Would You Like To Help Me?

I was asked a couple days ago to substitute teach in the Gospel Doctrine class in Sunday School this coming week on the topic "Woe unto you ... Hypocrites".  The scriptures referred to in this lesson include:

John 12:1-8, 12:12-18

Matt 21:1-11, 21:23-46, 22:15-46, 23, 26:6-13

Mark 11-12, 14:3-9

Luke 11:37-51, 19:29-48, 20

The teacher's helps for the lesson encouraging reading each passage at least three times.  It encourages:  "The first time, read it [each passage] to comprehend what the passages contain.  Then study it more carefully, looking for principles, doctrines, and significant events.  Then read it again, determining which passages will best meet class members' needs and planning ways to discuss those passages.

I hope to write my notes as I do this here, sharing them with you.  Will you help me by reading, pondering, and praying about them too, then sharing insights you receive as a comment here?

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I have one to share now as a start.  John 12:1-8 tells the story of Jesus travelling to Bethany, where Martha served him supper.  Lazarus, whom Jesus previously had raised from the dead, sat at the table with him.  Mary then took a pound of ointment of spikenard and anointed Jesus' feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair as she did this.

The Bible Dictionary tells us that spikenard is a very aromatic liquid derived from the root of a tree.  I am thinking that a pound of it would probably fill a pint bottle, so Mary used it freely as she anointed Jesus' feet.  It was enough that the entire room was filled with the exotic odor of this expensive fragrance.

I am touched with Mary's use of her hair to wipe his feet rather than any type of cloth.  I imagine she had to wipe her tears in addition to the spikenard from his feet, so filled was she with gratitude for her Savior and the opportunity to give this service to Him.

Judas, the same who would soon betray Jesus, was also in the room and objected to what he viewed as an unnecessary extravagance.  We are told in verse 6 that "he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein".  A cross-reference here to John 13:29 indicates that Judas had this bag when at the Last Supper.  Judas appears to have been the money-keeper of the Twelve, using what was there for their needs and to give to the poor.  Judas, a hypocrite, would have rather had additional money in the bag than to have freely used the spikenard for Mary's anointing.

One other verse, the seventh, fascinates me here.  It seems clear that the Twelve had very little, if any, understanding of what was about to happen to Jesus, or its significance.  That understanding came later for them.  Yet Jesus in verse 7 says to Judas, "Let her alone, against the day of my burying hath she kept this."  I believe this indicates Mary did know and understand. 

Mary was a remarkable woman.

Priorities and Onion Peeling

I deeply love my wife Willyne.  I have been married to her for thirty-three years.  Her smile that captivated me when I met her is a window into her soul.  As time passes, I become more and more appreciative of the depth and many layers of the goodness that her outer smile reflects.

One of the things that I admire about her is her urgent desire to truly follow our Savior, Jesus Christ.  To do this, she studies, she prays, and she tries to live each day according to the principles He taught and that she learns through her study and prayers.  She will be the first person to tell you she is not perfect. As she gradually gets closer to the Lord through reading the words of apostles and prophets, through prayer, and by striving to live consistently with that, she becomes more aware of things she could have done better and more desirous to make amends with anyone she might have offended. 

In a way she is on a journey that might be compared to peeling an onion.  It would have to be a sweet Vidalia onion to have any merit as a comparison.  As she peels one layer of the onion, it reveals another layer.  It is never ending, but because the journey is sweet, it is still very satisfying.

I love General Conference.  I love the way I feel all weekend.  I love the talks.  I love the music.  It ends way too quickly.

This year, Willyne, who serves as Relief Society president in our ward, has challenged each sister to read conference issue cover to cover.  As an additional incentive, she has invited them all to a breakfast at our home in June ... if they have completed this challenge.

I know I'm always welcome to these activities in our home.  I probably will say hello a few times, and quietly enjoy the breakfast from my study area.  I appreciate the hearty welcome, and I also know it blesses the sisters to be together.  Still, this has given me new incentive to read the conference issue myself.  I have also been listening to it, via the Mormon channel on my Android phone while driving.

In my reading I have reached "Desire" by Elder Dallin H. Oaks in the Saturday afternoon session.  In my listening I am at "Priesthood Power" by President Thomas S. Monson in the Priesthood session, this as last Saturday evening closed and as the Primary song encourages, I was getting ready for Sunday.  I have been especially touched by both of these talks.  As a side note, I always especially enjoy the choirs of young men that are assembled for Priesthood sessions.  Listening to them again in the past few days brought this sweet memory back to me.

