Words of Moses/Nephi

This afternoon I finished reading and revising 1 Nephi 7 (in my Sloppy Coppy [edit] Simple Copy) for my kids.  Something interesting stuck out to me, probably with current events going on.  This part here:

"But it is the kingdom of the devil which will be built up among the children of men which kingdom is established among them which are in the flesh for the time speedily will come that all churches which are built up to get gain and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world and to do all manner of iniquity yes in fine all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear and tremble and quake they are those who must be brought low in the dust they are those who must be consumed as stubble and this is according to the words of the prophet"

(Forgive the lack of punctuation, but that is one purpose of my sloppy copy revision.  It allows me to see the words freshly.)

To bullet this out for clarity, these are identifiers of the enemy's kingdom:

• established among those in the flesh
• any/all church built up to get gain
• all those (churches? individuals?) who are built up to get power over flesh
• all those (churches? individuals?) who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world
• those who seek the lusts of the flesh
• those who seek the things of the world
• those who do all manner of iniquity

Bullets 2 and 3 are assumed to speak of churches, but it is possible they refer to individuals as well.  So the question remains, for me, do I participate or encourage any of these things.  Do I worry myself with being in a church built up to get gain, or make money in any way off of people?  Do I seek to get power over flesh?  Do I seek to become popular in the eyes of others, especially the "world"?  Do I seek the lust of my flesh?  Do I seek the things of the world, like fine cars, fine homes, superior schooling, lavish entertainment or self indulgences?  Do I participate in any manner of iniquity?  

It's difficult to say I don't participate in any of those things.  Best not to point the finger, but rather use the words of Nephi, quoting the prophet Moses, for introspection.  

In the Attitude of Self Righteousness

In my opinion alone, 

I believe the typical atmosphere of Sunday School, Relief Society and Priesthood classes lends to an attitude of contention, self-righteousness, and pride.  I confess I am guilty of these heinous sins and contributing wholeheartedly.  

The constant need to explain our own interpretations of scripture or feel-good quotes lends to the natural belief that our interpretation of the matter at hand is the best and correct one.  We take pride in offering the most unique and thoughtful explanation which no one has considered before.  We do this on a weekly basis, for two hours.  And then some of us go a step further and take it to online forums.  

When we suppose weekly for two hours that our correct interpretation is better than the interpretation of the person next to us, our beloved brother or sister, we fill our hearts with pride.  We place enmity between us, and our heart is grows harder.  

Add to this the preceding hour of talk & testimony of participating in the "one true church" which is more special, peculiar, and wonderful than the church across the way and we have a beautiful, luscious, delicious recipe for pride, haughtiness, and self-righteousness.  We have found and thereby now possess it all!  We have no need for more light, knowledge, or progression.  I don't think that's what the Lord intended when He called us his church.  And I don't know that that compliment still holds true.  Should He join us in our meetings, would He approve of our discussions? 

"They draw near unto me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."  

Not a one of us is guiltless.  At least not this one.  

Bravo, saints.  Bravo, one true church.   

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.  

Seer Stones

Dear Josten,

Today my scripture study led me someplace really unique, and some big words are sticking out at me.

Last week in the mail, you saw how I received a big box of stones.  They were a graduation gift, and WaWa let me open them up early.  They were a set of 57 massage stones, to be used in a "hot stone" massage.  We were all overjoyed, even though you and your siblings really didn't know what we all so excited about.

Yesterday, when doing some blog exploring, I can across a really interesting site called One Climbs.  The author created an image of what s/he believes the interpreters used by Joseph Smith looked like, when he translated the Book of Mormon.  (If s/he gives me permission, I'll update this post and include the artwork.)  They included "seer stones", and the depiction is quite fascinating.  Made me want to explore the topic some more.

(When I took this pic, I had no idea this post would be written a few days later... or that this would have such a fun connotation to this post!)

So this morning, as I opened up my scriptures, I knew it was time again to do my time tested method of deciding where to read: close my eyes and ask "where should I read today?"  It's been a few weeks since I had the time to just sit and listen to the answer, even though it usually pops in my head before I get to finish asking the question.  D&C 32.

This section is quite short actually.  And some words and phrases impressed me.  It's a revelation given to Parley P. Pratt.  Love him.  (Read The Key to the Science of Theology on my bookshelf, or for free on the Kindle App by clicking that link.  He has some marvelous thoughts on angels, spirits, and dreams, which few contemporary authors have expounded upon.  Love that book.)  Anyways, using the footnotes next to Parley's name, I went to D&C 50:37 and started skimming what was going on there for him.  A few verses down, verse 44 says

Wherefore, I am in your midst, and I am the good shepherd, and the stone of Israel. He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall.

Did somebody just say stone?  Last night after thinking about the seer stones used for translation, I remember learning somewhere along the way about two of the stones used by the brother of Jared.  When preparing to cross the ocean, the brother of Jared was perplexed as to how there would be light within the barges which the Lord instructed him to build.  The brother of Jared asked the Lord to touch 16 stones so that they would give light within the barges.  After the Nephite civilization was destroyed (whether it be their structure, or their lives in general), Moroni deposited the plates he inscribed upon, along with a breatsplate, the sword of Laban, and the Urim and Thummim.  My understanding is that there were two of these stones, touched by the finger of the Lord, which made up the U&T.

(Not quite like the Urim & Thummim... but close?:)

Back to the verse, the Lord is the good shepherd, the stone of Israel.  It was His light, his finger touching stones, that gave literal light within the barges.  It was these stones, touched by his finger, that allowed for the Book of Mormon to be translated.  If we build upon Him, we shall never fall.

I flipped back to D&C 32, and skimmed the page.  On the right side, I found D&C 33:13.

