Reminisces About President Hinckley

In a way I'm still finding it hard to believe that President Hinckley is no longer with us.  I knew he couldn't last forever, but I sure was pulling for him to become the oldest apostle of our dispensation (Elder Haight has him beat by 4 months).  Seeing how well he was able to maintain his health well into his nineties, I thought there was even a good chance for him to make it to 100.  Obviously, the Lord had other plans for him.

I vividly remember last General Conference when he ended it by saying: "Now the conference is adjourned for six months. We look forward to seeing you again next April. I’m 97, but I hope I’m going to make it."  I couldn't help but have the same hope.  While he didn't make it to next conference, I feel very privileged to have been able to hear him speak only two weeks ago at our multi-Stake Conference.  At that time, I noticed he looked very frail.  His suit looked like it was swallowing him, but he still gave a powerful talk.  I'll always be grateful for being able to hear him one last time.

I can't say that I've ever had the privilege of meeting him in person.  In fact I can only think of a few occasions when I even saw him in person.  The first time was at the dedication of the Las Vegas temple.  The first dedicatory session was reserved for Las Vegas's Church leaders (Bishoprics, Stake Presidencies, High Councilors, Patriarchs, and such) and their wives.  While my parents were invited to attend that session, I was assigned to help direct traffic in the parking lot.  Soon before the session started, I mentioned to my father how much I would have liked to attend that session.  At that he went and asked our Stake President if I would be able to squeeze in.  He agreed and filled out an admissions ticket for me on the spot.

I joined my parents in the lobby of the temple where they were seated, so I was probably only about 30 feet from the entrance when the entire First Presidency came in dressed all in white.  Even today, just over 18 years later I can still remember the overwhelming Spirit that accompanied them (my mother almost immediately started to cry, and I nearly did as well.)  This is a memory I'l cherish throughout my life.

The second time I saw President Hinckley in person was when I was at the Missionary Training Center.  He was coming to dedicate the new gym and auditorium and I was waiting outside in line to enter.  This time he passed no more than three feet from me.  I remember thinking that he looked rather ragged and tired (I think he had just come in from an overseas flight), but under all of that you could still feel his Spirit and know he was a man of God.

Those are the times I can remember that I've been nearest to him.  (I did attend a devotion or two while at BYU where he spoke, but at those times I was clear up in the nose-bleed seats.)  Whenever I've seen him, whether in person or on TV, I couldn't help but feel uplifted and encouraged by his presence.  He truly was a great example of how to be a disciple of Christ.  If I could be only half the man he was, I feel I'd be doing fairly well.

One last reminisce is about how he was a direct influence on a major decision of my life.  It was my last year of college and I was planning on following it up with some graduate work.  At the October General Conference of that year he gave a powerful talk on the importance of getting out of debt.  As a college student I was deeply in debt and I knew that going directly to graduate school would only further my debt.  Instead, I decided to enter active duty in the military after graduation.

It took me nearly four years to pay off all my debts, but no sooner did that happen than I found the woman of my dreams.  When we were married I was practically debt free which gave us a much better start for our marriage than we would have otherwise had.  I have no idea how things would have turned out if I had disregarded President Hinckley's advise to get out of debt as soon as possible, but I feel I am much better off for it.

President Hinckley will be dearly missed.  He left an impact on innumerable lives, and I'm sure his influence will continue to be felt for years.  "We thank thee, O God, for a Prophet to guide us in these latter days....We feel it a pleasure to serve thee, and love to obey thy command."

Passing of President Hinckley

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of President Hinckley as they morn his passing.  He was a great prophet and leader, and he will be sorely missed by the whole Church.

We also pray for President Monson as he now assumes the mantle as Prophet and President of the Church.  May the Lord, the true head of the Church, continue to guide and bless the Church through His new Prophet.

Two Levels of Right and Wrong

I have often heard debates about whether or not there is any absolute standard of right and wrong.   This may be an over simplification, but one side seems to claim that what's right is right, what's wrong is wrong, and it applies to all people at all times.  The other side is more prone to claim that what's right and wrong depends on the situation, time, and people with no (or very few) absolute standards.  This argument seems to mostly come up in religious vs. secular discussions.

Another example of this kind of dichotomy is the contrast between legalism and license (not to be confused with licentiousness).  Legalism is the view where your status with God depends on your ability to follow God's commandments, laws, and ordinances.  License (sometimes referred to as liberty) holds the view that your standing with God depends less on what you do, but is mostly based on where your heart is.  This issue seems to pop up mostly in the faith vs. works debates between different churches such as Evangelicalism and Mormonism.

