Jesus's comparison of Noah’s day, Lot’s day, and the day of the 2nd coming with JST

26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

 32 Remember Lot’s wife.

 33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

 34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord, shall they be taken.
37  And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is gathered; or, in other words, whithersoever the saints are gathered, thither will the eagles be gathered together; or, thither will the remainder be gathered together.
38  This he spake, signifying the gathering of his saints; and of angels descending and gathering the remainder unto them; the one from the bed, the other from the grinding, and the other from the field, whithersoever he listeth.
39  For verily there shall be new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
40  And there shall be no unclean thing; for the earth becoming old, even as a garment, having waxed in corruption, wherefore it vanisheth away, and the footstool remaineth sanctified, cleansed from all sin. (Luke 17:26-27, JST verses 36-40 added)

I have a number of thoughts on these verses. 

First, I notice that when Jesus compares the days before the Second Coming to the days of Noah and Lot, He says that the very day Noah entered the ark and the very day Lot left Sodom, destruction hit the wicked.  I think this makes the point that as soon as the righteous are taken to safety, the wicked will no longer escape destruction. 

Second, it is curious that although we know the days of Noah and the city of Sodom were wicked, we see that very innocuous activities are attributed to the wicked in verses 27-28.

They were:

• Eating and drinking
• Marrying and giving in marriage
• Buying and selling
• Planting
• Building

We might gain some insight if we ask ourselves some questions.  What were these people eating and drinking?  Who was marrying and giving in marriage?  What was bought and sold and on what terms?  What was planted?  What was built? 

We can only conclude that their wickedness was so great that it was even corrupting those very basic activities of life, and that it was completely ignored and defended with the claim that they were good people too who did normal things just like anyone else.  Yet normalized wickedness is not excusable just because it is pervasive throughout society.

Verses 34-36 tell us some very interesting things about the time close to the Second Coming.  They show how mixed the righteous will be with the wicked.  The image of two men in one bed (ignoring modern connotations) with one taken and the other left conveys the idea of how there will be very righteous people and very wicked people in the same household, essentially living cheek by jowl until the righteous are separated.  (No doubt they will grate on each other.)  The image of two women grinding together and two men in the same field evokes the idea that the righteous and wicked will be working right alongside each other until the day when the righteous are separated.  But that separation will come.

The JST tells us how that separation will come—angels will take the righteous out from among the wicked and gather them together with the main body of the saints, and then will come the destruction of the wicked, as we know from the parable of the wheat and the tares. 

Now, I’ve saved the verses 31-33 to talk about last because to me they seem a little tricky. 

 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

 32 Remember Lot’s wife.

 33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

When I consider that the surrounding verses are about the days of the Second Coming, these verses at first seem out of place.  Verses 31-32 reminds me of words Christ said elsewhere about how the former day saints were to escape the destruction of Jerusalem that occurred in 70 A.D., and it may be that those words were only applicable then and not applicable to the Second Coming.  But... it struck me that they may also apply to the days just before the Second Coming when the angels come to take the righteous to safety.  It is a matter of how we envision this rescue.  If it is something like “the Rapture” that Christians always talk about, it doesn’t make sense. (I don’t want to say that being caught up into heaven isn’t going to happen because there are some scriptures that say that it will.)  But if it is something like how Lot was warned to leave Sodom, then verse 31-32 make a lot of sense.   Do we envision angels coming down and just grabbing us and carrying us away to the refuge of the saints?  (It’s kind of a nice thought, isn’t it?)  But ask yourself this—will angels take people who are not willing to go?  No, I don’t think so; the Lord respects our agency, and so angels must too.  Which means it will be something like how Lot was saved—a warning brought, directions given, choices to go (or stay or return) made, immediate travel required with almost no preparation or supplies…  It is another physical gathering comparable to that which took place at the beginning of this dispensation, but with incredible urgency, and since we still have the New Jerusalem to build, we know where the gathering will be.

