Important Counsel from President Monson’s Apr. 2011 talk “The Holy Temple—A Beacon to the World”

It’s time to scour President Monson’s talk for important counsel.

During the October general conference in 1902, Church President Joseph F. Smith expressed in his opening address the hope that one day we would “have temples built in the various parts of the [world] where they are needed for the convenience of the people.”

During the first 150 years following the organization of the Church, from 1830 to 1980, 21 temples were built, including the temples in Kirtland, Ohio, and Nauvoo, Illinois. Contrast that with the 30 years since 1980, during which 115 temples were built and dedicated. With the announcement yesterday of 3 new temples, there are additionally 26 temples either under construction or in preconstruction stages. These numbers will continue to grow.

The goal President Joseph F. Smith hoped for in 1902 is becoming a reality. Our desire is to make the temple as accessible as possible to our members.?

How wonderful that President Monson calls our attention to the prophetic hope expressed by Joseph F. Smith a century ago that temples would be built in various parts of the world for our convenience! I imagine that not many people were aware of that. (I wonder how many other little-known temple-focused prophecies have been uttered in this dispensation? What a great topic for someone to research!) For my part, in my patriarchal blessing it states that “temples will dot the earth” and I would often wonder to myself just what “dot” meant. As a teenager, I thought that it was pretty well fulfilled already. And then came that famous general conference announcement by President Hinckley that he had set the goal to have 100 temples built by 2000, and I quickly realized that my conception of “dot” was too limited.

I think President Monson brings up the history of temple building to remind us of the great progress that has occurred in temple-building over the last few decades. There is a danger that we may become complacent and forget what a great blessing it is that new temples are being built.

Yet when President Monson says, “These numbers will continue to grow,” is it possible that temple-building may yet accelerate even further? It may be. Considering my estimations of “dot the earth” have been too limited before, I am obliged to believe that President Monson prophesies of more to come.

President Monson recounts two very touching stories of people who sacrificed their comfort and means and even their family togetherness to meet their goal of going to the temple to seal their families for eternity. These two stories are similar in two important respects—great sacrifice was made, and many years after the great sacrifice was made, a temple was built close by. I believe that President Monson wants us to understand that the way that we qualify for more temples among us is to sacrifice to go to them. I know that is true because I’ve been able to see it happen in my own life at least twice. When my husband and I lived in Austin, Texas, we made the decision to go to the temple at least once a month. The nearest temple was in Houston, which was a three-hour drive one way. It was three hours to drive down, two hours in an endowment, and then three hours back, which meant that we were sacrificing a day to go. I think we did that for a year. Then a temple was announced to be built in San Antonio, Texas, which would cut the travel time in half. (Excitement!) Then we moved to Chandler, Arizona and we found that travel time to the temple was about 20 minutes! Going once a month was suddenly… too easy. So we decided to step it up a notch and go once a week. We did that for maybe two or three years. And it seems there were enough other people who were going that often or more frequently that a new temple was announced in Gilbert, Arizona, not five miles from where we live!

I’m not telling these things to boast, but to show that I’ve seen how temples come to people who use them and sacrifice to attend.

In his talk, President Monson seems to have taken great pains to point out a number of different ways that people have sacrificed to obtain the blessings of the temple. The Kirtland temple was built even when the church members were extremely poor. They sacrificed time and labor. The Salt Lake Temple was built over 40 years of sacrifice. The story of the 100 saints of Manaus illustrates a sacrifice of traveling over great distances in great discomfort and hardship. The story of the Mou Tham family illustrates how family togetherness was sacrificed over a number of years in order to ensure family togetherness through the eternities. (I found this an incredibly daring venture. For a married couple to make it through those years apart it would take great faith and loyalty.)

President Monson highlights the sacrifice involved:

Some degree of sacrifice has ever been associated with temple building and with temple attendance. Countless are those who have labored and struggled in order to obtain for themselves and for their families the blessings which are found in the temples of God.

Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple? Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure. They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort.

We love adventure stories and quests, but we are overlooking that the rewards of temple attendance are so great that the quest to attend the temple makes all those adventure stories pale in comparison. Because the quest to attend the temple is REAL! And it is right in front of us! [1]

Today most of us do not have to suffer great hardships in order to attend the temple. Eighty-five percent of the membership of the Church now live within 200 miles (320 km) of a temple, and for a great many of us, that distance is much shorter.

If you have been to the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly….

If you have not yet been to the temple or if you have been but currently do not qualify for a recommend, there is no more important goal for you to work toward than being worthy to go to the temple. Your sacrifice may be bringing your life into compliance with what is required to receive a recommend, perhaps by forsaking long-held habits which disqualify you. It may be having the faith and the discipline to pay your tithing. Whatever it is, qualify to enter the temple of God. Secure a temple recommend and regard it as a precious possession, for such it is.

It seems that President Monson is pointing out that there are as many ways of sacrificing to go to the temple as there are life situations. He also commended those who wake up early in the morning to do baptisms for the dead before going to school. (Man, how I wish I could have lived that close to a temple when I was a teen!)

