Navigating Discipleship

God Loves Everyone, Everywhere

2025-01-19T09:00:00-08:00

The topic I’ve been asked to speak on today is “God Loves All of His Children Everywhere”. What a wonderful topic. On the surface, it seems obvious. We have scriptures which many of us have heard enough times that we could ace a test on them. I bet you didn’t expect a pop quiz in sacrament meeting. Try to fill in the blank for these verses: “God is no respecter of (persons)” (Acts 10:34), “For God so loved the (world)” (John 3:16), “God is (love)” (1 John 4:8), “all are (alike) unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33). Then there are the sayings of Jesus that likewise ring true here:

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies.” (Matthew 5:43-44)
“the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:23)
“[God] maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45)
“[Which] of you, having an hundred sheep, if [ye] lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until [it is found]? And when [ye] hath found it, [ye] layeth it on [your] shoulders, rejoicing.” (Luke 15:4-5)
“Greater love hath man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34)
And some of his last words in his mortal ministry embodied this radical love: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

I’m tempted to stop there and say “Amen.”. Leaving us edified, pondering the words of Jesus. But we’d also be left pondering what to do with the 15 minute gap I just created in sacrament meeting. I imagine the most earnest of that pondering would be done by some up here on the stand. So, to avoid that situation, I’d like to explore three topics on God’s love: 1) how God’s love transformed Paul the Apostle’s life (as it can ours), 2) how God’s love shows us The Way, and 3) how we can extend that love to all God’s children, everywhere (as difficult as that may be).

1. Paul the Apostle

I’ll start by reading a scripture written by Paul in Romans 8:38-39:

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul wrote these words towards the end of his life – a life often stretching early Jewish followers of Jesus to accept outsiders. It is a perspective completely opposite to where Paul started in life.

I won’t spend all of my time talking about who Paul was, just enough to highlight just how different Paul started off.

Paul was a student of two different rabbis who led competing Jewish schools of thought – often hotly contended (Gamaliel & Hillel)
Paul ultimately was drawn to a more zealous school of thought that emphasized that if God would establish his reign, Israel would need to pray harder, read their scriptures more, obey with more exactness, purify themselves for the temple, and be ready to rise up against those who opposed them
At the time, there was rising zeal that Israel’s ancient covenant and political power needed rescuing from Rome and unworthy or corrupted Jews
From this perspective, people following Jesus - with their talk of a New Covenant, and Jesus having more authority than temple - were a threat and corruption that needed to be cleansed
Paul was totally caught up in this zeal: this was his world, this was what he thought God needed in his day - warriors willing to get rid of enemies

As we know, he was met by the resurrected Lord on his way to Damascus. Through this experience, his faith, philosophy, and zeal were turned upside-down:

He saw how Jesus fulfilled the law - but that fulfillment contradicted the way Paul had understood it
Paul had been right in his zeal for God - but completely misunderstood what God’s will was
He was right in his dedication to God’s law - but wrong in the meaning of that law
His desire for righteousness was good - but it was also misdirected and crowded out God’s love

It’s like having a telescope but looking through the wrong end of it. Paul had the instruments of law, loyalty, and zeal to bring God into focus. But looking through the wrong end, God’s love was impossibly small, and impossibly far away. This is all of us at times. We’re convinced we’re right, surely standing on higher ground than those others, only to have God show us how we’ve got things backwards – sometimes requiring God to knock us off our high horses to get through to us.

2. Love is The Way

Early Christian followers, including Paul after his conversion, were often called followers of The Way. “The Way” is mentioned in the gospels several times:

Matt 3:3 - “Prepare ye the way of the Lord” (spoken by John the Baptist)
Matt 22:16 - “Master, we know that thou… teachest the way of God”
Matt 31:32 - “For John came unto you in the way of righteousness” (Jesus about John the Baptist)
John 14:6 - “Jesus saith… I am the way, the truth, and the life”

Whenever I need to refocus on Jesus and the core of what He taught, I turn to the Sermon on the Mount - perhaps the same Sermon that was relayed to Paul by the disciples in Damascus. In it, Jesus is teaching His “Way” and notes that “narrow [is] the way, which leadeth to life” (Matt 7:14). Think about all the different ways mankind has tried to prove their worth in life. I myself have tried several different attitudes, philosophies, orthodoxies, and ways to prove my worthiness. Some time ago after decades of trying to prove my worthiness, I came to the conclusion that God never asked me to do so. I had been looking through the telescope backwards.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out His higher law – look for when He says “ye have heard it said… but I say unto you…”. But if we come away seeing it as merely an updated checklist of commandments, with that ultimate, uncheckable checkbox of “be ye therefore perfect” (Matthew 4:48), we will have missed the point.

President Nelson pointed out in a 1995 Ensign article how we can misunderstand this Sermon:

“the term perfect was translated from the Greek teleios, which means “complete.” … The infinitive form of the verb is teleiono, which means “to reach a distant end, to be fully developed, to consummate, or to finish.” Please note that the word does not imply “freedom from error”; it implies “achieving a distant objective.”

There’s an additional way we can understand it. The Greek in that verse also has a future infinitive verb that can change the verse from a commandment to a covenant promise. The phrase “be ye therefore perfect” can be understood as “and thus you will become perfect” – that living this way is the way to perfection. Applying the observation from President Nelson, we could read it as “and thus you will be complete.” This lens turns the sermon from a checklist into a covenant promise that if we want to become like our Heavenly Father, we can do so by learning to love like Him and His Son. Seeing through the telescope this way, questions like “Am I worthy?” - and the question that always comes right along with that one, “Are others worthy?” - becomes replaced with, “What does God’s love require of me now?” This is how love fulfills the law. And it brings a whole new focus into life.

3. Extending God’s Love to All, Everywhere

But… sorry to say, there’s a “but” here… Love isn’t an easy answer. Why? Because love is scary. Love is vulnerable. Love hurts. Love can take us into the unknown. Love will sacrifice our egos. And all the things 1 Corinthians 13 promises; Or is it warning us of?

There are plenty of examples of God’s love working in the lives of people in scriptures – and I’d encourage you to read those thinking about that covenant “What does God’s love require here?”. I’d recommend reading the parable of the prodigal son and thinking about the father being an example of someone trying to find how to love in each situation he was presented with. But I wanted to share a few examples I’ve seen and experienced in my life that have helped me in trying to live that covenant of love.

One example I saw was from my mission president in South Korea. A cattle rancher, he had a deep sense of humility and pragmatism. Often, as we worked with wards and branches, we’d find this or that policy, practice, or tradition that wasn’t quite being followed. Focused on perfectionism, we’d complain and warn him about it. He’d calmly ask us: “Elder, is anyone being hurt? Is anyone apostatizing? Is anyone doing anything illegal?” The answer was never yes for what I had complained about. “Then stop worrying about it, and love them.” was his constant invitation. It took me a while, but I started to turn my telescope around and use it to love rather than judge. And it transformed my mission for the better.

Another example is in my own family. Families are complex, messy, and, yes, eternal. My family is no exception. Having queer kids has been something that has required me to lean on God’s love as checklists fail. I wish I had easy answers here. I do not. But I can share that nothing has better guided me through this and with any of my children than continually asking myself, “What does God’s love require of me?” There are unknowns, vulnerabilities, and hurts; but there are also joys, flourishing, and hope as we’ve tried, I’m sure imperfectly, to place God’s love at the center of what role faith plays in our family.

A final example I’ll give is something that happens in this Church – in this room right here: the sacrament. It is blessed and passed by young men in the ward to the pews. And it is all of us that pass it to one another in those pews. Passing these emblems to someone is deeply symbolic. What could it mean to offer someone next to you the sacrament? Think about the kinds of relationships you see the sacrament pass through: child and parent, siblings, couples struggling in their marriage, families struggling with illness or loss, visitors, strangers, the politically opposed, rich and poor, and the sinners in all of us. Do we allow these emblems to change our hearts as they pass through us to others? I think it’s significant that the sacrament is not passed to oneself. It is offered by another to us (even between the priesthood holders blessing and passing the sacrament). God’s love and atonement is always found in the context of a relationship with the other, just as is the sacrament.

Closing

I’ll close by returning back to something Paul wrote in Romans chapter 13 – summarizing a bit:

8 love one another: for [they] that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For [all the law] is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

It’s my hope and prayer that as we come to know God’s love that we can see and feel how God is calling us to love everyone around us, then have the courage to do so.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Lessons from Alma 36

2024-08-25T10:00:00-07:00

In thinking about this speaking assignment I was drawn to some of the recent readings from past weeks in the “Come, Follow Me” curriculum - specifically, Alma chapter 36. This chapter is rich in the topics it covers, the way it is organized, and the central message of the atonement of Jesus Christ. I’m grateful for the opportunity to focus my thoughts on this particular chapter. In reading the chapter, several topics jumped out at me – I’ll only have time for one or two.

For any new to the Book of Mormon, Alma chapter 36 is an account of Alma the younger who was the son of Alma the High Priest. Alma the younger was described as a “wicked and an idolatrous man” who “led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities.” (Mosiah 27:8). More, he did so with the sons of Mosiah – who was the king of the people – shortly after a political, religious, and national crisis for the Nephites. Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah have a sudden, miraculous visitation by an angel, Alma has a debilitating reaction similar to Paul the Apostle, but he awakes converted to his joy and the joy of many of the Nephites.

These events are told twice in the Book of Mormon: once in the Book of Mosiah chapter 27, and again in Alma chapter 36. In Mosiah 27, we get Mormon’s telling of the events as he compiled the Book of Mormon. It gives us more details about the Nephite community than does the account in Alma chapter 36. Alma chapter 36, gives us the account from Alma the younger’s perspective as he recounts it to his son Helaman long after this miraculous conversion. This gives us an insider’s view of the experience with a lifetime of reflection on what that meant to him. Together, these paint a more complete picture of this part of scripture.

Lesson 1: Knowledge

The first lesson I drew from reading this chapter again comes from a brief phrase Alma uses at the beginning of the chapter to describe how he learned from this experience. In Alma 36:4-5, he says:

4 And I would not that ye think that I know of myself—not of the temporal but of the spiritual, not of the carnal mind but of God.

5 Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things; but God has, by the mouth of his holy angel, made these things known unto me, not of any worthiness of myself;

Here, Alma isn’t pitting temporal knowledge against spiritual knowledge or the carnal mind against God’s mind. Instead, he is just differentiating between them and telling his son Helaman that this is a spiritual experience, with spiritual knowledge from God – not of his own making.

I’m someone who has always been scientifically and logically minded. But there are important parts in life which cannot be reduced to the knowledge of science or logic: art, beauty, meaning, relationship, and parts of the gospel like faith, hope, repentance, and charity. If we try to only see these through the lens of “temporal” or “carnal” knowledge, it can make them meaningless. The gospel is at times illogical or unscientific, but it is not anti-logic or anti-science.

I’ll give an example here that is, hopefully, more practical: covenants and relationships.

Covenants & Relationships

When I was a senior in High School, I worked at a local movie theater where I met Irene, who would years later become my wife. She invited me to a rock concert to a band I’d never heard of. She grew up with MTV. I grew up with Jazz and Classical CDs. I said yes and looked forward to this first encounter outside of work.

At the concert, I listened to the music I’d never heard before, and I watched the light in her eyes as she enjoyed songs from her favorite band that she’d probably heard a thousand times. Afterwards she asked me what I thought of the concert; since there wasn’t much opportunity to talk during the concert, just listen. It dawned on me that I had completely forgotten the name of her favorite band that I had just listened to for the past few hours. She was outraged that I didn’t take the time to even learn the name of her favorite band and asked me why I even came in the first place. Then, in one of my rare moments of quick, on my feet thinking, I said, “Well, when a pretty girl asks you out, you go!”

In the subsequent 5 years, we came to know each other more and we eventually married in the Portland Temple over 20 years ago, making a covenant with each other and with God. The nature of that covenant and the spiritual knowledge it gives us about each other and about God is crucial.

Imagine for a moment, if when I decided to marry, that I said, “Okay, here’s my rule book – my set of laws – which I believe are perfectly logical. Now, if you can follow all of my rules, meet all my needs and wants that I’m accustomed to for, say, 20 - 30 years, demonstrating that you can follow them, THEN I will consider accepting you. Of course I couldn’t accept you NOW since you haven’t proven yourself. But if you perform well enough, then when the final assessment comes, I will accept you. Will you marry me?

While, in some ways very logical, that would be nothing more than an insult to her. And I think no amount of quick thinking on my part would get me out of that. We wouldn’t dream of insulting the people around us by basing our relationships entirely on one-sided proof or merit like that. Yet millions of people think that is the way God approaches us – cold, hard, logic and law.

A spiritual truth from that marriage covenant is that we accepted each other at the beginning as we were – faults and all. The covenant relationship in the gospel then becomes the path forward and a source of meaning and acceptance as we grow together. Our mutual acceptance of each other is woven with grace into the essence of our marriage and covenant – setting us free of our self-centered rules and laws. That’s the nature of covenants with God.

Now, to our carnal self this is illogical – why should I give up what I want? But it’s impacts are very real. And this touches on the essence of spiritual knowledge. Without this kind of mutual, trusting acceptance and love, we dehumanize spirituality and religion. Fundamentally, the gospel is a relationship with God and with those around us rooted in this love – which can’t be reduced to the knowledge of a set of logic, laws, or scientific proofs.

And we see this in Alma chapter 36. Alma awakes from his shock days later and testifies of his being “born of God” (Alma 36:23), his “repentance”, and “[redemption]” (Mosiah 27:24, 29). But we could ask, “What law did Alma obey that warranted his redemption?” The moment he felt the joy of the atonement he had exactly zero works to prove his change. We could ask, like the older brother of the prodigal son, “How is this fair?” “What proof do you have that he’s changed?” “What about all the works I have have to prove my worthiness?” The knowledge the older brother of the prodigal son had of his worthiness was rooted in temporal works of piety. The knowledge the prodigal son had of his worthiness was the spiritual joy and forgiveness of the father. The father acted on the spiritual knowledge he had and loved them both immesurably.

Lesson 2: Gathering

Comparing the accounts of Alma’s miraculous conversion between Mosiah 27 and Alma 36 the stories share similarities – the angel appearing with a voice shaking the earth, Alma and the sons of Mosiah afraid, the angel warning them to stop leading people astray, Alma collapsing unresponsive – but there’s a point at which the accounts diverge. This is due to the different perspectives. In Mosiah 27, the account is told by Mormon in the third person voice and at this point he gives details about the struggle is happening external to Alma. In Alma 36, the account is told by Alma in first person voice – describing his internal struggle. I wanted to focus on the third person account in Mosiah 27.

In Mosiah 27, the sons of Mosiah:

19 …carried [Alma] helpless, even until he was laid before his father.

20 And they rehearsed unto his father all that had happened unto them;

This must have been humbling in the way the prodigal son may have felt returning to his father. In fact, here we have several prodigals returning with the fear of not knowing how those in the community they rejected and fought against would respond.

But like the father in the story of the Prodigal Son, Alma the High Priest:

20 …rejoiced, for he knew that it was the power of God.

21 And he caused that a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the Lord had done for his son, and also for those that were with him.

22 And he caused that the priests should assemble themselves together; and they began to fast, and to pray to the Lord their God that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs might receive their strength

This story could have gone very differently. The sons of Mosiah could have let anger, fear or feelings of shame keep them away from Alma’s father and the community they fought against. Alma’s father could have refused to see them, too angry or hurt at the pain his son had caused. The community Alma’s father gathered could have been divided about Alma and the sons of Mosiah. Were they sincere? Are they worthy of forgiveness? And Alma’s joy and forgiveness could have been met with suspicion or even jealousy – like the elder brother of the prodigal son. But in both of these situations, the prodigal return was met with love, joy, welcome, and the gathering of community.

While not the same situation, I had a similar experience where gathering around a broken body was able to unite above forces of division. It was Christmas day, 2017. Just weeks after our father passed away due to cancer, my mother was spending Christmas with him and his family in California when she suddenly suffered some kind of cardiac episode. They were able to get her to a nearby hospital where she laid, intubated, in the ICU. She was stable, barely, and he and his wife had spent the last 24 hours, in the ICU with her. It was clear that she would have a long road to recovery ahead of her. I booked a flight right away to be there the next day until she was out of the ICU and on a clear path to recovery.

My mother was tired, wondering if she was being called to be with dad – we were wondering that too. Communicating was difficult with thumbs up/down and some words drawn, shakily, with a finger on an iPad, doctors coming and going, decisions, surgeries, contingencies, what-ifs, no guarantees, sleepless nights, etc. When we understood how serious and longer-term the circumstance was my aunt volunteered to come down and help. She was a godsend and helped us to continue onward and help my mother have the courage and support to further stabilize.

In the long hours of nervous silence felt in hospitals, my aunt and I took the time to catch up an reflect on the situation - my father’s death still fresh in our minds. The questions of “What does this mean?” or “What was the cause of this?” came up. My aunt saw divine providence in the cause and meaning surrounding this, I saw mostly a random, unfortunate, biological circumstance. Don’t get me wrong, I think we can create and find deep meaning in our circumstances which draws us to God, but my faith is different than hers in that regard such that I do not find comfort in a God who is behind everything. We discussed this, not finding much common ground. After some time discussing other doctrinal topics there were some strong differences of opinion. Discussing politics didn’t help much either – go figure.

So, my aunt and I were sitting in this tension – both secure on different sides of pretty big topics. But our circumstances and shared goal melted that tension away. What were we doing while we realized we do not see eye to eye on various topics? We were together administering to my mother’s broken body: encouraging her to not give up, to try breathing on her own for a little bit longer, working with doctors and nurses, administering oil, being there as she awoke from anesthesia after major surgery, helping her feel safe in the chaos of another patient coming off a hard drug overdose, and helping her eat to gain her strength. In this sacred work of answering the Savior’s call to follow Him and be charitable healers as we gather together, differences in what we think we know about theology or politics simply don’t matter much.

