NOTE: This is a Valentine's message that my home teaching, companion, Stanton Roseman, and I gave to our home teachees.
On this day when love is celebrated, we, as your home teachers, thought we’d take some time to remind you of He who loves you most—the Lord Jesus Christ. The central characteristic of Christ is His love—as the apostle John put it: “God is love” (1 John 4:6). Of this, we are convinced. We have both learned through precious experiences that Christ loves us, and that He stands willing to help us. We know that He loves you and stands ready to help you through any difficulty or trouble in which you may find yourself.
The Savior once said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:14). Truly, Christ has demonstrated His love—the greatest love of all—through His Atonement, in which he sacrificed His life and suffered all things for all of us—as He told Joseph Smith: “The Son of Man hath descended below them all.” Why did the Lord suffer all things? To help us in our times of trial! Whatever difficulty you may encounter in life, Christ can help you through it because He has Himself gone through the exact thing that has you down. He personally knows our disappointments—and, on the days that we all have from time to time—when we feel life is just terrible, and we get down and discouraged, it’s easy to think that God—and everyone else, for that matter—has forgotten us. That is simply not true. Christ once spoke directly to those who wonder if He has abandoned them:
“But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.
“For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.
“Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands” (1 Nephi 20: 14-16).
Here, Christ tells us He loves us even more than our moms do! He remembers us always, for His love for us has been engraved on His palms through His loving sacrifice—the purpose of which was to help us realize our own happiness. In our most desperate moments, we can take comfort that the Great God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, is mindful of us and He loves us and is waiting for us to come unto Him that He can share our burden with us! We are never unloved; rather, we are always loved. One of the great messages of the Book of Mormon is that no matter what we have done, Christ says: “I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long” (2 Nephi 28:32). When we read the phrase, “Mine arm is lengthened out,” we like to think of the Savior standing, arms outstretched, ready to embrace us with His love. And, indeed, we do know that there is nothing the Savior would rather do—than hug you and listen to your troubles whatever they may be and help you realize the happiness that He so desperately wishes will come your way.
We particularly love the “love poem” the Apostle Paul wrote about the Savior’s love:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
“. . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
“Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35, 37-39).
We hope and pray that this Valentine’s Day—and every other day, you will feel loved by your Savior Jesus Christ. We know He loves you and is rooting for your success and happiness. May God bless you!
Sincerely,
Stephen Vincent
Stanton Roseman
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
RELIGION: Sacrament Talk: January 29, 2006: Plain and Precious Covenants Restored
One of the most famous conversations in the Book of Mormon is that between Nephi and the angel of the Lord. While telling Nephi about the apostasy, the angel says: “They have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.” And while we could spend hours talking about the plain and precious truths that have now been restored, I wish to speak in the few minutes I have of the plain and precious covenants, once lost, that have now been lovingly restored by a Father who wishes for our success and happiness.
Indeed, what makes the restoration of these covenants so special is that the power to perform them was restored. And, for the first time in nearly 2,000 years, the Lord was making covenants with His children through His priesthood.
Before I do that, however, I wish to bear my testimony that I know that God the Father and Jesus Christ did, in fact, appear to Joseph Smith, and they did restore their church through him. Most of all, I want you to know that I know the priesthood has been restored. I have a deep testimony of the priesthood—one borne of experience. I felt that sweet comfort of the Spirit when I have been blessed by the priesthood, and I have felt the power of God working within me when I have righteously exercised that priesthood.
The first covenant I wish to speak of is baptism. The beautiful thing about baptism is the peace and warmth of the Spirit we feel when we are baptized, and how that protection of that Spirit is thereafter with us. But there’s another reason why baptism is a plain and precious covenant—because the Lord promises to be with us. President George Q. Cannon said, “When we went forth into the waters of baptism and covenanted with our Father in Heaven to serve Him and keep His commandments, He bound Himself also by covenant that He would never desert us, never leave us to ourselves, never forget us, that in the midst of trials and hardships, when everything was arrayed against us, He would be near unto us and would sustain us.”
It has been my experience that when I have been at my lowest and loneliest times in my life, my Heavenly Father has, through His Spirit, comforted me—and has been my Friend when I most needed a friend.
Next, I’d like to speak about the sacrament. This is our chance to renew our baptismal covenant and remember our Savior. It is our chance to partake of His atonement. For us, His body was torn and broken. It was then laid in a sepulcher and covered by a cloth—much like the bread was in today’s Sacrament. On the third day, He was risen. Job once asked: “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). Christ answered the question when He said: “Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). In Gethsemane and on the cross, Christ suffered and bled for the sins of mankind. Later, Christ told Joseph Smith what this suffering was like for Him, when He said: “Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men” (D&C 19:18-19). At that Christ also told us why He performed that sacrifice: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent” (D&C 19:16). In the wilderness, the ancient Israelites survived on manna—a kind of bread sent from Heaven—and the water that gushed forth from the rock when Moses smote. Just as the ancient Israelites’ physical salvation depended on bread and water, our spiritual salvation depends on how well we live up the covenant we make when we take the bread and water.
Next, I’d like to talk briefly about the endowment. I won’t speak of that actual covenant itself. But I will say this: Nothing can match the peace I feel when, at the end of the session, I have a chance to sit in the Celestial Room and ponder. What a great blessing it is to have temples in our lives.
Finally, I’d like to talk of another temple covenant—the sealing power that was restored to Earth through Elijah. It is by this New and Everlasting covenant that families are made eternal. Of all the covenants restored, this is the sweetest. It was the final priesthood key restored in this dispensation. All other covenants prepare us for this covenant. The plain and precious truths restored in this dispensation all point to this Great Covenant. The family is at the heart of the plan of salvation. Because we are here on Earth to create, build and honor eternal family relationships. If we do that, our family structure cannot be dissolved by death. The family that is our greatest blessing here will be our greatest blessing there.
How grateful I am to have had parents who made and honored this great covenant and who have worked to build an eternal family. My love and gratitude to them will be endless. As will my love and gratitude for a Heavenly Father who loved me and you enough to restore these covenants and His church and allowed us to live in a time when the gospel in its fullness was upon the Earth. Most of all, I am grateful that He loved me enough to send His Son to prepare way for me to return to live with Him. And I am grateful His Son loved us enough to perform the Atonement. I testify that He did and that He lives in Christ’s name. Amen.
Indeed, what makes the restoration of these covenants so special is that the power to perform them was restored. And, for the first time in nearly 2,000 years, the Lord was making covenants with His children through His priesthood.
Before I do that, however, I wish to bear my testimony that I know that God the Father and Jesus Christ did, in fact, appear to Joseph Smith, and they did restore their church through him. Most of all, I want you to know that I know the priesthood has been restored. I have a deep testimony of the priesthood—one borne of experience. I felt that sweet comfort of the Spirit when I have been blessed by the priesthood, and I have felt the power of God working within me when I have righteously exercised that priesthood.
The first covenant I wish to speak of is baptism. The beautiful thing about baptism is the peace and warmth of the Spirit we feel when we are baptized, and how that protection of that Spirit is thereafter with us. But there’s another reason why baptism is a plain and precious covenant—because the Lord promises to be with us. President George Q. Cannon said, “When we went forth into the waters of baptism and covenanted with our Father in Heaven to serve Him and keep His commandments, He bound Himself also by covenant that He would never desert us, never leave us to ourselves, never forget us, that in the midst of trials and hardships, when everything was arrayed against us, He would be near unto us and would sustain us.”
It has been my experience that when I have been at my lowest and loneliest times in my life, my Heavenly Father has, through His Spirit, comforted me—and has been my Friend when I most needed a friend.
Next, I’d like to speak about the sacrament. This is our chance to renew our baptismal covenant and remember our Savior. It is our chance to partake of His atonement. For us, His body was torn and broken. It was then laid in a sepulcher and covered by a cloth—much like the bread was in today’s Sacrament. On the third day, He was risen. Job once asked: “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). Christ answered the question when He said: “Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). In Gethsemane and on the cross, Christ suffered and bled for the sins of mankind. Later, Christ told Joseph Smith what this suffering was like for Him, when He said: “Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men” (D&C 19:18-19). At that Christ also told us why He performed that sacrifice: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent” (D&C 19:16). In the wilderness, the ancient Israelites survived on manna—a kind of bread sent from Heaven—and the water that gushed forth from the rock when Moses smote. Just as the ancient Israelites’ physical salvation depended on bread and water, our spiritual salvation depends on how well we live up the covenant we make when we take the bread and water.
Next, I’d like to talk briefly about the endowment. I won’t speak of that actual covenant itself. But I will say this: Nothing can match the peace I feel when, at the end of the session, I have a chance to sit in the Celestial Room and ponder. What a great blessing it is to have temples in our lives.
Finally, I’d like to talk of another temple covenant—the sealing power that was restored to Earth through Elijah. It is by this New and Everlasting covenant that families are made eternal. Of all the covenants restored, this is the sweetest. It was the final priesthood key restored in this dispensation. All other covenants prepare us for this covenant. The plain and precious truths restored in this dispensation all point to this Great Covenant. The family is at the heart of the plan of salvation. Because we are here on Earth to create, build and honor eternal family relationships. If we do that, our family structure cannot be dissolved by death. The family that is our greatest blessing here will be our greatest blessing there.
How grateful I am to have had parents who made and honored this great covenant and who have worked to build an eternal family. My love and gratitude to them will be endless. As will my love and gratitude for a Heavenly Father who loved me and you enough to restore these covenants and His church and allowed us to live in a time when the gospel in its fullness was upon the Earth. Most of all, I am grateful that He loved me enough to send His Son to prepare way for me to return to live with Him. And I am grateful His Son loved us enough to perform the Atonement. I testify that He did and that He lives in Christ’s name. Amen.
