America before the Word of Wisdom

We have all heard the stories about the incidents that prompted D&C 89.  The school of the prophets would meet and the elders would dirty the floor chewing tobacco that they spit liberally in all directions, and they’d fill the room with smoke from their pipes as they discussed the doctrines of Zion.  Emma Smith had to clean up all that yuck from the floor in the evening and she complained to her husband about it, and then he asked the Lord about it and received the Word of Wisdom.

We might be inclined to think that for some reason the elders of the church were major slobs to spit tobacco all over, but actually their behavior was typical in various American cities at that time.  So typical, in fact, that Charles Dickens commented freely on his observations in his travelogue American Notes.

As Washington may be called the head-quarters of tobacco-tinctured saliva, the time is come when I must confess, without any disguise, that the prevalence of those two odious practices of chewing and expectorating began about this time to be anything but agreeable, and soon became most offensive and sickening. In all the public places of America, this filthy custom is recognised. In the courts of law, the judge has his spittoon, the crier his, the witness his, and the prisoner his; while the jurymen and spectators are provided for, as so many men who in the course of nature must desire to spit incessantly. In the hospitals, the students of medicine are requested, by notices upon the wall, to eject their tobacco juice into the boxes provided for that purpose, and not to discolour the stairs. In public buildings, visitors are implored, through the same agency, to squirt the essence of their quids, or ‘plugs,’ as I have heard them called by gentlemen learned in this kind of sweetmeat, into the national spittoons, and not about the bases of the marble columns. But in some parts, this custom is inseparably mixed up with every meal and morning call, and with all the transactions of social life. The stranger, who follows in the track I took myself, will find it in its full bloom and glory, luxuriant in all its alarming recklessness, at Washington. And let him not persuade himself (as I once did, to my shame) that previous tourists have exaggerated its extent. The thing itself is an exaggeration of nastiness, which cannot be outdone.

On board this steamboat, there were two young gentlemen, with shirt-collars reversed as usual, and armed with very big walking-sticks; who planted two seats in the middle of the deck, at a distance of some four paces apart; took out their tobacco-boxes; and sat down opposite each other, to chew. In less than a quarter of an hour’s time, these hopeful youths had shed about them on the clean boards, a copious shower of yellow rain; clearing, by that means, a kind of magic circle, within whose limits no intruders dared to come, and which they never failed to refresh and re-refresh before a spot was dry. This being before breakfast, rather disposed me, I confess, to nausea; but looking attentively at one of the expectorators, I plainly saw that he was young in chewing, and felt inwardly uneasy, himself. A glow of delight came over me at this discovery; and as I marked his face turn paler and paler, and saw the ball of tobacco in his left cheek, quiver with his suppressed agony, while yet he spat, and chewed, and spat again, in emulation of his older friend, I could have fallen on his neck and implored him to go on for hours….

The Senate is a dignified and decorous body, and its proceedings are conducted with much gravity and order. Both houses are handsomely carpeted; but the state to which these carpets are reduced by the universal disregard of the spittoon with which every honourable member is accommodated, and the extraordinary improvements on the pattern which are squirted and dabbled upon it in every direction, do not admit of being described. I will merely observe, that I strongly recommend all strangers not to look at the floor; and if they happen to drop anything, though it be their purse, not to pick it up with an ungloved hand on any account.

It is somewhat remarkable too, at first, to say the least, to see so many honourable members with swelled faces; and it is scarcely less remarkable to discover that this appearance is caused by the quantity of tobacco they contrive to stow within the hollow of the cheek. It is strange enough too, to see an honourable gentleman leaning back in his tilted chair with his legs on the desk before him, shaping a convenient ‘plug’ with his penknife, and when it is quite ready for use, shooting the old one from his mouth, as from a pop-gun, and clapping the new one in its place.

