Category Archives: Testimony

Cappuccino, Coke, and Courage

11 Sunday Dec 2016

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

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buzz-lightyear-mrs-nesbitt

“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.

seven_drink_02

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.

farewell_my_stripling_warrior

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

 

  1. Alma 56:43,44
  2. Alma 56:45
  3. Alma 56:46

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

 

What You Know vs. Who You Know

12 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by in Knowledge, Testimony

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When I was in college (and then after I graduated and was looking for a job/career), several people used to say “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”.  I knew that pretty well, since that’s how I had secured 4 of my 5 previous jobs up to that point in time. But once I was a college graduate, and had the ever-impressive initials B.S. (Bachelor of Science) that I could use as a deal-breaker I thought the world would treat me differently.  It didn’t.

I applied for like 87 jobs and had about 15 interviews (it seemed like that many) – which all resulted in my continued employment at Questar Gas.  This also increased my frustration with the true statement above; “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” – until at long last someone else that I knew (my grandpa), asked me if I would be interested in a job opportunity.  Bingo.  This means that now of the 6 jobs that I have ever had, 5 of them came because of who I knew.

The fact that I knew stuff certainly mattered, and as time passed (in each of these jobs) it was and is a continual and increasing use and reliance upon what I know, combined with a continual and increasing network of who I know that leads to salary increases, bonuses, efficiency, productivity, expansion, new clients, increased responsibilities, etc.  So, the fact of the matter is that both what you know and who you know make all the difference, yet the familiarity of who seems to be extremely significant – especially if that’s the factor that allows us to get in the door.

This thinking may help us to understand two important and related gospel topics, which are really 6 gospel topics in similar sets of 3 progressive steps.  The first 3-part topic is the relationship between knowledge, understanding, and intelligence (based on Elder Bednar’s exhaustive treatment of these principles).  These 3 words are sprinkled throughout the scriptures in various ways, and we can study them in great detail in order to fully grasp their intended meanings, but for our purposes, let’s list the basics.

Knowledge is what we know.  It is the facts, stories, principles, and items that we have learned about.  Knowledge is based in our minds, and is largely made up of things that we have learned through books, schooling, classes, etc.   Knowledge (by itself) is not sufficient, just ask Laman and Lemuel (they were taught and knew tons of stuff), or many of the Lamanites who ‘dissented’ from the Nephites (after they had knowledge of the ways of God).   There are a lot of people on earth who are ‘learned’ or ‘educated’.  See 2 Ne. 9:28 (when they are learned they think they are wise…supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not).

Understanding occurs only when knowledge (as defined above) is confirmed by the influence of the Holy Ghost in our hearts.  It happens when we pray for an answer, or when we feel the spirit testify of truth when someone else is teaching or testifying.  In essence, understanding helps the truth (our knowledge) get copied from our minds and pasted into our hearts so that it resides in both places – essentially becoming twice as strong in us.  Understanding helps us to know the Holy Ghost and Him who sent the Holy Ghost – and thus can be likened to who we know and is a confirmation of what we know since any understanding is a manifestation of the reality of the Lord, his spirit, and everything else that entails.  See Mosiah 12:27 (ye have not applied your hearts to understanding).

Intelligence is the repeated and consistent use of knowledge and understanding.  It is both knowing and understanding, and acting upon that knowledge in a repeat pattern.  It is knowing that tithing is a commandment, feeling the truth of it in our hearts, and then paying it consistently.  It is knowing that home teaching is important, feeling the benefits in your life and/or the lives of those you teach, and then continuing to act as a home teacher in a consistent way (forever).   It is the repeated acting on gospel principles.  Take Nephi vs. Laman and Lemuel – Nephi knew, understood, and was intelligent.  Laman and Lemuel knew, understood (at least once they indicated that they had ‘felt’ the power of the Lord – See 1 Ne. 17:55) but I’m not convinced they ever let that feeling take hold – and certainly weren’t too intelligent about it’s staying in their hearts by repeatedly following it’s promptings.  See 1 Ne. 17:45 (ye were past feeling) and 2 Ne. 9:29 (to be learned is good IF they hearken unto the counsels of God).