RELIGION: Sacrament Talk: May 27, 2003: Written on My Heart
In 2 Corinthians 3:3, the Paul taught the Corinthians that a testimony is “. . . written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.” In other words, a testimony cannot be gained through mere study—as all other knowledge is gained. Rather, since it is a Celestial piece of information, it must come from a Celestial source—the Holy Ghost.
And it is through the frequent whisperings of that Spirit, that the words “I know my Redeemer lives” has been etched onto the fleshy tables of my heart.
But it is not enough to have a testimony, we must live up to that testimony. A wise person once told me: “We should live our lives in such a way that someone who doesn’t know Christ but knows us will want to know Christ because they know us.” That, of course, is a tall order. I’m sure that if someone watched and catalogued my life, they would conclude that I live more of a Garfield lifestyle than a Christian lifestyle.
But fortunately, I have a way to repent and change. Richard G. Scott taught: “You must trust that the Savior has given His life so that you may make the required changes in your life.” What a wonderful opportunity is ours to cast off the shackles of sin through our Savior’s love. The burden of sin, taught President Harold B. Lee, is the heaviest that anyone can carry in this life. Elder Boyd K. Packer expressed it this way: “I readily confess that I would find no peace, neither happiness nor safety, in a world without repentance. I do not know what I should do if there were no way for me to erase my mistakes. The agony would be more than I could bear.”
We are all probably well-acquainted, more than we want to be, with the debilitating effects of sin. We have probably all felt as though we were in a state of worthlessness when our sins have weighed us down. Perhaps, foolishly, we have allowed the Adversary to put into our hearts, the thought that we cannot be redeemed, that we cannot change, that a sinner is what we are and what we will ever be.
Such a lie is calculated to deprive of us of the infinite atonement—and I testify that it is infinite. Foreseeing this cunning plan of the evil one, Christ asked, through the prophet Isaiah, in 2 Nephi 7:2: “O house of Israel is my arm shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver?” You will note that this question comes at the start of the Isaiah chapters of 2nd Nephi, which chronicles many sins and abominations. It is this question that we are left to ponder as we read about the wickedness of the world. But at the end of it, Christ notes all this, and says succinctly in 2 Nephi 28:32: “I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long.” In short, these two verses teach this very important principle: Christ’s arm is not shortened! He can redeem!”
Let us, therefore, not put limits on an atonement that is infinite. Christ has all power. If the oceans can evaporate on his commandment, then why can he not change our hearts if we come unto Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit?
Christ will never turn his back to us. As near as I can tell, that is the point of the Isaiah chapters in 2nd Nephi: Christ is there for us. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell put it: “We may turn from Him, but He is still there. We may feel that he is hidden from us because of the cloud cover of our concerns, but He is still close to us. We—not He—let something come between us, but no lasting eclipse need ensue. Our disregard for him is no match for His love of us!”
Yes, love is the greatest trademark of our Savior, for it was His love for us that caused him to commit the atonement for us! Of this Ezra Taft Benson said, “We may never understand nor comprehend in mortality how He accomplished what he did, but we must not fail to understand why He did what He did. Everything He did was prompted by His unselfish, infinite love for us.”
Perhaps this perfect and pure love of Christ is best exemplified with his dealings with Paul. Said Elder Maxwell: “Who but merciful and discerning Jesus could be betrayed, arrested, and forsaken, and yet extend to a one-time persecutor, Saul, the great apostolic calling? Later on, [Christ] stood by a jailed and persecuted Peter in the night.” Alma the Younger is a character very similar to Paul because, like Paul, Alma went about seeking to destroy the church and the testimony others had for Christ, but was stopped by an angel. Alma tells us that after this experience he was “for three days and three nights was I racked with the pains of a damned soul.”
But Alma “remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world. Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou son of God, have mercy on me … And behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy, and marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was pain!” (Alma 36:16-20).
Indeed, Christ does stand with open arms, waiting for us. Indeed, he did suffer all things for us. He did this so that we would not have to be racked with the pains of a damned soul. He did this so we would not be forever in Satan’s power. He did this so that we could become like Him. That we could live again with Him and the Father. It is when we understand why suffered that we can sing: “I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me!”
The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob expressed his gratitude for the Savior in 2 Nephi 9:10, when he said: “O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster.” Yes, we have the opportunity to cast off sin and purified in the blood of the Lamb.
But that does not mean that repentance is a right that can be abused. We must remember that we are, as Paul said, “bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20). And as such, we must behave like ones who know that Christ did, in reality, suffer all things for our good.
We, therefore, should not seek out sin nor fall victim to the dangerous and abusive attitude of “Sin now and repent later.” We cannot trade our allegiance to our Redeemer for any portion of money, sex, or praise of man. Perhaps we can learn from the example of Anthon H. Lund. As a 13-year-old boy, Anthon H. Lund, who would later serve in the first presidency, was fulfilling a mission in his native Denmark. His combination of youth and spiritual competence won over many. He was so impressive that a wealthy and devout Lutheran offered to make Anthon his heir, if Anthon would become a Lutheran minister. Anthon replied: “I have no doubt that you are a rich man, but you have not money enough to buy my allegiance to the Church of God.” Even as a 13-year-old boy, Anthon H. Lund comprehended what was of the greatest worth: Following the Savior. We show our appreciation and friendship for the Atoner by being obedient to His commandments and by striving to live a life that would mirror the life that was sacrificed for us.
Recently, I read an article about Joe Delaney, who was an All-Pro running back for the Kansas City Chiefs in the early 1980s. Joe was more than just a football player. He was known for mowing the lawns of lonely women and checking in on the elderly. He was an all-around good guy. Perhaps that’s why one day, when he heard a cry for help from three drowning boys, he jumped in to save them—even though he couldn’t swim. By sheer strength, he was able to throw one of the boys to safety before he and the two other boys drowned.
Of the boy who was saved, Sports Illustrated’s Rick Reilly writes: “As much as you might hope that [he] has done something with the gift Delaney gave him, so far he hasn't. . . . Thirty years old now, [he] got out of jail in May after serving time for distribution of cocaine. There's still time for him to do something wonderful with the life Delaney gave him. After all, Delaney was doing wonderful things with the one he gave up.” This young man has forgotten that his mortal life was purchased with a price.
Similiarly, our eternal lives were purchased with a price—the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. To attain eternal life, we must live lives in which our faith is not hard to detect. We need to live lives that reflect the testimonies we have of Christ.
The Spirit of God has written such a testimony on my heart. Indeed, I do know that my Redeemer lives. I wish to live worthy of every blessing He would extend to me. I know He lives. But the Spirit of God has also whispered frequently to me other testimonies, and from this, I can testify that God lives and He too loves us with a love greater than we can comprehend. And the Father and The Son did appear to a 14-year-old boy named Joseph Smith. They did call him to be a prophet through whom they would restore the Holy Priesthood and bring forth those treasured books, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. I also know that Gordon B. Hinckley is God’s prophet on the earth today. How grateful I am to be a member of this church. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
And it is through the frequent whisperings of that Spirit, that the words “I know my Redeemer lives” has been etched onto the fleshy tables of my heart.
But it is not enough to have a testimony, we must live up to that testimony. A wise person once told me: “We should live our lives in such a way that someone who doesn’t know Christ but knows us will want to know Christ because they know us.” That, of course, is a tall order. I’m sure that if someone watched and catalogued my life, they would conclude that I live more of a Garfield lifestyle than a Christian lifestyle.
But fortunately, I have a way to repent and change. Richard G. Scott taught: “You must trust that the Savior has given His life so that you may make the required changes in your life.” What a wonderful opportunity is ours to cast off the shackles of sin through our Savior’s love. The burden of sin, taught President Harold B. Lee, is the heaviest that anyone can carry in this life. Elder Boyd K. Packer expressed it this way: “I readily confess that I would find no peace, neither happiness nor safety, in a world without repentance. I do not know what I should do if there were no way for me to erase my mistakes. The agony would be more than I could bear.”
We are all probably well-acquainted, more than we want to be, with the debilitating effects of sin. We have probably all felt as though we were in a state of worthlessness when our sins have weighed us down. Perhaps, foolishly, we have allowed the Adversary to put into our hearts, the thought that we cannot be redeemed, that we cannot change, that a sinner is what we are and what we will ever be.
Such a lie is calculated to deprive of us of the infinite atonement—and I testify that it is infinite. Foreseeing this cunning plan of the evil one, Christ asked, through the prophet Isaiah, in 2 Nephi 7:2: “O house of Israel is my arm shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver?” You will note that this question comes at the start of the Isaiah chapters of 2nd Nephi, which chronicles many sins and abominations. It is this question that we are left to ponder as we read about the wickedness of the world. But at the end of it, Christ notes all this, and says succinctly in 2 Nephi 28:32: “I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long.” In short, these two verses teach this very important principle: Christ’s arm is not shortened! He can redeem!”
Let us, therefore, not put limits on an atonement that is infinite. Christ has all power. If the oceans can evaporate on his commandment, then why can he not change our hearts if we come unto Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit?
Christ will never turn his back to us. As near as I can tell, that is the point of the Isaiah chapters in 2nd Nephi: Christ is there for us. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell put it: “We may turn from Him, but He is still there. We may feel that he is hidden from us because of the cloud cover of our concerns, but He is still close to us. We—not He—let something come between us, but no lasting eclipse need ensue. Our disregard for him is no match for His love of us!”
Yes, love is the greatest trademark of our Savior, for it was His love for us that caused him to commit the atonement for us! Of this Ezra Taft Benson said, “We may never understand nor comprehend in mortality how He accomplished what he did, but we must not fail to understand why He did what He did. Everything He did was prompted by His unselfish, infinite love for us.”
