Spiritual Crocodiles

A few months ago I went back to visit my parents for a week and my mom asked me to help her clean out her old seminary posters that she had saved. It was neat reading through them as I put them in the trash. There was one that was so good that I had to copy out in my spiritual journal and today I want to share it. It’s about spiritual crocodiles.

Before I share that, though, here’s the story from Elder Packer’s 1976 conference talk about Spiritual Crocodiles that my mom's poster was probably based on:

We stopped at a water hole to watch the animals come to drink. It was very dry that season and there was not much water, really just muddy spots. When the elephants stepped into the soft mud the water would seep into the depression and the animals would drink from the elephant tracks.

The antelope, particularly, were very nervous. They would approach the mud hole, only to turn and run away in great fright. I could see there were no lions about and asked the guide why they didn’t drink. His answer, and this is the lesson, was “Crocodiles.”

I knew he must be joking and asked him seriously, “What is the problem?” The answer again: “Crocodiles.”

“Nonsense,” I said. “There are no crocodiles out there. Anyone can see that.”

I thought he was having some fun at the expense of his foreign game expert, and finally I asked him to tell us the truth. Now I remind you that I was not uninformed. I had read many books. Besides, anyone would know that you can’t hide a crocodile in an elephant track.

He could tell I did not believe him and determined, I suppose, to teach me a lesson. We drove to another location where the car was on an embankment above the muddy hole where we could look down. “There,” he said. “See for yourself.”

I couldn’t see anything except the mud, a little water, and the nervous animals in the distance. Then all at once I saw it!—a large crocodile, settled in the mud, waiting for some unsuspecting animal to get thirsty enough to come for a drink.

Suddenly I became a believer! When he could see I was willing to listen, he continued with the lesson. “There are crocodiles all over the park,” he said, “not just in the rivers. We don’t have any water without a crocodile somewhere near it, and you’d better count on it.”

The guide was kinder to me than I deserved. My “know-it-all” challenge to his first statement, “crocodiles,” might have brought an invitation, “Well, go out and see for yourself!”

I could see for myself that there were no crocodiles. I was so sure of myself I think I might have walked out just to see what was there. Such an arrogant approach could have been fatal! But he was patient enough to teach me….

Those ahead of you in life have probed about the water holes a bit and raise a voice of warning about crocodiles. Not just the big, gray lizards that can bite you to pieces, but spiritual crocodiles, infinitely more dangerous, and more deceptive and less visible, even, than those well-camouflaged reptiles of Africa….

On another trip to Africa I discussed this experience with a game ranger in another park. He assured me that you can indeed hide a crocodile in an elephant track—one big enough to bite a man in two.

He then showed me a place where a tragedy had occurred. A young man from England was working in the hotel for the season. In spite of constant and repeated warnings, he went through the compound fence to check something across a shallow splash of water that didn’t cover his tennis shoes.

“He wasn’t two steps in,” the ranger said, “before a crocodile had him, and we could do nothing to save him.”

Now here’s the text from my mother’s poster:

Crocodiles—And Satan’s temptations, tactics, and tricks

1. Are well-camouflaged. (“What’s wrong with it?”)

2. Victimize the young who are innocent or less warry. (“It can’t happen to me.”)

3. Victims underestimate how fast and powerful the enemy is. (Addictions—pr0n, gambling, debt, smoking, drugs..)

4. Victims see others who seem to be unharmed (“in the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can’t see”)

5. Wait in places where victims go to satisfy needs. (social—parties; emotional—peer influences)

6. Are patient and wait until victim feels safe and guard is down (late at night, relaxing, vacation, etc.)

7. Victims ignore warnings (parents, teachers, Holy Ghost, prophets’ messages)

It seems we have more spiritual crocodiles to look out for today than ever. I'm excited to listen to our guides in general conference!

Image: http://crocodilian.com/

Image #2: http://animal-wildlife.blogspot.com/2011/11/crocodile.html

Molting insects and putting off the natural man

I was reading about insects yesterday and I ran across a fabulous picture of an insect molting and it seemed to me that it was a great metaphor and image for putting off the natural man.

