The Much Anticipated, Long Awaited, Death of Death

09 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by Colby Alexander in atonement, Death, Faith, General, Jesus Christ

In the movie, Back to the Future II, the bully extraordinaire, Biff, received a gift from his time-traveling future self. This Future Biff gave Past Biff a sports almanac that spanned 50 years. This future sports almanac would eventually help Past Biff place huge wagers on every sports game for the next several years and amass a huge fortune. All because he knew the future.

He had cheated. He had all the information. He had the power of knowledge. All he had to do, was wager on the events because he knew the outcomes beforehand.

remember this scene?

Wouldn’t that be nice? How would it be to know the outcome of future events?

In some ways it would spoil the fun of competition. But, what if the outcomes we knew were more meaningful than trivial sporting contests? What if we knew the results of the bigger world events? What if we already knew of the triggering events, or the outcomes of wars, or when an earthquake would hit, or a volcanic eruption, or other cataclysmic events? What if we knew the outcomes of our own difficult life decisions, or challenges? What if we knew the outcome of every scenario including the battle of life and death?

In a way, we do.

And, we don’t need a crazy future uncle Biff or his space-time-continuum-altering almanac. We can know the outcome of Good vs Evil, and Life vs. Death.

This week I was listening to a book by Tad Callister called The Infinite Atonement. It is excellent by the way. As I was listening, I was impressed by a poem that he quotes while describing Christ’s victory over death as a portion of his Atonement. It was written in the 1600’s by an English poet named John Donne.

John Donne (1572–1631)

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and souls delivery.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better then thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

I loved the last phrase, “Death, thou shalt die.” I have never really thought of death in this way. Who would have imagined the irony that death was alive? Who would have imagined that death could die? I had thought of death more as an event. I imagined it as something that we all will experience, something necessary, something that is inevitable, with no inherent goodness or badness.

The way it is phrased in this poem, however, explores Death almost as if it were a person, or an idea, or something that is actively trying to claim us. It is portrayed as if it is waging a battle against what would then be its alter ego, its competitor, it’s more wholesome nemesis…Life.

These days, we seem to love stories of superheroes. Maybe we could look at this proverbial battle between Life and Death as the next best superhero story. “Death” would be like Lex Luthor, the Joker, Thanos, or the big Green Goblin Guy that steals all the super tech from Ironman, etc. “Life” would then be the Superhero that goes largely unnoticed, fights for the little guy, and restores peace and prosperity. Through a series of drastic events, Life would engage in an epic battle with Death, and eventually overcome and heroically bring the world back to normalcy. Life would be the conquering superhero that saves the world from utter chaos, pain and despair.

What if we took that superhero storyline and rephrased it just a little? We could even say that Life would be the hero that saves us from the “pains of Death“. Wow, where have I heard that before? Maybe if we added to the storyline one more time, the Superhero we are calling “Life” could have an introductory line, “I am the way, the truth, the life…” (John 14:6)

I guess that in a way, we are living in a world that has a real Superhero. We are all participants in the battle of Good and Evil, and of Life and Death. We also know how it will end.

Like Biff, we have a place where we can read about the battle and the eventual winner. Lets read a few words from the Divine Almanac of Human Events both past and future…the scriptures. This is our cheat sheet where we have access to inside information, and can read about the outcome of this continual war between the two titans- Life and Death.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
(1 Corinthians 15:22-26)

How have I missed this for so long? Just as the idea in Donne’s poem infers, Death is an enemy, it will be destroyed. It dies. Life will win.

Hosea also leaves little doubt as to the outcome of this epic battle…

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction…” (Hosea 13:14)

We already know the outcome of the battle and the war. So what does it mean for us? What good does this information bring? Just as it benefitted Biff, we can use this knowledge to benefit us. Because of this, we can have complete and total confidence and faith that we all will live again. We all will. We can have complete and full confidence in being able to see, be with, and enjoy the company of all those who have passed on. Death will die, and Life will live.

Over the last few years in our community, and across the country, we have been too familiar with Death and its plague of painful devastation. It rears its ugly head way too early sometimes. When it happens to come abruptly, or unsuspectingly, it shakes us and our belief. How could it not? It is a surprise attack, an ambush. Death is something that we all think will happen after a full and complete and fulfilling life. When it comes early, it causes us to reexamine all the things we believe, or have believed, or been taught about that happens after we die. We are left with nothing but faith. Death quickly morphs from a future eventuality and screams forward and slams us with its sudden present reality.

As I thought more about this, I began to realize why death is such a difficult enemy to deal with. Although we will all pass through that door, Death is powerful and painful because of the sorrow caused by its separation. We love to be, and long to be with those we love. When we are apart from them, it hurts. Even more so when it comes unexpectedly and abruptly.

This is true with both physical and spiritual death. It hurts. We are separated from either where we want to be, with whom we want to be, or even how we want to be. Does it not also hurt when we ourselves, or a loved one make choices that can bring about spiritual death, or separation from the Spirit?

But, there is good news. We know who wins. We have the Almanac. It is abundantly clear. Death dies. Life lives. Both in physical and spiritual senses.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” (Hebrews 2:14-15)

In our Divine Almanac, we can also read about how some amazing people have stared directly into Death’s eyes, and overcome. It can inspire us to exercise patience in developing the faith necessary to do so in our own lives.

In order to face the end of your own life with peace and calm requires a sure understanding and a rock-solid faith. It requires a testimony hardened and engrained so permanently that it is impossible to extract even when Death unsheathes fear as his weapon of choice.

The sons of Helaman had it…

“Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.” (Alma 56:47)

Joseph Smith also faced his fate with faithful confidence…

“I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am as calm as a summer’s morning. I have a conscience void of an offense toward God and toward all men…” (from the Diary of Willard Richards)

In the Book of Mormon, the Anti-Nephi-Lehis laid prostrate down on the ground in prayer before an advancing vicious Lamanite army and willingly gave up their lives so as to not break a covenant they had made with God to never spill another’s blood again. Imagine the unshakable faith it would have taken to conquer the fear of that moment.

When we are trying our best, yet still suffer through difficulties and tragedies in our lives, we need to understand that we are in good company. We aren’t alone. This battle of life and death has touched almost all of us. We can be assured that our experiences with these events are acknowledged and recorded in the heavens above, and that our “labor is not in vain”.

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not vain in the Lord.”
-1 Corinthians 15:55-58

The sting of death is calmed by the Savior. He won. Life wins. Death dies. His Atonement eliminates the eternal sorrow of separation. He, the Savior, is the one who gives us peace.

“…He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound…to comfort all that mourn…to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces…”(Isaiah 25:6)

Because of our Ultimate Superhero, our Savior, we are able to overcome physical, and spiritual death. He won. He overcame. Life wins. Death dies. And he invites us to share in his victory with him by and through our obedience to his commandments, and following the precepts of his Gospel.

Because the Savior overcame all, we will all live forever.

Where we live forever, and with whom we live forever, is up to us.

When the Wheels Fall Off

18 Monday Dec 2017

Posted by Colby Alexander in Agency, Failure, Faith, General, Trials

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One year ago, I attempted my first triathlon. I had a great time, and didn’t die, so I figured I would give it another try this year. While I have been training, its been hard to avoid learning a lot. My lessons haven’t been just about how to swim and not drown, or bike up hills, or run more efficiently, but Ive learned a lot about everyday life. I guess you have a lot of time to think and ponder life’s meaning while your head is under water. Exhalation bubbles can be very therapeutic.

This last Saturday, I learned another valuable lesson. This particular learning opportunity happened about 3 minutes into the bike route. I had just exited the transition and had turned and was heading up a big hill climb. I was pedaling my little heart out, but because of the grade, wasn’t going very fast. The only issue I was having had to do with my race bib. I had in the modesty position on a belt in the front, and It was crinkling and crackling each time I would pedal and was driving me crazy. So, I sat up just a little bit, and leaned over to twist my belt so the bib would be on my backside.

That little shift in weight was all it took. My back wheel came completely off the frame. As it came off, the bike seized up, and the wheels skidded to a halt. I instantly went from full speed to no speed, and was going down. My catlike speed and reflexes were apparently taking a cat nap, and so I was only able to unclip one foot, my left one- which was largely unhelpful of course, because the bike tipped over to the right-The side of my still clipped in foot.

I went down. I was a mass of legs, arms, hands, and bike. I was going so slow, it took what seemed like a full minute to actually hit the ground. Of course my first instinct was to look around and see just how many witnesses there were to my pathetic dismount. I could deal with broken bones, but my pride was also at risk. There weren’t any. This, of course, proved that sometimes amid our most trying times, small miracles do happen.

So, I spent the next 5 minutes, untangling myself, smacking wheels back into alignment, flipping the bike upside down, re-attaching the wheel, and tightening, then retightening it to prevent any repeats of my not-so-finest hour.

After hopping back on and resuming my ride, It only took another 10 seconds and I was over the top of the hill. Another 5 seconds, and I was screaming down the other side at over 30 miles an hour. Quite a different scenario. After another moment, I found myself praying and thanking my lucky stars that my wheel had fallen off when it did. Had the timing been different, this story might have been written with me in a body cast writing through a straw like Stephen Hawking. Timing is everything.

All that day I thought about what had happened, and how it relates to all of us. This is the lesson I was meant to learn that day. We sometimes look at the times in our life that are really hard as if we are being picked on. As if God is withholding his protective blessings from us even though we are trying as hard as we can to do what is right. We feel we deserve some downhill time. We cannot possibly take another problem, another pitfall, another trial, another difficulty. We feel that all too often when we are struggling the most, our wheels fall off, and we tip over, alone, on the side of the road.

The hard moments in our lives give us a choice. We can choose to be angry with God because he allowed our wheel to fly off right in the most difficult climbs, or we can try and see things as He does. We can accept that He loves us unconditionally and that He is aware of every little pain, feeling, insecurity, disappointment, and struggle that we deal with. Or, we can ignore it. We can choose to believe that He loves us, and will be watching out for us every step of the way, every climb, every spill, every failure, or we can choose to pretend we are on our own.

When we choose to accept our lives as something our Heavenly Father has orchestrated for our benefit, and that He is intimitely aware of what we need, and when we need it, we can feel peace. We can feel peace in the tough times as well as in the good times. He understands timing perfectly. I learned that lesson even more last Saturday, as I was the beneficiary of some extraordinarily good timing. Even though that “timing” meant my wheels had to fall off.

“God’s promises are not always fulfilled as quickly as or in the way we might hope; they come according to His timing and in His ways. … The promises of the Lord, if perhaps not always swift, are always certain.”
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

When the Wheels Fall off

Many times I find myself amid an earthly race,
Furiously peddling just to finish in last place.
I think and hope that life should have some easy times as well,
And not just be survival- grinding, winding up a hill.

Like, shouldn’t there be downhills too? And not just uphill climbs?
A time to stop my pedaling- to rest, and clear my mind?
Its only fair that someone else would get that bitter pill,
And why would God then pick on me who’s struggling up a hill?

And then, just at the top, when I can see relief ahead,
The climb is ending, and at last, I’ll cruise downhill instead.
All the work, and all the struggle going up will soon pay off
Its then, exactly then sometimes, when all the wheels fall off.

To add insult to injury, my graceless fall ensues,
My arms and legs, and body parts go up, and down, then through
A windmill somersault, that leaves me staring at the sky
And on my back, I can’t help wonder why I even try.

It seems no matter what I do, I fall just short again,
disheartened, and convinced that I will never, ever win.
But now, somehow I get back up, untangle one more time,
tighten up the wheel that slipped and stopped my uphill climb.

I somehow manage to replace the wheel onto the frame,
and tighten, then re-tighten, and hop back into the game.
I shake my head and wonder why I didn’t check before
I won’t be making that mistake for race prep anymore.

But something happens in my heart and mind when I think back,
And realize the timing of the wheel-slip off the track.
Although untimely- to eat dust, and fall back in the race,
My turtle-pace of uphill speed had surely saved my face!

For now, just seconds after I enjoyed my awkward spill,
I find myself, now flying fast, at full speed down the hill.
I also think, through whistling winds, and blurry lines that pass,
“Oh, man! I’ll lose my skin if I go down right now and crash!”

I might have been the winner on a “Race Fails” YouTube clip,
Or slid a mile and scraped three feet of skin clean off my hip
I see the scary, and unpleasant fate that I escaped,
had just been traded for an unseen, tiny, little scrape.

I then thank God for waiting until just the perfect time,
To pick on me, kick off my wheel, right then- back on my climb.
My graceless, awkward, low speed fall, that barely marked my shirt
Had been a blessing in disguise! My crash had helped, not hurt.

And through this new perspective I look back, and I can see,
That timing, isn’t always what we think initially
We have a Heavenly Father who is watchful and aware
Who sometimes kicks the wheels off of your bike- because he cares!

Nearer, My God, To Thee

08 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by Colby Alexander in Angels, Dreams, Faith, General, Jesus Christ, Temples

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A few weeks ago, I learned something I thought already knew.

It reminded me of those pictures that have hidden images within the artwork. The art is nice, but if we spend a little more time looking, we can discover all the secrets that are hiding there. These images have always been there, we just didn’t look closely enough at first glance.

I learned all over again, that the temple ordinances really are the pinnacle of our gospel goals, and should be the focus of our own individual spiritual development, and the best way that each of us can really be connected with Heaven.

I knew that temples had always been and important part of our religion. But, I didn’t quite realize how prevalent the ordinances, endowments, blessings, and promises were throughout the scriptures.

The temple has always been taught in scripture. If we look specifically for the word “temple” we can find several obvious instances in the Bible where it is mentioned. When Jesus went missing at the young age of 12, Mary and Joseph found him teaching the elders in front of it.

Jesus again visited the temple during his ministry. This time to turn over the tables of the money changers right outside its walls.

There are many, many other references to the temple, or its ordinances that are in the scriptures. To find them, we just have to look, and listen a little more carefully to see more clearly.

Even if we are familiar with the existence of these ancient Temples, we sometimes don’t seem to associate them with our modern temples. Especially when we think about our own ordinances. We don’t think Solomon’s temple has much to do with the one we drive by on the way to Costco.

We seem to think that what takes place today inside these beautiful buildings is somehow vastly different than what took place anciently. But, while there may be some differences in the implementation of the temple ordinances, I think there are many more similarities than we really understand. After all, we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored, not created anew.

The importance of the temple has always been taught. Whether by word, or by actions. The Lord’s Prophets have always gathered The Lord’s people to the temple. Why? It is the perfect place to gather for anyone looking to be closer to God.

Here are just a couple examples…

“Wherefore I, Jacob, gave unto them these words as I taught them in the temple, having first obtained mine errand from the Lord.”
-Jacob 1:17

“And now, it came to pass that Mosiah went and did as his father had commanded him, and proclaimed unto all the people who were in the land of Zarahemla that thereby they might gather themselves together, to go up to the temple to hear the words which his father should speak unto them.”
-Mosiah 1:18

And of course, the most famous chapter in all of the Book of Mormon. This section describes where the people were in the very moments right before Jesus Christ appeared….

“And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; …..”
-3 Nephi 11:1

We also know that the Lord himself taught the Apostles about the temple and the power it endows us with…

“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them…And [they] were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.”
-Luke 24:49-53

So the question becomes, what is it specifically that makes the temple so significant to God’s people? What is it that draws the most sincere followers of Christ to its doors? What is it that happens there that makes such a difference? Why do we go? Why should we go?

I think the answer is really plain and simple.

We go for the ordinances.
We go for the covenant blessings we receive.
We go for the endowment of power.
We go for the feeling we get when we enter the Lord’s house.
We go for the assurances we feel when we participate in those ordinances.
We go to be instructed.
We go to become elevated.
We go to be lifted up, and
we go to connect with Heaven.

The covenants we make there literally connect us with Heaven. When we covenant with God, we are connecting ourselves with Him. What closer connection could there be with God, than a covenant connection?

This has always been the case. This is not something that originated in 1836 when Joseph Smith dedicated the Kirtland temple. This has happened since the beginning.