I was surprised to observe that even steady old chewers of great experience, are not always good marksmen, which has rather inclined me to doubt that general proficiency with the rifle, of which we have heard so much in England. Several gentlemen called upon me who, in the course of conversation, frequently missed the spittoon at five paces; and one (but he was certainly short-sighted) mistook the closed sash for the open window, at three. On another occasion, when I dined out, and was sitting with two ladies and some gentlemen round a fire before dinner, one of the company fell short of the fireplace, six distinct times. I am disposed to think, however, that this was occasioned by his not aiming at that object; as there was a white marble hearth before the fender, which was more convenient, and may have suited his purpose better. (1)

I remember when I first read this I was simply amazed that such a dirty and disgusting habit could have been so widespread and socially acceptable.  It gave me a deeper sense of what a revolutionary concept it would be for our church members in that time to learn that tobacco was not for the body or the belly.   I had an instant appreciation for the messes that we don’t have to clean up now that this is no longer a common practice in our society.  And too, a look at some pictures of decayed and rotting mouths of teeth caused by frequent tobacco chewing caused me to appreciate the greatly increased health we enjoy now.

As I was working on this post, I started to wonder at what point in our history people decided that spitting tobacco was bad.  Michael Pekker had a bit of insight on his blog about smoking tobacco.

When the germ theory was proven in the late 19^th century, public reform efforts began targeting unsanitary practices, such as spitting, which could spread disease.  Public opinion turned against spitting tobacco, and laws were framed that made spitting unlawful in public places.  (2)

Might we have spiritual habits that are just as ugly and unhealthy which we wouldn’t see without an outsider telling us how gross they are?

Sources

(1)  (Charles Dickens, American Notes, chapter 8) [http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/americannotes/9/]

(2)  Michael Pekker, “Chewing Tobacco: History, Specifics, and Health Effects”, http://smoking-tobacco.blogspot.com/2011/05/chewing-tobacco-history-specifics-and.html

Why tell us that Eve was made out of Adam's rib?

18 And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten, that it was not good that the man should be alone; wherefore, I will make an help meet for him….

 21 And I, the Lord God, caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept, and I took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof;

 22 And the rib which I, the Lord God, had taken from man, made I a woman, and brought her unto the man.

 23 And Adam said: This I know now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.

 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.

 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Moses 3:18, 21-25)

I’ve always thought the rib story was odd; in particular, the words Adam says puzzled me.  Because God made Eve out of one of Adam’s ribs, Adam says, “This I know now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.”  It’s like Adam woke up, saw Eve and says, “Hey!  That’s my rib!  We’re ‘sposed to get married and stay together; I can’t have my rib wandering around without me!”  Why would Adam think Eve had one of his ribs?  And why would he decide the whole of her was his bone and his flesh because of this?

President Spencer W. Kimball taught that Eve was not literally created from Adam’s rib. He said: “The story of the rib, of course, is figurative” ( “The Blessings and Responsibilities of Womanhood,” Ensign, Mar. 1976, 71).   But if the rib story is figurative, then why is it in there?  Harold B. Lee said:

Marriage is a partnership. Someone has observed that in the Bible account of the creation woman was not formed from a part of man’s head, suggesting that she might rule over him, nor from a part of a man’s foot that she was to be trampled under his feet. Woman was taken from man’s side as though to emphasize the fact that she was always to be by his side as a partner and companion. At the marriage altar you are pledged to each other from that day to pull the load together in double harness. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee [2000], p. 109)

This might describe why the rib is used and not some other part of the body, but why say that Eve was created from part of Adam at all? 

One idea that occurred to me was that maybe Adam didn’t have any way to communicate the abstract principles of soul synchrony and personality compatibility.  Maybe the rib story was meant to communicate that.  If I couldn’t use those abstract words, I might resort to saying an equivalent of Adam’s words, something like, “My husband’s got a piece of me in him.  God must have taken a part of me out while I was asleep and made him out of it.” 

Biblical culture considered the reins (the kidneys) to be the center of feeling and the heart to be the center of thought.  (Seems kinda odd, but once you realize that, a lot of things start to make more sense, like phrases like, “his bowels were moved with compassion.”)  So saying that Eve had one of Adam’s ribs would be like saying, “She and I think a lot alike.”  (Adam couldn’t say, “She’s got my heart,” because that would be like saying, “She does all the thinking for me.”)

If we see the rib story teaches about Adam and Eve’s compatibility as partners, then the statement about how a man should cleave to his wife and be one flesh with her teaches about taking compatibility and creating a relationship of unity.  (We know from D&C 121:41 that it is to happen with persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned, kindness, and pure knowledge.) 

