A Really Short Prayer Guide

Someday, I’ll do a lengthier post on prayer, but because of some personal commitments, I can’t spend too much time writing on this subject.  I wanted to write something on this for a while, though, because I’ve met many who when asked, they tell me they don’t know how.  Occasionally, it’s because they’re out of practice, but more often than not, it’s because nobody ever taught them how.

This is a model, or pattern, on how I was taught when I was little, and I still mainly follow this style of praying because it’s so ingrained in me.  It comprises of these four steps:

1)      Start by saying “Heavenly Father…” or “Father in Heaven…” because that’s who you’re speaking to.

2)      Give thanks.  This can be for anything:  family, friends, food, your home, opportunities you’ve been given, health, or anything that you’re grateful to have in your life.  Once in a while, I have a hard time feeling gratitude for anything around me, and in those times, I’ll say “Thank you for the air I breathe.”  It feels a little snarky when I say it, but I’ve found that even if nothing else is going well in my life, showing some gratitude that I am alive does wonders for how I feel about the rest of my prayer.

3)      Ask for blessings.  Some feel uncomfortable asking God for anything, either because they don’t feel worthy or because doing so feels selfish.  I would bring your attention to Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, where he says, “Ask, and it shall be given you… how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matt. 7:7,11)  My belief is that God desires to give us blessings, but in many cases, he’s waiting to be asked for them.

4)      Finish by saying “…in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”  Anything that’s done spiritually ought to be done in Christ’s name. 

It’s easy to just say prayers.  The harder part is listening to God.  Prayer isn’t supposed to be a one-way monologue, but a dialogue between us and Him.  Listening to God’s instructions is a learning process.  Sometimes the answers to prayers are obvious; I’m one who believes angels can be sent to give you guidance, but these instances are rare, and it’s certainly not something that has ever happened to me. 

Often, though, God is going to speak by the Spirit, and that takes a lot of discipline and patience to understand.  The three ways I recognize the Spirit are: an overwhelming sense of peace, burning in the bosom, and certain thoughts and impressions that will come.  By no means are these the only ways to understand the Spirit or hear what the Lord is saying, and as I said, learning to understand God is a learning process.  But if one hasn’t developed a habit of praying, I don’t know how one can ever expect to receive an answer.

Mahan

A couple weeks back, I decided it was time to read the Bible again, especially the Old Testament because that is my favorite book of scripture.  I’ve read Genesis and Exodus more times than I can count since I was eight-years-old.  A lot of that was because I kept trying to read the Bible cover-to-cover since that age, and the first two books of the Bible have the coolest stories and the most memorable people.  Abraham and Joseph and Moses were my favorite prophets, and I was an especial fan and Rachel and Leah, for reasons I can’t explain beyond the fact that their family dynamic fascinated and continues to fascinate me to this day.

I rarely made it through Leviticus.  So much of the priesthood ordinances and procedures went so far over my head and were just flat out boring, it was so hard to get past.  At my young age, it was so much easier to skip ahead to Joshua where the stories picked up again.  I liked the Psalms, because even though there were a lot of them, they were short.  I’ve read a lot of Isaiah, partly through the Bible and partly from the dozens upon dozens of times he is quoted in the Book of Mormon, I couldn’t help but absorb his stuff (I know most Latter-day Saints have a hard time understanding him, which I think is a shame because his teachings are beautiful.)

As I grew older, 1 Samuel through 2 Kings have been so instrumental in my present thinking about kingdoms and leadership, the great necessity of obeying the Lord and keeping his commandments, as well as the need to heed the prophets.  Samuel and King David had an influence on Israel that reached for generations.  The stories of Ruth, David’s great-grandmother, and of Jonah were short tales, but ones with a lot of heart.  Jonah especially grabs a hold on my head and heart.  I’m not sure what it is, but I always learn something new from those four chapters every time I read his story (and it is a shame how little anybody pays attention to him after the fish spits him out.)

I finally read the Bible cover-to-cover just before I turned 22, and I did it again a year later.  Some changes occurred and part of that has to do with age and maturity.  I appreciate books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy now more than I ever could at age eight.  The doctrines and laws that bored me to tears then are fascinating to me now.

But it has been a while since I did a read through of the Bible and I figured it was high time to go over it again.  And I figured it would be fun for my monthly Sunday blog to pick a particular story or important figure from scriptures, talk about them and give my impressions.  Why?

First of all, because I want to.  That’s all my blog is:  what I want.

But also, the Bible isn’t read enough, not in the world but especially among members of my own church.  They’ll know the Book of Mormon… well enough, and be passably familiar with modern-day revelation and the New Testament, but the whole Bible?  No.

I understand it.  The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion; without it, we don’t have a church and if the members don’t know the Book of Mormon, they’re going to look pretty stupid talking about it in front of other people.  Also, the Book of Mormon is shorter… and easier to read… and it’s awesome.  But they should know the Bible just as well as all the other scriptures we have!

So, as much as this is for me and my personal gratification, I’m really hoping to encourage at least one person to go read the Bible and enjoy it for themselves (more than one would be better, but I’ll settle for one.)

