Holding to the rod when things get tough

So things are in a bit of turmoil in my ward. We had the ward mission leader visit someone who was leaving the church, and instead of helping the person who he went to visit, he instead chose to leave the church as well. And presumably take his family with him. This is especially painful to me because I know him and his family, and they are beautiful, bright and warm people. I don't know the man that well personally, but he has a good reputation among others whose opinion I respect. He was a leader - how could that happen? How could a person who so many thought had it all together, find a way to give it all up?

And then we get someone else recently who decides to join the wicken religion and be a witch.

All of this happens while the ward has grown large enough to be split into two and a half new wards. Our ward, though huge, is very close. The thought of losing these amazing people is really painful. That split happened yesterday. Each of the wards will go to different buildings, so we won't even see them in the halls. These are people that we love.

So last night, with friends were were talking about holding onto the iron rod, and how easy it is to lose sight. My friend's kids are all well raised, intelligent and extremely insightful. One of them mentioned that he lost a friend to Satan's cause because that kid (I wish I could remember the words he used, but I'll make a stab at it) "turned off the switch, and then said that there was no light". He said that the kid slowed down on his scripture reading because of an operation and recovery, then never picked up the habit again. Next thing he knows, he's proudly exclaiming that the light he turned off wasn't on, and that it wasn't there.

So I'm a slacker too - writing like this is how I motivate myself to read. Often, but not always, I read and then write blogs like this. I used to look forward to reading ever morning, and finding that super juicy and inspirational easter egg in the scriptures. I loved how I could find something in there and have it fill my soul enough to need to write about it. I haven't done that in months, and so I felt the need to grab the rod again.

credit: moroni channell

And - to my small surprise, I open up the scriptures to (wait for it...) Nephi's discussion of the iron rod. I love it when I get little signs like that.

So here's the scenario. As a writer, sometimes I try to pour my heart and soul into something. I exert every brain cell's maximum as I passionately pour my soul and my feelings into a paragraph. I try to make it as powerful as possible so that I can fill the reader's soul with light. And when it's done? I have words. A paragraph.It's still just words, and the vast majority of my intended meaning still didn't make it to the reader.

Nephi did that. In 1 Nephi Chapter 15: 24 and 25, Nephi tried to use those kinds of words. "And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction"

I could write another blog about that word "blindness", but that's for another day.

Then in verse 25 Nephi pours out his soul. I'll let you read that yourself.

We must hearken to the word of God, and hold fast to it. There is also room to discuss what "hearken" and "hold fast" mean. For me, today, it means I need to be better about opening my scriptures and searching them regularly. It means I need to hunt in them, and for me it means I must write about them so I can drive the gems I find more deeply into my brain, heart and soul.

We can all do better, but most notably I can do better. I commit do doing that, and you'll probably be able to see how well I succeed.

Who decides who the prophet is?

After a long pause in my scripture study, and after realizing that my spiritual meter has taken a long pause as well, I have decided to make a change. Words with Friends is a good game - nothing wrong with it - but when it replaces the time I use to build myself and my soul, it becomes a problem.

Credit: inthecavityofarock.blogspot.com

I found Helaman today. The Book of Mormon generally is just easy reading for me. There's something extra direct about the word of God in that book. I opened to Helaman 13 verse 24. Helaman is the first Lamanite prophet. Up until that time, the Lamanites were the wayward guys - the offspring of the children who didn't get it. The Nephites were the good guys - or they had been. Here's the Lamanite prophesying to the Nephites. I'm sure they took one look at him, and even at the color of his skin perhaps, and decided that someone like that couldn't be a prophet.

They didn't know what a prophet was, and most of us don't either. He said "wo unto this people...ye do cast out the prophets, and do mock them, and cast stones at them, and do slay them, and do all manner of iniquity...". Then he went on to describe what they decided was a prophet: "behold, if a man come among you and shall say: Do this and there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer...ye will receive him and say that he is a prophet".

So they, and we basically decide that if what is being said appeals to our existing lifestyle, and allows us to sink deeper into our own comfortable pit, then that guy is a prophet. I'd say that perhaps the dude is not a prophet, but an excuse.