Lets look at a few scripture stories and instead of skimming the surface, and seeing them for what is sitting out in the open, lets look a little closer, and see if anything pops out to us as we read the words. Lets examine these verses through lenses that filter everything into a temple context. Not just the idea of the temple, but specifically the ordinances, blessings, and connections that all happen inside. Lets see if we can pick out any similarities to what we experience today.

We can start at the very beginning. Before any of us are allowed to enter into the temple, we have an interview. In this interview we have the opportunity to really consider ourselves and evaluate our worthiness to enter into the Lord’s House, and participate in the ordinances. During this interview we are asked simple questions regarding our faith, and our relationships with God, and others.

Lets apply the context now. Do we suppose that a similar process to our modern interviews may have taken place 3,000 years ago when someone wished to enter into an ancient Temple?

Lets read Psalm 15 to get a little glimpse…

“Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?
Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.”
-Psalm 15

Or, again in Psalm 24……

“…Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or
Who shall stand in his holy place?

He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
-Psalm 24

One of the most descriptive scriptural passages that highlights the blessings and promises from God in a “temple” sense is the story of Jacob’s ladder in Genesis 28. It describes a vision/dream that Jacob has on a journey from Canaan to seek for a wife from his own people. In that context, let’s read the highlights of the chapter and imagine ourselves preparing for our own temple marriages, and the blessings/ordinances we received in the temple beforehand…

“…And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, … And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place;… this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el:”
-Genesis 28:10-19

The name “Beth-el” translates into “The House of God”.

So, after Jacob has this amazing experience, he promptly calls the place where this took place, the “House of God”, and the “Gate of Heaven”, and builds an altar, and consecrates it with oil. Then, just a few chapters later in Genesis 32, as Jacob returns towards Caanan, he again meets God, face to face, and receives a new name…

Marion G. Romney lays it out nice and plain for us…

“Pondering upon the subject of temples and the means therein provided to enable us to ascend into heaven brings to mind the lesson of Jacob’s dream. You will recall that in the twenty-eighth chapter of Genesis there is an account of his return to the land of his father to seek a wife from among his own people. When Jacob traveled from Beersheba toward Haran, he had a dream in which he saw himself on the earth at the foot of a ladder that reached to heaven where the Lord stood above it. He beheld angels ascending and descending thereon, and Jacob realized that the covenants he made with the Lord there were the rungs on the ladder that he himself would have to climb in order to obtain the promised blessings—blessings that would entitle him to enter heaven and associate with the Lord.”  Temples are to us all what Bethel was to Jacob. Even more, they are also the gates to heaven for all of our unendowed kindred dead. We should all do our duty in bringing our loved ones through them.”
-Temples—The Gates to Heaven,” Ensign, March 1971, p. 16

The Brother of Jared had a similar experience when he went high on a mountain to converse with the Lord, and inquire about how to light his barges that he had constructed to cross the ocean. During this visit, he heard the voice of the Lord, and saw his finger. Because of his faith, the Lord allowed the Brother of Jared to see him as he was. Listen to the specific words the Lord uses during that exchange…

“And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.”
-Ether 3:13

Isn’t this what we all want? To be brought back into His presence? The temple does this both literally and symbolically. It tethers us to God. We become his. We commit to Him and He, in turn, empowers us, or endows us with unbelieveable blessings and promises.

The scriptures are rich with these plain and simple truths that are right in front of us, if we just scratch under the surface and look a little deeper. They teach us of the importance of the temple. Not just to redeem the dead, or help us feel the Spirit, but to literally connect us to Heaven. This is our purpose here on earth. And we can be more clear in emphasizing its importance! We are here to learn, and to become what we are meant to be. And the Temple is the earthly place that teaches us how to do just that, and connects us to our Heavenly home.

We all know the famous hymn “Nearer, My God, To Thee”. But, what we may not know, is that it is a hymn about the vision of Jacob’s Ladder from Genesis. In its 3rd verse, it describes in simple words the steps we can take towards heaven, and that all along the way, we will have angels to beckon us upwards along this temple ladder that leads to God.

There, let the way appear, Steps unto Heav’n
All that thou sendest me, In Mercy giv’n
Angels to beckon me, Nearer, My God, To Thee
Nearer, My God, To Thee
Nearer To Thee.

Entropy

29 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by Colby Alexander in Agency, atonement, Faith, General, Humility, Jesus Christ, Pride, Strength

≈ 1 Comment

It can get really hot in Arizona. Especially in the summertime. Not really news to anyone, just a basic fact, but somehow living in this desert gives you a better appreciation for how draining this hot can be. In the Arizona summer, as we open a door to go outside, it can literally become indistinguishable from opening up the oven to take a nice up-close look at baking cookies. No sane person would ever consider actually living in an oven, even with delicious cookies. So, for good reason, not a lot of outdoor activities are done here in the months of June-September. There is a reason why summer golf in Phoenix is so cheap.

Because of this temperature challenge, my stay-in-shape training has taken a back seat. I had been on a pretty good regimen while training to get ready for some simple triathlons over this last year. It was nice, almost perfect all throughout the winter, and up until my last race in St. George, Utah last May. After that, it got hot. Really hot. Arizona hot. I remember texting a picture of the dashboard temperature gauge to Riley one afternoon when it read 126℉. I nearly suffered 2nd degree burns just by putting my hands on the steering wheel that afternoon.

The problem with summers here, is that no matter what time of day or night, it feels like the inside of a toaster. “Why don’t you just swim in the pool during the summer?” you might ask. Well, that is a great idea right up until you jump in the pool, and instead of instant coolness, refreshment, and bliss, it feels like an overheated hot tub under a fast-food heat lamp. Instead of achieving solace from the scorching rays while floating through the water, it feels more like you are a piece of meat slow roasting in the crock pot. You don’t last too long swimming when the mist coming off the pool isn’t really mist, its more like steam arising from a pot of boiling water.

And that’s not all.

You may think, “Well, if you cant run or swim outside during the summer, maybe the bike would be better?”. “Maybe the wind blowing over you as you pick up speed would cool you down as you ride?” Yes, that would be a great idea, and, yes, there is a nice wind that is created, but it feels more like a industrial sized blowdryer set right at your face. So, needless to say doing any physical activity outside of scrambling from one air conditioned building to the next, is almost out of the question.

So, long story short, I took a bit of a break. The funny, not so funny part of that break, is that after the temperature “cooled” down to around 90℉ at 10:00 pm, and I started to try and train again, I noticed that because of my self-imposed break to wait out the summer fires of Hades, I had become out of shape. It was the consequence of inactivity.

Instead of running several miles and feeling great, I was lucky not to quit after just 1. It was almost like I had to start over. All the benefits of the months, and months of training had seemingly melted away just like an ice cube on Arizona asphalt. I felt like I had reverted all the way back to square one. I guess walking from Splash Mountain to Pirates of the Caribbean isn’t adequate triathlon training.

This has been a painful reminder that our fitness or “in-shapeness” really is something that is constantly changing, for better or worse. It never really is static. Just when we get comfortable, content, and happy with where, or how we are, we relax. And this little relaxation is when we start to slip. It requires constant, consistent, and repeated work to maintain ourselves with where we want to be. If you aren’t going forward, you’re going backward. And that is exactly what had happened with me.

As I was further contemplating my physical regression after just a few weeks, I realized that I was living out a vocabulary word that I had recently rediscovered in a Sunday School class. The word was “Entropy”.

This word is a shortened idea of a more sophisticated physics law known as the 2nd law of thermodynamics. I wont even pretend to be a physics guru, or attempt to explain the intricate details of closed and open systems, energy, or its predecessor the 1st law of thermodynamics. But, it has a simple definition. The one that fits the best in this case is….

“a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder”.

That is just a fancy way of saying that everything is constantly wearing down. Its kind of like rusting. Everything is becoming less orderly, and unless we put energy into reversing that natural process, it will take its toll, and we will digress, regress, and lose all the progress and order that we have achieved.

So, my “in-shapeness” had degraded, devolved, and definitely trended towards disorder. In even simpler more personal terms…

Unless I keep training to stay in shape, I become more out of shape.

Unless I put energy into improving, I get worse.

Unless I continue learning, I forget what I had learned.

The process is universal, and applies to all sorts of things. This concept may even be the most valid in a spiritual sense. This degradation can happen to each of us in our lives. There are times when we are in great spiritual shape, and we have been “training” hard, working on getting better every single day. During these times, we continuously work to build up endurance, feel strong, and healthy. Then, inevitably, there are the other times when we take some time off to rest a bit, and then, before we know it, we are feeling like are running around with a plastic bag over our heads.

King Benjamin knew all about this concept of spiritual entropy. He simply described it using different words. He understood that each of us needed to work continuously to become more like our Father in Heaven. It was something that doesn’t just happen naturally. In fact, it was the “natural” part that we had to fight. It is human nature to oppose God. It is human nature to only think of ourselves, and to drift constantly away from God, his plan, and his laws. It is human nature to be selfish, greedy, and secular. King Benjamin described this condition perfectly in the Book of Mosiah…

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

But, just as I needed to get back into shape by working constantly, continuously, and repeatedly, King Benjamin explains exactly how we can fight the natural man, or spiritual entropy and stay in spiritual shape. He specifically singled out several words or phrases that can act as our workout list.

First, he said we must “..yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit…” This is tough in todays world. We need to listen. Not just hear. My wife has been trying to teach me this concept for 18 years. I must be a very natural man, because she still has to constantly remind me of this. Yielding means to allow the Spirit to work in us, to allow someone else to drive, to let the spirit guide us rather than depend on our own supposed knowledge. We don’t always have to be in charge, or know everything because, “His thoughts are higher than our thoughts” -Isaiah 55:9

Second, King Benjamin teaches that we need to become a “Saint”. Becoming a Saint is to be associated with, and bear upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. This entails, or necessitates, using the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is only through his atonement that we can become something “unnatural” or improved. It is by utilizing his atonement that we become something better than we thought we could be. And, the only way that this is even possible, is to work on developing the character traits that King Benjamin lists in the same verse. These required traits are, “becoming as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient”, and being “full of love”. -Mosiah 3:19

These traits do not occur naturally. They must be developed. They need to be practiced. Just like running a marathon, or swimming 2 miles in the ocean, or riding a bike for 6 hours straight. We are not born with these traits. We cant just decide to be an ironman on Monday and race in the Kona World Championships on Sunday. They must be learned. They must be developed. We all have the potential to do these things, or become these things, but we need to work at them constantly and continuously. We need to practice, and we need the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Each of us needs to fight this entropy all day, everyday. There is a perfect phrase used in the Doctrine and Covenants that teaches us the best way to start, and keep going in our own spiritual exercise regimen.

“Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;” -Doctrine and Covenants 58:27

As we try our best to be anxiously engaged to do good around us, to be happy, to be kind, to look at people in a more loving, forgiving way, to look at life through a gospel lens, we will slowly be changing our character. We will be slowly getting in better spiritual shape. We will be fighting the “natural man”, and spiritual entropy. If we combine these efforts with a steady dose of the cleansing and enabling power of the Atonement of the Savior, we can be who we want to be, and stand on the highest podium at the end of our mortal race.

Nature’s Entropy

Our hearts and minds continually,
Are pulled by nature’s entropy,
Unfocused, dimmed, erroneously,
To earth, and not to Heav’n.

But, if we struggle faithfully,
And look up, kneeling, pleadingly,
And seek forgiveness constantly,
Our flaws can be forgiv’n.

And if we then walk steadily,
And try to live more righteously-
More loving, and more honestly,
A spark of Faith begins-

In Him, who suffered willfully,
So we can look up hopefully,
To see his hands spread willingly,
to bring us home again.

Be More Than You Are

14 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by Colby Alexander in Example, Faith, General, Motivation, Strength, Success, Weakness

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Like most parents these days, we have found that one of the most essential tools in preventing degenerative insanity while driving in the car with the entire family is the car dvd player. I have no idea how we as children survived. Not only did we have to endure oppressive hours of boredom during longer trips, but we had to do it all while in closed quarters proximity to each other. For the Alexander kids, it also meant someone had to go to the rear facing, nausea inducing back seat of the Caprese Classic station wagon, also known as “purgatory”.

While we usually piled into the car at the beginning of the trip not wanting to strangle each other, it most certainly required regular divine interventions, and some not-so-divine interventions, to ensure that our actual family size was not diminished by the end of each trip. Today, however, the threat of self destruction during family trips is much, much lower thanks to this life saving technology.

As the years of parenting have gone by, I haven’t actually “seen” a lot of the movies that have played for our kids, but I’ve certainly heard enough of Grease, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Open Season 1 and 2, All the Toy Stories, Monsters Inc. and each Kung Fu Panda to be able to recite them almost word for word. I’m sure this knowledge will be very useful to me someday.

Interestingly enough, sometime between the 78th, and 79th rerun of Kung Fu Panda 3, I caught a line or two that proved to be almost prophetic. It has been probably the longest running movie in our car over the last few years, and for once, something quite profound popped out. This prophetic message taught by Master Shifu not only impressed me as a movie line, but also ended up being played out in real life only a few weeks later.

The scene in the movie of which I reference is when Po, the main character, a Panda, and unlikely hero and recent graduate Kung Fu master, had been tasked by his master, Shifu, to further train the “Furious Five” who are his colleagues, and the best of the best that Kung Fu has to offer. Needless to say, he fails. Miserably. He can’t train the already trained Kung Fu Masters. He feels that he is the most unqualified person ever for the job, and that he won’t ever be able to be as good as they are.

Here is the clip

Master Shifu, the wise, experienced Master that he was, gave Po some great advise. He taught, “If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are”.

This line is a perfect description of many of our lives. We allow ourselves to feel like we aren’t good enough, or that someone else is always better than us, or they were simply blessed with more ability etc. So, we stay safe. We settle. We don’t want to stretch to reach higher, be uncomfortable, or try to expand our abilities. We stop trying to be better because its hard, or difficult, or so far out of our comfort zone, that we feel like we are in outer space.

This concept isn’t new, and it’s frequently taught, and it’s all fine and dandy in a movie, or a catchy Facebook video, or a motivational speech by Toni Robbins. But this time, I was able to see it in action.

A little over a week ago, my wife was asked to speak in church for the following Sunday. Not a huge deal right? Well, maybe not for some people, but my wife hates speaking in church. Like, really, really hates it. She has said on multiple occasions directly to the bishopric that she would rather walk outside, stand in the road and get run over by a speeding semi than to speak in church. And she was dead serious.

And thats not even the hard part. This wasn’t a normal day at church. It was the adult session of Stake conference. Still not enough? This session also would have a visiting general authority (a member of the seventy), as well as the mission president of the Gilbert Mission (who is also a seventy). Thats like going from 0 to 120 mph in no time at all. I can count on 2 fingers the times that I remember my wife speaking in church. Period. And we’ve been married 17 years.

But what happened in that moment when she was asked to speak, and really, the whole week leading up to that very intimidating situation, was amazing to see. She was calm, collected, and faithful. She immediately accepted.

I was so impressed by the huge change in not only her willingness to do something so intimidating and miles outside of her comfort zone, but also in the way she had complete faith that she could do it. Of course she had the moments where she wondered why in the world she was asked, when there are so many other great people available, just like we all would. But she worked through all those thoughts and feelings and went on to do an amazing job that night.

It was simple, meaningful, heartfelt, and honest. It was everything it was supposed to be. She expressed her concern for our kids and how we have always tried to teach them what is right, and how now, as they are getting older, we just want them to develop a relationship with the Savior, above all else. She bore her testimony that the Savior has made all the difference in her life, and that we, as parents, need to learn how to trust our kids enough to allow them to make their own decisions. Which isn’t always easy, especially with teenagers.

After the rest of the speakers were done, Elder Jones, the visiting seventy, got up and spoke. Looking back, it’s interesting to me to see how perfectly orchestrated our lives are in the symphony the Lord is playing. I say that because, as Elder Jones began his remarks, he took a few minutes and addressed each of the previous speakers individually. He shared comments, scriptures, experiences, and testimony while turning around at the pulpit as if having a personal conversation with each person who had spoken. For Catie, he shared a scripture along with his testimony,

“For behold, the promises which we have obtained are promises unto us according to the flesh…God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their Reedeemer.”
-2 Nephi 10:2

To hear that directly and personally from a general authority was amazing. I can’t help but think, that Catie was asked to speak that night, not necessarily for everyone else, but specifically so she could hear that response from Elder Jones. We had been talking, and praying a lot over the last several months about this same worry. Sometimes the answers to our prayers are quiet and private, and sometimes they come when we least expect it, right after we speak in stake conference.

It was a special day, and I have been able to just sit back and enjoy it. Its fun to see how my wife has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years. If you would have spoken with her 3 years ago, and told her that she would be called to serve as the Young Women’s president, and then speak in stake conference, she would have laughed at you, but here we are today.

Just like Master Shifu taught Po, “If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are”, My wife has shown me that this is more than a cool line in a kids cartoon, it’s the honest truth. She has taught me that literally anything is possible if you trust in the Lord, and leave it up to him. She has become so much more than she ever thought possible. I have always seen this in her. Now, I guess the secret is out.

“I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust…”
-Psalm 40:1-4

“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe”
-Proverbs 29:25

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.”
-2 Nephi 22:2

“Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”
-Psalm 28:6,7

Cappuccino, Coke, and Courage

11 Sunday Dec 2016

Posted by Colby Alexander in Battle, Faith, General, Motherhood, Testimony

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“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”
-John 7:17

When I was 16 years old, I was invited to play on an all-star baseball team along with several other kids from Utah county. I didn’t really know the other guys that well, but we had a really good team and we started to become friends over the few weeks we were together. The team was put together to compete in an all-star tournament in Salt Lake. Even though we had only recently been put together as a team, we somehow won the whole thing. Because we won, we advanced to the regional tournament. Lucky for us, it was in Arizona. Yuma, Arizona. In July.

So, we had a road trip. We piled in together in a couple of big vans, and hit the road. The logical place to stop halfway from Utah county to Yuma was, of course, Las Vegas. The coaches got us checked into our rooms, and left us there. The slots, or blackjack tables must have been calling. Now, as you can probably imagine, 15 teenage boys left on their own about a mile from the Vegas strip with 14 hours before the vans left again for Arizona was mischief waiting to happen.

We were set to leave for Yuma early the next morning, but 15 year olds don’t usually sit and read books in hotel rooms, so we put all of our teenage brain cells together and decided to take in the sights.

After a few minutes, we left and walked all through the night, up and down the strip, seeing the sights, walking through the Caesars palace mall, and soaking it all up. After several hours, we were exhausted. I still don’t know who, if anyone really, came up with that brilliant idea, but It wasn’t a good one. And, unfortunately, I just went along with the crowd.

About 5 a.m. we finally realized we were super tired, and someone decided that rather than sleeping, we just needed caffeine. So we stopped at a small fancy coffee shop in Caesars Palace somewhere. I sat there staring at the menu not knowing really what I was doing. I remember feeling way out of place.

What was I supposed to order at a coffee shop anyway? Well, coffee is what you order at a coffee shop. And so, one by one, every one of the other players who were with me ordered a cappuccino. Apparently it’s stronger than coffee, so it was perfect for anyone who happened to have stayed up all night walking.

I found myself in a spot I had never really been in before in my entire 16 years. I had never been offered a drink, a cigarette, or anything else that was against the Word of Wisdom. Peer pressure wasn’t really something I had ever dealt with either. I knew a good Mormon kid wasn’t supposed to drink coffee, tea, or cappuccino, even if I did stay up all night.

I sat there and had to decide if I was going to go along with everyone else who had already ordered or do what I had been taught. I had to decide for myself. Mom and Dad weren’t there, the bishop wasn’t there, no one who really knew me was there. It was completely up to me. I could take that first step in either direction. As seemingly insignificant as that choice in reality was, the principle was huge. Which way would I choose to go?

It took me only about 5 seconds, and maybe my lack of money helped, but I decided I would go with the $1.95 coke, instead of the $6.99 cappuccino. After I ordered, all the other guys kind of looked at me sideways and wondered why I had ordered coke at a fancy coffee shop, but I felt happy that I did.

A few minutes later, I learned that the Lord has our backs when we do what he asks. Even on little tiny choices that may not seem like they mean a whole lot in the big picture. He knows me, and all my little personal battles, choices, struggles, and temptations. I had broke ranks with all the guys around me to try and do the right thing. I had stepped out on my own, and the Lord rewarded and taught me in a way that I would understand even with my teenage brain.

As the cappuccino cups were all handed out to the other players, It looked like Mrs Nesbitt’s tea party in Toy Story. The cups were tiny. They couldn’t have held more than 6 oz. I, however, was rewarded with a gigantic 64 oz towering container full of delicious Coca Cola. It looked more like a giant fish bowl, than a cup (think of the time the Hobbits found out what a “pint” was at the Prancing pony in Lord of the Rings). At that very moment, all the other players were jealous of me and my choice that morning. I remember feeling totally justified, and rewarded for that little, tiny, almost insignificant moment in my life. For me, it was a lesson I would never forget.

It wouldn’t have been the end of the world had I ordered a coffee that morning. But, the lesson I learned was that I could be strong on my own. I was able to do what I knew or believed was right, regardless of what everyone else was doing. I also learned that it was my choice, not anyone else’s, that would determine who I would become in the future.

This lesson of taking that first step out on our own is a lesson we all have to learn. It has been necessary since the beginning. One of my favorite examples of this principle is the one we learn about in Alma 56.

This is the famous chapter where we learn from Helaman all about his 2000 stripling warriors. These young men, Helaman describes as being “very” young, had never fought. Even though they had zero experience fighting, they volunteered to be soldiers and join the Nephite armies as long as Helaman was their commander. They joined because the Nephites desperately needed help, and their fathers had previously buried their weapons of war in a sacred covenant, vowing never to fight again.

Helaman’s 2000 were a welcome sight to the Nephites, even thought they had no experience, and were likely a bit scrawny. Because of this, the Nephite commanders probably had to use them in a way that would minimize their physical disadvantage. So, they came up with a plan, a plan that would use them like bait. Like worms on the hook.

Helaman’s boys finally received their marching orders. Their mission was to march past the city of Antiparah, which held the largest Lamanite army in that part of the country, and draw them out of their fortified city by looking like easy prey. This probably wasn’t hard, because they actually were easy prey. If the Lamanites came out, their job was to run away faster to avoid getting slaughtered. Pretty simple, right? It was a perfect assignment for some fresh legged, young new recruits.

The plan worked. Just as the Nephite armies had hoped, the Lamanites took the bait. They poured out of Antiparah. All of them. They then took off in hot pursuit of Helaman’s 2000. The second part of the plan was to have Antipus and his men then take off after the Lamanites, catch them, and engage them out in the open, instead of the fortified city. But, this plan took a full 3 days to take effect. Tyson explained this unique prolonged footrace in a previous post here.

After basically running from the Lamanites all day for 3 days straight, Helaman noticed that the Lamanites suddenly stopped chasing his little band of 2000. But, they were not sure as to the reason. It could have been a trap, or Antipus could have finally caught up with them. It was unclear. Those 2000 young men, who had learned all about faith, courage, and trust and had also seen it in action from their parents, were now faced with a decision. A choice. A much harder, more difficult, and life threatening choice than choosing between a cappuccino or a Coke.

Helaman presented this choice to his “sons” this way…

”Behold, we know not but they have halted for the purpose that we should come against them, that they might catch us in their snare;“

“Therefore what say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to battle?¹”

Helaman was leaving the choice up to them. He had been a commander. He had been in battle. He was intimately familiar with what the likely outcome of a choice to fight would be for those young boys. Those young men knew their job was to be bait for the Lamanites, not to necessarily fight with them. But now, they had to decide what they wanted to do. They needed make their own choice. Mom and Dad weren’t there. Which way would they go? Forward into battle? Or wait it out in supposed safety far away.

They had been taught by their mothers to believe in God and his power. They had seen it demonstrated by their fathers in their covenant with God. They had seen or heard of the ultimate sacrifice of many of their lives honoring that covenant. But, their mothers were all hundreds of miles away. They were out on their own.

