Reverence for God

The following is a testimony delivered on January 7, 2018:

I want to tell you what a great gift we have in the scriptures. We call them our “standard works.” They are inspired of God and, to our own detriment, we don’t spend enough time in them. Joseph Smith said before his passing that if any man came to the people saying anything against the scriptures-the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants (at that time), that you could set him down as an imposter—himself, included. They are such a guide to us and, when read and studied under the influence of the Spirit, they become a Urim and Thummim to have...to give you the ability to have your mind filled with light and understanding at a level that is not, otherwise, attainable. Making a serious study of the scriptures is just very important and, in that vein, I would like to bring up a passage of scripture that seems so very foreign to us a lot of time. It’s the book of Revelation.

John sees things in the Spirit on the island of Patmos and quite often, I think, we read that book and we just go, “What the heck is he talking about? I have no idea what he’s trying to say!”  But there are some things that we can glean. Most of it is for people who are under the influence of the Spirit. In order to do that, you have to have a baptism of fire. You have to have the impurities burned out of you so that the Spirit can inhabit you and teach you the things that John is trying to teach in that book. But, even if you don’t, there are some things that we can look at in that book and learn from and one of those things is in chapter 5 in the book of Revelation. It says:

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. 

2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

Now, I’m not going to go into all of the analogies, here, that are presented, but there is something that has to happen and John realizes that there is no individual among all of the hosts of heaven who is able to open that book and he cries because it has to happen.  Continuing in verse 5:

5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

And we know that that is Christ. It’s Yeshua.

6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Christ is worthy of all those things. He is the only one who is worthy of praise and honor and blessing. And I have been known, in the past, to ruffle some feathers, so I don’t see any point in stopping now, but there is no man on the earth, there was no man in heaven who was worthy of that, and there is no man on this earth who is worthy of it. And any true man of God that comes to you...?  One of the things that you can know and discern that he is a man of God is that he will deflect praise and honor and glory and blessing from him and will point you to the One who deserves it and there is only One who deserves it. 

Nephi, when his brothers came to him in repentance and tried to bow down to him, told them to get up. “Get up and go repent to your God!” King Benjamin, who was a righteous king, because he did not esteem himself any more than his subjects, as they came to give him any praise or honor, he said, “You are beholden to your God. You are unworthy. Even if you were to spend your whole lives in His service, yet you would be unprofitable servants because He would immediately bless you.” And no man of God will have you stand for him and not tell you to sit down!  No man of God will say, “Look to me! Look to us!” That is NOT where we are supposed to look. We are supposed to look to God. 

In setting up this country, (I don’t know how many of you guys are political scholars out there, but...) in setting up the Constitution of the United States, which we know from the Doctrine and Covenants is something that the Lord had a hand in, He made it so that the federal government was not supposed to be strong. It was not supposed to be a “top-down” structure. It was supposed to be given to the individual to govern himself and to be in contact with that person who was supposed to guide them. And that was HIM. Do you not think that God would set up His church the exact same way?  The government of God is that God is at the helm of YOU! That is how you know that you are part of His church. If someone else stands in the way of that, you will never know, but you can know-when God gives you direction, when God is your guide, when you lean on Him in every thing, and you obey Him in everything He tells you to do.

It is my testimony that God IS at the helm of THAT church and, if you’re not part of it, I suggest you become so. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Repentance

The following is a testimony delivered on August 6, 2017:

A little over a month ago, I was approached by someone who means a great deal to me, who was very young, and came to me asking questions about repentance and, over the course of the next few days after that, my thoughts were just all over the place thinking about what this person had brought up to me. She was struggling with the fact that she thought she was doing everything that she could to repent, only it was tangible to her that it was not yielding the fruits in her life that she thought would happen. Her nature had not changed. Her ability to overcome her emotions, or her temper, or those things that hurt the people that she loved the most were not changing, and she was still dealing with the same frustrations that she had always been. It caused me to have, like I said, a lot of thoughts and a couple of experiences that I would like to share if you will indulge me for just a few minutes.