So how do you find a prophet? First off, a man is a prophet not because of what any person says or thinks. He's a prophet because the Lord made him one. If Joe and John both say that they are prophets, and billions of people think it's Joe, that still doesn't make him a prophet. If John gets one vote from the Lord, he's the prophet.

So if it's the Lord that makes the decision, how do we know? We're not going to appeal to the opinions of others, or even to our own physical or mental opinion. That's all coming from muscle patterns and neurons. Physical stuff doesn't get us there. Truth comes from the soul.

One of the greatest battles I run into is individuals who believe they can think their way into believing Christ and the gospel. This is like trying to hear a smell. Like trying to see a sound. You can try to describe using the wrong sense, but at best it's still an approximation.

To know if a man is a prophet, we must use our soul. If the vessel is pure, if the gift is not blocked, then the Lord will tell us who the prophet is. Then our duty is not just to know that guy is a prophet, but to seek and follow his words. There's not much use knowing that a shovel is a shovel, then not use it if you need to dig a hole.

Prophets speak to worldwide audiences twice a year. One of those moments is coming up. It's up to me to make sure I listen, knowing that they are prophets.

Things I learned from a pigeon

So first, a little bit of back story. As I began this blog, I was originally instructed to read the scriptures and then write about what I learned.  It caused me to read scriptures in a totally different way, and I learned and grew much. I learned to find those beautiful easter eggs in the scriptures, then as I found them, the writing flowed.

So today I depart from that formula to write about what I see. I am building a home. By all measures, it's my dream home. It's my wife's dream home, and when we move in, it would be my dream home even if it was a tin shack - I'd have the right woman to share it with.

So the entire east side of the home is pretty much all glass. There's a view there - perhaps one of the most spectacular views on the planet. There is all manner of wildlife, but especially birds - birds I've never seen before in my life, but they are there in great abundance on the back side - the east side - of this wood frame wonder.

I was there the other day running some wire, and I heard chirping and repeated failed attempts to get through the upstairs sliding glass door. It was a pigeon, exhausted, but trying and failing over and over to fly through the glass. Each time, a squalk of desperation, exhausted wings, and the same result.  Failure. Death was coming fast for this trapped creature.

But just a few feet to the side, there are four windows that are not installed yet. This pigeon simply had to wander over there. A few hops perhaps, and then the living would have gone back to being easy. Bugs, seeds, and all of the things that make a pigeon's life beautiful are right there. But our pigeon would die there if I didn't save it. Why? because it thought it knew what to do, would not try anything else, and could not ask others to assist.

I climbed the ladder to get to the second floor and looked at the pigeon. Now, pigeons are not my wife's favorite bird - they're loud in the morning and we have many on our roof where we live now. Right at the bottom on the totem pole of bird awesomeness.

But I looked at this one. Small, beautiful, elegant, and desperately in need. It was too tired to be afraid of me. It just sat there while I walked into the room, toward the bird and the door. I gently opened the glass door, and walked away. It took a minute, but then it happened, and I saw a couple of pigeons flying around together. Reunited in all of their pigeon happiness, and the day was beautiful for them again.

And I wondered, how often are we like this pigeon? Our life is in the swamp - we've trapped ourselves. It's not working, and we're desperate. Still, we will not turn to anyone other than ourselves. Whether it's pride that stops us, or a lack of belief or knowledge of the gifts of God, or simply stubbornness. Maybe it's an insistence that we've got ourselves into this swamp and and we'll get ourselves out of it - or die trying. And the last thing we want to do is admit that we don't have as many of the answers as we thought we did.

The Lord sometimes will come open the door for us, but I suspect that often he waits for us to request that the door be opened. Or maybe he'll go into our room and herd us (guide us) toward a window, hoping that we'll give up our old belief set and fly through a window instead. I suspect that if He just opens the door for us to make our lives easier, we learn nothing. And the next time we trap ourselves? We either become dependent and fail to grow, or are found once again in a life or death swamp - no further ahead than we were before.

It's not always about trying harder, or trying again. And this pains me to say, but it's not always about not being afraid to fail. Sometimes we just have to try something new - something we've never tried before. And sometimes our little bird brain just can't get us there. We have to rely on the Lord. May we surrender our will and do so always.

