to try to emulate Jesus Christ?

It is not necessarily by walking the roads of forgotten villages somewhere in Palestine, nor grow a beard, nor live the law of Moses. We each have a unique life to live; living that life as best as we can—be the best version of you in your given circumstances—is the way to be like Jesus. 

In the parable of the talents, three servants are each given different amounts of money by their master, who then leaves them to their own devices. We often focus on the plight of the servant who received one talent, buried it, and was severely rebuked by his Lord.

There is another important point here. The servant who received five talents, and doubled that initial investment, and the servant who received two and doubled his, were both congratulated gladly by their master.

Jesus was the Son of God, and a mortal mother, Mary. No one else ever had that advantage. He only was able to live a perfect, sinless life; this is a great example for us to follow, but we invariable spill water trying to carry that jug on our heads, even when we are giving our best efforts.

My point is that we are judged based on how we use what gifts we receive and play our individual roles, not on how we stack up against others who received more (or differently) than we did.

God placed us on this earth to be our individual selves, not to be someone else. If you are female, following and emulating Jesus would include being the very best girl or woman you can be, not necessarily trying to act in male ways because Jesus was male.

If your gifts, your allotted talents, include being a woman, then doubling that endowment is the way to follow Christ.

Individual Liahonas

“And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do” (1Ne. 4:6). Nephi here explains that his success in accomplishing his life’s missions was due in large measure to having the courage to follow individual promptings that came to him, and to no one else.

Sometimes we mistakenly believe that we already know what God wants from us. Sometimes we do know; other times the Lord has something else in mind. When this is the case, He will send us promptings through the Spirit. It is like having our own unique compass built into us, our personal Liahona. It will give us unexpected directions that may conflict with our well thought out itineraries.

There is a tendency to give one’s day planner priority over the promptings of the Spirit. It is also possible to waste time doing the wrong good thing, when the Spirit is clearly directing us elsewhere, if only we will heed those whisperings.

A personal story will illustrate my point.

One night I was driving home, and I saw a car broken down on the side of the road. A young man and a young woman, two siblings, were stranded there. My first impulse was to run to the rescue, but I felt a distinct prompting to keep on driving. I argued with and eventually ignored that prompting, doing what I thought I knew to be right, instead of following the still, small voice.

The car’s occupants said the engine was overheating. I recommended that they follow me to a nearby gas station. They drove slowly and parked in front of the station. I checked their engine to see if it had adequate anti-freeze (which also cools the engine). Their reservoir was empty. I bought a large container of anti-freeze, and began pouring it into the reservoir. I noticed that the level of anti-freeze in the engine did not seem to be rising; why was I unable to fill it up?

I looked down and saw a puddle of green slime moving towards my feet. The reservoir was empty because it was punctured and leaking.

At that point, the father of the two stranded siblings arrived, and I left embarrassed.

I had ignored my personalized spiritual prompting, and done things my way, following my own notions of right and wrong instead of relying on the subtle directions of an omniscient Being. I had wasted my time and money, and made a mess in the parking lot of a local refueling station.

This story might serve as a microcosm of a broader problem. We assume that we already know what the right thing is, and act on that assumption, even when the Spirit has other directions for us. This is akin to roaming around wearing a backpack full of rocks—carrying burdens we have assigned to ourselves that sap our strength and displace the actual work God would have us be about.

How does this apply to trying to emulate Jesus Christ?

“And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). This sounds easy, even quaint, until we consider the enormity of the burdens Jesus bore to fulfill this statement.

Consider just one incident where doing His Father’s will meant disappointing friends, doing what they considered to be wrong.

He received word that His friend, Lazarus, was sick and at the brink of death. Instead of doing what many of us would consider to be the “right thing”—running and administering as quickly as possible—Jesus lingered, allowing Lazarus to die. He had been dead for four days when Jesus finally showed up.

Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters, chided Jesus, giving Him advice about punctuality:

“Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died…

“…Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John 11:21, 32).

Jesus did the wrong thing by their estimation; He pleased His Father first, and all others were secondary to Him. Under normal circumstances, administering to Lazarus before he died would have been the right thing. But God had other plans.

Why was it right to delay and allow Lazarus to die? Jesus prayed before the tomb where His friend’s body was laid:

“…but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

“And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:42-43).

