Blundering along and hitting a post

So here I am, toward the end of a long and revealing journey studying gifts and mysteries, and I run into a whole new concept.

You start to think you're getting it. You've done the homework that there is to do - it's almost all done and bam! Smacked with a post in the head to remind you that you haven't got it at all. You thought home plate is a few feet away, and you realize you haven't gotten near first base yet.

I've been writing all along how if we wish to know the mysteries and have the gifts of God, we need to ask him for it, while at the same time knowing that we will probably only receive what we have prepared our souls to receive.

It's a theme I've seen over and over again, and something I've written repeatedly throughout this journey through the topical guide. It might almost make it look like a person can do this on your own: live your life well, develop your relationship with the savior, find something you'd passionately like to know or become, and then develop the download that the Lord bestows on you. It all sounds very individual.

Until today's reading, that is.

D&C 84:19 was a bit of a non-hitter this morning. "And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God".

OK, so the greater (melchizedek) priesthood has the keys. Not sure what that means, or how it applies, so I moved on.

D&C 97:5 "And I will bless him with a multiplicity of blessings, in expounding all scriptures and mysteries to the edification of the school, and the church in Zion."

Man, how awesome would it have been to sit in that school and learn from Parley Pratt as he expounded all the mysteries? The man had access to the direct guidance of the Lord (side note: I guess we all do or could have that, but that's another subject) and could expound and expand on all the awesomeness there is out there.

And as they say on TV commercials - but wait! I'll double the offer. Here is a man providing mysteries not just for himself, he's sharing them with everyone in the room. This isn't just an individual thing, a person can demonstrate readiness to receive the mysteries of the Lord by preparing himself and going to a place  the Lord has prepared to teach us. It doesn't have to be a lonely, singular thing. It can be going to a place where you can listen and be taught, and teach others. It happens because the greater priesthood is used as the authorized structure to dispense mysteries in this way. It may just be the only way that certain mysteries are provided to us. There may actually be stuff that we can only learn while in the company of those who wish to be lifted together.

It doesn't have to be a struggle. Sometimes we can just lift each other. We can do it sitting down. But we still have to show up - and be willing to be lifted. Just like when we do it the other way.

May we build a new view of how and why we visit the Lord's structures. May we connect with the Lord by serving and being served in these structures, and connect with those who are also wishing to connect. It's a whole lot more fun that way too, I'm certain.

Which surpass all understanding

So I felt myself in need of a shorty today - lots to do this morning. So I left the book open from where it was yesterday, and there it was: a few verses of inspiration.

I'm in D&C 76 today, working from verse 114 to the end. So to begin, I'll cut out a few words to get to the direct meaning I'm looking for "But great and marvelous are...the mysteries of his kingdom...which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion"

First, I've been around long enough to know that the Lord isn't into repeating himself. The precision of his words is as perfect as the language allows him to be - so when he uses the words glory, might and dominion, those are three different things. I believe that to understand what the Lord is saying with these 3 words would yield some great understanding, but it's beyond my comprehension right now, so I'll go another direction.

115 "Which he commanded us we should not write...and are not lawful for man to utter; 116 Neither is man capable to make them known"

So I'm gathering that there are some gifts or mysteries that can't and shouldn't be shared. It goes even to the point that you couldn't do it even if you tried - but you still shouldn't try.

Of course, the vast majority of truth is something that the Lord needs and expects us to share - so how do you know the difference? I think in the case of these kinds of mysteries, you just know. For example, there are things learned in the temple that can't be shared outside of it. You just know.

It's not that everyone else doesn't get to know - the Lord's gifts and mysteries are available to everyone. But if you have paid a certain price (i.e. requesting, and being prepared for the Lord's gift), then others who have not paid that price in their own lives will not be ready to receive the gift. This can get very confusing as to who gets what, but the bottom line is this: for the super sensitive stuff, the Lord knows. He'll give each of us what we can handle, when we can handle it, and after we ask him for it. And of course, only the Lord knows that that kind of "ask" looks like.

