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?

Another Examination of the Third Temptation of Christ, Matt 4:8-10

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Every once in a while I reread through the Gospels and I keep finding things that I hadn’t thought of before.   This time I was thinking about the third temptation of Christ.

8 And again, Jesus was in the Spirit, and it taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 And the devil came unto him again, and said, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matthew 4:8-10, JST included in blue)

5 And the Spirit taketh him up into a high mountain, and he beheld all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Luke 4:5-8, JST included in blue)

While it is not stated in the account, it is possible Satan may have been trying to make Jesus think of this scripture in Psalms:

7 I will declare the decree:

the Lord hath said unto me,

Thou art my Son;

this day have I begotten thee.

8 Ask of me,

and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,

and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.  (Psalms 2:7-8)

Satan would see how Christ might apply verse 7 to Himself as meaning the day of His baptism at the hands of John the Baptist (though later Paul would use that verse to apply to Christ’s resurrection instead (see Acts 13:33)). 

Satan may have been trying to get Christ to think that verse 8 meant He could pray for anything and get it, even if it were riches and power.  Satan wanted Christ to think God gave Him permission to have a triumphant life of ease and wealth and complete dominion instead of a suffering servant life.  (Think how the atonement would have been frustrated if Jesus had believed that!)  It could be that Satan was playing upon Jesus’ righteous desire to establish the kingdom of God and was offering Him a chance to have it without suffering, waiting, living in relative obscurity, or allowing others the choice to refuse Him.

So how did Jesus resist this temptation?  

“thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve” –  First, I have to wonder how quick Jesus’s response was.  Was it instinctive and immediate with clear knowledge about who he was refusing?  Or did He have to work through it with reference to righteous principles and confidence in His divine mission?

At any rate, Jesus understood the implications for the salvation of man if He decided to take dominion of the world immediately.  To do so, thinking to avoid the coming suffering and sacrifice of the atonement, would be self-serving to the extreme.  Even though Satan only mentioned worship and not service, Jesus knew that whomever He served He would be worshipping too.  So, if He served Himself by asking for and taking dominion now, it would be as if He were worshipping Himself, but that would put Him in direct opposition to Heavenly Father’s plan for the salvation of mankind, and this would constitute worship of Satan instead.  (This gives us a profound principle—serving one’s self is worship of Satan because it puts us in opposition to God.  Even for Jesus to serve Himself would constitute the worship of Satan.)

This is why Jesus parried Satan’s temptation with quotation of the commandment to only worship and serve God. 

Now, we know that verse 8 must be fulfilled.  We know that Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords will someday rule over all the earth, though His authority isn’t universally acknowledged now.   Yet, there is an additional way to interpret verse 8 that would be consistent with Christ’s sacrificial mission, and according to that interpretation it is being fulfilled at this very moment.  According to this interpretation, v8 is a prophecy of Christ’s intercession for all men. 

Ask of me,

and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,

and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Happily, the Doctrine & Covenants speaks of the intercessory conversation that Jesus has with the Father in which He asks and is given what He wants :

3 Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—

4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;

5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life. (D&C 45:3-5, emphasis added)

Jesus asks the Father to spare us and give us to Him.  When we come to Christ, we become His possession as His sons and daughters.  Thus it is love, self-sacrifice, and serving God that must bring about the fulfillment of the prophecy in Psalms 2:8.

Reflections on Lukewarm Laodicean Saints, Rev 3:14-18

I read these verses recently and something seemed to hit home for me.  They contain words John heard in a vision of Jesus Christ, who spoke messages to the Saints in Laodicea. 

14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. (Rev. 3:14-18)

First, let’s look at verses 15-16.  We usually interpret these verses to mean that the Lord prefers us to be either for Him or against Him, but that He can’t stand our apathy.  But if we think more carefully, we see that this interpretation doesn’t quite work because it doesn’t make sense for Jesus to want someone to be a “cold” enemy.  He wants all to come to Him.  So we have to ask, “Why do both hot and cold seem to be preferable to lukewarm?” 

