The Scriptures

What is scripture?

“And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation” (D&C 68:4).

This verse is more than a license for the Lord’s modern prophets—assurance that the capacity to receive revelation, together with the authority to write it and have it stand as the Lord’s own instruction to mankind, is with us again. It also defines what scripture itself is; the Lord’s will, mind, word, voice, and power unto salvation. The scriptures testify primarily of Jesus Christ, since He is our Savior, the One who makes our salvation possible.

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).

How important are the scriptures to the Lord?

“And a commandment I give unto thee—that thou shalt write for him; and the scriptures shall be given, even as they are in mine own bosom, to the salvation of mine own elect…” (D&C 35:20).

They are near and dear to Him, not expendable or secondary. When He visits the Nephites in the Book of Mormon, the Lord tells His prophet, “Bring forth the record which ye have kept” (3Ne. 23:7). He then begins editing the record and adding missing fulfilled prophecy and scripture.

“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle (even the punctuation is important here) shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matt. 5:18).

A massive responsibility and accountability are on the shoulders of all who are blessed to own the scriptures.

“…I, Jesus Christ, your Lord and your God, have spoken it.

“These words are not of men nor of man, but of me; wherefore, you shall testify they are of me and not of man;

“For it is my voice which speaketh them unto you; for they are given by my Spirit unto you, and by my power you can read them one to another; and save it were by my power you could not have them;

“Wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know my words” (D&C 18:34-36).

“What I the Lord have spoken…shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38).

“And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed…for unto them will I show no greater things (i.e. damned), saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh” (Ether 4:8).

A Candle to Read By

Reading the scriptures without the Spirit is like reading in the dark. The scriptures were given by revelation, and they are meant to be understood by the it.

The Salem witch trials were the result of one misconstrued verse of scripture; they thought they were doing the will of God per the Bible. “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” reads the King James translation of the Bible. But the word “witch” should actually say “murderer,” (JST Ex. 22:18). Oops.

“Puritan” does not mean “pure living;” it references the belief that authority can and should be derived solely (purely) from the scriptures, not living authorities, nor revelation, nor the Holy Spirit.

There are a few human smudges in the scriptures, and it is possible to misconstrue and overemphasize one verse that was poorly translated or handed down incorrectly and go flying off into confusion. “…in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (D&C 6:28; cf. 2Cor. 13:1, Matt. 18:16, Deut. 19:15). If something is repeated in the scriptures we can adopt it as doctrine (according to the law of witnesses). We should compare scripture with other scripture before we set up the tent of our beliefs, lest we set up camp in the wrong place.

The members of the Sanhedrin who debated with Jesus knew the scriptures forwards and backwards, intellectually, but God was a stranger to them. They could recite the Torah well, but they were deaf to the voice of the Spirit.

The Holy Ghost came upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery after they used the Aaronic Priesthood authority they had just received to baptize each other.

“Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us…” (JS—H 1:74). Revelation and scripture do not conflict or replace each other, but augment and supplement each other.

It was the confusion about the Bible among preachers that drove young Joseph Smith to the Sacred Grove to inquire of God. “…for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible” (JS—H 1:12).

Without the guidance of the Spirit, it is possible to make all sorts of false assumptions based on personal scripture study. Among the various tasks Joseph Smith performed, members of the Church frequently reference restoration of priesthood, its attendant keys, Temple blessings, and passing new scripture from God to us. He translated and published the Book of Mormon, received almost all the revelations published as the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price (which teaches us about what happened before Genesis 1:1).

One role he played that has snapped into focus for me of late is his mission to help the Latter-day Saints understand personal revelation. He taught key after key to understand and know truth as taught by the Spirit. He was very much like an usher, helping people enter and navigate the castle of revelation. He was called to help others enjoy what he had—personal revelation, rapport with his Maker (through the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, not just open visions).

“It is my meditation all the day, and more than my meat and drink, to know how I shall make the Saints of God comprehend the visions that roll like an overflowing surge before my mind” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 296).

“I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their traditions: they cannot stand the fire at all” (TPJS, p. 331).

If we are to understand the scriptures we must approach them with flexibility. The Lord will not surprise us with anything new if we are unprepared to modify our beliefs. I spoke with a man once who apostatized from the Church. “I can read the Book of Mormon in less than a month,” he said, and he had stopped learning anything new from it. As far as he was concerned, he had thoroughly juiced it.

When the Spirit is our guide, and we read by the its light of divine guidance, the scriptures are fresh each time we search them diligently, adding “line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10).

Yours or Mine?

Joseph Smith characterized the kind of attitude we need to bring to our study of the scriptures. “I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it” (History of the Church, 2:170).

It is easy to see the scriptures as yet another tool in our kit of things we own designed to make us happier here and now. But if we see the scriptures as a tool to solve what we assume are our problems, we may be disappointed.

“And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.

