Farewell

Brothers and sisters, I’m not one for long introductions. Suffice it to say, the last time I was a member of this congregation, it was the Rising Sun branch and I was a teenager.

I love this place. I received my testimony of the restored Church here. I was baptized here. This ground is holy ground for me, and I pray that it will always be to every heart and soul who enters this sacred place.

I’ll be leaving shortly on a mission to the Brazil São Paulo Interlagos mission, and I’m here today to deliver a farewell message to you. I pray that the Lord will help me to have the courage to deliver this powerful message, and that we all might have the Spirit to be lifted and edified together on the subject of talents.

The talents we’ve been given are gifts from the Lord to increase our spirituality. They make up our unique identity as a child of God. If you wonder what makes you different from everyone else that Heavenly Father has created and brought into His fold, look to your talents. If you think the purpose of the gospel is to make you into something you’re not, look to your spiritual gifts. Your talents were given to you in the preexistence, and developing them is not forcing you to become someone you’re not. They’re hidden treasures of your soul that will help you to more fully become the person you were then—the amazing, beautiful son or daughter of God you already are.

Our talents have been customized and given to us based on our personalities. Heavenly Father gave us specific talents and capacities we need to be happy, and to make our contribution to His kingdom. It was true of our first parents, Father Adam and Mother Eve, and it’s true for us today.

Look at Mother Eve. Of all the things Lucifer could have used to persuade her, he chose knowledge and wisdom. He compelled her with the assurance that she would become like God. Out of all the ways he could have chosen, why did Lucifer choose those particular ways?

12 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it became pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make her wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat.

Moses 4

If she had not yet fallen, and could not yet know good from evil, how could she understand knowledge and wisdom enough to desire them? Even in her innocence, she felt desires for wisdom—to use those talents which God had given her. They would show through regardless of whether or not she knew about them. They drove her towards her roles and responsibilities in the gospel, towards her motherhood and her greatest happiness. If Eve had never fallen, she would have remained a stranger to herself, to her great power and potential as a divine daughter of exalted parents.

Adam’s motivation was different because his talents were different. In 2 Nephi 2: 25, Lehi teaches us that:

“Adam fell that man might be, and men are that they might have joy.”

I always understood that to mean that the Fall was imposed upon Adam because it was necessary. He needed to stay with Eve, and everyone who has ever lived on the earth needed to be born and receive the gospel. Until very recently, I thought that because of God and because of Lucifer, Adam fell.

But Adam fell willingly and deliberately. He took a bold and fearless step into the unknown, Adam FELL, caused himself to fall, that man might be. To him, transgressing the law was a real act of faith because everything in him desires so much to be obedient. I personally don’t believe the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth and the law not to partake of the fruit are contradictory. They work together to accomplish the same one purpose of the Lord—to allow us all to come to mortality. But to Adam, they would have been a test to see if He could distinguish which law was more important to obey. If he was going to be the father of all living, he needed to be able to choose his children before his own security, his own blessing. To say that Adam fell that man might be is a statement that tells us why Adam chose to Fall, and what we all mean to him.

Adam and Eve’s talents were essential to the Fall. They came to earth, and discovered talents and capacities they never dreamed they could have. Adam begins by doing much of what he did in Eden, caring for the grounds and the animals. Eve labored with him, and they learned to appreciate hard work. Then the Lord begins to institute and organize his priesthood among them, and they begin to grown in their spiritual talents.

Adam and Eve needed to learn how to live separated from God, and the Lord teaches them what He expects of them so they can return to Him. The truths that Adam and Eve learn from the Lord at this time are simple and complete. They focus on repentance and the redemption Adam and Eve will find in Jesus Christ. The truths, doctrines, and power they received were never more simple and unified than they were in Adam and Eve’s hands at that time.

In Moses 5: 5, we see that Adam and Eve first learn to sacrifice. The angel teaches them:

…This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.

