It is Given unto Thee

 

 

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Moses 3:17)

 

I am intrigued by that phrase “It is given unto thee,” specifically because of that IT. What does “it” refer to?

 

The meaning that I originally ascribed to that “it” was that it referred to agency, as though it were saying, “thou mayest choose for thyself, for choice is given unto thee.” This reading reinforces the principle that the Lord gives us our agency to choose, even to choose things that He forbids.

 

Another different meaning has come to me in the last year, one that says, “thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for the tree [of knowledge of good and evil] is given unto thee.”  This reading shows us that Heavenly Father provides us with circumstances where both good and evil are present, and He warns us where the evil is so that we can make informed choices that have real consequences. Our God is a God of good gifts, powerful gifts, sometimes dangerous gifts. There is righteousness not just in choosing good, but refraining from the bad.

 

Do you see any additional ways to read it that you can share?

Part of the Great Work of the Lord which Nephi Sees

In 1 Nephi 13-14 we have parts of Nephi’s vision in which he saw history and the future (all of which was future for him). We are pretty familiar with the parts of history from 1 Nephi 13:

·      The formation of the great and abominable church

·      The Gentiles coming out of captivity to the land of promise

·      The fight for independence

·      The book carried with them that has many covenants and prophecies

·      The coming forth of the Book of Mormon

However, we are less familiar with the stuff from 1 Nephi 14, except for v12-14 that talks about the mother of abominations gathering multitudes to fight the saints and the saints being armed with the power of God.  Let’s look at v1-10:

1 And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—

2 And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.

3 And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end.

4 For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him.

5 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish.

6 Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.

7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.

8 And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the covenants of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea.

9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil.

10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. (1 Nephi 14:1-10)

What I realized is these verses have important aspects of history too, but it is hard to see how because we’re in it.

These verses talk about:

·      the Lord taking away stumbling blocks,

·      a great work that either convinces and delivers people to life, or brings them to captivity and destruction temporally and spiritually

·      people of the great and abominable church digging pits and falling into them themselves and becoming captives of the devil

Don’t we live in a day in which all kinds of deep pits are being dug for people which can take them captive? Pornography is a pit. Excessive cell phone use is a pit. Drug use is a pit. Excessive video gaming is a pit. All kinds of addictions are pits. The risks of captivity through addiction today have multiplied, and there are lots of people that stumble over this, that, or the other thing.

But the Lord wants people to know the risks and avoid stumbling and falling into the pits, so He will do His best to make the truth known and people have to choose. We all of us have to choose whether we go on and stay in our various pits (because we all have our struggles and vulnerabilities that drag us down into pits) or whether we will get out of it and leave it alone.

Further, verse 3 warns that those who dig the pits for others to fall into will fall into them themselves, to their utter destruction. So that’s a warning to those figuratively in any “pit-digging” industries to get out of that work.

Whenever the prophets warn us about something, they are pointing out a pit that we might fall into. I’m so grateful for that because it takes a number of years for society to get the memo that certain things are harmful, and even then, they may never get it. If we went by society, we would become casualties of whatever it is.  But if we listen to the prophets, we will know to be cautious ahead of time, even if we don’t immediately see and understand the full significance and danger.

That Good Part

Here we have some of Lehi’s last words to his sons:

I have spoken these few words unto you all, my sons, in the last days of my probation; and I have chosen the good part, according to the words of the prophet. And I have none other object save it be the everlasting welfare of your souls. (2 Ne. 2:30)

I like when Lehi says, “I have chosen the good part, according to the words of the prophet.” I don’t think we have the prophet’s words he was referring to, but it is interesting that we do have the words of Jesus to Martha as Mary heard him and Martha was cumbered with much serving—“ Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). It could be that Jesus was quoting the same prophet Lehi was, and we just don’t have that source text anymore.

Beside those textual things, it also makes you think about choices. When we think about our choices and priorities in life, can we say that we are choosing that good part? Are there any good parts we leave on the table, or are there bad parts we could let go of to make room for more good parts? Are there useless things we could get rid of?

I’m grateful for the Atonement of Christ that changes me so that I can choose the good parts and let go of the bad parts. He makes us free to do that so we aren’t stuck. He makes it possible for us to fight the natural man or woman and win.

How to put on the armor of God every day?

