Enchanted pt 1 (&2) (05/01/2014)

So with my badly sprained ankle (which happened mid-April 2014), I've been watching more movies in the evening with Daryl. Last night we watched Enchanted.

I was really struck with a few contrasting points.

The Prince and Giselle falling in love:
The Prince and Giselle meet, fall in love instantly, and wait for Love's True Kiss, and expect to live happily ever after. If she hadn't been pushed in the wishing well, they would have lived happily ever after.

The Divorce Attorney:
He was married, thought he was happy, and then she left. He is hurt. He doesn't believe any relationship can last for ever, and especially for it to be happy if it does last. His view of a good relationship is based off of an intellectual compatibility.

How Deep?
At first glance, the Prince seems shallow. At first glance, Giselle seems shallow. Perhaps they are. As I watched the Prince compliment Giselle at the dance, and Nancy be amazed at it, I could see Nancy was right. There was no irony, sarcasm, nor hidden agenda in his statement about Giselle. "This beautiful lady is Giselle, the love of my life, my heart's true desire." He was totally sincere. Yet, he is not an incomplete person looking for someone else to make him complete, demonstrated by his response when asked, "Sire, do you like yourself?" He responds, "What's not to like?" Giselle is the person on whom he can shower his love and adoration. That doesn't seem so shallow after all.

Can it be done?
How does one make that ideal, fairy-tale, 'happily ever after' relationship?

One of Two Choices:
The couple getting divorced demonstrated very well the two contrasting sides: "What's in it for me?" and "I'm looking after my own needs," vs "I appreciate you and how can I make you feel happy and loved?"

Looking after our own needs?
At first the couple getting divorced were in very selfish and retaliating modes. They operated on hurt, resentment for being hurt, and then wanting to get revenge for being hurt. The queen also operated on this mode. Everything was about her ability to keep her throne. She would destroy others without a second thought in order to keep her power she loved. She manipulated, used and abused her devoted royal helper, not appreciating that he was operating in the mode of "I'll do anything for you."

I appreciate you and how can I make you feel happy and loved?
The Prince is the epitome of loving. Even though he seems shallow, and perhaps is for real life, he has enough and appropriate depth for being a fairy-tale guy. His whole desire was to make his true love happy. His every word and action was to tell her how wonderful she was and to do things that she wanted. Simply put, he is not selfish.

Even when the human-unacceptable event happens that he discovers his betrothed is awoken from a deadly sleep by true-love's kiss from another man, he is delighted and happy for her. He loves her enough that her being happy is his first priority. He loves enough that he can love anyone. He can see the Princess in any woman, as he demonstrated by placing the shoe on Nancy (a romantic woman at heart) and seeing it is a 'perfect fit,' and whisking her off to marry her in his Kingdom.

Before we think he is just a shallow, selfless, loving kind of guy, we must see also his strong pack-leader stance, no-bones-about-it attitude of exposing the wicked Queen for her evil deeds, and the unalterable decree that he will remove her from the throne. He was in no way whimpey or wishy-washy about punishing the wicked and defending the innocent and helpless. He knows his authority and had no fear nor hesitance to use it. He has a very well developed and confident "backbone." He was a great protector.

What About Us in Real Life?
So we don't live in fairy-tale books. We live in real life. We are prone to getting hurt and subject to ill feelings afterwards. But there is hope for us. If we return to the couple getting divorced, we see the alteration of their attitude. We see them applying the Princely qualities of loving more than applying the qualities of selfishness. That made all the difference. The wife states, "Everybody has problems. Everybody has bad times. Do we sacrifice all the good times because of them? No." They left the emotional position and vision perspective of being hurt, and went back to the emotional position and vision perspective of appreciating the good of each other and unselfishly wanting to do things to make the other happy.

That is the Key!
So the key to a happily-ever-after is to be Princely. Have our life focused on the other person's happiness and welfare. It is difficult as a human who gets hurt. It is even more difficult when one member of a couple acts like the Queen and the other like the Prince. That leads to another discourse of relying on Christ, cleansing our own non-divine feelings, etc. That is where the simple, direct, black and white principles have to be applied to complicated, convoluted, shades of gray situations. That will be saved for The Enchanted Ideal part 2 (which as of 2022 has never been writte).

Though the application may be more complicated in our non-fairy-tale-book lives, the answer is still the same. We live happily ever after by having our focus on the other person's well-being and happiness. 

