Category Archives: Pride

Entropy

29 Tuesday Aug 2017

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

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Fat_Cartoon_Man

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.

IMG_8650

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.

Debbie vs Reba and the Rad Fads that Ended Up Bad

26 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by in Brothers, General, Humility, Music, Pride

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SAMSUNG DIGITAL CAMERA

This is a pretty close representation of Dad’s boom box

When Tyson and I were growing up, everything was a competition. Everything. Among the things we “competed” or fought over were super important things like, who could have the most posters covering the walls of our room, who had the best haircut (mullet vs rat-tail, side-spike vs steps), who would win in 21 tip in, who could eat faster (this was really for 2nd place as Casey was the clear champion here), Ryne Sandberg vs Andre Dawson, and on and on and on. All of this was also compounded by the fact that we shared a room.

Looking back its pretty funny, but one of the more ridiculous things we fought over was our Dad’s old maroon boombox. At that time, it was state of the art. It had dual cassette decks, stereo surround, and a bunch of equalizer buttons. We basically just confiscated it, and hoarded it away in our room to listen to our favorite music.

The daily fight and struggle was over who had the right to listen to who’s music at night as we were falling asleep. This is a sibling battle that may be foreign to all those who never shared a room growing up. But for us, we had to survive those nights when our musical choice had to be put on hold, while we suffered the torture of the other’s music until we fell asleep.

The thing that makes this hilarious is the music we chose. Back in the late 80’s, and early 90’s music was a lot different. Stuff that was cool then, isn’t exactly cool now. Stuff that was perfectly normal listening material to us then, just cracks us up now. To this day, we make fun of each other’s previous childhood musical choices. The beauty of this memory from that particular competition, is that we were both losers.

My personal choice of music varied nightly, but one song, on one tape, has become fodder for Tyson razzing me. It’s a song called “Gonna Love Ya (till the cows come home)” by Reba Macintyre. I know, I know, don’t say anything. I’ve heard it for like 25 years straight now. Trust me. I know. But, just in case you were wondering about that song, here it is…

 

Tyson, on the other hand, was a bit more eclectic in his choices. He was also a bit more current, and sappy than me. He was also maybe even a little bit “chic flicky”. So, his choice that earned his 25 years of my counter-razzing was, “Lost in Your Eyes” by Debbie Gibson. If you still have room in your doggy bag, here it is…

 

Now you can clearly understand why we both lost the competition. It was really more like choosing between a colonoscopy and a root canal.

The funniest thing about all this is that we were both supposedly big tough macho guys, and every night, we would argue and fight, nearly coming to blows, over listening to Debbie Gibson or Reba Macyntire! If we had a time machine, we’d probably have to both go back and slap ourselves. But it is hilarious now.

Isn’t it interesting how time changes everything? What is “cool” and “popular” changes. Shows like MacGuyver, and Knight Rider, the best things ever in their time, are now filed away in the “Man, I can’t believe I watched that, this is so lame” category right next to the files for pegged pants, L.A. Gear shoes, and big hair bands. But, such is the way of popular culture. It is always moving on, moving constantly to the next big thing, the next fad, style, sound, or whatever, but the only thing that remains constant is that nothing lasts.

These popular fads don’t ever last because their content isn’t lasting. It’s not even meant to be. People get tired of them because they don’t satisfy the demands of real happiness.  Fads have a shelf life of mere moments. Look what happened to the Titanic song by Celine Dion. In its day, it was played on the radio every 3 minutes all over the world and people still couldn’t hear it enough. But now, Its probably on the top 5 list of reasons why people want to pluck their eyes out.

If we look only to things like Debbie Gibson, or songs about cows to make us happy forever, we will only be disappointed (other than maybe laughing at ourselves 25 years later). Real, true happiness that lasts through changing societies, peoples, cultures, and traditions only comes through obedience to God’s laws. And these fortunately don’t change.

“For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?”

-Mormon 9:9

“…I give unto you directions how you may act before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation. I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.

-Doctrine and Covenants 82:9,10

God will not change. His laws will not change. The blessings he pours upon us when we follow his commandments also will not change. They last forever. It is reliable, dependable, lasting and true. We can count on it 100%. Its like a #1 hit song that stays #1 forever.

Its so much easier to play the game, when the out of bounds lines aren’t constantly shifting and changing. When the laws or rules that bring us happiness are constant, dependable, and solid, we know exactly where to look to find and achieve real lasting happiness. Contrast this with following popular culture and its ever shifting views, beliefs, and so-called values. When we follow what is popular, we soon feel like we have one foot on a hover board, and the other on a banana peel.

This ever changing popular culture will try to lure us into the “better ideas” of what will make us happy. We may think, “that particular commandment is outdated, and doesn’t really apply today because…”, or, “I’m good with all of the commandments, except the one that…”, or, “The church needs to…”  Remember, when we think that we have a better idea than God, there is a good chance (like 100%) we are wrong.

Many, many people, have thought their ideas were better. Namely, Pharoah when he butted heads with Moses, Goliath and the Philistines, the false priests of Baal, Laman, Lemuel, Laban, and basically the whole world not in Noah’s family boat. Im not sure if anyone is actually keeping score, but God is undefeated. It may be a good idea to be on his team. We aren’t always as smart as we think we are.

The Lord specifically warned us about ourselves and this manner of thinking in the Book of Mormon…

“O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish. But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.”

