Unspeakable words

The greatest part of the Book of Mormon is when Christ visits the American continent after His Resurrection. Here is a place where He prays for a crowd of people who have gathered to hear Him:

15 And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.
16 And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father. (3 Nephi 17:15-17)

I’ve wondered in the past how it is possible to speak things that can’t be written or even imagined. But I think I’m beginning to realize how it happens. When I was a teenager I would hear people talk with great enthusiasm about service and missionary work and the Spirit of God and a number of other things of spiritual significance, and I couldn’t understand what was so great about them. But as I have gained more experience with these things I have become acquainted with the great joy that comes from them. I’ve learned how satisfying service is. I’ve learned how invigorating and exciting missionary work is. I’ve gotten more in tune with the Spirit of the Lord and a number of other things, and now I find that when someone says those words they seem magical to me, because just the words evoke memories of the wonderful feelings I’ve had.

So I think that those words Jesus prayed must have been somewhat like icebergs (remember, 10% above the water, 90% submerged where you can’t see it). 90% of the meaning must have been felt.

Land disputes

I ran across this story in my study today:

25 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the twenty and fourth year of the reign of the judges, there would also have been peace among the people of Nephi had it not been for a contention which took place among them concerning the land of Lehi, and the land of Morianton, which joined upon the borders of Lehi; both of which were on the borders by the seashore.
26 For behold, the people who possessed the land of Morianton did claim a part of the land of Lehi; therefore there began to be a warm contention between them, insomuch that the people of Morianton took up arms against their brethren, and they were determined by the sword to slay them.
27 But behold, the people who possessed the land of Lehi fled to the camp of Moroni, and appealed unto him for assistance; for behold they were not in the wrong.
28 And it came to pass that when the people of Morianton, who were led by a man whose name was Morianton, found that the people of Lehi had fled to the camp of Moroni, they were exceedingly fearful lest the army of Moroni should come upon them and destroy them.
29 Therefore, Morianton put it into their hearts that they should flee to the land which was northward, which was covered with large bodies of water, and take possession of the land which was northward.
30 And behold, they would have carried this plan into effect, (which would have been a cause to have been lamented) but behold, Morianton being a man of much passion, therefore he was angry with one of his maid servants, and he fell upon her and beat her much.
31 And it came to pass that she fled, and came over to the camp of Moroni, and told Moroni all things concerning the matter, and also concerning their intentions to flee into the land northward.
32 Now behold, the people who were in the land Bountiful, or rather Moroni, feared that they would hearken to the words of Morianton and unite with his people, and thus he would obtain possession of those parts of the land, which would lay a foundation for serious consequences among the people of Nephi, yea, which consequences would lead to the overthrow of their liberty.
33 Therefore Moroni sent an army, with their camp, to head the people of Morianton, to stop their flight into the land northward.
34 And it came to pass that they did not ahead them until they had come to the borders of the land Desolation; and there they did head them, by the narrow pass which led by the sea into the land northward, yea, by the sea, on the west and on the east.
35 And it came to pass that the army which was sent by Moroni, which was led by a man whose name was Teancum, did meet the people of Morianton; and so stubborn were the people of Morianton, (being inspired by his wickedness and his flattering words) that a battle commenced between them, in the which Teancum did slay Morianton and defeat his army, and took them prisoners, and returned to the camp of Moroni. And thus ended the twenty and fourth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
36 And thus were the people of Morianton brought back. And upon their covenanting to keep the peace they were restored to the land of Morianton, and a union took place between them and the people of Lehi; and they were also restored to their lands. (Alma 50:25-36)

I read it with a lot more interest than I usually have in the past, because I am taking a World Politics class this semester and I just finished a short paper examining Russia’s reasons for invading Georgia (not the Georgia in the United States, the country that is south of Russia). Though the events only half coincide, there are enough similarities to render the comparison interesting. I reproduce my paper below:

In August 2008, Russia invaded Georgia, completing their humanitarian intervention on behalf of South Ossetia.

Examining their justification for this requires some historical background.

Russia’s military action came at the end of a series of events in which tensions between South Ossetia and Georgia were heightened, and tensions between Russia and Georgia were heightened.

