Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

I have been reading the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. It was free on Kindle. He expressed very well in his philosophy of life a concept that I have always thought if understood and applied would do more to induce people (especially the youth who are more likely to chafe and rebel at being restricted) than almost any other to keep the commandments.

"In this piece it was my design to explain and enforce this doctrine; that vicious actions are not hurtful because they are forbidden, but forbidden because they are hurtful, the nature of man alone considered; that it was, therefore, every one’s interest to be virtuous who wish’d to be happy even in this world; and I should, from this circumstance (there being always in the world a number of rich merchants, nobility, states, and princes, who have need of honest instruments for the management of their affairs, and such being so rare), have endeavored to convince young persons that no qualities were so likely to make a poor man’s fortune as those of probity and integrity.”

It is interesting that the style of writing is reminiscent of the Book of Mormon. The long complex sentences being one of the things that make it difficult to read. This was written in the mid to late 1700s not many years before Joseph Smith was born and the prevailing style of writing was probably very similar in Joseph Smiths day.

Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

A new wrinkle on an old scripture. The oft quoted scripture in Moses 1:39 "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." sounds a lot like service. I don't remember who it was for sure, but I think it was Marion G. Romney, Counselor in the First Presidency, who said something like "Service isn't something we endure in this life so that we can have Celestial Life in the eternities, it is what Celestial Life is".

Service is what God does, it is his work and his glory. What little we do here is only practice for Celestial Life, and the attitude we have towards service here is an indication of how far along the path towards that goal we have come. Small wonder then that Christ told his disciples "But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant." (New Testament | Matthew 23:11)

Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

At the end of the year as we were finishing out study of the Book of Mormon, I was thinking about the situation of Moroni, left alone to fend for himself and try to stay away from the Lamanites who would have killed him if he did not deny Christ. We don’t know if he was eventually caught by the Lamanites or translated or died alone in the wilderness. I thought that his situation was in some respects like that of the Willie and Martin handcart companies. They were pushed to the extreme as well. I wondered how I would respond in such a situation. Would I be strong enough to stay faithful? We all can say and hope that we would remain faithful and endure well, but until we are put in that situation how do we know? Our real natures would be revealed only when we are pushed to our limits. I think that all of us will at some point be tried in that way in the pre-earth life, in this life or in the next - not for the Lord’s sake, I think he already knows how we will react – but for our sake, so we will know. Think of the power and confidence that knowledge that we are faithful even when pushed to our limits could give us.

President Hinckley told a story about the Martin Hand cart company ………“Years later, a group in Cedar City were talking about her and others who were in those ill-fated companies. Members of the group spoke critically of the Church and its leaders because the company of converts had been permitted to start so late in the season. I now quote from a manuscript which I have:

“One old man in the corner sat silent and listened as long as he could stand it. Then he arose and said things that no person who heard will ever forget. His face was white with emotion, yet he spoke calmly, deliberately, but with great earnestness and sincerity.

“He said in substance, ‘I ask you to stop this criticism. You are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. A mistake to send the handcart company out so late in the season? Yes. But I was in that company and my wife was in it and Sister Nellie Unthank whom you have cited was there too. We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Not one of that company ever apostatized or left the Church because every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities.” (Our Mission of Saving, Ensign, November 1991)

Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice—yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command—they are accepted of me.

9 For I, the Lord, will cause them to bring forth as a very fruitful tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth much precious fruit.

(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 97:8 - 9)

Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

I have been pondering lately about relationships, concerned that I fulfill my obligations and act appropriately. Some relationships are covenant relationships involving the Lord and perhaps we have no relationship with another person without involving either the Lord or Satan. I am still pondering that question, but that is another topic. One important relationship is that with our leaders in the Church. Although perhaps it is not a covenant relationship involving the Lord and accompanied by an ordinance in the same sense as a sealing relationship to a spouse, child or parent, it does in some sense involve all of those elements, albeit temporarily. It certainly does involve the Lord and the sustaining vote could be considered an ordinance of sorts. It is without question a vitally important relationship. This applies to local leaders as well as the general authorities. Many have lost their membership in the Church for not correctly understanding and fulfilling the terms of this relationship. My current thoughts on this relationship are summarized in the following.