When I was a teenager, I sacrificed band performances to go to the temple. Our high school band played pep band on Friday evenings for football games in the fall and for basketball games in the winter. Attendance was required. This was also the time when youth temple trips were scheduled to visit the Chicago temple, a two-hour drive away. Youth temple trips only happened a few times a year, so when one came up, I made sure to go and let my band teacher know I was going to be absent from pep band that night. I don’t know if my grade was ever docked, but I was determined to go to the temple even if it was. I knew that what I was doing at the temple had eternal significance and was far more important than a band grade. Maybe it was a small sacrifice, but I was pleased to make it.

President Monson says something very interesting when he addresses parents of young children.

To you parents of young children, may I share with you some sage advice from President Spencer W. Kimball. Said he: “It would be a fine thing if … parents would have in every bedroom in their house a picture of the temple so [their children] from the time [they are] infant[s] could look at the picture every day [until] it becomes a part of [their lives]. When [they reach] the age that [they need] to make [the] very important decision [concerning going to the temple], it will have already been made.”

I notice that he doesn’t say anything about going to the temple in this case. This shows how well aware he is of parents’ difficulty of leaving very young children with a babysitter to go to the temple. He doesn’t push for a sacrifice to visit the temple, but suggests a sacrifice of taking the trouble to get temple pictures for each room so that the concept of temples can be introduced to children at a young age.

I remember when I was young and the Ensign carried a picture of the San Diego temple. I was so excited. I had never seen such a beautiful building. I decided that I wanted to be married in that temple. My parents got me a picture of that temple which I put up in my room. I also took it with me to college. As it turned out, I actually got married in the Chicago temple, but my younger brother got sealed in the San Diego temple and I was able to be present for that. It was a real treat for me to finally go inside. (insert happy sigh here)

Isn’t it wonderful to know that even though we may have our own personal favorite temple, each temple is the house of the Lord?

Until you have entered the house of the Lord and have received all the blessings which await you there, you have not obtained everything the Church has to offer.

Strong words, and true.

President Monson has a number of other pieces of counsel sprinkled through his talk which I picked out.

• Qualify for a temple recommend
• Secure a temple recommend
• Regard your temple recommend as a sacred possession
• Always have the temple in your sights.
• Do nothing which will keep you from entering its doors and partaking of the sacred and eternal blessings there.
• Teach your children of the temple’s importance.

Now, I don’t know if you remember when President Monson gave this talk, but I remember what I felt when he said these words:

Now, my brothers and sisters, may I mention one more temple before I close. In the not-too-distant future as new temples take shape around the world, one will rise in a city which came into being over 2,500 years ago…

When he said that, my eyes got really big and I thought to myself, Oh my gosh, is he going to talk about a temple in Jerusalem?!! I happen to know at least 15 other people had the same thought. You probably had the same reaction. And then when he went on, “I speak of the temple which is now being built in Rome, Italy.” Oh man, that was a bit of a letdown, but then I had to laugh at myself for getting all excited. But then, who wouldn’t? We’ve witnessed the temple announced and rebuilt in Nauvoo, Illinois. Then there’s the temple in Palmyra, New York. Those are pretty amazing. We’ve witnessed more temples being announced than at any other time in the world! Who can fault us for expecting miracles?

Soooo, having gone through this little prophetic fake-out, I had to wonder just why President Monson wanted to draw our attention to the temple being built in Rome. I confess that I didn’t catch his point while he was speaking, which is why I love that these messages are transcribed and sent to us for us to study. So here’s what I read over and over and pondered:

Every temple is a house of God, filling the same functions and with identical blessings and ordinances. The Rome Italy Temple, uniquely, is being built in one of the most historic locations in the world, a city where the ancient Apostles Peter and Paul preached the gospel of Christ and where each was martyred.

Last October, as we gathered on a lovely pastoral site in the northeast corner of Rome, it was my opportunity to offer a prayer of dedication as we prepared to break the ground. I felt impressed to call upon Italian senator Lucio Malan and Rome’s vice-mayor Giuseppe Ciardi to be among the first to turn a shovelful of earth. Each had been a part of the decision to allow us to build a temple in their city.

Finally, it became evident to me that President Monson felt a deep connection to the apostles and saints of the church in former days. I can imagine President Monson looking around at all the monuments of Rome’s ancient greatness and thinking of Paul and Peter—his fellow servants though separated by almost 2000 years—who gave their valiant witness to Rome’s ancient government officials and then suffered painful death. How significant that the city that once drove the former-day church to meet in secret in the catacombs now allowed a temple to be built in Rome’s precincts. Once, ancient government officials had rejected the apostles and put them to death. Now they had decided to allow a temple to be built. No wonder President Monson was happy to ask Italian senator Lucio Malan and Rome’s vice-mayor Giuseppe Ciardi to help break ground.

As the magnificent choir sang in Italian the beautiful strains of “The Spirit of God,” one felt as though heaven and earth were joined in a glorious hymn of praise and gratitude to Almighty God. Tears could not be restrained. In a coming day, the faithful in this, the Eternal City, will receive ordinances eternal in nature in a holy house of God.

Can you imagine the rejoicing on the other side of the veil? Can you imagine the satisfaction of the ancient apostles and saints at this event? High fives all around! Victory dances! Hosanna shouts! Hallelujah choruses!