So I started off my Bible reading in Genesis (of course.)  I once had this whole book memorized, I went over it so often.  I got excited about who my first subject would be.  Adam and Eve, maybe Noah, or Abraham, who you can never go wrong talking about.  You know who I ended up picking?  The first murderer, Cain.

The story of Cain and Abel is a very simple one.  The Bible covers him entirely in Genesis 4.  First he, then his brother Abel, is born to Adam and Eve.

“And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.  And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.  And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.  And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.  And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” (Genesis 4:2-7)

It’s a very simple story that has influenced humankind for millennia.  And it’s set an interesting pattern that follows through many scriptures.  There is the older brother who is rejected by the Lord in favor of the younger: Isaac is chosen above Ishmael, Jacob before Esau, Joseph above all the other sons of Israel, Moses over Aaron, David above his six older brothers, and Nephi before Laman and Lemuel (if you were looking for a Book of Mormon example; that one is a way too obvious pick.)

We know that Cain’s offering was not accepted of the Lord, but there really isn’t any mention of why.  Was God being arbitrary?  Was sacrificing meat better than offering fruit, and if so, why?  And why shouldn’t Cain feel angry that the Lord rejected him and his labor?  I know how it feels to work hard for somebody over me, to put in my labor and give my best, and then to say it was no good.  That’s a rotten feeling.  And why is the sacrifice part of the story?  What does it mean?

This is where I do step outside just the Bible and look at other scriptures, in this case, the Pearl of Great Price (these are further revelations and writings from Joseph Smith; short collection but very powerful stuff.)  The Book of Moses contains a fuller account of the first 6 chapters of Genesis, and where I’ll turn to explore more about what I’ve learned about Cain.

Starting in Moses 5, before Cain and Abel were born, Adam and Eve were cast from the Garden of Eden, and from there had sons and daughters.  Many years passed and Adam and Eve’s children had children of their own.  Adam and Eve prayed and the Lord spoke to them, “And he gave them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord.  And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.  And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?  And Adam said unto him:  I know not, save the Lord commanded me.  And then the angel spake, saying:  This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.” (Moses 5:5-7)

If you accept this scripture as truth, we learn that sacrifice began before Cain and Abel came into the picture (we also learn that they were not Adam and Eve’s first children, merely the first ones worth keep tracking of.)  Sacrifice was commanded by the Lord, and like all sacred ordinances, it was there to remind the children of the earth of Christ and his Atonement.  It also brings me comfort to know that the coming of the Son of God was planned from the beginning.  Adam and Eve themselves were taught that the Savior would come and give his life for all that we might return to live with God.

Christ has been referred to in other scriptures as the Lamb of God, and when the scriptures talk about the firstlings of the flocks, I think of the firstborn lambs being offered as sacrifice also as a reminder of the Lord.

Adam and Eve, being good parents went to their children and shared with them all the Lord had taught them, but sadly, their children didn’t believe them, but chose their own path away from the gospel and this was a great cause of sorrow to Adam and Eve.

“And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain, and said:  I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words.  But behold, Cain hearkened not, saying:  Who is the Lord that I should know him?  And she again conceived and bare his brother Abel.  And Abel hearkened unto the voice of the Lord.  And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.  And Cain loved Satan more than God.  And Satan commanded him, saying:  Make an offering unto the Lord.  And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof.  And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering; But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect.  Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him.  And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.  And the Lord said unto Cain:  Why are thou wroth?  Why is thy countenance fallen?  If though doest well, thou shalt be accepted.  And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be according to his desire.  And thou shalt rule over him; For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world.  And it shall be said in time to come—That these abominations were had from Cain; for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I will put upon thee, except thou repent.” (Moses 5:16-25; emphasis added)

In this way, I’m very grateful to the Pearl of Great Price for elaborating on this story.  It makes the Lord’s decisions clear and not arbitrary at all, but instead shows the grand drama that has gone since the beginning of time.  There are two masters which we can choose: the Lord or Satan, and both of them command that we follow them.

From the beginning of the tale, Cain asked, “Who is the Lord that I should follow him?” and he loved Satan more than God.  In fact, what’s taught here is that the reason he made an offering to the Lord at all was because Satan commanded him to.  Satan, that crafty liar and manipulator, knew what would happen when Cain made the offering.  The Lord didn’t respect Cain’s offering because Cain didn’t do it out of love for the Savior.  He loved Satan and followed him.  The Lord warned him to repent, because if not, he would be delivered up and become the father of Satan’s lies.

Cain, of course, refused to listen anymore to the Lord, which was a great sorrow to his parents, and he grew ever nearer to Satan, so close that he made a covenant with the devil.

“And Satan said unto Cain:  Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands.  And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands.  And all these things were done in secret.”  (Moses 5:29-30)

Just this taught me several things.  First, Satan wants to bind us to him as the Lord desires us to be bound to him.  And why not?  He is a great imitator, and seems to delight in taking things that are holy, such as our covenants, and twisting them to suit his own purposes.  Desecration is the name of his game.

Also, he does like to keep his secrets and will threaten you with death in order to keep them.  After Cain swore, he was to bring his other brethren into the secret, and were threatened with death should they ever reveal the promise.  But what was the secret?