The essence of the non-written Pt. 2 is when that doesn't work, we live happily ever after by anchoring our selves and souls in Jesus Christ. He is the Prince we can depend on. 

We live happily ever after by being Princely.

His Whole Soul (02/2014)

I'm reading Mosiah 26.

Those who have committed sin are brought to Alma so he can determine what to do. He takes them to the King. The King says, I'm not going to decide what to do. You're in charge of the Church--you decide.

Now Alma is perplexed. He goes to the Lord and prays. He is not sure how to handle the situation, and he doesn't want to do it "wrong in the sight of God."

Here is the part that struck me very profoundly just now. Verse 4 says, "And it came to pass that after he had poured out his whole soul to God, the voice of the Lord came to him saying:"

Did you catch that?

His whole soul.

It doesn't say that he just prayed. It doesn't say he prayed mightily, or sincerely, or even fervently. It doesn't even say he poured out his soul to God.

It says he poured out his whole soul.

Alma's whole soul. What would that look like?

Alma is expected to judge people who have been brought to him in iniquity. Can he just brashly condemn them for the mistakes they have made?

No. His whole soul is reflecting on his past. He was caught up in great iniquity and wickedness while he was a priest in the court of King Noah. If he had been judged at any moment before the appearance of Abinadi, condemnation of him would have been just.

But he knows of the great change in his whole soul that occurred after hearing the message of repentance through Christ's atonement announced to him by Abinadi. Are these people brought to him like he was? Would his condemnation of them be too soon, before their window of repentance had taken place?

There were others who heard the same message from Abinadi who did not repent. In fact, these other priests of Noah killed Abinadi, the bearer of the news of their salvation from the bonds of sin. Are these people brought to him like the other priests? Would they also reject and rebuff any message that would give freedom to their soul in the eternities?

How can Alma, as a man, determine who these people are?

Reflecting on this in prayer, his whole soul would likely spontaneously pour out his gratitude for the Lord's mercy in forgiving him. It would likely be heavy with sorrow for the cruel and unthinkable martyrdom of Abinadi. His mind and soul probably reviewed the series of events when he hid from King Noah's guards sent to kill him, the deep feelings of peace from forgiveness soothing the horrid regrets for his sins and iniquity, and the days it took to write all that Abinadi had said. He would remember the beautiful days spent teaching others by the waters of Mormon, and the beauty of the memory of their baptism. How beautiful were the waters of Mormon to them.

Baptism brings forgiveness of sins. Sins, just like those of others he is now asked to judge. How can he rob from someone else the wonderful delivery of forgiveness he has cherished for himself?

The thought of delivery may have led him back to the days in the city of Helam. In their beautiful city of Helam they built prosperity, righteousness and safety. That safety was then destroyed by the appearance of the army of the Lamanites who brought with them no less than other of the priests of King Noah. That safety was destroyed by the priest Amulon who was in good favor with the Lamanites and was allowed to stop Alma's people from praying - at least praying with their voice. But in their hearts they still prayed for deliverance. The deliverance of the Lord was sweet and welcome.

Alme had been delivered three times. The first was from sin through repentance and faith in Christ preached to him by Abinai. The second was the from death by the warning voice of the Lord to flee before King Noah's guards discovered his people at the waters of Mormon. The third was from bondage and slavery to the Lamanites through the Lord's deep sleep put on the Lamanites so Alma and his people could take their flocks and belongings and flee again to find a new home where they could be free.

They found their new home with the people of Mosiah. They found their new home united with their old now repentant friends who had also been the people of King Noah. They found their new home where they could freely pray and live in the peace of the commandments.

The peace of the commandments that some people had broken was now what Alma was being asked to judge. This judgement was what brought him to pray to God, and to pour out his whole soul.

I wonder what "the whole soul" of Alma sounded like in that prayer.

I Love Sudoku (02/09/2015)

I love playing the game Sudoku. I have a version on my phone. It is really nice, as it lets me list all the possible numbers in a square so I can easily keep track of possibilities, and it lets me choose whether or not I want it to tell me if there is already an entered number in the row/block, and if I enter an error.

It also has different levels: easy, medium, hard, extreme.

It hones my observation and sorting abilities. I like working with numbers. I can be systematic, and that helps my problem solving abilities -- at least my problem solving abilities for sudoku.

I can play against the clock. It was an exciting day when I solved an 'extreme' puzzle. Initially, they were too hard for me and I had to use the 'assistance' tools that show me what I have wrong, or that tell me where the next number should be.

It was another exciting day when I got so I could do the extreme puzzles easily and consistently.

