In the plant world (horticulture), grafting is a technique whereby tissues of different plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. This process involves two parts, the scion (the upper part) and the rootstock (the base or roots).  For interest, some of the reasons why grafting would be used include the following:

• Repair damaged plants
• Increase the growth rate of seedlings
• Optimize cross-pollinations
• Take advantage of particular rootstocks or root systems

It just so happens that this same word – grafting – is used in the medical field as well.  Similar to the plant world, this process refers to a surgical procedure to move tissue from one site to another, to replace diseased or injured tissue in order to spur or increase growth.

That was all a brief background and context for Jacob 5 – the infamous allegory of the olive tree in the Book of Mormon.  There have been many commentaries on that chapter, and detailed descriptions of its various fulfillments as they relate to the house of Israel but I am going to talk about us as everyday members of the church, and what Jacob 5 can mean today.  As a quick reminder or summary; Jacob 5 is the story about the Lord, his vineyard, and a few of the methods that he uses to take care of it and help it grow.

The first thing we need to remember is that it is not just a story about a vineyard, it is a story about his vineyard.

The next thing we need to remember is that beyond the grafting that I described above, there are various methods that the Lord uses to care for his trees (we happen to be the trees in the vineyard, but at times we are the branches as well, so stay on your feet).  We read in verses 3-4 that the three ways in which the Lord of the vineyard works are 1) pruning, 2) digging about, and 3) nourishing.

Just so we are crystal clear on what the Lord does to all of the trees his vineyard (us), the words repeatedly used in Jacob 5 are as follows:

1. Prune: to cut or lop superfluous or undesired twigs, branches or roots from, to rid or clear (of anything undesirable)
2. Dig about: to break up, turn over, or remove earth as with a shovel, spade, bulldozer, or claw, to unearth, obtain, or remove by digging
3. Nourish*: to sustain with food or nutriment, supply with what is necessary for life, health, and growth. To strengthen, build up, or keep alive.
4. Graft: to insert a portion of a plant (tissue) into the stem or stock of another plant in which it continues to grow. To transplant, or to attach.

It is interesting when you look at this list of gardening terms, that 3 of the 4 tactics appear to be very uncomfortable and unpleasant for the trees in the vineyard.  Aside from number 3 (nourish), I don’t think I would be looking forward to being pruned (cut down), dug about (ruffled up and turned inside out), or grafted (ripped apart, moved, and/or completely transplanted) – yet that is exactly what the Lord does to encourage growth and ultimately produce fruit from the trees in his vineyard.  That is without mentioning the the actual pain that is involved in the grafting process: cutting, inserting, flaring, etc. It’s worth remembering.

Early on in the story, the Lord recognizes some of his trees have begun to decay, and are in need a bit of help, so he starts rearranging things and mixing it up.  He proceeds to ‘pluck’ (to pull with sudden force) some young and tender branches and graft them in to other locations within his vineyard.  Here, the Lord makes an amazing statement (in verse 13) about these young freshly plucked branches which reads “these will I place in the nethermost part of my vineyard”.  The word nethermost is awesome, and if you can ever work that into a normal conversation you should do it, but the actual definition of nethermost happens to be the lowest, or farthest down.  If that’s not bad enough, verse 14 teaches us that he hid the branches there.  He didn’t just graft them into the lowest or furthest tree, he actually hid them there – on purpose.¹

Let’s take a time out and relate the vineyard to our lives and wards for a second.  We as individuals and families are all trees within the vineyard or branches within the tree and often times we have callings within that vineyard.  Sometimes it feels like we are part of the tame tree at the entrance to the vineyard that is nice and visible, but other times we feel like we are the wild tree a hundred rows back.  Even more than that, sometimes we feel like we are the young and tender branch plucked right from the tame tree and grafted into or hid in the nethermost part of the vineyard 3 years or 13 years ago.  What the Lord is telling us is that sometimes he plucks the YW President or the bishop or the Stake president off the tame tree and grafts them into the nethermost parts of the primary never to interact with anyone over the age of 5 ever again.  It could even be that after we’ve been transplanted, we feel like the Lord hid us so well that he and his other servants can’t even remember where we are at all.  We soon lose hope of ever being found or put back into the visible tame tree up front where we came from.

If we find ourselves with this mindset, we need to just keep reading Jacob 5, because it will help us understand what the Lord’s purpose is in grafting (hiding) the branches, and it helps us understand his timeline.  In the very next verse after he grafts these young and tender branches into the nethermost part of the vineyard it reads that “a long time passed away”.  A long time.

I know that many of us after several months or even years feel like we should be done hiding and start being found, but we learn here that the Lord is perfectly content to let ‘a long time’ pass away while we are hidden.  Maybe this even means 20 years.  Perhaps this is to let the graft take effect, after all, isn’t the point of a graft to allow tissue (actual nutrients and substance) to be shared between the scion and the rootstock?  Yes.  True grafting is not a quick process.  Let’s also try to remember the next time we are feeling hidden that the reasons for a graft included:

1. To repair damaged plants – often times the tree in the nethermost part of the vineyard is damaged, and we are grafted there to help with the repairs.
2. To increase the growth rate of seedlings – such a great sentence when we are trees and branches and seedlings.
3. To optimize cross-pollinations – what better reason to be hidden than to optimize the growth of the entire vineyard?
4. Take advantage of particular rootstocks (root systems) – 100% of the time that a person is grafted into a tree (given a new calling), they can learn from and have their testimony strengthened by the root system they are trying to help grow. 100% of the time.