This sort of subject can produce a lot of both thought and confusion. For example, someone may ask why, for example, I'm sharing the little things I learn from the scriptures. Even this little bit of wisdom may be shared to someone who has not asked, and may not be prepared. I don't have that answer, but I believe God does. Maybe the reader's level of "ask" may simply be that they have chosen to read this blog. That, after all, is a very distinct choice. Those who are reading it to be benefited will likely be benefited by the Spirit, regardless of the words I place here. Those who read to criticize will gain what they are looking for as well.

If I've confused you, I have no answers. Maybe I'll make one more stab at it. If I read a scripture and see an insight, I believe the Lord wants me to share that - within certain parameters. For example, I might not share this to a group of satan worshippers - it might not help them. The other side of the coin is that if I receive a personal visit from a divine messenger letting me know how to run an aspect of my life, then that's for me. I wouldn't place that on facebook.

May we seek this privilege of seeing and knowing for ourselves. That is one of God's greatest gifts, and one that he yearns to give us. We just have to open the door and invite him in.

Knowledge and humility

I hesitate a bit to write today. I've been going through the mysteries in the index, but for the last few days, I've failed to find the gems that used to be so plentiful.  The wording in the D&C is pretty legal-esque the way I read it, and I find myself being less likely to be inspired. I recognize that this is my own failing, and that others find things differently across the books of scripture.

But I did find something in Doctrine and Covenants 76:114. "But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion."

Let me backtrack a bit. One of the things that me and my particular personality disagree with the most are those who pronounce themselves to be the knower of all things related to whatever subject is being discussed. Some would call these people know it alls. My problem personally with them is not that they have an opinion, but that they tend to glare down or disparage anyone whose opinion doesn't reflect their own. Having an opinion is a good thing, but to state it and then be closed to any other opinions is a sign of a very small person to me.

This can come across in a variety of ways - sometimes the person presents his stuff in an academic way, using words that most cannot understand. This is one way to shut down discussion on the subject. For me, these people's goal is not to share a concept so that all can learn, it's to try to affect the perception others have for their intelligence and awesomeness. I have a great deal of trouble with this personality type.

So here we have a scripture that relates to the subject. The prophet is talking about how great and marvelous the mysteries are, and how they surpass all understanding.

The word "all" is kinda important there.

What I can gather here is that if a person indicates that he knows all there is to know about a subject, he is likely to be completely dismissed - at least by me. If he presents himself as knowing more about a subject than everyone within earshot, he had better be an expert in that subject or risk being passed off as a blowhard.

Of course, people have to give talks and lessons all the time. Many of us in the LDS community do exactly this on a weekly basis. The difference to me is the level of humility. Let's say I have studied hard on a particular subject and get myself all the way up to knowing 7% of all there is to know on that subject. I could teach children, who understand perhaps 3 or 4%. I could also teach others, who may average 8 or 9%, because I can share what I know, understanding that there may be things I know within my 7% that others at 9% still may not have met. I could even teach a class full of others at 10%, but only if I do it understanding that my role is not to lecture, but to be something of a choir director. And of course, I must do it with an ear open to the spirit, who knows 100% on the subject and can keep me within bounds on the subject.

In other words, it's about humility and seeking the best for everyone in the room. If I assume that I must be the knower of all things related to the subject at hand, I'll fail. If I recognize that others can add, and draw that out, and teach with one ear listening to the spirit, then add what I can humbly add, all can be strengthened. And at the end of the hour, all will leave the room better than they walked in.

May we all understand that our gifts don't make us better than anyone else. In fact, each gift we receive may put us under greater obligation. May we check ourselves when our actions come from an intent to build other's perception of ourselves. Instead, may we share our gifts with humility and love, focused on the needs of others.

Wisdom

So I'm still in the research part of mysteries of God, and as always, I find the gold nuggets in and around the verses I'm actually looking up.

I'm reading D&C 28 today, and while the target verse is verse 7, it was verse 5 that hit me. "But thou shalt not write by way of commandment, but by wisdom".

At the time this was written, there were multiple members of the church that wanted to be what I'll refer to as "me-too Joseph Smiths". One guy went out and found a rock, and started trying to be a prophet with it. Even Oliver Cowdery, Joseph's right hand man for a long time, decided that being number two meant he could pretend he was number one occasionally. The Lord had to put all of that down.