In the book of Alma, we have two accounts of true repentance—almost, what I used to consider, miraculous repentance, and those are the accounts of King Lamoni and his father. And I remember being like this person that approached me, growing up, going, “Why am I still given to my own nature? Why am I not having this change of heart that...that, just, is tangible-people can see it—it’s just monumental in my life?” And I have come to, I think, glean a few things from those couple of accounts, and I would like to share those things, and I think that anyone who asks questions like, “Why do I succumb to this temptation over and over again? Why can’t I beat this thing in my life? Why don’t I hear the Lord’s voice in my life? Why can’t I be more loving? Why can’t I be more kind?”—all those kinds of questions—if you are asking those kinds of questions in your life, then I think these are great experiences to draw upon. The fact of the matter is God...well, in the Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith says, quite clearly, that God is unchangeable. He does not change. And he is no respector of persons. He didn’t give King Lamoni and his father this wonderful change of heart just because they were kings and that we shouldn’t expect that change of heart. He’s no respector of persons. He loves all of his children just as much as the next. And, so, if we are not having the same experiences that we find in the scriptures, then something’s wrong with us and not Him. He is unchangeable. He is no respector of persons.

Now, I always thought it interesting, too, that...you know, growing up, I had heard that...well, I wasn’t a missionary, I mean a quote-unquote “missionary,” right?—you know, with the name tag and everything—but I had known enough about what the missionaries teach and the approach that they took to know that Ammon and Aaron take a very interesting approach right off the bat. Here they are surrounded by these people who would kill them, in a heartbeat, just because of who they were and the moment they get an opportunity to teach something to the Lamanites, they go to the Creation, and the Fall, and the Atonement, and there is a reason for that. There is a reason for that because if you don’t understand the Fall and its effect on you—its application to your life—then you do not understand the Atonement and its application to you and how it can be effective in your life.

I’m not going to go through this whole account because the story of Ammon is just amazing. He...it’s one of those ones that, you know, my little boys — “Let’s tell the story about how he cuts off all of the arms of the Lamanites, right? As they try to scatter the flocks!” It’s just really...it’s like superhero material, right? But I want to fast forward to the point at which he starts addressing King Lamoni. And King Lamoni is just, “How on earth did you do this?” He sees something in Ammon that he knows, even as king, he does not have. He is honest in heart to that point, and he sees and he knows that Ammon can detect the things that are in his mind and in his heart, and he asks Ammon,

How knowest thou the thoughts of my heart? Thou mayest speak boldly,... 

(In other words, I won’t kill you.)

...and tell me concerning these things; and also tell me by what power ye slew and smote off the arms of my brethren that scattered my flocks—

And then this is key:

And now, if thou wilt tell me concerning these things, whatsoever thou desirest I will give unto thee; and if it were needed, I would guard thee with my armies; but I know that thou art more powerful than all they; nevertheless, whatsoever thou desirest of me I will grant it unto thee.

I’ll give you anything. Anything you want.

Only he doesn’t know what Ammon wants just yet, but Ammon comes back and says,

Now Ammon being wise, yet harmless, he said unto Lamoni: Wilt thou hearken unto my words, if I tell thee by what power I do these things? And this is the thing that I desire of thee. 

You have to listen to me. You have to believe. That’s the only thing I want. 

And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I will believe all thy words.

ALL HIS WORDS! And then in the next few scriptures he talks about the Great Spirit and they, kind of, come to a common understanding about God, but later it says that Ammon starts...

...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. And he also rehearsed unto them (for it was unto the king and to his servants) all the journeyings of their fathers in the wilderness, and all their sufferings with hunger and thirst, and their travail, and so forth. And he also rehearsed unto them concerning the rebellions of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, yea, all of their rebellions did he relate unto them; and he expounded unto them all the records and scriptures from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem down to the present time. But this is not all; for he expounded unto them the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world; and he also made known unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and all the works of the Lord did he make known to them.

And then, verse 40.  And you’ve got to understand. Think about this for just a minute. He’s telling him that everything, basically, that he believed was true is NOT TRUE!!! He had to go back and tell him whatever justification Laman and Lemuel used to say that Nephi usurped power over them and that they had a right to the same privilege that the Nephites had, he had to clear that up and King Lamoni had to reject it. And he did. In verse 40, it says,

And it came to pass that after he had said all these things, and expounded them to the king, that the king believed all his words.

He DID believe, and to the extent that he believed, King Lamoni had a change of heart. If King Lamoni had said, “You know, that stuff about the creation and God and heaven I’m willing to believe, but your brother, Nephi, you know, your ancestor, Nephi, he was still a charlatan,” he wouldn’t have had the same mighty change of heart that he experienced, but that’s what happens. He begins

...to cry unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant mercy which thou hast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people. And now, when he had said this, he fell unto the earth, as if he were dead.

