Satisfaction

01 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by Tyson Alexander in atonement, Fundamentals, Jesus Christ

I have been at a conference in Milwaukee all week (for work). This conference has a focus on education, and therefore offers classes, workshops, seminars, and hands-on activities in order to educate and inform all conference attendees catered to the particular industry in which I work. Throughout each day, there are a wide range of topics and several options for classes that are offered in simultaneous timeslots, which means that the conference attendees can choose 1 of 8 classes for each time slot that classes are offered. Towards the end of the week – today in fact – I was on the schedule to deliver a presentation. In this presentation, I was to speak for an entire hour regarding how the use of technology could be helpful in the management of PSM. To most of you, this seems like the most boring topic ever (or completely irrelevant to life in general), and you’re probably right. As I have chronicled on this blog before (here), my company offers a software product to help in an area where most people want to ignore, which means that not very many people want help at all, let alone look for it. So, imagine with me my ever-growing unease with this prospect of giving an hour-long presentation to 80 empty chairs.

As time went on, and this assignment weighed in my mind, I became ever more pessimistic and anxious about it. Four months ago, I envisioned the room packed full of people (standing room only) chomping at the bit to devour our product with eager haste and begging me to continue despite the time restrictions leaving all other classrooms and speakers with emptiness. One month ago, I envisioned the room mostly full of attendees taking notes and at least nodding their heads with interest. Two weeks ago, I envisioned around 40 people there, but then as this week started, I started to reduce my hopes that maybe 10 people would be present. Until finally, as I spoke with my wonderful wife last night and early this morning, I wondered if even a single person would attend my presentation. With this dreadful thought in my mind at 2:50 PM, I started the 5-minute walk from our booth (we are also an exhibitor at this conference) to room 103C, and during that time I gave myself the following pep talk. “Tyson, it is probable that not a single person will be in that room where you are scheduled to speak for an hour, and that’s ok. If that is the case and that room is completely empty, those chairs are going to learn how technology and a centralized system can help their management of PSM.” I steadied myself and rounded the corner to where there was a sign with my speaking topic, our company logo, and I braced myself for the worst….and then I saw people.

People were there waiting! People were in their seats before I even got there. People had read the conference agenda, perused the available topics, and they had (of their own free will and choice) selected my presentation to attend. How could this be? I was immediately satisfied. What’s more, the 3 individuals that I had personally invited to my presentation were all present – satisfied again. Then, as I set up for my presentation, I watched with further satisfaction, as additional people trickled in and sat down. In the end (as I started my presentation) I estimated that there were between 25 and 30 people who gave their attention to me.¹With this boost in my self confidence and this feeling of satisfaction, I was strengthened and went on to deliver the most amazing PSM related technology presentation that the 3:00 PM time slot of the 2015 RETA conference will ever see.

Which, interestingly enough, brings me to a scripture passage that I have read several times and have recently been thinking about – related to satisfaction. It is part of Abinidi’s message to king Noah and his wicked priests. For a quick background,² the people had captured and imprisoned Abinidi for preaching against them and their leadership and in a deliberate attempt “to cross him, that thereby they might have wherewith to accuse him” he was brought before king Noah and his priests where they began to question him. As Abinidi withstood all of their words, and continued his detailed outlining of their wickedness in a frank and matter-of-fact way, the bad guys got angrier. This led to them attempting to “lay their hands on him” and take him away, but he wasn’t finished with his message. He “said unto them: Touch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I have not delivered the message which the Lord sent me to deliver.” Then, Abinidi’s “face shone with exceeding luster”, and “he spake with power and authority from God.” It is during this powerful and authoritative luster faced message that I quote Abinidi:

“When his soul has been made an offering for sin [speaking of Christ’s suffering during the grueling and agonizing atonement hours] he shall see his seed.”³ “He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.”⁴

I don’t have a good personal example to relate to that concept, but the closest thing I can relate is a mother experiencing intense labor that gets to hear her precious newborn baby cry for the very first time. She is (and has been for several months) in the midst of a grueling and agonizing life creating pregnancy and painful delivery, which can absolutely be termed a “travail”, and all at once – in an instant even – is satisfied when that crying baby is placed in her arms and is therefore willing and able to continue on with the labor process, and indeed discount the months of pain as a satisfactory tradeoff for joy. I have seen the pain and anguish of difficult labor displaced immediately by tears of joy on my wife’s face (more than once). I can’t understand how it feels – yet somehow I can understand why it feels.

With that tender concept of satisfaction during our Lord’s anguishing travail in mind, I would like to add to our understanding of the passage delivered by Abinidi (and Isaiah) in his moments of shining glory with a verse recorded by Luke (referencing the exact same tender, crucial, amazing, grueling moment of travail). It is found in Luke 22:43 which reads “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”

Could it be that this angel which appeared to the savior in the garden during his most pressing and agonizing hours – to strengthen him – somehow made it possible for the Lord to “see his seed” and “see the travail of his soul”, and therefore “be satisfied”? Could it be that the strengthening agent that the Lord needed during his intense suffering was to hear the crying voice of a newborn baby like you and me? Could it be that all in an instant, that anguish and hurt brought upon him by the pain and weight of the world (a necessary part of the life giving process) was immediately swept away by the visual image of his children that he loved so much? I think so. I think that gave him strength, just like it gave my wife strength, and just like it gives so many others strength. That is the power of families, and that is the power of relationships, and that is the power of love and that is the power of life. That idea could also be strengthened by the scriptural phrases of “perfect love casteth out all fear” (Moroni 8:16)

Now, I am not one to compare a lowly trade show presentation to the precious hours of the atonement, or even the childbearing process which both give life to the world, yet I did feel satisfaction in seeing a few bodies in the chairs that was equal to my anxiety – and therefore satisfied my heart. Imagine then, the amount of joy and love that our savior feels with each of us – if the sound of our voice or the image of our faces in his mind allowed him to be satisfied in the most grueling moment imaginable during those garden hours. Satisfaction equal to his anxiety, or as Alma put it “nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were [his] pains… that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was [his] joy.”⁵

The Savior loves us deeply, more deeply than we can understand. Let us all try and feel that love by allowing his sacrifice to be felt more deeply in our hearts.

Notes

¹ For reference, I have presented a similar topic at a similar (much larger) conference once before (by invitation even) and the number of attendees was in the single digits (like 6 or 7), which no doubt led to my trepidation, but that’s just a side note for context.

² This background can be read in Mosiah chapters 12 and 13

³ Mosiah 15:10 (please note this is the reference from footnote b in Mosiah 14:10, where Abinidi is quoting Isaiah. These verses are nearly identical. Also, please note that Abinidi also asks and answers the question: who is ‘his seed’? in the natural flow of this same amazing discourse (see Mosiah 15:10-13). See also Mosiah 5:7.

⁴ Mosiah 14:11

⁵ Alma 36:21

The Power of Virtue

24 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by Tyson Alexander in General

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

humility, power, virtue

According to LDS topics¹, virtue:

Is a prerequisite to entering the Lord’s holy temples and to receiving the Spirit’s guidance.
Is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards
Encompasses chastity and moral purity
Begins in the heart and in the mind
Is nurtured in the home
Is the accumulation of thousands of small decisions and actions

To coincide with those definitions, the dictionary² defines virtue as follows:

Moral excellence; goodness; righteousness
Conformity of one’s life and conduct to moral and ethical principles
A good or admirable quality or property
Effective force; power or potency

Interestingly, when we hear the word virtue we think of ideals, morals, thoughts, chastity or purity, and it is often included anytime we make a list of good or desirable character traits³ but how often do we think of virtue as an “effective force or power”? Yet, that is exactly what virtue is – effective, potent, and forceful power. I don’t intend those consecutive words to be thought of as synonyms, but as a single and continuous sentence. Virtue is an effective and potent and forceful power. Let’s not limit it to an ideal.