We know about the armor of God which Paul wrote of in Ephesians 6:14-17. The Sunday School manual asks a very good question—“How do we put it on every day?”

HOW do we put on truth, righteousness, preparations of the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit?

I think we know exactly what to do.

Spiritual Protection	How to put it on
Truth	Study the gospel in the scriptures every day
Righteousness	Practice choosing the right in all cases
Preparation of the gospel of peace	Consistent good choices and preparing for our responsibilities
Faith	Trust in God and using our agency to take positive action
Salvation	Repent every day
Spirit	Pray to have the Spirit, keep the commandments, and remember Christ always

Each one of those things can be done every. single. day.  

It’s so simple and beautiful. I think I just forget the simplicity and effectiveness of it, and I have to be reminded. I think Paul’s metaphor of armor is very helpful in illustrating how important and powerful those simple daily practices are.

Take Heed to Yourselves

I don’t know about you, but my thoughts can be very unruly.  I have to keep a constant rein on them and watch them all the time, and if I don’t, I end up with a head full of pride, a head full of resentment, a head full of snotty snarkiness, and in short, a head full of thoughts that are not conducive to the presence of the Spirit. 

Sometimes I get really tired of guarding them all the time, making sure the wrong kind stay out and the right kind stay in.  Very exhausting  I want love for my husband here.  [points to a space]  I want patience and kindness right here. [points to another space]  I want interest and respect for all good things right here.  Yes, you.   Right here. 

Sometimes I really wonder why I bother.  I don’t really see anyone else agonizing over how to whip their thoughts into shape.  It’s kind of an interior battle.  I don’t hear very many people talk about how they fight these kinds of battles except when we hear it from the pulpit. 

In the scriptures, it seems that there is a lot of discussion about fighting those inner battles with our thoughts.  But instead of “watch your thoughts”, the phrase that is used is “take heed to thyself” or simply “take heed.”  It is surprising how many warnings there are about different danger zones, but I find these are very helpful because they show me that I’m on the right track to be concerned and watchful of my attitude and my thoughts.  (YAAAAYY!  I’m not crazy!)

Below I will lay out a number of things that the scriptures say we need to take heed to ourselves about.  Some of them I may discuss, some of them I may not. 

Worshipping the Right God and Attitude toward God

Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following [other nations], after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. (Deut. 12:30)

Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God. (Joshua 23:11)

You’d think it would be natural to love God, right?  I’m going to be frank.  I catch myself feeling ambivalent and sometimes even hostile to God on occasion.  This particularly plagues me on Sundays before church, times when I really want to be worshipful. 

These thoughts are hard to throw out, but I know it is possible to do it because I’ve done it.  I have to pray to resist those thoughts.  It takes work to turn my thoughts to how the Lord has been so merciful to me.  I work to remember how the Lord did not cast me off in my most sinful times, and that fills me with gratitude.  I work to remember all the times that I’ve felt the Spirit and have been renewed from taking the sacrament and that gives me the faith to hang in there.

And I would that ye should remember also, that this is the name that I said I should give unto you that never should be blotted out, except it be through transgression; therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress, that the name be not blotted out of your hearts. (Mosiah 5:11, emphasis added)

Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. (1 Tim 4:16)

This tells us that at we also have to pay close attention to following the doctrine of Christ because those principles will not just lead us to salvation, but lead others there too. 

Belief and Faithfulness

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12)

Sometimes I get hit by these skeptical thoughts of, “I don’t believe that really happened” and it is usually from hearing about some miracles that I’ve never personally experienced for myself.  It got really bad before I decided something had to be done.  I worked hard to research belief and faith and this was about when there were a lot of conference talks about belief.  Eventually, I’ve learned to pray to have a believing heart so that I can know of greater things.  I also pray to resist unbelief.  Then I work at casting out those blatant unbelieving thoughts and I refuse to dwell on them.  I look for educated, believing people to interact with because I know that their viewpoints will nourish and edify me.

And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. (Mark 4:24, emphasis added)

This seems to suggest we need to pay attention to the type of things we listen to and believe.  We need to consider the source.  The extent that we hear and obey good things is the same extent to which we will be blessed.  So we have to be careful that our obedience is sincere and whole-hearted.

Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.  (Luke 8:18, emphasis added)

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; (Deut. 4: 9)

I’m observant enough to realize that I forget spiritual experiences too quickly, even if I don’t want to forget them, so I have to take care to find ways of reminding myself.  One way is by writing those experiences in my journal.  Another is by rereading my journal every so often.  Another is by thinking back over the course of my life and remembering the major touchstone spiritual experiences that were instrumental in forming my testimony of the Christ and the gospel.

Sources of guidance

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. (Matt. 16:6)

It seems that it matters what doctrines we believe and the caliber of the people we hear them from.

Certainty and Strength

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. (1 Cor. 12:10)

Even if we feel we are standing firm, we still have to watch what we are doing because sin can creep in so easily.  In fact, so often it is when we think we are strong that we get complacent.  We begin to think we don’t need to worry and at that point, temptations begin to sneak in, starting with pride.

32 But there is a possibility that man may fall from grace and depart from the living God;

33 Therefore let the church take heed and pray always, lest they fall into temptation;

34 Yea, and even let those who are sanctified take heed also. (D&C 20:32-34, emphasis added)

Signs of the Times

Jesus told the apostles to take heed not to be deceived three different times in Mark 13 when He discussed signs of the times.  (This is worth looking at directly.  When you follow the link, the applicable scriptures will be highlighted.)

34 ¶ And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:34-36)

This lets us know that at the time of the Second Coming, many people will completely wrapped up in the cares of this life, in pleasure-seeking, and lulled into passivity or drunkenness.  When everyone else around you doesn’t seem to care about the eternal consequences of their actions, it is really hard to resist absorbing some of that attitude.   I imagine that as time goes on, it will get progressively harder to resist.  This is why Christ Himself tells us to take heed to ourselves, to watch, and pray always.   So when we get thoughts like, “Why am I even trying so hard?” this is what we have to remember.

When I find myself tempted to not care what I do, I try to remember the final judgment and I think about how I want to feel when I stand face to face with God.  That usually helps.

Spousal Relationships

15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

16 For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.   (Mal. 2:15-16)

I consider this scripture just as binding on women as it is on men.  If we have moments where we wonder what life would be like married to someone else or if we look at someone else and simply wish, we have to confront and cast out those thoughts. 

I am perfectly aware that everyone has their quirks and if my husband has his faults, so too does every other man, and I am not perfect myself.  I also realize that a different man would probably not have the same wonderful virtues that my husband has.  And then I spend some time remembering back when my husband and I were dating and recall what attracted me to him. 

Relationships with Children

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. (Matt. 18:10, emphasis added)

Every once in while (and I’m sure it would be more often if I had children of my own) I find myself having to work with a kid that drives me crazy, and if I have to work with them often, I find myself struggling with feelings of dread about it.  This is when the best thing that helps me is… DENIAL.  (“I’m not REALLY having a problem with this child; I just need to find a way to teach him/her in a way he/she relates to.”)  Then I go pray about it and ask for help specifically with that child. 

Discernment and Judging

Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil. (Moroni 7:14)

Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. (Luke 11:35)

The world’s view and the Lord’s view are not the same. (Hel-lo, understatement!)  In fact, on a good many issues, the world’s view and the Lord’s are diametrically opposed.  We want to be on the Lord’s side, but we also have to cope with the world.  In my experience, it is attachment to our favorite or most deeply entrenched sins that tends to bring us to the point of judging evil to be good or good to be evil.  We need to be very careful that we don’t make a virtue out of our failure to keep the commandments. 

Speaking

I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. (Psalms 39:1)

“I can say whatever I want around [insert name] because he/she doesn’t really care anyway.”  We may usually say this to ourselves around non-members or people antagonistic to our faith thinking it will bring us some acceptance.  This can be especially tempting in groups when the conversation is brisk and witty. 

So I say to myself: HOW DO YOU KNOW HE/SHE ISN’T WATCHING YOU?  How do you know they aren’t learning from you?  You need to be a good example!   (This was certainly something that my mom drilled into my head growing up, even if it was only for the sake of my younger siblings.  She reminded me often that I needed to be a good example because they were always watching me.   I still pray often to be a good example to the people around me.)

Being careful what we say (or type on the internet) is important because Christ said that every idle word will be brought into judgment.  Everything counts; everything is “on the record” in heaven.