The next day, Sunday, we had a combined Priesthood and Relief Society meeting taught by our Bishop, Lee Hogan.  He covered several topics, centered around building the desire to be closer to the Savior.  One of the tools he encouraged us to use was to read the conference issue cover to cover.  He has read it multiple times himself, and it showed in his presentation.

Willyne has been enjoying a daily devotional for some time now.  It has blessed her life in so many ways.  She is now increasing the time she is dedicating to her devotional by making several sacrifices, including getting up a little earlier each day than she already does.

It is remarkable to me how the blessings of good priorities can line up like this.  By being willing to peel one layer of the onion, in a manner of speaking, such as beginning to read the conference talks cover to cover, new gems are revealed that weren't noticed the first time.  This prepares you for what you don't realize is coming next, like the Bishop's talk, that builds on the previous layer.

Maybe I am like you in one way.  There are many good things that I do, and I have ideas for many more that I don't seem to get to.  I have some things pressing on me that I feel the need to do.  Which should I continue, which should I give up, so that I can do other things I realize are better (or best).

Deciding these priorities is a continuous process.  There is one thing I have just been reminded of.  A daily devotional is helpful in so many ways, one of which is to help see priorities more clearly.  Reading the conference talks helped more.  The most recent talk I have read was on our desires and priorities, and helped me focus further.

Thank you, Willyne, for quietly encouraging me to go to the next layer.  I love you.

Why Do We Need Such Resilient Faith?

In the words of Elder Russell M. Nelson in April 2011 General Conference,

"Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-Day Saint. Each of us will be tested. The Apostle Paul warned that in the latter days, those who diligently follow the Lord 'shall suffer persecution.' (2 Timothy 3:12)

"That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives."

I have already seen much in my own experience to testify the truth of Elder Nelson's message.  I believe he is correct in encouraging us to continuously strengthen our faith to be ready as his words become increasingly true with every passing day.

Sweet Random Thoughts on Faith

I am reading a chapter a day in the Book of Mormon while focusing on the New Testament this year.  I am now at Alma 32 and 33, and between those verses and some inspired counsel from apostles and prophets compiled in the Institute manual, I had some sweet random thoughts the past couple days, including,

Alma 32:23 "And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little children do have words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned."

Elder Neal A. Maxwell commented on this in the April 1996 General Conference,

“Children often have the ‘thoughts and [the] intents of [their] hearts’ focused on the Master. Though not full of years, such children are full of faith! Too young for formal Church callings, they have been ‘called to serve’ as exemplifiers, doing especially well when blessed with ‘goodly parents’ (1 Ne. 1:1).

“Just as the scriptures assure, ‘little children do have words given unto them many times’ (Alma 32:23). For example, the resurrected Jesus revealed things to the Nephite children, who then taught adults and their parents ‘even greater’ things than Jesus had taught. (3 Ne. 26:14)."

As I talk to, play with, and simply hold my grandchildren I feel their faith and their good spirits.  There is indeed much we can learn of Christ through them.  My heart is full just thinking about it.

Too soon, they will grow up and be subjected to the "firehose" of the world's experiences, for both good and ill.  One of the things they will be told again and again is that "seeing is believing", that tangible proof is essential to accept any truth.  I find it helpful to consider the words of Elder Boyd K. Packer in this regard,

“In a world filled with skepticism and doubt, the expression ‘seeing is believing’ promotes the attitude, 'You show me, and I will believe.’ We want all of the proof and all of the evidence first. It seems hard to take things on faith.

“When will we learn that in spiritual things it works the other way about—that believing is seeing?  Spiritual belief precedes spiritual knowledge.  When we believe in things that are not seen but are nevertheless true, then we have faith”

In another quote, Elder Packer goes on to explain that just because it is difficult to express spiritual feelings in words does not negate their truth,

"President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, shared an experience that describes the difficulty of verbal expression. He bore his testimony to an atheist that there is a God. The man said he could not know such a thing. President Packer compared his testimony and knowledge with knowing what salt tastes like (see commentary for Alma 30:15–16 on p. 214 (of the Institute manual); see also “The Candle of the Lord,” Ensign, Jan. 1983, 51–52).

