How Jesus handles a question about His authority

27 ¶ And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,

28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?

29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.

33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. (Mark 11:27-33)

Many commentators like to go into great depth about the trap laid for Jesus in their question. They also usually point to Jesus’s counter-question as a brilliant defense by which He puts them all in their place.

Yet something about it struck me as odd. I began to wonder what we are supposed to learn from this incident that can help us. Are we to learn that Jesus can unequivocally win arguments and devastate the opposition? Is winning the argument His goal?  Does this help us in our conversations about the gospel? 

It seems to me that when faced with a question about His authority, Jesus’s major goal would be persuading someone to recognize His power to redeem. The question in His mind would be, If I tell you, will you acknowledge my authority and allow me to save you? He might want to know if they were asking sincerely or out of bad faith. Because He wants to save everyone, He has to assume sincerity until they prove bad faith. 

He asks a question to learn from them. I see this incident as instance in which Christ demonstrated His meekness and lowliness of heart. He didn’t ask, “Why do you want to know?” He asked whether they thought John’s baptism was from heaven or of men. His question is meant to discern their level of sincerity and belief. He knew their ability to respond positively to a prophet in their day would determine their ability to respond to the Messiah. 

It is interesting that the reasoning of the chief priests, scribes, and elders was captured in the record in verses 31-32. (As an exercise, just try reading the account without that reasoning inserted, and you’ll see how it might have looked to everyone else who wasn’t privy to the motivation coloring the answer of those leaders.)

Their reasoning indicates that they thought His question was a trap. This was pure projection on their part. They thought Jesus was doing to them what they were trying to do to Him. If they had been sincere, they might have seen His question for what it really was. And I hardly think they’d want such a blatantly self-interested politically-obsessed thought process to get about, but someone overheard, and now it is memorialized for all time. 

Since they claimed they couldn’t tell whether John’s baptism was from heaven or men, Jesus knew then that they’d be similarly obtuse in public about Jesus’s authority. He probably said to Himself, I can’t do anything with people who ‘can’t tell,’ when it’s so obvious, so I guess I can’t tell them anything about my authority either because they won’t get it. And He wouldn’t push His authority on them; He wouldn’t want to condemn them so quickly. He’d want to give them more time in hopes that He could save them later.

One thing I learn from this incident is that Jesus chooses whether to answer a question based upon the receptiveness of the hearer. Even though those leaders thought they were saving face by refusing to commit, they actually disqualified themselves from receiving a real answer. Seeming wishy-washy or obtuse marked them as having spiritual problems, even if they concealed for a time that their problem was outright hostility. It is particularly sad that these were chief priests, scribes, and elders, men who should have been most spiritually mature and receptive.

Jesus’s test question is still a good one for today. How we respond to a modern prophet determines how receptive we’d be to Jesus Himself. If we ‘can’t tell’ if a modern prophet is from God, when his goodness has been demonstrated over years, then our ability to receive revelation is diminished. On the positive side, if we respond to the modern prophet and apostles, we will be receptive to revelation and receptive to Jesus Himself.

I also think that Jesus’s willingness to take time and ask questions of the questioner to gauge where they were at is a good pattern to follow in gospel conversations. If people ask us questions about the church or the gospel, maybe it would be wise to first take time to ask them questions about what experiences have brought them to us or what they believe so that we can better meet them where they are spiritually.

Those who died in the faith

I ran across some interesting verses that observe two different kinds of death of believers.

And it came to pass that there were many who died, firmly believing that their souls were redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ; thus they went out of the world rejoicing. (Alma 46:39)

But there were many who died with old age; and those who died in the faith of Christ are happy in him, as we must needs suppose. (Alma 46:41)

So there were those who firmly believed they were redeemed by Christ, and they left life rejoicing, while there were others who died in the faith of Christ, but no emotion was attributed to their death, except that Mormon supposed they were happy.

The question that comes to me is—if I had to choose between these different types of death, which would I want?

On one hand, I think it is good to die in the faith of Christ because that suggests I’d endured to the end, but to only have people suppose I achieve happiness doesn’t seem good enough. I’d like to leave the world rejoicing. I’d like to die in a state of firmly believing I’d been redeemed by Christ.

But I’m also a little leery of that phrase “firmly believing” because there is a chance of believing something that isn’t really true, and that would be a tragedy to believe I was redeemed if I wasn’t. There’d be a shock of unmet expectations on the other side. I’d like to have more assurance.