Moses 5

Adam and Eve both have their eyes opened, and the voice of the Lord tells them of their redemption from the Fall.

…I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.

Moses 5: 9

Nothing could’ve been a greater comfort to them than to realize and remember that they and their generations were not lost forever in their mortal state. What Adam and Eve say then are two of the most beautiful statements in all of scripture.

Adam says, “Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.”

Brethren, do you live in the joy of knowing you will see God again? Does being strictly obedient bring you joy? If not, how can you use your talents to make obedience a more pleasant experience for yourself, your families, and for others?

Eve says, “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.”

Sisters, do you treasure your children and grandchildren, even if you are not yet married? Do you actively grow in your understanding of good and evil, and share your wisdom with your children? Have you used your talents to become a better gospel teacher? Do you exercise your talents through visiting teaching to help other sisters grow?

Adam and Eve progress in their covenants for the rest of their lives, and every time they do so, it’s because they grew sufficiently in their individual talents. But how is that accomplished? What do our talents do to bring us closer to the Lord and His Spirit?

Developing our talents is a crucial part of genuine repentance. If we are not including our talents in that repentance, we are not giving the Lord all of ourselves, and our repentance is being frustrated. We may learn the wrongness of our actions, and we may even feel remorse for what we’ve done. But we need to change our behavior and our hearts. This happens as we make powerful personal sacrifices, and I know of no better way to do this than by consecrating talents and abilities to the Lord.

When that is the kind of repentance we live by, a greater capacity to be obedient comes into our lives. That obedience allows us to progress towards the work of our day. Just as Adam and Eve had great purposes of the Lord attached to their talents, we too have a work to perform which depends on us growing in our talents.

After Adam blesses Enoch, he began to build the holy city of Zion. It’s a city built entirely of consecrated talents, where the inhabitants “had all things common,” (4 Nephi 1: 3) and were “of one heart and one mind.” (Moses 7: 18) I bring him up because Enoch’s work in his Zion is inseparable from our work today in this dispensation. The Lord told Enoch of our great work when He said:

…As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah;
61 And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve;
62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.

Moses 7

We have each been given talents which will help us to stand in our place in our day—to build Zion to our God. We are progressing as individuals and families in positions to which every previous dispensation has looked and eagerly anticipated, hoped and waited. They knew the talents that would be extended to us specific to our positions, and they wanted to be a part of our day. (Alma 29: 1-2)

Do we have talents specific to our work in Zion? Absolutely! Read any prophecy about the latter days, and you will read about the righteous and the power they will possess.

…I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

Joel 2

That description is powerful because the potential of our talents is a marvelous sight to behold. Visions, prophecies, miracles—these experiences do not belong solely to prophets, apostles, or general authorities. You can have them too if you prepare yourself in righteousness, as they have; and if you have real need of them, as they do. And I promise you and warn you this day, you will never have greater need for inspiration than you will as you strengthen and bless your families, and build the kingdom of God.

Visions, prophecies, and miracles attend those who have the gift of the Holy Ghost. Use your talents as the Lord directs, and you will magnify the gift of the Holy Ghost in your life.

If you ponder, in all honesty, what it means to have the Spirit to be with you—to have a member of the Godhead under binding covenant to dwell with you and guide you—it is exciting, and daunting, and humbling all at once. It awakens us to a sense of our greatness in the sight of God. But it is only a precursor to the talent and defining blessing of Zion and her inhabitants.

What is the talent which all men and women in Zion possess—the thing that makes Zion different from any other place on earth—so difficult to build, but worth hoping and sacrificing for, even unto death?

What is Zion?

And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion;
Moses 7: 69

To walk with God means to see Jesus Christ exactly as He is, and to be able to speak with Him, “even as a man talketh one with another, face to face.” (Moses 7: 4) It is the talent which is extended to the inhabitants of Zion who have earned it through sufficient repentance, honoring their covenants, and consecrating their talents. As we discover, explore, and develop our individual talents, that great talent of Zion will become a clearer and more attainable reality.