Elaine S. Dalton indicated that “the Latin root word virtus means strength.” She continued “Virtuous women and men possess a quiet dignity and inner strength. They are confident because they are worthy to receive and be guided by the Holy Ghost.”⁴ But, in case we think that our inner strength or virtue is something that is limited to our own use, let’s remember that virtue is an “effective” force. Or in other words, it is a goodness and a forceful and motivating power that can be – and should be – given away.

Recall with me, the “certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse”. When she heard of Jesus, she “came in the press behind and touched his garment.” She had faith to be healed just by touching his clothes, yet Mark records the following: “And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, tuned him about in the press, and said, who touched my clothes”?⁵ If that’s not clear enough, in Luke’s record he actually quoted the Savior (after the same event) saying “somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.”⁶

On another occasion, “a great multitude of people” came (from Judaea and Jersualem) to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases (which they were), and Luke recorded that “the whole multitude sought to touch him; for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.”⁷

Now, before we limit this fine tuned ability – the ability to perceive that some or much virtue has gone out of you – to Christ himself or to only the amazing prophets, we should evaluate or ponder if maybe once or twice (or many times), we have ourselves been able to perceive that virtue has gone out of us. For example; how many times after going to church, which is only a 3-hour block, have we returned home absolutely famished and completely exhausted? Sometimes we get to the point where you just need to eat the first thing that you see when you walk in the door for fear of actual starvation. I think some of us feel like we just completed an Ironman after sitting still for 3 hours. How about after an especially intense spiritual experience and you find your physical frame a bit “weaker”? Ask Nephi or Lehi or Alma or Ammon or king Lamoni about that. In Ammon’s particular case the record states that he “sunk” with joy⁸. We usually think of joy as uplifting and strictly energizing, but in many cases we feel the spirit so strongly that we can’t help but cry (and we may start to feel less physical strength) and start to ‘sink down’ in order to just let the spirit envelop us. This is perhaps a time when spiritual ‘virtue’ is being shared or transferred and the mortal frame is just not quite on the same level (yet).

I think that if we are honest with ourselves, we can all point to a time or two when we’ve felt virtue go out of us (whether we identified it then or not). These times are most likely special times when we are purposefully trying to lift someone else’s burdens (seen or unseen), or to help and serve with completely pure intentions, and the spirit can “sink us down” with joy as it goes out of us. No doubt we all recognize the dual benefit of giving away this virtue to others⁹ since when we act like the savior, we can feel like the savior and when we serve others, we are in fact serving him.¹⁰

Joseph Smith was once asked by Jedediah M. Grant about an incident in which he turned pale and lost strength after administering to (blessing) some children. He referred to the same scripture passage quoted above (Luke 8) and indicated that “the virtue referred to is the spirit of life¹¹; and a man who exercises great faith in administering to the sick, blessing little children, or confirming, is liable to become weakened.”¹²

This idea has been on my mind recently, as I have identified the use of ‘virtue’ in various places that help me understand it’s effective power more than its lofty character traits. One is found in the very first sentence of The Living Christ.¹³ I quote fifteen of the most amazing men to ever live by saying “we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of his great atoning sacrifice”. Of all the words in the English language that could have been used in that sentence, they used “virtue”.

Another reference is found in Alma 31:5 (a classic reference) which reads “And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God. Of all the words that could have been used in that sentence, he used “virtue”.

The last reference (for this post) is found in the absolutely timeless passage of D&C 121. This section can be “likened” unto parenting, fatherhood, motherhood¹⁴, general leadership, or any other worthy cause since it is worth studying over and over and over again. The verse that I’d like to include is verse 41 “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned.” We could spend years understanding that one verse and all that it means for us.

I have read the advice that “to be a good leader, we need to be a good follower,”¹⁵ and “to be a righteous father, we need to be a righteous son.”¹⁶ This (and logic) leads me to think that for us to be able to have “virtue go out from us” we need to have virtue “within us”. This means we need to “receive” virtue in abundance. Lucky for us, the apostles and prophets have testified (as quoted above) of the “infinite virtue” that is available through Christ and his “great atoning sacrifice.” That means that it won’t run out – no matter what. As often as we want to receive it, and qualify for it, and ask for it, and search for it, and seek it, and plead for it, and cry for it – it will be given. In the amount that “is expedient for us”¹⁷ to have and in the dosage that “we are willing to receive.”¹⁸

Therefore, let virtue begin in our hearts and in our minds. Let that “virtue garnish [our] thoughts unceasingly”¹⁹ so that it can become a consistent pattern of thought and behavior, while being nurtured in our homes. Then, by the accumulation of thousands of small decisions and actions, our lives can become an effective and strong and powerful force for good in the world.

I will end with a question, but not one that I ask. One that someone much smarter than me asked exactly 35 years ago. It’s a long question (since it’s more than one), but it’s a question that deserves much reflection.

“Parents are ‘called,’ but are they ‘chosen’ by their children to be an influence in their lives? How can parents convey the kind of love our Heavenly Father offers? Are parents prepared to rely entirely on their increasing virtue and righteousness to elicit loyalty, cooperation, and harmony among their children? What a challenge, to qualify to influence only through relationship! Yet only then can parents establish an ‘everlasting dominion’ or eternal family that can function and will endure ‘without compulsory means,’ as our Eternal Father has done. What we find so very difficult to do within our own homes, God has brought to full fruition among the innumerable hosts of heaven.²⁰

Notes

¹ lds.org/topics=virtue. These are given verbatim by Elaine S. Dalton (in paragraph form) in her talk “A Return to Virtue” given in the October 2008 Conference. She also references “Preach My Gospel (2004) pg. 118 in her explanation of number 2.

² Dictionary.reference.com/virtue

³ See the Articles of Faith 1:13, and many scripture lists (for a few see Philip 4:8, 2 Pet. 1:5-8, D&C 4:6, D&C 88:40, and D&C 121:41-45) not to mention it is an element (value) in the Young Women personal progress program. See also D&C 107:30 for an awesome list and use of virtue in a context not often thought of.

⁴ “A Return to Virtue” – October 2008 Conference

⁵ This account is found in Mark 5:25-30.

⁶ This account is found in Luke 8:41-48

⁷ Luke 6:17-19

⁸ See Alma 19:6-14

⁹ This idea seems especially true in the context of the scripture stories previously shared. For example, when the Lord helped the woman with the issue of blood (by his virtue), he wanted to know who it was so that he could help her even further. He recognized her faith to be healed physically, and wanted to heal her spiritually – and thus both were joyful. See Mark 5:31-34

¹⁰Mosiah 2:17

¹¹ Somehow a note for (a) seemed better than another number. This reference “the spirit of life” is also very interesting and worth addressing during a topical study. Because I haven’t done this, my note will be brief. I did find it intriguing (today) that after a search for that exact phrase – I was only able to find 2 scriptural references in which it is used. Each reference is rather powerful and it would be worth your time to discover those two passages and what doctrines they address. Especially if the virtue referred to [in Luke 8, and by extension this blog post] is ‘the spirit of life’” as the prophet said.

¹²Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith, pg. 280-281

¹³ The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a document prepared and signed by the first presidency and the quorum of the twelve apostles dated January 1, 2000.

