Sacrament Talk - 20 Dec 2009

This is the talk that I gave in Sacrament Meeting today - I RARELY write my talks out, but was inspired to do so this time, and got a TON of compliments for it - including from the Stake President, Stake Relief Society President, and High Council. Feel free to read it everyone:

Shortly after leading them from bondage, the Lord commanded the Israelite men to ascend Mount Sinai and receive those blessings which the Lord had to bestow upon them for a blessing of their righteousness. Though these same men had seen the power of the Lord in the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the feeding of their families, and the deliverance of their people from Egypt, these men held not the faith in their hearts that would allow them to speak face to face with the Lord to receive those additional blessings that He had for them. The Lord’s response to their unwillingness to climb to meet him was to give to Moses what was known as the Ten Commandments.

While we are all familiar with this set of commandments, and many of us can still recite them in order from our days as young Seminary students, most of us probably have not looked in depth as to the meaning and symbolism of these commandments. I had the opportunity to do this during the previous semester as a student in Biblical Hebrew class. During the last half of the semester we translated Deuteronomy 5 at approximately a rate of 2 verses per class period. As we translated these verses, we came to understand the differences of wording between what we have in English as opposed to what was written in the Hebrew manuscript, but we also came to more fully understand this set of commandments and how they are applicable as guidance to our lives today.

Keeping that in mind, we look forward from the time of the Israelites to the mortal ministry of Christ. Hoping to catch him in a lie and cause him to contradict himself, or rather, hoping to cause him to alienate an individual or group of people, a group of Pharisees approached the Living Christ and inquired of him as to what the greatest commandment was. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus reminds them that the two greatest commandments are to “love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind”; and to love our neighbors as ourselves. During his Sermon on the Mount, Christ reminded us that he had not come to “destroy the law, or the prophets; but to fulfill.”

The law and the prophets of course refer back to the Ten Commandments. Why then are they referenced to so frequently? It is because these commandments are of the most importance to an individual’s life, the following of which will not only bring upon one great blessings, but rather will help an individual to prepare to receive further light and knowledge, strengthen their knowledge of Heavenly parents, and continue to build their faith in Jesus Christ, the Beloved Son of our Heavenly Father and one who came to fulfill the ends of that law.

When examining the first four commandments that were delivered to Moses on the stone tablets, one will read that they are to have no other Gods before God, that they are to not idly bear the name of God (note, that the true terminology of the commandment is to “bear”, not “to take” as is perhaps not accurately rendered in the King James Version of the Bible), that they are to have no other false images of “God” in their lives, and that they are to remember the day of God and to treat it with its proper respect. Each of these four commandments relate to the central ideal of placing God in His proper light, and honoring him accordingly.

In order to effectively worship God, one must understand His nature, and concurrently exercise their belief, or in other words faith, to show that proper respect to His name and His will. The application of faith allows men to more fully understand the attributes of our Heavenly Parents, and to supplicate ourselves to a loving God who seeks to pour out His blessings upon our heads when we honor Him righteously and carry out His will.

In fact, it is of no coincidence that the very first question in the temple recommend interview questions our testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we cannot faithfully and accurately say “yes” to this first question, then we cannot honestly, and faithfully answer any other question in that interview, as all other questions are dependent on our faith in Jesus Christ.

Faith is not simply just a principle of the gospel, but rather is eternal law itself. When applied with other doctrines of the gospel, faith is transactional medium for blessings and knowledge which come through its exercise. It is a law that must be actively administered in order to reap the full effect of its potential. It is the basis for the first set of commandments given to the Israelites and to each and every people upon the earth that have had cause to worship God.

The adversary would have many believe that faith is not only miniscule in value, but instead a show of weakness and wholly unnecessary to have in order to obtain one’s greatest desires. Additionally, he has lead many astray and has encouraged them to mock and torture those that exercise faith in those things that are prophesied to come.

As we approach this Christmas holiday, we are reminded of the various scriptural accounts of the birth of the Savior to this mortal realm. In each account, there was some test of faith that took place in order to come to a knowledge that the Son of God truly had begun his mortal ministry. In many cases this was simply just the recognition of the new star in the evening sky, but there were also the accounts of the shepherds watching over their flocks that were reminded to “fear not, for I bring you good tidings (or in other words the gospel) of great joy, which shall be unto all nations”; to the wise men that followed the star across the countryside to visit the young baby Jesus; to the supplication of the Nephites and Nephites to God to protect them and their families as the non-believers around them threatened them with their lives.

I believe that it is no coincidence that Christ’s birthplace was in a manager in the small town of Bethlehem. The name “Bethlehem” is from the Hebrew derivative of the conjunctive words “Bet” and “Lehem” which is to mean “the house of bread.” Not only is Christ known throughout the standard works as being the “bread of life” but we also partake of bread emblems each week as a reminder to us of not only the sacrifice of our Savior on our behalf, but of His entire mortal ministry which provided us a template for living our own lives and returning back to our Father in Heaven.

The environment in which Jesus Christ came into this world and the manger upon which his head was placed are both symbolic of the humility that is represented in the life of Christ, and also the humility that we must have in our exercise of belief and allegiance to Him. We are reminded of this as we prepare for the sacrament each week with the musical prayer that we deliver from our hearts and mouths as we prepare for this sacred ordinance. We sing hymns that are slow-paced and meaningful in order to invite a spirit of humility into our hearts, so that we can partake of the emblems of the sacrament in full faith that we will be blessed with those promises that the Lord has covenanted to exercise on our behalf. If we are partaking of the sacrament without faith in our hearts, then we cannot expect to be fully blessed according to the promises that are made.

In our modern day, we do not have the privilege of witnessing the birth of Christ to the world, nor do we have many that will hold our lives in the balance as we exercise our faith in the Lord, or in those prophecies that are given. We do not participate in crusades, nor do we find ourselves having to rent our garments in allegiance to a commander and cause to protect our freedom, lives, and families. Rather, we face a much more dangerous challenge to our faith in Christ and allegiance to the gospel in an ongoing battle with the adversary, his followers, and the world that he has taken upon himself to lead to destruction.

In deference to the trials that we face in our lives in the world today, in Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the prophet is quoted as saying “A man can bear a heavy burden by practice and continuing to increase it. The inhabitants of this continent anciently were so constituted, and were so determined and preserving, either in righteousness or wickedness, that God visited them immediately either with great judgments or blessings. But the present generation, if they were going to battle, if they got any assistance from God, they would have to obtain it by faith.” (Pg 308)

In his April 2007 General Conference address, Elder Richard G. Scott addresses the delay we sometimes feel when we have exercised our faith in God and have prayed for an answer that we hoped to receive, but feel that have not yet. He said:

“Some misunderstandings about prayer can be clarified by realizing that the scriptures define principles for effective prayer, but they do not assure when a response will be given. Actually, He will reply in one of three ways. First, you can feel the peace, comfort, and assurance that confirm that your decision is right. Or second, you can sense that unsettled feeling, the stupor of thought, indicating that your choice is wrong. Or third—and this is the difficult one—you can feel no response.

What do you do when you have prepared carefully, have prayed fervently, waited a reasonable time for a response, and still do not feel an answer? You may want to express thanks when that occurs, for it is an evidence of His trust. When you are living worthily and your choice is consistent with the Savior’s teachings and you need to act, proceed with trust. As you are sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, one of two things will certainly occur at the appropriate time: either the stupor of thought will come, indicating an improper choice, or the peace or the burning in the bosom will be felt, confirming that your choice was correct. When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision.” (Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer, April 2007)

Prayer is one of the most effective ways that we can communicate our faith to the Lord. Like Adam, Abraham, Samuel, Nephi, Joseph Smith, and a host of other prophets and saints alike, we will be called upon to exercise our faith in ways that may not require us to go to war against our brethren, but rather go to war with ourselves and with Satan as we seek to understand the Lord’s will for us. Sometimes our exercise of faith alone will bring us the blessings that we seek, and other times, it will be the catalyst for our discovery of other answers that we are seeking. In all instances, humility is the accompanying emotion that must be applied with faith in order to enjoy the Lord’s highest blessings. Put it other terms to the prophet Joseph, the Lord reminded him that “many are called but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world and aspire to the honors of men that they do not learn this one lesson. That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven…” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:34-36)

Elder Neal A. Maxwell put this to the Church in another way when he reminded us to “establish our residence in Zion, and give up the summer cottage in Babylon” (Elder D. Todd Christofferson, October 2008 General Conference, Come to Zion.) In either case, if we have our hearts and minds set upon the things of the world, and upon the honors of men, we cannot fully exercise our faith in Jesus Christ that will allow us those blessings that we seek, nor can we become a fully converted disciple that will be willing to do His will.