Adam-ondi-Ahman in Daviess County, Missouri

There is a reason I’ve spent so much time talking about Adam and Eve this morning as a precursor to talking about Zion and our latter-day work. It’s because our return to Zion and their return home to Eden is the same journey.

Everything we need to build Zion was originally extended as a blessing to Adam and Eve, which they handed down to their generations. Those blessings were changed, lost, taken away, restored, lost again, and fragmented many times throughout the history of this earth. A restoration, not a reformation, is the only thing which has ever reinstated those blessings. A restoration of truth, of priesthood, of the gospel of Jesus Christ is exactly what we claim to have here today.

But sometimes we think of that Restoration as something that happened once in 1820 and ended after the First Vision. That is when the Restoration began. The Restoration continued on as the offices of the Priesthood were restored, the temples built, and the keys restored. It continues today, and will continue until Adam returns to Adam-ondi-Ahman “the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet.” (D&C 116)

Joseph Smith never intended to hide that fact, which is why we find it clearly stated in the Articles of Faith:

10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

When the Prophet Joseph Smith entered Jackson County, Missouri in July of 1831, I have no doubt that he understood where he was standing was a deeply significant place. It’s the place where Eden once stood, and the Lord revealed that to him and to us in D&C 57:

“This is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion.”
D&C 57: 2

About two weeks later, the Saints who were gathering wanted to know what the significance was of Missouri. The Lord reveals it to them, which we read about in D&C 58:

6 Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause I have sent you—that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come;
7 And also that you might be honored in laying the foundation, and in bearing record of the land upon which the Zion of God shall stand;
8 And also that a feast of fat things might be prepared for the poor; yea, a feast of fat things, of wine on the lees well refined, that the earth may know that the mouths of the prophets shall not fail;
9 Yea, a supper of the house of the Lord, well prepared, unto which all nations shall be invited.
10 First, the rich and the learned, the wise and the noble;
11 And after that cometh the day of my power; then shall the poor, the lame, and the blind, and the deaf, come in unto the marriage of the Lamb, and partake of the supper of the Lord, prepared for the great day to come.

The marriage of the Lamb is the feast of the faithful—the Sacrament Meeting to end all Sacrament Meetings. The righteous in attendance will return to Eden, to the New Jerusalem, in preparation for the Savior to begin His reign on the earth. Those who have received their celestial inheritances will be gathered there with Adam and Eve into the rest and service of the Lord forever. Among the rich symbolism behind the Sacrament we partook of this morning, one of the most important layers of meaning points to that feast. By partaking of the Sacrament, we promised to be at that feast of the faithful—having given all we possess, talents included, to be there.

Brothers and sisters, I hope we meet again in that holy place. I hope we all are counted worthy to stand in the presence of God. I pray we will all seek that redemption and live in that hope. As hard as things may become for you, as much as you may be tried, be strong. Know that God loves you, and He is leading you to that good place.

I know that God lives, and I know that Jesus is the Christ. He is the reason for everything we do here today. We love Him. We worship Him. We believe that He atoned for our sins in Gethsemane, died for us on Calvary’s cross, and rose on the third day that we might rise, conquerors over death. He bids us to follow Him, and by making and keeping covenants with Him, we are saved.

I bear you my witness that this Church is true, that the gospel is real, that Joseph Smith was a prophet and a good man. I am so happy and excited to serve a mission wherever the Lord will send me in addition to Brazil, and I bear you my witness in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Testimony

Bearing testimony of our Savior is the privilege of my life and the calling of my generation. This blog would be of little or no use to anyone if it ever deviated too far from the miracles and majesty of Jesus Christ. Because of that, I want to deal directly with the topic of Christ now, and share the heart of his gospel message.