-2 Nephi 9:28,29

It may seem complicated to navigate through our everyday lives and deal with all the changing standards that the world seems to hold us to.  What words we can use, what is offensive, what isn’t, what is normal, what isn’t, and so on. And, if we try and figure out the world’s standards, we will be confused, because they change almost as quickly as they are established. But, if we just hold ourselves up against God’s standard, it becomes super simple. After all, we are all participating in his plan, not ours. He even left us specific instructions that even a 3 year old can understand.

In fact, if we think about it, the mind-bending big questions that world famous philosophers from the beginning of time have contemplated over, argued about, and postulated opinions on, come down to…

Who are we?

Why are we here?

Where did we come from?

Where do we go when we die?

God made his plan so simple, that the smallest primary children can answer these age old questions as soon as they can talk, or sing….

I am a child of God,
And He has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With Parents kind and dear.

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me
Help me find the way,
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

I am a child of God,
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do his will,
I’ll live with him once more

I am a child of God
His promises are sure;
Celestial glory shall be mine
If I can but endure

If we follow the instructions that our loving Heavenly Father left us in the words of this simple song, we will find real, lasting happiness not only in our lives here on this earth, but also in our future lives yet to come. When we look at the reasons why we are here on this earth from the proper perspective, isn’t this the #1 hit song that should be #1 forever?

The Master of Ocean and Earth and Skies

26 Thursday May 2016

Posted by in Battle, Divinity, Example, General, Humility, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, Loyalty, Obedience, Opposition, Optimism, Patience, Power, Pride, Prophets, Strength, Success, Weakness, Weather

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Washington

Everyday life is full of gospel lessons. They are everywhere. You just have to look for them.  Who would have ever thought that even Saturday morning cartoons could teach us about the Savior and His power! Yes, even Donald Duck can teach us.

I want to share a certain scripture and then go on to explain how the lesson in this scripture can be shown in a Donald Duck cartoon, and then how it came to life in another powerful way in the late 1700’s.  It will be a bit like Bill and Ted’s excellent gospel adventure. Hang on.

The scripture is in Luke. Chapter 8 verse 25. This is Jesus and his desciples speaking in a boat. Jesus had just calmed the angry seas during a sudden storm on their way across a certain lake, simply by commanding them to be still…

“And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! For he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him”?

This is the same story that inspired the Hymn “Master, the Tempest is Raging”. The lyrics are a perfect set up for the rest of this post. Especially the part about the late 1700’s. Here is the second verse,  and the chorus…

Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today.
The depths of my sad heart are troubled.
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul,
And I perish! I perish! dear Master.
Oh, hasten and take control!

The winds and the waves shall obey thy will:
Peace, be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
Or demons or men or whatever it be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, be still; peace, be still.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, peace, be still.

The cool part of the story and the hymn, is that we learn that the Savior has power over everything! Including the winds, water, weather, and all the elements. We learn the same lesson in the Book of Mormon when Lehi and Nephi are crossing the ocean, and Laman and Lemuel tie Nephi up so they can have their little dance party. Only by repenting, releasing Nephi, and a subsequent petition sent to the Master of earth and skies, does the storm cease! The weather is controlled by the Lord!

Now, back to Saturday morning cartoons. In this next little clip, Donald learns all about this same principle. Sometimes the weather does funny things. Things that don’t exactly make sense. It can be sunny one second, and rainy the next. Check this out…..

Donald Duck learns the hard way that weather can only be controlled by the Lord! Normal men cannot be blamed, nor take the credit for good, or bad weather! Its God’s little way of making sure that He alone is responsible for it. When He doesn’t want you to go golfing in sunny weather, you don’t go!

Now, lets rewind to the year 1776. General George Washington had picked a fight with the largest most powerful Army/Navy/Military in the world at the time. Great Britain. He’s got a bunch of volunteer farmers fighting for him, who aren’t exactly striking fear into the British. The odds are that the “war” will be over in about 10 minutes, it was like Mike Tyson vs Steve Urkel.  The Rebel soldiers had no chance. They weren’t as well trained, well equipped, or as numerous. The one thing they did have on their side, however, was the Master of Ocean and Earth and Skies! This is how He played his part….

Example 1. The Battle of Dorchester heights. This little battle was just outside of Boston. The British had taken control of the port city, and Washington and his little army was just outside wondering what on earth they could possibly do to fight and not get blown away.  One of Washington’s colonels, Henry Knox, had heard that way over in New Jersey the Americans had captured some Cannons and supplies, and that if he could go see if he could get them to Boston, They might have a chance. Washington sent him off, and a few months later, Henry Knox returned with 120,000 pounds of morters and cannon. But here is where the details of the story go right along with Donald Duck. After getting to Fort Ticonderoga where the Cannons had been taken, he built sleds to transport them back to Boston, although no snow was on the ground. That took faith. He then waited several days, until Christmas Day, when a blizzard hit, and the Hudson river froze over, allowing for easy crossing. By January 1776 his delivery was made. The customized weather allowed the quick transport all the way back to Boston. But, that wasn’t all. More heavenly weather would come!

Henry_Knox_by_Peale

Henry Knox

The new cannon had to be sent to the top of the Hill to overlook and bomb Boston. The only problem was, if the British saw the Americans hauling cannons up the hill, they would have attacked with their huge numbers, and mopped the floor with them. So, of course, the Lord sent a heavenly haze to conceal their move up to Dorchester Heights above Boston, right in front of the British lines. Unseen. But, the Lord wasn’t done yet.

Washington now had his cannon on top of the hill, but was still way outnumbered by the British. General Howe, the British commander, then decided to send his War-boats to cross the harbor and attack Washington’s spot on the hill. But, as the British sent the boats off, the day, which had started abnormally warm and pleasant, changed by nightfall into a storm that Washington’s officers called the “hurrycane” of hail, snow, and sleet!

