Scripture Journey

“Chapter 14: Words of Hope and Consolation at the Time of Death,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),171–81

Link to lesson.

This lesson is about death and overcoming the grief we experience in facing the death of loved ones.  Joseph lost an unbelievable number of loved ones in his life.  He consoled himself and those around him with detailed descriptions of his visions of the afterlife and the resurrection.

A poignant quote from him is this one: “More painful to me are the thoughts of annihilation than death. If I have no expectation of seeing my father, mother, brothers, sisters and friends again, my heart would burst in a moment, and I should go down to my grave. The expectation of seeing my friends in the morning of the resurrection cheers my soul and makes me bear up against the evils of life. It is like their taking a long journey, and on their return we meet them with increased joy. … "

One might argue that the pain and agony of losing loved ones is enough to drive one to believe in God, not the opposite, for only by believing in God and in an afterlife and a resurrection can one overcome the incredible agony of losing a child.  And one thing Joseph did was think about and ponder and pray about the feelings of those who did lose children, and his heart was obviously particularly soft towards mothers who lose children: 

“A question may be asked—‘Will mothers have their children in eternity?’ Yes! Yes! Mothers, you shall have your children; for they shall have eternal life, for their debt is paid.”6

“Children … must rise just as they died; we can there hail our lovely infants with the same glory—the same loveliness in the celestial glory.”7

President Joseph F. Smith, the sixth President of the Church, reported: “Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that the infant child that was laid away in death would come up in the resurrection as a child; and, pointing to the mother of a lifeless child, he said to her: ‘You will have the joy, the pleasure and satisfaction of nurturing this child, after its resurrection, until it reaches the full stature of its spirit.’ … "

These concepts may strike some as overly solicitous, as trying too hard to console the grief of a woman who lost an infant.  And yet there is a feeling of rightness in them, a sense that these concepts make sense and ring true and make the world right and a better place.  These are the sort of doctrines that one can feel are true.

Chapter 13: Obedience: “When the Lord Commands, Do It”, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),158–70

Link to lesson.

This lesson discusses obedience to God's commandments.  This concept is a sticking point for some Christian theologians, who believe that LDS doctrine is not truly "christian" because of its emphasis on works and obedience.  Their argument is typically that men are saved by grace, not works, and that someone who has accepted Christ into their hearts, will obey God's commandments out of love and humility, rather than in an attempt to "earn" salvation, which cannot be earned.

I think that this argument misunderstands LDS doctrine and misunderstands New Testament teachings of Christ.  LDS doctrine clearly teaches that man can only be saved by God's grace, but also teaches that man can essentially surrender or give up that salvation by disobedience.  This concept is nicely illustrated by this quote from Joseph Smith:

“Any man may believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and be happy in that belief, and yet not obey his commandments, and at last be cut down for disobedience to the Lord’s righteous requirements.”7

Likewise, the New Testament is thoroughly peppered with references to the need for good works, for obedience and righteouess, and for these things being somehow connected to salvation.  Consider for example the simple story Christ shares in Matthew 25 in which he describes the judgment day, when the King will separate the righteous from the wicked.  The righteous in this case are those that fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, took strangers in, clothed the naked and visited the sick.  The wicked -- who did none of these good works -- "go away into everlasting punishment."  Matthew 25:46. 

Time and time again, Christ makes it clear that in order to be saved in the Kingdom of Heaven, we must not merely accept Him, but we must do the works that demonstrate we are His followers.  That is  Christ's doctrine and it is LDS Doctrine as well.

Chapter 12: Proclaim Glad Tidings to All the World,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),148–57

Link to lesson.

This lesson discusses missionary work and why LDS members should do it.  I think one of the most persuasive concepts of LDS missionary work is found in this quote from Joseph Smith

“We don’t ask any people to throw away any good they have got; we only ask them to come and get more. What if all the world should embrace this Gospel? They would then see eye to eye, and the blessings of God would be poured out upon the people, which is the desire of my whole soul.”14

It is hard to argue with this concept, which was repeated time and again by President Hinckley in recent periods.  LDS doctrine recognizes that truth may exist in many sphres, in virtually any religion, and that each man possesses some part of it.  Some may possess more and some less.  An LDS missionary does not ask anyone to give up truth: merely to consider what he or she offers, what the Book of Mormon and the LDS faith offers, and discover for themselves if there is any additional truth there that can augment what this person has already found.

“Chapter 11: The Organization and Destiny of the True and Living Church,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),135–47

Link to lesson.