It's probably safe to say that at least some of these wannabees were good people, perhaps even smart, and likely had good things to say. That by itself did not make them prophets, or even spokesmen for the Lord. While a calling to them to be missionaries or church leaders might make them spokesmen to some degree, they didn't just get to decide that they were the Lord's mouthpiece and run with it. That of course would result in chaos and the downfall of the Lord's church.

But the same thing happens now. I like how the scripture uses the word "write". I tend to do that occasionally, and this scripture reminds me that what I write needs to take a certain tone. I'm not pretending to be the mouthpiece of the Lord - that calling isn't mine. What I can do is gather what wisdom I can from all sources available to me, and then suggest that wisdom to others. There is a line that I - and we - must not cross. To say we represent the Lord will only prove our falseness unless we actually have that calling. I can imagine that a bishop of the ward may have that calling, but even in that circumstance, I expect that he'd be a lot safer and more successful if he defaulted to suggesting the wisdom that comes to him.

We can do the same. The old "because I said so" line doesn't get a person anywhere. Whether in the family or in the workplace, shoving power down someone's throat often results in rebellion and sabotage. The assumption of power from a position (because I'm the boss/mom/big brother, that's why) can become very empty when used the wrong way.

So - what do I take from this? First, I must write these things in an invitational sort of way. As soon as I start telling people what to do, I'm probably out of line. But when I can provide wisdom and provide an invitation? That's the most powerful I can probably do. Second, I need to do the same thing in the rest of my life. Wisdom and invitations in dealing with my wife, children, grandkids, even my siblings and my dad. Wisdom and invitation in the business environment will also be more productive in the work place. They already know I'm the boss - to forcefully remind them of that is going to be counter productive.

May I live in the emotional and spiritual place of inviting all the wisdom in that I can receive, then inviting those around me to share in it. It's a much happier way to live, I'm sure.

Contentiousness

So I'm not sure what time or year you'll be reading this, whether it's 2017 or 2057, but this is a time when there is a lot of contention. Online arguments result in less listening and more snarling, name calling, and hateful discourse. We lament the time when two people could get face to face and discuss their viewpoints.

I've seen some more of that than I wanted to recently. I had a set of parents take umbrage with the way I was playing with their children. I used to be their teacher, and consider these kids to not just be an assignment I used to have. I try to love them and notice them, but sometimes I get in the way of myself apparently. It was an unpleasant encounter. 

Then this morning I see a person I know who films himself wearing a trump hat, walking around a group of angry liberal protestors. The way he was treated was appalling. I personally wouldn't do that because I don't have the time for it, and the confrontation troubles and weakens my soul.

But this is the time we're living in. Disagreements quickly fly into personal attacks, and people degrade themselves with the words and gestures that so quickly come to the surface. It is in this environment that I read in D&C 10:63-65 today. Here is the Lord saying that he's not fond of contention either. "And this I do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not be so much contention; yea, Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to contention.. they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them"

Yeah, been there, and know those people. People that arrogantly pound the scriptures to prove with their twisted logic that they are superior, because they are right.

Then the Lord steps in. I notice that he doesn't take sides with anyone, he just extends an invitation: "65 For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts". 

So - it doesn't matter how right or wrong your understanding of the scriptures may be, the Lord will still gather and protect you. He'll nurture you, but there is a caveat, and of course it has to do with us - not the Lord. If we harden our heart the promise of protection and nurture goes away. It's interesting to me that the condition the Lord extends has nothing to do with our interpretation of the scriptures, it's whether we choose to depend on ourselves or on the Lord. I can be wrong all day long, but if I look to the Lord earnestly for protection and care, I'll be blessed. I would also imagine that if I do that he'll guide me toward the truth. And if I'm open to him, I'll accept it.

I notice that the conversion for me would have nothing to do with arguing or name calling, or personal attacks, or unkind names thrown at me to get me to yield. It's about me, my heart, and the Lord.

It also occurs to me that this is an example of what it means to look to the Lord. If I'm looking to him for guidance and protection, this is not a glance sort of look. It's not a one look and done thing. He is my focus, my center, my backdrop, my protection. He is my teacher, my mentor and my defender, and the more I make him these things, the more he can deeply fill those roles for me.