Each [temple] stands as a beacon to the world, an expression of our testimony that God, our Eternal Father, lives, that He desires to bless us and, indeed, to bless His sons and daughters of all generations. Each of our temples is an expression of our testimony that life beyond the grave is as real and as certain as is our life here on earth. I so testify.

I never thought that temples could be an expression of our testimony in this way, but I see now the President Monson is right. We call them “The House of the Lord” because we believe and are sure that the Lord lives and that He visits these houses. We strive to qualify to go there and urge others to qualify to go because we have a testimony that the Lord really wants us to come to His House where He can bless us. We return there after receiving our own ordinances because we have faith and a testimony of life after death and that it is just as important for our dead to receive what we have as it is for us to obtain it. So every trip to the temple is an act of testimony to those principles.

My beloved brothers and sisters, may we make whatever sacrifices are necessary to attend the temple and to have the spirit of the temple in our hearts and in our homes. May we follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who made the ultimate sacrifice for us, that we might have eternal life and exaltation in our Heavenly Father’s kingdom.

We can sacrifice because Christ sacrificed for us. Without His sacrifice, none of this would be possible. I have a firm testimony of this.

Questions for teachers to ask while teaching from this talk:
• When you were first able to go to the temple, what was the closest temple? What sacrifices did you make to go on temple trips? What was it like and how did you feel?
• What kind of sacrifices do you make NOW to go to the temple?
• What obstacles have you overcome to make it to the temple?
• If you grew up with member parents, how did your parents build a desire in you to go to the temple?
• Will you share what you have done to try to acquaint your children with the importance of the temple?
• How do you feel your life is different because of going to the temple?
• Question to ponder: What obstacles keep YOU from going to the temple?

Possible Object Lesson—How long is forever?

Bring a roll of twine or yarn and some scissors to class. Ask one class member at the very back left of the classroom to hold the end of the string as you unroll it. At the front-middle of the classroom, cut the string and ask someone to hold it for you. Ask a class member at the opposite back corner of the classroom to hold another piece of the string and unroll it as you walk to the front center of the class. Cut the string so that you have two long separate pieces of string stretching through the classroom.

Tell the class that the string coming from your left represents your pre-mortal life and the string coming from your right represents your life after mortality. Tie the two pieces together and tell the class that the knot represents earth life.

Share your feelings about the opportunity the temple offers us to be with our families forever.

Notes

1 At this point, the writer part of me perked up my ears and realized that in the struggle to get to the temple is certainly a worthy conflict to be portrayed in Mormon fiction. It could combine the elements of the quest with all varieties of opposition—man versus man, man versus nature, man versus government, man versus time, man versus poverty, man versus self, etc.

Of pearls, margin marks, and giants

In my scripture study I’ve been doing something new that I haven’t done before. I’ve been trying to pick out exactly what is in the Pearl of Great Price that is an addition to what is in Genesis. I want to know what really makes it a “pearl of great price.”

Here’s what I've been doing:

1. When I start a new chapter in Moses, I compare it to what is in Genesis.
2. In Genesis, I put a '<' in the margin where more was revealed to Joseph Smith.
3. In Moses, I draw a line in along the margin of all the text also found in Genesis so that I can tell at a glance exactly where Joseph Smith’s revelations start and end. (This makes it so that I don't have to keep flipping back and forth between the two accounts.)
4. Then I start asking myself questions about the newly revealed parts like, “What does this have that made it something Heavenly Father wanted us to know?” “Why is this information in here?” “What does this imply that Genesis didn’t?”

Sometimes it looks like the added stuff is almost an afterthought, but when I sit and think about it for a while, I begin to see things I never thought of before.

I’ll give you a small example. In Genesis 6:4 says, “There were giants in the earth in those days” That’s all we are told, that they existed. In Moses 8:18 it says, “And in those days there were giants on the earth, and they sought Noah to take away his life; but the Lord was with Noah, and the power of the Lord was upon him.”

So Genesis tells us there were giants. We think, Wow! Giants! And we are impressed. But Moses adds that those giants wanted to kill Noah, which is not very impressive behavior. It this point I started wondering, Why is this in here? What can this teach me? It came to me: Those men were physical giants, yet they were spiritual midgets. Pygmies, as it were.

The cool thing was that even though Noah had giants trying to assassinate him, the Lord was with him and gave him power. I can’t help but wonder if there’s a David-and-Goliath type story behind that, or a Nephi-versus-Laban type story, or a Jesus-passed-out-of-the-midst type story. Whatever it was, we learn being a spiritual giant trumps being a physical giant.

So I have two questions for you:

1. Regarding the study method I have described, have you done this before? If so, what did you learn?
2. Concerning spiritual giants, how would you complete this sentence?: “A spiritual giant is one who____________.”

Enoch tells of Adam’s baptism and how God taught Adam the gospel

Previous to now I had read Enoch’s discourse in Moses 6:41-68 and I don’t know what I thought it was, but I wasn’t very impressed with it. But this time, I happened to notice something extraordinary that I had never noticed before—Enoch’s discourse has nested inside of it a fairly hefty conversation that God had with Adam on the first principles of the gospel (possibly excluding verse 54, which seems to be Enoch explaining how the doctrine of little children’s innocence was extrapolated). Here it is:

51 And he [God] called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh.
52 And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.
53 And our father Adam spake unto the Lord, and said: Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water? And the Lord said unto Adam: Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden.