Of course, to do them consistently, I have to do a lot of them. And that is great, because I can do them when I am out and about waiting in line, when there is no conversation going on at home, when I am trying to wake up in the morning (math wakes up my brain), or when I am trying to get my eyes tired at night to fall asleep.

It helps fill the void for all of those situations.

One Problem

There is only one problem.

As with any 'level' game, or 'beat the clock' game, it is constructed so that you "think next time, I can do a little better, or a little faster". When you solve it, you wonder if you could do it faster in the next game, or how easy will the next puzzle be, or that one was too easy and didn't really challenge my thinking well enough, or I'll do just one more, or ...

These kinds of games are addicting. I hate to admit it (so pretend I'm not) but at night when I'm going to sleep I have occasionally (actually, it is only occasionally) ended up playing the sudoku game for 2 to 3 hours. A difficult puzzle can take 35 min to an hour and a quarter or more. Since our family routine already gets me to bed between 11:30 pm and midnight, I have (just occasionally) played sudoku until 2am.

That is too late.

I decided that I would no longer play it because it was kind of addicting. I deleted it from my phone. But later, I decided I would exercise control and I reinstalled it. I did exercise control. I had no more long night sessions, I would not let it get in the way of other things I was suppose to be doing. I was better.

Is Better Enough?

But then in my morning reading I was struck by 2 Nephi9:51. Jacob is speaking to the people of Nephi. He says, "Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. (Italics added.)

Woah! 'That which cannot satisfy' is a good definition of the addicting feeling of 'level' and 'beat the clock' games. In spite of the 'skills' it may refine in us, or any other 'rational' reason we my find that honors these types of games, they really are not productive. They really are addicting, and that is not off-set by the benefits they may offer.

Satify is defined (by www.thefreedictionary.com) as:
1. To gratify the need, desire, or expectation of.
2. To fulfill (a need or desire).

Satisfy does not include the urge to do 'just one more.'

I feel intensely satisfied when I complete a task. But when I complete a sudoku puzzle, I am not. I just want to do another one. The same goes for the drop-down blocks you line up, or any other game.

So the Lord through Jacob, is telling me to not spend my energy with addictive activities, even if I can control how much I do of it. Don't waste my time.

So, I've stopped playing sudoku. I've left it on my phone so that it is my will power to stop I am strengthening now, not my speed and number elimination skills.

The Resulting 'Mind Void', aka Addiction Perpetuates Itself

I found that through the day when I would normally play a game while waiting for something, I'd experience a 'mind void.' That is the feeling when my mind feels bored and wants something somewhat mindless, but occupying to do. Or when I want to numb out what I may be feeling or thinking. The mind-numbing aspects of level games is an additional huge subject on which one could pontificate, but I won't here. You're free to do it if you wish. The more months that had gone by playing sudoku, the more easily and more frequently this mind void feeling would come requesting a quick sudoku game. The more time consumed with playing sudoku, the even more frequently the 'mind void' feeling surfaced. If I honestly look back at it, it was creating the feeling and need that it was fulfilling. That is a self-perpetuating cycle. One more sign of addiction.

I've had a week or more of trying to resolve the resulting 'mind void.'

Fill Me with A Better Activity

So I've had to find something else to do to shift the mind void feeling. Otherwise there is a void that any other addiction activity can fill.  It is like the evil sprit cast out of a man's house in Matt 12:43-45.

43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

Instead of just stopping the addiction,  I need to replace it. I found the perfect replacement.

I pull up my scriptures on my phone and read a little. I don't see it as scripture study. I can't really stop and ponder and write, or follow a topic, etc,. when I am reading to fill in the cracks of time in my day or schedule. But I do see it as beneficial time use. I see it as an activity that increases my ability to keep the Holy Ghost closer to my heart. I see it as an activity that satisfies me. I'm sure I'll have small insights as I read here and there, even though it is not a sit-down study time.

The bigger benefit was that the more I read my scriptures in the little time segments (and ignore the mind void requesting sudoku), the less intense and less frequent the 'mind voids' become.

Previously when I have given up playing sudoku and would have a mind-void asking to play sudoku, I used to have to go through a thought process reminding me that I decided to quit because of the addictive nature and my vulnerability to it, etc. Sometimes I would not play, sometimes I would play.

Now when I have a mind-void asking to play sudoku, I remember that Jacob said to not spend my 'labor for that which cannot satisfy.'

So I don't.

That in itself is satisfying.