Our power in wards like this as we gather together and take on the name of Christ is not found in doctrinal or political certainties but in the finer instruments of grace we all have access to: a kind word, an open home, a heartfelt apology, a shared meal, a comforting hug, a listening ear, shoulders that prop others up, serving hands, and familiar faces in hospitals. It is in these finer instruments of grace that we can live the gospel in ways to heal the evil and suffering between us and overcome evil and suffering in the world.

Closing

These are just two topics from this chapter in Alma. Being born again, remembrance, atonement, gospel teaching, repentance, forgiveness, conversion, and more are all in here. In my opinion, it is one of the richest chapters in the Book of Mormon. When you reflect on it, can you see the rebelliousness of Alma in yourself? Do you share the worries of Alma the High Priest about a prodigal loved one? Have you had your spiritual world shaken and lost your footing like Alma and the sons of Mosiah? Can you let go of past hurts and gather community together as Alma the High Priest did? And can we turn our hearts to Christ and be converted and healed as Alma was?

My faith and testimony is that God is with us in this work. And that as Orson F. Whitney eloquently put it:

“[God] is far more merciful, infinitely more charitable, than even the best of [us], and the Everlasting Gospel is mightier in power to save than our narrow finite minds can comprehend.” (Conference Report, Apr. 1929, 110)

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Preparing for Our Next Ordinance

2023-11-12T09:00:00-08:00

I was asked to speak on how we can prepare for our next ordinance. I’ll admit that at first the topic was somewhat puzzling. The word “ordinance” is a bit esoteric in how it’s used in the Church. There’s an interesting history there with our faith’s relation other restorationist churches – but that’s another topic. When I’ve talked about religion with a close Catholic friend, the word “sacrament” is similar to how we use “ordinance.” And when I talk to people who aren’t Christian, the closest analog is the word “ritual.” Certainly, our “ordinances” are also sacraments and rituals.

The Church offers a pretty good definition of “ordinance.” It defines it as “a sacred, formal act or ceremony performed by the authority of the priesthood.” Okay. No surprise there. And I won’t blame you if, at this point, you’re wondering when I’ll move on past the trope of starting a talk with a definition. But I learned something reading further into the way the Church defines ordinances.

It breaks ordinances into two types. The first are ordinances that are part of exaltation: baptism, confirmation, ordination to Priesthood, the temple endowment, and the marriage sealing. And I’ll note that the word exaltation is used intentionally and is different than the word salvation – which only some of these ordinances are a part of (baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost). But what I learned was the second group of ordinances that the Church describes is for “comfort, guidance, and encouragement.” These include things like naming and blessing children, administering to the sick and afflicted, patriarchal blessings, dedicating homes or graves, etc. This second group expands “ordinance” to be more than about exaltation, more than about salvation, to encompass more areas of life from its beginning to end.

Preparing for Ordinances

I spent some thinking about what has helped me prepare for and find meaning in ordinances in my life. I don’t think these are universal, and if they don’t particularly inspire you, that’s okay – there are many more ways to prepare for and find meaning in ordinances. But my hope is that by sharing what has worked for me, it can bring some inspiration to others. For the time I have, I thought of four things: preparation vs worthiness, seeing ordinances as symbols, understanding the nature of covenants, and seeking personal revelation.

Worthiness

I appreciated the topic was stated as “preparing for” and not “worthy of.” Language about preparation or worthiness in scripture can sometimes be all over the place – which makes sense since we get many different perspectives in scripture depending on the witness involved. My goal here in mentioning this isn’t to say that being worthy of an ordinance is invalid but just to say that I’m most inspired by the twelve-word sermon given to us on worthiness in Doctrine & Covenants 18:10:

Remember that worth of souls is great in the sight of God.

I look at all that God does in creating everything around us and worthiness or unworthiness doesn’t factor so much for me – it just seems out of tune. Maybe it’s me, very likely so. But I do think we can learn from how Jesus acted on matters of “worthiness”.

Jesus blessed a Roman centurion’s servant over protest from the centurion that he himself was unworthy (Luke 7:1-10)
Jesus healed and blessed a woman who was considered unclean by society who touched his hem (Matt 9:20-22)
Jesus touched and healed a leper in which caused the nearby town to no longer allow Jesus to enter – seeing him as unclean (Mark 1:40-45)
Jesus forgave a woman who her sins who was considered a “sinner” who anointed his feet (Luke 7:36-50)
Jesus saved and forgave a woman taken in adultery (John 7:53-8:11)
Jesus healed Malchus who came to arrest him in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:49-51)

In each of these scenarios, Jesus was faced with unworthiness and uncleanliness and chose to bless, heal, save, and forgive.

We also see similar principles in Jesus’ parables when the concern of worthiness stopped the Priest and Levite from from helping the man left on the road (Luke 10) or when the father of the prodigal son ran to him unconcerned with any concern of worthiness that his other son seemed hung up on (Luke 15:11-32).

I was reminded of this by a talk Elder Daines gave this last General Conference when he spoke about spiritual face blindness. He said:

“…for too many years, I was, in effect, face-blind. I failed to see my mom as a real person. I saw her rules but didn’t see in them her love.

You may struggle to see God as a loving Father. You may look heavenward and see not the face of love and mercy but a thicket of rules through which you must wend your way. Perhaps you believe God rules in His heavens, speaks through His prophets, and loves your sister, but you secretly wonder whether He loves you…

I thought my life was about following rules and measuring up to abstract standards. I knew God loved you perfectly but didn’t feel it myself. I’m afraid I thought more about getting into heaven than being with my Heavenly Father.”

Essential to our preparation for ordinances, is to not let them become “thickets of rules” or an obedience checklist that blind us from God’s love. One of our hymns exclaims, “[W]ake up and do something more than dream of your mansion above.” (Hymn 223) Instead of dreaming of rewards for our worthiness, God’s grace and love can be that “something more” that we can look to in ordinances as we prepare for them.

Ordinances as Symbols

Another approach that has helped me prepare for and participate in ordinances is seeing them as symbolic. A Buddhist teaching highlights the difference between a subject and the object that points to it when it says: “A person who only looks at [a finger pointing at the moon] and mistakes it for the moon will never see the real moon”.

This speaks to the role and our awareness of symbols in religion. There’s a great article from the February 2007 Ensign titled “Why Symbols?” that quotes Joseph Fielding McConkie and Donald W. Parry’s “Guide to Scriptural Symbols”, when they wrote:

“Symbols are the universal tongue. … Symbols bring color and strength to language, while deepening and enriching our understandings. Symbols enable us to give conceptual form to ideas and emotions that may otherwise defy the power of words. They take us beyond words and grant us eloquence in the expression of feelings… Symbols are the language in which all gospel covenants and all ordinances of salvation have been revealed. From the time we are immersed in the waters of baptism to the time we kneel at the altar of the temple with the companion of our choice in the ordinance of eternal marriage, every covenant we make will be written in the language of symbolism.”

The question I’ve asked myself is, “Are the ordinances of the gospel the subject of the gospel or the objects that point to that subject?”

In the 1996 General Conference, Russell M. Nelson gave a talk on the Atonement where he addressed topic:

“Essential ordinances of the gospel symbolize the Atonement [of Jesus Christ]. Baptism by immersion is symbolic of the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Redeemer. Partaking of the sacrament renews baptismal covenants and also renews our memory of the Savior’s broken flesh and of the blood He shed for us. Ordinances of the temple symbolize our reconciliation with the Lord and seal families together forever.”

I think we can mix these two up when we think that the symbols themselves are perfect stand-ins for what they point to. In the Book of Mormon when Alma gives his “O that I were an angel” sermon he said:

“the Lord doth grant unto nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word; yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have.” (Alma 29:8)

The first section of the Doctrine and Covenants contains similar wording:

“these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.” (D&C 1:24)

And Paul warns Corinthians that:

“For now we see through a glass, darkly…” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

These and other scriptures and teachings from prophets point out that we don’t have a perfect picture – and that includes the symbols of our ordinances. But that’s okay, because our symbols and ordinances are just pointers. As long as ordinances can help us navigate to the subject of our worship – Jesus and His atonement – we can be better prepared for participating in them.

Nature of Covenants

The next area that has helped me prepare for and find more meaning in gospel ordinances is understanding the nature of covenants. That could be a whole other talk, but I’ll point out a few realizations about covenants that have helped me better participate in and value ordinances that come with covenants.

One aspect that I appreciate about saving ordinances in the restored gospel is that they are about covenants and not creeds. Creeds are about what to think. Covenants are about how to live. Creeds are brittle, covenants can carry the load of life. Joseph Smith felt very strongly about the dangers of creeds:

“The creeds set up stakes, & say hitherto shalt thou come, & no further, which I cannot subscribe to.” (Joseph Smith, sermon, October 15, 1843)

“I never thought it was right to call up [someone and try them] because [they] erred in doctrine… creeds [must be believed or one will] be kicked out of their church. I want the liberty of believing as I please, it feels so good not to be tramelled.” (The Words of Joseph Smith, pp. 183-184)

Since covenants have so much to do with the relationships we have with others, I’ll share something I’ve learned about covenants from being sealed in the temple.

Irene and I knew each other for 5 years before getting married, 3 of which were apart. During that time, we came to know each other and we eventually married in the Portland Temple, making a covenant with each other and with God. It’s there’s something important about the nature of that covenant.

Imagine for a moment, if when I decided to marry, that I said, “Irene, here’s my rule book. Now, if you can keep all of my rules perfectly, meet all my needs and wants that I’m accustomed to for, say, 20 or 30 years, demonstrating that you can follow them, then I will consider accepting you. Of course I couldn’t accept you now. But if you perform well enough, then when the final assessment comes, I will accept you. Will you marry me?

That would be nothing more than an insult to her – the world’s worst proposal. We wouldn’t dream of insulting the people around us by basing our relationships entirely on self-righteous merit like that. Yet millions of people think that is the way God approaches us. That’s the kind of face-blindness Elder Daines was talking about.

The power of Jesus’ New Covenant atonement is that Jesus accepts us at the beginning unconditionally – our worth is not questioned – and that sets us free. We are free to reach our fullest potential with God in this atonement relationship and be who we really are because that is who God loves: us, the real us, right now. And as we move forward in this relationship, in faith repenting as we learn and grow, we step closer to God as God extends grace and forgiveness.

This kind of mutual acceptance, forgiveness, and repentance is woven into a marriage ordinance and covenant that centers Jesus atonement.

What does Jesus say?

“[They] that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24)

“Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise [them] up at the last day.” (John 6:54)

Notice the tense Jesus uses here: those who “hear my word”, “believe in him that sent me”, “eat of my flesh”, and “drink my blood”, those people have eternal life, present tense. It doesn’t say “may one day have eternal life if they are good enough and prove their worth.” So we make and keep covenants not in order to gain Christ’s acceptance, but because we already have it. It’s not based on our performance or merit. It’s based on the merit of Jesus Christ who died and rose for you and me and sees our worth. We step into covenant relationship with Jesus and he blesses us with eternal life as we continue in that relationship living that covenant and following His example.

This can completely transform how we prepare ourselves for the weekly ordinance of sacrament. The word “willing” brings this New Covenant of atonement into focus. What is the significance of us turning and passing the emblems of Jesus’ flesh and blood to one another? What does it mean as these emblems are passed through child and parent, siblings, couples struggling in their marriage, families struggling with illness, visitors, strangers, and the sinners in all of us? Do we allow these emblems to change us as they pass through us to others? Are we changed as others pass them to us?

Seeking Personal Revelation

Finally, I want to mention the role of personal revelation in determining how to live our covenants in life. While the truths of the gospel are simple, life certainly is not. We are faced with life’s complexities in ways that require personal revelation.

In the April 2018 General Conference, President Nelson gave a talk titled “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives.” In it, he pleaded with the membership of this Church to seek out personal revelation when he said:

“We live in a world that is complex and increasingly contentious… If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices… we must learn to receive revelation.

I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation… in [the] coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost. My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation.”

Elder Ballard once said “It is important to remember, I am a General Authority, but that doesn’t make me an authority in general.” (BYU Devotional November 13, 2017). As God reveals general truth to those leading the Church, that type of revelation cannot provide the specific, life-tailored guidance we each need for our own circumstances.

In my life, I’ve had to rely on personal revelation as I reflect on the covenants and ordinances I participate in. What does my covenant relationship with my queer kids call me to do? There’s no manual for that. There’s no tradition for that. There’s no program for that. There’s no checklist for that. I must rely on personal revelation to live my covenants.

Another example: What does a covenant relationship call someone to do in the specifics of a mixed-faith family? Again, manuals, programs, and checklists won’t get us very far. We must rely on personal revelation. In short, when life doesn’t fit general molds, rather than reject or see gospel ordinances as failing, perhaps we can turn to God and seek personal revelation in how covenants and ordinances can lead us to Christlike action in our lives. I’ve found that as I do so, God answers prayers and can help prepare me for life’s many twists and turns as I seek to live my covenants.

Conclusion

I hope that some of what I’ve said can inspire you to prepare for the ordinances of the gospel. I have faith that as we understand our worth, see how ordinances point us to Jesus’ New Covenant, and seek personal revelation the covenants and ordinances of the gospel can come alive and be a guide for us throughout life.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Alms, Tithing, and Following Jesus

2023-08-27T10:00:00-07:00

In the early 1990s, I was an awkward teenage boy sitting in the back of Junior High School band playing trombone – the same trombone Drey now plays on in high school. Little did I know that sitting next to me was another awkward teenage boy who would become a life-long friend. Among our immediate group of friends in those early teenage years, he and I were the only ones who were religious. Over decades, we’ve had many conversations about religion, shared articles and papers on religion, and watched a Catholic priest he met convert to our Church, then later convert back to Catholicism.

Now, 30 years later, my friend is Head of Strategic Initiatives of the Catholic Dominicans in the Western U.S. His family often went to Blessed Sacrament - Catholic chapel just off of I-5 next to one of our ward houses from the North Seattle Stake. If you go there, you can see a painting and shrine dedicated to St. Margaret of Hungary that his family donated.

We still catch up over lunch from time to time. In one of those lunches, the topic of tithing came up. We found we had lots of common ground and both felt that the biggest blessing of tithing is how it changes our relationship to money and wealth.

The topic today is “How can tithes and offerings lead us to Christ”. In order to follow Christ, it’s important for us to consider what path Christ is on. To do so, I’m going to focus on some of the core of Jesus’s teachings in the Sermon on the Mount and what those can teach us on giving, wealth, and tithes and offerings.

The Sermon on the Mount: A Foundation for Discipleship

While I’ll be reading from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, I won’t have time for a comprehensive treatment of it. But I wanted to provide a brief overview.

In the first half of Matthew chapter 5 (v1-16), we have the 9 Beattitudes:

“blessed are the…” - poor in spirit, they that mourn, meek, hunger/thirst after righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, persecuted for righteousness’ sake, reviled

And the call for disciples to live these teachings as “salt” or “light” of the world

live the gospel, don’t just preach it

Then, in the latter half of Matthew chapter 5 (v17-48) Jesus frames the new law as a fulfillment of the old:

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time __, but I say unto you ____.”

In the first half of Matthew chapter 6 (v1-18), Jesus gives guidance on proper worship:

prayer, fasting, alms-giving

And in the latter half of Matthew chapter 6 (v19-34) he describes the attitude or way of discipleship:

treasures and heart, let your eye be single, you cannot serve two masters, take no thought, the lilies of the field, God knows what we have need of, seek ye first the kingdom of God

Finally, in Matthew chapter 7, Jesus warns about judging, and calls His disciples to seek wisdom:

judge not (v1-12)

seek wisdom (v13-28): strait gate, false prophets, good fruit, doing the will of the Father, wise man and foolish man

Alms giving when Jesus describes proper worship is the most direct mention of the topic today, but I want to show how various parts of the Sermon on the Mount can draw us closer to more of Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount and how those relate to alms, tithes, and offerings.

I’ll only have time to give a few examples:

1. Contentment vs the Pursuit of Wealth

From the Beatitudes, several attributes describe an attitude of contentment (Matthew 5:3-5, 8):

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

These attributes - poor in spirit, mourning, meekness, pure in heart, receiving persecution for testimony of Jesus - are not attributes that are promoted in guides today on how to attain wealth. When we sacrifice to fast offerings, tithing, or charity we lessen the power of vices of wealth such as stubbornness, indifference, and pride which pull us away from Christ.

For example, the Church recently donated 32,000 pounds of food to our local community food bank. This required working with others not of our faith, acknowledging the suffering of those who lack food, giving without expectation of return, and seeing how serving others is a service to God. The more we or the Church engage in that kind of work, the more we cultivate these attributes.

The Book of Mormon repeatedly showed how wealth corrupted the Nephites. Jacob prophetically warned the Nephites early in the Book of Mormon when he said:

30 But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world. For because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their god. And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also.

This is similar to later in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6, where Jesus warns about wealth’s effects on us:

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

The scriptures warn, “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” and “their treasure is their god”. This was something my friend and I discussed in our lunchtime conversation. We both felt, and I still feel today, that charity, fast offerings, and tithing are opportunities for us to asses where our hearts are, what we treasure in life, and whom do we worship.

2. Generosity vs. Self-Centeredness

Going back to the Beatitudes, we read (Matthew 5:5, 7, 9):

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

The pursuit of wealth so often leads us to vices opposite what Jesus taught here. Impatience, ruthlessness, and the conflict of zero sum games are often what drives wealth. And with it we attach the value or worth of people to the wealth they have attained.