54 Hence came the saying abroad among the people, that the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from the foundation of the world. [I think these are Enoch's thoughts]

55 And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good.
56 And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment.
57 Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time.
58 Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children, saying:
59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;
60 For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified;
61 Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment.
62 And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time.
63 And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.
64 And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.
65 And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man.
66 And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever;
67 And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.
68 Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. Amen. (Moses 6:50-58)

It is described:
-how the voice of the Lord commanded Adam to do all those basic principles of the gospel,
-how Adam questioned the need to repent and be baptized,
-and how the Lord answered this question and taught about:

• the fallen nature of man,
• the agency of man,
• the need for repentance,
• the purity of the kingdom of God,
• the coming judgment,
• the way baptism is a rebirth,
• and the role of the Holy Ghost.
• And at the end, God identifies these teachings as the plan of salvation.
  

And when God had taught these things, Adam understood he needed to repent and be baptized, and he wanted to obey, and we can tell because it says “when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried to the Lord.” Adam undoubtedly prayed expressing his repentance and desire to be baptized, since the Lord does not force repentance or baptism upon anyone. “And he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.” (v64) After that, he experienced a spiritual rebirth as the Spirit of God descended upon him, and to make sure Adam knew what was happening to him, God’s voice out of heaven told him what he was feeling:

66 And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever;
67 And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.
68 Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. Amen. (Moses 6:66-68)

I don’t know why I didn’t see all this before. Somehow in my previous readings I kept losing the sight of which words were Enoch’s and which were Enoch’s quotations of God’s instructions to Adam.

So why is this important? It shows Adam was instructed by the voice of the Lord on all the first principles of the gospel—faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. These principles are the same as what we are taught today. Enoch taught these same principles of the gospel by referring to the precedent set by Adam and using the same discourse the Lord gave to Adam. Enoch was using the story of Adam’s baptism to teach the people the first principles of the gospel, much like missionaries today use the discourse of Nephi in 2 Nephi 31. To me, this makes Enoch's discourse much more powerful.

Having a language pure and undefiled

I was studying Moses 6 about Adam and Seth and something struck me about this verse:

And by them their children were taught to read and write, having a language which was pure and undefiled. (Moses 6:6)

The first thing I thought of when I read that was all the things I had heard people speculate about the pure Adamic tongue and how we tend to yearn to know that and speak it and want it brought back. We’ve wondered what it would be like to speak it, what it would be like to have such strength of expression that it would overpower others just for them to read our words, just as Moroni was overpowered by the written words of the brother of Jared. You’ve probably thought this, and I know I have.

But today as I read this I began to wonder, why can’t we make our own language “pure and undefiled”? I started to think about what it would take for that to happen. Yes, English isn’t the Adamic tongue, but it is what we’ve got to work with at the moment, so why can’t we make that pure and undefiled?

So I started to think about what it might take to make our language pure and undefiled. Maybe it’s how we use our words that really makes a language that way. Wouldn’t speaking with both honesty and charity purify our language? Wouldn’t speaking with justice and mercy purify our language? Wouldn’t sharing the gospel purify our language? Wouldn’t expressing faith and trust (instead of doubt and distrust) purify our language?

What kind of things can you think of that we can do to make our language pure and undefiled?

Probing the story of Cain in Moses 5:12-27

There are several things that the Moses 5 account adds that are not in the Genesis version. In Genesis there is no mention of Adam and Eve having any children before Cain. But in Moses 5, we find Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters before Cain and Abel came on the scene, and those sons and daughters had begun to pair off and have children of their own. We find Adam and Eve striving to make all things known to their children, but their children chose not to believe and chose to love Satan more than God. (That phrase about loving Satan more than God is repeated three times in this chapter, which should draw our attention, and I will examine it more closely a little later.)

Poor Adam and Eve! They must have felt like they had failed as parents with all their children going wrong. It is in this context that we get verse 16:

And Adam and Eve, his wife, ceased not to call upon God. And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain, and said: I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words. But behold, Cain hearkened not, saying: Who is the Lord that I should know him?

Adam and Eve prayed unceasingly (probably for their wayward children) and the result of all this praying seems to be that Cain was conceived and born. Eve must have considered Cain an answer to her prayers, since she says, “I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words.” Clearly she hoped that he would give humanity a new start in righteousness or that he would teach and convert his other siblings. What a disappointment it must have been to her when Cain began to resist the duty and worship that he owed to God. Was he going the way of her other unbelieving children or could he yet be saved?

Cain’s words were “Who is the Lord that I should know him?” (There are two other people in scripture who asked this question—the Pharaoh who would not let the Israelites go out of bondage and King Noah in the Book of Mormon—and we know what happened to them, so clearly this isn’t a spiritually healthy question to ask…) But when I translate these into a more modern construction, I come up with “What’s the point of knowing the Lord?” or “Why should I care about knowing the Lord?” or “Why should I care what the Lord thinks?” There were some points in my life when I would ask questions similar to this, but it was before I gained my own testimony and it wasn’t necessarily with the attitude of rejecting the Lord, but more out of the puzzlement of “Why is it important to know the Lord? How can it benefit me?” I heard others testifying to the blessings they had received and I didn’t yet know for myself. At bottom I had a wish to know the Lord as others did. Perhaps Cain's question held a certain amount of contempt with pride at the bottom of it, an attitude of "Why do I need the Lord when I'm doing just fine?"

