The Lower Light: 2015

The Three Levels of Christmas

I can't remember where I learned this, but it is not my idea; however, it is one that has changed the way I view and act during the holiday season:

There are three levels of Christmas observance, all of them with their own characteristics, activities, and results. None are bad, and all of them make this time of year something different and special. However, the deeper our Christmas observance the closer we come to understanding, really, what Christmas is all about.

The Santa Level

At this most visible level of Christmas, we celebrate the giant, jolly harbinger of Christmas fortune. We set up lights, decorate trees, turn on the "Sweet Smelling Sugarplum" candle warmer, listen to Bing Crosby, and watch Will Ferrel's Elf. Most importantly, we gather around the tree to give and receive presents. We coupon, groupon, and Amazon, and then pack, wrap, and stack, and then tear, share, and compare the results until we finally collapse in an exhausted heap after our kids have all fallen into sugar comas. We wake up the next day glad it's all done and ready for a holiday from the holidays.

The Baby Jesus Level

Of course there is more to Christmas than commercialism and consumerism. At the second level of Christmas we celebrate the baby Jesus in a manger surrounded by the animals and their shepherds. We set up a manger scene, attend a live nativity, sing Christmas hymns, read the birth story from Luke 2, and watch Mr. Kruger's Christmas. Most importantly, we gather around the manger to gaze upon the baby in Bethlehem. We seek to recreate the holiness and stillness of the sacred night and hope that some part of that baby's innocence and divinity can claim our hearts and minds. We wake up the next day grateful for the holiday and promise to remember that baby all year long.

The Redeeming Christ Level

Although getting past the lights and the presents to find the swaddled babe in a manger is admirable and will certainly make for a deeper Christmas experience, there is yet a deeper level. At this third and deepest level of Christmas we reverence and worship the life, teachings, atoning sacrifice, and resurrection of the Savior. We kneel more humbly in prayers of gratitude, plead more earnestly for redemption, study scriptures more diligently in search of truth and testimony, listen more intently to the witnesses of His modern apostles and prophets, participate in church service and sacrament more reverently, and live more in tune with His gospel and His example. Most importantly, we gather in the garden to watch as He atones, we gather around the cross to weep as he dies, and we gather at the tomb to marvel as appears. We wake up the next day changed and committed to living and loving as He did.

President Thomas Monson has taught repeatedly about Christmas, "To catch the real meaning of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable and it becomes the Spirit of Christ.”

Merry Christmas--may it be one that means more and brings us all more to Christ.

9:55 PM
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The Trademaster

In Lois Lowry’s Giver quartet the world has been splintered by some unnamed apocalypse and people now live in separate, disconnected, and often brutal societies. However, in one of these individual societies, the inhabitants have been able to create a utopia of sorts where people are loving, the community thrives, and everyone is welcome. One day a new character appears in the town calling himself “the Trademaster” and offering to give people what they want most right now if they will trade him some intangible trait they value less. For example, a beloved teacher and caring, single father desires to court one of the women in town but is hampered by his physical appearance. The Trademaster offers him beauty and strength as a trade for his kindness and generosity.

As I read about the Trademaster I couldn’t help but think of how similar his tactics are to those of a real and deadlier adversary. Just like the Trademaster, Satan would have us live in a world of “now” where present wants crowd out any concern for future consequences. That new electronic device, that beautiful car, that new job, that enticing promotion, that attractive hobby all call to us. Satan, the Trademaster, stands ready to offer them if we will give to him our standards, our tithing money, our Church service, our personal scripture study, or our quality family time. Just as he once tempted Jesus, Satan uses the simple, two-letter “if” in his offer to us: “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” (Matt 4:9). We may not see the damage the trade does down the road, but we will assuredly learn when we arrive how poor a trade we made.

In finance there is a concept called “the time value of money.” It is simply this: a dollar today is worth two dollars tomorrow if wisely invested. In other words, you could spend your money now for something you want, or you could invest it, let the interest grow and compound, and buy something more expensive down the road. Anyone who gains, retains, and grows their personal wealth acts on this principle. It takes, of course, time and patience; in comparison to your contemporaries you will not have the newest, the fastest, nor the best. However, in 20, 30, 40 years, when those peers are pressured by the debts of feeding their incessant wants, you will be financially stable and in a better position to support yourself and your family.

I have often wondered if this temporal principle mirrors a similar, eternal principle. Call it “the time value of obedience.” It is simply this: obedience today is worth inestimable blessings later, if that obedience is decidedly and diligently given. In other words, you could spend your life now doing the things you want, or you could be obedient to God’s will and commandments, let that obedience grow and compound, and be worthy of greater rewards down the road. Anyone who gains, retains, and grows their personal testimony acts on this principle. It takes, of course, time and patience; in comparison to your contemporaries you will not act, speak, nor live like the world. However, in future years and in a future eternity, when those peers are pressured by the debts of heeding the incessant call of the world, you will be spiritually stable and an in a better position to support yourself and your family.

Questions:

What do you feel are the most tempting and/or dangerous trades offered to us today?
What are you doing in your life to retain what’s most valuable and reject trades?

5:05 PM
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Bury Your Weapons...

In the Book of Mormon, a small family of Nephite missionaries was able to teach and inspire conversion among a group of previously warmongering Lamanites. Despite years of hatred towards the Nephites, these Lamanites were so sincere in their conversion that they not only “became a righteous people” but they also “did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren” (Alma 23:7). Their commitment to their newfound lifestyle would be tested by an invading army intent on dissuading them from their faith. However, these newly-named “Anti-Nephi-Lehies” not only stood their ground but buried their weapons in the ground to signify their commitment to God and “because of their love towards their brethren” (Alma 26:32). Many were innocently killed but none violated their covenant of submission and peace.

