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.

Charity - The Pure Love of Christ

Charity, in the scriptural sense, has an esoteric quality.  It seems to be floating somewhere out there above and beyond the pale of daily life.. We can get in the trenches with faith or hope and the more temporal based commandments (thou shalt not steal), but charity seems nebulous and is slightly discomforting to us.  The word itself seems to demand something from us that is not congruent with how the structure of our temporal world begs us to operate. Christ's teachings that fall into this realm cause us to pause - turn the other cheek, pray for your enemies, give your cloak as well as your coat, go the second mile, give away all you have and follow Jesus.  Indeed, charity is not eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth and it is not me and mine..

Yet we are told by Paul and Mormon that without charity we are nothing.  Charity is the crowning virtue and required for eternal life.  The scriptures tell us that charity is beyond normal love and beyond our normal abilities to acquire.  Mormon charges us with the task of praying for charity with all energy of heart which indicates that charity is not just going to fall upon us unbidden.  Charity is a gift from the divine.  It is truly a heavenly, celestial virtue that must be sought after in opposition to this fallen, telestial state we live in.

There are many, many gut-wrenching needs in this world and "Charity," is the only true source of healing.

This past week I read the chapter in Larry Barkdull's book, No Poor Among Them on charity. I would like to share a few of his concepts and encourage a reading of the rest.

"The quality of love that motivates us to sacrifice to lift and save others is called charity"

"Charity refers more to what we do than what we feel."

"Charity forgives from enormous distance."

"Charity "is ... a condition or state of being."

"When Zion people give and receive charity they cease to be afraid: 'Perfect love casteth out all fear.'"

"Charity saves the lives of both the giver and the receiver."

"Charity is closely aligned with patience.  Patience means:
    "I will wait for you."
    "I will wait with you."
    "I will wait upon you."

"In patience we refrain from giving offense.  In patience we forgive multiple times.  In patience we show kindness when kindness is not returned.  In patience we offer brotherly love over an extended period.  Clearly, in patience we wait for, with and upon the Lord and his children."

"...we might point to charity as the preeminent virtue that transforms priesthood authority into priesthood power."

"Charity draws the Lord near....Conversely, when we fail to exhibit charity, we sense distance between the Lord and ourselves. "

"A fast that does not include extending charity to someone yields no more blessings than shedding a few extra pounds."

"On the other hand, a true fast that includes charitable service carries these promises:

•  loose the bands of wickedness
•  undo the heavy burdens
•  let the oppressed go free
•  break every yoke."

"The world is filled with so much need, and the Lord has placed within our reach the power to supply that need."     

"Uncompensated service is one answer, one good answer to overcome loneliness."

"Sometimes charity is a handout but it is always a hand up."

"The promise of charitable service is that of an abundant return.  President Marion G. Romney taught the following truth: 'You cannot give yourself poor in this work; you can only give yourself rich.'"

"Most certainly, charity is love in action, and that action always involves sacrifice."

"It is an immutable law that the more you give away the more you receive."

"Extending charitable service to the needy is a fixed requirement for all gospel laws.  ...Neither fasting nor prayer nor substantially any other law of God becomes valid or a principle of power without charity. ... Clearly, without charity, we are nothing." 

(All above quotes from Larry Barkdull, No Poor Among Them.)

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth.  Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.  Amen.

(Book of Mormon | Moroni 7:46 - 48)

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.