I also find it noteworthy that patience is an important part of faith.  It is my personal experience that one can never have too much patience.  Patience is required to have faith, faith is required to have patience, and both faith and patience have to be consistently nourished ... or else the result is yet another case of "use it or lose it".

 

Allow me to quote President Packer another time,

 

“My experience has been that a testimony does not burst upon us suddenly. Rather, it grows, as Alma said, from a seed of faith. . . .

 

“Do not be disappointed if you have read and reread and yet have not received a powerful witness. You may be somewhat like the disciples spoken of in the Book of Mormon who were filled with the power of God in great glory ‘and they knew it not’ (3 Nephi 9:20).

“Do the best you can. Think of this verse: ‘See that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order’ (Mosiah 4:27)” (in Conference Report, Apr. 2005, 7; or Ensign, May 2005, 8).

President Uchtdorf has also spoken on the importance of patience and consistency in nurturing faith and testimony, in this instance in the April 2009 General Conference,

“A friend of mine recently wrote to me, confiding that he was having a difficult time keeping his testimony strong and vibrant. He asked for counsel.

“I wrote back to him and lovingly suggested a few specific things he could do that would align his life more closely with the teachings of the restored gospel.  To my surprise, I heard back from him only a week later. The essence of his letter was this: ‘I tried what you suggested. It didn’t work. What else have you got?’

“Brothers and sisters, we have to stay with it. We don’t acquire eternal life in a sprint—this is a race of endurance. We have to apply and reapply the divine gospel principles. Day after day we need to make them part of our normal life.

“Too often we approach the gospel like a farmer who places a seed in the ground in the morning and expects corn on the cob by the afternoon. When Alma compared the word of God to a seed, he explained that the seed grows into a fruit-bearing tree gradually, as a result of our ‘faith, and [our] diligence, and patience, and long-suffering’ [Alma 32:43]. It’s true that some blessings come right away: soon after we plant the seed in our hearts, it begins to swell and sprout and grow, and by this we know that the seed is good.  From the very moment we set foot upon the pathway of discipleship, seen and unseen blessings from God begin to attend us.

“But we cannot receive the fulness of those blessings if we 'neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment’ [v. 38].

I can hear President Uchtdorf in my mind in his humble, energetic German accent, as he continues,

"We cannot expect to experience the blessings of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes.  And yet for some, ‘spectator discipleship’ is a preferred

if not a primary way of worshipping.

“Ours is not a secondhand religion. We cannot receive the blessings of the gospel merely by observing the good that others do. We need to get off the sidelines and practice what we preach. . . .

“. . . Now is the time to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, become His disciples, and walk in His way”

(“The Way of the Disciple, Ensign, May 2009, 76–77).

Then I came to the encouraging words of President Eyring, as he explains (in October 2001 General Conference) that frequent prayer, even mighty prayer, is more about the feelings we express to the Lord than the number of words we use,

“When God has commanded us to pray, He has used words like ‘pray unceasingly’ and ‘pray always’ and ‘mighty prayer.’ 

“Those commands do not require using many words.  In fact, the Savior has told us that we need not multiply words when we pray. The diligence in prayer which God requires does not take flowery speech nor long hours of solitude. . . .

“Our hearts can be drawn out to God only when they are filled with love for Him and trust in His goodness”

(in Conference Report, Oct. 2001, 17; or Ensign, Nov. 2001, 16).

Indeed.

And Make The Best Of It

Some thoughts from reading Alma 29:6-9 this morning,

"Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?  Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth?  For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.  I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy."

The Institute manual quotes Elder Henry D. Moyle from October 1952 General Conference talking about these verses,

"I believe that we, as fellow workers in the priesthood, might well take to heart the admonition of Alma and be content with that which God hath allotted us.  We might well be assured that we had something to do with our 'allotment' in our pre-existent state.  This would be an additional reason for us to accept our present condition and make the best of it.  It is what we agreed to do ....  We had our own free agency in our pre-mortax existence, and whatever we are today is likely the result of that which we willed to be heretofore"

I love how reading scriptures consistently through our lives can reveal different aspects of the same verses.  I have generally taken these to be missionary verses, Alma rejoicing in doing missionary work, then realizing he would be very happy bringing one soul to God.

That clearly is part of the message, but there is more.  We should not be blaming our current mistakes on our parents, how we were born, our circumstances, or anything else.  We should start where we are, and make the best of our lives from today forward.