Perhaps this perfect and pure love of Christ is best exemplified with his dealings with Paul. Said Elder Maxwell: “Who but merciful and discerning Jesus could be betrayed, arrested, and forsaken, and yet extend to a one-time persecutor, Saul, the great apostolic calling? Later on, [Christ] stood by a jailed and persecuted Peter in the night.” Alma the Younger is a character very similar to Paul because, like Paul, Alma went about seeking to destroy the church and the testimony others had for Christ, but was stopped by an angel. Alma tells us that after this experience he was “for three days and three nights was I racked with the pains of a damned soul.”
But Alma “remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world. Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou son of God, have mercy on me … And behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy, and marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was pain!” (Alma 36:16-20).
Indeed, Christ does stand with open arms, waiting for us. Indeed, he did suffer all things for us. He did this so that we would not have to be racked with the pains of a damned soul. He did this so we would not be forever in Satan’s power. He did this so that we could become like Him. That we could live again with Him and the Father. It is when we understand why suffered that we can sing: “I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me!”
The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob expressed his gratitude for the Savior in 2 Nephi 9:10, when he said: “O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster.” Yes, we have the opportunity to cast off sin and purified in the blood of the Lamb.
But that does not mean that repentance is a right that can be abused. We must remember that we are, as Paul said, “bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20). And as such, we must behave like ones who know that Christ did, in reality, suffer all things for our good.
We, therefore, should not seek out sin nor fall victim to the dangerous and abusive attitude of “Sin now and repent later.” We cannot trade our allegiance to our Redeemer for any portion of money, sex, or praise of man. Perhaps we can learn from the example of Anthon H. Lund. As a 13-year-old boy, Anthon H. Lund, who would later serve in the first presidency, was fulfilling a mission in his native Denmark. His combination of youth and spiritual competence won over many. He was so impressive that a wealthy and devout Lutheran offered to make Anthon his heir, if Anthon would become a Lutheran minister. Anthon replied: “I have no doubt that you are a rich man, but you have not money enough to buy my allegiance to the Church of God.” Even as a 13-year-old boy, Anthon H. Lund comprehended what was of the greatest worth: Following the Savior. We show our appreciation and friendship for the Atoner by being obedient to His commandments and by striving to live a life that would mirror the life that was sacrificed for us.
Recently, I read an article about Joe Delaney, who was an All-Pro running back for the Kansas City Chiefs in the early 1980s. Joe was more than just a football player. He was known for mowing the lawns of lonely women and checking in on the elderly. He was an all-around good guy. Perhaps that’s why one day, when he heard a cry for help from three drowning boys, he jumped in to save them—even though he couldn’t swim. By sheer strength, he was able to throw one of the boys to safety before he and the two other boys drowned.
Of the boy who was saved, Sports Illustrated’s Rick Reilly writes: “As much as you might hope that [he] has done something with the gift Delaney gave him, so far he hasn't. . . . Thirty years old now, [he] got out of jail in May after serving time for distribution of cocaine. There's still time for him to do something wonderful with the life Delaney gave him. After all, Delaney was doing wonderful things with the one he gave up.” This young man has forgotten that his mortal life was purchased with a price.
Similiarly, our eternal lives were purchased with a price—the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. To attain eternal life, we must live lives in which our faith is not hard to detect. We need to live lives that reflect the testimonies we have of Christ.
The Spirit of God has written such a testimony on my heart. Indeed, I do know that my Redeemer lives. I wish to live worthy of every blessing He would extend to me. I know He lives. But the Spirit of God has also whispered frequently to me other testimonies, and from this, I can testify that God lives and He too loves us with a love greater than we can comprehend. And the Father and The Son did appear to a 14-year-old boy named Joseph Smith. They did call him to be a prophet through whom they would restore the Holy Priesthood and bring forth those treasured books, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. I also know that Gordon B. Hinckley is God’s prophet on the earth today. How grateful I am to be a member of this church. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Divine Nature
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. ... Order my steps in thy word” (Psalms 119:105, 133).
First, let me testify that the scriptures do illuminate our path and order our feet. That’s the purpose of the scriptures: To teach us who we are and what we can become. Scriptures also tell us how tell us how to reach our full divine potential.
But there is, sadly, a force that runs counter to the beautiful and illuminating word of God. This force seeks to darken our minds and blight our understanding—of course, I’m talking about Satan. We know that one of the ways Satan has tried to darken our path has been to steal plain and precious truths from the Bible.
As the angel of the Lord told Nephi:
“Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God . . . because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them” (1 Nephi 13:28-29).
Satan intentionally robbed the Bible of some of its precious truths. But, fortunately, we live in a day where truth has been restored. The Lord promised Nephi: “I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb” (1 Nephi 13:34).
We are so blessed to live in a day when the Lord has restored His word. And we are so blessed that the Lord has restored two texts, which were removed from holy writ by a cunning adversary—but restored by a loving Lord! These books are the Books of Moses and Abraham. Of the precious truths contained in these books, there is one truth that really stands out—the doctrine of our divine nature.
In studying the experience Moses had with visits from the Lord and Satan in Moses 1, and in studying the scriptures on our premortal life in Moses 4 and Abraham 3, my heart is filled with gratitude that I have this understanding of who I am and why I’m here. I am grateful for the knowledge I have of my own divine nature.
It’s also clear in these chapters that our Father wants us to know of our divine heritage, but Satan doesn’t want us to realize the royalty that lives within us. And therein, lies a great struggle between the forces of good and evil.
What is it that makes divine nature such a powerful doctrine? Why is it that the forces of good and the forces of evil tussle on this issue? The power of this doctrine comes in its ability to motivate individuals to follow Christ.
President Hinckley puts it this way: “Can you imagine a more compelling motivation to worthwhile endeavor than the knowledge that you are a child of God, the creator of the universe, our all-wise Heavenly Father, who expects you to do something with your life, and who will give help when it is sought for” (emphasis added).
Conversely, a rejection of our divine nature is hazardous. I found something that was said in my stake’s priesthood meeting a few weeks ago to be very interesting. One of the high councilmen told us that the antidote to sin is to love ourselves. He said we are most prone to sin when we don’t love ourselves. By persuading us that we are not noble, that we are not loved and cared for by a Heavenly Father, Satan hopes to transform our self-loathing into sin. So he sets in our minds cruel perceptions of what we should be through self-defeating comparisons of ourselves to others. And when we don’t measure up, he whispers: “You’re not good enough.” Or “You’re not smart enough.” Or “You’re not good-looking enough.” Or “You’re not strong enough.” And when you are at a weak point, he’ll whisper to you, “No one likes you; no one loves you. Why would they?” Or he’ll say, “Why keep trying? You can’t change; you can’t make it!”
These are lies. Please don’t buy the lie! The truth is that you probably are the exact thing you think you’re not.
You are a noble son or daughter of our Heavenly Father. He know you. He loves you. He has given you talents and abilities. He has not sent you to Earth at this time to fail; rather, He has sent you here because He knows you can succeed.
Don’t buy Satan’s false perceptions of you—Instead, believe your Father’s accurate perceptions of you.
By realizing who you are, you give yourself a protection against Satan’s darts. Such was the case with Moses. When Satan tempted Moses, Moses replied: “I am a son of God” (Moses 1:13). Moses’ understanding of his divine nature allowed him to shun Satan’s temptations. Moses wasn’t about compromise who he was. We should follow that example when we are tempted:
· Dress immodestly? No way! I’m a daughter of God!
· Watch that movie? No way! I’m a son of God!
· Break the Word of Wisdom? No way! I’m a child of God!
· View pornography? No way! I’m a son of God! (To which I might add, pornography is one of Satan’s ways of ruining the divinity of womanhood and also ruining the love a couple has for each other.)
Besides Moses, the scriptures give us another tale of one who responded to temptation with a statement of who He was. This was Christ—and his second temptation dealt with Satan asking Christ to prove who He was:
“And [Satan] saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
“Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:6-7).
What was Christ saying there? Don’t tempt me! I’m the son of God! I already know who I am.
Like Christ, you don’t need a dramatic sign to tell you of your divine nature. You just need to remind yourself who you are. You can start by looking in the mirror—you are created in God’s image. You have His spiritual DNA. And, you can listen to that still, small voice through which a loving Father communicates His love notes to His children while they are away. Many times, in my life, I have felt reassured; I have felt loved; and I have been reminded that I have a Father who cares by listening to that still, small voice.
How grateful I am for the Comforter. I have needed that comfort often. And I have received it as often as I have needed it—because my Father is not distant or disinterested; He is near, and He cares! Recently, I read Christ’s statement: Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him (Matthew 6:8, emphasis added). How does He know? Because He knows us. He knows us! He knows you! And He is not a disinterested observer. He cares. He does. I know He cares because of the answers I’ve received to my prayers, the comfort I’ve received in my sorrows and the burning feeling of love I get from the Spirit. From all this, I am convinced—indeed, I know—we are His children.
As important as it is know that we are God’s children, it’s of equal import to recognize that those around us also share that same divine nature. Our Heavenly Father, like any parent here, wants his children to be treated well. That’s why the great commandment to love your neighbor is second only to the commandment to love God.
A lawyer once asked Jesus a question about the second commandment: Who is my neighbor?
“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
“And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
“And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
“And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
“And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
“Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
“And he [the lawyer] said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:30-37).
On our life’s path, we aren’t too likely to find people beat up and left for dead. But we are likely to find those who are wounded from life’s realities—the disappointments, setbacks, heartbreaks, heartaches, cruel words, unjust comparisons of themselves to others, sins, prejudices, etc.
What is our duty to them?
“There are so many who have been injured and who need a good Samaritan,” said President Hinckley, “to bind up their wounds and help them on their way. A small kindness can bring a great blessing to someone in distress and a sweet feeling to the one who befriends him.”