“And Cain said:  Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain.  Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.”  (Moses 5:31, emphasis added)

I emphasized earlier that verse, “That these abominations were had from Cain.”  This was his curse, that it should be known that this terrible evil came from him.  How many lives have been taken because somebody had something to gain from it?  How many wicked kings have lived through history that brought war and bloodshed so that they would a bigger kingdom than they then possessed?  How many crimes have been committed to take what another possessed?  Later scriptures reveal that Cain was not the only one to claim the title Master Mahan, or possessor of the great secret.  Through the generations of time, we see men embracing the doctrine that they murder and get gain.  And it all stemmed from Cain.

“And Cain talked with Abel his brother:  and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” (Genesis 4:8)

“And Cain gloried in that which he had done, saying:  I am free; surely the flocks of my brother falleth into my hands.” (Moses 5:33)

In a book I read recently by Hugh Nibley, it was brought to my attention that the murder of Abel was not wrought in a sudden heat of passion.  This was a cold and calculated move by Cain.  Abel possessed flocks, and when Abel was out of the picture, those flocks fell to Cain.  He murdered and got gain from it.  That he hated his brother Abel, because Abel’s offering was accepted while his wasn’t, added a delicious dish of vengeance to the heinous crime.

“And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?  And he said, I know not:  Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)

What a difference in attitude from when the Lord came to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.  When the Lord called to Adam and said, “Where art thou?” Adam said, “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:9-10)

People can say what they want about Adam and Eve, but when the Lord asked them a question, they didn’t dodge it.  They made no excuses.  Adam told the simple truth:  I was afraid and I hid.  It’s not like he could have fooled God, and neither can any of us.  What we do isn’t hidden from God.  When he asked Adam and Eve where they were, he already knew.  The purpose of the question was to hold them accountable for their actions.  And they gave an honest accounting for their actions, even though it made them look bad and they undoubtedly felt ashamed for it.

Cain?  No accountability at all, and no remorse.  “I know not.”  What a bald-faced lie!  “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  Perhaps not.  Nobody ever said he was Abel’s keeper.  But does that mean he shouldn’t care for his brother, be jealous of his well-being, or at the very least, not killing them?  What a moron.

“And [the Lord] said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10)

And everything afterwards lists the cursing of Cain, and the generations that followed.  Cain went on to have children and grandchildren and a growing number of great-grandchildren.  One of his descendants was a wicked man named Lamech, who killed a man and boasted of it to his two wives.  The Book of Moses has an interesting expansion of this story as well, but the only part I care to mention about that here is that Lamech also became Master Mahan, and was very jealous of his oath to Satan.

And this never went away.  I don’t often wish to dwell on the subject of evil and those who perpetrate it, but I think it would be a great disservice to any student of scripture to avoid the matter entirely.  Cain and his following Satan set humankind down a road and created a conflict that still hasn’t ended yet.  The title of Mahan and its secret has been passed down, and Cain is the father of that lie.

Several examples come to my mind of this in scripture.  In the Book of Ether, when Jared lost his kingdom and desired it back, the daughter of Jared danced before Akish.  When Akish told Jared he wanted to marry the daughter, Jared said:  “I will give her unto you, if ye will bring unto me the head of my father, the king.” (Ether 8:12)

Akish gathered all his kin, “And it came to pass that they all sware unto him, by the God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should lose his head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto them, the same should lose his life.  And it came to pass that thus they did agree with Akish.  And Akish did administer unto them the oaths which were given by them of old who also sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a murderer from the beginning.” (Ether 8:14-15)

The Gadianton robbers, the most infamous villains in all the Book of Mormon, were known for making secret oaths and covenants, and I fully believe those oaths to be the same that Cain made.  It is part of Satan’s plan of misery, to lead the human race to destruction.  It is in direct opposition to the Lord’s own great plan of happiness, for the salvation of us all.

This drama went on through the Savior’s own time.  Look at the great crime of Judas Iscariot, who sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.  Did not Judas make a secret covenant whereby he would allow Jesus to be murdered and he gain from it?

I only write a religious post once a month.  Granted, it’s strictly my religion, but my intent when I started doing this was to have an uplifting message for all to profit.  Two weeks ago, though, I knew Cain was going to be my focus this month, and I knew that uplifting was not going to be the theme of this essay.  Yet I couldn’t and still cannot deny the feeling that this was what I was supposed to write about.  I don’t have the great words myself, but perhaps I may be forgiven for borrowing Moroni’s.  I have written about the wicked today in the hopes that “evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved.” (Ether 8:26)

When we shine light on the darkness, the darkness disappears.  When we thrust truth on the lies, the lies vanish into the air.  Evil, when it is no longer secret, gives way to the good.  I believe this with all my heart.

12 Step Recovery

During the last summer of my mission, my companion and I were riding with Bro. B— who had been kind enough to go teaching with us.  Our appointment fell through (not surprising; 80% of our appointments with anybody tended to go in that direction) and on our way back, Bro. B— asked if we would like to visit his AA building for a few minutes.  We had plenty of time and I was excited.  I’d been wondering for some time what Alcoholics Anonymous was like and this was too good an opportunity to pass up.