For thus it whispereth me

It seems like the most important stuff we do always takes last place. It's been two months since my last post, and I used to do ten a month. Yes, I've been busy, but not too busy to keep up on a dozen or so active games on words with friends. Sadly but not strangely, I've been feeling further apart from our Savior. I still know his voice, but I don't feel it nearly as often as I used to. I still have the will to be the vessel that reflects His light, but I don't think about it as much as I used to.

But there's always hope. With no ward choir this morning (mother's day) I have an extra hour. So what did I do? I finished my words with friends games, then turned to the scriptures. It feels like going back home.

I had more trouble spotting that easter egg, but I found a good one. Words of Mormon, verse 7. I know Mormon to be a great man, full of wisdom, and possessor of a life that I would never want. Still, he found his greatness, he filled his calling, and he knew the voice of the Lord.

In the early verses, he talks about finding the plates of Nephi, and he saw how they were written in until they were full, then the last dude quit. I guess that's an easter egg of its own - one level of being is to write until the paper you're handed is full. Another level is to fill the paper with what's important, then figure out how to go make some more paper. Hey, it's what the Lord had available at the time I guess.

So those plates are now filled, and Mormon finds them, and stacks them with the rest of what will become his book - the Book of Mormon. He doesn't consider himself an author - he's a soldier and man of God. He doesn't understand what it's all about, and he doesn't know what the next steps are. He just knows that the spirit of the Lord is telling him to do these tasks. Being a good soldier, and a prophet of God, he does that.

Verse 7: "For this it whispereth me..." How I know this phrase. Mormon was a good soldier, so when he got an order, he recognized it and he did it - now. He was a prophet of God, so when he got instructions, he executed them - now. And because he did so, the Lord knew He could give Mormon more instructions, and that they would be executed. This helps Mormon to save his people, and himself, and has much to do with why Mormon became a great man of God.

I love the language. "It whispereth me". I get that languages can put verbs and nouns in different orders, but this is unusual language, even for the scriptures. He's saying something unusual. He doesn't know exactly what "it" is, but he knows "it" is of God. He knows it comes as a whisper. In other circles that whisper is called a still, small voice. It's hard to describe, but the closer you align yourself to God, the more you know when you're being whispered to.

For me, when I'm aligned with my Savior, I call it my voice. I get that it feels like a whisper, but there's not a sound - it's just in my head. It is gently placed there, so that you have to be ready and aligned, or prepared to hear it. And then you have to act on it. Asking questions, or wondering if the source was really from God can result in orders lost, and furthers orders perhaps not received.

But the peace, and the confidence, and the love for self and others, and the settledness of a lifestyle that comes from following the voice? I have to say that the things I'm told, and the joy I get from doing them and seeing the results from others? That's fun! I love that.

And now I'm wondering why I spend so much time on facebook and words with friends, and why I'm not doing what's really exciting. I guess it's time to change my ways.

Humble Reaching: Having ears to hear

I listened to a talk in Sacrament meeting today about reaching. It was a powerful story, well presented. The speaker described her very imaginative and talkative five year old niece who was visiting temple square. A mall with fountains is found cross the street. This little girl looked at the black waters in one of the water features, and pronounced that Satan. The water was filled with black stones, so that gave the appearance of darkness. Then she looked at the fountains of water coming from that pool, and that water was clear. She decided that represented Jesus. This angel wanted to touch Jesus, so she climbed, reached and stretched and asked for help. Then she touched the water, and proudly proclaimed to all that were near that she touched Jesus!

A similar thing happened in this week's reading. Luke 8 describes how a woman reached out and touched Jesus. At that moment in history, people touching Jesus was not an unusual occurrence - there was a huge group of people, and all of them wanted to be close to Him. The difference was that they wanted to touch the miracle causer; the rock star; the new kid in town. This woman wanted something different. She wasn't about curiosity, and she wasn't about posting a selfie with Jesus. She had faith and a purpose, and wanted to touch the Son of God. She believed that He could heal her.

She also reached. She did what she could do for herself. Her actions included getting herself to the place where Christ would be, and positioning herself.  She had gained enough faith to know that Christ could do this for her, then she reached. Christ did the rest.

How different it is to acknowledge God, compared to accessing His power through humble reaching.

