Revolting at that which is of God

I found this thought to be impressionable.  From The Words of Joseph Smith, (p..60) as recorded by William Clayton in his private book on 5 January, 1841:

"The first step in the salvation of men is the laws of eternal and self-existent principles.  Spirits are eternal.  At the first organization in heaven we were all present and saw the Savior chosen and appointed, and the plan of salvation made and we sanctioned it.  We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the Celestial Kingdom.  The great principle of happiness consists in having a body.  The Devil has no body, and herein is his punishment.  He is pleased when he can obtain the tabernacle of man and when cast out by the Savior he asked to go into the herd of swine showing that he would prefer a swines body to having none.  All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.  The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God the Devil takes power.

This earth will be rolled back into the presence of God and crowned with Celestial Glory."  

[Copied as in original.]

I greatly enjoyed the quote regarding our revolt.  When we revolt at anything, be it scripture, correct principles, or any other form of truth which comes from God, the devil gains power.  Does that mean he has complete control?  No.  But perhaps he gains or increases in power when we choose to decline the light of truth, essentially saying, "No thank you, that pushes my belief system too much so I'm going to decline anything you have to say."  Do I believe that?  I can see it evident in those around me.  When I observe that they prefer to observe their traditions and beliefs over what scripture plainly dictates, it gives me pause.  When I find myself accused of being out of the way because I prefer the words in scripture to our "beliefs", these thoughts from Joseph remind me that perhaps the tables are turned.  I hope to memorize this one.  It ties in (but also contradicts, if one is not careful to understand) with this thought:

“If any man writes to you, or preaches to you, doctrines contrary to the Bible, the Book of Mormon, or the Book of Doctrine & Covenants, set him down as an imposter... Try them by the principles contained in the acknowledged word of God; if they preach, or teach, or practice contrary to that, disfellowship them; cut them off from among you as useless and dangerous branches.” - April 1, 1844 Times and Seasons (Thank you, Michael Hamill, for a recent reference to this.)

I don't know if this was revelatory or opinion from Joseph on how to handle these types of disagreements.  The principle is there, however, on how dramatic the idea is of holding to the word of God.  It would be a branch or a thought inching toward apostasy, to teach things which are contrary and opposed to the word of God.  What if we did set down men that impose their traditions or false interpretations onto scripture?  Indeed, they would be in the act of imposting.  This is such a tricky concept, because I have seen people reject ideas that have been from God which perhaps are not well-known or easily found in scripture, and set down a true message because they don't know where the concept is found in scripture.  Likewise I have seen people set down the truth contained in scripture because it was not one of their favorite verses, or something that came down from a given church's headquarters as their doctrine, so they disregard it.  In either case it is imperative that we understand how to detect truth.  (I really enjoyed stumbling across this explanation on how to interpret the Spirit, which is how we often claim to recognize truth.)    

"This earth will be rolled back into the presence of God and crowned with Celestial Glory."

I find the part about the earth being "rolled back" to be quite fascinating too.  Joseph also makes a distinction between the words 'world' and 'earth'.  

"The world and earth are not synonymous terms.  The world is the human family.  This earth was organized or formed out of other planets which were broke up and remodelled [sic] and made into the one on which we live.  The elements are eternal.  That which has a begining [sic] will surely have an end.  Take a ring, it is without beginning or end; cut it for a beginning place, and at the same time you will have an ending place." (WOJS p. 60, 5 Jan 1841, extracts from William Clayton's Private Book)  

The imagery that comes to mind is that we are on a giant sliding board, where perhaps God is at the top, and we are at the bottom of the slide in our fallen state.  Another image that it reminds me of is those birthday noisemakers.  

When you blow air into them, they extend, but when the air is released, it rolls back.  I wonder if the thought has any merit.  

Reading The Words of Joseph Smith has expanded my understanding and contemplation to consider things I never considered before.  I hope it serves as a launch pad for greater revelation and understanding, as we are all intended to learn and know the fullness of God's dealings, power, and the Truth of His Love.  

Goals

Offense: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." -Wayne Gretzky

Defense: Be valiant. When you take them, take them in the front.  

Join None of Them

My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join.  No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong) – and which I should join. -Joseph Smith History 1:18

[Side comment - it was a spring morning when Joseph went to pray in the woods.  Perhaps a spring morning like this one?]