¹⁴ See “Women and the Priesthood” by Sheri Dew, particularly chapter 7. Her quote (see note 5 of that chapter) as it pertains to this post is “It is an interesting exercise to read D&C 121:40-46 and contemplate how those verses might apply to women with respect to the doctrine of motherhood.” See also “Righteous Influence” by Lee Tom Perry, who indicates “the lessons of leadership (not specific to groups, classes, genders, or types) found in D&C 121 apply to everyone who is attempting to lead in righteousness.”

¹⁵ See “Righteous Influence” by Lee Tom Perry

¹⁶ I couldn’t find the specific reference for this, so I cannot be certain where I read it, but I did read it somewhere.

¹⁷ See 2 Ne. 2:27

¹⁸ See D&C 88:32-33

¹⁹ D&C 121:45

²⁰ This question came from an article in the September 1980 issue of the Ensign titled “The Name ‘Melchizedek’ some thoughts on its meaning and the priesthood it represents”. The entire article is fantastic and I encourage all to read it.

Foolish Imaginations

12 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by Tyson Alexander in General

≈ 1 Comment

Because Nephi is awesome (all around full fledged awesome) – and because he teaches us such amazing lessons in his writings – I am going to write (again) about some of the things he teaches us. But in this particular case (this blog post) I am also going to thank his older and murmur-ier brothers for providing Nephi (and us, since Nephi recorded it for us) with excellent insight into “things as they really are”.

In 1 Ne. 17:8 the Lord tells Nephi “thou shalt construct a ship”, for the express purpose of taking his entire family (his parents, the whole family of Ishmael, his other siblings and their spouses and children, Zoram and his family, and his own wife and children) across the Sea Irreantum (a.k.a. “many waters” a.k.a “the ocean”). He’d never done that before, and in all reality, building a giant boat to cross the ocean was pretty much crazy. Not crazy in a cuckoo or mental sort of way, but crazy in a “that is a crazy huge task” sort of way.

Nevertheless, Nephi gets started on this task right away (without a complaint). He starts by making a fire, and then finding ore so that he can then melt that ore out of the rock so that he can make tools – all before he even starts on the lumber or the actual boat. Did I mention this was a crazy huge task? And sometimes we complain about our home teaching assignment…

At this point – while Nephi is laying the groundwork, and “preparing every needful thing” for this crazy task, he asks his older brothers for some help – or as Nephi terms it “labor”. They, in true form, “did complain against [Nephi] and were desirous that they might not labor.” I could very well side with Laman and Lemuel on this one, since I don’t know that I would necessarily enjoy “laboring” to build a boat either, but I don’t think that was the reason for their complaining. Nephi records that the reason they wanted to withhold their labor was because “they did not believe that he could build a ship, neither would they believe that he was instructed of the Lord” to do so. They didn’t want to help Nephi because they thought he was completely nuts. They’d already been dragged for 8 years through the wilderness and were tired of all this “journeying”. They were completely fine with the idea of staying on the beach where there was plenty of food and comfortable lounging.

This answer (no) makes Nephi “exceedingly sorrowful” It is important to note that he is not saddened because they don’t want to help, but because of the reasons why they don’t want to help. He is sorrowful because they don’t see the vision and feel the motivation and want to be obedient to the Lord and have the spirit guide them; not because he ever doubted his own ability or confidence in actually building a boat (even if he would have had to do it mostly on his own).

When Laman and Lemuel “saw that [Nephi] began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, (obviously not understanding the real source of his sadness) insomuch that they did rejoice over [him] saying: ‘We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment, wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work.’”

Nephi recorded that solid gold for us as his readers. Laman and Lemuel are more than happy to tell Nephi what he can’t do and how foolish he is for ever thinking that he could “accomplish so great a work.” How’s that for supportive brothers?¹

Let’s pause here to recognize why that comment (thou canst not accomplish so great a work) is false. It is false because it is not true (write that one down). This is one of the tools of the adversary and is often repeated by those who comfortable lounging on the beach while commenting to each other about how foolish other people are. They make these statements because he [they] don’t like it when somebody tells them they should start helping with the boat construction so that they can sail towards the promised land (code for living the right way or honestly trying to – even if it means undertaking monster changes in their lives) or when they just see you working on a great task without even asking them for help. I bet just watching Nephi get up early every day, study and pray and work hard to map out and plan to build the Titanic probably made them feel feel uncomfortable in their shade tent (this may have even been helped by others in the party who were more than willing to help). People working hard to accomplish great things makes them feel bad, it makes them feel angry and perhaps even a bit guilty. So, they start to tell other people (and anyone else that will listen) that they can’t do such great things or that they are foolish for even trying.

So, naturally, Laman and Lemuel go to the all to familiar “you are crazy” insults. They declare: “thou art like our father (and the other silly prophets), led away by the foolish imaginations of his heart”…Behold, these many years (8) we have suffered in the wilderness, which time we might have enjoyed our possessions and the land of our inheritance; yea, and we might have been happy.” They (and others like them) are perfectly happy in their comfort zone and not building boats or accomplishing great works.

So, on the one hand we have Laman and Lemuel (code for the adversary) telling us that we “canst not accomplish so great a work” and on the other hand we have the Lord commanding us to do so – and to do that great task as perfectly as we possibly can (remember when he told us be charitable and kind and everything else, and as if it weren’t enough he then he also said “be ye therefore perfect”)? He also tells us that we can “do all things through Christ which strenghteneth [us]” (Philippians 4:13). I’m pretty sure the word ‘all’ includes big, great, and even crazy huge.

One side says you can’t, the other side says you can.

The bad guys claim that we are led about by the “foolish imaginations” of our hearts. But, I think we can remember that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men” (1 Cor. 1:24), and that “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise” (1 Cor. 1:27) and take their claims of our great “foolishness” as a tender compliment and say “guilty as charged”, and oh my how my heart burns for that foolishness. So thank you Laman and Lemuel for recognizing my weakness and foolishness in your eyes, it proves that I am on the right path.

Notes

¹ I wish I could say that I’ve never acted like this with my brothers, but I have so I can’t. I have been all to eager to tell my brother what he could not (or should not) do.

Spiritual Adamantium

02 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by Tyson Alexander in General

≈ 2 Comments

I watched a video this week in which the speaker (Elder Kim B. Clark) quoted Ephesians 6:12. It was awesome (both the video and the scripture). In fact, that one scripture might be one of the most motivating scriptures that we have – because it sizes up our opponents without any degree of dilution. It lets us know exactly who and what we are fighting against. It says that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Elder Clark related this scripture in order to emphasize the use of the word “whole” in verses 11 and 13 – as it refers to the “armour of God” – meaning that we can’t just put on some of the armour, or even most of the armour – we need it all. This is true. He also emphasized that no matter how awesome we are doing right now, it’s still not enough and we can still do better.

After the video, I read the whole passage – a bit slower than usual. Please note that I have referenced this exact passage (Eph. 6:10-17) in a previous blog post but had not even noticed a key phrase until this last reading.

I started at verse 10 and read through verse 17:

10 Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

The entire point of this blog post is to highlight the manner in which we are to “put on” the armour that we have available to us. In verse 11 it says just that – “put on” the armour. That seems normal enough. We put on our clothes, we put on our jewelry, we put on our coats, we put on our watches, we put on our makeup, we put many different things ON our bodies to protect them. This is not new.

BUT in verse 13 Paul gives us a qualifier – or a prerequisite – to how we will be able to “withstand in the evil day” – with that armour and it is not putting the armour ON us, it is taking it “unto” us. I don’t know the scientific or exact significance of that phrase, but to me it seems like a more permanent solution – more like a molecular infusion. Rather than donning some protective apparel for a particular battle (IE putting on a helmet and a breastplate) – we are bonding the armour to our very core, creating a oneness with it that will not allow separation.