When I was a boy scout, when we went camping, not only were we expected to pick up after ourselves and leave no trace that we were ever there, but our leaders also had us pick a trash-bag’s worth of other people’s litter. “Scouts leave an area better than they find it,” they’d say.
Shouldn’t the same apply to the people we meet on life’s path? What a blessing it would be if we could say that each person we meet was somehow bettered because their path crossed ours.
Recently, one of my friends, Lee, reminded me of the importance of recognizing the divine nature of others. Another of my friends made a disparaging remark about an acquaintance. Lee responded quickly with the reminder, “C’mon, she’s a daughter of God!” In recognizing her divine nature, Lee asked us to remember that such a remark is unbefitting one who is the spiritual offspring of God.
I’ve thought about the subject even more recently, as I heard a friend talk about the excitement surrounding her impending motherhood. I find something interesting about all of this. Human beings are generally born one a time (exceptions, twins and triplets--but what I'm about to say holds true for them as well). Thus, every human being has a mother who went through exactly what my friend is going through to bring them into the world. And those mothers shared the same excitement my friend has for her son’s arrival. And when the child was born, they, like my friend will, just loved their child so much. Really, can anything be as precious in this world as a child is to its mother?
Yet, there is a love that is even more powerful than the love a mother has for her child. It's the love the Savior has for us:
"For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.
"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me" (1 Nephi 21:15-16).
In other words, the Savior is saying, “There's a better chance your mother will forget you than there is that I will forget you.”
I think I'm beginning to get a sense of the worth of a soul. And when I start thinking about how much each individual on this globe is loved by its mother and God, I start thinking, "Shouldn't I treat someone who is loved with respect? How does that person's mother want her child to be treated? How does my Heavenly Father want that person to be treated?" Isn't the measure of dignity in how we treat people from whom we can gain nothing? I mean, everyone can be nice to a king, but isn't greatness in how we treat the peasants?
What if everyone took that approach--to treat each human being with as much love as their mothers and Heavenly Father have for them? Would there be teasings, war, etc.? Would anyone want to participate in the demeaning practice of pornography? Would anyone want to hurt another? I wonder. Isn’t there a love from a mother for a child, and from a Heavenly Father for a child, that deserves something of a reverence? They are, after all, the children of a King, the children of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth? Would you mistreat a prince? Yet, every one you meet is of royal blood!
How much is a human being worth?
The Psalmist wrote: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour” (Psalms 8:3-5).
On earth, man is a little lower than the angels. But isn’t man’s truth worth his ability to become like God?
That is our possibility. That is our neighbor’s possibility. Our goal should be to foster the divinity that is within us and within them.
First, let me testify that the scriptures do illuminate our path and order our feet. That’s the purpose of the scriptures: To teach us who we are and what we can become. Scriptures also tell us how tell us how to reach our full divine potential.
But there is, sadly, a force that runs counter to the beautiful and illuminating word of God. This force seeks to darken our minds and blight our understanding—of course, I’m talking about Satan. We know that one of the ways Satan has tried to darken our path has been to steal plain and precious truths from the Bible.
As the angel of the Lord told Nephi:
“Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God . . . because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them” (1 Nephi 13:28-29).
Satan intentionally robbed the Bible of some of its precious truths. But, fortunately, we live in a day where truth has been restored. The Lord promised Nephi: “I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb” (1 Nephi 13:34).
We are so blessed to live in a day when the Lord has restored His word. And we are so blessed that the Lord has restored two texts, which were removed from holy writ by a cunning adversary—but restored by a loving Lord! These books are the Books of Moses and Abraham. Of the precious truths contained in these books, there is one truth that really stands out—the doctrine of our divine nature.
In studying the experience Moses had with visits from the Lord and Satan in Moses 1, and in studying the scriptures on our premortal life in Moses 4 and Abraham 3, my heart is filled with gratitude that I have this understanding of who I am and why I’m here. I am grateful for the knowledge I have of my own divine nature.
It’s also clear in these chapters that our Father wants us to know of our divine heritage, but Satan doesn’t want us to realize the royalty that lives within us. And therein, lies a great struggle between the forces of good and evil.
What is it that makes divine nature such a powerful doctrine? Why is it that the forces of good and the forces of evil tussle on this issue? The power of this doctrine comes in its ability to motivate individuals to follow Christ.
President Hinckley puts it this way: “Can you imagine a more compelling motivation to worthwhile endeavor than the knowledge that you are a child of God, the creator of the universe, our all-wise Heavenly Father, who expects you to do something with your life, and who will give help when it is sought for” (emphasis added).
Conversely, a rejection of our divine nature is hazardous. I found something that was said in my stake’s priesthood meeting a few weeks ago to be very interesting. One of the high councilmen told us that the antidote to sin is to love ourselves. He said we are most prone to sin when we don’t love ourselves. By persuading us that we are not noble, that we are not loved and cared for by a Heavenly Father, Satan hopes to transform our self-loathing into sin. So he sets in our minds cruel perceptions of what we should be through self-defeating comparisons of ourselves to others. And when we don’t measure up, he whispers: “You’re not good enough.” Or “You’re not smart enough.” Or “You’re not good-looking enough.” Or “You’re not strong enough.” And when you are at a weak point, he’ll whisper to you, “No one likes you; no one loves you. Why would they?” Or he’ll say, “Why keep trying? You can’t change; you can’t make it!”
These are lies. Please don’t buy the lie! The truth is that you probably are the exact thing you think you’re not.
You are a noble son or daughter of our Heavenly Father. He know you. He loves you. He has given you talents and abilities. He has not sent you to Earth at this time to fail; rather, He has sent you here because He knows you can succeed.
Don’t buy Satan’s false perceptions of you—Instead, believe your Father’s accurate perceptions of you.
By realizing who you are, you give yourself a protection against Satan’s darts. Such was the case with Moses. When Satan tempted Moses, Moses replied: “I am a son of God” (Moses 1:13). Moses’ understanding of his divine nature allowed him to shun Satan’s temptations. Moses wasn’t about compromise who he was. We should follow that example when we are tempted:
· Dress immodestly? No way! I’m a daughter of God!
· Watch that movie? No way! I’m a son of God!
· Break the Word of Wisdom? No way! I’m a child of God!
· View pornography? No way! I’m a son of God! (To which I might add, pornography is one of Satan’s ways of ruining the divinity of womanhood and also ruining the love a couple has for each other.)
Besides Moses, the scriptures give us another tale of one who responded to temptation with a statement of who He was. This was Christ—and his second temptation dealt with Satan asking Christ to prove who He was:
“And [Satan] saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
“Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:6-7).
What was Christ saying there? Don’t tempt me! I’m the son of God! I already know who I am.
Like Christ, you don’t need a dramatic sign to tell you of your divine nature. You just need to remind yourself who you are. You can start by looking in the mirror—you are created in God’s image. You have His spiritual DNA. And, you can listen to that still, small voice through which a loving Father communicates His love notes to His children while they are away. Many times, in my life, I have felt reassured; I have felt loved; and I have been reminded that I have a Father who cares by listening to that still, small voice.
How grateful I am for the Comforter. I have needed that comfort often. And I have received it as often as I have needed it—because my Father is not distant or disinterested; He is near, and He cares! Recently, I read Christ’s statement: Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him (Matthew 6:8, emphasis added). How does He know? Because He knows us. He knows us! He knows you! And He is not a disinterested observer. He cares. He does. I know He cares because of the answers I’ve received to my prayers, the comfort I’ve received in my sorrows and the burning feeling of love I get from the Spirit. From all this, I am convinced—indeed, I know—we are His children.
As important as it is know that we are God’s children, it’s of equal import to recognize that those around us also share that same divine nature. Our Heavenly Father, like any parent here, wants his children to be treated well. That’s why the great commandment to love your neighbor is second only to the commandment to love God.
A lawyer once asked Jesus a question about the second commandment: Who is my neighbor?
“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
“And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
“And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
“And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
“And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
“Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
“And he [the lawyer] said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:30-37).
On our life’s path, we aren’t too likely to find people beat up and left for dead. But we are likely to find those who are wounded from life’s realities—the disappointments, setbacks, heartbreaks, heartaches, cruel words, unjust comparisons of themselves to others, sins, prejudices, etc.
What is our duty to them?
“There are so many who have been injured and who need a good Samaritan,” said President Hinckley, “to bind up their wounds and help them on their way. A small kindness can bring a great blessing to someone in distress and a sweet feeling to the one who befriends him.”
When I was a boy scout, when we went camping, not only were we expected to pick up after ourselves and leave no trace that we were ever there, but our leaders also had us pick a trash-bag’s worth of other people’s litter. “Scouts leave an area better than they find it,” they’d say.
Shouldn’t the same apply to the people we meet on life’s path? What a blessing it would be if we could say that each person we meet was somehow bettered because their path crossed ours.
Recently, one of my friends, Lee, reminded me of the importance of recognizing the divine nature of others. Another of my friends made a disparaging remark about an acquaintance. Lee responded quickly with the reminder, “C’mon, she’s a daughter of God!” In recognizing her divine nature, Lee asked us to remember that such a remark is unbefitting one who is the spiritual offspring of God.
I’ve thought about the subject even more recently, as I heard a friend talk about the excitement surrounding her impending motherhood. I find something interesting about all of this. Human beings are generally born one a time (exceptions, twins and triplets--but what I'm about to say holds true for them as well). Thus, every human being has a mother who went through exactly what my friend is going through to bring them into the world. And those mothers shared the same excitement my friend has for her son’s arrival. And when the child was born, they, like my friend will, just loved their child so much. Really, can anything be as precious in this world as a child is to its mother?