“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

The problems we obsess about in our daily lives are only a small part (if a part at all) of what the Lord is working on. We are trying to stay alive, healthy, and to maintain our relationships and property. The Lord is trying to exalt the human race.

The scriptures are written from that eternal vantage. Instead of seeing the scriptures as a manual to help us achieve success in earthly mortal endeavors, we can see them as a way to learn about our Father in heaven. We can learn about His priorities, His questions for us. We can learn what we need to do to prepare to live with Him forever, as His sons and daughters (true, permanent At-One-ment).

The primary purpose of the scriptures is not to teach us how to win friends or influence people, to obtain the amenities of this world (though they promise that those who keep the commandments will “prosper in the land”). The scriptures will surely help us become the friends, servants, and daughters and sons of God.

We might have to lose earthly friends, wealth, even health or our lives in the process, but as Jesus taught, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). It is too easy to forget God and become at ease and comfortable with the ways and things of this world. The scriptures draw us away from those passing concerns of mortal life, and aim our thoughts on the life to come.

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

“(For after all these things to the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:31-33).

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:19-20).

His priorities are very different from ours in many ways.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). (The heavens are not simply above the earth; they encompass it, and are infinite.)

“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” (The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, ed. Dean C. Jessee, p. 509).

To open the scriptures is like walking into a Temple. We have left the world of time, and have entered eternity. We check our boots, tools, cell phones, and other distractions at the door. (Elder John A. Widtsoe defined a Temple as anything God puts us into or through to endow us with power, and the scriptures fit that definition well.) 

Fiery Furnace For Us

“…for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

“And he shall…purge them as gold and silver…” (Mal. 3:2-3).

No one is surprised when people at the evilest end of the spectrum suffer from the effects of sin, but we are often dismayed when the most righteous we know are suffering. “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

“But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings…” (1Pet. 4:12-13).

There is “opposition in all things” (2Ne. 2:11), as father Lehi instructed his posterity. “When I do the best that I can—when I am accomplishing the greatest good, then the most evils and wicked surmising are got up against me…

“But it will be but a little season, and all these afflictions will be turned away from us, inasmuch as we are faithful…” (History of the Church, 5:140-41, Joseph Smith, given 31 Aug 1842).

“The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?” (D&C 122:6).

“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

“And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph…” (D&C 121:7-8).

We can expect better than Jesus suffered, but not complete bliss either, if we are doing His work. This is far removed from the quaint and watered-down conceptualization of the Lord and His plan for us we often prefer. This life is a trial by fire, among other things, administered by the Lord as instructor and referee.

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). That sounds easy until we learn how dear a price we must often pay to know Him. We tend to come to know Him in our extremity; little wonder:

"...ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions” (Mosiah 24:14). He comes when we need Him most; He is very close to us when we need to be saved.

“For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?” (Mosiah 5:13).

The scriptures are given as they are in the Lord’s “own bosom;” if we would know the thoughts and intents of His heart (instead of obscuring them with our passing priorities and concerns), we can turn to the scriptures.

The Flesh Is Weak

Sometimes following the promptings of the Spirit is like walking hand in hand through a perfumed garden with your sweetheart. Other times, following the promptings of the Spirit is more like staying atop a bucking bull. Why is obedience so often so difficult?

Elder Packer described his experience as a boy shortly after baptism. He emerged from the water with every intention of never sinning, fully committed to doing what is right, but found himself slipping up anyway. His young heart and mind had erroneously assumed that baptism would perfect him, and that he could leave sin behind easily. He learned instead that repentance is a process that never ends in this life, line-by-line growth. The Atonement covers us between here and perfection.

Even our failures can have silver linings of progress in them. Dismissing a prompting from the Spirit after we receive it, then regretting it when we experience the negative consequences of not heeding that prompting, and recognizing what we neglected, is a sign of spiritual progress and maturing. At least the Spirit could get through to us enough to warn us. Next time we will spend less time hesitating.

We lived with God as His spirit children before this earth was organized. We each chose to come to this earth through physical birth. We Latter-day Saints often take this truth for granted. Was the choice that easy to make? The scriptures indicate that a full third of our Father’s spirit children chose not to trust Him and follow His plan, which included us coming here through physical birth. What deterred so many of God’s children, caused them to choose open rebellion rather than follow His plan for them?

We get only snippets of what happened in the Great Council, but what is certain is that those who chose to follow God’s plan overcame Satan and his accusations against them through their faith in the Savior.
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Rev. 12:10).

Satan’s warped version of the plan would have included no agency, ergo no sin, and thus no need for physical death.

We rejected Satan’s proposal and instead chose Heavenly Father’s original plan, which included coming to earth with no prior memory of our existence or covenants with Him, being saddled with imperfect physical bodies, and turned loose with total freedom of will to sin or be good however we want, eventually to die and face judgment for our choices. Satan’s plan certainly must have seemed reasonable to those who followed him—or at least, less frightening.