Fascinating that Joseph Smith accurately predicted the future growth of the LDS Church on the very day the church was organized: "...you know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother’s lap. You don’t comprehend it...It is only a little handful of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the world."

I suppose anyone with a lot of hope about a new church could say something like that so in some ways it doesn't qualify as a prophesy that is evidence of his prophetic powers.  But it does at least demonstrate that he had tremendous faith in the Church and its potential. 

“Chapter 10: Prayer and Personal Revelation,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),125–34

Link to Lesson

One of the most revolutionary concepts that Joseph Smith restored to the Earth is the concept of personal reveleation.  It really shouldn't be so revolutionary. But most people had ceased believing that God would speak directly to men.   Most people don't believe that today.  I have a hard time understanding why this concept is so difficult.  I don't see how you could accept the Old Testament as scripture and believe otherwise.  It is full of men (and women) speaking to God and to angels, often directly.  How could it be the case that God would speak to men then, but not now?  Joseph Smith made this point rather eloquently in the quotations contained in this lesson.  And it makes complete sense.

He also pointed out how important it is for men and women to pray for everything, not just for spiritual blessings.  I need to do better at that. 

Great Talk on Serving the "One," Given June 2008

John 5: 5-6; “And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?”

Like this 38 year old who encountered Christ, have we not all been “a long time in that case (or not well)?”

Do we not all long to be “whole”?

How did we lose this sense of wholeness; where we feel separated from our spiritual selves to one degree or another?

We have lost a sense of rhythm - a willingness to breathe, think, walk, speak, laugh, cry, and be silent at our own pace, in our own time. (Julie Redstone)

Think of yourself for a minute. What holes in your own life keep you from feeling complete? Is it a dysfunctional family that did not teach you to love fully? A broken relationship that keeps you from trusting? A lack of faith from prayers unanswered? Or is it just a spiritual malaise that comes and goes over the course of time.

Indeed as one person put it; we “all live lives of quiet desperation”.

If that is true we all have cavernous souls, waiting to be filled. For as Neil A. Maxwell said, “adversity is the great excavator of the soul.” And how do we compensate for this sense of emptiness? Some overeat, like meJ. We pray. Cry. Walk. Talk. Work. Spend. All searching to become whole with what we have lost in coming to this mortal world. That sense of connection to each other, ourselves and to God. We are seeking to become ONE.

But we don’t need to seek alone. I’d like to speak today on how we can help each other become whole through spiritual service. Service not to the masses, but service to the ONE.

Who is the ONE?

The one is a family member that struggles with self-esteem

The one is a ward member that suffers from depression

The one is a neighbor that has an addiction problem

The one is a friend that is in financial distress

But most of all, the one is us; it is you & it is me

I believe that serving the one requires a certain closeness to those we serve and to God. So how do we personally become close to our Heavenly Father, ourselves, and others? We serve on a personal, visceral level. Where it counts.

Dallas Merrell said:

“Service is at the heart of eternal life and our personal destinies. The basic test in this life is what we choose to do and become. The Savior has told us what to do: “For the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do” (3 Ne. 27:21). He has said what we should become: “Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Ne. 27:27). By choosing to do His work we become like Him.”

So by serving we draw closer to our own personal destiny. Eternal Life. But it also takes faith:

From faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, with justified hope in our hearts, comes appreciation for what the Savior has done for us. This brings the spirit of charity—a love for God and a desire to participate in the great work of serving His children. Moroni proclaims: “Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity”

Notice the relationship between faith, hope and charity.

King Benjamin asked how someone can know a master he has not served (see Mosiah 5:13). We come to know our Master through having faith, hope, and charity; this combination is the doctrinal fountain from which flow service, discipleship, and eternal life.

In particular I believe it takes faith and hope in ourselves to develop charity for others. Haven’t each one of us felt incapable of performing charity because of our own personal weakness or despair? The Lord is telling us that if we will just have faith and hope in ourselves, and in Him, we will have the personal capacity to serve.

I have found this true in my own life. From one personal challenge to the next I have felt my personal energy, and therefore my ability to serve others, wax and wane. But it’s clear that as I have been blessed with an increased level of hope and happiness I have been in a better position to help others. I’ll give you an example.