Why is Joseph looking to join a church at this tender young age?  Do we ever really stop to think or ask what Joseph is seeking?  Of late I have really pondered this experience Joseph had.  He didn't belong to any church, and perhaps thought it was important to be a part of one.  Maybe it was because it was believed that one needed to belong to a "true church" to achieve salvation?  Or maybe it was just to fit in and have a community to walk the straight path with?

I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof." JSH 1:19

Joseph was informed the surprising news that they were not just partly or a few wrong, but alllllllllll these churches and professors were corrupt.  What does that mean?  The Personage explains in great detail.

Their creeds, which according to the Webster's 1828 dictionary, means

CREED, noun [This word seems to have been introduced by the use of the Latin credo, I believe, at the beginning of the Apostles creed or brief system of Christian faith. See creed ]1. A brief summary of the articles of Christian faith; a symbol; as the Apostolic creed2. That which is believed; any system of principles which are believed or professed; as a political creed"

were an abomination in his sight.  What is an abomination in 1828? 

ABOMINA'TION, noun1. Extreme hatred; detestation.
2. The object of detestation, a common signification in scripture.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. Proverbs 15:8.
3. Hence, defilement, pollution, in a physical sense, or evil doctrines and practices, which are moral defilements, idols and idolatry, are called abominations. The Jews were an abomination to the Egyptians; and the sacred animals of the Egyptians were an abomination to the Jews. The Roman army is called the abomination of desolation. Matthew 24:15. In short, whatever is an object of extreme hatred, is called an abomination

Their beliefs and things they professed were of extreme detestation to the Lord. They are detested.  What if we break down the word detest (although it was not used in the verse itself)?  

DETEST, verb transitive [Latin , to affirm or bear witness. The primary sense of testor is to set, throw or thrust. To detest is to thrust away.] To abhor; to abominate; to hate extremely; as, to detest crimes or meanness.

I really appreciate the idea of detest meaning that something is thrust away.  To break down the word de-test, we could also understand that it is un-tested, or not-testable, therefore cannot be aligned with truth.  If God is all truth, something which is de-tested cannot align with Him, and cannot be tolerated in His presence, correct?  

What things to we each detest? Can you conjure up that same feeling, and understand how Elohim feels about the beliefs and professations of Christianity at the time?  Are those beliefs much different than they are today?  Or has Christianity come a far way away in the past 194 years from the time of the first vision?

He continues that "their professors were all corrupt, that "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me..."  How does one draw near to another with their lips, but have hearts far away from someone?  

This notion is the heart of hypocrisy.  Just a little over a month ago I had a friend sit in my home, and profess something loudly with her lips which she physically contradicted with her actions just hours later.  As one who values honesty and truth, I don't understand the need for professations of things just for appearance sake, which in this case, it apparently was.  If our heart is not sincere, why loudly profess to be loyal and true to someone or something?  I believe the Lord considers this de-testable, not only because it is unnecessary, but also reveals that the trust or confidence does not lie solely with Him.  He is able to detect both the deception and the disloyalty from Him, misplaced onto another human.  In essence, trusting in the arm of the flesh, as though one human ought to trust another.  Both myself and this woman are guilty of trusting in the flesh, and in this case, one saying more than "yay, yay, nay, nay" (Matthew 5:33-34), and another believing it as believable.    

"They teach for doctrines the commandments of men."  What are the commandments of men?  Perhaps "thou shalt wear thy Sunday best each week and fold thy arms when thou walkest down the church hall during the third hour"?  This is the doctrine some teach their children, eh?  ;) Guilty!

"Having a form of godliness."  We suppose that we possess a form of godliness in our churches, for the gods would walk down the church hall in their finest linens, with arms folded for reverence.  The gods would profess to believe this house of worship to be God's only true house of worship.  The gods would need to make public professations of their testimony of living men being followed, and never capable of leading one astray.  Do the gods not find this important and part of being godly?    

Perhaps the most damning line of this verse, however, is that "they deny the power thereof".

DENY, verb transitive

1. To contradict; to gainsay; to declare a statement or position not to be true. We deny what another says, or we deny a proposition. We deny the truth of an assertion, or the assertion itself. The sense of this verb is often expressed by no or nay.

2. To refuse to grant; as, we asked for bread, and the man denied us.

3. Not to afford; to withhold.

Who find not Providence all good and wise,

Alike in what it gives, and what denies?