I’m an optimistic and positive person, but I have been emotionally and spiritually hurt over the past few weeks at the bubbling soup of anger, animosity, and antagonism that has spilled all over the media and Facebook. I recently read a woman’s simple statement of trust in Church leadership, which she had posted in response to a rather hostile editorial, and was appalled at the subsequent storm of vulgar and berating responses calling her naïve, ignorant, and bigoted. I am just one voice in that wilderness of the web, but I want to use that voice at this time and in this one post to call for everyone, everywhere to lay aside their animosity and bury their weapons for (at least) two reasons…

…for peace

Did you know that

80% of the world population lives on less than $10 a day; nearly half (more than 3 billion people) live on less than $2.50 a day; and over 1 billion live on just a $1 a day.
805 million people worldwide do not have enough food to eat. Over 1 billion people do not have safe drinking water and more than 2.5 billion people do not have adequate sanitation. Of all the diseases in developing nations, 80% come from unsafe water and sanitation.
Nine million children under age five around the world die every year from very treatable diseases and illnesses, like diarrhea and pneumonia. 3,900 children die each day because of lack of safe water and sanitary conditions. 1 billion children worldwide are living in poverty and over 22,000 children die each day due to poverty.
Over 20 million people need, but do not get, immediate treatment for drug or alcohol addiction. Over 30 million people admit to driving while intoxicated; however almost 75% of convicted drunk drivivers continue to drive on suspended licenses. In fact, an average drunk driver has been drive drunk 80 times before being arrested. Drunk driving costs the United States alone $200 billion. 28 people die as a result of drunk driving each day.
The porn industry generates $13 billion each year in the US. The first exposure to pornography among men is 12 years old, on average, and every second, 28,258 Internet users are viewing pornography. In fact, porn sites get more visitors than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined.
35% of women have been subject to physical or sexual violence. 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime, and almost 2 million women and girls around the world are victims of human trafficking. Approximately 800 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
Every year more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving more than 6 million children (a report can include multiple children). The United States has one of the worst records among industrialized nations – losing on average between four and seven children every day to child abuse and neglect (All statistics come from the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Plan USA, and various other censuses).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has always, does, and will continue to stand with other faith traditions against these problems and for more love, service, and charity in the world. As disciples of Christ we seek to emulate Him in all our actions. While others may not agree with some of our policies, practices, or doctrines, could we not unite on what we do agree on and seek together to lift the world and uplift the people in it?

I wonder if we spend so much time fighting each other that we ignore the greater war. While I'm not advocating a wholesale abdication of all convictions and principles for the ones I've chose to name here, I do wonder if we could do more good in the world if buried our animosity towards each other and found more ground whereon we can stand together. Imagine what could happen if all of the voices and all of the time that we spend fighting each other could be combined and focused against the evils of pornography, substance addiction, or abuse. Can we not all stand together “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children” (Alma 46:12).

…for the love of God

Perhaps one of the most striking traits of the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ was that, despite his innate and divine power, he submitted to the needs of the people, the anger of His contemporaries, and the will of His Father. It should be no surprise then that the path to true discipleship mandates our complete submission to His and His Father’s will. King Benjamin famously explained that, in order for us become true saints through the Atonement of Christ we must first become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19).

Submitting to God is rarely comfortable. Often our “natural man” cries out that we should stand and fight rather than bury our weapons. Being submissive is made further difficult by a world that views this trait negatively. Those who choose to humbly follow God and his prophets and apostles are berated as being naïve, ignorant, or ignoring of the true facts. “If you only know how bad the coming enemy was,” they might say to the submissive, converted Lamanites, “you would stand and fight.” However, how can this quality be condemned when the very life, resurrection, repentance, and eternal life we are afforded came because Christ, with full knowledge and awareness, chose to submit to the will of His Father. Being submissive is not a sign of weakness but a sign of incredible self-control.

I, like many, have wielded a sword or two against those with whom I disagree and have had to learn how much attack, sarcasm, and negativity cause pain and offense. We may have a right and may even feel called or compelled to defend our beliefs, but this must be done with respect, kindness, charity, love, and yes, a submissive and meek attitude. We won’t be perfect at it, but we can at least try and hopefully we can all get a bit better at standing together with our God and against real enemies with nothing but hope, love, and charity in our hands.

9:34 PM
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Church Policy - Some Questions to Consider...

When we first moved into our current neighborhood our boys immediately took to the alleyway on their bikes. Because cars use the alley to reach main streets, I warned the boys about playing in the alley. Of course they were so wrapped up in the novelty and fun of the moment that they ignored me and kept biking around. As I looked down the street I saw a car approaching and called out, this time with a bit more force, for them to get out of the alley. Again, they didn’t hear. As the car got closer I ran at the boys, yelled for them to get out of the street, and then finally grabbed them by the arms and yanked them onto the grass. I didn’t yell because I was angry, and of course I didn’t grab them because I hate them. I acted with sternness and severity out of a love and deep concern for their wellbeing. The situation they were in could have had serious consequences.

We should not be so quick to view dramatic acts of God nor stern directions from His prophets and apostles as anger or hatred. The announcement of the newly-specified policies in the Church handbook deal with a topic that is serious and can have severe consequences, but given how much time Church leaders spend talking about and exemplifying love, charity, kindness, concern, and a deep resolve to follow Jesus I find it very difficult to believe that they are ever motivated by hatred.

What happened?

