The Most Important Part of the Lesson

If I teach nothing else tomorrow, I want to at least teach the kids that hymns can help crowd out unworthy thoughts. I feel that that is very important. The ability to use hymns to resist temptation is a skill that everyone should develop, most particularly the youth of the church. I'll probably end up sharing President Packer's analogy about one's mind being a stage that can only have one actor on it at a time, and I'll certainly have one of the children read the President Packer quote the lesson shares, if nothing else. This may not be the most interesting tidbit, and it certainly won't be the most fun part of the lesson (unless I think of some activity that could go along with that part of the lesson), but I think it's the most important hymns-related message I could share with the kids. They are going to encounter temptation at some times in their lives, as if they don't already encounter it, and when they do, it be great if they had learned a trick or two for how to resist it, and humming or singing a hymn is just such a trick. If even only one of those children hears, remembers, and benefits from that message, it will have been work taking the time to teach it.

Songs and the Spirit

I'm teaching the lesson in Primary this week, and the lesson is on Emma Smith compiling the first hymnbook. This is an interesting topic for me because I love hymns and the singing of hymns. What I love most the hymns is how well they invite the Spirit. Singing hymns is much like saying prayers. In fact, some hymns, like How Great Thou Art, literally are prayers. In addition, most hymns, if not all, have doctrinal messages in them, of which the Holy Spirit can testify. Hymns also invite the Spirit through the music itself. I don't know what it is about music, even secular, instrumental music, but it touches the soul in a very special way, often inspiring the same feelings and attitudes that attract the Spirit.

What makes this lesson challenging for me is its emphasis on Emma Smith. I don't know much about her, and some of what I've heard, I don't think I'd share in a Primary lesson (even though some of the kids have already heard it, too). I don't think I'll talk about Emma except to say that God asked her to make a hymnbook and then ask why He would want her to do that. Hopefully, one of the kids will answer that hymns are important, and then we can go from there.

Of the many good lessons we can learn from and about hymns, it'll be tough to decide which ones to prioritize. Is it important, for example, to share that sacred hymns and Primary songs can crowd out unworthy thoughts, but depending on how many students are listening at that point, it may be more productive to have a hymn-related activity first, like singing one hymn to the tune of another. That may help the youngsters to focus and thus actually get something out of the lesson. But I don't want to spend all our times on activities, unless those activities also teach important lessons, so I'll probably need to find some balance between the two.

This might be a tricky lesson. Fortunately, the testimony part should be fairly easy. I love hymns because the hymns can help us attract the Spirit. Come to think of it, maybe it'd make sense to sing an opening hymn to attract the Spirit before the lesson. For this lesson, I think I'm going to need it.

Satanic Support

One thing that strikes me about the three pillars of eternity is that Satan was there at each of these events, trying to thwart God's plans, only to inadvertently accomplish them.

Before the creation, God declared that mankind would be given agency, and Satan tried to take it away, but his actions started a pre-mortal war that allowed mankind to use their agency to choose to follow God's plan. Satan again tried to thwart God's plan by causing the Fall of Adam, not realizing that the fall, and all of the "bad" things that came with it, was an essential aspect of God's plan. And while we have no scriptural proof that Satan was present at any point during the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I'd be surprised if he wasn't. At the very least, I consider it likely that he was in the hearts of those who urged Pilate to crucify Jesus Christ, only to learn later that His death had been necessary to bring about the resurrection. At each of these pillars, Satan was there, trying to destroy God's plan, only to end up supporting it.

I wonder if God planned for that. I mean, of course He did. He knew it was going to happen, so He made His plan robust enough to withstand Satan's opposition. But what I'm wondering is whether or not God planned on Satan's opposition. Did He count on it? Did He intentionally make His plan such that Satan's "opposition" was actually an essential element in His plan?

It's times like these that make me wonder whose side Satan is really on. In an earlier blog post, I submitted an Utterly Ridiculous and Admittedly Untrue Theory that Satan was actually working for God in a role similar to that of a personal trainer. He, Satan gives us opposition with the intention of helping us grow. According to my Utterly Ridiculous and Admittedly Untrue Theory, Satan would have knowingly and willingly been helping God's plan along by pretending to oppose it.

Of course, Satan isn't actually trying to help God, but I still wonder if God was counting on Satan's help when He made His plan, knowing that He was going to get it. Whether Satan's "opposition" to God's plan was a planned-for catalyst or a surpassable speedbump, it's pretty ironic that Satan's attempts to thwart God's plan actually helped accomplish it, and it's fun to consider the possibility that God had been planning on that from the very beginning.

The Pillars of Eternity

Another phrase Elder Weatherford T. Clayton said that caught my attention was "the pillars of eternity." Specifically, Elder Clayton said "That plan [the plan of salvation] is built upon three grand pillars: the pillars of eternity." The footnote from that quote leads a 1991 talk by Elder Russel M. Nelson, titled Standards of the Lord's Standard-Bearers, but he only used the word "pillar" once in that talk, and a web search revealed that the more likely origin of the phrase may be a speech given in 1981 by Bruce R. McConkie, who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve at the time. Fittingly, his speech was titled The Three Pillars of Eternity. So, what are these pillars, and why are they so important?

