A Preparatory Prayer

I don't know how to put into words what I've been thinking about lately. The concept combines Moroni's Diligence with the act of praying for strength to resist temptation. In this blog, probably multiple times but at least once recently, I've recommended the habit of praying for strength in the face of temptation. "When you're tempted, pray." But there's also wisdom in praying well before that. In Luke 22, which my family read last night, Jesus told His disciples to "Pray, lest ye enter into temptation" (verse 46). The prayer wasn't a request for strength to resist a present temptation, but the strength to resist (or the grace to avoid) a future one. Moroni didn't build his strongholds as the Lamanites were attacking, but well before then. A wise soldier puts his armor on, not when a battle starts, but before then. We should try to have the Armor of God on all the time. We should put it on, and keep putting more layers on, as often as we can, whenever we can, so we can be ready for battle even before a temptation comes. Because if we don't, by the time we realize we're being attacked, it might already be too late. We need to keep our guard up. We need to keep our armor on all the time, because we never know when the next temptation will come. We need to be ready.

Sacred Honor

There's a phrase I heard last night in the Century of Honor broadcast put on by the church about scouting. The phrase I'm referring to is one that I'm not sure I understand and I don't think I agree with. Unfortunately, though the phrase is only two words long, those two words have multiple definitions, some stronger than others, making for maybe a dozen or more definitions for the phrase, the most offensive of which I certainly disagree with. The phrase is "sacred honor."

Dictionary.com gives five definitions for the noun honor:

1. honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions: a man of honor.
2. a source of credit or distinction: to be an honor to one's family.
3. high respect, as for worth, merit, or rank: to be held in honor.
4. such respect manifested: a memorial in honor of the dead.
5. high public esteem; fame; glory: He has earned his position of honor.

Of these, the first definition seems to be the best form of honor, and the fifth, the worst. In the eternal scheme of things, fame and public esteem mean nothing, but honesty, fairness, and integrity are of great worth - but can they be called "sacred?" Sacred means:

1. devoted or dedicated to a deity or to some religious purpose; consecrated.
2. entitled to veneration or religious respect by association with divinity or divine things; holy.
3. pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to secular or profane): sacred music; sacred books.4. reverently dedicated to some person, purpose, or object: a morning hour sacred to study.
5. regarded with reverence: the sacred memory of a dead hero.

 Reading these, I think that when I think of something as being sacred, what I actually mean is holy, which may be what put me off about calling one's honor "sacred." No one's honor is worth being worshipped (unless I have the definition of worship wrong in my mind, too). But one's honor (honesty, fairness, integrity) could be "devoted or dedicated to a deity or to some religious purpose." That is, a person could act honorably for the sake of the glory of God, or as a way to worship Him. I'm pretty sure paladins do something like that.

Still, I'm reluctant to use the phrase "sacred honor" because it's not immediately obvious that the honor is only sacred because it's devoted to God. A person may get the idea that one thinks the honor itself is sacred or holy - as important as God is - and if they define honor as "high public esteem," that puts WAY too much importance on what others think of you.

Some cultures put a very heavy emphasis on honor (I'm not sure what definition they use), so much that having honor is more important than life itself, and if you lose your honor, you might as well be dead. Some have committed suicide because of a loss of honor. I don't think honor's that important. I think that if you lose your honor (for example, by acting dishonorably), that doesn't mean your life is over; it means you dust yourself off and try again.

I'm not sure exactly what the scouts meant when they talked about "sacred honor" last night, but I still think that it's a bit of an exaggeration. Yes, it's important to act with honor, and yes, there are sacred (as opposed to secular) reasons for that. And I suppose that if someone devoted themselves whole-heartedly to the worship of God, then they could see acting with honor as a sacred duty, in which case their "honor" or integrity would be "sacred" or dedicated to God. But still, it's an extremely high standard and I think it's unreasonable to ask that of 18-year-old young men, let alone 12-year-old even younger young men.

Then again, setting extremely high standards may be part of the point of scouting. If, by the end of the scouting program, a boy scout is no better than an average, run-of-the-mill teenager, then we're doing something wrong, and thousands of people are wasting large portions of their lives on a program that is having no significant effect on the recipients. I know that's not the case. I hope no one will be offended when I make this comparison, but I think that the average boy scout is better than the average, non-scouting young man. He has better training, higher standards, more purpose, and greater honor, than many of his peers. Are a scout's standards high enough that he could consider his honor sacred? That's up to the scout, I guess. Is it that important to him? Only he can say. All I can say is that honor is important. Maybe not that important, but it's probably close. If your honor actually is sacred to you, then I guess I really shouldn't say anything, but it's a little too late for that.

On God's Side

Credit to my Mom for sharing this quote on Facebook:

“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.” - Abraham Lincoln

God, as many Christian churches regularly repeat, does not change. His commandments don't change. His teachings don't change. And certainly His moral principles don't change. It is we, flawed humans, who change.

While it's true that sometimes God gives specific commandments and teachings to specific individuals and groups that don't necessarily apply to everyone across all of time, I believe that we'll one day see that it was the circumstances that related to the rules that changed, not the rules themselves. For example, if there was a rule, "No Left Turn, Except on Green Arrow," a person could still make a left turn, but only on a green arrow. While most people, by this rule, would be forbidden from turning, others would not be. The rule didn't change - the circumstance did.

But even so, I don't know of many rules like that among the commandments God has given mankind, and the basic moral principles, such as honesty, kindness, gratitude, and virtue, have (as far as I know) remained unchanged throughout the eternities. While there are certain circumstances in which killing is necessary and justified, the general commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill" has been in force since the days of Adam. We can usually count on God to not change His mind on whether something is good or bad, and we can especially rely on God not to switch sides, as people occasionally do.

The idea, then, is not to get God to be on our side, to win Him over to our way of thinking, but rather to get ourselves to be on His side, to win ourselves over to His way of thinking, for, as President Lincoln said, "God is always right."

There are at least two sides to every issue - Green and Red branches on every tree (See Agency - Green and Red Branches). It's not our place to choose whatever branch we want, then paint it. And even if we could convince everyone, including ourselves, that we're doing the right thing, that wouldn't make it right. God is the judge of what's right and wrong, and if we want to be right, we need to listen to Him. President Lincoln knew that. He listened to his conscience and to God, and I believe that he was right.

But actually, what I believe doesn't matter. What God says is true, no matter what we or others believe of want to believe. If God says something is wrong, then it's wrong, even if other people say it's okay. If God says it's important, it's important, even if others say it doesn't matter. And if God gives us a commandment, we should obey it, no matter who or what opposes us. No matter who else is on what side, we should always try to stay on God's side, because God is always right.

The Power of Their Influences

I saw this photo/quote posted on Facebook, where I get most of my inspiration for blog posts these days. I like this quote because it basically say that no matter how much God or Satan want to influence our lives, it's up to us to make the decisions. God can't lead us to safety if we don't follow Him, and Satan can't drag us down to hell without our consent, either. They can and do both whisper in our ears, trying to lead us down one path or another, trying to encourage us or discourage us, trying help us or hurt us, but in the end, it's all up to us. Satan can't force us to make bad decisions, and God won't force us to make good ones. He respects our agency so much that He lets us choose whether we follow Him or the adversary, and He has made sure that the adversary can't make that choice for us.

Every decision involves a struggle. Will we choose good or evil? And it's an important question because our decisions are the only ones that matter. We all know what God wants us to do (vaguely. The specifics can get a little fuzzy). And Satan has made it very clear what he wants us to do. But what they want doesn't really matter, at least, not for individuals. Each individual must choose for themselves which whispering voice they're going to listen to, the one that tells them to do good, or the one that tells them to do evil. The choice is ours. We make the decisions. We carry out the actions. It's all us.

As much as we talk about the power of God, there are self-imposed limits to what He will do. He won't help us unless we do something to show that we want His help. He won't force us to do good. And Satan only has as much power over people as they give to him. He can tempt us, and those temptations can feel very strong, but he can't make us give in. God will not allow Satan to tempt us beyond our power to resist. (1 Cor. 10: 13) The choice is always ours.

It's up to us to have the strength of character and the will-power to make the right decisions. God can help us, but only if we let Him. Satan will try to control us, but he can only do that if we let him. Ignore the devil's temptations, call upon God, and try to keep the commandments and follow the prophets. God can be a mighty defender and a powerful influence for good in our lives, but only if we let Him.

War Chapters - Fortify Your Weak Points

In Alma 49, a Lamanite army went to attack the Nephite city of Ammonihah. When they saw that they couldn't win there, they swore to destroy the city of Noah, and discovered that they couldn't win there either, but they attacked anyway and lost badly. There are a couple of mini-messages I could pull out of this chapter, including a message of the wisdom of not making oaths rashly. Or I could make this a message about perseverance or about trying alternate plans. But the message I'd most like to pull out of this chapter is the one that this chapter practically spells out to us: fortify your weak points.

