Ministry of Mormonism

Evolution

2011-02-17T16:23:00.000-08:00

I know this is a very sensitive and controversial topic, but feel it is also one about which many people has questions about, and many youth have asked me how they can conciliate what they are taught at school with what they generally hear from Church members. The topic is Evolution and all that it entails.

I feel that at this point I need to have a "disclaimer", so
here it goes. I know there is a God in Heaven who is the Father of our spirits, who sent His Son to redeem us from death and sin. I know that He, through His Son, is the Creator of life and of Men. I am in no way saying that there was evolution, but I am also not saying there wasn't. The purpose of this post is to start a discussion of open minds, in which the Gospel is the ultimate standard and truth.

First, what is this Evolution Theory (and I stress the word Theory) about? Do the evolutionists claim that Men descends from monkeys? I guess this is the first false notion about evolution and I would like to remove this obstacle straight away. Evolutionists believe that Men and Apes have a common ancestor, way back in the Earth's history. They believe that Men's line evolved in a different way from the apes' line, to the point they are absolutely distinct and have been so for the period of known history and pre-history.

Creationists, on the other hand, believe that both Men and all other species have been created the way they are now and that this occurred at a much more recent past.

The different life and Earth sciences have found evidence that point to the first group, Evolutionists, as the most likely to be right.

The Church has not made an official declaration denying the possibility of Evolution, unlike most people believe, and there have been General Authorities with very strong opinions both in favour and against this theory. I guess those against it have been more vocal, but there is a host of authorities who have advocated the possibility of God having used Evolution as a tool to create life on Earth. Among these there are those who believe Evolution was used to create animal and vegetal life, with the Creation of Men being a separate act, others who believe the same process was used to create Men.

The main obstacles to accepting Evolution as a possibility in the creation of life and Men are probably the following:

1. The Scriptures tell us about the creation of life as we know it, including Adam.
2. Adam is an individual not just a symbol of mankind, since he visited Joseph Smith and we have an account of his life.
3. The Atonement was made necessary by the Fall of Adam. If there was life and death before Adam, there would have been no Fall and therefore no need for an Atonement.

My proposal is that you share your thoughts as a comment to this post putting forward ideas, scriptures, quotes or evidence supporting either Evolution or denying it. I have my own ideas on that matter but would love to hear yours before I share mine.

Looking forward to your comments!

Paul and the Hidden Mystery

2010-11-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

One of the conflicting ideas of Mormonism with mainstream Christian theology is the concept or understanding of the "Mysteries of the Kingdom". While mainstream Christian theology sees a mystery as something not revealed and indeed beyond men's reach, Mormonism sees it as something to be achieved, acquired and understood. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that mysteries can only be perceived or learned by direct revelation, and they are one of men's promised blessings in this life.

A scripture in the New Testament is a good example of why a mystery is
not unreachable but was actually something the early Saints enjoyed and through which they were blessed. Let's turn to I Corinthians, chapter 2 and start with verse 6.

"Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:"

Paul is talking about a specific wisdom, or knowledge, that men in general lacked, but was only known to a few, to whom he calls "perfect". This will make one wonder if there were some that had achieved perfection, but a look at the Greek word translated as "perfect" will shed some light on this. The Greek word here translated as "perfect" is teleios, and its original meaning, when in a religious context, was "initiated" or someone who had been entrusted with a sacred knowledge through some sort of ritual. The next verse, number 7, actually adds light to this concept.

"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:"

The two key words in this verse are "mystery" and "hidden". We already learned from verse 6 that this wisdom or knowledge was in the possession of a few, the "initiated", and this verse actually explains this knowledge was ordained by God before the creation of the world for the glory of men. So, what does Paul mean by "speak[ing] wisdom in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom"?

The Greek word for "mystery" is mysterion, the direct root for the English counterpart and in fact for the same word in so many modern languages, and the meaning of mysterion is "sacred ritual". I guess the early translators of the letters of Paul had no idea what ritual he was talking about, and decided not to translate the original word, in fact adding a new word to the Latin and later the modern languages.

The word "hidden" comes from the Greek apokryptos, root word for encryption and cryptography, and its meaning is "to keep secret", which you probably have guessed by now.

A new reading of these two verses would then be:

"Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are initiated: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
But we speak the wisdom of God in a sacred ritual (or ordinance), even a wisdom to be kept secret from the world, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:"

Paul then continues to explain that these things had been revealed to the Apostles by revelation, "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit" (verse 10), and that even though they speak of it and transmit this sacred knowledge, it is the Holy Ghost that truly teaches this special knowledge or understanding of God, "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth" (verse 13).

A great insight from Paul is that the natural man will judge these things as foolishness, but the spiritual man will discern them by the Spirit (verse 14). So true.