Causing or Taking Offense

But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. (1 Cor. 8:9)

This tells us that it is worth thinking carefully about what we do and say lest anything we do be interpreted wrong and lead someone else into committing sin.

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. (Luke 17:3)

There is a very subtle thing that we have to watch out for here in this verse.  If someone trespasses against us, the natural man will want us to think that we can’t talk to them about it under the assumption that they won’t listen and won’t repent. 

The thing is, to follow Christ’s instructions here, we must make the assumption instead that they will listen and will repent.

So the thing we are to take head to ourselves about is to watch out for and resist the incorrect notion that the people who offended us will not listen to us if we reprove them.  Watching our thoughts this way prevents us from subtly judging and condemning people unjustly, which in turn would prevent interpersonal problems from festering into long grudges.  Watching our thoughts this way might even allow us to share the gospel more freely.

Sabbath Observance

Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; (Jeremiah 17:21)

It sounds like in Jeremiah’s day there was a problem with people being too loose in their Sabbath-day observance.   It looks like the concern was with what people were doing, but fundamentally it is really about what we want the day to be about.

Are we making it about the Lord and what pleases Him, or are we making it about what we want?

As one who has been trying to write a first novel, I find it is hard to turn off those thoughts about my plot and characters just because it is the Sabbath.  I feel that for me to rest and make the Sabbath all about the Lord, I have to put away those thoughts for the whole day. 

I recently had an experience where I felt I was kind of on a roll Saturday night in my writing and I didn’t want to shut it all down Sunday morning.  But I exerted my faith that the rest and the change of focus would ultimately be beneficial to me, and I mentally shut all the fiction stuff down.  I made it about the Lord and I was blessed with spiritual renewal.

Attitude about our Possessions

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (Luke 12:15)

Heavenly Father knows the difference between acquisition for need and acquisition for other reasons.  There are whole books dedicated to debunking some of the materialistic thought errors we get in to that leads to clutter. 

Happily, the principle of sacrifice is a direct antidote to covetousness.

Manifesting Charity

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. (Matt. 6:1)

This tells us we have to be careful that our motives for doing charitable works are right before God..  Heavenly Father knows the difference between a heart longing to be praised of men and a heart full of generosity. 

Leadership Responsibilities

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28)

Wrong thoughts: “It’s not really urgent for me to do my leadership calling; they can take care of themselves; they’re doing fine”

So I say to myself: HOW DO I KNOW?  I don’t.  I need to check to make sure.

Heavenly Father knows the difference between a church leader who is interested in height and visibility and power and praise of their position and how they look to others, versus a church leader who is interested in doing their best to nourish and strengthen the people in their charge.

Conclusion

I think these scriptures are really useful for pointing out to us what thoughts we need to particularly guard against.  I’m grateful for that instruction and validation.

What we think matters because so often it leads to action.

Jesus on the Tenuous Satisfaction of Parenting

27 ¶And it came to pass, as he [Jesus] spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.

28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. (Luke 11:27-28)

What is going on here?  Why is this woman praising the womb that bore Jesus and the breasts that suckled Him? 

I think this must have been her way of saying, “If you are so wonderful, your mother must have been amazing, and she must be one of the happiest of women to see how you turned out.”

Jesus briefly acknowledges that yes, His mother is blessed, but He seems to want to emphasize the blessed state of those that hear and obey God’s words.

I was thinking about this and I realized that Jesus knew that not all mothers would have the blessedness of seeing their children be good.  Some would ache over disobedient children.  Some women wouldn’t get to have children at all.  The blessedness of having good children is unstable because after all the teaching and nurturing, it is dependent upon a child’s agency. 

On the other hand, blessedness that comes from one’s own good choices and one’s own agency is more in one’s own control.

Jesus wasn’t denying the satisfaction from raising children who make good choices, but He wanted mothers (and fathers) to remember their own good choices could bring them happiness and they had control over that.

I hope I can remember that when I have children.

Eliab versus David as choices for king

When Samuel went to anoint the person who was to be king after Saul, he first saw Jesse’s son Eliab and thought that surely the Lord had chosen Eliab.  But the Lord told Samuel to not judge by the countenance or height and that the Lord had refused Eliab.

I think it is interesting to see how Eliab treats David later when David comes to take supplies to his brothers in Saul’s army.  While David is offended for Israel’s sake that a Philistine has defied Israel and God for so long, Eliab seems to think David is an obnoxious pipsqueak.  Theirs is this interesting exchange between Eliab and David that reveals their character so well.

28 ¶And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

30 ¶And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner. (1 Samuel 17:28-30)

Based upon what Eliab says, you can see he doesn’t take very kindly to criticism, even indirectly.  David’s questioning why this Goliath thing has gone on for so long is taken by Eliab as a rebuke that he should at least have done something, since he was with the army.  (Not that David really meant that, but Eliab may have felt it that way.)

So Eliab tries to defend himself by attacking David and basically smearing him in front of the other men with this family dialogue that makes it seem like David is 1) irresponsible for leaving the sheep, 2) of no account (because he says there are only a few sheep), 3) proud 4) naughty (or disobedient) 5) nosy and 6) a risk-taker for coming down to see a battle that is none of his business and which could be dangerous to him.

What a list of false accusations!  And Eliab knows they are false too because we can read earlier in the chapter that David had time to talk to his brothers before the Goliath thing came up, so Eliab would have known that David came at the request of his father (and no doubt would have provided a substitute to take care of the sheep while he was gone), that he brought supplies (so there was a purpose for his coming), that he took care of getting the supplies to the right place before he found his brothers to talk (so he was responsible).  Eliab just said those things to try to make David look bad in front of everyone.

That’s mean old brother behavior, even when grown up!  Just from that, you can tell Eliab wouldn’t be a very nice king.  1) He made false accusations when he knows the real facts 2) he tried to discredit a younger brother, a family member 3) he tried to stamp out David’s faithful and intrepid perspective just because Eliab didn’t have it in him and 4) he got defensive from the most indirect of unintended criticisms.

On the other hand, David’s behavior is excellent.  Even when he’s made to look bad, all he says is, “What have I now done?  Is there not a cause?” (v29).  He pleads innocence, but doesn’t attack back.  He also doesn’t allow himself to be deterred from asking his questions.  He doesn’t let himself get shut up by his older brother.

As an oldest child, I learn from this that it is important to not shut down good and faithful suggestions from my younger siblings.   I also learn from David appropriate ways to respond if others are trying to shut me down.

Is there anything else in addition that you learn from this?

How Lord Tests Gideon’s Ranks to Choose the Few

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1 Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

2 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

4 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.

5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.

6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

7 And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

(Judges 7:1-8)

In these verses, we see that the Lord considers the 32,000 Israelite soldiers to be too many and wants Israel to know by their miraculous deliverance that it was God that saved them and not their own strength.

The Lord has Gideon put the Israelite army through two tests to eliminate the majority of the people.  Gideon could perfectly well have asked to know how many he should keep at the beginning and then he could have asked for help to pick those men out of the army, but the Lord uses a series of tests to make clear who should be chosen.  Not only that, but we see these are self-administered tests and the men eliminate themselves.

This suggests a preliminary lesson about life and its purpose of testing—we are the ones who eliminate ourselves from being chosen for eternal life.

That Gideon is to test the Israelite armies to find the men who are best suited to help him deliver Israel suggests that he will be selecting according to desirable qualities.  The first test—selecting those who are not fearful or afraid and sending the others back home seems pretty fitting.  It requires courage and valor to deliver Israel.  (We must give credit to the ones who leave, though, for being honest about how they felt.)

The second test seems odd though, and it doesn’t quite make sense why the Lord would want men who drank water one way over those who drank another way.  It seems arbitrary, as if he just separated into two groups and chose the smallest group.  Not only this, but choosing men by how they drink water doesn’t make logical sense for fighting.  Today, armies would put cadets through rigorous physical challenges and choose those who succeeded, so how would choosing by drinking method be helpful at all?

Because it is the Lord who declares the conditions of the test, we must make the assumption that the test is not a pretext for arbitrary choice, but a designed test that in some way relates to qualities the men will need to deliver Israel.

So let’s look at this second test.

…the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.  And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.  And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you…

This bit about how people drink has always been kind of confusing to me because it sounds like there are three ways of drinking, not just two.  I have a hard time seeing how lapping with the tongue like a dog is the considered the same as putting one’s hand to their mouth.  I also have a hard time seeing how that might be done without kneeling.