Two British boats were blown ashore. One American Leutenant said it was the worst storm he had ever seen.  Talk about a bad day. Just to add salt to the wound, after these divine weather interventions, there happened to be a sudden outbreak of small pox in Boston where the British troops were stationed. They had seen enough, they were just like Donald Duck trying to golf, and soon thereafter said, “peace out” and left Boston!

The British were stunned. But if we look back and examine it through gospel lenses, we see a pattern that is forming. Consider this scripture in 2 Nephi. Its describing the wealthy, powerful, and worldly. See if it fits in this context…

“And the harp, and the aviol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands.”

                                                                                          -2 Nephi 15:12

Example 2. Escape from Brooklyn Heights. Washington’s tactics in the war were often just a matter of not getting wiped of the face of the earth. More like a prevent defense, or not losing, rather than going for the knockout win. One of these grand escapes was in Brooklyn. This miracle happened after Washington’s troops were surrounded and cornered on 3 sides by British soldiers, and blocked off by the East river on the 4th side. The British Navy had hundreds of ships in New York Harbor and was sending ships up the river to completely surround Washington’s troops. He had already lost 25% of his army in the previous days of fighting. It was pretty hopeless. The war would be over in those next 10 minutes. Well, not exactly. Maybe just as soon as the rain stopped pounding the area, making it impossible to keep the powder dry, or even move in the mud. No knockout attacks were possible. Weird huh? Not really, if we know who sent the rain!

For some reason, Washington decided to wait for 3 days, then, on the 3rd night, attempt a daring overnight escape. All the troops will be silently sent across the East river on small boats. The same river that the British were coming up in order to surround them.  It was supposed to be game over. The British only had one single problem. The Lord was on the American side. And, again, being all powerful, He controls the weather!

That night, an abnormal northeasterly wind picked up, preventing the British ships from being able to come up the river to cut off Washington’s escape. Then at 9 pm, the wind shifted and blew to the west to help Washington’s boats escape. When morning came, not all the troops were across yet, so, not a problem, the Lord sent a fog so thick that “no one could see a man even 6 yards away” but this fog was only on the long island side of the river, on the New York side, it was clear as a bell. As the last of the boats entered the water, the fog started to lift, and the British moved in, only to find an abandoned camp! The timing was so perfect, that the British even took a few shots at the last boats that were just out of range.

Washington’s 9000 men escaped! And just to make sure the British didn’t immediately follow and destroy them the next day, a fire broke out in the city just in time to take away the British soldiers attention.

What was it exactly that made the Americans different? Why did the Lord help them, and not the British?

Two simple reasons stand out. First, America is a covenant land. The Jaradites were lead here, the Mulekites were lead here, and the Nephites were lead here. To this land. For that reason alone, we know that “inasmuch as ye keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land”! The covenant stands even today. The covenant is for the land, not only the people on it.

The second reason was that Washington was not your everyday commander. He was a very religious man. He understood exactly who was ultimately in control of the outcome of the war. He knew that “Providence” was America’s only hope for victory. He demanded that his men lived virtuously. He demanded that they watched their language, that they had scripture study, and that they prayed to petition the help of the Master of ocean and earth and skies! He was just like Moroni, and Mormon. He knew that his soldiers needed to be worthy of the blessings of Heaven, or they had no chance. They were completely dependent on Him. Sound familiar? Sounds just like the people of Limhi, and the people of Ammon, and the People of Alma. History really does repeat itself.

That is why America won the war. She was led by a man who understood that God was in charge. During his inaugural address, Washington said this…

“No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency”

Remember, the Lord needed a nation built on religious freedom in order to garner in His last dispensation of the gospel. The United States constitution was ratified and officially binding in 1788, only 17 years later, in 1805, Joseph Smith was born.

No matter how helpless the situation may seem, we can learn the lessons over and over both in the scriptures and out. Gods people will prevail. Our loyalty needs to be to Him. He will never forget them. Even when its raining! Let’s always try to be worthy to be called His People.

“And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve;”

-Moses 7:61

Laban Strikes Out

27 Wednesday Jan 2016

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

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casey

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

 

Endure to the End!

18 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by in General, Preparation, Pride, Sports, Strength, Success, Types

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I love college football. This is my favorite time of year. Each year I have renewed hope at what possibilities lie ahead. New players emerge, older players get better, every game counts. It it exciting, thrilling, heartbreaking, and devastating all at the same time.

Sports in general can teach us so much about life, and overcoming obstacles, opposition, and adversity. It is an almost perfect type for our own lives. College football yesterday, gave us that perfect example of a principle I have been thinking about lately. Enduring to the end.

This example, is of a game between bitter rivals. It was a hard fought game between Michigan, and Michigan State. All game it had been a grudge match back and forth, neither team could move the ball very well against the other, both defenses had dominated the opposing offenses, and as time ran down to the last 10 seconds, Michigan found itself ahead by two points with the ball, and just about a minute left. They could almost just take a knee, and let time expire and win the game. Almost.

As time slowly clicked away, Michigan ran the ball to make sure the clock didn’t stop and were able to get time down to just about 10 seconds left. It was 4th down, the ball was on Michigan State’s 48 yard line, and all they had to do was punt the ball away, make one tackle, and the game would be over. They would win the heated rivalry game over their higher ranked bitter enemy. Life was good for Michigan fan. They were basking in the eminent victory. They were on cloud nine. Years of being second fiddle in the state and listening to Michigan State fans trash talk would finally end. The battle was nearly over, and they would be victorious!

