You ever get tired of those pesky congressmen? They tell the media how important some legislation is and then before it passes add on dozens of tiny little clauses that have nothing to do with the original issue. It drives me batty every time! How can they excuse the ridiculous amount of time spent lobbying for their pet projects when a quick and effective decision on the main issue would lead to time available later for their non-essentials? Anyway, this isn't a political blog...
My thoughts are on the parallels between the legislative world and the induction into our lives of personal and general revelation. How often do we find ourselves tagging on non-essentials to revelation? I feel it is more common than we think. For instance when a general time period is given, such as "the great day of the Lord is nigh at hand," (D&C 43:17), do we tack on a specific such as Y2K or 2012? Can we learn to distinguish between our own selfishly driven ideas and the pure truth as given by the Lord?
It may sound cruel, but we do it all the time. The Lord allows us a glimpse into the infinite and we start adding on to it. When a prompting or blessing is given we should write it down and keep it like we received it. We may need to prepare for the future or internalize something from it, but we shouldn't bog ourselves down by changing the original heavenly message with our earthly thinking thereby tainting the spiritual outcomes that may come of it later.
Remember Laman and Lemuel? They were told by a prophet of God that they were to go to Jerusalem and get the brass plates from Laban. Without any specifics they went up and tried one way, which failed, and "were about to return to [their] father in the wilderness," (1 Nephi 3:14). After a stirring speech, Nephi rouses enough courage for a second shot, but their contempt, spiritual laziness and continual addendums to the revelations of the Lord overcame them insomuch that "they did smite [Nephi and Sam] even with a rod," (1 Nephi 3:28). Somehow they had added to the revelation that they "should go unto the house of Laban, and seek the records, and bring them down...into the wilderness," (1 Nephi 3:4), the clause that if it didn't work after one or two tries that it wasn't a real revelation.
Another example comes from the story of Oliver Cowdery and his attempt to translate the Book of Mormon. He desired to do the same as Joseph and asked as much of him. With the Lord's approval he set about the task, but then failed. What happened?
In the process of revelation and in making important decisions, fear almost always plays a destructive, sometimes paralyzing role. To Oliver Cowdery, who missed the opportunity of a lifetime because he didn't seize it in the lifetime of the opportunity, the Lord said, "You did not continue as you commenced." Does that sound familiar to those who have been illuminated and then knuckled under to second thoughts and returning doubts? "It is not expedient that you should translate now," the Lord said in language that must have been very hard for Oliver to hear. "Behold, it was expedient when you commenced; but you feared, and the time is past, and it is not expedient now," (Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence, Jeffrey R. Holland, BYU Speeches, March 1999).
Oliver added doubts and fears to his revelation from the Lord. He earmarked it to the point that he could not sustain the faith needed to translate. Aren't we all like this? We cannot let ourselves succumb to extra thoughts that destroy the powerful witnesses we are meant to gain from revelation in its pure form. God wants us to succeed and we must do so by following his word and only his word. We can do it and it just requires a little faith. May we all have such faith, in our Lord's name, Jesus Christ, amen.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Faith and Works - Personally
This is an essay I wrote for my New Testament Class. During the experience I had to delve into my soul and so this piece, while not the best literarily, is a part of me and my truth.
There is a debate oft posed between born-again Christians and some Latter-day Saints surrounding the grace of Christ. Are we saved by grace or works? Or is it a combination of the two? For years I have known it was mostly works and tried to defend my views. I was wrong.
During my missionary years I fortified the idea of self-perpetuation. Sure I included God in the mix, but He was always a foot note to the task. It was laden on me to find His sheep and that would only happen if I were doing everything possible and doing it right. In the end I left the mission field with around a dozen baptisms and no true appreciation of my Savior.
Don’t misunderstand me! I truly love this work and this gospel. I know it is divinely inspired and that it has power and authority. What I lacked was the personal testimony of how the savior fit into all of this. Obviously he is the central figure in the plan of salvation and the key to resurrection and exaltation, but that didn’t come with a one-to-one attachment in my mind. He was the Savior of the world as a whole, not of me individually.