We have all faced perilous times in our lives. According the apostle Paul, we are living in perilous times right now. The symptoms that he describes are that “Men will be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” (2 Tim. 3: 1-5)

These are all traits that we see prevalent in the world around us. Much of the economic crisis’s that the world faces today are the result of these pitfalls prophesied by Paul in his address to Timothy. Much greater the crisis however is the economic turmoil that we bring upon ourselves in the spiritual sense. As previously mentioned, faith is the spiritual medium of monetary exchange and it is the refiner’s fire that will change ordinary things into much more valuable things. We are promised that we one day will receive our own Urim and Thumum in the form of a glorified earth, which again, derived from Hebrew, teaches us that we will one day have our own Lights and Perfections. (Bible Dictionary). Our exercise of faith will allow this progression to take place, otherwise, we become as Paul states – and have a form of godliness within, but we deny that power.

We are all inherently blessed with the light of Christ in our lives. That is given to every man upon their birth in this world. As a gift we are also given the ability to have faith, especially that faith which is in Jesus Christ to refine us into better people. Though the definition of faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things, our exercise thereof will lead to a perfect knowledge of many things over the course of our lives.

Economically though, many of us struggle with the understanding of the proper exercise of faith. Too many times we view faith as a medium that can be stored up and used for later, or we view it as a form of spiritual bailout offered by another that will “help us get through the trial that faces us.” Too often, we rely solely on the faith of another much as we would a loan would be granted for purchases of temporal nature. Ever grateful should we be for the Lord’s requirement of an honest tithe, and for sacrifices made in our lives that continually tax our faith and keep that account active. Though the economic plans of men may promise immediate relief, or stimulation, or a means of escaping the obligations that one has agreed to, the Lord’s spiritual economic plan will never leave us with a deficit, nor will it require the borrowing of goods and services that we have not yet produced to carry us through the trials we presently face. In fact, the Lord promises that if we buy into his economic plan for us, that we will equally share the burden with others, we will learn greater knowledge, and we will be able to find rest in the Lord’s haven.

As we approach the Christmas holiday, and carry forward into the new year, may we find ourselves more willing to trust in the Lord, more recognizant of His hand in our lives, and more aware of the need to exercise faith towards our progression to return back to our Father in Heaven. [Testimony]

A Better Understanding of The Ten Commandments

I promise these will become more frequent once I'm out of classes for the semester and have a ton more time to work with on things!

As I've mentioned previously, during our last half of class in Hebrew this semester, we've been studying the 5th Chapter of the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. Those of you that are unfamiliar with this Chapter, it is essentially a reiteration of the 20th Chapter of Exodus by Moses to the children of Israel. We're studying this because there are slight variations with it, enough that our understanding (and some of us - memorization) of Exodus 20 does not corrupt or influence our translations too much.

In any case, as we've been translating only two verses a class period, we've come to a much greater understanding of the true meanings of some of these scriptures. There are some key points that I'd like to bring up from what I've learned that I think others may find insightful.

1. Credit the King James translators for their accuracy in translation. They are pretty dang good with most of their translations...but at the same time there are a few spots that they gave themselves a much greater latitude than perhaps they should have. One of these spots is in Deuteronomy 5:11 - which is the commandment that "thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain..."

...The only problem is that in the original Hebrew manuscript, the term "take" is not used...or even really implied. In fact, the Hebrew word that is used in the manuscript at that spot is "תִשּׂא" which is actually the Hebrew verb form of the word "to bear" or even "to hold" but the Hebrew term for the word "to take" is completely different. When you consider this, you gain a new insight into this scripture - because it then reads "Thou shalt not bear the name of the Lord, they God, in vain..."

What does this mean to us? It means that for those that go on their missions and mess around - they are breaking this commandment. Those that go out drinking on a Saturday night and carousing and then show up to bless the Sacrament - they are breaking the commandment. Basically every time we do something in the name of the Lord and we represent it inappropriately, we are in violation of this commandment.

2. If you take the Ten Commandments and put them in terms of "God" then you will come to a greater understanding of not only the commandments themselves, but the progression of the commandments themselves.

In summary, the Ten Commandments are as follows:

- No other Gods before God
- No graven images
- No bearing the name of God in vain
- Keep the Sabbath Day holy
- Honor parents
- Do not kill
- Do not commit adultery
- Do not steal
- No false witnesses
- No coveting neighbors house, family, possessions, etc.

Now - place this in terms of God and you come to an even greater understanding of this:

- God above everything
- Nothing coming before God or misrepresenting HIS image
- Take not upon yourself the image of God inappropriately
- Keep the day of God in proper perspective and do not desecrate His day
- Honor those that are put in proxy of God on earth
- Do not destroy the living creations of God
- Do not destroy the family unit of God
- Do not take for yourself the blessings of God which are not yours
- Do not cause another creature of God to be portrayed in a false / bad light
- Do not even THINK about harming another creature of God or inappropriately acquiring their blessings.

When you look at it that way, I think it offers a great deal more insight into these commandments. I'll explain how this fits into Latter-Day theology in my next post!

Hearts of Haven and Inheritance

As I was thumbing through some old notes that I took at a meeting a few weeks ago, I found myself pondering a concept that I have often thought about, but have not taken the time to articulate on here.

When we consider many of the gospel topics for discussion, we can find in many instances that the use of the heart is often associated with action being taken by one's self. This may refer to having a broken heart and a contrite spirit which will lead us to repentance, or the turning of the hearts of the children to the father and the fathers to the children, or even the hearts of a people being knit together as one.

While we use these and many other aortic-related terms in gospel discussion, do we fully understand the implications of some of these terms? I contend that we do not, and even I discover more each day that deepens my understanding of the reason for using this specific organ so much in our gospel understanding.

There are four Scripture Mastery scriptures that really help to address my point this evening. For those that are keeping track, I will discuss Abraham 3:22-23; Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3; Doctrine and Covenants 121:34-36, and Moses 7:18 in no particular order.

We understand the need for a broken heart and a contrite spirit as it relates to repentance and the need to have a changed heart to become like Christ, but these are not the angles I want to address at this time. Rather, I want to focus on a different angle - that being of maintenance and recognition, rather than the preparation and tempering that the other topics focus on.

Perhaps a good lead-in to my discussion is the rebuke of the Lord to Oliver Cowdery following his failed attempt to translate the plates. In the 9th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, in verses 7-9 we read the following passage:

7. Behold you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. 8. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. 9. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.

Note in the previous passage the pattern which must take place in order to obtain revelation and blessing from the Lord - first, one must study it out in their minds and then ask God, and if that thing is right, one's bosom (or heart) will burn confirming that action is correct. (Note, this is not the commonly-known heart-burn that one encounters when eating spicy food prior to retiring to their beds).

If we turn backwards to Section 8 of the Doctrine and Covenants we go to our first SM stop of the night where we read: "Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation;..." (emphasis added)

Note the repetition of the aforementioned pattern - that we would first be told in our minds (studying out in our minds) and then the Holy Ghost would confirm that in our hearts. Note a very important key in this passage however, that is that we are told in our hearts and our minds, but the Holy Ghost is made to dwell in our hearts.

Does anyone wonder ever why the Brethren of the Church speak so frequently about controlling the thoughts of our minds during their Conference addresses? Does anyone wonder why modesty, morality, pornography, mind-altering drugs, stress, anger, etc. are such big topics over the pulpit? I don't, because I believe that this scripture gives us the explanation for that.

