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!
09 September 2009
07 September 2009
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!
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!
06 September 2009
You Are What You Eat
My apologizes to my readers for my extended hiatus. I just needed a break to gather my thoughts, deal with a few things, etc.
As I worked in the temple this morning and fell ill, I had been considering the prompting that I had about the phrase "you are what you eat." Surely many of us have heard this on many an occasion and have chosen to disregard it or chalk it up to the fact that we've heard it before and it really doesn't matter to us - there's no way we become a hamburger because we eat them...or do we?
Literally speaking, no, we will not wake up tomorrow surrounded by two sesame seed buns because we polished off a dozen burgers the night before. Those that frequent this location though know that I rarely speak in a literal sense however...
As I pondered the ramifications of this statement, I came to the conclusion that this statement applies to us MUCH more on a spiritual plane than it ever will on a physical one. In fact, a goodly part of the world suffers from an eating disorder, including those inside the Church!
Just as that statement is true though, so also is the inverse of that statement - we cannot become that which we do not eat - or partake - of. Yet, despite the knowledge of what "crash" or "fad" diets do to our body in a physical sense, or the constant warning of the harmful effects of one substance or another when ingested - we all claim at one point or another that "we won't be like that" or that "I'll never resort to that method"...and yet many of us do those very things to ourselves in a spiritual sense!
Bulimia is an eating disorder especially prevalent among female teenagers and young adults. The individual with the disorder often practices a routine of binge consumption of food and subsequent purging of that which was eaten. This is done to fool the stomach into thinking that the body has ingested food, when in reality it has already been ejected from it. This in turn causes a rather rapid weight loss in that person. While this is a common practice among many females, it is much more a commonality among males in its spiritual form.
In many a male mind, the term "Amen" has become synonymous with the practice of quickly racing home after Church on Sundays and quickly changing out of one's clothes and immediately tackling the latest football game or golf match, or fixing a meal to quell those hunger pangs felt during the third hour Priesthood meeting. As the Sunday routines begin, the lessons of those Sunday meetings are quickly forgotten and nary pondered again - in other words purged from memory. Is this not Spiritual Bulimia in its most acute form? I think it is! Its not limited to just men either, females are guilty of it also, but it is FAR more prevalent among the males.
Let us not forget about the spiritual anorexics though! Many of us would never dream of trying to subsist on a daily diet of a few grapes or a couple of spoonfuls of yogurt...but yet we're perfectly comfortable ignoring our prayers, justifying those actions which may not necessarily be right, leaving our scriptures in the same spot from Sunday to Sunday, or even sleeping through our Church meetings. We somehow expect those tiny morsels that do manage to find our stomachs to nourish and sustain us on a daily basis.
Let's not forget about those "fad" diets either - the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet, low-fat / no-fat diet, Nutrisystem, etc. I believe that the Doctrine & Covenants adequately prescribes the diets we should follow in the 89th Section - also known as the Word of Wisdom:
5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.
6 And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.
7 And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.
8 And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.
9 And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.
10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—
11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.
12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;
13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.
14 All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;
15 And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.
16 All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—
17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.
18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.
Look at some of the counsel that we've been given within other scriptures: 1) We are commanded to freely and frequently partake of the BREAD of life - which is Christ Jesus. 2) We have been asked to focus less on the deep doctrine (meat) and more on the simple doctrines (milk - dairies). 3) We know that fruits and vegetables are good for us - just as we are commanded to offer up service (the fruits of our labors) and strengthen our testimonies (growing the seeds of faith in our hearts). 4) We are commanded not to spend our money on that which is of no worth or our labors for that which cannot satisfy (i.e. Spiritual "fats and candies")
Further we are commanded to "feast upon the words of Christ." Are we doing our best as Saints to follow the Word of Wisdom to its fullest? Do we inject those toxins that "health experts" present to us - telling us that a little bit of each daily may be actually good for us? Rather - do we fall prey to those temptations that the adversary presents to us, convincing us that the partaking or embracing of such won't harm us, but may actually help us?