Hugh Nibley gave at talk at BYU in 1973 titled, “Waiting for Zion” later included in the “Joseph Smith Lecture Series” publication that year which expounds on the ethics Jesus taught here. He said:

“…the work ethic, which is being so strenuously advocated in our day… is one of those neat magician’s tricks in which all our attention is focused on one hand while the other hand does the manipulating. Implicit in the work ethic are the ideas that (1) because [someone] must work to acquire wealth, work [and wealth are equal], and (2) that is the whole equation. With these go the corollaries that: a) anyone who has wealth must have earned it by hard work and is, therefore, beyond criticism; b) anyone who doesn’t have it deserves to suffer - thus penalizing any who do not work for money; c) since you have a right to all you earn, that the only real work is for one’s self; d) any limit set to the amount of wealth an individual may acquire is [evil] These editorial syllogisms we have heard a thousand times, but you will not find them in the scriptures… The whole emphasis in the holy writ is not on whether one works or not, but what one works for: “The laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish” (2 Nephi 26:31). “The people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches. . . [and] precious things, which they had obtained by their industry” (Alma 4:6) and which proved their undoing, for all their hard work.

As Jesus said in Luke 9:25:

25 For what [are the wealthy] advantaged, if [they] gain the whole world, and lose [themselves]…?

A hundred years later when the epistle of John was written, Christians had internalized this (1 Jn 3:17):

17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

Tithing, fast offerings, and charitable giving are each practices which require us to uncenter ourselves in relation to our wealth, center another, and reflect what it is that we are working for.

3. Love for Others vs. Exploitation

In the first year of Jesus’ ministry he announced his life’s mission in his home town’s synagogue - and was rejected. For that announcement, he chose to read from Isaiah 61:1:

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the [poor]; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound

That is part of the starting book-end to his life and ministry.

At the other book-end, in the last week of his mortal life, Jesus saw how corruption in the temple was an affront to his life’s mission. In Jesus’ day, large numbers of Jews streamed to Palestine and Jerusalem - “out or every nation under heaven” as it says in Acts 2:5. They brought with them significant sums of money in foreign currencies. Over time, a system to exchange foreign coins along with deposits formed by Temple authorities in the Temple treasury (Matt. 21:12). This meant the Temple had a sort of central stock and exchange market. The business of money exchange was carried out by some temple authorities (shulḥani - “exchange banker”), who charged a fee (agio) - which was onerous for poor people.

And what does Jesus do after clearing the temple? He invites in those that the system of the money exchangers had been exploiting or excluding (Matthew 21:14-15):

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. 15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the… things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased

So, what has this got to do with tithing, fast offerings, and alms? Our tithing money goes to building temples - fortunately we don’t have a system of exchangers at the front desks of temples exploiting the poor otherwise we might need to practice our table flipping skills. But this episode should cause us to act such that our contributions, time or money, align with what Jesus stood for, and who he stood with.

While our Church isn’t perfect, God never said it was or will be, in our Church, we have funds for feeding the hungry, funds for providing education or training, prison ministry programs, donations to global vaccination efforts, and, within wards, fast offerings. In my time in the Church I’ve had the opportunity to serve as a ward clerk. Some of the most Christlike actions I’ve seen at Church were made possible because of fast offerings. I saw homes heated, bodies healed, pantries filled, and people kept off the streets.

If you want to draw nearer to Christ, and what he stood for, our efforts to support our Church towards the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, and the bound through tithing and fast offerings can be a way to do so.

Conclusion

My hope in spending time focusing on the principles in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is that we can more clearly see how our alms, tithing, and fast offerings not only matter, but that they can move us towards Christ and what and whom He stood for. I pray that we can follow the mission of Jesus Christ towards the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, and the bound and use our time, energy, and resources to do so in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The Lord Delights in Mercy

2022-11-20T09:00:00-08:00

From the reading this week Micah asks an interesting question (Micah 7:18):

18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression…?

It’s an important question. Why does God forgive? Do we deserve forgiveness? Why does God forgive our stubbornness and failings?

Micah goes on to describe something about God’s character (Micah 7:18-19):

18 [God] retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy (hesed). 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

What does it mean to “delight in mercy”? And how does God overcome sin? As we’ve been studying the Old Testament this year, I wanted to give some context to how ancient Jews understood these questions.

In 1530 the English scholar William Tyndale started the first translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into English. As he was translating the rituals of Yom Kippur described in Leviticus chapter 16, Tyndale thought about how to translate or explain the Ritual of the Two Goats. In this ritual, two goats are selected for sacrifice, one for the Lord, and one for Azazel.

In Leviticus 16 (5, 7-8) it reads:

5 …take of the congregation of the children of Israel two [goats] for a sin offering… 7 …and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for [Azazel].

What to make of that word Azazel? In the Torah, the first goat designated for the Lord would be a sacrificial offering of atonement, the second goat for Azazel would have the sins of the community placed upon it and be cast off a cliff – referred to as Azazel. In Tyndale’s interpretation (which the King James translators drew heavily from), he translated it more symbolically as “the goat that goes away” or escapes (‘ez’azel – compared to a literal interpretation of ‘fierce God’) – coining the word “scapegoote” (scapegoat). So that last verse in many English Bibles (including the King James Version) is translated as:

8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

As we think about God’s mercy this imagery of the scapegoat can help us emulate mercy in our lives – especially as we understand it in the context of Jesus’ gospel covenant. A note that it is not my intention to denigrate ancient Jews. Their rituals were addressing communal sin in the way revealed to them in the law of Moses. But this differs from the way Jesus addresses sin and that is key.

Here we are hundreds of years later, and the term William Tyndale coined is still used to describe a person or group that is blamed or punished for sins or evils of others. What comes to mind when you think of the word “scapegoat”? Have you seen a person or a group be scapegoated before? Have you ever been scapegoated? Have you ever scapegoated? What was the situation? What was the outcome? How did it affect people?

Think about the ritual described in Leviticus. The scapegoat is chosen at random despite it not having sinned, has placed and projected on to it the sins of the community, the community then separates it from them, and finally it is led to its fate to pay the price for those sins.

We see this today, sadly, in harmful family dynamics where a family member is blamed for the problems that family faces; in politics as opposing parties blame one another for issues far beyond either of their control; in classrooms when a child is cast as a “problem”; in work where different teams or individuals are blamed when things don’t a particular way; and in religion where other denominations or non-believers are villainized for not believing or covenanting as we do.

Now, I’m not saying that there are never consequences for actions; there certainly are. And people can, and do cause real harm. But scapegoating is so dangerous because it ultimately sacrifices another on the alter of our ego. And when we consider how God “delights in mercy”, scapegoating turns us away from God.

Jonah is an account in the scriptures that shows how scapegoating affected a prophet of God. And coincidentally it is traditionally read at Yom Kippur. Jonah had a hard time learning to love mercy and overcome the scapegoating that Jews at the time had towards Assyrians. I won’t have time to read the story, but here’s a quick summary:

God calls Jonah to preach repentance and warn of Ninveh’s destruction if they didn’t repent
However, Jonah flees to Tarshish – the opposite direction – sailing into the Mediterranean
After some maritime and sea life drama (with an allusion to scapegoating as Jonah is cast overboard for his sins bringing misfortune upon his fellow travelers), Jonah decides perhaps he should take God’s call seriously
Jonah calls Ninveh to repentance and they quickly do so

So far, a pretty action-packed book. But the main lesson is in the last chapter. Instead of being happy about that repentance, Jonah becomes depressed and upset at God for being merciful. Jonah was operating with the idea that a prophet is a fortune-teller (someone who tells what will inevitably happen) rather than a forth-teller (someone who warns of will happen if no change is made). See, Jonah didn’t want mercy, he wanted retribution. These Assyrians, after all, are the enemies – a scapegoat for conquered Jews.

In Jonah chapter 4 we have several lessons packed into it:

Repentance is greater than our judgement
God’s mercy is more powerful than our scapegoating
God’s plan, and God’s vision is bigger than our’s
Prophecy depends on human agency
God is patient with his prophets when they fall short

Jonah believed God was merciful when he said,

“thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil” (Jonah 4:2)

But that belief couldn’t penetrate the prejudice Jonah had towards the Ninevites. Do we let the prejudices and pressures to scapegoat keep us from the grace and mercy of God? And can we see how we are all immersed in God’s mercies as it says in Lamentations?

22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. (Lamentations 3: 22-23)

Early Christians saw in Jesus a fulfilling or disruption of the scapegoat paradigm. In 1 Peter chapter 2 it gives us a glimpse of how Christians thought about Jewish rites and covenants in contrast with Jesus’ gospel Covenant:

21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

There are several parallels here:

The scapegoat without sin
The baring of our sins
Being led out of the city to be sacrificed
The sacrifice freeing from sins

But the gospel of Jesus Christ breaks this pattern. Since Jesus’ innocence was known by those at his crucifixion, the curtain was pulled back on scapegoating in general. It was powerfully clear that the guilty among us are those of us who scapegoat, not the object of our scapegoating. The crucifixion symbolized the final sacrifice that negated the usefulness of scapegoating. Even though Christianity was founded upon this very idea, we all so often fail to internalize that scapegoating has ended as we revert back to attitudes and systems of scapegoating and retribution. The gospel covenant calls us to overcome and rise above this.

Mercy is a big topic, and I only have limited time, so I’ll just mention one other important lesson we can learn from the example of Jesus which can help us turn from scapegoating and towards mercy.

Back to Leviticus chapter 16, there’s an aspect of the ceremony that describes an attitude of scapegoating that persists today:

26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.

Not only was the scapegoat loaded with the sins of the people and driven out of the camp to be sacrificed, but the ones who did so were then impure. This is something that persists today when scapegoating occurs. When we scapegoat, it isn’t enough that we judge another and drive them out, we then consider any who don’t do the same as being infected by the scapegoat.

Jesus’ life provides example after example of Him breaking this paradigm. Note how each time would have made him unclean and required him walking across boundaries:

He heals a man of leprosy with a touch (Matthew 8)
He traveled to Samaria teaching and healing (John 4)
He opens the tomb to raise Lazarus (John 11)
He ate with sinners and outcasts (Mark 2:16-17)
He healed a woman with a menstruation condition (Mark 5:25-34)

Perhaps it is this example that helped his disciples overcome the scapegoating of the gentiles (us) and led to Peter receiving revelation from God and declaring to the Centurion:

28 Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. (Acts 10:28)

Sisters, brothers, and friends, let us commit and recommit to follow the example of Jesus and turn towards mercy, break the scapegoating walls that exist in our groups and societies, and become those that invite in rather than cast out.

As the prophet Micah summarized:

8 He hath shewed thee… what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8)

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Standing Firm in Our Trials

2022-08-21T10:00:00-07:00

I was asked to speak on how we might stand firm during our trials. Certainly, we face personal trials where this ability to stand firm can be vital. There are also trials that arise in our own communities. It is the latter that I was encouraged to speak on. I think this is an especially important topic as I see division and contention as a serious issue in our societies (including church society). I was pointed to 3 Nephi chapter 6 where we see how trouble and contention began to weaken the church among the Nephites and Lamanites. It says:

12 And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning; yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their riches.

13 Some were lifted up in pride, and others were exceedingly humble; some did return railing for railing, while others would receive railing and persecution and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and revile again, but were humble and penitent before God.

14 And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith; and they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord.

Words like “firm, steadfast, and immovable” evoke images of tightly holding onto the iron rod for dear life in a storm. Life may be like that at times where the best we can do is to not move backwards. But life also calls us not to merely hold on to the iron rod in one place but to walk forward to the tree.

If we’re going to spend energy, even desperately at times, on being “firm, steadfast, and immovable”, it is important to think about what, or who, it is that we’re holding onto. Hold onto the wrong thing and our “firmness, steadfastness, or immovability” is merely stubbornness and pride which can become our downfall. So, in this talk I wanted to focus not on how to firmly hold onto faith, but on what or who it is that we should hold on to.

Doctrine & Covenants 93:19 gives an extended view into the testimony of John the Beloved. In it, John speaks to the audience revealing his reasons for his testimony:

19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.

Brothers, sisters, and friends, in good times or in times of “pride”, “inequality”, or “[division]”, as the Nephites experienced, how do we worship? And what (or who) do we worship? So, what are “these sayings” that John gives?

Jesus as “The Way”

Before I read more from that section, I wanted to talk about the early followers of Jesus - of which John was obviously one.

In the gospels, “The Way” is referenced several times in the Gospels.

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord” (Matthew 3:3)
“strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life” (Matthew 7:14)
“John (the baptist) came unto you in the way of righteousness” (Matthew 21:32)
“Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth” (Matthew 22:16)
“And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.” (Mark 10:52)
“how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:5-6)

In fact, early Jewish Christians referred to themselves as followers of “The Way” (ἡ ὁδός - hodos in Greek). It wasn’t until the disciples began establishing the Church in Antioch that the term “Christian” began to be used by Romans to describe followers of Christ - later adopted by followers of Christ themselves.

So, what is this “Way”? Well, that is one of the ultimate questions in Christianity. I am by no means going to definitively answer that question. Jesus asked over 300 questions in his recorded ministry - only answering a small number of them. Sometimes a question is itself the teaching. What I wanted to do in the time I have remaining is pick one principle, the principle of grace, that Jesus exemplified and describe how it can inspire us to be “firm, and steadfast, and immovable” in our faith in the way Jesus lived.

Grace is Jesus’ Way

Grace is one of those principles that can be tricky to pin down. Early Christians described it this way in various verses in the New Testament:

Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest [anyone] should boast.
Romans 3:23-24 - …For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 1:13 - …gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ
2 Timothy 2:1 - …be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus
Galatians 2:21 - I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Ephesians 2:4-5 - But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)

A few dimensions stand out from these verses as we try to understand “grace”.

Grace cannot be earned, nor can we be worthy or unworthy of it (Ephesians & Romans)
An over-emphasis on law can undermine grace (Galatians)
Grace is in and from Jesus Christ (Romans, 1 Peter, & 2 Timothy)
Grace is a choice & should be central in our faith (1 Peter)

From this, one way we can understand grace is that it is a gift or blessing we cannot earn, it is given freely by God through Jesus Christ, and that it is central to our salvation. That sounds great, except the whole “us not earning it” part. Here, our ego gets really nervous. If we cannot earn grace, how can we be in control? If we cannot earn grace, how can we prove just how righteous we are (especially compared to those others)?

Several years ago, the Maxwell Institute did an interview with Adam Miller on his book “Grace is Not God’s Backup Plan” (which is a summary of the Epistle to the Romans). I like this description of grace in his book:

Grace doesn’t grease the wheels of the law. Grace isn’t God’s way of jury rigging a broken law. It’s the other way around. The law is just one small cog in a world animated entirely—from top to bottom, from beginning to end—by grace… Grace isn’t God’s backup plan in case we can’t keep the law. Grace was, from the beginning, the whole point of the law and the only way to fulfill it.

So, understanding grace as an unearned gift of God, let’s return to the testimony of John that we have in Doctrine & Covenants 93. In it, John reveals a mystery of how Jesus grew in grace and invites us to do the same:

12 And I, John, saw that [Jesus] received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;

13 And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness;

14 And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first.

17 And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.

19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.

20 For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.

When we are looking for something to be “firm, steadfast, and immovable” about in our faith, the grace of Jesus Christ, as something we receive freely and which we return freely into the world, can be a central part of that. What might it mean for Jesus to “receive grace for grace” or to “continue from grace to grace”? The Nephites and Lamanites, in contract, were described as “return[ing] railing for railing”. What might it mean for us to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and instead return “grace for grace”?

Since actions speak louder than words, I think one of the best answers to this is to observe how grace operated in Jesus’ ministry - specifically His interactions with the Samaritans.

Jesus’ Grace Towards Samaritans

The history between the Jews and Samaritans is fascinatingly tragic, and we can learn a lot about the role of grace in Jesus’ life by understanding that. Here are some highlights.

The separation of Samaritans and Jews went back more than 700 years before the time of Jesus. These tensions and differences were very much woven into the fabric of each other’s race, culture, and religion.
The Jews and Samaritans make conflicting claims of ancestry, priesthood authority, scripture, land rights, and temple worship.
Approximately 500 years before Jesus’ day, Ezra rejected Jews who had married non-Jews and required they disown their non-Jewish family members in order to participate in the temple reconstruction. Many who did not disown their families were Samaritans.
Less than 200 years before Christ, probably still very fresh in the minds of the Jews and Samaritans, Antiochus IV Epiphanes was seeking to establish a universal religion with the penalty for resistance being death. Facing almost certain genocide, the Samaritans aligned themselves with Antiochus which required cutting religious and cultural ties with the Jews in the south. Feeling betrayed, the southern Jews viewed the Samaritans as traitors, heathens, and heretics.
About 100 years before Christ, the Jewish ruler John Hyrcanus waged war on Samaria and eventually conquered, destroyed their temple, and treated the Samaritans as slaves since they weren’t considered true worshipers of Jehovah.

Needless to say, these weren’t just neighbors who didn’t get along. This was an ancient and deeply rooted hatred and disdain for each other that had attached itself to the very identity many had of what it was to be a Jew or Samaritan at that time.

This is the context in which Jesus chose to speak to the Samaritan woman at the well. The woman was utterly surprised at the grace Jesus showed when she said:

How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. (John 4:9)

Even his own disciples didn’t know what to make of this grace:

his disciples… marvelled that he talked with the woman (John 4:27)

Both the Samaritan woman and Jesus’ Jewish disciples did not know how to operate with grace in this political, religious, and ethnic divide. Jesus showed a way forward rooted in grace. How might this be applicable in the divisions we see today?