A similar discussion involves defining Iron Rod Mormons vs. Liahona Mormons (also see here).  Iron Rod Mormons are those who view the gospel as taught by the scriptures and General Authorities to be a sure path, while the Liahona Mormons tend to view Church teachings more as guidelines to help them figure out their own path.  Among LDS themed blogs I've seen this distinction made over and over again.

I am no philosopher or theologian and don't believe I'm qualified to speak of these issues in any more depth than I already have (and I'm most likely already in over my head), but I do feel qualified to speak on how I view all of this.   One problem I've always had in choosing which side I feel is more correct is that it seemed both sides were true in some respect or other.  While I've always more closely identified with the absolute-right-and-wrong-legalistic-iron-rod side of things, I've also always seen lots of value in the other side.  In a way I felt someway at odds between these two different positions.

Recently, I've noticed in the scriptures places where both sides are featured.   As a result, I'm coming more to the conclusion that these are actually false dichotomies.  It's not an either or proposition, but both are important and correct within their own respective spheres of influence.  I've come to refer to this insight as "The Two Levels of Right and Wrong."  While I may be late in coming to this realization, I'd still like to share what I've learned.   In future posts I'll go into more detail about what all of this actually means (don't want to turn these posts into novels after all).

Stay tuned.

NV Caucus Experience

I debated whether or not to post about my experience at the Nevada Republican Caucus this past weekend.  The intent of this blog is to discuss the LDS Church and the gospel, so wandering off into other areas (especially politics) could be a big distraction from this purpose.  In the end I decided to go with the post since the Church does actively encourage members to participate in the political process, even though the Church itself remains completely neutral (see here).  Also, seeing how this was the first Nevada primary caucus in who knows how long, I thought it would be interesting to describe what happened there.  (Besides, I can always delete this post if it ends up distracting too much from the main purpose of the blog.)

So I know you're asking, "Wait a minute, you're living in California.  How could your have participated in the Nevada Caucus?"  The answer is quite simple: I'm in the military and can maintain my home residency, including voter registration, where I grew up.  In my case, that is Las Vegas.  Since you must actually attend the caucus in order to have any say, I decided to go ahead and drive the four hours to my old stomping grounds.  Since my wife has a friend who just recently moved to Las Vegas that she hadn't seen in years, this trip ended up working out for the whole family.

The caucus itself started at 9:00 am on Saturday at my old high school (I should probably call it my new high school since it has changed so much with new construction; I could hardly recognize it.)  Everyone met in the cafeteria to sign in and gather as precincts.  All was organized by 9:30 when we split off into different classrooms to caucus within our own precinct.

Once on our own we elected a precinct Captain (turned out to be pretty easy since we simply let the person who organized us in the cafeteria remain the Captain)  and while we were supposed to elect a precinct secretary, there were so few of us (14 in all) we just let it slide and the Captain mostly took care of those duties.  Next came selection of delegates to the County Convention in February.  Our precinct was allocated two delegates, and since only two people volunteered, it was a very easy selection.  Two others volunteered to be alternates, so picking those were also very easy.

Everyone was then given the opportunity to make suggestions for the party platform.  These suggestions were simply written on pieces of paper and collected at the end.  Since everyone gets a say in the platform, there was no need to vote on them, or even read them aloud.

Finally we got to the presidential candidate preference poll.  Before voting, time was given for a representative of each candidate to explain in two minutes or less why we should vote for that candidate.  However, only the Mitt Romney supporters had anything prepared, so that's all we heard.  Then everyone filled out their ballot, the ballots were collected, and the Captain counted and announced the results.  After that we were done.  All the materials (including the selected delegates and alternates, party platform suggestions, and poll results) were returned to the caucus organizers and that was that.  We finished around 10:00 am.

I found this whole process to be very interesting, but I can see why primaries are used more often than caucuses.  Not only are they simpler for the participants, I think they are also more fair.  For instance, there were a few people who got there late and were not allowed to participate.  It also discriminates against those who simply can't attend due to other commitments (I'm sure I wouldn't have gone if I lived much further away.)  On the other hand, it was nice to be able to get together as neighbors to participate in the political process.  In that way it was kind of fun.

So what were the results of our poll?  Well, since you asked, it ended up 13 for Mitt Romney, 1 for Ron Paul.  (Obviously it was a Mitt Romney neighborhood.)  One other item of note was that Matt Romney was there rooting for his Dad.  I got the chance to shake his hand, but didn't have my camera with me.  Oh well.

