Weight of the World

Have you ever felt the weight of the world?  

Yesterday in Relief Society, the lesson was on President Benson's talk on Pride.  Beware of Pride. The teacher highlighted a scripture, found in Ezekiel 16:49-50.

"Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.  

And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."

Our fabulous teacher highlighted the verse for its application to the lesson, namely the featuring of pride.  The other points were an afterthought.  The iniquity of the city of Sodom was pride, as well as other things.

The teacher read the list, took a breath at this part of the verse, and then began into the next verse.

This was the part she omitted: "Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."

Is taking care of the poor and needy such an afterthought that it doesn't even make it into the list of latter-day abominations?  It is an afterthought!  In fact, a no thought.

As one of the 4-fold missions of the Church, I found its omission in the discussion startling.

I sat there, hoping we would come back to this point.  I waited for someone else to highlight it too.  I even raised my hand at one point, but the teacher didn't see it and was steadily moving on, so I put it back down.  (I've already made a few too many waves of late, so didn't feel like starting another soapbox.)  This day I was not up for a heated heart in a potentially heated discussion.  I think my heart died a little.

WHEN will it be acknowledged a SIN that we refuse to STRENGTHEN the HAND of the POOR and NEEDY?  When will it not be a burden, but a pleasure?

There are so many extravagances in this country.  So many expectations, and taken-for-granteds.  I heard the sisters jump on board in despising pride, yet we walk in it.  We swim in it.  We boast of it!

I posted the following in my Ward Facebook page last week.

Brothers and Sisters, I want to thank _____ ______ for drawing this to my attention today. I hope no one minds me sharing some thoughts about the message she shared.

The cause of the Christians in the Middle East has been heavy on my heart since the start of the new year, when a friend asked me to pray for Baghdad as ISIS was pressing near. I have had my head in the sand politically for a long time, and have simply believed all I could do was pray for these people. _____ shared a link where as individuals we can mark what we personally can do, (at this point it is specifically in pressing the government), together to remove the restrictions for CHRISTIAN refugees. This page gathers our info for how we can commit to help. The Church has committed up to $1 million in donations to this crisis, but it is currently foreign aid only. Currently the US is only open to Syrian refugees, so there is little we can do at home beyond prayer. However the US gov't will NOT justify bringing in Christians. These are our brothers and sisters, and this is not a partisan issue. It is a true humanitarian crisis.

Will you please prayerfully consider what your family would be willing to do to help? I personally would be happy to volunteer any funds relegated to our social activities, ward parties, scouting activities, etc, but I am just one member out of hundreds. Would you be willing to ask that our ward activity funds be offered in service as food, shelter, raiment for these souls? How about our Holiday Dinner funds? We have shown very easily how well we can put together a pot luck for Linger Longer. Can we together voice our support of donation of resources, whatever we may have?

I believe the heavens are watching, truly, to see if we are willing to respond. While there are several organizations I have seen cropping up, asking for donations, I appreciate that this one is not just interested in money, but tangible service, opening of homes, and true agape in the pure love of Christ. I share this here because as a ward family I believe we can do this with greater strength together than separately. I hope the fact that Glenn Beck is a political activist does not repel anyone from considering this opportunity. Last night he spoke in the Brandon, FL, Stake, regarding this opportunity. I hope and pray the message spreads. If you prefer another organization to consider, please, by all means, share some links.

We are on the cusp of the 4th blood moon in a tetrad of blood moons over Jewish holy days. I believe these are signs, just as the scriptures alert. We are being warned. Today marks the Jewish New Year, which Christ would have celebrated the end of the Schmitah, or 7th year, the year of rest. This evening marks the start of a Jubilee year. It is a big, big deal. May we celebrate, please, and remember what Jesus was truly about. Mosiah 3-4.

Thank you, _______, for sharing this. now.mercuryone.org

Would you like to see the follow up comments?  Here is the first, after I tagged the Bishop's wife.