Joseph Smith Matthew says something similar:

37 And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other….

41 But as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be also at the coming of the Son of Man;

 42 For it shall be with them, as it was in the days which were before the flood; for until the day that Noah entered into the ark they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage;

 43 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

 44 Then shall be fulfilled that which is written, that in the last days, two shall be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left;

 45 Two shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken, and the other left; (Joseph Smith Matthew 1:37,41-45)

In D&C 63 we also find this:

53 These things are the things that ye must look for… even in the day of the coming of the Son of Man.

 54 And until that hour there will be foolish virgins among the wise; and at that hour cometh an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked; and in that day will I send mine angels to pluck out the wicked and cast them into unquenchable fire. (D&C 63:53-54)

That “entire separation” is something we haven’t seen quite yet, but I believe it will happen as promised.D&C 63 highlights the flip side from the righteous being saved.

You may be wondering whether to believe this or not.  You may ask yourself, “Why haven’t we heard about this in Sunday School?”  Well, Sunday School has very limited time and has to get through each of the standard works in only 52 weeks, so they try to use the time available on the most important principles.  Stuff not discussed may be good to learn (and the interest of time only prevents it from coming up) or bad to learn (and would never be mentioned anyway).  Instead, the responsibility is on us to study more.  President Harold B. Lee spoke in conference in October 1972 about places in the scriptures we can study to learn in plainness what the events will be.  He mentioned Matthew 24 (and Joseph Smith Matthew), Doctrine and Covenants 45, 101, 133, and 38.  These sources are reliable with unquestionable motives. (This blog, on the other hand, is just my own opinion and not official or authoritative to any extent.)

Now, back to Luke 17.  After we are adjured to remember Lot’s wife, we are warned:

Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. (Luke 17:33)

Considering the surrounding block of verse is about saving the saints, this verse really can muddy the waters.  While we’ve been told how we can save our lives, here we are told that if we seek to save our lives we will lose it!   I think that it is meant to refer  to those difficult days leading up to the Second Coming.  It seems to be a reminder that there is more than one way to save your life, and saving our spiritual life by staying pure regardless of the consequences matters more than saving our bodies from death.  Some saints may be saved at the Second Coming, and other saints may be saved through martyrdom. 

Jesus's three temptations: KJV versus JST

http://godtalkvermont.blogspot.com/2012/02/exploring-fires-of-temptation.

html#!/2012/02/exploring-fires-of-temptation.html

It is always interesting to examine the differences between the King James Version of the Bible and the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.  We can learn some good things.  Today I decided to compare the account of Jesus’s three temptations in Matthew 4 with the JST of the same.  (I might have decided to only show the JST, but I wanted to see what things were removed as well as added, so it helps to have both for that.)

KJV:

1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.  (Matt 4:1-11)

KJV with JST added in:

1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be with God.

 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, and had communed with God, he was afterwards an hungered, and was left to be tempted of the devil.

 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

 5 Then Jesus was taken up into the holy city, and the Spirit setteth him on the pinnacle of the temple.

 6 Then the devil came unto him and said, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

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

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

 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and now Jesus knew that John was cast into prison, and he sent angels, and, behold, they came and ministered unto him (John).  (Matt 4:1-11)

What do we learn from the differences between the KJV and with the JST? 

First, we learn that Jesus went into the wilderness to be with God, not to be tempted.  Those three temptations were not set before him by the Spirit as some sort of spiritual obstacle course for him get through, as it seems in the KJV’s verse 1; rather, the devil was interloping,  crashing the party and trying to ruin Jesus’s spiritual experiences.  (This is also true for us today; the devil continues to try to ruin spiritual experiences for everyone, so we have to be on the alert and resist temptation.  I recall youth temple trips that would start out with several people having bad attitudes or feeling rushed and impatient..)

