1 Nephi 1:10 - the Twelve Others

Continuing Lehi's experience of being carried away in a vision (from vs. 8).

1 Nephi 1:10:

And he also saw ^atwelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.

Lehi saw twelve other beings following the One.  Why twelve? 

In the Bible, twelve is used on nearly countless occasions.  At biblestudy.org, so many of them are listed and explained.  (Oh, and did you know you can now get a Bible Degree online?:)  I really enjoy the very beginning of their discussion, where it reads:

"Twelve is a perfect number, signifying perfection of government, or of governmental perfection. It is found as a multiple in all that has to do with rule. The sun which "rules" the day, and the moon and stars which "govern" the night, do so by their passage through the twelve signs of the Zodiac which completes the great circle of the heavens of 360 (12 x 30) degrees or divisions, and thus govern the year." (ibid.)

I've never given much credence to Zodiac signs, but it's interesting to find a website which co-mingles the two.  I like the interpretation of how this number relates to government.  It is as if in this tenth verse in the Book of Mormon, we are perhaps learning about the structure of how things run in the heavenly realm.  One descends, and twelve others follow him.  They follow him literally, physically, and spiritually.  Yet if we presume these are the twelve apostles in their premortal existence, we can assume a few things.  They must have done something noteworthy to be worthy of being distinguished from the heavenly host.  Perhaps they were created sooner?  Perhaps they had gained this position from noble actions.  They were clearly chosen to play the part they would play, and from what we read in the bible, their lives were not necessarily easy.  They were not only followers, but teachers.  They carried on the ministry, after Jesus was crucified.  Their roles were critical, important, and not taken lightly.

Interesting question: Did these twelve whom Lehi saw include Judas Iscariot?

Their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.  In the previous verse we learned that the One's brightness did exceed that of the sun at noon-day.  Now we see the twelve's brightness compared to that of the stars, yet brighter.  

(photo source)

In Mormon culture, typically those who give much attention to the sky and symbolism in the stars are somewhat mocked.  Why do we do this?  Do we confuse soothsaying with symbolism, and judge matter in the universe as hokey?  Here, as one of the primary verses in this book, Jesus and the twelve are likened to these things.  Perhaps we should pay more attention to matter in the heavens?  Have a class on astronomy?  Or a whole class devoted to paying attention to such things?  Surely God knows where the planets and stars are, why they are there, and if they have any symbolic meaning. 

We also see that the brightness of these twelve exceeded the brightness of those stars.  They were brighter!  Yet these stars are so bright that we see their light through our atmosphere and light years away.  Traveling at the speed of light, it would take years for us to reach these stars, yet their brightness still shines to us.  And these twelve shone more brightly to Lehi than that. 

It's amazing his eyes worked, when all was said and done. 

1 Nephi 1:9 - "ONE" and His Luster

Lehi's experience in being "carried away in the spirit" continues (previous post here).

1 Nephi 1:9:

And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his ^aluster was above that of the sun at noon-day.

Lehi saw "One".  One, with a capital "O".  I just had a funny thought come to me, just as I wrote that O.  In the last four years, it's been used heavily in the United States as a symbol to represent now President Barack Obama.  If you're reading from around the world, you may not be aware of all the bumper stickers, yard signs, and other paraphernalia in which the letter O is turned into an Obama symbol.  Even the Pepsi (cola) symbol was said to have been patterned after Obama's symbol, to show their support for the "first black president".  I won't wax political, but only comment that all politicians seem to act as if they are the Savior.  So many politicians are Anti-Christ – meaning they attempt to take the position of Christ, as if they will solve our problems.  Here, in just the 9th verse of this first chapter of the Book of Mormon, we already have a testament of Christ's nature.  He is the ONE, capital O.  He is the Savior, the God who will redeem us from our pitiful and fallen states.  If we let Him, I believe He would fix our financial situation, or wars, our broken families.  He would heal our disease, eradicating the need for a "health care system".  There would be no need for lawyers to fix problems of disputes, because if we truly followed Him, there would be none.  There would be no immigration problems to solve, no poverty, no abandonment if we truly followed Him.  How far we have come in the 21st century, haven't we? 