I think we all need to reexamine our lives and figure out what diet we are currently on and decide if that's the one that the Lord has prescribed to us or not!
As I worked in the temple this morning and fell ill, I had been considering the prompting that I had about the phrase "you are what you eat." Surely many of us have heard this on many an occasion and have chosen to disregard it or chalk it up to the fact that we've heard it before and it really doesn't matter to us - there's no way we become a hamburger because we eat them...or do we?
Literally speaking, no, we will not wake up tomorrow surrounded by two sesame seed buns because we polished off a dozen burgers the night before. Those that frequent this location though know that I rarely speak in a literal sense however...
As I pondered the ramifications of this statement, I came to the conclusion that this statement applies to us MUCH more on a spiritual plane than it ever will on a physical one. In fact, a goodly part of the world suffers from an eating disorder, including those inside the Church!
Just as that statement is true though, so also is the inverse of that statement - we cannot become that which we do not eat - or partake - of. Yet, despite the knowledge of what "crash" or "fad" diets do to our body in a physical sense, or the constant warning of the harmful effects of one substance or another when ingested - we all claim at one point or another that "we won't be like that" or that "I'll never resort to that method"...and yet many of us do those very things to ourselves in a spiritual sense!
Bulimia is an eating disorder especially prevalent among female teenagers and young adults. The individual with the disorder often practices a routine of binge consumption of food and subsequent purging of that which was eaten. This is done to fool the stomach into thinking that the body has ingested food, when in reality it has already been ejected from it. This in turn causes a rather rapid weight loss in that person. While this is a common practice among many females, it is much more a commonality among males in its spiritual form.
In many a male mind, the term "Amen" has become synonymous with the practice of quickly racing home after Church on Sundays and quickly changing out of one's clothes and immediately tackling the latest football game or golf match, or fixing a meal to quell those hunger pangs felt during the third hour Priesthood meeting. As the Sunday routines begin, the lessons of those Sunday meetings are quickly forgotten and nary pondered again - in other words purged from memory. Is this not Spiritual Bulimia in its most acute form? I think it is! Its not limited to just men either, females are guilty of it also, but it is FAR more prevalent among the males.
Let us not forget about the spiritual anorexics though! Many of us would never dream of trying to subsist on a daily diet of a few grapes or a couple of spoonfuls of yogurt...but yet we're perfectly comfortable ignoring our prayers, justifying those actions which may not necessarily be right, leaving our scriptures in the same spot from Sunday to Sunday, or even sleeping through our Church meetings. We somehow expect those tiny morsels that do manage to find our stomachs to nourish and sustain us on a daily basis.
Let's not forget about those "fad" diets either - the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet, low-fat / no-fat diet, Nutrisystem, etc. I believe that the Doctrine & Covenants adequately prescribes the diets we should follow in the 89th Section - also known as the Word of Wisdom:
5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.
6 And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.
7 And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.
8 And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.
9 And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.
10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—
11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.
12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;
13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.
14 All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;
15 And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.
16 All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—
17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.
18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.
Look at some of the counsel that we've been given within other scriptures: 1) We are commanded to freely and frequently partake of the BREAD of life - which is Christ Jesus. 2) We have been asked to focus less on the deep doctrine (meat) and more on the simple doctrines (milk - dairies). 3) We know that fruits and vegetables are good for us - just as we are commanded to offer up service (the fruits of our labors) and strengthen our testimonies (growing the seeds of faith in our hearts). 4) We are commanded not to spend our money on that which is of no worth or our labors for that which cannot satisfy (i.e. Spiritual "fats and candies")
Further we are commanded to "feast upon the words of Christ." Are we doing our best as Saints to follow the Word of Wisdom to its fullest? Do we inject those toxins that "health experts" present to us - telling us that a little bit of each daily may be actually good for us? Rather - do we fall prey to those temptations that the adversary presents to us, convincing us that the partaking or embracing of such won't harm us, but may actually help us?
I think we all need to reexamine our lives and figure out what diet we are currently on and decide if that's the one that the Lord has prescribed to us or not!
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