If we compare our bodies to a car for a minute, perhaps we will better understand the meaning behind this. As many are familiar with, a car battery stores charged electricity inside of it for future use. This allows certain components of the car to run without the aid of the vehicle being turned all the way on. Should the battery become drained however, the ability of the car's many systems to function properly gradually gets dimmer and dimmer (this is what causes a battery to die when one leaves their lights on). The astute driver however, will make sure and get to their car and shut off the lights before they kill the battery, and then during the course of their travels, the alternator inside the car will recharge the battery from the residual power generation of the normal car functions.

Our hearts and minds are much like that, especially as it relates to this scripture. Our minds control our entire lives in all aspects. That said however, the presence of the Spirit dwelling in our hearts will provide the power for the critical components of our lives. The Spirit must be continually powered however, or as the scriptures state, it must dwell in a clean temple (the Spirit doth not dwell in unholy places). This is where the mastery over our minds must take place if we are to continually enjoy the accompanying power of the Spirit in our lives. If our minds are being altered by mind-numbing drugs, pornographic material, vulgar media, or those thoughts which would take our minds away from our purpose on earth and of the Lord's influence in our lives, then we are essentially leaving our hearts running with the Spirit with no power to it. It is at this time that there is little more time for the Spirit to power the essentials of our lives and eventually causes our hearts to die at which point the Spirit departs completely. Note that it is not our heart that has died of the effects of aging or due to some abnormality, but that our minds have become distracted to the point where the heart cannot get power from it.

The Lord's goal however is to establish a Zion-like people, which as the verse in chapter 7 of the book of Moses states, involves being of "one heart, and one mind." This state of utopia can only occur when the minds of the people are continually aligned towards righteousness, such that the Spirit is present within all and the community is working towards the greater good and the glorification of Christ.

Additionally, the governance of our minds is what allows us to do that work of the Lord. It is one thing to control one's own mind to the point that they are not partaking of the evil sins of the world, but it is another to fulfill our God-given responsibilities, especially those given us before we came to this life. The Lord spoke to Abraham in the 3rd Chapter and said: "Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rules; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born."

The concept of being "chosen" may seem somewhat of a completely off-topic discussion, but we gain more understanding of its applicability to this subject when we enter into the fourth verse from the SM list in Doctrine and Covenants Section 121. These verses read: "Behold, there are many called, but few are chose. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson -- That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness." (emphasis added)

For many, it is their divine calling to do great things in this life, but as noted by this scripture here, they lose that calling and chosen status because they allow their hearts to be set towards the things of this world and the praises of their fellow men. Is this something that we see in the Church in our day? Is this something that we see in ourselves? I'm going to guess that most of us can answer "yes" to both of these unfortunately. Do we see the Relief Society President of a ward help a financially-struggling family because its her job and it will add "glory" to the position of Relief Society President? What about the home-teachers that begrudgingly do their home teaching on the last day of the month, simply to say that they got it done and to turn in the numbers for it? What about the struggling member that decides that they need only go to sacrament meeting because that's the "important meeting" and people will see them there, and then rushes home to catch the sports match on the television?

I submit that if we are to strive to become a Zion-like people that we must be more cognizant of the thoughts of our minds and their effects on our hearts, and concurrently govern ourselves accordingly. Some individuals may find that they struggle with some things more than others, and will need to do extra work in some areas that another individual needs only to recognize passively. If we govern the thoughts of our minds more fully, and encourage others to do the same and to keep the word of God written in our hearts, then we know that we will have the full measure of the Spirit that we all desperately need to have in our troubling times these days!

About the Birthplace of Christ

I'm terrible at consistency these days, I know, I'm sorry. Life has been VERY busy as of late, and continues to get busier...at least for the next couple of weeks until I go off-track again.

As I was studying the 132nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants the other day, I was actually studying some material for one topic, and found myself learning a few things about an entirely different topic. I had actually been researching more about the verses referencing Abraham and Isaac (verses 34-36) and continued reading the next several verses to get more of a contextual understanding of the entire section. Verse 39 in this same section was the verse that inspired me to go on somewhat of a "scripture chase" which led me to find the information about the topic I'm discussing today.
It reads:

David's wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and therefore he had fallen from his exaltation and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord

(Doctrine and Covenants 132:39; emphasis added).

In any case, as I read this I found myself trying to acquire more knowledge about David and just exactly what he did and didn't do. During my examinations of the different verses, I came across the one in 2 Samuel 5:7 which reads "Nevertheless, David took the strong hold of Zion; the same is the city of David. (emphasis added).

There are a couple of connections that we have to that verse - through modern and ancient scripture alike. The first and most obvious one is the one we think of when reading the Christmas story - Luke 2:11 which reads "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." (emphasis added)

The second is the beginning the of the 10th Article of Faith which reads "We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes, that Zion, the newJerusalem will be built upon the American continent..."(emphasis added)

Those that know the geography of the Israeli territory know that the town of Bethlehem is just 10 miles south of the city of Jerusalem - or essentially a suburb of the city. (As additional information about Bethlehem - consider the following: The name "Bethlehem" originates from the Hebrew phrase "בֵּית לֶחֶם‎ " (Beit Lehem) which LITERALLY means "house of bread." I believe it is no small coincidence that the Savior himself was referred to as the "bread of life" - which could be directly traced back to his birthplace.)

What is interesting about all of this of course is the events that have and will surround this specific area of the globe:

1. After Christ was born, he was taken to Nazareth and was raised there, Nazareth being north of Jerusalem and concurrently Bethlehem.
2. The Garden of Gethsemane is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives - which is symbolic because it was at the lowest point of the mountain, or in other words symbolic of the atonement of sin before ascending up the mountain where God resides.
3. The Mount of Olives is located East of Jerusalem and the mountain just to the west of this range? Mount Sion or alternatively Mount Zion. Note the symbolism now when discussing the Garden of Gethsemane and its relation to Mount Sion.
4. The battle of Armageddon is believed to be taking place to the northeast of Jerusalem prior to the coming of Christ. Christ will then return upon the earth - at which point he will first appear on Mount Sion (Zion).

What does this all boil down to? The city of Bethlehem is a very sacred place. It was the place where the Bread of Life would originate and would be the same area where our Lord and Savior was crucified for the sins of the wold and additionally the same place where He will again return to sanctify and cleanse the world for all eternity.

I just thought that was a cool thing to think about, especially given the current holiday season and our celebration of the Birth of Christ during the upcoming Christmas holiday.

Was Isaac Really Spared?

Two blogs in one night - I know! Shocking!

As we concluded our study of Genesis 22 the other day, Bro. Baron raised a VERY interesting theory and after explaining it to us, I can say that I can accept his viewpoint and agree with it because of the evidence presented.

When studying a chapter of Scripture in the depth that we studied it, smaller nuances of the individual verses pop out more clearly. This was the case in our class studies - as it took us over 7 weeks to translate 9 verses...not that we translated every class nor did we spend our entire lives doing it, but it was stretched out over time for a reason. Bro. Baron in his infinite wisdom decided to hold his theory until we got to the end of the chapter as to not corrupt our outlook of the chapter.

We all know the "popular" story of Abraham and Issac - Abraham is commanded to take his son Issac to the mountains and place him on an altar and sacrifice him. Just as he's getting ready to do so, a messenger of the Lord speaks to Abraham and tells him not to sacrifice Issac, and because of his faithfulness he gets all these blessings and lives happily ever after. Is that really what happened though? Bro. Baron's theory (which has been supported by multiple people and sources - so its not just a Bro. Baron thing) suggests that it not only is not what happened, but that there is a "second" story within the verses that we overlook even though its so plain.

To understand this theory we must examine several scriptures. First, we start with Genesis 22:5 which reads: "And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and [we will]] come again to you"

Now, quickly jump down to verse 19 of the same chapter that reads: "So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba." WHAT?!?! Where's Isaac? Let's just say that this theory here suggests that Issac didn't exactly "make it"...at least not initially.