Most of you know I have battled a chronic illness throughout my life. I used to go to my doctor’s office, thinking it was the most miserable place I could be. It reminded me of the frustration and pain of dealing with my disease. I would avoid that place at all cost. I couldn’t drive by the building without getting physically sick. But eventually I found hope and healing in that place. Through modern medicine I found inner health, and in turn confidence. Not long had passed when I started a new business. I engaged a realtor to find suitable office space for the company. After looking at many options he took me to the last possible location. The office he showed me was in that same doctor’s building that I used to loath, literally underneath his office. I thought “is this possible”? Could I sit here every day, so close to that memory of pain? Why am I being led here? The answer would come soon enough. After the search I decided to locate there. Now as I watch patients walk in and out of the lobby I feel the pain they endure, the same pain I used to have. But in officing there I have had the opportunity to pass my doctor in the parking lot and in the hallways. Over time we have developed a personal friendship that has helped me help others. This guy is world class in his profession and does not take new patients because of the demand on his time. Well, because of this friendship I have been able to refer literally dozens of people to him. In fact, many of you here today know this doctor well as he has helped you or your families, including:

            Drug addiction, depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, eating disorders, anger, the ravages of homosexuality, and other really vicious disabilities. Daughters who are off at college. A wife struggling to leave the home. Missionaries returning early. Fathers trying to earn a living. Sons trying to measure up. And that’s just from this ward. Many others have sought help from me for other emotional ailments.

Because this doctor’s office screens out newcomers I sometimes make the appointment under my name in order to get it into the computer system, take my friend into the office, and leave them with my doctor to work on healing the body and mind—in order that the patient can feel the Lord’s hand in healing the soul. I have often wondered aloud with him about starting a single clinic just for my friends and family. Sadly, in today’s world of spiritual and physical fragmentation we would make a killing.

I’m ashamed to say that it’s been the single biggest contribution I’ve made to the one lately. But as one man said,

“I am a man, I am only a man. I cannot do every thing. But I can do one thing. And by the grace of God I shall do that one thing.”

A simple example of how the Lord blesses us so we can bless others. On a personal and visceral level. I’ve had the opportunity to hear the hopes and dreams of these people, sometimes fleeting, and have seen them walk the dark halls of illness. And I’ve watched them beat the odds, endure when they can’t, and in most cases flourish spiritually.

Again Brother Merrell:

“Charity is not just works or gift giving, but a condition of the soul, a quality of our character. The gift of charity flows from God as He reveals His love for us, and from our reciprocating—feeling love for God, His work, and His children.

Devoted service and discipleship are the same. We are to be “willing to bear one another’s burdens,” “to mourn with those that mourn,” and to “comfort those that stand in need of comfort”.

I believe we all “stand in need of comfort”. For we all lack some wholeness. We all long to be one with ourselves and the Lord.

Elder Wirthlin gave an excellent talk in conference on this. He identified three categories of people in our midst. All of them are in need of spiritual service. I’d like you to think about yourself, and which one of these categories you fit into.

1.      Those that are different

“They conclude that they are not needed [because of the] erroneous belief that all members of the Church should look, talk, and be alike. The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole.”

“This variety of creation itself is a testament of how the Lord values all His children. He does not esteem one flesh above another, but He “inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; . . . all are alike unto God.”³

2.      Those that are weary

He says that for those that are tired, or discouraged, or slow, the flock moves on, gradually, almost imperceptibly, and some fall behind. Have you ever felt that the “flock” is leaving you behind, imperceptibly at first. Then at once you feel that you are left alone?

This is the plight of those “whose hands hang down and who carry a heavy burden”.

Weary, we are full of fear of not meeting expectations of who we are “supposed” to be.

3.      Those that have strayed.

“Except for the Lord, we have all made mistakes. Some, after making mistakes, stray from the fold. This is unfortunate. Do you not know that the Church is a place for imperfect people to gather together—even with all their mortal frailties—and become better? Every Sunday in every meetinghouse throughout the world, we find mortal, imperfect men, women, and children who meet together in brotherhood and charity, striving to become better people, to learn of the Spirit, and to lend encouragement and support to others. I am not aware of any sign on the door of our meetinghouses that reads “Restricted Entrance—Perfect People Only.”

Are you as guilty as me of thinking everyone else has it all together? This is a myth.

And Neil A. Maxwell admonished that "It is our job to lift others up, not to size them up."

No one has it all together. In fact, by definition each one of us is fragmented. Each one of us fits into one of the three categories at one time or another.

If this is true, and I believe that it is, each one of us needs to give, and receive, spiritual service. How is this done? We need only to turn to the Savior’s example:

Brother Merrell: “Jesus Christ is the model servant. As he prepared to enter into mortality, the Messiah pledged, “On the morrow come I into the world, to show the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets” (3 Ne. 1:13)—to fulfill His ancient and ageless covenant of service and sacrifice for mankind. The resurrected Savior’s example of service was very personal, for “he came down and stood in the midst of them” (3 Ne. 11:8). He spent time with them one-on-one, taught them, prayed for and with them. He blessed the sick, lame, maimed, deaf, blind, and dumb. He blessed and prayed in behalf of the little children with such tenderness and spiritual impact that His words could not even be written.”

