The Chastisement of our Peace

First, thanks to all that read my blog. If some of you wouldn't mind commenting on it though - I'd appreciate it though. I know that there's a lot that follow it that I don't know - so if you are or read it frequently, please let me know! Thanks to all of you though for allowing me to share my testimony with all of you through this.

As I was in discussion with my favorite person in the whole world today, the words of a scriptural passage in Isaiah came to mind throughout. As such, I have decided to offer my insights on this passage.

Those of you scriptorians out there that read this know from the title the exact passage of scripture I plan to focus on here. This scripture is found in Isaiah 53:3-5 and reads:

3. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquained with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yes we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

This is a scripture that we've all heard before, and those of that have taken Seminary probably still have it memorized to some extent. The question that you have to ask yourself though is whether you truly realize the awesome extent of Isaiah's prophetic tribute. Yes, we most commonly recognize this scripture as referring to the atoning sacrifice paid by our Savior prior to his crucifixion at the meridian of time, but the problem is just that - its our common recognition and understanding of this scripture that causes us to fall well short of understanding the wealth of knowledge and spiritual reminder that this passage has to offer us.

I submit that many of us treat this scripture as we treat our understanding of the Atonement - which is to simply acknowledge its cleansing power insofar as it becomes necessary for our penitence towards salvation, but in reality acknowledging its power little further. The problem is that if this is our sole view of the Atonement, we have neither an adequate understanding of the life of our Elder Brother, nor do we comprehend the magnitude of His sacrifice during His final hours in mortality.

The interesting aspect of this scripture is not to just dissect its many parts, but in the way that Isaiah speaks Messianically we are somewhat permitted to allow our imaginations to place us almost in those final moments among the crowd that witnessed the illegal trial before the Sanhedrin which condemned our Savior to death. With that in mind though - let's move on to the dissection of the scripture a little bit that will hopefully open our minds to things.

We note in the 4th verse that He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows - which is nothing uncommon to us, but if we roll back to the 3rd verse it notes that he had his own griefs and sorrows to carry also. Too often I think we look at Christ as our Savior and put aside that he was a normal human being just like all of us - having feelings, which included sorrow, grief, pain, joy, sadness, etc. We know from scriptural accounts that he was sorrowful at the news of the passing of Lazarus, and we can easily assert that his foreknowledge of the betrayal by Judas had to have at least stricken him to some extent with sorrow for Judas' choice.

Now, the crux of this scriptural passage rests in the summation of its parts - meaning that we need not focus on just the sorrows and grief, but it also mentions, stricken, smitten of God, afflicted, iniquities, chastisement of peace (pain of peace), despising, and rejection. Why do I address all of these? I do it because I recognize that the true cleansing power of the Atonement covers all of those and rests not solely on the forgiveness of sin.

What does this mean to us individually though? It means that it covers those that have been victims of abuse, those that have had serious transgressions committed against them, those that struggle with finding their own identity, those that struggle to communicate, those that have weaknesses that they are unsure of how to address, those that simply are having a rough day, and the list goes on! What's worse is that our failure to acknowledge the Atonement as a keystone to our lives rather than a tool or a first-aid kit results in a great disservice to both our Heavenly Father who gave us His Beloved Son to work through those things.

It is our duty and privilege in this life to find ways that we can integrate the Savior's atonement into our lives more fully so that we can pattern our lives more fully towards receiving all that the Father has to give us. In order to do this though we have to have to be fully regcognizant of the fact that time is indeed of the essence. What I mean by this is that our delay in addressing those things which burden us and allow the Atonement to have full sway in our lives only causes additional pain and sorrow upon Him who cast his life before sinners and overcame all such that we might cast aside those very things.

We would never accept a gift from our best friend and then put it away in a closet and fail to use it or rather reject that gift and choose to not accept it - but yet when we choose not to invoke the Atonement into the most spiritually arid parts of our lives, we do that very thing. When we choose to delay ridding ourselves of those burdens which hinder our progression towards eternity, we concurrently choose to rid ourselves of any potential blessings we might receive through the cleansing and lightening power of that eternal Atonement.

May we find ways in our lives continually to invoke the power and blessing which the Father has to offer us in the name of His Son is my prayer.