For those of us who find, or who have found ourselves in what we think is the nethermost part of the vineyard – just read verses 20-23 for the amazing promises that are in store for those who are strengthening the tree (as grafted in or hidden branches).  Nursery, primary, scouts, the library, activity days, the bulletin board person, or any other seemingly unimportant or low profile callings are exactly what the Lord of the vineyard needs.  What about that ‘seasoned’ member of the Elders Quorum who feels like he’s been forgotten and should have been made a high priest by now? He may even start to attend the high priest class because he thinks he’s ready and relates more to the members there.  And what about my job, or where I live in the world, can’t we relate that to the vineyard?  What if I feel like I am being severely under utilized in the kingdom or in the workplace and that I have so much to offer but never seem to get the call?  What happens when my entire life is spent in the nethermost part of the vineyard?

Even when we’ve been there for what seems like ‘a very long time’ – the lord may decide to leave us there (as it states in verse 27) a little longer.  This statement comes after the ‘very long time’ already mentioned.  This additional time is for some extra love as it states the Lord will ‘prune it, and dig about it, and nourish the tree a little longer that perhaps it may bring forth good fruit’.  That’s ‘a very long time’ plus ‘a little longer’ to get the desired results.  The nethermost part of the vineyard appears to require branches that are fine with being plucked and then hidden for long periods of time – which also means that the branches that he chooses to place there have plenty of substance to share.  Substance that will repair damaged tissue, increase the growth rate of seedlings, optimize cross-pollination, and branches that have the spiritual maturity to recognize and take advantage and blessings of the rootstocks to which they’ve been grafted.  That last one is code for ‘learn to love the nethermost part of the vineyard, share your substance, and become one plant together’.

The Lord knows exactly what he is doing.  He is a master of the vineyard.  Let’s not think we can counsel him.

In closing, there is one more phrase of this awesome chapter that I would like to point out.  It’s in verse 59.  At this point, there have been multiple rounds of grafting, pruning, digging, and nourishing the branches and the trees all in an effort to produce fruit from. Here the Lord of the vineyard the indicates that part of the reason (if not the biggest part) that the grafting is successful in rejuvenating the tree is ‘because of the change of the branches’.

This highlights the importance of item number 4 above (in the reasons for grafting) – which is to take advantage of particular rootstocks.  If we aren’t careful, while we are considering ourselves healthy, young, and tender branches (perhaps focusing too much on being so awesome or when it is we can return to our mother tree) we may start to see only the damaged parts of the tree that we are grafted into and the slow progress their damaged parts are being repaired.  We could then miss a valuable opportunity to grow.  It very well may be the case that we are the damaged branch grafted into a healthy tree and we are the ones in need of repair of growth, and the very reason we haven’t been moved out of our current position is because we haven’t allowed the tissue to be shared (or received) and the Lord is actively ‘watching the tree’ (v 12) and waiting for the desired effect.  Ultimately, this verse and this phrase teach us that the Lord expects the branches to change as much as he expects the roots to change, and that it is good (for the overall health of the tree and the branch and the vineyard) that things ‘change’ a bit and learn to work as one by sharing all that they have and all that they are – and that it was for this reason there is a never ending process of evaluating, grafting, pruning, digging about, and nourishing that takes place in all the vineyard so that all of the roots and all of the branches and all of the trees ‘may take strength’ and ‘that the good may overcome the evil’.

Notes

1 – See 1 Ne. 21:2 for some additional reading on being ‘hid’ and how the Lord uses that word.  I think ‘prepare’ might be a good synonym for hid in these two cases.   Also, even though it’s been fun to highlight the word ‘hid’ as used by the Lord of the vineyard – he obviously never forgets where he made the grafts, and he doesn’t ignore the grafts once they are made – as it states in verse 12 of this chapter, and despite what we may think,  he reminds us several times that he is actively watching, and he nourishes all his trees, and he is grieved at the thought of losing any of them.

* – Editor’s note (added after the initial post):  As Colby commented, the Lord also uses the verb ‘dunged’ in his descriptions of what he does to nurture the trees in verses 47, 64, and 76.  In the case of verse 47 and 76 it is used in addition to the word nourish, but in verse 64 it appears to be a synonym to nourish.  Either way, dunging is essentially fertilizing, which means to supply a plant with nutrients to aid in growth, or to make fertile, which happens to be very similar to nourishing.  The interesting part about this verb as it’s used in Jacob 5, is our perception of being dunged as plants in the vineyard.  I mentioned above that 3 of the 4 methods were uncomfortable, and if we consider being dunged the same as being nourished, there is a case to be made that all 4 methods are less then awesome.  Often times as trees in the vineyard we see the Lord or his servants digging about us, only to then dump wheelbarrows of dung all around us and we think that life is pretty rotten – not understanding that nourishment comes from being ‘dunged’.  The idea is the same that when the Lord appears to dump a pile of turkey poo on us, he is only doing it because he wants us to be nourished.

In Moses, we have the account of the earth’s creation, the story of Adam and Eve, their partaking of the fruit, and their subsequent fall and removal from the garden of Eden, followed by the explanation of the role that the Savior will play as redeemer for all of us.  As part of this account we are able to read the dialogue between God, Adam, Eve, and Lucifer (referred to or symbolized as ‘the serpent’) as these events unfolded, but I would like to pay particular attention to verse 20 in chapter 4 .