But back to the story.. After this disappointment with Cain, Eve then bore Abel, with little or no scriptural fanfare.

And she again conceived and bare his brother Abel. And Abel hearkened unto the voice of the Lord.

Abel actually listened to the Lord! I can’t help but wonder if Cain was under such high expectations that he felt he couldn’t deliver on them so he bucked them. And maybe Abel wasn’t under any pressure at all, so he wanted prove better than expected. That’s just me speculating though. We don't know enough about Eve's parenting style to give her the credit she fully deserves as the mother of all living.

It is interesting that the difference between Cain and Abel starts at whether they hearken to the Lord or not. It makes me ponder whether I am someone who hearkens to the Lord or not. I hear the voice of the Lord, but do I hearken? (Ponder, ponder, ponder..) Probably not as much as I should..

Then we are told that Cain loved Satan more than God. That is interesting because it shows that in some ways Cain did love God. Yet he also loved Satan...more. This sets up the tragedy of Cain’s fall as a case of divided loyalties. Cain's love of Satan more than God makes me think of one of those balance scales. From my heart I can say that God weighs more with me than the world, but I still have a liking for the praise of the world and money; that adds some weight to Satan’s side of my heart's scale and sometimes that prevents me from whole-heartedly serving the Lord. (Gotta work on that.) In Cain’s case, his love of the carnal, sensual, and devilish weighed more in his heart than his love of the holy, good, and virtuous. (Kind of makes you ponder about how much God weighs in your heart versus Satan, huh?)

Then we come to a peculiar twist in the story.

18 …And Satan commanded him [Cain], saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.
19 And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
20 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering;
21 But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. (Moses 5:18-21)

Satan commanded Cain to make an offering to the Lord. This is particularly puzzling because it seems like Satan is changing sides. However, we see what Satan’s motive was in verse 20-21. Satan meant for Cain to do what would eventually alienate him from God and break the tenuous ties that still held him to goodness. (We see here that just as God isn’t satisfied with only a part of our loyalty, neither is Satan satisfied with a part of our loyalty. It’s an all-or-nothing struggle on both sides.) How did Satan mean for an offering to alienate Cain from God rather than reconcile to God? By inciting Cain to give an offering in a way contrary to that which had been divinely appointed. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught:

Cain offered of the fruit of the ground, and was not accepted, because he could not do it in faith, he could have no faith, or could not exercise faith contrary to the plan of heaven. It must be shedding the blood of the Only Begotten to atone for man; for this was the plan of redemption; and without the shedding of blood was no remission; and as the sacrifice was instituted for a type, by which man was to discern the great Sacrifice which God had prepared; to offer a sacrifice contrary to that, no faith could be exercised, because redemption was not purchased in that way, nor the power of atonement instituted after that order; consequently Cain could have no faith; and whatsoever is not of faith, is sin” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith as quoted by The Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, p17)

God would not respect an offering that he had not appointed. Cain offered a sacrifice of plants rather than of flock firstlings and that was not in the similitude of Christ’s sacrifice, so it would not be confirmed by the presence of the Holy Ghost. I keep wondering why Cain didn't think of trading some of his crops for a proper sacrificial animal from Abel. Perhaps Cain had the pride and presumption to think that his offering would be accepted even though not given in due form (as he had been taught).

It is interesting that he had the spiritual perception to know the Lord had not accepted his offering. But instead of repenting, he chose to be angry, which is what Satan wanted.

22 And the Lord said unto Cain: Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen?
23 If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him;
24 For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world.
25 And it shall be said in time to come—That these abominations were had from Cain; for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I will put upon thee, except thou repent. (Moses 5:22-25)

Then we see the great mercy of God in attempting to warn Cain. It is amazing to me that we have this record of the Lord talking to Cain. Even though Cain loves Satan more than God, even though his offering was wrong, even though he is angry, God still talks to him. It shows the love God has for His children and how He tries to reclaim them and warn them when they go astray. It makes me wonder in what manner God spoke to Cain. Was it face to face? Was it through the Holy Ghost? Whatever way it was, Cain heard the voice of the Lord, even if he chose not to respond.

Verse 23 has a very powerful and simple principle. If we do well, we will be accepted. If we do not well, sin lies at the door and Satan wants to have us. Yet I’m not sure I quite understand exactly what it means to “do well.” Does it mean to do what the Lord wants, or does it mean to do one’s best, or is it a combination of those two? If it means to do what the Lord wants, then how would not doing well mean that sin lies at the door? I would think that not doing what the Lord wants would be sin, rather than the next thing to it. But it can’t mean merely to do one’s best because Saul/Paul did his best and yet was persecuting Christ and His church. So it seems doing well means to do what the Lord wants and doing our best.