"It is what we agreed to do."

If You Really Love The Lord, What Else Matters?

This is the second of three posts about Elder Holland's talks in each of three sessions of our stake conference held March 19-20.  I've decided to go next to his concluding talk, which included an apostolic blessing ... very special!

"The toughest thing I do is following my wife, the best speaker in the Church."

Elder Holland then went into a discussion of the interaction between Jesus Christ and Peter where Jesus asks Peter once, twice, and a third time: "Do you love me?"

Elder Holland's emphatic description of the message:  "If you love me, this is forever.  If you didn't get it before, do you get it now?  (this following falling asleep at Gethsemane, denying Christ thrice before the cock crowed, and wondering what to do after Christ was gone ... return to fishing?  --- answer:  feed my sheep, now, tomorrow, every day forever)

"If you love God, nothing else matters.  What does this mean in your life.  What should it mean in your life.  Could it make a difference here and everywhere?

"The things we (as apostles) do is bear testimony and bless. 

"To you who love God in the LaVerkin stake, you can bless everyone you meet.  (I am blessing you, you can share this blessing with those you meet).  This is not of me, this is of the Savior.

"To the men (he included himself),

"I bless us to be worthy

"I bless us to realize the power of the priesthood.  There is one order in our church (others have multiple orders) -- the holy priesthood after the order of the Son of God (I felt it was significant that Elder Holland chose in this instance to use the full name of the priesthood rather than the Melchizedek Priesthood used to avoid the too frequent repetition of our Lord's name)

"I bless us to think as Christ thinks and to talk as He talks.  Our hearts must be close to Him.

"I bless us that we will honor our priesthood beginning in our marriage and in our home.

"If we need to learn patience to do this, I bless us with patience and any other of the virtues of Christ that we need to do this.

Elder Holland then blessed the women, and noted that the women "have carried the banner from the beginning.  Mothers bring us to the church and encourage us to go on missions.  Young women encourage us to go on missions."   He paid tribute to his wife, "the one star in my heaven that never dims".  He quoted the historian Wallace Stegner "The Mormon men were strong, but the Mormon women were incredible,"

He blessed the young people, saying "the brethren spend hours praying about, thinking about the youth."  He said the single greatest event in the Book of Mormon involved children (3 Nephi 17).

He blessed with health those who are alone, those who suffer from infirmities of age.

"If some in this room have been away for awhile, I plead for you to come back.  Make this conference a reason to come back and feel the hand of the Almighty in your life.  Without the light of Christ this is a dark and dreary life.

"Come back.  Come back.  For your childrens sake, come back."

"To the investigators here.  I testify this is the restoration.  This is Christ's church.  His priesthood.  This is true.  I didn't give my life to a fairy tale.  This is not a cunningly devised fable.  This is the truth."

"I love God.  I love you.  I bless us that every dream will be fulfilled tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousand fold.  The Lord wants to bless you."

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So really.  What else matters?

Consider That You Are The Answer To Somebody's Prayer



Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Picture from October 2007
General Conference Talk



We had a very special treat yesterday and today.  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a true Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, came to tiny La Verkin, Utah and spoke to us in stake conference.  Accompanying him was Elder Kevin Worthen of the Fifth Quorum of Seventy, President Leonard of the Utah St. George Mission, President David Jeppson, a counselor in the St. George Utah Temple Presidency and our past stake president, and all of their wives.

I got to hear all eight of these wonderful people over the six hours of meetings in three sessions, along with all three of our stake presidency, and several other powerful talks by stake members.  (One of my favorites was a short testimony from a young priest in the 7th Ward as to the blessings of taking the sacrament to the homes of those who are too sick or invalid to attend church.  You could feel his witness of the difference between saying the sacrament prayers and BLESSING the sacrament.)  

I keep a small journal of notes from special meetings that I began with stake conference three years ago.  This practice has been very helpful in having something to refer back to in remembrance of the principles and feelings that came in these meetings.

I have fourteen pages in my journal for these two days.  I wish I could have written faster.  I still didn't capture it all.  But I recorded enough.  I won't repeat it all here, it would make a post that is much too long.  If you would like to read the rest, come visit me some time and ask to see it.  I'll happily share.

There were a few times I was so moved by the testimony being shared that I couldn't write at all, I was just taking it in.  So if you went to the meeting and remember something I left out, that may be why.  I just hope that as I read it over that I will remember the way I felt.  I think I will.