4. To disown; to refuse or neglect to acknowledge; not to confess.

5. To reject; to disown; not to receive or embrace.

He hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. 1 Timothy 5:1.

DENYing ungodliness and worldly lusts. Titus 2:1.

6. Not to afford or yield.

To deny ones self, is to decline the gratification of appetites or desires; to refrain from; to abstain. The temperate man denies himself the free use of spirituous liquors. I denied myself the pleasure of your company.

God cannot deny himself. He cannot act in contradiction to his character and promises. He cannot be unfaithful. 2 Timothy 2:12.

These churches, which Joseph was instructed NOT to join, deny the power of God.  As though the power is there, somewhere, but these churches, for some reason, deny it.  Why do they deny God's power?  What was it that these Elohim were warning against?  Is it possible that we can find these same things in our day, or even in our church, be it LDS, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Muslim, or what have you?  Do we individually deny such power?

"He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time." (vs.20)  The warning needed to be so clear that it was repeated again.  What again was wrong with these churches?  Already, as a reader, I have forgotten!  Oh... they draw near to him with their lips.  In short, they are hypocrites.  

All through the four gospels in the Bible we witness how the hypocrites treated Jesus.  He stood with patience towards them, and endless love and charity.  But when Joseph had the chance to join with whatever was left of Christianity, he was told to join none of them.  Would the Lord have us do the same?  I don't understand, because there are some that feel to me to hold so much good.  Am I out of the way?  

It is a peculiar thing, that when given the chance, Joseph and those who believed what he revealed, created a church which offers this same opportunity, to draw near to Elohim with our lips, while our hearts serve other gods, despite our best (or worst) efforts.  

The Entitlement Doctrine

This morning my day began with a thought from The Words of Joseph Smith.

"...the President made some observations respecting the pecuniary affairs of the church, and requested the brethren to step forward and assist in liquidating the debts on the town plot, so that the poor might have inheritances." (Emphasis mine, WOJS p. 36.)

It was thought-provoking to me that the Saints were being encouraged to think of the poor among them by liquidating debts on plots.

A footnote in the next entry in the same book led me to a verse in Deuteronomy 15, which I came across on accident while seeking Deut. 30. Accidents are often miracles.

Deuteronomy 15:7-11:

"If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide into him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him naught; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin into thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land."

After reading these verses and highlights this morning, I was shocked and left without speech at Elder Renlund basing his talk this morning on the soul he met in Africa, for their sense of "entitlement".  The dots connected in my brain were Africa + entitlement = ingratitude for American contributions.  Perhaps I am misjudging; perhaps the soul he spoke of was the one wealthy human in that country. Maybe some government bureaucrat. I HOPE with all my heart that I misunderstand, and there is more to the story. Maybe it is I that is falsely jumping to conclusions.  

If he speaks of a human of little means, however, who felt entitled to some scraps of food or clean water, whoa. Yes, if that's the case, wo, wo, whoa. Pray it be not so.

I really enjoyed the talks on forgiveness and humility by the men who are so prominent I don't remember their names. They hit the spots on my heart.

A Birth Day Risen Resurrection Holy Day

A few days ago some friends shared this with me.  I don't understand half of what's being shared, but it appears that this Easter Sabbath is an extra noteworthy one.  Last year we celebrated Passover and honored Easter in an uber low key way.  This year we're celebrating it (Easter) in full, in light of it being a momentous occasion.  I felt this article taught me a lot.

http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/2016/unique_easter.html

Also, the last two days we attended various worship services that we had been invited to.  One was a Maundy Thursday service, and the next was a Tenebrae service.  Both included performers singing this song.  I love it so much I think it's worth sharing.  Man of Sorrows, by Shane and Shane.

Perhaps you've heard this song before, but I'm pretty new to Christian Contemporary music, so this one is completely new to me.  Being raised LDS we avoided songs which praise the cross as an idol.  So that part made/makes me a little uncomfortable and in most cases I usually just replace the word cross with His name, but regardless of our thoughts on that part, it's a really, really beautiful song of praise, wholly appropriate for this fabulous weekend.  Listen to it twice and I can guess you'll have trouble getting it out of your heart and mind for awhile.

Happy Resurrection Birth Day Sabbath!  

Entangled or free?

Galations 5:1

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

If our relationship with "Christ" puts us in bondage, ask who it is that we are actually entangled with.