Good Tidings to Wicked People (05/18/2014)

Repent You Sinners

I was raised in a home with enough old world paradigm and enough frustration from the struggles of the depression in the 1930s and enough other personal struggles that "you've been bad" was an easier theme than "I appreciate you."

My sister and I would, I recall, use a phrase in our play that was "repent you sinners!" The movies I saw growing up often had preachers condemning the sinners, urging people to repent, and threatening them with damnation if they didn't.

So then one day as I was reading the Book of Mormon I was stunned by a phrase that Samuel the Lamanite says. Now Samuel came and said very much the stereotypical thing I had become used to: Repent or God will destroy you!

Helaman 32:6:
Yea, heavy destruction awaiteth this people, and it surely cometh unto this people, and nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, ...

But Wait!

He finishes his sentence with the good news of the atonement and its purpose.

Helaman 13: 6
...faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who surely shall come into the world, and shall suffer many things and shall be slain for his people.

He continues with stating clearly that the advent of Christ and the atonement is a happy thing, as it is what can free us from our sins.

Helaman 13:7
And behold, an angel of the Lord hath declared it unto me, and he did bring glad tidings to my soul. ...

So we know that the news of Christ is a good thing.

Good News to Bad People

Then Samuel gave the profound thought - at least it is the part that hit me profoundly. He didn't come to condemn them because they were bad:

Helaman 13:7
...and he did bring glad tidings to my soul. And behold, I was sent unto you to declare it unto you also, that ye might have glad tidings ...

Now we know the people had been told of Christ before. So possibly that exciting part of the news that Samuel had to share was the revelation of the timing that (Helaman 14:2) "..five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name."

Unfortunately, these people rejected his message and wouldn't listen to him the first time he came. (Helaman 13:2 "...One Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla, and began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and they did cast him out,..." and Helaman 13:7 "but but ye would not receive me.")

My focusing point is what he says in Helaman 13:7, that he came originally to "bring glad tidings".

There It Is Again

Today I am reading in Helaman 5. The brothers, Nephi and Lehi, have been teaching the people throughout the country. Many are converted and repent. They then travel to the Land of Nephi. They are put in prison. After three days, the Lamanites and Nephite descenters come to kill them, but they are stopped because Nephi and Lehi are encircled about by fire. They tell the people (Helaman 5:26) "Fear not, for behold, it is God that has shown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown unto you that ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us."

Then there is an earthquake and the walls of the prison shake, but do not fall. A cloud of darkness comes over them and they feel (Helaman 5:28) "an awful solemn fear".

In Helaman 5:29 the Lord's voice speaks to them.

"Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings."

There it is again.

They were sent to declare good tidings, not condemnation.

Rephrasing It All

So my childhood paradigm of 'repent you sinners' is clearly never the paradigm the Lord has had. I would voice his more as:

'I've got good news. There is a way to come back home."

For my sake? (05/08/2014)

"For Your Sakes"

I have been intrigued by the phrase ‘for your sakes’ as used in the scriptures. It is used sometimes in situations which seem very contrary to beneficial situations.

Definition
The word “sake” is defined in the online Free Dictionary (www.thefreedictionary.com) as:

sake 1 (sāk) noun
1. Purpose; motive: a quarrel only for the sake of argument.
2. Advantage; good: for the sake of his health.
3. Personal benefit or interest; welfare: for her own sake.


Looking at the etymology dictionary (http://www.etymonline.com) we also see versions of the same definition:

sake (n.1)
"purpose," Old English sacu "a cause at law, crime, dispute, guilt,"
from Proto-Germanic sako "affair, thing, charge, accusation"
(cognates: Old Norse sök "charge, lawsuit, effect, cause," Old Frisian seke "strife, dispute, matter, thing," Dutch zaak "lawsuit, cause, sake, thing," German sache "thing, matter, affair, cause"),
from PIE root *sag- "to investigate, seek out"
(cognates: Old English secan, Gothic sokjan "to seek;" see seek).

Much of the word's original meaning has been taken over by case (n.1), cause (n.), and it survives largely in phrases for the sake of (early 13c.) and for _______'s sake (c.1300, originally for God's sake), both probably are from Norse, as these forms have not been found in Old English.


So ‘sake’ means essentially for the cause or purpose of, and most commonly thought of in a beneficial way and to be a beneficial thing. We have phrases in which we use it, such as:
…for the sake of honor…
…for the sake of experiment…
…for the sake of your health…

In the scriptures

Some of the scriptural uses are:

Psalms 69:6
Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.

