KEEPING THE RULES

I have been continuing to read Brad Wilcox's book, "Changed Through His Grace", and today I have been thinking about a section I read this morning.  Much of what I put down here will be a summation of ideas he shared.

So he talks about counseling with a single mother who was struggling to rear her children in the gospel after her husband left activity in the church and divorced  her.  She said tearfully that it was so difficult to be the "bad guy" who enforced bedtimes, stressed nutrition, and required church attendance,  while her ex-husband did the opposite.  On the weekends the children were with him, he let them stay up late and eat whatever they wanted, and he took them to amusement parks instead of to church.

He assured her that she was doing the right thing, (keeping the rules so to speak), even though it was hard.  Just two weeks later this mother sent him a note which her oldest daughter had written to her: "Dear Mom, Thanks for being our mom.  Dad is just trying to be our buddy.  He is trying to win us over by spending money on us, but I am old enough to see what is going on and I appreciate you for expecting us to make something of our lives.  Maybe the little kids don't get it yet, but I do.  The parent with the rules is the one who really cares."

I would extend that last sentence to read: The parent with the rules is the one who really cares, and that includes our Heavenly Father.

God does not give us commandments or rules, if you will, in order to make us miserable or in order to exert some form of power over us.  He loves us and He knows that following those rules will bring the greatest happiness into our lives. He doesn't want us to waste our time and opportunities to grow.  He sends His grace to help us see the bigger picture.

The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount actually made it through the Apostasy and the Dark Ages; it was the reasons to keep the commandments and live the lessons taught in the sermon that were lost.  Those reasons  are found within the plan of redemption.  They have to do with changing internal desires as well as external behavior, altering the way we live in private as well as in public.  Such changes come only through God's grace.  As we covenant to live the gospel, we invite a greater abundance of God's power into our lives.

This is why it is important for us to stand up for what is right.  This is why we should keep God's rules and the moral rules of society.  This is why we should act in a God-like manor, not as a means of having 'fire insurance' to keep us from going to Hell, but because we love Him and want to be like Him, and because we want to teach the world a way to live lives of peace and harmony and service.

My Frustration With Electoral College System

I have vowed that I will not post anything here or on Facebook about the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election  concerning who ended up as President, as it would serve no point.  I would, however, like to write down my frustrations with the electoral college system.  I have been listening to all kinds of discussions about the pros and cons of the system and why it was formulated in the first place, blah, blah, blah.  I can't speak to every aspect of the system, but I can say why it personally drives me nuts.

Living here in Utah,  the electoral college representatives are going to give their votes to the Republican candidate pure and simple. I still feel it my civic duty to vote regardless.  For quite a few years I have voted for the Democratic candidate and I feel like my time filling out my ballots were wasted.  Then this year, it is looking like Clinton, when all is said and done, will have won the popular vote by at least 2 million.  Trump still wins because of the electoral college system.  This is the fifth time in our country's history that the candidate who won the popular vote lost the election.  I am sure there are many people in many states who are in the same situation as I am.  I just WANT MY VOTE TO COUNT FOR SOMETHING!!! It seems to me that every person's vote should count the same, regardless of whether they live in a small state, a large state, a red state, or a blue state.  

MOTHER'S DAY: What Shall We Do As Women?

Today I was reading a talk by sister Nell F. Marriott titled "What Shall We Do?"
On this Mother's Day I would like to share some of her talk as I contemplate myself as a woman of God, a daughter, a wife, a grandmother, and a sister.

The Lord's church needs Spirit-directed women who use their unique gifts to nurture, to speak up, and to defend gospel truth.  Emma Smith (wife of the LDS prophet, Joseph Smith) once declared, "I desire the Spirit of God to know and understand myself, that I might be able to overcome whatever of tradition or nature that would not tend to my exaltation."

Love is making space in your life for someone else who needs it.

With the help of the Holy Ghost we can create an emotionally healing place for the discriminated against, the rejected, and the stranger.  Orson F. Whitney wrote, "All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently...purifies our heart...and it is through...toil and tribulation, that we gain the education...which will make us more like our Father in Heaven."

In reference to building the Kingdom of God through teaching and testifying of Christ, Julie B. Beck stated, "The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life...it requires a conscious effort."  Our high responsibility is to become women who follow the Savior, nurture with inspiration, and live truth fearlessly.

