Christ is at the bottom of the name “Mormon”

I was reading recently about the people of Alma and their experience of taking the baptismal covenant with God and I came across this verse:

And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever. (Mosiah (18:30)

This tells of the principle that when we make great positive changes in our lives, the place that is associated with that change becomes more precious and beautiful to us. (I can remember the place where I first received my testimony of the Book of Mormon, and the place where I learned about the healing power of the atonement.)

Mormon has a special reason for rhapsodizing about these environs of Mormon. It is the place he was named after. We only find this out much, much later in 3 Nephi though.

And behold, I am called Mormon, being called after the land of Mormon, the land in which Alma did establish the church among the people, yea, the first church which was established among them after their transgression. (3 Nephi 5:12)

I think there is something special in that. Mormon was named after a place of conversion, and we might even say it was a place of restoration (though in the personal sense, not in the dispensational sense).

Since Mormon points out the place of Mormon was where the church was established by priesthood authority among the people after their transgression, it becomes a model or type of conversion after having partaken of the fall of Adam.

And how interesting that the book Mormon wrote carries the memory of that place onward. And then, consider the nickname our church carries – Mormon. Even our nickname references back to conversion and being born again.

So when people ever ask us why we are called Mormons if we claim to be Christians, we can tell them:

1) The name “Mormon” was a nickname given to us by others because we believe in the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible.

2) The Book of Mormon is named after the prophet-historian who wrote and compiled it many years ago.

3) That prophet-historian was named after a place where priesthood authority established the church of Christ among a people who had transgressed the commandments. At that place called Mormon, many people came to know Christ, who would redeem them.

4) At bottom, the name “Mormon” is about coming to a place where one is converted to Christ.

However, the real, full, official name of our church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Stripling warriors and self-organization

We are pretty familiar with these verses:

16 But behold, it came to pass they had many sons, who had not entered into a covenant that they would not take their weapons of war to defend themselves against their enemies; therefore they did assemble themselves together at this time, as many as were able to take up arms, and they called themselves Nephites.

17 And they entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites, yea, to protect the land unto the laying down of their lives; yea, even they covenanted that they never would give up their liberty, but they would fight in all cases to protect the Nephites and themselves from bondage.

18 Now behold, there were two thousand of those young men, who entered into this covenant and took their weapons of war to defend their country.

19 And now behold, as they never had hitherto been a disadvantage to the Nephites, they became now at this period of time also a great support; for they took their weapons of war, and they would that Helaman should be their leader. (Alma 53:16-19)

“they did assemble themselves together” (v16) I was reading this recently and for the first time it stuck me how extraordinary this was and it just seemed to get more amazing with every verse. It is hard for us to grasp it because it is written so matter-of-factly. I’ll try to explain.

No one assembled them; they assembled themselves. This indicates the level of initiative they had. But not just initiative; they were unified too. (Can you imagine 2,000 of our young men today spontaneously deciding they have to do something about a national problem and assembling themselves for a meeting to discuss it?) Maybe they had some natural leaders among them who passed the word around that there was something important they all had to talk about. But in any case, they came together of their own volition.

And they entered a covenant to fight to protect the Nephites and themselves from bondage. I really wonder how they got to that point of decision with so many young men gathered together. I’m trying to imagine how it happened. Some of them had to give speeches and voice their concerns and summarize their position and make the proposal of the cause they had to fight for. And the Spirit of the Lord must have been present too. (Would they have decided to make a covenant if it had not been?)

In any case, it is amazing that such a mass of young men were able to come to agreement that they should take action and that they all saw the need for a covenant and willingly took it. It is a great example of taking collective action, thinking seriously, taking responsibility, and making an extremely serious commitment.

One of the things about organizing in response to a threat is that it is very easy to make all kinds of resolutions when your mind is wrought up with concern about it, but at some point, other concerns come to take their place and then it is difficult to call forth the same fervor of feeling when it is needed to bring ourselves to action well after the first rush of enthusiasm has past. I imagine that it is the continual concern of all leaders to keep their people motivated so that they will act when the moment for action has come. Evil leaders try to keep their people in a continual foment of anger with recitals of the wrongs they suffered and calls for retribution. Good leaders have it harder because they refuse to use anger or hate and they depend upon their people to have proper feeling and be rational at the same time. So, I imagine that the stripling warriors were well aware that their concern might flag over time, but they knew how powerful a motivator it would be to keep a covenant. (They knew very well about how their fathers went to extraordinary lengths to keep their covenant.) So they decided to use the power of covenants to hold them to their determination to fight for their fathers and their country. The covenant would not keep their feelings wrought up; rather, it would become the motivator for the time when they might be less interested in fighting and when the drudgery of army life had begun to wear away their resolve.

Here are some more scriptures about organizing ourselves.