It wasn't by random chance that the Lamanites chose to attack the city of Ammonihah first. Back in Alma 14, the people of the city of Ammonihah demonstrated extreme wickedness, burning Christians alive, along with their religious texts. After the surviving Christians left Ammonihah, the Laminites had come through and destroyed the city and all the remaining inhabitants. The Nephites later retook and rebuilt the city.

Behold, I said that the city of Ammonihah had been rebuilt. I say unto you, yea, that it was in part rebuilt; and because the Lamanites had destroyed it once because of the iniquity of the people, they supposed that it would again become an easy prey for them.
-Alma 49: 3

The Lamanites saw Ammonihah as a weak point, "easy prey," so when they decided that they wanted to kill some Nephites, Ammonihah was where they went. But the Nephites had rebuilt and fortified Ammonihah until it became a great stronghold, so, taking the path of least resistance, the Lamanites decided not to attack Ammonihah that day, but went to the city of Noah instead.

The choice to go to Noah wasn't a random one, either. It was another Nephite weak-spot that the Lamanites thought they could take out with ease.

But behold, to their astonishment, the city of Noah, which had hitherto been a weak place, had now, by the means of Moroni, become strong, yea, even to exceed the strength of the city Ammonihah. 

And now, behold, this was wisdom in Moroni; for he had supposed that they would be frightened at the city Ammonihah; and as the city of Noah had hitherto been the weakest part of the land, therefore they would march thither to battle; and thus it was according to his desires.
-Alma 49: 14-15

I've already written about the wisdom of Moroni in being diligent to keep working to defend his people even when they weren't under any immediate threat, but I can see now how all that diligence might have gone to waste if he had put it into the wrong efforts. Moroni knew which cities the Lamanites were likely to attack because he knew his nation's weak-points, and he knew that the Lamanites liked to take the path of least resistance. Knowing where your enemy is going to try to hit you can give you a great advantage in preparing for the attack. Thankfully, we have that advantage as well.

Satan, like the Lamanites, often takes the path of least resistance and tends to strike at us where he thinks we're weak. I wouldn't be surprised if, whenever he gets us to give in to any small temptation, he makes a note of which temptation worked on us, and continued using temptations like that against us in the future. That way, he learns our weaknesses, and those are the points at which he attacks us.

Ironically, we can use the exact same method to counter his attempts to tempt us. So, hypothetically, we gave in to temptation at least once before in our lives. What kind of temptation was it? What were the circumstances? How were you feeling (emotionally) at the time? Write down everything you can remember about the incident. If/When you give in to temptation again, write a new list about the factors in that temptation. Look for patterns and connections. In time, you'll start to get an idea of what strategies Satan uses against you - what your weaknesses are. Knowledge is power. He tries to get knowledge about your weaknesses so he can use those weak points to tempt you, but you can use the same knowledge to learn how to defend yourself against those temptations. When you learn what your weak points are, you can begin to fortify them, until... I was about to just share a part of a scripture, then I decided to share the whole thing.

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
-Ether 12: 27

I take this to mean that God wants to help us learn about our weaknesses - to give us that tactical knowledge, so we can begin to fortify them, and if we humbly acknowledge our weaknesses and are faithful in our efforts to fortify them, God will help us turn those weak points into strongholds against the power of the enemy.

Man, I love the war chapters. There's so much powerful, tactical advice in there. And to think that if we learned from and applied all the knowledge we have available to us, we could become tremendously powerful soldiers in the war over souls. It's exciting. There's a reason it's my favorite part of the Book of Mormon.

Code of Honor - Christlike Attributes

The church has put up another Bible Video. I'd love to embed it here, but it's not on Youtube yet, and I don't know how to share/embed videos from the video player the church uses on LDS.org. Hold on, maybe I can figure it out...

Well, I can share it on Facebook. Maybe I can download it to my computer, then upload it here. That should work, right?

Download complete! Now for the upload...

It's not working. How about a Link?

Anyhow, it's a video showing Jesus demonstrate many of His Christ-like attributes, using events from His life. As I watched the video, I paused it often to copy down the list of attributes Christ demonstrated. Here's the full text from the video:

Therefore, What Manner of Men Ought Ye to Be?
Verily, I Say Unto You, Even as I am.
-3 Nephi 27: 27

Humble
Obedient
Healer
Kind
Teacher
Courageous
Servant
Submissive
Selfless
Full of Love 

Yea, Come unto Christ and be Perfected in Him...
- Moroni 10: 32

I wish I could say that this video reminded me and inspired me to work on my Code of Honor, but the reminder actually came from an alarm I set for myself on my phone. I worked on my Code of Honor (and now have a pretty good first draft) before I even saw the video. But still, I thought the video was worth sharing.

The point of me creating a Code of Honor is to help me remember my standards so I can maintain them. I made a point of insuring that the first point of my Code of Honor is taking upon myself the name of Christ, or in other words, to be a Christian in both word and deed, to be the kind of person He wants me to be - the kind of person He was. In my opinion, every other good thing we can commit ourselves to do or be are just extensions of that principle. Jesus Christ is our perfect example. If we become better people, we are, in one way or another, becoming more like Him.

I'm grateful that Jesus was our perfect example, and that He marked the path for us to follow. I hope that I will remember and be diligent in following that path and becoming more like Him.

The Pointlessness of Lying

I saw an image on Facebook a while back, and made a note to myself to blog about it later. Later is now.

The only things that bother me about this message are the obviously missing Y, O, and G, and the lack of punctuation after "seen" and "anyway." It should say this:

If you have to sneak to do it, lie to cover it up, or delete it to avoid it being seen, then maybe you shouldn't be doing it anyway.

Sneaking is difficult, and lying is even harder. With some practice, people can get good at it, even make it effortless, but as a general rule, sneaking and lying and keeping secrets are pretty stressful, and most people's lives don't need any more stress. And there's another problem: There are (at least) two people that you can't effectively lie to - God and yourself.

God is omniscient - He knows EVERYTHING. He knows what you did last Summer. He knows what I had for lunch yesterday. He knows about everything that anyone has ever done. Want to cover your tracks and pretend it never happened? Sure, you can do that. It might even work, too... until you die. Once we're standing at the bar of God (if we even have the courage to stand there), all fibs and truth-stretching will be completely out of the question, or at least absolutely pointless.

The other person you can't really lie to is yourself. Sure, you can lie to yourself. You can tell yourself whatever you want to tell yourself, but you're not really fooling anyone. You know what the truth is. You know that you're lying to yourself. You can see right through it. So there's really no point in lying to yourself any more than there's any point in lying to God. You and God both know the truth about anything you might want to lie about, and at Judgement Day, that's all that's going to matter.

Thankfully, we don't have to rely on lying to sneak our way into heaven. We can rely on repentance, which ironically requires honest and open confession. Though, there's danger to that, too. If we willingly continue in sin, relying on God's mercy to wipe it away at the last second, you may find that He isn't quite so merciful to those who treat His commandments so trivially. Of course, repentance is always available for those who are trying to keep the commandments, but first we need to actually try.

There's no real way to "get away" with anything. All our actions and inactions will be brought into account when our time comes, unless we've sincerely repented of them by then. Thus, the best way to avoid the consequences of sin is to avoid the sin itself. If you have to sneak to do it, lie to cover it up, and delete it to avoid it being seen, then you probably shouldn't be doing it.

So, save yourself a headache. Give yourself one less thing you need to lie and worry about. Reduce the burden of sin that you put on your back. Cut down on the things you do that you're ashamed of. Give yourself one less thing to feel guilty about at Final Judgement. I'm sure you'll thank yourself later.

Weighing the Bet of Repentance

There's another point I want to take from Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk The Divine Gift of Repentance. The point can be summed up in two quotes from his talk: "Any pain entailed in repentance will always be far less than the suffering required to satisfy justice for unresolved transgression," and "whatever the cost of repentance, it is swallowed up in the joy of forgiveness."

Make no mistake - Repentance is often a painfully difficult process. Repentance means changing our behavior, thoughts, and even our very hearts. It means striving and struggling to break old habits and form new ones. It means trying and failing again and again. And as a person who hates failing, that process sounds very painful to me.

But, despite the pain involved in repentance, completing the process is well worth the struggle, because the results of repentance A) allow us to avoid the even more painful suffering for our sins, and B) afford us an abundance of joy in the form of repentance. That's a huge net gain in the Peace Vs Pain scale, yet, we are so often reluctant to take advantage of the extremely generous offer of repentance because it requires enduring an amount of pain and struggling up front, before the blessings are manifest.

