House of Jewels: Four possible interpretations of Isaiah 54:11-12

Isaiah has some very beautiful language in this chapter. He speaks of Zion as a barren woman and bids her to enlarge her house for the children who will come. I will concentrate on two particular verses and describe some of the possible ways of interpreting them while still retaining their doctrinal power and correctness.

11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. (Isaiah 54:11-12)

First, I think we can interpret this as a promise of literal heavenly mansions. This isn’t hard when we remember that Christ spoke of many mansions in His Father’s house and that He would go and prepare a place for us. These verses are like a window into heaven to watch the building process. As the righteous mourn over wickedness and repent, every godly tear shed adds a jewel to their celestial mansion. “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

Second, I think that we can interpret this as a promise of a glorious resurrection. In verse two, Isaiah speaks of a tent (a temporary home), but in verses 11-12 he speaks of a glorious building, something much more permanent. This corresponds with our knowledge that the mortal body is a temporary home to our spirit, but the resurrected body will be the permanent home of our spirit.

Further, the architectural features that are described by Isaiah—stones, foundations, windows, gates, and borders—can roughly correspond to parts of the body. The foundation on which the body stands is the feet. You could think of the “stones” as the toes. The windows to our soul are definitely our eyes. The gates could be our mouth. Our borders, as the outside of our body, could be our arms, our profile or shape, or our skin. You may think I’m stretching a little as I come up with these connections, but the overall interpretation of these verses as a testimony of the resurrection is still valid.

A third interpretation of these verses is as a promise of the restoration of the gospel and the organization of the church. Previous dispensations were begun and faded away like a tent raised in the wilderness which later collapsed in sandstorms. Verses 11-12 give the Lord’s promise that he would lay the foundations of this gospel dispensation with jewels and treasures (representing priceless truths) and continue to add more and more jewels in every feature. This is certainly true; in every feature of our faith we find value.
Stones and foundations = knowledge of God’s nature (through direct revelatory experience and through additional scriptures revealed), priesthood authority and keys
Windows = prophets, seers, and revelators through which light and guidance from God is transmitted
Gates = priesthood ordinances such as baptism whereby people enter the kingdom of God
Borders = sphere of stewardship and responsibility (callings), ward and stake boundaries, and most literally, the smallest branches of the church at the very outskirts

Really the jewels can represent three different things:

• The truths restored
• The good works from the people gathered as God works through them
• The people themselves who are gathered

A fourth interpretation pertains to our families. God lays the precious foundation through temple marriage between a man and a woman. “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir” (Isaiah 13:12). “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10). In this family, the woman becomes the jeweled gates through which treasured children are added. “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children” (Isaiah 54:13). Truly, who can find a peaceful, obedient child? For they are more prized than pearls. And all the borders of the righteous family grow and grow as it adds more generations.

Conclusion

We have seen that there are multiple interpretations of these two verses of Isaiah and they can be discerned through our testimony of the gospel, of the restoration, of the sanctity of the family, of the resurrection, and of the promise of a place in the celestial kingdom.

Nephi’s vision of Christ’s baptism

2 Nephi 31 is known for these verses that missionaries use to convince people of the importance of baptism:

5 And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!
6 And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?
7 Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments. (2 Nephi 31:5-7)

Underlying these verses though, are indications that this knowledge came in a miraculous way—through a vision and through the voices of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ speaking to him. It is easy to miss, but if we slow down, we’ll see it as we notice the prevalence of the word “show” (and all its forms) and how many times dialogue is presented.

Show

…remember that I have spoken unto you concerning that prophet which the Lord showed unto me, that should baptize the Lamb of God, which should take away the sins of the world. (2 Nephi 31:4, emphasis added)

Nephi was given a vision of John the Baptist and his baptism of Christ.

Wherefore, after [Christ] was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove. (2 Nephi 31:8)

The fascinating thing about this verse is that it was written before Christ was baptized, yet it is written in past tense. This strongly suggests that Nephi had seen a vision, and because of it, he thought of Christ’s baptism as an accomplished fact rather than an event yet to happen.

9 And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.
10 And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father? (2 Nephi 31:9-10)

This tells us that in Nephi’s vision he had seen Christ teach people to follow His example. (And again, it is interesting that Nephi speaks to his people of following Christ even though Christ’s baptism would not occur until many hundred years after they lived.)