Although it is Adam who says, “This is bone of my bones,” I think Eve had to realize Adam was bone of her bones too, otherwise she wouldn’t have gone along with it.  She probably felt like the Lord took a piece of her and made Adam with it, and Adam just gets the glory of giving the account from his perspective.  

Verse 22 has another neat thing in it.  “And the rib which I, the Lord God, had taken from man, made I a woman, and brought her unto the man” (emphasis added).  That says to me that it is the Lord that brings a couple together so they can meet and marry. 

When you think about it, this teaching about taking compatibility and making a united marriage is a pretty amazing message to put at the beginning of the scriptures. 

If you are married, how did you meet your spouse?  At what point did you discover your compatibility?  What kind of compatibilities did you discover?  

I met my husband at BYU's Electronic Engineering Technology Department where we both worked as student employees. The first point of compatibility I discovered with him was that our senses of humor were very similar and he seemed to make me laugh really easily. I liked that he seemed to have similar media viewing standards to me and he was committed to the gospel.

How about you?

De-cluttering counsel: Seek not to be cumbered

“Seek not to be cumbered…” (D&C 66:10)

This simple, but powerful line is very helpful for a bunch of different situations relating to dealing with our goods, both to de-clutter and to remain de-cluttered.

To be “cumbered” means to be restricted, restrained, bounded, limited, or curbed, so when we are cumbered by our stuff, we are restricted by the large amounts we have.

How can seeking not to be cumbered help us?

It can help us at the store when we find things we like and want to buy.  If our goal is to keep from being cumbered, then we have a license to be incredibly picky about what we buy and bring home.  It means that we can think before we plunk down our money.  While we often think about how things will help us, we can also think realistically about the demands those things will put on us.  It will eventually get dirty.  How will we clean it?  Where will we keep it?  Is there room for it?  Will it fill all the needs it can possibly fill?  There have been many times that I have looked at a product, liked it, but have refrained from buying it because I had no idea how to care for it and didn’t want the stress (or guilt) of living with the duty of cleaning and caring for it.  If we follow that single instruction – seek not to be cumbered – it can help us avoid impulsive buying, which causes clutter.  It takes practice at first and a lot of conscious thought, but if we work at it, it can become second nature.  

I was trying to think of an example to share and I realized that so much of my thinking about this has become automatic now that examples I came up with were from when I was first practicing the technique.  I remember contemplating a sheepskin rug at IKEA because I liked the fuzzy factor, but I couldn't figure out how I would clean it once it got dirty. Vacuum?  Washing machine? Beat it with a tennis racket?  If I put it somewhere out of the way, it would stay clean, but then I would hardly enjoy it as much as I liked.  If I used it often, it would get dirty faster.  Finally I just decided to forget the idea.

"Seek not to be cumbered" can also help us when we are trying to get rid of clutter; it can change our focus from finding excuses to keep things to finding excuses to let go of things.  

You know what things are burdening you and holding you back, so let them go.  Let go of the broken things you haven’t had time to fix and don’t know how.  Let go of the mismatches, the outgrown clothes, the unread magazines and newspapers, the books you haven’t looked at, the movies you haven’t watched, the craft supplies you haven’t touched. 

My LDS rug designing phase

About eight years ago, I went through a phase when I was convinced that I was going to be a rug designer.  My idea was to design rugs for the LDS market.  I thought it would be cool to market these rugs as "Family Prayer Rugs."  Sort of like Muslim prayer rugs, but with a Mormon twist, ya know?

I'm going to show you the best of my designs.  They are not the most polished of graphics and the lines can be a bit crooked in places, but I put a lot of heart into them.  When I look at them, I feel like they are kind of cartoony, but deep down I still wish that someday they might actually become rugs.

These first two I did in very different styles, though they were focused on the same scripture.

This next one has a scripture from Proverbs about how the heavens declare the glory of God, but I chose a color for the text that was too near the background color, so you can't even really see it.  But I still like it because I have this thing for astronomy.

I've always liked that scripture about how a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

This next one is a little bit psycho, but that's probably why I like it.  Probably not the best idea for a rug.  Can you imagine stepping on those eyes?

