Always Before Our Eyes......

I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct.  (Mosiah 1:5)

King Benjamin in speaking with his sons before his death emphasizes the importance of those things that are always before our eyes.  He admonishes his sons that the purpose of scripture is to keep before our eyes the commandments of God in order that we might gain an understanding of His mysteries and that we might not dwindle in unbelief.  King Benjamin indicates that without scripture it is impossible to remember the things of God and that dwindling in unbelief an inevitable outcome.

Then King Benjamin says:

6 O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true.  And behold, also the plates of Nephi, which contain the records and the sayings of our fathers from the time they left Jerusalem until now, and they are true; and we can know of their surety because we have them before our eyes. (Mosiah 1:6)

The Nephites were blessed to have a tangible reminder as a testimony to them that the sayings of their fathers were true.  The brass plates, the plates of Nephi and the Liahona were a physical reality.  In my mind, the Book of Mormon plays that role for us today.  It is physical, real-time evidence of the restoration through Joseph Smith.  It is a tangible presence “before our eyes” and a constant testimony of the surety of the Lord’s work in our day.

From Neal A Maxwell

 Becoming Men and Women of Christ:

We should be:

1. Meek and humble—not self-concerned, dismissive, proud, seeking ascendancy. Blessed are the meek because they are not easily offended. Besides, those who "shine as lights in the world" have no need to seek the spotlight! (See Philippians 2:15.) The world's spotlights are not only fleeting, but they employ inferior light!

2. Patient—not hectic, hurried, pushy.

3. Full of love—not demanding, dominating, manipulative, condescending, or harsh.

4. Gentle—not coarse, brusque, and vindictive.

5. Easily entreated—not unapproachable, inaccessible, and nonlistening.

6. Long-suffering—not impatient, disinterested, curt, easily offended. There are so many people in the Church, brothers and sisters, waiting to be offended. And it doesn't take long. If one has a chip on his or her shoulder, you can't make it through the foyer, so to speak, without getting it knocked off.

7. Submissive to God—not resistant to the Spirit, counsel, and life's lessons.

8. Temperate (self-restrained)—not egoistic, eager for attention and recognition, or too talkative. In your life and mine, the great moments of commendation and correction have come usually in one-liners.

9. Merciful—not judgmental and unforgiving. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall know the caress of causality as their forgiving mercy restores others to wholeness! Though God is perfected in the attributes of justice and mercy, we read that, finally, "Mercy overpowereth justice" (Alma 34:15).

10. Gracious—not tactless, easily irritated, ungenerous.

11. Holy—not worldly. 

Neal A. Maxwell was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this fireside address was given at Brigham Young University on 31 March 1991.

 

THE BROKEN HEART COMES FROM HELPLESSNESS

The following quote is by Max Skousen

"Alma was delighted because he knew full well that before the goblet can be filled with the pure love and meekness of Christ, it must be drained of the proud and judgmental life of the natural man. But being drained is devastating to the ego. It truly breaks the heart. But the heart that is broken is the vain and foolish heart of self importance, arrogance and vanity.

However,we have nicer names for vanity. We call it a positive self image, self confidence, assertiveness and ambition. We love the good feelings and hate the bad feelings. In our modem day, with our great luxuries, which we call necessities, knowledge, which we call education, distractions, which we call entertainment and abundance, which we call security, we often find it hard to be humble when we are so great!

So what did Alma find in these desperate seekers? In their helplessness, there was a definite sense of not knowing, not understanding, a state of confusion. Actually, believe it or not, being poor in heart can be a very advantageous state of consciousness if one's heart, out of frustration, starts letting go of many of those beliefs and conclusions which held one's world of vanity together."

The Acts of Men

Nephi Writing by Minerva Teichert

In I Ne. 9, the Lord instructs Nephi to make the small plates for a purpose he knows not, but he acts in faith and is obedient.  Two thousand years later those small plates will be needed when the first 116 pages of the translation are “lost.”   I have always wondered why this was necessary.  Why didn’t God intervene with Martin Harris?  Why didn’t he just protect the manuscript?  There may be many reasons but it seems to me that one answer is that God offered that protection as long as the agency of man did not make that protection impossible.  In other words, Joseph Smith could have accepted his first answer and told Martin Harris, “No.”  Martin Harris could have not succumbed to the temptation to break his promise to not show the manuscript to unauthorized individuals.  God’s omniscience foresaw these circumstances and so He prepared another way several millennium earlier. 

God is constrained by the acts of men, meaning that He works within men's agency.  We often say that if God wanted to He could override this or that but I think according to eternal laws though He is omnipotent he does not act outside of those constraints. He inspires a prophet to prepare a record that will be needed many years later.  That prophet chose to respond to the inspiration and “act.”  If he had not done that then I am sure God would have worked in another way within the “acts of men.”  

This underscores how inviolate the principle of individual agency is and painfully so.  We, as spiritual infants so much want God to intervene.  We want him to wave a magic wand and change things.  Yes miracles are performed but they are performed in the presence of men's faith (the acts of men) not just because God decides to exercise his power.   If miracles have ceased to exist it is because faith among men has ceased to exist.   (Mormon 9:18-20, Moroni Chapter7)  God’s purpose is to make us like Him and He can’t do that without allowing us our agency and the painful process of growth through experience.  Ouch!

The Arms of His Love

Arms of Love by Penny Neimiller

 We choose the circles we run in  – we have options and sometimes those options lead to where we had not supposed.  We find ourselves bound.  The Book of Mormon describes this as "the chains of hell."  That might sound rather harsh on the surface but really, the chains of hell simply are a condition we place ourselves in where we can no longer progress.  Our freedom to choose has been curtailed.  We are bound by sin or addictions and we find we have not the strength to change the situation.  We have lost our freedom to do so by our choices.  There is a way out however!  We can be released from these chains that bind and be instead encircled in the arms of His love.  One circle removes our agency and binds us down, the other enables us and lifts us up.  

13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe....

 15 But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.

(Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 1:13 - 15)

This encircling love is also described as “the arms of mercy,”  “the arms of safety,” and “the arms of his love.”

These are all beautiful images and have vestiges of parental love in their expression.  This gesture happens figuratively when we accept the atonement, but we are encircled in the Savior’s arms literally in that final embrace when we have entered into His presence.   Then, that condition becomes permanent, sure, unbreakable of our own free will and choice. 

Satan’s chains originate out of our own making and choices as well, but we become bound and held against our will.  Instead of a loving embrace, we are imprisoned.  The Savior’s offering to us originates in his love for us.  Satan’s offerings are self- motivated and stem from his desires for dominion and power

Lehi, in talking to his children before his death is pleading with them to see the difference.   We, once again are choosing between Satan’s plan and the Savior’s offering of redemption.