...and their hearts were open.

Look to the Children - Minerva Teichert

33 And the multitude did hear and do bear record; and their hearts were open and they did understand in their hearts the words which he prayed. (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 19:33)

The phrase "and their hearts were open" is simple yet highly instructive and an important key in the spiritual outpouring the Nephites experienced with the Savior at the temple in Bountiful.  How open are our hearts? What is the spiritual outcome of a closed heart? If we are truly honest with ourselves we can feel the condition of our heart and whether we receive the words of truth with joy or whether we resist.  We can sense if seeds of truth take root of if they fall by the wayside.

28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed.  Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.   (Book of Mormon | Alma 32:28)

It seems that a willingness to believe is a key to having an open heart.  I would guess that humility, meekness and and being teachable also contribute.  These qualities are the antitheses of pride, the bedrock of a closed and hardened heart.

The Old Testament talks about a circumcised heart which symbolizes a heart that has been cut or broken open to receive the seeds of the gospel, the seeds of healing from the Savior.

6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.   (Old Testament | Deuteronomy 30:6)


No wonder the Lord uses trials  and tribulations to plow our ground that our hearts might perhaps be more open to his teachings which will heal us.

An open heart leads to life eternal.

20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.  And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost
(Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 9:20)
 
Our part of the equation is to exercise faith, to extend belief, to let go of unbelief, to act in humility, to become teachable as a little child.


15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

(Book of Mormon | Ether 4:15)
 
Beautiful promises!! We can pray that our hearts will be opened to receive His word. The process must begin with our own choosing to take that initial step towards faith.


7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

(Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 2:7)

Feel and See...

Jesus Christ in America by Walter Rane

Third Ne. has some interesting descriptions of the Savior's visit to the Nephites.  One of the first things He did was to have the Nephites come up one by one to touch the wounds in his hands and feet and thrust their hands into his side that they "may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world."  He not only wanted them to see him but to have a tangible, person, intimate experience with him. 

He repeats this pattern of wanting them to have a full witness.  In Chapter 18 He instructs the disciples:

25 And ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world;
(Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 18:25)

Again he wants us not only to see but to feel.  It reminds me of the instruction in the D&C to Oliver Cowdery on receiving revelation:

2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 8:2)

Our testimonies are based on both intellectual knowledge and upon those things felt deeply in our hearts.  And at some point our personal testimony of the Savior will be a full and sure witness based upon both sight and touch.


Other verses in Third Nephi that indicate the multi-sensory nature of the Savior's visit to the Nephites are:

16 And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.

(Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 17:16 - 17)

As Elder Holland indicated in a talk a few years back, how did the Nephites "see" Jesus' prayer as well as hear it? 

There are spiritual dimensions that seem to be left untapped by most if not all of us.  The Book Mormon gently prods us to continue to seek greater faith, further light and knowledge.  We have been promised more will come forth unto us when we fully live what we have been given.  That will be a glorious time!

 Walter Rane

And He Healed Them All Every One by Gary Kapp

I'm currently reading in 3rd Nephi in the Book of Mormon.  It's hard to choose favorite books and chapters from the Book of Mormon as there are so many, but if pressed I would be tempted to choose 3rd Nephi.

This morning as I was reading chapter 18 I was again reminded of a pattern that I have noticed before.  The Savior in administering the sacrament first broke bread and gave it to His chosen disciples.  When they had eaten and were filled He then commanded that they give the bread to the multitude.  This sequence was repeated with the wine.

I believe the Savior was instituting His pattern for dispersing salvation to mankind.  The Savior calls those to whom He gives the authority to act for Him.  He then ministers to them and they minister to the rest of us.  How grateful I am to live in a time where there are apostles and prophets who have authority from the Savior to act in His name.  

Verse 13 has always caught my attention also.  The Savior says after giving the charge to teach the keeping of the commandments through the administering of the sacrament, "But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation...."  We often focus on what it means to do less - the not keeping of the commandments or the breaking of them.    But what does it mean for us to do more than this?  I wonder if when we add unto what the Savior has given if we become like the pharisees, following many procedures that are hollow of true spirituality.  Much to-do gives us the illusion of spiritual business leaving us little time for the core of the gospel which is faith, repentance, the keeping of baptismal covenants and receiving and following the gift of the Holy Ghost. Indeed the Savior has shown us the path and we need not add to it.  It is sufficient and abundant.

Is our beloved nation in bondage?

The Departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt - The Provincial Museum of Alberta

Throughout the scriptures the Lord's people have dwelt in bondage both physically and spiritually.  One of the great archetypal stories of the Old Testament is the Lord's deliverance of Israel from under the hand of Pharaoh. Throughout the ages this story has represented the deliverance the Lord has for each and all of us from the bondage of sin and iniquity.  Often the Book of Mormon prophets called upon their people to remember this deliverance.  They also taught of the bondage that comes as a result of sin.  In addition, the Book of Mormon repeatedly contains warnings to the Nephite nation (and to our nation) that they will loose their God protected freedom if they choose to turn from the God of this land who is Jesus Christ. 