And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son. (2 Nephi 31:11)

Nephi sees that Heavenly Father became a second witness to the principles of repentance and baptism. When Heavenly Father speaks to witness of something, you know it is of utmost importance.

Divine commentary

After this, Nephi hears the voices of both Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father giving commentary on the vision that Nephi had seen.

And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do. (2 Nephi 31:12, emphasis added)

(Notice also that Christ points out that Nephi has seen Christ be baptized (and probably much more).)

14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me.
15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. (2 Nephi 31:14-15, emphasis added)

Both the Father and the Son explained to Nephi the importance of following Christ’s example to be baptized and the importance of enduring to the end. Wow. Then Nephi adds his testimony:

And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved. (2 Nephi 31:16)

Nephi also tells why this great witness has been given to him.

Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. (2 Nephi 31:17, emphasis added)

The fact that Nephi’s knowledge of the importance of baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end came through a vision and through the voices of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ makes this one of the most powerful scriptural witnesses of these principles. What greater witness can we have than from God?

God promises Enoch influence

Behold my Spirit is upon you,
wherefore all thy words will I justify;
and the mountains shall flee before you,
and the rivers shall turn from their course;
and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you;
therefore walk with me.
(Moses 6:34)

Recently I was thinking about this verse when God calls Enoch to be a prophet. I realized that while God was talking literally about mountains fleeing and rivers changing course, mountains and rivers were also being used as symbols for types of people. The mountains symbolized people who were lifted up in pride. The rivers symbolized people who were very set in their ways, who did things a certain way, and who flowed down to the lowest spiritual level. God promised Enoch that through the words given him, the proud would begin to fear (and humble themselves) and those who were set in their ways would change their course (for something better). I thought that was awesome. Literal control of the elements is miraculous, but I think that change for the better in a person’s life is no less miraculous.

The anointing and subsequent betrayal of Christ

In this post I will examine the incident of Christ’s anointing, the varying expectations among those involved, probe the misunderstandings it caused among the apostles, and show how this set in motion the events of Christ’s betrayal and crucifixion.

6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. (Matthew 26:6-13, compare to Mark 14:3-9)

This story raises many questions in my mind.

Why did this woman anoint Jesus for His burial while He was still alive? Isn’t that premature? It seems like the equivalent of measuring someone for their coffin or something. How valuable was this ointment? Why were the apostles so hung up on the anointing? Why were they focused on waste instead of the appropriateness of the woman’s worshipful gesture? Why did Jesus call it a good work? Sooo many questions..

The version of this story in Mark says that the ointment could have been sold for 300 pence, which was a lot of money. One pence was a day’s wage for a laborer, according to the parable of the vineyard workers in Matthew 20:1-2, so 300 would be nearly a year’s salary. In our modern terms, it might be around $30,000.

This leads me to another question—how did she get so much of it?

To acquire that perfume, the woman may have scrimped and saved for years. Perhaps she had been using it as her life savings, as something that could easily be converted into cash if she needed it. Maybe it was her one luxury that she enjoyed in life. I envision her occasionally opening the bottle on a bad day and smelling it to cheer herself up. And in one moment she poured it all out on Jesus. Why?

Or might she, like Simeon or Anna, have dreamt of a day when she might meet the Messiah? Might she have thought about what she would do if she ever did? Maybe she had such faith in the prophecies of a coming Messiah that she decided to prepare a fitting tribute and had been accumulating it for that purpose. Perhaps it was her way of keeping her hopes up and building her anticipation; the longer she had to wait, the more ointment she could accumulate and the more dramatic her tribute would be.

I bet everyone was living in anticipation that Jesus as the conquering hero who would take over Israel, liberate it from the Romans, and restore it to its rightful place of glory and prosperity. (This could possibly be indicated by the nearness of the event to the triumphal entry.) Even the apostles didn’t understand that Jesus was going to be killed by the Jews, even though He told them multiple times throughout His ministry, after his crucifixion, they asked Him when He would restore the kingdom to the Jews. (see Acts 1:6)

In this context, her anointing had to have been an act of adoration and worship of the Man she anticipated would shortly be crowned King. She would not have done it if she didn’t believe He was the epitome of greatness. She felt that He was worthy of the honor.

So, did she intend to anoint him for His burial? Probably not. If she had, she probably would have done it with weeping and wailing and made a big scene. But if she did it in anticipation of his Messiahship, why then did Jesus say she did it for His burial?