Firstly, as happens with almost everything else these days, today’s news has been exaggerated and escalated until, if you hadn’t read the revised statements, you would have thought the Church declared war on children! To be clear, the church added specific instructions to two already-existing policies. 1) Actions defined as “serious transgression”, including homesexual relations and cohabitation, will be dealt with using the Church system of disciplinary councils. This is not a new policy but simply further clarification of an existing policy put in place to protect individuals from violating covenants. 2) Worthiness and readiness for baptism will be determined by Church authorities who hold keys. Although the Church now specifies that baptisms for children from environments where homosexuality is advocated or practiced must be given extra consideration, this is not a new policy but simply further clarification of an existing policy put in place to protect individuals form violating covenants. We should not mistake the spelling out of specifics as earth-shattering, Church-crumbling news.

Who did it?

It’s interesting to me that so many who criticize the Church as being anti-child and un-Christian in the wake of this announcement ignore the fact that this Church also contains one of the largest children’s primary organizations in the world. Anyone who has sat in a primary class, a sharing time, or listened to general primary leaders speak about children and the Church’s unified effort to teach about and bring children to Christ has a long way to go if they want to assert that this Church doesn’t want children to come to Christ. I read one brief tweet that poignantly put it, “Oh look, people with preexisting negative opinions of the Church have more negative opinions about the Church.”

Further, if this announcement came from a Church intent on winning members and their tithing dollars to support selfish interests, why make such a politically damaging statement in the first place? Any public relations advisor in the world would have counseled any organization against this, which suggests that this decision was motivated by principles that come from One who has never cared about public image and political correctness.

Why is it an issue?

I will not, nor should others, feign to comment on the “why” behind this policy. While we can guess and speculate, there is safety in simply reassuring our belief in core gospel principles and trusting God when our own understanding gives out. We must remember that, while this is only an announcement of a policy change, the underlying topic is one of great seriousness to God and his prophets. Sexual relationships are intended to invoke the most powerful ability God has given man—the create life. Anything that abuses, lessens, casualizes, or contorts that ability offends God. Thus his prophets and apostles have always protected the family, covenants, and children.

What would Jesus do?

I’m not in a position to speak for Christ and what He would or wouldn’t do. I follow Christ as preached to me by ancient and modern apostles whose job is it to bear witness of him and forgo inventing my own Christ with the phrase, “well, that’s not the God I believe in.” Certainly, Elder Holland said this best,

What has the Lord done?

While it’s not my responsibility to say what Jesus would do, we can look at what the Lord has done. How many times in the Old Testament alone did the Lord “cut off” individuals (and their families) from the society of His followers because of transgression? To name a few:

Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden which would affect them and their future children (Gen 3:23-24).
God flooded the earth, children included, to prevent future children from birth into wicked families (Gen 6:7).
Everyone in Babel (even children) had their language confounded and were scattered because of wickedness (Gen 11:9).
Those unwilling to symbolize their commitment to the covenant through circumcision were removed from society with the seed of Abraham (Gen 17:14).
Families who did not participate in the feast of unleavened bread were “cut off from Israel” (Ex 12:15, 19).
Those who wanted to “make their own offering” and refused to recognize Aaron and his sons as priests removed their families Israel. (Ex 30:38, Lev 17:19).
Those who didn’t observe the Sabbath were likewise “cut off” from Israel (Ex 31:14).

…just to name a few. In each of these examples the transgression came from adults, however the results were certainly felt by their children. As God explained in multiple places, “I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Ex 20:5, 34:7, Num 14:18, Deut 5:9). The point is clear: although man is responsible for his own transgressions, we are influenced all the time by the choices of our environment and especially our families. The Lord explained in D&C 93:39 that Satan “taketh away light through disobedience and traditions of fathers.”

Further, in each case, God’s actions protected individuals, especially children, from the spiritual danger of trying to live a covenant life in an anti-covenant world. This question about this policy is similar to a question often asked about the great flood: why would a loving God kill millions of children just because their parents are wicked? The answer comes in understanding how God prioritizes our physical and our spiritual lives. For Him, losing a physical body pales in severity to losing a soul through disobedience and covenant breaking. So too with Church policies that ensure that anyone who undertakes to make a covenant with God does so with full knowledge, full agency, and with the best chances to keep that covenant. The Church is not forbidding anyone, children included, from the gospel teachings and many of its blessings. Church policy, this case included, is simply designed to preserve covenants and ensure that men, women, and children have the most secure connection to God as possible.

My testimony is that this Church is, at every point, geared towards furthuring the cause of Christ in an increasingly Christ-less world. I have felt, and continue to feel, noting but love, encouragement, instruction, and enlightenment from scriptures, prophets, and gospel discussions. I trust that the leaders of the Church are inspired to help us all, children included, "come unto Christ and be perfected in him."

5:28 PM
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Give Brother Joseph a Break

I heard a story once of a man who was dissatisfied with his wife cutting the ends off of the ham every time she put it in the oven to cook:

“Why do you do that?” he asked.

“It makes it taste better,” she replied.

Frustrated with the folksy-seeming answer, he asked, “Where did you learn that?”

“From my mom,” she answered.

So he picked up the phone and called his mother-in-law. “Do you cut the ends off your ham?” he asked.

“Yes,” she answered.

“Why?” he asked.

“It makes it taste better,” she replied.

Again annoyed he asked, “Where did you learn that?”

“From my mom,” she answered.

With end-less ham now consuming his mind (pun intended) he called his wife’s grandmother. “Do you cut the ends off of your ham?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It won’t fit in the oven if I don’t.”

I thought of this story when I heard Elder Neal L. Anderson say in this last general conference, “For now, give Brother Joseph a break!” While misunderstanding the reason behind weird food preparation techniques may not be eternally significant to most, it seems that a misunderstanding of who Joseph Smith was and what he did is at the epicenter of many testimony tremors today. However, like the ham, many get tied up and uptight about things for which they think they have the whole story but which may not be as significant as hearsay contends.