When I envision a dog lapping with their tongue, I initially visualize someone with their mouth in the water, but after some thought, it came to me that the text wants us to think of a dog standing up as they lap, not kneeling.  So for a man to stand up and drink, they would have to bend over and carry the water to their mouths with a hand, whereas if a person kneels down to drink, they can stick their mouth in the water and suck in all they want.

Now, what does it mean?

I have read other people’s views that the 300 who lapped demonstrated vigilance because they kept their heads up.

I have also read that those who knelt to drink demonstrated too much love of luxury and a lack of self-restraint.  I’m not sure what I think about this.  Too much water is harmful and people generally drink the amount of water they need at the time. 

So what was the quality the Lord wanted in the men?  We might look at what Gideon did with the men and see if we can detect something in them that the water-drinking test might select for.

Gideon didn’t actually need them to fight in that first foray.  They didn’t carry weapons; instead they carried a trumpet and a pot with a burning lamp in it.  They were to follow his lead in shouting, they were to break the pots, they were to blow the trumpets, they were to let their lamps be seen, and they were to just stand still and let things happen.  

What qualities would that require?  Fearlessness, especially with their outnumbered group and being without weapons.  They’d have to be obedient.  They’d have to be really comfortable with being a different kind of army.  They’d have to be comfortable with not being exactly sure what would happen, and they’d have to be really comfortable with being seen (being a clear target) with all those lamps in the dark.

Now let’s look again at that water-drinking test.  The ten thousand men have already seen a separation occur and now they are led to the water and told to drink.  They must have seen that they were being watched and separated by how they drank.  Do they know what the purpose is?  They might guess from the previous separation, but there is no way to be sure.  Do they know what quality is considered desirable?  No, and will they make assumptions anyway?  Probably.

Notice that the final count is 300 men who lapped and 9,700 who knelt to drink.  1 out of every 32 men had that way of lapping to drink.  How might they have felt about being separated from everyone else and so few of them? 

How many men coming to drink made the assumption that the biggest group was going to be the main army and thought it was a safe decision to drink like those in that group, by kneeling down?

How many people lapped because they just had a different way of doing things?

How many lapped because they weren’t bothered by the strange scrutiny or the unaccountable separation?

At the beginning of the test it may have been difficult to see that there was that ratio of different ways of drinking, but as more men were tested, it would become more and more tempting to do what everyone else was doing, for lack of any other clue about what the desired criteria was, especially on something that seemed so trivial and didn’t seem to matter.

The 300 men the Lord chose ultimately were men who did one thing differently.  They were not afraid of scrutiny.  They weren’t bothered by being outnumbered.  They may have felt they would be targeted next for removal from the army, but they still did their thing.   These qualities were what was needed for Gideon’s army.  They had to be unafraid of being a different kind of army with trumpets, lamps, and pots in their hands instead of a sword and shield.  They had to be unafraid of scrutiny to hold lamps up outside an enemy camp where they were outnumbered 450 to 1.

These qualities are instructive and we still need them today in order to be valiant members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We have to be comfortable with being different (in good ways) and doing things differently than the people around us, even in the simple things, like what we drink, what we watch, how we talk, what we talk about, what we wear, etc.  A majority of us live in places where we are clearly outnumbered and we have to be comfortable with that.  We have to be unafraid and undeterred by scrutiny from others, especially when we may be targets of persecution.  We are asked to be lights to the world and to spread the gospel, to lift up our voices, to make a joyful noise, instead of hiding.

Perhaps the Lord hoped that the Israelites could learn from this sifting process that He wanted Israel to be different from the world and to not be afraid of being watched by others.

We learn something too from this strange but simple assurance the Lord gave Gideon.  “I will try them for thee.”  This one test seems so simple, so illogical, and yet it was effective. 

We are still being tested today, not just in the big things, but in the small things.  Commandments large and small test us.

January First Presidency Message: The Best Time to Plant a Tree

I really liked the First Presidency message for this month by President Uchtdorf, so I want to comment on it. (My words in black, his in green.) It seems to me that one of President Uchtdorf’s great strengths as an apostle is his exuberant enthusiasm and hopefulness.    