I think Jesus knew why she did it but chose to put a different construction on it to testify of His mission. Jesus knew that she had anointed Him to honor Him as a future king, and it was a very flattering gesture. He could have let it go to His head, and let it persuade Him that maybe He wouldn’t have to die. But no, He was determined not to let this distract Him from His mission of redeeming the world through suffering and death. So how would He react to the woman? She had been very kind, and He couldn’t chastise her for that. Interestingly, He chose to try to use it as a teaching tool to reiterate His upcoming death. So He pointed out that she had done a good thing to anoint Him for His burial. This was true; the perfume probably was strong enough that it would persist on His body and His clothes for a good long time afterwards, through the scourging and abuse He suffered and through His crucifixion. (After Jesus was dead, the women had to wait for the Sabbath to end before they would be able to anoint His body and then when they went to anoint Him on the third day after He was buried, but He was already risen.)

The apostle’s reaction is also very interesting. It is one of those times when Jesus and the apostles are at odds with each other. How did this happen? When the woman poured the expensive ointment on Jesus, the apostles undoubtedly thought of Jesus’s counsel to sell all and give to the poor and felt like the woman’s generous gesture had been misguided. They must have thought, Pouring that stuff on Jesus benefits only Jesus, but selling it and giving the profit to the pour would be a much more socially beneficial act of worship.

Then Jesus turned everything upside down and declared that the woman had done right and she’d be remembered forever for what she did!

This must have been hard for the apostles to swallow. They may have felt that their judgment was being disregarded. They were trying so hard to follow Jesus’s counsel and now He throws this curve ball at them. Perhaps they wondered if He was starting to get too big for His britches. Maybe they thought He had suddenly fallen into the temptation of self-aggrandizement and exalting Himself by putting Himself before the poor. (He was really pointing out that when you have a choice between A) doing it to Christ by doing it to one of the least of these with proxy service and B) doing it directly to Christ, it was preferable to do it to directly to Christ while He was still around. After Christ was ascended to heaven, He would be completely satisfied with proxy service.)

Another factor that may have made the woman’s act acceptable to Christ was that somehow it must have been necessary in order to fulfill Messianic prophesy about Him. I went looking for scriptures about anointing and I found these verses from Psalms that could have some bearing:

7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.
9 Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear. . .
11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. . . .
17 I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever. (Psalms 45:7-12, 17)

Again, it the apostles didn’t realize that and were angry because their judgment was disregarded and contradicted. How angry were they? Angry enough that one of them couldn’t stand it any more, as the story immediately following Jesus’s anointing indicates:

14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. (Matthew 26:14-16)

But Jesus knew all about that. Very soon afterward, He commented on it.

21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? (Matthew 26:21-22)

I used to wonder why it was that each one of the disciples were sorry and asked if they would betray Jesus until I realized that it indicated that each of them had recently been offended by Him. They had been angry with him for allowing the woman to anoint him and for His reproving answer to their objections. So when Christ pointed out that one of them would betray him, they remembered their anger and were instantly pricked in their hearts. They each wondered if their resentment had taken them to the point of betraying Christ and they became very sorry for their anger.

All except for Judas.

23 And [Jesus] answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. (Matthew 26:21-25)

Finding the connection between these incidents has shown me that no matter how good we may be, there is still a possibility that we may become offended and betray Christ and the truth. In the case of this story, it arose from a clash over which principles should take priority at the moment—care for the poor versus worship of the Savior, and expectations of His kingship versus His mortal mission as suffering servant-redeemer. These moments can come unexpectedly and it takes great humility to defer to greater spiritual authority.

Summary:

1. The woman was anointing Jesus to honor Him as conquering Messiah, consistent with the hope of His followers that He would save Israel from the Romans.
2. Jesus chose to use the incident to point to His mission as suffering servant.
3. His statement that her act was good made the apostles angry because it seemed inconsistent with what He had been teaching them about charity and giving to the poor.
4. This incident was the impetus for Judas’s betrayal
5. Jesus’s prediction that one of the apostles would betray Him pricked the other apostles’ consciences and humbled them to repentance.
   

King Noah’s priorities

Recently when I was reading through the story of King Noah and what he did, something jumped out at me that I had never noticed before about his choices of building materials and where he put them.