So much of life is like that, though. Say, you want to try a new candy bar that just came out, but you're not sure how it'll taste. You have to pay for the candy bar before you can try it, and even if you kept the receipt, you can't return the candy once you've opened the wrapper. Whether the candy is worth what you paid for it or not, the price must be paid and can't be refunded. So, do you take the risk, hoping that the candy is worth the cost, or do you leave the candy bar on the shelf and save your money for something that looks more promising?

Relating that to repentance, of course we've been told that those who sin will suffer unless they repent, and that there is eternal joy waiting for those who do repent. But all companies advertise their candy as being delicious. We're the ones who have to weigh our options and take our chances. Do we buy into the offer of repentance, hoping that the promises are true, or do we try to cut our losses and avoid such painful struggles?

One thing religion offers is peace, yet in order to follow the tenants of most religions, we need to battle against our carnal natures on a daily basis. On the other hand, on closer examination, the world's idea of happiness and how to get it isn't all it's cracked up to be. Those who seem to have everything they need to be happy, aren't. And many who follow their religious convictions, despite the daily struggles that path makes necessary, have more peace in their hearts than those who follow the world.

Either way, it seems that there's going to be a good deal of suffering, no matter what we do to try to avoid it. So, shall we continue to try to avoid the pain of repentance for as long as we can get away with it, or do we charge through the pain, like taking off a band-aid, and find out if the promises were true?

Here's what I'm thinking: We know there has to be pain, right? Logically, there's no way to completely avoid it. I say that as long as there needs to be pain, we might as well invest our suffering into something worth-while. As long as we have to struggle, we might as well struggle for something that's worth struggling for. And the promise, or even the hope, of personal peace and eternal happiness sounds like something worth fighting for. To me, repentance sounds like a pretty good bet.

Striving to Change

This morning, I watched Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk, The Divine Gift of Repentance. I've shared messages from this talk before, and I especially remember sharing the first point that stood out to me this time in a blog post called An Invitation of Love. That point is, as Elder Christofferson puts it, "the invitation to repent is an expression of love." I could write more on that topic, but since I've already written about it and there's something else that I want to write about more at the moment, I'll just move on to the next point in Elder Christofferson's talk that I liked: "repentance means striving to change."

As a missionary, I taught that principle rather often. Some people I taught were confused about the meaning and implications of repentance. Is prayer enough, or do you need to confess? Is confession enough, or is some kind of penance required? What I taught was that repentance simply means to change. “By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.” -D&C 58:43

While confessing our sins (to the Lord, and possibly to the Bishop for serious sins) is an important step in the process, the intended result is permanent change. We are to forsake (or stop committing) our sins and strive to do better. I use the word "strive" partly for the same reason Elder Christofferson did - Making right choices can be very difficult. Is his own words:

Real repentance, real change may require repeated attempts, but there is something refining and holy in such striving. Divine forgiveness and healing flow quite naturally to such a soul, for indeed “virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; [and] mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own” (D&C 88:40).

With Elder Christofferson, I testify that as we strive to improve, the Lord strives with us. He will fill our hearts and minds with strength, healing, and hope as we try to follow His teachings and counsel. Together, we can change or natures and become the best people we can be. I look forward to realizing that promise in my own life, and I hope that it also happens in yours.

Code of Honor

I am (probably) teaching a lesson at Institute today. The lesson material is to be taken from the life and teachings of President George Albert Smith, and one of the most notable things I read about his life was the writing of his personal creed. At age 34, just after his call to the Apostleship a year earlier, he wrote:

I would be a friend to the friendless and find joy in ministering to the needs of the poor.
I would visit the sick and afflicted and inspire in them a desire for faith to be healed.
I would teach the truth to the understanding and blessing of all mankind.
I would seek out the erring one and try to win him back to a righteous and a happy life.
I would not seek to force people to live up to my ideals but rather love them into doing the thing that is right.
I would live with the masses and help to solve their problems that their earth life may be happy.
I would avoid the publicity of high positions and discourage the flattery of thoughtless friends.
I would not knowingly wound the feelings of any, not even one who may have wronged me, but would seek to do him good and make him my friend.
I would overcome the tendency to selfishness and jealousy and rejoice in the successes of all the children of my Heavenly Father.
I would not be an enemy to any living soul.
Knowing that the Redeemer of mankind has offered to the world the only plan that will fully develop us and make us really happy here and hereafter, I feel it not only a duty but also a blessed privilege to disseminate this truth.
-“President George Albert Smith’s Creed,” Improvement Era, Apr. 1950, 262.

Thinking about this and other surprisingly exemplary people, I've been thinking about writing a personal creed for myself, some kind of Code of Honor, such as those paladins are known for living by and dying for. The 11 points of President Smith's creed would be a good starting point for my own creed, though I probably should have quite so many points, so it'll be easier to remember them all. The eighth point, "I would not knowingly wound the feelings of any, not even one who may have wronged me, but would seek to do him good and make him my friend," is certainly worth including, though perhaps not quite in those words. I may blend it with President Smith's fifth point, "I would not seek to force people to live up to my ideals but rather love them into doing the thing that is right."

Whatever I include in my Code of Honor, it will need to be points that are personally meaningful to me, phrased in ways that I can understand their meaning and apply them. And, knowing me, it would help if it were the kind of Code a paladin could live by. Looking online for a Paladin's Code of Honor, I found this:

The standard rules offer the following code of conduct for paladins:
Never commit an evil act.
Respect legitimate authority.
Act with honor (don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t use poison, and so on).
Help those who need help (provided they do not use the help for evil ends)
Punish those that harm or threaten innocents.

Good guidelines, except that last one. The first one is a little bit vague and all-encompassing. But the list is something that I can work with. It's short enough that I should be able to remember it all. It'll take some adapting to get it to work with gospel principles, but it'll be worth it.

Thinking about gospel principles, especially in relation to respecting legitimate authority, I was reminded of the 12th Article of Faith, and it occurred to me that many of the Articles of Faith, especially the last three, could be adapted into a Code of Honor - more like a Code of Righteousness.

And if those aren't enough resources, I can also pull from the covenant in the Sacramental Prayers, which, abbreviated, is that we are willing to:

Take upon ourselves the name of Christ,
Always remember Him,
And keep His commandments which He has given us.

Again, there's the problem of being too vague, but on my mission, I set personal goals based on those three ideals, giving specific ways to follow each of them. I should check my old Missionary Daily Planners and see if I can adapt those personal goals into a Code of Honor.

I think President George Albert Smith had the right idea when he wrote his creed. We all need a set of guidelines to follow, and the church provides several, but consolidating them into a short list of principles is a wise way to make sure you remember everything that you've pledged that you would do. In order to be effective, these creeds need to be personalized and specific to each person. It'll take me a while to write my creed or Code of Honor, but if it helps me to be more like a paladin, which will help me to be more like God, it'll be worth the time I invest into writing it.

War Chapters - The Word of a Lamanite

A few days ago, I made a reference to a battle that took place near the river Sidon in Alma 43. That was the battle where the Lamanites were fighting like dragons, and the Nephites still won. It was my personal scriture study of that chapter that prompted that blog post. Recently, I was reading in the chapter after that, Alma 44, and something stood out to me that I thought I might share here, but in order to share the highlight, I first need to set the stage.

As noted earlier, the Nephites won that battle. By the end of Alma 43, Captain Moroni had the Lamanites surrounded with his army of Nehpites, and he told their leader, Zerahemnah to surrender.

Yea, and this is not all; I command you by all the desires which ye have for life, that ye deliver up your weapons of war unto us, and we will seek not your blood, but we will spare your lives, if ye will go your way and come not again to war against us.
- Captain Moroni, Alma 44: 6

This was Zerahemnah's response:

And now it came to pass that when Zerahemnah had heard these sayings he came forth and delivered up his sword and his cimeter, and his bow into the hands of Moroni, and said unto him: Behold, here are our weapons of war; we will deliver them up unto you, but we will not suffer ourselves to take an oath unto you, which we know that we shall break, and also our children; but take our weapons of war, and suffer that we may depart into the wilderness; otherwise we will retain our swords, and we will perish or conquer.
Alma 44: 8

My thinking, when I read that verse, was that it would have been so easy for Zerahemnah to lie. He could easily have sworn an oath not to return, gone home, forged swords to replace the ones he gave up, and come back again later. If a person were already willing to go to war and kill people to gain power, you'd think they'd be okay with breaking their word. But Zerahemnah wasn't. He may have been the villain here, but he had his honor, and when he did finally make the oath to Captain Moroni, he kept it, and never went to war against the Nephites again.