In ancient Rome, Janus was the god of beginnings. He was often depicted with two faces—one looking back on the past, the other looking forward to the future. Some languages name the month of January after him because the beginning of the year was a time for reflection as well as planning.

Thousands of years later, many cultures throughout the world carry on a tradition of making resolutions for the new year. Of course, making resolutions is easy—keeping them is a different thing altogether.

One man who had made a long list of New Year’s resolutions felt pretty good about his progress. He thought to himself, “So far, I’ve stuck to my diet, I haven’t lost my temper, I’ve kept to my budget, and I haven’t once complained about the neighbor’s dog. But today is January 2 and the alarm just went off and it’s time I got out of bed. It’s going to take a miracle to keep my streak going.”

It’s SO TRUE!!  For some reason when we start a new resolution, it is pretty easy to do it for a day or two.. or three.  But at some point the shiny wears off and then it seems like a long, hard slog.  Or something comes up that gets in the way.  Or we slack off our effort because we think we don’t need to work as hard at it as we have. 

There is something incredibly hopeful about a fresh start. I suppose at one time or another we have all wanted to start again with a clean slate.

I love getting a new computer with a clean hard drive. For a time it works perfectly. But as the days and weeks pass by and more and more programs get installed (some intentional, some not so intentional), eventually the computer begins to stall, and things it used to do quickly and efficiently become sluggish. Sometimes it doesn’t work at all. Even getting it to start can become a chore as the hard drive becomes cluttered with miscellaneous chaos and electronic debris. There are times when the only recourse is to reformat the computer and start over.

Human beings can likewise become cluttered with fears, doubts, and burdensome guilt. The mistakes we have made (both intentional and unintentional) can weigh upon us until it may seem hard to do what we know we should.

In the case of sin, there is a wonderful reformatting process called repentance that allows us to clear our internal hard drives of the clutter that burdens our hearts. The gospel, through the miraculous and compassionate Atonement of Jesus Christ, shows us the way to cleanse our souls of the stain of sin and once again become new, pure, and as innocent as a child.

But sometimes other things slow us down and hold us back, causing unproductive thoughts and actions that make it hard for us to get started.

I’d say the experience with computers is a very useful metaphor here. (And I'm not sure why I like it so much, but I do.)

Along with repentance, we need grace (enabling power of God) to help us make it through life, but we can’t have it without giving our total effort and commitment to it.  And so often we would give that total effort except we have fallen prey to destructive thought patterns that in some way weaken us.  I love that Elder Uchtdorf teaches many principles (not just here but in other talks too) that help us discover destructive thought patterns and helps us replace them with helpful ones instead. 

I have a lot of troubles with doubts, fears, and perfectionism.  I feel like I’m always fighting it, so I appreciate principles that help me escape those unproductive patterns.

Setting goals is a worthy endeavor. We know that our Heavenly Father has goals because He has told us that His work and glory is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

Our personal goals can bring out the best in us. However, one of the things that derail our efforts in making and keeping resolutions is procrastination. We sometimes delay starting, waiting for the right moment to begin—the first day of a new year, the beginning of summer, when we’re called as bishop or Relief Society president, after the kids get into school, after we retire.

You don’t need an invitation before you start moving in the direction of your righteous goals. You don’t need to wait for permission to become the person you were designed to be. You don’t need to wait to be invited to serve in the Church.

We can sometimes waste years of our lives waiting to be chosen (see D&C 121:34–36). But that is a false premise. You are already chosen!

I felt like this part really spoke to me.  Procrastination is one of my problems, though I don’t actually say to myself, “I’ll do it later.”  My procrastination has been in the form that Elder Uchtdorf has described above, the kind that wants to wait for the “right moment” and the kind that feels like it needs permission to do or become or start. 

My procrastination has to do with writing.  I am a writer.  So often I delay starting my writing because I’m waiting for the right moment.  But what does the right moment look like and how will I know I’ve come to it?  I keep waiting for a moment when I will feel inspired.  It is particularly insidious when it comes to working on this blog because I want to be inspired as I write about the scriptures.   The weird thing is, I’ve learned by experience that inspiration happens more while I’m working on it and rather than when I’m thinking about working on it.  So I just have to show up and start studying and writing and then it comes.