After Christ performed the powerful miracle of the Atonement and was crucified, we read in John 19: 30 that after he had finished everything he had set out to do in his mortality, "he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." Leaving this world in perfect submission, He gave his life and his power, bore the burden of our sin and mortality... surrounded by the vilest of hellions and in the face of complete and total despair, Christ performed a perfect sacrifice by offering everything He had ever earned as a payment for our salvation and exaltation.

Why? Because He loves us with a perfect love. He loves all life, and believes fundamentally and fiercely that life should continue--that our lives should continue. He believes each and every one of us have purpose, meaning, and something of infinite worth to contribute to the kingdom of God. In short, He believes in the divinity that is within all of us, and because He has seen what that divinity can become, He doesn't want us to settle for anything less than the perfect joy of our Father in Heaven.


We read in Ether 12: 7 the following:

For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself not unto the world. 

Akin to that though is this portion from 2 Nephi 2: 8:

...there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

These scriptures tell us that after the Resurrection, Christ no longer had to appear to anyone who did not have faith in Him. As Zion's builders, we have to understand this crucial information to rise to our fullest potential in these latter days.

If we want to perform our latter-day mission to build Zion and have Christ return and claim her unto Himself, we must be a body of people who believes completely and lovingly in His Resurrection. In the Church, it's easy to focus so much on the Atonement that we forget that it would have been incomplete without the Resurrection. But we must grow beyond this lack of understanding.

Think about it. If Christ had offered to cleanse our lives without ever taking up His life again, we'd still be damned. Death would still hold us captive, halting the plan between birth and rebirth. Our earth could never be exalted and heaven could never come to us. The dead might be redeemed, but they'd never be resurrected. If they were never resurrected, they could never inherit the kingdom and glory of the Father, becoming heirs of salvation with Christ. Zion would never truly come forth, would never fully put on her beautiful garments of priesthood power. (D&C 113: 7-8) We as latter-day servants would not be able to finish the work we were assigned--to build Zion--if it wasn't for the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The house of Israel must be redeemed, and we will bring the gospel to them through our testimonies of Jesus Christ as His ordained servants. Our faith in His Atonement and Resurrection will make it possible for us to regain His presence. In a world that seems to believe more and more fully each day that only seeing is believing, we must remember the power of faith--for this is the only way to appreciate the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

May we more fully become valiant saints of that testimony together, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Relief Society and the Priesthood: Then, Now, and Forever

I wrote a post discussing the power of women's virtue here. I'd like to expand upon those thoughts to an organizational level, and explore the great gift God has given the Church by restoring the Relief Society to the earth.

The following is an article from the Deseret News, published in April of 1868, available here.

FEMALE RELIEF SOCIETY 

--by Eliza R. Snow--

This is the name of a Society which was organized in Nauvoo, on the 17th of March, 1842, by President Joseph Smith, assisted by Elders Willard Richards and John Taylor. Although the name may be of modern date, the institution is of ancient origin. We were told by our martyred prophet, that the same organization existed in the church anciently, allusions to which are made in some of the epistles recorded in the New Testament, making use of the title, "elect lady."...

From this we see that the Relief Society was just as much a part of the gospel Restoration as the priesthood. For women to be organized and contributing to the affairs of the church is a function of the Plan of Salvation, the gospel of Jesus Christ. That gospel is incomplete without Heavenly Father's daughters.

If that's the case, what does He intend for them to do? We find those answers in the very next sentence:

"This is an organization that cannot exist without the Priesthood, from the fact that it derives all its authority and influence from that source."

The Relief Society has power, authority, and influence in the priesthood!

Whoa! Are you tellin' me that everything I've heard about the powerless Mormon woman is a lie? That she has had power and authority in the gospel this WHOLE time? That she can act in God's name through her access to the priesthood, and Joseph Smith taught that from the very beginning?

Yes, dear. That's what I'm telling you. And if you'll come with me to the scriptures, we'll explore a few things about the calling of an "elect lady."