Weakness On Display

Who wants to have his or her weakness exposed publicly? No one, but the alternative, covering our sins or propensities to sin, can have dire results: “…when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride…the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn…

“…he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God…

“…they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion…” (D&C 121:37-39). This modern warning to us describes Satan’s fall anciently. It might have begun as a preoccupation with avoiding sin and not having weakness exposed. These good intentions evolved into full-scale war against God, truth, and everybody. Satan’s original plan was to save us all; now he works to destroy. The first sin was unwillingness to have weakness exposed publicly—pride with a self-righteous twist.

Whether having our flaws exposed publicly is comfortable or not, running in the opposite direction constitutes undertaking to cover our sins, a war against truth. That necessarily means embracing pride; humility can accept the uncomfortable truth, but pride cannot look in the mirror or own up to its flaws.

Jesus described Satan premortally:

“He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). It takes courage and faith and humility to face the truth, to admit our flaws, or to accept other discomfort. One third of God’s children could not handle it, and rebelled.

The Flesh

Elder David A. Bednar has pointed out the eternal irony that the very things we came to this earth to receive—our bodies—are exactly the means through which Satan tempts us. No physical body is needed in order to sin or rebel. We have the tendency to avoid truth and become proud already. Combine that tendency with a mortal physical body, and veiled memories of our premortal lives, and you have an even more intensified propensity to sin. This multiplies and compounds the ways we can get into trouble—sin begets more sin, and sins then roam through our hearts and minds in packs. King Benjamin warns that the opportunities for sin in this life are innumerable (Mosiah 4:29).

“Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). Staying humble is hard; it is even harder when we are have imperfect, weakened telestial bodies. Why was saddling us with so much temptation (some people more than others) considered a good part of the plan? God does not tempt us, right? But He designed our bodies, and they are susceptible to temptation because of their design. Why?

Freedom Prerequisites

Unless good and evil are legitimate options, there is no real freedom to choose. The choice to be good is not legitimate unless it includes a refusal to be evil.

“…good and evil have come before all men…he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience” (Alma 29:5).
God installed the tree bearing the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, and then instructed Adam and Eve not to eat from it. This was not to tempt them; though it seems contradictory, it preserved their freedom of choice. The presence of the forbidden fruit and serpent who was allowed to entice them preserved their freedom by offering them options. Freedom to act, agency, requires knowledge of good and evil, and the opportunity to choose between them.

“And to bring about his eternal purposes…after he had created our first parents…it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter.

“Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other…”

“And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon…

“Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2Ne. 2:15-16, 26-27).

Why talk so much about Adam and Eve? Because their predicament is the same as ours, essentially—we have their options, including sin, staring us in the face; we fall like they did; we need the same Savior they needed. Their path out of the Fall is ours, too.

Although God has provided the opportunity to choose good and evil to preserve our agency, that is not the same thing as endorsing evil as a viable option.

How Weakness is Made Strong

The Lord takes credit for creating our weak flesh, and also offers a solution for this predicament. This happens in Ether 12:27, an oft-quoted scripture in the Church. It is easy for us to be so enamored with the theme of making weakness strong that we breeze blithely through this verse without realizing what Jesus Christ is saying.

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

Ether 3:2 clarifies what weakness refers to:

“O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given unto us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.”

Weakness refers to our mortal tendencies to sin (and the brittle state of our physical bodies).

Who wants to have their flaws pointed out to them by the Lord? We typically characterize Jesus Christ as more friendly and cuddly in our talks and classes. This sounds like a cruel thing to do—“show unto men their weakness.” It is hard to face our true flaws; “who can hear it?” (John 6:60).

Ether 12:27 throws out another point—Jesus gives us our weakness? Hearts that may be tempted, brains that may forget, and toes that may be stubbed? Again, it is not an endorsement for sin; it is just that we need options, good and evil as real potential choices, before we are truly free, before our good choices really are legitimate. We are “enticed” by both, says Lehi, and then choose.

There is another, even more important reason why we have weakness woven into the fabric of our bodies—to engender humility. “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble…”

Humility is probably the least popular virtue to develop among the catalog of virtues—maybe only patience can compete with it in disfavor. Yet the Lord deliberately built flaws into us to engender this virtue. It must be important.

“How great the importance to make these things known unto the children of men” says Lehi. What things?

“Behold, he (Jesus Christ) offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit (i.e. very deep humility); and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered” (2Ne. 2:8, 7). Jesus can save someone who is deeply flawed, yet also deeply humble; someone who is 99.99% perfect, but proud, cannot have the ends of the law answered unto him or her. And so we are saddled with “weakness that” we “may be humble.”

Do we believe that His “grace is sufficient?” Or are we content to rely on the arm of the flesh and man, our own knowledge, willpower, skills, tools, drugs, etc.?

