A Defiled vs Sanctified Heart

This morning I had a wonderful study period with my mom.  We studied Matthew 14-15.  There was a part which stopped us up, and we had a hard time processing what Jesus was saying, so we drew a drawing to help break it down.

Matthew 15 discusses how the scribes PLUS Pharisees came from Jerusalem to Jesus.  (He didn't seek this discussion, they brought it to Him.)  They challenge Him, saying,

"Why do Your taught ones transgress the tradition of the elders?  For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." (Matt. 15:1)

In various feasts and ordinances the priests are to wash their hands as part of the ordinance.  In Passover feasts, the participants are to "wash their hands" as part of the ceremony.  It is considered cleansing and representative of washing away of sin.

One distinction I like in this translation (The Scriptures) is that the King James use of "disciples" is changed to "Your taught ones".  It brings to mind that the people who followed Jesus were being taught by Him, much like when I enjoy learning from various gurus of our day.  These people followed and studied with Him, learning from Him routinely.  I can think of a few living people I do this with.

So the scribes and Pharisees wanted to know why those who were taught by Him didn't follow the tradition of the elders in washing their hands when they eat bread.  Christ responds,

"Why do you also transgress the command of Elohim because of your tradition?  For Elohim has commanded, saying, 'Respect your father and your mother,' and 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' 

But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me has been dedicated," is certainly released from respecting his father or mother.'  So you have nullified the command of Elohim by your tradition.  

Hypocrites!(!!)  Yeshayahu (Isaiah) rightly prophesied about you, saying, 'This people draw near to Me with their mouth, and respect Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commands of men.'  

Referring to the drawing again,

on the left side is what Elohim's law declares.  We are to respect father and mother.  If we do not respect them, but curse them, the principle is that death follows.  This was part of the law that was given after Moses had to return to the mount because the Israelites were worshiping other gods.  So this is a basic law of heaven that is being instituted in as simple of form as possible.  Respect your parents; honor them.

Contrast this with what the scribes and Pharisees were teaching, which was "If you kids can pay off your parents (or benefit them through some means), you're released from needing to respect them.  You can pay your way out of the relationship."  (I assume a Hebrew scholar will understand this verse more than I, so this is my layman's interpretation of it.)  If you note the arrows in the drawing, in the Law from Elohim, the love and respect and honor goes from child to parent.  It illustrates gratitude, and promotes harmony from one line of descendants to another.  It imitates the respect, love, and glory Christ shows to his Father.  Gratitude is one thing that ties hearts together, and when a child shows gratitude for the sacrifices of their parents, it allows the parents to be honored and reciprocate love to the child more readily.  It seems to be a natural law of the universe, or a law of heaven, I suppose.  It is a true principle in my life at least.

However on the right side, it encases greed, selfishness, and lack of relationship or respect from child to parent.  It is self-serving.  It is disharmony.  The child has no eternal gratitude but to pay off the parent with some form or money or "profit".  The relationship becomes more temporary, as ties seem to be severed and released.  They are "free".

{As a sidenote, this resembles Satan's efforts in the councils at the beginning of this world.  He wanted to collect the glory, severing his ties with Elohim.  In essence create his own, disconnected kingdom with no reciprocation of gratitude, glory, or respect for Elohim.  "Glory be mine" mentality.  See Moses 4:1-4.}  

This discussion expresses the heart to me of what Jesus is saying.  After the scribes + Pharisees interrupt their lesson, he gathers in the taught ones and explains the whole crux of the matter.

"And calling the crowd near, He said to them, "Hear and understand: "Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man, but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles the man."

Then his taught ones came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees stumbled when they heard this word?"  

But He answering, said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted.  Leave them alone.  They are blind leaders of the blind.  And if the blind leads the blind, both shall fall into a ditch."  

And Kepha (Peter) answering, said to Him, "Explain this parable to us."

And Yeshua (Jesus) said, "Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not understand that whatever enters into the mouth goes into the stomach, and is cast out in the sewer?  But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and these defile the man.  For out of the heart come forth wicked reasonings, murders, adulteries, whorings, thefts, false witnesses, slanders.  These defile the man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.  And Yeshua went out from there and withdrew to the parts of Tsor and Tsidon."  

How is (y)our heart?  Do the things which come out of it defile us?  Or does it sanctify us?

So thankful for this powerful lesson.

