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.

College Life

Another poem: Apparently I like writing longer poems. This one was also written the same as "This Path of Life" for an investigator on my mission who liked poetry:

A mother's love
For her child
Is unlike any other
Or so I've been told

Once I knew a story
Of a Father wise and pure
They say He loves His children
More perfect that a mother (Isaiah 49:15-16)

As we all know, children grow
And oft times go astray
But whenever they wish to come back
We always help them find their way

This Father that I spoke of before
Is mine and yours in heav'n above
But where is He? And why are we
Here on this Earth with pain and grief?

Well here is where the story continues
Our Father raised us, til our spirits grew
But still we lacked a few things
A body like His and our "Master's Degree"

Here on this Earth is college life
Where we have to learn all on our own
A place to learn to be
All that we can and learn to grow

But we haven't been left
With nothing to help
He's given us a few
Very special tools

A Bible and a Book of Mormon
Serve together as textbooks
And prophets today that know
Our needs are our professors.

But this is not all
We have been given
We have two more tools
More special than these


Any time we need to call
And ask for help or guidance
All we have to really do is
Get on our knees and pray

The Holy Ghost He's sent
To answer us, and act
As a tutor in anything
That we might need.

And with all these tools
We cannot fail for One
Has come before us
Christ our Savior.

He's taken all our courses
Knows the answers all by heart
And when we need that extra help
He's always there to guide us.

Now sometimes, by chance or fault
We may hurt another
We aim to please but sometimes fail
To show others how much we really care

But even as a mother
When once child hurts another
You may feel sad, to see one hurt
But still you love them both

And so it is with our Father above
When we by chance mess up and fail
His love is still there, perfect and pure
And to those we may hurt He cares for them
Just as He does for you and me.

While on this path of college life
We make mistakes to learn and grow
But when we pass, no matter how long
He's waiting for you with arms open wide

This Path of Life

A poem I found that I had written on my mission, we had an investigator who liked poetry so we wrote poems to put together for her:

This path of life
Is full of strife
Dark clouds can blind
And confuse our mind

Over rocks and boulders
We may stumble
"Oh why this heavy burden on my shoulders?"
I oft times hear myself mumble

Oh why can't I
Find peace? I cry
I can't go on anymore
This life has made me much too sore

And just when life seems at its blackest
Something registers within my soul
"Come unto me and I'll give you rest"
If only rest could be my goal

I fall to my knees
And then I see
This path I've led
Is paved ahead

Someone must have walked before
I look around to see behind me
My Savior stood there and here He bore
Me up and carried me from hence to thee

In all my times of darkest trial
My Savior walked the extra mile
He waited to rejoice in all I could do
Before He picked me up and made me like new

So do I regret these times of affliction?
And why He waited so long to come save me?
Not at all, for my life is not fiction
I learned and I grew to be all I can be

Aaronic Priesthood

I used to used "Mormon Doctrine" by Bruce R. McConkie as doctrine. Then later I realized some discrepancies between it and other writings of other apostles. To start off, the publisher's note at the very beginning says of the book, "It is a valuable tool but should not be considered an official statement of doctrine." Nowhere does it have any seal of the First Presidency, declaring it as doctrine. In Bruce R. McConkie's own words in the Preface, "For the work itself, I assume sole and full responsibility."

With that, I decided I would slowly, gradually start studying Mormon Doctrine, maybe not on a regular basis, but trying to compare it to the scriptures and other things that have been declared as doctrine.

When it describes the Aaronic Priesthood it talks about how the Aaronical or Levitical Priesthood was conferred by lineage, solely by lineage within the tribe of Levi. In my New Testament class last week someone actually asked then why do all boys receive the Aaronic Priesthood at the age of 12 in the Church? I guess before I address that question I'll tell you what McConkie thinks, "Few members of the tribe of Levi gathered with the fold of Israel in the meridian of time; few have come back to the fold of their fathers in this dispensation; and there were none among the Nephites to whom our Lord ministered. Consequently, beginning in the day of the primitive Church the lesser priesthood was spread out among the body of the people and was no longer confined exclusively to the chosen lineage."

The Bible Dictionary says, "As part of his rationale that the law of Moses was fulfilled, Paul makes a point of the contrast between the lineal requirement of the lesser priesthood and the nonlineal Melchizedek Priesthood, which was not confined to those of one tribe (see JST Heb. 7:1-3; Heb 7:11-14) The lineal restrictions of that Aaronic (Levitical) Priesthood were lifted when the law of Moses was fulfilled, and thereafter the offices of the priesthood were conferred upon worthy men without limitation to the tribe of Levi."