Lazarus arose, returned from the dead by Jesus Christ. In His way, in His time, not in Martha or Mary’s time. And many people believed on Jesus as a result.

Trying to be like Jesus entails being ourselves, but our very best selves. It also includes following the promptings of the Spirit, rather than assuming we already know what is right and neglecting the things God is trying to tell us. If our attempts to be like Jesus are a dance, then the Spirit should lead.



A second misunderstanding I encountered recently came in the form of a criticism of Christian faith. The basic premise could be summarized:

If Jesus died to pay for our sins, and He was resurrected, then His resurrection negates that payment for our sins.

This critique of our faith (along with many others) might actually be useful if presented as a sincere inquiry; there are always answers to questions, if we are willing to pay the price for them.

Here is my response:

Our finite minds struggle to grasp infinite things, whether of infinite duration, infinite size, or infinite intensity. The Atonement of Jesus Christ was just such a thing—it has many aspects that are infinite, limitless.

To better help us comprehend the incomprehensible, scripture presents metaphors for the Atonement. They are legitimate, given to us by God, and well-worn (some more, some less, depending on the community being taught). They can all help us wrap our minds and hearts around what Jesus Christ has done for us. But they have limits.

Here are some of those paradigms employed for our sake:

Economic

We say Jesus “paid” for our sins. This is slightly inaccurate; He Atoned for our sins. Yes, as with a commercial transaction, Jesus gave Himself in exchange for us. But the similarities to a shopper purchasing something with money break down.

“For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.

“…therefore there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world” (Alma 34:10, 12).

When was the last time you paid infinity dollars for something? The economic metaphor has reached the limits of its use in assisting our comprehension.

Maternal

Jesus used the figure of a mother travailing in labor to give birth to describe what He was about to go through when He suffered for our sins.

“A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world” (John 16:21).

Our spiritual rebirth is a parallel here, but the metaphor still has limits. Jesus was male, and His suffering included infinite pain for billions of individuals’ sins, whereas mothers endure pain to give birth to one (or maybe two or three) innocent individuals at a time. 

Agricultural

He also compared His death to a seed falling to the ground, and rising again to bear many seeds, a harvest.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24).

But Jesus returned after His death. We cannot retrieve an intact seed beneath the plant that grew from it; it is lost permanently.

Animal Sacrifice

One of the most prominent ways in which God taught His people anciently about the upcoming Atonement of His Son was the Tabernacle or Temple, with their altars out front for all to see. A sinner would bring a lamb (or other animal) that met certain qualifications (without blemish, first-born, no broken bones, kept from begetting any offspring, etc.), and the priests would ritually kill this animal to atone for the sins of the one who offered it. This metaphor breaks down because the animal does not spring back to life after being slaughtered and burned. Jesus was resurrected.

Why did Jesus return from the dead, if His death was some form of payment?

The Atonement might be better understood as trading places. Jesus stood in our place, was judged, suffered for our sins, and died, because that is what each sinner deserves. He bore our merits, our punishment.

He offers us the opportunity to receive what He deserves and owns. An abundance of the Spirit; spiritual gifts; healing, both mental and physical, to resemble His wholeness; freedom from addiction and anger and misery; strength to bear burdens; a vibrant relationship with God. These were all things Jesus had, and enjoyed, because He earned them. We do not really merit them, but when we take the name of Jesus Christ upon ourselves, we stand in His place and receive these unearned blessings, gifts, and grace.

We formalize this process by receiving priesthood ordinances, such as baptism.

Jesus offers us the opportunity to stand in His place, sit in His throne, eat His feast, because He stood in our place and bore vicariously the misery we merited. What He offers includes a glorious resurrection.

If He had not been resurrected, it would not be among the joys and blessings He would be able to offer to us. But because He was resurrected, everyone will be resurrected. (It is just a question of how good the quality of that resurrection will be; He has also made provision to secure the highest quality resurrection for all who will receive the necessary ordinances, and live up to the associated promises).



Before we begin charging headlong into a particular cause, let us triple-check to ensure our zeal is thoroughly informed, under-girded by a firm understanding of what work we are to be about, and how to get that work accomplished.

Also, we can avoid confusion by remembering we are imperfect beings, using imperfect words to describe infinite perfections and glories. We should check to see whether we are stumped by a flaw in the Gospel, or a flaw in the language we use to convey it.