Commandments

Today, with the help of the topic in Sunday School, I began to reflect on commandments.  There are many commandments- but most people when they think of commandments think of the big 10- the ones given to Moses in the Old Testament.  No idols.  No other gods before Him (God).  Don't take (say) the Lord's name in vain. Keep the Sabbath Day Holy.  Honour thy father and thy mother.  Don't steal.  Don't kill.  Don't bear false witness.  Do not commit adultery.  Do not covet.   But really a commandment is anything the Lord tells us to do, either personally or through his chosen mouthpiece- the prophet. 

We read a story in Mark 10:17-22 that reads, "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest though me good?  there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.  And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.  And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions."

 I found it interesting that the commandment about having other gods before him didn't come up.  A god can be anything that you put before God.  If God told you to go to Church and you decided you were too tired, then your sleep, that day, is before God.  (I'm not condemning anyone who has slept through anything before- just trying to show that another god before him doesn't have to be something physical that we bow down to).  A god before Him is anything that places God as less important than whatever else we have decided is more important, in any circumstance.  Classic obedience story of testing whether or not God came first was with Abraham and Isaac.  What I find interesting is that in Genesis 17:19, after Ishmael is born, Abraham is told that Sarah will bear a son Isaac and the covenant will be fulfilled through Isaac and his seed after him.  Then after Isaac is born, but before he has a chance to have any seed, (in Genesis 22) Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son.  He is asked to do something that would make it seem impossible for God to follow through on His promise that with Isaac the covenant will be renewed and with his seed after him.  Not only that but Abraham has to decide whether his love for God truly does come first, or if the love of his family, and his son comes first.  In my opinion there would be no greater test- because families ARE important.  As we know, God told Abraham at the last minute that he didn't have to sacrifice his son.  I don't think God ever meant for Abraham to sacrifice his son, but we all have to be willing to put the Lord first, no matter what, even if it doesn't seem to make sense to us: for "with men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27)  When we put the Lord first in all things, He will help make everything else fall into place.  We have to trust Him.  And in order to trust Him that fully we have to at least believe that He has our best intentions at heart and wants our happiness.

In the first scripture, the man loved his worldly belongings and wealth more than God.  He chose to spend his life with temporary riches instead of following the counsel of the Savior.  It is possible that had he shown that he was humble and willing to give all up that the Savior would've counseled him to merely help those around him with his riches- to use his life for good.  It is not bad to have wealth, or even to seek after it.  What is wrong, is if we put it above God, or if we let it distract us from doing what the Savior would wish us to do.  If we grow to love it, if we choose not to thank the Lord for the help He has given us in achieving that goal.

Another point made concerning this story was that of sins of commission and sins of omission.  It is not merely enough to keep the 10 commandments.  We also need to go about doing good.  As D&C 58: 26-27 reads,

"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.  Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness"

The last point made concerning the original passage was that of attitude.  This man wanted the reward but wasn't willing to do everything it took.  When told he had missed the mark and still had one thing left to do, he gave up (at least as far as this passage is concerned).  And I think it ties in with the sins of commission and sins of omission.  Had he broken one of the ten commandments (which it could be argued that he did, by not putting God above his love of his worldly possessions) that would have been a sin of commission.  But without more, without deciding with our free will to go about doing good we will commit sins of omission.  Of failing to do something. 

There is a scripture in 2 Chronicles 25:2, "And he [Amaziah] did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart."  This tells us that it is more than doing what is right, but our attitude behind it.  To go along with this is the story of Laman and Lemuel which a great friend of mine helped me understand more.  Those familiar with the Book of Mormon know that everyone considers Laman and Lemuel to be wicked.  But why?  Their father asked them to leave Jerusalem.  They did.  They were asked to return for the plates.  They did.  They were asked to go back to get wives.  They did.  They were asked to build a boat.  They did.  They were asked to get on the boat and head to a strange promised land.  They did.  So WHY are they wicked?  Because they did everything grudgingly, reluctantly and murmuring the whole way.  It was their attitude that made the difference in the end. 

So what can we learn?  It is not enough to keep the 10 commandments alone.  We need to strive to do everything the Lord asks of us.  We need to put the Lord first.  We need to sometimes check our attitude and make sure we are doing things for the right reasons, that our heart is behind our actions.  I'm not saying there won't be days when we fail or it's harder, but that is our goal- to always strive to be better, to put the Lord first, and to do things with a willing heart.  Love the Lord thy God with all thine heart.

Easter Hope

Easter Hope
Whether you believe in Christ or not, imagine that you were headed somewhere and couldn't get there on your own. You needed a guide and a friend. Someone to show you the way. Christians believe that we are all trying to get to Heaven and the only way there is through Christ. He has shown the way and made it possible for us to get there. So whether you believe in Christ or not, take a moment on this Christian Easter holiday to think about what keeps you going. What do you hope in? Do you hope that Christ will lead you through this life to a better place? Do you believe in a different God and a heaven or afterlife that you are striving for? Maybe you don't believe in God at all, but you hope that you can make a difference in the world around you, make an impact, through music, words, politics, business, teaching, there are so many ways to help out and make the world a better place. No matter what you hope in, today is the Christian day set aside to celebrate our hope made possible through Christ's resurrection.