Second, we learn that it was the Holy Spirit leading Jesus from place to place, not the devil.  It is contradictory to Jesus’s holiness for Him to be led anyplace by the devil! 

Third, we also get the sense that there was some purpose for the Spirit to lead Jesus to the wilderness to fast for so long, then to the pinnacle of the temple, and to a high mountain to show him the kingdoms of the world.  I suspect that it had something to do with teaching Jesus about His great mission to redeem the world.  If that were the case, no doubt the devil would want to disrupt it as much as possible.

Fourth, we discover that rather than be ministered to by angels after His temptations, Jesus sent angels to John in prison to minister to him.  It is neat to see that even during His mortal ministry He had authority to dispatch angelic messengers.  I have to wonder if Jesus’s temptations thus far had taught Him according to the flesh how to succor others.  To me it is an additional example of how Jesus sends tender mercies to those in affliction and trial. 

For other posts on Jesus's temptations, you can read:

 Christ shared how He resisted temptation  (I show the JST, but don't discuss it in particular)

Make this stone into bread... 

The second temptation

 

Ezekiel on consequences of unfaithfulness in the priesthood

 10 And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.

 11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.

 12 Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity.

 13 And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

 14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

 15 ¶But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God:

 16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. (Ezekiel 44:10-16)

In these verses, the Lord tells Ezekiel that there is to be a difference in the duties given to priests who participated in idolatry versus priests who kept themselves from idolatry.  The unfaithful priests are still mercifully allowed to serve in the temple… but their duties are limited and they are not permitted to participate in the most sacred parts of the service.  It is interesting to see what they are permitted to do.

Less faithful priests are to:

·      Have charge at the gates of the house (v11)

·      Minister to the house (v11)

·      Slay the animals for the sacrifices (v11)

·      Stand to minister for the people (v11)

·      Not come near to God (v13)

·      Not come near the holy things (v13)

·      Not come in the most holy place (v13)

·      Keep the charge of the house (v14)

Faithful priests have much greater privileges, and the list continues to verse 31. They are to:

·      Come near to God to minister to God (v15)

·      Stand before God to offer the fat and blood as sacrifices (v15)

·      Enter the sanctuary (v16)

·      Come near the table to minister to God (v16)

·      keep the charge (v16)

·      Clothe themselves in linen garments as they enter the inner court (v17)

·      wear the linen bonnet, breeches, and girdle (v18)

·      Remove the linen garments (and put ordinary clothes on) before they go to the outer court to minister to the people (v19)

·      Teach Israel to know the difference between good and evil, sacred and profane (v23)

·      Render judgment in controversy (v24)

·      not touch the dead (v24)

·      inherit the Lord instead of land (v28)

·      eat the sacrifice offered in the temple (v29-30)

When I was reading these verses with the description of the separate roles, it seemed to indicate to me how the Lord wants to show there are consequences for being unfaithful and they consist of losing privileges of doing the holiest service in the temple.  

And yet another way of looking at it is to see how a subtle lesson about degrees of glory is taught here.  The priests who stayed faithful even when the rest of Israel was worshipping idols were in effect valiant in the testimony of Jesus.  Their privileges in the temple are celestial.   They can minister in the presence of God in the most holy place, while the priests who were not faithful can’t go into the sanctuary at all.  Faithful priests can offer sacrifices for the people, while unfaithful priests must kill the animals for the sacrifices.  Faithful priests can minister to God and the people, while unfaithful priests only minister to the people.  Faithful priests wear priestly robes in the inner courts, while the unfaithful priests seem to have no such privilege. 

This reminds me of how important it is to make sure that I keep myself from sin in order to be worthy to go to the temple.  It reminds me to think about the questions that I’m asked during my recommend interviews to gauge myself and how I’m doing. God is not mocked.  If we are not worthy to go to the temple, we pollute the Lord’s house and He knows it, and He will remove our spiritual privileges.  But if we go worthily, we will be blessed with the Lord’s power and revelation.