In the 1990s, South Ossetia, located between Georgia and Russia, fought to separate itself from Georgia and since then, South Ossetia has had very close ties to Russia. Russia has issued South Ossetians Russian passports to facilitate relations (Abdullaev, 2008; Nichol, 2008, 18) and many South Ossetians use Russian money (Godsadze 2008). This has not prevented Georgia from wanting to reunite South Ossetia back with Georgia.

In 2005, there were two elections in South Ossetia, one in which the South Ossetian separatists claimed 99% of the population was in favor of an independent South Ossetia, and an alternative election that was decided in favor of unification with Georgia. Russia recognized the separatist election, while the U.S. state department and most of the west accepted the alternative election (Nichol, 2008, 3). This has caused a mismatch in views over South Ossetia’s international status.

Tensions rose before the fighting started as Georgia conducted military maneuvers on its borders, and Russia conducted military maneuvers by its borders. Georgia protested Russia’s maneuvers, saying that it was demonstrating a military threat. (Nichol, 2008, 6)

In early August, smatterings of violence between South Ossetia and Georgia resulted in Georgia invading South Ossetia. The South Ossetian president claimed that during the invasion, Georgia perpetrated its third genocide against South Ossetia (Russia Today, 2008, Aug 9). South Ossetians claimed that Georgian soldiers made no distinction between military and civilian targets and that they behaved in a brutal manner toward fleeing civilians (Russia Today, 2008, Sept 7). There are stories of old women crushed by tanks and cars set on fire with occupants still inside. Although the death toll is unknown, South Ossetia claims it is in the thousands. (Russia Today, 2008, Aug 9)

In response to the crowds of distressed South Ossetians fleeing northward, Russia declared that it would repel the Georgian aggression. It invaded South Ossetia, stopped the Georgian forces, pushed them back into Georgia, and continued further into Georgia.

Russia justified its actions by saying that Georgia was committing genocide on South Ossetia and that it was necessary to stop it immediately. Russia already had peacekeeping forces in South Ossetia, but they were overcome; “52 Russian peacekeepers were killed as a result of the Georgian army’s attack. Thirteen are missing and 229 are wounded” (Russia Today, 2008). “In justifying its invasion of Georgia, Russia said it had to defend Ossetians with Russian citizenship who were under siege when Georgia shelled their capital, Tskhinvali, in early August” (Rodriguez, 2008).

Russia’s push far into Georgia can also be seen as an intention to completely subdue the military aggression of Georgia. If Russia merely chased the Georgian army back into Georgia and stopped at the border, the opposing Georgian army would remain a significant threat for South Ossetia to face in the future. Russia proceeded to Georgian military bases and neutralized the threat itself in order to be quite sure that Georgia would no longer threaten South Ossetia. They took over Georgian military bases, replaced Georgian media broadcasts with pro-Russian content (possibly to try to reverse any pro-Georgia propaganda), and took Georgian soldiers prisoners (Rimple, 2008).

Russia’s invasion into Georgia is also an attempt to build a protective margin or buffer around South Ossetia. They put in eight military checkpoints in Georgia and wanted a no-fly zone too (Whalen & Chazen, 2008). Russia consistently sets up buffer zones to prevent outside invasion. Eastern Europe was turned into a Russian buffer zone against the threat they perceived in NATO and the west after World War II (Norton, 2008).

Once Russia occupied Georgia, it also took the unique step of extending diplomatic recognition to South Ossetia, citing humanitarian reasons (Abdullaev, 2008). This was done in order to try to solidify the territorial integrity of South Ossetia, even as many other nations decried this recognition as a violation of the territorial integrity of Georgia and called for Russia to leave Georgia.

The fact that Russia has since mostly pulled out of Georgia, following a cease-fire agreement (AFP, 2008) and has insisted on including a South Ossetian delegate in peace talks with Georgia (Williams & Wagstyl, 2008) indicates that it was not using “humanitarian intervention” as a cloak for ambitious national expansion.

The theory that best explains Russia’s reason for invading Georgia is that of “humanitarian intervention”.