And thus I grant unto this people a privilege of organizing themselves according to my laws. (D&C 51:15)

I love that. We don’t have to wait to be commanded. We can organize ourselves as long as it according to righteous principles.

Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing;….That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord; that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord; that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High….Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all, and that every man may have an equal privilege. (D&C 88:119-122, emphasis added)

This has a number of important ideas about organizing ourselves. First, the importance of preparation. Evidently these things can’t be completely spontaneous but require some planning. Second, that everything be “in the name of the Lord,” which I think means something that the Lord would approve of. Third, a teacher is chosen from among the group so that there can be some leadership and order. Fourth, that everyone gets to have their say with the complete attention of the whole group. Fifth, that those speaking should do their best to edify the group (so that no one’s time is wasted). And sixth, that everyone in the group has equal privileges (so there has to be enough privilege that people want to participate, but not so much privilege that the operation of the organization becomes unwieldy or collapses under its own weight).

Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, to prepare and organize yourselves by a bond or everlasting covenant that cannot be broken. (D&C 78:11, emphasis added)

It is notable that after the stripling warriors organized themselves, they sought for priesthood leadership, asking the prophet Helaman to be their leader. To me, this indicates that no righteous self-organization is complete without priesthood leadership.

In a number of ways church has done what the stripling warriors did. In Nauvoo, the women decided to organize themselves into a Relief Society and they went to Joseph Smith with their proposal and constitution and he led them to organize under the direction of the priesthood. The D&C scriptures above describe three separate ways that the church organized itself: establishing a storehouse, starting the school of the prophets, and building temples.

Organizing ourselves isn’t just for the young. It can be any age group that is concerned about something in society and feels the need to do something about it.

What I’m not sure about is how and when this can be applied in our lives. When is it appropriate to self-organize? I’ve had difficulty trying to come up with a way to apply this in life today and it seems to be for several reasons.

First, it seems that the cause for concern has to be serious enough to unite large numbers. This kind of organizing can’t be for unimportant or frivolous purposes. Sorry, but craft night is out.

Second, we face an uphill cultural battle to organize ourselves because our culture values individualism over collective action. When purposeful movements grow beyond a certain point, naysayers argue that all the participants are “sheep.” Also, the movement undergoes greater scrutiny because naysayers will try to find fault with the movement to justify themselves for not joining in, even if it is a good cause. (There are people who fear becoming too passionate about a cause because they fear how it will affect the rest of their lives and take over. They forget the words of Christ that whosoever will lose his life for Christ’s sake will find it.)

There two ways that the Book of Mormon gives us insight on times that is not appropriate to self-organize—seeking revenge and forming secret combinations.

Mormon tells about how the Nephite armies of his day swore by all that was forbidden them to avenge the death of their brethren. It could be that these Nephites were taking their cue from the old story of the stripling warriors, but they were perverting it and applying it to a corrupted cause—revenge. This was why Mormon utterly refused to lead them any more. It would certainly offend him to find religious oaths taken for such an unjust purpose. Any good priesthood holder would want to decline to lead such a group with such a purpose.

Mormon also tells how groups of Nephites self-organized into secret combinations. In one case the goal was to assassinate the leader who had condemned their leader to death (see Helaman 1:9-11). In another case it was to deliver from the grasp of justice certain judges who had overstepped their authority and had prophets killed. (see 3 Nephi 6:25-30). In other cases the goal was to get gain and acquire complete control of the government so they could do what they wanted with impunity (see Helaman 6:21-23). These negative cases help us know what self-organization purposes should be avoided.

The Lord gives us the privilege of organizing ourselves and wants us to do it according to celestial laws. What causes do you see that seem to call for self-organization?

Bonus link only slightly related to this topic: The Theology of Counsels by Richard Bushman gives great insights on how revelation leads the church today and how counsels evolved. Check it out!

Take the gratitude challenge!

The Ensign this month had a little article “Take the Gratitude Challenge” suggesting the youth write a list of 100 things they are grateful for. I think I’d like to do this too. The article suggests doing it in units of 10. So, in no particular order, I give you the following:

10 physical abilities I am grateful for

1) walking

2) running

3) seeing

4) hearing

5) tasting

6) talking

7) reading

8) smelling

9) singing

10) laughing

10 SILLY physical abilities I am grateful for

1) burping

2) blinking

3) rolling my tongue

4) scratching

5) tickling

6) rolling over in bed

7) walking tiptoe

8) cleaning my ears

9) snapping my fingers

10) playing with my hair

10 material possessions I am grateful for

1) our house

2) my car

3) my shoes

4) my food storage

5) my computer

6) my piano

7) my scriptures

8) my books

9) my contact lenses

10) warm fuzzy socks

10 living people I am grateful for

1) Kimella Walker (my mom)

2) George Walker (my dad)

3) Jesus Christ (my Savior)

4) President Thomas S. Monson (prophet)

5) Devon L. Stephens (my husband)

6) Tennille Walker (my sister)

7-11 Cameron, Spencer, Stuart, Nelson, and Trent Walker (my brothers)

What? I have to stop? Dang!