Yet, there is a love that is even more powerful than the love a mother has for her child. It's the love the Savior has for us:
"For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.
"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me" (1 Nephi 21:15-16).
In other words, the Savior is saying, “There's a better chance your mother will forget you than there is that I will forget you.”
I think I'm beginning to get a sense of the worth of a soul. And when I start thinking about how much each individual on this globe is loved by its mother and God, I start thinking, "Shouldn't I treat someone who is loved with respect? How does that person's mother want her child to be treated? How does my Heavenly Father want that person to be treated?" Isn't the measure of dignity in how we treat people from whom we can gain nothing? I mean, everyone can be nice to a king, but isn't greatness in how we treat the peasants?
What if everyone took that approach--to treat each human being with as much love as their mothers and Heavenly Father have for them? Would there be teasings, war, etc.? Would anyone want to participate in the demeaning practice of pornography? Would anyone want to hurt another? I wonder. Isn’t there a love from a mother for a child, and from a Heavenly Father for a child, that deserves something of a reverence? They are, after all, the children of a King, the children of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth? Would you mistreat a prince? Yet, every one you meet is of royal blood!
How much is a human being worth?
The Psalmist wrote: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour” (Psalms 8:3-5).
On earth, man is a little lower than the angels. But isn’t man’s truth worth his ability to become like God?
That is our possibility. That is our neighbor’s possibility. Our goal should be to foster the divinity that is within us and within them.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
RELIGION: The first gift of the New Year
Happy New Year!! I’ve timed this message to coincide with the New Year. Longtime readers of this blog (I guess that’s really only me!) will remember this quote from Elder John A. Widstoe: “Our first gift at Christmas should be to the Lord.”
I’m going to amend that a little bit and say our first gift of the New Year is should be to the Lord. And what shall we give? It’s more about what will we give up! A piece of our ungodliness—that’s what we shall give, so that our lives can reflect His more fully.
This isn’t a radical concept; rather, there is a term for this first gift of the New Year with which we are all familiar—New Year’s Resolution. A New Year’s Resolution is merely changing our poor qualities into good ones.
A resolution maker must ask this question: What do I want to change? A person making a resolution as a gift to the Lord takes a twist on this: What does the Lord want me to change?
To me, this is a pure-hearted desire: I want to be what Christ wants me to be.
Life is a journey; every incremental improvement gets us closer to our Eternal Goal—the Celestial Realm. It should be noted that we chose this journey of mortality for a purpose—to become as God is. It’s our everyday challenge to shed the shackles of human impulse, subdue the appetites and quiet the natural man in order to become more like our Father.
In the last week, I have been reading “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and, today, I went to see the movie based on those books—specifically, this movie is based on “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.”
The story is well-known. Four children enter Narnia to become crowned king—much like we entered the world to be glorified by the Father through the merits of the Son’s Everlasting Atonement. But one of the four, Edmond, leaves the path he should be traveling and goes off chasing his appetites (Turkish delights), and nearly loses his place as a King of Narnia. Fortunately, for Edmond and all of us who have strayed from the gospel path to foolishly chase after appetites; there was a way back. Although the Path back had to be blazed through a Selfless Sacrifice of Love. Having known what Aslan did for him, Edmond dedicated his life to Aslan’s cause. Likewise, we must dedicate our lives to Christ’s cause—by doing those things that help us reflect his image.
Christ told his disciples on two continents to be examples:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
“Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;
“Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (3 Nephi 12:14-16).
Letting that light shine means doing his will. It means letting our example illuminate the way for others, so that they too may follow. But when we allow the Light of Christ to shine through us, it doesn’t just light others’ paths; it also lights our own.
As the Psalmist wrote: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105).
What will light our path is following the course Christ has created:
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
Jesus has carved the route of our journey, but we must have the courage to follow it.
The Book of Mormon tells of two major journeys—that of the Nephites and that of the Jaredites. Both of them are instructive.
To Lehi and his family, the Lord had offered the Land of Promise—much like how he offers us the Celestial Kingdom. But parts of Lehi’s family—Laman and Lemuel—were reluctant to make the journey. After journeying through the Arabic desert for nearly a decade, Lehi’s family reached a beautiful place, a land they called Bountiful “because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish” (1 Nephi 17:5).
It was comfortable! It was great for Laman and Lemuel—who were always acting out of fear rather than faith—to finally be in a place where they had comfort. For Laman and Lemuel, this was far enough. They hadn’t met their ultimate goal, but they were in a place where they could be comfortable.
Many of us, including myself, are like Laman and Lemuel—we settle for mediocrity because we do not wish to be uncomfortable. We do not wish to think of our weaknesses—we wish simply to live as easily as we can.
Nephi, however, wanted his destiny—he wanted what the Lord had offered him: A spot in the Promised Land. After conversing with the Lord, Nephi begins to construct a ship; he begins to make the changes necessary to get into the Promised Land.
Laman and Lemuel resist these changes for the sake of their own comfort: “And thus my brethren ... were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord” (1 Nephi 17:18).
Laman and Lemuel were unwilling to sacrifice their comforts so that they could have a better land. Eventually, they got there kicking and screaming, but Laman and Lemuel are prototypes of those settle when they could have had more; of those who do not become like God because they believe the change is to difficult; and, most of all, of those do not become like God because they do not consider what God’s will for them is.
Nephi, however, was smart enough to recognize that he had not fulfilled God’s will. God wanted him in the Promised Land. This was a problem, for Nephi had a weakness: He was on the wrong side of the ocean. Rather than be content that he couldn’t change his situation, Nephi went and humbled himself before the Lord and the Lord showed Nephi how to get across the waters.
Nephi succeeded because he first recognized the weakness in himself. He asked for help: “And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?” (1 Nephi 17:9). He said, “I need help here! I want to do what you want me to do, but I need some help.” Did the Lord respond? Yes, he did! Nephi succeeded.
You get the feeling that Nephi wasn’t a great man by chance? Rather, he was a great man because he was willing to be like clay on the potter’s wheel (Jeremiah 18:6). Nephi wasn’t great by chance; he was great by choice. And Laman and Lemuel weren’t mediocre by chance, but by choice! Nephi took the time to find out the Lord’s will concerning him; he had the courage to ask what he needed to change and he had the courage to find out the route he had to follow to overcome his obstacles. That, my friends, is how you build a Christ-like life.
We could all benefit from a little soul-searching. What are our weaknesses? Really, that is what New Year’s Resolutions are all about—a self-inventory and then saying, I want to change this about myself.
And with the Lord’s help, we can change! We can be better!
Too often, though, a test comes quickly when we begin to consider our weaknesses—we fall prey to that nasty little voice that says, “I’m not good enough; I can’t change.” That is a lie—one of the most prevalent lies spread by the Adversary to prevent men from coming unto Christ.
The Lord would have you realize otherwise. Your weaknesses are not shortcomings but obstacles on the Pathway to Perfection:
“I give unto men weakness that they may be humble,” the Lord has told us (Ether 12:27). Thus, the Lord gave each person a weakness—more accurately, many weaknesses—to overcome in order to be perfected in Christ.
And how do we overcome this? “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 12:27--verse appears in its entirety at the end of this article).
What makes this verse so interesting is what is happening in the verses before it. Moroni, the last of the Nephites who is compiling the Jaredite record, begins to sulk because of his weakness-his inability to satisfactorily express his faith on the plates. Moroni bemoans how hard it is to inscribe the letters because of the awkwardness of his hands:
“And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them.
“Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words” (Ether 12:24-25).
The wonderful promise in verse 27 is then revealed to Moroni. And isn't interesting that in the next few pages, we see this Moroni-who had beheld his weakness in recording this record upon the gold plates-etches into the record the scripture missionaries go door-to-door to spread, Moroni 10:3-5:
“Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
“And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:3-5).
This is The Great Dare of Mormonism: Read the Book of Mormon, ponder it, pray about it—and God will tell you by His Spirit that it is true. I have taken this challenge. I have read. I have pondered. I have prayed. And the Spirit hath borne record that it is true—not just once, but many, many times. And a testimony burns within my heart at this time. And it’s not just been me who has searched, pondered, prayed and found—but millions and millions and millions of people have. And they too believe. This Great Dare was made by Moroni—a man of great faith—whose faith shines in these great verses. The man who was once worried that we would mock must be pleased that so many of us believe. His is but one example of the Lord making weak things become strong.
Isn’t that great? The Lord shows us through Moroni that we can change. But not just Moroni—so many of the great scriptural heroes first started as weak people—who then humbled themselves before the Lord, and, the Lord, made their weak things become strong unto them. Look at the great litany of scriptural heroes of whom this is true:
· Alma the Younger spent his early days persecuting the true believers. After an angel confronted him, he spent three days in torment because he believed he could not change. Then, he remembered his father teaching about one Jesus Christ. Alma prayed to Christ and received the forgiveness he sought. We remember Alma as one of the greatest prophets of the Book of Mormon.
· The Four Sons of Mosiah, Alma’s companions in persecuting the church, also reformed their lives at the angel’s appearance. They spent 14 years among the Lamanites, converting many of their enemies.
· Paul is a companion story to Alma’s. He too began persecuting the church, was rebuked by an angel and then became a powerful missionary.
· Peter thrice denied the Christ. But he was forgiven and placed as the head of the Church.
· Alma the Elder started out as a priest in the court of Wicked King Noah, but he received Abinadi’s call to repentance and became a mighty prophet.
· The Anti-Nephi-Lehies went from bloodthirsty soldiers to such devoted followers of Christ that they laid down their lives rather than break the covenant they had made with their Lord. Among the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were the great mothers of Helaman’s Army, who started out as sinners and are now hailed as the great example of motherhood.
The message here is clear: We can change!! We can! We really can! The Lord can help us! Make those resolutions with confidence--the confidence not in yourself, but in Christ!