To contradict false accusations, Joseph Smith contributed to a newspaper article about the rise of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “I only add, that I do not, nor never have, pretended to be any other than a man, ‘subject to passion,’ and liable, without the assisting grace of the Savior, to deviate from that perfect path in which all men are commanded to walk!” (The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, edited by Dean C. Jessee, p. 337). Our fallen natures are the problem; the Savior’s grace is the one viable solution.

“If you will throw a cloak of charity over my sins, I will over yours—for charity covereth a multitude of sins” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 193). When we see others’ flaws manifested, we receive the same amount of mercy from the Lord that we show to them (see Matt. 5:7).

Grace can strengthen and change us, enabling us to obey beyond our own abilities. We must offer our whole selves to the Lord before He will change our natures. Otherwise grace would become invasive, tampering, sidestepping our agency. Our humility on its own is not what sanctifies us; He will change us after we invite Him to do so. Humility activates His grace in us.

How Humble

It might be good at this point to define what humility actually is, and is not. Satan is miserable and proud; Jesus is currently humble (see Ether 12:39), and yet He is full of grace, truth, and love. Humility is therefore not a form of holy dreariness, fraught with self-deprecation, slumped shoulders, sagging faces, limp arms, or any of the other things generally thought of as symptoms of humility.

Willlingness is much closer to the kind of humility the Lord asks of us. Think of the sacrament prayer—we partake to show we are willing (ready, prepared, determined, committed, fully intending) to take the name of Christ upon us, keep His commandments, and always remember Him.

Willing describes an internal state, not necessarily our behavior. The sincere attempt to do what is right is just as valuable in the Lord’s eyes as success in our attempts. It is possible (though unlikely) to be completely obedient outwardly, while still having a grudging heart. Even if we fail or stumble in our sincere attempts at following the commandments, the Lord will still give us His Spirit if we maintain our willingness to try (again, again, and again sometimes). (One theme of the Sermon on the Mount is that righteousness must go much deeper than simple outward compliance; it must include our intentions, our hearts.) To change behavior is fairly simple (though usually ineffective in the long run); to change our natures requires a miracle. Jesus created us in the first place; He can upgrade our natures, too, and offers to do it:

“…for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (the last phrase from Ether 12:27).

Genuine humility also includes recognizing our flaws, the truth, that painful look into the mirror.

The short answer to the question, Why is obedience so hard? is that we are not yet fully developed spirits wearing deliberately flawed bodies with evil propensities in them. Induced amnesia veils our eons of life with God from present recall. We have vanity and even ignore the things we have relearned in this brief life, and these also contribute to our tendency to sin. We worship things other than God. He loves us anyway, and works to save us. Some of His work requires our cooperation. It requires us to choose to come unto Christ in humility:

“Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin.

“Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved” (3Ne. 9:21-22).

Apostasy and Restoration

As a missionary, I was sometimes asked why we need Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon when “we already have the Bible.” One potential answer to this question is a battery of other questions that the Bible does not answer clearly. Asking these simple questions—“Where did I come from?” “Why am I here?” “Where do I go when I die?” “Why does God allow so much evil and suffering if He is good?” “How do I get to heaven or avoid hell?”—highlights the need for Joseph Smith and continuing revelation. Using only the Bible and intellectual reason to answer these questions creates confusion.

The huge number (tens of thousands) of major Christian denominations, along with countless Bible studies and revivals, each teaching slightly (or massively) different doctrines based on different logic and conclusions, is explosive evidence for the fact that Christianity was derailed and lost its foundation anciently.

The Apostasy

Many have misconstrued Jesus’ statement to Simon Peter: “…thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Was Peter invincible? No. He denied knowing the Savior three times, went on to serve with distinction, but was ultimately murdered, crucified upside down for his testimony of the Savior. His own loyalty was firm unto death, but he himself was martyred.

Jesus predicted His, and His disciples’ eventual deaths. What was the rock that the gates of hell would not prevail against? Look back a few verses and you find it:

“He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

“And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:15-18). The rock against which hell could not prevail was REVELATION, direct communication from God to His Church. No one can impede it or intercept it; prophets receive revelation whether on mountains or in dungeons (see also D&C 121:33). If anyone doubts that Jesus is speaking of revelation in Matthew chapter 16, look back a few verses further:

“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

“He answered and said unto them…A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign…” (Matt:1-2, 4). Peter received his knowledge that Jesus was the Christ through the quiet whisperings of God’s Holy Spirit; these men wanted Jesus to perform some physical astonishing miracle before they would believe. Those who put their wisdom and appetites above God will demand appeasement of their five senses and their intellects through magic tricks before they believe and act; one miracle, one “sign,” would not have satisfied them anyway. Jesus rebuked them for being in such a state; it takes faith to follow the Spirit, whereas following what seems obvious to the eye takes no faith. He rejoiced that Peter was susceptible to that tiny spiritual whispering; He would need such a man to lead His Church and feed His sheep.