Similarities between the Morianton-Lehi land dispute and the Georgia-South Ossetia dispute are that one party thought land of the other party belonged to them, there was escalating violence, fleeing refugees petitioned for outside military intervention, and the aggressors had to be completely subdued.

I think it is significant that in the Book of Mormon story, everyone was restored to their lands after they covenanted to keep the peace. It is even more interesting to me that a union took place between these two warring parties that previously fought over the land. It seems to show that unity is the solution to contention.

Works cited in paper
AFP. (2008, Oct 15). Georgia-Russia talks angrily break down. Retrieved Oct 15, 2008 from http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h4-tWFI-anlmK7ShA_zWkvtcCUqA.

Abdullaev N. (2008, October 7). Russia Adds 2 New Countries to Its Map. [Electronic version] The Moscow Times as shared by RussiaProfile.org. Retrieved on Oct 11, 2008 from http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=CDI+Russia+Profile+List&articleid=a1219852580.

Gotsadze, E., Associated Press. (2008, August 8). Fighting with Russian spreads to cities across Georgia. CNN.com. Retrieved October 7, 2008 from http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/08/georgia.ossetia/index.html.

Norton E. (2008, Oct 11) Why Uneasy relation exist between Poles and Russians. Welcome to Polishsite. Retrieved on October 11, 2008 from http://www.polishsite.us/politics-and-economy/poland-and-russia/162--why-uneasy-relations-exist-between-poles-and-russians.html.

Nichol J. (2008, August 29). Russia-Georgia Conflict in South Ossetia: Context and Implications for U.S. Interests. [pdf document] Congressional Research Service. Retrieved on Oct 11, 2008 from fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34618.pdf.

Russia Today. (2008, September 7) Witnesses reveal ‘Georgian atrocities’. [Electronic version] Retrieved Oct 2, 2008 from http://www.russiatoday.com/ossetianwar/news/30071.

Russia Today. (2008, August 9). NATO encouraged Georgia – Russian envoy. Retrieved October 11, 2008 from http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/28660.

Rodriguez, A (2008, October 2). Ukraine’s Russia Quandry. [Electronic version] The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 6, 2008 from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-crimea_rodriguezoct03,0,3220653.story.

Whalen J, Chazan G. (2008, August 21). Moscow is Likely to Recognize Breakaway Republics in Georgia. [Electronic version] Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on Oct 11, 2008 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121923076375956371.html.

Williams, F. & Wagstyl, S. (2008, Oct 15). Georgia and Russia begin talks. [Electronic Version] Financial Times. Retrieved on Oct 15, 2008 from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/137b08f2-9a52-11dd-bfe2-000077b07658.html

I am now a Segullah fan.

I ran across the website for Segullah, which is a literary journal for LDS women's writing. I read through a number of essays and poems. (Okay, so it was a large number. I got hooked.) I have to say that I was very impressed. I was enlightened. I was encouraged. I felt that it was a great thing to be a woman. I think this did more to show the dignity of motherhood--the struggle, the pain, and the beauty.

Pieces that really stuck out to me:

• A poem about a dream and a date. Startling!
• A pregnant woman discovers her painful sacrifice is acceptable to the Lord, here. This changed the way I thought about pregnancy, pioneers, and sacrifice.
• An essay on guilt, here, which I am convinced will become a classic, and
• "In Honor of Feisty Marriages: The Story of a Remodel" Loved it.

Discover for yourself!

Watch out for anger

For behold, his designs were to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites; this he did that he might usurp great power over [the Lamanites], and also that he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into bondage. (Alma 43:8)

This scripture teaches me that I must be very careful when someone is trying to make me angry at another person. I’ve noticed that when I get angry, it is almost impossible for me to be fair or prevent myself from over-reacting.

The resurrected Jesus Christ talked about the dangers of anger when He visited the Nephites on the American continent. (He said some of the same things that He said during his mortal ministry):

21 Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, and it is also written before you, that thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment of God;
22 But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of his judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. (3 Nephi 12:21-22, compare to Matthew 5:21-22)

According to the index, the work Raca suggests contempt in both Aramaic and Greek.