The second great journey of the Book of Mormon is the Jaredites. They showed us dependency on the Lord. We have already talked about how Christ created the way and how his words light the way—the Brother of Jared reiterated this point for us, when he asked the Lord to be the light for the Jaredite journey:
“And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea” (Ether 3:4).
The Brother of Jared asked Christ to light his path. We may ask the same through our humble prayers, and He shall respond.
“And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness” (Ether 6:3).
Not only did Christ light the path, but he also provided the power, which moved the Jaredites:
“And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.
“And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.
“And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.
“And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind” (Ether 6:5-8).
I like this journey description because it sounds familiar? Buried in the depths of the sea? Man, have I felt like that! And who rescued me? Christ!! And where do Christ’s path, His wind and His words all lead us? Toward the Celestial Kingdom—to a safe return to our Heavenly Father.
Like Nephi, like the Brother of Jared, we can get there. We don’t have to settle for mediocrity like Laman and Lemuel did, we can stretch ourselves to greater lengths, and the Lord will help us achieve our destiny.
A New Year’s Resolution is part of shedding those habits that will hold back our progress. It’s a courageous attempt to say, “I can change, and I will change! I’ll need the Lord’s help, of course, but if he can light the way for the Jaredites, he can light the way for me. If he can show Nephi how to make a boat, he can show me how I can overcome!” Overcoming those stumbling blocks by humbling ourselves to Lord and adhering to his commands are the beginning of the construction of the ship. It’s like asking for the Blueprint and asking the Lord to direct our path.
A New Year’s Resolution is a simple thing—but “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6)—in this case, a Christ-like life.
---
Ether 12:27 in its entirety reads: “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.”
I’m going to amend that a little bit and say our first gift of the New Year is should be to the Lord. And what shall we give? It’s more about what will we give up! A piece of our ungodliness—that’s what we shall give, so that our lives can reflect His more fully.
This isn’t a radical concept; rather, there is a term for this first gift of the New Year with which we are all familiar—New Year’s Resolution. A New Year’s Resolution is merely changing our poor qualities into good ones.
A resolution maker must ask this question: What do I want to change? A person making a resolution as a gift to the Lord takes a twist on this: What does the Lord want me to change?
To me, this is a pure-hearted desire: I want to be what Christ wants me to be.
Life is a journey; every incremental improvement gets us closer to our Eternal Goal—the Celestial Realm. It should be noted that we chose this journey of mortality for a purpose—to become as God is. It’s our everyday challenge to shed the shackles of human impulse, subdue the appetites and quiet the natural man in order to become more like our Father.
In the last week, I have been reading “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and, today, I went to see the movie based on those books—specifically, this movie is based on “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.”
The story is well-known. Four children enter Narnia to become crowned king—much like we entered the world to be glorified by the Father through the merits of the Son’s Everlasting Atonement. But one of the four, Edmond, leaves the path he should be traveling and goes off chasing his appetites (Turkish delights), and nearly loses his place as a King of Narnia. Fortunately, for Edmond and all of us who have strayed from the gospel path to foolishly chase after appetites; there was a way back. Although the Path back had to be blazed through a Selfless Sacrifice of Love. Having known what Aslan did for him, Edmond dedicated his life to Aslan’s cause. Likewise, we must dedicate our lives to Christ’s cause—by doing those things that help us reflect his image.
Christ told his disciples on two continents to be examples:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
“Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;
“Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (3 Nephi 12:14-16).
Letting that light shine means doing his will. It means letting our example illuminate the way for others, so that they too may follow. But when we allow the Light of Christ to shine through us, it doesn’t just light others’ paths; it also lights our own.
As the Psalmist wrote: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105).
What will light our path is following the course Christ has created:
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
Jesus has carved the route of our journey, but we must have the courage to follow it.
The Book of Mormon tells of two major journeys—that of the Nephites and that of the Jaredites. Both of them are instructive.
To Lehi and his family, the Lord had offered the Land of Promise—much like how he offers us the Celestial Kingdom. But parts of Lehi’s family—Laman and Lemuel—were reluctant to make the journey. After journeying through the Arabic desert for nearly a decade, Lehi’s family reached a beautiful place, a land they called Bountiful “because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish” (1 Nephi 17:5).
It was comfortable! It was great for Laman and Lemuel—who were always acting out of fear rather than faith—to finally be in a place where they had comfort. For Laman and Lemuel, this was far enough. They hadn’t met their ultimate goal, but they were in a place where they could be comfortable.
Many of us, including myself, are like Laman and Lemuel—we settle for mediocrity because we do not wish to be uncomfortable. We do not wish to think of our weaknesses—we wish simply to live as easily as we can.
Nephi, however, wanted his destiny—he wanted what the Lord had offered him: A spot in the Promised Land. After conversing with the Lord, Nephi begins to construct a ship; he begins to make the changes necessary to get into the Promised Land.
Laman and Lemuel resist these changes for the sake of their own comfort: “And thus my brethren ... were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord” (1 Nephi 17:18).
Laman and Lemuel were unwilling to sacrifice their comforts so that they could have a better land. Eventually, they got there kicking and screaming, but Laman and Lemuel are prototypes of those settle when they could have had more; of those who do not become like God because they believe the change is to difficult; and, most of all, of those do not become like God because they do not consider what God’s will for them is.
Nephi, however, was smart enough to recognize that he had not fulfilled God’s will. God wanted him in the Promised Land. This was a problem, for Nephi had a weakness: He was on the wrong side of the ocean. Rather than be content that he couldn’t change his situation, Nephi went and humbled himself before the Lord and the Lord showed Nephi how to get across the waters.
Nephi succeeded because he first recognized the weakness in himself. He asked for help: “And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?” (1 Nephi 17:9). He said, “I need help here! I want to do what you want me to do, but I need some help.” Did the Lord respond? Yes, he did! Nephi succeeded.
You get the feeling that Nephi wasn’t a great man by chance? Rather, he was a great man because he was willing to be like clay on the potter’s wheel (Jeremiah 18:6). Nephi wasn’t great by chance; he was great by choice. And Laman and Lemuel weren’t mediocre by chance, but by choice! Nephi took the time to find out the Lord’s will concerning him; he had the courage to ask what he needed to change and he had the courage to find out the route he had to follow to overcome his obstacles. That, my friends, is how you build a Christ-like life.
We could all benefit from a little soul-searching. What are our weaknesses? Really, that is what New Year’s Resolutions are all about—a self-inventory and then saying, I want to change this about myself.
And with the Lord’s help, we can change! We can be better!
Too often, though, a test comes quickly when we begin to consider our weaknesses—we fall prey to that nasty little voice that says, “I’m not good enough; I can’t change.” That is a lie—one of the most prevalent lies spread by the Adversary to prevent men from coming unto Christ.
The Lord would have you realize otherwise. Your weaknesses are not shortcomings but obstacles on the Pathway to Perfection:
“I give unto men weakness that they may be humble,” the Lord has told us (Ether 12:27). Thus, the Lord gave each person a weakness—more accurately, many weaknesses—to overcome in order to be perfected in Christ.
And how do we overcome this? “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 12:27--verse appears in its entirety at the end of this article).
What makes this verse so interesting is what is happening in the verses before it. Moroni, the last of the Nephites who is compiling the Jaredite record, begins to sulk because of his weakness-his inability to satisfactorily express his faith on the plates. Moroni bemoans how hard it is to inscribe the letters because of the awkwardness of his hands:
“And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them.
“Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words” (Ether 12:24-25).
The wonderful promise in verse 27 is then revealed to Moroni. And isn't interesting that in the next few pages, we see this Moroni-who had beheld his weakness in recording this record upon the gold plates-etches into the record the scripture missionaries go door-to-door to spread, Moroni 10:3-5:
“Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
“And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:3-5).
This is The Great Dare of Mormonism: Read the Book of Mormon, ponder it, pray about it—and God will tell you by His Spirit that it is true. I have taken this challenge. I have read. I have pondered. I have prayed. And the Spirit hath borne record that it is true—not just once, but many, many times. And a testimony burns within my heart at this time. And it’s not just been me who has searched, pondered, prayed and found—but millions and millions and millions of people have. And they too believe. This Great Dare was made by Moroni—a man of great faith—whose faith shines in these great verses. The man who was once worried that we would mock must be pleased that so many of us believe. His is but one example of the Lord making weak things become strong.
Isn’t that great? The Lord shows us through Moroni that we can change. But not just Moroni—so many of the great scriptural heroes first started as weak people—who then humbled themselves before the Lord, and, the Lord, made their weak things become strong unto them. Look at the great litany of scriptural heroes of whom this is true:
· Alma the Younger spent his early days persecuting the true believers. After an angel confronted him, he spent three days in torment because he believed he could not change. Then, he remembered his father teaching about one Jesus Christ. Alma prayed to Christ and received the forgiveness he sought. We remember Alma as one of the greatest prophets of the Book of Mormon.
· The Four Sons of Mosiah, Alma’s companions in persecuting the church, also reformed their lives at the angel’s appearance. They spent 14 years among the Lamanites, converting many of their enemies.
· Paul is a companion story to Alma’s. He too began persecuting the church, was rebuked by an angel and then became a powerful missionary.
· Peter thrice denied the Christ. But he was forgiven and placed as the head of the Church.
· Alma the Elder started out as a priest in the court of Wicked King Noah, but he received Abinadi’s call to repentance and became a mighty prophet.
· The Anti-Nephi-Lehies went from bloodthirsty soldiers to such devoted followers of Christ that they laid down their lives rather than break the covenant they had made with their Lord. Among the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were the great mothers of Helaman’s Army, who started out as sinners and are now hailed as the great example of motherhood.