So, when Jesus chose to make a Samaritan the protagonist of a parable, it wasn’t a random thought, He was calling for repentance and healing of what society sees as insurmountable differences and conflicts (conflicts that had divided their faith). Jesus is calling for us all to choose and live “grace for grace” in our lives and societies. If we want to be “firm, steadfast, and immovable” in our faith, we will need to be the ones who can have the courage to bring grace into the divided parts of our societies, church, and world today.

Conclusion

This is a big topic that I’m just scratching the surface of here. But as I think on the topic of grace, I can more clearly see “how to worship, and… what (or who) to worship” as John described.

My faith and hope is that as we place our “firm, steadfast, and immovable” faith in living “grace for grace” in this world as Jesus did, we too can receive the “fullness” God promises and heal the divisions and contentions in our communities, in our church, in our families, and in our hearts.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Peace… Not as the World Giveth

2022-07-10T10:00:00-07:00

One of the most compelling scenes we have in the New Testament is the Last Supper. Besides the intimate setting among his closest disciples, Jesus already began to feel that this would be one of His last opportunities to teach in His mortal ministry. “Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.” as it says in John chapter thirteen. How does he sum up His entire ministry and teaching? What is it all ultimately about? What are the key concepts? All of these questions, and more, must have been going through His mind and so should be front and center as we read and understand His teachings and example there.

Imagine for a moment His thought process in what He chooses to do and say. Here are several examples:

He dresses as a servant and washes His disciples feet, including the feet of Judas who would later betray him, warning of price and ego (John 13:4-20)
He sings Hallel with His disciples (Jewish praise Psalms (113-118) sung at Passover), pointing to unity and redemption (Matt. 26:30)
He gives a “New Commandment” to “love one another”, His great summing up of His gospel (John 13:34-35)
He breaks bread and drinks wine with his disciples, instituting the symbols and ritual of the sacrament which we recreated in ceremony here today (Luke 22:19-20)
He gives the promise of peace, but warns it is not how we are used to thinking of peace in this world (John 14:27)

Each of these would be wonderful topics for talks. With the time I have today I’ll just speak on the last one - the peace Jesus offers. Not as the World Giveth

At this Supper, after Jesus promises the Comforter, He describes the peace He offers:

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

That turn of the phrase “not as the world giveth” just hangs there rhetorically but without the question asked. How does the world give peace? Jesus doesn’t give it an immediate answer there. Like his parables, this one has to be explored. Often, this world looks to achieve peace through dominion and control. The gospel of Jesus Christ seeks another way

Now, I’ll caution against a pile-on about how awful “the world” is. We’ve all participated in and seen it happen in conversations, talks, or lessons. That’s not to say that there isn’t evil in this world or that we shouldn’t talk about it. It’s just that our sometimes almost ritualistic indulgence in this pile-on seems closer to a Rameumptom than it does redemption. It seems to lead to what Jesus was warning about here and in His Last Supper teachings - fear and ego. So, I’ll give a caveat: while God warned about “the world” let’s keep in mind how God chooses to react to that same “world”:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

It’s that love, that New Commandment, that will keep us off the Rameumptom and instead doing the work of redemption. And it is a key to peace in Christ.

Apocalypse & Stress Tests

Elder Renlund gave a great talk that touched on peace in Christ in General Conference recently. In his talk “The Peace of Christ Abolishes Enmity”, he spoke about how the world, as well as us as individuals, have been through a spiritual stress test - so to speak - from disease, economic loss, social unrest, natural disaster, and war. Some have seen apocalyptic times recently. I think that’s quite literally true.

The word “apocalypse” comes from the Greek prefix “apo” (meaning un-) and the Greek word “kaluptein” (meaning to cover). So quite literally, trials, traumas, and “stress tests” in life are “apocalyptic” as they uncover or expose things about ourselves and our world - often things that were hidden or ignored. But it’s what we are willing to learn from that additional light and uncovering, disruptive or “stressful” as it may be, that can transform us and turn us towards redemption. Finding peace in Christ through apocalypses (big or small) is how we can “overcome” these “stress tests” (see Rev. 2: 7, 11, 17, 26–28; 3: 5, 12, 21; 21: 7).

Elder Renlund gives several suggestions on how we can assess our handling of a spiritual “stress test”. But one stood out to me when he said:

“If I am quick to take offense or respond to differences of opinion by becoming angry or judgmental, I “fail” the spiritual stress test. This failed test does not mean that I am hopeless. Rather, it points out that I need to change. And that is good to know.”

The difficult part is, frankly, this world is offensive. And in this world we are going to give and take offense - especially in the close, stress-testing quarters of families and wards. But looking at Elder Renlund’s words closely, it’s not necessarily the offense or difference of opinion that is the problem he’s warning about, it’s our becoming angry or judgemental that leads to “failing” stress tests.

I think that is especially important. Anger and judgment perfectly undermine faith and trust - so much so that I think it is they, not doubt, that are the true threats to faith. And without faith and trust, Jesus’ gospel cannot operate - God cannot will it so without our consent. As we read in Ether chapter 12:

“if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them” (Ether 12:12)

I think “faith among [God’s] children” in that scripture includes “faith between [God’s] children”.

Overcoming Offense & Oppression

There’s plenty to be offended or feel hopeless about. Sometimes I feel like the preacher in Ecclesiastes chapter four who wrote:

“I saw all the oppressions/offenses that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed/offended—with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors/offenders there was power—with no one to comfort them.” (Ecclesiastes 4:1) (word “offense” added)

Note how it points out that oppression undermines “comfort” (both of the oppressed and oppressor) - one of the promises given by Jesus during the Last Supper.

I think we’ve all been on both sides of this: taking advantage of another’s weakness to oppress or offend or having the same done to us. Perhaps that is part of what Jesus was referring to when He warned that His peace is not “as the world giveth”. In the world, “peace” is attained by control over. In God’s Kingdom, peace is attained by love with. Jesus’ New Commandment to love one another is designed perfectly to overcome this corruption. The preacher goes on in that same chapter in Ecclesiastes and sees a flicker of hope in this almost primitive description of love:

“Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other, but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

Brothers, sisters, and friends, are we here to lift each other up when we fall? Are there some who are not here perhaps by the offense we gave, or even who may be present, who may feel alone? What is our responsibility in the Christian work of redemption?

Elder Renlund offers these questions to ponder:

“What can I do to foster unity? How can I respond to help [someone] draw closer to Christ? What can I do to lessen contention and to build a compassionate and caring Church community?”

Breaking Down the Dividing Wall

About 30 years after Jesus’ death, Paul (himself isolated in prison), wrote to the Saints in Ephesus over 800 miles away who were divided over long-standing cultures, identities, politics, and tradition. Sound familiar?

Paul gives what, to me, is one of the most heartfelt calls to the Saints to overcome those thing, return to Christ, and be healed - a call that has lost no power or urgency to this day:

“… in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. … that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.” (Ephesians 2:13-16)

Whatever your stage or status in life, whatever our differences may be, this call to “create, [with Christ], one new humanity in place of the two” is the call of Christian discipleship. This is so much bigger than any other way to peace the world has to offer, and we can only do it together, breaking down the walls that divide us, with faith and trust in God and each other.

It’s my hope and testimony that we can find peace in Christ as we follow His example and be one who is willing to wash feet, sing with Saints and sinners, live Jesus’ New Commandment to “love one another”, sit and break bread, forgive those who may offend, and lift up those that are offended.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Covenant Path

2022-05-15T10:00:00-07:00

In 2001, fresh off my mission & after working a summer job for some time, I bought a software tool that contained nearly all of Deseret Book’s catalog to date. It has over 3,000 titles by various Latter-day Saint authors going back to the beginning of the restoration, conference talks, periodicals, and many classic and ancient texts - all cross-referenced and searchable. It is a treasure that I’ve preserved now 20 years later in virtual machines as operating systems today cannot run it.

Very rarely can I search for something and not find results. It was interesting then after talking to Brother Morgan about the speaking topic today that searching through this library for the phrase “covenant path” returned exactly zero results.

What does that mean?

Well, not much. But it does speak to two things:

The phrase “covenant path” is pretty new in our culture and teachings.
This is one example of a living, breathing, and changing church. As we reflect on the same principles restored centuries ago, we give those truths new expressions today.

“Covenants” have been an important part of our faith since early in its restoration - connecting us to God & each other. When we think of “covenant path” we can rightly describe a set of ordinances or religious rites which serve as thresholds or pointers for us.

Now, I must warn that I’m not going to describe exactly what our covenants are. What I want to focus on today is how we might understand and live our covenants. After going through the rites and ordinances offered by the Church making covenants, we may then rightly ask the question, “Now what?” If you have found yourself asking this question, perhaps after recently being sealed in the temple, in middle age after decades of trying out that “enduring to the end” bit, in older age after reflecting on a lifetime of covenant living, or if you are newly embarking on this “covenant path”, I hope some of what I say can lift and edify.

Covenants as Pointers

Lance B. Wickman wrote an article in the June 1996 Ensign titled “Of Compasses and Covenants”. He begins to give an answer to this question of, “Now what?”. He says,

“Making covenants is important. But it is the keeping of covenants, even more than making them, that holds us on the correct course heading through mortality and leads us home to God.”

He then goes on quoting Moroni 8:25-26 as Moroni describes the nature of the covenant of baptism and the fruits it points us to:

“the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins;

“And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until … all the saints shall dwell with God.”

In Buddhism, there is a proverb of a hand pointing to a moon. Vietnamese monk Tich Nhat Hanh described it this way in his book “Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha”:

“A finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. The finger is needed to know where to look for the moon, but if you mistake the finger for the moon itself, you will never know the real moon.”

Mistaking the hand for the moon in what Moroni was describing would be to think the covenant path is about baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost rather than it being about meekness, lowliness of heart, hope, and perfect love.

Jesus taught about the symbolic or pointing nature of covenants and His teachings when He described being “born again” or likened the Kingdom of God in His parables. And just like how those who could not see what the symbolism in Jesus’ teachings was pointing at, we too can miss the point of covenants if we make the “covenant path” the object of our worship rather than what or who it points to.

While covenants point us to salvation, they cannot produce salvation any more than notes printed on a sheet of paper can produce music. Covenants are meant to be lived, not worshiped.

So, which way do covenants point us?

Jesus as “The Way”

“The Way” is referenced several times in the Gospels.

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord” (Matthew 3:3)

“strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life” (Matthew 7:14)

“John came unto you in the way of righteousness” (Matthew 21:32)

“Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth” (Matthew 22:16)

“And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.” (Mark 10:52)

“how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:5-6)

In fact, early Jewish Christians referred to themselves as followers of “The Way” (source). It wasn’t until the disciples began establishing the Church in Antioch that the term “Christian” began to be used by Romans to describe followers of Christ - later adopted by followers of Christ themselves.

So, what is this “Way”? Well, that is the ultimate question in Christianity. I am by no means going to definitively answer that question. But what I wanted to do in the time I have is pick just one principle, peacemaking, that Jesus taught and describe how it can give our covenant living vibrancy and life.

Peacemaking

Anytime we are trying to understand what Jesus was getting at The Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew chapters 5-7, should be our starting point. The whole premise of the sermon is describing the nature of and entry into the kingdom of heaven - the path of “The Way”. If the covenants and ordinances in the Church are waypoints or pointers on this path, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is the map.

Peacemaking is an interesting word. It states, in a single word, that 1) peace should be sought after and 2) that it requires our creativity, effort, and sacrifice to “make” it happen. As an engineer I spend much of my career carefully planning how something will be made. Whole teams of engineers, architects, managers, quality, executives and others coordinate in the sole task of making something. I wonder sometimes whether I consider working towards peace with that same vigor.

How can we all bring our gifts, talents, and covenants to the way of peacemaking? If you are an artist, how can you create peace? If you are a teacher, how can you teach peace? If you are a landscaper, how can spaces you create invite peace? If you are a friend or loved one, how can you invite peace into your relationships? If you are a parent, how can you raise a child to love and seek peace?

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warns that these principles are not cheap and that they call us to rise above petty or even serious divisions, in-groups/out-groups, and include all in how we live His teachings:

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

This is one example of why I believe Jesus wasn’t giving mere platitudes. Jesus was describing the way to heal the world. If our covenant living leads us to only bless the lives of our neighbors, allies, co-religionists, or friends then we have work to do to get back on the path of Jesus. Our understanding and interpretation of our covenants, along with the actions and lives those covenants lead us to choose, must be able to seek and make peace in every area of our lives and for all those impacted - the evil and good.

One explanation that helped me understand the depth and power of peacemaking is from a book titled “A Common Prayer: Liturgy for an Ordinary Radicals” - think of Jesus’ response to Peter after Peter attacked Malchus in the Garden of Gethsemane:

“Peacemaking doesn’t mean passivity. It is the act of interrupting injustice without mirroring injustice, the act of disarming evil without destroying the evildoer, the act of finding a third way that is neither fight nor flight but the careful, arduous pursuit of reconciliation and justice. It is about a revolution of love that is big enough to set both the oppressed and the oppressors free. Peacemaking is about being able to recognize in the face of the oppressed our own faces, and in the hands of the oppressors our own hands.”

An example from early in the restoration (perhaps this is something we could restore again) is the covenant associated with the school of prophets. This covenant, made by all who gathered together, has in it this spirit of peacemaking. Imagine the strength of our wards, our families, and our communities if our relationships (even strained ones) had this commitment:

“I salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in token, or remembrance of the everlasting covenant, in which covenant I receive you to fellowship in a determination that is fixed, immovable and unchangeable, to be your friend… through the grace of God, in the bonds of love.”

In the epistle written to the Ephesians, a community struggling with unity, chapter 2 verses 13-16 points to how our covenant commitment to Christ can motivate us to be peacemakers:

13 … in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.

15 …that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace,

16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. Can we extend this love and peacemaking to those around us - even those estranged from us or those the world teaches we should see as others or enemies? How can our covenants point us to this way of peacemaking? And what courage may be required of us to take that first step?

(NRSV translation)

Conclusion

We could spend hours going through principle by principle in the Sermon on the Mount asking ourselves how we can understand and live our covenants in a way that embodies them. Meekness, mourning, seeking righteousness, mercy, purity in heart, endurance, etc. Is the way we are living our covenants leading us towards or away from this path that Jesus taught? Is there room for us to improve, rethink, and return to these covenants anew in this light? And how can we support each other as we seek to do so?

Nobody can answer these questions for you. Answering these questions is the walk we all must take on a covenant path in “The Way” Jesus taught. But this is the call that Jesus gives to all of us to “Come, Follow Him”.

Elder Uchtdorf, in the October 2019 General Conference, described this call in his talk titled “Your Great Adventure”:

“there remains something undeniable, deep within our hearts, that hungers for a higher and nobler purpose. This hunger is one reason why people are drawn to the gospel and Church of Jesus Christ. The restored gospel is, in a sense, a renewal of the call to adventure we accepted so long ago. The Savior invites us, each day, to set aside our comforts and securities and join Him on the journey of discipleship.

There are many bends in this road. There are hills, valleys, and detours. There may even be metaphorical spiders, trolls, and even a dragon or two. But if you stay on the path and trust in God, you will eventually find the way to your glorious destiny and back to your heavenly home.”

May we have courage as we walk the path Jesus did, and may we help one another as fellow travelers on the way. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Ministering and the Parables of Jesus

2021-07-25T10:00:00-07:00

(the following is a talk I gave in my ward July 25, 2021)

The topic I was invited to speak on is Ministering as the Savior did. This is a great topic to think about. But it came with a curve ball when I was asked to focus my remarks on a specific scripture. When I think about the way Jesus ministered, my mind goes straight to his works and miracles: healing the sick, forgiving the adulterous woman, ministering to the marginalized in society, etc. But the scripture I was pointed to focused on a different aspect of Jesus’ life. Matthew 13:10-12 reads:

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Originally the bishopric were thinking of having me speak the week after Irene spoke. But our vacation gave me extended time to think about this. What did these parables mean to Jesus? What might they have meant to His disciples? And what do Jesus’ parables have to do with our ministering today?

Lowell L. Bennion, who founded the Institute of Religion next to UofU, wrote a book titled “Legacies of Jesus”. It’s a short book you can get from Deseret Book and could read in an afternoon. In his chapter titled “Jesus’ Art of Teaching” he gives an insightful description of Jesus’ parables:

As a teacher, Jesus is most famous for the parables he created. Parables are stories taken from life, crafted by Jesus’ imagination and insights, that illustrate gospel principles… Parables have been described as earthly stories with heavenly meanings. They are a particularly good form for the purpose that seemed to dominate Jesus’ teaching—to transmit principles rather than rules or mere information. Life is dynamic; conditions change in almost infinite variety. Rules become outmoded; principles do not.

Two phrases from that stick out to me and make me think about the question Jesus’ disciples asked him in the scripture I was pointed at:

“Parables have been described as earthly stories with heavenly meanings”
[The purpose of Jesus’ teaching was] “to transmit principles rather than rules or mere information” since “rules become outmoded; principles do not.”

While the rules, policies, or programs structuring our ministering in the church have changed more recently (from the previous home or visit teaching programs), the principle remains the same: to serve each other with love in the mundane, earthly things while pointing each other to heavenly things. And I think that we can learn how to minister more like Jesus did by studying his parables. In this way, parables are a way of sanctifying the mundane parts of life and turning them into symbols that point us to God and one another.

Since my time is limited I’ll only be able to speak briefly about two or three parables.