10 deceased people I am grateful for

1) Joseph Smith

2) Isaiah

3) Marie Walker (my grandma)

4) Jane Austin

5) C. S. Lewis

6) Rudyard Kipling

7) George Washington

8) Thomas Edison

9) Alexander Graham Bell

10) Steve Jobs

Write 10 things about nature you are grateful for

1) snowflakes

2) sandy beaches with lots of shells to pick up

3) big juicy blackberries

4) trees with golden autumn leaves

5) seed pods that spin like a helicopter when they fall

6) mud puddles for stomping in

7) foggy summer mornings

8) fireflies

9) big waves on the seashore

10) smooth river rocks

10 things about today I am grateful for

1) receiving spiritual promptings

2) reading the Ensign

3) talking to ward members

4) having a job

5) using a fast computer with fast internet

6) getting to use my organizing skills to help others

7) finishing the laundry

8) rain in the morning

9) cleaning the kitchen

10) time to study the scriptures

10 places on earth I am grateful for

1) Gethsemane

2) Krape Park in Freeport, Illinois (best park EVER!!)

3) The temple

4) The Sacred Grove

5) Calvary

6) The garden tomb

7) Valley Forge

8) Northwest Illinois

9) Boyce-Thompson Arboretum (Arizona)

10) Mount Rushmore

10 modern inventions I am grateful for

1) telephones

2) cars

3) electricity

4) computers

5) vaccination

6) anesthetic

7) the printing press

8) TV

9) Radio

10) Canning

10 foods I am grateful for

1) Did I mention big juicy blackberries?

2) Sweet potato soufflé

3) Wassail (non-alcoholic)

4) Granola

5) Sugar snap peas

6) Avocados

7) Grapes

8) Chocolate

9) Bran muffins

10) Slurpy noodles

10 things about the gospel I am thankful for

1) repentance

2) revelation

3) priesthood

4) prophets and apostles

5) the promise of exaltation

6) temples

7) scriptures

8) family

9) service

10) missionary work

Yeah, that just barely scratched the surface and I’m up to 110. I could especially go on with my list of people I’m grateful for.

How about this—if you have a blog, post on it your own list of 100 (or 110) things you are grateful for, following the categories I’ve used, and then leave me a link to your list. I want to see what you all come up with!

To never taste of death

I happened to be searching the church’s scriptures online for instances of the word “taste” and I happened upon some verses that were very curious.

51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

52 Then said the Jews unto him [Jesus], Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. (John 8:51-52, emphasis added)

17 And it was by faith that the three disciples obtained a promise that they should not taste of death; and they obtained not the promise until after their faith. (Ether 12:17, emphasis added)

25 Behold, I was about to write the names of those who were never to taste of death, but the Lord forbade; therefore I write them not, for they are hid from the world….

37 But behold, since I wrote, I have inquired of the Lord, and he hath made it manifest unto me that there must needs be a change wrought upon their bodies, or else it needs be that they must taste of death;

38 Therefore, that they might not taste of death there was a change wrought upon their bodies, that they might not suffer pain nor sorrow save it were for the sins of the world. (3 Nephi 28:25, 37-38, emphasis added)

Is Jesus asserting that those who are obedient to His commandments can be translated like Elijah or Moses (or the three Nephites)? It seems that the Jews understand it that way. They use this as grounds to accuse him of having a devil (or lying) by pointing out that Abraham and the prophets died although they were known for their righteousness. If the Jews are to believe Jesus, then Abraham and the prophets tasted death because they did not keep Jesus’s sayings. (Pretty shocking, huh?)

Looking at this another way, it seems that Jesus asserted that if His words were always followed, death would never have power over a person and they would be translated like Enoch. This is something great to aim for.

The church has a number of things that we members can aspire to during our life:

• Receiving the Second Comforter (being personally visited by Jesus Christ)
• Having one’s calling and election made sure (1)
• Being translated like Enoch (2)

As far as I can tell, these things have nothing to do what position we have in the church, but they have everything to do with our faithfulness.

I used to wonder why Mormon took such care to write about the three Nephites and the nature of the change they experienced. I considered it a peripheral concern, food for the speculating mind. But having come across these verses together, it seems that the Lord’s intent was to add a second witness to the possibility of literally never tasting death through faithfulness.

I also used to wonder why the Lord prevented Mormon from writing the names of the three Nephites who were never to taste death. Perhaps it was to leave us with the impression of possibility. Just like ANY of the listed disciples of Jesus could have been the ones received this change, perhaps this makes it easier to apply it to ourselves and have hope that ANY of us could receive it too.