Rendering an account helps us de-clutter

And verily in this thing ye have done wisely,

for it is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward,

to render an account of his stewardship,

both in time and in eternity.

(D&C 72:3-5)

We may have the notion that we will render an account once and for all on Judgement Day, but this scripture shows us that we will render an account in time (or during our lives) too.  While it may still seem like the accounting is only done once, when we do it often, it can help us continue to make progress.  

We are familiar with the account that we give every year to the bishop about our tithe-paying status, but rendering an account can be a helpful tool for other areas or our lives.  Specifically, I want to point out how it is fundamental to the de-cluttering process.

            Rending an account to another person helps us figure out what is surplus.  There is something about talking to another person that helps you think more realistically about how often you really use something.  This is one way professional organizers help their clients de-clutter.  Professional organizers are adept at asking questions that will challenge us to think about our need for things, to think about how much is appropriate to have that will not get in our way, and to think about whether the frequency of use justifies the space things take up.  

The following questions can help you clarify whether you really need something:

What is this and what is it used for?

How often do I use it?

Is this really helpful to me? (Does this item make my life easier, save me time, save me money, fulfill an essential need?)

Do I love it?  If so, why?

If I had to buy this again, would I buy it?

Is this the best place for it?

Do I have space for this?

How many of these do I have? (Do I need them all?  Which are my favorites?)

Do I own something else that does the same job?

Is owning this more trouble than it is worth?

Some people might feel uncomfortable with having another person ask these questions; it might feel like they are being judged.  However, if the person asking the questions does it with compassion and a desire to understand, rather than to condemn or mock, then it creates a safe emotional place.  I try to make sure my clients know that they are not the ones under trial, but their stuff is.  My clients may balk at the beginning, but as time goes on, because of the safe emotional space I create and try to maintain for them as they answer, they get better and better at asking these questions themselves and making the judgment themselves.  

Usually when my clients have a hard time explaining why something is needed, there is some sort of emotional issue or attachment involved and they need time to work through those issues.  I don’t push too hard when this kind of situation comes up because I know the issue will come up multiple times with other possessions, and eventually my clients will come to a realization themselves to let go as I help them deal with the attachment.  Once their awareness has been raised, they are ready to learn by their own experience whether they need something or not.

            When we ask ourselves questions about our use of our stuff, we are in essence giving an account of part of our stewardship.  It can only help when we are as honest as possible and as realistic as possible.  Then, when we act bravely to fix the problems, whether by repair, donation, recycling, or just plain throwing things away, we need not fear accounting to anyone else.

            It is possible for the process of rending an account to become so quick and easy with practice that becomes almost intuitive.

            If you want to see the question process in action, you can check out the article “How to use Declutter Questions to Make Purging Decisions at the blog I’m an Organizing Junkie.

P. S. What do you plan on applying these questions to?  What have you been able to let go of because of asking these questions?

P. S. S.  I will be posting future insights from the scriptures about organizing and de-cluttering on my blog “House of Order, House of God,"  so if you want to get up-to-date notification on your blog readers, feel free to follow me there too! 

The fullness of John’s record

15 And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying: This is my beloved Son.

 16 And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father;

 17 And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.

 18 And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall receive the fulness of the record of John. (D&C 93:15-18)

I used to think that promise in verse 18 just meant that more scriptures written by John would be restored. (Do I say that no more records of John will be brought out?  No; I know better than to limit the Lord’s words.)  However, when I consider the things that John bore record of here, it seems to me this may be promising that we will receive experiences that will allow us to bear the same testimony John bore.  After all, v1 of the same section says:

Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am; (D&C 93:1)

It seems to me that we can’t have the fullness of the record of John (assuming record here means testimony) unless we have the same revelatory experience as John. 

Without the experience of seeing and receiving the testimony of the Holy Ghost, the record is just words, and there are things words can’t express but can only hint at.  We have part of the record when we have the Holy Ghost testify to us, but the fullness of the record is seeing as well. 