Jesus visited the Apostles after His resurrection and before He ascended into heaven, and charged them to go into all the world, teaching and baptizing. The Book of Acts records their miracles, teachings, travels, and even revelations they received from God. For instance, Peter was told in a vision that Romans, considered unclean by devout Jews, could now be proselytized and baptized into the faith (see Acts 10). They continued to produce new scripture as long as they received new revelations.

Two and a half centuries later, all those with authority from God and the spiritual gifts of miracles and especially the gift of revelation, were gone. They became like a ship without rudder, sails, compass, or well-informed and experienced captain or sailors. Its leaders argued in large councils and voted on such fundamental concepts as the nature of God. The fact that no one claimed to have any revelation on something so fundamental was a red flag indicating that they had strayed and lost the Lord’s assistance. The original Apostles asked God; later, leaders argued with each other and used philosophies of the world to back up their disputations.

Restoration

Martin Luther was among the first Christians to publicly denounce the differences between the Church described in scripture, and Christian denominations in his day. (Most people hesitated to do so, since such criticisms were often punished with burning at the stake for heresy.) He recorded part of his own inquisition (thankfully he was not burned or tortured) in 1521 at a German legal hearing called The Diet of Worms (no joke):

“[One] kind [of my writings] consists in those writings leveled against the papacy and the doctrine of the papists, as against those who by their wicked doctrines and precedents have laid waste Christendom by doing harm to the souls and the bodies of men. No one can either deny or conceal this, for universal experience and world-wide grievances are witnesses to the fact that through the Pope's laws and through man-made teachings the consciences of the faithful have been most pitifully ensnared, troubled, and racked in torment, and also that their goods and possessions have been devoured (especially amongst this famous German nation) by unbelievable tyranny, and are to this day being devoured without end in shameful fashion; and that though they themselves by their own laws take care to provide that the Pope’s laws and doctrines which are contrary to the Gospel or the teachings of the Fathers are to be considered as erroneous and reprobate. If then I recant these, the only effect will be to add strength to such tyranny, to open not the windows but the main doors to such blasphemy, which will thereupon stalk further and more widely than it has hitherto dared. . .”

The vessel was lost at sea; Luther was merely pointing out that fact. He made no special claim to revelation; he had the scriptures, and his interpretation of them via his intellect. It might have been closer to the original intent than orthodox interpretations, but it was still his intellect; the compass of divine revelation was missing despite good intentions and some correct ideas.

Reformers like Luther tried to reform Christianity; he (like other Protestants) protested and formed their own churches. Puritans were called such because they rejected human authority and appealed to the Bible alone as their sole “pure” source of authority. Numerous different churches sprang up with each disagreement throughout the centuries.

By the time the American colonists were free from British rule, they also had many different Christian faiths, all reaching widely different conclusions using the same Bible.

This is the religious environment into which young Joseph Smith was thrown.

Reformation or protests, or even recognizing the need for them, were good epiphanies, but they were insufficient to bring back to life what was lost. A divinely-driven restoration was needed instead.

Strange Prophecies

Jesus prophesied about His own death and resurrection; the Apostles predicted the death and restoration of the true Church. Athletes might taunt opponents and boast of victory before the game even begins; if they win, they are vindicated. But who would say they would be whipped thoroughly, lose, and then come roaring back in the second round to win? This is comparable to the improbability of what Jesus prophesied about His own resurrection, or what the Apostles prophesied for the Church.

The epistles comprising the end of the New Testament bear witness to the fact that the fledgling Church was already losing its way. Again and again, Paul, Peter, John, and other Apostles warn and correct wayward congregations.

Jesus warned His Twelve Apostles before He sent them into the world:

“They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service” (John 16:2). He was rejected and killed; they would be, too.

Jesus warns Peter:

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

“This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me” (John 21:18-19). Peter, the Rock, could expect no better treatment than Jesus; he would also be killed. The story of martyrdom among Jesus’ disciples is almost uniform; only John the Beloved was spared, because he was translated, changed to be immortal yet still living on earth among mortals (see John 21:21-23, Matt. 16:28, D&C 7).

Paul even predicts total apostasy to a group of saints who are mistakenly awaiting the Second Coming at any moment:

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…

“That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled…as that the day of Christ is at hand.

“Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first…

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming…” (2Thes. 2:1-3, 8).

To move from victory to victory is not unexpected; to move from total defeat to total victory is miraculous, and that is just what the Apostles prophesied for the Church.

The First Vision

When the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith in 1820, the massive drift from truth became apparent:

“…I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

“…When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is my beloved Son. Hear Him!

“…I asked the Personages…which of all the sects was right…and which I should join” (JS—H 1:16-18). This is a great moment—many believers throughout the preceding millennia had asked similar questions—which church is the right one? What is truth?

“I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong…” ALL wrong. Not one church on earth using the Bible taught truth completely, or was free from errors.

“…and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight…” (JS—H 1:19). “Abomination” is strong language, but think for a moment: how would you feel if people who had never met you circulated misrepresentations of you to the world, not even asking your consent? The creeds were those conclusions about Jesus, God, and their natures that the ancient councils had reached after hammering things out through disputation, argument, logic, and philosophical debates. In other words, their understanding of the nature of God was based on everything EXCEPT directly asking Him and receiving answers from Him.