He was surrounded by multitudes and spoke to thousands, yet He always had concern for the one. “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost,”¹ He said. “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?”

This notion of one-on-one is very compelling. Impact. Spirit to spirit. A sharing that brings wholeness to a riddled soul. How does this work?

Albert Einstein sheds some light: “Strange is our situation here upon the earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of others…For the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy.”

Our fate is connected to the one, by a bond of sympathy for the one.

            As Adlai Esteb said, “Sympathy is your pain in my heart.”

This sympathy inextricably links each one of us, tethered together like life rafts in the ocean. As we show sympathy, we build that rope that keeps the rafts together. None of us will get back alone. We act when we can act. But always sympathy.

As with Paul, we hope to serve willingly.

1 Corinthians 9:19--Paul said, "Though I am free from all men, yet have I made myself servant of all."

And in Romans: “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.”

The life rafts, tethered together, bound by faith and mutual comfort. Sympathy. To the end you may be established; or in other words restore wholeness.

Spiritual service, showing sympathy, doesn’t come in a blaze of glory. It is not necessarily profound or historic. In fact, this type of service often goes unrecognized by the masses; quiet.

But as Mother Teresa said, “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature’s trees, flowers, grasses grow in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls.”

And so quietly, silently, we impact the souls, the destinies, of others.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

(Given by Tom P. in June 2008 in Park City, UT)

Easter Talk 2006

When I was about 11 years old, we were on a cross-country car tour with a pop-up trailer and camped one night in a campground in Minnesota.  We were the only ones in the campground and we arrived late at night.  When we arrived we saw there was a swimming hole that was basically a giant pond with a gravel bottom, filled with water.  In the middle of the pond was a diving platform that you had to swim out to.  We were all so excited to swim the next morning.  We got up and my parents made a large breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon.  My sister and I ate quickly and then ran up to jump in the pond.  We were all by ourselves –the water was cold and the air cool and all you could hear was the frogs.  My younger brother, who was 8, had a slightly longer appointment with the food.  He was one of those kids who basically couldn’t stop eating until there was absolutely no more room to fit anything else in.  About ten minutes after we started swimming, he came waddling up to the pool and after some effort and wiggling, somehow managed to remove his shirt from his belly, which looked like a large melon, about to burst. He then started waddling towards the water.  We were in the middle of the pool, headed for the diving platform, and we tried to wave him back, but he ignored us.  You see, he also didn’t really know how to swim very well yet, but he didn’t want to be left out, and so he had to join us.  He started doggy paddling towards the diving platform, and within about 10 seconds, he froze because his stomach cramped, and then he went under.  We started swimming towards him and then he managed to appear barely above the water and blubber, “I’m drowning” before going under again.

I was a Webelos scout and had my first aid and swimming skill awards, so I was pretty confident I could handle the situation.  I swam over to him and reached down and grabbed his arm.  He grabbed my arm back and popped out of the water, gasping for breath, then with superhuman strength, pulled me over to him and with his other hand, grabbed the top of my head and pushed me to the bottom of the pool, so that I was underwater, standing on the bottom, while he had his head above water.  But he was still babbling that he was drowning, so my sister came over, and as soon as she was within reach, he grabbed her head with his other hand, and pushed her to the bottom of the pool too.  So there we were, standing on the bottom of the pool, with the weight of a dozen pancakes, numerous eggs and innumerable pieces of bacon on top of our heads.  We could not escape, no matter how hard we tried, and soon we realized this was how we were going to die.  Luckily, even though he was now fine, my brother kept screaming, “I’m drowning”, and so my father finally heard him and came wandering up and saw my brother there, screaming and crying that he was drowning.  My father thought it was a little odd that my brother’s head was out of the water and his arms were not moving but appeared to be resting on something.  So he went into the water, grabbed my brother’s arms, and pulled him towards shore.  My sister and I popped out of the water like corks, gasping for breath, almost dead.  My father dragged us all into the shore and laid us there to recover, which we eventually did, no thanks to my brother, who to this day claims he nearly drowned.  We of course claim he was trying to kill us.

How is this story relevant to Easter?  That’s a very good question.  Hopefully I’ll have an answer by the end of this talk.  Why don’t you think about it and see if you can figure it out.