I suppose it takes faith to trust that the fullness will come in the Lord’s time if we are faithful as He stipulates in v1.

How to rally your troops

http://restoredtruth.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/raising-the-title-of-liberty/

Alma 43 is the chapter in which the Nephites defeat the Zoramite-Lamanite army led by Zarahemnah.

One of the interesting things about Alma 43 is that it contains at least three separate reiterations of the causes the Nephites were fighting for and causes the Lamanites were fighting for.  The cause is mentioned:

1.     as the people form up their armies,

2.     when Moroni places his armies to catch the Lamanites, and

3.     in battle when the Nephites are about to give away. 

Moroni makes sure the Nephite army has a good cause to fight for, while the Lamanite-Zoramite army had to be stirred up to anger and hate and had to have their hatred preserved.

It is hard to tell if each iteration of the cause was written in the record that Mormon was abridging or whether it was only there once and Mormon made a point of repeating the Nephite cause at important points.   (It is easy to understand why Mormon would be happy to transmit repetitions or emphasize repeatedly the Nephites’ just cause after having lived through battles in his day that were motivated by unjust causes.)  Regardless, it is instructive to notice where these repetitions come.

Mormon tells the Nephite cause at the point when the Nephites begin to amass their troops on the border of Jershon and Antionum in response to build-up of Lamanite troops in that area.  When armies and groups are mobilized somewhere, it is important that they know why their movement is important.

9 And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires.

 10 For they knew that if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites, that whosoever should worship God in spirit and in truth, the true and the living God, the Lamanites would destroy.

 11 Yea, and they also knew the extreme hatred of the Lamanites towards their brethren, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, who were called the people of Ammon—and they would not take up arms, yea, they had entered into a covenant and they would not break it—therefore, if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites they would be destroyed.

 12 And the Nephites would not suffer that they [the Anti-Nephi-Lehis] should be destroyed; therefore they gave them lands for their inheritance. (Alma 43:9-12, emphasis added)

Their mobilization was specifically to prevent the Anti-Nephi-Lehis from being destroyed, and from the larger perspective, it was to protect the Nephite nation from their enemies and preserve freedom of religion.

Mormon reiterates the Nephite cause as he tells the Nephites were about to use spying as a strategy to find out what their enemies were doing.  He figured that some of his readers might be leery of the Nephites using spies (with the lying that is implied in that strategy) to beat their enemies, so he reminds us of the Nephite cause.  Happily, if we are alert, we can see that the spying consists of placing men in the wilderness to watch for when the Lamanites come (v28), and sending men to watch the Lamanite camp to see where they go (v23).  There is no direct engagement with (lying to) the enemy.

23 But it came to pass, as soon as they had departed into the wilderness Moroni sent spies into the wilderness to watch their camp…

28 And Moroni placed spies round about, that he might know when the camp of the Lamanites should come.

 29 And now, as Moroni knew the intention of the Lamanites, that it was their intention to destroy their brethren, or to subject them and bring them into bondage that they might establish a kingdom unto themselves over all the land;

 30 And he also knowing that it was the only desire of the Nephites to preserve their lands, and their liberty, and their church, therefore he thought it no sin that he should defend them by stratagem; therefore, he found by his spies which course the Lamanites were to take. (Alma 43:23, 28-30)

All that watching of the Lamanite army (and watching for it to come) would get very boring if the Lamanites weren't doing anything (or it wasn't seen coming).  During the long periods of inactivity, the spies would need to remember the cause they were fighting for, so that they could remember the important contribution they made to the cause, even when it seemed like they weren't contributing at all.  A report of "Lamanites still in the same place" is just as much of a contribution to the Nephite cause as a report of invading Lamanites, since a "Lamanites unmoving" report would contribute some piece of mind. (If we apply this to ourselves, a visiting teaching or home teaching report of "families all well" contributes just as much to the cause of Zion as a report that one of our families needs help.)