Psalms 143:11
Quicken me, O Lord, for they name’s sake: for they righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.

Isaiah 62:1
For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

Mark 13:20
And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chose, he hath shortened the days.

2 John 1:2
For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.

1 Nephi 20:11
For mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do this, for I will not suffer my name to be polluted, and I will not give my glory unto another.

Jacob 1:4
And if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the heads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of our people

D&C 93:46
I called you servants for the world’s sake, and ye are their servants for my sake-

Not always as good as it sounds

However, there are uses that seem to be contradictory to the concept of beneficial.
To Adam and Eve, as he was casting them out of the Garden of Eden, he said:

Moses 4:23
And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying-thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.

Cursing the ground and eating of it in sorrow for one’s entire life hardly sounds like a benefit.

The next example is Samuel the Lamanite prophesying to the Nephites when they reject his message.

Helaman 13:17
And Behold, a curse shall come upon the land, saith the Lord of Hosts, because of the people’s sake who are upon the land, yea, because of their wickedness and their abominations.

The third incident is when Mormon is detailing his work among the Nephites, and his multiple attempts to convince them to turn away from their sins and return to the Lord. At one point, the Lord commands him to not preach repentance to them.

Mormon 1:17
But I did remain among them, but I was forbidden to preach unto them, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the hardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake.

Maybe not so bad after all

All three of these scriptures refer to cursing the land for their sakes. How and why is cursing the land for someone’s benefit?

Samuel describes it to us. He was sent to teach repentance to the Nephites, but they would not hear him.

3 Nephi 13:2
And it came to pass that in this year there was one Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla, and began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and they did cast him out, and he was about to return to his own land.

When he returns and teaches them, he has more to his message. In this section I am referencing he begins by referring to the good new of a Redeemer.

3 Nephi 13:6-9

6. . . .repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who surely shall come into the world, and shall suffer many things and shall be slain for his people.
7 And behold, an angel of the Lord hath declared it unto me, and he did bring glad tidings to my soul. And behold, I was sent unto you to declare it unto you also, that ye might have glad tidings; but behold ye would not receive me.
8 Therefore, thus saith the Lord: Because of the hardness of the hearts of the people of the Nephites, except they repent I will take away my word from them, and I will withdraw my Spirit from them, and I will suffer them no longer, and I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them.
9 And four hundred years shall not pass away before I will cause that they shall be smitten; yea, I will visit them with the sword and with famine and with pestilence.
10 Yea, I will visit them in my fierce anger, and there shall be those of the fourth generation who shall live, of your enemies, to behold your utter destruction; and this shall surely come except ye repent, saith the Lord; and those of the fourth generation shall visit your destruction.
11 But if ye will repent and return unto the Lord your God I will turn away mine anger, saith the Lord; yea, thus saith the Lord, blessed are they who will repent and turn unto me, but wo unto him that repenteth not.

In verse 11 is the operating point. The focus of cursing the land is to get us to repent, which will prevent the requirement that we experience the very unpleasant consequences of our actions because Christ will experience them and forgive us. That is a good thing. That is a beneficial thing.

The same operating reason will apply to the Nephites in Mormon’s time, that is, the difficulty of mortality and a ‘cursed land’ is to humble them to look to their God and repent so they can be forgiven and return to his presence.

Does this apply to Adam? I think so. Having him labor to support himself and his family (as compared to the Garden of Eden where all the food grew spontaneously sans weeds) will open the door of opportunity to be humble, and to remember to be humble and turn to the Lord. I believe there are more benefits of work and the generalized mortal experience than just that, but that one is the poignant one relating to cursing the land for our sake.

Generalized application of Sakes

We’ve come to this earth to get a body, gain experience, and in the process learn faith and obedience. Not only do the weeds and briers, and everything associated with a cursed land give us experience, but all our difficult experiences give us the opportunity to point ourselves to the most important concept: we turn to the Lord in humility and repentance.

Happy or sad, easy or difficult, all our experiences should be viewed as “for our sake”. Whether it is a 'good' sake, or an apparently 'bad' sake, they both have the intent of helping us maintain or return to the good life and potential our Heavenly Father intends and desires for us. We need to learn from them, and make the best of them.

Faith Doesn't Worry (04/27/2014)

Alma 18: When King Lamoni first hears the gospel from Ammon, and when he prays, his experience is so profound that he loses physical strength and faints as if he were dead. The servants take him to his room and lay him on his bed. Everyone presumes he is dead, so they begin their mourning process. When they want to bury him 2 days later, the queen doesn't think he is dead and is stinking yet, so she calls for Ammon. She explains that:
v5 ...some say that he is not dead, but others say that he is dead and that he stinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not stink.