90-Stake Conference

This weekend all of the Stakes in Southern California had Stake Conferences that included a satellite broadcast from Salt Lake City.  The broadcast was presided by President Hinckley and included talks by him as well as Daniel K. Judd, 1st Counselor in the General Sunday School Presidency; Elaine S. Dalton, 1st Counselor in the General Young Women's Presidency; L. Whitney Clayton of the Seventy; and Robert D. Hales of the Twelve.

The General theme of the conference seemed to be taken from 1 Cor. 15: 58–"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." (see also Mosiah 5: 15)  All of the speakers at the local Saturday evening adult session spoke on this scripture, and that also seemed to be the general thrust of the talks by Elder Judd, Sister Dalton, and Elder Clayton on Sunday.

Elder Judd specifically talked about the power of the gospel to change and improve lives.  He used a convert from his mission as an example.  This person came from a difficult neighborhood and his family was completely against him joining the church.  However he persisted in the gospel and 23 years later looked up Elder Judd in Utah when he took his son to the MTC.  While this young man didn't have much support from friends and family he did have support from the Savior (3 Ne. 22: 10) and local Church members.  Elder Judd highlighted the importance of getting and retaining the Holy Ghost and noted that the Church is a hospital for saints and sinners.

Sister Dalton noted the faith and dedication of the youth throughout all the world.  For example, in some countries youth will work all week just so they can earn the bus money to attend church on Sunday.  While all of us need to decide for ourselves the best way to live our lives, she said a scripture that has always helped her in making decisions was 1 Sam. 2: 30 that says in part, "for them that honour me I will honour."  Blessings always come from following God's commandments.

Elder Clayton's talk was about the importance of keeping our central baptismal covenant: obeying God and keeping his commandments.  He used the kudzu plant as an analogy.  This plant has many beneficial properties, and was once promoted for use as a forage crop and for ornamentation, but in the southeast United States it has grown out of control and is now viewed as a pest weed.  Once it has taken hold of an area it's very difficult to root out and eliminate, and it blocks sunlight to choke out other plants in the area.  Neglecting our baptismal covenants will allow worldly influences produce the same effect in our spiritual lives.  Elder Clayton had three suggestions to keep us from being overtaken by this "spiritual kudzu".

     1.  Observe the Sabbath day
     2.  Work at keeping our minds clean
     3.  Avoid giving only half-hearted attention to our family life

Elder Hales spoke on family preparedness, which I found interesting since I recently gave a lesson on the same topic. (For what it's worth, I think he did a much better job than I did, which should serve to illustrate why he's the apostle and I'm not.)  Using the recent wildfires in southern California as an example he explained why "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear." (D&C 38: 30)  He gave 4 steps to family temporal preparation based off of the pamphlet All is Safely Gathered in: Family Food Storage.  (Also see here)

     1.  Gradually build up a 3-month supply of food you regularly use
     2.  Store drinking water
     3.  Establish a financial reserve
     4.  Build up a long term supply of stables like grains and legumes

As for spiritual preparation he talked about the importance of taking upon us the name of Christ and keeping his commandments.  He also gave a three step plan for doing this.

     1.  Be worthy to partake of the Sacrament
     2.  Pay an honest tithing
     3.  Attend the temple regularly

Overall he stressed the importance of always having the Spirit with us.

Finally we heard from Pres. Hinckley.  He took us in a different direction than the other speakers.  He talked about the many thousands of letters he gets from women who are discouraged about their lives and have little hope for their future, in this life or the next.  They ask, "is all I have to look forward to is being barefoot and pregnant?"  He emphatically stated that he strongly disliked that charactiture of our women.  While the Church does talk about the importance of "multiplying and replenishing the earth" and "having joy and rejoicing in our posterity" the church leaves the number and timing of the children to the couple.  While he also acknowledges that life is difficult with many setbacks and detours, he said that the trick is to learn to enjoy the journey as companions.  He gave four suggestions to establish a nurturing home.

     1.  Mutual respect–husbands and wives shouldn't try to change each other, but accept and cherish each other for who they are: equal partners in the family
     2.  Soft answer–our communication should be meek, gentle, and uplifting
     3.  Financial honesty–finances tend to be the biggest reason for divorce, so couples should never hide finances from each other, work together to establish a budget, and never make any major purchases without first discussing it between them
     4.  Family prayer–developing the habit of always praying as a family will bring the family closer together

So that was the gist of the conference.  Nothing new or groundbreaking, but all good things to remember.  The biggest question is whether or not our lives will change much because of it, or if it will simply be quickly forgotten.  I hope more of the former than the latter, but only time will tell.