Love You Jesus.  Love you, reader.   

Baptism Math on Halloween

In 3 Nephi 12, Christ discusses that he had chosen 12 disciples.  I always wondered why they are called disciples, instead of apostles.  Verse 1 describes that they are called, given POWER and authority to baptize.  Christ tells the multitude that they are Blessed IF they give heed to the words of THESE twelve, which were chosen from among them to minister and to be their servants.  He expresses that he has given them POWER to baptize with water, and after that HE will baptize them with fire and with the Holy Ghost.  And they are Blessed if they will believe in him and be baptized.

A few days ago I began studying a lesson for my Primary class on the Sacrament.  It directed me to 3 Nephi 18: 1-11.  I read it, and was led well beyond verse 11.  Baptism and the sacrament tie in so beautifully together, but I think we have a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings and FALSE TRADITIONS regarding them.  I don't even know how much some of the false traditions matter, but a false tradition is something that damned the Lamanites (damned meaning their progression was stopped).  These false traditions were things that were taught to them, and they simply believed because it was much like tradition.  Much like how Mormons celebrate Halloween and Christmas and Easter, which in reality are defunct pagan holidays.  (Why do Mormons celebrate Halloween again?  Because we believe in witches, evil ghosts and spells?  We've got some great trunk or treat pics I'm sure we all have on our cameras.  My nephew who is going on a mission soon won 1st prize in ours this week for his great rendition of a pirate ship on the back of his SUV.  I was happy for him when he won.  It was fun.  But also not exactly something I would imagine Christ's 12 disciples participating in if they were to make an impromptu appearance.  No offense!)  Anyways...

The Lamanites were damned due to their traditions.  But when they let go of their traditions, we have stories of King Lamoni and the marvelous transformations that happened when they simply gave up everything to know the God Ammon spoke of.  (Forgive me if I'm mixing up names.  Just going from memory.)  What are our traditions which keep us from knowing Christ?

Back to verse 1.  These twelve disciples were given power to baptize.  Why only 12?  What's the significance of 12?  The symbolism?

And down the road, three of these 12 request to tarry on the earth.  That's 1/4.  Why 1/4?  They certainly still have power to baptize.  And they roam the earth.  Where are they?  And why do we not plea to heaven for them to baptize us?

God can bestow his power on whomever he feels to.  Today is October 31st, the day that some believe the "realms" are more open than others.  I don't remember the tradition or explanation why.  But it's no wonder people have unexplainable things happen on this day, if that is the case.  And it's no wonder it is chosen by witches and werewolves to howl at the moon.  I wonder what would happen if all God-fearing people, particularly those who believe in the "3 Nephites" would supplicate their Father to allow them to make their presence known, offer baptism to those seeking it, and grow closer to returning Zion.

THAT would be something to celebrate!   

A History of Halloween

One of my favorite radio personalities posted this on his Facebook wall tonight:

Halloween is one of the worlds most ancient holidays originating in Ireland nearly 3000 years ago. It was believed that on the night of October 31st the veil between the spirit world and the physical world was so thin that the dead could commune with the living. They called it Samhain, pronounced Sow-en.
The shamans/priests would bring messages from the Other Side and predict the future for the year to come. The villagers would wear animals skins and carve scary faces in gourds to scare away the evil spirits and they would offer gifts to the dead away from their homes to keep them out.
It was a time to remember those who had died the year before; a time to acknowledge the pain of the loss and let it go. In essence it was a time for closure. Mexico's day of the dead is a modern version of this.
As a kid my first stop for trick or treating was at my Grandma's house. She liked to see my costume and be the first to drop candy in my bag, a fun but short tradition. She's on the Other Side now, but I think of those memories every Halloween.
My grandmother actually visited me on Halloween once. She impressed her energy on a woman who stopped by my house late that night with some trick or treaters. Left me speechless but it was good to see her. I think maybe the ancient Irish were on to something about the veil being thin.
I'm taking my little ones trick or treating tonight. And while I'm not planning on a visit I'll definitely keep an eye out just in case. You may wish to do the same. Maybe one of your loved ones will show up to say hello:-)
Happy Halloween folks, enjoy the night!  (Steve from "Believe with Steve Godfrey" - see here for source)

Truth.  