These wise words gave me pause to be grateful to be a woman of faith at this time and in this place.  I pray I will always make space in my life for someone else who needs love.  I pray I will study, pray, and grow so that I will be worthy to receive the personal revelation I need to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and all those whom He brings into my life. For 'when you are in the service of your fellow being, you are in the service of your God'.

The Writings of Paul

April 24, 2016

Lately I have been reading some of the writings of Paul in the books of Acts and Romans.  Acts is an interesting account of Paul ( or Saul of Tarsus), and his conversion and his missionary travels.  The first seven chapters of Romans were a bit heavy treading, requiring the use of a good study guide to help me understand Paul's language as he speaks primarily to the Jewish converts who still want to hang on to the Law of Moses and have a difficult time understanding God's grace through the Savior.

It was with welcome relief that I read Romans chapter 8 this morning, a straight- forward chapter about how we are blessed with peace and joy as a result of following Jesus Christ.  Of course I have always been familiar with verse 28, and grateful for it's uplifting message.  Verses 38-39 bring additional peace to the hearts of all believers.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God, our eternal Father and Heaven.  As we heed His direction through the Holy Ghost, we will be given strength to endure all that is asked of us, while experiencing the 'peace that passeth all understanding'.

TEACHING, A SACRED CALLING

From my journal, February 28, 2016

I was touched this week by an article in the Ensign, written by President Monson, about teaching.  I don't know if I can adequately express how important my Sunday school students are to me.  I feel that teaching teenagers about the gospel and striving to help them gain a testimony is the most sacred of callings.  I remember how much I wanted to understand God at that age when questioning seems to be very common.  The  following words by our prophet are most inspiring to me.

"In the Church, the goal of gospel teaching is not to pour information into the minds of God's children, whether at home, in the classroom, or in the mission field.  It is not to show how much the parent, teacher, or missionary knows.  The aim is to inspire individuals to think about, feel about, and then do something about living gospel principles.  The objective is to develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and to become converted to His gospel."

The reason I often spend weeks preparing a lesson is so I can find ways to lead our discussions and stimulate thought in such a way as to help my students truly become converted.  I want them to know there is a place for them in the gospel of Jesus Christ, regardless of where they are on the path of faith and discipleship.  This weighs heavy on my heart every day.

REPENTANCE; MAKING CHANGES IN OUR LIVES

Read a great article on something we have been hearing sermons on for oh so many years.  It's easy for us to minimize the need for change in our lives.  We often hear, "Well, I can't change, it's just the way I am", or "just live and let live".  However, Galatians 6:15 and other scriptures remind us that change is an important aspect of the Christian life.  Jesus was born at a time when the law of Moses guided the religious life of the nation of Israel, focusing on outward performances on specific actions that were either required or forbidden.  The Pharisees taught that if you kept all of God's commandments which dealt primarily with outward actions, then you would be righteous.

Then along comes Jesus Christ who turned all those notions upside down.  He focused on the inner attitudes and the condition of one's heart which would then motivate us to living righteously.  In our day we may find ourselves falling into the trap of doing all the outward things in our religious life that makes it appear that we are on the right path:  attending church, paying our tithing, living the Word of Wisdom.  Parables in the New Testament relating to the Pharisees remind us that becoming comfortable with our commandment keeping can stunt our spiritual growth and progress.

2 Corinthians 7:10 teaches us that "godly sorrow worketh  repentance to salvation".  Paul stressed that in the life of a disciple of Christ, "all things must become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).  As we look inward in a desire to become more like the Savior we might ask ourselves questions like, "Am I impatient, negative, fearful, critical, self-centered, controlling, light-minded, lustful, cynical or lazy?" The Atonement of Jesus Christ can not only cleanse us of sin but also help us overcome the inner weakness that comes from being a natural man.  The book of Ether in the Book of Mormon reminds us that "if men come unto me I will show to them their weaknesses.  I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them".  Having faith in Him involves believing that He can reach deep enough to change us in ways we need to change, if only we come to Him with a submissive heart, desiring to become new creatures.

The world would have us focus on a change in behavior, but we know that it is the change in heart that must come first, a change of heart leads to a change in behavior.  It's not just what we are doing, it is who we are becoming.  What a wonderful blessing to know that over time (and sometimes it requires a long time) if we are humble and teachable then the Lord can use the Holy Ghost to help us become new creatures.  The Lord has everlasting patience and we need to be patient with ourselves as we journey toward becoming more and more Christlike.  Line upon line, precept upon precept.....