"I appreciate the need for donating to worthy causes. As with anything, each person and family can elect to help. I would caution on expecting the local ward to donate funds. The church has a humanitarian arm where they do what they can and feel is best in the situation. The local funds are set aside for the care of the local members. I don’t know the exact process, but I doubt there are ever excess funds; what is remaining off of events and projects is often put to the members in need. I know that in our hearts we would like to care for those overseas, but the local ward funds are probably not the way to go. This isn’t a commentary on the need or validity of this project. I just doubt that the ward can donate official funds."

Well I expected as much.  Yes, carry on.  THE LOCAL FUNDS ARE SET ASIDE FOR THE CARE OF THE LOCAL MEMBERS.  I DOUBT THERE ARE EVER EXCESS FUNDS.  I JUST DOUBT THAT THE WARD CAN DONATE...

[Ironically, since posting that post last week, Glenn Beck's audience has donated over SEVEN MILLION dollars.  The LDS Church, with its vast resources and reach of over 14 million members, has indiscriminately donated aprox $1.2 million, back in 2012. I have no idea what the total is as of today, however the Deseret News updated their article on 9/14/15 and it circulated as if it were fresh, although written back in 2012. ]

So carry on with your iPhone 6s.  Carry on with your new SUVs and competitive soccer leagues.  Carry on with your Linger Longers, your paper plates and plastic cups (with cupboards full of china and glassware), carry on with your scout badges, your craft parties, your ward budgets designated to buy plastic tablecloths and centerpieces for the chili cookoffs.  Carry on with the corn and mashed potatoes for holiday dinners and the lights and utilities for buildings and temples and shopping malls and billboards and ad campaigns on YouTube.  Carry on with the HeartSell, the paid actors, the MormonMessages, the iPads for missionaries, the General Authority stipends and vacations, the Follow the Prophet, the All is Well in Zion!  Carry on, carry on, carry on!!!

Among the talk of Planned Parenthood selling of baby parts, and boys getting raped in Afghanistan and soldiers being disciplined for not looking the other way, we are ripe.  Let's not even talk about girls who are Activity Day Girls' age getting raped and sold in Syria as sex slaves as our government is giving both money and weapons to terrorists.  Let's not think of the men being CRUCIFIED because they follow Jesus, or toddlers beheaded and left in the streets.  Let's not talk about the mothers being separated from their living children and the culture of death which we ignore.

What if we actually supported a mother in bringing life to this planet?  What if women were paid to bring babies into the world, rather than paying for their dead babies?  What if rather than saying we are pro-life, we quit griping about welfare and supporting single moms who made choices that we don't approve of?  (That's a tough pill for even me to swallow.)  What if we offered a better choice and incentive to KEEP the baby, rather than shaming the woman seeking the abortion?  What if we did this outside of government control, but willingly, such that there were no need for the government?

What if we truly fed the poor, not just food, but true light and knowledge, rather than damning them up, insisting they aren't ready?  What if we lifted them up?

What if rapist men in Aftganistan (and surely other nations) had something better to do with their genitals than screw their sons?  Bastards!!!

What if we talk about the true problem in this world with pornography, and how it is the LARGEST expenditure of money in the WORLD?  How about we talk how to truly overcome it?

This world is so ripe in sin, it is sickening.  This post is dark, yes.  It is not uplifting in the least.  In reading these things I cannot help but weep, feeling the horrible weight of the world on my heart.  Please God, when will You intervene with your earthquakes of which You warned?  When will the earth swallow these horrific sins up, and vomit them out as dross?

But.

The Savior died for ALL these.  All these sinners, these rapists, these murders.  These Satanists.  All these women screaming with pride for their rights to kill their offspring unborn.  All these folks killing police officers as a right of justice.  The men (and hidden women) removing their precious childrens' innocence beneath the sheets.  The thought, just reading the news I just read is nauseating.  It would be better for a millstone to be hung around their necks, but they continue to practice their barbary.  REPENT!!!  Your Allah condones this horror?  Are you SERIOUS?  Your sons are screaming out each night for salvation, and your hellish king says Carry on!?