Anger puts us in danger of the judgment of God because when we are angry we almost always want to take it out on something or someone. When we take our anger out on people we do or say mean things, which is a sin. In the midst of anger, we don’t want to think about weighing our actions or making sure we don’t go too far, because that requires a cool head and careful thinking. We don’t want to think when we’re angry, we just want to act.

I think it is interesting that right after warning against anger, Christ also warns against name-calling. This is probably because name-calling tends to make other people angry, and also it is a manifestation of arrogance and pride.

A lot of people misunderstand the nature of pride. President Ezra Taft Benson gave an amazing talk in which he clarifies the danger of pride. I think pride and anger are very much connected. Thinking we are better than someone else, which is a big part of pride, opens the door for us to justify being angry with them.

I’ve found the best way I can overcome my anger is by praying.

I can remember when I found out my husband had done something that very much made me feel insecure. I was very angry with him, and it was a good thing he wasn’t around at the time. I paced around our apartment and I just couldn’t let go of it. I didn’t like what I was feeling and deep inside I felt that what I was angry about was actually really stupid (a pin I found in our bed). I didn’t want to be mad at my husband, because he is my best friend. So I prayed about it. I told Heavenly Father all about how I felt and that I didn’t want to feel that way and I asked for help to not be angry any more. And gradually I simmered down. When my husband came home, I was able to express myself on the issue kindly, without heat, and reasonably.

Vote yes on Proposition 102!

In November in Arizona voters will decide whether to pass Proposition 102, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. I believe this is important to do. I would like to share the principles of my belief upon which I base my decision.

I believe that gender is an essential characteristic of a person and that it is eternal. (Male spirits and female spirits existed before we were born on this earth and will continue after we die.)

I believe that the institution of marriage (between one man and one woman) is divinely sanctioned and approved.

I believe that the principle of love, as overarching and transcendent as it is, has certain limits and boundaries to its proper expression that are divinely appointed and that when we act within those boundaries, individuals may become perfected and society is strengthened.

I believe that God delights in the chastity of individuals (both men and women) who are not married and in the complete fidelity to spouse of those individuals who are married.

I can see that the institution of marriage is under attack from various directions. It is under attack from within when married individuals seek their own interests over the good of the couple and the family. It is under attack from without when large numbers of adults of marriageable age put off marrying. It is under attack from without when alternatives question the very nature and importance of gender.

By voting for this proposition, we politically affirm what we know to be true, that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Some observations on the economy

10 ¶ For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness:
thou hast said, None seeth me.
Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee;
and thou hast said in thine heart,
I am, and none else beside me.
11 ¶ Therefore shall evil come upon thee;
thou shalt not know from whence it riseth:
and mischief shall fall upon thee;
thou shalt not be able to put it off:
and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly,
which thou shalt not know.
12 Stand now with thine enchantments,
and with the multitude of thy sorceries,
wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth;
if so be thou shalt be able to profit,
if so be thou mayest prevail.
13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels.
Let now the astrologers,
the stargazers,
the monthly prognosticators, stand up,
and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
(Isaiah 47:10-13)

For some reason this scripture makes me think of the economic crisis.

Verse 11 reminds me a lot of a certain CEO, who insisted at a Congressional hearing that up to five days before, he had no idea that his company was going to go down.

As I have watched the banking industry thrash around and try to escape the credit crisis and I see all the different things they’ve been trying to do, like buy out each other’s debt, and raise more capital, and sell off assets and ask for bailouts, I can’t help but remember how they insisted that debt securitization was safe, because it was diluting the risk, how they advertised home equity loans for “living better”, and the credit default swaps..and so on.

Really, they do not see it coming, because they have made a perversion of debt. So now, they will try to work magic on their balance sheets to make the mess go away, or they will try to prevail upon the government to save them. I read that so many people in Washington and New York have been working 7 days a week for the last month or so trying to find a way out of the mess. They really are “wearied in the multitude of [their] counsels”. And we look to the market forecasters and economists to predict when things are expected to get better.