8 And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper;
9 And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.
10 And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.
(Mosiah 11:8-10)

King Noah used gold and silver on his own throne, but used wood, brass, and copper on the temple. Those choices scream loudly that his priorities were massively out of line. God was much further down on his priority list and the fact that he used the finest materials on his own stuff, meant he thought of himself first. It could also have been indicative of his ideas about his own power versus the power of God.

3 Nephi 18, 20: Jesus teaches different lessons through the sacrament

There are two different instances of Jesus administering the sacrament to people in the Book of Mormon and I recently noticed that the contexts were different and that Jesus used the act to teach different lessons.

1 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded his Disciples that they should bring forth some bread and wine unto him.
2 And while they were gone for bread and wine, he commanded the multitude that they should sit themselves down upon the earth.
3 And when the Disciples had come with bread and wine, he took of the bread and brake and blessed it; and he gave unto the Disciples and commanded that they should eat.
4 And when they had eaten and were filled, he commanded that they should give unto the multitude.
5 And when the multitude had eaten and were filled, he said unto the Disciples: Behold there shall one be ordained among you, and to him will I give power that he shall break bread and bless it and give it unto the people of my church, unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my name.
6 And this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread and blessed it and given it unto you.
7 And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.
8 And it came to pass that when he said these words, he commanded his Disciples that they should take of the wine of the cup and drink of it, and that they should also give unto the multitude that they might drink of it.
9 And it came to pass that they did so, and did drink of it and were filled; and they gave unto the multitude, and they did drink, and they were filled.
10 And when the Disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you.
11 And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you. (3 Nephi 18:1-11, emphasis added)

I learned something very interesting recently from one of the talking heads in the DVD “Reflections of Christ”*. In this incident of the sacrament, Jesus points out that they should eat in remembrance of the body that He had shown unto them. It was noted that here Jesus was making the sacrament a symbol of the tangibleness of the resurrection.

I thought that was very enlightening, since so many times I’ve read through that part and my mind would just assume that Jesus was drawing a comparison to His body that had been “bruised, broken, and torn for us”, creating a symbol of the crucifixion. (And we certainly could take it that way.) But now, I realize than in our sacrament prayers, the words are “that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee” (Mormon 4:3) and there is no mention of the ordeal of crucifixion in this particular prayer. It simply asks us to remember His body, which could suggest two different things for us today. First, it should help us remember the condescension of God, that Christ became mortal for us. Second, it should help us remember that Christ was resurrected and regained His body.

I find this gives an expanded meaning to the sacrament. Not only does it remind us of Christ’s Atonement and death, but it reminds us of His mortal condescension and His resurrection! It symbolically encompasses His whole mission.

Now, interestingly enough, there is this other time when Christ administered the sacrament to the Nephites during His visit. There are some different circumstances, and Christ uses those circumstances to expand on the sacramental symbols.

3 And it came to pass that he brake bread again and blessed it, and gave to the disciples to eat.
4 And when they had eaten he commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude.
5 And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine to drink, and commanded them that they should give unto the multitude.
6 Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude;
7 But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink.
8 And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled.
9 Now, when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold, they were filled with the Spirit; and they did cry out with one voice, and gave glory to Jesus, whom they both saw and heard. (2 Nephi 20:3-9, emphasis added)

It has always seemed interesting to me that Christ provided the bread and wine miraculously. This is like feeding-the-five-thousand redux, only better. The thing I realized today was that He was using the miraculous providence to draw a comparison for them similar to what He did in the New Testament with His bread of life speech to the Jews; He was strongly tying it to an awareness of the miracle of the manna in the Old Testament. Just like manna came down from heaven, Jesus came down to the Nephites from heaven. Just like the manna miraculously fed the children of Israel, Jesus miraculously provided bread and wine for the Nephites. And just like the manna filled the children of Israel when they were hungry, Jesus promised the Nephites that those who partook ate to their souls and their souls would never hunger or thirst but be filled. This was the promise of satisfying a deep soul-hunger. And we see in verse 9 that this promise was fulfilled; the Nephites were filled with the Spirit and were couldn’t refrain from shouting praises to Jesus.

Jesus used this miracle to teach in a stronger way what the promise of the sacrament was. The first time they were all agog over His resurrected body, so He pointed out how the bread was to remind them of it. The second time, He miraculously provided the bread and wine and while the people were amazed by that, He taught how they would be filled with soul-satisfaction that was just as miraculous as the way the bread and wine was provided. The manna came from heaven, the bread and wine Jesus provided came from heaven, and the Holy Spirit came from heaven. Hunger satisfied, hunger satisfied, and… soul-hunger satisfied.