So, here are just a few reasons why we should give Brother Joseph a break. My intent here is not to argue history or prove this or that but rather to show that we don’t know this or that and thus, can move on and move up from throwing rhetorical stones at Joseph Smith.

We don’t know why she cut the ends off the ham.

For any one given action or teaching from the life of Joseph Smith there are at least a few different witnesses, and from each witness come a few possible different interpretations, and these interpretations, when heard and echoed by others, can create a veritable circus of arguments, assertions, analyses, and contentions. With all of that, it’s easy to read back on to Joseph Smith any number of stories. However, just because a person argues a single perspective on the prophet does not mean it is the only or the right perspective. It is often just as easy, if not easier, to actually believe Joseph was commanded by God to translate, prophesy, testify, organize, instruct, and restore.

She cut the ends off the ham a long time ago.

To compound the fact that any one event in Joseph’s life can be viewed from multiple angles, we can add that those events happened almost 200 years ago. If there’s something to be learned from modern politics it might be how hard it is to gain a clear picture of who someone else because of all of the conflicting viewpoints. And if it’s almost impossible to gain a clear image of people who are living and can speak for themselves, we probably shouldn’t be surprised that our image of someone who lived 200 years ago appears a bit hazy.

Ham-end cutter-offers aren’t good record keepers.

Further, the records which we do have come from a time and culture when record keeping was often sporadic, spotty, and sometimes downright suspect. Having spent a considerable amount of time over the past few years researching one single event in Church History and finding out how porous the available, primary information is on that topic has confirmed this fact to me. Putting together a puzzle with missing pieces, damaged pieces, counterfeit pieces, edited pieces, and completely fabricated pieces does not a very clear picture make.

Ovens were smaller back then.

Sometimes those critical of Joseph Smith talk about him as if he lived down the street and had just posted something questionable on his Instagram feed. They evaluate Joseph by the yardstick of the 21st century. However, Joseph lived not only in a time but in a culture far gone. Sometimes the simplest explanation for why something happened the way it did is: that’s just how it was back then. We don’t rake Biblical prophets over the coals for their oddities, can’t we give Joseph a bit more cultural slack?

It really doesn’t matter if the ends are cut off—the ham tastes really, really good!

To quote one of Joseph’s contemporaries:

Whatever someone’s explanation of his motives or methods may be, there can be no denying that Joseph was a dynamic figure in history. His life and teachings have affected hundreds of millions of lives across time and geography, and an overwhelming majority of those lives he affected for good. I have tasted nothing but good fruit from Restored tree of Jesus Christ because, as Jesus Himself taught, “every good tree bringeth forth good fruit” (Matt 7:17).

If you want to assert to me that Joseph Smith was a fraud, a fake, a megalomaniac, a wizard, or the devil himself you will have to explain to me, fruit by fruit, how this tree which has blossomed so widely across the world and so powerfully in my own life can have such corruption at its core. Of course I’m not ignorant of all of the prickly parts of Mormon history; I have done the homework enough to know at least a little bit about most, if not all of them. I know the critical claims and the alternate explanations for Joseph and his fruits. But none of them, none of them, provide adequate enough explanation for the joy I have in my life because of this restored gospel. As Elder Anderson concluded, “I testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Settle this in your mind, and move forward!”

10:30 PM
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Your Life is Not Your Own

My wife has a simple lesson she likes to teach me. Whenever I am swamped by the wants and needs of three young children and wish, either with language or body language, to simply have some time alone to do what I want she often tenderly reminds, “Your life is not your own.”

As applicable as this phrase is to a beleaguered parent, it is absolutely and eternally true. Paul explained to the Corinthians, “For ye are a bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor 6:20; see also 1 Cor 7:23). In other words, we do not own the life that we live. As much as we love to claim independence and free agency, we do not live independent of the world around us or the God above us and our agency, although ours, was not free from a price and is not free from consequences (in fact, the term “free agency” is not mentioned anywhere in scriptures.)

Rather, our life belongs to Him who created and redeemed all life. Peter taught that our life was purchased, not with money, but “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Think of it, the whole motif of animal sacrifice in the Old Testament and the pinnacle event of Atonement in the New Testament should, at the very least, teach us that redemption and eternal life were not cheap gifts to give. Your breath, your body, your mind and heart, your soul, and your soul’s final home were purchased in the currency of perfect blood given by a perfect person.

This last summer we took our family to see an outdoor theater production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. We all loved the play and were only mildly annoyed by our inability to get “Jacob! Jacob and Sons!” out of our heads. I’ve always loved how Joseph perseveres through trials and yet, through his faithfulness, rises to be a prince in a position to save his family.

However, as I read it this last time I saw a different, deeper story couched among all the details—a story of a brother, beloved and chosen by his father and yet hated and abused by those who should have been his friends, sold for 30 pieces of silver as a slave, imprisoned by a local governor, forgotten, only to rise as a prince with power to save his family who would come to him, bow before him, and reap the benefits of his struggles and perseverance. Joseph spoke for himself and also for someone who would follow that same pattern on a much grander scale, “God did send me before you to preserve life . . . and thou shalt dwell be near unto me . . . and there will I nourish thee” (Gen 45: 5, 10-11).

More than a thousand years later, Jesus Christ became “He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth” (D&C 88:6). Just as Joseph could not have saved his family were it not for his trials, so too did Christ submit so that He could, through his travail, purchase us and everything that comes with us.

Thus, our life is not our own. Although it was given to us a gift and, as with any gift, we can use or abuse it as we choose we will never be able to shake the feeling that this life, this gift, means something more to God and should mean something more to us.

Do you do anything differently because you already recognize this truth? If not, what would you do differently because of it?