Christmas Questions

As we prepare for Christmas, I've had a lot of questions come to mind.  Perhaps this is not the best place to pose them, but perhaps it is.  Maybe it's "group thought", maybe it's just me, but I'm actually feeling a lot Bah Humbug over the traditions we instill in our children.  I enjoy setting up our tree, decorating, and seeing lights that others display on their homes.  But when it turns to gift-giving, I'm feeling a bit unsure of what to do with my thoughts.  Perhaps someone could offer some advice, or answers to these questions.

(Happy Ranahanakwanzmas?  photo source)

Is God happy with how we celebrate the birth of the Son?
Is going into debt to make sure everyone receives a suitable gift, or something they want, appropriate?
Is more than three gifts excessive?
Why do we give gifts?
Why do we make cookies?
Why do we yearn for snow on Christmas morning?
Why do we fight whether or not our communities or schools allow us to celebrate, or not?  Does that prohibit us from worshiping how we please?
Why do we sing about Santa?
Why do we talk about Santa?
Where did Santa come from, and why did the idea stick?
Why do we celebrate Christmas in December, if most of us believe Christ was born in the springtime?
Why do we worry about sticking to what mainstream society teaches us?
Is it all about tradition?

In the Book of Mormon, there are many verses which warn us of doing things because of tradition.  The Lamanites sinned not necessarily because they thought it best, but because they were taught to do so by their "fathers".  Stealing, plundering, and hating the Nephites was done because that's how it was always done, and perpetuating it was socially acceptable.  Looking back at my BYU years, I find it interesting that one of the first devotionals I attended was based on "tradition", with the BYU performers redoing Fiddler on the Roof.  Traditions of "lighting the Y", attending football games (even if you didn't like football), Homecoming, attending devotionals, etc., were all encouraged as part of being a "good" student.  The song "Tradition" was celebrated, and ended up being a recurring theme through those college years.  Here at Christmastime, when Christians everywhere say we're celebrating the birth of the Savior, I wonder, are we really?

(Tevya, from Fiddler on the Roof, photo source)

So again, is God happy with how we celebrate the birth of the Son?
Is going into debt to keep up with traditions wise?
Is more than three gifts in keeping with the pattern set?
Why do we give gifts, really?
What have cookies to do with Jesus?
What does snow have to do with Christmas?  Or classic movies, for that matter?
Does it matter if our communities let us celebrate?
What does Santa have anything to do with it?  Should we move celebrating Christ's birth to April, and just let Santa have his own day?
Does it matter?

(The Wise Men, by Minerva Teichert)

When reading in Alma this past week, I was struck that much of the story of Christ, when retold by Amulek, began with the story of Adam and Eve.  I wonder how our first mortal parents celebrated Christ's birth.  Did they celebrate in anticipation?  Did those who were waiting in the Americas, who received the prophecies years before his birth, celebrate the season, knowing it was just years away?  Could they feel the excitement of what lay ahead?  And what of the Wise Men?  What was going through their minds and hearts?

I'm trying to catch the Christmas spirit, but somehow it just feels all wrong.  I'm not sure what to do about it, what to do to change it, and I wonder if my objections will cause drama in my household.  As the economy being in a slump has hit us in a difficult manner, it would not be wise for our family to splurge and get everyone 3-4 unnecessary gifts, just because it's what we do.  Are we thinking of Jesus, when we're opening up the latest book, gadget, socks, or traditional Christmas Eve pajamas?  Yet will we do it?

Witnessing the Writing

Omni 1:9 - "Now I, Chemish, write what few things I write, in the same book with my brother; for behold, I saw the last which he wrote, that he wrote it with his own hand; and he wrote it in the day that he delivered them unto me.  And after this manner we keep the records, for it is according to the commandments of our fathers.  And I make an end." 

A few things struck me about this verse.  

First was the fact that Chemish points out that this is the manner that they keep their records, and it's according to the commandments of their fathers to do it a certain way.   

1. He had to witness the writing.
2. It was physically written by the author doing the "speaking".
3. The writing was finished by the author on the day it was delivered to the next author, who was acting as witness.

It never occurred to me that due to these points, the second fact is pertinent: the Law of Witnesses.  Chemish points out that this was a commandment of the fathers, meaning each writer in the Book of Mormon must do it this way.  There must be at least two witnesses to what was being written.  One was the writer, and the second was the soon-to-be receiver of the plates, and possibly those in his company.  And we get to be the third, upon receiving the words from them.  

~Jen:)

xoxo