How important is a correct understanding of the nature and character of God? “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). It is critical. No wonder Jesus describes those creeds as “abominations;” anything that keeps us from knowing Him and the Father impedes our salvation.

By stark contrast with the confusion of the man-made creeds, Joseph Smith taught, “It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God…” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345). Most religions relegate knowing God to the realm of mystical, baffling esoterica that defy language. (For some, the profound disorientation caused by the circular confusion of the creeds is often cherished as the essence of spiritual feelings.) Not so with the Prophet; Joseph Smith does teach that there are things beyond mortal understanding, but many truths about God are within mortal comprehension: His fatherhood of our spirits; the fact that He has a body of flesh and bone; the fact that we are members of His family; the fact that Jesus is His literal Son.

The fact that Jesus and His Father both have bodies, and are two physically separate individuals was made clear when both appeared to Joseph Smith in the First Vision. Ancient darkness and confusion were dispelled in an instant. Jesus further explained to young Joseph Smith:

“…that those professors were all corrupt; that: ‘they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof” (JS—H 1:19).

This goes back to what Jesus said of the Pharisees; a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; those who value their flesh, their own wisdoms and intellects and physical senses, will rank their reasoning and five senses above the whisperings of the Spirit, before revelation.

One reason we might neglect those whisperings is because “the wind bloweth where it listeth” (John 3:8). The Spirit blows wherever it wants, whenever it wants. It takes courage to follow it. We can heed the call and follow those promptings, like the Apostles of old (who often followed the Spirit right to their deaths), or we can set courage and faith aside, and work within the limits of our own wisdom. This is exactly what the early Christian Church’s leaders apostatized toward; this is still what preachers were doing in the days of Joseph Smith when he prayed to know which Church to join.

The Right Compass

After the Lord points out problems, He presents solutions; He said that the creeds were wrong, and His personal appearance, along with the Father, to Joseph, dispelled that ignorance. What about relying on “the commandments of men” and “deny[ing] the power” “of godliness?”

Even before Joseph Smith was commanded to restore the formal organization of the Church of Christ in 1830, he was commanded to translate the Book of Mormon from gold plates hidden in a hill near Joseph’s farm. They contained a record of an ancient people descended in part from Israelites who lived in the Americas. Jesus Christ visited them after His resurrection, and taught them His gospel.

Not only does this record confirm that the Bible is true, it also teaches us the solution, if we will apply it, to relying solely our own power, understanding, willpower, tools, technology, etc. Among many other things, it teaches us how to solve the problem of relying on human understanding, and how to rely on God’s power. Here are a few scriptures from the Book of Mormon on the subject:

“And ye may know that [Christ] is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

“And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God…and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them” (Moroni 10:7-8).

God gives spiritual gifts, power, the same today as in the past; faith in Christ is a prerequisite; they are manifestations of the power of the Spirit in us. Miracles are NOT just history; they happen now.

“O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of the flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm” (2Ne. 4:34). Relying on human power and wisdom led Christianity into a morass of moral confusion, and the same thing happens individually without any divine guidance. If we are not to give preeminence to our own reasoning, and human abilities, what should follow?

“And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do” (1Ne. 3:6). This seems at first to be a less-effective way to do things, but the Book of Mormon teaches that it is ultimately the only way to get things done properly. How do we get the Spirit? Through faith in Christ, combined with deep humility before Him, a willingness to do anything, however scary to us, that He prompts us to do through His Spirit. We also receive ordinances at the hands of ordained ministers who actually have authority, the priesthood.

Joseph Smith taught an Elder in the early restored Church of Jesus Christ, “Elder…you have been baptized, you have had hands laid upon your head for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and you have been ordained to the holy priesthood. Now, if you will continue to follow the leadings of that spirit, it will always lead you right. Sometimes it might be contrary to your judgment; never mind that, follow its dictates; and if you be true to its whisperings it will in time become in you a principle of revelation so that you will know all things” (John Taylor, Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, Jan. 15, 1878, p. 1, quoted in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith: Chapter 10). This man (John Taylor) later led the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as one of Joseph Smith’s successors. The pattern of leadership by those who are guided through revelation continues today (with Thomas Spencer Monson).

Personal revelation is open to us all, provided we know and follow the principles that allow us to receive it. Joseph Smith learned those principles from God, and taught them freely to all who would listen—just like Jesus’ original disciples.

Freedom

We like feeling free—the more options, the better. Freedom seems almost like an end unto itself. We will even fight wars, kill, and die to maintain freedom.

One of the quickest ways to stir someone up to anger is to convince a person that his or her rights are being taken away or curtailed somehow.

Korihor took this approach. The high priest asked him, “Why do ye go about perverting the ways of the Lord? Why do ye teach this people that there shall be no Christ, to interrupt their rejoicings?