Another thing that strikes me in these chapters is the  phrase "he that hath ears to hear, let him hear". This is kind of the same thing as above for me actually - we all have arms, but few of us reach. We all have ears, but few of us want to know what Christ needs us to do. We'd love to have Christ show up and give us a clear path for what we need to do next - but only if those instructions fit our existing lifestyle. Otherwise? Not interested. And it would be convenient if those words that we want to hear from Christ didn't involve having to go anywhere to hear them. Just do it between my breaks at work, thank you very much.

I have discussed this in other posts - Christ protects us from ourselves by giving to us only what we are willing to manage. With parables, Christ can give great wisdom to those who reach for great wisdom, but if you didn't really want to know? Then he can hide what might have been damming to your soul behind the same parable. It's an act of love - not giving us what He knows we can't or won't handle.

And then a scripture that has always made me scratch my head: Matthew 13:11 and 12
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

So why would the Lord give to those who are already "rich" and take from the poor? Isn't that backwards? I thought it was always about giving to those who didn't have - isn't that right?

In this scripture, I believe that Christ wasn't talking about physical needs, but spiritual strength. Those who have ears, and listen, will be given more learning - because they listen. Those who have arms that reach for him will find him, and be healed. Those who want to get close to him for a really awesome facebook selfie with Christ? From them "it" will be taken away. We all have to be careful about that - are our motivations to get close to Christ, or to appear that way? Do we do things to check the box, or do we do things to show our love for Christ and to be His disciple?

I should probably quit here because it might appear that I view myself as "above", and that I'm preaching. This is not my goal. It's just what's coming to me as I think and type.

 I've spent a great deal of my life being very interested in pleasing others so I could have friends. I'm starting to learn that as I settle in to being comfortable with who I am, which is a disciple of Christ, that friends come to me. I'm grateful for that. Still a lot of issues, but I'm reaching. I hope that's enough. 

Come Follow Me: It's not about "getting through"

So we joined families to do our Come Follow Me lesson for next Sunday. It was interesting what expectations we put on ourselves. For example, one member of the group complained a bit about having six chapters to "get through". We have Matthew 10-12; Mark 2, Luke 7 and Luke 11. A lot of material.

Now, for me that's not a problem because of what I've learned as I've done this blog. I was originally challenged to read the scriptures for half an hour, then write for about 10 minutes about what I learned. What it has turned into is that I read until I find something that inspires me and compels me to write. Then I consider it as I write.

Priesthood meetings are much better for me lately. Our instructions are to sit in a circle, and have the group teach each other. It will be a surprise to no-one that many heads thinking and drawing from their experience is better than one lecturer and a group of chair sitters. I just congratulated my Elder's quorum president on his presentation - he is more of a choir director than a lecturer, and it becomes very rewarding to be in those classes. This is not a new thing necessarily - the Preach My Gospel manual has stated for some time that the most important trait of a teacher is his ability to listen. 

By contrast, the teacher who feels that he or she must "get through" the lesson is probably making the lesson about themselves. That's harsh, I know, because they would say their only desire is to serve. For me, the goal is not to "get through", but to deepen our souls. To improve our understanding, to gain from each other, and from the Holy Ghost. To recharge and enlarge our spiritual batteries. In some sense, a need to cut off a discussion that is doing those things, with the intent of getting through the lesson, is counter productive.

This goes me back to the beginning of this page. She was expecting to accomplish her goal within the time allotted. I was looking for gems, and places where we could discuss and learn. One is more check-boxy. The other is less check-boxy. One is about fulfilling self-imposed expectations, and the other is about spiritual growth and depth of soul.

I believe that when our goal is to check the box, we gain less. Much less.

Home teaching was changed to ministering to avoid the box checking. The change was made to align our goals with the Lord's goals: don't just visit them once a month - serve them. Love them. See them as the Lord does. Develop a relationship with them - take them swimming, or to the park, or four-wheeling with you. It was never supposed to be about getting an appointment on the 31st each month. 

I think it's similar with lessons and scripture reading. May we not just "get through", but may we learn to love the scriptures because it deepens our relationship with Jesus Christ - no matter how many chapters or verses that may take. 

It's a new way of thinking, and a new way to be. May we not just go to the temple so we can feel good about having done it, but go to be inspired. May we not just pray so that we did it, but to report in and commune with our best friend. 

It's better that way. 