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. (Mosiah 3:19)

A number of insects molt because they have to grow and their exoskeleton does not grow with them. So, they have to break through the crusty bounds of what they once were. The split in their exoskeleton that allows them to break out happens because of an increase of pressure from their hemolymph. (Hemolymph is to insects what our blood is to us.) Essentially, they expand from within. Their souls expand.

See from these verses how the word of God and the Holy Ghost acts spiritually on us in this very same way, bringing us gradually to put off the natural man:

28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me….

34 And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand. (Alma 32:28-34, emphasis added)

And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved. (Alma 5:9, emphasis added)

We see from Alma 5:9 that when our souls expand, just as the insect escapes their old exoskeleton, we escape "the bands of death" and "the chains of hell."

The image of an insect molting from its old skin is a powerful way to help us understand the need to have our souls expand and put of the natural man. Isn't it cool that the Lord gave us these little lessons as part of our beautiful world?

Image: Insect Exoskeletons, http://www.backyardnature.net/exoskelt.htm, retrieved 2/14/12.

The butterfly testimony of resurrection

I was thinking about what picture I could put with my previous post on the resurrection and for some reason I got a sudden impression to look at butterflies. And as I looked at these pictures of butterflies, the realization wacked me on the head that here was a creature whose life cycle is a witness to us of the resurrection.

Caterpillar = mortality (Caterpillars are pretty much earthbound creatures)


Cocoon = death and the grave (The inert cocoon certainly resembles something dead. It's like a little hanging shroud or a little tomb.)


Butterfly = glorious resurrection (The butterfly isn’t earthbound as it was as a caterpillar. Its wings give it greater powers than it ever had before. It also is more beautiful and glorious than a caterpillar.)


Why do we use Easter bunnies and eggs to celebrate the resurrection of Christ? We should be using butterflies!

Image #1 Copyright Dan L. Perlman, EcoLibrary.org, http://ecolibrary.org/page/DP91

Image #2 Copyright Dan L. Perlman, EcoLibrary.org,
http://ecolibrary.org/page/dp93

Image #3 Scenic Reflections, http://www.scenicreflections.com/media/276296/Blue_Morpho_Butterfly_Wallpaper/

In the beginning, there was taxonomy…

In the book Glut: Mastering Information Through The Ages there is the story told of anthropologist Brent Berlin walking through the Peruvian rainforest with a guide from the local Aguaruna tribe. Berlin listened as his guide pointed out the names of all the plants and animals they encountered. The tribe had developed an elaborate taxonomy of their own to classify and categorize the living things around them.

Berlin also discovered later that folk taxonomies are startlingly complex in order to organize their understanding of plants and animals. History credits Linnaeus and Aristotle with starting to catagorize living things, but it is suspected that the practice goes further back. It would be highly useful to learn very quickly what plants and animals were poisonous and harmful and which weren't.

When I read about this, I instantly thought of some verses I had recently read in the Pearl of Great Price:

19 And out of the ground I, the Lord God, formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and commanded that they should come unto Adam, to see what he would call them; and they were also living souls; for I, God, breathed into them the breath of life, and commanded that whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that should be the name thereof.
20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but as for Adam, there was not found an help meet for him. (Moses 3:19-20)

Here’s a really cute poem I found more than a year ago that seems to bring this event to life:

Adam’s Task, by John Hollander

And Adam gave names to all cattle, and
to the fowl of the air, and to every
beast of the field...GEN 2:20

Thou, paw-paw-paw; thou, glurd; thou, spotted
Glurd; thou, whitestap, lurching through
The high-grown brush; thou pliant-footed,
Implex; thou awagabu.

Every burrower, each flier
Came for the name he had to give:
Gay, first work, ever to be prior,
Not yet sunk to primitive.