These warnings continue to apply to those who live upon this land of promise.   As I have contemplated the state of our nation of late it occurs to me that we are already in many states of bondage because of our  choices.  We don't necessarily have to be overrun by another entity (though that may happen at some point) to begin to loose our individual freedoms.  And I am not talking about the freedoms of speech, right to privacy, etc.  As I look across our land I see many types of bondage.  We have the bondage of many, many addictions, the bondage of debt, the bondage of corruption in high places, the bondage of poverty in low places, the bondage that comes from broken homes and from unhealthy physical practices.  We are in bondage to crime and violence.  We suffer from the bondage of greed.  All of this is a burden to bear and we feel it upon our backs in high taxes, the need for more and more social programs, hidden detriments to society through high medical  and legal costs.  Rationality tells us that it is only a matter of time before the scales tip and we no longer are able to function under these heavy burdens.

Jesus tells us that the truth will make us free.  Truth will deliver us from bondage. The prophet Lehi calls upon us to shake off the awful chains by which we are bound.   Do we value position, power, political correctness, $$, our own man made philosophies over truth?  I'm afraid that we do and we don't seem to be willing to change much at all if any.  I don't have a lot of hope that any elected official will be able to solve our many burdensome problems until we as a people are ready and willing to change our own carnal ways.

Our deliverance from these woes is simple. A return to the basic tenants of faith, religious practice and the golden rule (treat others as you would have them treat you), repentance and a study and application of the commandments of God would go a long ways towards releasing us from these afflictions. Sadly it's just so politically incorrect.

There are many sincere and good people in our country.  May we see the light as a whole and act upon it before we are in too deep to get out.

Calming the Storm -Tigran Ghulyan

 

 As mortals we are all in the same boat, subject to the same confluence of circumstances, on equal standing before our Maker, unless...we have partaken of the lifting power of the atonement of Christ. 


23 For behold, thus saith the Lord: I will not show unto the wicked of my strength, to one more than the other, save it be unto those who repent of their sins, and hearken unto my words.
(Book of Mormon | Helaman 7:23)

In the Garden of Gethsemane....

4 ¶ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.   Isaiah 53:4 - 6

 

The Garden of Gethseman

This morning I was cleaning out some file folders and found some notes from our 1998 workshop in Israel .  We spent several hours at the Biblical Resources Institute and I was profoundly impacted by what we learned about olive presses and the Garden of Gethsemane, an ancient grove of olive trees on the Mount of Olives. The name Gethsemane comes from the Hebrew Gat Shemen, meaning "olive press."  The olive fruit supplied many of life's necessities for ancient Israelites but only after being subjected to the olive press.  There were four pressings.  The first pressing extracted the purest oil which was used for healing and anointing ceremonies in the temple.  The oil from the second pressing was used for nourishment and cooking. The third pressing brought forth oil for light and illumination and was used in lamps. The fourth produced oil for cleansing.  It was combined with lye to make soap.  (From the Biblical Resources Institute in Jerusalem.)

Olive press or gethsemane.

The atonement of the the Savior which was wrought in the Garden of Gethsemane provides us with consecration and healing, with spiritual nourishment and strength, with the light of truth and knowledge and with the cleansing power to rid us of the effects of sin in mortal life.

The juice extracted from the pressing of olives.

Elder Russell M. Nelson has said:

 

"Jesus came to the base of the Mount of Olives to effect the first component of the Atonement.  This He did at the Garden of Gethsemane.  The word Gethsemane comes from two Hebrew roots: gath, meaning 'press,' and shemen, meaning 'oil,' especially that of the olive.

 

"There olives had been pressed under the weight of great stone wheels to squeeze precious oil from the olives.  So the Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane was literally pressed under the weight of the sins of the world.   He sweated great drops of blood—his life’s 'oil'—which issued from every pore. (See Luke 22:44; D&C 19:18.)


"Jesus was accorded titles of unique significance.  One was the Messiah, which in Hebrew means 'anointed.' The other was the Christ, which in the Greek language means 'anointed' as well. In our day, as it was in His day, the ordinance of administration to the sick includes anointing with the consecrated oil of the olive.  So the next time you witness consecrated oil being anointed on the head of one to be blessed, and these sacred words are said, 'I anoint you with this consecrated oil,' remember what that original consecration cost. Remember what it meant to all who had ever lived and who ever would yet live.  Remember the redemptive power of healing, soothing, and ministering to those in need.  Remember, just as the body of the olive, which was pressed for the oil that gave light, so the Savior was pressed.  From every pore oozed the lifeblood of our Redeemer.  Throughout the joyous days of your mission, when your cup of gladness runs over, remember His cup of bitterness which made it possible.  And when sore trials come upon you, remember Gethsemane. " (“Why This Holy Land?” Ensign, Dec. 1989, p. 18)

As we are approaching the Easter season, the celebration of resurrection and eternal life, I am profoundly grateful for the "pressing" our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ endured for each one of us in the Garden of Gethsemane and for the resultant blessings in our lives. 

A Mother is a Door - Part 2

I was thinking about this post this afternoon and thought I would clarify - A mother is a door - not a door mat.  There is a difference