In my mind I treasured up two verses of scripture to support my view. First from James: “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone,” (KJV James 2:17). Then I used Nephi’s words when he said, “we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do,” (2 Nephi 25:23, emphasis imagined in my mind years ago). Together it was so obvious: grace is a gift unto those with faith which is dead without works requiring our all. Shortening the statement yielded the following idea – grace is a reward to those who give it their all. This was okay since our all is too short of the mark anyway and therefore it is Christ who technically saves us in the end.
That held up fine until five years after my mission when I was in a religion class with Brother Richard D. Draper. He told a parable of little boy who worked hard all summer to save enough pennies for the circus and finally on the last day had exactly enough to go in, but succumbed to temptation before reaching the Big Top by buying a penny sucker. The man at the counter checked the pennies individually and found the boy short. It was made clear that he had no chance to obtain another penny for the show. That’s where Brother Draper excused us until the next class – two days later!
Walking out of that testing center classroom I found a penny on the floor. I found myself yearning to give it to the poor little boy when the parable translated to real life and I found myself sorrowing for my own sake and the countless spiritual pennies I had squandered and could never get back. For two days I agonized over this penny and carried it wherever I went.
The next class we talked of the Savior and his atonement. The boy was offered the missing fee in exchange for the lollipop which the man threw into the trash. It solved the story, but not me. Here it is months later and the truthfulness of this doctrine is only now sinking in. As I sit writing this essay I feel the pains of inadequacy both in my righteousness and in my understanding.
It is through Paul’s teachings that I am gaining a truer appreciation of what my Savior has done for me. In his epistle to the Romans he stated, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Therefore being justified only by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith only, without the deeds of the law,” (JST Romans 3:24, 27). This verse alone clears up a great deal of my mistaken ideas. For instance, rereading Nephi and attaching an earlier verse we discover, “it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved,” (2 Nephi 10:24). His use of “after all we can do” was not to imply a requirement, but a fact that what we do is as nothing in the face of what Christ does for us. Yet this is just the beginning of Paul’s impact.
Time and time again Paul speaks of the negative influences upon the saints that are directly sourced from the Judaizers. In Galatians he tells the saints to “be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage,” (KJV Galatians 5:1). It isn’t that the Law of Moses was base or unhelpful, but that the misapplication of it was destructive. What a true statement! In my life I have continually directed my efforts to vain and inappropriate emphasis on the commandments.
We cannot and will not work our way into heaven. We must try to live the teachings of the gospel and strive to be better constantly for that is the attitude of a saint. Yet despite any good we may accomplish in this life, we all “have sinned, and come short.” I am learning this slowly and through great repetition.
Moreover, we cannot expect perfection in this life nor anytime soon following it. In the epistle to the Hebrews we are admonished, “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith,” (KJV Hebrews 12:1). My futile efforts to obtain perfection through my own works have been my downfall time and time again. I finally learned this semester that I am not expected to do everything at once. I had to drop a class and consequently my status as a full time student. However as the Lord said to Joseph Smith, “Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided,” (D&C 10:4).
I am trying to rely on the Lord for my strength now. He knows my capabilities and my weaknesses. He knows my potential. He offers eternal life to me for the price of following him. Not that I earn it, but that Christ is giving it to me and asking, in exchange, for a comparatively worthless piece of agency. I know I can give it to him and hope to do so forever more.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Experimenting with Faith
I have been in the midst of an experiment these past several months. The details are too personal to share in general, but the journey and methods are too worthwhile not to expound on. They have enlightened and enriched my soul and continue to strengthen my resolve and faith.
Months ago I felt impressed with a piece of personal revelation. This simple feeling carried with it a lot of consequence, but not a lot of evidence. It even seemed that over the next few months it was more contradicted than upheld. Days and weeks passed with further lack of support. I wondered what was going on and if I had misinterpreted something and spoken incorrectly.