In class my teacher brought up that there was no Aaronic Priesthood before Moses, not as was restricted to only the Levites. The restriction came after that because the people as a whole were not ready for the fulness of the gospel, so they were given lesser laws, and a lesser Priesthood. So if Adam and Noah and Abraham had the gospel then isn't it possible that there was a form of Aaronic Priesthood before that wasn't restricted to lineage? And with the scattering of Israel, isn't it possible that even if the lineal restrictions weren't lifted when the law of Moses was fulfilled that the Levites have intermixed with the other tribes?

The last paragraph in the Bible Dictionary continues though and correlates with two scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants. "Although the Aaronic Priesthood is conferred in the Church today without restriction to the lineage of Aaron, the keys of this priesthood rightly belong to the firstborn of the seed of Aaron, and in the restoration of all things the office of bishop (president of the priests) will once again be conferred on one of that lineage, as it is designated by revelation to the president of the Church (D&C 84:14-21; 107:13-17"

D&C 107:13-17, "The second priesthood is called the Priesthood of Aaron, because it was conferred upon Aaron and his seed, through all their generations... The bishopric is the presidency of this priesthood, and holds the keys or authority of the same. No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the keys of this priesthood, except he be a literal descendant of Aaron. But as a high priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood has authority to officiate in all the lesser offices, he may officiate in all the lesser offices, he may officiate in the office of bishop when no literal descendant of Aaron can be found, provided he is called and set apart and ordained unto this power by the hands of the Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood."

So the rights belonging to the tribe of Levi and also Aaron have not been done away with, the keys rightfully belong to them, but unless one is found, a member of the Melchizedek Priesthood is allowed to officiate in the offices of Bishop- an office belonging rightfully to Aaron and his descendants.

Boyd K. Packer's talk October 2010 General Conference

Alright, so there has been a lot of controversy concerning Boyd K Packer's recent talk. I want to start out by saying the Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple. Let's review some basics. God is our Heavenly Father. He loves us. He wants us to be happy and wants what is best for us. Because of that He calls Prophets. We'll expound on this later. But the fact is, God is unchangeable. He is the same yesterday, today and forever- that seems to be a widely accepted Christian doctrine, and I think Jewish people also believe that. I know that they still have a lot of their traditions (and I think that's great but I think that shows that they also believe God is unchanging). So, God calls prophets to be His mouthpiece on the Earth, and throughout time we see (especially in the Old Testament) times where the people stop listening to their prophets and for awhile there is chaos and no prophetic records of anything. And then another prophet is called- surprise surprise- God STILL cares and STILL calls prophets. As members of the Church we believe in a Great Apostasy. That after Jesus Christ truths were lost because people stopped listening to what the Apostles had to say and decided THEY knew best. In Acts chapter 20 Paul is talking to a group of Elders (in the church) in Ephesus and in verse 30 tells them, "Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Men in the church were going to speak perverse things or false doctrine and lead others away too. And as members of the Church we believe that all the MANY different sects of Christianity are a result of this. I mean we see that there was the Catholic Church, then comes Martin Luther, he comes up with his points that he feels aren't consistent with the scriptures- inspired yes. But God didn't call him to be a prophet. And Martin Luther wasn't trying to set up a church- a group of others convinced him he was their leader and then formed a church. Then there were other churches and other break offs, people deciding things should be a certain way- some of them may have even been right, I'm not the judge. BUT then we have Joseph Smith. What makes our Church different from other Christian churches is we believe God called a Prophet in the latter-days to guide us, just like He called prophets in times of old and that a Prophet leads and guides us today. That is what makes us different- we believe we are following a Prophet of God who speaks DIRECTLY FOR God and that the doctrines are His and NOT ours or what we want them to be.

So now back to prophets. What and who are they? For Bible scholars there is Amos 3:7, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." Joseph Smith Translation, which I believe is safe to say all members of the Church at least believe in clarifies and says that it would be "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, UNTIL he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." The Lord uses prophets to guide us. He did not flood the Earth until he warned the people of a flood and gave them a chance to escape. He did not even free his chosen House of Israel from bondage in Egypt UNTIL he had warned the Pharoah. All the Old Testament stories would follow this pattern and we believe it is still the same today.