There are many other examples in the Book of Mormon and other scripture and other literature of people making oaths and keeping them, no matter what. Several wicked, or at least foolish, kings made promises that they likely later regretted, but kept anyway. The Anti-Nephi-Lehis almost broke a covenant they made (for a very noble cause), but nonetheless kept their word. And if you want a more modern example, Superman was a man of his word as well, and a good example to all of us.

To many people throughout history, their word was their bond. That is a noble and good trait - a virtue that seems to be lacking in modern society. These days, a "verbal contract" means very little, and a written contract only matters if you can prove its validity in court. Advertisers are expected to exaggerate and even lie, making false promises to their potential customers. And politicians - I've already covered that point on this blog more than I should have.

Oath-breaking is such a common practice these days that truly honest people are rather rare, and I'm now surprised to see one among the warring Lamanites. Yet, as Latter-Day Saints, we make many covenants - at Baptism and in the Temple. Do we keep them? Are we men and women of our word like Zerahemnah was? Do we have at least as much honor as he did? I'm sure we all try to. Some of the oaths we've made are hard to keep all the time, but we try. Do we treat our covenants as seriously as Zerahemnah did? Again, probably not always, but we can try.

It's not often that you can find a role-model among the ranks of the Lamanites, but Zerahemnah certainly fits. He may have been fighting for the wrong reasons, but he had a lot of honor and courage, and those are traits that we all need to try to develop, especially in times like these.

Joy Shall Be In Heaven

This morning, I watched the latest LDS Bible video, where Jesus gives the parable of the lost sheep.





Interestingly, one of the comments on this video on Youtube calls into question what Jesus says at the very end of the video: "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." Luke 15: 7

The comment was this: "But don't we all need repentance? Go figure."

I find the comment interesting because I agree with it. I'm especially reminded of a verse in Isaiah the was popularized by Handel's Messiah, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53: 6 (Italics Added)

We are all sinners who have need of repentance, aren't we? There's only one person in all of Earth's history that wasn't. And it's hard to imagine more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than there must have been over Him. Could Jesus possibly have been implying that there'd be more joy when we returned to heaven in righteousness than when He did? I doubt it. As exciting as it is to see a sinner like any of us embrace the light and become righteous, I can't imagine it could compare with the excitement of the birth, life, atonement, and resurrection of Jesus.

Still, however much comparative joy there is "over one sinner that repenteth," Jesus made it clear that it's a good amount. It's inspiring, if a bit unbelievable, that there is joy in heaven over people like us when we successfully overcome faults and obey the commandments. It's encouraging to think that there are people watching over me, rooting for me, cheering when I succeed.

A number of months ago, I prayed for angels to help me with my specific problems. Little did I know that there were already angels in heaven that have an interest in my success. Thankfully, so do we all.

I Took a Walk

Where did this morning go? Partly, I slept in a little bit. I also went for a short walk - It's a beautiful morning, and it's going to be a great day.

I read an article someone posted on Facebook about the habits of famed writers and thinkers. Some of those habits are highly eccentric, but others of them made a lot of sense, including getting up early (I failed at that one) and taking walks, especially in nature.

It may seem like a waste of time to be walking when you could be writing/working, but it's actually very refreshing and invigorating. It can help you to recharge and refocus. Often in life, we're in small, stuffy areas, working mechanically on mundane tasks. I don't think we were made to work that way. At the very least, we need fresh air. And it's healthy to enjoy the beauty of nature and to take time to relax and think about positive, uplifting things. Could it be that there's a connection between the business of the world and the general bleakness and depression in it?

On a broader scale, I think the world has largely forgotten about God. There's so much emphasis on living life that we sometimes neglect the reasons for which life mortal started. There is an eternal meaning to mortal life, and it has nothing to do with what many people say life is about. It's not about money or prestige. It's not about having fun. It's about becoming better people - Wiser, spiritually stronger, more like God. Many people, myself included, need to realign their priorities frequently to make sure we're on the right path. I'm sure I haven't been on the right path for a long time, and I'm still not sure I'm on the right path. Amid so many distractions and so much confusion, it can be hard to tell where we're really going. I think that's Satan's point.

I'm not entirely sure how much really matters. I know that being good matters. I know that it matters to try to follow the commandments. But beyond that... It gets confusing. Maybe I need to take another walk, or a bike ride. I have a few errands to run anyway. And I should mow the lawn. That's kind of like taking a walk in nature. Yeah, I should do that. I'll let you know how it goes.

Superman Verses Suicide - Take My Hand

A friend of mine posted a link to this amazing image on Facebook. (By the way, if this link is old, I wouldn't trust it. The website seems like it's prone to change.) Turns out, it's actually a bunch of images, and I just saved them to my computer so if the website changes, I'll still have access to the story. Here's the story in a nutshell:

A young woman is high up on the edge of a building, threatening to jump off. Superman comes in and (after promising not to use his powers to take her to safety against her will) tries to talk her out of taking her own life. I won't relay the whole story, but I would like to share a quote from it.

A friend of mine, many years ago, took her life. She was terminally ill, every day was an agony, and she decided one day that she knew -- knew without question -- that she would never have another happy day. And she... Well, I guess you could say that she checked out early. 

I understood. I didn't approve. I still don't. But I understood. 

If you honestly believe, in your heart of hearts, that you will never, ever have another happy day... Then step out into the air. I'll keep my promise. I won't stop you. 

But if you think there's a chance -- no matter how small -- that there might be just one more happy day out there -- Then take my hand.

And she did.

I love this story on a number of levels. I love that Superman cared as much about helping this young woman as he did about saving her life. I love that he's a man of his word, and that he wouldn't break his promise, even to save a life. I love how the story shows that Superman isn't just a superhero - He's a good man.

Then, of course, I also love the message.

I don't think anyone reading this blog is struggling with thoughts of suicide, but just in case you are, or just in case you feel hopeless sometimes, consider what Superman said, "If you think there's a chance, no matter how small, that there might be just one more happy day out there, then take my hand."

I promise that there can be another happy day in your life. I know that God loves us and cares about each of us. He wants us to be happy. He knows that life is hard, and He respects our decisions, whatever we choose. But He can see the future, even when we can't. He can change the future. He's preparing lives of joy for everyone who's willing to take His hand and follow Him.

He knows you face hardship, and He knows that you'll continue to face hardship as you follow Him (or anyone else, for that matter), but if you follow Him, He promises that you'll never have to face that hardship alone. He'll be with you. He'll comfort you. He'll protect you from the worst of it, and He'll help you to be strong and find ways to persevere.

God's ultimate desire is for our Eternal Happiness. The only way to get there is through mortality, and mortality can sometimes be hard. He knows that. He knows how hard life can be, and He wants to be there to help us, but we need to let Him in first.

If you ever feel hopeless, please pray. Ask for God to enter your heart and help you carry on. He will. I promise that He will. I promise that there are happier days ahead for each of us, if we follow God's path for us to get to them. I pray that we may all have the faith to take His hand and follow Him.

More Than Double the Power of Dragons

Partly because I love dragons, and partly because I love the War Chapters, a few verses in the Book of Mormon really stand out to me because they help to describe the strength of dragons and the strength of the power of God.

First, the strength of dragons.

In Mosiah 20, the people of Limhi were Nephites living under Lamanite control. Another group of people kidnapped the Lamanites' daughters, and the Lamanites thought the people of Limhi did it. This, of course, made the Lamanites very angry, and they attacked the people of Limhi.

And it came to pass that the battle became exceedingly sore, for they fought like lions for their prey. 

And it came to pass that the people of Limhi began to drive the Lamanites before them; yet they were not half so numerous as the Lamanites. But they fought for their lives, and for their wives, and for their children; therefore they exerted themselves and like dragons did they fight. 

Mosiah 20: 10-11 (Italics Added)

So we see, that though the Lamanites were twice as many as the people of Limhi and fighting like lions, the people of Limhi fought like dragons, and "began to drive the Lamanites before them."

Lamanites =  (2x Number of Warriors) x (Strength of Lions) < People of Limhi = (1x Number of Warriors) x (Strength of Dragons).

Therefore, the strength of dragons is more than twice as strong as the strength of dragons. We have scriptural evidence that dragons are more than twice as powerful as lions. That. Is. Awesome.

But it gets better.

In Alma 43, the War Chapters have officially begun, and they start with a battle between an army of the Lamanites and the army of Moroni. Moroni was a terrific man and a matchless war-captain. He gave the Nephites armor, he fortified their cities, he led them in brilliant (for their era) strategies, and he inspired their hearts to stand firm and fight hard.

Now in this case the Lamanites did fight exceedingly; yea, never had the Lamanites been known to fight with such exceedingly great strength and courage, no, not even from the beginning. 