A question that also came to mind as I looked at these verses was this—if Jesus did everything He said to do, and He said those who keep His sayings will never taste of death, does that mean that Jesus was worthy to be translated? I suppose so, since He is our exemplar. Yet He condescended to taste death for our sakes.

So how does one go about qualifying for this privilege?

Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. (John 8:51, emphasis added)

I was pondering this and I thought, “Oh. I should make a very careful study of all of Jesus’s words in the New Testament then, and try to live them.” And then I remembered that we have Jesus’s words in the Book of Mormon too. And then I remembered that the Doctrine & Covenants is essentially… the words of Christ

To me, this gives more reason to search the scriptures and try to live by them.

Notes

(1) see “Accepted of the Lord: Making your Calling and Election Sure”, Roy W. Doxey, Ensign, July 1976. http://lds.org/ensign/1976/07/accepted-of-the-lord-the-doctrine-of-making-your-calling-and-election-sure?lang=eng&query=calling+election

(2) The church’s “Guide to the Scriptures” has a very nice page listing different scriptures about translated beings. [http://lds.org/scriptures/gs/translated-beings?lang=eng&letter=t]

The Old and New Baptismal Prayers

And when he [Alma] had said these words, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he said: Helam, I baptize thee, having authority from the Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of the world. (Mosiah 18:13)

These words are different from the baptismal prayer that we say today, but I think we can benefit by studying the difference between this one and our current one.

Alma’s baptismal prayer is valuable to know about because it shows that the covenant of baptism used to be explicitly stated during the prayer. The terms of the covenant are simple.

We:

• serve God until our mortal life ends,

and He will:

• pour out His Spirit upon us and
• grants us eternal life through the redemption of Christ.

We quote Mosiah 18:8-10 with all that stuff about bearing each other’s burdens, mourning with the sad, standing as a witness of God, etc. because it makes it easier to see what kinds of specific acts are meant by the phrase “serving God.” (I don't think that list was meant to be an all-inclusive list, but rather a list of examples.)

It is not known whether the prayer Alma used was a traditional one passed down over generations, but the one we use now is similar to another one in the Book of Mormon that was given by Christ to the Nephites after His resurrection.

23 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them—Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.
24 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:
25 Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
26 And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water.
27 And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one. (3 Nephi 11:23-27)

The baptismal prayer that Jesus gave is much shorter (and thus much more easily memorized). It covers the authority of the baptizer, where that authority comes from, what the act is, and to whom one is being baptized. Since it doesn't explicitly state the covenant, it is assumed that the baptized person understands they are participating in a covenantal act, whereas in Alma's baptismal prayer, baptism is referred to as a testimony that a covenant has already been made with God earlier. (Innnnnteresting...)

The baptismal prayer we use today is slightly different from the one Jesus gave to the Nephites, but in most particulars it is the same. The one we use today was still revealed from Jesus, but it was given to Joseph Smith.

The person who is called of God and has authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism, and shall say, calling him or her by name: Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. (Doctrine and Covenants 20:73)

Here the words were changed from "having authority from" to "having been commissioned of." To me, this adds a layer of meaning. "Having authority from" to me evokes the idea of someone being given a badge to act, like police officers. "Having been commissioned" adds the idea of an artist who is given a commission to do a particular work for someone. This is conveys how people who baptize do it under presiding authority that emanates up the chain of priesthood all the way to Jesus Christ.

Something that is interesting about the newer Nephite baptismal prayer is that Jesus says it is in His name, but when He gives it, He says, “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” It is odd that the specific name of Jesus Christ is not in that list, and instead He is “the Son.” I wondered why. After thinking about it for a while, it seemed to me that “the Son” was being made into a name just as important as the name “Jesus Christ.” (This reminded me of the temple.) Perhaps it is used in the baptism prayer to subtly reinforce the principle that baptism is a rebirth to become a son (or daughter) of God and also to show that Jesus submitted to be baptized as an example.

It is notable that Jesus explains to the Nephites why the Father and the Holy Ghost are included in the “in the name of” clause of the prayer. He says it is because He is one with the Father. What a neat thing it would be to be one and united like that in purpose, will, and action with the Godhead! Ultimately that is what we’re aiming for—to return to be united with them in heaven. We won’t be able to stay unless we also become united with their purpose, will, and action. So maybe the naming of all three members of the Godhead is a promise of eternal life with them. Being born again to "sonship" by baptism is the first step to becoming re-united with them.

Alma's baptismal prayer also mentions all members of the Godhead, but they are scattered throughout. The authority comes from “Almighty God,” which I assume must be the Father, and the Spirit of the Lord is promised, and the redemption of Christ is mentioned as the way to eternal life. The newer baptismal prayer unites the members of the Godhead into one clause. Could this be another way of expressing how they are united in purpose?