Led by a woman - again

After the temple ceremony, and each time I go, I come away with profound respect for Eve. She got it - she always did. For me, and based on what I see and perceive, Eve was always way ahead of Adam - her role, at least partly, was to help Adam get it. What an amazing woman.

The fact that she is generally vilified among those who don't get it doesn't change her greatness one bit. Her greatness is. It just is. Opinions of those who don't understand doesn't change things. I guess that's another lesson that can be learned here, but it's not the direction I am going today. 

Then we run into Mary, Mother of Christ. Here is a woman whose greatness is generally recognized, but probably for the wrong reasons. Yes, being the mother of the Son of God is no small thing, but Mary isn't just someone else's mother - she is a spiritually deep soul who God the Father picked for a reason. Those reasons are not explored like they could be.

I love how Mary, like Eve, started things off. It came time for Christ's first miracle - turning the water to wine. As you read John 2, and watch the church video on that moment, you get that Mary knew it was time for Christ to begin his ministry. She was the one who understood that it was not just about getting more wine for the wedding attendees, she knew it was the beginning of Christ's ministry and miracles. She gave him the permission, the request, the authorization or the reminder that His time for miracles was now here.

It occurs to me that perhaps the two greatest moments in human history - the choice to leave the garden and the choice to begin Christ's ministry of miracles - was led out by a woman. They just seem to get it better than us males do sometimes. 

Christ was well aware of what was really happening, and his love and admiration for her was evident - even thousands of years later. His response was something like "I'll do whatever you say until my time comes". It shows great love and respect, and it reflects that he knows how things will end for him. 

Mary knew that Christ could and would turn the water into wine, she knew it was within his powers, she knew that he would do it for the guests, and she knew He would do it for both of His Fathers. She knew it was the beginning of a road that would end in pain that no mother could imagine. But she did so faithfully, perhaps even proudly, that it was now time for her Son to be who He is. The fear, the faith, the pride, the love and whatever other emotions she felt at the time can only be imagined. 

In any case, when an insurmountable problem arrived, she knew who to turn to. She did so immediately, and with confidence that He would solve it.

May we show that kind of faith. 

Come Follow Me: Lesson 1

Imagine this: you're a high priest, you're in the temple to do a sacred ceremony, and suddenly you find an angel of God standing to the side of the altar. Pretty cool huh?

Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, found himself in just such a spot.

Now to be clear, this is a man that was described as just and good. This is the man that God the Father saved for such an elevated calling. Out of the billions of spirits that have lived on earth, God chose this man to be the father of John the Baptist. I expect that he must have been chosen for this calling because he was more than extraordinary.  How amazing would it be simply to have lived in this place, in this generation, and just see the Savior in the flesh?

So despite of all of that praise, here's Zacharias. Temple, altar, messenger. The messenger tells him that he will be the father to one of the most influential men ever to stand on the earth, and that his aged wife will have that baby. Maybe she's 60ish? 80ish? Who knows? The scripture says she's "stricken" with age.

And how does he respond? It's not in the category of "I'm so humbled and awestruck that I am seeing a messenger from God", and it's not "I can't fathom that I will be the father of such an amazing person", and it's not even "I'm so grateful that my wife, at her age, can be given a child". It was (according to the scripture account) "How can I believe you? She's old!"

Yo - Zacharias. It's God the Father. You know - miracles, all powerful, creator of the universe - that sort of thing.

It's easy to dump on Zacharias. For that moment, he chose doubt rather than faith, and was stricken with the inability to speak. But he was a great man, and if he's that great, where does that leave the rest of us? Will we doubt a spiritual manifestation? Or perhaps a better question is this: how often do we doubt or ignore a spiritual manifestation? And when we do, is our own soul made unable to speak in some way for some period of time?

The same thing with his wife, but perhaps to a lesser degree. The Lord's messenger tells her that she's about to give birth to John the Baptist! Her response? Oh good! Now I'll not be embarrassed about being barren any more!!

It's a bit bigger than that.

How often do we get to buried in our own routine that we fail to make room for divine intervention? How often do we ignore it because it's not part of our schedule?

And the biggie for the Jews - the thing that sent them over the edge, and made them marvel? It was that Zacharias and his wife decided to name their son John. This absolutely broke all rules. None of their ancestors was named John. You can't do that. You just can't. It's a rule - somewhere. This overwhelming break of tradition must have caused them to go full melt down.