To answer those questions, I'm tempted to simply copy large sections of Elder McConkie's speech, but I'll try to restrain myself to sharing only the most important few.

According to Elder McConkie:

The three pillars of eternity, the three events, preeminent and transcendent above all others, are the creation, the fall, and the atonement. These three are the foundations upon which all things rest. Without any one of them all things would lose their purpose and meaning, and the plans and designs of Deity would come to naught.

If there had been no creation, we would not be, neither the earth, nor any form of life upon its face. All things, all the primal elements, would be without form and void. God would have no spirit children; there would be no mortal probation; and none of us would be on the way to immortality and eternal life.

If there had been no fall of man, there would not be a mortal probation. Mortal man would not be, nor would there be animals or fowls or fishes or life of any sort upon the earth. And, we repeat, none of us would be on the way to immortality and eternal life.

If there had been no atonement of Christ, all things would be lost. The purposes of creation would vanish away. Lucifer would triumph over men and become the captain of their souls. And, we say it again, none of us would be on the way to immortality and eternal life.

It all sounds pretty epic. In fact, even just the term "the pillars of eternity" sounded epic, which is why I bothered looking any of this up, and now I'm glad I did. I feel like I found some important truths (and some nice quotes) half-buried in the past, hidden away in a talk that's older than I am.

I'd like to blog more about these pillars later. For now, I think I'll just leave you with these quotes and enjoy the tangential learning I just experienced. I wouldn't have found these quotes if I hadn't looked them up, and, as I think about it, the General Authorities often mention, in their General Conference talks, references to previous talks. So, if a phrase in a talk stands out to you, if there's a term you'd like to understand better, look it up. It may appear elsewhere in the words of the prophets, and they may shed more light on whatever it was that piqued your interest. I looked up "the pillars of eternity" because it sounded cool, and in doing so, I learned that they are actually the most important events that ever occurred. I wonder what other "cool" insights I could find if I looked more closely at these Conference talks more often.

"The Supreme Blessing of Being Judged"

Toward the end of his talk, Our Father's Glorious Plan, Elder Weatherford T. Clayton said, "After the Resurrection we will have the supreme blessing of being judged by our Savior, who said, 'I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.'"

When I heard that, I got hung up on the phrase "the supreme blessing of being judged." I thought, how could being judged be a "supreme blessing"? Even in context, knowing that we will be "judged according to [our] works" doesn't sound too promising. We all have at least a handful of "works" that we would rather not be judged by.

But maybe I'm focussing on the wrong words. Perhaps it's not a "supreme blessing" to be judged, and perhaps it's not a "supreme blessing" to be judged "according to [our] works," but it can still be a "supreme blessing" to be judged "by our Savior."

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, loves us. He loves us so much He was willing to die for us. More than that, He suffered through tremendous pain and agony, which punishment He did not deserve, so that He could spare us the punishments that we do deserve. He completed the Atonement so He could have the "supreme blessing" of judging us, not so much according to our works, but according to His mercy (and our repentance).

I'm sure that it will still be overwhelming, and I'm sure that many tears will be shed, but I think that it will be a "supreme blessing" to be "judged" by Him.

I've Got Nothing

I can't think of anything to blog about this evening. I've had plenty of thoughts recently, some of which have been fairly deep, but none of them are blogworthy. I suppose this is bound to happen periodically; one cannot expect to gain a new insight every day, though perhaps the problem is that I haven't been looking hard enough or in the right places or with the right frame of mind. I'm sure God is always willing to speak to us, if we are truly listening, but listening like that is a skill that takes a long time to develop and even longer to master. I have yet to master the skill of listening to God. Thus, having not heard the voice of inspiration in recent memory, I have nothing to blog about. I am sorry. I will try again tomorrow.

Many Heroes

I just watched Sully with several family members this evening. Sully is a film about the "forced water landing" of a passenger aircraft with 155 people on board. Despite losing both engines at low altitude and being unable to reach any airports to land safely, the eponymous pilot still managed to land the plane relatively safely in the Hudson river, and everyone on board survived.

But one of the most striking things to most of us who watched the film this evening was that "the miracle on the Hudson" wasn't a miracle just because of Sully. Though almost everything hinged on his expertise as a pilot, he wasn't the only hero that day. There were several crew members, both in the air and on the ground, who helped guide the plane and passengers safely. There was dozens of emergency responders who came to pick up the passengers after the plan landed on the river. All told, there were many heroes that day, and the film clearly portrayed that.

In life, there are many people who each play roles in getting things done. Even when there's one person acting as a leader or playing a critical role, the other people play important roles, too. The Elder's Quorum and Relief Society Presidents of the world may direct the work, but every member pitches in. Every helper is a hero.

Sully did an amazing job, and he saved over a hundred and fifty lives that day, but he wasn't the only one. There were countless heroes that day because countless people were there to lend a hand. I hope that each of us can be willing to do our part and lend a hand in the effort of saving souls. Our individual parts may be small, especially compared to others', but each individual makes a difference, and even if we can't do much, the world needs all the heroes it can get. There were many heroes that day, and I hope that there are many heroes every day.