The Sower

Several of Jesus’ parables talk about what kind of Kingdom God is creating. These parables often talk about the “mystery” of God’s Kingdom. Just before his disciples asked him why he taught using parables he gave them the parable of the Sower. Luke chapter 8 gives the shortest version so we’ll read that one:

4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:

5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.

7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.

8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Jesus gives a basic interpretation of that parable:

The seed is the word of God
The soil is the hearts of those who hear it
Fowls are things which pluck the word of God out of people’s hearts
Rocks are temptations which prevent the word of God from taking any root in people’s hearts
Thorns are other things which can occupy our hearts and prevent the word of God from taking root

This parable is useful to think about our own personal responsibility to receive the word of God. Another way of approaching this parable can shed light on how we minister in our ward. What if we thought of the soil not just as individual’s hearts, but the heart and soul of our ward? What might cause the soil of our ward to be too hard for the word of God to take root in people’s lives? How might the word of God be plucked up from this soil? And what things might be acting as thorns, choking the seedlings of hope in our ward? Am I doing things to turn this soil softening it and mixing nutrients into it? Am I choking the seeds of the gospel growing in others?

In our callings, our classes, firesides, activities, and hallway ministries we are all in this soil together and our actions can have significant consequences. In my half a lifetime in the church, I’ve seen people’s lives miraculously transformed for the better in the soils of wards. I’ve also seen the fledgling roots of hope plucked up by well-meaning but ultimately injurious actions. One of the greatest harms any of us can do in a ward is to make someone feel unloved or unwelcome - which plucks up or chokes the word of God. And conversely, one of the greatest works any of us can do in our ward is to help people feel loved and welcome - giving nutrients and air to the soil in our ward. What kind of soil can we create together in this ward in how we minister?

There are so many parts of ministering in our ward that are mundane: meetings, planning, baking, moving boxes, those iconic metal folding chairs, building cleaning rotations, donations, pretty much everything clerks or secretaries are responsible for, and more. But these too are part of this gospel soil. And the way in which we do these things can make the difference between their remaining mundane or being sanctified to grow the gospel seed in our ward.

Doctrine and Covenants 81:5 helps give us vision here in what our focus should be in our callings:

Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.

The Prodigal Son

Several more of Jesus’ parables deal with loss and and redemption. One of these is the parable of the Prodigal Son. It’s a longer parable so I won’t be able to read it but instead just summarize it - from Luke chapter 15:

A man has two sons, one who obeys his words and the other who disowns the family asking for his inheritance.

The father does so and the prodigal son leaves, subsequently wasting that inheritance on “riotous living”.

The prodigal son hits rock bottom, then decides to return convincing himself he’ll just be one of his father’s servants.

The father sees him coming, runs, welcomes him, and throws a party celebrating his return as his son.

The other brother finds out, apparently he didn’t get the invitation in time, and becomes jealous.

The father reassures him that his brother’s forgiveness does not undermine their relationship and that he should find joy in his brother’s return.

There are so many lessons from this parable - again, that’s part of the beauty of parables. Falling out, pain, loss, self-worth, forgiveness, the economy of grace, jealousy, self-righteousness, etc. While working in soil bears fruit, it is also messy and sometimes pungent work. People and wards have sharp edges, roots to trip over, and stubborn rocks that sit in this soil. I’ve found that the fruit of the gospel grows best in wards with mound and mounds of grace turned into the soil. While this parable shows a single event with resolution, many of us have experienced how reconciliation is an ongoing process. I recently ran across this poem by Allison Funk titled the ‘Prodigal’s Mother Speaks to God’. In it, she imagines a possible future for this family where reconciliation in their family ministry is still a work in progress:

When he returned a second time,
the straps of his sandals broken,
his robe stained with wine,

it was not as easy to forgive.

By then his father
was long gone himself,

leaving me with my other son, the sullen one
whose anger is the instrument he tunes
from good morning on.

I know.

There’s no room for a man
in the womb.

But when I saw my youngest coming from far off,
so small he seemed, a kid
unsteady on its legs.

She-goat
what will you do? I thought,
remembering when he learned to walk.

Shape shifter! It’s like looking through water—
the heat bends, it blurs everything: brush, precipice.

A shambles between us.

This poem doesn’t have an ending that resolves like Jesus’ parable, but I think that is exactly the point: it conveys the longing for resolution and the struggle for it in the middle of the process. In the messy work of ministering to and with one another, Jesus’ parable here places grace and forgiveness at the top of the list of things we will need. In what ways can those we minister to (assigned or not) need to receive our forgiveness or our asking for forgiveness?

The Good Samaritan

One of my favorite parables of Jesus is the parable of the Good Samaritan. One of the reasons I like it so much is because of how deliberately provocative Jesus was being with this parable. If Jesus could have chosen any protagonist that will run counter to His culture’s norms, I don’t think he could have been much more provocative than choosing a Samaritan. In John 4:9 the Samaritan woman at the well, surprised Jesus was talking to her, stated plainly, “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” Before I read the parable, I wanted to give some background into the intense tensions between Jews and Samaritans at the time:

The separation of Samaritans and Jews went back more than 700 years before the time of Christ. These tensions and differences were very much woven into the fabric of each other’s race, culture, religion, and even their genes. The conflict can even be attributed back further to the sons of Israel.
The Jews and Samaritans make contending and contentious claims of ancestry, priesthood authority, scripture, land rights, nationality, and temple worship.
Less than 200 years before Christ, probably still very fresh in the minds of the Jews and Samaritans, Antiochus IV Epiphanes was seeking to establish a universal religion with the penalty for resistance being death. Facing almost certain genocide, the Samaritans aligned themselves with Antiochus which required cutting religious and cultural ties with the Jews in the south. Naturally feeling betrayed, the ancient Jews viewed the Samaritans as traitors, heathens, and heretics.
About 100 years before Christ, the Jewish ruler John Hyrcanus waged war on Samaria, eventually conquered, destroyed their temple, and redirected their religious offerings and priesthood to Jerusalem.

So, for Jesus to ask his audiences to see a Samaritan as the protagonist in this parable (even over their Levite and Priestly religious authorities) was asking people to rethink their ideas of priesthood, national identity, and religious claims. In our ministering, do we place those things ahead of the principle of love? Or do we put love ahead of our religious, national, or political preferences or assumptions?

Here is the parable from Luke chapter 10:

30 A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

How can we “do [so] likewise” in our ministering? One of the great blessings and challenges of a ward is it tosses all sorts of people together (at least within a certain geography). We have progressives and conservatives, introverts and extroverts, those who see the gospel more literally and those who see it more symbolically, soldiers and pacifists, different races and nationalities, gay and straight, different genders, the old who just don’t “get it” and the young who just don’t “get it”, and (close to my heart) those who think Miracle Whip is manna from heaven and those who think it is of the devil.

Is our ministering big enough and courageous enough to cross these divides? Or is our love and ministering limited only to “them which love you” which Jesus warned against in his sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:46)? Do we see the “Samaritans” in our life the way Jesus does? Or do we see them through these lines of division - choosing to walk on the other side of the road? I think one of the greatest strengths our ministering can have is when it sees the gospel as bigger than than these divides - bigger than politics, bigger than personalities, bigger than racial or national identities, bigger than gender, and bigger than generations - and willing to cross the road as Jesus describes here.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the parables Jesus taught. When I look at these and other parables I’m struck with how multi-layered, multi-faceted, and multi-dimensional these are. Jesus took the mundane and even strained parts of everyday life and showed how we could point to Heaven in them. This is sanctifying work. And in the various ways we minister we can learn from these parables, take the mundane or strained parts in our lives and relationships, and see how we can sanctify those with principles that point to Heaven.

“Why I Stay” Essay and Podcast Episodes

2020-09-18T22:38:56-07:00

This year (2020) I was invited to share my thoughts in Sunstone’s “Why I Stay” plenary session for their conference. It was an exercise I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend any person who seeks to own their faith undertake. I’ve now published it under the essays section.

I also had the opportunity to follow up with Dan Wotherspoon (who extended me the invitation for Sunstone originally) and discuss some of the essay’s larger themes and highlights on his podcast Latter-day Faith. That conversation is published in two episodes:

I’m grateful to Dan for his generosity and trust in inviting me to dig deep, be vulnerable, and express my reasons and hope for faith.

Own Your Religion: Understanding Racism in Church History

2020-06-04T01:00:58-07:00

This week in 2020 racial tensions have boiled over after a series of high-profile violence against black people. This should cause everyone to reflect on the hard realities of racism and our collective responsibility in naming and dismantling it individually and in our institutions.

We have had several friends in our faith reach out for help in better understanding and confronting racism in our faith’s own history. We both feel that owning one’s religion is very important to deepen faith not in the soil of dogmas and status quo but in the soil of peace and justice. We’ve put this post together as a collection of resources to use to better understand racism. Neither one of us will claim to be experts or free of racism ourselves. But we have found the following useful after several years and many hours of study and attempts to listen.

Church History

In his book “Planted”, Patrick Mason has a chapter titled “A Principled Approach to Church History”. In it, he warns:

History is not an assemblage of arcane and inconsequential facts. It is not about clinging blindly to tradition. And it is not useless.

Planted, pg. 75)

While the whole chapter is fascinating, he gives “five broad principles for thinking about church history, particularly its more nettlesome aspects.”

Tell the truth
Do your homework
The past is a foreign country
There is none good but God
Learn the lessons of history

Patrick Mason notes:

these principles help us approach history and the people who live there in more Christian terms. God does not ask us to suspend our critical faculties, but he does require us to enhance them with humility, generosity, and most of all charity.

(Planted, pg. 97)

When studying history, we should constantly ask ourselves: Are we coming to a topic with strongly held notions? How might our existing beliefs and opinions affect how we will understand this history? – just as we would ask those things of authors (both present and past). History can, and should, challenge our beliefs. Working through that challenge and letting its lessons teach you requires diligence, humility, and charity as Patrick Mason noted.

One last piece of advice on the topic of history: seek primary sources. While not perfect (no account is), many of the best historical works rely heavily on primary sources and carefully note when and why they might use a secondary source over a primary source.

Church History Resources

The following is a list of resources for understanding church history on the topic of race:

Official Declaration 2 (1978) – this is probably the most impactful official church publication/policy affecting race relations in the church. Canonized into church scripture, this revelation extended priesthood ordination to all worthy black males and temple access to all worthy black men and women.

Race and the Priesthood – Published in 2013, this church publication addresses the history of racism and its effects on past church teachings and policies. This essay strongly states that “the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.”

1973 Dialogue article from Lester Bush – Lester Bush, after several years of careful historical work, published this essay in Dialogue which countered many of the common justifications at the time for church policy that barred black men from being ordained to the priesthood and black men and women from attending the temple. Before publication, Bush shared his notes and eventually met with several church leaders and administrators who had varying responses to his work (see Bush’s publication in Journal of Mormon History Vol. 25, No. 1, 1999 – pg 229 – detailing his experience researching and publishing the 1973 Dialogue article including his meetings with church leaders). More recently, Bush has reflected on his experience writing this history in the Fall 2018 Dialogue issue.

David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism – In 2005, Greg Prince published David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism which contains a chapter titled “Blacks, Civil Rights, and the Priesthood”. While situated prior to Spencer W. Kimball’s reversal of the policy excluding blacks in 1978, Greg Prince uses primary source material from David O. McKay’s thorough journals and papers to chronicle how thoughts on race informed church policy and teachings up until McKay’s death in 1970.

Recent Church Events

The church has recently spent considerable efforts to focus on this topic:

Church Releases Statement Condemning White Supremacist Attitudes (2017) – On the heels of the Unite the Right rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia by white supremacists and neo-Nazis the church released a statement citing a Gordon B. Hinckley General Conference talk in April 2006 where he said, “No man who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself a true disciple of Christ. Nor can he consider himself to be in harmony with the teachings of the Church of Christ.” and that “White supremacist attitudes are morally wrong and sinful, and we condemn them. Church members who promote or pursue a ‘white culture’ or white supremacy agenda are not in harmony with the teachings of the Church.”

“Be One” celebration (2018) – In commemorating 40 years after the 1978 revelation, the church held a large musical and cultural celebration of ethnic unity. Dallin H. Oaks reflected on his response in 1978 when he heard of the change, “I observed the pain and frustration experienced by those who suffered these restrictions and those who criticized them and sought for reasons. I studied the reasons then being given and could not feel confirmation of the truth of any of them… I wept for joy.” President Nelson urged all to “overcome any burdens of prejudice and walk uprightly with God — and with one another — in perfect peace and equity.”

President Nelson speaks at the NAACP annual convention (2019) – President Nelson associated the work of the NAACP to a teaching in the Book of Mormon: “‘All are alike unto God.’ You who are gathered here in this room strive to make this heavenly truth an earthly reality. I commend you for it. And yet we all realize that, as a society and as a country, we have not yet achieved the harmony and mutual respect that would allow every man and woman and every boy and girl to become the very best version of themselves.” The church also made a sizable donation to the NAACP.

Elder Stevenson speaks at annual NAACP luncheon in downtown Salt Lake City (2020) – Speaking on racial and ethnic unity, Elder Stevenson took time to address controversial content in the 2020 “Come, Follow Me” curriculum which contained what Elder Stevenson described as “outdated commentary on race”. Elder Stevenson went on to apologize that it was “mistakenly included in the printed version of the manual”, “removed in our annual online manual”, and that “any future printed manuals will reflect this change” He went on to say, “We are asking members to disregard the paragraph in the printed manual.” and that the church is “deeply saddened and hurt by this error, and for any pain that it may have caused our members or others.”

President Nelson shares thoughts on “evidences of racism and a blatant disregard for human life” (2020) – In the midst of continued protests and violence, President Nelson shared a rather lengthy social media post in which he stated that, “We join with many throughout this nation and around the world who are deeply saddened at recent evidences of racism and a blatant disregard for human life. We abhor the reality that some would deny others respect and the most basic of freedoms because of the color of his or her skin… Any of us who has prejudice toward another race needs to repent!”

Racism continues to surface in the Church and at BYU (2020)** – In Winter 2020, BYU journalism students examined issues that directly impact the BYU community and its vision of “The world is our campus”. As part of a series published from that effort, the Daily Universe published an examination of racism on campus. BYU President Kevin J. Worthen acknowledged the issue of racism in a published message stating: “We know there is work to do, on campus and throughout the nation, for us to better come together, to address injustice and to truly love one another. It will take sustained effort from all of us to make things better. We remain committed to doing that.” He also affirmed that “BYU stands firmly against racism and violence in any form and is committed to promoting a culture of safety, kindness, respect and love.”

Prophet Joins NAACP Leaders in Call for Racial Harmony in America (2020) – On the anniversary of the 1978 revelation, President Nelson and NAACP issued a joint statement calling for racial harmony in America. In the full statement, it says, “Prejudice, hate and discrimination are learned. Thus, we call on parents, family members, and teachers to be the first line of defense. Teaching children to love all, and find the good in others, is more crucial than ever. Oneness is not sameness in America. We must all learn to value the differences. We likewise call on government, business, and educational leaders at every level to review processes, laws, and organizational attitudes regarding racism and root them out once and for all. It is past time for every one of us to elevate our conversations above divisive and polarizing rhetoric.”

NAACP would like to see the LDS Church do more (2020) – The Salt Lake Tribune reported on June 9th that while joint efforts and dialogue between the church and the NAACP are encouraging, Wil Colom, special counsel to the NAACP president, commented that while “Both of us have been willing to listen to and learn from each other” he noted “no willingness on the part of the church… to do anything material” and that he looks forward “to their deeds matching their words”.

Committee formed to examine race and inequality at BYU (2020) – On June 17, BYU announced that “At the request of President Kevin J Worthen and under the direction of Academic Vice President Shane Reese, last week a committee was appointed to examine issues of race and inequality at BYU and provide recommendations to the university about specific actions to address these issues.” Citing President Nelson’s “charge” made at the NAACP to “review processes, laws, and organizational attitudes regarding racism and root them out once and for all” the group identifies goals to “Foster our faith in the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man; Foster a fundamental respect for the human dignity of every human soul, regardless of their color, creed or cause; and Work tirelessly to build bridges of understanding rather than creating walls of segregation.”

Darius Gray joins Maxwell Institute’s advisory board – On September 19, Maxwell Institute announced that Darius Gray has joined the Institute’s advisory board. In Gray’s Maxwell Institute profile page, he is described as “A frequent lecturer on genealogy, Black history, and LDS history” and having “been actively engaged in human rights and civil rights causes”.

Voices of Black Latter-day Saints

While being informed of church history and current events on the topic of race is good, it is no substitute for earnestly listening to the voices of racial minorities in the church. Some of the best advice we’ve heard in entering into a space that may be unfamiliar to you is to first just listen. When we are ignorant of another’s perspective, our intuition or impulses can be very wrong and often harmful. The call, in the Book of Mormon, to “mourn with those who mourn” can be done best by first making sure we have heard and understand those who are mourning and letting them tell us what we can do.