We didn’t get to see an actual meeting.  I was under the impression that those are for alcoholics only and besides, missionaries have other obligations during the day than to crash one of those meetings.  The building was locked but Bro. B— had been in AA so long that he had some leadership position and thus, keys to the building.  We got to visit the place an hour before their next meeting of the day, and I’ll admit, it was not anything near what I expected.

The AA building was in sort of a strip mall towards the back, brick building with lots of different colored plastic chairs and tables outside, set up for the smokers who needed to take a cigarette break.  Inside, my impressions was that it was mix between a chapel and an elementary school classroom.

The classroom portion came from the walls.  There were posters everywhere, each with the 12 Steps written on them or with inspirational quotations, pictures of famous people or otherwise encouraging portraits.  The walls had activities and shelves of books, including different published editions of The Book.

But the whole center of the room was designed like a chapel.  There weren’t pews or a rostrum or anything like that.  There were cushioned chairs and couches, and they were generally worn out pieces of furniture.  There was a pulpit off to the side and at the very front was a table, and the most significant thing on the table were sets of different colored poker chips.  Each had measurements of time: 1 Day, 1 Week, 1 Month, 3 Months, 1 Year, 2 Years, 5 Years, 10 Years, 25 Years, and various times in between.  All of these signified how long a person had been sober.

Bro. B— told us how meetings would often go.  There was somebody, often a leader I guess, who would speak some minutes to the group, and then they would have an open discussion with each other.  The conversations were confidential; what happens in AA stays in AA.  He let us know that the people were often pretty rough.  There was lots of swearing and sharing of horrible tragedies that had taken place in their lives.

In my two years in Texas, with the exception of a couple temple trips and one night in my apartment, I never felt the Spirit stronger than I did in that building at that time.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that experience, trying to understand why, of all the places I visited, this building would leave such an impression on me, and the only answer I can come up with was that this was a genuine house of repentance.

Since 1935, this program and the Twelve Steps they follow has been the pattern for millions to overcome their addiction to alcohol and to stay sober for years afterwards.  It is a wonderful model of how to repent, from recognizing their weakness to supplicating for a higher power to save and aid them, to taking specific actions for making restitution, and finally living their lives in such a way that they continually guard themselves from falling back and carrying the message to others who suffer from the same addiction.  I’ve found it to be a beautiful and inspired model to get away from the pain and shame alcoholism caused them and return to a more fulfilling and healthy lifestyle.

Well, my church seems to have felt the same way I did when I toured the building.  I discovered shortly afterwards that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has formed its own Twelve Step Program for Addiction Recovery.  The Church’s 12 Step Program is modeled off of Alcoholics Anonymous’ Twelve Steps, although with some subtle changes to be more compatible with the gospel.

The biggest change I am aware of is in Step 2:  AA’s second step is to believe in a power greater than themselves to restore them.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be God that they choose to believe in (although it can be.)  But they are required to find and recognize a higher power to help them through their journey to sobriety.  The Church, on the other hand, specifically teaches with its second step to believe in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and to trust them to help and save you from your addiction that afflicts you.

The focus is different but the gears are the same.  And I’ve gotten to see this firsthand these past two weeks.  My mom was recently called to be the coordinator for her stake’s 12 Step Program (for those unaware, a stake in our church is a geographical boundary consisting of several church congregations that meet in different buildings on Sunday.)

The addiction isn’t limited to alcoholism.  It can be an addiction to anything:  drugs, pornography, gambling, eating disorders, and any other what-have-you.  The past couple of weeks, my mom invited me to attend their meetings.  It’s a pretty new calling for her and she essentially has launched the program in her stake, so naturally, I came to support her.

And I came away impressed with their meetings.  Because of the confidentiality of this program, I can’t get too specific about the people who attended or what they shared, but what I loved was the sheer honesty of these people and the general goodwill all around.

The trouble with sin is that the sinner wants to hide what they’ve done and who they are from others.  Addiction especially makes the addict feel that they don’t belong and end up feeling like they are alone in their battle to get better.  The beauty of the 12 Step Program is that it tears away that wall of solitude and fear.  Being able to see that there are others, many others, who are either struggling now or are recovering brings a support and reassuring influence that may not have ever been there before.

This program is not just for members of my church (although they’re probably the ones who’ll here the most about them) but they are open for any and all people struggling with addiction and need help to overcome.  If anybody is interested or knows anybody with addiction and could use this type of resource, check out addictionrecovery.lds.org.  There’s further information about the program as well as meeting times and places for wherever you happen to live.

I truly believe that this has the ability to bless many lives and help them change into the best people that they can be.

The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon has a very radical history.  Its origins are shrouded with divine intervention or audacious falsehood, depending on who you speak to.

The story according to Joseph Smith begins when he was 17 and living in Palmyra, New York.  He felt terrible for some of his youthful follies, and so, as he prayed to God he received a visit from an angel named Moroni.  Moroni gave Joseph several instructions during that visit and among those was to inform him that at a hill nearby his home, there was a record of the ancient American inhabitants that the Lord would command him to translate.  Moroni left and then returned a second time that night, repeating what he’d said before with some additional instruction.  He left and returned a third time, saying the same things as his last visit with even more additional instruction.

