Things I am Thinking

Temples and Our Worthiness

2009-07-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

3 But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.
4 Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel:
5 And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
6 And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

(Old Testament | 1 Chronicles 28:3 - 6)

David, despite his many faults, knew and understood the importance of the temple. He was restricted from building a temple because of the way he had lived his life, but he still know the power that comes from the temple. He easily could have built some form of edifice and dedicated it unto the Lord. He had the means, but he respected the purpose and power of the temple enough to obey the Lord's wishes and left the construction to his son, Solomon.

Do we show that same respect to the temple and its sanctity? Do we go to the temple when we know we are living the kind of life that would keep us from entering it?

Feeling Good

2009-06-17T23:19:00.000-07:00

On my mind lately has been the concepts of hope and faith and, specifically, how you keep them. I am starting to realize that much of what helps to keep our faith active and hope alive is based in our own self-esteem. There is a fine line between humility, self-esteem and pride? How do we find the right side of that line and stay on it?

First and foremost is realizing that life is hard. This life is a test, a “time to prepare to meet God”. The Lord is not going to make life as had as possible, just as hard as necessary. Those obstacles which he places in our lives are those things which we need, the crosses we actually need to bear. There is temptation, but none above which we can bear. There is sin, but also repentance. There is discouragement, but also faith. For every problem we face, there is an answer.

How does the adversary seek to work against us in these situations? His main weapon is discouragement. We all do things we know we should not. Inherent to each of us is an awareness of when we have fallen short. There are feelings of guilt and anger at one’s self, and often, a drop in self-esteem. The whispers of the Adversary tell you that you have failed, to just give up…However, we cannot give in to these subtle murmurings.

We are not perfect, the Lord knows we will fail short and fail. Although we were commanded to be perfect, He knows we will never live up to that standard in this life. Does that mean we should not try? Of course not. The experience of this life is part of our preparation to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. We must continually try.

Another key to holding up against the temptations of life is to have a better sense your personal self-importance and your relationship to your Heavenly Father. Recognizing your self-worth and getting cocky are two different things. While humility should not develop into an inferiority complex, knowing that you are important and valuable in the eyes of the Lord should not become a superiority complex.

A great example of discovering self-worth while retaining humility in the scriptures is Moses. In the first chapter of the Book of Moses, we read about the incredible experience that Moses had, having the chance to talk face to face with the Lord. The Lord told Moses he had a great work to do in this life. When the presence of the Lord withdrew from Moses, he lost all his strength. He awoke and said “I know that man is nothing, which I had never before supposed.” After seeing the greatness and glory of God, Moses could see how small he was in grand scheme of things.

At this point, it would have been easy for Moses to fall back, to question his place and importance after seeing how small he was. However, the Lord had other ideas. As the story continues, Satan soon appeared to Moses, telling Moses to worship him. Here, the evil one tempted him, trying to reinforce and play on feelings of insignificance. Moses withstood these temptations and commanded Satan to depart. Moses proved that although he had been humbled and shown his weaknesses, he was still strong enough to withstand temptation and doubt. For this, Moses was blessed.

God told Moses of wonderful blessings and responsibilities that laid in store for him. After that, he was shown the same vision that was seen by John, Nephi and others, the history of the world from its foundation. The Lord, explained, that “this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”. (Moses 1:39)

Moses could now see that man was everything to God. As a loving father, His whole purpose was to provide blessings for us and allow us a way to return to Him. While it may seem that we are small and insignificant, we are everything to the Lord and the focus of all that He does.

It is so important to remember who we are, why we are here. Do I know who I am? Are we who we think we are? If not, then maybe we should strive to remember all of God’s blessings and where we stand within His plan.

Waiting for...

2009-06-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

“The Lord is good to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:25-26)

Be patient. We always hear that phrase in nearly all the aspects of our life. Yet, patience is one of the hardest things to learn and keep. And still, the ability to wait out life’s troubles and hold out the inevitable blessings is one of the most valuable skills we can ever learn.

However, it is not just about waiting, but waiting with understanding. One can wait, but if it is done with a hard heart or bitterness, there is no reward in the end. We must wait with hope that all will end well, wait with the faith and assurance the Lord will do what is right for us and wait with the notion that we know the Lord will take care of those that believe and trust in Him.

It would seem silly to appreciate waiting, especially in these times of “on demand” programming and “instant access”, but often times, when on a journey for an answer or a blessing, the real payoff, the real reward comes from the lessons learned from the wait. We learn to wait and watch and learn slowly.

Each one of us works a different speed in life. Some are wound up all the time, constantly a blur of activity. Others operate much more deliberately, making cautious moves. I believe in the same, we observe the world at different speeds as well. Do we watch it quickly, just moving from object to object all the time? Or do we watch it slowly, focusing on individual details one at a time?