Here are some links to resources and places where we can hear and read the voices of black Latter-day Saints:

Sistas in Zion Facebook Group – Tamu Smith and Zandra Vranes run a Facebook group where they share their joys and trials of faith and life. LDS Living and Deseret News have both featured their voices.
Darius Gray – Darius Gray is a journalist, speaker, former leader of the church’s Genesis Group, and consultant on the church’s gospel topic essay on Race and the Priesthood. Deseret News published an article detailing his many contributions to journalism and history. He has co-authored several books on the genealogy of African Americans and African American Latter-day Saints. He was interviewed by the Faith Matters Foundation on his experiences. In 2018, he also authored a blog post on the church’s official blog titled “Healing the Wounds of Racism” with great tips for how to recognize racism in ourselves and our culture. In September 2020, Darius Gray joined the Maxwell Institute’s advisory board.
Cathy Stokes – Cathy Stokes has a long history of civic and activism leadership including Chicago Inner City Youth Charitable Foundation, Utah AIDS Foundation, Editorial Advisory Board for the Deseret News, and Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. Deseret News profiled her life in 2012.
Podcast interviews with black Latter-day Saints – Listen, Learn, & Love has featured several black Latter-day Saints. One of our favorite episodes of these is with Dr. LaShawn Williams and James Jones (siblings) who share the deep and powerful testimony and wisdom they have fought hard for. James Jones runs his own podcast with Derick Knox called “Beyond the Block” where they regularly share their experiences and struggles being members in the church as a black man and a gay man respectively. Additionally, Dan Wotherspoon recently hosted a panel of black Latter-day Saints LaShawn Williams, Jameson Holman, and Kimberly Applewhite in discussing race, racism, and faith.
Rev. Dr. Fatimah Salleh – Rev. Dr. Fatimah Salleh has a Ph.D. and Masters in Communication and a Master’s in Divinity. She recently co-authored a book with Margaret Olsen Hemming titled “The Book of Mormon for the Least of These” that provides commentary on the Book of Mormon focusing on topics such as racism, sexism, refugees, and socioeconomic inequality. Salleh and Hemming were interviewed on the “Beyond the Block” podcast.
Dr. LaShawn Williams – Dr. LaShawn Williams is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Doctorate in Education. She is a powerful voice as a black Latter-day Saint (see podcast interviews above). On June 7, 2020 (on the eve of the 1978 revelation anniversary) Dialogue hosted her giving a lesson/sermon on Alma 5 as part of the “Come, Follow Me” curriculum.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s messages about racial harmony and justice stand the test of time. The Stanford Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute has collected papers and works about or by Martin Luther King, Jr. Audio artifacts can be found here.

One of our favorite speeches given by Martin Luther King, Jr. is his sermon titled “Loving your Enemies” (youtube link to our favorite section).

A frequent point of debate is what to think about and how to respond to violence that can attend heated civil protests. Martin Luther King has some of the best wisdom here:

But at the same time, it is as necessary for me to be as vigorous in condemning the conditions which cause persons to feel that they must engage in riotous activities as it is for me to condemn riots.

I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots.

But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear?

It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years.

It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met.

And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality and humanity.

And so in a real sense, our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again.

Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.”

Martin Luther King Jr. – “The Other America” (1967)

Science

In addition to history, current events, and the voices of black people, science has come a long ways in understanding and debunking matters surrounding race. While physical features do have biological origins, a reductive biological basis for race (as we’ve inherited the idea of race) is all but debunked. Misunderstandings of biology drove, and sadly still drive, ideologies promoting racial superiority.

Here are two resources to better understand what science can teach us about race:

How Science and Genetics are Reshaping the Race Debate of the 21st Century (Harvard Graduate Studies (2017) – The article notes that “the alt-right tends cherry-pick the ideas that align with their preconceived notions of racial hierarchies, ignoring the broader context of the field of human genetics.”
Elizabeth Kolbert on the Myth of Racial Difference – WNYC interviewed Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Kolbert who published “There is No Scientific Basis for Race – It’s a Made-Up Label”.

What Can I Do?

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Knowledge alone cannot change the world. We must act on what we know to be true and good of our own volition. Our scriptures teach that we are to bring about positive change and justice:

26 … it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he [or she] that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

27 Verily I say, men [and women] should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves.

Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-28 (inclusive genders used)

Knowledge should tell us here that there is much that we can and should do. It can be natural to feel helpless or overwhelmed facing a problem as complex, entrenched, and sometimes elusive as racism. Happily, there is an endless variety of things that can and need to be done, we don’t have to do everything, and we don’t have to do it alone. Again, we emphasize how important it is to listen to racial minority communities around you to best inform your actions.

To help you get started, here are some lists people have compiled or positive actions people can take to help bring about positive change:

75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
Follow the church’s lead and make a donation to NAACP
Join or create organized, peaceful protests or marches and participate.
Find common goals of organizations like NAACP which include economic stability, education, health, public safety and criminal justice, voting rights and political representation, youth & young adult engagement.
Pay careful attention to the impacts civic leaders have, are, or will have on black communities and exercise your right to vote.

Own Your Religion

Owning our religion means not just knowing its past and present, but actively working to make its future better together. We cannot do this alone and here we cannot do it without our fellow black Latter-day Saints leading the way.

Introduction to the Book of Mormon

2020-01-05T13:37:57-08:00

I created a presentation to teach about the introductory texts of the Book of Mormon as well as its origins. Several people asked if they could see the presentation later for study so I’ve added it to the Scripture Notes section of this site under the Book of Mormon section.

Resources for Understanding LGBTQ Topics

2019-12-06T10:31:46-08:00

This has been a topic that has been on our minds for quite some time. We feel that the societal, scientific, and religious understanding of LGBTQ people through time is complex and on-going and we’ve felt an overwhelming need for greater understanding. In order to perhaps contribute to that understanding, we created presentations of research (in PDF slideshow format) that seek to present facts about the history of societal, scientific, and religious perspectives about LGBTQ people. These presentations seek to put facts above narrative or opinion as we believe that greater awareness of information can elevate discussions, tender grace, move us from past destructive attitudes and behavior, and open hearts and minds to ongoing truths being revealed in both secular and religious spheres. While we hope this information is valuable, often the greatest source for understanding LGTBQ people are LGBTQ people themselves. We should all be willing to humbly listen to and honor LGBTQ people’s lived experiences.

These resources are available in our resources section here:

LGBTQ Understanding: Doctrine and Science

UPDATE: These resources have also been linked to in the Listen, Learn, & Love resources section.

Interview with Richard Ostler

2019-12-06T10:22:52-08:00

I had the opportunity to chat with Richard Ostler on his Listen Learn & Love podcast. We focused on the gospel/mission of Jesus Christ and how it can help inform topics including doubt and ministering to LGBTQ people. We also discussed an LGBTQ FHE that I have helped co-found in our stake. The episode can be listened to here:

Is it enough alone to know?

2019-05-02T08:34:52-07:00

Reconciliation among different Mormon ideas of eternal progress

Is it enough alone to know
That we must follow him below,
While trav'ling thru this vale of tears?
No, this extends to holier spheres.

We must the onward path pursue
As wider fields expand to view,
And follow him unceasingly,
Whate'er our lot or sphere may be.

January 2018, as we sang this song opening our fast and testimony meeting, it caught me odd that before we share our faith, hope, and knowledge (with that ever-present phrase “I know”) we would sing a song about how spiritual knowledge is not enough (Come, Follow Me, hymn #116). I got up and shared my own thoughts and impressions on this. What does that hymn mean that it is not enough alone to know? I talked about how testimony or what we know isn’t enough; we also need the courage to act and do as we respond to one another “While trav’ling thru this vale of tears”. This truth was impressed on me then in a recent experience I had just days prior.

It was Christmas day, 2017. After the kids, presents, pictures, excitement, visitors, music, decorations, food, etc. I was on the phone with my brother. I could tell in his voice that he was not doing well.

Just weeks after our father passed away due to cancer, my mother was spending Christmas with him and his family in California when she suddenly suffered some kind of cardiac episode. They were able to ambulate her to a nearby hospital where she laid, intubated, in the ICU. She was stable, barely, and he and his wife had spent the last 24 hours, in the ICU with her. It was clear that she would have a long road to recovery ahead of her. I booked a flight right away to be there the next day until she was out of the ICU and on a clear path to recovery.

Things were a bit of a blur. My mother was tired, wondering if she was being called to be with dad – we were wondering that too. Communicating was difficult with thumbs up/down and some words drawn, shakily, with a finger on an iPad, doctors coming and going, decisions, surgeries, contingencies, what-ifs, no guarantees, sleepless nights where doctors covered me in lead blankets as I was too tired to leave the room while they used an x-ray machine they brought into the room, etc. When we understood how serious and longer-term the circumstance was my aunt volunteered to come down and help.

I love my aunt. Her resilient, no-nonsense, grit and determination is a gift. Whether she’s ministering to people in a long-term care facility or going toe-to-toe with priesthood leadership to tell them they are wrong for postponing a baptism because of a scheduled basketball pickup game, her stories of fearlessness in how she serves in life and in the church are wonderful and inspiring. “If all women had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto her, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.” (Alma 48:17). She was a godsend and helped us to continue onwards and help my mother have the courage and support to further stabilize.

In the long hours of nervous silence felt in hospitals her and I took the time to catch up an reflect on the situation, my father’s death still fresh in our minds. The questions of “What does this mean?” or “What was the cause of this?” came up. My aunt saw divine providence in the cause and meaning surrounding this, I saw mostly a random, unfortunate circumstance. Don’t get me wrong, I find we can create and find deep meaning which draws us to God, but my Mormonism has changed such that I do not find comfort in a God who is behind everything. We discussed this, not finding much common ground.

After some time discussing faith in the long, quiet moments in the hospital the topic of ultimate salvation came up (eschatology). Again, here there were strong differences of opinion. I believe in a model of eternal progression that extends beyond this life and includes even the possibility of progress between Mormon notions of kingdoms of heaven. I believe that as long as intelligence exists it is capable of growth. I believe that removing an intelligence’s ability to progress spiritually or morally, definitionally, makes it no longer an intelligence. My aunt sees that as heretical. Not much common ground on this one.

I can see why my aunt thinks that. The topic of progress between kingdoms is hotly debated in Mormonism. Recently this year the temperature on the debate has risen. Early Mormon notions of eternal progress tended towards the idea of progress between kingdoms. But with rapid growth in the mid-20th century, the LDS church put an emphasis on standardizing and centralizing programs, doctrines, policies, governance, etc. to manage the growth. As it would turn out, those in charge at that time strongly favored the no-progress between kingdoms paradigm and standardized that. This is very much our inherited legacy, and I honor that and those who believe that way.

History

It’s important to know a bit of history on this. The only official statement on this from a church First Presidency, delivered by the then Secretary to the First Presidency (Joseph Anderson) stakes an agnostic position on the matter:

The brethren direct me to say that the Church has never announced a definite doctrine upon this point. Some of the brethren have held the view that it was possible in the course of progression to advance from one glory to another, invoking the principle of eternal progression; others of the brethren have taken the opposite view. But as stated, the Church has never announced a definite doctrine on this point.

Issued in a official 1952 First Presidency letter; and later re-issued in 1965 – cited in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. XV, No. 1, Spring 1982, p.181-183)

Outside that, different church leaders have stated opinions on either side on this (some on both sides). Here is a small sample of church leaders across this debate:

**Statements of no progress between kingdoms:**

James E. Talmage (Quorum of the Twelve) – (Conference Report, April 1930, p.96) * previously taught that it was possible
Joseph Fielding Smith (Quorum of the Twelve) – (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:31-32)
George Albert Smith (President) – (Conference Report, October 1945, p.172)
—— First Presidency Letter stating no opinion (1952 & 1965) ——
Spence W. Kimball (Quorum of the Twelve) – (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.50; The Miracle of Forgiveness, p.243-244, 1969)
Bruce R. McConkie (Quorum of the Twelve) – ("The Seven Deadly Heresies," Classic Speeches, Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, 1994, pp. 175-176)

**Statements of progress between kingdoms:**

Franklin D. Richards (Later called to the Twelve in 1849) – (From a sermon transcribed by Franklin D. Richards in Words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 24, 1 August 1843)
Franklin D. Richards (Quorum of the Twelve) – (Journal of Discourses Vol. 25:236, 17 May 1884)
Wilford Woodruff (Quorum of the Twelve) – (Journal of Wilford Woodruff, 5 Aug 1855)
B.H. Roberts (Presidency of the Seventy) – (New Witnesses for God, 1:391-392, 1895)
James E. Talmage (Quorum of the Twelve) – (Articles of Faith, (1899 edition), p.420-421) * later changed his position
Joseph F. Smith (President) – (Improvement Era 14:87, November 1910)
—— Letter stating no opinion (1952 & later 1965) ——
J. Reuben Clark, Jr. (First Presidency) – (Church News, p. 3 , 23 April 1960)

And outside of official general authority statements, there’s the famous exchange between Eugene England and Bruce R. McConkie on the nature of eternal progress itself which relates to the assumptions which underpin this debate. That exchange can be read here.

Today

I understand why some think an idea of eternal progression between kingdoms could be dangerous. I think for some people it may be: leading them away from a desire to repent. But I also have seen how an overly strict idea of eternal progress can also be dangerous. Indeed, I’ve seen it senselessly tear families and individuals apart here and now as it led people to uncharitable actions based on fear. But, given the only official church position on the matter is agnostic and leaders have been on both sides of this issue, individuals and families have ample freedom to seek their own revelation on the matter while being generous towards others who may disagree.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a General Conference Talk in April 2017 that touched on some of the dangers when fear motivates our gospel living:

It is true that fear can have a powerful influence over our actions and behavior. But that influence tends to be temporary and shallow. Fear rarely has the power to change our hearts, and it will never transform us into people who love what is right and who want to obey Heavenly Father. People who are fearful may say and do the right things, but they do not feel the right things. They often feel helpless and resentful, even angry. Over time these feelings lead to mistrust, defiance, even rebellion.

Recently, the current church president, Russel M. Nelson, gave a talk in the April 2019 General Conference that, while not explicitly stating an opinion on this debate, it did assume one. He frames a judgment as involving a question about family unity:

In that coming day when you will complete your mortal probation and enter the spirit world, you will be brought face-to-face with that heart-wrenching question: “Where is my family?””… the Savior Himself has made it abundantly clear that while His Resurrection assures that every person who ever lived will indeed be resurrected and live forever, much more is required if we want to have the high privilege of exaltation. Salvation is an individual matter, but exaltation is a family matter.

And continuing on about those who live good lives but do not accept Jesus:

The anguish of my heart is that many people whom I love, whom I admire, and whom I respect decline His invitation. They ignore the pleadings of Jesus Christ when He beckons, “Come, follow me.” I understand why God weeps. I also weep for such friends and relatives. They are wonderful men and women, devoted to their family and civic responsibilities. They give generously of their time, energy, and resources. And the world is better for their efforts. But they have chosen not to make covenants with God. They have not received the ordinances that will exalt them with their families and bind them together forever.

In reaching out to these people he pleads:

They need to understand that while there is a place for them hereafter—with wonderful men and women who also chose not to make covenants with God—that is not the place where families will be reunited and be given the privilege to live and progress forever. That is not the kingdom where they will experience the fulness of joy—of never-ending progression and happiness. Those consummate blessings can come only by living in an exalted celestial realm with God, our Eternal Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; and our wonderful, worthy, and qualified family members.

That last part is where the implication on this open debate is strongest. One could place his talk here on the “no progress” side of the issue. And while Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Russell M. Nelson were not staking direct claims on this debate, they were exploring its contours. This debate goes on.

As I stated before, there are pros and cons to either side of this debate. I’ve seen the “no progress” perspective inspire people to urgent, heartfelt outreach and service in seeking to redeem and repair relationships. That is wonderful. I’ve also seen the “no progress” perspective lead to harsh attitudes, judgmental behavior, and insensitive words and actions which have condemned and frayed relationships. That is tragic. We need to seek personal revelation (another urging of both Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Russell M. Nelson) in how we live the gospel and what we believe. I think we need to seek personal revelation centered on charity when we read and apply their words.

Russell M. Nelson, while speaking about his meeting with Pope Francis, spoke about the need for unity amidst doctrinal differences. I think his wisdom applies not just ecumenically but within our own faith and its own varieties of doctrine:

The differences in doctrine are real and they’re important, but they’re not nearly as important as the things we have in common… And the importance of building bridges of friendship instead of building walls of segregation.

source

Reconciliation

My aunt and I were sitting in this tension – both secure on either side of this debate. And while my giving a very short overview of the history of this debate helped to ease tension, it was our circumstances and shared goal that melted that tension away. What were we doing while we realized we do not see eye to eye on this? We were together administering to my mother’s broken body: encouraging her to fight, to just try breathing on her own for a little bit longer, we were working with doctors and nurses, administering oil (both religious and medicinal) to soothe her body and soul, being there as she awoke from anesthesia after major surgery, massaging her restless legs to keep them still to avoid injury post-surgery, helping her feel safe in the chaos of another patient coming off a hard drug overdose, and helping her eat to gain her strength. In this sacred work of answering the Savior’s call to follow Him and be charitable healers, these heated theological or eschatological debates simply don’t matter much.

Doctrinal certainties to “know” are the blunt instruments in the toolbox of faith. And while they serve a purpose, they aren’t very good at addressing the specific, intimate evils and pains we all grapple with in life. Greater power is found in “holier spheres” in the finer instruments of grace we all have access to: a kind word, an open home, a heartfelt apology, a shared meal, a comforting hug, a listening ear, shoulders that prop others up, serving hands, and familiar faces in hospitals. It is in these finer instruments of grace that the power to live the gospel and respond and overcome pain and suffering in this world is found.

I think Mormonism and the LDS church are big enough to encompass all of this: to include people who believe progress finalizes in this life as well as those who believe eternal progress extends after this life, those who see a random universe and those who see God acting in everything, and more. While Mormonism has derived strength is its doctrinal certitudes, in many ways these certitudes are also backfiring as increasing populations of rising generations cite them as reasons for a loss of faith (I’ve written more on that here). I think Jesus calls us to “holier spheres” and “wider fields” when He invites us to “come, follow me.” And while what we know and what motivates us to answer that call is important, it is ultimately what we do when we answer that call that matters most.

"Come, follow me," the Savior said.
Then let us in his footsteps tread,
For thus alone can we be one
With God's own loved, begotten Son.