Further, I worried about how to resolve it since the time period had not passed and the signs of its truthfulness had not come. The time came where I began to not only ask if it was right, but what was I supposed to be learning from all of this regardless?
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him," (Hebrews 11:6).
For certain this was the concern. I needed to have faith, but faith must be in truth to be worth anything. Alma, speaking to Korihor, said, "I am grieved because of the hardness of your heart, yea, that ye will still resist the spirit of truth, that thy soul may be destroyed," (Alma 30:46). This is a fact in the gospel. Christ said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," (John 8:32). So I was not needlessly worried. Clinging to truth is fundamental.
The issue grew and grew within me and I stressed over it time and time again. What was I involved in? If it was of God it was good, but if it was not then I was in trouble. Which was it? Finally I began to remember the words of Alma I had discovered before my mission:
"Now, as I said concerning faith - that is was not a perfect knowledge - even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge. But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words," (Alma 32:26-27).
Life is hard and trying and uncertain and it cannot be solved in a moment. We do not gain truth instantaneously like downloading a computer program. "For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith," (D&C 98:12, see 11-12). It is a divine mandate that we learn a little at a time not all at once.
With all this came the answer to the unspoken question - why do we learn this way? Why can't answers be shown unto us and the faith we strive for given to us by miracles and signs?
"Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety, then we shall believe. Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it. And now how much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God and doeth it not, than he that only believeth, or only hath cause to believe, and falleth into transgression?" (Alma 32:17-19).
God is gracious enough to allow us time to learn so we have time to grow. We cannot progress in an instant from men who are not "even as much as the dust of the earth," (Mosiah 2:25) to "inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths," (D&C 132:19). It just doesn't work.
I have learned that the point of this whole endeavor, regardless, is to understand how to receive revelation and know of its truth. We must experiment upon the word we receive, by the voice of others or the Spirit of God, in order to obtain the sure knowledge we seek. It takes time and patience, but in the end it "yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness," (Heb 12:11) and the salvation of our souls. I hope all of us can do this and pray so in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Months ago I felt impressed with a piece of personal revelation. This simple feeling carried with it a lot of consequence, but not a lot of evidence. It even seemed that over the next few months it was more contradicted than upheld. Days and weeks passed with further lack of support. I wondered what was going on and if I had misinterpreted something and spoken incorrectly.
Further, I worried about how to resolve it since the time period had not passed and the signs of its truthfulness had not come. The time came where I began to not only ask if it was right, but what was I supposed to be learning from all of this regardless?
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him," (Hebrews 11:6).
For certain this was the concern. I needed to have faith, but faith must be in truth to be worth anything. Alma, speaking to Korihor, said, "I am grieved because of the hardness of your heart, yea, that ye will still resist the spirit of truth, that thy soul may be destroyed," (Alma 30:46). This is a fact in the gospel. Christ said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," (John 8:32). So I was not needlessly worried. Clinging to truth is fundamental.
The issue grew and grew within me and I stressed over it time and time again. What was I involved in? If it was of God it was good, but if it was not then I was in trouble. Which was it? Finally I began to remember the words of Alma I had discovered before my mission:
"Now, as I said concerning faith - that is was not a perfect knowledge - even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge. But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words," (Alma 32:26-27).
Life is hard and trying and uncertain and it cannot be solved in a moment. We do not gain truth instantaneously like downloading a computer program. "For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith," (D&C 98:12, see 11-12). It is a divine mandate that we learn a little at a time not all at once.
With all this came the answer to the unspoken question - why do we learn this way? Why can't answers be shown unto us and the faith we strive for given to us by miracles and signs?
"Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety, then we shall believe. Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it. And now how much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God and doeth it not, than he that only believeth, or only hath cause to believe, and falleth into transgression?" (Alma 32:17-19).