Some clarification comes in the rest of verse 23: “except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire.” So as long as Cain would listen and do the commandments, Satan would never have his way with him, but if he rebelled, then the Lord would deliver Cain into Satan’s power. “And it shall be said in time to come--…he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God” (v25) This then is the background event that eventually led to Cain embracing murder and secret combinations. He rejected the greater counsel of God (divinely mandated sacrifice), so he was left to himself and fell into darkness and abominations. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith taught:

Cain had the great honor of being Adam’s son, and he, too, was privileged with the same blessings as his father. What a mighty man he could have been! How his name might have stood out with excellent luster as that of one of the valiant sons of God! How he might have been honored to the latest generation! But he would have none of it!

Cain’s great sin was not committed in ignorance. We have every reason to believe that he had the privilege of standing in the presence of messengers from heaven. In fact the scriptures infer that he was blessed by communication with the Father and was instructed by messengers from his presence. No doubt he held the Priesthood; otherwise his sin could not make him Perdition. He sinned against the light. And this he did, so we are told, because he loved Satan more than he loved God.” (Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, as quoted by The Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, p17)

This story shows the true seriousness of rejecting the truth. When the truth is rejected, one has nothing left but to fritter away their time and fall into lies and sin. It also shows how important it is to make our offerings in the divinely appointed way. Any other way leads not to at-one-ment with God, but to alienation from God, and it pleases Satan. We also see that God reaches out in mercy to those making unauthorized offerings and tries to help them learn to do it the right way. And too, our view of Cain becomes more complex. He wasn't totally bad all the way through, at least not in the beginning. Rather, he was a mix of good and evil. He heard the voice of the Lord (good), but he didn't listen. He loved God (good), but he loved Satan more. He offered a sacrifice (good) but it was the wrong kind and contrary to divine commandments. He sensed that his offering was rejected (good), but he chose to get angry about it. This makes the story of Cain into a greater warning for us, as it is a story about the first person to corrupt holy ordinances. He had the greater counsel from God (to sacrifice in similitude of the Only Begotten and to do well in the priesthood) and then he rejected it.

Abel is a contrast to Cain in this story. While Cain refuses to hearken to the Lord, Abel chooses to hearken. While Cain tills the soil, Abel tends the flocks. While Cain offers a wrong sacrifice, Abel offers a correct sacrifice. While Cain’s sacrifice is rejected, Abel’s is accepted. While Cain was angry at the rejection of his sacrifice, though the scripture doesn’t say, undoubtedly Abel was filled with joy and the Holy Ghost at the acceptance of his sacrifice. While Cain refused to hearken any more to the voice of the Lord (or his brother Abel), Abel walked in holiness (and seems to have attempted to teach Cain and perhaps his other siblings). Abel, though the younger brother, was an excellent example. Cain could not fail to notice this, and perhaps his envy led him to covet Abel’s flocks.

After studying the story of Cain and the background in Moses 4-5, I can see from looking at Genesis 3-4 the major holes that existed that Joseph Smith was filling in through revelation.

For instance, in Genesis 4:3-4, it says Cain and Abel both brought offerings to the Lord but it is the first mention in the Bible of any ordinance of that kind. This must have puzzled Joseph Smith and he asked for revelation. Then it was revealed to him that if Cain and Abel knew to offer sacrifices to the Lord, their father Adam had to have been commanded and taught to offer sacrifices as well. And further, Adam had to learn the meaning of those sacrifices. And again, Adam and Eve had to have been blessed with the witness of the Holy Ghost for their obedience. Thus, Adam would teach his children the same things he was taught and this could only be the way for Cain to rebel, if he previously knew the right way, was tempted, and decided to go against the right way.

I recommend a careful comparison between Genesis 4 and Moses 5 to fully appreciate the great gift that Moses 5 is to us.

Image 1: http://www.medicalscale1.com/2010/12/03/balance-scale-7/
Image 2: Wikipedia, "Cain and Abel," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cain_and_Abel

Temple symbolism to ponder

Here is Paul speaking of the temple:

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; (Hebrews 10:19-20, emphasis added)

Consider that little gem. If the temple veil symbolizes Christ’s flesh, then what might that add to our understanding of the marks upon it? (see also John 20:26-27) What meaning does this add to our understanding of the garment?

I will boast of my God

“I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things” (Alma 26:12)

This struck me as a great way to begin missionary work to our friends and neighbors. Boasting of our God can show our respect for God and His power and show our enthusiasm for what He has done for us. That can build interest, curiosity, and desire in others to want that for themselves.

So, to try it myself, I have to say that one awesome thing about the Lord is that every time I’ve asked to understand something, He has helped. He’s blessed me to learn so many things about the scriptures. He’s also blessed me with ways to share things I’ve learned so that many other people can learn those things too!

It is really amazing that the Lord is so powerful, He can use the weakest of His servants to do His mighty works. He can even use the opposition to jumpstart His own work. He can bring the greatest blessings out of the greatest sacrifices and make the greatest sinners into the greatest saints when they turn themselves over to Him.

What can you boast of our God?

Whoso climbeth up by me shall never fall

“whoso…climbeth up by me shall never fall” (Moses 7:53)

This is a very simple idea, but it also has embedded in it some important principles which are taught using the image of climbing to a higher place.

A climber has to grab something to pull on and push off of it to make any progress. They have to be supported by something. In the above line, Enoch learns that in life, Jesus is that support. A climber has to believe that what they hold on to will not move and will fully support their weight. Likewise, we must believe that Jesus can fully support the weight of our sins and sorrows. We must believe that His grace is all-sufficient.