Our first supporting scripture comes from this same chapter, which is the 16th verse which reads "And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and has not withheld thine only son;"

Okay, not convinced yet? Yes, its a fairly weak argument. But the next three scriptures will support this progressively more. Go over the Book of Mormon and turn the book of Jacob - Chapter 4, verse 5 which reads "Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. and for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son" (Emphasis added).

Still not buying it? Fine, try this block of scripture here. Doctrine and Covenants 132: 34-36:

God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. this therefore was fulfilling, among other things, the promises.

Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, commanded it.

Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac: nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness.

Warming up to the idea perhaps? Well, the next block of scripture should be the clincher here. Hebrews 11: 17-19:

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered p Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

I don't know about anyone else, but that last one seems pretty black and white to me!

There is it though, straight from the scriptures - I'll leave you guys to say yea or nay on it!

Commentaries on "The Spirit of God"

Yes, I've been on an extended hiatus. I'm sorry to my readers - I've been hideously swamped as of late. Rest assured though, I've had many things running through my mind on which I will make comments on in the upcoming future.

For this post though, I wish to address something that's been running through my mind periodically for the last several months and has recently come to the forefront of my thought processes because of our study of Genesis 22, Genesis 28, and Deuteronomy 5 in my Hebrew class. We just finished translating Genesis 22, The first four verses of Genesis 28 were our midterm and we've just begun translating Deuteronomy 5.

As we studied these scriptures, there were particular discussions in class and phrases throughout these passages that brought my mind up to the remembrance of these lyrics. These lyrics are ones that I have previously thought in depth about, but had pushed aside for some time because of the relative incompleteness of my knowledge of certain things. As my knowledge has grown, so has my understanding of the lyrics of this sacred hymn. For those that are not familiar with the text, the lyrics are as follows:

1. The Spirit of God like a fire is burning;
The latter day glory begins to come forth;
The visions and blessings of old are returning;
The angels are coming to visit the earth.

2. The Lord is extending the saints' understanding—
Restoring their judges and all as at first;
The knowledge and power of God are expanding
The veil o'er the earth is beginning to burst.

3. We'll call in our solemn assemblies, in spirit,
To spread forth the kingdom of heaven abroad,
That we through our faith may begin to inherit
The visions, and blessings, and glories of God.

4. How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion
Shall lie down together without any ire;
And Ephraim be crown'd with his blessing in Zion,
As Jesus descends with his chariots of fire!

Chorus:
We'll sing and we'll shout with the armies of heaven:
Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb!
Let glory to them in the highest be given,
Henceforth and forever: amen and amen!
LDS Hymns #2

Now, as I've considered the text of this hymn, I have often wondered if this is somewhat a "journey-like" hymn or at least one that is "progressive." Allow me to explain here.

As we are aware, the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints did not come about all at once, nor did it occur with great aplomb, but rather its seeds sprouted forth through the faith of a young fourteen year-old boy who saw God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ in answer to a prayer of supplication to the two Heavenly Beings. Over time, specific truths were revealed and the power of God was gradually returned to the inhabitants of the earth until a fullness of the Gospel existed once again in the mortal realm.

With this gradualness in mind, it offers a somewhat deeper understanding of the lyrics of this song. In the first verse we read that the latter-day glory is beginning to come forth and that angels are coming to visit the earth. This has been fulfilled through the conference of the Priesthood keys upon Joseph Smith - through the hands of John the Baptist and the disciples of Christ - Peter, James and John. The Prophet also received visitations from the angel Moroni in his own bedroom as well as the prophet Elijah - who restored the sealing powers to the earth. Additionally, there are documented visitations of several other angelic beings in the 128th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants - these beings including but not limited to Michael the archangel (Adam), Gabriel (Noah?), Raphael and "of divers angels, from Michael or Adam down to the present time" (Doctrine and Covenants 128:21)

Continue on to the second verse where it clearly notes that the knowledge-base of the Latter-Day Saints is expanding and that the veil over the earth is beginning to burst - which young Joseph demonstrated with his opposition in the Sacred Grove to the power of the adversary and continuing to the spreading of the knowledge of an Eternal Father and a living Christ who performed the action of the Atonement on the behalf of mankind, and the understanding of our divine relationships to both beings.

In verse three is where it gets most interesting. Note the presence of the first line of the verse that states that "we'll call in our solemn assemblies in spirit." This is in direct reference likely to the scripture in Genesis 28:3 which reads "And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and mulitply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people. If one were to translate this verse from is original Hebraic form, they would find that the scripture does not prescribe a "multitude of people" but rather refers to a "large, solemn assembly." Further this with the recognition that in the modern-day - at the passing of the current prophet, the new one is presented to the body of the Church through a solemn assembly - one where the Prophet is sustained by groups, first as a Priesthood body, and eventually embodying the entire Church.

What are the promises of the third first following the first line? That we through our faith may begin to inherit -- or in other words through our support of the Brethren of the Church, including the Lord's Prophet himself, the visions, blessings, and glories of God. In a previous blog I've discussed that the "glory of God" is intelligence or in other words light and truth. (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36)

As Bro. Baron pointed out the other day in class, when we sustain a Prophet of the Lord, we sustain him as not only a Prophet, but also as a Seer, and a Revelator. He then explained that a Prophet speaks of existing truths, a seer sees things not visibile to the natural eye, and a revealator speaks of truths to come. That sure sounds like the "visions, blessings, and glories of God" to me!

Now, the forth verse is one that I find most intriguing. The phrase "How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion shall lie down together without any ire" is the focal point of my thoughts on this verse. This verse is based on the scripture in Isaiah, verse 6 which reads "the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lied down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."

My thoughts on this are purely speculative, but I believe that the verse should perhaps read: "How blessed the day when the Lamb and the Lion shall lie down together without any ire." The untrained eye may claim that I have made no change in the phrase, but I have - the capitalization of two letters which I believe further annunciates the perhaps intended meaning of this verse.

We don't know much of the Tribes of Israel in their detail - their specific inheritances as they relate the modern-day, their symbols, or really anything. We do know some though. Of the many things that we do know, we know that the tribe of Judah is represented by the symbol of a lion. Jews from birth are of the tribe of Judah - which is where the term Jew came from. Interestingly though, they are still awaiting the coming of Christ - no, not the second one, the FIRST one. We know that one of the many symbols of Christ is the Lamb.

Several modern prophecies and commentaries by the Brethren state that in the Last Days there will be a time of the Genitle and a time of the Jew (the last shall be the first and the first shall be the last; to the Jew first and also to the Greek.) At the time of the jews, the missionary work of the Church will shift its focus on to the Jews across the sea and their eventual acceptance of Christ. When this happens, this will be very soon before the Second Coming and will also perhaps be in fulfillment of the prophetic hymn text that says that the "Lamb and the Lion will lie down together without any ire" or in other words the Jewish nation finally accepting Christ (who is one of their own, but they don't realize that).

In any case, whether my speculations are correct, I gain a great strengthening of my testimony when I hear this song, and wish that more members of the Church would treat this song with the sacredness that it deserves, rather than passively singing this song and nearly every Church occasion that arises.

Those are my thoughts, take them or the leave them!

It Is Better That One Man Should Perish...

My apologies to my loyal readers for the infrequency of my posts. This last week has been quite busy with catching up on makeup work from previously missed class.

Most of you are familiar with the fact that I'm taking a Biblical Hebrew class this semester. Despite the fact that my grades are not necessarily reflecting it, it has been one of my favorite classes this semester. I have gained a greater depth of testimony by just studying the small amount of scripture that we have been translating for our class.

Though, to this point we have only translated a handful of verses from the 22nd Chapter of Genesis, the depth of these verses has offered a great deal of insight into gospel principles and especially strengthened my testimony and understanding of the Atonement.

Recently, when translating a set of verses this last week, I was brought to the recollection of the phrase "it is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief." The interesting thing is that this phrase doesn't appear in Genesis 22 in any form. In fact, those that are familiar with the chapter (the one where Isaac is prepared and offered for sacrifice) will know that in the first 10 verses, that Isaac has just barely been placed upon the altar, much less any lessons learned from it by Abraham at this point.