3:40 PM
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How to say “I know” without saying “I know”

Perhaps the most repeated beginning to a sentence in the Church is “I know that…” Those who hear this testimony should understand that the testimony bearer is not claiming to have empirically proven the Church true but rather has had a spiritual witness confirming the veracity and utility of the gospel in his life. For so many, this gospel as taught through scriptures, prophets, apostles, and revelation from God himself has brought peace and joy and love and conviction that lead a person to say, “I know this Church is true.” This simple testimony on the lips of so many people across the world should certainly count in the cosmic balance of witnesses as to the verity of this gospel and this Church.

There are others, however, that hear the phrase “I know” and feel frustration, dismay, or even disaffection. Some feel saddened that they have not arrived at such a conviction. Some angrily argue that no one can really know what so many claim to know. Still others feel frustration that, despite their best efforts, they have not been given the kind of proof so many seem to have that the Church is true. To any who feel any of these emotions, and even to those who “know”, consider Alma’s teachings to the Zoramites which provide possible answers, peace, and enlightenment.

To a group of Zoramites who had no or little faith because they felt themselves inadequate and God inaccessible, Alma preached a wonderful and wonderfully popular sermon on what he calls the “experiment” of faith. A person may figure out if a particular teaching is true by figuratively planting that teaching in his or her heart. If that teaching is true it will, like a seed planted in the earth, sprout, grow, blossom, and bear fruit which will strengthen and solidify faith, facilitate knowledge, and provide an individual the fruit of “everlasting life” (Alma 32:41). While the fruit of the tree is the ultimate goal of the whole experiment, the first question is whether or not that seed is good, whether or not it’s even worth planting.

To answer this question, Alma explained that a seed, if planted, allowed to grow, and not “cast out” by a person’s unbelief, will do four things if it is “a true seed, or a good seed.” He said, “it will begin to swell within your breasts . . . it beginneth to enlarge [your] soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten [your] understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to [you]” (Alma 32:28). Each one of these four gauges can be used a litmus test, of sorts, to gauge the true-ness or the goodness of a particular teaching, especially if asked to oneself in optimism and honesty.

Swell - Many describe their spiritual response to gospel truth as a burning or, as Alma called it, a swelling within the chest, almost as if the spiritual heart has to expand to incorporate the truth and house the confirmation of the Spirit. This should not be confused with emotional responses; spiritual responses to not necessarily elicit outward signs of emotion. However, a person may appropriately ask themselves: “When I listen to and then act on this teaching, do I feel a change within my spiritual center?”
Enlarge - Often, spiritual responses to gospel truths engender within the soul an enlarged desire and ability to do good and be good. Many feel this in the wake of General Conference, in-depth scripture study, testimony meetings, or a host of other experiences. In these moments the Spirit of God confirms truth and then whispers applications specific to the individual and, as Moroni wrote, “every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God” (7:16). Thus a person may ask, “Do I feel more inclined to do and be good because of this teaching?"
Enlighten - In addition to confirming truth and inviting application, the Spirit can bring light to an individual’s understanding. This may come as a sudden comprehension of a particular gospel truth, the spark of a connection between truth and one’s own life, or the deeper understanding of one’s own relationship with God and the specific changes that relationship mandates. Someone might speak of having a lightbulb or an “Aha!” moment which might indicate the presence of the spirit and the indication of goodness and truth. Often a person can ask the simple question, “Does this doctrine help me make sense of the world I live in and make sense of my life?”
Delicious - Sometimes a person may know something is good simply because it “tastes good.” It may not be a sudden enlightenment, nor necessarily a behaviorally or spiritually motivating feeling. Sometimes all it takes to know something is good is a simple taste, a simple moment where the Spirit can touch a heart and confirm that the doctrine being learned, listened to, or acted upon is good and from God. Remember, the whole point of planting a seed is to get the fruit. Thus, a person can ask, “Is this teaching good? Does it make me feel good? Am I happier because or would I be happier if this was true?”

Conveniently, the first letter in each of these words Alma provides spell the word “S.E.E.D.” Much more importantly, these four indicators (and there are many others; see for example Paul’s discourse in Galatians 5 on the fruits of the Spirit) illustrate that the truthfulness of the gospel can be experienced in many different ways.

Certainly a person may state his or her testimony by saying, “I know…” However, a person might just as well state their testimony in terms of things he or she believes, feels, trusts, enjoys, understands or experiences. Broadening the language of testimony might disabuse many of the notion that a mental understanding is the end goal of gospel study and living. Rather, we seek to study and live the gospel so that we might experience more peace and happiness now and power and joy in the eternities. Thus we can say, with conviction, “I feel joy when I pray to God with my family,” or “I trust prophets and apostles to help me better follow Christ,” or “I understand how important and necessary the Atonement of Jesus Christ is in my life,” or maybe just, “I find this gospel to be good.”

11:09 PM
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Crabs and Fleas

I once heard someone explain how to catch and contain crabs and fleas. For crabs, putting a crab in a bucket with other crabs will ensure that it cannot climb out. As soon as the crab tries to escape, another crab underneath will reach up, pinch the climbing crab, and pull it back down into the bucket so that another crab can climb on top and begin its own ascent. The cycle repeats itself, and no crabs ever leave the bucket. For fleas, to keep them from jumping out of a jar, the jar is capped with a lid and then heated on the bottom so the fleas jump. Initially the fleas hit the lid; however, after only a few moments the fleas learn to jump slightly lower than the lid. Then, the lid can be removed and the fleas, despite the heat and their desire to escape, will never jump out of the jar.

The comparison to people, not intentionally demeaning, can be instructive. As Adam and Eve begin their family outside of the Garden of Eden, they teach their children to read, write, have faith, and repent. Despite their best efforts, however, “Satan had great dominion among men, and raged in their hearts; and from thenceforth came wars and bloodshed; and a man’s hand was against his own brother, in administering death, because of secret works, seeking for power” (Moses 6:15.) In other words, people did what crabs do: they tore each other down so that they could claim power.