UNDERSTANDING THE FALL OF ADAM AND EVE

February 14, 2016

I have been re-reading the book, "The Infinite Atonement" by Tad Callister in preparation for teaching a Sunday school lesson next month on the Atonement.  I read this book years ago and it has been rewarding to skim over it once again. The atonement is complex and one could spend a lifetime exploring the details of it.  One of the chapters talks about the Fall and how it has been misunderstood by many.  I wanted to make note of some of the principles of the Fall that I am grateful to understand better as I study more.

In speaking of the conditions before the Fall, Callister talks about Adam and Eve finding themselves subject to 4 basic conditions-- 2 positive and 2 negative.  

1. They were immortal, not subject to pain, disease, or death.  Speaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God said, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thous shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17), implying that in the interim, until such an event should occur, Adam and Eve would enjoy a state of immortality.  This was positive.

2. Adam and Eve walked and talked in the presence of God.  This was also a positive. The Prophet Joseph Smith spoke of those glorious days when "God conversed with Adam face to face.  In His presence he was permitted to stand, and from His own mouth he was permitted to receive instruction.  He heard God's voice, walked before him and gazed upon His glory, while intelligence burst upon his understanding."  It is hard to imagine a more idyllic setting in which to reside.  

3.  The third condition was a negative.  Adam and Eve were in a state of innocence, without a full knowledge of good and evil, and thus unable to experience a fulness of joy.  Lehi describes this condition: "And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end...Wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin" (2 Nephi 2:22-23).  This was an obstacle to their individual development and progression.  Without complete knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve could not exercise their full moral agency.  John Fiske, a Harvard philosopher, grasped this dilemma:  "Clearly, for strong and resolute men and women an Eden would be but a fool's paradise.  How could anything fit to be called 'character' have ever been produced there?...We can at least begin to realize distinctly that unless our eyes had been opened at some time, so that we might come to know the good and the evil, we should never have become fashioned in God's image.  We should have been the denizens of a world of puppets, where neither morality nor religion could have found place or meaning."  Eden was a way-station, not a destination.  It was a temporary resting spot in the journey of life.  One could not expect to become like God in the Garden of Eden any more than one could expect to drive from Los Angeles to New York while in neutral.  Except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil, there were no challenges, no temptations, and no obstacles in that quasi-heavenly setting.  Accordingly, there could be no progression.  They were temporarily stuck in a world of spiritual sterility. (This makes me think of how much we love little babies. They are so sweet, so innocent, and so completely dependent upon us. This is fine for a while, but we want for our children to have the opportunity to grow, learn to walk on their own, speak like us, learn and progress into adults.  Sure, it can be painful to watch them fall and make mistakes, but we know that as their parents it is the only way for them to grow.  We want for them to someday become fully aware adults,  not remain babies forever.  Likewise our Heavenly Father knows we need to experience the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, to become spiritually mature.)

4. The fourth condition was also negative.  As long as they remained in this garden state, Adam and Eve would have no children, no joy in their posterity.  What a devastating drawback.  Under these conditions they could not obey the divine command to multiply and replenish the earth, which was the foremost design and object of their married life.  

I am grateful that Adam and Eve were willing to transgress in order that the full plan of salvation and eternal happiness could be brought forth for us all.  Satan thought he was being so clever when he tempted Eve to partake of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thinking this would doom her and Adam to eternal damnation.  However, Satan did not understand the wonderful plan of redemption by Jesus Christ and did not understand that His Atonement would not only bring the principle of repentance and forgiveness to us but through the power of the resurrection, we too would be given immortality once again.  When Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden and became fully mortal, they could then have children, and they would understand the opposites we need to experience here on earth (good and evil, pleasure and pain, happiness and sadness) in order for us to grown, progress, and become more and more like our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ as we make good choices in this temporary life on earth.  Yes, Adam and Eve, and consequently the rest of mankind, would have to forego for a time being able to speak face to face with our Heavenly Father, but because of the atonement and resurrection of Christ, through faith in Him, we can someday return to our heavenly home for all of eternity. God did not leave us with no direction; He gave us prophets and scriptures to teach and guide us.   Jesus extends his loving arms to all people in all circumstances, waiting to bring them unto Him, forgive their sins, and wash them clean, teach them of His ways, and prepare them to return to their God.  Satan may have power to tempt us during our time on earth, but in the end he will be overcome by the plan of salvation and the goodness of Christ, never to have power over us again.  When Christ returns to the earth once again, Satan will have to utter the old cliche, "Curses, foiled again".