On These Two Commandments

I know - its been the equivalent of eternity since I've written in my blog, but I've decided to try and repent and make this more of a frequent occurrence. I know, I've said similar before, but then again, I was in school before. Now that I've graduated with my B.S. and don't have a job yet, there's a lot more time to do other things...such as this! :-)

I have, admittedly, done a post on the topic which I am about to cover before - however, I plan to take this in a way different direction that I had previously done. In fact, you might say that this is the follow-up post to the previous blog that I had written on the subject.

It has been speculated in many an LDS religion class that I have attended that the response given by the Savior in Matthew 22 referencing to the greatest commandment and the Ten Commandments go hand-in-hand - though few seem to understand the connection, much less the magnitude of our Lord's response.

For those that are unfamiliar with this scripture that I refer to, you will find it in Matthew 22:34-40:

34. But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.

35. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question,, tempting him, and saying,

36. Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38. This is the first and great commandment.

39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

[Emphasis added]

Now, lets keep these verses in our back pockets as we address the Ten Commandments. In short they are:

- 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.

Those that want to view my original post on the subject can go here:

Now, for those that want a tiny Hebrew lesson here it is: The first commandment does not truly say "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," but rather it states that "You shall not have any other Gods before my face" - which in the Hebrew culture was taken to mean that if anything stood before God - be it any practices, objects, etc. - then it was said to stand before God's face and get in the way of things.

In any case - how do we break down the Ten to become the two greatest commandments? This is simple because the Lord has essential done that for us already as such:

- 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.

What's interesting is that when we divide the commandments as such - we gain a greater understanding of our Father as a Heavenly being having been mortal before us, His vast plan, and the power of the Savior's response to the Pharisees.

As parents (which I am not yet, but hope to be someday with an amazing girl - she knows who she is) we have to understand that any children that we do have the opportunity to raise are on loan from our Heavenly Parents under whose charge we serve to love and rear in righteousness. With that plain fact in mind - we see that the two divisions of commandments are actually "headed" by two groups - Heavenly Parents and Earthly Parents.

The first section of these commandments we can refer to as "the Law" - which the Lord prescribed as "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."

The second, being equal in likeness and weight is "the prophets" - which is to love [our] neighbors our ourselves. Note that in the second section of these commandments they are those commandments which involve injury or involvement of a second individual.

Now we must tie this all together to our modern-day and its applicability to us as individuals. The prophets of modern times have boldly declared and continually emphasize that the family is the most essential and fundamental unit to any society and it is only through the means of the family unit that the highest blessings of eternity are obtained. Notice who is at the heads of each and every one of these families? Fathers and mothers - whose honoring is required by commandment.

Conversely, the parents are not without spot or blame and bear a heavy responsibility in fulfillment and observance of this commandment. In the 68th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants we are reminded that "Inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents." (D&C 68:23)

Those that pay attention closely in the semi-Annual General Conferences held by the Church will note that many of the counsels given by the Prophet's are in reference to the governance of the family and towards those things that will allow for the observance of the "prophetic" section of the commandments to become almost natural and without much difficulty.

Why do I suggest this? I say this because I have found that it is almost near impossible to violate any of the "prophets" set of commandments if one is strictly adhering to those counsels contained in the Law. The problem is though - that many of us struggle with scripture study, prayer, Church attendance, idolatry, pride, etc. - which causes failure of many of the latter Ten Commandments.

I submit that as we recommit ourselves to a more careful adherence of the Law, we will find that our lives will naturally place themselves in the correct order and that we will encounter less problems with the latter portion of the Ten Commandments, and further we will be able to more fully honor our parents whose sacred responsibility it is to unite families for eternity.

Usurping Our Own Virtue

I have had several topics on my mind throughout the day today, but there was one that has seemingly stuck out in my mind constantly. The interesting thing is that the way I had been mulling over the topic was completely different than what occurred to me on the way home tonight from Stadium Singing. As I walked home following an hour of leading music, my mind was impressed to rehearse one of my most favorite sections of scripture in the Standard Works. As I rehearsed the verses in my mind, I was inspired to consider them a different way, which is what I will share here.