Helaman described his reaction to the choice these young men made…

”And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni, that never had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites²”

They made their choice. Helaman’s boys would fight.

They knew they had no experience and had never fought before, but they also believed the Lord would protect them. They took that step of faith for themselves, and decided to exercise it. This was their answer to Helaman…

“Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus³.”

Their choice to fight given their lack of experience required a lot of faith. A lot more than my choice to avoid coffee, and a lot more dangerous. But, the principle is the same. We all need to, at some point in our lives, step away from what we have been taught, and make our own choices that will affect the rest of our lives.

The wonderful testimonies of others can guide us, encourage us, set examples for us, but eventually we all find ourselves in a spot just like Helaman’s boys were. We are in a place where we need to make a step in one direction or the other. We will either leap in faith towards the fight, or ease quietly away in the opposite direction.

The Lord knows us perfectly, he knows exactly what our anxieties are, he knows our concerns, our fears, our struggles and every little detail of our lives. He is the one that orchestrates these opportunities and moments of truth. He wants us to step out in faith. If we take that step, he will support us. He will strengthen us, protect us, and bless us. It’s how we learn. It’s how we develop our own testimony independent of anybody else. This hard fought, and experienced testimony is the only one that is ultimately strong enough to withstand the onslaught of a world that will challenge us.

Helaman’s 2000 took that step, and survived multiple hard fought, and bloody battles against older, more experienced and hardened Lamanites. Not one of Helaman’s “sons” were killed. It was nothing short of a complete miracle. There is no way that should have happened. But, because they were willing to step into the fight with faith in the Lord’s protection, he preserved them. The most important step they took, was that first one. That first step when Helaman gave them the choice to step out on their own, and exercise the faith that they had been taught.

We all read this story and marvel on their faith, their courage, and dedication. We try and put ourselves in their shoes and contemplate if our answer would be like theirs in that moment. We may not be asked to take up arms against a powerful opposing army, but we can try and emulate that same courage, dedication and faith.

We may not face a literal army of Lamanites, but we all face an army of those who wish to harm us spiritually. We do face an opposing force that will stop at nothing to destroy us and our faith. Let’s take the lessons we have learned, the testimonies we have heard and felt, and allow them to bolster us into taking those first steps on our own to face the enemy with our hearts full of faith. We will be protected. We will be strengthened. Our faith will grow.

When we add action to our beliefs, our testimonies will be solidified. We will know the gospel is true. We will feel closer to the Lord. We will then know and understand more completely the doctrine of Jesus Christ, because we will be doing his will, and that is exactly what He promised us…

“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”

-John 7:17

Alma 56:43,44
Alma 56:45
Alma 56:46

Laban Strikes Out

27 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by Colby Alexander in Agency, Faith, General, Holy Ghost, Obedience, Pride, Prophets, Testimony

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Remember that old poem “Casey at the bat”? It tells of the mighty Casey, the greatest hitter in baseball who famously, and heroically came to bat at the end of a game and had so much confidence, that he let the first two pitches go by without even a second thought to even swing. Then, on the dramatic third pitch in a cloud of dust, he whiffed on the third and final pitch, striking out, and ending the game. He had let two perfect opportunities go by, and when crunch time came, he blew it. The mighty Casey had struck out.

Amazingly, a very similar story took place in real life about 2600 years ago in a little town called Jerusalem. Instead of the mighty Casey, the man was Laban. Lets check out the drama that unfolded.

Laban was an important man in the community, and was known to be kind of a big deal among the Elders of the Jews. He was likely very wealthy, and had in his possession the plates of Brass, which included the Law of the Jews, as well as the record of his entire genealogy down from the first prophets, through Joseph, and all the way to him. These Brass plates would basically be the prize that would go to the winner in the epic “at bat” that took place all those years ago. The mighty Laban at the plate and the humble Lehi as the starter on the mound.

The first pitch from Lehi occurred after he was shown a vision of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. It would be destroyed if its people would not repent. He then went about the city preaching. This first pitch was not received well. The scriptures explain, “And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them¹”

Now, Laban and all his Jerusalem buddies, the Jews, had decided to mock Lehi, instead of listen. But that wasn’t all, the scripture continues, “And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away².” Well, the mighty Laban, as well as his friends, decided that they didn’t quite like that first pitch from Lehi, and decided to let that go, and instead opted for attempted murder and death threats. Lehi’s fastball right down the middle, his call to repent and be saved? The mighty Laban decided to pass. Strike 1.

For the second pitch, Nephi took over on the mound, with a fresh arm, and he and his brothers traveled back to Jerusalem from their wilderness hideout. They decided on an even more direct approach, to just go ahead and ask Laban for the plates. Besides, its not like he was actually reading the scriptures or following their teachings right? Worth a try. So, the next pitch was another straight fastball right down the middle. “Hey, Laban, can we just go ahead and have the brass plates?” How’d that go? “And it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him out from his presence; and he would not that he should have the records. Wherefore, he said unto him: Behold thou art a robber, and I will slay thee³.” So, after the second middle of the plate fastball, and perfect chance #2, Laban not only watched it go by, but also threw out a false accusation of robbery, and dished out death threats. Strike 2.

Now, the mighty Laban seemingly was oblivious to the dire situation he found himself in, he had not only rejected the words of the prophets, but he had also threatened to kill them, and falsely accused them of robbery. Both big no-no’s in Jewish law at the time. But, we will get into that later.

The third pitch delivered by Nephi was an even slower, perfectly straight softball floating beach ball pitch. Nephi and his brothers went back to their place, gathered up all their gold and silver in an effort to buy, or trade for the plates of brass. What a deal right? Lehi was likely a very wealthy man, and had a lot of precious things. So the 4 brothers headed in to see Laban again, this time loaded with their treasure, and what happened?… ”[Laban] did alust after it, insomuch that he thrust us out, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our property4” Nice. So another 4 counts of attempted murder, and armed robbery. Or, in other words, Strike 3.

Laban probably didn’t even realize he was up to bat. He didn’t even swing. The Lord handed him 3 perfect opportunities to do it the easy way, the way that would have left him alive with his head still attached, but he was blinded by lust. Lust for power, and for money.

The story and life of Laban ended a few hours later that night when Nephi was led by the spirit to the street where Laban was passed out drunk. Nephi was constrained to slay him. He shrunk, but eventually did slay Laban by cutting off his head with his own sword, disguised himself in his clothes, and obtained the brass plates for his posterity and fulfilled the commandments of the Lord.

Nephi was commanded to kill Laban. To some, this may seem strange. A righteous prophet commanded to slay another man while he lay drunk in the street? Was that necessary? Lets look at it through 2600 year old eyes.

In 600 B.C. Jerusalem, the laws were a bit different than they are here in the USA in 2015. The “Law” was the law of Moses as it was written in the old testament. And Laban over the months and especially the last few days of his life was certainly breaking many of those laws.

Laban’s first problem was that he was likely among the “Jews” who mocked Lehi, and sought to take away his life. Not exactly living up to “thou shalt not kill”

Laban’s second problem was that he had falsely accused Laman of robbery. Robbery at that time was a capitol offense, or punishable by death. Also, in Deuteronomy 19:18 the law regarding false testimony is spelled out. “And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother” Wow, so if you falsely accused someone of a capitol crime, guess what? Congratulations, you were guilty of a capitol crime!

Laban’s third problem was a combination of his 1st problem and his second problem. He actually had committed robbery, and actually had tried to kill Nephi and his brothers. Capitol offense, capitol offense. This is starting to be like OJ driving away in a white bronco.

So, in many ways, Nephi, who did not want to kill Laban, as was demonstrated by his entering into the city unarmed, and shrinking when the spirit constrained him to do it, was, in essence, carrying out the legal punishment for Laban’s crimes, even though he didn’t necessarily want to.

This story is a perfect example of how the Lord is in perfect control of every aspect of his plan for his children. He gave Laban plenty of chances to play nice, but he didnt. It also demonstrates how the Lord will always prepare a way for his children to succeed if they rely on him. The Lord provided the way for the brass plates to come into the possession of Lehi’s family, and did it in a perfectly planned out and fair way. God bless Nephi for following the promptings of the spirit even when it was very difficult to do.