At this stage, Adam and Eve have already partaken of the fruit, and are in a discussion with God about what happened, and what will happen next.   After a confession of the fruit eating incident, God tells each of the parties (Adam, Eve, and the serpent) some of the consequences that they will enjoy because of their choices.  But for today, we’ll highlight his words to the serpent.  God tells him:

“Because thou hast done this thou shalt be cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” …

I don’t think I’d ever wondered specifically about why the Lord would say this to the serpent, or what this consequence really means.  Out of all the punishments and curses that he could give – God said that “dust shalt thou eat.”   It seems like he could have said “nothing but old soggy asparagus shalt thou eat all the days of thy life”, and we would have known just how seriously bad that curse is.

When I was growing up, my dad used to use a related term all the time.  “Eat my dust”.  I always thought it meant if I ran faster than you, you would ‘eat my dust’.  I assumed this meant that because I was running (or riding a bike or driving I guess) so quickly, and since my feet (or tires) were generating such power and force upon the road, it would somehow kick up dust in your face as you trailed me and you would ‘eat it’.  Pretty simple imagery right?  Perhaps this is what he meant for the serpent – that he would always be trailing Adam and his posterity, always chasing them, attempting to get ahead or even with them, and never quite catching up – eating their dust all the days of his life.  Maybe that’s part of it, but I don’t think that’s all of it.

I have learned that dust or earth carried and should still carry the symbolic connotation of things temporal, wordly, or fleeting.  This could mean that the serpent ‘eating’ dust is symbolic of him looking for and/or destroying or convincing those who are earthly minded or who have placed their trust in the things of this world.  I don’t think God was necessarily cursing the serpent to a physical diet at all (he doesn’t have a body, so a physical diet curse would make little sense), I think this is a spiritual curse, and one that drives him absolutely crazy.  One writer asked “is it the earth that we tread underfoot that the devil eats?  No, it is the people who are earthly minded, sensual and proud, who love the earth and place all their hopes in it.  They labor entirely for carnal advantages,… and think little or nothing of the salvation of their souls.  People like these, then, the devil seeks.”¹   And, in turn, that is what he is cursed to eat – all the days of his life.  Sounds a whole lot like soggy asparagus to me….

If this is the case, it makes sense that part of this curse (eating dust) is the fact that he will then be relegated to spend eternity with this dust – like minded souls who love and look to ‘dust’ as the great goal of existence.  We have all heard that you are what you eat, and If we think of people as food there is real food; food like fruits and vegetables and those that are ‘good’ and give life.  The kind that is nutritious and fills you up and make you satisfied, and then we are left to review the opposite of good food (bad food), which we can call ‘dust’.  Food that turns out contain no nutritional value at all, and just teases you with the promise of nutrition.  This curse may essentially indicate that the serpent gets to spend all of eternity searching for and wishing he had fruit, but only eating dust.  The ironic part of this is that the serpent is the one who makes promises to all of the dusty people that he has stores full of delicious fruits, but at the end of the day, all he ever has and all he ever gets is ‘dust’.

This makes me think of a guy sitting down at the table to enjoy a nice bowl of delicious marshmallow mateys or maybe Reese’s Puffs (we know how exciting this moment is), except when he pours the cereal into the bowl – dirt comes out.  It looked just like regular cereal on the way out, but as soon as it leaves the bag or box it turns to dirt.  He lowers his head, consigned to the fact that despite all his hopes and dreams and goals, and the awesome picture on the box, his bowl is just full of dust – again and again and again and again and again.  Dry, dirty, cough inducing dust.  Then he pours what he wishes was milk onto his cereal and is humiliated again that it’s just more dust.  Not even water to make mud.  Just more dust.

In the end, the serpent was cursed by God to receive the exact same reward that he offers to all of his followers.  Dust – and broken dreams.

Notes

¹ – The ideas in this paragraph are found in Alonzo Gaskill’s book The Savior and the Serpent, Doctrines of the fall, pg. 205-208.

You know all the images that we’ve seen of family scripture study right?  The ones with reverent children sitting peacefully on the couch listening attentively to the one reading? Yeah, I do too…..

Our family scripture study efforts are probably a lot like your family scripture study efforts.  What I mean by that is that it’s not anything like the one in the pictures. Sometimes I wonder if what my kids are hearing and reading actually goes into their brains.  I wonder that because I see all sorts of things going on during our study time (other than silent and diligent study).  Our 1 year old is usually running around growling and slapping people, our 6 year old is usually wrapped up in a blanket watching videos or playing a game, and most of the time our 9, 11, and 14 year olds have their books out and do their best to not pay too much attention to our 1 year old who is a lot more entertaining than the books in their hands.

Case in point – I want to share two real life situations from our scripture study not long ago.  We happen to be reading Alma chapter 5, which as we know is totally amazing.  Alma is asking some soul piercing questions to the people of Zarahemla, which happens to be his first main sermon after giving up the judgment seat in order to devote his full time and attention to preaching the gospel to the people.  As I recapped what we had read the previous day (the earlier part of chapter 5), and outlined this I was naturally expecting them to be glued to the edge of their seats and scream out “tell us more, this chapter has been so excellent”!

Yet, what happened is that instead of being riveted by the words in the book, all of my children were riveted to the donuts that were being guarded by my 14 year old.  Every verse or two my 11 year old would indicate to the rest of the group that his big sister was still not sharing the donuts, that he wanted some, and that life wasn’t fair.  This continued as we read through verse 28, when my 14 year old (the one with the donuts) seemed to see an opening.  She asked her own question in a fairly loud voice “Luke, are you crying?  Over donuts”?    She pointed to him (claiming to see tears in his eyes) – to which he naturally defended himself with a loud “no”.

I hope that you can all imagine this scene in your minds.  Two tweenaged children escalating to level 8 on the sibling fight scale over some mini powdered donuts – right in the middle of scripture study.  Pretty normal day at the Alexander house.  As a note, we make an effort to apply or liken the scriptures to our every day lives and sometimes that works out really well, and other times it doesn’t, but on this day there happened to be a miracle in store – because the next verse to be read was 29 which asks the question “is there one among you who is stripped of envy”?  Naturally I took the time to explain what envy was (using a real life example of my 11 year old expressing his envy towards the donuts that happened to be in the possession of his big sister).  Pointing this out to the group seemed to please his big sister all the more – until we asked her to read verse 30.  “Is there one among you that doth make a mock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions?”  It was fun to see (and point out) that by Alma asking all these questions, it allows us to ask ourselves how we are doing….and not necessarily pointing out everybody else’s flaws.

Now, the spirit that we felt that day as we read the scriptures wasn’t the bawl your eyes out kind – it was the have some fun and laugh really hard at our crazy family kind.  And I for one was amazed (again) at how specific reading the scriptures can be.   And if I am honest, they will probably remember Alma 5 and the day that they really understood what Alma was asking them – more than if we had just read it peacefully.

The second experience was from a day or two days earlier, when we happened to read verse 6 (still in Alma 5).  It’s the first question (3 questions really) that Alma asks: Have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers ? Have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them?  Have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?

Now, that’s a lot of retaining in remembrance, right?  We thought so, and somehow after that verse (I honestly don’t recall how it got to that point), it was (humorously) suggested that when we pray as a family we start including the phrase “help us to retain in remembrance the captivity of our fathers, and their subsequent deliverance”.  It came up at least 4 or 5 times the next couple of days as the kids asked “what were those words again?” as we were preparing to pray.  It never actually made it into a prayer, but it helped us remember that our kids really were (and are) listening and that hopefully at some point – they will understand exactly what that phrase really means.

I say at some point because that’s exactly what happened for me (the one who should already be better and understand it).  I was encouraged and reminded during that week to “retain in remembrance” that specific phrase, which happened to help my mind “remember” the deliverer a little more.  With that added emphasis, I discovered something that I hadn’t seen before. Something that I thought was great.

I happened to be reading in Mosiah 27 in my own personal study shortly after the events of this week – and I read the account of Alma the younger and his visit from the angel (while he is out and about with the sons of Mosiah being naughty).  During this latest reading, I happened to notice the command from the angel to Alma.  The angel says “Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers…for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them.”  I hadn’t understood the implications of that command, or the significance of it before.  Honestly, I hadn’t remembered it at all.  But because we had recently read Alma 5, and because we had been focusing on “retaining in remembrance the captivity of our fathers” – I was able to see where Alma’s question came from – which added additional context to chapter 5 as well.  He had been told that very thing by the angel, which happened to be the crucial turning point in his own conversion.  We all know that he then spent the rest of his life being good – and “bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer.”   He “retained in remembrance” the cycle of bondage and deliverance – and wanted everyone else to remember it as well because it makes us focus on the one who is doing the delivering.  That’s why the very first (3) question he asks in chapter 5 are “Have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance”…  He asks these questions repeatedly during his ministry (Alma 5, 29, 36 to name a few), and it happens to be a major theme of the record – All because that’s what the Angel told him to do.

So, the whole point in this particular entry, is for myself and all of us as parents to “sufficiently retain in remembrance” a few things.  1- Scripture study is awesome.  It’s important, and it’s a wonderful time to relate the scriptures to our own lives – even if it’s with donuts and making a mockery of your brother and if we look for lessons there, we will find them.  2 – It (family scripture study) is worth the effort.  I can promise that our kids will “retain in remembrance” our best efforts, and they listen and it will make a big difference in their lives.  I do know that they are listening, and that this study time is incredibly beneficial.  I have been surprised and will continue to be surprised (and grateful) when they recall things that we have discussed during our scripture study. 3 – let’s not take ourselves and this scripture study too seriously.  What I mean by that is don’t think because they aren’t glued to your every word that it’s not effective – it is.  Don’t think that because they aren’t completely silent that they aren’t listening – they are. 4 – Just because it’s awesome doesn’t mean it’s easy.  In fact, because it is awesome, we should expect it to be really hard.  Just keep trying.

A long time ago, there was a (goodly) guy who was probably really busy just like us, and I imagine that he had a lot of things on his plate.  He was a father, which means he had a family to support – which also means he had a job, he had a place in the community, and he cared about other people.  In his city (Jerusalem), there happened to come “many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed”.¹ This threat of destruction and the need for repentance from these prophets had stirred up some strong feelings of love and action from this man, so immediately – and on top of everything else that he already had on his plate – he started praying “even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.” As he prayed “there came a pillar of fire… and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly.”²

Perhaps “these things” which Lehi saw included the impending destruction of Jerusalem, the city he loved, or the upcoming trials that would test his family.  Perhaps it was a glimpse of the additional responsibilities the Lord had in mind for him as a prophet/leader (in addition to his current load).  Perhaps it was a detailed account of his children and their future rebellion, or maybe even a glimpse at his own associates soon trying to kill him.  Any way you slice it, we can rest assured that what he did see and hear, wasn’t just all the amazing blessings that were headed his way, because (these things he saw) caused him to “quake and tremble exceedingly.”

What happens next gives us a great phrase into Lehi’s state of mind.  It also helps us understand a pattern that occurs pretty frequently in the scriptures, which means we should pay attention.  The record reads: “And it came to pass that he returned to his own house… and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.”³ The next verse starts out “And being thus overcome” reminding us that what happens is actually during his state of being overcome.  One synonym or definition for overcome is to overwhelm.  Lehi felt overwhelmed at his responsibility and his immediate future. How many of us can relate to that?  How many mothers see and hear ‘these things’ that don’t ever stop that are just a part of motherhood and feel a bit overwhelmed?  How many fathers are overwhelmed at the exact same thing?   Life can often be overwhelming.

Well, the good news, that’s not where the story ends, because the pattern shows us what great things can happen when we find ourselves “being thus overcome”.

Lehi, being thus overcome, was carried away in a vision, where he saw the heavens, God, and numberless angels so that his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled⁴ – in other words, the Lord somehow replaced Lehi’s quaking and trembling with joy and love and peace.

Note that Lehi’s vision didn’t change what the Lord was going to ask Lehi to do, nor did it change his present or future responsibilities –  all it changed was Lehi’s perception and motivation – because after this experience, Lehi had the strength and courage to go forward and prophesy to the people, and to declare “concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.”⁵

For the past 11 months or so, there has been a particularly stressful situation involving my work life.  And those of us who happen to be like Lehi, and who are charged with the heavy responsibility to “preside over [our] families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for [them]”⁶ understand how work, and everything that comes with the word “work” happens to be a large portion of our lives (every day, every week, all year long) and can affect our feelings – not to mention that it’s our “work” that pays for and supports everything else (house, cars, food, family life, etc.) we enjoy.  It’s sort of a big deal.

This particular issue started out as a typically small/normal problem to solve, but over the past year it has grown to become a potentially catastrophic one. It has brought me to the same point as Lehi – where I can honestly say that I have seen and heard much; and because of the things which I have seen and heard I am beginning to quake and tremble exceedingly.  I don’t know if I’ve cast myself upon my bed quite yet, and thrown in the towel, but I do happen to find myself sympathizing with and relating to Lehi and his state of being ‘overcome’ more and more as this situation drags on and on and on.  I also find myself wishing that this particular trial/struggle had not come to me at all.  I would eagerly pass it on to someone else.

The past two weeks have been particularly bad, to the point where I have been battling to find a proper balance in my various responsibilities (husband, father, church calling, work) and honestly, it’s been a battle even gathering my thoughts to focus on the things that I want to focus on (rather than this glaring problem dominating my thoughts and being a continuous distraction all day and night) while attempting to still make time to actually do real “work” or to work off some stress (that’s code for train/work out or relax with the family), which ironically adds stress in the event I miss scheduled time off or fail to completely give all my attention to the things that matter most.

All of this brings me to a hope that by somehow recognizing this pattern, and where I currently find myself in this pattern, I can and will be able to see or experience something great and enlightening (like Lehi) while or since or because I am “thus overcome”.  I also realize that there is a possibility that it may be two more years before I am fully ‘overcome’ or that this situation is resolved (if ever) which is frightening and sobering at the same time.  Yet, this passage also highlights the simple, yet incredibly difficult way to work through this type of burden.  Lehi, and later his son, teach us that when the going gets tough, we should just start praying fervently for other people – and then acting on those prayers to actually help them.  This for me the past several months has been easier to preach and much harder to practice.

This passage helps me remember that I have often been missing this key component to Lehi’s successfully being shown great things while he was “overcome”.  That by forgetting (or not worrying about) my own problems in order to help someone else with theirs – I will actually solve my own problems.  It’s the same way the Savior approached his monumental task in the garden of Gethsemane.

It is also probable that until I learn how to do that, I won’t be able to see clearly that all along the way there have been repeated moments of joy, “to the point where my soul did rejoice, and my whole heart was filled” – just like Lehi’s – and that I don’t need to continue waiting until some imaginary end of this trial to be happy.

So here I am, writing this to myself as a reminder to be like Lehi, who was being like Jesus.

Notes

¹ 1 Ne. 1:4

² 1 Ne. 1:6

³ 1 Ne. 1:7

⁴ 1 Ne. 1:8-15

⁵ 1 Ne. 1:18

⁶ The Family: A Proclamation to the World (p7)

Recently, the CES (Church Educational System) outlined a new approach to help its students learn how to recognize, understand, and apply gospel principles in their lives.  It’s called Doctrinal Mastery.  It is a supplement to the previous Scripture Mastery program that we had as curriculum back in the 90’s.  Instead of just memorizing scriptures (which is still an excellent idea by the way), the CES is helping and teaching and encouraging the students to learn how to search for and answer their own questions.  I encourage everyone to go here and read all of the material available (but especially the talk by Elder Ballard, Chad Webb, and the 2016 annual  broadcast), because it is outstanding information and is well worth your dedicated and repeated study time (not to mention how great it would be for FHE and/or other family discussions).

In case you don’t follow the link above right away and hope that I will recap some of the main points, below is an overview:

Principles

• Students acquire spiritual knowledge and are better prepared to respond to questions as they follow the principles and patterns that Heavenly Father has established for us to learn and understand truth.
• Students will deepen their conversion and commitment to Jesus Christ, be protected against the influences of the adversary, and be better prepared to bless the lives of others as they come to understand, believe, and live according to the Savior’s doctrine.

Desired Outcomes

Learning and applying divine principles for acquiring spiritual knowledge and responding to questions by

1. Acting in faith
2. Examining concepts and questions with an eternal perspective
3. Seeking further understanding through divinely appointed sources

Each one of these three desired outcomes is outlined in great detail in the various talks/devotionals/messages that are available through the link above, and each one of them is worth spending hours reading/learning about, but for the purpose of this particular message, I want us to understand number 2 – Examining concepts and questions with an eternal perspective.

An eternal perspective means not limiting our questions or our concerns or our doubts to our own little tiny 20^th century timeframe, nor to our little tiny understanding of a particular principle/application.  Part of examining concepts in this eternal perspective is the acknowledgement that opposition and temptation have been around since the very beginning of what we call time, and the understanding that we certainly are not the first ones to struggle or deal with a particular issue – no matter what it is.  Even if our pride thinks it is.  We need to understand that the scriptures (the divinely appointed sources referenced in item 3 above) are in fact a compilation of scenarios, situations, stories, that produced the entire gamut of burning questions and riveting answers – all recorded by righteous individuals with the express intent of being available for us to “examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective”.

Maybe the next time we have a doubt, or a serious question, or something that makes us ‘wrestle’ with the Lord – no matter what it is – let’s ask ourselves a guiding question that will start our search for answers on the right path: “Has someone already asked this question before”?  “Has someone in the history of recorded time struggled with an issue similar to this”?  Has someone then “acted in faith” and “sought further understanding through divinely appointed sources” and received an answer – and then recorded that answer”? In most cases the answer is yes.  As a note, that’s what the scriptures are – the most true and correct FAQ document the world has ever seen.

A “yes” answer to the questions above places some of the question finding responsibility on our shoulders because I doubt the Lord loves when we ask a question that he has already answered – especially when that answer has been asked, answered, and then recorded in the scriptures.  After all, most successful companies refer you to the FAQ section before they connect you with a representative right?  Right.

To help us understand exactly what and how awesome the scriptures really are – which will in turn help us really feel the possibilities that it holds for us – let’s think of some of the times that angels have come down from heaven to visit the earth to deliver a particular message – or when a beloved prophet is sent to do the same.  Moroni comes to Joseph Smith and quotes some scriptures.  Abinidi gets sent to King Noah and ends up quoting/reading scriptures (Isaiah).  Christ himself (not to mention Nephi, Jacob, and many other prophets who wrote in the Book of Mormon) comes down to minister among the Nephites and spends a whole lot of time reading and expounding the scriptures.  Talk about answering questions – maybe he was making sure they really did have all the scriptures, so that when they recorded the Book of Mormon, it would ensure that we really do have the full set of FAQ.

There is a scripture passage that helps us solidify how we should approach and deal with any questions that we may have surrounding the gospel.  The setting is approx. 29-23 BC and the Lamanites are the good guys and the Nephites happen to be the bad guys.  At this time, there was an especially bad group (secret band of robbers) who were led and named after their especially bad leader Gadianton.  It’s found in Helaman 6:37-39:  So, when we read this passage, and understand how these two groups dealt with the robbers, we can understand and liken it to the two options we have when questions or doubts arise in our hearts – because the doubts we have about the gospel are in fact, the robbers of Gadianton.

The Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites.

And it came to pass on the other hand, that the Nephites did build them up and support them, beginning at the more wicked part of them, until they had overspread all the land of the Nephites, and had seduced the more part of the righteous until they had come down to believe in their works and partake of their spoils, and to join with them in their secret murders and combinations.

And thus they did obtain the sole management of the government, insomuch that they did trample under their feet and smite and rend and turn their backs upon the poor and the meek, and the humble followers of God.

The Lamanites preached the word of God among their doubts and questions, until they were utterly destroyed.¹  I expect this preaching of the word of God (pure, scripture truth) was not a one-time sermon, but more of a repeated, continual effort that took place over time.

On the other hand, the Nephites did build them up, and support their doubts until they had overspread all the land, seduced the more part of them, until they had come down to believe in their works and partake of their spoils, and to join with them.  If we build up and support our doubts, it won’t be long until they overtake all our land, and we will come down to believe in their works, and partake of their spoils (please notice how enjoying fruit is the end goal of Lehi’s dream, Jacob 5, and Alma 32, yet spoils are the result of Gadiantons plundering and Satan’s offering to us).  Worse yet, if we to continue to build them up, these doubts will have “sole management of the government” – and they will drive away all faith, hope, and love until we become cynical, bitter, and then we trample under our feet all of the things we once loved.

Notes

¹ Questions are good – critical even.  They lead to answers.  They lead us to and through the process of becoming a seeker of truth and a seeker of answers.  So much of our history (both ancient and modern) is the result of diligent searching for answers.

In the NBA these days, there are a lot of superstars – but there are 2 MEGA superstars.  LeBron James and Steph Curry.  In the last 2-3 years there has been an increased surge of popularity and support (love and fandom) for Steph Curry.  There are some who have attributed this increased love to his “normal” physical stature (6’3” 190 soaking wet) – which happens to be much more in common with the average Joe basketball player/fan than that of LeBron James (listed at 6’ 8” 250).  For most people, they can try and be like Steph Curry through practice and training (launching 3’s and dancing as the little guy), but being built like LeBron and running like LeBron, and dunking like LeBron seem out of the realm of possibility no matter how hard we work (I can’t train myself to grow taller).  Somehow, we can all relate a bit more to Steph Curry and his ‘underdog-ishness’.¹  At the same time, we may even dissociate ourselves from comparing ourselves to the skill set or talent of LeBron James by thinking that we’ll never be as buff/ripped/tall/muscular as him, so we shouldn’t even try.

There may be a similar thing that happens sometimes in the scriptures.  Whether we mean to or not, we sometimes attribute LeBron James status to our scripture heroes, and therefore think that we can’t relate ourselves or our lives or our situations to theirs because they were just way to righteous or way to buff or way to obedient or way to faithful to be ‘the average joe’.  One (very popular) story in particular happens to be the story of the 2,000 stripling warriors.  Most of the paintings/images of these guys could easily be mistaken for a WWE roll call or an ‘ultimate warrior’ look alike contest.  A guy in my ward yesterday even said that “based on those photos, every single stripling warrior benched at least 500 lbs.” Here’s a little taste of what I’m talking about:

Now, to be fair, some of these guys could have been totally ripped.  Some of them might have looked like they were 35, but if we really want to ‘liken the scriptures unto us’ we need to understand that these stripling warriors probably looked a bit more ‘real life’ than that.  Some of them probably had some had acne and awkward teenage hairstyles. Some of them were probably as skinny as a rail, and most of them had been purposely been developing their talents off of the battlefield.  These guys probably looked a lot like the 12-18-year-old Aaronic priesthood holders that you and I see every week in church.  You know, the scrawny deacons who pass the sacrament, the slightly beefier teachers with cracking voices who prepare it, and the maybe not so burly/muscular, just getting some man-like facial hair priests who bless it.  They probably look a bit more Steph-ish than LeBron-ish right?  Most of the ones I know certainly do.

It’s worth noting here that the definition and word origin (history) for the word ‘stripling’ includes “a youth” and is possibly from the noun ‘strip’, meaning ‘long, narrow piece’ on the notion of ‘one who is slender as a strip, whose figure is not yet filled out’.² Not quite the description of the rock (Dwayne Johnson) is it?  Helaman himself calls them his ‘little’ army twice (Alma 56:19, 56:33), and his ‘little’ band twice more (Alma 57:6, 57:19).

With that in mind, let’s review some of the important things that happen throughout this entire story that are critical to helping our youth today understand and relate this amazing story to their own lives (hint: this story just might be even more important for the parents of youth to understand), because the story of the stripling warriors is pretty much the story of our youth today.

Background/Context (Alma 53): Before we even get to the great details, there are some parallels that we need to understand.  In the 2 verses that precede the introduction of this story about the ‘sons of the people of Ammon’ we learn that the Lamanites have ‘gained some ground’ over the Nephites and have ‘obtained possession of a number of their cities placing the Nephites in ‘the most dangerous circumstances’.  And, the cause of this loss (listed in both verse 8 and 9 so we don’t miss it) is ‘intrigue and dissensions’ among the Nephites.  Not an outside force, but internal intrigue and dissensions.

Intrigue:

1. Arouse the curiosity or interest of; fascinate
2. Make secret plans to do something illicit or detrimental to someone

Dissension:

1. Disagreement that leads to discord
2. Difference in opinion

These youth were growing up in a world that was filled with intrigue (curiosity, fascination, and interest with secret plans, detrimental and/or illicit things, which led to disagreements, and then subsequent dissensions (differences of opinion which led to discord and battle).  That sounds pretty much exactly like the world we live in today.  There is no shortage of intrigue, and no shortage of discord based on opinions, rights, demonstrations, initiatives, programs, litigations, demands, etc. These circumstances placed the Nephites in ‘the most dangerous circumstances’ just like we find ourselves in today.  How many times have we heard that these latter days are the ‘most dangerous circumstances’?

Things set in motion:  I’ve written here concerning Antipus and his awesomeness, but for this post, I will just highlight two things.  Alma 56:10 indicates that the army of Antipus had been reduced by the Lamanites (slain in battle), which caused him to mourn.  How many leaders of the church are mourning because we are losing members of our armies?  Lots.  Some of them are being slain by the enemy, and some of them are being lost due to intrigue and dissensions.  This reduction of our forces gives us all ‘cause to mourn’.  Yet, when this army of Helaman arrives, Antipus ‘did rejoice exceedingly’.  I can imagine that he was happy to see additional warriors, but I’m guessing he was happier about seeing (and hearing) who they were and the reasons why they were there.  Alma 56:16 indicates that this ‘little’ force which Helaman brought to Antipus, gave them (his army) ‘great hopes and much joy’.  I don’t think Helaman put that into his letter to Moroni by accident (because it’s in there twice – verse 10 and 16).  I think Helaman (and later Moroni when he was abridging the record) realized by the spirit how important this story would be for the youth in the latter days, AND how important this story would be for the adults in the latter days.