What an in depth analysis of this chapter will reveal however is the great similarities between the preparations and subsequent sacrifice by Jesus Christ himself in preparing the Atonement of the world and the elements of the test that Abraham was asked to endure in the 22nd chapter.

As I pondered these commonalities, I was inspired to understand the Atonement even further, and began to wonder if perhaps that the Lord was giving Nephi additional counsel through the Spirit when offering this phrase in 1 Nephi 4:13. Note that in the 14th verse, Nephi "remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness." Thus, this indicates that even though Nephi correlates this to additional counsel in the rest of the verse, he has heard these words before. This is perhaps because it is one of the fundamental principles of the Atonement - that one man (Jesus Christ) should perish so that an entire nation (the rest of God's children) should not dwindle and perish in unbelief.

As we consider this notion, we come to the realization that there are many symbolisms of the Ultimate Sacrifice throughout the scriptures, and perhaps the reason that I was brought to this inspiration as I translated only a few of the verses in Genesis 22. Though Isaac was never sacrificed in physical nature, the emotional willingness and mental anguish that Abraham endured in full willingness was enough to reward him with the covenant of a loving Father and the promise of becoming the father of many nations and over an innumerable seed later on in that chapter. Could not the Lord have offered similar counsel in teaching Abraham after this strenuous plight? Perhaps, but we can discern this counsel by studying it and applying the similarities between the rest of the standard works.

There are yet other instances in which "one man should / does / would perish" so that a "nation would not dwindle and perish in unbelief." Consider for a moment the account of Abinadi in Mosiah 11-17. Abinadi preached the word of God to a very wicked leadership of the people, harsh enough that it would result in his death by burning at the stake. Present in that audience was Alma, the future prophet, and one of the greatest missionaries of all dispensations. We don't know what might have happened had circumstances been different, but we do know that in some way, the murder of the prophet sealed with that blood a testimony that struck Alma's heart which resulted in his conversion and the conversion of an entire nation of people to the gospel of Jesus Christ which would bring them great light and life.

Moroni in his censuring of Pahorn, the Cheif Judge of the Nephites, offers additional counsel on this subject when he said: "For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God." (Alma 60:13).

Consider also the account from Alma 14:

8 And they brought their wives and children together, and whosoever believed or had been taught to believe in the word of God they caused that they should be cast into the fire; and they also brought forth their records which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into the fire also, that they might be burned and destroyed by fire.
9 And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of martyrdom, that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire.
10 And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.
11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.

There are several other examples of one man perishing to save a nation in the Book of Mormon, but perhaps one that hits our hearts most in this modern era is the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet: " Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord's anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!" (Doctrine and Covenants 135:3)

The great musical orator W.W. Phelps, stated in his work "Praise to the Man":

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!
Jesus annointed that Prophet and Seer.
Blessed to open the last dispensation,
Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.

Chorus
Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!
Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.
Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren;
Death cannot conquer the hero again.

Praise to his mem'ry, he died as a martyr;
Honored and blest be his ever great name!
Long shall his blood, which was shed by assasins,
Plead unto heav'n while the earth lauds his fame.

Chorus

Great is his glory and endless his priesthood.
Ever and ever the keys he will hold.
Faithful and true he will enter his kingdom,
Crowned in the midst of the prophets of old.

Chorus

Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven;
Earth must atone for the blood of that man.
Wake up the world for the conflict of justice.
Millions shall know 'Brother Joseph' again.

Chorus

(Hymns #27, Praise to the Man)

The testimony of many of these great men, sacrificing themselves such that many nations, kindreds, tongues and people would come to a further knowledge of the gospel and greater understanding of the nature of God have had a profound impact on the lives of many, but so also can we have an impact on others also. No, we will likely not be called upon to sacrifice our own lives physically such that it may one day lead to the salvation of an entire nation, but we are called upon to do so in other means.

If I could offer the following tweak to the aforementioned phrase, it will perhaps help us to understand this better: "It is better that the natural man should perish, than an entire posterity perish and dwindle in unbelief." We may not consider ourselves hugely responsible for the governance of an entire nation, but in the long run, we will each be accountable to such. Our failure to convert our own hearts fully to the gospel is to potentially curse a nation of people with a dwindling of unbelief and unrighteousness. Do we strive to live according to every word that proceeds from the mouth of God - be it through the translated works that sit dusty on many an end table only to be casually thrown into a bag on Sunday; through the mouths of modern day prophets - which are oft ignored in the pursuit of "more exciting" activities; or even through the promptings of the Spirit which may touch our hearts and minds on a daily basis, but are shrugged off and quickly cast from our minds? I invite all of you, including myself, to recommit yourselves to your personal conversion, such that you may gain the same promise Abraham was offered when he was willing to offer his only son Isaac to the Father, and so that we may look our Savior in the eyes at our final judgment and say that we did our best to bring salvation and life to many nations and posterities because of our willingness to sacrifice the natural man within and be obedient to His command.

Overcoming the Trials of Our Faith

This is a "talk" that I wrote last year for my Teachings of the Living Prophets class that was taught by the University President. I actually wrote this in a General Conference format - just as you would see it appear in the Conference Edition of the Ensign twice a year. (Anyone that wants to see it in its original formatting - with references that unfortunately not copy over properly into the Word Processor, let me know and leave me your email address):

(If there are formatting problems or mistakes, I apologize - I had to import this from a PDF printout because my original copy of this document was corrupted)

BRANDON G, WILCOX
Student

If we are to be true disciples of Jesus Christ, we must overcome the trials that challenge our faith to follow Him.

Several years ago prior to my missionary service I was awaiting a call from the ward chorister to report the songs I would be playing the following Sunday as Ward Organist. After several minutes, the phone rang and the expected number appeared. It was not her, but rather her mother. She was calling to see if my father was home, but he was unfortunately at work. This sister was calling to find another Melchizedek Priesthood holder to assist in a blessing. A member of the ward had been involved in a serious car accident earlier that day. I reminded her that I had recently been ordained an Elder. She requested my assistance, to which I agreed. The catch: I had just had my wisdom teeth removed the day prior and my jaw was swollen shut!

Upon arrival at the hospital, we went into the room where I placed my hands upon the injured sister’s head. As I began to speak, my jaw loosened - such that I could pronounce the anointing. Immediately after finishing my jaw swelled shut again barring me from further speech. This became a powerful testimony of faith to me.

Over the years, I have pondered the experience and have reflected on the many things that I have learned as a result. Of the many things that I have reflected on, I have concluded this experience was at that time a trial of my faith. Further, I have come to ask myself “how does this trial help me to become a disciple of Christ?"

Ether tells us in the Book of Mormon that “[we] receive no witness until after the trial of [our] faith.”’ What witness is it that we are seeking though? In a family experience that tested his wife, Elder Bednar recounts that the witness that received from his spouse’s exercise of faith included “inspiration about a number of issues that were pressing upon our minds...”

While we surely cannot expect answers to all of our questions simply by pulling ourselves in faith-stretching situations on a continuous basis, we can learn about our Father’s love for us and gradually convert our faith to perfect knowledge. Said Jesus to the woman who touched his robes: “Daughter, be of good comfort: they faith hath made thee whole.”

Too often, we are inclined to see only the physical result of this trial of faith, but we need not overlook the knowledge gained by this woman. She became recognizant of the Savior’s power and gained great knowledge and testimony that could later be borne to friends and acquaintances.

Nephi teaches us of a powerful companion to faith in the Book of Mormon: “I was led by the Spirit, not knowing. . . nevertheless, I went forth” Many times in our trials we will find that we do not know the path which we must take in that trial - but if we are living worthy of it, we will have the guidance of the Spirit to help us through.

The key to our growth and progression as disciples of Jesus Christ is action. Nephi was led the Spirit in his quest to gain knowledge and guidance. He did not simply stand around and wait for guidance to strike him in the same fashion that his brethren already had, but rather made the necessary preparations in order to most effectively exercise his faith. President Eyring states this same thing in other words: “know that we are not the helpless victims of our circumstances.”