And they were inspired by the Zoramites and the Amalekites, who were their chief captains and leaders, and by Zerahemnah, who was their chief captain, or their chief leader and commander; yea, they did fight like dragons, and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea, for they did smite in two many of their head-plates, and they did pierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their arms; and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger. 

Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church. 

... 

And it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage. 

And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them; and they fled even to the waters of Sidon. 

Now, the Lamanites were more numerous, yea, by more than double the number of the Nephites; nevertheless, they were driven insomuch that they were gathered together in one body in the valley, upon the bank by the river Sidon. 

Alma 43: 43-45, 49-51 (Italics Added)

In this case, it was the Lamanites who were fighting like dragons, and they were still twice as numerous as the Nephites, yet, the Nephites fought with the strength of the Lord, and they won that battle.

Lamanites = (2x Number of Warriors) x (Strength of Dragons) < Nephites = (1x Number of Warriors) x (Strength of the Lord)

Scriptural evidence that the strength of the Lord is more than twice as powerful as the strength of dragons.

That's great, but it gets even better.

In Alma 56, Helaman writes to Moroni about his 2000 Stripling Warriors and a battle they had had against the Lamanites, in which the Lamanites surrendered.

And now it came to pass that when they had surrendered themselves up unto us, behold, I numbered those young men who had fought with me, fearing lest there were many of them slain. 

But behold, to my great joy, there had not one soul of them fallen to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if with the strength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength; and with such mighty power did they fall upon the Lamanites, that they did frighten them; and for this cause did the Lamanites deliver themselves up as prisoners of war. 

Alma 56: 55-56 (Italics Added)

Now, Helaman may not have been present at the battle where the army of Moroni fought twice as hard as dragons. In fact, I don't think he was there. So he may not have ever seen an army fight with the strength of the Lord until he saw his stripling soldiers do it. But regardless of whether his claim was mathematically accurate or not, it's obvious that he was very impressed. And it's equally obvious that the Strength of the Lord is tremendously powerful, easily more than twice as powerful as dragons.

Sometimes I think life is hard. Sometimes I think that the forces that stand against me are many times stronger than I am. But what I often forget is that I never have to fight alone. The Nephites almost never did. Like the Nephites, I can cry to the Lord for a portion of His strength, and in His strength, I can stand against all the enemies of righteousness, no matter what animals they're fighting like, mythical or otherwise. We all can call upon the strength of the Lord to help us win the battle for our own souls and for the fate of the world, and we can get it. If we are faithful and pray for strength, we can stand for truth and righteousness with more than double the power of dragons. And in case you haven't picked up on this yet, that is really, really STRONG.

If Any Man Defile The Temple... Him Shall God Destroy

I'm having trouble blogging today. I can't think of anything I want to blog about. There's a new Mormon Messages video, but it talks about the unity of the body and the spirit, and I already blogged about that recently. I suppose I could blog about it again anyway.

I guess a good point to make on this topic is that our bodies are sacred gifts from God, to be nourished and protected, and certainly not to be defiled with tattoos or excessive piercings.

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 

If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 

1 Corinthians 3: 16-17

As I said in my last post, I believe that many of God's "punishments" are actually just the natural consequences of certain actions, and God commands us to avoid those actions, not to boss us around, but to help us avoid the consequences. I don't think God would angrily destroy someone for defiling their body; I think people would accidently destroy themselves by defiling their bodies.

On the other hand, I can also see why God might get angry at someone who defiles their body. Our bodies are sacred gifts from God. He didn't give us bodies so we could defile them, but so that He could glorify us. These matchless gifts that have been given to us to make us more like God are being used by some to make themselves as ungodly as possible. That would definitely sadden Him and perhaps even anger Him. I can see why He might destroy such a person. 'If that's how you're going to treat your body, I'll separate you from it!' How many parents have done something similar when a child misuses a toy they've been given? The confiscation is usually temporary, but it is totally just and understandable.

God is our loving Heavenly Father, and like any good father, His greatest desire is for us to grow up to be like Him. To this end, He has given us wonderful blessings and opportunities, but it's up to us to use them correctly. If we follow His counsel and His plan for us, He will use those gifts He has given us and many more gifts yet to be given to help us reach a glorious and divine potential. Or we can disrespect and misuse our heavenly gifts, and we may end up losing them.

In God We Trust

I go on Facebook sometimes, looking for inspiring quotes and images to share on my blog. I have a lot of religious friends, so it usually works out pretty well. But I also have a lot of political friends who post  news and articles about the government, and not all of it is good news.

The trouble with politics is that you never know who you can trust. Which news sources are telling the truth? How heavily slanted is their bias for or against whomever their talking about? And the politicians! They all make promises, but can any of them actually fulfill those promises? How many of them don't even try?

I wonder what things would be like if there were no "government." What if, whenever there was a decision to be made, whoever cared went to the Town Hall, shared their opinions, listened to other peoples' opinions, and took a vote? What if the so-called "government" was literally "of the people and by the people?" I don't have strong opinions on much of what goes on, but I really would like it if I at least felt like my voice was being heard.

What we have now seems to be an army of lawyers arguing in legalese, setting up and slipping through legal obstacles and loopholes of increasing complexity, while playing a political game that essentially amounts to a popularity contest. Those people may be much smarter, or at least more clever, than I am, but I'm not sure if I trust them to make decisions that'll effect my life.

So who can we trust? When everyone who is in office, or who's trying to get into office, or who's talking about anyone who is in or are trying to get into office, are liars, who can you trust?

Thankfully, we don't need to trust any of them. We only need to trust God.

Forget the "end of the day." At the End of Days, there's really only one Government, and it's not a Democracy, or a Republic, or anything like that. It's a Monarchy. And the Monarch is God. He made the laws. He is the judge. He enforces His laws through a system of rewards and punishments, both in mortality and afterward. And if we follow Him, regardless of what a few thousand knuckleheads do or don't do in Washington, things will all work out in the end.

But here's a good question: Why would I, who "would really like it if I at least felt like my voice was being heard," be satisfied with a Government in which I had absolutely no say at all in what the laws are? Wouldn't I like to vote on some of God's laws? Or at least be able to vote for lesser punishments for those who are guilty of certain sins (like the ones I'm having a hard time giving up)? Why should I accept the rules and authority of someone who won't let me have a say on what the rules should be?

A big part of the reason boils down to trust. I trust Him. I know He's wiser than I am. I know He's a good person. I know His rules make sense to Him, and they'll all make sense to me later on. In the meantime, it's all about trust.

If that's not enough for you; if you don't want to trust God, well, you don't actually have to. You can quite literally do whatever you want to do. But sooner or later, one way or another, you will have to acknowledge God's power. He's the boss, even if for no other reason than the fact that He says He's the boss and He has the muscle to back that up. In that sense, He's a lot like other monarchs. You don't have to like it - it's just the way it is. But luckily, this Monarch cares whether you like it or not. Even better, He cares about your happiness; your Eternal Happiness. And He designed His set of rules and laws, rewards and punishments, so as to encourage all of us to follow the path that will lead us to the greatest and most lasting amount of joy possible.

I sometimes lose sight of that. Sometimes, I know I should do A, but I really want to do B. I think B will bring me more happiness than A, even though God told me otherwise. Still, the choice is mine, and the natural consequences follow. Whether I'm happy or not is based entirely on my choices, and in that sense, I still have a great deal of freedom, despite living under a monarchy. Also, I suspect that for most of God's rules, they aren't just laws that He made up - they're laws of nature or physics or whatever, that He understands and is kind enough to warn us about. I mean, either He twisted the laws of medicine to manipulate us into obeying the Word of Wisdom (and punish those who don't), or He knows medicine well enough to know what's not good for us, and He's nice enough to tell us what to avoid. You can guess which one I think is more likely. Maybe His other laws are like that, too.

It's time that I trusted God enough to obey all His commandments, not just the ones I like and understand. When it really boils down to it, I'm not sure if there's any one person that I'd rather trust.

Don't Forget to Pray

Yesterday, in Sacrament Meeting, our ward choir sang a beautiful hymn, Did You Think to Pray? It's a very good hymn that speaks of a number of occasions in which we would be wise to pray, but in that aspect, it's my opinion that the hymn is incomplete. While Did You Think to Pray? reminds us to pray each morning, "when sore trials come upon [us]," and when we're angry, I would add another time when it's crucial that we remember to pray: When we're tempted.

The scriptures are filled with variations of the phrase "Watch and pray always that ye enter not into temptation." When modern prophets and apostles teach us how to resist temptation, they almost always list prayer. When so much of life hinges on the decisions we make, and when the temptations we face come more frequently and in greater force in this age than in any other (I'm speculating there, but it's an educated estimate), I would think that great emphasis would be placed on how we can draw on the power and wisdom of the Lord to help us resist temptation and make the right decisions when temptations come. And I should think that prayer is nearly essential for that.