* I can't say enough good about this DVD. It really helps to bring to life the Savior's visit to the Americas. It makes an excellent Family Home Evening lesson. (Disclosure: I am not associated in any way with the makers of the DVD or those that sell it, and I am not receiving any compensation for this endorsement.)

Chastening and Chastisement

Today I ran across a scripture that spoke of the Lord chastening His people and I thought, “Hmm, that’s not really a topic that we hear much about in church. Maybe I will study that.” It is interesting that we have talks and lessons about enduring to the end and responding to afflictions and trials as things that just sort of happen in our lives, but we really don’t hear much at all about chastening and chastisement specifically from the Lord. Perhaps this is something that we can learn to recognize and if we recognize it, we can bear it better and profit from it more.

First of all, it might be helpful to look at some dictionary stuff.

Chastise – rebuke or reprimand severely; punish esp. by beating
Chasten –(of a reproof or misfortune) to have a restraining or moderating effect upon, archaic (esp. of God) discipline; punish. At the bottom of the history of this word is the idea of moral purity and chastity

This suggests that chastening is milder than chastisement and it would be wise to be alert to cases when each is used. I really like that idea of the restraining or moderating effect of chastening. That truly feels consistent with how the Lord would try to discipline us.

Chastening is important for families

My servant Newel K. Whitney also, a bishop of my church, hath need to be chastened, and set in order his family, and see that they are more diligent and concerned at home, and pray always, or they shall be removed out of their place. (D&C 93:50)

The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. (Proverbs 29:15)

This scripture suggests both chastisement through the reference to the rod and chastening through the words “reproof give[s] wisdom”. It also warns of the long-term consequences of neglecting a child—parental shame.

Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. (Proverbs 19:18)

43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death. (D&C 121:43-44)

Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. (Deuteronomy 8:5)

Chastening from God is evidence of His love

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (Revelations 3:19)

5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. (Hebrews 12:5-8)

Goals of chastening

And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they might repent; (D&C 1:27)

Nevertheless, I would not suffer that ye should part until you were chastened for all your sins, that you might be one, that you might not perish in wickedness; (D&C 61:8)

9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (Hebrews 12:9-11)

Some reasons we are chastened

And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him. (Helaman 12:3)

4 Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son….
6 Behold, I say unto you, there were jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances.
7 They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.
8 In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me. (D&C 101:4,6-8)

Verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will chasten them and will do whatsoever I list, if they do not repent and observe all things whatsoever I have said unto them. (D&C 98:21)

And that those who call themselves after my name might be chastened for a little season with a sore and grievous chastisement, because they did not hearken altogether unto the precepts and commandments which I gave unto them. (D&C 103:4)

It is interesting here that the scripture uses both chasten (the mild form) and chastisement (the severe form).

And my people must needs be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be, by the things which they suffer. (D&C 105:6)

My disciples, in days of old, sought occasion against one another and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted and sorely chastened. (D&C 64:8)

And I give unto him a new commission and a new commandment, in the which I, the Lord, chasten him for the murmurings of his heart; (D&C 75:7)

Sources of Chastening

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
(Timothy 3:16-17)

I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: (2 Samuel 7:14)

And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations; (D&C 87:6)

21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith.
22 Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people.
23 For behold, I will show unto you that they were brought into bondage, and none could deliver them but the Lord their God, yea, even the God of Abraham and Isaac and of Jacob.
24 And it came to pass that he did deliver them, and he did show forth his mighty power unto them, and great were their rejoicings. (Mosiah 23:21-24)

Problems enduring chastening

And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center. (1 Nephi 16:2)

For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified. (D&C 101:5)

…he that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom. (D&C 136:31)

Ways we should react to chastening and chastisement

Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. (Isaiah 26:16)

Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: (Job 34:31)

Promises for enduring chastening and chastisement

17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
(Job 5:17-18)

36 But verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will contend with Zion, and plead with her strong ones, and chasten her until she overcomes and is clean before me.
37 For she shall not be removed out of her place. I, the Lord, have spoken it. Amen. (D&C 90:36:37)

12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law;
13 That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. (Psalms 94:12-13)

31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:31-32)

My people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and (D&C 136:31)

Who makes it all possible?