Third, Mormon reiterates the Nephite cause when the Nephites are about to give way before the Lamanites to show why the Nephites ultimately did not give up and resumed their best efforts in the battle.

45 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.

 46 And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.

 47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion.

 48 And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their hearts with these thoughts—yea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage. (Alma 43:45-48, emphasis added)

Assuming all these iterations of the Nephite cause were in the unabridged record of how Captain Moroni rallied his men, we see that he is determined to keep their cause in mind at every important point.  We also see that when the battle gets especially difficult and they are about to give up, he again reminds them of their cause and this gives them the courage to call on God for help.   Interestingly enough, when the Nephites have the Lamanites at their mercy, Captain Moroni stops the battle to talk to the Lamanites, and we see that he even tries to rally and inspire them too with words about justice and faith.  (Too bad they rebel.)

I think that this attention to inspire and rally with important causes also inspired concern in Moroni’s army for each other and their leader.  I notice that when Moroni was attacked, one of his soldiers instantly came to his defense.  But when Zerahemnah had his scalp cut off, not a single Lamanite lifted a finger on his behalf.  Zerahemna could command his men, but he hadn’t reached their hearts.  His leadership over them was rooted in stirring them up to anger and preserving their hatred of the enemy.  Moroni’s leadership was rooted in love, defense of country, liberty, religion, and family.  His army saw all this in the way that Moroni prepared them for battle, so they defended him just as he tried to defend them.

One of the things I learn from all this is how important it is to remember the causes we are fighting for.  This also shows me how wonderful people are who have that ability to rally us and inspire us to persevere in the best causes.  What are some causes we believe in?

·      Freedom of conscience, freedom to practice our religion

·      Common decency and morality to keep our families safe from blatant and ubiquitous temptations of the worst sorts

·      Justice and equal enforcement of the laws

·      The cause of Zion and building up the kingdom of God

Another thing this teaches me is how our important it is to us to be inspired when we’re in a tricky situation where we have to stay strong and fight for our standards.  When someone rallies us by reminding us of the cause we are fighting for at those moments, oh how wonderful it seems to us!  Renewed determination can help us find strength we never knew we had.

A final thing I get from this is how important it will become for us to be able to rally others.  Mothers and fathers rally their children.  Teachers rally their students.  Coaches rally their players.  Politicians rally their supporters.  CEOs and managers rally employees. 

We see that rallying others with true and unselfish principles will be more successful than trying to use fear or anger or hate or grievance.

Finally, we can rally ourselves by reminding ourselves what we are working and fighting for.  For example, every so often it gets really hard for me to continue blogging about the scriptures here.  I ask myself,  “Why do I keep doing this?  This is a ton of work!  I’m always worrying about whether what I have written is good enough!”  I have to remind myself that I’m not doing this for fame or fortune.  I’m doing it to share what I’ve learned so that others can come to understand what I understand and learn what I am learning.  I’m doing it to help others appreciate the scriptures more deeply.  I’m doing it in hopes of persuading to repentance.  I’m doing it to try to bring others to God.  Remembering that gives me strength to keep at it.

How do you rally your troops? 

Surrendered for real, or not?

12 And it came to pass that not many days had passed away before the Lamanites began to lose all hopes of succor; therefore they yielded up the city unto our hands; and thus we had accomplished our designs in obtaining the city Cumeni.

 13 But it came to pass that our prisoners were so numerous that, notwithstanding the enormity of our numbers, we were obliged to employ all our force to keep them, or to put them to death.

 14 For behold, they would break out in great numbers, and would fight with stones, and with clubs, or whatsoever thing they could get into their hands, insomuch that we did slay upwards of two thousand of them after they had surrendered themselves prisoners of war. (Alma 57:12-14)

Here in this block of verses, we see that the Lamanites, after they had yielded the city would still try to break free, and they would fight with anything they could get.  This indicates that although the Lamanites said they had surrendered, they hadn’t really. 