15 Because ye have said,
We have made a covenant with death,
and with hell are we at agreement;
when the overflowing scourge shall pass through,
it shall not come unto us:
for we have made lies our refuge,
and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 ¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord God,
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone,
a tried stone,
a precious corner stone,
a sure foundation:
he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line,
and righteousness to the plummet:
and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies,
and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 ¶ And your covenant with death shall be disannulled,
and your agreement with hell shall not stand;
when the overflowing scourge shall pass through,
then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you:
for morning by morning shall it pass over,
by day and by night:
and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
(Isaiah 28:15-19)

I take courage from verse 16 above, which seems to say that before the disaster happens, the Lord laid a safe foundation to build upon. The main foundation, of course, is Christ, and He gives us a safe financial foundation to build on. We have known for many years that safe foundation is 1) paying our tithing 2) getting out of debt 3) living within our means 4) having a year’s supply of food and 5) having an emergency cash reserve. If we believed in these measures and followed them we will not need to panic or be in a hurry or “make haste”, because we will already be prepared.

Verse 15 is significant because it says that the Lord will lay judgment and righteousness to the line and plummet, meaning that He is testing everyone, even the righteous. If we have built on that safe foundation, we will be able to withstand the hail and the overflowing waters (the financial storms), when otherwise we would be swept away and overthrown. And certainly it will be vexing only to hear what is going on.

8 Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre,
the crowning city,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts hath purposed it,
to stain the pride of all glory,
and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
(Isaiah 23:8-9)

I think we’re starting to see some humiliation and contempt..

When will the lesson about the perils of greed be learned?

And her merchandise
and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord:
it shall not be treasured nor laid up;
for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord,
to eat sufficiently,
and for durable clothing.
(Isaiah 23:18)

When we have learned how much is really enough and learned to donate our surplus to others in need, then we will begin to climb out of these troubles.

What shall I do?

One of the great stories in the Book of Mormon is the story of Lamanite king who was taught the Plan of Salvation and wanted a change of heart so badly that he was willing to do some difficult things for it.

15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
16 But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest.
17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:
18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day.. (Alma 22:15-18)

It is amazing that though he didn’t yet know what was required for his sins to be taken away, he was willing to give up what would be most dear to a king—his possessions and his kingdom—in return for:

• Eternal life
• Having the wicked spirit rooted out of his breast
• Reception of the Spirit of God
• Great joy

Aaron told him he needed to bow down before God (showing humility), repent of his sins, and pray to God in faith that he would receive.

It is so touching to me that this king did more than bow down, he prostrated himself on the ground, and he didn’t just pray, he “cried mightily”. And though he didn’t even know if this God was real, he prayed anyway, praying that if God was real, that He would make Himself known. And then, promising to give away all his sins just to know this God!

His prayers were answered, and you can read the whole story here.

Are you willing to give away all your sins for all those things? How much do you want to know God? Will you bow down and cry mightily for forgiveness? Will you be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost?

Some impressions from general conference (Oct 2008)

One thing I very much love about watching general conference is the singing of the choir. Their delivery is extraordinarily different from many choirs I hear that sing sacred music, and because it is different I find myself listening in a different way.

One way their delivery is different is that it is slower. In general I dislike slowness in sacred music because it can make it take forever, but for some reason when the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings slowly I find myself becoming more and more quiet and calm. I notice that I sit completely still, almost not daring to breathe and my body seems to become one big ear, listening and feeling the music and the message of the words. It is at this time that I realize how hymns, the song of the heart, have become a prayer to the Lord, because the thoughtfulness and sheer reverence are the same required for sincere prayer.

********

The first talk about food, clothing, shelter, and fuel was very good. I think the bit about keeping the Word of Wisdom is probably very much needed as there are so many people that are having troubles with their health. I am sure that living the law of what is best to eat would go a long way toward lightening the burden of sickness in the church. I have tried it myself and I have found it to keep me more healthy than just avoiding the things that it says to avoid. I challenge everyone to review the Word of Wisdom in Doctrine and Covenants 89 and to test it.

