#murica

Happy Memorial Day everyone.  I have the Cubs game on in the background as I am working today, and instead of “take me out to the ball game” during the 7th inning, they had someone sing “God Bless America”.  I got kind of emotional as I listened.  I feel like I spend so much time hyper focussed on the problems and issues that we have as a country, but MAN, I love America.  And I am so grateful for everything that she has given to me. And I know that I owe this freedom to people that have fought for it, both on the battle field and in the political arena. I am blessed. I hope that I can do my part to give back and make America even better for those that follow. Love you all. #murica

Also, this as a bonus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3SPjk1ktRQ for your health...

(Fun fact - this was the first youtube video I watched when I got back from my mission)

Hospital Hill

I had a fun series of thoughts as I was riding my bike today.  Hopefully there is some value in it.

As we started off on the ride, I mentioned to the dude I ride with, "why don't we try the normal route - but BACKWARDS."

This would mean we would have to ride UP "Hospital Hill"... a gnarly, long decent full steep sections, big rocks and some pretty tricky rutted parts.  It sounded kind of miserable, but also interesting... I mean, why not?

Anyways, I always thought that Hospital Hill was called that because as you bomb down it, the chance of breaking your neck is fairly high.  Turns out, you have just as much of a chance landing in a hospital room going up - just from cardiac arrest!  It was pretty tough. In fact, I almost vommed at the summit.

The climb mellowed out, and the top of the trail is actually pretty fun.  And going the opposite direction was interesting for sure.

But there was a piece of the conversation that stuck with me for the rest of the ride.  We were talking about how it was kind of enjoyable to ride "backwards"... and then I said, "yeah, I mean, Hospital Hill was pretty ugly when I was in the middle of it, but I am fine now."

And that is when it hit me.  Sometimes we have Hospital Hills in our daily life... we go through hard times.  We have to endure.  We think we can't make it, or if we do, we will surely puke at the top.  And yeah, maybe you will!  But, in the long term, you are going to be just fine.

I mean, it is the classic answer to JS's prayer right?  

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;"

-D&C 121:7-

So yeah, you might be in the middle of a Hospital Hill right now in your life.  And it might royally suck.  But guess what - you are going to be fine.  

And I don't think that acknowledging that is insensitive or that it takes anything away from the hard thing you are doing.  I think it is just a little bit of encouragement to always remember, you are going to make it out of this. 

Anyway - no matter where you are on your trail right now - if you're happily coasting down a smooth path, grinding up a Hospital Hill, or hanging on for dear life through some teeth-rattling decent - enjoy it. Because it is only a matter of time before there is a terrain change headed your way.  And isn't that the exciting part of it all?!

ASKING

Asking

In the story of gentile woman asking Jesus multiple times for a blessing - she was shut down by Christ.  But then she asked AGAIN (“Even the CRUMBS would be enough”). After the last petition Christ changed his kind and blessed her. It was a good change - good things came of it.

This story, and the woman’s persistence is praised as lauded as a virtue we should all seek as we petition the lord for answers in our own life.

But then there’s another story - Martin Harris.  He asked the lord three times as well.  And, like the woman, the Lord changed his answer after MH’s last petition. Almost a “sure - go for it.”

However, this story ends in disaster and is used as a lesson to “accept the lord’s will” without questioning the answers you get.

So, my questions is: What’s the difference?  Why is it okay sometimes to question while others, we need to just fall in line and accept it?  And how are we supposed to know when is that time?  'Cause I mean, the whole point in ASKING in the first place is because we don’t know what to do, right?

Maybe the Bible story of Jesus “denying” someone blessings is just an apostate translation of the Bible?  

OR, should we be ASKING if it’s okay to ask a certain question before we even begin asking?!?  Would that in a sense, filter out unrighteous desires?  Can we get a pre-answer to prayer?  A kind of “go ahead” or green light to begin the petition?

Share your thoughts - because I have been stuck on this one the last 2 days.

Open Mind?

Here is a thought vomit I have been thinking on for the last few days - hopefully you can make sense of it and even shed further light on the topic for me.  Here we go.

I think there are numerous ways to go about seeking TRUTH.

Obviously, the scientific method helps us prove theories and ideas. No doubt about it, it works and it works well. However, I also think that one can reach truth by spiritual means as well. 

Humans have a built-in sense (something like our ability to see and smell) that isn't necessarily quantifiable. Call it "your gut", "The Spirit", "a conscience", "the Light of Christ", or whatever the heck you want - we all know when something just FEELS right (or wrong, for that matter). And I don't think that feeling should be discredited because it's "not backed by science."