But the limiting factor is not the Lord's willingness, it is me and my heart. What I will allow him to do for me based on where my heart and my willingness is at.

Verse 69 "...Whosoever...endureth..to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them."

There comes a time when I become less of a chick in the Lord's wings, and more of a stander on a rock. He knows how to make that transition - I don't. But I like the concept of being the rock-stander, who the gates of hell can't defeat.

May we set our hearts on soft cycle with the Lord, and look to Him to lead. It gets better that way.

Simple recipes are better

So I came home from working out today, and there was a pan on the stove. Somebody had done one of those frozen meals for two and left the remains on the stove. There was enough to make me happy - almost - so I added some chicken from a can and heated it up. Then it called me to throw some soy sauce in there. Presto - lunch it was. The corn, cauliflower and chicken and whatever else was in there made a colorful lunch.

While some of us can appreciate a simple meal, there are recipes that the Lord gives us too. They are all pretty simple - I suspect that they are engineered to be as easy to do as canned chicken added to pre-cooked skillet food. I can imagine the engineering groups in heaven designing stuff- the conversation is like this: "Can we make that recipe easier for God's children? If yes, then let's do it!"

So here's the recipe I found for getting access to knowledge and mysteries. It's described by the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants 42:61 and D&C 6:7. Here's the recipe: you ask.Yep, that's the recipe. One step.

61: "If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things - that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal."

Sooo - you ask. Then revelations, knowledge, and mysteries and peaceable things happen. Then joy and life eternal happens. Pretty long list considering it all started with us just asking.

This goes me down the road of wondering what it means to ask. It's kind of like what looking means in the phrase "look to God and live". It's not a glance, it's probably not even just rotating our heads past the mark and calling that a look. I believe it's a focused fixation on the target. A dedication of your soul. After all, if someone offered you a million dollars if you would look after his home while he was gone, would you drive by once a day, or would you park there in your car and watch it until he came back?

I guess another way of describing it is that if you glance, you get the level of blessings that come with glancing. If you turn your head past it a few times a week, you get that level of assistance. But if you focus - well, you get the idea.

So back to asking. What does the Lord consider an appropriate ask? I don't think anyone knows here on earth, and it's likely managed on a case by case basis from the other side, but I expect a real ask is much like what I've discussed in previous posts: there must be real intent. Not a curiosity, or just an attempt to prove it wrong, but real intent. Moroni 10:4-5 comes to mind here.

But how comforting is it to know that if we want mysteries, or wisdom, or knowledge, or peace, that it's right there for the asking? And if our request is real, then it is promised to be provided? That's pretty darn awesome.

Again, I feel the need for a caveat. I believe that if I sincerely ask for wisdom, and if I'm (let's pull out a number here) 1/10th ready for a gift, then I'll receive 1/10th of a gift. Numbers are very awkward here though, as gifts can be infinite, and you can't take percentages of infinity. My math teacher in junior high would tell you that's still infinite. I guess it's just fair to say that I'll receive what I'm ready for - after I ask.

May we all ask for our own personal greatness from our Heavenly Father. There are gifts, mysteries, knowledge, wisdom, peace and riches that he's got there, waiting to deliver. We just gotta ask.

The straw man and the Savior

So I dabble a bit in facebook politics - yes, I'm that annoying guy. I try not to be too excessive, but sometimes more than nothing is too much.

As much as I've dabbled, I have learned about the straw man concept. As best as I can explain it, this is when a politician sets up a fake person so they can knock them down. Kinda like those weeble wobble toys when I was a kid. They looked like big bowling pins - you hit them, they fall over, then they stand themselves back up again so you can hit them again. I guess that wasn't even politically correct back in the 1960's. They didn't last long. But this is the concept of the straw man thing.

This straw man thing is a favorite tactic of politicians and arguers everywhere, and it's not just confined to these days - it was a favorite of "smart" people in Book of Mormon times as well.

So I'm reading at the end of Helaman, in Helaman 16:17 and 18. The backdrop for this is that Christ is about to be born in Jerusalem, and american prophets have prophesied about this. There were to be "many signs and wonders", and they happened as described, but the "smart" people chose to debate rather than accept the miracles being shown them.