I got a little bit of a clue from Keith Krell’s online article at Bible.org called “How to Make Jesus Sick (Revelation 3:14-22).” (Kind of an off-putting title, but the article is good.)  In it he suggested that in these verses both cold and hot were positive terms for drink temperatures.  This made sense to me.  Both hot and cold drinks are helpful to us at different times.  Cold drinks are lovely when we have worked up a sweat and need to cool down, while hot drinks (hot chocolate, anyone?) are wonderful when we are cold and we need to raise our core body temperature.  Cold drinks refresh, and hot drinks warm. This suggests that there are “cold saints” and “hot saints” and that both are good. 

Okay, so how could “cold saints” be refreshing?  Well, when we are worried, busy, and wrought up, a “cold saint” is one of those serene people who would calm us down, help us understand that things will work out for the best, and remind us that Heavenly Father will help.  On the other side, when we are reluctant and sluggish, a “hot saint” is one that encourages us, reminds us of our duty and great privileges, who warms us to life and action, and helps us catch the fire again.  When we look at it this way, it is obvious we need both types of saints for the particular good they can do at the right moment! 

A lukewarm saint, however, is useless for either need because they are not enough of either.  They don’t have enough serenity to calm and reassure others, nor do they have enough warmth and passion to encourage and motivate.  We would do well to see where we fall on the continuum of hot and cold.

Okay.  What else did Jesus say to the Laodiceans?  It is clear that he sees their true situation and He also knows how they see their situation.  The two are polar opposites.  

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (v17)

The Laodiceans seem to think that things can’t get any better—they have wealth, they have plenty of goods, and they don’t need anything more from life.  But Jesus knows it is a showy sham.  He applies five adjectives to describe them:

1.     Wetched – of poor quality or condition, very unhappy, morally reprehensible, deserving or inciting pity, having physical misery

2.     Miserable—very unhappy or uncomfortable, of the most contemptible kind, contemptibly small in amount.

3.     Poor—having little money or few possessions

4.     Blind—unable to see, unable or unwilling to perceive and understand

5.     Naked—unclothed, without protecting or concealing cover

I suspect that “poor” was meant to refer to the size of their store of treasures in heaven, that “blind” meant they couldn’t see their own condition for the tragedy it was, and that “naked” meant that their sins were obvious, had not been repented of, and thus had not been covered by the Atonement.

I have to say here that if we’re in comfortable circumstances, it is very easy to become like the Laodiceans.  And even if we’re not in a cushy place, that cushy ideal is a big part of the programming in our societal messages, the place we aim for.  Can we imagine ourselves rejecting that ideal?  I wish I could say that I was independent of it, but I sadly, I realize that it is part of me to the extent that when I try to imagine myself without it, I feel odd, a bit unmoored and at sea.

To remedy the situation, Jesus counsels the saints of Laodicea to buy from Him (and He is the only source) the following:

·      “gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich” – If Jesus is the only source of this gold, then it is highly symbolic, referring to the refinement of the soul. Through this expression we learn the principle that the refining of our soul through trials is what makes us rich.  These are the kinds of riches that can’t be stolen.

·      “white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear”—The white clothing is purity and we buy it from Christ through repentance and then He covers our sins.

·      “anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see”—Jesus wants to heal our perspective so we can see the spiritual realities of life.

If we notice, the counsel Jesus gives is meant to address the three conditions of “poor,” “blind,” and “naked.”   I imagine the conditions of misery and wretchedness would naturally take care of itself.

It seems to me that the remedies Jesus lists have to be done in a certain order.  First the eyesalve so we can see our status for what it really is, then the white clothing as we repent, and then the gold tried in the fire, as we become better through our trials. 

At bottom, Jesus used a different standard to measure the Loadiceans’ lives from the one they used for themselves, and His standard was based on different priorities from the world.  To the Laodiceans, the ideal was wealth, security, and needing nothing.  To Christ, the ideal was to be refined by trials and purified while keeping an eternal perspective. 

In what ways can we reach more toward Christ's standard?  I think paying tithing and fast offerings is one way that we demonstrate that; can you think of any other things?