There may be more references that are not so explicit and of which I'm unaware, but one New Testament reference to an elect lady occurs in 2 John 1: 1. A few verses of note from the epistle directed to the elect lady, which hold an amazing amount of relevance to the Relief Society of today:

5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. {Note: the classical Greek word for love used in these verses is agape, also translated as charity. Charity Never Faileth? Anyone?}
7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

Also note in verse 13 it refers to an elect sister. This phrase, along with elect lady, baffles Bible commentators. Who is the elect lady? Why isn't she named? Is she even a person? If not, who/ what is her sister? Because the verses refer to the elect lady both singularly and collectively, it's difficult to identify who she is by the sparse details provided. I read an online commentary here which presents a few ideas on the Greek, but ultimately decides the elect lady must be a name for a single congregation of the church.

To say it's a congregation seems simple enough, without ever having to acknowledge the radical notion that women actually participated in and mattered dearly to the early Christian church.

We must also recognize that just as God is infinite, eternal, impartial, and unchangeable (1 Nephi 10: 18, Moroni 8: 18), His gospel is infinite, eternal, impartial, and unchangeable. If He empowered women before in His covenant, they will always be empowered under His covenant.

We see this power throughout the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, beginning with Emma Smith, long before the Relief Society was ever established.

In July of 1830, the Prophet Joseph Smith revealed the following unto his wife Emma from the Lord Jesus Christ:

3 Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called.
5 And the office of thy calling shall be for a comfort unto my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun., thy husband, in his afflictions, with consoling words, in the spirit of meekness.
7 And thou shalt be ordained under his hand to expound scriptures, and to exhort the church, according as it shall be given thee by my Spirit.
8 For he shall lay his hands upon thee, and thou shalt receive the Holy Ghost, and thy time shall be given to writing, and to learning much.
9 And thou needest not fear, for thy husband shall support thee in the church; for unto them is his calling, that all things might be revealed unto them, whatsoever I will, according to their faith.
15 Keep my commandments continually, and a crown of righteousness thou shalt receive. And except thou do this, where I am you cannot come.

Notice Christ, through the mouth of Joseph Smith, has called Emma an elect lady 12 years before the Relief Society would be restored. The Lord was not giving Emma the charge to babysit her husband. He was teaching her about her access to the priesthood.

Women do not function in the offices of Melchizedek because they have their own office as wives and mothers in God's covenant. To reject that office and calling it to reject His power.

Emma's calling also goes beyond her personally, in her ordination to "exhort the church." That sentiment, along with "elect lady" require the Relief Society to truly be fulfilled. These phrases function as prophesy that not only would the Relief Society return, but that Emma's eternal destiny was tied to it. She would become the Relief Society's first president--a choice daughter of eternity not just by association with her husband, but to the Restoration of the WHOLE Church. A Church that would be incomplete so long as the women were not formally organized and given power and authority within it.

There are women in this Church who look at verses 6 (not shown above) and 7 and wonder why women are not given such responsibilities today--why they no longer have some of the same responsibilities women had early in the Restoration. These women argue that our power has been taken from us. They don't see how covenant motherhood IS powerful, and has a much greater purpose than bearing children--as important as that also is.

Julie B. Beck, the Relief Society general president, has given many talks over the past few years that outlines where women's access to power and authority is.

In Mothers Who Know, she taught that women's power comes through motherhood.

"Nurturing requires organization, patience, love, and work. Helping growth occur through nurturing is truly a powerful and influential role bestowed on women." 

People criticized President Beck in this message because they never stopped to consider that this kind of influence would require them to access the power of the priesthood, and to have the authority to USE IT.


In Fulfilling the Purpose of Relief Society, she makes her message to the sisters of the Church even more plain when she teaches:

"Just as the Savior invited Mary and Martha of New Testament times to participate in His work, women of this dispensation have an official commission to participate in the Lord’s work."

But perhaps that's not plain enough. Let's go to her most recent talk. You don't have to read anything but the TITLE to see where she's been going with this the whole time!

And upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit is not just a title. It's a prophecy found in Joel 2.

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

In the Church we're so used to hearing we're in the latter days that we wouldn't know the call we've been waiting for if we heard it--the one that tells us when the Savior is coming.

You wanna know how I know that? Because the call--or some portion of it--came this most recent session of General Conference, and almost nobody heard it.

Go back and read President Boyd K. Packer's talk. Read it like he just told you something extremely important. This line should scare you:

“The authority of the priesthood is with us. After all that we have correlated and organized, it is now our responsibility to activate the power of the priesthood in the Church.”

What's he talking about? Haven't we been acting in power the whole time? We have temples and ordinances and callings and stakes and all that. What else is left to activate?

To answer this, I direct you to D&C 113:

7 Questions by Elias Higbee: What is meant by the command in Isaiah, 52d chapter, 1st verse, which saith: Put on thy strength, O Zion—and what people had Isaiah reference to?
8 He had reference to those whom God should call in the last days, { who should hold the power of priesthood to bring again Zion, } and the redemption of Israel; and to put on her strength is to put on the authority of the priesthood, which she, Zion, has a right to by lineage; also to return to that power which she had lost.

The purpose of the Relief Society is the SAME as the priesthood: to build Zion on the earth. I've been in enough lessons on Zion to see how people sell her short--Zion is wherever you live, they say. The Church has been building her all this time. It's nothing to get excited about.

I'm telling you, when God wants to hide something, He puts it in the Pearl of Great Price.


Read Moses 7: 62:

62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.

The purpose of the priesthood and the Relief Society is to build Zion, which will usher in the Second Coming of the Savior.

So when I read and hear comments from women about how lame, how unenlightened, how boring Relief Society is, the nicest thing I can think to say is: if you can't get excited about participating in Christ's return to the earth, I sure hope you like maggots.

Growing Pains

--originally published on Waters of Mormon on March 4, 2009--

But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.” Alma 32: 41

What does it mean to be God?

If I were a wiser person, I would read chapter 32 of Alma every day of my life because of what it teaches me about the answer to that question. The chapter connects so beautifully with the Tree of Knowledge from Lehi’s vision, something I did not realize until I thought about chapter 32 in the same terms as Christ—what He was, is, and will be—and I realized that this chapter teaches me about what I was, who I am, and what I will ultimately become if I will continue to be nourished by His living water.

In comparison to everything that Heavenly Father is, I am just a tiny seed in the ground of His kingdom. I thought about that yesterday as I was thinking about my past, and in my frustration wandered around campus until I finally found myself laying supine underneath of a tree by the Carillon Tower. Staring up through the branches and boughs to the tiniest, reaching twigs at the top of the tree, I thought about how long that tree must have taken to grow.

I thought about Abraham and how his posterity divides and splits like the limbs of a tree, how inconceivable is the collective number and strength of those who came before me, who support me and feed me from the roots from which all who seek the truth gather strength.

I thought about those delicate twigs reaching for the same heaven as I am, with fingers that have taken generations to reach their height. I remembered where I started, feeling the swellings of a seed in my breast before I ever knew it had been planted, trying to put what I was feeling into words and failing at it most of the time. I remembered the pain of growing quickly—not that I would have had it any other way. I remembered my delight as I saw the seed beginning to sprout, and the changes that came to my life that told me this seed was not only good, but so was the heart’s ground in which it was planted—something that had never occurred to me before, and still barely registers to me now.

I pondered the kind of tree I would be someday, the thought stretching beyond the furthest reaches of my understanding—into heaven and out of sight. I wondered about what awaits me, how to become like the kind of trees I have sat beneath throughout my life—their spines bending around unseen opposition so they do not break, opening their arms to the sky to embrace rain and snow and whatever else comes their way with their weakest limbs forward.