Be Prepared

With December 30th being the 5th Sunday of that month, Priesthood and Relief Society met together for the third hour.  I was asked to teach the lesson for this meeting with the topic being spiritual and temporal preparation.  Here is the general outline of the lesson I prepared:

I.  Introduction

     A.  January is named after the Roman god Janus

     B.  Images of Janus show him with two faces, one looking forward and the other backwards

     C.  With the New Year approaching, it's a good time to look back on how this past year has gone, and forward to how we would like the new year to go

II.  Looking back at 2007

     A.  How well did you do at accomplishing what you set out to do?

     B.  Do you feel pleased with how things went, or do you have regrets?

     C.  Are you discouraged or motivated to move forward?

     D.  Even our discouragements should motivate us to improve and continue moving forward

          1.  2 Cor. 7: 9-10—Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

          2.  Ether 12: 27—And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

          3.  D&C 64: 33—Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

III.  Looking forward to 2008 and beyond (D&C 1: 12—Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh;)

     A.  Is the Lord really nigh?

          1.  Nigh means near, close, or almost

          2.  How near is the Lord?

          3.  Similar words have been used for thousands of years

               a.  Luke 10: 9—And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

               b.  Alma 5: 50—Yea, thus saith the Spirit: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand; yea, the Son of God cometh in his glory, in his might, majesty, power, and dominion. Yea, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, that the Spirit saith: Behold the glory of the King of all the earth; and also the King of heaven shall very soon shine forth among all the children of men. [emphasis added]

          4.  Do we sometimes become complacent with these warnings?

          5.  We must always remember that while the Savior's return may still be a long way off (as well as right around the corner), we may still be "called back home" at any time and we must always be prepared for that eventuality

     B.  "Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come"

          1.  Why do we need to prepare ourselves?

               a.  It gives us a sense of security (D&C 38: 30—I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear. [emphasis added])

               b.  It's a commandment (D&C 38: 40—And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a commandment, that every man, both elder, priest, teacher, and also member, go to with his might, with the labor of his hands, to prepare and accomplish the things which I have commanded. [emphasis added])

          2.  What do we need to prepare?

               a.  Spiritual Preparation—Put on the Armor of God (D&C 27: 15-18—Wherefore, lift up your hearts and rejoice, and gird up your loins, and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you; Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also. Amen. [emphasis added])

               b.  Mental and Intellectual Preparation (D&C 88: 74-80—And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean; That I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation; that I may fulfil this promise, this great and last promise, which I have made unto you, when I will. Also, I give unto you a commandment that ye shall continue in prayer and fasting from this time forth. And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom. Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand; Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you. [emphasis added])

               c.  Temporal Preparation (Food supply, get out of debt, emergency preparedness, healthy food and exercise, etc.)

          3.  With so much to prepare, and only so much time available to us, how do we set our priorities?

               a.  3 Ne. 13: 33—But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

               b.  D&C 82: 19—Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.

IV.  Conclusion

     A.  We must always remember that what we are asked of by Christ, is minor compared to everything he has already done for us (Rom. 5: 6-11, 6: 3-13—For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement....Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.)

     B.  [Bear testimony]

     C.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen

Useful Files Explanation

Over on the sidebar I've linked to a couple of Excel files I've made.  I've found them to be useful and I hope you do too.

The first file contains some information on all of the men who have served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in this dispensation.  (Sorry, nothing on those who were ordained Apostles but were never given a place in the Quorum.)  This file is a workbook with two sheets.  The first sheet lists the currently serving Apostles, their date of birth, date of ordination as an Apostle, age at ordination, current age, and length of time served.  It also averages those last three fields.

The second sheet lists all the Apostles since 1835, and in addition to the information above, it lists the date they were "released" (either through death or excommunication) and who they replaced.  Some of the names are coded the following way:

     •  Black Bold:  President of the Church

     •  Green Bold:  First Counselor in First Presidency

     •  Blue Bold:  Second Counselor in First Presidency

     •  Italicized:  Non-Apostles preceded the Apostle who eventually "replaced" him

     •  Underlined:  New Apostle was called prior to his "release"

The second file is a schedule I worked out on how to read the entire Standard Works in one year.  (It assumes a non-leap year so you get a day off in leap years like 2008.)  I made it so it could be printed on one 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper for easy reference.