What I will share here is my notes of the apostolic testimony and blessing of Elder Holland.  That's what he told us apostles do - testify and bless.  And that is indeed what he did.

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Elder Holland began in the priesthood leadership session by expressing his love, his thanks to us for coming to the meeting and for serving.  He said "We don't get enough opportunity to say thank you for serving."  He said he was also speaking for the President of the Church, who wanted to thank each of us personally, and he said I think I can speak for the Lord himself in thanking you.

Elder Holland then asked us to thank the people we serve with.  Start with your wife, your children, and your grandchildren, and tell them it is from Elder Holland himself, sincerely.  (And so I will, starting here:  Thank you.  Thank you for being my wife, my child, my child-in-law, my grandchild, my friend.  Thank you for brightening my life with your sweet spirit and smile.  Feel my thanks, and that of Elder Holland to you.)

We are all here because of the women in our lives.  Thank them.

He then said "I want to make one point about the priesthood in the Sacred Grove.  What was the key question Joseph Smith came to ask?  (Which church is true)."

"James 1:5 is a far reaching scripture that was about to change the course of history."

He then described in detail the key role of our dispensation and Joseph Smith's role in it.  All other dispensations, even the dispensation of the meridian of time, prepared for this one -- because this is the last one, the one that won't be taken away, the one where the most work is done.  (How many temples were there in other dispensations, and how much ordinance work was done?  How long did righteousness continue following the days of Moses, Lehi, Alma, or even the people of 4th Nephi?  Elder Holland pursued this line of thought for several minutes.)

"Satan would have killed Joseph Smith if he could have.  He can't kill us, he can only try to persuade others to do it for him.  So Satan tried to powerfully bind Joseph's tongue.

"One lesson from this is that we need to speak.  The only thing Satan needs to succeed is for us to keep our mouths shut.

"Tell your wife that you love her!  We can do better than the brother in Maine (he named him, but I didn't catch it) who when asked by his wife after 50 years of marriage if he loved her said 'I told you at the altar that I loved you and I'll tell you if that changes'.  The only thing Satan needs to succeed is for us to keep our mouths shut.  Tell your wife that you love her!"

Elder Holland expressed all of this with exquisite passion and emphasis.  These were not soft, calm speeches.

He continued with his discussion of the events in the Sacred Grove.  He had us read from Joseph Smith 1 about the churches then existing, "they draw near to me with their lips but their hearts are far from me" (verse 19).  He pointed out this was about hypocrisy, and rather than criticize others he invited each of us to privately evaluate if we talk better than we do.  We need to do better at living the way we preach.

 

This is a story of POWER.  He wrote the word on the white board in capital letters and put a box around it.  Satan tried to exercise power, then was overcome by the power of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.  Elder Holland then continued in verse 19 noting that the church "teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof."

He referred to D&C 84:19-21:

"And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.  Therefore in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.  And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh"
Elder Holland continued, saying, "A mystery is something that has to be answered by revelation.  We should use the power, not deny it.  In our council meetings, we should be thinking 'who needs an ordinance?'"

He said that "we need to deal more with revelation -- something to get the POWER of the priesthood into the home (that we are thinking about in this council meeting).  We all need miracles in our lives!  The only answer to that is the holy Melchizedek Priesthood."

"Consider that you are the answer to somebody's prayer."

Elder Holland mentioned a few numbers about our stake, and said they are in line with the church.  "We're a one-third church, that's why there aren't miracles."  This relates to about one-third being fully active and doing.

He recommended 3 things to increase power in our stake:

1.  Baptize Melchizedek Priesthood.  To do this, we priesthood brothers need to open our mouths.  We need to talk with our colleagues more than we do.  The 19 year old missionaries will not reach them -- we need to.

2.  Reclaim. (Seek the one)

3.  Protect.  We are losing youth from age 8 on.  If we do not encourage their parents, we will lose them.

"The power of the priesthood is the ultimate mark of the true church.  We should regularly ponder what can only do because we hold the priesthood ... and then do it!"

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I was really touched by Elder Holland's spirit and the power and passion of his message.  All of us were.  It was all any of us talked about afterwards.

This was his first presentation, given in the priesthood leadership session.  He spoke again in each of the two sessions that followed.  This post is getting long, so I will close for now and continue another time to talk about his other two talks.  They were equally moving!