God is gracious enough to allow us time to learn so we have time to grow. We cannot progress in an instant from men who are not "even as much as the dust of the earth," (Mosiah 2:25) to "inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths," (D&C 132:19). It just doesn't work.
I have learned that the point of this whole endeavor, regardless, is to understand how to receive revelation and know of its truth. We must experiment upon the word we receive, by the voice of others or the Spirit of God, in order to obtain the sure knowledge we seek. It takes time and patience, but in the end it "yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness," (Heb 12:11) and the salvation of our souls. I hope all of us can do this and pray so in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Timing
I was loading a semi-truck yesterday and getting very frustrated. It was the third day in a row where I was late at work and it was taking a toll on me. Anger welled inside of me and I was less than hospitable. I really couldn't seem to calm down about the situation. Why was my time being constricted like this? I had a lot to do both with homework and family, wasn't that more important?
Certainly, if nothing else, I had the right to be angry and impatient; right?
"When we are unduly impatient we are suggesting that we know what is best--better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. Either way we are questioning the reality of God's omniscience as if, as some seem to believe, God were on some sort of postdoctoral fellowship and were not quite in charge of everything." (Neal A. Maxwell, Patience, BYU Speeches, Nov 27, 1979).
Apparently not. The truth of the matter is God is in charge of everything. He is the one who designed the plan in which we are participating. It is to Him we promised, long ago, to follow through with the blueprints He gave us. Sometimes we forget that we must have faith, not only that something is what God wants for us, but that it is also good because of it - that what He wills is the best and will bring us the must joy.
If God lets things happen so that I am late at work, through no fault of my own, then that is where He wants me to be at that time. How dare I suggest that in my weak and inexperienced position He should bend His omniscient will to mine. That may sound harsh, but it is true. We cannot become impatient and frustrated by circumstances without insinuating that the previous is true.
Remember the words of the scriptures:
"Rest in the lord, and wait patiently for him," (Psalms 37:7)
"I WAITED patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry," (Psalms 40:1)
"Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this." (Ecclesiastes 7:8-10)
It would be best if we all adopted the philosophy, "Be still my soul, thy wise, thy heavenly friend, through thorny ways leads to a joyful end," (Be Still My Soul, Hymns #124). In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Certainly, if nothing else, I had the right to be angry and impatient; right?
"When we are unduly impatient we are suggesting that we know what is best--better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. Either way we are questioning the reality of God's omniscience as if, as some seem to believe, God were on some sort of postdoctoral fellowship and were not quite in charge of everything." (Neal A. Maxwell, Patience, BYU Speeches, Nov 27, 1979).
Apparently not. The truth of the matter is God is in charge of everything. He is the one who designed the plan in which we are participating. It is to Him we promised, long ago, to follow through with the blueprints He gave us. Sometimes we forget that we must have faith, not only that something is what God wants for us, but that it is also good because of it - that what He wills is the best and will bring us the must joy.
If God lets things happen so that I am late at work, through no fault of my own, then that is where He wants me to be at that time. How dare I suggest that in my weak and inexperienced position He should bend His omniscient will to mine. That may sound harsh, but it is true. We cannot become impatient and frustrated by circumstances without insinuating that the previous is true.
Remember the words of the scriptures:
"Rest in the lord, and wait patiently for him," (Psalms 37:7)
"I WAITED patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry," (Psalms 40:1)
"Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this." (Ecclesiastes 7:8-10)
It would be best if we all adopted the philosophy, "Be still my soul, thy wise, thy heavenly friend, through thorny ways leads to a joyful end," (Be Still My Soul, Hymns #124). In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Running Fast
During the past two weeks the pressures of school, home and work took their toll on me. I enrolled in 12.5 credit hours this semester and was trying to balance that inbetween the demands of my wife and kids and the requirements of my full time job. This had seemed manageable in my mind when I signed up for it, but I wasn't really paying attention to the Spirit.
"And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order." (Mosiah 4:27)
I'm sure that many, like myself, have heard these words or their synonyms many times. It has been easy for me to understand this principle in the physical sense because I have had asthma since I was very young child and it severely limits my speed and endurance in sports. What it has never correlated to with me is my mind.