As we come to exercise our faith more fully, we also come to realize that prayer must be coupled with it. While the answers and directions to our trials may not be any more immediately apparent through prayer, Elder Richard G. Scott states “sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before the answer comes,” but that our faith will increase because of it.

In his latest Conference address, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf illustrates the exercise of faith h his mother in overcoming a particularly taxing trial during his childhood. In this counsel, he reminds us that faith. alone with hope and charity “stabilize our lives regardless of’ the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter”

As we continually exercise faith, that faith begins to grow and become the other two elements hope and charity that will ultimately lead to our progression as disciples of Christ. We must have all three of these elements present within us in order to be effective ministers of the l.ord. In counseling Joseph Smith, the Lord said “And if you have not faith, hope, and charity, you can do nothing.” Stated another way: “And faith, hope. charity, and love, qualify him for the work.”

The Lord’s rebuke to his Apostles upon the water serves as a rebuke to each one of us individually for our lack of faith. to their pleas of ‘aster master, we perish”’ the Lord responds. “Why are you so fearful. how is it that ye have no faith””’ Are we likewise also sailors on that same boat at various times in our lives? Do we not cry out in agony during the trials in our lives for the Master to mete out some measure of salvation or calm the storms of adversity in a show of mercy when in reality we simply need only to exercise a particle of faith?

It would seem that during our “trials of faith” that is the one thing that we need to exercise most Just as a recovering patient needs to rehabilitate and exercise a limb, which has just been injured or operated upon, we need to exercise faith in the Savior when we find ourselves confronted with an “unbearable” situation. If our faith is not strong enough to support ourselves, then how can we be expected to be a representative of Him who has perfect knowledge of all things? Another stern rebuke was given to a potential follower of the Savior in the book of Luke. This follower was essentially disqualified from being a disciple of Christ because he wanted to “[put] his hand to the plow, and [look back].”

We cannot, during our trials. simply wallow around in self-pity and “wish things were the way they used to be.” Neither, can we be as the five unprepared virgins at the feast of the bridegroom President Eyring calls the unwise virgins “faithless servants who delayed their preparation."

Our late beloved prophet. President Gordon H Hinckley struggled himself with faith during his missionary service. In response to his lack of faith and trust in the work, President Hinckley’s father told him to “forget [himself] and go to work.”

Our living prophet today is a great example of this. His show of faith on numerous occasions, especially those where he is rending service to other individuals help to illustrate the need to have a more perfect faith in our own lives [his more perfect faith will not only allow us to overcome our own trials and tribulations, hut will also allow us to assist others in overcoming theirs.

I testify that faith is an essential component to our salvation as well as the salvation of our fellow brothers and sisters around us. If we will more fully exercise faith in our lives, we will find incalculable growth within ourselves and progress towards inheriting all that the Father has for us when we are invited into the marriage feast. This is the Savior’s invitation to us when he exhorts us to “come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Understanding the Plight of Abraham

In my Hebrew class recently, we have begun translating Genesis 22 and discussing some of the meanings behind the vocabulary in it. One of the phrases in there translates out to in the KJV of the Bible "that God did tempt Abraham" whereas in the Hebrew manuscript - it reads "וְהָאֱלֹהִים נִסּה אֶת־אַבְרָהָם" which is translated out to mean "and God tested Abraham"...

...only it doesn't REALLY translate out to the latter. The problem is that the verb form that is used in this instance isn't something we can relate to in English. Its what's known as an "intensive verb" meaning that it takes on the basic form of a verb, but it means so much more. For instance - we sometimes say fight, but we want a way to say "a really intense fight where both both competitors are putting their all into it" - but we don't have a one word verb for it. Thus, in Hebrew its the same way.

The reason I bring this up is because of what Bro. Baron began teaching us - which in turn inspired me to search the scriptures even further and come to a better understanding of what this means to me personally.

We begin our study of greater understanding with the 132nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, verse 29 (the one Bro. Baron directed us to read) which reads:

"Abraham received all things whatsoever he received, by relvealtion and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne." (Emphasis added)

Note that the key phrase in here is the words "all things." This inspired me to consider another scripture that I think more of us are familiar with - Abraham 3: 25 which reads:

"and we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;"(Emphasis added.

Again, notice the presence of the phrase "all things" - specifically all things that the Lord commands. As we consider this even more, we turn to the two scriptures in the footnotes - Doctrine and Covenants 98:14 and Doctrine and Covenants 124:55:

14: therefore, be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy." (Emphasis added)

55: "And again, verily I say unto you, I command you again to build a house to my name, even in this place, that you may prove yourselves unto me that ye are faithful in all things whatsoever I command you, that I may bless you and crown you with honor, immortality and eternal life. (Emphasis added).

Notice again and again the presence and specification of the term "all things" - but more importantly - the promise we gain from the 55th verse there which are those same blessings awarded to Abraham according to the first verse we studied.

Why was the term "test" even questioned in the first place? Its because the beginning of the verse in Genesis 22 reads "And it came to pass, that after these things..." The term "these things" is believed to refer to Genesis 11-22 which chronicles the life of Abraham. When studying these chapters, one will note that Abraham had been through many trials and tests already. Thus, for Abraham to be "tested" yet again in this instance - was either redundant, improperly cited, or as the Hebrew manuscript dictates - the term "test" is an intensive verb - meaning that it was much more than a test.

My interpretation is that the Lord wanted Abraham to "prove that he was faithful to Him in all things This is wholly applicable to our lives because of what the Lord asks of us. Each of us were sent to mortality to be tested, but not merely to pass, nor to endure all of the simple tests given to us, but rather for each and every one us to prove our faithfulness to the Father in all things that we are commanded to do - or worded in other ways to endure it well.

We must ask ourselves after knowing this - "am I doing what I can to prove in all things that I am being faithful to the Lord?" "Do I have faith enough to act upon anything I have been called to do at His hand?" "What can I do to show greater devotion to God and His commandments?"

I'm not perfect, nor will I ever be, but this did awaken me to a new train of thought - to see if I am proving myself worthy of inheriting those same blessings as Father Abraham!

Our Final Judgment?

This is a post that I eluded to making the other night, but one that I'm not entirely sure how to enumerate on really. This is because it is somewhat speculative in nature and really doesn't have a lot of firm backing for it. Yes, there are things that can be pieced together, but for the most part, its just wondering.

We talk of the nature of God a lot, especially the demeanor of Christ, but do we really consider the infinity of that nature / demeanor? What I mean by this, is we understand Jesus Christ to be a very loving Elder Brother, but yet when considering His role in the final judgment, I believe that there's a good many of us that tend to alter our perceptions of Him and how things will be. The biggest problem is that we don't know - on any of it, because no one has ever gone through it before. We do know several things about its potential though, and we know of things both in heaven and on earth that may give us greater insight into the subject.

My first considerations of this topic actually occurred not with the post from the other night, but as I was working in the temple one day over the seven week break. As I considered the work that was being done for the dead - and the phrase "the hearts of the fathers turned to the children and the hearts of the children turned to the fathers," I began to wonder what things would be like in the hereafter when we meet those that we have done the work for.

While pondering this issue, I began to wonder if perhaps the dead have a bigger role in our lives than we can possibly imagine. My personal belief is that they do, and I'll explain why:

Fact: We know that the government of the Church is in similitude to the government of heaven. Thus, for occurrences, words, and blessings to be bound on earth and accordingly in heaven - the Church must function according to the established patterns of the heretofore and hereafter. Keeping that in mind, one must consider the workings of the Church and how that might be similar to those scenarios which we might encounter after this life.

