Filling our Vessels with Light and Truth

Light and truth are eternal companions.  The greater the light the more truth is illuminated, perceived and understood.  Section 93 of the Doctrine and Covenants teaches in a brilliant way about the relationship of light and truth and it's application to our journey in mortality.  The Lord also warns us that the adversary does not operate in light and truth and one of his goals is to remove those precious qualities from our lives.  This basically sums up the battle of the universe.  The Lord tells us that if we "know" the truth, the truth shall make us free.  In D&C 93 the Lord defines truth for us:

24 And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;

He then tell us than anything less than or above and beyond that definition is in the camp of the adversary.

25 And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.

36 The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.
37 Light and truth forsake that evil one.

Our goal as sons and daughters of God is to receive all truth or in other words, a "fullness" of truth.  That quest is directly related to the keeping of the commandments.

26 The Spirit of truth is of God.  I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth;
27 And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
28 He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.

The commandments are our shield against the adversary as we pursue the path of truth, thus the vital importance of the first law of the gospel, that of obedience.  Obedience is not to confine us, to impede us but to protect us so that we can grow.   

31 Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light.
32 And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation.

39 And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers.

Somehow our acts of disobedience gives the adversary access to our souls where he can bleed us of light and truth.  I like to think that obedience to the commandments places the armor of God upon us so we are impervious to the fiery darts of the adversary.  Our vessels remain without fissure. 

 24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

(Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 15:24)

8 Yet you should have been faithful; and he would have extended his arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble.

(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 3:8)

Disobedience allows us to be wounded in our spirits.  If those wounds are not healed by the atonement of Jesus Christ we will continue to bleed spiritually in some way or we will perhaps only partially heal with scar tissue in place of true regeneration through the Savior.  Thus one of the greatest task of parenthood is to teach our children the importance of obedience to the commandments of God and repentance because humans are mortal and will disobey either purposefully or ignorantly.

40 But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth.
41 But verily I say unto you, my servant Frederick G. Williams, you have continued under this condemnation;
42 You have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments; and that wicked one hath power, as yet, over you, and this is the cause of your affliction.

(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 93:24 - 42)

In thinking about this subject I also wonder if we have the ability to hurt each other and cause wounds that allow the adversary access to bleed a victim of light and truth.  In this case the atonement is also the answer.  The act of forgiveness and turning to the Savior can heal us of wounds inflicted either purposefully or inadvertently by others.  The power of the priesthood has been given to us to use as a healer of spiritual wounds whatever may be the cause.  Those wounds can be sealed off so that the adversary can no longer cause spiritually searing damage to our souls.  

There is much we can do to heal the wounds in ourselves and in our children and increase our access to light and truth and to create vessels of our souls to hold those spiritual acquisitions until we receive a "fullness" in the perfect day.  May we pray, repent, forgive, obey and use the priesthood power the Lord has placed among us.

The Law of Love

"Only people who live the law of consecration can eradicate poverty from the earth.  While improvements in the condition of man can be achieved by employing other methods, the law of consecration is and always has been the ultimate way by which the complete population of the poor is permanently rescued and elevated.  How is this possible?  Because beyond all other considerations,  law or covenant of consecration is a law of love."     
     
                                                                 Larry Barkdull - No Poor Among Them, p.85
                                                                 http://www.pillarsofzion.com/

The "True" and "The Truth"

Truth - Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building

 I attended a class taught by Ronald Bartholomew at BYU's Education Week.  Among the many insightful ideas he presented on the atonement was an interesting observation that Satan, the adversary, often uses "the true" to divert us from "the truth." 

Some examples:

Bodies:

The truth is that we have come to earth to get a body in this stage of our eternal progression.  Our body will one day be perfected and resurrected.  Our body is a gift from God and a temple in which our spirit resides.  Though not perfect here in mortality, one day our body will be perfected.  In the meantime it is a wonderful, useful tool to aid us in our eternal progression and our experience here in mortality. 

True statements about our body might be that it is too short, tall, thin, fat, ugly and not at all like the air-brushed version in the magazines.  These "true" statements can mask "the truth" about our bodies and focus us on spending too much time, effort, thought and money in achieving the "perfect" body in a temporal sense and in the process we forget why we are here and why we have a body.

Children:

The truth about children is that they are an heritage of the Lord.  Having children allows us to participate with God in providing bodies for his spirit children.  Children will ultimately bring us the greatest happiness and joy both here in this life and in the eternities.  Careers and other temporal achievements have their end but the family unit is eternal.  People, especially family are what life is about.  Children help us grow. 

True statements about children are that they come as babies and babies cry.  They keep you up at night.  You have to change their diapers and wipe up spit-up.  They are exhausting.  They tie you down.  Having a baby changes your body (often not in desirable ways!)  They grow up to be teenagers.  If you have more than one they fight with each other.  They are expensive! All of these statements are a version of reality and if we focus on them we may choose to not participate or limit our participation in the parenting process and forfeit the inexplicable joy that comes from having children. 

Marriage:

The truth:  Marriage is ordained of God.  One of the purposes of this life or the next is to seek an eternal companion and to develop the qualities of a loving spouse.  There is joy in the marriage relationship.  Through marriage we learn unselfishness, sacrifice, charity, forgiveness, repentance.  Marriage is the best laboratory for gospel living.  We can grow together in a companionship in ways we could never do alone. Marriage is affirming and fulfilling in the long-range perspective.