It is as if the Lord says to us: “I have chosen this man. He is not perfect but I have confidence in him that he will do my will. I will speak through him and I want you to accept what he says as if I had said it. Though his words may not be polished and his grammar may not be perfect, the ideas that he expresses are the ideas that I have revealed to him by my spirit. If you, too, are in tune with that spirit, you will understand what he is trying to say and you will know that it is from me and that it is the truth. Since he is mortal and not perfect and he has his agency, he may fall. If he does, I will remove him from his place so that he will not lead you astray. It is neither your place nor your prerogative to correct him or reject him or try to remove him. I have called him and I will remove him if it becomes necessary or I will release him when he has finished his work. He is a man who is learning and growing like yourself, but I will give him special help while he is in this calling so that he can do what is required of him. It is your duty to follow him and sustain him as long as he remains in this calling.”

Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

I was asked to substitute in the Valiant B class in primary last week. The lesson was on 3 Nephi chapter 17. One of the points brought out in the lesson was that Christ perceived that the Nephites did not understand all that he had told them so he asked them to go home and “ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow” (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 17:3). The boys were to understand that they should follow the same pattern when they did not understand something in the scriptures. I had to try to explain what ponder meant and that praying without first pondering would not be nearly as effective.

I find it interesting and helpful to explore the etymology of words, especially when it is obvious that the author has carefully chosen them to convey some nuance of meaning or when they are inspired as in this case. As Janet pointed out some years ago in Gospel ‘Doctrine class, ponder comes from the same root as pound as in weight. It has the connotation of assessing the importance or value of something. It involves critically thinking about and weighing the importance of an idea. I think in today’s society we have too little opportunity for pondering. I like to ponder as I am involved in some activity that does not require my full mental concentration. There used to be many more of those activities in the days when there were not so many labor saving appliances. What few opportunities we have today, we tend to fill with other distractions, like i-pods, etc.

I think it is important to make time for pondering. Instead of listening to the i-pod while mowing the lawn or doing the dishes, or cleaning the house, take time to ponder occasionally. Think of a scripture or a gospel topic you do not fully understand or that interests you and mull it over in your mind (mull from M.E. mullyn "grind to powder, pulverize,", divide it up into small pieces and examine it carefully). Then go back and re-read it and pray about it.

Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

I don’t remember where I first heard it, but someone said in essence Salvation is an individual matter but Exaltation requires a group effort. Personal righteousness is essential but not sufficient for exaltation. We have to take people with us if we are going to be exalted. We can be saved, even in the Celestial Kingdom, individually, but we can be exalted only when sealed to a spouse and to ancestors and descendants. There are other blessings that are only available if we can persuade others to join us or if we can join an appropriate group. As we were talking in Sunday School class today about the end of the Nephite civilization, I thought about those who were yet righteous, including Mormon and Moroni and no doubt some others judging from Mormon’s letter to Moroni about infant baptism. There were apparently a few righteous saints left who were trying to keep the church going and do the right thing. That was not sufficient to preserve the Nephites, however, or to save themselves from being exterminated in mortality. Not that I think Mormon and Moroni and the others who were righteous were responsible for the sins of all their contemporaries. They did all they could. We cannot enjoy the blessings of a Zion society without the society. We have to do our part in brining others along.

Many of the teachings of the gospel are related to our interaction with others. Learning to relate to others is more than half of the battle. We are all interdependent, like it or not. This is difficult for me as I am not a very social being and I don’t enjoy trying to persuade others or explaining my beliefs to them. I’m somewhat of a loner and socially inept. I usually prefer a good book to a good conversation. The ultimate example of our dependence is, of course, the Atonement. Without Christ and his sacrifice we would all be lost. I have committed to try to be more outgoing and more social at church and elsewhere, to try to do my part in promoting the unity necessary to achieve the desired result. Maybe that’s why I was prompted and more or less forced into teaching. Something I need to work on.

Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

Our opening hymn in Sacrament Meeting today was number 89, “The Lord is My Light.” As we came to the words “My weakness in mercy He covers with power”, I felt an overwhelming witness of the Spirit that that has been true and will continue to be true in my life as long as I acknowledge Him. If I have accomplished anything worthwhile, it is because He has made up for my limitations and inadequacies, filled in the gaps, so to speak. As the scriptures tell us, “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 25:23). I think many times we fail to recognize the influence of the Lord in our lives like the Lamanites who were converted that Jesus talked about when He visited them “even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not” (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 9:20).

This is also brought out in the story of the servant of Elisha the prophet when he saw the army of the King of Syria that came to take Elisha who was accused of being a spy and surrounded the whole city with horses and chariots so that Elisha would not escape. “And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” (Old Testament | 2 Kings 6:15 - 17).

Joseph Smith recorded similar visions that he had of the apostles in the early days of the Church. "I saw the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, who are now upon the earth, who hold the keys of this last ministry, in foreign lands, standing together in a circle, much fatigued, with their clothes tattered and feet swollen, with their eyes cast downward, and Jesus standing in their midst, and they did not behold Him. The Savior looked upon them and wept. ......Also, I saw Elder Brigham Young standing in a strange land, in the far south and west, in a desert place, upon a rock in the midst of about a dozen men of color (Indians), who appeared hostile. He was preaching to them in their own tongue, and the angel of God standing above his head, with a drawn sword in his hand, protecting him, but he did not see it." (History of the Church Vol. II, p. 381.

And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments. (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 59:21)

Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

Some people say they cannot believe in a God because if there was a God and he was good, he wouldn’t allow all the pain and suffering and hardships to happen to all of us. You have all seen the weights that joggers and walkers attach to their ankles and wrists to give them extra resistance. They are in good enough physical condition that they can’t get enough resistance in the time they have by walking or jogging without them to develop the desired strength and stamina. I think of handicaps and trials that we have in life in somewhat the same terms. The Lord knows our strengths and weaknesses and some of us are too far advanced to be able to develop sufficient spirituality, humility, or whatever other virtues we need without the extra resistance in this life.

The point is we have to have faith that God knows us and loves us enough that he will tailor our mortal experience to our needs so that we have the opportunity for the maximum possible development according to our progress thus far. It is this eternal perspective that the gospel provides that allows us to bear our trials and infirmities with patience and even, as some are able to do, with grace and cheerfulness. I always admire those who, like the sister in our ward who was paralyzed at a young age in an accident, can go through life with a cheerful, upbeat attitude in spite of handicaps and hardships. I wish I was more like that.

Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

Some of the conference talks today alluded to the fact that one of the reasons the early church members could not establish Zion in Jackson County was that they were not united and could not live the law of consecration. I think that is one of the major stumbling blocks in the Church today. I will call it elitism, the attitude that one is somehow better than others, among the elite. There are various flavors of elitism – intellectual elitism, social elitism, financial elitism, fashion elitism, racial elitism, gender elitism, born-in-the-church vs. convert elitism, ancestry elitism, national elitism, and on and on. This is a difficult issue for me and I suspect many others. I find myself criticizing others for various traits that they have that I think are odd, annoying or unpleasant instead of recognizing that they are just people trying to do the best they can with what life has dealt them. We do not know what other people have to deal with. Until we can learn to truly have charity for others and adopt an attitude of caring and helping rather than criticizing and belittling, we will not be able to develop the type of unity that is necessary for a Zion society.

The times that we know about in the scriptures when a Zion society was achieved have been possible because the people achieved a unity and equality that extended to all people and all aspects of their lives. “And the Lord called his people ZION, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.” (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 7:18).

“And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. And there were no envyings, nor strifes, . . . . .neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of –ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God. (Book of Mormon | 4 Nephi 1:15 - 17)

New Thread

I have decided to start a new thread that I will call "Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren". I have delayed doing this because I don't want to sound too preachy or too heavy but today's conference talks tipped me over the edge. I will post on an irregular basis my thoughts that I feel are worthwhile passing on to future generations. You can ignore them if you please.