Temptations hit us all frequently, often when we are weak or when we least expect it - when our guard is down. That makes prayer an essential watchword when we're faced with temptation. Often, our own strength to temptation is not enough. Through prayer, we can ask for strength and guidance, and the Lord will help us find the will-power and wisdom to escape temptation. The trouble is that since Satan often attacks us when we're not expecting an attack, we're not usually prepared to shore up our defenses at a moment's notice. We don't always know we're being tempted, let alone thinking about what we need to do to resist temptation. In order to know what to do when temptation comes, we need to drill it into our minds until it readily comes to mind the instant we realize we're being tempted. When you're tempted, pray. When you're tempted, pray. When you're tempted, pray.

I hope I don't forget that the next time I face temptation.

Being "Saved" - Being "Damned"

A few days ago, I wrote about how we're never truly "safe." No matter how good we are or have been, Satan will never stop trying to steal our souls. This morning, I found a quote that compliments that message, then turns it around: "Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." -Winston Churchill

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke movingly on this topic in his April 2012 talk, Laborers in the Vineyard.





Just as Satan will never give up on trying to steal our souls, the Savior will never give up on trying to save them. No matter how hopeless we feel our situation is, we have heard an Apostle of the Lord tell us that it is impossible for us to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ's atonement shines. So long as we live, we are not doomed. We can still repent and be forgiven and washed clean, no matter what stains of sin are on our consciences or how long those stains have been there. Just as we should never get comfortable, feeling that we're "safe," we must never despair, feeling that we're "damned." So long as we live, the battle for our souls continues. Satan is still fighting against us, but God is still fighting for us, and we can still win. What matters is having the courage to keep fighting.

Luke's Beatitudes - Now and Later

Last night, my brother and I read from Luke chapter 6, in which Luke describes an unusual twist on the Beatitudes. It starts just as you'd expect it to:

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. 

Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. 

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall  reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. 

Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
Luke 6: 20-23

This all sounds very familiar, very similar to the Beatitudes related by Matthew, but then, at verse 24, things get turned on their heads.

But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. 

Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. 

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
Luke 6: 24-26

Professor Dumbledore, the wise Headmaster from the Harry Potter books said something very profound about the Sorcerer's Stone from the first book in the series (which could extend one's life indefinitely and turn any metal into gold), and about people. Said he:

You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack for choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.

In the second half of Luke's version of the Beatitudes, we read the descriptions of people who have (what seem like) very positive things: Money, Food, Fun, and Friends. And certainly, there's nothing wrong with having any of those things, even in abundance, but perhaps the trouble comes in choosing to have those things rather than choosing first the kingdom of God.

"Wherefore, seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Matthew 6: 33 JST

While seeking to build up the kingdom of God, we're sometimes asked to give up a few things. Paying tithing and not working on Sunday can cost us money, fasting requires us to go without food for a period of time, strict standards restrict us from doing somethings that could be fun, and standing up for our standards and beliefs can even cost us friends. It's a question of priorities and sacrifice. Sometimes we need to choose between seeking happiness now and receiving joy later. It can be a painful and difficult decision, but our Heavenly Father, through His Son, Jesus Christ, encourages us to make the wisest choice - to give up what we want now so we can receive what He wants to give us later.

Slow Start, Clean Hearts

I was going to get back to posting about General Conference today, writing about insights and highlights from specific talks, but... I don't know. I'm just not feeling it today. I don't really want to blog about General Conference right now. In fact, I hardly feel like blogging at all. I'm approaching the point where I decide to pick an analogy or inspiring quote out of a hat and blog about that briefly, just to get it over with.

I need more motivation and enthusiasm. I need to get "fired up," as some motivational speakers say. Maybe I should splash my face with water, or go for a jog, or do some strength exercises, or something.

The jog helped, and then I washed dishes and got myself a glass of hot chocolate. Now I'm feeling a good deal better. I still have a few chores to take care of here before going to Dad's house and performing a few tasks there. I'd better go get to those, but I have to blog first.

This morning is reminding me of the principle of spiritual inertia. I had a slow start this morning, but then I did some stuff, and now I think I'm doing okay. There's something sort of therapeutic about doing dishes. Turning soiled chaos into orderly cleanliness. It's a positive experience. Making things clean is one of the more rewarding forms of work, in my opinion.

I bet God feels the same way, except that He cleans souls instead of dishes. That's probably way more rewarding than having a tray of clean dishes. Still, I like cleaning dishes and rooms because then I can SEE the cleanliness (for however long it lasts). Though, I guess God still has that advantage because "the Lord looketh on the heart." -1 Samuel 16:7 He can probably see the changes that take place within our hearts. That's pretty cool.

Doing the Works of Your Father

Last night, in my personal scripture study, I was reading in John 8, where Jesus was having a conversation with a group of Pharisees. Here's just a piece of the conversation:

I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. 

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 

But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 

John 8 38-40

Jesus went on to say that they were children of the devil and they were doing his evil works. They didn't like that, and frankly, neither do I, but that's beside the point I'm trying to make today.

The point that I want to make is that, as we are righteous, we do the works of our Heavenly Father, and that's how we truly become the children of God.

Last night, before scriptures, I had the opportunity to help the Relief Society take down a bunch of tables and chairs. I could have done it slowly or grudgingly, or not have done it at all, but I went and I worked as quickly and effectively as I knew how. What was my motivation for working so well? Those people I was serving were from the Relief Society. They know my mother, Barbara Robarts. I wanted them to know that the sons of Barbara Robarts were taught how to serve. I wanted them to know that she raised good, helpful children who use their strength and vigor to serve others. I wanted to "Let [my] light so shine before [women], that they may see [my] good works, and glorify [my mother] which is in [Europe]." -Matthew 5: 16 [Altered]

I was doing the works of my mother. Come to think of it, I was doing the works of my Heavenly Father, too. Service, kindness, and diligence are all admirable, Godly traits. God wants us to develop those traits, why? So we can become like Him. I'm sure that taking down tables and chairs is among the list of things God would be willing to do for His children, but since He's not down here personally, He asks His able-bodied sons to do it for Him.

I want people, especially people on the Relief Society, to know that my mom is a good mother - that she instilled in me the desire to do good. I suppose I also want people to know that God is a good Father, in case they don't know that already, and He's in the process of teaching me how to be a good man. I want to be a good son, for my mother's sake. I want to be a good man for God's.

Thinking of God as my Father, it makes sense that He would teach me how to be a good man. That is one of the primary tasks of a father. Probably my favorite Western right now is The Rifleman, which is about a man named Lucas McCain who, along with having terrific skill with his rifle, is also a good father for his son, Mark. Just about every episode, Lucas teaches Mark something about what it means to be a good man. I find it a rather inspiring (and entertaining) show. It makes me want to listen more to my Father, and become the kind of man He wants me to be.

I want to do the works of my Heavenly Father, so that I may accurately be called His son.

A Brief Separation

This morning, my Mom left on a trip to England, Scotland, and Wales. She'll be gone two weeks. While she's gone, Joe and I will have to adjust to managing the house by ourselves, which mostly involves cooking dinners and caring for the pets. It's not going to be difficult work. Pet care is well within my range of skills, and Joe and I each know how to cook a few things. We'll all survive. No, the hard part is purely emotional.

Two weeks can seem like a long time, and while it's exciting that Mom has this wonderful opportunity to go to amazing places that she's always wanted to visit, the house feels different without her, and I know I'm going to miss her after a few days.

I imagine this isn't much different than the separation between us and God. It's not long from an eternal perspective, but it can feel long sometimes. It's a wonderful opportunity, and it's not too terribly difficult most of the time, but the real hard part is the emotional distance. It's hard to feel close to God sometimes. I often find myself missing the peace I feel when I have His spirit with me.

Life can be kinda painful sometimes, but I guess this is our opportunity to man up and tough it out. God's not always going to stand around to hold our hands, and Mom won't always be around either. We each need to learn to be able to stand on our own two feet, emotionally and temporally. Eventually, we'll need to stand on our own two feet spiritually as well, and while I'm not sure not what all that'll include, it comforts me to know that this current separation is temporary, and we're not completely on our own just yet. While this'll definitely be an informative and strengthening experience, I'm glad it's not the new normal yet. I'm grateful that we still have time to figure things out, because, speaking for myself only, I sure have a lot to learn.

The separation, while difficult in some ways, is sure to be a positive experience for all involved. I'm certain that we'll all become wiser, stronger people than we were as a result of this, and some of us may even have fun doing it. I'm glad God saw fit to make this possible, and I pray that He'll help us gain the strength, courage, and capability we're meant to gain by this temporary separation.