If you find any errors or have any suggestions for improvement with these files, let me know in the comments.  Enjoy!

Update-20 Jan 2008

There were some problems with accessing these files, but I was able to fix it by using Google Docs.  However, Google Docs came with its own issues.  For example, during the process of uploading these files, some of the cell formatting, such as column width, was changed.  That means the one page Scripture Reading Schedule may not print on just one page unless you do some adjusting first.

In any case, I hope this works better than before.  As always, feel free to leave any suggestions on how I can make it better.

Radiating the Joy of the Gospel In Our Lives

This is a talk I gave in Sacrament Meeting Last November.  I was asked to base it on Elder Ballard's talk from General Conference, "Faith, Family, Facts, and Fruit".  Instead of just reiterating his talk, I decided to mostly expand on one point he made in the talk:

"We should also remember that sometimes the best way to answer people’s interest can be by how we live, how we radiate the joy of the gospel in our lives, how we treat others, and how sincerely we follow the teachings of Christ."

Below is the outline I prepared for my talk.

•  This is an exciting time in which to live as we see prophesy being fulfilled as the Church grows (D&C 1: 30—And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually— [emphasis added])

•  Church is definitely coming out of obscurity as can be seen by all the national attention it’s received over the past few years

     •  1997—150^th anniversary of the westward trek across the plains

     •  2002—Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City

     •  2007—Prominent presidential candidacy of a member who is constantly called the “Mormon Candidate” by the media

•  Some would like it better without this attention since some of it is negative, but this was never meant to be the case (1 Peter 3: 15—But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:)

•  Last conference Elder Ballard gave some advise on how to be ready

     •  Difference between interest and curiosity

          •  For those who are interested, refer them to the missionaries

          •  For those who are curious best to have some simple talking points prepared—Facts, Faith, Family, Fruits along with the Articles of Faith

     •  “We should also remember that sometimes the best way to answer people’s interest can be by how we live, how we radiate the joy of the gospel in our lives, how we treat others, and how sincerely we follow the teachings of Christ.”

•  How well do we “radiate the joy of the gospel in our lives”?

•  This seems to echo Alma’s questions (Alma 5: 6, 14-15, 26-27—And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?... And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?... And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now? Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?)

•  Once someone has walked in the light of Christ, but cannot feel it now why not?

     •  2 Nephi 28: 30—For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

     •  D&C 84: 49-54—And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin. And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me. For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin. And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me. And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now. And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—

•  Sin is the willful disobedience of God’s commandments.

•  The commandments of God and sin are directly opposed

     •  Can only do one or the other

     •  God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance (Alma 45: 16, D&C 1: 31)

     •  No unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God (1 Nephi 15: 34, 3 Nephi 27: 19)

     •  All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3: 23)

     •  Left to our own merits we will be punished for our sins (Mosiah 2: 33—For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to obey that [evil] spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law of God contrary to his own knowledge.)

     •  On our own we are hopelessly lost (2 Nephi 9: 8-9—For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself;)

•  God has “prepared a more excellent way” (Ether 12: 11)

     •  Jesus answered the ends of the law (2 Nephi 2: 7—Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.)

     •  We must repent and be baptized (2 Nephi 9: 23—And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.)

     •  This redeems us from the punishments for our sins, but we have not yet been delivered from the power of sin over our flesh

     •  This deliverance from the power of sin comes from enduring in faith to the end of our lives (2 Nephi 31: 16—And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.)

•  If we try to endure by our own strength we will fail

     •  We may fall back into our former way of life (Alma 24: 30—And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.)

     •  Or we may simply go along with the flow, trying to live in both worlds (Revelations 3: 15-16—[to the Laodiceans] I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.)

     •  Or we will recognize the futility of our efforts and ­cry out with Paul “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7: 24) or with Nephi, “O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.” (2 Nephi 4: 17)

•  We must do as Paul and Nephi did and depend wholly on the Spirit and God’s help

     •  Romans 8: 13-14—For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

     •  2 Nephi 4: 30-35—O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation. O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin? May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road! O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy. O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm. Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. [emphasis added]

          •  thee, thou, or thy used 18 times!

     •  That is exactly what is meant to “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee” (Psalms 55: 22)

     •  Romans 12: 1-2—I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

     •  Matthew 11: 28-30—Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

          •  Sometimes we try to take on the Lord’s yoke without first casting our burden onto him

          •  That is a hard and heavy load indeed!

     •  We must always walk with an eye single to the glory of God (D&C 88: 67-68—And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.)