Fresh Lessons from Nephi Getting the Brass Plates

I’ve read the story of how Nephi got the brass plates so many times that I didn’t feel like there was anything more I could get from it. I’m sure you know that feeling. I’m now learning that when I feel that way as I start reading a scripture story, I must pray and ask for the Lord to teach me. I’m finding that He answers those prayers.

One of the main features of this story that cannot be avoided is that Nephi kills Laban. Today I asked myself, Just what can I learn from this? It was a tough question, and it needed to be asked. And the answer needed to be something good because we all know better than to interpret it as a message to kill people that get in our way when we’re trying to keep the commandments. It had to be something I could really apply in my life. I finally realized that it is a great message about the necessity of killing our own natural man or woman.

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

Laban is a prime example of what the natural man or woman is like; instead of submitting, he resists. Further, the crimes that Laban committed against Nephi and his brothers are exactly the same as the crimes that our natural man commits against our spiritual man. “I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had taken away our property” (1 Nephi 4:11). The natural man tries to kill the spiritual man. He doesn’t listen or obey the commandments of God. And he tries to usurp the privileges, riches, and inheritance of the spiritual man for his own nefarious use. No compromise is possible in our war with our natural man. Our natural man must die. Laban is the natural man in all of us.

In this story, we can see Nephi as the spiritual man in all of us. Nephi’s focus was on obtaining the brass plates (the word of God) and keeping God’s commandments, and our spiritual man has that same desire to be good. (How different Nephi’s focus is from Laban’s focus on and lust after the things of the flesh!) Just like Nephi is the one who kills Laban, the spiritual man in us must kill the natural man in us.

The way that Laban was killed is very much like the process of killing our natural man. Just like Laban was beheaded, killing our natural man involves cutting off our evil thoughts. Laban was killed with a sword. The sword has been used in the scriptures as a metaphor for the Spirit and the word of God. “And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Helaman 4:12). When our spiritual man wields the word of God and the Spirit and submits to it, the natural man begins to be beheaded.

Image from What to Mormons Believe?, "thou shalt not kill?", http://www.whatdomormonsbelieve.com/2008/07/shalt-thou-kill/

What does it mean that “the first shall be last and the last shall be first”?

I am pretty interested in finding out, because I really like to be first. I was always annoyed in school that my last name started with W and I had to wait so long to be seated or that I got seated in the back. I like to sit in the front on the bus so that I can get out first. The closer to the front I can sit on the airplane, the better I like it, because I like to be first on and first off. At the dinner table at home growing up, I strategically placed myself in the middle so that I could reach everything and get to everything quickly so that I could be the first to serve myself of my favorite foods, so that I could eat quickly and be the first to be done so that I could be the first to talk and tell everyone about my day while everyone was still eating and would rather eat and listen instead of talk. Sounds pretty.. um.. selfish, doesn’t it?

What does it mean that “the first shall be last and the last shall be first”?

I have heard this phrase from time to time growing up and it seems to say in a vague sort of way that it is supposed to ensure fairness in the eternities, but as I ponder it, the following questions come to mind:

Who is first? Who is last? Is this temporal or spiritual? Or is it both?

And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.
(1 Nephi 13:42)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
(Romans 1:16)

Graft in the branches; begin at the last that they may be first, and that the first may be last, and dig about the trees, both old and young, the first and the last; and the last and the first, that all may be nourished once again for the last time.
(Jacob 5:63)

Here “first” and “last” seems to refer to the order in which people receive their opportunity(s) to hear the gospel. The first time Heavenly Father gave his chosen the first chance. Then, after the apostasy, He restores the gospel first to those who had to wait until last before.

Here's a parable on the topic that has always bothered me just a little:

For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
(Matt 20:1-16)

Here, it seems to me that the first who went to work in the Lord’s vineyard are like those who joined the church early in their lives and the last are like those who joined the church near the end of their lives. It seems to show us that when the Lord starts handing out our eternal rewards, he starts with those who were the last to get involved and gives them eternal life.