This next design--I couldn't get those feather barbs right.  But imagine having this as a rug on your living room floor.  In no other way can you gratify your pride and wound it at the same time! ;-)

This one is like ying and yang, but Mormon.

The next one has one of my favorite scriptures on it.

I'm enthralled with ancient American hieroglyphics.  To me, they are like voices from the dust. 

So there you go.  What do you think?  You like, you buy? (said in my best Persian rug dealer accent)

How to build a city called Zion?

We Latter-day Saints yearn for the day when Zion in Missouri will begin to be built up.  We yearn to take part in that process.  We speculate occasionally about how it will begin, and our speculations can get pretty wild.

I suspect that the Lord has already made it plenty clear how it will begin and we already have this pattern well-established.

50 And I give unto my servant Sidney Rigdon a commandment, that he shall write a description of the land of Zion, and a statement of the will of God, as it shall be made known by the Spirit unto him;

 51 And an epistle and subscription, to be presented unto all the churches to obtain moneys, to be put into the hands of the bishop, of himself or the agent, as seemeth him good or as he shall direct, to purchase lands for an inheritance for the children of God.

 52 For, behold, verily I say unto you, the Lord willeth that the disciples and the children of men should open their hearts, even to purchase this whole region of country, as soon as time will permit.

 53 Behold, here is wisdom. Let them do this lest they receive none inheritance, save it be by the shedding of blood.

 54 And again, inasmuch as there is land obtained, let there be workmen sent forth of all kinds unto this land, to labor for the saints of God.

 55 Let all these things be done in order; and let the privileges of the lands be made known from time to time, by the bishop or the agent of the church.

 56 And let the work of the gathering be not in haste, nor by flight; but let it be done as it shall be counseled by the elders of the church at the conferences, according to the knowledge which they receive from time to time. (D&C 58:50-56)

So here’s the process as I understand it:

1.     All the churches will be invited (whether by First Presidency letter to each unit or by general conference announcement) to give money to purchase land for Zion.  All the church will be invited to open their hearts to purchase the land.

2.     Workmen will be sent to labor for the Saints.

3.     All things must be done in order, meaning it is an organized process and can’t be done out of order without problems occurring, so you have to be patient.  (In the 1830s, revelation from the Lord was given that those who were to go up to Zion were to be recommended by their bishop to go, and one of the problems was that a number of people didn’t wait for a recommend and just went on their own.  The Lord gave revelation about them in D&C 85, and if you read that, you will see He wasn’t pleased.)

4.     The privileges of the lands were to be known from time to time.  This could be land use or knowledge as to who should come to the land next.

5.     The gathering was not to be in haste, nor by flight.  It’s not supposed to be like a refugee camp.  It is a gradual, organized growth, probably with people chosen by revelation.

6.     It will be done as counseled by the elders of the church at the conferences, according to the knowledge they receive from time to time.  Revelation is very much involved, as is study through counsels of the church, and possibly by common consent, since it is at the conferences.

Thus, when we “return to Zion,” it isn’t going to be a mass exodus, an exit pursued by mob, but a gradual process of growth, which we will qualify ourselves to participate in by opening our hearts to give money for the purchase of the land.  That purchase will test our faith because it may seem as though we might not personally benefit from it.  It may seem as though we are purchasing land for others to live on and enjoy.  But verse 53 suggests it is necessary for us to do it to receive OUR inheritance.  “Let them do this lest they receive none inheritance, save it be by the shedding of blood.”

(This made me think about what I would be willing to give if I were called upon to help purchase lands for Zion.  I hesitate to mention this, but I think I would be willing to sell our house, give the proceeds, and live in an apartment.) 

Is the above process exactly how it is going to be?  I don’t know.  Will there be any changes due to economic circumstances or conditions?  There might.  But in general, I think it will be about the same as revealed.

[HEARSAY ALERT] 

Now, I have heard that bishops around Independence, Missouri have had troubles in the past with families who appear suddenly at church and say, “Well, we’re here; we just had a feeling we should come,” These families come without a job or even a place to stay and yet expect the bishop to help them out.  I leave it to you to decide whether their coming was inspiration or irresponsibility.  Surely this kind of problem no longer happens… (ahem)

[END HEARSAY ALERT]

I think that it is not enough for us to forsake the world.  It seems to me that we must have something better to embrace.  (Nature abhors a vacuum..)  We can’t leave Babylon behind unless we have Zion firmly in view.  We have to figure out what we need to do differently and what to do in addition to what we already do. 