But maybe Mormon uses that phrase “firmly believing” to express how an external observer doesn’t really know how assured a believer really is of their redemption except through how firm they are. Going out of the world rejoicing seems to indicate there is real joy there, given by God as part of some extra assurance.

So, this leads to a question—“How can I achieve firmness in my salvation?” I suppose by repenting every day, and the assurance will come by the presence of the Spirit in my life, since the Holy Ghost is the earnest (or down payment) of our salvation.

A little later after I wrote about this, I stumbled across another verse elsewhere that expounded on it further:

Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God. (Helaman 3:35)

So, this verse also suggests fasting and praying often, and promises greater humility will come, greater faith in Christ will come, greater joy and consolation will come, greater purity will come, and greater submission to God will come. We can have that in this life, instead of waiting to have it just at the point of death.

Nephi’s Ministry in 3 Nephi 7 as a Parallel of Christ’s

15 And it came to pass that Nephi—having been visited by angels and also the voice of the Lord, therefore having seen angels, and being eye-witness, and having had power given unto him that he might know concerning the ministry of Christ, and also being eye-witness to their quick return from righteousness unto their wickedness and abominations;

16 Therefore, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds—went forth among them in that same year, and began to testify, boldly, repentance and remission of sins through faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.

17 And he did minister many things unto them; and all of them cannot be written, and a part of them would not suffice, therefore they are not written in this book. And Nephi did minister with power and with great authority.

18 And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.

19 And in the name of Jesus did he cast out devils and unclean spirits; and even his brother did he raise from the dead, after he had been stoned and suffered death by the people.

20 And the people saw it, and did witness of it, and were angry with him because of his power; and he did also do many more miracles, in the sight of the people, in the name of Jesus.

21 And it came to pass that the thirty and first year did pass away, and there were but few who were converted unto the Lord; but as many as were converted did truly signify unto the people that they had been visited by the power and Spirit of God, which was in Jesus Christ, in whom they believed.

22 And as many as had devils cast out from them, and were healed of their sicknesses and their infirmities, did truly manifest unto the people that they had been wrought upon by the Spirit of God, and had been healed; and they did show forth signs also and did do some miracles among the people.

23 Thus passed away the thirty and second year also. And Nephi did cry unto the people in the commencement of the thirty and third year; and he did preach unto them repentance and remission of sins.

24 Now I would have you to remember also, that there were none who were brought unto repentance who were not baptized with water.

25 Therefore, there were ordained of Nephi, men unto this ministry, that all such as should come unto them should be baptized with water, and this as a witness and a testimony before God, and unto the people, that they had repented and received a remission of their sins.

26 And there were many in the commencement of this year that were baptized unto repentance; and thus the more part of the year did pass away. (3 Nephi 7:15-26, emphasis added)

In 3 Nephi 7, during the awful disunity among the Nephites, when the government was destroyed and society broke up into tribes, the bright spot is the prophet Nephi and his ministry.

It struck me that there were many ways that Nephi’s ministry paralleled that of Jesus Christ half a world away. You can notice the timing—Nephi started in the 30^th year after the sign of Christ’s birth and continued on right to the sign of Christ’s death. Verse 15 tells us Nephi had power given him that he might know of the ministry of Christ, which means that either in dreams or open visions he saw it happening and likely did his best to follow the example he was given.

Although Mormon doesn’t go into detail about the things Nephi said in his ministry, besides his testimony and preaching faith in Christ and repentance of sins, we are told his words were very powerful and he had great authority given to him. He did many miracles, such as casting out devils and unclean spirits, and raising someone (his brother) from the dead. He had angels minister to him daily.

He converted but few at the beginning, but their conversions were real, and then he ordained others to preach and baptize, and then we are told many were baptized unto repentance. It sounds as though he was re-forming the church organization that had been previously broken up and that he was making significant headway in improving how things were. It is really sad we don’t have more about him because I’m sure that point-for-point his ministry would have followed Christ’s.

There was a time in the 90^th year of the reign of judges (corresponding to about 2 B.C.) when there were Nephites who wondered why Jesus would not show himself to the Nephites as well as those in Jerusalem. They worried about being kept in ignorance just because they couldn’t witness with their eyes that the prophecies of Christ were coming true (see Helaman 16:18-20). The ministry of Nephi seems to have been the Lord’s answer to that concern, meant to show the Nephites what the ministry of Christ was like, so as to leave them without excuse. The result was that the humble and repentant were visited by the power and spirit of God, and were blessed for their belief in Christ—they were healed, and did show signs and did some miracles, while others were angry that Nephi had more power than they did.