The message here is clear: We can change!! We can! We really can! The Lord can help us! Make those resolutions with confidence--the confidence not in yourself, but in Christ!
The second great journey of the Book of Mormon is the Jaredites. They showed us dependency on the Lord. We have already talked about how Christ created the way and how his words light the way—the Brother of Jared reiterated this point for us, when he asked the Lord to be the light for the Jaredite journey:
“And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea” (Ether 3:4).
The Brother of Jared asked Christ to light his path. We may ask the same through our humble prayers, and He shall respond.
“And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness” (Ether 6:3).
Not only did Christ light the path, but he also provided the power, which moved the Jaredites:
“And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.
“And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.
“And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.
“And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind” (Ether 6:5-8).
I like this journey description because it sounds familiar? Buried in the depths of the sea? Man, have I felt like that! And who rescued me? Christ!! And where do Christ’s path, His wind and His words all lead us? Toward the Celestial Kingdom—to a safe return to our Heavenly Father.
Like Nephi, like the Brother of Jared, we can get there. We don’t have to settle for mediocrity like Laman and Lemuel did, we can stretch ourselves to greater lengths, and the Lord will help us achieve our destiny.
A New Year’s Resolution is part of shedding those habits that will hold back our progress. It’s a courageous attempt to say, “I can change, and I will change! I’ll need the Lord’s help, of course, but if he can light the way for the Jaredites, he can light the way for me. If he can show Nephi how to make a boat, he can show me how I can overcome!” Overcoming those stumbling blocks by humbling ourselves to Lord and adhering to his commands are the beginning of the construction of the ship. It’s like asking for the Blueprint and asking the Lord to direct our path.
A New Year’s Resolution is a simple thing—but “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6)—in this case, a Christ-like life.
---
Ether 12:27 in its entirety reads: “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.”
RELIGION: Thank you, President Hinckley
I wish to use this space to quickly thank President Hinckley for his challenge to read the Book of Mormon these past few months. I’ll admit when I first received the challenge, I received it with reluctance. But I read it nonetheless with my family and I read it by myself, and my life has been blessed.
President Hinckley promised us: “Without reservation I promise you that if each of you will observe this simple program, regardless of how many times you previously may have read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.”
I’ve seen that promise come true. My testimony of Christ, the Book of Mormon and Christ’s prophet has been deepened. What a marvelous book. It’s such a great blessing in my life. Every time I read in it, my faith is deepened because the more I read it, the more obvious it becomes it was written not by man—but by God. But I also know this because the Spirit so frequently attends me when I read it, just as President Hinckley promised. And just as He promised, I have find my desire to follow Christ more resolute. And just as God’s prophet promised, my faith in Christ has been strengthened and I have more deeply recognized my total dependence upon my Savior. And does not that testify that the Book of Mormon is indeed Another Testament of Jesus Christ?! How wonderful it is to have this book in my life. Thank you, President Hinckley, for turning me toward the Book of Mormon!
President Hinckley promised us: “Without reservation I promise you that if each of you will observe this simple program, regardless of how many times you previously may have read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.”
I’ve seen that promise come true. My testimony of Christ, the Book of Mormon and Christ’s prophet has been deepened. What a marvelous book. It’s such a great blessing in my life. Every time I read in it, my faith is deepened because the more I read it, the more obvious it becomes it was written not by man—but by God. But I also know this because the Spirit so frequently attends me when I read it, just as President Hinckley promised. And just as He promised, I have find my desire to follow Christ more resolute. And just as God’s prophet promised, my faith in Christ has been strengthened and I have more deeply recognized my total dependence upon my Savior. And does not that testify that the Book of Mormon is indeed Another Testament of Jesus Christ?! How wonderful it is to have this book in my life. Thank you, President Hinckley, for turning me toward the Book of Mormon!
Sunday, August 21, 2005
RELIGION: A commentary on Oliver Cowdery's testimony: August 21, 2005
One of the best parts of the scriptures revealed in the latter-days is found at the end of Joseph Smith-History in the Pearl of Great Price. It is Oliver Cowdery's account of the restoration, beautifully written, but unversed and printed in a small type-setting at the end of the JSH.
But it is a worthwhile read, as Oliver's testimony confirms Joseph's testimony.
Let's take a paragraph-by-paragraph look at this writing.
PARAGRAPH 1: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’
I love how Oliver puts this. His days as the scribe for the Book of Mormons "were days never to be forgotten." This hints of the joy Joseph and Oliver both must have felt, as they read/heard the words of God for the first time in that Great Book of Mormon. And, really, I can understand that joy because it must have been similar to the joy I get now when I read the Book of Mormon, even though I've read it many times before.
And how did Oliver feel when he first heard God's words in the Book of Mormon? Oliver writes that it "awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom." Oliver's description is perfect. He didn't feel just gratitude. He felt the "utmost" gratitude--he couldn't have been more grateful. And where did that gratitude originate? His bosom. In other words, in his heart. As he heard and transcribed the Book of Mormon, his heart recognized truth and was grateful that God's truths had made their way to Oliver.
PARAGRAPH 2: "No men, in their sober senses, could translate and write the directions given to the Nephites from the mouth of the Savior, of the precise manner in which men should build up His Church, and especially when corruption had spread an uncertainty over all forms and systems practiced among men, without desiring a privilege of showing the willingness of the heart by being buried in the liquid grave, to answer a ‘good conscience by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.’"
Oliver is bearing his testimony of the Book of Mormon hear. If you read Christ's words in the Book of Mormon, how can you doubt, is essentially what Oliver is saying. Oliver sees Christ's beautiful directions to the righteous Nephites, who withstood the filth of their society to build a mighty kingdom of God. Oliver tells us that the people were so wicked in Nephite times that they refused to be baptized (or enter a "liquid grave" as Oliver calls it) and ignored the need to have a clear conscience when resurrected. Oliver admired, as do I, the Nephites' steadfastness living in such circumstances. To Oliver who lived in a day when men, even the wicked ones, all chose to get baptized, the fact that some would refuse baptism must have been a very foreign idea--and Oliver rightly noted the evil in refusing baptism for remission of sins.
PARAGRAPH 3: “After writing the account given of the Savior’s ministry to the remnant of the seed of Jacob, upon this continent, it was easy to be seen, as the prophet said it would be, that darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people. On reflecting further it was as easy to be seen that amid the great strife and noise concerning religion, none had authority from God to administer the ordinances of the Gospel. For the question might be asked, have men authority to administer in the name of Christ, who deny revelations, when His testimony is no less than the spirit of prophecy, and His religion based, built, and sustained by immediate revelations, in all ages of the world when He has had a people on earth? If these facts were buried, and carefully concealed by men whose craft would have been in danger if once permitted to shine in the faces of men, they were no longer to us; and we only waited for the commandment to be given ‘Arise and be baptized.’"
Here, Oliver tells us that as he and Joseph read about the Savior giving authority to his disciples on the American continent, they realized that no one had authority on the Earth at that time. Oliver explains it beautifully: The priesthood is an authority built on revelation, and if the churches of the day were denying revelation, then how could they have the priesthood? If you deny there's revelation, then how could you bless the sick or give a blessing to the downtrodden in heart? Moreover, if God has given revelations to his people in all ages, then why would he stop now? I love the way Oliver says it: "His [God's]religion [is] based, built, and sustained by immediate revelations." Oliver points us that these true facts about the priesthood were buried by those priests who sought to profit from false doctrines.
PARAGRAPH 4: "This was not long desired before it was realized. The Lord, who is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble, after we had called upon Him in a fervent manner, aside from the abodes of men, condescended to manifest to us His will. On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the Gospel of repentance. What joy! what wonder! what amazement! While the world was racked and distracted—while millions were groping as the blind for the wall, and while all men were resting upon uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld, our ears heard, as in the ‘blaze of day’; yes, more—above the glitter of the May sunbeam, which then shed its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant,’ dispelled every fear. We listened, we gazed, we admired! ’Twas the voice of an angel from glory, ’twas a message from the Most High! And as we heard we rejoiced, while His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!"
Oliver tells us that the Lord responded to their prayers for priesthood authority quickly. In this paragraph, Oliver tells us about how the Lord answers prayers: "The Lord, who is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble." The nature of the Lord, Oliver says, is to be rich in mercy, and as such, he is always there to answer the prayers of the humble. Oliver tells us that the answer to their prayers started with the voice of Christ speaking to him and Joseph; the veil parted, and an angel (John the Baptist) came down to answer their prayer--or, as Oliver eloquently puts it: the angel "delivered the anxiously looked for message."
I love how Oliver responds to receiving his priesthood authority: "What joy! what wonder! what amazement!" Well, Oliver was excited! And can you blame him? The priesthood authority, absent from Earth, for over a thousand years, had now been restored to him and his friend, Joseph. Oliver didn't miss the significance. He tells us that while the rest of the world's inhabitants were like the blind groping for the wall, he and Joseph could see in a light as bright as the blaze of day. It's a stirring contrast, but a true one. The light that was to be beamed to mankind through the restoration of the priesthood has in millions of lives given people the direction they need to get through the darkness. In that sense, this is an appropriate and deeply profound metaphor.
Oliver tells us the thrill he had when John the Baptist addressed he and Joseph as his fellow servants: "We listened, we gazed, we admired! ’Twas the voice of an angel from glory, ’twas a message from the Most High! And as we heard we rejoiced, while His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!"
Can you imagine what that moment must have been like for Oliver and Joseph?! Do be called a "fellow servant" by John the Baptist? Do hear the voice of the Redeemer? To receive the Holy Priesthood? To feel God's love? To hear a message from an angel?