Then Michigan snapped the ball. And their 10 second nightmare began.

The punter for Michigan bumbled the snap, the ball fell a few feet in front of him, and in his sudden panic, lunged forward, grabbed the ball, and made a last second heroic effort to kick the ball away. But Michigan State hit him with 3 guys just as the ball left his hand headed towards his foot.

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The momentum of the hit sprayed the ball to the right, through the air, and landed perfectly into the hands of a surprised Michigan State player. Upon receiving the miraculous gift of a fumble, he took off, headed towards the end zone 45 yards away. He had a procession of blockers, and only 2 potential tacklers, time seemed to stand still and Michigan fan went from the peak of elation to the depths of despair in mere seconds. Michigan State rolled down the sideline, and lunged into the end zone with no time left to win the game.

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Michigan fan could do nothing but stare in disbelief. That actually just happened. One of the most unlikely wins and final plays that could even be conceived. If any of a number of things didn’t go exactly right, or exactly wrong, the game would have ended with Michigan on top. It was unbelievable. The odds of Michigan State winning that game before the final snap were 0.2%. 2 in a thousand! Yet it happened. Michigan State never quit. Michigan State endured to the end. Michigan did not.

IMG_5720

The punter had made a huge mistake, but, in the moment, when all the pressure was heaped on him, he actually made it worse by trying to kick the ball again. Had he just fallen on the ball, it would have been downed, and Michigan State would have had to pull off a hail mary pass to win, another unlikely chance. But, in the moment when panic set in, the situation became critical and the decision he made while in that mindset was horribly bad and exactly wrong. And it cost them the game. Had he thought out all the options should anything unplanned happen, the outcome might have been different.

All the hard work, battle, struggle, sweat, and effort for 59 minutes and 50 seconds just went up in smoke. It was kind of like performing a perfect face plant 25 yards from the finish line of a marathon, and never making it to the end. Sometimes we get SOOOOO close!

On the other hand, Michigan State never gave up. They played every last down until the whistle blew, there is ALWAYS a chance that things may bounce your way. But in order to get those bounces, we need to be in the right spot, and playing as hard as we can.

Whether its in a football game, basketball game, baseball game, tennis, running a marathon, or any other competition or challenge, the principle is the same, Never quit! Never stop fighting, clawing, pushing, crawling or clenching towards the finish. Never slow down, never let up. Ever.  Our lives are a race, a race to finally get back home, to our Heavenly home, and in the process, be as close to our Savior as we can be, and as much like Him as we can be.

Its never easy, sometimes it seems like its impossible to win, that we might as well just leave, because we are getting our butts handed to us. But thats not why we are here. We are here to compete, to get better, and to endure.

To me, one of the most fascinating parts of the Book of Mormon comes in the final few years of the Nephites  just before the coming of Christ to the Americas. At this time, the Nephites and righteous Lamanites actually come together in one body because the Gadianton robbers are so powerful, that they had overtaken nearly the entire country. All the people that followed the prophets gathered together to join forces and preserve their food and protect themselves from invasion.  After a long siege, and with the help from God, the Nephites eventually defeated the Gadianton robbers after a massive battle, (the slaughter was the greatest since Lehi had left Jerusalem) and completely eliminated them from the country. God had helped and preserved them according to their faith and trust in Him.

This major battle happened in the 19th year after Christ was born, and lingered until sometime after the 21st year. Christ would begin his ministry halfway around the world in a mere 8 years! So, 600 plus years had passed since Lehi and Nephi left Jerusalem, with countless prophets, wars, contentions, missions, etc. And now, in the 4th quarter, the Nephites had just seemingly defeated the last enemy and could now live in peace until the Lord would visit! Right? They just had to hang on for another few years. And they would celebrate with Christ himself!

After this massive battle, this is the mindset of the Nephites:

”And they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection.

31 And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies.

32 Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.

33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction.  (3 Nephi 4:30-33)

The very first verse in chapter 5 says, “Now behold, there was not a living soul among all the people the Nephites who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy prophets..”

A few verses later, it says,”And there had many things transpired which, in the eyes of some, would be great and marvelous; nevertheless, they cannot all be written in this book; yea, this book cannot contain even a ahundredth part of what was done among so many people in the space of twenty and five years;

They seem to be sitting pretty don’t they? Now its down to the final 8 years until the sign of Christ’s death and resurrection. kind of like being up by 2 points with the ball,  and only 10 seconds left? All they needed to do was make a decent punt, and make one tackle, and they would be celebrating with the Savior. But, lets watch what happens in just a few very short years…

In the 26th year, they all separated again, and went back home after having lived together as one people.

In chapter 6, it sounds the warning bell, “And now there was nothing in all the land to hinder the people from prospering continually, except they should fall into transgression.” (3 Nephi 6:5)

Kind of like a scouting report that warns about the stone hands of the punter.

Fast forward 3 short years, and this is what you get, “But it came to pass in the twenty and ninth year there began to be some disputings among the people; and some were lifted up unto pride and aboastings because of their exceedingly great riches, yea, even unto great persecutions; (3 Nephi 6:10)

Uh, oh. The punter just bumbled the snap. Better just land on it, and take your losses, repent, and get right with the Lord.

But, just like the football game, the worst possible thing that could have happened did.

“Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this—Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world. (3 Nephi 6:15,)

Now, the opposing player is running towards the end zone, and the game is slipping away.

“And thus in the commencement of this, the thirtieth year, they were in a state of awful wickedness.” (3 Nephi 8:18)

“…and there were but few righteous men among them.” (3 Nephi 7:7)

Year 30. Christ is just beginning his mortal ministry, and will eventually come to visit the Americas in just 3 more years! Thats it! 3 years. After 600 years of preparation, they bumbled it all away at the last moment. They couldn’t quite endure till the end.

We cannot let this happen to us! We need to play every down, every play the best we can. we have to endure, and persevere through the finish line. The tricky part is that we don’t know exactly when the finish line comes, but we cant let ourselves turn into the Nephites who face planted 3 years before the finish line.

Christ was so close! All they had to do was hold on just a little bit longer, and finish strong! He is our end goal! He is why we are here. He is why we can win, and why we even have a chance at all.

Sometimes we can learn lessons from other people’s mistakes. Lets look at the punter for Michigan, and the Nephites, and learn what not to do, so that we can be better prepared to work, and fight, and endure all the way through the finish line!

He is there waiting for us, coaching us, and rooting for us to succeed. Lets all try just a little bit harder to never let up, never slow down, never give up and never lose hope for the win!

Prize Winning Humility

06 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by in Humility, Pride

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A little while ago (in November of last year), I wrote here about humility and my absurd lack of it as a character trait.  It was such a deficiency back then that I even wrote, “I think the lack of this trait (in it’s purest and truest form) really was and still is my biggest weakness – or at least one of them”.  Combined with that (my own) realization of non-humility was a conversation I had with someone whose opinion I value that told me (in a very nice way) “you need to become acquainted with real humility.  Not just to know what it is in general terms, but to really understand it and feel it”.  So, I made a personal goal to become the most humble person ever.  I vowed that there would be nobody better at being humble than me.  I wanted to be the best at being humble.

Now it’s July, and coincidentally after quoting myself, I am happy to report that I have worked very hard on my humility over the past few months – and I think I have successfully become much more humble.  In fact, I might be eligible for the “most improved humility award”.  If nothing else, I am way more humble than I used to be.  Like…. way more.  In fact, my humility has increased to the point that I can look around and be confident that I am more humble than most of the people that I see.   I have come so far in so little time.

Then today something weird happened.  It was like someone changed the rules for acquiring humility without telling me; or at least someone tried to add something to the rulebook that wasn’t there before because what I read today was so different that it just sounded wrong.  I had spent the past several months focusing on my humility, my improvement, and my progress – including how the effects of my focus and improvement had further increased my humility – only to read that “true humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” 1

Because I had recently spent a lot of time thinking about myself and working on my own humility (which took a lot of time thinking less of myself), I knew that anything that told me to worry about other people in order to increase my humility must be incorrect; after all, how could worrying about or trying to solve other people’s problems help with my humility?  So, I read it again sure that I had indeed misread it the first time.  Then I read it again, and again, and again just to be sure I hadn’t suffered a mild stroke and lost the ability to comprehend sentences – because I am also a really good reader.

That was when I put 2 and 2 together to make 5 because there was no way that focusing and worrying and caring about other people, helping them with all their problems, making sure that they have everything they need, and helping them achieve all of their goals could help me at all – in fact, if I listened to that advice and spent all of my time doing things for others I wouldn’t have any time to worry about myself or work on my own humility, which means I would never improve myself or get to tell people how successful my quest for humility has been by writing a blog post.

So, in an effort to become yet even more humble, I will be spending all of my free time working individually on my own humility, because you never know when the Lord will need a super duper humble guy, and I for one want to be ready and operating at the peak level of humility for when he calls.

Notes

1 CS Lewis wrote this in Mere Christianity

Comfortable Complacency

07 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by in Pride

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Have you ever wondered what it might have been like to be a fly on the wall and hear Abinidi testify in front of King Noah and his court and verbally rub his nose in his own wickedness? or listen to one of Noah’s sermons predicting a rather large rainstorm?  Or listen to Samuel the Lamanite testify while dozens of angry listeners slotted arrows trying to kill him?

How on earth could any of those wicked heathens deny what the prophets were saying? If we were there, we would have totally defended them all day long, even unto death right?

Uhh…?

Here’s the thing, We have no idea what that world was even like. We have no idea, really, what its like to fear for your life because of what we believe or say. That world is a brutal, evil, vicious, unforgiving world.

Surely, in our enlightened, educated world today we have moved past, and now progressed away from such barbarism. Certainly, we, today, are a much more civil, organized, intelligent, tolerant, and understanding world. Without any doubt, we have moved past such killing based on mere beliefs today, right?

Uhh…..no.

Just ask the Christians in Syria right now.

Time to check ourselves.

We do know exactly what its like to hear Abinidi, Noah, Samuel, Alma, Nephi, Moroni, Peter, John, and all the others.

We hear them all the time. At least every six months.  Their names are Thomas, Deiter, Henry, Boyd, L. Tom, Russell, Dallin, M. Russell, Richard, Robert, Jeffrey, David, Quentin, D. Todd, and Neil. They speak all the time, But do we listen? Do we hear them in the same context as the other great prophets? Probably not. But, thats our problem, not theirs.

Today, I can drive to work, and no one tries to kill me. I can go to the store, and buy food, and no one tries to steal it, beat the crap out of me, and leave me for dead on the side of the road on the way home. I can leave my family when I go to work, and I can have confidence that they will be there, alive, when I get back.

I am comfortable.

But, am I complacent?

Do I need a dose of reality?

In 1973, Ezra Taft Benson gave a talk, that is as close to anything I have heard to those face melting verbal beatdowns of Abinidi, and Samuel.  It delivers a healthy dose of reality to a wicked world. It is sobering. I listened, and all I could think of was that this is our modern day Alma in Ammonihah. No one is openly threatening to kill him, but the audience is the same. A world that is completely apathetic to moral standards.

Sound familiar?

And because the world isn’t exactly more morally clean today than it was 42 years ago when he delivered it, we can only assume that this message is now tame compared to what it might have been today. Remember, he delivered this bad boy in 1973.

Want to hear some cool facts about how 1973 was a hot mess?

  • In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled on Roe vs. Wade, making abortion legal in the U.S.
  • In 1973 The Vietnam war was just ending for American ground troops in a cease fire, after years of questionable leadership and purpose.
  • In 1973 Richard Nixon, the President of the United States, was mired in an ongoing watergate scandal investigation and uttered the famous quote, “I am not a crook”.  Sure.
  • In 1973 Egyptians and Syrians attacked Israel to start the largest Arab-Israeli conflict to date on the holiest Jewish day on their calendar. Yom Kippur.

Not exactly sunshine and lollipops.

Ezra Taft, in his talk, then proceeds to school us with a little history lesson, comparing us to the Nephites who fell because of wickedness, then to the Romans, who fell because of wickedness, and then warns us again, not to be wicked. Then, in the end, tells us how not to be wicked.

It basically comes down to that simple promise made about 2400 years ago, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land.”

The ancient people in America seemed to go back and forth between righteousness, and wickedness, in about 200 year intervals. They would be righteous for a while, then they would get sidetracked, turn wicked, then get totally crushed, and destroyed, then try again.

Think of 4th Nephi, in the year 201 after Christ, they started to be divided again, after 200 years of pure awesomeness. The Romans enjoyed 200 years of powerful reign, but took a nosedive in their 3rd century.

We, are currently in the 228th year of our country. It was founded on moral, christian, principles.  The founding fathers constantly spoke of adherence to God’s laws, it was everywhere, the monuments, their writings, even the money!

So, the questions really is, are we as a country, and a people still keeping the commandments?

And now another question, are we really prospering in the land?

The Hypocrite’s Mirror

10 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by in Poems, Pride

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 In 1820, the country was full of religious crazies. This pressure cooked environment was the catalyst for Joseph Smith’s desire to pray to know which of all the competing churches were true.  For each of them preached christianity, yet would privately, and not so privately, denigrate and attempt to disprove each other.

     We now know, that in response to his simple prayer, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and told him that “all of the churches were wrong”, and that he should join none of them. The personage who addressed Joseph also loosely quoted two scriptures to describe the men who were leading the churches in 1820. Isaiah 29:13, and 2 Timothy 3:5.

Isaiah 29:13

  “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:”

2 Timothy 3:5

  “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

     Those churches leaders were not genuine. They were all bark, and no bite. All fluff, no substance. I’m sure they said all the right things, appeared to live the right way, but were not motivated by the proper end goal. They wanted more parishioners filling their churches. They wanted to be the winners, or the ones with the biggest congregation. It was a competition. They were hypocrites.

     To a certain extent, we are all hypocrites, because we know what we should be doing, how we should behave, how we should treat each other, and how we should be within the church.  But, we all fall short.

     What is the difference between ourselves, and the preachers in 1820? We have the truth, but do we live it? do we pretend to live it? Have we tried to make the gospel who we are? All these questions are ones we should ask ourselves, and see if we can take one step closer to getting rid of our hypocritical tendencies, because we all know how much the Lord loves hypocrites….

 

Hypocrite’s Mirror

When I stop and look at me
What exactly do I see?
Do my actions every day
mirror what I teach? or say?
Do I see a child of God?
Or just elaborate facade?

Am I who I claim to be?
Or, am I like the Pharisees?
Who loudly preach humility,
with proud and boastful piety,
Who say the words, and play the part
Yet stray from God within their heart.

Does my appearance matter most?
Or, worthiness for Holy Ghost?

When God looks deep inside of me,
Will He be pleased with what He sees?
A phony hypocrite, am I?
Or truthful, honest, free from pride.

For after all, it’s WHO we are,
Not WHAT we do, that gets us far
Tho’ worldly praise may man impress,
It falls well short in Heaven’s test.

Shake it Off

28 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by in Humility, Pride

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So… every once in a while, I think of a gospel principle that would really help me or someone close to me.  If I am being honest, I am much from quick to judge others than I am myself.  I can see faults in others from miles away, but fail to see the exact same faults in myself.  Ironically enough, I have been thinking about forgiveness for the last few days and thinking of a couple of people that just need to let some things go, you know?  When President Uchtdorf’s talk “Lord, Is It I?” came into my remembrance.

A brief refresher:

“It was or beloved Savior’s final night in mortality, the evening before He would offer Himself a ransom for all mankind.  As He broke bread with His disciples, He said something that must have filled their hearts with great alarm and deep sadness.  “one of you shall betray me,” He told them.

The disciples didn’t question the truth of what He said.  Nor did they look around, point to someone else, and ask, “Is it him?”  Instead, “they were exceedingly sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto Him, Lord, is it I?”

I wonder what each of us would do if we were asked that question by the Savior.  Would we look at those around us and say in our hearts, “He’s probably talking about Brother Johnson.  I’ve always wondered about him,” or “I’m glad Brother Brown is here.  He really needs to hear this message”?  Or would we, like those disciples of old, look inward and ask that penetrating question; “Is it I?”

… some are convinced that their busy schedules or unique circumstances make them exempt from the daily acts of devotion and service that would keep them close to the Spirit.

Brethren, none of us like to admit when we are drifting off the right course.  Often we try to avoid looking deeply into our souls and confronting our weaknesses, limitations, and fears.  Consequently, when we do examine our lives, we look through the filter of biases, excuses, and stories we tell ourselves in order to justify unworthy thoughts and actions.