The spiritual lesson from this should be plain—once we have surrendered our will to God’s, do we still try to fight Him?  What are we fighting him with?

When Jesus breathed on His disciples

 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: (John 20:22)

When I read this verse, because I believe that the Holy Ghost is given by the priesthood ordinance of laying on of hands, I do not see Jesus literally breathing on His disciples.  However, I think it is worth looking at these verses to see what the purpose might be for saying Jesus breathed on them.

I think there was a teaching purpose for it.  When I think about why John might have wanted to use this idea of breathing, the thing that comes to my mind is a phrase “the breath of life” from Genesis 2:7:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)

I think breath was associated with life and John wanted to teach that when Jesus told them to receive the Holy Ghost, He gave them a portion of spiritual life in a way they hadn’t experienced before or thought possible, and the only way to express what it was life was to compare it to receiving breath. 

 I have to echo that.  When I receive the Holy Ghost, it does fill me with life, and it seems to throw over my perception a hopeful optimism that I would hate to be without.  It's like seeing the world in color when you're used to seeing in black-and-white.

What is it like for you?

The sign that the Lord spared King Hezekiah’s life

http://crabapplelandscapexperts.blogspot.com/2012/06/sundials-and-armillary-spheres-as.html

1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord,

 3 And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

 4 ¶Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying,

 5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

 6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.

 7 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken;

 8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down. (Isaiah 38:1-8)

In this story Hezekia was sick and Isaiah told him he would die.  (That would be shocking news to anyone.)  Then Hezekiah prayed for his life to be spared and the Lord answered his prayers, and gave him a sign as a promise.  The sign the Lord gives (v7-8) is very interesting.

The promise the Lord gave to Hezekiah was 15 more years of life.  The sign was to be that the shadow of the sundial would go back 10 degrees.  That might seem like an odd sign to give.  A moving shadow.  But behind that moving shadow was something very unusual on an astronomical scale.  It would look like the sun was moving, but we know it was really the earth that moved, that it slowed imperceptibly, then stopped, and reversed its rotation until it had gone 10 degrees backward, then slowed, stopped, and began rotating in the usual direction again, all without any detrimental inertial effects on the earth’s inhabitants. 

Amazing, huh?  Yes, and it is also amazing that all that was done for the sake of one man.  Doesn’t that almost seem like…overkill?   But I suppose that shows just how much the Lord loves the one. 

I also realized that the sign was actually meant to teach Hezekiah something about the Lord’s power.  Not simply that the Lord could move astronomical bodies hither and yon at will, but that the Lord really did have the power to lengthen Hezekiah’s life.  Turning the shadow of the sundial back 10 degrees had the effect of lengthening that day, so Hezekiah was to understand that if the Lord could lengthen one of Hezekiah’s days, He could and would lengthen Hezekiah’s life as promised.

To me this teaches me that the Lord has control over my life span and while I do my part to take care of my body, ultimately the Lord is in charge of how long I live. 

What can we learn from scriptural accounts of transfiguration?

In Matt 17:1-9, Jesus was transfigured on the mount.

The incident as recorded in Luke 9:28-29 tells us that Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to the mount to pray and that Jesus was transfigured while He was praying.  We have another witness that prayer is involved in the process in 3 Nephi 19:25 when the Nephite disciples pray and are transfigured just like Jesus.

I looked at other incidents of transfiguration in the Topical Guide and it seems transfiguration may occur after intense spiritual experiences.  Moses’s face shone after having talked with God in the tabernacle or on the mount.  (Ex. 34:29)  (Evidently it also happens during those experiences too so that mortal men may endure the glory of God, e.g. Moses, Enoch, etc.)