"Come, follow me," a simple phrase,
Yet truth's sublime, effulgent rays
Are in these simple words combined
To urge, inspire the human mind.

Is it enough alone to know
That we must follow him below,
While trav'ling thru this vale of tears?
No, this extends to holier spheres.

Not only shall we emulate
His course while in this earthly state,
But when we're freed from present cares,
If with our Lord we would be heirs.

We must the onward path pursue
As wider fields expand to view,
And follow him unceasingly,
Whate'er our lot or sphere may be.

For thrones, dominions, kingdoms, pow'rs,
And glory great and bliss are ours,
If we, throughout eternity,
Obey his words, "Come, follow me."

Faith is Cherry-picking

2019-04-26T20:15:28-07:00

Cherry-picking gets a bad rap. I can understand why. Cherry-picking can easily be confused with, or turn into, confirmation bias. But the two, while similar, are not the same.

Cherry-pick: To pick out the best or most desirable items from a list or group, especially to obtain some advantage or to present something in the best possible light.

Confirmation bias: A cognitive bias towards confirmation of the hypothesis under study.

Cherry-picking in matters of faith is simply the act of choosing the best, most desirable items which produce the best fruits. Confirmation bias is settling on a hypothesis then only choosing items which confirm it. The latter is often static and assumes matters are already settled. The former is often dynamic and relies on ongoing agency.

Cherry-picking isn’t without its risks. As mentioned, it can lead to confirmation bias. And without wisdom, it can turn into relativism. But the opposite, dogma, has risks too.

Dogma: An authoritative principle, belief or statement of opinion, especially one considered to be absolutely true and indisputable, regardless of evidence or without evidence to support it.

Dogma also risks confirmation bias – in fact, it requires it. Rather than requiring ongoing agency, dogma requires passive surrender.

But here’s the thing, faith has always involved cherry-picking – whether personally or institutionally. It has lead to both good and bad

Take the history of the Bible:

Pre-exilic Jews cherry-picked ancient myths and surrounding legal codes.
Exilic Jews cherry-picked Mosaic law to understand their exile.
Ezra cherry-picked which peoples and families were pure enough to help rebuild the second temple.
Post-exilic Josian reform cherry-picked Deuteronomistic codes to centralize and unify kingdom and religion.
Jesus cherry-picked Jewish laws to uphold and laws to let go of or “fulfill”.
Jesus and his disciples cherry-picked Jewish prophecy and re-contextualized it to explain his mission and ministry.
Jesus challenges us to cherry-pick law so that it hangs on the two great commandments of love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.
Paul cherry-picked eschatological understandings of Jesus’ teachings.
Paul tells us to accept all the brings us to faith, hope, and charity.
Various Jewish and Christian traditions cherry-picked which scriptural accounts to canonize and which not to.
Etc.

And in Mormonism and the Latter-day Saint church:

Joseph Smith cherry-picked, well, everything he could get his hands on (I love this about him and this faith).
In the Book of Mormon, Mormon and Moroni cherry-picked what to include in their accounts.
In the Book of Mormon, Moroni challenges us to cherry pick things which draw us to Christ and to reject things which don’t.
Joseph Smith cherry-picked scripture to develop its ideas of temple and ordinance work for the dead.
Joseph Smith cherry-picked to anchor revelations about multiple heavenly kingdoms to scriptures.
Joseph Smith cherry-picked scriptures about Abraham to justify polygamy.
Later, Wilford Woodruff cherry-picked scripture to justify moving away from polygamy.
Brigham Young (and others – most everyone at that time) cherry-picked scripture to justify racism – for Mormonism, barring blacks from going to the temple and being ordained to the priesthood.
Later, Spencer Kimball cherry-picked scripture to end barring blacks from temple and priesthood.
In the mid-20th century, the LDS church cherrypicked its own scripture and teachings to correlate teachings.
It has in some ways cherry-picked post-WWII nuclear family norms and made them eternal.
It cherry-picked a church policy developed in the 20th century regarding children in polygamous families to justify applying it in the 21st century towards children of LGBT parents.
Later, it cherry-picked and re-emphasized different principles to justify ending that policy towards children of LGBT parents.
Etc.

Now, if you’re reading this list and are a bit upset by the characterization of these things as “cherry-picking”, remember the definition:

Cherry-pick: To pick out the best or most desirable items from a list or group, especially to obtain some advantage or to present something in the best possible light.

That sounds an awful lot like the 13th Article of Faith:

we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

How are we to choose “anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy” without cherry-picking? Is everything “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy”? And if not, how can we choose? We need to see both the good and the bad in order to choose (whitewashing is one risk of cherry-picking). I think another reason there’s an aversion to cherry-picking is often it is seen as arbitrary. Certainly, if one chooses matters of faith arbitrarily that is problematic. But as the above illustrates, the question isn’t whether we are cherry-picking or not. The question is what justifications are we using to cherry pick what we did. That’s very similar to hermeneutics:

Hermeneutics: The study or theory of the methodical interpretation of text, especially holy texts.

Cherry-picking is simply using our agency and morality to examine what is good and what is not, then using our agency to select the good. Cherry-picking is owning our faith. Cherry-picking is living, breathing, bleeding faith. And cherry-picking can be a deeply revelatory process.

We can choose poorly. If I cherry-pick to gratify my pride, to cover my sins, to abuse power over others, or to tear others down, I am abusing this agency (see Doctrine & Covenants 121). But pretending we’re not cherry picking just means we don’t understand how what we have inherited has already been cherry-picked for us. If we are to follow the Mormon creed to seek out “anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy” or to accept “one of the grand fundamental principles of ‘Mormonism’… to receive truth, let it come from whence it may” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2nd ed. 5:499) then we’ll need to develop the ability to prayerfully cherry-pick. Another term for this may be discernment or personal revelation.

President Nelson spoke about the critical need for increased personal revelation:

“in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost. My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation.”

April 2018 General Conference ‘Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives‘

I agree wholeheartedly with this. In the information age with exponentially increasing information and access to it, gifts such as discernment or cherry-picking become vital – a new form of literacy. As revelation involves “cherry-picking” as we apply discernment and interpretation, we need to develop a Christ-centered hermeneutic to govern revelation itself by. How can we discern from amongst all the “cherries” (so to speak) we’re surrounded by in the church, in our thoughts, and in our lives? I’ve written about what I feel is a Christ-centered hermeneutic. Here is a quick summary:

Jesus tells us to “hang all the law and the prophets” on the two great commandments: love God and love thy neighbor (Mat. 22:37-40).
Paul warned than prophecy, without charity, will fail (1 Cor. 13:8).
Moroni said anything inspires us to do good and believe in Christ comes from Christ (Moroni 7:14-16).
Joseph Smith taught about the limits of priesthood authority (Doctrine and Covenants 121:36-37, 41-42).
John said that we must overcome fear and put love first as God has (1 John 4:18-19).

If I run across something in the gospel that doesn’t pass these filters, I feel no obligation to it — no matter who said it or where it came from. And, conversely, when I do run across something that passes these filters — no matter where it came from — I feel obligated to accept it, even when it requires repentance on my part. General Conference, scriptures, talks, lectures, books, blog posts, articles, conversations, testimonies, lessons, impressions, ceremonies, covenants, etc. I seek to run it all through this hermeneutic of Christlike charity. And when I do, I find the LDS church can be a great tool for my continued discipleship – even though it also requires my discarding rotten “cherries” along the way that I prayerfully find are “not in harmony with our values, principles, or doctrine.” (Deiter Uchtdorf, ‘Come, Join with Us‘, October 2013 General Conference).

Patrick Mason used the analogy of a shopping cart with items we no longer need or want to describe this need for discernment:

One of the problems we have in Mormonism is that we have loaded too much into the Truth Cart. And then when anything in the cart starts to rot a bit, or look unseemly upon further inspection, some have a tendency to overturn the entire cart or seek a refund for the whole lot. We have loaded so much into the Truth Cart largely because we have wanted to have the same kind of certainty about our religious claims—down to rather obscure doctrinal issues—as we do about scientific claims. . .

Over the years the church leadership and laity have also done our religion no favors by putting more in the cart than the cart could possibly bear. . . .Many of the things which trouble people are things that we probably should never have been all that dogmatic about in the first place. I find that a little humility about our doctrine, especially given the contingencies of its historical development, goes a long way in remaining satisfied with the whole…

FairMormon 2016 Conference, ‘The Courage of Our Convictions: Embracing Mormonism in a Secular Age‘

Avoiding any or all cherry-picking is what may lead us to “overturn the entire cart” or throw the baby out with the bathwater. So embrace cherry-picking; it’s what leads us to the fruit of living faith. But don’t treat it lightly. Use it to take responsibility for and own your faith, what you believe, and why you believe it. Allow it to give you prophetic authority in your own life as you seek personal revelation. But also allow it to lead to your own repentance as you answer the call to change to become like God. Apply a Christ-centered hermeneutic. And, importantly, be patient with yourself and with your fellow cherry-pickers.

Faith and Magnolia Trees

2019-04-07T21:15:51-07:00

My favorite time of year is Spring. I love watching plants come alive after the deep, dark winter months. We have a white magnolia tree outside our front window. Every year around the first week of April giant flowers explode all across this 10ft high tree and I feel my own heart bursting with gratitude. I can’t help but think of the many times that the scriptures use trees as a metaphor. Jesus spoke of how a mustard seed grows into a gigantic tree that becomes home to all varieties of animals. Zenos in the Book of Mormon compared all of the people of the world to olive trees. I can’t help but think of myself as that magnolia tree.

When we first planted it, it grew quickly, gaining several feet in height in just a season. It was tall but skinny and I worried about it during several windstorms. “Did we plant it too close to the house?” “Were the stakes holding it up strong enough to keep it from blowing over?” Then when winter came and it seems to lose all of its broad leaves in one afternoon I was sure it was going to die and we’d have to chop it down, but we waited to see what would happen in spring. Sure enough, the first year it bloomed and there were a total of 3 blossoms. I was deflated, but happy that it at least wasn’t dead. I resigned myself to a better showing the following spring. Over the next few years, my magnolia didn’t get much taller, but the trunk widened and it no longer needed external supports. I couldn’t see it but I hoped that the roots were strong and deep. Every year when the cold weather comes I am sad to see the leaves quickly fall from my favorite tree and it begins hibernation until the warm weather returns.

My faith feels deciduous. I have seasons of great blossoming, seasons when my roots grow deep into the earth, and seasons when I feel completely alone and cut off from God. I have learned to accept this cycle as part of the growth process because like my magnolia, I’ve come to understand that to enjoy the rebirth of Spring, something first has to die.

Nicodemus, I’m assuming, wasn’t a stupid man. Yet he had difficulty understanding that Jesus was asking his disciples to be born again. Maybe it was because he couldn’t see past the metaphor, maybe it was because he felt Jesus was asking him to give up too much, maybe he understood but his heart wasn’t yet in it. We cannot know, but centuries later we can learn from this intimate dialog. Jesus is telling Nicodemus that metamorphosis is required. A deep, soul altering, change is the only way to grow.

I’m learning that it’s not a one-time event. It’s cyclical. Season by season, hour by hour, I have to let go of what I’m holding on to. If my magnolia could talk I wonder if it would mourn the loss of its beautiful leaves each year? Or if it would gladly throw them off in anticipation for the hard-won reawakening after a long winter? Would it wish to hold on to its leaves for protection from the snow and wind? Or does it understand that the Winter is a time of growth too? That in the dark trying months of cold the nutrients it has stored up all last year are framing beautiful giant blossoms?

Viewing my faith in this manner has helped me repent more readily. The practice has taught me that I am going to have to hurt. I might even occasionally mourn the sins I am trying to give up but when I look of Jesus Christ I can find the hope of new beginnings I need to carry on.

Mormon Matters Discussion on Obedience and Conscience

2018-11-08T13:58:25-08:00

“there wrestled a man with Jacob until the breaking of the day.” (Genesis 32:24)

I participated in a Mormon Matters discussion on the wrestle between obedience and conscience with Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon (Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from Claremont Graduate University), Jana Riess (Ph.D. in American religious history from Columbia University), and Eric D. Huntsman (professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at BYU). It was a pleasure to discuss with them the challenges and opportunities we have to engage in this wrestle as we seek to follow the spirit while also engaging in the church.

There was a lot of ground covered, but I wanted to include two quotes I shared during the discussion.

This first one is from the Latter-day Saint Millennial Star (vol 14, num 38, pgs 593-595, 11/13/1852) and seeks to answer the vital question “To what extent is obedience to those who hold the Priesthood required?”:

Because of … the apparent imperfections of men on whom God confers authority, the question is sometimes asked,–to what extent is obedience to those who hold the Priesthood required? This is a very important question, and one which should be understood by all Saints. In attempting to answer this question, we would repeat, in short, what we have already written, that willing obedience to the laws of God, administered by the Priesthood, is indispensable to salvation; but we would further add, that a proper conservative to this power exists for the benefit of all, and none are required to tamely and blindly submit to a man because he has a portion of the Priesthood. We have heard men who hold the Priesthood remark, that they would do any thing they were told to do by those who presided over them, [even] if they knew it was wrong: but such obedience as this is worse than folly to us; it is slavery in the extreme; and the man who would thus willingly degrade himself, should not claim a rank among intelligent beings, until he turns from his folly.

… Others, in the extreme exercise of their almighty (!) authority, have taught that such obedience was necessary, and that no matter what the Saints were told to do by their Presidents, they should do it without asking any questions. When the Elders of Israel will so far indulge in these extreme notions of obedience, as to teach them to the people, it is generally because they have it in their hearts to do wrong themselves, and wish to pave the way to accomplish that wrong…”

The second one is from ”Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals” and frames how the challenge to be peacemakers calls us to engage in this wrestle taking a higher path:

Peacemaking doesn’t mean passivity. It is the act of interrupting injustice without mirroring injustice, the act of disarming evil without destroying the evildoer, the act of finding a third way that is neither fight nor flight but the careful, arduous pursuit of reconciliation and justice. It is about a revolution of love that is big enough to set both the oppressed and the oppressors free.

I think if religious adherents and administrators can both find charitable ways that acknowledge the authority one another have, faith today can be strengthened and restored.

I, Thou, and Church

2018-08-27T20:30:42-07:00

(Mary Washing Feet of Jesus – Source: Wikipedia)

Martin Buber (a Jewish philosopher in the early 20th century) wrote a book titled “I and Thou”. In it, he argues that there are two kinds of relationships: an “I it” relationship and an “I thou” relationship.

An “I it” relationship is essentially a transactional relationship. It collapses a person or being into a function that serves a purpose for you: like a cashier, waiter/waitress, or bank teller. The person takes on a utilitarian function and plays a role. This relationship isn’t necessarily bad when the function is good; we need these to form large, complex societies.

A problem is when these instrumentalist/transactional relationships are all that we have or when all our associations collapse into these “I it” relationships where we only relate to or see others as serving a functional purpose for us. This leads to alienation and disconnection.

Buber calls “I thou” relationships encounters where you meet another being in their totality free from the instrumentalist agenda. So rather than collapsing a human being into the function that they serve, “I thou” relationships continuously unfold the dynamic and infinite reality of the other. These sacred encounters are rooted in love, intersubjectivity, trust, validation, and forgiveness which create a space that Buber calls the “between”. And it is in this ”between” that God can be found.

I think the church with its hierarchy, callings, corporate structures, and roles it asks all to play can often collapse into merely providing “I it” relationships which, ultimately, cannot alone house God or feed our souls. As an example, the expectation of giving everyone a calling, function, or role which we are to always fulfill and magnify can provide belonging in an “I it” relationship but, ironically, that can simultaneously create isolation if we never behold or reveal each other beyond instrumentalist, “I it” roles. Additionally, our sustaining in church hierarchy can collapse into “I it” relationships where we see the role of leaders being ultimate authorities requiring obedience of others. An “I thou” sustaining of imperfect leaders invokes God as it supports and strives with them in their flawed humanity in “all patience and faith” (Doctrine & Covenants 21:5) – see 14 Keys to Sustaining Prophets for an exploration of this.

But I see some of the changes being made – more flexible curricula, 1st Sunday councils, ministering programs, more collaborative leadership councils, etc. – as attempts to acknowledge that we need to do a better job providing these essential “I thou” encounters. Are we fully realizing the potential these inspired changes have? I’ve also observed that even though these changes open us up more to these sacred “I thou” encounters, sometimes we have a hard time relating in church in any way other than “I it” as that is the posture our spiritual muscle memory sometimes assumes. These habits can collapse Sunday lessons into call/response liturgies, 1st Sunday councils into lessons, ministering into Home/Visiting Teaching we ulterior motives, councils into order briefings, etc. Again, we need both kinds of relationships, but in moderation that nourishes both our institutional functions and our personal souls.

Jesus is an excellent example here. His healings and teachings are “I thou” encounters where many others saw those individuals as “I it” – their playing the role of sinners who must be punished for their sins. When Mary broke from the role society required of her as a sinner and washed Jesus’ feet, the Pharisees were upset with Jesus saying he should have, “known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:39) The woman is an “it” to them playing the function of witnessing of sin. In Jesus’ parable, he teaches about forgiveness, then asks the question to Simon, “Seest thou this woman?” (Luke 7:44) That call for Simon to “see” the woman is a call for him to look past “I it” and behold her as “thou”. Jesus’ forgiveness is controversial not merely because of who Mary was; it was controversial because it asked others to let go of the “it” role they had heaped on her. Forgiveness brings us into the “I thou” spaces to worship God; judgment collapses our relationships and worship into “I it”.

The gospel gives us the tools to enter into these sacred “I thou” spaces and meet God; church provides the laboratory. But we have to dethrone the god of “I it” which, as it turns out, is ourselves and enthrone the other there.