In Alma's baptismal prayer, the authority comes from "Almighty God," but in the new prayer, the authority and commission is from Jesus Christ. I think this is meant to show how Christ had ascended up and gained the power to draw all men unto Him.

Is there anything that you notice about the difference between the baptismal prayers? What do you learn from those difference?

What’s part of the mighty change of heart?

2 And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.
3 And we, ourselves, also, through the infinite goodness of God, and the manifestations of his Spirit, have great views of that which is to come; and were it expedient, we could prophesy of all things.
4 And it is the faith which we have had on the things which our king has spoken unto us that has brought us to this great knowledge, whereby we do rejoice with such exceedingly great joy.
5 And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days… (Mosiah 5:2-5)

We’ve often heard of this might change of heart, and I think we focus a lot of our attention on the particular aspect of having no more disposition to do evil and wanting to do good continually. But as I was reading through these verses, I realized that there is so much more to the might change of heart than just that. If we only notice the change in our disposition and miss all the other spiritual gifts that go along with it, we don’t get a chance to enjoy the full manifestation of the mighty change!

It is worth studying these facets of the mighty change to see if we can remember feeling something similar in our own experience.

“through the infinite goodness of God” The mighty change of heart also brings a huge appreciation for the goodness and mercy of God. Goo seems infinitely good, not just good. Really, that’s just seeing things as they really are, isn’t it?

“manifestations of his Spirit” They know they have felt the Spirit multiple times. It is obvious to them. They know what it feels like and they know where it comes from.

“great views of that which is to come” One of the things that seems to happen with the mighty change of heart is that one’s view of the future is expanded. I know what this feels like. It is as if the possibilities jump from just pretty words to being realities, although still in the future. At least one great view that I’m sure these people received was that of the coming of Christ to atone for their sins. It is like a mystery suddenly has been unfolded.

“we could prophecy of all things” With a great view of what is to come, the words to share it are ready at a moment’s notice. One wishes one could be called on to spontaneously bear testimony to the truth.

“faith” This is the faith to act to obtain the promises given. It feeds on hope.
“great knowledge” With the mighty change of heart, one’s considers the knowledge gained to be no small thing. It is so precious, it is reflected upon again and again.

“we do rejoice with exceedingly great joy” Wouldn’t you call this the best part of the mighty change? Here is joy given as a spiritual gift. For me, it is both electrifying and my heart seems to swell wide.

“we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will” Along with the desire to do good continually comes the desire to make a covenant with God. The covenant seems like a perfectly natural and desirable thing to make. Submission to the will of God seems easy. One wants to obey ALL of God's commandments, ALL the time, for the rest of one's mortal life.

I notice that these facets of the change of heart affect one’s thoughts, one’s words, and one’s deeds. That is certainly what makes it a mighty change.

I’m thankful to Mormon for including those verses because they are so spiritually perceptive. They help me recognize that these feelings I have felt are all part of receiving the mighty change of heart.

Strong as to the strength of men

Here’s a few verses I’ve been pondering:

11 Now, the Lamanites knew nothing concerning the Lord, nor the strength of the Lord, therefore they depended upon their own strength. Yet they were a strong people, as to the strength of men.
12 They were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people…(Mosiah 10:11-12)

As I was reading this, I found myself puzzled as to how the Lamanites could be a strong people without knowing anything about the Lord or the strength of the Lord. When you have a testimony of the strength that comes from the Lord, it is hard to see how someone can be strong any other way.

But it becomes easier to see when you examine the implications of not knowing anything about the Lord. If you think there is no higher power to depend on, then everything depends on you, how strong you are, how smart you are, how rich you are, how capable you are, how much you know… If you can only depend on yourself, then the only way you can get anywhere in this world is by being stronger, faster, smarter, richer, more knowledgeable, and more ruthless than the next guy. Why? So you can gain control over your life and what happens to you. So you can get what you want. (It’s easy to see this attitude today, isn’t it?)

And what is the result in a society in which everyone is jockeying to be the strongest, fastest, smartest, richest, most ruthless, most dangerous, and most in control? Things get taken to incredible extremes. “They were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people.”

The trouble with this way of thinking is life has a way of showing us all that we aren’t totally in control, that we don’t have everything figured out, that we arent’ the richest, that our plans can come to naught, and we aren’t strong enough to do everything on our own. There are times when life just plain kicks our tail, kicks it good and hard, and kicks it for months at a time. Or maybe years. NO ONE IS IMMUNE TO IT, NOT EVEN THE STRONGEST.

What does a Lamanite do when everything depends on their own strength and life’s yogurt suddenly hits the hurricane fan? Lamanites dealt with it by getting angry and blaming. They fed off their anger.