Even though these three principles are in a progressive order, sometimes intelligence may actually be required before a full understanding comes.  As Alma explains in chapter 32:27 (of Alma) “even if you have no more than a desire to believe, let this desire work in you” – or in other words – act on your knowledge to gain an understanding.  He promises results “for it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me”. Once we’ve tried this experiment a few times, you’ll understand, and the repeated acting will result in increased intelligence.   This is a trial of faith – or when we are asked to act on something (demonstrate at least one or two instances of intelligence) before we have a full understanding.  Then, once we have felt an understanding, we can demonstrate our ongoing intelligence by repeating those actions over and over and over.  If we think of our faith as intelligently acting in order to perform an experiment it doesn’t seem so abstract does it?  Let us “awake and arouse our faculties”.

Now we come to the second 3-part topic, which is a listing of the elements that make up our testimonies (based on Bruce C. Hafen’s explanations in his book ‘Spiritually Anchored in Unsettled Times’).  These three elements are reason, feelings, and experience.  It shouldn’t take us too long to make the connection between the first three elements (knowledge, understanding, and intelligence) and these later three, (reason, feelings, and experience) and in many cases they reference the exact same idea/principle but I think that too often we think of our testimonies as what we know, but forget how it is that we know it (all of the parts) – or who we know that makes the what so important.

Reason is reason.  It makes sense.  Heavenly father loves his children (is there anything in the world that makes more sense than this)?  He wants us to be happy.  He wants us to be a family forever.  The fall required an atonement.  Mercy can’t rob justice.  Wickedness never was happiness.  A child can grow to be a parent.  Reason is something that we have ‘studied out in our mind’ or given serious thought and pondering.  It is something that we’ve investigated, something that we’ve read about, something that we’ve learned about, or something that people have taught us.  It is a vital component to any testimony and has a striking similarity to knowledge (as described above).  Every testimony is made up of some reason AND similar to knowledge, reason is not enough by itself. We need more.  Examples are D&C 88:47 and Alma 30:44.

Feelings are the ‘inward parts’ that Jeremiah (and Christ) spoke of (see Jer. 31:33, Luke 11:39, Ps. 51:6) and is ultimately represented by our hearts.  Our emotions and how we ‘feel’ about something is hard to deny, and maybe even harder to explain.  It’s just something that we feel.  This is an integral part of our testimony, and builds off of our reason and our knowledge.  We teach our kids, and they feel good about it, and we hope that we put them in many situations where the spirit can confirm that truth.  We also help reinforce and recognize feelings when they come.

Experience is the compilation of both positive and negative feelings over time.  In other words, experience is the sum total of all of our acts of intelligence (or non-acts of intelligence).  How many years of choices (good, bad, better, worse, leaps of faith) and feelings (anger, resentment, forgiveness, peace, anxiety, depression, joy, love) do we have under our belt?  Where did these feelings come from?  As we grow older (and hopefully more intelligent) we certainly become more experienced, and these experiences absolutely play a part in our testimonies.  A testimony made up of 35 years of home teaching experience carries a bit more weight than a testimony of 1 month of home teaching experience – even if the feelings of that one home teaching moment were ‘off the charts’.  Since all of us are going to make mistakes, we all should have good and not so good experiences that have helped shape our testimonies.

Although these three topics are also progressive, the idea that some experience may be required prior to our working through our confirming feelings is consistent with this thought.  Many times we need to take a step in the dark before we are blessed with the light.

With all 6 (both sets) of these gospel topics, the idea is that there are several interrelated things going on with our minds, our hearts, and our overall beings that make up our testimonies and our conversions.  No two of us are the same – and we can begin to understand the process (and help others) when we better understand the pieces that are involved.  After all, that’s the point of going to church, family home evening and scripture study, and girls camp, and the temple and home or visiting teaching, and everything else that we do – to feel the spirit confirm the truth that we’ve taught (or been taught) and participate in the ordinances that we need and then repeat that process over and over and over again until our actions are consistently intelligent, which means that we have become something better.  Something that the Lord intended us to become all along, and the only way to get there is by learning, feeling, and acting as he would.  That is the intended process of mortality.