Thou, verdle; thou, McFleery’s pomma;
Thou; thou; thou--three types of grawl;
Thou flishket; thou. kabasch; thou, comma-
Eared mashawk; thou, all; thou, all.

Were, in a fire of becoming,
Laboring to be burned away,
Then work, half-measuring, half-humming,
Would be as serious as play.

Thou, pambler; thou, rivarn; thou, greater
Wherret, and thou, lesser one;
Thou, sproal, thou zant; thou, lily-eater.
Naming’s over. Day is done.

(from Selected Poetry (New York: Knopf, 1993)

I think it says something about God's love for us and desire for us to learn that He allows us to make our own names for things. He wants us to discover for ourselves. I think it is also neat that He uses our names for things when He communicates. In a certain sense, it is another example of the condescension of God.

Image: SchoolWorkHelper—St. Rosemary Educational Institution, http://schoolworkhelper.net/2010/07/scientific-taxonomy/

The symbolic meaning of swine in the scriptures

We know that pork was forbidden under the Law of Moses:

7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you. (Lev. 11:7-8)

Because pork was forbidden under the Law of Moses, the mention of swine automatically became an instant rhetorical symbol of filthiness and not keeping the commandments.

Notice how this informs our understanding in the following scriptures:

3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.
4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not….
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 66:3-4,17, emphasis added)

The imagery that is being built here is meant to show us how the Lord sees beyond our immediate acts of worship and can tell whether we are worthy to participate or not. The unworthy Israelites, when they were offering their sacrifices, offended God through their lack of contrition just as surely as if they had offered unclean animals for sacrifice. They were unclean, so their sacrifices were considered unclean too.

Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; (Isaiah 65:4, emphasis added)

How about in the parable of the prodigal son?

15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. (Luke 15:15-16, emphasis added)

The detail that the prodigal son is feeding swine is meant to show us how far down he has fallen. In order to survive, he works in a ritually filthy industry. Not only that, but it is not enough to feed him after all.

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. (Matthew 7:6)

As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. (Proverbs 11:22, emphasis added)

This adds another angle to our understanding of swinishness. It could represent lack of discretion

But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. (2 Peter 2:22, emphasis added)

And thus six years had not passed away since the more part of the people had turned from their righteousness, like the dog to his vomit, or like the sow to her wallowing in the mire. (3 Nephi 7:8, emphasis added)

Here swine seem to be used to represent people who return to their wickedness after having been previously cleansed.

Understanding the meaning of certain animals—in this case, swine—can help us understand the deeper meaning behind certain scriptures and open up subtext that we haven’t seen before.

Spiritual lessons from stories of poisonous serpents

28 And there came prophets in the land again, crying repentance unto them—that they must prepare the way of the Lord or there should come a curse upon the face of the land; yea, even there should be a great famine, in which they should be destroyed if they did not repent.
29 But the people believed not the words of the prophets, but they cast them out; and some of them they cast into pits and left them to perish. And it came to pass that they did all these things according to the commandment of the king, Heth.
30 And it came to pass that there began to be a great dearth upon the land, and the inhabitants began to be destroyed exceedingly fast because of the dearth, for there was no rain upon the face of the earth.
31 And there came forth poisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and did poison many people. And it came to pass that their flocks began to flee before the poisonous serpents, towards the land southward, which was called by the Nephites Zarahemla.
32 And it came to pass that there were many of them which did perish by the way; nevertheless, there were some which fled into the land southward.
33 And it came to pass that the Lord did cause the serpents that they should pursue them no more, but that they should hedge up the way that the people could not pass, that whoso should attempt to pass might fall by the poisonous serpents.
34 And it came to pass that the people did follow the course of the beasts, and did devour the carcasses of them which fell by the way, until they had devoured them all. Now when the people saw that they must perish they began to repent of their iniquities and cry unto the Lord.
35 And it came to pass that when they had humbled themselves sufficiently before the Lord he did send rain upon the face of the earth; and the people began to revive again, and there began to be fruit in the north countries, and in all the countries round about. And the Lord did show forth his power unto them in preserving them from famine. (Ether 9:28-35)

As I was reading this story again, I was struck by this idea of poisonous serpents hedging up the way, poisoning many people, and preventing them from escaping famine conditions. The poisonous serpents reminded me of the snake in the Garden of Eden, which tempted our first parents to eat the fruit.