We don’t know how long it will be before the city of Zion begins to be established.

But what if….  What if you knew that Zion was 5 years in the future?  What would you choose differently in your life?  How would that change your focus and your conversation or the way you planned for the future or what you planned for? 

I ask because I wonder how much prep time we need for studying for Zion and changing for Zion and experimenting for Zion.   What do you feel you need to learn in order to be a part of Zion?  I’m not sure I can even answer that question myself, which means I have some studying and self-examination to do.

While we're thinking about what we need to learn, check out this Ted-talk video about "collaborative consumption."  Collaborative consumption means having access to certain goods we happen to need only briefly without needing to own them.  What do you think?

Lead us not into temptation

There are differences between how the King James version of the Bible renders the Lord’s prayer and how the Joseph Smith translation renders it. 

KJV

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matt. 6:13, emphasis added)

JST

…And suffer us not to be led into temptation… (Matt 6:13)

If you’ve ever Googled Matt. 6:13, you’ll know that there are oodles of webpages written by people attempting to explain “And lead us not into temptation.”  It makes it seem like God may lead us into temptation and we pray to prevent Him from doing so.  We are right to be disturbed by this choice of words; it makes God out to be malicious and a companion of the devil. 

The JST shows us that actually God doesn’t lead us into temptation, but suffers us to go there because of our stubbornness and free will to choose.  So, we are to pray “suffer us not to be led into temptation, but deliver us from evil” when we have finally decided we want nothing more to do with temptation or sin of any kind, and we prefer to get the Lord’s help in resisting and escaping.

It has to be understood that if we pray that the Lord never more allow us to get into temptation, we have to be pretty dang determined ourselves to not allow it either.

This brings me to a question.  Does being led into temptation mean that we find the temptation enticing, or does it mean that we have already been enticed and we’re giving in?

I suppose that it would mean finding a sin enticing because if you can keep from finding a sin enticing, then that would certainly keep you safe from it.

I’ve had a few experiences when I was confronted with a temptation that seemed so dark and insidious that I felt I was in great danger of falling and I had to pray with all the energy I could muster in order to escape.  I can testify that I was saved from those temptations.  Now, if only I could remember to pray to escape the little everyday temptations too..

Have you had any experiences you can share when you’ve prayed to be saved from temptation?

Ether's great and marvelous prophecies

3 For he [Ether] did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled—

 4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

 5 And it came to pass that Ether did prophesy great and marvelous things unto the people, which they did not believe, because they saw them not. (Ether 12:3-5)

2 For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof;

 3 And that it was the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.

 4 Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land.

 5 And he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence Lehi should come—after it should be destroyed it should be built up again, a holy city unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a new Jerusalem for it had been in a time of old; but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel—

 6 And that a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type.

 7 For as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died there; wherefore, the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph that they should perish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph that he should perish not.

 8 Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded, until the end come when the earth shall pass away.

 9 And there shall be a new heaven and a new earth; and they shall be like unto the old save the old have passed away, and all things have become new.

 10 And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell therein, for it is they whose garments are white through the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the seed of Joseph, who were of the house of Israel.

 11 And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father, Abraham.

 12 And when these things come, bringeth to pass the scripture which saith, there are they who were first, who shall be last; and there are they who were last, who shall be first. (Ether 13:2-13)

In these verses we find out several interesting things.  We find out that Ether prophesied to the Jaredites to believe in God unto repentance and that their land was a choice land given for the purpose of serving God and it would someday be the place of the New Jerusalem that would come down out of heaven and the new Jerusalem that would be built up by the remnant of Joseph. 

It seems Ether told the Jaredites all about the house of Israel, about Joseph in Egypt and about Jerusalem.  Moroni gives us a very basic summary of the things Ether prophesied and it is with satisfaction that we can see that those parts were verified.  But a significant part of it is still in the future for us too.