Fact: We know that the Savior himself will be our judge, with Joseph Smith at his side advising / judging also: Parley P. Pratt says: "He [Joseph Smith] will continue holding those keys through all eternity, and will stand—yes, again in the flesh upon this Earth, as the head of the Latter-day Saints, under Jesus Christ, and under Peter, James and John. He will hold the keys to judge the generation to whom he was sent, and will judge my brethren that preside over me; and will judge me, together with the Apostles ordained by the word of the Lord through him and under his administration. When this is done, those Apostles will judge this generation and the Latter-day Saints; and they will judge them with that judgment which Jesus Christ will give unto them; and they will have the same spirit and the same mind as Jesus Christ, and their judgment will be His judgment, for they will be one * * * Brother Brigham, who now presides over us, will hold the keys under Brother Joseph; and he and his brethren, who hold the keys with him, or under his direction, will judge the people; for they will hold those keys to all eternity, worlds without end. By those keys they will have to judge this generation; and Peter, James, and John will hold the keys to preside over, and judge, and direct Brother Joseph to all eternity; and Jesus Christ will hold the keys over them and over us, under His Father, to whom be all the glory" (Journal of Dis., Vol. V., p. 196).

Fact: We know that the Bishops and Presidents of the Stakes and Wards of Zion stand in the place of Christ and judge according to the manner in which He Himself may render judgment.

Thus - based on all of this, if the Bishops and Stake Presidents judge according to the pattern of Christ, then the way in which that judgment is pronounced must be similar in nature! Now, that having been said, it opens up a school of thought as to how the rest of this occurs.

I say this most humbly and regretfully - but I've been a part of a disciplinary council, so I have first-hand knowledge of how they work. That aside, there is also additional information found in the Scriptures that may offer us additional insight. I invite you to read at this time the 102nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants - there's far more in there than should be needfully posted here, as to keep the length from exceeding its already expansive size.

When studying this section, one will observe the proceedings of the High Council and how they must "pick sides" in assisting the Stake President with rendering judgment to accused members of the Church. This is a similar pattern to what is conducted in a Bishop's Court - with the Bishop serving as judge, and each counselor taking opposing sides in the case.

That said, we can understand that Jesus Christ will be the judge up in Heaven, and we can assume that Joseph and all the other prophets of our dispensation will draw sides accordingly and argue our individual cases on our behalf. With the sides chosen however, there are those instances in which the accused may stand before the court and present evidences in their behalf (vs. 17-19). Now, having been through a disciplinary council myself, I know from experience, that some of the evidences that can and ought to be presented are not only the hard evidences (those that will be presented out of the "books that are written") but also character evidences presented by others. When I went through this, my good friend and Elder's Quorum President at the time was presented before the Court to offer up a character witness in my behalf.

Now, this will be true I'm sure in the hereafter also - with those close to us being able to present references of our character to the Lord, but I believe that there are yet others that will be able to present a much greater character witness to Him than we have previously considered: the dead!

They will possibly be our most reliable and most detrimental witnesses for and against us. Those that have gone before us will have knowledge of our actions on earth and be able to testify of them accordingly, but they will also be able to stand before the Lord and unequivocally recognize their salvation as being a result of our performance of temple ordinances in their behalf. While not everyone will be grateful for our parts in their salvation, we can be certain that there will be a fair number of individuals that will recognize the charity bestowed upon them, and will seek to repay that in some form.

Additionally, in recognizing this - it is a literal fulfillment of the prophecies that we cannot be saved without our dead. In this instance, I believe this is how our salvation is to occur! We will need to rely on the dead and hope that our charity in performing ordinances in their behalf will be reciprocated - as would be the case in a Christ-like environment.

Those are my thoughts - I could be TOTALLY wrong, but I don't know. Just something that's been on my mind though.

Stuff Gleaned From Hebrew Class

I'm way excited here! There's a ton of WAY AWESOME things that I've learned in my Hebrew class the last several days that I just HAVE to tell everyone! Let's see if I can explain it here:

1. Today's class started with a discussion of the day in Jewish culture -
ראש חשנח
Which we know to be as "Rosh Hashana"

Now, the Jewish culture celebrates this as the "new year" - even though it falls on the 1st day of the 7th month. Now, keep in mind also, that the Jewish culture abides by a lunar calendar, not a civil calendar. This is significant for what I'm about to tell you in several ways.

As it was explained by Bro. Baron, my professor, the adversary has largely corrupted this day - there is nothing in the Levitical writings of the Old Testament to state that the new year is to be celebrated on this day as the other holidays described in there. What is written is that this day should be a celebration of the blowing of the trumpets to signify the final harvest of the season and the beginning of the second part of the year.

Now - keep all that in mind and go to Joseph Smith History 1:59 where we read:

At length the time arrived for obtaining the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate. On the twenty-second day of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, having gone as usual at the end of another year to the place where they were deposited, the same heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with this charge: that I should be responsible for them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through any neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I would use all my endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger, should call for them, they should be protected.

This is a VERY significant day when you boil it down to it! Consult here:

Chabad.org

The conversion of the date to the Jewish equivalent is Tisheri 1 - which is the first day of the 7th month...i.e. the New Year! Great! Now what?

Well, turn to the 4th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants - verse 4: For behold, the field is white, all ready to harvest and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul.

Remember that the true nature of the celebrations of Rosh Hashana are to be the celebration of the harvest - NOT the New Year! Yet, the adversary has managed to focus on the non-doctrinal celebration of a non-existent New Year, in an effort to hide the fact that the plates were given to young Joseph on that very day - which ushered in a new DISPENSATION - not just a year. What are the field and the sickle in the 4th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants? It is to mean the world being harvested with the gospel and the Book of Mormon.

The awesomeness doesn't stop there though! Who gave young Joseph the plates? None other than the Angel Moroni. What is he always portrayed carrying? A TRUMPET!!!! Coincidence? We think not!!!!!

2) The Hebrew depiction of the words for man (איש) and for the word woman(אשה) are much closer in correlation than many of us realize!

Note that the two words in their Hebraic format share four common characters, with only the י and the ה being unique to each of them. Where the man contains the yod and the woman contains the hey, they in and of themselves are insignificant - but when combined with the other: יה they become the Hebrew abbreviation for Jehovah!!!! Pretty cool huh???? Thus - the man by himself, and the woman by herself cannot attain to anything god-like, but when given in marriage under God's rule, they obtain the ability to unite and become as God himself! Also - yet ANOTHER argument AGAINST same-sex marriage!


3) The term Hosanna is translated from Hebrew to mean "Save us, please" - thus when we offer our Hosanna shout in the temple dedication ceremony - it is literally a plea to God to offer salvation to ALL - both the living and the dead! More coolness huh?

Chew on those for tonight! :-)

What is the Work and Glory of God?

Okay, I've gotten enough hints that I need to put a new blog up here, so I'm going to do my best here to see what I can do. The problem is that I'm not quite sure how I want to say this all because of the many insights that I've had on the topic.

There are I believe two scriptures that will effectively set the basis for my discussion right now. You might pull your own scriptures out to mark them with any thoughts that you might have. The first is in Moses 1:39:

For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man

Basic Seminary scripture there - my Seminary teacher would be proud of me that I did that from memory. Okay not really - everyone and their nursery kids know that scripture from memory. The second scripture that I will present however, I believe adds a great deal of depth into our potential understanding of the first - Doctrine and Covenants 93:36:

The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.

We put the two together and we see that the work and intelligence / light / truth of God is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Okay? Clear as mud right? Now, here's where it gets interesting...

1) Prior to our existence as spiritual beings, we were intelligences. Abraham 3: 22 clearly states this, reading: Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was... In other words, we were beings of a lesser form of pure light and/or truth.

This notion is further cemented with the words "here is matter unorganized" and its following story for those that are familiar with the phrase. Where else do we read about this? The 131st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants!:

There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes. (Verse 7)

Modern-day scientists actually have this concept right when they state that matter cannot be created or destroyed - only organized or put into chaos. Concurrently - we were the organized creation of God the Father, and are beings of intelligence in His likeness. Now, hold onto that thought for a few minutes as you read more...

2) As we turn back one section from the last, to the 130th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, we read in the 18th and 19th verses:

18. Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. 19. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.

The words "unto" and "and" in the previous passage are KEY words that help us to understand the meaning of these scriptures. We will perhaps understand the first part - about the attaining of intelligence by cross-referencing to 2 Nephi 9:13:

O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.