It is true that it can be hard living with another person unlike yourself.  Marriage ties you down to obligations.  Marriage requires putting your own needs aside.  Men can be louts.  Women can be nags.  Marriage is responsibility.  Single people are still having fun and you, the married person, are not!  Marriage is expensive.  Marriage can interfere with careers.  Many people get divorced.  Some people are miserable in their marriages.

Perspective can make all the difference and focusing on the eternal truths about marriage can lift us up, get us through and encourage us to make the hard choices to be a trusted marriage partner upon whom our spouse can rely.  Becoming fixated on the negative, though true, aspects of marriage is like putting a pebble up to your eye so that you no longer see the big picture and the beautiful vistas on the horizons. 

There are other applications.  What is "the truth" about an individual, a church leader, a neighbor, our job, our nation.  True is often used in adversarial ways to manipulate thinking or action.  We need to stay focused on the big picture "truth."  Interesting idea to think about.

True Happiness

  
"Elder McConkie said that true happiness 'is a gift of the spirit.  It comes from the Holy Ghost.'....
Therefore the more faithfilled, repentant, humble, and Zion-like we become the more joy we experience.  Moreover our seeking the establishment of  Zion in our own lives will serve to dispel sadness and result in a high degree of joy."  

Larry Barkdull - Portrait of a Zion Person p.12-13.  

Zion

 At BYU Education week this year (2012) I ran into a series of books by Larry Barkdull on Zion.  They caught my attention so I purchased several of them (I think there are seven in the series.)  I was not disappointed.  They are thorough, thoughtful, well documented and invite soul-searching in an insightful way.   In true Zion spirit they can be downloaded in PDF file format without charge or electronic and hard copies can be purchased. 

“Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

Faith That Moves Mountains....

Edward Lear -  Mt. Sinai 2

I know that faith can move mountains.  I also know that the kind of faith that moves mountains requires a spiritual labor we are not often willing to perform.  Alma alludes to this exertion when he says:


5 And I trust, according to the Spirit of God which is in me, that I shall also have joy over you; nevertheless I do not desire that my joy over you should come by the cause of so much afflictions and sorrow which I have had for the brethren at Zarahemla, for behold, my joy cometh over them after wading through much affliction and sorrow.

(Book of Mormon | Alma 7:5)

It's the wading part that often deters us.  And where other people are concerned it also involves charity and a willingness to to make sacrifices and offerings in their behalf which include our prayers, fasting, our time and an outpouring of spiritual energy in their behalf.  It means truly being unselfish.  Scott Peck in The Road Less Traveled labels laziness as the opposite of love.  How true!  I wonder what mountains we could move if we weren't so spiritually lazy.

Nephi records:

3 But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people.  For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.

(Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 33:3)

Nephi's whole heart and soul was motivated by his love for God and his desires for the blessing of his people.  

Last night I was reading Elder Eyring's First Presidency in the the June Ensign - Called of God and Sustained by the People  The entire message is strengthening but this part in particular struck me as I have been thinking about the power of faith in our lives and it's ability to make the gospel "work" for us.

"Years ago an 18-year-old student showed me what it means to sustain the Lord’s servants. I am still blessed by his humble example.

He had just begun his first year in college. He was baptized less than a year before he left home to begin his studies at a large university. There I served as his bishop.

As the school year began, I had a brief interview with him in the bishop’s office. I remember little of that first conversation except that he spoke of his challenges in a new place, but I will never forget our second conversation.

He asked to see me in my office. I was surprised when he said, “Could we pray together, and may I be voice?” I was about to say that I had already prayed and expected that he had as well. Instead I agreed.

He began his prayer with a testimony that he knew the bishop was called of God. He asked God to tell me what he should do in a matter of great spiritual consequence. The young man told God he was sure the bishop already knew his needs and would be given the counsel needed to hear.

As he spoke, the specific dangers he would face came to my mind. The counsel was simple but given in great clarity: pray always, obey the commandments, and have no fear."

Elder Eyring used this as an example of how our sustaining influence sustains and enables our leaders. I saw it as an example of one who is using his faith to move mountains.  I believe we can all do that if we lay aside our spiritual lethargy, our doubt and labor in faith.  Doing it is not as hard as it seems.  It's the deciding to do it that is the hard part.  It's making the commitment.  

Alma talks of the price of spiritual knowledge:

45 And this is not all.  Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself?  Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true.  And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?
46 Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God.  Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself.  And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.

(Book of Mormon | Alma 5:45 - 46)

As we are all human and are growing in the gospel  we are also in the process of growing our faith but isn't it interesting that the new convert in Elder Eyring's story brought an active and firm faith to the table without years of "trying" to get there.  I don't think great faith is as much a matter of time (although the evidence of faith is gathered over time) as it is belief, humility, charity and desire and laying aside the things of the world..  New converts have often just taken steps of putting off the natural man, leaving their old life behind, making covenants, moving into a new life.  They are alive in Christ.  I guess the question for those of us who have been around for a while is "How alive in Christ are we?"

26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?
(Book of Mormon | Alma 5:26)



(As you can see, I have been reading in Alma this week.)