In the larger perspective, Nephi’s ministry was a very serious thing—it was the last call to repentance the people would have before the great destruction that would occur at the time of Christ’s death. Rejecting such a powerful witness brings very serious consequences.

But for those who believed and repented, all the great things they saw and heard and did and felt during Nephi’s ministry were only a preliminary blessing to what they would receive when Christ visited them after His resurrection.

Believe and Act

I like these words from King Benjamin’s speech:

9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them. (Mosiah 4:9-10)

I love that last part—“if you believe all these things see that ye do them.” 

We may have the tendency to mentally assent to the teachings and principles of the gospel without actually applying them as often as we should, and I think King Benjamin was aware of that tendency.

So, if we believe we can repent, see that we do it. If we believe in keeping the Sabbath, see that we do it. If prayer is efficacious, do it. If temple worship and family history does serve the dead and protect us, do it.

They shall take up serpents and other promises

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:16-18)

I have wondered about that promise that those who believe shall take up serpents. I know of at least one Christian denomination that takes this literally and incorporates snake handling in their worship services. It’s enough to make me wonder, “Is this a special-occasion promise for when we have to move snakes?”  We are so isolated from the natural world, especially in developed countries, that occasions for running across snakes are few and far between, and when we find them, we know better than to pick them up. We leave them thoroughly alone.

So why this promise that believers in Christ will take up serpents?

As I thought about this, I seemed to me that Jesus meant it as a physical image to describe a spiritual reality. The serpents can represent temptation. Just like it is dangerous to pick up snakes, it is also a dangerous thing to pick up temptation and hold it without letting it bite you.  Saints prefer to avoid temptation, but occasionally situations may come up when a Saint, in the course of his or her calling or doing his or her duty, must go into a situation of temptation and endure it without giving in.  That is like taking up a serpent.  It is hard to be specific about what the temptation might be.

Apparently Jesus anticipated that the Saints would face these situations from time to time, and His promise here is an implicit reassurance that He will make safety possible. Belief in Him will make it so.

What about the promise that believers will speak with new tongues?  A tongue is a language. How can someone speak a new language and still be understood? If it is new, then it hasn’t been around, and it is unlikely that others would understand it.

I think the Book of Mormon gives a hint when it says angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost and speak the words of Christ. Extrapolating from that, speaking a new tongue is speaking by the Holy Ghost, especially because of how conversion makes a person new. 

But what about people who have been in the church all their lives, gained testimonies, stayed faithful, and all that? How do they speak with new tongues if it seems like they’ve always “had it”?

Maybe new tongues can also refer to how believers will keep finding new ways to express their testimony and understanding of Christ’s atonement and what it has done for them. To them it will be as though their language is new, and to those who hear them, it will express newness and life as well.

Mastering our Stories to Increase our Faith

I’ve been reading the book Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when the Stakes are High, which is a good book.   I ran across something neat in it about relationships that has some broader applicability to faith, which I wanted to share.

Page 109 had a diagram showing a sequence that happens in our interpersonal relationships. 

1) We see and hear somebody do something, 

2) we tell ourselves a story about what that means, 

3) the meaning we create gives rise to feelings and emotions, which are often very strong, and 

4) we act on those feelings.

In terms of how relate to each other, this sequence can happen really fast.  Someone cuts us off on the freeway, we instantly tell ourselves the story, “He did that because he’s a jerk!”  Then we feel angry, and we may make some angry remark or yell, or even try to retaliate. (Yikes!)

The book says we can improve our relationships by noticing the stories we are telling ourselves and then thinking of alternate stories that might fit the facts to explain how a normal good person would act that way.  Thus, the person who cut us off on the freeway might be in a big hurry for something very important. His wife might be having a baby. Maybe he found out someone he loves is in trouble. Maybe there’s an event he has to go to and others made him late.  Better alternate stories help us interact with respect and kindness instead of attacking or withdrawing.

Now, to apply this to faith…  We tell ourselves stories about what Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are like and what they can do to help us.  Those stories have a big effect and sometimes we don’t realize how big the effect is.

There are people who don’t believe in God who tell themselves stories about how God should act and they either criticize what is happening, or they come to disbelieve He exists altogether. There are all kinds of ways they do this, which I don’t intend to get into now. 