********

I appreciated Dallen H. Oaks’ talk about sacrament meeting, especially when he mentioned the function of music at church. I am the organist for our ward and one of the things I have experimented with is making different arrangements of chord progressions for the hymns. I like to play them for preludes and postludes…and sometimes if I feel inspired, I use them for congregational hymns’ last verses to give particular emphasis. It was good to be reminded that the music is for worship, not performance. This gives me a good measuring stick for my motives for whatever I do. Am I trying to add to atmosphere of worship, or am I trying to show off my meager talents?

*********

Gerald Causee brought up these good points about studying the scriptures:

• What would a child understand from reading the story of Christ being
• baptized?
• Don’t reject the principle of simplicity and clarity
• Don’t seek for things we can’t understand, because then God will give it and we will make mistakes.

This idea of reading the scriptures as a child would is fascinating to me. This was a lovely wakeup call for me, because I have been reading the scriptures too much lately with the sole intent of finding things I don’t understand, in order to study them. On one hand, it is good to apply myself to understanding, but when my study is completely given up to searching out the puzzling and incongruous and unclear, that is when my study has gone awry.

**********

I was struck by Elder Quentin L. Cook’s story of how President Monson asked people to celebrate his birthday. “Do something good to help someone who is having a hard time.” What could be more Christ-like than that request? It shows what he really wants—people to help others in need.

If everyone in the church did one good deed each day, that would be more than 13 million good deeds! (For that matter, what if everyone in the world made sure to do something kind each day? 6 billion kindnesses!)

What if everyone in the church shared something about the gospel each day? That would be more than 13 million people taught!

What if everyone in the church above the age of 12 became worthy of a temple recommend and then went to the temple at least once a month? How many new temples would we need?

In 2006 I once calculated in the roundest of numbers that it would take 35 youth and 5200 adults to fill the Mesa Temple if that amount were to go every day. Our stake has over 6000 people in it. I can’t quite remember the assumptions I used for my calculations, so it may need to be recalculated, but the thing I learned from the exercise was that each temple has a finite volume that can be filled and if we do the math we will see what it takes to fill the nearest temple’s capacity. It may be easier than we think and take fewer people than we think. When we fill the temple, the Lord gives us more of them and puts them closer so that we can go more often.

(Image credit - Andrew Ainsworth, Mormon Matters blog, http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://mormonmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/conference-organ.jpg&imgrefurl=http://mormonmatters.org/2008/04/06/general-conference-open-thread-sunday-sessions/&h=375&w=500&sz=135&hl=en&start=3&sig2=I4FkhAnKyel2piABIj6jnw&usg=__ParL_oGHiFlgWhCBzdorMyVID-0=&tbnid=X7z8snLuiIlYaM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&ei=YErpSO21HZ3MggKL9JirCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgeneral%2Bconference%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DG)

Care for the One

My husband and I have been reading in the Book of Mormon about when Christ came to visit the people of the Americas. One thing that seems to stick out to me today is how individualized His attention was, and how concerned He was that everyone experience for themselves.

13 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying:
14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:
17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him. (3 Nephi 11:13-17)

Christ wanted everyone to see the wounds that were made in Him on their behalf. When they saw them, the sufferings of Christ for their sins became a very real thing, worthy of worship. These days I try to use the sacrament to make Christ’s sufferings real to me.

Christ also wanted the people to experience His healing power.

7 Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.
8 For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you.
9 And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him. (3 Nephi 17:7-9)

I think it is neat that Christ healed those who came to Him, and He did it one by one. Today we are still invited to come unto Christ and promised that He can heal our hearts. Priesthood power is on the earth today and we can be healed of our sickness. I have experienced these things myself and they are real.

Christ also gave individual attention to children.

And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. (3 Nephi 17:21)

I find this so neat that Christ would take each child and bless each one and pray for each one. Think of the anticipation of waiting for that experience. I wonder, if I had been one of those children, what would Christ said when He blessed me? What would He have prayed for me? I’m sure it would have been great, because of what it says earlier when he was praying for the whole multitude.

15 And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.
16 And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father. (3 Nephi 17:15-17)

I would love to know what He prayed.

All this individual attention that Christ gave to the people shows us that salvation is about the one, and that we are saved from our sins one by one, that we are taught one by one. We receive ordinances one by one so that we know that the covenants we make are between us and God.