For some reason I have entertained this belief that I can handle all things if I put my mind to it. It probably stems from such passages as:
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philip 4:13)
"And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done." (1 Nephi 17:50)
But remember, that to be understood properly we must always take things in context. Both Paul and Nephi were talking about God given mandates and as Nephi said earlier, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them," (1 Nephi 3:7). See, the trick is that God has to command it. If he hasn't approved it, then you do not have the assurance that he will enable you to see it through.
I feel the best example that correlated to my problem is that of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He had a divine calling - translate the Book of Mormon. This was a crucial part of the restoration and has been a blessing to millions since its completion. Surely timing was of the essence and the faster the better, right? Yet listen to the words of the Lord on the matter:
"Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end," (D&C 10:4)
Even a work as important as the Book of Mormon had to be done in its proper time and place. The same applies to us today with our goals. I desperately want to finish college and do it quickly, but it is not the best for me to run at an all out sprint through the academic world. I don't have the strength nor means. My other responsibilities require enough of me that I must maintain a slower, though steady, course that ensures completion without destruction.
I know now what this means in my life and pray that others may find these truths reflected in their own. May the Lord bless you with the wisdom to know your limits, for he said, "I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27). I pray this will be so, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
PS - I dropped a class and went to 3/4 time. It was the best decision I've made academically.
"And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order." (Mosiah 4:27)
I'm sure that many, like myself, have heard these words or their synonyms many times. It has been easy for me to understand this principle in the physical sense because I have had asthma since I was very young child and it severely limits my speed and endurance in sports. What it has never correlated to with me is my mind.
For some reason I have entertained this belief that I can handle all things if I put my mind to it. It probably stems from such passages as:
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philip 4:13)
"And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done." (1 Nephi 17:50)
But remember, that to be understood properly we must always take things in context. Both Paul and Nephi were talking about God given mandates and as Nephi said earlier, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them," (1 Nephi 3:7). See, the trick is that God has to command it. If he hasn't approved it, then you do not have the assurance that he will enable you to see it through.
I feel the best example that correlated to my problem is that of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He had a divine calling - translate the Book of Mormon. This was a crucial part of the restoration and has been a blessing to millions since its completion. Surely timing was of the essence and the faster the better, right? Yet listen to the words of the Lord on the matter:
"Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end," (D&C 10:4)
Even a work as important as the Book of Mormon had to be done in its proper time and place. The same applies to us today with our goals. I desperately want to finish college and do it quickly, but it is not the best for me to run at an all out sprint through the academic world. I don't have the strength nor means. My other responsibilities require enough of me that I must maintain a slower, though steady, course that ensures completion without destruction.
I know now what this means in my life and pray that others may find these truths reflected in their own. May the Lord bless you with the wisdom to know your limits, for he said, "I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27). I pray this will be so, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
PS - I dropped a class and went to 3/4 time. It was the best decision I've made academically.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
New Name
When I first started this blog I felt to name it "Faith Preceeds the Miracle." It was during a spell check that I realized that was not only incorrect, but that Spencer W. Kimball had already taken that title for a book "Faith Precedes the Miracle" with the correct spelling of 'precedes'. I left the title, now spelled correctly, until today.
Last night I was thinking about the entrees I'd written so far and the ones I wanted to write soon and realized that this blog's title should correlate with what it is truly about - Pursuing Truth. Of all the things I care about, nothing is more important to me in the world of learning than to obtain a thorough and complete understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that this blog will reflect that pursuit and will be of use to me and others now and in the future.
Last night I was thinking about the entrees I'd written so far and the ones I wanted to write soon and realized that this blog's title should correlate with what it is truly about - Pursuing Truth. Of all the things I care about, nothing is more important to me in the world of learning than to obtain a thorough and complete understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that this blog will reflect that pursuit and will be of use to me and others now and in the future.
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