Brethren, we must put aside our pride, see beyond our vanity, and in humility ask, “Lord, is it I?”  And if the Lord’s answer happens to be “Yes, my son, there are things you must improve, things I can help you to overcome,” I pray that we will accept this answer, humbly acknowledge our sins and shortcomings, and then change our ways by becoming better husbands, better fathers, better sons.”

– Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Why thank you for the humble pie, President Uchtdorf.  It is delicious.  Please, may I have another slice?

D&C 64:9-10 “Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.  I the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.”

My natural man is screaming inside.  I have to forgive no matter what?  No matte the attitude of the wrongdoer?  I have to forgive even when the offending party has not apologized, hasn’t begged and groveled at my feet? I must forgive even when my enemy remains indifferent?  When my foe continues to hiss and spit hatred or unkind words?  I must forgive even when my adversary knowingly and intentionally hurt me knowing full well that he/she was to blame?

Yes.  And one step further – if I don’t forgive, the greater sin is on my head.  Wow.  That is hard.

But, I guess that is the point.  Once again we witness the need for opposition in all things. We have to understand the bitter to appreciate the sweet.

It gets better… Forgiving is only the first step.  When we finally get around to forgiving others, we must forget it as well.  We know that after repentance, the Lord remembers our sins ‘no more.’ Now, we don’t have to send flowers.  We don’t have to hold hands or hang out on the weekend.  We definitely do not have to invite destructive influences back into our lives.  However, we cannot hold onto our negative feelings.  Spencer W. Kimball is pretty much the expert on this subject.  He has a way of expressing forgiveness with the subtlety of a hot iron pressed firmly to one’s face. He said: “Many people, when brought to a reconciliation with others, say that they forgive, but they continue to hold malice, continue to suspect the other party, continue to disbelieve the other’s sincerity.  This is sin”

I know that I have made many, many mistakes.  I have hurt others, and at times I knew that I hurt them, I wanted to.  I also know, that I am sorry, and I want them to forgive and forget and much as I want to forget.  There cannot be a double standard.  I cannot seek mercy and forgiveness of others and look forward to the suffering of those who have hurt me.  I cannot feel the need to withdraw the same level of sympathy that I myself request of so many others.

We can only see and hear the actions and words of others.  We do not know the thoughts, intents, or circumstances of anyone else. That being said, even when we know that someone has intentionally hurt us, we need to give him or her the benefit of the doubt and know that they can change – just like we all can.  I know that I am not the same person that I once was.

WE need to become as little children.  How often has a child come to you in tears, hurt by another, only to be happily playing alongside the same person minutes later as if nothing has ever happened?  It’s too bad we learn how to hold grudges.

Matthew 5:43-45: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of the Father which is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

3 Nephi 27:27: “Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”

Things As They Really Are

23 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by in Humility, Pride

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A long time ago when I was young(er) and foolish(er) I had a job interview that I can recall with unsettling clarity.  The reasons for which I can remember this interview are varied – and no doubt one of them is so that I can tell this story (so that you can learn to be more wise than me)1  to illustrate my shortcomings and for you to really wonder how on earth someone could act in such a way – ever.  Another reason for my vivid recollection could be to ensure that I learn something (likely many things) from that debacle and to make sure that it is never repeated.

This interview happened to be for a respectable company in Utah and the position was very appealing – especially to a young, recently returned missionary who had a just recently been married, and who was now expected to be the breadwinner for his family by gaining a solid employment to support said family.  This particular position offered  reimbursment for college tuition, as well as a very competitive wage, benefits package, and was very flexible.  Basically, this was a college student’s dream job.

The department supervisor (not the direct supervisor for this position) was someone that knew our family growing up, and had been my primary teacher in earlier years.  The fact that this former teacher of mine would suggest me for a position under his general supervision speaks volumes to his patience and discernment (he knew that I needed his help more than he needed mine), and maybe just a bit to his desire for self inflicted punishment, given the relentless barrage of pre-teen angst and immaturity that he was exposed to week after week in Sunday school.  To this day I wonder how he managed to survive that class.  It must be known here (back to the interview) that my older brother Colby was currently working in this department and had established some credibility and dependence for the Alexander name.

The time for the interview came, and I arrived and went into the supervisor’s office, and there sat the two individuals that I needed to convince.  I needed to convince them that I was the best one for the job, that I was the worker they needed, and that I would bring whatever they were looking for to the table (this is a typical job interview approach right)?  Keep in mind – again – before I describe the train wreck, that I was young(er) and foolish(er) than I am now, and that this was in all reality my very first real job interview ever.  Apparently I had previously convinced myself that the best approach to this interview was to wow them with my abilities, my confidence, and my charisma because what happened has no other explanation.

The one supervisor knew me, and by knowing me, knew a little about what some of my strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, and potential was/were, but the second interviewer (the direct supervisor) did not know me at all, and his only impression(s) of me would be what he gleaned during the interview itself.  He (the one who did not know me) started asking me some questions, and I answered them boldly, confidently, and assuredly telling them that I was the best candidate for this position that they would ever hope to find, even if they searched the whole earth – literally.   Other questions were asked to which I responded in the most self-confident way that there never has been, could be, or would be a better candidate for this or any other job at this company in any department, ever.   At this point, if you asked the supervisor what he thought or how he felt about me (as the candidate) he would likely say something like “well, he is pretty sure of himself, let’s see what he says when I ask him about his weaknesses” – so that’s what he did.  He asked me what some (plural) of my weaknesses were to which I replied frankly “I don’t have any of those”.  This brought a chuckle (likely a nervous, I don’t believe this is really happening but I’ll still giggle due to sheer panic) from my former primary teacher, and a simple smile from the interviewer, but he pressed me and asked a bit more firmly “what do you think some of your weaknesses could be”?  My reply to this day makes me cringe; I said “well, if I had to list a weakness, it might actually be that I don’t have any weaknesses”.