The next morning, Joseph was visited a fourth time with the same circumstances and was instructed to tell his father everything that Moroni had told him.  After hearing all these things, Joseph’s father told him that it came from God and that he needed to obey the angel.

When Joseph went to the hill, he found the record Moroni had told him about, and seeing that they were written on gold plates, he thought about how this gold could really help his family in their indigent circumstances.  God didn’t like that attitude very much.  Moroni appeared again, and in more words than I am giving, Joseph was forbidden from translating for four years.  During that time, he was told to grow up and set his heart only on the things of God and then he would be worthy to translate the golden plates.

Four years later, Joseph received the plates with special instructions to keep them hidden from the world because there were wicked men who sought to destroy the work of God.  But if Joseph did everything in his power to keep the plates safe, God would take care of the rest.  The plates stayed hidden and protected, and Joseph was able to complete the translation of the plates, and through same miracle, was able to publish the record as The Book of Mormon, named after a prophet-historian in the scripture.

The golden plates were taken up by Moroni once the translation was completed and nobody besides Joseph ever saw the plates except on two separate occasions.  The first time, three of Joseph’s friends (Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris) heard the voice of the Lord and were shown the golden plates in a divine manifestation.  The second occasion, the plates were shown by Joseph Smith by eight men—Joseph’s father, two of his brothers, four from the Whitmer family, and Hiram Page.  While none of them heard a voice or saw angels, they were allowed to touch and handle the plates.  The testimonies of both the Three and the Eight Witnesses are published as part of The Book of Mormon, as well as Joseph’s testimony as to how he received it.

The golden plates were taken by the angel Moroni and nobody has claimed to have seen them since.  The Book of Mormon was published in 1830, and shortly afterwards, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established.

This is only a summary of what took place over several years, but in essence, it’s what happened.

Of course, most of the world gets about ten seconds into that story and say, Yeah right.  You expect us to believe that something like that happened in our day and age?

To which I say, Many of us believe that the Red Sea was parted to let the Israelites cross on dry land.  Next to that, being commanded to write a book doesn’t quite stretch my credulity.

One of the best criticisms I ever heard on the Book of Mormon was when a gentleman asked me what happened to the gold plates Joseph Smith translated from.  “The angel Moroni took it up with him.”

“That’s rather convenient for you, isn’t it?”

I bit my tongue.  Frankly, it would have been more convenient to have the gold plates with us to verify that part of Joseph Smith’s story, but even then, I doubt it would make that great a difference in convincing anybody of our claim to hold the full and restored gospel of Christ.  That belief has only come by prayer and listening to the Spirit, as far as I’ve ever witnessed.

Of course, there’s the familiar charge of Joseph Smith being a liar and a fraud.  There’s no evidence that the Book of Mormon wasn’t just pulled out of a hat, and there’s even historical records stating that Joseph Smith used a hat during translation (one of the quirkier aspects to the story, I will gleefully admit.)  And, the truth is, Joseph Smith couldn’t prove anything to anybody.  We have to take his word on it that what he said was true.

But what about the Three and Eight Witnesses?  In my not-so-humble opinion, they are the best argument for the Book of Mormon’s veracity.  All 11 of these men claimed to have seen the golden plates, and in the case of the Eight, they physically handled them, while the Three claimed to have had a miraculous vision accompanying their witnessing of the plates.  All of the Three and three of the Eight (Hiram Page, Jacob Whitmer, and John Whitmer) were excommunicated or had their records removed from the Church, nearly all at the same time.

These were all men who had been close friends with Joseph at the beginning of the Book of Mormon translation.  They had all been prominent members of the Church and had suffered much the same things Joseph had in the early days of building Zion.  However, because of their own prideful ambitions, they were cut off entirely.

Oliver Cowdery had been one of Joseph’s closest friends and was instrumental in assisting Joseph during the bulk of translation.  After the excommunication, he went into law and became a very successful lawyer—and one of Joseph’s most bitter enemies until the end of Joseph’s life.  And yet… during a trial, one of Oliver’s opposing attorney’s made a snide remark about the Book of Mormon, and Oliver went on record defending his vision of the golden plates.

(On a sidenote, Oliver let go of his animosity after Joseph was murdered.  He became so incensed at the legal injustice taking place that he volunteered to go to Washington DC at his own expense to demand justice for the crime committed by the mob.  He lost, but was eventually rebaptized with the Saints and stayed faithful till his death.)

Martin Harris was often in trouble in the Church, despite his enormous influence and aid in the early days, especially financially backing the Book of Mormon publication.  He lived a long life and often bore testimony about his experience in seeing the golden plates.

David Whitmer was excommunicated and never returned, as is the case with his brothers and brother-in-law in the Eight.  He was hurt and never more a friend to Joseph Smith.  And yet, seven years before he died, he had 21 upstanding citizens in his community sign and witness an affidavit he made proclaiming his testimony of the golden plates and the truth of the Book of Mormon.  This was decades after his excommunication and he had no intention of returning.  He was bitter about Joseph, and yet he never stepped down from his testimony of the golden plates and was the most public about this.