17 "And they began to reason and to contend among themselves, saying 18 That it is not reasonable that such a being as a Christ shall come, if so and he be the Son of God...why will he not show himself unto us as well as unto them who shall be at Jerusalem?"

So first, it strikes me that their reasoning should take precedence over the plan of the Lord. Whether or not you or I decide that something is reasonable, that will not affect what the Lord chooses to do. He certainly is not going to change his plans, or not do something, because some self professed "smart" guy decides that's not OK.

Secondly, these self professed smart people make assumptions that a real nice straw man argument. They assume that Christ wasn't going to come to America - an assumption that had no basis, and was something they knew completely nothing about. And based on that, they play the "unfair" card and reject everything the prophets had told them. The reality was that the prophets had never told them that Christ wouldn't come to the Americas, but they created a lie so they could argue against it, and then declare the prophets false.

This is a favorite tactic among today's debaters, but winning an argument against a straw man of your own making doesn't make you right. It does contain however, the possibility of convicting yourself as being just a bit slimy.

May we understand that we don't fully understand anything. Not one thing. God's mysteries don't generally get provided to any one person completely - even though there are infinite numbers of them, and they all go infinitely deep, I suspect that the infinite depth of any one of them is not gifted to any one mortal.

This does not mean that we must follow blindly, as viewed by the world. It means that we must understand that our five senses and our perceived intellect (let's call that a sixth sense for now) will only take us so far. The seventh sense will be the spiritual pipeline to God. Each of our pipelines may look different - some may have divine proof that a prophet is God's spokesman and tool on this earth, and they will know that it is safe to follow him. Others may feel the gifts of the spirit to guide them. Others will have something else, or a combination of all of the above. This is not blind at all. This is a wide open seventh sense eye. An eye that the "smart people" are not even aware of. And an eye that you're not aware of is not going to be open.

Imagine losing one of your senses suddenly and trying to function. To illustrate, if you suddenly lost your eyesight, or sense of feel, how difficult would be be to find your way around a room? This is the disadvantage that the "smart" people have who rely on their own intelligence and reasoning, while rejecting or lacking a pipeline to the Lord.

May we live in humility. A humility that allows the Savior to establish this seventh sense. May we rely on the Lord more, and ourselves less. Then I suspect we'll be knocked down less in life - or at least be able to get back up after being smacked by this thing we all call life.

Backwards is telling

My reading the other day was telling - enough so that I saved it to write about on another day. It looks like that day is today.

So here is Ammon, gushing about the success he and his brothers have seen as missionaries and servants of the Lord. I don't think there's anywhere else in the scriptures where this kind of overwhelmed exuberance is shown - you can hear and feel the passion in his sentences, even though his sentences are reduced to words and letters.

You can feel the love he feels. You get that he believes he has just won the lottery - twice. And yet he has done nothing that will monetarily enrich his life. His overwhelming gratitude has nothing to do with him, but what he and his brothers have been able to assist others to do.

In fact, not only did it not enrich him monetarily, but the whole process was kinda rough. Alma 26: 29 shows that they were mocked, spit on, hit, stoned, and tied up and thrown in jail. Then it goes on and says they "suffered all manner of afflictions" - which to me is a nice way of saying "what happened to me is too horrible and grotesque to tell you about it".

Yeah - they didn't do this for the lifestyle that it would create for them. They did it for another reason.

But while Ammon is gushing about the awesomeness of the Lord and what he was able to do for his brothers, he unleashes something that might be a sideways "everyone knows this" sort of thought, but of course it's more than that. It's the gem I was looking for on the day I read it.

If a person is looking to receive the blessings, guidance and mysteries of God, Ammon provides the path. All along, I've been saying that in many cases, if you want a gift from God, first you prepare yourself to receive it, then you ask humbly, then you receive it and develop it gratefully. Ammon provides further light on the subject.

Alma 26:22 "Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing - unto such is given to know the mysteries of God."