In other words – Paul is telling us that if we want to be left standing at that last day, against the wiles of the devil and against these powers and rulers of darkness we will need to some spiritual adamantium surgery. Paul said it, not me.

Now, for those of you unfortunate folks who don’t know what adamantium is let me tell you: It is a “metal alloy, and is best known as the substance bonded to the character Wolverine’s skeleton and claws.” “In the stories where it appears, the defining quality of adamantium is its practical indestructibility.” Also of note is the fact that “adamantium also weights his [Wolverine’s] blows, increasing the effectiveness of his offensive capabilities.”¹

Essentially, it is the substance that Logan (a.k.a James Howlett) took “unto” himself (surgically bonded to his bones) which enabled him to become one with his indestructible armour (allowing his armour to be as much a part of him as his amazing facial hair) which logically led to his becoming a famous X-men character.²He is also a great singer.

So, the question then becomes, how to I take unto me the armour of God so that I can become as strong and as impenetrable and indestructible and dependable as the lord wants me to be? No doubt the sequence of instruction given by Paul can lend us a clue (vs 11 first and then vs 13). In the first instruction (vs 11) he tells us to “put on” the armour – and likely this is how we learn how it feels (we quickly learn how heavy armour is), how it can protect us, and identify the benefits of its use. Then, after we have walked around the block a few times, and maybe even seen the intensity of a small battle we take the armour off to “rest up a bit” (maybe while we are taking a shower or eating dinner or going to work or the movies). Over time, the repeated process of putting on and taking off the armour slowly but surely helps us feel the vulnerability of being “not armed” as well as the contrasting safe and secure feeling of being fully armed and therefore we start eating dinner and going to school and out with our friends with our armour on, which leads to taking our armour off less and less frequently. Then, (perhaps after many days) the armour has somehow become part of us and we aren’t even sure we remember how to take it off and in a very real way we have learned to live life fully armed – thus taking the armour “unto us” in every facet of life.

Yet, I think that Paul is telling us in verse 13 that something else, something a bit more permanent is still needed. That’s where it’s up to each of us to discover for ourselves how we can once and for all take the armour “unto us” so that we are protected from the inside out and once we discover how to do that – then, when we have resolved to more fully infuse the armour of God to our very core, and let it become a part of us we can learn how withstand the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Notes

1 Wikepedia.org/wiki/adamantium

2 Please note that some people claim adamantium is a fictional metal alloy.

Deconstruction

01 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by Tyson Alexander in General

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The definitions of the verb “build” that are worth noting (for this particular post) include the following:

To construct something by assembling and joining parts or materials:
To establish, increase, or strengthen (often followed by up; IE to build up).¹

These helpful reviews, combined with our knowledge of the word edifice (which interestingly is a synonym for the noun “building”) help us to understand that when we build something – or someone – we construct, increase, build, and strengthen it. Or, to wrap all of these definitions into a commonly used scriptural reference, we “edify” – meaning literally to add to or to improve upon.

The next step is the verb “become”, since it is a logical outcome of and the process of the object being built. It is defined as “to come into being, to change, to develop, or to grow to be”.²

The key point is that “becoming” is a process, and is the result of a “building”. And for further clarification, a thing cannot “become” changed, or cannot “develop, grow, or come into being” without some active change being effected upon that thing.

With that in mind, I’d like to share three some interesting scripture passages. Please note the use of “become” and how it is used and the end result of their change.

Mormon 2:26

And it came to pass that when they had fled we did pursue them with our armies, and did meet them again, and did beat them; nevertheless the strength of the Lord was not with us; yea, we were left to ourselves, that the Spirit of the Lord did not abide in us; therefore we had become weak like unto our brethren.

Helaman 4:24-26

And they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples—

Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more numerous than they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish.

For behold, they saw that the strength of the Lamanites was as great as their strength, even man for man. And thus had they fallen into this great transgression; yea, thus had they become weak, because of their transgression, in the space of not many years.

Mosiah 1:13

Yea, and moreover I say unto you, that if this highly favored people of the Lord should fall into transgression, and become a wicked and an adulterous people, that the Lord will deliver them up, that thereby they become weak like unto their brethren; and he will no more preserve them by his matchless and marvelous power, as he has hitherto preserved our fathers.

In each of these passages, what these people had “become” was not something better, in fact it was something much worse, but it very much was something that they had “come into being”, had “changed” or “developed” and something that they “grew to be”.

Now I’m not sure about you, but when I talk about constructing something, I don’t have plans to build something so that it “becomes” weak, yet there is a master builder out there who does just that. Don’t believe me? Let’s read another passage:

Ether 8:24-25

Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things [evil combinations] come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.

For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.

This last passage gives us a perfect insight into the adversary’s intention. He seeks to “build” us up by promising gain, power, influence, kingdoms, etc. but he is only building us up with the intent to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries. His end goal is complete annihilation. That’s not building, that’s destroying. That’s not construction, it’s deconstruction. This passage is a perfect example of how he uses a fraudulent idea of freedom and growth (building) to promote his ways of bondage and destruction. As he is carefully taking critical pieces of your sure foundation away, he whispers in your ears; “look at what we are building, isn’t this fantastic”? We don’t need this strong foundation, it only holds us back and prevents us from going higher.

He is a liar.

Yet, we can take comfort in one more scripture passage – which indicates that in the end, the ultimate destroyer will be asked a very direct question by his fellow deconstruction workers, which will cause him some shame. Nephi (quoting Isaiah) records the interchange as follows:

2 Ne. 24:9-12, 16

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

All they shall speak and say unto thee: Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?

Thy pomp is brought down to the grave; the noise of thy viols is not heard; the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! Art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!

…They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and shall consider thee, and shall say: Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?

In the end, the master destroyer will “become weak” and he will be left to miserably enjoy the rubble of his nothingness that he so carefully built.

Let us not be fooled by his claims of expert building, shortcuts, exclusive knowledge of inspection processes and building tips, and be not impressed by his subtle whispers of progress. Let us on the other hand, always seek the spirit that will truly edify us and build upon the sure foundation – which is Jesus Christ – the true master builder.

Notes

¹ Dictionary.com/build

² Dictionary.com/become

Running to Death

24 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by Tyson Alexander in General

≈ 3 Comments

Image by Del Parsons 1999

Remember in school when we were tasked with determining how long it would take for one runner traveling at 12 miles per hour to catch up to another runner who was running at a pace of 10 miles per hour when they were separated by 6 miles? I do. Do you remember telling yourself (and your classmates) that there is no way that this question will ever be relevant in anyone’s life. I do.

Yet, here we are and I’d like to share one such story. It’s in Alma 56 and it is amazing (and it’s not even about Moroni or Helaman). It’s about a guy named Antipus and his leaders (his leaders remain anonymous). Chapter 56 of Alma is the only time this man is mentioned, but if you ask me – what he teaches us in one epic race to battle is more than enough to put him on the list among the greatest scripture and war heroes in the Book of Mormon and it allows us to ponder on the story that led to his determination and the supernatural source of “might”.

The scene is the ancient American continent around the year 65 B.C and the Nephites are in the 11^th year of a currently ongoing (seemingly-never ending) war with the Lamanites. Captain Moroni has received a letter from Helaman, in which he relates the amazing story of how a small band of young warriors helped turn the tide against the “most powerful” Lamanite army in that area of the land.

These warriors had never been in a single battle, and they were all young. They were willing, had faith, and were no doubt beloved by all of the Nephite leaders for that willingness and exceeding faith. I know that Helaman was more than impressed by them, and loved them like his own sons.

