Standing as a Witness

Mosiah 18:9 - "To stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in."

This is a part of the covenant that we make when we are baptized.  In church today we talked about how difficult it can be to stand for what we believe in when we live in a world that cares more about political correctness than eternal correctness.  We discussed how it is hard to find a balance between "calling people to repentance" when they are clearly opposing God's plan and not coming off self-righteous, judgmental, or condemning.  A comment was made that the key element to finding this balance was to do so with love, following the counsel given in D&C 121:43, "reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou has reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy".  Some would say that just like being a witness in court means that you might offend some people in the real world standing up for what you believe in might not make you any friends.  However, in class we discussed how it is best if you actually know the person and love them despite their philosophies.  Then eventually, "when moved upon by the Holy Ghost", you can tell them how you are concerned about them and how you want them to know what you believe.  The quote was given, "no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care."  I had two experiences this week that really demonstrated this principle.

So since the holiday season is over, I have no more excuses for just eating sweets, drinking eggnog, and sitting around watching football.  So this Monday I went to the gym and worked out in an attempt to make up for my three weeks off and in preparation for my BYU Ultimate Frisbee Club Team Camp (it didn't work, but that's another story).  While I was working out I was rather appalled at the vulgarity of the music that was on, considering I was at the BYU gym.  I got all worked up about how ridiculous it was that this employee was playing this music.  Most everybody else had their own music to listen to, so maybe that's why nobody spoke up.  I was close to saying something, but I was basically already done and I knew that I would just be too frustrated to speak to this person in a civil manner.  So I just left.

Later that week while at my BYU team camp I found myself in a similar situation.  We had music playing all day on a loud sound system and for the most part the music was appropriate.  However, at one point there was a song that came on that had several expletives unedited.  The difference in this case was that I am friends with the guy that was in charge of the music.  So when I heard this song, instead of assuming the worst, I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.  I jokingly said that I didn't realize he liked this type of music.  He admitted that he thought he had all edited songs.  I felt good knowing that I had stood up for what I believed in but that I hadn't made him "esteem me to be his enemy."

New Year's Resolution

So it has been longer than 1 year since I last posted! About a month ago, Matt pointed out to me the irony behind the fact that my last post was entitled "Not Procrastinating".  However, I figured that there was no better time to start my blog up again than as a New Year's resolution...so I waited a month.  But here I am with a new goal to start doing a weekly blog post again.  One of the guidelines for setting goals in Preach My Gospel is: "be specific and realistic, but set goals that will make you stretch."  I feel like my goal is specific and realistic, although based on my past results it will definitely make me stretch.  Preach My Gospel also says that "challenging goals will help you work effectively and lead you to stretch and grow."  This upcoming semester I will be very busy and I will need to plan effectively and find a good balance to succeed.  Fortunately, by stretching myself with demanding goals I will be more efficient with my time and so I should actually get more done in the same amount of time than I would have with less demanding goals.

One last quote from Preach My Gospel to express the importance of setting goals:

"I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential."

See you next week, and the 50 that follow it. 

Not Procrastinating

Alma 34:33-"Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end."

This commandment has always been one of the most condemning, worrisome, and thought-provoking for me.  I always feel like I am putting off changes that I should make in my actions or character.  I don't feel like I am in the minority, especially in my age bracket, when I say that I would consider myself a procrastinator at times.  So how does the Lord help us avoid this eternal spiritual procrastination?  Having just passed through a momentous milestone in my life with the birth of my first child, I realized how significant these are in helping me avoid procrastination.  Although we don't encourage missionaries repenting right before they go on a mission, the alternative is infinitely worse.  We don't believe in deathbed repentance but we do believe in bed-rest repentance.  In other words, the realization that I was shortly going to be a father, and therefore in charge of teaching my son, helped me make corrections to my life faster than I would have otherwise.  The same can be said about when I was about to get married and when I was called to be an Elder's Quorum President.  Is there any doubt why the Lord wants us to get married and have children?  Nothing could help us improve on our pride, selfishness, temper, virtue, and work ethic.  I am grateful that the Lord has given us life-changing events so that we do not sleepwalk through life and procrastinate until "cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed."

Ignorance...(follow up)

So this post is about the tender mercy connected to my last post.  My most recent post on D&C 131:5-6 was something that I realized over two weeks ago in Gospel Doctrine class.  I wanted to share it with the class but somebody else was called on, so I used my blog as the venue.  However, I forgot to post about it numerous times.  I kept putting it off and whenever I thought of it I had something else to do.  I hardly ever do posts during the week and never during the day.  The fact that I made this post around 4:30 PM when I had my Teachings of Joseph Smith class at 5 PM was very abnormal.  In hindsight though, it was a tender mercy.

Although this was a principle that I never had heard anyone else teach, my teacher taught this exact same truth in almost identical terms (giving the same interpretation to the same verses).  What are the odds that my teacher would teach this principle minutes after I finally posted about it?  Very low.  But in order for this not to be a simple coincidence there has to be a further lesson that can be learned from this occurrence.  I believe it was a chance for me to hone my ability to recognize the Spirit.    It was an opportunity for me to think something through and discern the truth behind what I received.  Everyone knows that successfully teaching yourself something (or in religious terms, learning by the Spirit) is much more gratifying and rewarding than having someone spoon feed you the answers.  I am very grateful the Lord prompted me to make that post before hearing someone else teach it.  This allowed me to strengthen my confidence in receiving personal revelation.  This encompasses the main purpose of my blog.