From a strictly existential point of view, Ether’s prophecies were incomprehensible to the Jaredites, since most of it concerned people they didn’t know in a land they would never see during their lives, in times far past and far to come.  To them, it would seem like Ether’s prophecies had no bearing on practical living.  His words would seem unverifiable.

However, if we look closely, we can see that those prophecies did have a practical purpose  The words Ether shared about the building up of the holy city and the coming of the New Jerusalem from heaven upon the Jaredite lands was set before them as the promise of a better world for which they could prepare themselves.

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God. (Ether 12:4, emphasis added)

It was sad that the Jaredites did not believe these things because they did not see them (Ether 12:5), and the sad irony is that if they had seen them, they would not have been prepared for them.

Even if the New Jerusalem was not something they would see during the Jaredite time in mortality, the time would come when all the righteous would be resurrected and live together with God, and in order to be part of that, they would have to prepare now.

How does this apply to us today?  In the same way as it did to the Jaredites.  We have to prepare now to be part of that better world. 

The parable of the humiliated guest

7 ¶And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,

8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;

9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.

10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 14:7-11)

 This parable of Jesus’s has no explanation attached, which probably means that it was so plain and clear to those it was given to that it seemed to need no explanation.  It says humble yourself so that you don’t get humiliated when someone is preferred and honored above you.  If it weren’t that the text tells us that Jesus was speaking a parable, we probably wouldn’t know it as a parable.  We’d think it was just a commandment.

But I found there are still some things to learn from this parable if we look at it from an eternal perspective.  The invitation to the wedding is the invitation to eternal life and membership in God’s kingdom.  It seems God’s kingdom has higher and lower rooms.  The host is Christ Himself.  It seems that there may be some jockeying for the “good spots” before the host comes and the celebration starts.

When Christ speaks of the host moving guests higher or lower between the rooms, He speaks of the final judgment when every man’s works will be known and rewarded according to whether they are good or evil.  These guests at the wedding feast are good; they are the ones who listened to the invitation.  (Later in the same chapter Christ will give the parable about those who refuse the invitation to the wedding feast.)  But the guests at this wedding feast are sorted according to the honor they are worthy of (which we can surmise comes from the faithfulness they demonstrated) and each receives honor accordingly. 

So we see plainly how presumptuous it would be to expect the highest honors at the very beginning for just having responded to the invitation.  We really don’t know how much honor we are worthy of or how to rate our claims in comparison to each other.  The host hasn’t arrived yet, and the host is the one best able to tell the degree to which each person is worthy of honor.   We just know we will receive honor, so it is best to rate your claims low at the beginning.

From this perspective, we learn that it is best for us not to exalt ourselves for our faithfulness, since there may always be someone else who rates more faithful than us.  I personally have learned not to underestimate the faithfulness of my fellow Saints.  When I begin to overestimate my faithfulness, it doesn’t take long before I learn the story of someone else who has faithfully made it through tribulations I never dreamed existed.  Then I feel like saying, “Well, you’re in a higher room than me..” and I want to hide my face in shame.

I have faith that if we avoid exalting ourselves, at some point when the Lord comes, He will take us higher. Will we be in the highest room with the greatest honors?  That’s an interesting question, and it is particularly pertinent to us as Latter-day Saints, especially since we have a revelation to Joseph Smith in D&C 131 that we must enter into the covenant of eternal marriage to obtain the highest degree of the celestial kingdom.  Those of us who have married in the temple are liable to be complacent about our place in the celestial kingdom, but I leave it to you to decide whether humility is necessary for a good marriage relationship or not.

Humility is really hard to define, so I thought I’d include some quotations from BrainyQuote on humility that I find instructive.