No wonder Oliver says what he does in the next paragraph:
PARAGRAPH 5: “But, dear brother, think, further think for a moment, what joy filled our hearts, and with what surprise we must have bowed, (for who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?) when we received under his hand the Holy Priesthood as he said, ‘Upon you my fellow-servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer this Priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon earth, that the Sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!’"
I love what Oliver says here: "Who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?" More than that, Oliver wants us to ponder what this moment was like for he and Joseph. He wants us to consider the joy they must have felt on this occasion.
PARAGRAPH 6: “I shall not attempt to paint to you the feelings of this heart, nor the majestic beauty and glory which surrounded us on this occasion; but you will believe me when I say, that earth, nor men, with the eloquence of time, cannot begin to clothe language in as interesting and sublime a manner as this holy personage. No; nor has this earth power to give the joy, to bestow the peace, or comprehend the wisdom which was contained in each sentence as they were delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit! Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind. The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior’s goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I hope to adore in that day which shall never cease.”
After asking for us to ponder what it was like, Oliver tells us it was an indescribable moment. Oliver says it so well: "I shall not attempt to paint to you the feelings of this heart, nor the majestic beauty and glory which surrounded us on this occasion." He tells that no man can match the eloquence of the words John the Baptist used on that occasion, nor can man comprehend the wisdom of his words. That must have been some visit!
Then Oliver tells us the sum effect of this visit:
"Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind."
I read so much hope into that one sentence. No matter how much evil is promulgated against me in quest to follow the Savior; it will all be worth it, if I am proven worthy of his grace and love at that last day. Oliver, who had endured much, tells us that one touch with the finger of his love--or one ray of glory from heaven, makes all the persecutions he suffered insignificant.
No wonder that Oliver concludes with these words:
"The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior’s goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I hope to adore in that day which shall never cease."
What a beautiful testimony; it is one worth studying and understanding. How grateful I am to be the beneficiary of the work the Lord did through his great servants Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. How grateful I am for my testimony of the restored church, this gospel, the priesthood restored, which I am blessed to hold. Most of all, how grateful I am for Christ. May his atonement be applied to my sins, that I may be washed clean and found worthy to stand. I pray in His Holy name. Amen.
But it is a worthwhile read, as Oliver's testimony confirms Joseph's testimony.
Let's take a paragraph-by-paragraph look at this writing.
PARAGRAPH 1: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’
I love how Oliver puts this. His days as the scribe for the Book of Mormons "were days never to be forgotten." This hints of the joy Joseph and Oliver both must have felt, as they read/heard the words of God for the first time in that Great Book of Mormon. And, really, I can understand that joy because it must have been similar to the joy I get now when I read the Book of Mormon, even though I've read it many times before.
And how did Oliver feel when he first heard God's words in the Book of Mormon? Oliver writes that it "awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom." Oliver's description is perfect. He didn't feel just gratitude. He felt the "utmost" gratitude--he couldn't have been more grateful. And where did that gratitude originate? His bosom. In other words, in his heart. As he heard and transcribed the Book of Mormon, his heart recognized truth and was grateful that God's truths had made their way to Oliver.
PARAGRAPH 2: "No men, in their sober senses, could translate and write the directions given to the Nephites from the mouth of the Savior, of the precise manner in which men should build up His Church, and especially when corruption had spread an uncertainty over all forms and systems practiced among men, without desiring a privilege of showing the willingness of the heart by being buried in the liquid grave, to answer a ‘good conscience by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.’"
Oliver is bearing his testimony of the Book of Mormon hear. If you read Christ's words in the Book of Mormon, how can you doubt, is essentially what Oliver is saying. Oliver sees Christ's beautiful directions to the righteous Nephites, who withstood the filth of their society to build a mighty kingdom of God. Oliver tells us that the people were so wicked in Nephite times that they refused to be baptized (or enter a "liquid grave" as Oliver calls it) and ignored the need to have a clear conscience when resurrected. Oliver admired, as do I, the Nephites' steadfastness living in such circumstances. To Oliver who lived in a day when men, even the wicked ones, all chose to get baptized, the fact that some would refuse baptism must have been a very foreign idea--and Oliver rightly noted the evil in refusing baptism for remission of sins.
PARAGRAPH 3: “After writing the account given of the Savior’s ministry to the remnant of the seed of Jacob, upon this continent, it was easy to be seen, as the prophet said it would be, that darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people. On reflecting further it was as easy to be seen that amid the great strife and noise concerning religion, none had authority from God to administer the ordinances of the Gospel. For the question might be asked, have men authority to administer in the name of Christ, who deny revelations, when His testimony is no less than the spirit of prophecy, and His religion based, built, and sustained by immediate revelations, in all ages of the world when He has had a people on earth? If these facts were buried, and carefully concealed by men whose craft would have been in danger if once permitted to shine in the faces of men, they were no longer to us; and we only waited for the commandment to be given ‘Arise and be baptized.’"
Here, Oliver tells us that as he and Joseph read about the Savior giving authority to his disciples on the American continent, they realized that no one had authority on the Earth at that time. Oliver explains it beautifully: The priesthood is an authority built on revelation, and if the churches of the day were denying revelation, then how could they have the priesthood? If you deny there's revelation, then how could you bless the sick or give a blessing to the downtrodden in heart? Moreover, if God has given revelations to his people in all ages, then why would he stop now? I love the way Oliver says it: "His [God's]religion [is] based, built, and sustained by immediate revelations." Oliver points us that these true facts about the priesthood were buried by those priests who sought to profit from false doctrines.
PARAGRAPH 4: "This was not long desired before it was realized. The Lord, who is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble, after we had called upon Him in a fervent manner, aside from the abodes of men, condescended to manifest to us His will. On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the Gospel of repentance. What joy! what wonder! what amazement! While the world was racked and distracted—while millions were groping as the blind for the wall, and while all men were resting upon uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld, our ears heard, as in the ‘blaze of day’; yes, more—above the glitter of the May sunbeam, which then shed its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant,’ dispelled every fear. We listened, we gazed, we admired! ’Twas the voice of an angel from glory, ’twas a message from the Most High! And as we heard we rejoiced, while His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!"
Oliver tells us that the Lord responded to their prayers for priesthood authority quickly. In this paragraph, Oliver tells us about how the Lord answers prayers: "The Lord, who is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble." The nature of the Lord, Oliver says, is to be rich in mercy, and as such, he is always there to answer the prayers of the humble. Oliver tells us that the answer to their prayers started with the voice of Christ speaking to him and Joseph; the veil parted, and an angel (John the Baptist) came down to answer their prayer--or, as Oliver eloquently puts it: the angel "delivered the anxiously looked for message."
I love how Oliver responds to receiving his priesthood authority: "What joy! what wonder! what amazement!" Well, Oliver was excited! And can you blame him? The priesthood authority, absent from Earth, for over a thousand years, had now been restored to him and his friend, Joseph. Oliver didn't miss the significance. He tells us that while the rest of the world's inhabitants were like the blind groping for the wall, he and Joseph could see in a light as bright as the blaze of day. It's a stirring contrast, but a true one. The light that was to be beamed to mankind through the restoration of the priesthood has in millions of lives given people the direction they need to get through the darkness. In that sense, this is an appropriate and deeply profound metaphor.
Oliver tells us the thrill he had when John the Baptist addressed he and Joseph as his fellow servants: "We listened, we gazed, we admired! ’Twas the voice of an angel from glory, ’twas a message from the Most High! And as we heard we rejoiced, while His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!"
Can you imagine what that moment must have been like for Oliver and Joseph?! Do be called a "fellow servant" by John the Baptist? Do hear the voice of the Redeemer? To receive the Holy Priesthood? To feel God's love? To hear a message from an angel?
No wonder Oliver says what he does in the next paragraph:
PARAGRAPH 5: “But, dear brother, think, further think for a moment, what joy filled our hearts, and with what surprise we must have bowed, (for who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?) when we received under his hand the Holy Priesthood as he said, ‘Upon you my fellow-servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer this Priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon earth, that the Sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!’"
I love what Oliver says here: "Who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?" More than that, Oliver wants us to ponder what this moment was like for he and Joseph. He wants us to consider the joy they must have felt on this occasion.
PARAGRAPH 6: “I shall not attempt to paint to you the feelings of this heart, nor the majestic beauty and glory which surrounded us on this occasion; but you will believe me when I say, that earth, nor men, with the eloquence of time, cannot begin to clothe language in as interesting and sublime a manner as this holy personage. No; nor has this earth power to give the joy, to bestow the peace, or comprehend the wisdom which was contained in each sentence as they were delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit! Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind. The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior’s goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I hope to adore in that day which shall never cease.”
After asking for us to ponder what it was like, Oliver tells us it was an indescribable moment. Oliver says it so well: "I shall not attempt to paint to you the feelings of this heart, nor the majestic beauty and glory which surrounded us on this occasion." He tells that no man can match the eloquence of the words John the Baptist used on that occasion, nor can man comprehend the wisdom of his words. That must have been some visit!
Then Oliver tells us the sum effect of this visit:
"Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind."
I read so much hope into that one sentence. No matter how much evil is promulgated against me in quest to follow the Savior; it will all be worth it, if I am proven worthy of his grace and love at that last day. Oliver, who had endured much, tells us that one touch with the finger of his love--or one ray of glory from heaven, makes all the persecutions he suffered insignificant.
No wonder that Oliver concludes with these words:
"The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior’s goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I hope to adore in that day which shall never cease."
What a beautiful testimony; it is one worth studying and understanding. How grateful I am to be the beneficiary of the work the Lord did through his great servants Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. How grateful I am for my testimony of the restored church, this gospel, the priesthood restored, which I am blessed to hold. Most of all, how grateful I am for Christ. May his atonement be applied to my sins, that I may be washed clean and found worthy to stand. I pray in His Holy name. Amen.
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