So there's the recipe: repent, faith, good works, pray. To me, it's like "darn! I wanted it to be something cooler than that". Kinda like washing yourself in a dirty river to get clean. I'd much rather do something less routine than these four steps. We all would. But it's a line upon line thing, where you go deeper inches at a time - not miles. You don't go from being the stoned out meth head, to saying "I want spiritual depth" and all of a sudden getting it like you ordered it at a McDonalds drive up window.

Covey called it the law of the farm.

But another thing caught me here. What if you look at it backwards? What if someone is telling you that he has spiritual depth? What if he is indicating that he has the answers from God?

A person could look at it from the reverse end of the recipe. So this person has answers? Did he go through the path to receive these answers from God, i.e. does he repent, exercise faith and bring forth good works? Not just good words, but good works. Do you believe that he is a man of faith in God, or faith in himself? Does he acknowledge and work on what he needs to repent of, or does he hide that stuff?

And finally, does this person have the depth to know that in many cases, the mysteries must be earned and learned personally, not simply handed to someone else? To do so might be kinda like copying someone else's homework.

There are some very real exceptions, if you want to call them exceptions. For example, in a sunday school class, a wise teacher can share his knowledge and depth with others in the room, because a) it's his role to do so, and b) because the students in the room are there to learn.

In a church meeting, a listener can use the gifts of the spirit he has developed to learn from the speaker, and gather great depth. But this is more about the listener than the speaker. The speaker should and must do his best, but the responsibility to learn lies with the listener.

To finish up, I feel I haven't been clear enough. There is a very real way to learn the mysteries of God. There is also a way to know if someone else who claims to have the mysteries of God actually has those gifts, or if his mysteries come from another source. May we develop our gifts, deepen our souls, and rely on those who have our best interests at heart. And may we avoid those who don't.

Look to God and Live

So I'm preparing a lesson on looking to God and living - it's a subject that I felt prompted to prepare while I was in sunday school last week. These are deep and powerful words - I'm sure all of God's words are deep and powerful for the person that's ready to receive their depth, but the more I look at this phrase, the more powerful and deeper it gets to me.

So while looking up other things, I was reading in Alma 30 today, and reading where Korihor was arguing against the existence of God, Christ, the church, etc. I was beginning to see that his arguments are an encyclopedia of the ways Satan uses to abuse our hearts and minds. There is an array of tactics in there that should be studied more carefully, but that's for another day.

What jumped out at me is a twist of the phrase "Look to God and live". It's an evil way to twist such a beautiful phrase, but that's probably why he used it. Alma 30:27 "...that they durst not look up with boldness..." 

When the serpent was raised in the desert, Moses people were made aware that if they would look to this serpent (who represented Christ), they would live. Many would not, and they died. I'm not going to get into what it means to look in this blog - that's also a discussion for another day. I'm also not going to get into what it may mean to live. Today, I'm taking up the "with boldness" addition that Korihor added. When looking to God, especially if you've been bitten by a real snake, boldness is not an attitude you'd take. It would be a lot more humble. It would be on the order of "My God, please save me". Boldness would be more along the lines of "OK I glanced. Now do your thing like I expect you to do - and don't get it wrong." 

That kind of "boldness" will net us nothing. It's not what "looking" means. Whether the problem is a snake that bit us in a desert, or a spiritual snake that bites our soul, the only solution is to look to God. The bites happen to all of us - good and bad. Whether we survive it - be that in a physical or spiritual way - depends on where we're looking. May we look to Christ. Not glance, not turn our heads occasionally, but fix our gaze. Make him our true north. Orient our eyes and lives toward him. 

Then we live. And the kind of living that Christ refers to? Yeah- that's awesome.

----------

So here is the outline for my talk this sunday, just fyi

Look to God and Live Alma 37:46-47

What does it mean to

·       Look to God? (In what way are we healed)

·       To live?

The fiery serpent thing (Numbers 21:6) Flying 1 Nephi 17:41)

·       Moses and the fiery serpents: the followers began to complain about Moses.

• How did the Lord handle it? (Made things more uncomfortable with fiery flying serpents 1 Nephi 17:41)
• ·       Numbers 21:8 Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live (everyone gets bit, we choose whether we survive it)
•  “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14–15).