Once this little army (headed by Helaman) joined the ranks, they march over to join the army of Antipus in the city of Judea. Antipus “did rejoice exceedingly”. No doubt these leaders and this army were happy to see young men they loved and young men who belonged to families that they had watched over and cared for the past several years.¹ It is no wonder that the record states that during this time they did “receive strength”. Have you ever heard of a leader of youth claim to have gained more ‘strength’ from the youth than they gave away? I have. Have you ever been a leader, or grown to love the youth over whom you’ve had a stewardship? Yes again.

When the time was right, and the “most powerful army of the Lamanites” began to grow uneasy seeing the Nephites “receive strength” the Nephites put a plan into action. A plan which involved Helaman and his youngsters marching from the city of Judea “near the city of Antiparah, as if they were going beyond the city. The purpose of this march was a decoy – to lure the Lamanites out of their stronghold. And it worked. The “most powerful army of the Lamanites” had left their strong city and was now marching on the heels of a small group of youth who had never experienced a single battle.

Note: No doubt the young men had agreed to this plan, and had known some of the risks involved, but I don’t know if the way the plan unfolded was exactly what they had in mind – because the Army of Antipus didn’t even start marching to catch up until these young men were “near the city of Antiparah”.

The story goes on to inform us that Antipus marches forth behind the Lamanites, but they don’t even notice until they had traveled “a considerable distance” chasing Helaman and the stripling warriors. Let’s remember that the words that Helaman uses are “flee” and “pursuing” and “intent to destroy”. I don’t think they were speed walking or strolling through the woods. This sounds a whole lot like running to me. Not the kind of running we do to exercise, or even the kind we do when we “run” to the store, but more like the “I am getting chased by a bear” running.

Enter the awesomeness of Antipus: we learn that he and his leaders are pursuing the Lamanites “with their might” while the Lamanites are trying to catch the young warriors “with the intent to slay them” before Antipus could catch up to them, so I doubt the Lamanites were coasting (or doing the run/walk or “sort of jog” thing some of us do when we “run”).

Let’s take a moment to put ourselves in Antipus’s situation – he just sent out a bunch of young men who have never been in battle as bait for the “most powerful” Lamanite army. He might be feeling just a little responsibility towards the safety of those boys – especially if we think that that Antipus knew their parents – especially their mothers, and the sacrifices they’ve made, the prayers they have offered, and the weight that he felt as a leader of the Nephite army assuring them that he would watch over them. I imagine Antipus encouraging and pleading with his body (and then asking the Lord for physical strength) to go as fast as his heart wanted him to – and then when he “beheld the danger” that they were in, he did “speed his march”. He went to level 11.

Then it was night.

Then it was morning – and they all ran all day (even until it was dark).

Then it was night again.

Then the young men awoke to the Lamanites upon them, and they “did flee”.

Shortly after this point (in the morning on the 3^rd day) the Lamanites stopped chasing the young stripling warriors. They didn’t know if it was a trap to lure them back, or if Antipus had caught up. Either way – their bravery and courage took them back to battle (they did not want the Lamanites to overpower Antipus).

This little band turned back, and came upon a “terrible” battle between the Lamanite army and the army of Antipus. And in this terrible army, “Antipus had fallen by the sword, and many of his leaders, because of their weariness, which was occasioned by the speed of their march”.

The arrival of the young warriors turned the tide, the Nephites defeated the Lamanites, and there are miracles seen when not a single young warrior was found to be slain. Yet, perhaps the most amazing feat that we too often gloss over, is the fact that Antipus and his army overtook the Lamanite army before they were able to catch up to the young decoys.

When we consider the fact that Antipus likely knew that he was running right to his death, especially when he had started out “in his might”, then kicked it into extra high gear by “speeding his march” even further. Then compound that with the fact that he and his army likely didn’t rest very much at all during the night of the 2^nd day in order to catch up to the Lamanites. Antipus refused to allow the Lamanites to catch up with those young men. I imagine him saying to himself and his other leaders “not on my watch”, there is no way we are going to rest not knowing if the Lamanites are sleeping tonight. There is just no way I am going to allow that “most powerful army” catch up to our young men.”

Imagine running a marathon – twice in one day (and not on a paved road with water stations, port-a-potty stops, crowds cheering you on, etc.) and then imagine doing that 3 days in a row. Now imagine running two marathons per day for two days and then rather than rest your weary bones on the 2^nd night, you exert every ounce of energy that you have to catch up to the runners in front of you who got a 5 or 6 or 10-hour head start on the first day. Then imagine finally catching up to them, shortly after they’ve rested for the night and commencing a battle with them (remember they are “the most powerful army”).

That is where we find Antipus and his leaders. Sacrificing themselves in order to save others. A perfect and exemplary type of the savior, who went willingly into the garden and onto the cross so that we could have a way out.

Notes

1 The conversion story in Alma 23 of their parents is a great story as well.

Spiritual Credit

28 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by Tyson Alexander in General

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Credit is defined as:

The ability of a customer to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made in the future¹
The borrowing capacity of an individual or company²

These two definitions are primarily used in the financial world but have become common in our every day terminology. Not only because we need ‘credit’ to qualify for a mortgage or a car loan, but we also use it to buy things in general (IE credit cards). As most of us understand, there is a process and resulting score that the financial world uses to assess and determine how much it can trust us to make good on our financial promises. That’s where the statement “based on the trust that payment will be made” comes into play (see definition 1 above). After all, it’s easy to “promise” that payment will be made in the future, and a bit more difficult to actually make the payment. If and when we miss a payment (or two or three), or even when make a payment past the due date that trust level goes down and is indicated in our credit score. Factors in this score and in the resulting level of trust that the world has in our financial promises include our age, our debt to income ratios, how long we’ve been using credit, how faithfully we’ve made payments over time, etc.

For anyone to have a good credit score, payments need to be made and made on time consistently through the years, allowing that level of trust to be built up over time – and missed or late payments need to be avoided. This seems logical right? Therefore, if anyone wants to have an absolutely perfect credit score, that means that every single payment would be made on time, without fail. Not even a single³ late payment – ever. No missed payments, late payments, debt consolidation, renegotiated terms, or interest paid due to deferred payments. Not a single failure to make good on your promise. Now, imagine that the consumer who somehow fits this credit parameter and has for 40 or even 50 or 100 years and you can guess how high the level of trust is from the financial world in extending them credit – both in quantity and in quality. I think that most banks would allow this consumer to charge or borrow whatever they wanted with little fear that he would make good on his payment.

This principle is also true with the Savior. Throughout the eons of the pre-existence (which is really more time⁴ than any of us can even imagine) Jesus Christ exhibited perfect obedience to every command and did always those things which pleased his father.⁵ Thus Christ was able to develop a truly infinite amount of spiritual credit. This fact allowed the full gamut of positive effects flowing from the atonement to be efficacious to anyone and everyone – long before the atonement was actually performed. This allowed every single person all the way back from the very beginning⁶ to draw upon the power of the atonement, utilize repentance, have faith in Christ, and through the spirit become more than they could have on their own – all long before the actual debt was paid.

Just imagine with me how many times throughout the long pre-existence the Lord was perfect in making his payments and in developing that spiritual credit. Hint: it’s a really really really long time and a really really long and impressive list of things that he did. This all leading up to the great moment in which he answered “here am I, send me.”⁷

The universe itself was perfectly content to allow the effects of the atonement to be realized prior to the atonement being performed. The laws of justice and mercy had no issues with extending their spiritual credit for thousands if not millions or billions of years in advance of a promised payment. That alone should give us an idea of just how perfect the savior had been because these eternal and immovable laws of the universe probably carry a bit more weight than the man-made credit bureau algorithms in the end – and that includes their absolute and exacting demand for a full and perfect payment. Even a payment that fulfilled “every whit”⁸ of the law, yea, “every jot and tittle.”⁹ With that in mind, the second definition above seems appropriate – as the spiritual credit that the Lord acquired is very much related to his infinite “capacity”.