This behavior, as the prophet Enoch saw in vision, would only worsen causing God, Himself, to weep. Enoch asked God “How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?” God replied with some of the saddest scripture that can be found: "Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency; And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood" (Moses 7:32-33.)

To paraphrase: Enoch, I created these people; they’re my children, and look at what they’re doing to each other!

As God had done so many times before, he called young Enoch to preach repentance and effect a return to righteousness. He was to tell the people of God’s anger, command them to repent, and foretell consequences should they continue their hatred. Enoch, as many a young prophet before and after him, felt inadequate to the task: “Enoch had heard these words, he bowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?” (Moses 6:31.) In other words, Enoch had, in some previous experience, jumped, like a flea, and hit his head often enough to pick up the view of himself that he was too young, too incapable, and too disliked to be of use.

How often do we pull others down today? How often do we pull ourselves down? How often do we pick up, either from others or from our own tragic experiences, the belief that we simply aren’t good enough to achieve anything above mediocrity or even misery?

To anyone who has ever felt what Enoch has, the Lord spoke promises of power.

Questions

Read Moses 6:32-39 – If these words were directed at you, which ones would have the most impact?
Read Moses 7:44-47 – What was it that eventually lifted Enoch’s sadness from having witnessed so much hate and destruction?
Read Moses 7:13, 16-21 – After noticing the results of Enoch’s preaching and the heaven-on-earth that came because of it, what might be done in your small corner of the world to build “Zion”?
If focusing more on the Savior and less on the self creates “rejoicing” and combats the effects of crabs and fleas, what might you do to spend more time learning what God thinks instead of what man thinks?

10:41 AM
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Escaping God

How many things wrong can you find with the following picture?

Now, try the same exercise with a story from the Bible. Genesis 6 through 9 recounts the story of Noah and the flood, and Genesis 10 contains perhaps the best, most condensed list of biblical baby names possible. At the beginning of chapter 11 is the story, often overlooked in Christian studies, of the tower of Babel—the story of a people who try to reach heaven by building a tower only to have God, in anger, scatter the people and confound their language. So, what’s wrong with the picture? What did this people do that was so wrong that God would punish them so dramatically?

Problem 1.

There is a way to get to heaven. In Moses 7 Enoch and the people he was able to reclaim and convert to righteousness built a city founded on unity of heart, thought, principal, and behavior. This “Zion” was, in the course of time, “taken up into heaven” (Moses 7:18-21). The key to their success comes before the oft-read verse: “The fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people” (v. 17). A society founded on the Lord Jesus and the principles of His gospel as dictated to prophets and apostles is a society ready to be, through time and lots of repentance, in the presence of God. The people of Babel had the same goal but denied the path thereto.

How many today claim a cure or salve for the pains of mortality and can offer, at best, only a temporary band aid or, at worst, diversion from true healing. How many offer diversions from commandments and covenants and yet claim immunity from consequences? How many would draw us away from our choice to follow Jesus and His apostles simply so they can, as the people of Babel said, “make us a name” for themselves. Regardless of the motivation, No construction, whether physical, philosophical, or philanthropic can lift a person to the level of God for how can mortality raise mortality? Only God can open the doors to heaven; only God can open a heart to salvation, and He does it through the ministry of His Son and the teachings of His anointed servants.

Problem 2.

The purpose of building a tower may not have actually been to reach the front steps of the heavenly mansions at all. One detail points to a more devious aim. The record states that the tower-builders used “slime” to cement the bricks together. The Hebrew word, “chemar“ denotes a water-proof mortar akin to bitumen. Hence, they built a tower that was to be, not only tall, but water proof. Coming so recently after the Flood a natural conclusion would be that these people, knowing how God reacted to widespread wickedness in the past, attempted to build a place that was impervious to His hand.

God recognized this at their motive when he “came down to see the city and the tower” (v. 5). He commented that the people (like Enoch’s people but obviously with a different goal) were “one” and that now, because they had built this tower, they assumed that “nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” (v. 6). In other words, they thought they had successfully placed themselves out of God’s reach so that His consequences for their intended sins could not touch them. This, of course, is impossible with an all-powerful God in a plan designed on the very principle that we utilize our agency to the blessing or detriment to our soul.

Contrast all this with the Savior’s words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). There is a way to heaven; there is a way to reach, not the potential of our mortal abilities but the potential of the divine within us. As Enoch commanded his people, “teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time” (Moses 6:57).

7:53 AM
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Who Are You Listening To?

How well can you recognize a voice? If you heard only a 5-second clip of, say, Yoda from Star Wars ("Do, or do not, there is not try") or Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry ("Well, do ya, punk?") or Mater from Cars ("I swear, tractors is so dumb") would you be able to recognize them? How long would it take you to recognize the voice of your mother? Or brother? Or child? And what determines how well and how quickly we recognize voices?

Moses chapter 4-5 are filled with different voices telling different people different things to do. The careful student will read these verses seeking to become more familiar with these voices and their directions. Even though we can’t hear the voices themselves, we can read the words and gain insight into the individual speaking them.