Christ is the author of liberty.

The Unknown Land of Secret Combinations

Hot on my mind lately has been the nature of secret combinations.  When I started this blog several years ago, it was a direct result of having been burned by being a part of one.  I didn't realize it at the time what was going on, but after studying the scriptures my eyes had been opened to what had taken place.  I failed at keeping the secrets of the group, and therefore was expedited OUT of it.  Recently again, I experienced the burns of a secret combination, only this time I was on the outside, watching how they work towards outsiders.

It is regrettable to me that more time is not spent in discussion on this topic in Church.  I have spent quite a bit of time in Primary, so I really can't lament that it's not covered at all (since I wasn't in Sunday School anyway), but rarely is it a hot topic for discussion.  Yet ironically I feel it is one of the biggest downfalls of the Book of Mormon people, and Mormon even comments that it brought down the whole Nephite civilization.  I don't believe much time has been spent on consideration of how we might see secret combinations in our day, except perhaps in the periodic lessons on the parts of the Book of Mormon preceding Christ's coming.  I suppose the topic may get 20 minutes of thought every 4 years or so.  If that.  

Helaman 7 begins the prophecy of Nephi, son of Helaman, who expounds all manner of the wickedness of the people who preceded the coming of the Lord.  Nephi was a phenomenal example of how to know the Lord, for he was given to preach and call repentance, as well as hear the voice of the Lord directly.  He is given power to seal on earth and in heaven, as well as move mountains.  

Prior to Nephi-son-of-Helaman hearing the Lord speak power unto him, Nephi was contemplating the nature of sin that engulfed the Nephites, such that the chief judge's brother had murdered said chief judge.  

"And it came to pass as he was thus pondering – being much cast down because of the wickedness of the people of the Nephites, their secret works of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings, and all manner of iniquities – and it came to pass as he was thus pondering in his heart, behold, a voice came unto him..." - Helaman 10:3

Worth noting is Nephi's observation of their

• secret works of darkness
• murderings
• plunderings
• all manner of iniquities

We can likely understand what the last three works are.  But what of the first?  Are secret works of darkness only those things which are done in whore houses?  Or are these only applicable to places where secret, dark oaths are made regarding murder?  Like gangs?

This is something I can imagine which caused Nephi some confusion, as to how such a delightsome people could turn to secret works of darkness.

I don't know how to stress how disillusioned we are to think that we do not have such things among the best of us.  I have come to know for myself that we are riddled with secret works of darkness, and even foster such things.  How?

Consider the tight knit group of girls at church, be it in Young Women's or Relief Society.  Where are their loyalties?  To one another, or to you as someone that one of them visit teaches, or serves in any capacity?

How about the Bishop and his counselors?  Do they have loyalty to you, as someone perhaps confiding in their abilities to provide counsel?  (Am I stretching this too far?)  Do these men share your confidences with one another, to try to lift you up in prayer?  Do these counselors then take the burden home, sharing with their wife, who then shares with her tight knit group of friends in a private Facebook group?  Possible?  I know I have heard stories from bishop's wives who assert that their husband spent so much time on their knees in silent prayer on behalf of their ward family.  This is phenomenal, and beautiful.  But I can't imagine that all bishops are this strict with confidences.  Maybe so?  Perhaps it is a spiritual gift which comes with the mantle.

If not, this has great potential to become a secret combination.  Call me crazy, but it bears great capacity to be true.  Perhaps there is no intent to do murder, but there is great potential for a confidence to be broken, whether implicit or implied.  It is right to note that we ought not trust any man but God, so perhaps the consequence of private information being leaked is par for the course.  But in truth, "secret" information has been shared in "secret counsels" and has been provided to spouses under the commitment (oath) of secrecy, that one ought not share.  We foster this simply in the structure of our private meetings and presidencies.

Perhaps this is what God intended.  But perhaps not.  I submit that there is a great potential for evil among us in these "tight knit groups", and we ignore the warning of the Book of Mormon by never, ever ever ever ever talking about secret combinations in Church.  These opportunities for secret combinations, secret trusts, secret oaths, and loyalties being severely broken causing hearts to burn in sheer pain of the disloyalty are rampant.  We foster these kinds of environments.  And we are all likely unknowingly guilty or participating on various ends of the situation, without even thinking twice.