•  As long as we always remember these promises we have made with the Lord and continually strive to walk with an eye single to his glory, then we will “radiate the joy of the Gospel in our lives”

•  Let us follow the counsel of Elder Ballard and always be prepared to “tell a little about our Church” to those who are curious about or interested in the Church, but most especially let them be able to see “the hope that is in you” in how we live our lives

•  [Bear testimony]

•  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen

Perfecting the Saints

In my ward on the first Sunday of each month, instead of breaking off into quorums, we break off into committees: Proclaim the Gospel, Perfect the Saints, and Redeem the Dead.  This past November I was asked to give a quick 10 minute lesson on what it means to "Perfect the Saints" in the Perfect the Saints Committee.  I thought it best to answer that question in the context of the gospel as a whole.  Below is the outline I prepared for my lesson.

I. The Laws

     A. The Law of God (Rom. 7:22)

          1. Irrevocably declared in Heaven (D&C 130:20-21)

          2. Only doers of the law are justified (Rom. 2:13)

          3. God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance (D&C 1:31)

          4. We cannot be justified by this law (2 Ne. 2:5)

     B. The Law of Sin (Rom. 7:23)

          1. Opposed to Law of God (2 Ne. 2:11)

          2. All follow this law to one extent or another (Rom. 3:23; Mosiah 16:3-4)

          3. Natural man is enemy to God (Mosiah 16:5; 3:19)

          4. Wages of sin is death (James 1:15; Rom. 6:23)

          5. On our own, there's no hope (2 Ne. 9:8-9)

     C. The Law of the Gospel (D&C 88:78)

          1. More excellent way (Ether 12:11)

          2. Christ freed us from sin and death (Rom. 8:2; Gal. 3:13; Mosiah 15:23)

               a. Never violated Law of God (1 Pet. 1:19)

               b. Suffered for our sins (D&C 45:3-5)

               c. We can become one with Christ (D&C 35:2; John 17:19-23)

II. The Process (D&C 88:39)

     A. Sin (Rom. 5:12)

     B. Death (Alma 12:16)

     C. Justification (D&C 20:30)

          1. Faith in Christ (Enos 1:7-8)

          2. Broken heart, contrite spirit (2 Ne. 2:7)

          3. Repentance (2 Ne. 9:23-24)

          4. Baptism (2 Ne. 31:13)

          5. Gift of the Holy Ghost (3 Ne. 9:20)

     D. Sanctification (D&C 20:31)

          1. Endure to the end (2 Ne. 31:20)

          2. Walk in the Spirit (Rom. 8:3-11, 14)

     E. Exaltation (Glorification, Perfection) (D&C 132:22-23)

          1. Joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17-18)

          2. Receive all the Father has (D&C 14:7; 1 Cor. 2:9)

          3. Become perfect (D&C 76:69)

III. What it means to be Saints

     A. Cleanse the inner vessel (Alma 60:23)

          1. Overcoming the power of sin (D&C 84:54-58)

          2. Eye single to the Glory of God (D&C 88:67; 4:5)

          3. How a Saint acts (Rom. 12:1-3, 9-21)

     B. Strengthen your brethren (D&C 108:7; Luke 22:32)

          1. Bear other's burdens (Gal 6:1-2; Mosiah 18:8-9)

          2. Magnify the Priesthood (D&C 121:41-44)

As you might imagine I had to rush through the outline, and I still went over time.  Still, I think it's a good overview of the central tenets of the gospel and our responsibilities once we accept it.

Welcome To My New Blog

Hello world!

The purpose of this new blog is to give me some place of my own to join in on the conversation about my Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormonism).  While I have been thinking of starting my own LDS themed blog for a while, what pushed me over the edge was a recent talk by one of our apostles, Elder M. Russell Ballard, at BYU-Hawaii.  He encouraged members to use the internet to let our voices be heard, and I wanted  to do what I can in some small way to contribute.

For the most part I plan on using this blog to publish various talks or lessons I've given in church.  I may also post various musing of my own on Mormonism, or comments on other articles or blogs out there on the web.  We'll just have to see how things shape up over time.

As a final note, I feel compelled to state that everything I post on this blog is my own opinion and not necessarily the official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the views of any other member for that matter.  My views can only be considered correct to the degree with which they agree with Standard Works of the Church and the plain, consistent teachings of the Church's Prophets and Apostles.  Any mistakes or errors are mine alone.

Welcome and I hope you can enjoy this little blog of mine.