Carlos Asay “I knew of a man who never looked up”

• ·       Physically, he was a wreck (emotionally, spiritually)
• ·       Emotionally and spiritually shackled
• ·       Assisted, “he fixed his eyes upon a living prophet”
• Results
• ·       “You’ll never know how wonderful it is to recognize people by the smiles on their faces rather than the dust on their shoes.”
• ·       “You’ll never know how wonderful it is to gaze upward at a blue sky rather than downward at darkened ground.”
• ·       “You’ll never know how wonderful it is to return home from work and have your children run toward you with love, rather than away from you with fear.”

Stories

• ·       Nathan’s story (exercising faith when guided)
• ·       Julie’s story (acknowledge God’s strength and relying on it)
• ·       If you died, how sad would you want your spouse to be? (Place our burdens on him)
• ·       Our group – what does it mean to look to God and live? (Our lives are improved as we serve)

What does it mean to look to God and live

What it’s not

• ·       Blaming God for our failure
• ·       Looking occasionally as needed, or glancing
• ·       Looking the wrong direction (King David)

What it is

·       Exercise faith as guided

·       Rely on the Lord completely

·       Place our burdens on him so we can live

·       Live in abundant service

              

When we're short

Doing more reading on the mysteries of God today. It's fun to be in a place where I am passionate about what I'm reading. I suspect that I could be reading about pretty much anything, and if I were passionate about it I'd think it was the awesomest thing ever. But my second grade level spiritual awareness likes this subject, and I'm learning at full gallop. It's a lot of fun.

Working on the words of Alma and Zeezrom today. The back story, to be brief, is that Alma was the chief judge, or the equivalent of the king/president of his nation. He gave it up to preach the word of God to his people as he believed (or was guided to understand) that he could better serve his people by preaching the gospel to them than by sitting in the capital.

So he shows up, starving, in the city where Zeezrom lived. Zeezrom had been notified by God's messsenger that Alma was coming. He fed Alma, then was fed by him. 

Alma 10:5, Zeezrom talking about what he learned. "...I never have known much of the ways of the lord and his mysteries..." then he corrects himself. Corrections in scripture don't happen much, but Zeezrom does just that - "I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power" and in verse 6 he explains the difference "I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I woulds not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know...:"

The thought occurs to me: how often do we say we wish to know more of the mysteries of God, yet we will not allow God to provide that? How often do we envy someone else for more spiritual knowledge, strength of soul, and wish we had that, yet refuse to allow it to happen? 

Because I was in the meth remediation business for a number of years, I always go to the meth head. Not intending to pick on them directly, but I've seen many of them, and what they do to those who enable them. Most noticeably,  I see what they do to their homes. I have seen what they do to their wives and children, and people who they profess to love. I feel the evil in the homes they inhabited. For this reason, I go to the meth head as the best example to me as someone who might say "well yeah, if God showed up with an angel today, I'd be an apostle too". They think if God does, then they will. And it doesn't work that way. They still wouldn't, and they'd be further condemned as they had another witness against them.

But it's not just meth heads. How many of us, including me, yearn for greater spiritual depth, yet show up to church late, skip prayers or allow them to be less than a full conversation. How many of us allow ourselves to be tainted by what's around us because we like it? I know I certainly fit in that category. I am the person who says he wants more, but when the Lord tries to give it to us, we don't really want it. We all are in this place to some degree. The Lord gives us as much as we're ready for, and no less.

Here's an interesting insight for how the Lord sees things. He explains his insight by explaining what he'll allow his earthly servants to do in his name. Alma 12:9 "...they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. And verse 10 "...he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full" 

To use a personal example, I play ultimate frisbee a lot. I've been playing it for many years, with guys who have also played for many years. We know what to do and when. Then you get some guy who is starting, and often they are very athletic. I'm old and slow, but I can throw. I see these guys get behind their defender and look at me like "are you going to throw it to me long?" It really frustrates me. Countless times I've told people "you run first, and then I'll throw it. I need to know what direction you're going, and how fast you're getting there - then I'll throw it." I see this in end zone plays as well. Guys have the corner of the end zone all theirs. They are a step in front of their defender, and the play is a lay up. All he has to do is run to the open corner, and it's a score. Instead, they look at me. Do you see the opening? Are you going to throw it there? Of course I do. Sometimes I throw it to the obvious location, and it's a turnover because they were looking at me and hoping I'd throw it rather than break to the location where the opening was. 