Exposed in winter to a coal gray sky full of uncertainty and meaning in these days—I see in the trees all around me the kind of person I want to be until I can reach for something greater.

One of my favorite verses in Alma 32 is verse 35 where it asks a question that I have asked people about the way I see the world and the God I adore: “O then, is not this real?” It is a question I have been asking for a long time, and I have learned from the frustration that has followed so many times that I should only trust the spirit to speak to my confusion. People tell me they struggle with the idea of religion and God sometimes because it all just seems so irrational to them, and they tell me that everything about God is so complicated because it relies upon things you cannot see.

At some point I lost the ability to relate to that kind of thinking because the Lord is the only thing I understand anymore, and I see His hand everywhere. Granted, I have to be a little bizarre sometimes to get my eyes to see; wandering around on and off campus until I find myself in some place I have never been before, staring up into a tree just before I was going to give up the search for truth that day—only to be rescued from myself moments before I would have told myself “all is lost.” But like a waiting parent, He was there—always first comes the gentle reminder to be patient, that He does hear me, that He will speak only when I am listening, but also that I am His child and He would never leave me alone to face this world—not for long, anyway.

He has made it perfectly clear, through the softest peace of trees—not to mention the beautiful truth in all of His creations—that being God means never being the one who walks away.

Our Savior Jesus Christ will return to us, in all of the glorious radiance of the sun—and more!—and those who walked away from His extended hand will certainly wish they had not.

Zion: It starts with Me

Good morning roommate... no really! I don't mind if you wake me up! I would actually find it more offensive if you had any doubt whatsoever if it's OK to wake me up for church.

MMM. Homemade apple sauce for breakfast. I love when I can eat the things I cook. :)

Wow. Is this what being early to Church looks like at BYU? We're only 15 minutes early and the room is empty. Even the bishopric isn't here yet. Gotta love Mormon Standard Time.

I don't LIKE being released from callings! I never know whether to raise my own hand for the vote of thanks when I'm the only one being released!

Sacrament Hymn 185: Reverently and Meekly Now

I have ransomed even thee... 

I never thought of myself as being kidnapped, but in a real sense that's very true. I am as trapped by mortality as I feel sometimes... but my Lord paid the price to set me free. And not in some esoteric future either. Right here. Right now.

I am free.

Oh wow... what is this feeling?

At the throne I intercede;

For thee ever do I plead.

I have loved thee as thy friend,

With a love that cannot end.

Be obedient, I implore,

Prayerful, watchful evermore,

And be constant unto me,

That thy Savior I may be.

At last, heavy tears gather on my lashes. They fall slowly, clinging to my face the whole way down before landing softly in my lap.

I wipe them away as I take my piece of bread, the largest I can see, and wonder with a faint smile if that's how I get myself into these situations.

Drip. Drop. Drip.

I have needed these tears. I could do nothing to give my grief to them--Lord knows I've tried--and I could not bring myself to drink the gall of my own struggle. I simply watched the cup fill to brim, then overflowing... 

When, at last, my soul is touched.

And as I looked again, the weight of waiting appeared as a tiny plastic cup before my eyes! How I rejoiced, just as silently as I had suffered! 

Dear God, I thank thee! I thank thee...

Subject for talks: Testimony

Notes:
"No one has a testimony so strong that if they stopped working on it, it would continue to grow." Speaker

"Life is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience," Speaker likening Elder Holland's statement on missionary work to cultivating a testimony.

Bishop then tells us we're combining for Sunday school and Relief Society and asks us not to leave. They have a special message for us.

Joshua 1: 9. Isn't that the Mutual Theme?.... YUP! Oh boy, I called it! High five roommate! Yeah!

Bishop didn't know that was the Mutual Theme? That's funny.

Bishopric takes turn addressing us. They're basically giving us step by step instructions on how to build Zion, but they Just. Aren't. Saying. That!

I raise my hand and point out the reference to the promised land in the chapter heading.