One point in all of this is to help us remember just how perfect the savior has always been, which allowed us to have perfect faith in his response to the the fathers question “who will go for us?”¹⁰ in the pre-existence and allows us to have perfect faith in him today – because we know with absolute certainty that he will make his payments.

The other point in all of this is to help us understand and to feel the intense gravity of his plea in the garden to somehow “let the hour pass from him.”¹¹ As he went to “a place called Gethsemane”¹², his soul became “exceeding sorrowful, even unto death”¹³ – yet he still moved forward, and he went “a little further.” As he did, he “fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”¹⁴

Here we have the most perfect being, the most obedient and trustworthy of all, the most exact, faithful, honorable and loyal son after eons of time asking his father if there is a possible alternative to the required payment due to his feeling the immense weight of it all – and asking that question three times. Christ himself said that he “would that I might not drink the bitter cup.”¹⁵ The idea of someone who has been perfectly obedient for eons, someone who understands so well the science of obedience and the immutable laws of the eternities, to explore the possibilities of another way and to even ask his father if there was a way out should help us feel the awesome power of that plea and the crushing weight of the world he felt on his shoulders. Yet, as we know, the Savior in his perfect obedience and perfect love for all of us, submitted his will and any inklings of personal comfort that night to the father and took upon himself the sins and pains of the world which caused him – “even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit.”¹⁶

Thus the savior made good on his promise – just like we knew he would. Just like his father knew he would, and just like the universe knew he would. This perfect being; the light, the life, and the hope of the world was squeezed as none other could be, and in those pressing moments, rather than shrink – his soul did expand¹⁷ as he battled all alone against the vast armies of death and sin and darkness. In the end, Jesus and his light overpowered death and paid the debt. Now, Jesus Christ is eagerly encouraging us to access, use, and spend that same spiritual credit made available by his loving payment. It is the limitless source of grace that we can draw from every single day – and in every circumstance to help us become like him and learn to love like him.

Let us be thankful for this gift, and let us receive the gift so that we can “rejoice in that which is given”, and rejoice “in him who is the giver of the gift.”¹⁸

Notes

¹ Google search ‘definition of credit’

²Investopedia.com/terms/c./credit.asp

³ I realize that credit and credit scores generally take 2, 7, or 10+ years’ worth of data to perform their calculations. For the purposes of this definition, and the use of ‘absolute’ I have used the word never, and don’t intend that to be limited to the rolling 2 or 7 or even 10-year period.

⁴ Alma 40:8 – Time is only measured unto man.

⁵ John 8:29

⁶I do mean the very beginning (like the pre-existence), and not just the beginning of mortality. The book of Revelations indicates that during the war in heaven, the victorious troops (Michael and his angels) overcame the great dragon, and cast him out “by the blood of the Lamb.” We can understand that the blessings flowing from the atonement are literally infinite (and this includes time).

⁷ Abr. 3:27. See also Moses 4:1, 2 Ne. 16:8 and Isa. 6:8. This idea allows us to rule out any other options for volunteers at that moment as well. Even if there were others who volunteered to go for us, or who ‘promised to pay’ – their ‘capacity’ or their spiritual credit just didn’t qualify them to make that contract (covenant). That debt-to-income ratio was just way too high for us.

⁸ 3 Ne. 1:25

⁹ Alma 34:13

¹⁰ 2 Ne. 16:8 and Isa. 6:8

¹¹ Mark 14:35

¹² Matt. 26:36

¹³ Mark 14:38

¹⁴ Matt. 26:38

¹⁵ Matt. 26:39. See also Mark 14:35

¹⁶ D&C 19:18

¹⁷ Alma 5:9

¹⁸ D&C 88:33

All this

16 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by Tyson Alexander in Blessings, Divinity, Faith, Journeys, Visions

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Brother of Jared Seeing the Finger of the Lord, by Arnold Friberg

I think most of us are generally familiar with the story of the brother of Jared, but just as a refresher I’ll provide a recap. He and his family lived when the language is confounded at the time of the building of the tower of babel. He cries to the Lord and is able to continue communicating with his friends and family. Then, when the Lord tells them to prepare for a monumental journey to the promised land, they do just that. They prepare for this great journey and are led all along the way by the Lord himself. Just prior to actually setting off into the ocean, the brother of Jared was trying to get a few “small” questions answered and went to the Lord in humility for a little bit more guidance (and to calm his fears). What happened was pretty amazing. In chapters 2 and 3 of Ether we learn:

The Lord continually provided the brother of Jared with revelation including specific instructions for preparation
The Lord provided an opportunity for the brother of Jared to struggle with and develop a solution for his problems, and be rewarded for his work
The Lord caused the stones that the brother of Jared prepared to “shine forth in darkness” (Ether 3:4-6)
The Lord showed himself unto the brother of Jared (Ether 3:13)
The brother of Jared was redeemed him from the fall and was brought back into the Lord’s presence (Ether 3:13)
The Lord ministered unto the brother of Jared even as he ministered unto the Nephites (Ether 3:17-18)
The Lord gave the brother of Jared two stones (Ether 3:23) “that shall magnify to the eyes of men the things he should write”
The Lord showed the brother of Jared “all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be, even unto the ends of the earth” (Ether 3:25-26)

In reality, the Lord literally showed the brother of Jared “all things”. And “there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared” (Ether 4:4). But, since I want to really emphasize both the number and the quality of “things” that the Lord showed him, I will include the list of things that the Lord did while He ministered among the Nephites, specifically because Moroni tells us that the Lord did indeed minister to the brother of Jared “even as he ministered unto the Nephites” (meaning just as recorded in 3 Ne. chapters 11-26) where we learn that:

Jesus showed himself unto them one by one and allowed each of them to feel his wounds (3 Ne. 11:14-15)
Jesus gave them power (3 Ne. 11:21-22)
Jesus taught them true doctrines and principles (including particulars regarding ordinances) and expounded the scriptures and the prophets unto them (3 Ne. 11:23-41, all of 3 Ne. 12-16; 19:10-23:5; and 23:14)
He blessed and healed them (3 Ne. 17:5-10) and their children (3 Ne. 17:11-12; 21, see also 3 Ne. 26:15)
Christ himself prayed with and for them (3 Ne. 17:13-18; 19:19-24; 19:27-29; 19:31)
He wept with them due to joy – even until his joy was full (3 Ne. 17:21-22)
Jesus facilitated the ministering of angels and they were all encircled about with fire (3 Ne. 17:24; 19:14-15)
He instituted the sacrament (3 Ne. 18: 1-14; 19:8-9; 26:13)
He gave them the Holy Ghost (3 Ne. 18:36-37; 19:13)
Jesus shone the light of his countenance upon them (3 Ne. 19:25,30)
He prayed “words which cannot be written by man” in their presence (3 Ne. 19:32-33)
He performed a miracle of feeding them bread and wine when there was none (3 Ne. 19:3-7)
He gave them new scripture (3 Ne. 24-25; 26:2)
He expounded all things unto them, both great and small (3 Ne. 23:14; 26:1,3-5)
He taught and ministered with them for 3 days (3 Ne. 26:13)
He loosed the children’s tongues (26:14) that they could “speak things which were unlawful for man to utter”
He revealed “even greater things” unto the children (26:14)

So, now we are looking at quite the list of accomplishments when the Lord ministered to the Nephites, which by reference were things that can be included in our understanding of the ministration to the brother of Jared. But let us remember that the author puts all of these great things outlined in 3 Ne. 11-26 in context by telling us that “there cannot be written even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people” (3 Ne. 26:6). Numerically (and just for emphasis), that means that if we review the 17 items on that list and that’s not even a hundredth part, we really could make a bullet list of over 1,700 things that were pretty great. Combine that with Moroni’s statement regarding the abridgment the Jaredite record that tells us he “could not make a full account of these things” (the brother of Jared’s encounter) – and we can truly understand that we are only getting a tiny sampling of how amazing both events really were.