John Whitmer was excommunicated and Jacob Whitmer and Hiram Page voluntarily had their records removed.  They never went back, and on their deathbeds, each proclaimed that they had seen the plates and that they knew it came from God.

I’m happy that the other five witnesses (Christian Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jun., Joseph Smith, Sen., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel H. Smith) all stayed in the Church until they died and stayed true to their testimonies of the golden plates and the Book of Mormon.  But it endlessly fascinates me that six others found cause to leave it all behind.  Their departures weren’t amicable.  It was horrendous, awful, deeply antagonistic.  They had so much animosity towards Joseph Smith, Jun., and if at any time, they could have said it had all been a lie.  If it was a lie, they had nothing to gain by affirming the Book of Mormon was a true book.  And yet they stuck to their story to the end.

I can’t understand why they would do that unless it had been real.

Regardless, this has led me to think much about how I feel about the Book of Mormon.  The title page of the Book of Mormon lays out that its purpose is “to the convincing of Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD” and the book is quite frankly the main reason I ever came to believe in God.

See, I was born and raised Latter-day Saint, but that has never been a guarantee that I was going to stay.  Freedom to choose is given such a high place of respectability in the Church that nobody interferes even when the choice is to go against the Church and what it stands for, and this has been the case since its foundation.  Many people joined and were baptized and no small number of them left soon after, and this trend goes on today.

When I was a teenager, I had gotten so angry about the personal traumas and injustices that had happened to me for so much of my life that I didn’t see any evidence that there was a God there.  I certainly couldn’t tell you what the Spirit felt like, what the purpose of prayer was, or why there was so much emphasis on things like Sabbath worship or Priesthood.  What was it all for when clearly none of that had affected my life in any way for the better?

On my mom’s advice, though, I decided not to call it crap until I actually read my scriptures.  It’s funny; I have been reading since I was two (no lie) and read anything that my hands could touch and yet I’d never read any books of scripture all the way through.  And it was a challenge.  It took me a year-and-a-half to get through the Book of Mormon once.  Since then, I’ve read it well over a dozen times and certain passages well over a hundred.

Some of my most valuable lessons came from the Book of Mormon.  The passage that changed my life most is found in Jacob 2, when Jacob’s people began going off the deep end.  In the few years they had lived in their promised land, they had been blessed with gold, silver, and all the treasures in the earth, and because some of them had more than the other, they let themselves become prideful, wearing fine clothes and beginning to persecute those that were poorer than they were, creating an awful inequality among themselves.  They had taken their eye off the Lord and this caused Jacob to cry:

“O that he would rid you from this iniquity and abomination.  And, O that ye would listen unto the word of his commands, and let not this pride of your hearts destroy your souls!  Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.  But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.  And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.” (Jacob 2:16-19)

I had read these words many times before, but when I came across them at age 20, I cried because I knew that I had been focused so on my own gain and status all my life until that point.  In a lot of ways, I consider that moment to be the true beginning of my conversion to God, where it wasn’t just that I believed he was there but that I understood what was expected of me and the kind of man that He wanted me to become.

It goes back to Christ’s saying, “No man can serve two masters… Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matt. 6:24)  It hit me then and continues with me now that the “love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6:10) and I made a decision that if gaining wealth should ever cause me to lose the love of my fellow man, then I pray I’m never rich.  I would rather be a poor man all the days of my life and still have charity for my brothers and sisters on earth than to be wealthy and think myself better than another.  Anytime I catch myself with such pride and ambition, I shudder and ask if this is what I want to be, and I say, “No.”

Why stop there, though?  Jacob certainly didn’t.  In the same sermon, after all the chastisement of the inequality of wealth and the pride that came from that, he went on to an even more serious charge, breaking the law of chastity.  He was especially harsh on the men, and Jacob in his calling as prophet, repeated what the Lord said in this:

“For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands.  And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts… Behold, ye have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites, our brethren [a nation Jacob’s people were on bad terms with].  Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you.  And because of the strictness of the word of God, which cometh down against you, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds.” (Jacob 2:31-32, 35)

I certainly find this passage applicable to many of the problems we see in our society today, especially in the home.  I could use this opportunity to comment on how this is a general warning to all, but I can only think of how it affected me.  A reason I take the law of chastity seriously is that not only do I know how it would break the heart of the woman I will someday marry if I ever chose not to live it, it’s clear that God will hold me accountable for how I treat my wife.

Those few verses alone taught me more about my responsibilities as a husband than any other single thing ever have.

And as a final lesson I learned, I’ll finish with my favorite story from the Book of Mormon, and involves the Lamanites that were mentioned earlier.  The Lamanites were an awful, awful people.  They were lazy but very warlike, unbothered by murders and their own selves.  At one point, some missionaries decide to go among the Lamanites and teach them the gospel of Christ, to see if they can bring at least one soul to repent.  The timing is sketchy, but I assume that over a period of months and probably years, the missionaries were so successful that they were baptizing by the thousands.