The fact that all humans have this hard-to-describe ability or intuition wired in to our being is evidence enough to me that there may be other paths to tap into - paths that very well could lead to truth!

Open-mindedness is a virtue; one that is hard to hold on to! (at least for me!) 

In our daily lives as we fight the scroll, consume media of all kinds, and discuss topics with members and non-members a like, it becomes REALLY hard to remember that, if we are serious about seeking truth, we shouldn't dismiss things immediately. I am SO guilty of this! I hear something from a friend, read something on the news, or run across something on social media and all the little dudes in my mind try to immediately categorize it into truth or un-truth - often times without taking the proper time required to run it through BOTH of my filters (spiritual and scientific method). 

We are all living in a world of algorithms that play on our confirmation bias. This makes this effort even harder. But, I really believe that it's a task worth fighting for. 

Bottom line - we shouldn't just disregard feelings like 13th-century christians disregarded science.

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OKAY - I am adding this section on.  I had the draft saved, and didn't really feel like it was ready to post.  I dove into my thoughts and my feelings on this a little more and consulted the scriptures... 

So all of that I typed above is nice, right?  Open-mindedness.  It's a good thing right?

BUT, how far do we take that? There are a lot of things that some people passionately feel are RIGHT, but I feel the complete opposite!  So how is that truth? Is my feeler sense off?  Is theirs broken?

Then take is another step - why do some of these same "feel-good"/"feel-bad" feelings contradict what the church teaches or certain policies that the church has?

Moroni throws down an epic warning in Moroni chapter 7.

14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is ^aevil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.

I feel like he HAD to have seen our day!

He goes on to explain how we can sort it out. But, in total brutal honesty, his explanation left me a little wanting. Sorry, Moroni, I just need a little more from you!

Read the section I am talking about for yourself:

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to ^ajudge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

16 For behold, the ^aSpirit of Christ is given to every ^bman, that he may ^cknow good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do ^aevil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the ^alight by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same ^bjudgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.

He goes on to say that FAITH is the key ingredient to knowing what is good.  And that a faith in Christ is all we need to discern good from evil (or, I think truth from un-truth can be inserted here - correct me if I am wrong - God is Good, right?  And he is all knowing and in a sense, Ultimate Truth, right?  Or is that not an equivalent?)

24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were ^afallen, and there could no good thing come unto them.

I liked this verse, as he mentions there are a whole lot of ways to coming to the "truth conclusion".  God works through science, through prophets, through feelings, through thoughts. 

Anyways, like I stated - it was a thought vomit here.  So, discern what you can and send me your thoughts!  Comment on the blog here so we can all enjoy the discourse! 

RE: Temple Ordinance Changes

I attended the temple this evening and was surprised to see that the administration of ordinances beyond the presentation of the endowment had changed in significant and powerful ways. I felt a renewed understanding and clarity listening to the different words and knew the changes were inspired by God. I liked the new wording better than before; it was clearer and more truthful. I also saw many people on the internet, both friend and stranger, who asked many questions about how temple ordinances could be changed. I was struck by some who asked a very good question, "Why wasn't these changes made sooner or implemented from the outset?" I think that is a great question, for if this is the true and living Church of Jesus Christ, shouldn't the revelation that was given to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and others be foolproof?

The question is further complicated when the current social context is accounted for. Are Prophets just bowing to social pressures? The easy answer to the first question would be to argue that The Restored Church of Jesus Christ is just always slow to adjust to social pressures and that all progress or "leap's forward" come about by external pulls and pushes. Or in other words, we make adjustments as PR or political moves. As I said, these are the easy answers but they have no bearing in scripture, president, or modern prophetic teaching.

All I have are my own answers to these questions. Firstly, I am convinced that the Restored Church of Jesus Christ does not progress in the traditional sense of the word. Institutional, cultural, and civilizational progress is an idea developed by Georg Hegel and his pupil Karl Marks in the aftermath of the enlightenment about the same time as the Restoration of the Gospel. They argued that all of society is moving towards true freedom and enlightenment, that progress is inevitable and it is up to us as to whether we are on the right side of history or not. 

So what is happening? If it is not a "leap forward" what is going on? Reading the Old Testament and its parallel, the Book of Mormon a clear pattern emerges. God, makes covenants with specific groups of people and blesses them in a variety of ways depending on their collective obedience to the commandments they are given. At times the flow of revelation is like the "Missouri River" when they are righteous or a “famine" when they have forgotten their covenant. The covenant people of God do not progress in their intellectual, moral or ethical sensibility by casting off outdated norms as advocated by Hegel. Rather, they progress towards the Savior and his teachings through repentance (Alma 4:10).

The pattern continues with individuals. The Book of Mormon has tons of examples of this happening. The pattern with Nephi, Alma, Jacob, Moroni, Mormon, Enos, and others is that through faith, repentance, obedience, and effort, greater truths can be found. This also means that things you know to be true could be revealed to be less true than a more true truth you receive through revelation. Or in other words, "precept upon precept."

In short, the best way to advance, progress, change, transform, push the Restored Church of Jesus Christ forward is to repent. Here are a few scriptures that talk about this.

• Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen (2 Nephi 4:35).

• Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding. And inasmuch as they erred it might be made known; And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed; And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they might repent; And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time (Doctrine and Covenants 1:24-28).

• Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected (Doctrine and Covenants 67:13).

The Savior's words to the Nephites are especially interesting because he makes a comparison to a group of people who are not as righteous.

• So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so great miracles, because of their unbelief. Verily I say unto you, there are none of them that have seen so great things as ye have seen; neither have they heard so great things as ye have heard. (3 Nephi 19:35-36)

I’m sure there are a lot of other scriptures that I can’t think of or don’t know about but what I hope is clear is that greater truths, knowledge, insight, and light comes from God to those with greater faith. This happens to individuals and to whole peoples as we saw with the Nephites and the Jews. The Nephites saw and heard things that cannot be uttered because they were so great and marvelous, things that were withheld from the Jews. So will things like temple ordinances change from time to time? And will the new form be better than the previous? Absolutely. But the mechanism widening the windows of heaven is our righteousness, repentance, and faith in the Savior Jesus Christ.

WONDER

This last week my wife and I went to Wonder.  If you haven’t seen the movie, you REALLY should (FHE idea???).  Actually, you should first read the book, and THEN go see the movie.  I think the book has the power to change the world.  It’s that good.  It probably just has a special place in my heart because I grew up with a sister who dealt with many of the same challenges as the main character of the story.

Anyways, this post isn’t really about the book or the movie.  It is more about the word WONDER... and actually it isn't really even about the word as much as the message I found via that word.

After seeing the film, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  I would find myself thinking about it before I went to bed, and right when I got up.  (That is how I know that something is really on my mind)

So this morning, I opened the scriptures (and by that I mean, I got on lds.org) and searched the word WONDER.  There was a handful of scriptures there with the word, but none of them really stuck out.  Until the very last one on the list:

Psalm 71:7

7 I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.

I clicked through to read the surrounding chapter and really enjoyed the message.  David is praising the Lord with such a grateful heart.  He proclaims how he, very aware of his many faults, know that he can always find refuge and love with God.

It reminds me of Nephi and his “I know in whom I have trusted” line when he was beating himself up.

I find myself offering up this prayer very often.  I get down on myself for my many faults and struggles.  But at the end of the day, I go to the Lord and thank Him for always being my “safe place”, or “strong refuge” as David put it.  My hope is that we can all be like David and trust in the Lord.

Body of Christ

One of the speakers in church today brought to light a cool analogy that resonated with me.  It’s not new, but it was something I think I needed to hear.  He was talking about the Body of Christ.  How we, as members make up that body.  He compared it to our physical bodies.  He mentioned how each of our bodies started out as one cell, then split into two, and then four and so on.

At first, the cells were all identical.  It but then as the body develops, there are different needs, and cells adapt to meet those needs.

He brought up how absurd it would be for a brain cell to tell a fingernail cell that it isn’t fitting the proper mold… or perhaps that it is not doing the right thing because the fingernail cell doesn’t look like the brain cell.  They were designed with different purposes in mind!  (the same comparison can be found in 1 Corinthians 12)

I think this analogy really resonated with me because I have been thinking about missionary work, an my role in the global missionary effort.  I often feel like perhaps my job, or cellular missionary specialization, is not important.  This mindset really hit me after I was released as a full-time missionary.  I felt like in Russia I was “an important part” of the machine – I was on the front lines, so to speak, and felt like I was making a difference.  And then when I got back to the real world, I didn’t feel like I was needed quite as much. And I didn’t see how I would be able to help with the spread of the Gospel from my current position.

But I think we all need to take a second and evaluate really what kind of a contribution we can make.  What are our strengths?  What is our sphere of influence?  Where can we make a difference?  I am confident that if we do this with a prayerful conscience, that God will hook it up with a clear path for us.  We all have value in His plan and in His missionary efforts.  We all have a place, sometimes we just have to work a little harder to find it.

1 Corinthians 12

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.