Hopefully these lists of amazing items help us realize the absolute gravity and weight of a simple phrase like “these things” or “all this” when it refers to ministering visits from the Lord.

That brings us to the question; “why are we making a list of amazing things that the Lord showed the brother of Jared?”

The answer is found in Ether 3:18 which reads “and all this, that this man might know that he was God, because of the many great works which the Lord had showed unto him.”

All this (everything on these lists, and a hundred times more), that this man (this one man in the singular) might know that he was God. This small and simple statement tells us that the Lord did all these great works and made himself known just so that the brother of Jared would know that he was God (which naturally leads to faith, repentance, improvement, etc.). That seems like a lot of time and work and effort went into making sure one guy knew the truth, especially when we remember that this is a man who is pretty confident that the Lord was in charge all along the way.

The message is that the Lord will show each one of us “all this” just so that we might know that he is God just like he did for the brother of Jared. He says it himself (through the allegory of the olive trees) when “the Lord of the vineyard said again unto his servant: Look hither, and behold another branch also, which I have planted; behold that I have nourished it also, and it hath brought forth fruit. And he said unto the servant: Look hither and behold the last. Behold, this have I planted in a good spot of ground; and I have nourished it this long time… behold; I have nourished this tree like unto the others” (Jacob 5:24-25). Each of us is a tree “like unto the others” meaning that we will be “nourished this long time” individually by the Lord of the vineyard.

Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; For behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him (D&C 18:10-11). He is intimately invested in each of us, and has already offered his down payment.

I wonder, if we set out to make a list of all the “things” that the Lord has done for us as individuals to show that he is God, if it wouldn’t look very similar to the brother of Jared’s list; to the point where if we are honest with ourselves we might be able to recognize that the Lord has in fact “manifest himself unto us in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of our stumbling blocks” (1 Ne. 14:1).

And all this, that we might know that he is God.

Mowing the lawn in flip-flops

14 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by Tyson Alexander in Patience, Service, Silence, Teaching, Trials

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A couple of Saturdays ago, I asked Luke (my 10-year-old son) to mow the lawn. Based on his body language, and his verbal protests this burden that I had laid upon his shoulders was equivalent to asking him to build the Egyptian pyramids (not on MineCraft). So, in an effort to console him; I explained that this process of mowing the lawn could in fact be very beneficial to him. I explained that it could help build his muscles (he didn’t care), I explained that it could strengthen his understanding of the growth and life cycle process of grass (he didn’t care), I explained that it makes our home look nice and I even explained that by him doing that chore it would allow me to continue to perform other duties in the yard that also needed to be done (he didn’t care). This left me with the opportunity of teaching him that in order for him to play Xbox that day or ever again that he would need to mow the lawn (and suddenly he cared a lot) and agreed to perform the task.

After this discussion, I started to get things ready for him to perform this monumental task. I went to the shed and got the lawnmower. I put gas in it. I primed it. Then I brought it to the edge of the driveway where the lawn starts. I also trimmed the entire exterior of the lawn, so that when the lawn was mowed, it would look uniform in its mowed state. While I was thus preparing – so was he. Luke located an electronic device, secured his headphones, selected and configured his epic playlist, and appeared next to me pumped up and ready to go – wearing his flip-flops…. After I made him change into real shoes and I had started the lawnmower for him¹ he went to work.

About 20 minutes later he came to me as a sweaty mess and informed me that he was done. I asked if he had done the front and the side – all I heard in return was a huff and a grumble (and maybe a moan). Off he went again (until he came back 30 seconds later and asked me to start the lawnmower for him again). Another 15 minutes passed and he strolled confidently around the corner and proceeded to tell me that he was really done this time. He had done it. I thanked him and let him know that there were Gatorades in the fridge in the garage for times just like this when demanding physical feats are performed against all odds and electrolyte replenishment is needed. He disappeared immediately.

Naturally, I stopped what I was doing to go inspect his Egyptian pyramid, and just shook my head because what I saw was pretty much a hot mess of sort-of mowed grass. Sprinkled within the strips of mowed grass there were long lengths of not-mowed grass, and even a 4-foot strip of lawn that had been ignored completely. The rows were uneven, scattered, and the mowed parts didn’t quite make it to the edge of the lawn where I had trimmed. It looked like the lawn got a haircut from a blind man.

I was faced with two choices; go get him to finish the job, or clean up his mess. I have chosen the first of these two options in several similar situations, just as many of you probably have. After all, the layout of this story is pretty much exactly the same as when we ask any of our young children to clean their rooms, or when we ask their other (and sometimes older) siblings to help load or unload the dishwasher, sweep the floor, fold laundry, to pick up the house, to do their homework, or honestly to perform any task at all. The fact of the matter is that they won’t do it as good as we do even when we tell them to “clean it like I would clean it”. They just can’t. At least not yet.

Luke had worked hard. The sweat on his red face had proved it. He felt like he gave it his all and I (his father) – knowing him and his personality as well as anyone – was fully aware of the effort he gave. Even though the result was far from perfect, and far from what I would even consider satisfactory I was nevertheless happy enough with his effort to go over nearly the entire front lawn again and finish the job. Next time around, and as he grows older, I will no doubt help him to see that although I am happy with his previous effort, I will identify a few areas of improvement and inform him of my updated expectations – and I may or may not still use the Xbox as leverage if needed. Because even if he doesn’t care about building his own muscles -I do. I know the result of continued hard work and can envision a time where I can just ask him to mow the lawn and have complete faith that it will happen – just like I would do it.

Our father in heaven asks us to mow the lawn.² Sometimes that feels like He’s asking us to build the Egyptian pyramids, and as He’s explaining how it will help our muscles grow and provide us with context for the life cycle of grass, we mope around in a huff, murmur, and moan looking for our flip flops. Then, while we are selecting our epic playlist hoping that our task will somehow escape us He is diligently “preparing the way for us that we may accomplish the thing which He commandeth us”.³

Then, after we finally make an effort, and when we’ve made a completely juvenile attempt at making the amazon jungle look like Wrigley Field and approach Him with sweat on our brows; He smiles at us, thanks us for our hard work, and hands us an ice cold Gatorade. As we walk in the house to collapse on the couch from exhaustion He walks behind us and mows the lawn again to make sure that it was done correctly and that every piece of grass gets mowed.

As we grow older, and this process is repeated He will gently explain to us how mowing the lawn is helping us, and someday He hopes that we will come to learn not only how to mow the lawn just like He would, but why it is so important to mow the lawn at all.

Notes

¹ Before you think that Luke is completely helpless, you should know that our lawnmower really is difficult to start, and is also fairly hard to operate in general. It’s old and does not have the fancy ‘self-propelled’ feature that many other lawnmowers do.

² This task of mowing the lawn could be replaced with any task referenced above (cleaning the house, washing the dishes, vacuuming, scrubbing the toilets, homework, etc.)