Ignorance is not bliss

D&C 131:5-6 "5. The more sure word of prophecy means a man's knowing that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood. 6. It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance."

The verse in bold is an often quoted scripture.  The Bible Dictionary teaches us under Parables that there is only one correct interpretation of a scripture (the meaning intended by the author) while there are several applications that depend upon circumstances.  I believe the verse in bold is often applied to correct principles but rarely is the true interpretation of the original meaning mentioned.  This is usually the case because people only quote verse 6 and don't realize that verse 5 gives us the real context for the meaning of verse 6.

The two most common applications of verse 6 are: knowledge is essential for salvation and we must be introduced to the gospel before we can be saved.  Obviously both of these are true.  The first application is deduced from the following logic: God is omniscient, we are to be Gods, so we must gain knowledge, "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 second application comes from us knowing that every soul will have the opportunity to accept the gospel whether in this life or in the following.

Although these are good applications of this verse, verse 5 shows clearly that the knowledge that we need for salvation is really the more sure word of prophecy.  In other words, we must know that we are sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood.  To me this is saying that we all need to know where we stand before the Lord.  We have the right, via the Priesthood, to know where we stand.  Through personal revelation and the Holy Ghost we may know whether or not our actions, desires, thoughts, words, and beliefs are in line with God's.  This is synonymous with being ratified by the Holy Spirit of Promise (which D&C 76:53 says is essential for exaltation).  So it should not be a guessing game when we come to the end of our life whether or not we will be saved.  We can and need to know right now that we will be saved in the hereafter.  So the next time a born-again Christian asks us, "have you been saved?" we should be able to answer in the affirmative.  This is the ignorance we need to avoid.

Ark-Steadiers

D&C 85:8-"While that man, who was called of God and appointed, that putteth forth his hand to steady the ark of God, shall fall by the shaft of death."

This verse has reference to a story found in the old testament (2 Samuel 6:6-7) when God smote Uzzah because "Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it."

I have heard several explanations of this story but none impacted me as much as that found in the D&C student manual for this verse.  It reads:

"However well-meaning Uzzah's intentions, he had no faith in God's power.  He assumed that the ark was in danger, forgetting that it was the physical symbol of the God who has all power.  We cannot presume to save God and his kingdom through our own efforts.

"Uzzah was therefore a type of all who with good intentions, humanly speaking, yet with unsanctified minds, interfere in the affairs of the kingdom of God, from the notion that they are in danger, and with the hope of saving them.

"The Lord does not need the help of men to defend his kingdom.  Yet even today there are those who fear the ark is tottering and presume to steady its course.  There are those who are sure that women are not being treated fairly in the Church or those who would change the established doctrines of the Church.  These are ark-steadiers.  The best intentions do not justify such interference with the Lord's plan.

"The ark of God does not need steadying, especially by incompetent men without revelation."

I feel like if we understood this principle we would be much less likely to appose the Church's official position on controversial matters.  It doesn't matter if we disagree cognitively with the Church's stance, it is not in our jurisdiction to try and step in and change the Church's position.  If that is supposed to happen it will come through the proper chain of authority and in the proper time.

Let's look at a recent past example.  Before the revelation now known as Official Declaration-2, there were many people (from within and outside of the Church) that were pressuring the Church into removing its practice of withholding the priesthood from certain races.  These people were ark-steadiers.  They thought that the Church was being shaken and they needed to step in and take hold of the matter.  However, it was not their decision to make.  Even though the Church eventually changed their practice, does that mean that those ark-steadiers were justified in their disagreement with the Church?  No.  The same goes for gay-marriage.  Even if the Church were to change its position, that would not justify certain members opposing and preaching against this teaching.

Just Men Made Perfect

D&C 76:69- "These [celestial beings] are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood."
D&C 76:75- "These [terrestrial beings] are they who are honorable men of the earth"

First I would like to say that D&C 76 is potentially the most important revelation ever given.  It needs to be studied numerous times throughout our lives.  This last time studying it for my D&C class opened my eyes and really helped me feel the love of God.  I thought I understood it before, but this most recent time through I realized how much to the plan of salvation that I still didn't comprehend (and still don't fully).

These two verses really hit home.  They teach me that as a member of the Church I shouldn't think that I am better than people outside the Church, especially faithful members of other religions.  I shouldn't think that I am smarter, more righteous, more charitable, more loving, more Christian, or even more Christlike.  These verses show that those that become celestial and terrestrial are both good, just, honorable, loving people.  I repeat, we as members of the true Church are no better than Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Muslims, etc when it comes to our faithfulness, service, and love for God.  The difference between celestial and terrestrial is not in our works but rather in how the Lord works in us.  The difference is the new and everlasting covenant which allows us to access not only the redemptive power of the atonement but the enabling power.  In other words, it is Christ's atonement that exalts us to celestial status because we allowed Him to perfect us by "keeping our covenants".  I think this realization will help me better respect people of other faiths.  Also, although I am full of flaws, the covenants I have made, specifically in the temple, allow me to access the perfect atonement which brings exaltation.