We have traditions too. We have assumptions about how things should be. We have a prophet that's changing things, and indicating to us that just because something has been the routine, that doesn't mean it's eternal truth.

There are things to learn here: first is to listen for divine guidance, and then do what we're told, when we're told it. Right now. Even if it's un-routine or uncomfortable. In other words, if the message comes from God, that trumps all other factors. Even if it might be awkward to do it.

The second is that we don't know as much as we think we do. Traditions, assumptions, and general "knowledge" are not necessarily eternal truth - they're just traditions. We have to learn to separate out procedures from principles. That's hard - it requires us to be close to the Lord so we can know the difference.

May we grow within ourselves so we can have those divine messenger moments. May we gain the companionship of the Lord and his messengers on this side of the veil, as well as after this life. I can testify that it's worth it.

Where prophets are

I remember on my mission hearing more than one of my companions stating that there is only one prophet on the earth at once. That's true - kinda.

Right now, with the advantage of the internet, radio, TV, etc, a prophet's voice can reach any corner of the world. When that's true, how many prophets does the Lord need? One. And that's how many he will have.

Actually that's not true either, because there are 13 who are sustained as prophets, seers, etc. The quorum of the 12 are all sustained as prophets, among other titles. I guess it's safe to say that the Lord needs all 13 of them to get the work done and spread the word. And then He needs more than that - the quorums of the 70, as well as stake presidents, mission presidents, missionaries, bishops, and yes - the home teachers. I know it's ministers, but I'm so comfortable calling them home teachers that it's pretty hard to let it go.

But I digress.

So back in the day, let's say Book of Mormon times, how many prophets were there? Two that we know of. There was one at any given time (except during apostasy) in Jerusalem, and one in the American continent. When the Jaredites were there, and while they allowed a prophet, they had one too.

In 2 Nephi 29, the Lord defends himself against those who grumble that they want there to be only one book that has His word. "8 wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another..."

And do you remember that the Lord said he had many sheep to visit after He visited the Nephites? Check out verses 11 and 12. He mentions his flock in the east, west, north and south, and in the islands. In verse 12, he mentions the Jews, the Nephites, the other tribes of the house of Israel, and then he says "I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it."

I guess that covers it. All nations. The people in Iceland? Check. Zambia? Yep. Samoa? Absolutely. By the way, if there were a reincarnation, I'd totally want to come back as a Polynesian. Polynesians rock.

"And they shall write the words which I shall speak to them, for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world".

But to me, the debate (I use the word loosely because there kinda isn't one) isn't about how many prophets there are. That's a pretty intellectual and therefore meaningless argument. What's important is that the Lord loves all of us, and He will provide a means for all of us to have access to truth. If I live in Micronesia, and it's 1829, and if I'm looking for truth, and if my government allows truth to be told, and if I'm open to that truth, there will be as much truth out there as the Lord can pour in the jar.

Once again, it's not that the Lord is not filling our cup - it's that we have a lid on the cup.

May we do more than acknowledge the Lord's word, whether it be the Bible, the Book of Mormon, or whether it be the inspired words of those who love us. May we prayerfully and intentionally remove the lid and allow the Lord to fill our souls. May we acknowledge the Lord's yearning to fill our cups and enlarge our souls, and allow him to do it by removing the blocks we've placed on this side of the pipe.

I've had days in my life when I knew the blocks were partly removed, and my soul was enlarged. I've had the other kinds of days too. Being filled is better. Let's all stretch for that.

Who's the Master?

I have to admit that I struggle sometimes. I see people who rely on what they believe to be superior intelligence, who have managed to baffle themselves so completely with their perceived intelligence that an angel of God couldn't convince them otherwise.

Part of why it's hard for me is that it feels like I'm arguing for not using your brain. Of course that would be wrong - everything we're given is expected to be used beneficially for ourselves and for others around us. But an over-reliance on any one gift, to the detriment of other gifts, can steer us very wrong.

I see this as I'm reading in Nephi today. It's 1 Nephi chapter 15, verse 3 especially. Here's Nephi who gets it. His dad had a vision, so what did Nephi do? He went to the Lord to get confirmation. What did his brothers do? They argued about the meaning of what Lehi told them. He said the explanation their father Lehi gave them was "hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord".