So let me turn to the main points of my talk.  We are all know that Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.   This is the anniversary of his resurrection.  Let me read you the statement issued yesterday by the First Presidency:

“At this wonderful season of hope and renewal we testify of the glorious reality of the atonement and resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ.  The empty tomb brought the most comforting assurance that can come into man’s heart.  This was the affirmative answer to the ageless question raised by Job, “If a man dies, shall he live again?” Job 14:14.

As stated by the angel on that first resurrection morn, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?”  Luke 24:5.  “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.”  Matthew 28:6.

This is the promise of the risen Lord.  This is the relevance of Jesus to a world in which all must die.  Of all the victories in human history, none is so great, none so universal in its effect, none so everlasting in its consequences as the victory of the crucified Lord, who came forth in the resurrection that first Easter morning.”

Sometimes we don’t think about how important this holiday really is.  Let me quote to you from a talk by Elder James A. Cullimore, given in Conference in April 1968:

“Christmas is less a day of victory than Easter, for the story that begins then is incomplete until it is crowned by the announcement, "The Lord is risen." Someone has so beautifully said: "If the Savior, having breathed his last on the cross, had never come back to the world in life as he promised, then the Star of Bethlehem might as well never have flamed, the angels as well never have sung `Glory to God in the Highest' in the midnight sky, and the wise men from the east need not have taken their journey to find the babe in the manger. We might have wept over our crucified king if he had never risen from the dead, but we sound his praises now because he lives and reigns forever and ever." (Author unknown.)

I realize that most of you are in your twenties and that death may seem like a far off thing to you.  So I am going to try and focus this talk on two reasons why the resurrection matters to you as young adults.

The first is that the resurrection teaches us the importance of our bodies.  I have learned a lot about the importance of our bodies recently.  In February we visited my uncle who is dying of brain cancer.  He was once a member of the Church but drifted away.  Although he is a very good man, and he is married to a very good woman, and they both participate in a Christian church, they have no clear expectation of what the afterlife holds for them.  They are afraid and heartbroken.  It is heartbreaking to watch them both suffer as he slowly dies.

My wife has been seriously ill since last May.  For a long time, we could not find out what was wrong with her.  She received several blessings, and each time she was told by different people that she would be led to find the right medical care provider who would help her find a solution. In the meantime, she was so weak that she could barely get out of bed.  She could not walk or run or exercise.  Often she could not drive.  She was unable to cook.  It was too stressful for her to sing, which is something she loves.  Sometimes she could nothing more than sob uncontrollably.  It is very difficult to imagine what it is like to completely lose your health.  I was right there next to her, and I am sure that I do not comprehend the utter despair and hopelessness that must come when the body is completely debilitated. 

But ultimately the blessings she received were fulfilled.  We found a doctor from Germany who had a very unusual approach and was able to help my wife.  Over the course of about 8 weeks, this doctor treated my wife almost every day. She put my wife on a very strict diet.  Little by little, my wife began to get better.  Now she is well enough to take an occasional short walk.  She practices Yoga.  She can go to church every Sunday.  She has started singing again.  And she can go to the temple. 

It has been such a blessing for my wife to learn what it is like for the seriously ill or for the elderly to suffer.  She now has more compassion.  We have both come to appreciate health and our bodies much more and the time we have together.

The resurrection teaches us that our bodies matter – Christ died and came back so that we could have our bodies again.  Think about it: why isn’t it enough that we know we can continue to exist as spirits in the afterlife – why does it matter so much that we get our bodies back and that our bodies be eternally joined to our spirits?  I sometimes wish I could get a different body: I am not particularly strong or fast or good looking...in fact, I have a rather ordinary body.  Why do I want it back?  Couldn't I get a different one?  Of course, I’m missing the point, aren’t I?  Getting a perfect body isn’t about getting the strongest or most attractive body. It’s about getting a body that is immortal and sanctified so that it can stand the presence of God.

In April, the National Geographic Society announced the translation of a very ancient text written in Coptic or Egyptian Christian that purports to be the Gospel of Judas.  The document itself was discovered more than 30 years ago but in the meantime had disintegrated into a thousand pieces inside the safe of an antiquities dealer in New York.  A significant amount of work and money was needed to restore the document to a form in which it could be translated.  In the resulting translation, an alternative version of the gospels is given in which Judas is portrayed as Jesus’ closest friend who was the only apostle willing to help him escape his body so he could return to God as a pure spirit.  The theory behind this is that the only way to be truly happy is to be a spirit. 

This translation was announced as a major event: an alternative to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  But it is not a major event.  It is a false doctrine we are all familiar with in one form or another – it originates with a being that does not have a body and wishes all of us to believe that our bodies don’t matter.  This false doctrine was pursued by a branch of Christianity known as the Gnostics soon after Christ’s death.  It is a false doctrine that is currently relied upon by purveyors of pornography, of liquor and of illegal drugs: these sellers of sin would have you believe that what you do behind closed doors, what you do to your body, is your business, and doesn’t really matter in the end anyway because you can always repent, if it turns out what you did was wrong.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints, we know this to be false; because we know that our bodies matter and are part of the eternal plan.  Consider the following scriptures:

Genesis 9:6 “in the image of God made he man”

• 1 Cor 17:6 “ye are the temple of God”

• Mosiah 2:37 “The Lord dwelleth not in unholy temples”

• D&C 84:33 “For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.”

• D&C 89:18--20

18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones. 

19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;

20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.

• D&C 130:22 “The father has a body of flesh and bones”

We know that we needed to come to earth to get a body, and this earth is really about the choices we make when we are in our physical bodies and separated from the presence of God.  We also know that the culmination of the plan of salvation is being resurrected with a celestial body and returning to live with God in the Celestial Kingdom.  This can only be done with a body, and it can only be done because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That is why the resurrection is described in the Bible Dictionary as the “center point of hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ.” 

It is easy to imagine that the commandments and instructions we receive to keep our body pure from sin don’t really matter that much, or perhaps can be violated once in a while, since there is no harm if we just look once, or just try it once, or just make a mistake once.  But this view trivializes our body and assumes, implicitly, that these commandments are temporal not spiritual, and we know from D& C 29:34..35 that all commandments are spiritual.  This means at a minimum that breaking these commandments harms not only your body, but your spirit, and the harm can be significant.  If any of you have harmed your body or your spirit by defiling your temple, let this Easter be the time when you honor Christ’s sacrifice by repenting.

Now, let me turn to something else that the resurrection teaches us.  In the April 1969 session of General Conference, President Hinckley gave a talk about the resurrection and Easter:

“As he is the conqueror of death, so also is he the master of life. His way is the answer to the troubles of the world in which we live.

…the love of Jesus was a thing of courage so much needed in our time. It was the love that embraced all men as the children of God; it was the love that turned the other cheek; it was the love spoken from the cross in undying words, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34.)

This explanation by President Hinckley, that Jesus Christ was not only the conqueror of death, but the master of life, is the second lesson of Easter.  It was his love that made him the master of life and in the end, it was love that made him the conqueror of death.  Let me recount a story to illustrate why that is true.

On May 9^th, Crown publishing will be releasing a book called Miracle in the Andes about the tragic plane crash of a Uruguayan rugby team and the miraculous survival of 14 of the team members, mostly due to the 9 day trek through the very highest snow-covered peaks of the Andes by two of the team members after they had already been starving to death for several weeks.  One of them, the author of this book, was Nando Parrado.  One chapter of his book was released in the May edition of Outside magazine.  In the plane crash, he lost his mother and his sister and most of his friends.  Only his father remained at home in Uruguay, and he and another victim had decided to try and hike out after they heard that rescuers had given him the search weeks before.  Listen to his description of what he discovered two days into his attempt to cross the Andes, after climbing nearly straight up for a day and a half and after summiting several false peaks:

“I kept my hopes in check, but this time the slope fell away and I found myself standing on a gloomy hump of wind-scoured snow.  I don’t remember if I felt any joy in that moment.  If I did, it vanished as soon as I glanced around.  The horizon was crowded in every direction with snow-covered mountains, each as steep and forbidding as the one I’d just climbed.  I understood immediately that the Fairchild’s copilot had been badly mistaken. …We were nowhere near the western limits of the Andes.  Our plane had fallen somewhere in the middle of the range.  In that moment, all my dreams, assumptions and expectations evaporated into the thin Andean air.  I had always thought life was the natural thing, and death was simply the end of living.  Now, in this lifeless place, I saw with terrible clarity that death was the constant, and life was only a short, fragile dream.  I felt a sharp and sudden longing for my mother and sister, and for my father, whom I was sure I would never see again.  But despite the hopelessness of my situation, the memory of him filled me with joy.  It staggered me—the mountains could not crush my ability to love.  In that moment, I discovered a simple, astounding secret: Death has an opposite, but it is not mere living.  It is not courage or faith or will.  The opposite of death is love.  How had I missed that?  How does anyone miss that?  My fears lifted, and I knew that I would not let death control me.  I would walk through that godforsaken country with love and hope in my heart.  I would walk until I’d walked all the life out of me, and when I fell, I would die that much closer to home.”

After 9 days of walking he and his companion stumbled upon a sheep camp high in the Andes and two days later, helicopters rescued all the remaining 12 survivors.

I mention this story on this Easter Sunday because the lesson that Nando Parrado learned in that moment – that the opposite of Death is love – is very relevant to Easter and to what Christ gave us, not just through his resurrection, but through his life and atonement as well.

If you will turn with me to John 13, we can read about Christ’s last hours before he surrendered himself to be crucified and then resurrected.  Think about the situation: he knew he only had a few hours left to teach his disciples something, and so he chose very carefully an object lesson that would last in their minds throughout their lives and would help them understand the key to the gospel  These verses are in many ways the best illustration of how and why Christ was a master over life and how this mastery over life allowed him to conquer death.   

Read John 13:4-5 and 12-17

This is a description in a very few verses of God’s plan of happiness.  Christ tells us he is our Master, but then defines the role of master as washing the feet of others, in this case of his disciples.  He then tells us we should follow his example, and if we do, we will be happy.  This is what President Hinckley meant when he told us Christ was the master of life – that he lived a life filled with service and love for others – and it is the secret to our own happiness.  This is also what Nando Parando learned on that mountain: that the opposite of death is not life – it is love.  As all of us know, we can be alive and yet not truly alive.  We can be alive but miserable, whether due to sin or illness or our own selfishness.  Life is given meaning through love. 

But love is not just a feeling: it is an action.  Nando Parrado and his companion demonstrated their love of their families and the other survivors of their wreck by hiking for nine days with no equipment or food through one of the most difficult mountain ranges in the world.  And now I will share with you the reason why I told the story of nearly drowning in that pond: my father demonstrated his love for his children when he saved my my sister and I from certain death at the hands of a younger brother who was focused, understandably in this case, entirely on saving himself.   And you can I can demonstrate love through service to others rather than being focused on our own happiness – on saving ourselves.  Through this love, we will find happiness.

And so if you can remember two things this Easter, remember these two: that our bodies are our eternal temples and should be treated like temples, and that the secret to life – and death – is loving others through service.

(By Stan S., High Councilor, to Single Adult Ward in Park City, UT).

Lesson 16: “Ye Shall Be Called the Children of Christ”, Book of Mormon Class Member Study Guide, 10

Link to Lesson

These verses from Mosiah 4 contain King Benjamin's discussion of how we should treat beggars:

16 And also, ye yourselves will ^asuccor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the ^bbeggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.

17 Perhaps thou shalt ^asay: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—

18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.

19 For behold, are we not all ^abeggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a ^aremission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his ^bSpirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with ^cjoy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.

21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to ^aimpart of the substance that ye have one to another.

22 And if ye ^ajudge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your ^bcondemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life ^cbelongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.

King Benjamin pretty clearly nailed this issue, which is one that many people struggle with.  What are you supposed to do if a beggar asks you for money?  Most people I know give the explanation that you should offer the beggar food, or offer to take them somewhere and buy them food, on the assumption that if you give them money, they will use it for drugs or alcohol or cigarettes.  That may be true, and giving someone food or taking them to get food or clothing are fine.  But I think that many people take it a step farther, and conclude (or even argue) that if the beggar was going to misuse the money anyway, that what is the point of giving them any -- and by the way, I would take the beggar to get food but I just don't have time. 

I'm not sure how you escape the doctrinal box that King Benjamin has created in this speech: there is really no justifiable way to turn the beggar away and it is up to you to help him in some way.  I suppose that creativity and ingenuity are allowed, so giving the beggar money is not the only solution.  Another interesting question is whether helping the beggar find institutional help answers King Benjamin's call or not -- in other words, taking them by the hand and driving them to Welfare Square or the Bishop's Storehouse?  If this were a sincere effort and the individual beggar were responsive to this type of help, I imagine it would more than qualify, but if, as I suspect would be the case most of the time, the beggar simply refused and re-petitioned for money -- I don't know how you say no and feel right about it.

In a broader sense, do we have an obligation to help the poor who are not standing right in front of us?  Does this doctrine demand that we all participate more actively and more fully in efforts to help the poor in other countries?  It seems to me that we should.

The people who heard King Benjamin were converted and their hearts were changed.  These verses in Mosiah 4 that describe that change of heart are some of my favorite in all the scriptures:

 

2 And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty ^achange in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do ^bevil, but to do good continually.

3 And we, ourselves, also, through the infinite ^agoodness of God, and the manifestations of his Spirit, have great views of that which is to come; and were it expedient, we could prophesy of all things.