Those of us who were part of the work from the beginning will naturally expect a higher reward than those who only became part of it in the end, and if we aren’t careful, we will be angry that everyone who was part of the work is getting the same reward. (I know I probably would.) The Lord’s answer will be that He is giving us exactly what He agreed to give us and it is His to give anyway. “Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” Are we going to be angry because He is being merciful and kind? (Oops, we better not, because anger at mercy and kindness is a sign of apostasy. Remember the Zoramites - see Alma 35:8-10)

Something that is interesting to notice is the order that the Lord calls the laborers in for payment. He doesn’t start with the first, he starts with the last to be hired. Why were they the last to be hired for work? They must have appeared weak to all the people who were looking for workers. They may have been infirm and physically handicapped. They may have been developmentally disabled. And when no one would hire them, the Lord did.

These people are used to being last. They are the last to understand in school. They are the last to get a good job, because they seem unemployable. They are the last to be benefited in good economic times. They are the last.

Heavenly Father sees all of this and His heart bleeds for them. So He gives them their reward first before anyone else. They get to be first after all the times they were neglected and forgotten. Maybe they get to be taught first and everyone concentrates on them before anyone else. Maybe get their celestial mansions first. (This is pure speculation on my part, but it would make sense.) When it comes to what really matters, they get it first. But what about us? What about me? What if I want to be first there?

Evidently the 12 apostles were very concerned about something like this, because Christ had to say something about it:

And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
(Matt 19:29-30)

And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
(Mark 9:35)

So there it is; I have to put myself last and serve others first in this life.

I remember when Christmas Day would come in our house and we would gather our gifts together, everyone with their own pile of gleamingly wrapped presents and my dad would say to us, “I think we will start with the youngest first.” And my youngest brother Trent would tear into his first gift with the enthusiasm of a released puppy. I was the oldest and I often would resent my father’s decision, because he did it the same way every year, but now, after my study of these scriptures, I see it was fair for my youngest brother to be first. After all, I was first in so many things already – first to be born, first to go to school, first to have my own room, first to drive, first to date, first in the year to have a birthday, first-first-first. And I never stopped to consider that when my dad always decided that opening Christmas gifts should start with the youngest he was putting himself last. But because he did that, I can now see in him that quality of both selflessness and fairness that Heavenly Father has.

I strongly suspect that our ability to build Zion depends to a certain extent upon whether we develop these qualities of putting others first.

And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell therein, for it is they whose garments are white through the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the seed of Joseph, who were of the house of Israel.
And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father, Abraham.
And when these things come, bringeth to pass the scripture which saith, there are they who were first, who shall be last; and there are they who were last, who shall be first.
(Ether 13:10-12, emphasis added)

What happens when people concentrate on helping the poorest and last and lowest before themselves?

And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.
(Moses 7:18)

The status of the poor improves because all Zion focuses on them first, to the point that they aren't poor anymore. But Zion doesn't stop there. Zion continues to concentrate on whatever level is happens to be at the bottom until it is brought higher. Naturally it will take longer because there are more people there, but sooner or later that level rises too. This pattern continues until everyone is at the same level, and then all advance together, higher and higher...

This pattern is completely different from that followed by the world. Every time the world wants to help the poor, they start at the wrong end, by helping the rich get richer, hoping that "trickle-down economics" will allow enough money and opportunities to get to the lower strata of society. It doesn't work. They keep trying to do it this way and it will never work; they are starting at the wrong end.

At the beginning I asked whether this last-shall-be-first business is temporal or spiritual or both. It seems clear to me now that it is both. How are we doing in both these things?

What if we were to become less concerned about being first?
What would this world be like if people parked furthest away in the parking lot from the store and allowed those who were weak on their legs the first chance at a parking spot near the door?

What if CEOs gave raises to those with the smallest salaries first?

What if we let the people at the back of the bus and the back of the plane get off first?

What if we made a donation to the church fast offerings or to the church humanitarian aid fund or perpetual education fund before we went on vacation ?

What if I had waited for other people to be served before I served myself?

I don’t know about you, but I have some repenting to do. ‘Scuse me…