And upon this rock I will build my church; yea, upon this rock ye are built, and if ye continue, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.

We used to refer to this idea on my mission, when teaching the 3rd discussion.  We would say that Christ was the foundation, Peter the chief cornerstone, and then start building a makeshift church with Dixie cups.  We would end up focusing the remainder of the discussion on the church as a whole, and less on the idea that Christ is the rock.  But for this post, I want to re-focus back on the rock.  What does that mean, really?  If we build on Him?  Feel free to let that sit with you for awhile.  There are lots of references to Him being the rock EVERYwhere.

In some of the random classes I've been to over the years, I've learned some fun properties about rocks.  This year in school you learned all about the rock cycles.  How rocks are forms, how long they take to form, and different things they can/can't do.  In my classes, I've learned how some rocks like quartz are actually some of the best conductors of electricity on the planet.  How interesting that the Source of Light would touch His finger on 16 rocks, at the request of Jared's brother, and those stones would hold the energy from his touch for months while they crossed the ocean(s).

Another thought I saw someone present on another blog's comment thread is that we need to depend more upon God Himself, rather than people, an institution, or even our own intuition.  That last one struck me.  So very true.  I should not be trusting my intuition so wholly as I should be trusting God Himself.  I do not know of any source in the scriptures where I am told to trust myself, but only the Spirit of God within me.  Perhaps that's what I'm getting at, when I say or am told to "trust your/my gut".  Perhaps my intuition is based upon my connection to God, but even my intuition has been known to make mistakes.

Anyways, very long post.  I hope you get the idea.  Run with it!

Love you!
~Mom<3 

The First Vision, Part 3

Joseph Smith History 1:18-19:

18 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.

19 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.”

In drawing near unto God with our lips, are our hearts near to Him too?  This was what was pointed out to Joseph as a reason not to unite with the churches of his day.  Many religions and individuals go to great lengths to dispute that Joseph was a prophet.  Regardless of technicalities of what people believe, it's important not to overlook the heart of the message.

Ignoring the reasons which I have found broadly on websites to dispute Joseph's veracity, let's look again at the main thing which was emphasized in the lips/hearts relationship.  Often in the scriptures, prophets will quote other prophets as an addition to their testimony.  Here Joseph is quoting the message he was given, yet also citing scripture.  Whether or not we believe Joseph, it was already referenced in Isaiah, citing the Lord.

Isaiah 29:13:  "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:"

and also in Ezekiel

Ezekiel 33:31:  And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness."

and again in Christ's mortal ministry

Luke 6:46:  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

This idea has really sat with me this week.  A good friend posted on her Nerdbook wall that when we find people disputing over politics, we should consider kneeling down and begging God for mercy, to save us from the challenges we face, rather than trusting in the arm of the flesh.  Amen!  It feels as though so many people claim to worship God, but when it comes down to it, we do very little that He asks.  We trust in our own strength, rather than asking Him to give us of His.

For example,

One friend told me how she is Catholic, and is very devout even though her parents aren't, but because her parents "really bothered [her]" she yelled the Lord's name in a very profane way to tell her mother to leave her alone.  Why would someone who revered God do this?  Screaming the Savior's name as a manner of profanity to express anger, by a Catholic?  Why???  Are we not commanded not to take the Lord's name in vain?  Do Catholics not believe the Bible?  I hear people of countless denominations do this.  It is very clear in Exodous that this is not something to be taken lightly, but so many "followers" do it, and quite flippantly I would add.  This is probably one of the easiest of the "Big 10" to keep, but why is it so disregarded?

We draw near unto Him with our lips, but our hearts of far from Him.

Some of my friends who read this blog are of a faith that believes that because the Law of Moses was fulfilled when Christ came, that there is no need to revere the Old Testament.  With that, there appears to be less heed given to keeping the Sabbath day holy.  Why?  We don't de-value the commandment not to take life, just because Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses, but commandments like this one which is one I believe is intended to offer us great blessings by it's observance are disregarded.  How about not requiring our manservant or maidservant to work?  How many of us so quickly and easily make a habit out of making people serve us food, sell us unnecessary goods and services, or even do our own unnecessary work on the Sabbath?  Laundry?  Lawn mowing?  Excessive baking or large meals for company?  It was given to us as a day of rest – as a blessing.  Why don't we revere it?  Would we be less stressed during the week if we honored this one?

I suppose some don't revere it because we draw near unto Him with our lips, but our hearts are far from Him.  I don't care what religion we each are.  This message given to Joseph and previous prophets is one that should not be overlooked with the gloriousness of the vision he experienced.  The message is important, and while Joseph was given more in that vision which he was not permitted to share, it doesn't negate the importance of what brevity we were given.  We're not just to think (for those that are Latter-day Saints) that this is a reason we can get puffed up in pride, thinking how lucky we are to not have to affiliate with such a church.  Perhaps we should use it as an added measure of caution, so that we don't puff up ourselves, drawing near unto God with our lips, but allowing our hearts to drift far, far, far from Him.

Joseph Smith History 1:20:  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. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, “Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.” I then said to my mother, “I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.” It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy?

The First Vision, Part 2

Yesterday I was heartily pondering some ideas regarding Joseph Smith's First Vision.

When he asked God the question he went into the grove of trees to ask, he got a remarkable answers.  He asked which church he should join.

Such a simple question.  Have you ever asked God that?

Part of the answer Joseph received was to join none of them, for "they draw to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (JSH 1:19).

If I am to look introspectively, do I do that?  Do I draw near unto God with my lips alone?  Is my heart far from Him?

How about the church of which I attend?  Do we draw near unto him with our lips?  Are our hearts near or far from God?

Just curious.  No judgment.  Just sincere, honest, introspection.