The One descended out of the midst of heaven.  From Lehi's perspective, this tells us a little about his viewpoint.  While the heavens had opened to Lehi, he is apparently still lower (physically) than where Christ came from.  The "midst of heaven" implies, as in verse eight, that He had been surrounded.  Likewise, He is the center of all, including the angels.  He is the center of the plan of salvation, the center of why we are here, and the center of where we are going.  He is.

(photo source - I really like this guy's zeal, and his website)

 He beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.  I have lots of thoughts about "luster".  We use this term to describe diamonds, gold, and sparkly things.  We often judge quality of a rare item based on this trait.  If we find silver with no luster, it is judged as old, tarnished, or difficult to utilize without bringing shame.  (Imagine pulling out tarnished silver for Christmas dinner and using it to serve guests with.  "Ooh, I LOVE your beautiful silver!"  Um, not quite.)  How did Christ shine like this?

A lot of people only believe what they see.  We have a body, and many believe when we die, that's just it.  They mourn the passing of their loved ones, often going to their grave site to display flowers and such.  On Memorial Day in particular, I don't know that I saw one grave in Utah without flowers.  I wonder why such attention is given to graves, when so many believe that death is not the end.  It's just a resting place.  Do these people believe that the spirit still hangs out there, as its new residence?  Or that such a place is the only way to get a message to the passed loved one?

I believe we have a spirit, and this scripture testifies to that.  Our skin does not naturally shine.  Skin is typically matte in appearance.  But Christ's "luster" was above that of the sun at noon-day.  It was shining, startlingly bright, such that surely Lehi couldn't even stare at it without his natural eyes burning out of their sockets.  (Also indicating that Lehi was likely taken in spirit, so that he could behold these things?)  So was his skin just shiny?  Or did he glow?  Did this light come from the cells of his then pre-mortal body?  Does this indicate that there is more to our bodies, and even our spirits, than meets the naked eye?

To me, this indicates that his body is intelligence.  The most minute particles of his body must have been so powerful as to emit this magnificent light.  Seeing that he came to earth to show us the way in all forms, and that he took on a mortal body, I think this is a great example that our spirits are and can be like this, if we follow him.  Some people are said to "glow", and I have met a few like that, although it wasn't anything physical I saw, I could see a radiance about their spirit.

Luster.  Definitely something worth looking into.

1 Nephi 1:8 - A Throne and Concourses

In my last post about 1 Nephi 1:7,  I wrote my thoughts on what Lehi was going through, as he had just barely experienced a remarkable situation of being overcome with the Spirit.  On to 1 Nephi 1:8:

And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a ^avision, even that he saw the ^bheavens open, and he thought he ^csaw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.

This post has really taken me a long to muster.  Figuring out how to really analyze this one is really challenging.  What did Lehi really experience here?  He was carried away.  Is that literally?  Physically, or spiritually?

I've learned a lot in the last several months about spiritual separation - how when many people experience certain things, part of their spirit will recede to somewhere else in order for the part of the spirit which remains to be able to tolerate the experience and still allow the body to function.  For those who believe we have a spirit that is fluid, is it not hard to imagine and believe.  Some may think that's way out there, but for those who have experienced trauma and undergo serious emotional and spiritual work, they will attest to the possibility, and even truth of this idea.

So what happened to Lehi?  Was he spiritually carried away, or is it more literal, in a physical sense?  Just some questions to ponder.

He was carried away in a vision.  What did he see?  He saw the heavens open.  Wow!!!  What does that entail?  Is it like a curtain parts?  Like a new realm simply appears where he was carried away to?  Or was he carried to a heavenly space?

He thought he saw God.  Remarkable.

Sitting upon his throne.  A throne is a strong symbol of authority.  It denotes a position of power, respect, and justice.  It is also, for some, a "mercy seat".  I know the term mercy seat is a loaded term, so I won't get in to that, but a throne is a very symbolic image.  It denotes Kingship.