In learning to wait and have patience, we need to observe our surroundings and realize that all the lessons we can learn from life are not on the surface, but are often less obvious. These lessons can be learned from unhurriedly looking at things around us, like the wind in the trees, observing the way that kids play with one another or looking into the face of someone you love.

I love to look at my wife’s face. I know it makes her uncomfortable sometimes, but when I do, there are lessons I can learn each time, lessons I may not be able to learn anywhere else. True beauty and true lessons in life are best learned slowly, through careful inspection. In my wife’s face, I see compassion and true love. I see the desire to do what is right and I see a fierce dedication to herself and to self-reliance. These are wonderful lessons that I learn from her and she teaches to our daughter everyday.

Watch slowly and closely. Be patient. Seek not to counsel the Lord, but take counsel from His hand. Remember, we are the learners here, not the teachers. There is nothing that we can teach the Lord, but He can teach us much, if we let Him.

And This is Life Eternal

2009-06-01T23:38:00.000-07:00

This is something I wrote a couple of years ago, but I thought it would be a good start to what I want to write here...

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3)

Everything for which we have placed on this earth is summed in that one verse. We are here to gain eternal life and live with our Heavenly Father and this means knowing God the Father and His Son.

What does that mean? To know God? Does it mean seeing Him face to face like Moses or Joseph Smith.? That is a blessing that pretty much none of us will have the chance to experience in this lifetime. So there must be something more to it than that, something for which we can strive in this earthly existence.

The Prophet Joseph taught “the first principle of the Gospel is to know for a certainty the character of God”. In this life, we must learn all we can about the nature of God the Father, only learning and coming to know Him can we return to live with Him in the next life.

In this search for knowledge, James Talmage tells us of three ways to search for the evidence of the nature and existence of God.

First is through history and tradition. Traditions are passed down through the ages and can be evidence of the knowledge we seek. The scriptures serve as this history for us. Adam had direct knowledge of God and passed it on and it was written down. It went to Seth, Jared, Enoch, and eventually down to us in the form of the Bible. Along the way, others who had this first hand knowledge, like Moses, added their testimonies and strengthened the previous accounts.

However, those that are not guided by the Spirit add to these traditions with stories to fill in the gaps. Thus, we see such traditions as Allah, Buddha, Zeus, Osiris, Ahura Mazda, Odin, etc. Even in the Book of Mormon, those who had fallen from the true knowledge believed in the Great Spirit. So while history and tradition can be a start, it is not the final source for our quest for knowledge of God.

Next, Talmage says the subsequent step is that of human reason. Since we already have a historical basis to believe in God, our observations can confirm the reality of God and His power. In ancient times, the prevailing sin was not that of atheism, but rather of polytheism. (Thou shalt have no other gods before me”). Human nature leads man to want to believe in some form of higher power and the world around us testifies to this power.

In the Book of Mormon, Alma was contending with a proclaimed atheist named Korihor. Alma testified that “all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.” (Alma 30:44) Even Korihor, in the end, admitted there was a God.

So history tells us there is a God. Nature and reason tell us there is a God. Unfortunately, that is where most seekers of truth are left. However, those within the restored gospel have another method of discovery, revelation. Talmage tell us that “all human knowledge of the attributes of the Godhead has been revealed from the heavens. Divine revelation is the source of all we know. In ancient times, this revelation was seen in prophets such as Moses, Samuel, David, John the Revelator, etc. In modern times, it has been restored to us through living prophets of God.

What do we know from this modern revelation?
God the Father is a glorified being as is his Son, Jesus Christ
He has a body of flesh and bones
He gave us laws so that we might progress
He is an actual personal being, not some ethereal presence
He is a loving parent who wants us to succeed and gain all of His blessings, to be “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:17)

However, even though we have been given this knowledge, we must continue to seek for Him. How? Modern revelation has clarified this for us. “This is eternal lives—to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law” (Doctrine and Covenants 132:24) We must receive His law, obey His commandments and be deserving of the blessings He wants to give us.

Furthermore, we also know how we can seek the Lord in this life. “VERILY, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;” (Doctrine and Covenants Section 93:1) This spells out what I call the 4 “eths”: forsaketh (willing to give our wants for Him), cometh (making the effort to seek Him), obeyeth (submitting our will to His) and keepeth (will to endure through hardships).

When Moses saw God, he said he saw Him not with his natural eyes, but with his spiritual eyes. (Moses 1:11) We must seek God using our spiritual eyes. President Kimball referred to seeing with spiritual eyes as being protected in the Spirit of the Lord. Moses could not have seen the Lord with the protection of the Spirit. So as we seek knowledge of God, we must us the Holy Spirit as a guide to know what is correct.

This quest is of utmost importance to us. We are warned “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee” (Hosea 4:6)

I know and believe in the power and reality of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ and will continually seek to know them through the power of scripture and modern revelation.