And later on we find out that Ammon says he is being...that that veil of darkness and unbelief is being cleared from his mind and that he is being filled light—which we know is truth—and that is how you receive a mighty change of heart. That is how you repent. Because, you know, all of your actions and misdeeds?  There are no “5 Rs,” here, of repentance. He doesn’t come to somebody confessing all his sins so that that person can help him through a “repentance process.”  He has a broken heart and a contrite spirit and the Spirit is able to work through him to bring a mighty change of heart. 

That’s important because, in the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior talks about how it’s not that you just don’t kill your brother. You have to stop at being angry. You have to turn your thoughts towards Him. It is the beliefs that you have in your mind that cause you to justify your bad actions in the moment that you have a decision.  But, as you gain light and you gain knowledge, you are empowered to make correct decisions. It is the love of God and it is the knowledge that He gives to you that enables you to do that. [Another person who had previously spoken] just quoted Joseph Smith when he said that “a man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge.”  That’s because knowledge is what changes you. 

This is beautifully portrayed, also, in the creation story. That’s why Ammon goes back to the creation. Because Adam and Eve, they’re naked, right? And let’s assume that, for just a second, we’re not talking about actual nakedness. Let’s talk, let’s assume, for just a moment, that their nakedness is analogous to their lack of knowledge. And, even after they partake of the fruit, they try to cover up with fig leaves, but even they know that it is pitifully insufficient because they go run and hide. Even the knowledge that we think we have, when we come into God’s presence, it’s not enough. It’s only when they approach God with that broken heart and contrite spirit, recognizing that they have done something wrong and that what they have is not enough, that God takes an animal skin (and there is symbolism in that). He takes an animal skin, and He prepares a covering for them. The Atonement is meant to give you a baptism by fire to burn out the natural man in you to prepare you for the greater light and knowledge that the Lord is prepared to give you once you make that commitment that you will believe Him. And by slowly doing that, over and over again, you are able...the “end” of that process is that you come into His presence. And I know I got chastised last time for “teaching” instead of “bearing testimony,” but this IS my testimony! This is my testimony.

**The following paragraph was given based on my understanding at the time. I plan on writing another post with some pretty cool insights and will post the link here. ;)

And, I’ll try to make it quick, but, in Hebrew, Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. Those three consonants, the /K/ and the /P/ and the /R/ (כ-פ-ר) can also change like “read” (present) and “read” (past) in English. You can have the same letters, but you pronounce them differently, right? And another way you can pronounce that is “kafar,” which means “covering.” So essentially, the same word for “atonement” means “covering.” And if you will let me for just a couple more minutes, I want to tell you about a dream that I had after this person came to talk to me. I dreamed that I was in a great field with many of the people whom I love very dearly. And, a little ways into the dream, I understood that this field was not just a field, but that it was actually a building, but it was big enough to make me have the impression that it was a field, but there were walls surrounding this field and there was no roof of any kind on this building. As I looked up into the sky, there was a great storm just black as night and approaching, gathering very quickly. Everybody else in this building saw it, too, and they all ran for what was the furthest corner in the building away from this gathering storm. And, as we were all running, in the middle of this field I saw a big pile of blankets—huge pile of blankets. You couldn’t miss it. It was out in the open and I tried to tell people, “Take a blanket. Put it over you. Cover yourself from this storm.” And there were people who looked at me like, “What pile of blankets? I don’t see it.” Or, if they saw the pile of blankets, they didn’t understand what it meant to just take the blanket and put it over them and cover themselves with it. And as I gathered my littlest children under a blanket as this storm was approaching—and it wasn’t just a storm. This was a fire and brimstone storm—I understood that if these people did not get this blanket on as quickly as possible, they were headed for destruction. And so, even as I was under the blanket, it was, “Take the blanket. Put it over the top of you. Seal down the ends of it as tightly as you can. Make sure that nothing is outside the blanket.” And I understood their confusion, still, because they were so panicked about the storm. And I woke up and I immediately understood the interpretation of the dream because of that Hebrew word which means “covering,” and I understood that it applied to this person who came and talked to me about repentance and how she didn’t know how to cover herself. 