The one TRUE GOD speaks of REPENTANCE.  Of LOVE.  Of FORGIVENESS.  Of MERCY.  May GOD have MERCY on your hellbent souls.  May you please, please, I beg of you, cease from raping your children, from killing innocents in all lands, and from this horrible, horrible wickedness.  There are people who can help, and there is a GOD who will help if you ask.  May we, as followers of CHRIST

DO

SOMETHING!

Forgiveness vs. Reconciliation

During the drive home this past weekend, I got to listen to a Catholic Radio Show.  I didn't catch the name of the host or the guest, but the topic was on the virtue of forgiveness.  This really piqued my interest, because there was an issue I was pondering how to forgive for.  It seems to me that some of the biggest burdens people carry, especially in terms of physical weight, is that they don't forgive.  And sometimes it's really easy to understand.

One of the callers asked the host how she should seek help from the church (the Catholic Church) when it was a priest who caused the grievance by their act(s) of molestation.  It was unclear if she had been abused, or someone she loved.  But regardless, it was clear that the question caught the guest off guard, despite his best efforts at answering it.  He seemed to be pulling at straws, trying to find a way for his Church to redeem this woman from her pain.  All the while, I'm waiting for some mention of the true Redeemer.  There was none.

This gave me pause for reflection.  What would I have said, in that instance?  Is not the purpose of life to become reconciled with Christ?  We all cause pain to someone else at some point or another.  And we all receive pain at some point too.  How do we forgive?

Tonight I was also getting caught up on some tv shows I missed.  One of the shows, Once Upon a Time, showed Snow White telling the Evil Queen for the thousandth time that she was sorry for whatever she had done that made the Queen hate her so much.  The Queen was calling for a truce, which required Snow White to eat an apple that would put her in a living coffin of sorts.  To put the burden to rest, Snow White ate the poisoned apple, trusting that the Queen would finally bury the hatchet and let everyone in the land live in peace, including Prince Charming, who Snow loved the most.

Well it didn't happen.

The Evil Queen still hasn't forgiven Snow White, and an evil curse covered the land for many, many years.  It's startling how powerful forgiveness is, and when it's not applied, the one who carries its lack bears the burden–in this case, it was carried by the Queen.

But I believe everyone carries it.  Every person involved in the story carried the burden of living under the Queen's curse.  The energy of the issue was still there for everyone to feel the effects of.

In another random story, I got an email from Dr. Laura, who is vigilant against sex offenders.  She often highlights stories and letters from children (now adults) who have been abused by another.  The bottom line is that there is no forgiveness, and she encourages this view.  I don't know what to think of this.  But as the Catholic radio show guest pointed out, "There is a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation".  I would never actively suggest someone go reconcile with their abuser.  That's up to them.  But forgiveness?  By encouraging someone to not forgive is encouraging them to continue carrying an awfully heavy burden.  Even when abuse is not involved, to hold out forgiving someone so that they feel more pain from what they did is just cruel.  Adding pain to all involved, holding grudges and withholding forgiveness is evil.  Take it from the Queen.

The bottom line?  Christs asks us to forgive, even our offenders.  It's something He can help us with, if we let Him.

The Way to Judge

I'm almost at the end of my 6 Month Challenge of the Book of Mormon.  I'm a little bit sad too, knowing that while the pressure of meeting the goal will not be there, the incentive to delve into the scriptures will have to come from another source, besides a leader-driven goal. 

Today I read the 7th chapter of Moroni, where Moroni includes a sermon his father gave in a synagogue, prior to his passing.  He shares a beautiful message about faith in Christ, the mission of angels, and miracles.  One of my favorite parts speaks of good and evil things.  Mormon says,

"But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.  Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil." 

A short while later, he explains how to judge.

"For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God."

(photo source)

These verses mean a lot to me, especially while the things I've been learning lately tend to land me in front of skeptical eyes.  Muscles testing, in particular, while not yet entirely understood scientifically, has shown to be a "good" thing in my life, and as I "judge" that it is "good", I trust that it is a tool from God, which I can use to help bless my life and those willing to also trust it is "good".