Thus - intelligence becomes translated to mean perfection in this case. In other words - whatever principle of perfection we reach in this life, we carry with us to the next. This is backed up in the later phrase referring to knowledge and intelligence. Thus - knowledge is our faith, the imperfect knowledge which we gain in this life which eventually evolves into a charitable celestial knowledge and eventually into intelligence.

3. As if we need further backing for this insight - consider the phrase the "light of Christ" We know from above that the glory of God is intelligence...or in other words light and truth Hmmm - so if intelligence is to mean perfection and intelligence is also light and truth - then perfection is to be light and truth also. (Hence the dwelling place of God is in Exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom).

Further: For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil...wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. (Moroni 7:16)

There we have the term "perfect knowledge" again - which is to say intelligence. Thus, what we glean from all this, especially after cross-referencing other scriptures (which I will not attempt to do here) is that every mortal soul upon this earth has a measure of perfection within them at birth and throughout their lives. The Fall of Adam and Eve was such that imperfection - the partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil - was brought into a temple of perfection and therefore one could not behold the other in their presence, and the imperfections were cast out - in this case Adam and Eve out of the Garden.

While we cannot hope to obtain complete perfection or intelligence in this life, we can build upon the intelligence inherently within ourselves as Spirit children of Divine beings and Spirit brothers and sisters of a perfect Brother.

Our attaining of immortality and eternal life will not be Hurculean and nature like Disney's film was, but it will largely be determined in this life by the choices we make. As we push ourselves to grow and we seek for further light and knowledge from Father - just as Adam did when he was cast out of the Garden, we will one day return to the presence of our God and present to him the elements of our perfected countenances and accept our judgment accordingly (that'll be a future blog btw!) There's some stuff for you to think about there!

Identity Theft of Another Form

Recently, I was asked to do the security for my complex on a permanent basis. As I've contemplated what must be done to secure the public areas, and thought about the different measures taken to safeguard various locations in our lives, I began thinking about in a more in-depth stance.

Throughout a typical day we perform many safeguarding routines, often subconsciously or even passively. We lock our car doors when exiting our vehicles, secure our houses and apartments, pat our back pockets periodically to make sure that we have our wallets or keys or whatever, and continuously think about creative ways to create difficult passwords while still being able to remember them. We even make sure that we have all the necessary phone numbers in our cell phones just in case we need to call someone in an emergency.

As a whole though, we are wildly irresponsible when it comes to our spiritual security.

Let us consider the typical day of many a member of the Church (including myself at times): We roll out of bed after hitting the snooze button on our alarm multiple times. We realize that we are now later than we had planned on being and must now rush to make up for lost time. We quickly grab something to eat on the way out the door and head off to our intended destination. Along the way we realize that we've forgotten something or a delay has arisen and we silently "pray" that we'll get through the new struggle and curse ourselves for being so irresponsible. Following that day's labors we come home and are engrossed in the latest sitcom and then retire to our beds only when we nearly fall asleep in our chairs, barely placing our heads on the pillow before exhaustion consumes our physical bodies.

While this may seem a little too condensed for a day and somewhat cliche, the fact of the matter is that its true...for a lot of people.

We go about our lives claiming to be children of God, and members of the Church, or whatever title you want to place in there, but do we really consider what it takes to be that? As a student at BYU-Idaho we carry student identification cards, and we have signed our names on a contract indicating that we will follow the rules that we have agreed to at all times, and in all things, and in all places. Thus, the cards in our wallets not only identify us to the school, but they become a symbolic identity of what we stand for.

What identity do we present to the world, or even to our roommates and families? Each week when partaking of the sacrament, we covenant to "always remember Him, and keep His commandments which he has given [us]" in an exchange for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. The question is though - how much do we REALLY remember Him? Further, what kind of an identity do we really carry out into the world, much less secure for ourselves?

Do we safeguard our lives at every chance we get, or do we hastily move about our daily activities failing to remember who we are and what we stand for? Just because we associate with those that do not hold our same standards, do we even make it known to them what we DO stand for, or instead, do we simply ignore the guilt pangs in our conscience or just go along with the crowd?

What about the judgments we pass on a daily basis? Do we judge according to the will and way of the Lord, or are we quick to be acted upon by the influences of the adversary and fail to act for ourselves in a rational way? Do we allow unrighteous dominion to enter the doors of our spiritual havens or rationale to be bent in the pursuit of something less than godlike?

What about our Spiritual Computers....our brains? Do we have those "password protected" - or in other words, do we control the thoughts of our minds such that the adversary cannot penetrate them and get into the hearts of our systems? The adversary knows the thoughts of our minds just as the Lord does, and to even rationalize in theory only is to unsafely reveal those things which may make our Spirits vulnerable to the wiles of the devil.

Let us not forget our Spiritual cell phones! Why is it that we fail to call home and talk to our Heavenly Father more frequently than not, and yet we are so willing to call our mortal parents and annoy them multiple times a day? Why is it that when we get the sniffles or have trouble functioning physically that we rush to the nearest physician for the latest in medicine, but yet even when we have massive Spiritual heart attacks we don't even seek the advice and healing power of the Master?

In fact, why is that we only turn to God in our lives in the most desperate times of need? How is it that we can go about our lives treating God like a Spiritual Paramedic that's called by the dialing of three digits, and fail to address him at any other time?

We call ourselves Children of God, and we claim to belong to His Church, but what identity have we sought to secure for ourselves? Have our identities been stolen by the adversary and shaped by him to become what HE wants them to be - weak, brittle, and rather crowd-like in nature, or have we taken the initiative in our lives to mold our identities to become similar to that of the Savior himself and emulate his footsteps always?

Just more to think about!

The Infinity of Choice

Over the last two weeks while in Church, I have tried to pay close attention to the promptings that I've felt and try to discern different bits of knowledge from what has been taught in classes. As I've pondered the many things that have been taught and brought up, there was an ideal that came to mind that I wish to address at this time.

Mankind has control over an infinite element - choice!

This may be somewhat of an abstract statement to comprehend, but perhaps with my explanation here it will be more clear.

Let us first examine a set of scriptures from 2nd Nephi 9:

For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord. Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement - save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. -- 2 Nephi 9: 6-7

The key to this passage is that the Atonement is infinite. Why? It must be infinite to cover the infinity of agency! Additionally this infinity of agency is what allowed the Plan to be presented, the war to take place in heaven, and thereafter the Fall to take place on earth! There were not just two sides in the war in heaven - there were many, just as there were not just two choices in the Garden - there were an infinite amount of possibilities.

This idea seems to be further backed up when after partaking of the fruit, Adam and Eve are brought to the realization that they have become as the Gods - knowing good from evil and everything in between. There is an even simpler way of explaining this though!

In Moses 1:39 - we learn that the work and glory of the Lord is bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. The eternal life of man is to be understood to be eternal life with God the Father, and inheriting all that he has. In two places in the 20th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants we are told about the infinite power of God. Thus if God is infinite in His power, and we are to inherit all that He hath, then the element of choice must be infinite also in order to allow for that potential!

What does this mean to us though? What good is it to know that we have infinite choice? To know that we have infinite choice is to come to the knowledge of many things: 1) That God trusts us enough that he does not necessitate commanding in all things (D&C 58:26-28). For God to command in all things is to deny us of agency.

The second element that we gain from this understanding though is probably the most important: By understanding the infinity of choice, we gain a much greater understanding of the workings of the Holy Ghost in our lives! What?!?!? Examine the following scripture:

And he said, Go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord. and, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after after the fire a still small voice.

The Lord could easily command us to do many things or speak in heavy voices or with great power - but at that point he removes our agency from listening. The other advantage of speaking through the still small voice is that it causes men to seek for the answers and for the words that it speaks to them. In other words, in order to enjoy the guidance of the Spirit - one must choose to do so!

How blessed we are to learn from the promptings of the still small voice and to have an infinite control over our ability to choose. While our choices do not always guarantee action or success, we are still given that ability - predicated upon our exercise of righteous judgment. As long as we stay righteous though - the rest is up to us...literally!