And it is my testimony to you that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is meant to give you a baptism of fire. It is meant to give you that so that you can be covered by light and knowledge and understanding which protects you from your Adversary. It gives you protection from all of those thoughts that he would put in your mind that you would believe to justify your actions in the moment that you make a decision. And I have a testimony that, if you don’t learn how to apply repentance in your life, there is destruction that is coming. There is destruction. And if you make it through [some of] the temporal destructions, there is, most assuredly, a spiritual destruction if you don’t have that covering.

I bear my testimony that Christ’s gospel is true. He was sent by the Father to be raised up on a cross to take upon Him our sins that we might be raised up to Him if we so choose and that His doctrine is faith, repentance, baptism, the reception of the Holy Ghost, and you endure to the end which is to come into His presence. And, [as was mentioned earlier], it does not have to be in the next life. In fact, it should be in this one. It should be like all of those other accounts that we read in scripture. I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I know repentance is real and, if you do it the right way, you’ll feel the changes that you see in scripture and they will become part of your life and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Authority

The following is a testimony delivered on March 5, 2017:

I want to share a few scriptures that I have come to love that have helped me understand some things and I'd like to share a little bit. Everybody knows I'm big on definitions, and I love Noah Webster's definition of "submission".  

SUBMIS'SION, n. [L. submissio, from submitto.]

1. The act of submitting; the act of yielding to power or authority; surrender of the person and power to the control or government of another.

2. Acknowledgment of inferiority or dependence; humble or suppliant behavior.

3. Acknowledgment of a fault; confession or error. 

4. Obedience; compliance with the commands or laws of a superior. Submission of children to their parents is an indispensable duty.

5. Resignation; a yielding of one's will to the will or appointment of a superior without murmuring. Entire and cheerful submission to the will of God is a christian duty of prime excellence.

And if we turn to the New Testament, in John 5:30, Christ says, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."

Christ, in His mortal ministry, was completely submissive and the scriptures admonish us to be submissive, also. Mosiah 3:19 says, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

There is an interesting interchange between Christ and the Pharisees in the book of Matthew. He says...it says...this is Matthew, chapter 21.  

23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

This is after He has cleansed the temple [before] the feast of unleavened bread. 

24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?

Christ delineates authority.  There is authority that comes from heaven and there is authority that comes from men. 

And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

Even the Pharisees knew that—that authority from men gets superseded by authority from heaven.

27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

They didn't understand. They didn't understand where His authority came from. And, um, and Jesus...this so connects to being submissive because if you go back to chapter 7, which is part of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ says,

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

You have to do the will. And how do you find out His will?  You have to be in connection with Him and He tells you what to do and then you receive authority because you are submissive to His will. Christ had perfect authority because He was perfectly submissive and because God has all power and authority.  So, as He delegates His will to you, you, therefore, have authority.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

You can do a lot of "good" things.

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

It's revelation.

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

There are two parables after in Matthew 21. One of them has a great Joseph Smith Translation. I tell my Gospel Doctrine class it's extra credit.  They're really good.

But I just want to end by saying that this is the reason why we can read in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 10, Nephi says, concludes this chapter by saying, "And the Holy Ghost giveth authority that I should speak these things, and deny them not" because it is the power of the Holy Ghost that aligns us to the will of the Father and by obtaining the will of the Father we obtain authority.

The Words of Mormon, verse 17: "For behold, king Benjamin was a holy man, and he did reign over his people in righteousness; and there were many holy men in the land, and they did speak the word of God with power and with authority; and they did use much sharpness because of the stiffneckedness of the people--"

Alma, chapter 17: "Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God."

Again, Christ was perfectly...He had perfect authority because He was perfectly submissive and I would suggest that we obtain authority in all that we do, in all of our daily lives, in just coming up with our daily routine, in praying to ask what the Father would have us do. Maybe He has errand that He wants us to run. When we pray, is our will aligned with His? When we teach, is His will aligned with ours, is our will aligned with His? When we give blessings, do we stop and align our will with His? And it's my prayer that I can find more authority in my life-I hope we all can-by finding out what His will is for us that we might have His authority in our lives.

I am grateful for my Savior. I bear testimony of Christ. I bear testimony that He has great authority and, if you look around in this world, it is not demanding. His authority, His power and authority reigns over everything that you see-the trees, the sun, the moon, the stars, the rain as it falls, the wind as it blows. It's gentle. He won't compel you to recognize His authority. It comes because you have aligned your will with His and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.