True humility is intelligent self respect which keeps us from thinking too highly or too meanly of ourselves. It makes us modest by reminding us how far we have come short of what we can be.  (Ralph W. Sockman)

Humility is nothing else but a right judgment of ourselves.  (William Law)

Judge yourself; if you do that you will not be judged by God, as St. Paul says. But it must be a real sense of your own sinfulness, not an artificial humility.  (Johannes Tauler)

Assuredly, Loving Souls, you should go to God with all humility and respect, humbling yourselves in His presence, especially when you remember your past ingratitude and sins.  (Alphonsus Liguori)

In such a state, humility is the virtue of men, and their only defense; to walk humbly with God, never doubting, whatever befall, that His will is good, and that His law is right.  (Paul Elmer More)

To be a preacher requires two apparently contradictory qualities: confidence and humility. (Timothy Radcliffe)

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.  (Rick Warren)

There is no respect for others without humility in one's self.  (Henri Frederic Amiel)

Humility is attentive patience.  (Simone Weil)

A sarcastic person has a superiority complex that can be cured only by the honesty of humility. (Lawrence G. Lovasik)

Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast.  (Jane Austen)

The proud man can learn humility, but he will be proud of it. (Mignon McLaughlin)

Tell him, on the contrary, that he needs, in the interest of his own happiness, to walk in the path of humility and self-control, and he will be indifferent, or even actively resentful. (Irving Babbitt)

When someone saves your life and gives you life, there's gratitude, humility; there's a time you've been so blessed you realize you've been given another chance at life that maybe you did or didn't deserve. (Pat Summerall)

And when our baby stirs and struggles to be born it compels humility: what we began is now its own. (Margaret Mead)

 Humility is really important because it keeps you fresh and new.  (Steven Tyler)

Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of life. (George Arliss)

If we learn not humility, we learn nothing. (John Jewel)

The job is to ask questions-it always was-and to ask them as inexorably as I can. And to face the absence of precise answers with a certain humility.  (Arthur Miller)

Real genius is nothing else but the supernatural virtue of humility in the domain of thought. (Simone Weil)

Fullness of knowledge always means some understanding of the depths of our ignorance; and that is always conducive to humility and reverence. (Robert Millikan)

If one takes pride in one's craft, you won't let a good thing die. Risking it through not pushing hard enough is not a humility.  (Paul Keating)

I believe the first test of a truly great man is in his humility.  (John Ruskin)

Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in the blood of his followers and the sacrifices of his friends.  (Dwight D. Eisenhower)

What are your thoughts about humility?

The place where angels live

6 The angels do not reside on a planet like this earth;

7 But they reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord.  (D&C 130: 6-7)

It sounds like this is a place where the very atmosphere is full of good memories, pleasant doings of goodness, and happy anticipations of future delights of righteousness.  With all things manifest, it is a place of both revelation and memory, a place of faith pointed at the future and gratitude for the past, as well as drinking in the bliss of the present.

 8 The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.

 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. (D&C 130:8-9)

I suppose we can learn from this that the lessons of lower kingdoms will be perfectly obvious to those who live on this earth in that day.  The very ground will testify.  To use a very weak comparison, I suppose it is something like a senior in high school looking at the schoolwork of those in the 6^th and saying, “How easy that work is!”

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;

 11 And a white stone is given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon is a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. The new name is the key word. (D&C 130:10-11)

I really like the prospect of having this white stone spoken of, but as I was reading, I wondered just how this can help us today. 

I think that first, it can give us a hope of good things to come.  Anticipation of good things can buoy us up.  I also realized that the white stone is really all about personal revelation, so this scripture shows us that personal revelation is still an important part of life on a sanctified earth.  New names suggest receiving new identities, so it seems that the principle being taught her is personal revelation is part of what changes us into new people, and our exaltation will continue to be perfected.  Honing the ability to receive and act on personal revelation will be important to prepare for the next life.

Brigham Young on collecting surplus from the Saints

In a somewhat humorous but sadly true commentary, President Brigham Young recounted his early experiences in attempting to get people to live the law of consecration:

“When the revelation . . . was given in 1838, I was present, and recollect the feelings of the brethren. . . . The brethren wished me to go among the Churches, and find out what surplus property the people had, with which to forward the building of the Temple we were commencing at Far West. I accordingly went from place to place through the country. Before I started, I asked brother Joseph, ‘Who shall be the judge of what is surplus property?’ Said he, ‘Let them be the judges themselves. . . .’