God was sitting.  Why sitting?  Why not standing?  To me, this sends a message of calm attentiveness.  What was He paying attention to?  How would it be, to have God's attention?  How would that make one feel, to know they were privy to this scene?  How would it feel to be Lehi, and get a glimpse of this throne with the Almighty God, sitting on it?

God was surrounded - not just in the company of, but surrounded... Have you ever been surrounded?  How does that feel?  Overwhelming?  Exciting?  I know I personally get overwhelmed when I'm surrounded by people, but God is capable of this.  And apparently rather than get flustered, as many mortals do, He did not.  For there were numberless concourses of angels.  Numberless?  Holy cow.

The angels were in the attitude of singing and praising their God.  Can you even imagine?  True singing!  Real praise, not just lip service!  What does it take, to truly sing and praise God?  Is it showy?  Is it all hands in the air?  Or is it all hands on the ground?  Perhaps both?  Perhaps neither?  Have we mortals ever really experienced what it feels like to really sing to and praise God?  What a wonderful thing for Lehi to witness.  It must have been a remarkable sight.

p.s. - Denver Snuffer's The Second Comforter has an extensive and deeply poignant view of this verse.  See the chapter titled Ceremony and Knowing God.  Well worth the read.

Health Bus: Dancing

A few weeks ago, before my kids got out of school, their school had their annual dance festival.  Every year is a little different, but each class generally learns a dance and then performs it for the school and any parents who attend.  Often there are prizes and other fun things given away.

This year was a bit unique, in that a lot of the fanfare was omitted, but it was still a really wonderful event.  Balloons were released at the start, one by each student.  Following some brief introduction, each class performed a unique dance.  This year the school had a theme of "Sailing the Tides of Success," so the emcee for the event took us on a "cruise".  I'm not sure how foreign the dances really were, but they used a lot of music that I've heard in my Zumba classes, so most of the dances looked like Zumba class!  If you know anything about me, you likely know I love Zumba!

Somehow seeing all the kids of different ages dancing made me smile.  No matter how old, the dances were all so entertaining as to keep a smile on my face.  I couldn't stop.  And it once again reinforced the power of dance.

Dancing is so good for those whose bodies will allow it.  It produces natural endorphins, increases the vibrational frequency of the body's cells, and truly lifts the soul.  Therefore, for this installment of the "Health Bus", I recommend at least a few minutes of dancing every day!  See what it does for you!  (And then let me know!:)

I Got a Headache

Does anyone remember that line from Kindergarten Cop?  "I got a headache."

Today was a busy day.  Lots of fun, but lots of screaming kids also.  And when I say screaming, I mean SCREAMING!!!  Ahhhhhh!!!!  Which brought me to lots of headache.  Ouch.

Sometimes you know something, but applying it to yourself is a different story.  That's the case with Peppermint oil.  I know it works for headaches, but I always seem to wait out the pain, as if it's going to go away if I just relax.  For years, I avoided taking medicine for headaches because at one point along the way I started getting a reaction from my liver to so much ibuprofen.  (This was taken for postpartum delivery pain.) So to compensate, I just dealt with the pain as best I could, rather than cause any further stress to my liver.  But I forget that I don't have to worry about that anymore!  Not with oils!

So to deal with headaches, one of the most common remedies is to put Peppermint on the head.  I asked my awesome dad (from whom the subtitle of this blog is inspired by) to demonstrate.

Mmmm, not quite like that.  You're supposed to put it on your forehead.

Rrrrr, not like that either.  I mean, you put it on your hands, and then put it on your forehead or neck.  You might want to also dilute it with a bit of fractionated coconut oil, in case your skin is sensitive.  (Peppermint oil can be super-cooling on the skin.)

My dad's such a great sport!

It's amazing how quickly and efficiently this stuff works.  All from the natural essences of a peppermint plant. Thank God!  (I do!)  And thanks to my #1DAD for being such a ham for the camera! :)  He sure makes life fun!  (Happy Father's Day this weekend!!! xoxo!)