So I began to look for other scriptures that mentioned poisonous serpents, serpents, and poison.

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. (Matthew 23:13)

This sounds like the scribes and pharisees were hedging up the way spiritually.

33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
34 ¶ Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: (Matthew 23:33-34)

This sounds like the spiritual parallel of how the serpents were making the people flee and try to escape.

Other human counterparts of poisonous serpents

And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer poison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died. (Alma 47:18)

Amalickiah is definitely a poisonous person. He poisons Lehonti and then he appoints men to speak from towers against the Nephites to poison the Lamanites’ hearts and stir them to anger against the Nephites

They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. (Psalms 140:3)

Filthiness poisons

And again, he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effect thereof is poison. (Mosiah 7:30)

This suggests to me that breaking the commandments can poison us against the truth.

Be cautious that no poison is administering among you

30 And many times did they attempt to administer of their wine to the Nephites, that they might destroy them with poison or with drunkenness.
31 But behold, the Nephites were not slow to remember the Lord their God in this their time of affliction. They could not be taken in their snares; yea, they would not partake of their wine, save they had first given to some of the Lamanite prisoners.
32 And they were thus cautious that no poison should be administered among them; for if their wine would poison a Lamanite it would also poison a Nephite; and thus they did try all their liquors. (Alma 55:30-32)

I’ve noticed that it really helps to cultivate and ask for the gift of discernment to be able to discover whether some spiritual influence is poisonous or healthy. And if I recognize that something is consistently embittering and poisonous, is it really smart to keep going to it? Umm… no.

If we have been poisoned, we can be healed

20 And now, my brethren, I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err. And as the Lord God liveth that brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and gave unto Moses power that he should heal the nations after they had been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they would cast their eyes unto the serpent which he did raise up before them…and as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can be saved. (2 Nephi 25:20)

We learn here that Christ has power to heal us if we have been poisoned spiritually with unbelief, doubt, fear, etc. We have to “cast our eyes” upon Him, or believe in Him and come unto Him.

In Ether, we get a fascinating epilogue, which can give us hope.

And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. And in the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were destroyed…(Ether 10:19)

It is significant that it says that the poisonous serpents were completely destroyed just after it says that the king did what was good. This shows us that when we do good, that destroys the influence of Satan. This anticipates the future Millennial reign of Christ when Satan will be bound and have no power to tempt because of the righteousness of the people.

Image from Telegraph.co.uk, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3372712/Snakes-kill-more-than-90000-around-the-world.html, Getty Images.

The Joseph Smith Translation Clarifies Our Accountability for Human and Animal Life

In the story of Noah in Genesis, there are some significant principles clarified in the Joseph Smith Translation about our accountability for life on this planet. Be ready to look for the forms of life and the stages of life that are covered.

First here’s the King James Version:

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.
6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. (Genesis 9:4-7)

There’s a footnote for verse 4 that points to a Joseph Smith Translation Genesis 9:10-14 in the Appendix.

10 But, the blood of all flesh which I have given you for meat, shall be shed upon the ground, which taketh life thereof, and the blood ye shall not eat.
11 And surely, blood shall not be shed, only for meat, to save your lives; and the blood of every beast will I require at your hands.
12 And whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for man shall not shed the blood of man.
13 For a commandment I give, that every man’s brother shall preserve the life of man, for in mine own image have I made man.
14 And a commandment I give unto you, Be ye fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly on the earth, and multiply therein. (JST Genesis 9:10-14)

In the King James version, verse 5 seems to imply that the Lord will hold animals accountable for killing men, but in the JST it clarifies that it is the other way around—the Lord will hold man accountable for the lives of animals and we are given this phrasing: “blood shall not be shed, only for meat, to save your lives”. To me this has echoes of D&C 89 admonitions to eat meat sparingly and only use in cold, winter, famine, and excess of hunger. I think this is because Heavenly Father wants animals to enjoy life on earth too and that He hates to see animals be killed only to have their meat wasted.