Today in my Church we talked about the things Christ did for us (or at least what we believe He did for us). Talking about Christ, "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me." (Alma 7:11-13, The Book of Mormon)

Christ suffered for us, not only for our sins, but our pains and afflictions and sicknesses, that we would never have to be alone. We would always have a friend who knows what we're going through. He prepared the way for us. Suffered for each one of us, individually, even those who may not believe. He then was put up on the cross and died for us. But the miracle that is celebrated on Easter is His resurrection. He overcame death. No human, no scientist has found a way to escape death. It comes to all of us, rich or poor, famous or unknown. And proven or not I believe Christ overcame death and because He overcame death, we will all live again too. Life as we know it may end with death, but it is not the end. Christ is the symbol of hope for all Christians, so I beg all of you, Christian or not, figure out what you hope in, and remember it today.

As a side note, here's a great Easter video:

Sacrifice

Today in Church we had a lesson on Sacrifice and it led me to a lot of reflection. First off, my favorite story of sacrifice is that of Abraham and Isaac. Genesis 17:15-21,

"And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah they wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year."

I find this interesting, because BEFORE Isaac was born the Lord already told Abraham that he would establish His covenant with Isaac and with his seed afterwards. This brings new meaning to the sacrifice that Abraham was asked- to sacrifice Isaac. Just think of the faith that that would require. To be asked to do something that doesn't make sense. The Lord has promised you that you will have a son, his name will be Isaac, and that HIS children will also receive the same covenant. But Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac before he had any children. To have faith that the Lord fulfills all his promises and really does know what is best- in this case- would require a lot of faith in my opinion. For if I were to follow, then how would the Lord fulfill His promise made to me before my son was even born? What was asked of Abraham, doesn't make any sense to me. And then compound that with the fact that in the book of Abraham we learn that Abraham was meant to be sacrificed to Egyptian gods by his father Terah- how appalling human sacrifice must have been to Abraham. Yet through this story we see an example of faith in the Lord to do whatever He asks. Knowing that the Lord will provide a way- even when we don't see how that could be possible. I personally don't think that the Lord intended for Abraham to sacrifice his son- but we are all tested to see if we will put the Lord first and trust in Him who knows more than we do and who is perfect, and perfect in His knowledge of what is best for us. Do we trust in Him? Even when it doesn't make sense?

One example, is that of modesty. I mean some of that makes sense and since this isn't a post on modesty I'm not going to go too much in detail- but part of our "dress code" never made sense to me. I mean to some extent I guess it still doesn't, but I'm endowed and I follow it anyways. The thing that I never fully understood was that of needing sleeves. I mean I understand not seeing bra straps- but surely a thicker strap is fine- I always referred to bathing suits- I don't have to alter my bathing suits to make sleeves for them to be modest- so I didn't see, especially in the summer time, why we were required to have sleeves. But the point is not a matter of sleeves, but are we willing to give up our sleeveless shirts (or cover them so we are modest) to follow what God has asked of us?

There's a story in the Old Testament of a leper named Naaman. I'm just going to briefly relate the story, but the whole story is contained in 2 Kings chapter 5. Naaman wanted to be healed of leprosy and enlisted the help of Elisha the prophet at the time. Elisha sent back a messenger telling him to wash in the Jordan River seven times and he would be healed. Naaman heard it and started complaining, thinking that it should've been something more miraculous, or at least have been asked to go and wash in a cleaner river. In verse 13 his servants come and say to him, "if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?" So Naaman followed the council of Elisha and was healed. In our lives do we think that the small commandments aren't necessary? Or are we willing to sacrifice the small things and follow anyways- trusting in a prophet's voice who speaks for God himself?

There are many ways we can sacrifice- in doing things for others, in obeying the commandments, no matter what. In ancient times they had animal sacrifices that pointed to the great and "last" sacrifice- that of our Savior Jesus Christ. It was not the last sacrifice, but it was the last human or sacrifice that required blood to be shed. In 3 Nephi 9:19-20 it says, "And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings. And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit..." Animal sacrifices were instituted to point to Christ- that through Him we could be saved. They pointed forward to that day. Now the Sacrament has been instituted (the Lord's Supper in some religions) to remind us OF that sacrifice. It is a time to reflect and to offer ourselves up in a sense. To offer up a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Today we discussed what that means exactly. Usually when we think of a broken heart and a contrite spirit we think of repentance. And it reminded me today of a scripture in Alma 22:18, where the Lamanite King is being taught by Aaron and the Lamanite king says, "...I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day..." Our sins and vices we sometimes keep because they bring pleasure, they bring temporary happiness, or we just don't see how we can survive without them. One definition of sacrifice is given as 'Sacrifice is giving up something of value for something of greater value'. In the midst of our sins we hold to them as something we see as valuable, but when we let them go we are able to more fully turn to the Lord and KNOW Him, and when we do that we prepare ourselves to be ready to be saved at the last day. To me this exemplifies a broken heart and a contrite spirit. To be willing, to desire to come closer to Christ, no matter what the cost. And to me that is what sacrifice is, to want to put our trust in God first- willing to sacrifice our time, talents and means to helping Him. Knowing it is for the greater good, knowing that we will be blessed, but WANTING to do it because we love God first. Not simply because we are told, and not even simply because we know it will help us in the end, but because we love God first. Whatever step we are at- whether we are merely obeying, or whether we are doing it for the personal reward, I think we all need to strive to have the attitude where we are doing something because it is what God wants. Knowing we will benefit from it and letting that be our sole motivation needs to eventually be different in our progress towards being better and becoming more like Christ.

So whatever we need to do, sacrifice a little more to come closer to Christ. Whether that is a sacrifice of time of service to do Christ's work, or more personal in repenting and giving away even one sin at a time to come closer to the Savior- let that be our goal.