I hope each of us can develop the amount of confidence in the Lord, and in ourselves to follow the spiritual promptings we are given. If we do, we never know what hidden blessings are in store for us or our family further down the line..

1 1 nephi 1:19

2 1 nephi 1:20

3 1 nephi 3:13

4 1 nephi 3:25

The Crumbling Walls of Stone

22 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by Colby Alexander in Battle, Faith, General, Jesus Christ, Loyalty, Poems, Prison, Trials, Weakness

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No matter what is happening in our world, or even in our own neighborhoods, or communities, we can be safe. Its hard to believe sometimes given the nature of our enemies. Real safety isn’t a mortal achievement at all, but an eternal one. Once we realize that our lives don’t really start when we are born, nor end when we die, we can see with the proper perspective to understand this.

Sometimes it seems like we are living in a modern day movie of history repeating itself. If that is so, lets look to what our ancient forefathers did to keep themselves safe, or what they didn’t do to bring on their demise.

In the scriptures, we learn that our modern difficulties will only increase, times will be harder, and evil will grow in scope, and power. We need to be able to recognize what is really happening all around us, and not repeat the same mistakes that so many throughout history have made- the mistake of forgetting God. We cannot forget who we are, why we are here, and in whom we must rely to find real safety, and real peace.

The Crumbling Walls of Stone

The walls of stone around us built by hands of mortal make,
have claimed to offer solace from dark storm, strong wind, and quake.

Protecting from our foes without, this shelter here inside,
constructed by the hands of those who fought, and bled, and died.

And for these many years have stood, sustained by God alone,
As men within these walls have knelt before our Maker’s throne.

But now, dark forces in and out, relentlessly conspire,
to weaken all these stones, by fear, and flame of dragon fire.

For not all men within now kneel before the strength and pow’r,
of Him whose hand would strengthen all in desperation’s hour.

Now as the walls around us fall, and enemies abound,
He still extends His call to us, His safety can be found,

And we can be untouched by flying shards of rending stone,
To walk in peace and safety- even though we walk alone,

And as our father Alma walked with pow’r from prison rent,
So can we, if we rely, on Him who Father sent.

These great walls, sustained by God, now stand all on their own,
Relying on the strength of men, and crumbling ancient stone.

Are we now ready, in our hearts, to face the world outside?
To kneel, to walk, and stand alone, and in the Lord confide?

Come feel His warming love, and light, that neither fades nor dims!
Petition his eternal peace that comes through faith in Him!

Though enemies deride, and tempests beat before our face,
Our souls can stand fulfilled, instilled, with everlasting grace!

The Divine Duality of Adversity

22 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by Colby Alexander in atonement, Faith, General, Opposition, Patience

≈ 1 Comment

Sports can teach us almost anything. Growing up, I played baseball, basketball, football, golf, pickle ball, wiffle ball, and, everyone’s favorite 5th grade sport, butt ball. Each one of these sports taught me about how to work hard, practice, work as a team, and all of those happy feel good things that are common to sport analogies. But, it also taught me about the reality of loss, pain, sorrow, discouragement, and disappointment.

In today’s society, there seems to be a growing trend to try and shelter our kids from these realities. We give out trophies to all who participate, no one gets thrown out at first, no one loses, and no one wins. We do this to make sure that we don’t hurt anyone’s feelings. The problem with this thinking, is that it can create a false bubble of reality where nothing but contrived happiness and joy exists and never teaches the lessons of how to process the reality of losing, or the unavoidable disappointment that life will bring.

When we do this, we find ourselves just like the inside of Riley’s head in the movie, Inside Out, where “Joy” the happy emotion, tries to completely eliminate “Sadness” from ever having any kind of control over Riley’s emotions, she tries to protect Riley from ever feeling anything but joy. A great idea right? But, in the end, Joy realizes that sadness is not only acceptable, but an essential necessity to feel the complete fullness of joy. The contrast, or recovery from sadness, is what highlights true happiness in its fullness.

Some of us go through challenges that are nothing short of devastating. For some, the disappointment or sorrow hits hard as in when a child passes away. For others its watching a son or daughter lose their way. Some circumstances seem almost unbearable, with no hope for any good to come of them. What do we do then? How do we deal with devastation? We need help. We cannot do it alone. That is the whole point of passing through disappointment, and sorrow, or pain and suffering. We are supposed to learn from them.

These scenarios have played out since the beginning of time, and they will continue. Lets just look at a few examples of adversity and painful things happening, even to good and righteous people…

Mormon was the prophet and military leader that knowingly watched as his entire people ignored his inspired pleas for repentance, and openly chose wickedness. These were his people, the very ones for which he was responsible. His teaching fell upon deaf and rebellious ears, and 230,000 of his men, the Nephites, were slaughtered in a single battle. They were completely wiped out by the Lamanites, because they chose wickedness. We can only imagine the disappointment and sorrow he felt. He wrote, “O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord!..how could ye have rejected that Jesus who stood with open arms to receive you! How is it that ye could have fallen! But, Behold ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return.” (Mormon 6:16-19)

Moroni, Mormon’s son, also witnessed this last great battle as a captain over 10,000 men. He then watched as the Lamanites killed his father, and turned after him. He then spent the remaining years of his life completely alone, running for his life.

Ether, a Jaradite prophet, just like Mormon and Moroni, witnessed the entire wicked self destruction of his people when they refused to listen to his pleadings for their repentance. The great final battle claimed the lives of over 2 million men women and children. They not only rejected his teachings, but tried to kill him for doing so.

There are countless examples of devastating disappointments and sorrows. How did they deal with them? How did they continue to go forward while it seemed everything in the world was against them, even though they were doing what was right?

Think of it this way, what positives came of the examples of Mormon, Moroni, and Ether? What can we learn from them? Mormon, and Moroni both penned some of the most powerful chapters in the Book of Mormon, probably at the same time they were dealing with the destruction of their people. Moroni’s promise, that has led to the spiritual conversion of countless people, was written while completely alone, wandering in the wilderness. One of the best chapters in scripture on the principle of faith was written by the prophet Ether as he watched his people completely self destruct. Sometimes bad things do happen to good or great people, but sometimes great things come from it.

Part of life is understanding that we will have problems, that we will lose, we will be dealt a crap sandwich once in a while. But, what do we do with that crap sandwich? Do we bury our head in the sand and give up? Or, do we try to deal with it like the best chef’s on Chopped, and add bacon, chipotle peppers, and transform that crap sandwich into a chorizo preschutto, drizzled with a poblano pepper aoli?

The Lord told Joseph Smith while he was illegally imprisoned in the Liberty Jail, “that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” (D&C 122:7)

The Lord also taught this when his disciples were feeling abandoned, lonely, helpless, and overwhelmed (and he will say the same to all of us), “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come unto you” (John 14:18) “Come unto me all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yolk upon you, and learn of me;…. and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matt 11:28,29)

When we turn to the Lord, our Elder Brother, He comforts us, He succors us, He changes us. As hard as it is, we need to try and see our lives as our Father in Heaven does. We need to try and see our disappointments and sorrows as opportunities to allow Jesus Christ to be the one who stands by our side to lift us up.

The ultimate lesson from our Father in Heaven is this, He wants us to grow, experience a full life. We really gain the experience He wants us to have when we pass through disappointment, and then use the gift of the Atonement of His Son to help us through the hard times. So, even though the sorrow is real, and the disappointment unbearably hard and devastating at times, these times are, in reality, opportunities to better know His Son. This is the divine duality of adversity. They are opportunities to open ourselves to the fullness of His Comforter. The contrast we then feel becomes the knowledge and experience our Father in Heaven needs us to understand. And maybe our experiences will benefit us in the future, or may benefit others who can learn from us.

Where can I turn for peace?
Where is my solace
When other sources cease to make me whole?
When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,
I draw myself apart,
Searching my soul?

Where, when my aching grows,
Where, when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish,
Who, who can understand?
He, only One.