The other thing we learn is that even though Jesus is our support, we make no progress without climbing. Our total effort and commitment is required.

One final thing I learn from this line is how necessary it is to make sure we are climbing by Christ and not by something else. I’ve done some climbing of rocks and (small) cliffs and learned that sometimes what I thought was a secure handhold loosens. (I learned to test my hold before putting my full weight on it.) If we try to climb up by anything besides Christ, those supports will ultimately fail and we will fall.

I'll give you a recent, rather painful example of how real this principle has become for me. For the last year I have been trying to become a seminary teacher. That’s what I wanted to do. Last week I was told that I had not been chosen to become one, and there was no opportunity to try again. I thought a position as seminary teacher would be perfect for me. I could think of so many ways that I had been prepared for something like that. Now I have no idea what to do instead. I’ve been praying for help to know what I should do. I’ve also begun to encounter subtle temptations from Satan; he tries to get me to think that because I’ve been refused, none of that gospel stuff and scripture stuff really matters any more, since I won’t have a job teaching it. Blatantly false, I know, but I still have to resist it. And the non-acceptance into seminary teacher-land has thrown me for a loop to the point that I’ve felt spiritually like I’m falling.

So this is why the above line from the scriptures has struck me as so precious. I’ve thought, If I feel like I’m falling, then perhaps I was not climbing up by Christ and was climbing up by seminary teacher-ness. Somehow, imperceptibly, I got off the real support onto something that could fail me and drop me. I’m trying to learn the difference between a temporal support (job) with spiritual elements and a true spiritual support.

In no way do I fault those instrumental in my rejection as a candidate. I’m not a perfect teacher and I know some of my faults; other candidates were better than I at connecting with teens.

For now and always, I have to climb up by Christ; any other way will drop me.

Will you tell me about a time when you had to learn this through difficult experience?

Image: Watchmojo, http://www.watchmojo.com/blog/health/tag/rock%20climbing/

Things pertaining to a higher order

I really like the Maps application on my ipad because it makes it possible for me to zoom in and zoom out on the world. I can look at the world in so many views. I can see satellite images, or I can have street names superimposed on those images, and I can see terrain and buildings. It is almost like going somewhere and getting a bird’s eye view. When I read about different places, I like to go to my Maps application and discover those places so that they can become more real to me. As I've been reading Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, I've looked up some of the places to understand the geography better. (I wish it had the capability of telling me what the scale is of what I am seeing. I also wish I could know longitude and latitude.) Nevertheless, this application is amazing to me. Occasionally when the urge hits, I "wander around" North, South, and Central America, looking for anything that might fit vaguely with Book of Mormon geography. Zooming in and zooming out in satellite view, I feel like I can get a sense of what it must be like for God to see the big picture of what is going on globally and also know on the very small scale of what is going on with each person. (Granted, it is a very limited sense, but still, it teaches me about how vast His vision is, and yet how much He cares for 'the one.') I remember back in 2000 or 2001 when supercomputers were donated to BYU that could render these images so you could zoom in and zoom out on earth smoothly as if you were in a rocket rising or an asteroid falling. The ipad doesn’t zoom in or out quite as smoothly, but it does allow the same kind of global or magnified view.

As I was thinking about this recently, some scriptures came to my mind.

Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer. (Mosiah 8:13, emphasis added)

Computers are starting to remind me of Urim and Thummims these days. They can show us so many things, we just have to be aware that there are some things we should not look for. I’m finding that I get the best use my ipad and my computer when I have a specific purpose to sit down and use them. I suppose this great technology is a gift and also a test to see if we will look for the things God commands us to look for or whether we will look for things we ought not that will spiritually kill us. In a certain sense, it is preparation for this glorious future:

9 This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ’s.
10 Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known; (D&C 130:9-10, emphasis added)

I love that idea that we will have things pertaining to a higher order revealed to us. But I don’t want to wait for that; I want to search for things of a higher order now. I suppose that if that is what I search for, that is what I will find.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ipadfix/4498992951/

Lessons from Moses 1 about resisting Satan

In this chapter we are treated to three great experiences Moses had--seeing God, being tempted by Satan, and seeing God again. Recently I’ve been looking at the encounter he had with Satan and studying it.

10 And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.
11 But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.
12 And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.
13 And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?
14 For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were transfigured before him. But I can look upon thee in the natural man. Is it not so, surely?
15 Blessed be the name of my God, for his Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me, or else where is thy glory, for it is darkness unto me? And I can judge between thee and God; for God said unto me: Worship God, for him only shalt thou serve.
16 Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten.
17 And he also gave me commandments when he called unto me out of the burning bush, saying: Call upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and worship me.
18 And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him: for his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee. Depart hence, Satan.
19 And now, when Moses had said these words, Satan cried with a loud voice, and ranted upon the earth, and commanded, saying: I am the Only Begotten, worship me.
20 And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength, and he commanded, saying: Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory.
21 And now Satan began to tremble, and the earth shook; and Moses received strength, and called upon God, saying: In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan.
22 And it came to pass that Satan cried with a loud voice, with weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and he departed hence, even from the presence of Moses, that he beheld him not.
23 And now of this thing Moses bore record; but because of wickedness it is not had among the children of men. (Moses 1:10-23)

I decided to highlight some of the phrases that are repeated because it indicates a pattern, and when patterns emerge, there is something important to learn.