But [Christ] was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

It is significant that this scripture uses chastisement (the severe form) here.

So what have we learned from these scriptures? Here’s some summaries based upon the above scriptures.

Chastening in families

• Set house in order
• Be diligent and concerned at home
• Pray always
• Both words and physical discipline can be used
• Parental shame is a long-term consequence of neglecting a child’s discipline
• Catch the errors early while there is still hope
• Reprove with immediately with sharpness when the Spirit directs, then show an increase in love
• The Lord chastens us like a father.

Chastening shows that Heavenly Father loves us and that we are His children

Goals of chastening are:

• To get us to repent
• To help us become unified
• To save us from dying in our wickedness
• For our profit
• So that we can partake of God’s holiness
• So that we will eventually bear peaceable fruit of righteousness

Some reasons we are chastened:

• We won’t remember God without all kinds of afflictions happening to us
• Among us there are jarrings, contentions, envy, strife, lust, covetousness, pollution of our inheritance.
• We’re slow to listen to God
• We disregard the counsel of God
• We don’t observe to do everything God commands
• We don’t obey completely
• We seek occasion to be mad at each other and don’t forgive
• We murmur in our hearts

Sources of chastening:

• Scriptures
• Through other people
• War, bloodshed, famine, plague, earthquake, thunder, lightning,
• Bondage and slavery

If we can’t endure chastening:

• We are cut to the center
• We feel like the truth is hard
• We can’t be sanctified
• We are not worthy of God’s kingdom

Ways we should react to chastening:

• Pray
• Decided not to offend anymore
• (REPENT)
  

Promises for enduring chastening:

• The hurt will be healed
• We will overcome
• We will be clean before God
• We will not be removed out of our place
• We will have rest from days of adversity
• We will not be condemned with the world
• We will be prepared to receive the glory God has to give us

Christ was chastised (not chastened) on our behalf.

What are dead works?

I was reading section 22 of the Doctrine & Covenants and I ran across that term “dead works”.

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Manchester, New York, April 1830. HC 1: 79–80. This revelation was given to the Church in consequence of some who had previously been baptized desiring to unite with the Church without rebaptism.

1 Behold, I say unto you that all old covenants have I caused to be done away in this thing; and this is a new and an everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning.
2 Wherefore, although a man should be baptized an hundred times it availeth him nothing, for you cannot enter in at the strait gate by the law of Moses, neither by your dead works.
3 For it is because of your dead works that I have caused this last covenant and this church to be built up unto me, even as in days of old.
4 Wherefore, enter ye in at the gate, as I have commanded, and seek not to counsel your God. Amen. (D&C 22:1-4)

The term that interested me was “dead works”. The general gist that I get from this chapter is that temporary rules (like the Law of Moses) are dead works, whereas the more ancient works are more enduring.

I decided I wanted to learn more about what “dead works” meant. So I went to the index and the topical guide to see if I could get some perspective. Here are some scriptures I found:

22 For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing—
23 But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead works. (Moroni 8:22-23)

This suggests that dead works are those that are done upon those who don’t need it. Mormon’s letter to Moroni names little children and those without the law as those who don’t need baptism. They simply don’t know enough to be accountable. Another example of dead works would probably be duplications of vicarious temple ordinances.

27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (John 6:27-29)

This suggests that live works are strongly coupled with belief in Christ and that dead works are those that are dissociated from Christ or done without belief in Christ.

10 And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.
11 But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return. (3 Nephi 27:10-11)

This suggests to me that dead works tend to spiritual death, which makes them the works of men or the devil. On the positive end, I think there is a thought that is very significant—“[if] the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.” This indicates that live works are actually the Father’s works—what He would do if He were doing it. It could mean that the church is given examples to follow from the Father and it could mean that the live works act as signs as well.

The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin. (Proverbs 10:16)

This shows us that live works bring us closer to eternal life (enlarging our souls, enhancing our spirituality), while dead works actually bring with them a tendency towards sin.

24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. (1 Peter 1:24-25)

Even the works of men, well-intentioned as they are, are dead works. If our works are to endure, they must have their foundation in the gospel with the power of the priesthood.

Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy…(2 Nephi 9:51)

This tells us that dead works do not (indeed cannot) satisfy us. (And they certainly don’t satisfy the Lord.) On the other hand, live works will satisfy us, as the rest of the verse says, as shown below:

…come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness. (2 Nephi 9:51)

And again, by way of commandment to the church concerning the manner of baptism—All those who [:]
humble themselves before God,
and desire to be baptized,
and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits,
and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins,
and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ,
having a determination to serve him to the end,
and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins,
shall be received by baptism into his church. (D&C 20:37)

Look at the verbs in that list. Humble, desire, come forth, witness, are willing, having a determination, truly manifest. These are the doings of live works preliminary to baptism. And really, they aren’t much different from the live works we should have after baptism as well. Dead works would be the opposite: puffing up, apathy, heart hearts, denying the Spirit, unwillingness, uncommitted, falsely manifesting.

6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.
7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.
8 For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.
9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such. (Moroni 7:6-9)

This tells us that unless real intent is attached to our works, they don’t do us any good, which means they are dead works. I think this was given us so that we can learn to monitor the intentions behind our works and pray for a purer intent if we find ourselves lacking. On the more positive side, when the works are done with real intent we DO profit from them, which I think means that we are sanctified by those works. (For example, when our service is done with real intent, we come out of the temple better people than we were when we went in.)

And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. (Isaiah 32:17)

This shows us that live works are those that give us peace and assurance and that dead works will leave us uncertain.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:14)

This seems to suggest that God will also judge every religious work, whether it was a dead work or a live work.

In summary, it seems that for religious works to be live rather than dead, they have to have these characteristics:

• They are built upon the Lord’s works
• They are according to the Lord’s eternal word
• They are founded on the gospel
• They are done to those that have been given the law and who need it
• They are done with real intent
• They are done with belief in Christ

Live works are promised these blessings:

• The worker is given peace and assurance forever
• The worker is satisfied
• The Lord considers the work righteous
• The worker is sanctified

The Parable of the Visiting Lord

This is one of those parables that has always struck me as particularly interesting and mysterious. Since it is in the Doctrine & Covenants, we don’t hit it when we talk about Christ’s parables in the New Testament. And of course, in Sunday School we only have a limited time to go over a number of chapters.

So I want to call your attention to this parable to point out some things that I notice and I hope you will point out things that you notice and maybe we’ll all learn something more.

51 Behold, I will liken these kingdoms unto a man having a field, and he sent forth his servants into the field to dig in the field.
52 And he said unto the first: Go ye and labor in the field, and in the first hour I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance.
53 And he said unto the second: Go ye also into the field, and in the second hour I will visit you with the joy of my countenance.
54 And also unto the third, saying: I will visit you;
55 And unto the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.
56 And the lord of the field went unto the first in the first hour, and tarried with him all that hour, and he was made glad with the light of the countenance of his lord.
57 And then he withdrew from the first that he might visit the second also, and the third, and the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.
58 And thus they all received the light of the countenance of their lord, every man in his hour, and in his time, and in his season—
59 Beginning at the first, and so on unto the last, and from the last unto the first, and from the first unto the last;
60 Every man in his own order, until his hour was finished, even according as his lord had commanded him, that his lord might be glorified in him, and he in his lord, that they all might be glorified.
61 Therefore, unto this parable I will liken all these kingdoms, and the inhabitants thereof—every kingdom in its hour, and in its time, and in its season, even according to the decree which God hath made. (D&C 88:51-61)

Some things that I notice is that the lord wants to visit his servants. But he wants to visit them all, so he schedules his time with them. I notice they all get an hour with him. And he tells them ahead of time when to expect him and he keeps to his schedule.

Something else I notice is that once the lord gets done visiting the last servant, he starts visiting everybody all over again, but he uses this interesting cycle thing where he visits the second to last, then the third to the last, all the way to the first. It’s that whole “the first shall be last and the last shall be first” thing all over again.

Something else—the servants are not sitting twiddling their thumbs while they wait for their turn. They are working hard.

So what is this parable supposed to be talking about? “Therefore, unto this parable I will liken all these kingdoms, and the inhabitants thereof—every kingdom in its hour, and in its time, and in its season” What are these kingdoms? Could they be worlds and the mansions that God has prepared as they are filled with people?

Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will (D&C 88:68).

This seems to suggest that it can be fulfilled during our mortal life as well. We can each be assured of a personal visit from God at some point in our mortal lives, once we have sanctified ourselves and become completely focused on Him.

Now, on to something else related to this issue…

In the New Testament, in the Book of John there are suggestions of this prospect of seeing God.

No man hath seen God at any time, except them who believe.
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:12, Joseph Smith Translation emphasized)

I found a verse further on which made me suspicious that some kind of narrow-minded changes had been made.

Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. (3 John 1:11)

Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosever continueth in sin hath not seen him, neither known him. (1 John 3:6, Joseph Smith Translation emphasized)

Why did these verses make me suspicious? Because John is very repetitious and even-handed in these epistles for the most part, contrasting very carefully the difference between those who know God and those who don’t, and he consistently uses the same language. (I'm not questioning Joseph Smith's stuff, by the way; I'm questioning the surrounding text.) I’ll give you some examples of this below:

He that hath the Son hath life;
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (1 John 5:12)

have the Son, have life
have not the Son, have no life

It’s a perfectly parallel construction.

Hereby know ye the spirit of God:
Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God… (1 John 4:2-3)

Confess Christ, of God.
Confess not Christ, not of God.

Another perfect parallelism.

They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us;
he that is not of God heareth not us.
Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:5-6)

If you know God, you hear us.
If you don’t know God, you don’t hear us.

Another perfect parallelism.

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.
He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. (1 John 3:14)

Love the brethren, go from death to life
Not loving brethren, stay in death

Another perfect parallelism.

He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother,
is in darkness even until now.
He that loveth his brother
abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. (1 John 2:9-10)

Hate brother: be in darkness
Love brother: abide in light and avoid stumbling

The contrast is point-for-point.

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 2:15-16)

Hate brother: takes other people’s lives: has no eternal life
Love of God: gave own life for us
We: should sacrifice our lives for others

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God;
and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

Love: born of God, know God
No love: knoweth not God

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:3-4)

The above quoted verses are so that you can see how carefully John constructed these parallel statements.

So then I come across these next verse:

Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good.
He that doeth good is of God:
but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. (3 John 1:11)

What if the order was switched? It might give us a stronger feeling that something was odd.

He that doeth evil hath not seen God
But he that doeth good is of God

Following John’s pattern of making strong parallel statements, I get the feeling it should have said “he that doeth good hath seen God”. If it was like this in the beginning when it was first written, it is understandable that it would be quickly edited. Lots of people would think to themselves, “I do good and I haven’t seen God, therefore this statement is false.” However, as we have seen from the parable of the visiting lord, the Lord’s visits to us (after we have been sanctified with an eye single to His glory) still happen according to His timeframe.

Furthermore, we have modern revelation from Joseph Smith:

John 13:23—The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false. (Doctrine & Covenants 130:3, emphasis added)

Let’s take the next verse from 1 John that seems not quite according to pattern:

Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not:
whosoever continueth in sin hath not seen him, neither known him. (1 John 3:6, Joseph Smith Translation emphasized)

Switching the order, we get this:

Whosoever continueth in sin hath not seen him, neither known him
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not

See? The positive part seems too weak in comparison to the strength of the negative portion. And it is practically insulting our intelligence to say that someone who continues to sin hasn’t seen God or known Him, and there doesn’t seem like any good reason for pointing it out unless its positive counterpart had once been there:

Whosoever abideth in him hath seen him and known him.

It is my feeling that these scriptures were tampered with at some point.

Pondering Christ's Healed Wounds

(The following is something older I found in my files but it was good enough that I thought I would share it.)

I recently finished reading the April 2010 Ensign magazine and as I was looking at the front cover, I realized something. The cover was of the apostles looking at the prints in Christ’s hand from His crucifixion. I thought about those marks and I realized just how miraculous they really were.

The nails went all the way through Jesus’s hand and feet. Yet when the apostles saw the resurrected Lord, those gaping holes were healed and only prints remained in the skin. They witnessed that something had happened and they witnessed that the hurt had been healed.

What does this teach us? I think that it shows us how we can be healed from all of our wounds—physical, emotional, spiritual—through Christ’s redeeming power. I expect that the prints of those wounds will remain; after all, nothing can erase that those things happened. But the wounds will be healed.

Here’s another picture that I found related to this idea. (It’s almost disgusting how amazingly wonderful it is.)

(Image#1 from http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&sourceId=52ce06c7b9097210VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=ccb1d48fa58db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD)

(Image #2 from at http://diannehanks.com/category/ask-me-mailbag/)