Simple enough. If you don't understand, go the Lord first, then to your brain second. Not your brain first, and the Lord never. He continues "and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought".

I remember my mom saying once "We're all inactive, it's just a matter of degree". I've requoted her and remembered that for many decades. It never seems to hit home as much to anyone else as it does me. I'm thinking we're all "hard in our hearts" to some degree. We'd all rather decide for ourselves about whatever issue is at hand. And after we decide? Who needs the Lord? We have our decision made.

I have a painting in my home that I really appreciate. It's a Greg Olsen, titled woman at the well. Here is a woman that is listening intently to her Redeemer and Savior. She's not telling him her opinion, she's not formulating a witty response to what he's saying. She's listening intently. Her goal is to swallow up all of his words without missing anything. She is expressing love to her Master by listening humbly and completely to every word of his. Any of her previous opinions are irrelevant right now - she's listening to the Master.

May we rely on our Master more, and on our own limited skills less, as we navigate life. And perhaps this is true too: as soon as we think we've got it? That's when we know we've probably lost it.

#lds #mormon #Jesus #Christ #love #spirit #faith #sharegoodness #lighttheworld #ldsshare #giftsandguides #thechurchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints

I will go and do

Sometimes in life we find ourselves stopped. Trapped. The battles have been waged and lost. You sit there feeling the pain of the loss and wondering perhaps where God is. Isn't he supposed to help you always?

So I opened to Alma Chapter 52 today. These are the war chapters of the Book of Mormon. These are sometimes criticized for being interesting, but not necessarily spiritually uplifting. The thing is - the Lord knows why they're in there. These of course are not just interesting war stories. There is wisdom in them.

So I was reading through the chapter, and while I enjoyed the story, I knew that I wasn't getting much in the spiritual strength category. I thought "I haven't found those easter eggs I'm looking for yet", when the thought occurred to me that I'd probably already passed two or three of them. Didn't catch them. I did find at least one though.

So the Nephites just lost a battle for some of their biggest and most important cities. The cities are well walled, the Nephites made sure of that. They made sure that a small army and the city defenses could hold off a much bigger Lamanite army, and now the city was in the hands of the Lamanites. Can you get that back? Nope.

But if the Lord needs you to get it back, you get it back. You find another way. You consult with the Lord, and use your resources, and you get it back.

And if the Lord needs you to keep podcasting, or writing, or if he needs you to be a better sunday school teacher despite the abuse you may have taken from students, parents, etc, then that's what you do. If your spouse doesn't support your wishes to raise the kids in a certain way - you find another way. It's about relentless dedication to doing what you know you should be doing. Not that I'd be an expert in that, but Teancum, Moroni and Lehi (the ones in the book of Alma) were.

To be clear, it's not about enforcing a person's personal will. It's about making the Lord's will happen. Big difference. Huge. Doing the first makes a person very unpopular and difficult to live or work with. It also results in a person being truthfully and properly called some very unpleasant names. The second makes a

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person a follower of God. The methods of doing these tasks will be very different as well. One will feel like force, while the other feels like love. One feels like "my way or the highway", while the other probably feels like relentless dedication.

So what did they do? These important and lost cities were critical to both sides, they were very well defended from a military perspective, and they were inhabited by a large army of very unpleasant soldiers. It would seem to be a very lost cause.

So does a person give up? If you're doing your own will and it's not working very well, perhaps so. You might be doing something that doesn't need to be done - or shouldn't be done. If you're following the Lord and it's not done yet? Find another way. The Lord doesn't make getting his work done easy - he just makes it do-able.

Teancum followed his leaders, and through military strategy, won an unwinnable battle. It's kind of in the same category as Nephi saying "I will go and do".

If it's the Lord's will, it will happen. The Lord will make it happen, but only if we surrender our will to his. Only if you and I do what the Lord needs us to do to get there. For whatever reason, he won't snap his fingers and make things work while we sit on our lawnchairs. I think I know why that's the case, but that's a topic for another day.

May we "go and do", even when the battle seems lost to us. To quote Yoda, there is no try.

#lds #mormon #Jesus #Christ #love #spirit #faith #sharegoodness #lighttheworld #ldsshare #giftsandguides #thechurchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints