It Should Come As No Surprise-Part III

In LDS circles, I have had many opportunities to talk about Zion—what people think it will take to build it and how close or how far we are to building it. In non-LDS circles, the current Christian devaluation of works over faith seems to lend itself to the belief that people just need to wait for God to usher in any kind of heavenly society—at least, that has been my experience. 

From my last post, one can plainly see that it takes a lot of growth to go from the place at which we start to the place we are meant to be. If you consider the growth that happens to a baby within the womb, you realize that birth isn’t the end of development. All of that growth is designed to prepare you for what lies ahead. Birth is just the point at which you become fully capable of continued growth in an environment that is not at all what you were in before. You leave the matrix (that’s a great word to look up) and its watery cushion and surroundings to enter the very different, and less protective, medium of air. That change in environment requires a permanent change to your heart. Before birth, there is a hole between the atrial chambers of the heart. This seals when, as a baby, you draw your first breath. You are no longer capable of returning to your watery surroundings. To do so would result in death because the body is no longer suited to that environment. But you are, in no way, done. All the while, you take in what nourishes you and sustains you, you use it for your growth, and then you eliminate any waste, replacing it with additional nourishment. It will be many years before you fully mature—if you fully mature at all.

The point is that there is a path to full maturity, albeit that path is fraught with detours and dangers and pitfalls along the way. It should come as no surprise that the path is long and arduous when we realize how different our fully-developed selves are from what we start out as. We start out as fallen creatures, but we have the opportunity to grow into the nature of the very Spirit that gave us life in the first place.

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: (Ephesians 4)

We are meant to use the sources of nourishment that God has given us to come to a “unity of the faith” and “the knowledge of the Son of God,” eventually attaining “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”—all things that are either disbelieved or nearly impossible to find in this world at the moment.

How can we be surprised when we are, indeed, “...tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive?”

What does it mean to “grow up into him in all things?” Is that even possible? The world would tell you that it is not.

It is possible, but it should come as no surprise that it will take sincere repentance—a sincere recognition of your woefully underdeveloped state and a complete trust in God’s ability to lift you out of it. It should come as no surprise that what he teaches you will be as completely foreign to you as air is to a newborn and that your continued ability to partake of the “breath of life” will require a permanent change to your heart. It should come as no surprise that your growth relies on the elimination of that which does not serve you well (even if it served you before) and the assimilation of anything that does. It should come as no surprise that the increase of joy that comes with that growth is dependent upon your putting off the natural man and becoming a saint.

And it should come as no surprise that any heavenly society will not be established until individuals start working towards and attaining their full Christ-like potential. 

It Should Come As No Surprise-Part II

You know, I thought that I had a three-part series all laid out in my head, but I had such great difficulty writing this 2nd post that I had to go back and ask if what I was saying was the best way to convey these ideas. Turns out it wasn’t. So, I’m going to take a not-so-slight detour from what I had planned. Bear with me. This will take a little setup. Let’s talk about where babies come from. ;)

During her childbearing years, a woman’s ovaries will release an egg, on average, once every 28 days. Her fluctuating hormones, which control the timing of that release, also prepare her uterus for a potential pregnancy by thickening the walls of the uterus.

Once released, the egg has a certain window of time in which it can be fertilized. This happens when a man’s sperm penetrates the outer layer of the egg. A chemical interaction between the sperm and the egg causes the separate genetic information to combine, instructing the pattern of cellular division and growth that eventually produces a baby’s body.

Without fertilization, an egg will never grow into anything more than what it already is. In fact, without fertilization, the egg is destined to decompose and to be flushed out of the woman’s body along with the uterine lining that would have been used to sustain the pregnancy. In the following 28 days, the woman’s body will again prepare the uterus, and release another egg, and another attempt can be made at fertilization and the perpetuation of life. 

I’ll pause here and say that this has parallels to what was discussed in the first post of this series. The “natural man”— our fallen selves—are just like unfertilized eggs. Our condition is such that we cannot produce “life” on our own. Something else is required. Like sperm, God gives life. If he enters into us, he is able to affect a change in us that results in development and growth. If he does not enter into us and affect a change in us, then we eventually experience the death that we are already subject to. Likewise is the environment that was prepared to sustain life wasted and flushed out. 

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless... (Mosiah 3:19)

In our fallen state, we are enemies to God because we do not yet have what is needed to have life. We have been and will be enemies to God—forever and ever—and we will be subject to the individual and societal consequences of our being enemies to God—forever and ever—unless...

That word “unless” is such a great word. Doesn’t it just make you want to find out what comes after it?

...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,... (Mosiah 3:19)

It would be ridiculous to think that a fertilized egg’s potential is realized at the moment of conception. At that moment, it is obviously more than it was before, but it isn’t what it could be. Conception is just the point at which growth is actuated. The full potential of that growth is nowhere close to being realized.

And this is where the subject of this second post begins.

I have had four miscarriages. An egg that has been fertilized isn’t ensured birth. A stronger, more direct (placental) connection needs to be made, and maintained, in order for the developing baby to make it to birth. Those who are satisfied with who they are immediately after the Lord affects that change of heart are like an egg that has just been fertilized. You aren’t yet in the state that you are meant to be in and you certainly don’t have the ability to affect outcomes on your environment like you are meant to. And if you fail to make and maintain that connection, death is still the result.

You have to change. You have to grow and develop into what you are meant to become. Mosiah 3:19 is such a fantastic scripture because it describes that process so well. You don’t revel in your “born again” condition. You “yield” to the Holy Spirit. Just once? No. There’s no limit there. You continually yield, and by yielding, the atonement of Jesus Christ causes you to put off the natural man and become a saint. 

Growth, development, improvement—life. These are what God brings about in everything that submits to him. When does it happen? It happens immediately. A fertilized egg doesn’t remain static for nine months and then suddenly emerge as a fully developed baby. The growth begins at the moment of conception and continues unceasingly.

With so many Christians believing that they are saved without any tangible evidence—without any improvement—should we be surprised by what we see around us? Who will bring about God’s will, especially the events foretold in scripture?

It should come as no surprise to people that the world is in the state that it is in when the majority of Christianity believes that we are neither capable of nor obligated to strive for improvement far beyond a “born again” experience.

It Should Come As No Surprise-Part I

Lately, I have encountered several people who look around at what is going on in the world and marvel at what a sad state of affairs we are in. They can’t believe that things are as bad as they are because they don’t understand what it was that got us to this point. There are others who don’t have a clue as to how bad things are right now and I realize that, as things get worse, at some future date, they, too, will likewise be completely caught off guard and surprised by what they will then see around them.

These things, however, should come as no surprise to those who profess to believe in God and much less to those who have studied scripture. Everything around us is a consequence of what was before. For the most part, we just don’t bother to either find out what led up to the present circumstances or admit and act upon it. There are many things that have transpired that have brought us to the point of disorder and darkness we are now in, but none of those things are as important as the point of origination. 

A basic understanding of the fundamentals of the gospel of Jesus Christ takes us to that origination point, so in this 3-part series I would like to address some of those fundamentals. The first is that mankind is in a fallen and sinful state:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

But these, as ​​​natural​ brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly ​​​perish​ in their own corruption; (2 Peter 2:12)

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless... (Mosiah 3:19)

That ellipsis in the last scripture is a teaser for the next blog post, but I want to pause there just to make a point.

These are only a few of the scriptures that teach us that our natural state is incompatible with God. While I have found this concept to be one that most Christians embrace, to a fault, believing that they will never overcome their sinful nature, Mormons have a tendency to ignore or overlook this truth. Honestly, I don’t know why this is the case. The only explanation I can come up with is that their belief that everyone here on earth made a decision to follow Christ in a pre-mortal existence translates to an almost subconscious belief that people are predisposed to do good. This is certainly not what we find in the scriptures and it is, most notably, not what we find in the Book of Mormon, which arguably makes a stronger case than the Bible does about the fallen nature of man.

But setting aside the degree to which these groups embrace the concept, let’s discuss, specifically, man’s fallen nature itself. It is something that we should be aware of and, beyond that, should inform the decisions that we make in this world.

On the individual level of self, an admission of one’s fallen nature should lead to repentance. It should lead to a search for and submission to God. Without repentance, the individual is left in this fallen state and all of the misery that attends it. He will not be able to overcome his own nature enough to arrive at the point at which he can reasonably expect to attain the blessings of godliness.

But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him. Therefore he is as though there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God; and also is the devil an enemy to God. (Mosiah 16:5)

By extension, then, what will happen when whole societies do not admit and repent of this fallen state? Should we expect improvement? Should we expect prosperity? Should we expect any measurable increase in joy and happiness? Can we justly expect to see peace, good will, kindness, mercy, justice, or any other positive result from our collective fallen natures? No! We can expect captivity, persecution, injustice, degradation, and misery. The devil seeks “... that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” (2 Nephi 2:27) His nature is incompatible with God’s and he desires that ours remain the same as his.

It should come, then, as no surprise that we find ourselves in a terrible situation. The situation around us is the direct result of a lack of repentance. It is the result of pride and an unwillingness to admit that our fallen natures have not served us well. It is the result of our unwillingness to submit to God. 

Our fallen natures put us at odds with God to a degree that most people don’t dare to contemplate, much less admit. It takes an extreme amount of trust in God to reach the level of honesty required for the Lord to show you just how fallen you are, to say nothing of the entire society around you. The truth is that what you see already is not as bad as what you do not yet see.

The good news is that a submission to God results in a change in your nature. While the whole world may burn down around you, the corruption in your own heart can be burned out now. You will see the Lord reveal the evil that exists in this world, but you will stand and not be moved because...well, I’ll save that for posts two and three. 

2 Peter 2

When I taught Sunday School, I found it helpful to send out weekly emails to the class with questions about the reading assignment. Yesterday, I flipped to chapter 2 of 2 Peter and thought that I would revisit that practice. Second Peter is just so good!—warning those who would be saints against the tactics of those who would have them turn away from the gospel and embrace iniquity. These questions are meant to have the effect of slowing down the mind of the person studying. They encourage the reader to avoid the temptation to race through the reading and, instead, pause and deeply ponder about what is being communicated. This is necessary in order to determine whether or not you have fallen prey to those tactics. Like Nephi, we should “liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.“ (1 Nephi 19:23)

***Break our your Noah Webster, people! Definitions are critically important! If you don’t own an actual book, you can download Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary as an app. Anytime there is a question asking you to define something, do yourself a favor and look it up. It’s definitely worth it!***

1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

What makes a prophet false? What makes a teacher false? Why does Peter distinguish between the two? Where are these false prophets and false teachers to be found? How and what shall they teach? What are heresies and why are they damnable? What does it mean to “deny” the Lord? Who are those that the Lord has bought? Why is important to understand that it is this group of people that denies him? What is “swift destruction” and how does it come about? To whom does it come? 

2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

What does “pernicious” mean? Why will many follow “pernicious ways”? What is the “way of truth”? What shall be said of the way of truth? 

3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Who are “they”? What does this verse tell us about “their” intent? What are “feigned” words? Using these words, how would someone be made “merchandise”?  Whose judgment is it that doesn’t linger? How does judgment fail to linger? Whose damnation doesn’t slumber? How might damnation fail to slumber?

4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

Can angels sin? What is the consequence of that sin? How do angels go to hell? What are “chains of darkness”? How does God “deliver” the angels that sinned into chains of darkness? Are angels subject to judgment? Going on to verse 5, when did this happen?

5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

Who “spared not the old world”? What is the “old world”? How is Noah the eighth person? What is righteousness and how did Noah preach it? How did the preaching of righteousness bring in the flood? Who brought in the flood? To whom did the flood come?

6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

Who turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes? Why was this done? How do people “live ungodly”?

7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

How was Lot delivered? How was Lot just? Who delivered Lot? What does “vexed” mean? What does it mean to be “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked”?

8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

What happens to righteous people when they dwell with the unrighteous? How often was Lot vexed? What else was Lot vexed by?

9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

This is part of an “if..., then...” statement that starts in verse 4. What do we learn from this “if..., then...” statement? What conclusion is reached? How can this apply to our day? Who is delivered out of temptations? What does it mean to be “godly”? Can we safely assume that God does, in fact, consider someone people “godly”? How are the unjust “reserved” to the day of judgment? What does “unjust” mean? Who are the unjust?

10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

What group is specifically being discussed here? What does it mean to “walk after the flesh”? What is the “lust of uncleanness”? What does it mean to “despise government”? Whose government? Do any of these descriptors apply to society today? Do any of these descriptors apply to you (if only perhaps as a matter of degrees)? What does “presumptuous” mean? What are “dignities” and why should one be afraid to speak evil of them? Why is it a bad thing to speak evil of them? Where is this found in our society today?

 

11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

What does this verse teach us about the status and conduct of some angels? What is a “railing” accusation?

12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Why are the wicked and ungodly compared to brute beasts? What is a “brute” beast? Are some people made to be taken and destroyed? How does that go against the sensibilities of some in our day? Why is it important to seek understanding? What is the consequence of not understanding? What does it mean to perish in one’s own corruption?

13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

What is the reward of unrighteousness? What is the significance of rioting in the day time? Why would it be wrong to derive pleasure from this? How are these people “spots” and “blemishes”? What does “sport” mean? Why is sporting especially bad when “they feast with you”?

14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

How are eyes “full of adultery”? Can someone reach a point where they “cannot cease from sin”?  Why is important to understand that? Do we see it in our day? How and why would these people “beguile unstable souls”? Whose souls are unstable? Do you have an unstable soul? What makes a soul stable/unstable? What are “covetous” practices? How are these people “cursed”?

15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

Knowing that there are many ways to go astray, why is the way of Balaam specifically mentioned? What is the way of Balaam? How is this a threat to those who would try to be righteous? What is unrighteousness and what are its wages? Do people today love the wages of unrighteousness? Do you? 

 

16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

How was Balaam rebuked for his iniquity? What was the “madness” of Balaam? How is the extremity of this madness underscored by the fact that Balaam was rebuked by a talking donkey? 

 

17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

What good are wells without water? How easily are clouds blown about in a tempest? What is the “mist of darkness”? What does it mean to be reserved to this mist forever?

18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

What are “great swelling words of vanity”? What is “vanity”?Who is allured in this verse? Who are those that “were clean escaped”? What does that mean? From whom were they escaped? Why is this in past tense? What causes them to not remain “clean escaped”? What is wantonness? Why is it important for those who are “clean escaped” to understand this tactic? 

19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

Why is it that servants of corruption can never offer others liberty? From whom should we seek the promise of liberty?  

20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

How does one escape the pollutions of the world? What is the “knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”? How does this pose a problem for those who believe that he is unknowable, to whatever degree? Is it possible for people who have gained a lesser degree of knowledge to become “entangled” again? How does this happen and how does this pose a problem for those who believe that salvation is guaranteed for those who simply confess Christ? How is “the latter end” worse than the beginning?

21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

What is the way of righteousness? Why is it better to not know it than to know and turn from “the holy commandment”? How would this fact inform God’s interactions with man? 

22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Echoing the idea of “brute beasts” here, how do people turn again to “vomit” and “mire”? Do we see that in our day? Have you done it? Where has the gospel been offered and then rejected and what have been the consequences? Has it been in our day and, if so, what does verse 12 say we are deserving of?