Re-Reviewing Conference and Being "Saved"

This morning, I wanted to blog about Elder Robert D. Hales' talk at the start of Conference, where he talked about the wisdom of reviewing General Conference. As I said in my latest post, it's easier to get more detailed notes when you review Conference talks online than when you hear them broadcast for the first time. Talking Elder Hales' advice, I reviewed his and President Monson's first talk from this Conference and took extensive notes. But now those notes are gone.

I must have accidentally closed the program before saving the changes I made to the word processor, which is unusual, because the program prompts me to save before closing it. Maybe I shut down the computer without closing the program first? I'm surprised I didn't save the changes before walking away from the computer, just out of habit. While writing essays for school, I save my changes frequently. It's astonishing that I didn't save my notes. I still have the notes I took at Conference, though, so I still have some notes from his talk. But I had many notes on the computer that I didn't have on paper.

I'm going to try to see this as a blessing in disguise. This is an opportunity to re-review Elder Hales' talk, and maybe pick up a new insight that I didn't get the last two times (at the expense of whatever insights I caught the last time I reviewed his talk, but can't remember now). It's also a lesson in learning to save your progress. I wonder how that could be adapted into an analogy....

In life, you can't really "save your progress." Heaven doesn't measure a person's worthiness in how many good deeds they've done. There's no Celestial bank account where, if you have enough Goodness Points stored up, you qualify for Heaven. You're never "safe." You're never done. There will never be a point, while you're still alive, where you can breathe a sigh of relief and sit back and relax, knowing that you're already Saved. No matter how good you are or have been, your soul is still being fought over, and you could still lose it.

Satan doesn't give up. It doesn't matter how high the odds are stacked against him or how little he stands to gain by trying to tempt someone that refuses to give in to temptation. He will always keep trying to win. (In fact, I kind of admire that about him. I wish I had that much tenacity.) The point is that since he will always keep trying to steal our souls, we must always stay vigilant to protect them. Though we can make great progress toward our goal of Eternal Life, we can never "save" that progress; we need to continually keep fighting to maintain it.

Just as I lost many of the insights I gained yesterday, I could easily lose my spiritual progress if I don't apply the insight I gained today. I don't think God cares about who we were or what we did anywhere near as much as He cares about who we are and what we do. Whether we were sinners who repented and, or saints who fell into sin, I think God cares more about where we end up than where we've been. And whether we were better people before or are better people now, that doesn't mean anything to the future. Whether we're good or bad right now, there's still time to rise or fall as long as we're still breathing. If we want to be completely sure that we're good people when we pass on to be judged, we need to be careful to keep rising, to not lose the progress we've made.

More Conference More Often

Last General Conference, I missed one of the talks, so after Conference was over, I watched the talk online and took notes in a word processor. The benefit of that was that I had digitized notes that I was able to create and edit much more quickly than writing by hand, and now I have a digital copy of the notes for that talk. I think that over the course of the next few days or weeks, I'm going to try to re-watch each of the talks, and take digital notes. Not only will the review help me to remember the talks and what I learned from them, but having a digital copy of my notes could be valuable. Plus, I'd have more time to write more notes, since I can pause and rewind the talks whenever I want.

Another thing I've heard over lunch between the sessions of General Conference is that General Conference doesn't happen often enough. Often, half-way between General Conferences, I feel like I'm in a slump. A solution that I heard suggested was to re-watch the talks half-way between the Conferences. Since General Conference happens on the 4th and 10th months, a good time to review the most recent General Conference (beside "any time") would be on the 1st and 7th months. That way, we can remind ourselves of what we learned at Conference and help us carry on through the doldrum months.

General Conference is a wonderful and unique blessing. The outpouring of revelation, guidance, and the Spirit are so profound, that it seems almost foolish to try to cram all of that inspiration and learning into two days. Most of us don't have a good enough memory to remember everything that inspired us out of those talks, even out of those that happened only yesterday. If we want those messages to really sink in, we'll need to hear them and ponder them again and again. The More Conference More Often approach, made possible by the church's fantastic website, can help us review, remember, and internalize everything we love about General Conference, so it can continue to bless us throughout the year and throughout our lives. And that's what Conference is for, isn't it?

Hell - The Place of Regret

There were a lot of good talks given yesterday, all of which are worth reviewing when they become available on LDS.org, but one of the best messages I heard yesterday will never appear on the church's website because it wasn't given at General Conference. In fact, I'm finding it hard to blog about because I don't want to say too much. Perhaps, rather than relating the experience, I'll just tell you what I learned.

There are consequences for wrong actions. When we do things we're not supposed to do, we sometimes miss out on blessings that Heavenly Father may otherwise have given us. When we see others enjoy the blessings that we, had we been wiser, could have enjoyed with them, we begin to experience deep regret.

I've heard at least one person describe Hell as a place of great regret. Some describe Hell as a place of fire and brimstone, where damned souls are tortured for eternity, but I don't think it's actually like that. I don't think God would allow anyone, not even the devil, to torture any soul for eternity. I think that if there's any torture going on in Hell, the damned souls are doing it to themselves.

We are the spirit children of God. He has planted in us the potential and desire to rise up to heaven and behave, if not become, like Him. We were each destined for such incredible greatness, we can't even imagine it. But once we've passed on, the veil will be removed from our minds. We'll remember what God is really like - what we could be like. And the righteous will behold the fruits of their labors and rejoice.

But those who were wicked in life will groan within themselves and lament, "If only I had done better. If only I had lived up to my potential." Their deep feelings of regret will be the suffering and the torment that Hell is known for. To know that we are unworthy to stand in the presence of God, when we could have enjoyed that blessing and so much more if we had been more righteous, would be very painful.

So, the speaker reminded us to think about the consequences of our actions, and to avoid doing things that we'll later regret. Satan tries to tell us that the are no consequences, but there are. God keeps His choicest blessings in reserve for those who follow Him, and if we find that we're not included in that group, we'll regret having chosen whatever we had chosen instead. So, for our own sakes, we need to remember to be righteous, and to try to avoid doing things we'll later regret.

Something I've Learned Recently

I've got my list and note paper ready. I should grab more lead for my mechanical pencil, and maybe a backup pencil, just in case. I can't take my shower yet, because someone's in the bathroom. I could start loading food and other such things into the car, but I'm not wearing shoes right now and I'm still a little tired. Yet...

One thing I've learned recently is that the body and the spirit do not always have to be at war. The body sometimes wants things that aren't good for the spirit, and the spirit sometimes wants things that aren't good for the body, but that doesn't mean that overcoming and ignoring the one is the best thing to do for the other. We are dual-beings with both bodies and spirits, and they both need each other to be at their best. The trick is to get the two sides of ourselves to work together. To feed and nourish both while not causing harm to either. To strengthen both of them without weakening either of them.

In fantasy worlds, fighters train and strengthen their bodies, while mostly ignoring their spirits. Clerics train and strengthen their spirits while mostly ignoring their bodies. Paladins need to have strong bodies and strong spirits, so they need to find ways to train both of them and to help them work together.

To mimic this, I've been thinking about taking up some form of exercise, probably including push-ups and pull-ups, because I've noticed that my arms are abnormally weak. My legs are strong from biking, but some jogging for cardio could help, too.

Now, all of this seems to only relate to the body, but it's also directly linked to a part of my spirit - my will-power. Can I will myself to do one more push-up or pull-up? Can I will myself to keep jogging just a little longer? Can I will myself to exercise regularly, rather than getting tired of it and giving up? Recording my progress could help to continue working on it and to also help foster improvement - that is, to give me motivation to feed my spirit and will-power. With both physical strength and spiritual will-power working together, I can become much stronger than I'd be if a merely had a strong body or a strong will. That counts for physical things, and it may also count for spiritual things. At the very least, exercising my spirit and will-power will increase my ability to resist temptation.

I've learned that "the natural man" we're supposed to overcome doesn't refer to our bodies. Our bodies are fine. They're gifts from God. When we break them, God helps us fix them. When lose them, God gives them back to us as good as new. God wants us to have our bodies. They're not evil. We just need to learn how to take care of them and control them. They may even help us in some grand spiritual way that I couldn't begin to understand. God has a body, and it's part of what makes Him who He is. We, wanting to be like Him, were willing to leave heaven temporarily to get bodies, and He gave us the opportunity to do that. I think God wants us to have bodies, not just to help us exercise our will-power (though that may be a big part of His plan), but also to serve some purpose I don't yet understand, and may never understand in mortality.

I need to get my body and my spirit to stop being so antagonistic toward each other. I am one being. A multi-faceted, but singular being. My arms and legs don't work against each other. Neither should my body and spirit. It's time to "pull myself together," so to speak, and get every part of me working together toward common goals. If I can get myself to work together, I may be able to accomplish them.