First, note how many times Moses says something like “depart hence, Satan.” (I highlighted it in orange.) From the very beginning, Moses wants Satan to go away. He says it four times, yet Satan keeps trying to get at him. (Only after the last time, when Moses commands in the name of the Only Begotten, does Satan obey.) So this should tell us that Satan does not take no for an answer and we have to stay firm and not give an inch.

There are some places where it is easy to think that Moses is starting to wander in his reasons for resisting Satan’s demand for worship. He starts out by comparing Satan’s lack of glory with God’s glory. We can grasp that; he’s just seen God after all. But then he says, “deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten.” (v16) I didn’t see how this was connected to Satan’s demand for worship. After a while I began to suspect that it wasn't meant to be connected; maybe it indicates that Satan was also tempting Moses in other ways that Moses did not record. If Moses recalled God’s words that he was in the similitude of the Only Begotten, perhaps Satan had also tried to get Moses to doubt what God had told him about his similitude and even denigrate his body because of the weakness Moses had been left in. Then Moses says, “[God] also gave me commandments when he called unto me out of the burning bush, saying: Call upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and worship me” (v17). This shows that Satan must have been trying to convince Moses that he didn’t need to pray any more after having had such a glorious vision of God and seeing so great things. (Insidious, huh?)

Moses is able to resist by remembering the commandments he had been given and remembering what he had been told about his identity. He had been told by God that he was a son of God, so he held to that.

Up to this point, Moses has been using logic according to the commandments to unveil Satan’s deceptions. And too he can judge Satan’s lack of glory compared with God’s. This is when Satan drops all pretense of politeness and tries to manipulate with spiritual abuse and strong emotional displays. (I highlighted this in red.) He cries with a loud voice, rants on the earth, and commands Moses to worship him as the Only Begotten. I looked up “rant” on my dictionary widget and it said “speak or shout in a wild, impassioned way.” All this to try to make Moses think he was wrong to resist and that he’s in spiritual danger. (To some extent, Moses does begin to feel he’s in danger; he begins to fear and senses the bitterness of hell, but he calls on God for strength.) Satan also tries to make Moses think Satan has power over the elements; Satan trembles at the same time that there is an earthquake, hoping Moses will think the two coinciding events are connected somehow. (Moses still resists with prayer and commands Satan to leave in the name of the Only Begotten.) Satan has to leave, but not before he vents all his frustration with weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

I have a few observations about this.

First, I notice that Moses resists Satan’s temptations and attacks by remembering to pray and continuing to call on God. (I highlighted in green all the prayer stuff.) Using logic and the commandments works at the beginning, but when Satan started attacking, Moses resorted to prayer for strength. This shows us that it is true that if we pray always, we will come off conqueror and conquer Satan (and his servants). It might be easy to look at this story and say that prayer didn’t work because each time Moses prayed Satan kept trying stuff. The truth is that each prayer Moses prayed helped him resist the particular tactic Satan was trying at that time, so little by little, Moses was conquering Satan through prayer. At the end, Moses commanded Satan to depart in the name of the Only Begotten, using his priesthood. Clearly priesthood has power over Satan.

I notice that Moses knows exactly who this entity is who is after him and he never ceases to call him “Satan,” even when Satan demands to be worshipped and identified as the Only Begotten, trying to usurp Christ’s identity.

I really think that this story ranks in value next to the account of Satan tempting Jesus in the Bible. The value of Moses’s record arises from the great detail about Satan’s different attempts to snare Moses and the ways that Moses resists and overcomes Satan. As I studied this, I found that the same attacks that Satan used on Moses, Satan has used on me—the loud voice, the ranting, the commanding, the fear, the bitterness, the weeping, the wailing, the teeth-gnashing. (Not that Satan appeared to me, but he still used these tactics on my spirit.)

The tricky thing is, when Satan makes you think he is from God and tells you to do what he says, it makes you feel like you can’t pray because you fear that the prayer’s answer will just be the same thing again. So it makes you feel like you can’t pray, that you’re stopped in your progression, and resistance will bring about your apostasy and you’ll go to hell. It’s really hard to pray then, but pray we must. That’s what Moses did, and he received strength. That’s what I must do, instead of being pulled down into depression, guilt, fear, and self-loathing about my resistance.

I anticipate that this story will help me discern such tactics in the future and I have faith that the Lord will help me conquer Satan through prayer and the priesthood.

Update: The question that we all end up asking ourselves about this story is, "Why did Satan come so immediately after Moses had seen God?" I happened to stumble upon the answer quite by accident tonight.

Satan comes in our moments of weakness. Moses was in a moment of physical weakness after having seen God. Furthermore, he had been overwhelmed by the glory of God and said, "Now I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed." It is at this moment that Satan jumps in and tries to use Moses's insight against him. If Moses thinks man is nothing, perhaps he will be sufficently impressed with Satan and worship him. Anything ought to be better than man, right? This shows that it does not do to think too little of ourselves, just as it is harmful to think too much of ourselves. Satan will use either against us.