…believing in the tradition of their fathers, which is this—Believing that they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers, and that they were wronged in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing the sea;
13 And again, that they were wronged while in the land of their first inheritance, after they had crossed the sea, and all this because that Nephi was more faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord (Mosiah 10:12-13, emphasis added)

Notice how many times “wronged” was used in those verses. Anger was the only way they could deal with disappointments and setbacks and tragedies because everything depended on them and everything depended on being strong. Any kind of weakness was dangerous; if they showed weakness or admitted weakness to anyone then everyone would take advantage of them. They couldn’t even develop the virtues of patience, long-suffering, meekness, kindness, humility, or forgiveness, lest they be mistaken for weakness and invite oppression. (I have it on good authority that it is like this in prison.) They couldn’t help others, lest it give someone an advantage and create a dangerous rival later.

So they were forced to be wild, ferocious, and bloodthirsty. No other behavior or attitude would survive. And no other way would even seem possible.

But what happens when you know that you can depend on the Lord? If you know that, it is to your advantage to realize and admit your weakness as soon as possible and ask for help. Admitting weakness isn’t dangerous; it is part of showing that you know the Lord’s strength and trust in Him. It shows that you are ready for help, whether it comes from God directly or from other people. It doesn’t mean you’re not trying, it just means you know when you’ve hit your limits, and you realize your needs are greater than your strength. Also, when you trust in God, you are excited to help others because it means you get to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands and partake of the Lord’s strength in so doing. You realize that your talents and strengths are gifts and blessings from God. (Even frequent opportunities to practice a skill to develop a talent is a gift from God.)

To someone who knows nothing of the Lord or the strength of the Lord, people who depend on the Lord’s strength seem very weak because of how much they admit weakness. Belief and trust in God seem like a crutch. But it’s not. It is the key to obtain greater strength.

There are people who cope with tragedies, setbacks, and chronic problems by saying everything is fine and nothing is wrong. "I don't have an addiction." "My marriage is fine." "Nothing is wrong with my health/my child's health/my spouse's health/my parents' health." "I've done nothing wrong." "My financial affairs are just fine." "I get along with people just fine." Yet denying one's weaknesses doesn’t mean they go away; if anything it hides them. Like a tree with a wedge buried deeper and deeper in the wood, hiding weaknesses from yourself makes you even weaker. When the storm comes, trees with wedges deep in them break.

When you trust in the Lord as the one with the power, it doesn’t mean the storms never come or that pain is avoided. But it frees you from feeling there is something terribly wrong with you for feeling weak, inadequate, and devastated by life’s tragedies and troubles. You are free to admit that you can only do so much. You are free to admit your weaknesses, sins, and mistakes for them to be healed. You are free to develop the more refined virtues. You are free to ask for help.

Really. Trusting God is just a better way.

How I gained my testimony of the law of tithing

I want to share this story from my life with you.

First, I have to say that my parents taught me about paying tithing, and I grew up paying it without any question. 10% right off the top.

When I started going to college at BYU, I found that it was necessary for me to earn a certain amount every summer in order to have enough for the rest of the school year. That’s when it started to feel a little more difficult to pay tithing. I would look at the amount I was writing for a tithing check, and somehow it seemed large to me, and I would resent it just a little bit.

My second summer home from BYU, I heard of another guy in the ward who had paid all his paychecks as tithing at the beginning until it reached 10% of the full sum he needed and how he was blessed to make enough money for college. I decided I wanted to do that to bind the Lord to bless me with the money I needed for college.

I got a part time job as a telemarketer at the beginning of that summer. (This was back when telemarketers still sold things.) That job was really hard for me, especially because I had to try to convince people to take out a second mortgage. (More debt, bad!) It was also especially hard to pay my entire paychecks as tithing. I remember crying a few times as I was filling out the tithing slip. But I had faith that Heavenly Father would bless me.

Then, I lost my telemarketing job. On one hand, I was happy about that because I didn’t like telemarketing to try to get people to go deeper into debt. On the other hand, I was sad because it meant I had to go on the job search AGAIN. Deep down, I didn’t worry at all because I had paid all the tithing for the sum I needed for college, so Heavenly Father was now BOUND to bless me. The iron had entered my soul. I sensed that there was a better job out there for me.

There was. With a job application miraculously pulled from the trash, I became one of two candidates for a job with a mosquito abatement company. They chose me. All of a sudden, I had a job counting dead mosquitoes and treating standing water for mosquito larvae. The amount of work I had depended upon how bad the mosquitoes were and how much standing water there was for mosquitoes to breed in. In turn, the amount of mosquitoes depended upon high temperature and lots of rain. That summer became a very hot and rainy summer. The mosquitoes were so terrible, my hometown used up all of that year’s mosquito abatement budget and had to use part of the next year’s mosquito abatement budget to pay for mosquito abatement services.