A Christian Response to Pain

2018-06-10T07:00:43-07:00

The following is a talk I gave in my ward on June 10, 2018

Introduction

I’m grateful to speak to you today on a topic that I feel is vital to how we choose to live our faith. None of us can escape the question I was asked to address: How can our Christian belief and morality translate more completely into Christian action?

As Jesus is the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), it is important to note right away that Jesus says Christian action is non-negotiable: Jesus taught, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 12:21-22), “they that heareth, and doeth not, is like someone that without a foundation…” (Luke 6:49), and “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15).

Christian belief, no matter how brilliantly stated or firmly held, is simply not sufficient. So, how can we move from beliefs to the works Jesus calls for? This isn’t an easy question and, I fear, I can’t answer it without first illustrating what’s at stake: life and death – and not just in metaphorical ways.

Years ago, I shared a lighthearted saying to my kids. This is attributed to Thomas Robert Dewar in the early 20th century. The saying deals with the purpose of life and goes something like this:

We’re all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for, I have no idea.

The kids got a laugh out of that. But Alex, three days later, came up to me out of the blue and said, “I figured it out, dad.” “Figured out what?”, I asked. “You told that joke about helping others – I figured out why the others are here.” Curious what a 7-year-old’s take on the question of life would be I asked, “Okay. Why are others here?” What he said next blew me away. He said, “The others are here to help us in return.” In a world full of cynicism, distrust, and cold hearts the world needs more Alex’s.

But this realization gets at a fundamental fact that we must all face: we all need each other. And why do we need each other? Because this world is fallen, broken, unfair, unjust, and painful. Acknowledging that is not just part of life, it is (interestingly) where Christian belief must start if it is to orient towards the works of Jesus. It’s a bit like the line said by Wesley from The Princess Bride by William Goldman: “Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” There’s a lot being sold in Jesus’ name. Focusing on Jesus’ response to pain will put us on his path.

The Fall

What I’m describing here is The Fall, which isn’t merely a grand event that happened in the past with flaming swords and fig leaves but which is continuously unfolding in front of us today. Rather than go into a doctrinal explanation of the fall I think it it is best illustrated in the experiences we all have with it ourselves.

When I was a missionary in South Korea I met someone as we passed on the street. After some conversation with him, it became apparent that he suffered a cognitive disability. We saw that we could be of service to him at least by helping him with things he said he needed. As we met in his home, the full scale of his situation hit us. He had a young daughter who now effectively had to raise herself since the mother had just passed away and the father had to seek whatever work he could get with his limited abilities. It seemed the mother was the one who was holding this family together and it was failing without her. Eventually, they faced eviction and we helped them prepare to move out. I remember the last time I saw them as we helped move their refrigerator down 3 flights of stairs to pack up in a truck. They didn’t know what lied ahead of them. In a just world, this would not have happened. And in a just world, I could have done more.

Fast forward 10 years and I’ve since married, had kids, and started my career. In my first job here in the Seattle area, I worked at a small start-up company which was later acquired by Cisco. I remember one of the co-workers would challenge our annual company fundraiser to the local food bank by generously offering to match our donations up to the amount of his annual bonus. He and his wife were both pillars in their community. After acquisition people at the company, including myself, moved to other jobs but we kept in touch. One day I got a text saying he was shot and killed as an innocent bystander to a random, senseless crime while he was driving his family back from the airport. In a peaceful world, this would not have happened.

These are just two examples from an ocean of pain and suffering on this earth and not just in our area or in our day. Scriptures describe a “gulf of misery and woe” (2 Nephi1:13). There’s an ancient book of scripture which, in my opinion, does the best job to clearly describe the fall. It’s a book we often skip, perhaps because it describes the fall too well. It’s not a happy read.

Ecclesiastes chapter 3 opens with an expansive view of life:

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…

It then lists the beauties of life: Birth, growth, healing, building, laughter, dancing, disarming, love, gain, acceptance, inclusion, connection, and peace.

But it also describes their opposites:

Death, decay, murder, ruin, weeping, mourning, arming, cold hearts, loss, rejection, division, exclusion, hate, and war

Paraphrasing the rest of the chapter the author despairs:

What’s the point? I see beauty but I also see how all will suffer. We fail to understand God. There’s no good in us, and we will be judged. All we can do is do good and enjoy life. But God is eternal and our lives and efforts are fleeting. We keep making the same mistakes – pettiness, hypocrisy, prejudice, inequality, injustice. We’re no better than the beasts. It’s all pointless; and we’re all going to die anyways. Does anyone even know for sure that our spirits will go on? We’ll all be forgotten soon enough. So why not just work hard and enjoy what we can?

Brothers and sisters, and I’ll add youth since they see and experience this too, if you’ve looked at the evil in this world, or had it break into your life, and felt despair, doubt, fear, anger, bitterness, or hopelessness please know that is a natural response. And it’s a response Ecclesiastes walks us through. This is bleak, but an awareness of this bleakness equips us to see what’s at stake with the fall without sugar coating it. The author of Ecclesiastes goes on (quoting from chapter 4 now):

1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of [of those who] were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

It’s important to realize that many (Jew and Christian) saw the need to keep Ecclesiastes in scripture. I know many for whom this hopelessness breaks faith in God, faith in others, or faith in themselves. In another experience on my mission, we met someone who worked at a children’s trauma ward in a hospital. From the horrors she saw in the pain children experienced (often at the hands of others) she had lost faith in God and mankind. How could a loving God allow such things? How could we do such things?

Passing Through the Mists of Darkness

In the Book of Mormon Lehi faced this in his vision of the Tree of Life. In his vision, he was lead by a figure in a white robe who took him into a “dark and dreary waste”, then promptly left him there (1 Ne 8:5-8). After working his way through the mists of darkness, Lehi saw numberless people progressing on the path with an iron rod that lead to the Tree (1 Ne 8:21). But where did the path and rod of iron lead? Right into the mists of darkness. Not around it, not over it, not under it, not into a protected tunnel with motorized walkways, but right into it. It seems we must all pass through the mists of darkness in this fallen world to reach the Tree. Avoiding passing through the pain and suffering of this world will not just halt our progress to the Tree of Life, it will prevent us from even starting the journey.

So, what are we to do? Well, sometimes people ask, “What would Jesus do?” That’s a good start as it puts our focus on actions not beliefs. But I like to remind people that turning over tables and chasing people around with a whip is within the realm of possibility of what Jesus would do. If that’s how you feel at times, I won’t blame you. I feel that way too sometimes. Maybe we could do a fifth Sunday lesson where we set up tables in the gym, hand people a whip, and take turns re-enacting Jesus cleansing the temple to let some of our anger out.

When thinking about how to respond to evil, it’s important to understand anger here. We so often misunderstand anger. Anger, when it’s understood, when we face up to it, can be a revelatory process that says: “I am revealing to you something deep about myself and I’m angry because something hurt me, something I love, or something I cherish. Something I want to protect has been injured and violated – and I need to tell you about this so you know me more intimately and more deeply.” Do we let those in our congregation reveal themselves to us in this way? Or do we prevent this revelation and intimacy from being expressed? Are we listening to the pain felt and expressed by those in our ward (whether they are in our pews or classes today or not)? So many are hurting around us. Do they feel safe expressing that to us? Are we humble enough to hear it? And are we courageous enough to mourn with them?

While anger can be transformed into revelation, it can also be harmful. Galatians lists anger as one of the works of the flesh and that if we cannot turn it to the works of righteousness it will turn us from the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21). So, how else can we respond?

In one of the most beautiful parts of our scripture, we have a story of God weeping. Enoch “beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness” (Moses 7:26). Then Enoch saw “that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and [God] wept” (Moses 7:28) Enoch was confused by this and asked, “How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?” (Moses 7:29). God responds:

Behold these thy [kindred]; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto [them] their knowledge, in the day I created [them]; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto [mankind] their agency; … and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood … wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer? (Moses 7:32,33,37)

Enoch seems to have assumed, as I think we’re all tempted to assume, that Godliness makes one immune to or protected from suffering, pain, and sorrow — that we somehow won’t have to pass through the mists of darkness from the fall — when, in fact, the scriptures state the opposite: God chooses to join and weep with us in our fallen state. What does that say about God? What does it say about Eve who saw the wisdom in passing through sorrow together?

When Jesus taught in the synagogues in Galilee he cited these words of Isaiah to frame his entire ministry:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19)

And elsewhere Isaiah described the Messiah as being immersed in pain (Isaiah 53:3-5):

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Our discipleship must follow a similar path. We can’t reach the Tree of Life – which is the love of God – without facing the mists of darkness of this fallen world, and not just face them but pass right through them. Our Christian action is to be a response to pain and suffering, not an escape from it. And as we do this, our discipleship will transform from passive beliefs into charitable actions.

I want to give a few specific examples of what beliefs might prevent us from making this transformation. But I want to be clear that I am not saying belief is bad. We’re asked to have faith and trust in God and that involves our beliefs. My intent here is to show how if our discipleship merely stops at belief or we hold our beliefs in ways that excuse ourselves from Christian action that we will ultimately fail in following Jesus.

So, what things might cause our beliefs to fail to grow into Christian action? Here are a few.

Religious Escapism

One of these is religious escapism – or when we excuse ourselves from acting to face evil. This can come in many forms but one can be when we only ever see the atonement as something that occurred in the past. The wonderful truth that Christ has atoned for all the pains and sins of mankind can be mistreated as merely a coping mechanism. We might think, “It’s ultimately okay if we don’t do anything for people who are suffering, even if we can, because the atonement will make things better for people in the end. And how grateful we can be because of that.”

Or we might think, “The atonement is only a power of change and healing in people’s individual lives.” It’s a bit like thinking we’ve done our part to relieve hunger by making sure we have our food storage or that we’ve addressed homelessness by making sure we have that extra room in our home to store stuff. But the atonement of Jesus Christ leads us to more: to think and act beyond ourselves (Matt 16:25), to forge relationships (Mark 12:31), to love our enemies (Matt 5:44), and to heal others (Matt 25:31–46) and as active responsibilities, not passive promises. John the Baptist called people to “prepare ye the way of the Lord” (Mark 1:3) not “sit back and wait for the Lord to fix it”.

The title of one of our hymns asks us an important question: Have I done any good in the world today? (Hymn 223). Its chorus calls us to “wake up and do something more than dream of your mansion above.” If the eye of our worship is only a reward after this life, or for God to come down and fix it for us, it will often fail to inspire us to act today.

One of the names God is known by is Immanuel which means “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; 2 Ne 7:14; Matt 1:22-23). I’m inspired by one of our Primary Hymns which calls us to do the same as we “walk with [others]” (“I’ll Walk With You”). One of the ways our family has chosen to act in the face of hate, bigotry, and religious intolerance is to take our children to interact with those of other faiths, creeds, or ethnicities. We’ve taken our children to a synagogue, to a mosque, and to welcome immigrants seeking safety in our land. When our children must face for themselves the mists of darkness that come from bigotry and hate against these groups, those mists will have to face the bright lights of a Rabbi graciously welcoming us into his home to share with us a Torah scroll that survived Nazism, a Muslim community welcoming and giving us food in their Mosque as they shared their faith and heritage, and the faces of innocent immigrant children as our children painted their faces and played soccer alongside them.

Overbearing Tradition

Another possible hurdle is tradition. Now, tradition is a wonderful thing. Much of our wisdom comes from traditions that have stood the test of time. Our sacrament, ordinances, scriptures, laws, science, trades, arts, etc. are types of traditions. But the test of whether something will lead us to Christ isn’t whether it was passed down or not.

Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Polish-born Rabbi, who was captured by the Gestapo and later escaped, made this observation about how religion can wither on the vine if it merely relies on tradition:

When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendor of the past; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion–its message becomes meaningless. (God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism)

We cannot rely merely on doctrine, obedience, policies/programs, first visions, tradition, or authority. Our religious beliefs must be a living fountain that looks forward and acts with faith, worship, love, and compassion if we are to face the crisis from the fall unfolding today.

The Book of Mormon talks of traditions being wicked and righteous. And while we must turn our hearts to the fathers, Malachi and Jesus both follow that up with the fathers turning their hearts to the children. (Malachi 4:6; Luke 1:17; D&C 98:16; 3 Ne 25:6).

When the new First Presidency was formally announced, Elder Eyring had this to say of our youth:

There’s a power coming in this ‘millennial’ generation … A lot of people like to talk about, ‘How are we going to hold on to them?’ I think the thing is, ‘How can we hold on to them and not be left behind?’ That’s what I see of the millennials I spend time with.

We can turn our hearts to our children, minister, and listen to them as they speak marvelous things like Jesus did with the Nephite and Lamanite children when he ministered to them:

And it came to pass that he did teach and minister unto the children of the multitude of whom hath been spoken, and he did loose their tongues, and they did speak unto their fathers great and marvelous things, even greater than he had revealed unto the people; and he loosed their tongues that they could utter. (3 Nephi 26:14)

Are we cultivating environments where our children can loose their tongues? Are we willing to listen to what they have to say? What things might we be doing that are binding their words and spirits? Is some of what our children say strange or hard to believe (“marvelous”)? Could God be speaking through our children things which we have been unable to hear?

Obsession with Obedience

A final issue I’ll mention is an obsession with obedience. Like community or tradition, obedience is not bad and I am not advocating disobedience – Jesus asks us to “keep [his] commandments” (John 14:15). Reducing Christian discipleship to obedience can lead to a lot of activity, but it seems to often fail to lead to the activity Jesus calls for. Paul warned that “no [one] is justified by the law in the sight of God” (Gal 3:11) and that “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified” (Romans 3:20). We can’t obey our way into heaven; perhaps because an obsession with obedience so often brings with it the judgment of those who act or think differently.

Jesus’ parables expertly teach this. Luke says Jesus addressed his parable of the publican and sinner to “[people] which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others” (Luke 18:9):

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

Jesus’ conclusion seems counter-intuitive to an obedience only mindset:

I tell you, [the publican] went down to his house justified rather than the [Pharisee]: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18:9-14)

In his parable of the prodigal son it is the elder, obedient son that judged his wayward brother who is chastised by the father, not the wayward, yet returning son (Luke 15:11-32). The older son wasn’t chastised because of his obedience, he was chastised because he saw his obedience as a license to judge others, be jealous of their forgiveness, or excuse his own repentance.

Jesus consistently puts love, repentance, and forgiveness above obedience. Jesus squarely places both “the law and the prophets” under the authority of the two great laws of love (Matt. 22:37-40); the Book of Mormon warns that “none but the truly penitent are saved” (Alma 42:24); and Jesus commands us today through modern scripture that “of you it is required to forgive all men” (D&C 64:10) after warning “[they] that forgiveth not … standeth condemned before the Lord” (D&C 64:9).

This should have a transformative impact on how we might act as we minister to one another. An overemphasis on obedience tends to see the gospel as a set of formula or incantations to invoke to get the designated outcomes. Its approach says: “You have a problem? Here’s how to fix it. Let me know how it goes.” – a variation of “Take two of these and call me in the morning.” This approach is tempting because it’s safe. I just have to relay the formula and I don’t have to intimately know the pain of the person. And furthermore, if it doesn’t work, I can place the blame squarely on the person for not following the instructions. But this leads to isolation and feeling about people rather than connecting and feeling with people – regardless of whether the prescription may work or not.

Compare this with an approach to ministering that places greater emphasis on Jesus’ higher principles of love, repentance, and forgiveness. This approach says: “You have a problem? I’m so sorry. I’m here with you.” This is the father of the prodigal son. The father knew the wayward son sinned, damaged relationships, and was disobedient. But the father also wisely knew that without love and forgiveness, he had no hope of healing that relationship. This is more difficult than the formulaic approach because in order to do so we have to push the false idol of judgment aside, connect with something within us that can relate to that pain, and open ourselves to vulnerability. This is “mourning with those that mourn” (Mosiah 18:9), and it places us on sacred, revelatory ground where we can see and know each other as we really are. This is the God Immanuel. This is Zion. And in my experience, it is the most powerful force to motivate Christian action.

Conclusion

There are many other things which can prevent us from turning our Christian beliefs into Christian action, “even so many that I cannot number them” as King Benjamin puts it (Mosiah 4:29). And there are many different ways we can put Christian belief into action – I recommend reading Richard Bushman’s “Radiant Mormonism” article in Deseret News (https://bit.ly/2kYrCqp). But as we face the mists of darkness today, turn towards those who are hurting around us, and act in ways to understand and heal that pain, we will be on the path of Christian action and discipleship.

I’ll close with the words of Elder Uchtdorf which he gave in an address to the Church’s Inner City Gospel Mission in 2015. He gave an urgent call to charity when he said:

… we will not succeed if we only go through the motions of religiosity. We could cover the earth with members of the Church, put a meetinghouse on every corner, dot the land with temples, fill the earth with copies of the Book of Mormon, send missionaries to every country, and say millions of prayers. But if we neglect to grasp the core of the gospel message and fail to help those who suffer or turn away those who mourn, and if we do not remember to be charitable, we “are as [waste], which the refiners do cast out.” (Alma 34:29; see also Matthew 25:31–46)

To put it simply, having charity and caring for one another is not simply a good idea. It is not simply one more item in a seemingly infinite list of things we ought to consider doing. It is at the core of the gospel—an indispensable, essential, foundational element. Without this transformational work of caring for our fellowmen, the Church is but a facade of the organization God intends for His people. Without charity and compassion we are a mere shadow of who we are meant to be—both as individuals and as a Church. Without charity and compassion, we are neglecting our heritage and endangering our promise as children of God. No matter the outward appearance of our righteousness, if we look the other way when others are suffering, we cannot be justified.”

Source: https://bit.ly/2Je2KFf