Korihor responds: “Because I do not teach the foolish traditions of your fathers, and because I do not teach this people to bind themselves down under the foolish ordinances and performances which are laid down by ancient priests, to usurp power and authority over them, to keep them in ignorance, that they may not lift up their heads, but be brought down according to thy words” (Alma 30:22-23).

Korihor turns the question about the existence of God into a debate about power, authority, and oppression. He cannot produce one iota of physical evidence (the burden of science) that there is no God. On the other hand, Alma points out the obvious evidences for the hand of God in all creation. Order, symmetry, predictability, reliability, complexity, beauty—all are evidences of intelligent acting to organize something. We admire art, and the more beautiful it is, the more certain we are of the artist’s skill.

“…ye have the testimony of all…thy brethren…all the holy prophets…The scriptures…and all things…even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44). It is bizarre to hear intelligent people assert that things no human can reproduce in a laboratory are accidental in origin. Accidents are random, and any accident should therefore be easily reproduced.

We are, as Korihor asserts, free to believe what we want. However, we are not free to experience a universe built around our suppositions and prejudices. A person’s disbelief in gravity will not keep him safe if he should choose to walk off a cliff (or fall accidentally). As Joseph Smith taught, truth will cut its own way. The saying, “Ignorance is bliss,” eventually caves in on itself when debts past due or health problems or other things we were unaware of catch up to us. Consequences of ignorance can be far worse than the discomfort of knowing in advance, and so it is usually good to be as informed about the past, present, and possible or inevitable future as we can.

False beliefs might give consolation or an ego boost to the one who possesses them, but there is no place to hide from the truth forever.

Freedom of will, agency, is given to us by God, and we will be held accountable for our choices, and their consequences.

Authority-Averse

Various recent statements by atheists have made me aware of just how little their disbelief in God can be related to science (what can be demonstrated through repeatable experiments), and just how much it can center in emotion—anger over being told what to do.

In a recorded interview with Carl Sagan, he asserted that animals actually do exhibit behaviors similar to humans, and therefore we are not special. He went down the list behaviors often considered unique to humans that animals also practice, and included “religion.” This stunned me, and the host who interviewed him was also incredulous—do apes and dolphins worship gods and build idols and have ceremonies? Carl Sagan responded that they have hierarchies, power structures, just like religions do. “But how is that different from your relationship with your boss?” the interviewer asked. Carl did not even stop to address that valid and salient point. He never answered the interviewer’s question adequately.

For him, the essence of religion power or influence, not about the fundamental answers to life’s big questions, or spiritual experiences, revelations, destiny, afterlife, premortal existence, miracles, faith, the existence of souls, the essence of consciousness, the path to happiness, or any of the other big questions religions of the world attempt to address. For him, the essence of religion was its POWER over people, commandments, not the question of whether God existed. And judging by the tone of his voice and his choice of phrases, he was angry about it, and wanted to bring everyone along with him.

In any case, my assumptions about this philosopher’s objectivity or dispassionate approach crumbled. Grouchy teenage rebellion does not a scientist make.

The atheist worldview derives its appeal from emotional convenience—it is a blank check, a ticket to total freedom from responsibility for our actions (unless we get caught by human authorities). It centers on that convenience, often bolstered by a false presupposition that science has triumphed over all things of a sectarian or religious nature, and explained everything satisfactorily.

(If there is nothing new to learn, why are scientists still churning out new discoveries and machines all the time? Better instruments constantly cause us to revise or completely reject firmly-held ideas. This is especially true of telescopes—astronomy has exploded in the last decade, forcing many to admit that there are basics to existence itself we never knew of before, perhaps undiscovered fundamental forces of nature.)

Salesmanship

Authority is at once vilified in our society, and yet strangely authority it is also embraced.

The movie plot of the oppressed youth striking out against stodgy, repressive, authoritarian, narrow, misguided and often tyrannical authority figures and triumphing through clever resistance to oppressive rules is so overplayed it has become hackneyed. That is fiction; what about real life?

People will pay enormous sums of money for advice—that is the idea behind college, business consulting, and other mentors-for-hire. The beginning of success in real life is the admission that we do not know everything, and need instruction in order to accomplish our objectives and achieve our dreams. We put some faith in an authority figure, and subject ourselves to his or her care, instruction, and correction. We then expect the wisdom he or she imparts to propel us the rest of the way to success, to remove barriers separating us from our goals.

Authority in the form of technical advice is welcome (more so when it works). Those who produce results that heal illness or advance the arts and sciences and communication technologies and other areas of convenience in our lives are hailed, and often rightly so. Technological advances expedite the end of hunger, poverty, disease, ignorance, and general physical misery and ailments in the world.

It is possible to have all our physical needs met, and still feel incomplete. Jesus Christ offers us peace, but “not as the world giveth” (John 14:27). Society often rejects the prophets who teach us how to be happy in favor of something more tangible and accessible to our comprehension. We will go to college to get rich, but not listen to the prophets to find happiness.