There are all kinds of narratives in the scriptures that tell us how God has worked in the past that help us get at least a small idea of the many different things He does to intervene, how He can help, and so on, so that we can tell ourselves better stories about His character and ways.

Sometimes those stories we tell ourselves may get out of balance.  If we tell ourselves stories about God’s judgment, but none about His mercy, we will be scared of Him and needlessly feel we are unworthy.  If we tell stories about God’s mercy, but none about His judgment, we will not have the appropriate concern about our accountability and we will neglect to repent as we should. 

If we tell ourselves stories about God’s help, but not about how He gives us space to act and make choices, we will not learn to make decisions and try our hardest, and we may also wonder why God doesn’t intervene more.  On the other hand, if we tell ourselves stories about how He gives us space, but not about His willingness to help, we will neglect to turn and ask His help when He could give it.  I could go on about different stories we tell ourselves about God and how they affect the extent we exercise our faith. 

Another factor is that we also tell internal stories about ourselves and what we can and can’t do and why.  Those stories create emotion and ultimately affect how we act because they affect how we see ourselves and our possibilities.  Knowing we are a child of God and that we have the seeds of godhood in us opens up soooo many avenues for growth and development.  But sometimes we get pulled down by discouragement and doubt and fear and frustration and begin to tell ourselves stories like:   I can’t…or I’ll never make it… or I’m just too broken… or I can’t get over this sin… or something like that.

There have been some things in my life I feel stuck about. It has occurred to me from reading this section of the book that I need to think about what kind of stories I’m telling myself and see if I can find an alternate story that fits better and will allow me to take appropriate action and get unstuck.

I will give a small example of one story I have told myself in the past that has caused me problems.  On occasion I have been asked to give a talk or teach a lesson in church. When that happens I throw myself into preparation, telling myself that I have to give the best talk or the best lesson EVER.  It’s like I have something to prove. There’s also a measure of pride in there too. But then this starts to cause problems if I think the material or the lesson activities are not up to my idea of “the best EVER.”  I start thinking I will fail, and this causes me major angst.  And I realize that my pride is getting in the way too.  The toxic story I have told myself is, “I have to be the best or I will fail, and failure means I’m unimportant.”   You can see that’s totally wrong, right?

Eventually I realized that perfectionism was a big part of the problem. So I had to tell myself a different story that would drive me to prepare carefully, but help me remember that the Spirit is the real teacher.  I had a little breakthrough when I discovered and proved that when I give my best efforts, ordinary results actually produces the same satisfaction for me as extraordinary results. In terms of lessons or talks, I know the results on myself, but I don't know the results on other listeners, so I have to leave that in the Lord's hands.

So I settled on telling myself the following: “I will do my best to prepare, and I will give an ordinary talk [or lesson], and Heavenly Father will make it awesome.”  I learned to give myself permission to have ordinary and average results, and that removes the stress because instead I rely on the Lord to make something better out of what I’ve done.   It gives me the satisfaction that comes from the chance to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands, it helps me find humility, and it gives credit to the Lord for His great work.

If you’re feeling stuck, and it doesn’t seem like God is helping, think about the stories you are telling yourself about your obstacles and also about God.  Are there better stories you can tell that will generate more faith in God and faith to act and grow?

How Moroni demonstrated charity while alone

Moroni wrote some things about how charity is manifested that are very similar to Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians:

And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (Moroni 7:45)

It was fascinating to me to recently think about how Moroni exemplified charity even during his 36 years alone after the Nephite destruction.  Lesson 42 in the Primary 4 manual had a whole list about this. It was so profound, that I had to wonder if any primary teacher would actually get to teach it.  Maybe it was the kind of thing that was more for the teacher’s edification than the students’.