One missionary, Aaron, taught the king of all the Lamanites, and I am a huge fan of this king.  When the king is first introduced, he tries to kill Aaron’s younger brother but because of unfavorable circumstances, relents.  In fact, he was so impressed with Aaron’s brother that he was excited to hear about this gospel of Christ, and after Aaron shares what he knows, the king declares:

“…what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day?  Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.” (Alma 22:15; emphasis added)

I added the italics because this highlights what God’s blessings are worth.  I don’t know whether the king ever heard about Jacob’s sermon, but he lived that counsel, “before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.”  In the world, you can’t gain more than your own kingdom, and this king wanted to trade that for a chance to be in God’s kingdom.  Is there any greater sacrifice than that?

Yes, there is, because this story isn’t done.  After the king is baptized, many people in his country listen to the preaching and are baptized.  The king dies and passes the kingdom onto his son, and it’s not long afterwards when the nonbelieving Lamanites become angry with the believers.  Through some pretty awful political machinations, the nonbelievers took up their swords and prepared to go to war with the believers.

Bear in mind, the believers had been warlike people and many of them were murderous fiends before they accepted the gospel.  They were no strangers to death.  So when the nonbelievers came to war, the believers knew what was at stake.  But because of the gospel they’d accepted, and knowing the sins they had committed before, they were loath to go to war.  They did not feel right killing their brethren, even though it would be self-defense.  They took their swords and buried them, saying, “…if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.” (Alma 24:16)

Then they really put themselves to the test.  When the nonbelievers came against them, the believers knelt down and prayed.  The unbelieving Lamanites came on them and killed 1,005 of the believers that day, and the whole while that this was going on, the believers “would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—” (Alma 24:23)  I’ve never read anywhere else of anybody subjecting themselves so perfectly to the evils of this world with more confidence than these martyrs, save it be Christ himself.  This action alone makes them the most Christlike people you will find in any scripture that I know of.

Many of the killers were so touched by this sacrifice that they also gave up their swords and were baptized.  That the believers welcomed them into their society makes this one of the most understated and perfect acts of forgiveness I could ever imagine.

There are times I wonder whether I’m sacrificing enough or forgiving enough of another, and when I place myself against this standard, I know that I have a long way to go.  But I’m happy that there is this story to guide me and inspire me to become who I want to be.

It also makes me grateful to have the Book of Mormon in my life.  I would not believe in Christ without it, and because of it, I have known how to feel the Spirit work in my life and I have been witness to miracles because of the gospel that it brought to me.  Without it, I certainly would not have brought myself to write these monthly essays.

And most of all, I believe the Book of Mormon is a true book and that its purpose is to bring one closer to Christ.  That testimony is worth more to me than the whole world.

Temple Sealings and the Atonement

I’m in the Elder Quorum’s presidency at my church, which is a leadership role over the men.  Any presidency in my church typically consists of a president and two counselors, and I am one of those counselors.

I bring this up because I was going to write about something else this Sunday, but on the first Sunday of every month, the presidency is responsible for teaching the Elders, and this month was my turn.  I was given free rein to discuss anything I wanted with the men and halfway through the preparation, I realized that that lesson was what I was going to publish this month.

A lot of this was triggered by one of Christ’s sermons in John 14,

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that were I am, there ye may be also.  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” (John 14:2-4)

There’s some fun imagery going on here.  “In my Father’s house are many mansions” set up a fun visual of God having this grand building covering these millions and billions and trillions of mansions like a giant tent.  But because I can never leave well enough alone, I went searching the dictionary for clarification, and found a less common definition of house meaning a family, especially one goes for generations both past and future.  House, then, has similarities with clan.

So if I reread it as, “In my Father’s family are many mansions,” this adds a new dimension to Christ’s mission.

Another thing to take note, there is no doubt of where Christ will be.  He is in his Father’s house; unlike us, he has never been on shaky ground; there is and always has been a place for him there.  What Christ is doing is so utterly selfless, he spends his time making room for us and that we will be in the same place as he is.  And it’s not a trailer home or apartment that he’s preparing, he is putting us into mansions.  Eternity is grand and it’s his purpose to put us there.

Too often, I feel, we overlook what the reward of our righteousness is.

Christ also makes the bold claim that we know the way that he goes or are on the path.  Well, he was speaking to the disciples, but considering that we’ve walked with him the best we can through study as the disciples did who actually walked with him, I feel comfortable applying his statement to us.

Yet, right in the next verse, Thomas comes to contradict the Lord, saying, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest: and how can we know the way?  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:5-6)

Christ could not have been more plain before Thomas spoke up, but then, the gospel itself is so plain and clear, and yet the majority of us struggle to comprehend the simple concepts of the gospel message.  I believe this is because we forget so quickly and easily that Christ embodies it all, as he had to remind Thomas of in the previous verses.

What is the gospel?  “Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.  And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.” (3 Nephi 27:13-15)

The gospel is no more and no less than the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and all the principles and ordinances of the gospel are the steps we take to apply the Atonement to ourselves and allow him to save us in his eternal glory.

When I think of baptismal ordinance, the symbols of baptism are centered in Christ’s Atonement.  Paul speaks loud and clear on this subject:

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Romans 6:3-6)

In simpler language, baptism is a symbol of Christ’s death and resurrection.  When we are buried under the water, we are symbolizing Christ’s death by crucifixion and his burial, and when we arise from the water, it is a symbol of his resurrection.  And in another sense, it also has an additional representation of his Atonement in that when we are baptized, we slay our old man, or bury our sins and are washed clean and rise from the water pure and new because of his grace and atoning sacrifice.