Next thing we notice is that verses 12 and 13 seem to read in a contradictory way.

12 And whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed;
for man shall not shed the blood of man.
13 For a commandment I give, that every man’s brother shall preserve the life of man, for in mine own image have I made man (JST Genesis 9:12-13)

I don’t know about you, but when I read that, I get mental whiplash.

I think that if the order is changed a little bit it becomes somewhat clearer. Here’s the Michaela Stephens ultra-unofficial translation:

For a commandment I give, that every man’s brother shall preserve the life of man, and man shall not shed the blood of man, for in mine own image have I made man;
But inasmuch as men shed blood, whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood inevitably be shed, for whoso liveth by the sword shall die by the sword, that wickedness be punished by the wicked when the fullness of my wrath come.

Okay, so I added some stuff too, but that seemed to make more sense to me based on what we know of the observations of Mormon and John the Revelator:

But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed. (Mormon 4:5)

He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. (Revelation 13:10)

Giving these principles to Noah after the flood adds to their significance. The violence and blood shed by the wicked world before the flood had just been wiped from under heaven and previous to these verses we readers learn that the Lord will never again destroy the wicked by flood. We’re starting all over again, so here are the rules, the Lord says. I’ve fixed it once, and now I expect you to remember to restrain yourselves because I’m going to let things just run their course and let the wicked destroy each other. So save life.

One reason we are given for this commandment is that man is in the image of God. Considered one way, if you and every one else around is in the image of God, murder would be like sacrilege. Considered another way, the reminder of being in the image of God calls to mind man’s divine origin and destiny—we’re in the image of God, so we came from God, and we’re in the image of God so we can become like God. It is almost like an encapsulated version of the plan of salvation.

I find that I personally really like that addition of the phrase “every man’s brother shall preserve the life of man” because it shows how the Lord is focused on the positive—saving life—and that He’s not just a “thou shalt not” Being.

So how do we stop the violence and the massacres (which various scriptures seem to term “the abomination of desolation”)? If we stop it by massacring the killers, are we any better than them? I remember watching the first part of the movie Persepolis and realizing that if you try to stop systemic violence with revolution, when it gains power, the revolutionary movement can’t seem to stop the violence. Once it purges the worst offenders it doesn’t know when to quit and it has to keep finding scapegoats to retain galvanized support—“them against us”—until it has institutionalized its own brand of violence, which invites another revolution… You get the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, and you get Hutus and Tutsis. And of course we know you also get Coriantumr versus Shiz, and you also get Nephites versus the Lamanites on the Hill Cumorah. The best hope for stopping violence is to bring in the troops, corral the violent, and try them in a court of law for crimes against humanity. (It’s when the violent outnumber those trying to enforce the law that you’re in serious trouble.)

But let’s move on.

The last part of the verses also has this theme of being accountable for life and it seems pretty much the same between the KJV and the JST, but there is one subtle difference. See if you can pick it out.

And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply (King James)

And a commandment I give unto you, Be ye fruitful and multiply (JST)

In the Joseph Smith Translation, the commandment becomes explicit, rather than implicit. I’ve run across some websites that seem to think that the King James version suggests it was not a command but a blessing. The Joseph Smith Translation shows us that it is indeed a commandment. This shows us that not only are we accountable for preserving life once it has started, we are also responsible for bringing new life into the world. (And of course there are right ways and wrong ways to do that…)

In conclusion, we can plainly see from the JST that Heavenly Father really cares about life. He cares about humans (His children) and He cares about animals. He cares about how life starts and He cares about how life ends. I’m glad we have the Joseph Smith Translation to clarify these things for us.