4 And it is the faith which we have had on the things which our king has spoken unto us that has brought us to this great knowledge, whereby we do rejoice with such exceedingly great joy.

5 And we are willing to enter into a ^acovenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring upon ourselves a ^bnever-ending torment, as has been spoken by the ^cangel, that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God.

I pray all the time for this kind of change of heart, for a complete conversion where you have no more disposition to do evil and you have a disposition to do good continually.  I can imagine possibly achieving one of those, but both?  What a powerful experience it must have been to hear him speak and to feel the Spirit change your heart.  I wish I could have been there.

Lesson 15: “Eternally Indebted to Your Heavenly Father”, Book of Mormon Class Member Study Guide, 10

Link to Lesson

Mosiah 1:5 reads as follows:

  5 I say unto you, my sons, ^awere it not for these things, which have been kept and ^bpreserved by the hand of God, that we might ^cread and understand of his ^dmysteries, and have his ^ecommandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the ^ftraditions of their fathers, which are not correct.

A primary difference between the Nephites and the Lamanites is the absence of written records among the Lamanites.  In this verse, King Benjamin asserts that the Nephites would have dwindled in unbelief without the written records.  One interesting point not mentioned is that Laman and Lemuel actually did have access to the records prior to their "split" with Nephi and his followers.  Prior to coming to the New World, they spent some time trying to read them and understand them, although their efforts seem half-hearted or less compared to Nephi's conscientious study.  They also were key participants in the effort to retrieve them from Jerusalem as well. 

And so the issue is not so much the lack of records among the Lamanites as the lack of interest in the records, or a lack of understanding of what they contain.  To Laman and Lemuel the stories of faith and obedience and sacrifice contained in these records were apparently not compelling enough to soften their hearts or hold their interest.  They basically set the records aside by ignoring them. 

It is tempting to think that this is the sort of behavior that individuals who do not have the gospel in their lives represent.  But many of those people have never even been exposed to the scriptures, and so they are not ignoring them.  They are ignorant of them.  The people that ignore sacred records are the Saints themselves, who have the records but spend little if any time studying what is found in them.

In Mosiah 2, King Benjamin gives his famous speech that contains his discussion of us all being unprofitable servants, no matter how hard we try:

  20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the ^athanks and ^bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and ^cpreserved you, and has caused that ye should ^drejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

  21 I say unto you that if ye should ^aserve him who has created you from the beginning, and is ^bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you ^cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own ^dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your ^ewhole souls yet ye would be ^funprofitable servants.

Among all the sacred speeches ever given and recorded in any of the scriptures, and among all the sacred speeches I have ever heard at Church, this speech by King Benjamin has to rank among the top 5 or so.  The scriptures above are just a small excerpt from the entire speech, most of which is found in Mosiah 2. I would recommend that anyone, whether a member of the LDS Church or not, read this speech.  I can't imagine anyone reading it and concluding that it is not inspired.

It is a curious thing that God chooses to give us blessings we don't deserve and that He chooses to accept our repeated attempts to repent and follow him.  He must have the attributes of a parent, who likewise often gives ungrateful children blessings and things they don't really merit, and is always willing to forgive and forget.  I suppose that is why we call Him Father.

Lesson 14: “For a Wise Purpose”, Book of Mormon Class Member Study Guide, 9

Link to Lesson

This is an image of Jacob wrestling with either an Angel (as many interpret the scripture) or with God himself.  See Genesis 32:25.  In this scene, the struggle lasts through the night and Jacob's leg is out of joint, but he will not release the heavenly being until the being gives him a blessing.  The blessing he gets is a new name, Israel, which in the Hebrew tongue means "he will rule as God."  This wrestle comes about as Jacob is struggling with what to say when he inevitably must face Esau, his older twin brother, who remains angry with him because Jacob supposedly stole Esau's birthright.  Jacob ended up having this wrestle or struggle throughout the night before he ends up speaking with this heavenly being.

I am posting this image because Jacob's wrestle reminds me of the language that Enos uses as he describes his own efforts to gain a testimony of God and Christ:

2 And I will tell you of the ^awrestle which I had before God, before I received a ^bremission of my sins.

Enos goes on to pray throughout the day and the night until he finally receives assurance that his sins are forgiven and speaks directly with God.  These passages both describe a symbolic spiritual struggle with God or His representative that apparently needed to occur before the blessing could be conveyed: the forgiveness of sins for Enos, the new name for Jacob (Israel). 

I have never prayed as hard as Jacob or Enos.  I shouldn't expect to have the same level of spiritual enlightenment unless I too an willling to sacrifice what they did, to pray as hard as they did.