The sacrament ordinance, where we take the bread and water, is a symbol of his Atonement, in that the emblem of bread represents Christ’s body that he sacrificed for us, and the water being a symbol of the blood he shed for us.  It’s a weekly reminder of the Atonement and also has great cleansing power.  For myself, there are few occasions that I feel nearer to the Savior than when I have taken the sacrament worthily and with full purpose of heart.

With all this thoughts about the how the ordinances remind us of Christ, I asked my class the question: How do temple sealings represent Christ’s Atonement?

The highest ordinance that we perform in all of our temples is the sealing ordinance.  In a basic sense, the sealing is the Latter-day Saint marriage covenant, where husbands and wives are sealed for time and for all eternity.  Being married in the temple is a big deal for us.  Civil marriages are fine, but if I may quote a line from the comic Fables, “All contracts end with death.”

In the Lord’s rather lengthy revelation to Joseph Smith on marriage, “All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to held this power…are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.” (D&C 132:7, emphasis added)

Basically, all marriage contracts in the world are made in the world, but when they aren’t sealed, the covenant doesn’t continue past death or into resurrection.  To be sealed, though, is to have that marriage last not just for our time on earth but through the eternities.

“And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.” (D&C 132:19, emphasis added)

There’s more there than I’m going to discuss in this post, but I wanted to give you the full verse in this case, because this outlines entirely what the temple sealing is about.  To be sealed is not just about being married for eternity, it is about obtaining all the exaltation and glory that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ wish to give us.  It’s a treasure beyond price.

So I thought that my question was a fair one to consider and not one that many of us in the Church think about: how do the sealings remind us of Christ’s Atonement?

I had written some of my thoughts on that, but the class came up with some very intriguing ideas I hadn’t considered.  Those included:

1)      Atonement can be broken down into at-one-ment, or specifically being at one with God.  The sealing can remind us of symbolically of Christ, for as Adam said of marriage, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Gen 2:24, emphasis added)
            As well, Jesus intercessory prayer speaks much of the doctrine of becoming one with him as he is one with the Father.

2)      Christ refers to the Church as being his bride in Revelations, in his parables, and also in modern revelation, which I’ll quote here:  “That thy church may come forth out of the wilderness of darkness, and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners; And be adorned as a bride for that day when though shalt unveil the heavens… that thy glory may fill the earth;” (D&C 109:73-74)

Those were the standouts and I wish that I had thought of those myself but I’m very grateful that I have such a good class that brought to my attention what I couldn’t do alone.  But here are a couple of my inspirations:

1)      It has always been most thought-provoking to me the role altars play in the temple ceremonies, and no less so in the temple sealing.  Altars anciently were holy places that the saints of God would offer their sacrifices to him, all the way back to the days of Adam.  To sacrifice was a commandment from God after the Fall and casting them out from the Garden of Eden.  No explanation was given at the time of the commandment, but “…after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?  And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.  And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.” (Moses 5:6-7)
            Altars were the place of offering sacrifice to the Lord, much in the way that Christ offered himself in sacrifice.  These days, we are not commanded to sacrifice by the shedding of blood, as Christ was the infinite sacrifice.  But we are asked to “offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” (3 Nephi 9:20)  And when we come to the altar at the sealing, are we not offering our whole lives, not only to the Lord but to our spouses for all eternity.  Symbolically, aren’t we showing that we will sacrifice and offer ourselves entirely for the other person, just as Christ offered himself entirely for us?

2)      We believe the sealing to be an eternal covenant, contract, oath, and law.  And how does that not bring to mind the Savior’s Atonement?  “For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice…And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.” (Alma 34:10, 14)

Alma once taught that “all things denote there is a God” (Alma 30:44) and it is my opinion that all things can teach us about the nature of God if we’re willing to open our hearts and ask him to reveal to us how these things can be. 

Before I finish, I’ll have to leave a more personal note than I usually attach to these essays of mine. 

I have never been married and at this time and I currently have no prospects.  I would love for it to happen, but until it does, I take my opportunities to improve myself as much as I can so that I’m a good prospect.

Part of that has been observing other marriages (of which there are not few in this world) and I’ve seen what works and what hasn’t.  I’ve been fortunate that my parents have had a good marriage; I don’t know if they noticed, but I have been scrutinizing their relationship for years and they’ve set a pattern I hope to follow. 

I’ve paid a lot of attention to the marriages that have failed or had extreme difficulties, and the thing that concerns me greatly is how often pornography has been involved in one way or another.  We’re warned all the time about this plague every General Conference the Church has.  Because of how common and easy it is to access, it has a powerful, invasive force in entering and ruining the lives of those addicted to it.  If you’re not involved, don’t get involved ever.  If you are, seek help.  Ecclesiastical leaders are there to help; I know that the Church’s bishops and branch presidents are there to help those struggling morally and spiritually with anything to deal with the law of chastity. 

With all things in the gospel, these things are only there to help you gain the greatest peace and joy that can be offered here and now, and in the eternities.