Family History Bus: Miracles in Days

Two days ago I was at church, talking to a sweet friend who was almost like a second mom to me.  I spent many hours at her house growing up, and her daughter spent many hours at mine.  We talked about family history –she's a true expert– and I asked her for help.  She said to give her a call, and I fully intend to.

After talking to her, my family history juices were flowing.  When I got home, I decided to go traipse around a nearby cemetery.  I found information online about a year ago about a leg of my family that the bulk of whose remains were buried in a cemetery just under a mile from where I lived for over 20 years of my life.  So when I got home from church, the urge to go take pictures of headstones was almost enough to make me drop everything and run.  I found this:

I don't know how exactly we're related yet.  But I do know that we are.

And then this one:

Can you read it?  I can't.  But I know it's written in German.  And the cool thing is, it just so happens that my sister (who joined me in my traipsing) is married to a man who speaks German.  COOL!

And then I found this one:

Flanked by an American Flag and a special memorial, this plaque next to the grave marker on the right indicates that this ancestor served in the Revolutionary War.  I appreciate the marker, and the service.

Do you think this ancestor would be pleased to know that their great great great great great ??? grandson is inadvertently recognizing his efforts?  I hope so.

Upon returning home, I stumbled across this during an OCD cleaning rampage:

It's a book 486 pages long of my family history on my dad's side.  This book is priceless.  And it was just sitting on my parents' credenza, as if it had always been there.

Later in the day, I was asking my sister if she still had some family history stuff that my dad had loaned her.  She said she returned it, and it was somewhere at my parents' place.  So I looked for it, but didn't find it.  Until yesterday.

It's a giant scroll of family pedigrees.  I've been waiting to get my hands on this baby for years!!!  And there it was, just like the other book, sitting there, as if it had always been there.

And just 30 minutes ago, before I started writing, I walked into the computer room and came across this:

It's a Germen-to-English/English-to-German translator/glossary.  Very simple and easy to use.  On Sunday, when I came home from the cemetery, I had asked my sister's husb. about translating those tombstones for me.  When I found this book just now, I asked him if it was his, and if he had left it on the chair for me.  He said he hadn't.  But it was sitting there, under my camera (which I had been searching for all day).  Once again, as if it had always been there, just waiting for me to pick up.

I don't consider this a coincidence.  I'm thankful.

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.

We Made It. Finally.

Over six months ago (probably more like 8) I started this website on a spiritual prompting I felt.  Part of the theme of it was that our (my family's) lives were about to take a major shift.  Personal and spiritual reasons played a big part of that, but also involved was the inclination I felt to move across the country.  Hence the name, "A Major Shift".  After many months of planning, we finally made it back to the land where I grew up.  I make it sound like some foreign land.  It's not.  It's Pennsylvania!!!  But for most of the people who surrounded me in Utah, Pennsylvania was foreign.  Most of them have never been past the Rocky Mountains, so I may as well have been from Germany to them.  It's a foreign land.

Anyways, we escaped those Rocky Mountains, and I felt like I could breathe.  I could see past the horizon, and the sun woke me up an hour earlier each day.  As we drove and drove and drove, I could breathe the humidity in the air.  Most people don't enjoy humidity.  I love it.  It carries the smell of mulberry and locust trees, peonies and fresh cut grass.  It's heavenly.

After 4 long and intense days of driving, we finally arrived.

The sign says, "Smile.  You're in Pennsylvania.  STATE OF INDEPENDENCE".  Oh yes, I smiled.  And then I cried my eyes out through just about the next 5 towns.  Tears of joy.  After many years of being away, I finally was home, and am so glad to be here.

Look at those trees.  And the green grass.  No sprinklers are required.  My little girl got stung by a bee while we were at this rest stop, but after throwing some clove oil on, she was good as new.  The kids have played outside for HOURS since we've been here, and being the "State of Independence" could not feel more true.  It truly is wonderful to be home.