He answers privately,
Reaches my reaching
In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend.
Gentle the peace here finds for my beseeching.
Constant he is and kind,
Love without end.

Hymn 129 Where can I turn for Peace?

A Light to End All Darkness

06 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by Colby Alexander in Faith, General, Joseph Smith, Poems

≈ 1 Comment

In this post, I think I should explain why it is that I write a lot of my thoughts down in poems. I never really thought I would ever do that, its just something that kind of happened. But, to me, poetry has an ability to enhance the visualization of the words on the page, or a way to better describe what it is I am trying to say. It elevates the sentiment. Im not saying that I am the next Edgar Allen Poe, or anyone special, but I do enjoy thinking, and visualizing these thoughts into verses that do those thoughts more justice than they would otherwise receive. Poetic words, in a way, almost paint a picture in my mind. I think that poetry or lyrics compromise at least half of the power of music. Take away the sounds of good music, and with just words, the power remains.

Parley P. Pratt (author of several hymns) wrote of a time when he was jailed together with Joseph in the Richmond Jail. Parley described their jailers as men “of the most noisy, foul-mouthed, vulgar, disgraceful rabble that ever defiled the earth”. He describes the event like this…

“In one of those tedious nights we had lain as if in sleep till the hour of midnight had passed, and our ears and hearts bad been pained, while we had listened for hours to the obscene jests, the horrid oaths, the dreadful blasphemies and filthy language of our guards, Colonel Price at their head, as they recounted to each other their deeds of rapine, murder, robbery, etc., which they had committed among the “Mormons” while at Far West and vicinity. They even boasted of defiling by force wives, daughters and virgins, and of shooting or dashing out the brains of men, women and children.
I had listened till I became so disgusted, shocked, horrified, and so filled with the spirit of indignant justice that I could scarcely refrain from rising upon my feet and rebuking the guards; but had said nothing to Joseph, or any one else, although I lay next to him and knew he was awake. On a sudden he arose to his feet, and spoke in a voice of thunder, or as the roaring lion, uttering, as near as I can recollect, the following words:

SILENCE, ye fiends of the infernal pit. In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you, and command you to be still; I will not live another minute and hear such language. Cease such talk, or you or I die THIS INSTANT!

He ceased to speak. He stood erect in terrible majesty. Chained, and without a weapon; calm, unruffled and dignified as an angel, he looked upon the quailing guards, whose weapons were lowered or dropped to the ground; whose knees smote together, and who, shrinking into a corner, or crouching at his feet, begged his pardon, and remained quiet till a change of guards.

I have seen the ministers of justice, clothed in magisterial robes, and criminals arraigned before them, while life was suspended on a breath, in the Courts of England; I have witnessed a Congress in solemn session to give laws to nations; I have tried to conceive of kings, of royal courts, of thrones and crowns; and of emperors assembled to decide the fate of kingdoms; but dignity and majesty have I seen but once, as it stood in chains, at midnight, in a dungeon in an obscure village of Missouri.

I love the picture in my head that comes as Parley describes the dignity of Joseph Smith.

Words can be so much more than just words. They can move us to feelings of loyalty, honor, indignation, courage, love, or reverence. Even better when those words describe something amazing.

To me, one of the most important events in the history of the world is the story of Joseph Smith and the first vision. It contains an immense inherent power that I feel each and every time I hear it, present it, think about it, or hear songs about it. It happened. There is no question.

So, I have written a few words to try and express my testimony of this event and of this man. I want my testimony to be public, on the record, etched in stone, so that there is no doubt as to where I stand. I want my kids to be able to look back at these words when I am gone, and draw strength from them. I look forward to the day that I can stand shoulder to shoulder with Joseph Smith, embrace him, and thank him for his immense personal sacrifice so that I, with my family, could enjoy the fullness of the blessings of God. I love him. I honor him, and I will praise him forever. God bless Brother Joseph.

A Light to End all Darkness

A blinding mist obscured the light that shone above the clouds,
While God withheld His lightning strike that soon would split the shroud-
A blanket o’er the world of man, no light therein allowed-
To see God’s purity and truth through apostatic cloud.

False men with lightless eyes proclaimed to own inspired sight,
while boasting truth within them lay interpretations right,
and damning those not joined with them to suffer hellish plight,
The snake had hissed his blinding mist that shaded God’s pure light.

But stifling darkness o’er the land could not disrupt the Mighty’s hand,
Inspired by whisp’ring spirit voice, a boy, obscure, was meant to stand.
The hosts of angels in the clouds of Heav’n knew the plan.
For God himself would bring the truth- restore to lightless land!

A darkened path seemed naught to be the will of loving God,
Whose prophets taught to follow him- to tread as He had trod,
While preaching mouths did honor Him, inside- their hearts lay flawed,
For bitterness and strife there dwelt, not fertile gospel sod.

This humble boy, confused by all the animosity,
Then read a verse in bible text, that promised he could see,
E’en for himself the truth unknown, if asked in faithful plea,
So on his knees, petition sent, in sacred grove of trees.

And as his mouth to heaven sent that soft and secret prayer,
The serpent came in power to arrest and bind him there,
With deepest black of darkest night, with fear beyond compare,
It overcame that humble boy now filled with deep despair.

His tongue was bound by serpent chains, and could not force a sound,
The overwhelming darkness held him prisoner on the ground
His soul, now on the precipice, black emptiness around,
Almost succumbed to evil’s grip, and helplessness profound.

But, in that very moment of his ultimate despair,
A light of magnitude n’er seen, descended from the air,
And settled on his feeble form, dispersed like lightning’s flare,
A brilliant beam of Heaven’s love and light beyond compare!

All black dispersed, with shrieking wail, in deferential flight,
as every creviced inch of earth was bathed in brilliant white!
And gone were feelings borne of him who’s mist obscured clear sight,
Replaced with overwhelming love- midday replaced the night!

All life then bowed before Creator of the Earth and skies!
Descending in pure majesty- The Father at his side!
The God of all the Universe! Perfected! Glorified!
Restoring revelation’s pow’r, the veil cleared from men’s eyes!

That young and humble, faithful boy, with trembling, shaking hands,
Had just beheld majestic glory of the Son of Man!
And now would rise as Prophet to restore the gospel plan,
To share! Declare! that truth returned to promised cov’nant lands!

The prophet Joseph then subjected to the serpent’s ire,
Would feel the whip, and feathered tar as wicked men conspired,
To snuff the light within him lit, and douse the gospel fire
With violent rage of blinded men, now minions of the liar!

Refined through lonely hours in prison, cold and suffering,
Illegalities unchecked, compounded winter’s sting,
His prayers sent up in sorrow’s bane did heav’nly comfort bring,
As Joseph’s faith through wind and fire became his offering.

Then willingly, to Carthage, midst the snarling mob of hell,
Who’s violent hate, and lawlessness had prov’n intent to quell,
The tidal wave of light o’reflowing from prophetic well,
That fed the flood that o’er the thirsting earth began to swell!

Now musket ball would end the hallowed life of that great man,
Fired from the coward’s rifle, by corrupted evil hands,
His brother Hyrum’s martyred blood would also stain that land,
And cry aloud for vengeance, while their testimonies stand!

This light to end all darkness, true revelations power,
was saved to come to Earth through him in designated hour,
And serve as beacon, to us all- all darkness to devour,
This light to end all darkness, meant to feed the gospel flower.

This mighty man, the prophet dear, My Prophet still, he stands!
and mingles with the Gods above, yet still, for me, he plans,
And I shall know and see his face, embrace, and clasp his hands!
And I shall honor and revere- SHOUT praise to that great man!

4 brothers blog

Category Archives: Faith

The Much Anticipated, Long Awaited, Death of Death

When the Wheels Fall Off

When the Wheels Fall off

Nearer, My God, To Thee

Entropy

Nature’s Entropy

Be More Than You Are

Cappuccino, Coke, and Courage

Laban Strikes Out

The Crumbling Walls of Stone

The Crumbling Walls of Stone

The Divine Duality of Adversity

A Light to End All Darkness

A Light to End all Darkness

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When the Wheels Fall off

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Nature’s Entropy

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The Crumbling Walls of Stone

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A Light to End all Darkness

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