May we all go to the open spot. Full speed so the Lord knows what he can deliver to us. The field may be wide open, but if we go half speed, he'll throw something that we can get at half speed. Given that the Lord won't throw turnovers, it's up to us to prevent turnovers by committing ourselves.

The hard stone is better

It's not uncommon for me to get started down the road on the scriptures, then end up moving another direction because I get inspired by an easter egg I find along the way.

I'm not moving very fast through the topical guide any more. It used to be a number of verses per day. Not so no more.

The verse that stopped me is Jacob 4:17. It's about building on a sure foundation, and using Christ as our corner stone. It refers to making Christ the head of the corner. For me, that means that he must be the centerpiece of our structure, the base of the base, the one thing that all other things rely on for stability; the one thing that all other things draw strength from.

As a home inspector, foundation issues are not new to me. They have to be built right, and then they have to be managed right. As a kid I found out that if you over-dig a footing trench, you can't just backfill it with the dirt you just dug out. That dirt is now unconsolidated, and will settle over time as the foundation presses down on it. It will cause foundation stress, and structural damage as the home tries to move to accommodate for the moving and damaged foundation.

But that's just the original construction. Then you can have other issues - first among them would be drainage issues. Over nearly a quarter century as a home inspector, I find that the one thing that is most damaging to a foundation is water. Usually it comes from a roof, and without a proper rain gutter system, it lands near the foundation, making the soil beneath the foundation wet and undermining the structure. The soil becomes mud, the house settles, and there is structural damage. There of course can also be rot/mold/termites in the basement or crawl space as well. These also fit into this scenario, as there are examples of what spiritual rot, mold and termites are in the structure that we are building in ourselves.

Here's the scripture reference: Jacob 4:17 "And now, my beloved, how is it possible that these, after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it, that it may become the head of their corner?"

I am reminded of someone I knew that didn't want to believe what I believe. For her, it was too uncomfortable. Instead, she wanted to pick a different foundation rock. One that wasn't so exacting. She wanted to pick one of her choosing. Rounded corners, better appearance, more accommodating to the lifestyle she wanted to live. From a right now point of view, it appears to me now that she wasn't building a temple to Christ, or consecrating her life to Christ, instead she was building a structure to herself. On occasion and when it was convenient, she would say she would perhaps call it adequate for Christ, as judged by herself. There is a massive difference I believe between making your life a temple of God; consecrating your life to that purpose, and just building something and justifying it as good enough for God - or anyone else who asks.

And how does one know? The answer is in the scripture. What is the head of our corner stone? Is it Christ, or is it what we perceive to be ourselves? It might go without saying now that if it's what we perceive to be ourselves, it's not us at all - it's Satan and his minions, getting us to use whatever marshmallow foundation he can sell us.

And then we wonder why God is so hard on us; why our structure has so many cracks, mold and termites. Why life seems so unstable. Why we don't get the breaks that that guy over there does. Why people around us are so easy to hate. Why the world seems so dark.

This may be a good time to mention that life can certainly throw some major stuff at us even when we have the proper foundation - but our ability to manage that is greatly increased, because as the cold winds blow, our structure is at least stable. We can heat the house once, and the warmth doesn't leave so quickly in the blizzard. There is interior warmth and stability.

To the reader who objects "well you don't know my life" - you're right. What I do know is that I am close with people who do have the right corner stone, and have endured well pretty much all and anything life can throw at them. Physical pain, abuse from others, money issues, I know them all. Their stories would make any of us quiver in fear. After knowing these people, we'd be thrilled to keep our own lives by comparison. These people are temples to the Lord, and I admire all of them. While my life has been relatively easy (except when I made it hard), these people show the strength that comes from the right corner stone.

The popular myth that any rock that works for us works for God is Satan's lie. May we not reject the sure foundation because it's too hard. May we embrace it, then find the stability it provides. That stability isn't hard - it's easy. Instability is hard.