Here is the point that shows Ammon's faith. He never worries that maybe the King is dead.
v6 ...for he KNEW that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he KNEW that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness--yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he KNEW that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God--

Since he KNEW these thing, he didn't entertain other possibilities that would make him doubt what he knew, and begin to fear or worry. He knew.

A second example of this comes in the next chapter, Alma 19. It actually began in Mosiah 28. The sons of King Mosiah have come requesting permission to go on a mission to the Lamanites. This is an unpleasant idea since the Lamanites have created war on the Nephites many times, and they 'delight' in killing Nephites.

Mosiah 28: 5 And...they did plead with their father many days that they might go up to the land of Nephi.
v6 And king Mosiah went and inquired of the Lord if he should let his sons go up among the Lamanites to preach the word.
v7 And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites.

There is the permission of the Lord to Mosiah to let his sons go into dangerous communities to tell those communities they are doing wrong things. In Alma 19 it gives a little more detail into what the Lord told Mosiah.
v 23 Now we see that Ammon could not be slain, for the Lord had said unto Mosiah, his father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faith--therefore, Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord.

If Mosiah had sent his sons to the Lamanites, and then worried the whole time about their safety, that would not have been trusting the Lord to protect them. If he worries, does he really believe? If he really believes, why would he worry?

If we really believe, why would we worry?

Alma 18 Ammon Teaching Lamoni (04/14/2014)

Ammon is very specific in a few thing he does as he teaches King Lamoni the gospel.

1. He starts with common ground.
Alma 18 v 24 Believest thou that there is a God?
v 25 An he answered,and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth.
v26 An then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?
v27 And he said, Yea.
v28 An Ammon said: This is God . . . Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?
v29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things that are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.
v30 ...The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels.

He makes sure they have the same understanding of God. When King Lamoni doesn't understand, Ammon uses King Lamoni's terminology, and then he reaffirms the meaning of the newly introduced word in vs 28 when he says: ....this Great Spirit, who is God, ...

He does the same with the term heavens; he first asks if there is understanding, then he defines it.

2. He makes sure he doesn't give the wrong implication.
They had just come from a place where King Lamoni thought Ammon was the Great Spirit. So, when he asks Ammon, v33 "Art thou sent from God?", Ammon qualifies his answer. He he just says, yes, Lamoni may conclude that Ammon is directly from heaven, and not a regular person. So Ammon explains his answer.
v34 ..I am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true;

3. He teaches from the beginning of a concept and lays the foundation on which all the rest of the concept is built.
v36 Now when Ammon had said these words, he began at the creation of the world, and also the creation of Adam, and told him all the things concerning the fall of man, and rehearsed and laid before him the records and the holy scriptures of the people, which had been spoken by the prophets, even down to the time that their father, Lehi, left Jerusalem.

What Kind of Faith Can I Have? (09/21/2014)

I've had reason to do some reflecting, uncomfortably so, on faith.

Joseph Smith said in the Discourses on Faith that we can only really have faith if we have had it revealed to us that our actions are in accordance with the Lord's will. (I'll find the exact reference and quote and insert it later.) I experienced that in building my house. I know with no doubts that the Lord told me to build the house. There were a lot of huge obstacles that happened during the process. But, because I know the Lord told me to build it, rather me just deciding to build it, I had absolute faith that he had a pathway prepared to overcome every obstacle, whether it were weather, workforce, accidents, financial lack, or timing. In every one of those cases, I had absolute faith and no doubts that the obstacle would not have any detrimental effects and would be overcome.

So now I come upon an obstacle in a project, and I am unsure how it will be resolved. However, this time I do not have that absolute faith. The project is a good one, but we decided we wanted to do it. I do not have that absolute assurance that it is in harmony with the Lord's will. So, I do not know if it there be a smooth resolution, nor if the resolution will let me finish my project. How do I have faith now?

Since I cannot have the pure faith based upon knowing I'm doing the Lord's will, I must have another level of faith. I need to define it so I can anchor myself in it.

The possible options:
The a. whose project/action and b. what the result will be:
1.a. The Lord's plan 1.b. The project will be finished
2.a. My plan 2.a. The project will be finished
3.a. My plan 3.b. The project will not be finished

For the 1. row, faith is easy. For the 2. row, I can have faith if I have been told that is the column I am in and that the Lord sanctions my plan. If I am unsure whether I am in row 2 or 3, how do I have faith?