• Suffereth long: Moroni lived alone for over thirty-six years patiently keeping the records. (Mormon 8:5.)
• Kind: Moroni prayed for us, and he loved his brethren. (Ether 12:36, 38.)
• Envieth not: Moroni saw our day and counseled us to not be envious or proud. (Mormon 8:35–37.)
• Not puffed up: Moroni was humble because of his weakness in writing. (Ether 12:23–25.)
• Seeketh not her own: Moroni unselfishly worked and prayed for us that we would have a knowledge of Jesus Christ. (Mormon 9:36; Ether 12:41.)
• Not easily provoked: Moroni forgave his enemies and worked hard to write things that he hoped would be of worth to them. (Moroni 1:4.) [Moroni also avoided those who would want to kill them, and didn’t try to retaliate for hatefulness.]
• Thinketh no evil: Moroni exhorted us to hold to good and touch not evil. (Moroni 10:30.)
• Rejoiceth in truth: Moroni was honest. (Moroni 10:27.)
• Beareth all things: Because Moroni would not deny Jesus Christ, he had to wander alone for his safety. (Moroni 1:2–3.)
• Believeth all things: Moroni encouraged us to believe in Jesus Christ. (Mormon 9:21.) So great was Moroni’s faith that he was able to see Christ face to face. (Ether 12:39.)
• Hopeth all things: Moroni understood the importance of hope. (Ether 12:32.) [He hoped for a better world and for a future day when Israel would be gathered again.]
• Endureth all things: Moroni was faithful to the end. (Moroni 10:34.)

So much of that stuff is future-oriented.  It almost seems as if he lived in a dream of the future as he wrote.

KJV versus JST: Entering or not into the Lord’s Rest

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KJV Hebrews 4:3	JST Hebrews 4:3
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.	For we who have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, If they harden their hearts they shall not enter into my rest; also, I have sworn, If they will not harden their hearts, they shall enter into my rest; although the works of God were prepared, (or finished,) from the foundation of the world.

The JST helped a lot on this particular verse to make it coherent. Without the JST, it seems like Paul is quoting something that says God makes an angry oath concerning those entering His rest, as though that is not where they (or anyone) is supposed to be. The KJV also makes it seem as though the work of salvation was finished before the world started, and a few more people trying to be saved is an awful attempt to mess things up.

All in all, a very confusing idea of God, His plans, and the significance our choices have.

On the other hand, the JST shows us Paul is paraphrasing Psalms 95:7-11 and simply collapsing the important appeals together.

7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,

8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.

10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:

11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

The important parts of those verses indicate that if someone hardens their heart against the truth, God swears they will not enter His rest.

The JST then adds the positive side of it too—those who do not harden their hearts obtain a divine oath that they shall enter the Lord’s rest. And there is no anger associated with that oath.

Also, the JST shows us that God prepares His works from the foundation of the world, not finishing them in the sense that everyone is already sorted into “saved” and “damned” groups. Rather, the divine machinery to save man is put in place with Christ’s atonement and messengers, and church, and so on. Man need only receive it and not harden their hearts against it.

So what is this rest Paul speak of, which we can enter? “For we who have believed do enter into rest.” He speaks of believers in Christ. We must believe in Christ enough to repent, and then we can have rest from the gnawing burden of sin. We must believe in Christ enough to pray for grace, and then we can have rest from the despair of our besetting weaknesses, frailties, and faults.

I had a little experience just yesterday with entering into the Lord’s rest. I had a nagging feeling at the back of my mind for about three or four days that I had done something wrong and I needed to make it right. It was such a little thing that I questioned whether it was really necessary.  But finally, I decided I needed to listen, so I fixed it and repented.  And immediately, I felt at peace.  It was real.  And just think, that peace and rest is offered to each of us if we will just respond to the Lord’s calls!

Mormon speaks to those who don’t believe in Christ

1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.

2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?

3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?

4 Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.

5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.

6 O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day. (Mormon 9:1-6)

When I have read this in the past, I have mentally been prone to say, “Yeah, you tell ‘em, Mormon! Stick it to those atheists and agnostics!”   

However, I eventually came to the interesting point of wondering how atheists and agnostics would have a chance to read Mormon’s words.  I suppose the Lord can bring about those circumstances somehow, but it is more likely that Mormon meant to address unbelievers in the church itself. 

After all, Latter-day Saints have the book and plenty of opportunity to read it.  And it is true that no matter what the dispensation, there have been people part of the church who go through the motions, hollowed-shells of performance without faith.  Mormon certainly would have seen far too much of that in his day, as he watched the Nephites (who were supposed to be Christians) self-destruct into depravity.  And he’s desperate to say something to help these people, to shake them out of apathy and show them the danger they are in.

In verse 2, Mormon asks the unbelieving reader whether they will persist in their unbelief at the day they are brought to stand before God to be judged.  It might be tempting for some to disbelieve in the judgment as well as Christ, but Mormon’s experience precludes that.  Mormon is an ancient apostle of Christ, one who has seen the resurrected Christ Himself. He knows there is a Christ, and he knows there will be a final judgment.  The whole reason there is a Christ is to make a way for that final judgment to happen and to make a way to escape the penalties of sin at that day.