Other times transfiguration happens when people are standing as witnesses in very difficult circumstances.  Abinadi was transfigured when preaching to King Noah and the wicked priests (see Mosiah 13:5).  Stephen was transfigured when preaching to the Jewish council that later stoned him (see Acts 6:15).

Other times, heavenly fire is involved as a protection as when Lehi and Nephi were in the Lamanite prison and fire surrounding them prevented them from being taken and killed (see Helaman 5:23).  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were given power to stand unharmed in fire, which likely required their transfiguration (see Daniel 3:23-25).

When the twelve Nephite disciples were baptized, they were filled with the Holy Ghost and fire, and they were encircled about with fire that came down from heaven (see 3 Nephi 19:14).

What difference does it make to know of the transfiguration of Christ on the mount with Moses and Elijah?  I think His transfiguration was a sign to Peter, James, and John that Jesus was at the very least as good as Moses and Elias (Elijah), who both had been translated so as to not see death.  (Also the words of God the Father “This is my beloved Son: hear him” (Luke 9:35) showed that Jesus was above Moses and Elias.  The witness of God the Father of Jesus’s approved Sonship was the best witness one could ever have, and Peter later spoke of it so in 2 Peter 1:16-19)

What does this mean for us to know about transfiguration?  Is it only something to read about that we may never experience ourselves?  Actually, I think that we may attain to it ourselves, and I’ll show you some verses that suggest this. 

After the twelve Nephite disciples are transfigured, Jesus prays thus:

28 Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their words, even as they are purified in me.

 29 Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them. (3 Nephi 19:28-29)

From these verses it seems that transfiguration has something to do with being purified and it happens through strong faith.  We also see that Jesus wanted more people to experience this purification.  It may be that this purification and transfiguration are inseparably connected and that to have the one is to experience the other.  Jesus seems to speak of them so.

I also notice that Jesus asks that all those the Father has given him out of the world may be purified this way.  This shows that there is a difference of spiritual status between being “given to Jesus out of the world” and being purified in the way Jesus speaks of.  It also teaches us that it is something that Jesus wants for all his followers in all ages of the world.

I also just realized something about that request “that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them” (v29).  I think this tells us how Jesus sees the glowing part of transfiguration.  He considers it to be a manifestation of Himself in someone, as a time when the manifestation of Himself is glorified or manifests glory.  It’s a time when the righteousness of the spirit literally shines through the tabernacle of clay.

If we were to use a scientific metaphor for this, perhaps the body of sin is like a darkened window and the spirit can’t shine through the body of sin.  But if the body is purified, somehow the opaqueness transforms into translucence and the spirit shines through.

How do we achieve this?  We have several clues given us. 

1.     Be purified.

2.     Faith in Christ

3.     Oneness with Christ

4.     Already given to Jesus out of the world

Transfiguration is a cool thing to talk about, and it is neat to think that we can experience it ourselves, but I think too often we may approach it from the less mature perspective of just wanting to glow because “glowing = awesome,” instead of from the more mature perspective of truly desiring the spiritual qualities that are required.  For instance, how many of us really want purification, faith in Christ, oneness with Christ, and to be given to Christ out of the world just for its own sake?  I personally don’t think I understand those four things with the depth that I should.   

Looked at it another way, if the only benefit from transfiguration is that your body glows, then it isn’t necessarily one that you can fully enjoy because you can’t fully see yourself.  To glow would be to bless others more than yourself.  This makes me think there has to be more to it, there has to be spiritual blessings from transfiguration that are felt much more than seen and that the visible shining of transfiguration is only a small part of the experience.

I believe that experience is within reach for each of us.  I also believe Jesus wants us to have it; if He prayed for all those the Father gave Him out of the world to have it and not just those who were in His presence, then He wants us to seek for it too.  I think the first steps are praying sincerely to be purified in Christ, praying for Christ to be in us and one with us as He is one with the Father, and praying that Christ be glorified in us.  I sense that our efforts can't be of the fleeting and perfunctory type.

Who knows what marvels it may lead to?