At the end of the summer, I didn’t have all the money I needed for the school year, but I still wasn’t worried because I knew that Heavenly Father was bound to bless me. While I was at BYU, I was prompted to get an on-campus job. I picked out a job at an electronics parts storeroom, which I felt qualified for and applied. They didn’t hire me, but as I left, I felt prompted to go back and ask if they knew anyone else who might need me. They directed me to a different electronics storeroom on campus. The second storeroom didn’t need employees at the moment, but they took my name and number. After that, I didn’t feel any extra urgency to apply for jobs. Near the beginning of winter semester, I got a call from the second storeroom with an offer of a job to work there. I took the job and thereby earned the rest of the money I needed.

When I looked back at the end of the year, I could see how the Lord had blessed me with what I needed, and I had a strong testimony of the law of tithing. But that wasn’t the end of it. A few years later, I could look back and see that not only had the Lord blessed me with the money I needed, He led me to a job where I met my future husband. Every time I think of this experience, I am always flabbergasted by the immensity of this blessing the Lord poured out upon me. I feel like what I did was so small in comparison, even though it was an extra trial of faith for me. I learned that sacrifice does bring forth the blessings of heaven.

Will you share with me how you gained your testimony of the law of tithing?

13 Principles for Building Belief in the Face of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD)

A few months ago, I read a book written by a man who has struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder his entire life. (I just wish I could remember the title and the author.) I read his description of the anxiety that underlay his compulsive behaviors and I empathized to a certain extent because I was struggling with anxiety at that time.

Then man shared a number of principles that he had to remind himself of often to deal with his obsessive-compulsion, and I really resonated with them. I could see that at bottom, they were part of the gospel.

I think they are worth sharing.

13 Principles for Building Belief in the Face of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD)

1. Choose to see the Universe as friendly. God is in charge, and the Universe is the friend and servant of God.

8 For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God.
9 Yea, behold at his voice do the hills and the mountains tremble and quake.
10 And by the power of his voice they are broken up, and become smooth, yea, even like unto a valley.
11 Yea, by the power of his voice doth the whole earth shake;
12 Yea, by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock, even to the very center.
13 Yea, and if he say unto the earth—Move—it is moved.
14 Yea, if he say unto the earth—Thou shalt go back, that it lengthen out the day for many hours—it is done;
15 And thus, according to his word the earth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun. (Helaman 12:8-15)

2. Affirm your divine potential and infinite worth.

Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; (D&C 19:10)

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39)

28 They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
29 Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness. (D&C 88:28-29)

3. Resolve to keep sight of the big picture

Where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18)

20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.
21 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.
22 He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.
23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time.
24 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me.
25 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them. (2 Nephi 4:20-25)

4. Accept and let go of what you can’t control. Let it go into the hands of God and the Universe.

5 ¶Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

When Joseph went to Carthage to deliver himself up to the pretended requirements of the law, two or three days previous to his assassination, he said: “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me—he was murdered in cold blood.” (D&C 135:4)

5. Allow for bigger plans than your own to unfold. Think, “This or something better.”

Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men; (D&C 3:3)

And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls. (Alma 37:7)

And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will. (Words of Mormon 1:7)

For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled. (Mormon 8:22)

6. Picture Possibility. Use your imagination to visualize the end you want.

And he shall be led in paths where the poisonous serpent cannot lay hold upon his heel, and he shall mount up in the imagination of his thoughts as upon eagles’ wings. (D&C 124:99)

28 And when [Jesus] was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. (Matthew 9:28-29)

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

7. Embrace the possibility of every moment.

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. (Mark 9:23)

8. Direct your attention and choose what you pay attention to.

For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart? (Mosiah 5:13)

36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day. (Alma 37:36-37)

33 Therefore let the church take heed and pray always, lest they fall into temptation; (D&C 20:33)

…cast away your idle thoughts… (D&C 88:69)

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! (Psalms 139:17)

9. Notice the abundance given to you from the abundance of God by counting your blessings

For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. (1 Cor. 10:26)

For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things (D&C 104:17)

And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell? (Alma 26:2)

And the Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly; for we did sow seed, and we did reap again in abundance. And we began to raise flocks, and herds, and animals of every kind. (2 Nephi 5:11)

And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly rich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need—an abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind, and also abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of silk and fine-twined linen, and all manner of good homely cloth. (Alma 1:29)

Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and polluted state? (Alma 26:17)

Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name. (Alma 26:35)

Oliver Cowdery describes these events thus: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! (Joseph Smith History 1:75, footnote)

10. Go through the motions and act.

All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence. (D&C 93:30)

27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.(D&C 58:27-28)

Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other. (2 Nephi 2:16)

Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life. (2 Nephi 10:23)

And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. (Moroni 7:33)

11. Act to empower yourself and serve the Lord, not to assuage FUD.

Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! (D&C 128:22)

Wherefore, as ye are agents, ye are on the Lord’s errand; and whatever ye do according to the will of the Lord is the Lord’s business. (D&C 64:29)

36 The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.
37 Light and truth forsake that evil one. (D&C 93:30)

12. Resolve to put your commitments and covenants ahead of your comfort.

And thus ye shall become instructed in the law of my church, and be sanctified by that which ye have received, and ye shall bind yourselves to act in all holiness before me— (D&C 43:9)

8 Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice—yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command—they are accepted of me.
9 For I, the Lord, will cause them to bring forth as a very fruitful tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth much precious fruit. (D&C 97:8-9)

13. Use purpose and service to overcome FUD.

Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words. (Alma 17:29)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)

Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. (Alma 56:47)


I have to remind myself of these principles from time to time, and they have helped me. I hope they can help you too.