So, the unbelieving reader must exert themselves to imagine a day of final judgment, of standing before God. It is something made even more inescapable and inevitable than death.

And what if the unbelieving reader persists in not believing in God until that day when they are actually resurrected and come face to face with God in judgment?  Well, then it is too late to prepare. Because then you’re there and there’s no time left.  The preparing has to happen before you come face to face with God. So to prepare, one must believe that event will happen and get ready.

In verse 3, Mormon asks the unbelieving reader to imagine whether they would feel comfortable in the presence of God once they realize that they had broken, scorned, and avoided all the commandments God gave.  Mormon points out that if the unbelieving reader has always broken and abused the scorned God’s laws, they will know they have sinned. That knowledge will make it very miserable for them to face God, and they’ll be more comfortable with the damned.  

Clearly, the takeaway is, don’t abuse God’s laws, even when having a hard time with them. They are there for a reason, even if that reason doesn’t make sense.  They are there to discipline us to become more like God. They are exercises adapted to the capacity of a mortal, physical body to allow the body to experience spiritual things and develop divine characteristics.

  

Verse 5 tells us that when an unbeliever is brought face to face with God and comprehends how holy and just God is and then compares him or herself, that comparison will be very painful and kindle an unquenchable fire of misery. 

This isn’t going to be an all-at-once comprehension, but a questioning and reporting process in which the unbeliever’s every excuse will be shown to be hollow and insincere.  The unbeliever will see and honestly acknowledge the incredible efforts Christ made to reach them.  They can no longer take refuge in self-deception; they will be brought to comprehend and assent to all the mercy and long-suffering of God.  It will be understood that Christ know all their pain and sin and could have and would have healed them, but the unbeliever would not even try to accept the gift.

This is all very uncomfortable to contemplate, but the happy thing is the unbeliever can come out of this kind of thought exercise realizing they still have time to prepare in this life.

So what’s unbeliever to do?  Verse 6 gives Mormon’s best answer. At the very least, the unbeliever must realize they have to be cleansed from sin. Mormon advises the unbeliever to turn to the Lord and pray mightily in the name of Jesus that perhaps they might be found spotless and pure at that judgment day.  At the very least, pray that you’ll be found clean in the end.  Pray that every day, even if you can’t muster the belief in anything else. I notice Mormon gives no guarantees; He makes no judgments about what the results will be because God is the judge. But the fact that He advises that course of action shows that if an unbeliever does that they will be spiritually better off than if they did nothing at all.  Raw repentance and prayer counts for something in the eternities, even if we don’t know what.

Faith in Christ is one of the first principles of the gospel.  Jesus said He was the vine and we are the branches (see John 15:5). Yet faith in Christ is easy to forget among all our efforts to keep the commandments, which means we are all at risk of becoming one of the unbelievers.  We are prone to wander.

For me, this reminds me how important faith in Christ is. I feel my faith could be improved.

 

I hope you will join me in an experiment to see how our lives can be made better by living through our days and solving our problems with a conscious (rather than merely subconscious) faith in Christ.

Jesus’s warning to those who don’t repent

In 3 Nephi there are repeated sections when Jesus warns the future Gentiles that they must repent or face calamity:

11 Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant.

12 And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

13 Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off.

14 Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles except they repent; for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots;

15 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds;

16 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy land, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers;

17 Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee, and thou shalt no more worship the works of thy hands;

18 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities.

19 And it shall come to pass that all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, shall be done away.

20 For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day whosoever will not repent and come unto my Beloved Son, them will I cut off from among my people, O house of Israel;

21 And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

22 But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance; (3 Nephi 21:11-22)

This block of verses is peculiar because they seem so violent or seem to promise violence against those who do not repent and believe in Christ.  I’ve puzzled over these verses for years, and my opinion continues to evolve about what they mean.

Recently I was reading them and a key thing I noticed in them is the repeated phrase “cut off.”  (I have marked the repetitions of this phrase.)

Who will be cut off?

--whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles

--Adversaries and enemies

--Horses and chariots

--Cities and strongholds

--Witchcrafts and soothsayers

--graven images and standing images

--Those who will not repent and come unto Christ

It is also implied that the same cutting off will be done to “groves,” which were usually a term used to refer to places of immoral fertility rites.

What does it mean to be cut off?