For example, take Satan’s words and learn about his personality:

Moses 4:1 – Satan’s overuse of personal pronouns as he addresses the Father—“Here am I…me…I…I…I…me….” (reminiscent of his words to Moses in chapter 1:12, 19)—belies his underlying selfishness. Although it is often understood that Satan’s rebellion entailed forcing salvation upon all God’s children, we cannot miss the point that, because salvation can only come through the Son of God who was “Chosen from the beginning”, Satan’s salvation would not have been a saving in God’s kingdom but an enslaving to him in an eternal darkness.
Moses 4:5-6 – Satan, as he so often does, uses other means to convey his message which is “subtle” in seeking the destruction of the whole world.
Moses 4:7 – He directs attention to the boundaries, towards the things we have been commanded not to do. Whereas God would have us walk steadfastly down the center of the path, Satan would have us walk close to the edge making it all the easier for him to drag us off.
Moses 4:10-11 – Satan, in the evolution of his tactics, speaks increasingly complex mixtures of truths and lies. Does God know that Adam and Even can become “as gods” if they partake of the fruit? Of course; however when Satan speaks this truth one can almost hear the sneer and the false accusation that God wants to keep godhood all to Himself.
Moses 5:13 – It seems that Satan is not so much concerned with what we believe in, as long as it’s not the words of God and his appointed prophets.
Moses 5:18 – It also seems that Satan is not so much concerned with what we do, as long as we do it at his temptation.
Moses 5:21 – And, in every step we take away from Eden and from the God who dwelt there, it pleases the adversary. His goal was, and is, to make all slave to his governing and, thus, “miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27).

However, from the Lord’s voice we learn:

Moses 4:2 – Unlike the selfish Satan, the Savior’s focus is firmly directed at the Father: “thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.” In an ironic truth of divinity, Satan’s rebellion against the Father ensured that he will never reach godhood, whereas Jesus’ complete submission to the Father cements Him as the Lord of all creation and created.
Moses 5:4-11 – Ever loving, God provided Adam and Eve with commandments that would direct their attention towards Him who would “redeem” them. Despite his certain sadness at having to leave a garden of innocence for a world of toil, Adam was “filled” (v. 10) with the prospect of a Savior and Eve was “glad” and given perspective. Similarly, the voice of God will always direct our minds towards Christ, fill our hearts with hope, and provide eternal perspective for us and our families.
Moses 5:56-59 – Perhaps God’s greatest sadness comes when his children who chose Him pre-mortally reject His plan for their return to him post-mortally.

Questions:

What examples of Satan’s voice and personality do you see around you today?
When have you heard the voice of God?
What did He say?

3:00 PM
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The Who and Why of Creation

When it comes to disagreements between science and religion, creation often seems to be the battlefield. Whether it be the discrepancy between what some believe to be the Biblical timeline and what others believe to be the scientific one, or the argument over the genesis of man himself, fairly few today have gone without some exposure to sometimes ugly exchanges.

Recently I listened to this physicist explain the harmony he has found between his religious beliefs and his scientific studies.

In Moses 1:27-29 the Lord showed Moses all His creations, even down to the numberless people that have, do, and will inhabit the earth. At the end of the vision, Moses asked two questions: “Tell me . . . [1] why these things are so, and [2] by what thou madest them” (v. 30). In other words, Moses wanted to know the Why and the Who of creation. Thus, in Moses 2 (which is Joseph Smith’s inspired translation of Genesis 1) the Lord explains, not so much the detailed How of creation, but the Why and Who. So let’s look at both questions.

Why

In the very first verse God outlined why he created the earth and all on it: “in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest.” In this one verse, God showed Moses and, through him, all of us where we are—the earth upon which we stand—and where we are to go—heaven. This very first verse of the Bible foreshadows what the rest of the Bible will illustrate: how to get people from earth to heaven, and how to get people from worldliness to heavenliness.

Who

God did not shy away from emphasizing to Moses His own divine authorship of creation. The phase “I God” introduces nearly every verse in the Moses 2 (Genesis 1). Is this bragging? Or a testimony to the fact that our confidence in God’s ability to make and control worlds is one of His most consistent aims. To His children often tossed around by the winds in the world He created but which has fallen from innocence God wants us to be assured that He is at the helm with the ability to calm the waves and guide the ship.

A companion question to who created the world is the question of for whom the world was created. At the end of each creative stage (by the way, the Hebrew word translated as “day” in Genesis more accurately translates to “distinct period” and is not a measurement of time but rather a delineation of events; hence the creation did not take seven twenty-four hour time periods but rather occurred in seven distinct states) God called his work “good” (vv. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21). However, after he had completed the work of creating man and woman, God called his work “very good” (v. 31). Hence, as amazing as the physical world around is, the masterpiece of God’s whole repertoire of creation was and is His role and actions as Father to the children he caused to be.

President Russel M. Nelson—a career surgeon and, now, an apostle of that Creator—explained this well:

So many are fond of pointing at the story and truth of creation and claiming it near-impossible to believe, whether because God is at the center or because they feel it all scientifically unsupported. However, those claiming accidental, authorless, and random creation must then provide for me a reason for all the intricacies and interconnectedness of the universe including the complexity of humans themselves, and this seems to me the far less-believable proposition. To believe that mankind came into existence accidentally is to believe that people are nothing more than sprayed rocks from a randomly spinning wheel. We then have no purpose, except maybe to exist and live out our biological story line. However, if there is a God and Father who created us, our world, and our destination means that we have both purpose and direction. There is a reason why you are here. As my favorite refrigerator magnet saying says, “I know I’m worth something because God made me, and God don’t make no junk!”

Questions:

Why, do you think, it is so important for us to know the Who and Why of creation?
What difference does it make to you to know that you live on a world that was purposefully created for you and that you, yourself, are the “very good” end to God’s grand actions?

7:31 AM
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The Power of Knowing Who You Are

I am a sufferer of mysophonia (a reduced ability to tune out sensory input; it means I get really bugged when people chew loudly), I am constantly bothered by having to buy specialty shoes to accommodate two different foot sizes and arch heights, and I am able to flex my right nostril independent of my left. Two of those statements are true; one is a lie. Can you guess which one?