³ 1 Ne. 3:7

The Heart’s Mighty Change

09 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by Tyson Alexander in General

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Recently I have learned that there is much more to a heart than what I understand on the surface – or even the sub-surface. In fact, I think there are so many layers to understanding what the heart is truly capable of that I don’t even know if anyone really knows (scientifically speaking) what a heart can do, especially if you consider both physical and spiritual capabilities.

Disclaimer: I am not what I (or anyone else) would consider a medically knowledgeable person. I am not in the medical field nor do I want to be, and I tend to get queasy as soon as someone even starts to talk about injuries, anatomy, blood, or participating in any type of activity that would be somewhat related to blood or that could result in the accidental viewing of an injury, appendage, or especially organs that belong on the inside of a person. I just found this particular topic to be extremely interesting.

Physically I understand that it pumps blood to the rest of my body, and for every day activities, that is all I need to understand right? That’s what I thought – until I discovered neuroradiology and was made aware that:

The heart acts as if it has a mind of its own and profoundly influences the way we perceive and respond to the world.In essence, the heart affects intelligence and awareness.
The heart has its own logic, and sends meaningful messages to the brain that are not only understood by the brain, but also obeyed by it.

I didn’t just learn that my heart had a brain (although that was new); I learned that my heart is a brain. And not just a brain, a brain that tells the brain in my head how to perceive and process emotions and intelligence. In fact, the number of neural connections going from the emotional centers (the heart) to the cognitive centers (the brain) is greater than the numbers going the other way. This goes some way to explain the tremendous power of emotions, in contrast to thought alone, and the role they play in how we act and what we do.

In summary, the heart is the most powerful generator of rhythmic information patterns in the human body. It functions as a sophisticated information encoding and processing center, and possesses a far more developed communication system with the brain than do most of the body’s major organs. With every beat, the heart not only pumps blood, but also transmits complex patterns of neurological, hormonal, pressure and electromagnetic information to the brain and throughout the body. The heart is the most powerful entry point into the communication network that connects body, mind, emotions, and spirit.¹

As amazing as that summary is; it’s only a summary of the first two items I learned – we aren’t finished yet:

The heart’s (electromagnetic) field permeates every cell, and acts as a synchronizing signal for allthe cells in the body.
This electromagnetic field acts to bind and synchronize the cells in the body and functions effectively as a carrier wave that organizes the higher-level regulatory functions of the body’s energetic system.Thus the heart provides the encompassing energetic field that binds the whole system together.

The heart is not only is the most powerful source of information patterns, it is also the synchronizing signal for the entire body, which leads to motivating behavior (giving us the why we act the way we do). I had thought all along that the brain in my head was in charge of who I am….

And there is still more:

This binding/synchronization facilitates an intentional change in the conformational state of a DNA molecule and experiments with these DNA changes have resulted in the ability to cause changes in a biological target (DNA) external from the body.

Stop and read that again. The heart, and its powerful force can literally change your DNA – physically. Scientific experiments to that end have even seen changes in DNA that is outside of or away from the body (IE cells that are located far away in separate labs). This puts a whole new meaning on “the hearts mighty change”³ doesn’t it? It means that the power (through repentance and focus of effort and Christ centered living) of your heart can literally change your DNA and help you to become “a new creature”.⁴ Not just a spiritually new creature, but an actual change in the conformational state of your DNA. That’s a real life “new” creature brought about by the heart. Powerful.

And there is still more:

DNA molecules can act as “antenna”, essentially functioning as a conduit through which higher dimensional epigenetic information is transduced at the level of the physical organism.²

This means that our “new creature” and our “changed heart” with it’s powerful electromagnetic force functions as a conduit to God (through the spirit) – resulting in a stronger force that we are able to generate on our own. These are things which we knew (grace, made possible through the atonement as a strengthening power for improvement), but now there is some scientific explanation for the resulting betterment. This also means that when we want to speak to our Father – and I mean really speak to him – it might be most effective through how we feel to him and not what we say to him. He is able to feel or hear our hearts in a perfect way – just like he encourages us to do – in order to truly become “at one” with us and to help us unite with his ways and his truths. This thought is so amazing and it explains why in those moments of extreme trials or extreme need that he feels so near to us and we just melt with emotion – because those trials and needs trigger forceful feelings in our hearts and we are able to feel his heart and his arms around us in a way that our brains just cannot understand.

We are still not done:

Sincere feelings of appreciation, love, or care increase coherence in the cardiac field.

Showing or giving away your love is the best way to feel more love. Giving all that love away is the best way to increase your ability to receive more love, and the overall coherence and happiness of your entire being. When we focus on ourselves, our coherence and force of our heart is out of balance and its force of influence is weakened. Yet when we love other people, our lives seem to be the most clear and meaningful and we are able to lift other people to feel the love we have for them and the love our savior has for them – confirming what we already knew spiritually.

And at last:

The heart is a prime generator, organizer, and integrator of energy in the human body. ⁵

The heart really is the center of each one of us. At our core, it is who we are and what we desire to be. Each of these eight scientific items provide us with support for the following spiritual description of the heart as: “a symbol of the mind and will of man and the figurative source of all emotions and feelings”.⁶ It is not an appendage of the brain or physical pump that just circulates blood – it is the literal source of who we are and what we desire. This knowledge helps us understand why so frequently the heart is listed as the desired receptacle of spiritual truths, and not just our mind or ears. It helps us to understand why “man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart”⁷ and “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he”⁸ and that “a man speaks from the good or evil in his heart”.⁹It also increases the challenge to “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart”.¹⁰

The charge and the invitation for all of us is to become like our savior, and as an elevated challenge, “the Lord sought a man after his own heart”.¹¹ What this means for all of us is that we need to feel more often, and to feel more powerfully. Let the effects and the awe of the atonement sink deep into our hearts, and let it change our DNA. Let the spirit speak to our hearts, which can then motivate us and change us much more quickly and thoroughly than anything else. I think this is why Elder Packer said that “True doctrine, understood,¹² changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior”¹³because it will literally change our hearts and help us want better things. Striving to be close to our savior, to empathize as he does, and to feel as he does is a monumental task to be sure – but the blessings that we enjoy all along the way make the effort more than worthwile. When we slowly but surely feel ourselves changing, and the desires of our hearts become increasingly more in line with his and we feel an increase of his love for us and for each other, we feel even more gratitude and love and wish for that feeling all the time.

Notes

1 See “Science of the Heart, Exploring the Role of the Heart in Human Performance”, an overview of research conducted by the Institute of HeartMath

2 Items 2-6 on this list are all taken from the article Modulation of DNA Conformation by Heart-Focused Intention by Rollin McCray, Ph.D. Mike Atkinson, and Dana Tomasino, B.A.

3 Alma 5:12

4 Mosiah 27:26, see also Gal. 6:15 and 2 Cor. 5:17

5 Items 7-8 on this list are all taken from the article The Electricity of Touch: Detection and measurement of cardiac energy exchange between people by Rollin McCray, Ph.D. Mike Atkinson, Dana Tomasino, BA and William A. Tiller, PhD

6 The Guide to the Scriptures – Heart

7 1 Sam. 16:7

8 Prov. 23:7

9 Luke 6:45

10 Deut. 6:5; See also Deut. 6:3–7; Matt. 22:37; Luke 10:27; D&C 59:5

11 1 Sam 13:14

12 Please note the use of ‘understood’. This is different from just knowing. See here for a few details.

13 Boyd K. Packer, “Do Not Fear,” Ensign, May 2004, 79.

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Author Archives: Tyson Alexander

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The Heart’s Mighty Change

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