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!