“Then I replied, ‘I will go and ask them for their surplus property;’ and I did so; I found the people said they were willing to do about as they were counselled, but, upon asking them about their surplus property, most of the men who owned land and cattle would say, ‘I have got so many hundred acres of land, and I have got so many boys, and I want each one of them to have eighty acres, therefore this is not surplus property.’ Again, ‘I have got so many girls, and I do not believe I shall be able to give them more than forty acres each.’ ‘Well, you have got two or three hundred acres left.’ ‘Yes, but I have a brother-in-law coming on, and he will depend on me for a living; my wife’s nephew is also coming on, he is poor, and I shall have to furnish him a farm after he arrives here.’ I would go on to the next one, and he would have more land and cattle than he could make use of to advantage. It is a laughable idea, but is nevertheless true, men would tell me they were young and beginning [in] the world, and would say, ‘We have no children, but our prospects are good, and we think we shall have a family of children, and if we do, we want to give them eighty acres of land each; we have no surplus property.’ ‘How many cattle have you?’ ‘So many.’ ‘How many horses, &c?’ ‘So many, but I have made provisions for all these, and I have use for every thing I have got.’

“Some were disposed to do right with their surplus property, and once in a while you would find a man who had a cow which he considered surplus, but generally she was of the class that would kick a person’s hat off, or eyes out. . . . You would once in a while find a man who had a horse that he considered surplus, but at the same time he had the ringbone, was broken-winded, spavined in both legs, and had the pole evil at one end of the neck and a fistula at the other, and both knees sprung.” (In Journal of Discourses, 2:306–7.)

This is a time for self-evaluation. Are we of the kind who are willing to give and do whatever the Lord asks, or would we begin rationalizing about why we could not fully participate?  (Doctrine & Covenants Institute Student Manual, Enrichment L, “The Law of Consecration and Stewardship” )

At first glance, this is a very sad observation on the Saints failure to live the Law of Consecration, but when we look deeper, we see that there are some concerns behind these Saints' judgment about what was surplus and what was not.  They are issues similar to what we deal with today.

 

I notice that Joseph Smith wisely said that the Saints would be the judge themselves as to what was surplus.  That privilege to judge for ourselves continues today, and it is intended that we learn by experience and study.

 

Note that it says the people were willing to do as counseled, but when they were asked about their surplus property, well.. the devil is always in the details.

The fathers were looking ahead and planning out how to provide inheritances for their sons to farm.  Did they consider this a duty (like providing feeding and clothing) to provide for their children’s future, or was this actually conferring undue privilege?  Would the modern equivalent be giving your kid a house for free when they got married, or would the modern equivalent be giving your kid a job at the family business?  Was it an attempt to provide means for their children to make a living when grown up, or was it an attempt to smooth the way too much?  One might ask what the sons and daughters would do if they grew up and were not provided with land inheritances.  Likely they would have to work and save the money for it like everyone else.  Perhaps Brigham Young felt the children should work and save like everyone else.   Meantime, their children would not be given the land for many years in the future, and Brigham Young was trying to find surplus to finance the building of the Far West temple—an immediate need.  So perhaps Brigham Young was making a very subtle point about how people were letting distant future “needs” get in the way of giving for a present church need.

But this still causes us to wonder where saving and planning for future needs fits in the Law of Consecration.  Is it the individual’s duty to save for future needs, or would the surpluses of others be given to fill those needs when need arose?  Or will the need be miraculously filled by the Lord?  Perhaps one of the aspects of consecration that challenges us is how it requires us to trust that the Lord will provide in some way for us when financial emergencies arise.

Brigham Young also observed that some were willing to part with a horse as surplus if it had many physical and behavior faults.  The unspoken message here is his disappointment that people gave of the worst and not the best they had.  It causes me to wonder if sometimes our donations should be of the good things we have instead of our rejects.  On the other hand, looking at it from a practical perspective, it makes perfect sense for a farmer to get rid of a bad horse; likely the horse was more trouble than it was worth, and getting rid of it was a wise decision about their stewardship.  However, to give a bad horse as surplus means the horse would become a problem to another Saint, and does a faithful Saint deserve to be given a bad horse when they need and hope for a good horse to help them with their farm work?  No.   Maybe the horse would be a good gift for a horse doctor, otherwise.. it should have been shot. 

I think there is a lesson here that shows us that if we are giving as surplus things that are so clearly useless to us that they also useless to others as well, we aren’t really consecrating.  What is harder for us to let go of are the things that are still useful and which we think we might still use someday.