When something is cut off, it is separated from a unified whole.  When people are cut off from the Lord’s people, it means they are excommunicated.

You can’t cut off someone who wasn’t a member in the first place, so this section is not directed to nonmember Gentiles, but to members of the Latter-day church of Christ.

The list of those who will be cut off is sometimes very clear and other times vague, so it makes sense to examine closer each of those characteristics or things that will be cut off to see what we can learn.

The Lord will cut off “whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him [Joseph Smith] to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles” (v11) – This could be interpreted to mean those who do not believe the Book of Mormon or the Doctrine & Covenants.  But there is no specific hunt for these people. Rather, they betray themselves through their public unbelief and efforts to lead others not to believe either. Eventually their case comes to the attention of priesthood leaders and they have to be dealt with.

Adversaries and enemies shall be cut off (v13). This sounds like anti-Mormons inside the church and members who fight the church over specific issues.  Again, they betray themselves and have to be dealt with eventually.

Horses and chariots shall be cut off out of the midst of Israel (v14). Horses and chariots are implements of war, but as the saying goes, guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Objects don’t get excommunicated, but the people who use them do.  Here we have to tread carefully because there are faithful Saints in the military, so this can’t be a blanket condemnation of the military. But perhaps there are people whose default problem-solving method is force and violence, and it is so much a part of who they are that they refuse to change. These are abusive and oppressive types. They are certainly in danger of being cut off if they do not repent.

Cities and strongholds will be cut off (v15). Cities evoke the idea of a large group of people who are very closely associated with each other. I think this tells us that even those who are part of a large group inside the church that are fighting the church are not immune from the danger of apostasy and subsequent excommunication. Even if a whole ward or a stake was to apostatize and set themselves against the brethren, they can still be cut off.  I haven’t heard of a case where this happened, but this tells us it is certainly possible.

Witchcrafts and soothsayers will be cut off out of the land (v16). Here we have false prophets and those who seemingly bewitch others with counterfeit gospels and mysteries. Sooner or later they will be known by their fruits, which will not be good, and if they don’t repent, they will be removed.

Graven images will be cut off (v17).  This is another case where the thing is standing in for the person who made it and/or worships it. Modern idolatry is all about messed up priorities.  Whenever someone puts something at a higher priority than God, it will sooner or later lead them to sin, and if they don’t repent of it, they will remove themselves or be removed from the church.

Groves will be plucked up out of the cities (v18). I’ve already explained what groves mean.  Here the groves are another thing standing in for the person in question, someone who has committed immoral acts.  Those who don’t repent of their immorality and abominations will be cut off.

A list of other sins shall be done away – lying, deceiving, envying, strifes, priestcrafts, and whoredoms (v19).  Saying that the sins shall be done away I think emphasizes that the sins can be removed and the people purified, which is what we all hope for, rather than for the penalty of excommunication being imposed.

“whosoever will not repent and come unto my Beloved Son, them will I cut off from among my people, O house of Israel” (v20) – In the end, it doesn’t matter much what sin causes the problem. If someone isn’t willing to repent of it and come to Christ, that will lead to them being cut off.  The thing is, when one is faced with this, it will feel simultaneously as though the sin in question is no big deal and not worth the attention of a discipline hearing, but also it will feel like that sin is a major part of the person’s character, such that giving it up will feel like a betrayal of who one is.  (Interesting how such contrasting feelings combine to discourage from repentance. I’ll give you three guesses as to who would promote those feelings.)  The truth is the opposite – it is worth having leaders look into it, and giving it up is an affirmation of one’s identity as a child of God, and one is better without that sin.

So why is it important for us to know about this?

Again, we should tune into the fact that a person can’t be cut off from the covenant people of Israel unless they were once a part of them in the first place.  The warning isn’t to outsiders, but to church members.  It is a warning from Christ Himself that He will not suffer the members to go on indefinitely in their sin just because they belong to the church.  Complacent members are liable to think that the acceptance and welcoming tolerance of church leaders gives one a free pass to sin as one likes and still enjoy full fellowship. It is true that any person is always welcome, but membership and full fellowship in the church has its conditions, which Christ sets, which include repenting of one’s sins.

Christ’s words affirm this watch-care will be part of the Latter-day church of Christ.  I for one am grateful for it, since being called on the carpet at one point by a priesthood leader once saved me from dwindling towards apostasy.  I had to make a choice to humble myself, and the Spirit fought with me until I realized my errors and repented.