I know of instances where good people are doing worthy things and it doesn't work out. I cannot have just vain hope that my project will finish and base my faith on that. So, lets pretend that my project won't work out. How do I define my faith. I know that my Father in Heaven loves me and he will always take care of me. I know that bad things can happen in the process and life can be pretty tough and miserable, while I am still thinking that he will take care of me.

In Alma 14 we learn that the men in the city of Ammonihah who believed the preaching of Alma and Amulek were cast out. That feels like a column 3. Then their families were burned to death. That feels like a column 3. But Alma tells us that the lord "receiveth them up unto himself, in glory". That sounds like a column 1 success, not failure.

So, I have to evaluate things from the Lord's timeline of eternity, not my timeline of so many days or weeks.

The second story I think of is the Martin-Willey Handcart company. They were following the Lord's command to go to the place the Saints were gathering, yet they ran into snow storms so sever that many died. Yet, in spite of that, they had faith in God, they were delivered by other Saints before they all died, and non of them ever doubted their faith in Christ or the church. So is it random when things will work out smoothly, like my house building project, and when it will work out disastrously and we will not be saved, or disastrously and we will be saved?

The people of Ammonihah were allowed to be martyrs to convict the wicked justifiably. If the wicked were that wicked in their heart, but never burned righteous people, it would be harder for justice to allow their condemnation since they never did the murderous act. So, it was allowed so they could show their hearts openly, and have a justified condemnation for it. That scenario doesn't seem to apply to any options of whether my project gets finish or not, so I'll skip to the next.

The Martin-Willey Handcart company were at Winter Quarters late in the year. I've heard someone once ask, "Couldn't the Lord have told them that there would be a bad storm, or couldn't he have prevented it from hitting their camp and freezing them to death?" Well, apparently he did. The Lord inspired their Stake President to tell them to stay there for the Winter and go on to the Salt Lake Valley in the Spring. But, the people were 'overzealous' and wanted to be with the rest of the Saints as soon as possible. So their Stake President said if they go, he will go with them as he was their Shepherd. If they would have followed the inspired instruction of their ecclesiastical leader, they would not have been stuck in a death-creating snow storm.

But, they didn't, and they were. Then the power of the story happens. In spite of the overzealous desires, the lack of patience, and the disobedience to their Stake President's instruction, the Lord still did deliver them in the end. In the end is the next key phrase. This principle is demonstrated again in the Book of Mormon.

The people of Zeniff were righteous. When his son Noah became King, they were wicked. Then they got into bondage by the Lamanites just like they were warned would happen if they did not repent (Mosiah 12:2, Mosiah 21:3-4,8,13). Then under Limhi, Noah's son, they repented enough, and got humble enough (Mosiah 21:14) that the Lord began to help them. This is a key point. Mosiah 21:15 says the "Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities" - we reap the consequences of our actions and must experience them so we can learn from them - "nevertheless the Lord did hear their cries, and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their burdens; yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage." At this point we are totally in the Lord's timeline, even though we have tried so hard to create a timeline of our own.

There is also the example of the people of Alma. They left the people of Noah so they could live righteously since they had repented (and Noah didn't like that). However, they also got into bondage with the Lamanites. Their outcome is different than the people of Limhi because they had repented before their bondage, rather than because of their bondage. They became strong enough to carry their burden with ease (Mosiah 24:12-15). They demonstrated their faith sufficiently that they were soon delivered from bondage (Mosiah 24:16).

So there are the outlines of my options for faith.

1. If the Lord has revealed to me to do a project, I can know that all obstacles will be overcome without hardship* because it is his plan, and I am following it.
(*There may be things that seem to hinder progress, but in this paradigm they are not seen as difficult, and hardly as hindrances, because the Lord has orchestrated all the details before hand, and I know that he has, so I only watch to see the solution of each new possible obstacle.)

2. If I have a project I want, and the Lord sanctions it, see number 1.

3. If I have a project that is not in line with the Lord's will (but not bad), or if I have not worked it according to his wishes, I can expect his help and deliverance, but that may not necessarily include the completion of my project as I planned it.

If I am operating in number 3, it is most important that I keep my eternal perspective, like the people in the city of Ammonihah who were martyred. It is OK if my project fails, or if it is excessively difficult to complete, because the most important point of anything is that I get my life in tune with the Lord's wisdom.