What happened next is easy to guess.  The interviewer said, thank you, indicated that he would let me know and saw me out.  I was (at that point in time) thinking to myself ‘nailed it’.  It wasn’t even until my primary teacher friend asked me if I was crazy (the actual language that he used in not suitable for this blog) that I even thought twice about it.  He then proceeded to give me a lesson on ‘real life’ where it is sort of important to not act like a 7 year old when you are in a job interview.  Then I got nervous. Nervous enough that I started to wonder if ‘who I knew’ and was enough to overcome ‘what I knew’.

It was.  I was miraculously given the job and was able to keep this great job through that tricky college/early family stage.  This proved (for many other reasons) to be a huge blessing in my life that, including some that are still being realized today.  I think I was even able to successfully parlay my childish, immature behavior into an actual strength for the department, and I think I was even able to convince the direct supervisor that I wasn’t a complete idiot….maybe.  I honestly don’t know what he would say about me if you asked him today – or if he will EVER be able to forget my interview.  I think maybe he went against his instinct and really did hire me out of sheer pity hoping for the best.  Or, he might have said something to my friend (the non-interviewer former primary teacher) like one assistant coach said to the other in Rudy (the movie) “if you want him – he’s your problem” thinking to himself that it might be entertaining to watch me explode with incompetence.

The point of telling this story was to highlight a character trait that was lacking at that time – humility.  And, if I’m being completely honest (and I am trying to be) – I think the lack of this trait (in it’s purest and truest form) really was and still is my biggest weakness – or at least one of them.  Somewhere, Dan Morgan is nodding his head in approval of that last sentence (Dan Morgan is the name of the unnamed interviewer above).

I worked at that company for 5 glorious and frustrating years.  My recollection of those 5 years was much more frustrating until about a year ago, when I started to see those years ‘as they really were’. 2 I am able now, to look back at the lessons learned with great satisfaction and intense joy.  I had only missed them before because I wasn’t looking.

My lack of humility sometimes let’s me think that I am pretty hot stuff.  That I am doing pretty darn good, and things are looking up for me.  This pride progressed to the point where (2-3 months ago)  – I was sure and confident in my status that I was ready to see ‘things as they really are’.  This thought occupied my mind for weeks, and I let it consume me until one day when I woke up very early, headed to the temple before work, all the while expecting to see ‘things as they really are’.

What I had in my mind was the veil becoming completely invisible if not removed altogether, allowing me to (as others have) view the beginning from the end in all it’s glory, the heavens and the earth, all the angels on both sides, the sealed records, the lost records, the locations and history of the lost tribes.  I thought I would meet and shake hands with everyone in heaven including all my heroes from the Book of Mormon, chat with the 3 Nephites, have them explain and expound the scriptures to me, essentially viewing anything and everything that I have ever wanted to and go home feeling pretty much satisfied with having achieved my objective which was seeing things as they really are.  That’s a normal expectation right?

The most amazing thing occurred that day, and has continued to occur over the past several weeks.  I have been shown ‘things as they really are’ just like I asked.  I did indeed see things exactly how they really are, things as they have always been, and things as they always will be.  They had always been there; I just wasn’t looking in the right place.  I was looking ‘beyond the mark’. 3 I sat down in the chapel that day (at the temple), for the 5:30 AM session and pleaded again to be shown ‘things as they really are’.

When I opened my eyes, to my disappointment and amazement I saw the organist playing the piano (I was on the very front row not 5 feet from him).  This man – this amazing man – had physical deformities in his hands, and his legs, but had somehow roused himself out of bed pre 5:00 AM, got himself to the temple, dressed himself in his white clothing, and was playing the organ (with the foot pedals) despite the obvious and audible physical pain it caused him.  I saw this amazing man serving prideful people like me, who come to the temple seeking answers, in the truest sense of the word.  I saw him, and immediately knew (and realized) I was receiving a very real answer to my prayer in the very moment is was being offered, because that humble example of Christ-like service, from an anonymous organist, is a very real example of ‘things as they really are’.  I was humbled.

I wish my pride stopped there – it doesn’t, but thankfully, neither do the lessons that the Lord gives me to help keep my pride from running amuck.  I have seen things with my very eyes, that provide me with an ever-burning testimony in my bones of ‘things as they really are’.  I have been shown (per my request) people on my street, in my neighborhood, and in my ward who are literal shining lights in a world of darkness.  Shining lights that I (in my pride) had overlooked previously. I have sat in jr. primary (as a substitute teacher) and heard angel voices singing the most glorious primary songs – and felt the spirit as strongly as when the apostles teach.  I have seen how the simple and weak things of the world are the mightiest of all – because of their humility, and because of the power of the spirit that they invite.  I have seen these people every single week in church, serving, loving, and happy.  I have seen ‘things as they really are’ over and over again – and I love it.

I used to feel like I was pretty hot stuff – but I realized (today again) that in my pride – I exclude myself from the joy and simplicity of truly powerful humility.  This humility is now the strength that I seek.  It allows us to feel closer to our Savior and his atonement, which will in turn lead us closer to others through service.

1 Mormon 9:31

2 See Jacob 4

3 Jacob 4:14