One of the main reasons the stripling warriors were so important, is because of the effect they had on the adult leaders.  Antipus, Helaman, Moroni, the other unnamed leaders, and their parents all were able to somehow find additional strength, motivation, and were filled with this same ‘great hopes and much joy’ because of what these young warriors did.  The youth of this story turn out to be the catalyst for the Nephite victory.  As soon as this story is told in the Book of Mormon, the tide starts to turn.  The Nephites were losing ground, smothered in dissension and intrigue until a little band of Aaronic priesthood aged youth reminded everyone what was the most important.  They instilled love, faith, obedience, and fire back into the Nephite army.  They were beloved by everyone (see Alma 57:25), not just Helaman.

 Obey and observe with exactness:  Since we are drawing parallels to real life, let’s not forget that the record indicates that these young men ‘did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness’ (Alma 57:21).  Here we come to maybe the most amazing part of this story, and one where the LeBron James effect can come into play – so let’s think about it for a minute.  Do we honestly think that they were born with the perfect obedience gene?  Maybe they developed the gift of the spirit called observing with exactness, but I doubt it.  I think that these young men were exactly like the young men I know.

For example – let’s just say that Helaman heads home after the battle with the Lamanites in which they acted as decoy, turned around and then overtook the Lamanites and were miraculously saved.  He sees some of the mothers of these young boys during Sunday school and he relates this story of battle to them – and while he does he includes the words ‘they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness’.  How do you suppose their mothers responded to Helaman?  They probably thought in their minds of the many times when their sons did NOT ‘obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness’ at home (like when they asked these boys to clean their rooms, take out the trash, unload the dishwasher, do their homework, and any of the hundred other normal tasks mothers ask their sons to do).  Isn’t that what you and I do when their youth leaders tell us how amazing our kids are?  These amazing mothers may have even thought to themselves, I wish Helaman could come over to my place sometime and watch my son ‘obey with exactness’.  He doesn’t know the real story….  Just this morning I had to ask my son 3 times to pick up his bow and arrow which he always leaves laying around.

Two real life examples that I witnessed just this week that help me believe this is true.

1. A young man in our ward happens to be leaving for college this weekend. He has caused his mother a fair amount of grief over the years (I know this because both he and she have disclosed this fact).  I have watched him in the priest’s quorum for the last year and happens to be one of the young men that I know I can count on.  In fact, I once asked him to sing in a combined youth meeting knowing full well he couldn’t sing (and didn’t want to) – but I asked him because I knew he would say yes (he did).  If you asked me if he ‘obeys and observes to perform every word with exactness’ I would say ‘absolutely’.
2. Due to the labor day weekend this past Sunday, our deacon turnout for fast offerings was much less than normal. We needed help from the teachers and priests.  Even though it is not their ‘normal’ fast Sunday duty, we asked them for their help (by sending out texts/calls).  About 20 minutes later, I answered the door at my home to see a priest and an almost priest gathering fast offerings.  Further, the almost priest actually apologized for being late.  Are they stripling warriors?  Yes, indeed.  Do they obey and observe to perform every word with exactness?  Yes, again.   Was there some encouragement from their mothers/fathers?   Of course.

Now, I’m not Helaman, and I’m not Moroni, and I’m not Antipus.   But I can promise that the same ‘great hopes and joy’ that they felt when this little army came to the fight is real and the leaders of our youth today feel it.  It is a love that has been around since the beginning – and it is a love that is accompanied by the spirit.

The enemy we face today is just as frightening and just as scary as the Lamanite armies the stripling warriors battled long ago.  But our youth are just as prepared and are just as important to our forces today as they were to theirs in the past.  They are taught by their mothers in the exact same way – repetition, encouragement, patience, and love.  Even when their mothers may not see the results of that firmness of mind and exactness at home every day – rest assured that others do, and they are filled with ‘great hopes and joy’ when they see it – And wise leaders recognize that these young boys and girls of today can and will turn the tide in the last and great battle just like they did before.  The youth of the church will be a catalyst for increased devotion, increased love, increased faithfulness, and increased effort from their adult leaders who are reminded of the reason we are fighting the battle in the first place.

Hopefully we (as old people), can understand that the past can teach us the future, and the series of events as it’s laid out in Alma can be repeated as our youth realize that they are exactly like the stripling warriors were. Normal, everyday young men and women who are consistent, faithful, and true.

Notes

¹ Yes, this is a made up word.  And, I realize that he isn’t really an underdog playing for the Warriors, but the idea is that he is not the physical specimen that many other NBA athletes are, and he looks like a normal dude.

² Dictionary.com/stripling

³ It’s probably a miracle all on it’s own that these young men were able to stay ahead of the Lamanite armies long enough for Antipus to even catch up.

 Additional questions to consider:

• Do you think Antipus would have run himself and his other leaders to death trying to catch the enemy if they thought these youngters could actually fight off the Lamanites?
• Do you think Helaman would have frantically searched through the numbers of wounded soldiers as soon as the battle was over to count how many of his little army had perished if they all had strength like the Hulk?
• Do you think they would have written how ‘miraculous’ it was that they all survived if they were physically built for battle?
• Do you think Helaman would have been so inspired by their ‘so great courage’ if they were at least a physical match for the Lamanites?

This photo may be a bit more ‘real life’ even though its a cartoon.