Things that make my brain explode inside my skull

Last week when I had to get ready to teach a primary song about reverence, I found myself wondering where reverence comes from. We all know that reverence is more than just behaving respectfully. Where does that respect come from? I asked myself, “How do I cultivate reverence for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?”

I remembered some things I learned in my astronomy class in high school. (Humor me on this little scientific diversion..)


This picture has squished all the planets together in one frame and distorted all the sizes of the planets and the sun. The big planets are much bigger and all the distances are much more far apart. (If you want to teach your kids about the real distances and sizes of the planets, here is a link to instructions for a “planet walk” you can do to help bring the proper scale into perspective.)

Consider each of these things carefully..

The earth is about 8,000 miles across.
Light travels about 186,000 miles per second.
(If the earth were completely hollow and two mirrors were placed opposite each other at the equator, light could bounce between them 23 times in a single second.)

The earth is about 93 MILLION miles from the sun.
It is so far away that it takes light 8 minutes to get from the sun to the earth.
Pluto’s average distance from the sun is about 40 times greater than the earth’s. It is about 5.3 light-hours away from the sun.

The closest star to us is Proxima Centari, a red dwarf star 4.2 light-years away.

Now let's jump to the galaxy level.


The sun is about 2/3rds of the way out from the middle of the Milky Way galaxy, or about 25,000 light years away from the center (1).
The Milky Way galaxy is an estimated 100,000 light years across (2). Our solar system is so small in comparison that the smallest dot in its approximate location on the map would exaggerate its size by 100 times.
Astronomers estimate our galaxy may have between 200 to 300 BILLION stars in it (3).

Now.. check out this next picture..


Look at all those galaxies… *

I remember when I saw a picture very similar to this in my astronomy class, it made my brain explode inside my skull. HEAVENLY FATHER CREATED ALL OF THAT AND MORE! It is a testimony to the glory, majesty, and power of God. This awes me to no end. That awe leads to a deep sense of reverence for God.

Mind-blowing Concept #2

There’s something else that brings me to a feeling of deep awe and reverence. When I think of all the mistakes I have made and the sins I have committed and the pain I have experienced in my life, it is amazing to me that Jesus Christ suffered for all of it too. But then when I remember He also suffered those things for my family…

and for my ward…

and for all the people of our church…

and for all the people living on earth right now…

and for all the people who have ever lived or who will yet live on earth….

That causes my brain to explode again inside my skull.

Mind-blowing Concept #3

Heavenly Father hears my prayers and He answers them. He understands my language. He also hears and answers prayers in every other language, even when the prayers are being said simultaneously. The idea that He can make sense of, let alone respond to such a staggering array of messages, languages, pleas, thanks, praise, and more causes my brain to explode again inside my skull.

All of this brings me to a feeling of great reverence for God. With an awareness of Heavenly Father’s powers of creation, we can trust His purposes for us. With an awareness of Jesus’s magnificent demonstration of love in the atonement, we can obey the commandment to repent. With an awareness of Heavenly Father’s ability to hear and understand so many different messages directed to Him, we gain the ability to trust His responsiveness.

Awe for God leads to reverence.
Reverence toward God leads to love and trust.
Love and trust in God leads to obedience.

* There are many galaxies in this picture, and some of them have so much gravitational energy that they actually bend the light of other galaxies, producing multiple images of them. Google "gravitational lens."

Sources

1 Gene Smith Astronomy Tutorial, “The Milky Way Galaxy”, http://casswww.ucsd.edu/archive/public/tutorial/MW.html

2 “Milky Way Galaxy”, Space Yuga, Feb. 6, 2011, http://spaceyuga.com/milky-way-galaxy/

3 Nicholos Wethington, December 16, 2008, “How Many Stars are in the Milky Way?”, http://www.universetoday.com/22380/how-many-stars-are-in-the-milky-way/

Images

Milky Way Galaxy Image from http://spaceyuga.com/milky-way-galaxy/,

Galaxy Cluster Image from Starts with a Bang, http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2010/11/hey_dark_matter_where_are_you.php

Solar system Image from Purple Slinky, http://purpleslinky.com/trivia/science/amazing-things-about-our-solar-system/