I’ve also seen some of my procrastination in the form of feeling like I need permission from someone.  One of the things I want to do is write fiction, write fabulous novels.  But I feel like I need permission!  I don’t know who from.  Maybe it’s because I have this deep-down notion that writing fiction is play, not real work.  It makes me think that just like you need mom to call the school to so you can go somewhere else during school, I need someone to call the “work police” and tell them that I have permission to write fiction for work instead of getting hired by someone else.   Maybe I need to write myself out a permission slip.  (I eventually did this.  It felt very freeing.)

I like that President Uchtdorf says our personal goals can bring out the best in us.  (Of course, he makes the implicit assumption that these goals are righteous.)  When you consider the effort that goes into working toward goals, you can see he’s right.  What else besides a goal makes you wrestle with the natural man?  Good goals always involve repentance at some level or stage.  A good goal that speaks to you fires your imagination, giving you vision.  It requires confidence and faith.  It requires you to commit and act courageously.  It requires analysis of skills and leads to learning more skills.  It leads to problem-solving.  It disciplines you and builds your perseverance.  And even when we fail, we practice repentance and re-commitment if we try again.

At times in my life I have spent sleepless nights grappling with issues, worries, or personal sorrows. But no matter how dark the night, I am always encouraged by this thought: in the morning the sun will rise.

With every new day, a new dawn comes—not only for the earth but also for us. And with a new day comes a new start—a chance to begin again.

This view of the new day as the chance to begin trying again is a big thing that gives me hope.  I’ve lived a few months when I was depressed and felt that I had no hope of anything better.  When I’ve struggled with a bad habit for so long and failed so many times, it is easy to think that there is no hope of change and that the future will get worse and worse and I should just give up and drift as the current takes me.  I’ve learned to fight this by seeing each new day as a gift of a small time that I can concentrate my efforts in.  We learn from living the commandment of keeping the Sabbath Holy that it is possible to make one day different from every other day of the week, more focused on serving God.  So we can use that same principle during the week.  Each new day we can try again to break bad habits.  Also, taking it one day at a time helps me focus on the present moment rather than worrying about the future. 

Sometimes the thing that holds us back is fear. We might be afraid that we won’t succeed, that we will succeed, that we might be embarrassed, that success might change us, or that it might change the people we love.

I’ve feared all those things at one time or another.  When fears are paralyzing, I’ve found I have to write down what I’m afraid of and try to get to the root of what is bothering me.  (I have an example of how I do this in my post about confronting myfears of introducing my neighbors to the missionaries.

It’s usually not just one fear, it is a network of fear, or a pyramid of fear, fears stacked on top of each other.  You have to pin down the fear, drag it squealing out into the day, and then talk back to it before you can kill it.

Another thing we need to remember when it comes to setting goals is this: We almost certainly will fail—at least in the short term. But rather than be discouraged, we can be empowered because this understanding removes the pressure of being perfect right now. It acknowledges from the beginning that at one time or another, we may fall short. Knowing this up front takes away much of the surprise and discouragement of failure.

When we approach our goals this way, failure doesn’t have to limit us. Remember, even if we fail to reach our ultimate, desired destination right away, we will have made progress along the road that will lead to it.

And that matters—it means a lot.

Even though we might fall short of our finish line, just continuing the journey will make us greater than we were before.

Falling short and failure is a not an end destination.  It is merely a stage in our progression. 

When I apply this to myself about my writing process, I can understand perfectly well that my first draft is not going to be a masterpiece.  It’s going to be crud.  But I can learn from it and revise.  My first novel likewise is going to fall short as well, but I’ll learn from it and revise it and my next novel will be better (although the first draft can be crud all over again.)  I can allow myself to write badly at first so I can learn from it.  (I suppose I’ll have to write myself a permission slip for that too.  ;-))

An old proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”

There is something wonderful and hopeful about the word now. There is something empowering about the fact that if we choose to decide now, we can move forward at this very moment.

Now is the best time to start becoming the person we eventually want to be—not only 20 years from now but also for all eternity.

Sometimes it takes years for us to figure out that we really want what’s good for us.  And then we wish we’d started way earlier.  I’ve heard some converts wishing they’d found the gospel earlier in life.  I imagine we all have something like that. 

At least the present moment remains for making a beginning, right?

So what experiences have you had in which you learned more from the process than you did from the outcome?