As lighthearted as this game often is, it’s not too different from a more serious version that plays out in minds and hearts of people today. Each of us has a list of personal, “I am” statements which define, not only who we are, but how we act. Because I am a father and want to be a great father I live a certain lifestyle and behave in certain ways, especially with my family. However, because the relationship between “I am” and “I will” or “I do” is so significant, those “I am” statements are often the focus of anyone trying to sway our behavior, and some who have less-than benign intent.

In Moses 1, Moses, atop the mountain where such things are learned, discovered truth about his God and himself. He learned that God is almighty, endless, the creator of worlds and the Father of spirits. Most poignantly, God told Moses, “thou art my Son” (vv. 2-4). While a seemingly basic doctrine to many, this truth overwhelmed Moses.

As often happens with such spiritual enlightenment, Satan came next to Moses tempting him to doubt the very truth he has just barely learned: “Moses, son of man, worship me” (v. 12). But Moses stood in the face of Satan, empowered with what he had just learned regarding his divine nature: “I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?” (v. 13). Enraged at Moses’ righteous stubbornness, “Satan cried with a loud voice, and ranted upon the earth, and commanded, saying: I am the Only Begotten, worship me” (v. 19). Moses “began to fear” but was not deterred from what he knew to be true and he boldly commanded the adversary to depart.

What happened next is both shocking and powerful: because of Moses’s insistence that he is a son of God and the power that truth gave him to stand toe-to-toe with Lucifer, “Satan began to tremble” in fear! Moses, empowered, commands Satan to depart and that once-great enemy, “with a loud voice, with weeping, and wailing, and a gnashing of teeth” obeyed Moses and left.

As simultaneously terrifying and marvelous as this experience must have been for Moses, it parallels experiences many have regularly today. Satan, through hundreds of thousands of subservient voices, would love nothing more today than to have people doubt their very relationship with God. No matter the source—whether misguided science or seeming logic—these voices would fill a heart with doubt. And, often, all it takes is one word—“if”. Satan tempted Jesus himself to doubt his own sonship by repeatedly barking phrases such as “If thou be the Son of God…” (vv. 3, 6) or “If thou wilt fall down and worship me…” (v. 9).

Similarly today dissenting and discouraging voices try our faith by attempting to focus our attention on an endless supply of “ifs” rather than an eternal list of sureties. And when we respond to Satan’s “if” with, as Moses did, an “I am” or an “I know” then the adversary trembles. He can only drown a doubting soul, while those who continually solidify their faith remain steadfast and immovable.

Questions:

How would you finish the phrase: “I am . . .”?
What pressures are there on you to believe you are something other than a child of God?
What impact would it have on our small portion of the world if we clung to and lived according to what God wants us to believe? What impact would it have on you?

10:29 AM
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The Real Plan of Salvation

If someone were to ask you, "You Mormons always talk about a plan of salvation; well, what is it?" would you be able to answer? What would you say? Would you be able to remember all of the details you've learned over the years about the exact location of the Spirit World and how long a spirit stays in spirit prison? Would you recall the differences between the kingdoms? And after drawing out for them all of the details, would they be closer to understanding God's plan, or just confused at the number of circles and lines?

The illustration we so often refer to when speaking about the Plan of Salvation might, more accurately, be called "the Map of the Plan of Salvation." Just like a map does, it shows us where we were before this life, where we are now, and where we aim to go after this life. However, (and I can say this because the above illustration is mine) it's not that good of a map because it shows things way out of proportion. A better map might be more like this:

Before we came to Earth we lived with God in a premortal existence that extends further back than we may often think (see Abraham 3:22-23 and combine with D&C 93:29; if we were in that premortal world and were either "intelligences" or, at least, comprised of "intelligence" which cannot be created, where then was the beginning? See also Abr. 3:18.) We know that we will live forever, and if we have already lived forever, this Earth life becomes a small but important hinge in our much-larger-than-first-glace-would-show existence.

The Real Plan of Salvation

However, even this map, drawn more to scale, is still just a map. What then is the Plan of Salvation. Imagine being in that premortal life with God, knowing and being known by him on a personal level that comes with an eternity of proximity, and yet noticing between you and Him inherent differences: Ha has a glorified and glorious body; He has power and knowledge borne from experience and obedience; He creates worlds and life and children; He has joy that surpasses all comprehension. As any good father would, He desires that you may become like Him. So, He created a PLAN to help each of His children gain SALVATION and ultimately Eternal life, or in other words, a life like the one that He himself has (Eternal or "Endless is [God's] name" Moses 1:3.)

This Plan required the creation of a world whereon God's children would dwell. It would be necessary for mankind to fall from that innocent created state to a state in which men and women could sin and experience misery and, subsequently, repent and experience joy. This repentance and the eventually overcoming of death would all come because Jesus, the "Beloved and Chosen from the beginning" would go to Earth, live a mortal life, sacrifice himself in a godly atonement for sin, suffer an ungodly death on the cross, and resurrect so that all God's children would rise from death and could arise from sin.

So what is the Plan of Salvation? It is God's plan fro helping us become like Him; and I, for one, am indebted and grateful to Him for it.

Questions:

How would the truths of the Plan of Salvation affect somebody's life were they to understand, believe, and act on them?
How have these truths impacted you?

11:48 PM
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The Santa Level

The Baby Jesus Level

The Redeeming Christ Level

Questions:

…for peace

…for the love of God

What happened?

Who did it?

Why is it an issue?

What would Jesus do?

What has the Lord done?

We don’t know why she cut the ends off the ham.

She cut the ends off the ham a long time ago.

Ham-end cutter-offers aren’t good record keepers.

Ovens were smaller back then.

It really doesn’t matter if the ends are cut off—the ham tastes really, really good!

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Problem 1.

Problem 2.

Questions:

Why

Who

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The Real Plan of Salvation

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