Think I jest?  Or exaggerate?  Ask yourself, how many private meetings have you been in where secret confidences were shared with you or another soul?  Was permission granted for these things to be shared?  And what should happen if the private information was shared, without permission?  Would relationships be severed?  Could forgiveness be easily granted?

"Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people.  And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments." -Helaman 10:4 

Let us rid ourselves of secret works of darkness.  The need for cliques which cause those watching to feel excluded, secret groups where we gossip about others, or places where people can "only trust one another" and "have one another's back" ought to be reconsidered.  I understand the need for some privacy, and I'm not saying that from time to time we all need a close friend or three to help sort things out.  (Hello, Jesus?  Can you help me out?)  I would consider such friendships a gift.  But to have secret groups, book clubs, BFFs, etc. at the outright exclusion of others looking on who would enjoy participating in such a group only serves to destroy the unity of the whole.  Why would an onlooker bother attempting to foster a relationship with someone who is known to be a part of such a thing?  Could they trust that anything spoken in their company would not be shared and chewed on by the private group?  It is not Zion, and Zion cannot be achieved when such things abound.  For the hearts are not pure when others are deemed "less" than those in the group, and pride rules the day.  Seek to root these things out.  

Lucky Duckie

My son absolutely loves ducks.  If I'm not mistaken, "duck" was probably his first word as a baby. He had his birthday this past week, and wanted a blue stuffed animal duck as his primary gift.

The only problem is, there are next to zero blue stuffed ducks in the marketplace.  We searched for months, well before Christmas (it was his request then too), and finally found ONE.  Not a single duck more, unless we looked into the rubber duck category.

His grandma actually found this one pictured above and ordered it, and it came just in time for his birthday.  It if would have been left up to me, he would not have received it in time, because I didn't think the odd thing around this ducky's abdomen would have been acceptable to him.  But it suited him just fine, and he loves it.

This morning, as I was preparing for a much awaited dentist appointment, I heard my boys playing with this duck.  They were calling him "Lucky Duckie".  (I realize I'm spelling ducky/duckie two different ways.  I think "Duckie" as more of a personal name... evidence that yes, I'm neurotic sometimes.)  It was fun to hear their squeaky little pretend voices, talking about Lucky Duckie as their friend who had a voice with his own desires and interests to share.  The thought came to me that I should take Lucky Duckie with me to the dentist, so that when I would be stressed out in the chair, perhaps this stuffed animal would help me smile.  I entertained the thought just enough to realize I needed to be more brave.  But it would be my first visit to have this kind of procedure, so I figured I would keep on praying and hopefully the anxiety would leave me.  I'd been nervous for weeks, and finally the day was here.

Needless to say, I walked out without the ducky, wanting to be a "big girl" and went to the appointment, carrying on with my day.  After some tense moments at check-in, the dentist she pointed out in good humor that I was dressed colorfully for the appointment.  I was wearing spring green pants.  I added to her smile by pointing out that I was also wearing green socks with shamrocks on them, for good luck, calling them "lucky socks".  (Going to the dentist has long been a cause of such anxiety, I do all I can to brighten it up.)  After we got started, and after sitting in the chair for about 75 minutes, the dentist went out to take care of some impressions for my tooth, and up in the corner of the room, wouldn't you know it, but I saw this:

It looks like someone wanted me to know that this appointment was lucky, after all.  With a half numb face and tongue, I pointed it out to the dentist, how hard we had looked for a blue ducky for my son, and we all had some good laughs on the nature of toys these days.  She said it belonged to another dentist, but since the hygienist pulled it off the shelf in the corner, I was able to find out that it is a Beany Baby toy.  Never thought to search under that name for my son's toys!

I don't know about you, but I'd say this was a pretty lucky moment.  In fact, more than lucky, I'd call it a miracle, as evidence that Jesus was with me, as were angels, helping this dentist do safe, nearly pain free work.  The entire time I was praying her hands would do perfect work, as though Christ were at the helm.  He knows best what my mouth needs.  If I'm not perfect in my faith, to heal my teeth without intervention from medical professionals, having Him guide her hands was the next best thing.  I'll take the blue ducky as a sign that my impressions were true.  He was indeed there, as I suspected.  Thank you Jesus, thank you Father.  What a gift to know I was not alone in this.    Yes, I call it a sign and a miracle, thank you so much.