Bishop asks "And what is the promised land?" Someone say Zion!  "Eternal life." Well, that answer is so good I'm not going to argue with it. They'll figure it out eventually.


For now, I can be content knowing that I see what's coming. I am Zion, and my contribution to Zion begins with me. I should do more reading on the subject. I suspect that the timing of the Savior's coming is unknown because the time has not been set; rather, it depends on how long it will take us all to build Zion so we can present the Church of the Lamb to the Lamb. But that's just my working theory for now.

Until then, Zion starts with me, and I start here:

"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Luke 6: 38

Thoughts from General Conference, October 2009

We had great seats!

Out of all of the sessions of General Conference I've ever attended, this most recent session meant more to me than any other, and not even by virtue of the fact that it's the avenue of the most current revelation on the earth.

As of late, it has taken greater dedication on my part to have the Holy Ghost with me in the same magnitude and consistency that I have previously enjoyed. Although considering some of that growth came through great pain and suffering, I'm not sure if "enjoy" is the best word to use there.

I've had to exert more and more effort for the same results. I wondered for many months if it was because I was doing something wrong. I feared I might have been offending the Spirit without realizing I was doing so. But after hearing so many talks from this most recent session about the presence of the spirit, the purification of our hearts, and the sanctifying power of love coupled with more exact obedience to the commandments, it seems to me that what I'm feeling is not an accident.

I think it's fair to say that based on the instructions that we've been given, we're supposed to be drawing closer to the Spirit and to each other in love--becoming a more Zion-like people.

We've been taught that Zion is not just a place that we can expect to establish in the last days, in preparation for the coming of the Savior. Zion is also a state of being one in mind and heart as a people, looking towards and continually dwelling in the pure love of Christ. Now, I may not be the greatest gospel scholar in the world, but considering we just received more counsel than I've ever heard in one setting about purification, love, charity, and dwelling continually in the Spirit, I really must wonder what, exactly, the leaders of the Church were instructing us to do.

Can I just say, I loved the ONE guy not wearing a suit coat?

We may not have been told this session to return to Missouri, which is where we've been taught through modern revelation the physical place of Zion will be. But it sounded to me like we're all supposed to be much more Zion-like in character than we currently are as individuals, as a nation, and as a Church. And building Zion in our hearts is going to be much more difficult than building a new city, or even building a new temple. We would know--our people and our Church have been building both of those for over a hundred years now. Five more temples were just added to the lengthy list of those being renovated, planned, or constructed. But as we've seen in our failure to live under the United Order, being Zion in heart and mind is the most difficult undertaking that mortal men can attempt.

Think about it. Imagine trying to be loving, charitable, virtuous, united in the common cause of Christ at all times, to dwell in the Spirit at all times, to love and obey God at all times. Try doing it for a week and see how much of a headache it is. Better yet, try doing it for a month and see how much Satan doesn't like you and tries to thwart you at every turn. The temptation never ceases--not in waking life, and not in sleep--and increases in severity as you endure it well. Satan will do all he can to destroy you.

I know this as sure as I'm standing here because he and his minions have attacked me on too many occasions for me to count. But at the same time, the peace that has been offered me through the Holy Ghost has been sweeter, full of more knowledge and more guidance, and has blessed me with an ever-increasing ability to endure such tribulation. God does not quiver and shake as Satan surely does with each passing moment.


But how is any of this new? We've been hearing this for years. I've only been around for the past 4 of them and I know I've hear it plenty of times. But what I'd like to do is sound a clarion call of warning that the stakes have just been raised, and the task ahead of us has never been greater, but neither have the blessings.

If we will do as we've just been instructed in this past session of General Conference, we will see mighty changes in our world, in our Church, and in our ability to share the gospel.

If we desire Zion, if we would see its walls raised, its temple built, our families protected and our hearts knit together in the binding power of our task, we had best say our prayers and go to work--for surely this is the cause in which we are engaged, more so now than ever before!