When I shift my focus from "how am I going to accomplish this?" to "however it works out, Heavenly Father, help me do things the way you want me to do them, help me faithfully endure the consequences of my poor actions, and help me be worthy of thy succor and deliverance" I find the peace of faith I am seeking. I know in the end, whether I reach my goal without deterrents, whether I must endure hardship before I am delivered, or whether I fail and have 'project martyrdom', the Lord is watching over me and guiding me in the way that will be for my eternal best experience. It is up to me to follow his guidance. (That is a major key point.)

My faith and prayers now shift from 'project completion' to letting go of 'my will' to "whatever happens (apparent good or bad), I will follow the Lord, I'll be humble, I'll repent; that way I know I will be in the hands of the Lord."

Energy Healing and etherial spirituality vs Spirituality (04/3/2014)

A friend just showed me a preview to a film called E-motion. It is similar to the film of a few years ago called The Secret.

There is a lot of energy healing, enlightenment, etc. being offered in the world. So much of it seems to offer profound spiritual enlightenment and awareness. But, as someone pointed out to my niece, they offer spiritual enlightenment with taking Christ out of the equation. I do know that people in those pathways becomes very aware of the spiritual nature of humanity, and have great levels of peace and serenity. From my perspective of having experienced both approaches, I can tell that there are profound elements missing when Christ is removed.

Perhaps part of the way I can explain what I feel is by looking at being grounded vs being connected to spiritual things.

When we are concerned with only the physical and tangible aspects of our existence here on earth, we are connected to the earth and are 'gounded'. When we are aware of the spiritual nature of our being and are in tune with that, we are more ethereal.

Modern medicine and psychology offer the grounded aspect of our existence - regardless of which parts of their paradigms are correct and how much of it is wrong.

The energy healing and new age approach is very ethereal and offers a great connection to the spiritual aspect of our being - regardless of which parts of their paradigms are correct and how much of it is wrong.

Only in a connection with Jesus Christ and a proper understanding of our life before earth and the potential after earth, and by making and keeping covenants with Christ do we have the opportunity to join the two extremes in the appropriate and balanced blend. We are, after all, both physical and spiritual in nature. Our connection to ourselves should encompass and incorporate both.

Also, only through a deep understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ do we also understand that even if we don't have the opportunity or ability to partake of the great spiritual enlightenment in the freeing fashion of the new age offerings, or of the down-to-earth fix-the-problem promises of the 20th and 21st centuries medical and psychological ideologies, we still have the option of 100% participation and reception of freedom, salvation, healing, and progression that is offered by Christ through making covenants with him. And it doesn't matter if we get the healing results in this lifetime or not. All we have to do is make and keep our covenants with him to the best of our ability - which ability varies dramatically according to the situation and experience we have in this life. And he knows those confines, limits and potentials put upon us by our situation. So determining if we succeeded will be absolutely fair. We won't be condemned for not doing something that was truly beyond our ability, and we won't be rewarded for only achieving partial of what was appropriately expected of us.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the covenants we make with him afford us the perfect options and opportunities both physically and spiritually, as well as the perfect evaluation and consequences of how we operated within those covenents.

God is just. God is merciful.

Alma 7:11-13 Atonement and GNM (2014/04/03)

Alma7:11- 13 11 And he shall go forth suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. 12 And he will take upon him death,that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people,and he will take upon him their infirmities,that his bowels may be filled with mercy,according to the flesh,that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. 12 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

The phrases that strike me are that he will take upon him their pains, sicknesses, infirmities so he may know according to the flesh, and so his bowels will be filled with compassion. When someone describes to me what they are experiencing physically, and it is something that I have also experienced, my understanding of them and of how to help them (within the confines of what I do) is so much richer and more complete than when they tell me of a pain I have not experienced. Because of my own experience, I can not only explain to them better what is happening in their body, but I can comprehend the physical change that needs to take place (presuming I have resolved the issue in myself). 

The other phrase idea that strikes me is that he suffereth according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. If he understands by experience and intellect and spiritually the process of target rings (the GNM explanation of how the shock experiences affect us) and the repair process of them, then he will know how to succor a person from the experience consequences. That means that the healing power of the Spirit and of His command is able to help the subconscious and neurology make the connections and go into healing. Perhaps He does not even require the connections to be made, and perhaps he does. 

My main feeling is that there is a Spiritual dimension to the healing of target rings, and that healing will be best done when we include it with the physical and neurological rather than exclude it.