Those that know me fairly well know that by and large, my 2nd most favorite section of scripture is that which is found in the 121st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants - from verses 34 to 46. I will quote these verses for the sake of having contextual reference to the topic which I plan to discuss:

Behold, there are many 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, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.
That they may be conferred upon us it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambitions, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold the heavens withdraw themselves, the Spirit of the Lord is grieved: and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks , to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.
We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only be persuation, by long-suffering, by gentlenss and meekness, and by love unfeigned.
By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy and without guile --
Reproving betimes with sharpness when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth an increase of love toward him whom thou hast repoved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
The he may know that they faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death
Let they bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence og God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven
The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

So we've got all that right? We've heard it before, nothing new. I now submit a whole new perspective to view this scripture from with the use of one word: chastity.

I had not previously been impressed to consider it from this perspective previously until walking home tonight, but as I was inspired to consider this perspective it instantly became not only clear, but it enhanced my understanding of many things.

As we consider this block of scripture again, we can now consider the following points:

1. There are many called, but few are chosen - because we give up our "chosen" status by violating the law of chastity and disrespecting our own virtue and those that we are with. When we set our hearts upon the things of this world and to the honors of men, we find that as we violate the law of chastity we are doing just that. The world would teach us that it is okay to give into our carnal desires and submit to our natural will - and at times the world seems to "reward" this sort of an attitude, which is not only wrong, but it is dangerous.


2. Though the scriptures specifically suggest that the rights of the Priesthood are connected with the powers of heaven, and its accompanying explanation on how that Priesthood is governed, we ought to consider this reference to the Priesthood as referencing to one of the fruits of the Priesthood - the Holy Ghost. When we enter this into the discussion, we find that we not only offend the Spirit by gratifying our pride, our vain ambitions with each other, and unrighteously rob ourselves and another virtue, we also lose within ourselves the governing measure of the light of Christ given to us. At that point, we have NO authority to call upon the Holy Ghost to guide us.


3. We are then warned that once we are aware that we have caused a withdrawal of the Spirit from our lives, we are left to fight against the further desires that the adversary has to impose upon us, to persecute the saints - specifically those that call us to repentance or Church leaders that speak hardness to the hearts of those doing what they know to be wrong and to fight against the light of Christ within us and against the commandments which he has delivered to us.


4. We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get into a relationship and feel that they have complete control over it without the assistance and obedience to the law of Chastity, that they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion over themselves and their dating companion. I believe that this is self-explanatory here!


5. We are then given a long list of conditions that dictate our ability to govern the priesthood - which in this case we are considering that governance as the authority to call upon the Holy Ghost at will. We can only call upon the Holy Ghost when we are long-suffering, gentle, meek, and have genuine love in our hearts for ourselves and for those that we are in that relationship with - NOT that "feigned love" mentioned in the scripture there which can be defined in one word as "lust."


6. Those that notice that those around them are in violation of the law of Chastity are given specific prescription for how to deal with this situation - we are to "reprove betimes with sharpness when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;" - or in other words - we are censure those that we see in violation of the Law with EXACTNESS and CLARITY when we are moved upon by the Spirit to do so, and to do so in a loving way as to not cause offense, or become the bearer of hypocrisy mentioned in the prior scripture."


7. The most significant parallel we must consider in this scripture is in the 45th verse where we are commanded to "let virtue garnish [our] thoughts unceasingly." I submit to you: how can we allow virtue to garnish our thoughts unceasingly if we willingly put ourselves in a position where we have to monitor our own obedience to specific laws to the point where we question how close to "the line" we are or if we are splitting hairs to justify our actions? My explanation to this is that we CANNOT! If we have willingly placed ourselves into a position where our actions may appear evil to some, or make others uncomfortable, or we must constantly consider our own actions in relation to a watered-down obedience to certain laws, then it is wholly impossible to allow virtue to garnish our thoughts constantly. As such we lose the promise of the final verse of that chapter - in that we cannot have the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion or as a compulsory means of dominion over the Priesthood in righteousness. At that point, there IS an end to our flow of the spirit and it does not go on forever and ever.

How grateful I am for the inspiration of this scripture in a whole new light! This has helped me to understand the situation that I am currently facing within my life. No, I am not personally entrapped by a violation of the law of Chastity, but I do have those close to me that are perilously close to violating this and choose to rationalize their own salvation to the ground. As I've worried about this in my mind, my heart has been comforted knowing that the Lord will direct me through the Spirit to know how to address this situation. My testimony is strengthened because of this and my faith in the Lord has increased!