My "Tap Into Conference" List

General Conference starts tomorrow, so it's time for the last minute preparations. For me, this includes making a list of what, specifically, I what to get out of this General Conference, reviewing my previous posts,  I can  see that I've already written part of that list.

I'm increasingly looking forward to General Conference. I'm looking forward to powerful, inspiring talks, sound advice, and an increased measure of faith. I'm looking forward to learning (or being reminded) what God wants me to do and how I can gain the strength and faith to do it. I'm looking forward to recommitting myself to becoming who God wants me to be.

I'm also looking forward to specific advice for my personal concerns, feeling the Spirit more strongly than usual, and encouragement to be better and to do good.

When I put all those things into a word processor and sorted them into categories and sub-categories, it started to look like a pretty good list. I plan to get a lot out of this General Conference, including the courage to become what God wants me to be, and the guidance of how, exactly, I can do that.

I believe that God wants me to be awesome, and I know I do. What's yet to be determined is exactly what kind of awesome God wants me to be (in this life, I mean), and what steps I have to take to get there. I also acknowledge that I may need some encouragement and motivation to get me through the hard parts, so that's on the list as well.

It occurs to me that I'm relying on God for a lot, but it had already become clear to me over the last several days that we already rely on God for everything anyway. I can't do this without Him. He and I both know that. We both want it to happen, and we both know that in order for it to happen, He has to provide the power, and I need to tap into that power. He's providing the power in the form of General Conference. Now it's my job to tap into that power and get as much out of General Conference as possible. This list should help me to do that, now that I've printed it up.

I feel excited for General Conference. This is going to be good.

Christlike Attributes - The Wind Beneath Our Wings

In what I thought earlier were semi-random meanderings through LDS.org, which I now believe were strongly guided by the Holy Spirit, I came across a talk that President Uchtdorf gave in October 2005 (back when he was Elder Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles). The talk was titled Christlike Attributes - The Wind Beneath Our Wings.

After a brief aviation analogy about the seeming complexity of an airplane from inside a cockpit, contrasted with the fundamentally simple physics principles of thrust and uplift, Elder Uchtdorf spent the first ten or twelve minutes of his talk talking about the organization of the church, how it has many programs to help foster growth in large wards and stakes, but its core is very simple, and can be applied by even the smallest branches.

"This leads me back to my aerodynamic analogy from the beginning," he said:

I spoke of focusing on the basics. Christlike attributes are the basics. They are the fundamental principles that will create “the wind beneath our wings.” As we develop Christlike attributes in our own lives, step-by-step, they will “bear [us] up as on eagles’ wings” (D&C 124:18). Our faith in Jesus Christ will provide power and a strong forward thrust; our unwavering and active hope will provide a powerful upward lift. Both faith and hope will carry us across oceans of temptations, over mountains of afflictions, and bring us safely back to our eternal home and destination.

That was his closing paragraph. The rest of his talk focused on Christlike attributes - What they are, why they're a priority, how we can develop them, warnings of the challenges we will face as we try to develop them (because Satan never makes doing the right thing easy), and the blessings we'll receive as we strive to develop them. It's a very good talk. Here are a few of my highlights:

Individually, we need to first “follow Him,” and as we do this, the Savior will bless us beyond our own capacity to become what He wants us to be.

To follow Christ is to become more like Him. It is to learn from His character. As spirit children of our Heavenly Father, we do have the potential to incorporate Christlike attributes into our life and character. 

This process is very complex and very simple at the same time. Ancient and modern prophets described it with three words: “Keep the commandments”—nothing more, nothing less. 

The scriptures describe a number of Christlike attributes we need to develop during the course of our lives. They include knowledge and humility, charity and love, obedience and diligence, faith and hope. 

Developing Christlike attributes in our lives is not an easy task, especially when we move away from generalities and abstractions and begin to deal with real life. 

Christlike attributes are gifts from God. They cannot be developed without His help. 

Christlike attributes come into our lives as we exercise our agency righteously. 

In seeking to become more like the Savior, we need to reevaluate our lives regularly and rely, through the path of true repentance, upon the merits of Jesus Christ and the blessings of His Atonement. 

Developing Christlike attributes can be a painful process. We need to be ready to accept direction and correction from the Lord and His servants. 

This worldwide conference with its music and spoken word offers spiritual power, direction, and blessings “from on high” (D&C 43:16). It is a time when the voice of personal inspiration and revelation will bring peace to our souls and will teach us how to become more Christlike.

I'm increasingly looking forward to General Conference. I'm looking forward to powerful, inspiring talks, sound advice, and an increased measure of faith. I'm looking forward to learning (or being reminded) what God wants me to do and how I can gain the strength and faith to do it. I'm looking forward to recommitting myself to becoming who God wants me to be.

Guardian Angels and The Holy Ghost

I don't know if I've blogged about this yet, but I don't think I have because I couldn't find any past posts with the word "Guardian" in it, though I blogged several times about angels. Many people believe that each person has a Guardian Angel, a specific being charged to watch over them and protect them. I particularly remember Pasquale's guardian angel from the comic Rose is Rose. While I was going on about angels in previous blog posts, I wanted to blog about the existence or non-existence of guardian angels like that, but I don't think I ever have - possibly because I found this.

Undoubtedly angels often guard us from accidents and harm, from temptation and sin. They may properly be spoken of as guardian angels. Many people have borne and may bear testimony to the guidance and protection that they have received from sources beyond their natural vision. Without the help that we receive from the constant presence of the Holy Spirit, and from possible holy angels, the difficulties of life would be greatly multiplied. 

The common belief, however, that to every person born into the world is assigned a guardian angel to be with that person constantly, is not supported by available evidence. … An angel may be a guardian angel though he come only as assigned to give us special help. In fact, the constant presence of the Holy Spirit would seem to make such a constant, angelic companionship unnecessary. 

So, until further knowledge is obtained, we may say that angels may be sent to guard us according to our need; but we cannot say with certainty that there is a special guardian angel, to be with every person constantly.
Elder John A. Widtsoe, Improvement Era, April 1944, p. 225.

This basically shoots down the traditional idea of a guardian angel for each person. There are angels, and they do occasionally "guard" us from temptation or harm, but it seems unlikely that any person needs so much help that they have a specific angel with them constantly, and if they already have the presence of the Holy Spirit, the presence of a guardian angel is especially superfluous.

However, this got me thinking: If the Holy Ghost essentially replaces a guardian angel, filling the role of a guardian angel, could the Holy Ghost be considered a guardian angel Himself? The Bible Dictionary says this:

We learn from latter-day revelation that there are two classes of heavenly beings who minister for the Lord: those who are spirits and those who have bodies of flesh and bone. Spirits are those beings who either have not yet obtained a body of flesh and bone (unembodied) or who have once had a mortal body and have died and are awaiting the Resurrection (disembodied). Ordinarily the word angel means those ministering persons who have a body of flesh and bone, being either resurrected from the dead (reembodied), or else translated, as were Enoch, Elijah, etc.
Bible Dictionary, Angel

So, no. The Holy Ghost is probably not considered an "angel."

Well... bummer. I was kinda hoping that we each had a guardian angel, but I suppose the Holy Ghost is close enough in every case but terminology. Though I could have hoped for more individualization. I'd love for there to be some being out there who's my guardian angel, whose purpose it is to watch over and guide me. With the Holy Ghost being everyone's guardian angel (if he can be called a guardian angel at all), it somehow makes the relationship between us and Him less special. At least, to me it does. "Yeah, I helped you out, but I do that for everybody."

Maybe I'm just being selfish. The Holy Ghost gives me everything I'd need in a guardian angel, and that should be enough, but I'd also love the opportunity to form a special one-on-one relationship with some kind of guardian angel, someone specific that I could ask for help from and do favors for in return. Someone I could team up with and form a partnership for accomplishing mutual goals. I could probably form that kind of relationship with the Holy Ghost, but to me, He has always seemed like more of a conscience or some kind of energy force than an individual. Can a person become friends with an unembodied energy force?

Theoretically, I could, but first I'd have to get past my racism, or whatever you'd call it, to accept the Holy Ghost as an individual rather than just an extension of my conscience. I understand that God and Jesus Christ are both individuals. Perhaps  I need to learn more about who the Spirit is as a person. What's His personality like? What are some of the things He likes or dislikes? Does He have any hobbies or special talents? What is it that makes Him a unique individual, different from every other being in existence? I suppose I'd learn those kinds of things as I work the form a relationship with Him. But still, it seems to me that it'd be rather odd to form a friendship with a Spirit. Somehow, it seems more natural to be friends with an angel instead.