Nephi warns us that to depend on human gizmos and knowledge for security or ultimate happiness in the manner embraced in our society today is poisonous: “Yea, cursed is he who putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm” (2Ne. 4:34).

Samuel the Lamanite tells a violent mob:

“…if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of the devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil” (Helaman 13:26). No search of the distant past is needed to find examples of this kind of heated rejection of God’s ordained servants, even from inside the Church. The opposite treatment goes to those religious leaders who flatter us, and there are also contemporary examples of what Samuel describes next:

“But behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say: Do this, and there is no iniquity (viz. Korihor); do that and ye shall not suffer; yea, he will say: Walk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride of your eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desireth—and if a man shall come among you and say this, ye will receive him, and say that he is a prophet.

“Yea, ye will lift him up, and ye will give unto him of your substance; ye will give unto him of your gold, and of your silver, and ye will clothe him with costly apparel; and because he speaketh flattering words unto you, and he saith that all is well, then ye will not find fault with him” (Helaman 13:27-28).

A Purpose of Life

The first and greatest commandment, to love God above all else, can be difficult to keep. One false premise promoted today is that freedom comes from having no God. But we all have gods—everyone worships something. We all trust in, and place our affections on, and pursue SOMETHING. These can be false gods that we worship in place of the real God.

Whatever we love most is our god. Worship means trusting in, obeying, and giving allegiance to someone or something. We trust in weapons, technology, wealth, and rely on human cunning, and turn to drugs or food or almost anything but God to be happy in our society today.

We are free to choose what we trust in and love, but it is impossible NOT to choose:

“And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, 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; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you” (Helaman 14:30-31). We can choose good or evil; even trying not to vote at all is a vote.

Every moment, we are making decisions, internally as well as externally. Each of these decisions could be classified as tending towards life and goodness, or death and evil, to varying degrees. But the menu has few, if any, neutral options. (Perhaps what we choose to eat for breakfast will not have eternal or lasting consequences, but choosing whether to eat breakfast or follow a prompting to fast certainly will.)

With every decision we make, every desire, every feeling, every thought, we display who or what we actually worship. Like a ball poised on the ridge of a roof, we are destined to pause for only a fraction of an instant and roll one way or the other—it is impossible for us to just sit there indefinitely. But we can choose life, and that is good news.

Before the earth was created, we and Jesus Christ lived in the presence of God. We get snippets of the dialogue that came out of the councils that took place when this life was planned for us: “…one among them (Jesus, premortally called Jehovah)…was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

“And we will prove them now herewith (with what? With the physical materials our bodies and the world are made of), to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them…” (Abraham 3:24-25). That is like a thesis statement behind the creation of the earth—a chance for us to show our loyalties through our choices. We have all sorts of distractions and enticements and allurements around us because the world was designed that way, with multiple options, “enticements,” invitations pulling us in different directions. The point of all the beauty and potential for joy on this earth is not to show that we will hate it all; rather, we are to show that we can be surrounded by things we love, and still love God more.

Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, not because having a beloved son was evil, or because he was supposed to hate Isaac and love God; it was because Abraham needed to demonstrate that he loved God more than Isaac, his most beloved possession.

The Lord confides some of His own priorities to us:

“Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created” (D&C 29:34). What is the point of all these rules? Is it to constrict our worldviews? Is it to restrict joy? Is it to create prudes and nuns and monks and self-righteous hypocrites who profess to hate life? Is it to make many large, impressive worship centers?

No, the main point of the commandments is the spiritual outcomes of our obedience to them. Obedience to the commandments, one way or another, involves our physical bodies. Not committing murder or adultery; paying tithes and offerings; keeping our language wholesome; observing the dietary instructions in the Word of Wisdom; all these commandments involve the physical body. But the outcome the Lord is looking for is the spiritual effects our obedience has. It affects us, and it affects those around us for the better, spiritually.

Intangible qualities of the spirit, like character, willpower, patience, love, forgiveness, humility, faith—these qualities defy measurement on any physical scale. Yet they are the pure, refined products of keeping the commandments. All our Temples will crumble (whether made of stone or flesh), but the sanctification acquired in them, the qualities we acquire in this life, can perpetuate in us forever after we die, and benefit us forever.

The Lord has given us commandments with the long-term view in mind. We are not here to build a permanent empire of worldly convenience and luxury on earth (though neatness and prosperity are general byproducts of obedience to the commandments for our society anyway). We are building ourselves and each other. He will ultimately solve our major complaints in the resurrection, but first we must become spirits who are worthy to inhabit perfected, exalted bodies. In other words, we need to obey the commandments, and focus on whatever rule we need to keep in order to progress towards exaltation until we master that principle, and move on to the next one.

(That is called “repentance.”)

Jesus Christ: His Peace, Love, and Joy

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.

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.

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.