Handbooks online

2010-11-19T10:40:00.001-08:00

As previously announced, both Handbook 1 and 2 are now available online on new.lds.org where you can also search through them. Handbook 2 is available to everyone and Handbook 1 is available to qualifying leaders.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

WWLT Broadcast - New Handbooks

2010-11-13T16:01:00.000-08:00

Attended the Worldwide Leadership Training Broadcast today about the new Church Handbooks. What a great blessing to be taught by member of the Twelve. Great experience and looking forward to more training in February!

Isn't it amazing how Elder Bednar's comments are always so relevant and thought provoking? And Elder Holland was a breath of fresh air during the whole panel discussion.

Is Science a Bad Thing?

2010-11-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

Years ago, I was going through a bad period of my life, work-wise. The company I had worked for was shutdown after the 9/11 and it was much harder than I expected to find a job. As I was talking to a friend about the whole situation, I realized my friend was somehow connecting my tribulation to my love of science. He then asked me, "Don't you think this may be because you read so many scientific books?"!!!! I was flabbergasted! What in the world?!

For some obscure reason, many people think that to be religious and faithful to the gospel, one must shun science and cease believing in any scientific explanations of the world around us. I firmly believe it is the opposite.
The more faith and understanding of the gospel, the more the scientific knowledge will strengthen one's testimony. Faith does not rely on evidence, but evidence can strengthen one's faith. For some reason, some of the greatest minds in History were firm believers in God, like Isaac Newton, Einstein and others. In the Doctrine and Covenants, we are advised to "seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith." (D&C 88:118)

As long as we keep in mind that scientific theories are just that and may, and probably will, change in the future, we should be able to have an open enough mind to review and discuss the validity of each theory on its own merits, seeking to understand and not to destroy. While some of these theories have proven complete disasters, some may offer an explanation that complements the scriptural record. Even now, we are applying scientific methods to further the work of salvation, and DNA testing is being widely used for family history purposes. Archaeology has slowly but steadily found evidence of facts that were known only through the biblical account, and medicine reveals the miracle that the human body is.

James E. Talmage, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, himself a scientist and author of "Jesus, The Christ", said:

"The ultimate boundaries of the science, if boundaries there be, are beyond the capacity of man to survey. Theology deals with Deity, the fountain of knowledge, the source of wisdom; with the proofs of the existence of a Supreme Being, and of other supernatural personalities; with the conditions under which, and the means by which, divine revelation is imparted; with the eternal principles governing the creation of worlds; with the laws of nature in all their varied manifestations. Primarily, theology is the science that deals with God and religion; it presents the facts of observed and revealed truth in orderly array, and indicates the means of their application in the duties of life. Theology then has to do with other facts than those that are specifically called spiritual; its domain is that of truth.
The industrial pursuits that benefit mankind, the arts that please and refine, the sciences that enlarge and exalt the mind-these are but fragments of the great though yet uncompleted volume of truth that has come to earth from a source of eternal and infinite supply. A complete survey of theology, therefore, would embrace all known truths." (James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith, Introductory)

Jacob's Ladder

2010-11-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

The scriptures in general, and the Old Testament in particular, are full of symbols and types which give a richer texture and content to the stories told. When reading a particular narrative from the scriptures, one should often ask what else can be learned or discerned from the symbols used. Details which would otherwise be meaningless often make the difference between a situational narrative and a delicate yet solid connection between concepts and ideas.

One simple example of this is the story of Jacob and the ladder, found in Genesis 28:11-22. Almost every single time I hear a teacher or instructor present this theme in Sunday School or other setting, the focus goes to the ladder and its meaning, but I find much greater insight in every other detail about this story, which lead our mind and heart to Christ as the center of the narrative. Let me explain what I mean.

This particular story begins with Jacob stopping to spend the night in one of his journeys, at what seems to be a deserted place, on a hill (Gen. 28:11). It ends up this place will reveal itself to be so much more. He also stops there, because "the sun was set" and Jacob needed a place to spend the night. As he prepared to sleep, he arranged the site to make it comfortable enough, gathering up some stones to use as pillows (verse 11). He then laid down and began to sleep, during which time he had a dream. This dream was not a normal dream, but was in fact a revelation through which the Lord taught Jacob and promised him certain blessings (verses 12-15). As I said before, the dream is not my focus on this analysis.

Following this dream Jacob awoke and used the stones he had previously used for his pillows and made an altar, pouring oil upon them (verse 18) and recognizing that this was a sacred place, even "the house of God" (verse 17). He then called this place Bethel, or Beth-el (verse 19).

So what is there to learn from the details of this story? Think about it. Jacob received a revelation while he had his head laying on a rock. As dreams take place inside our mind, identified with the head, the symbol is that if our head or mind is upon the Rock, that becomes the source of revelation and blessings. The Rock is Christ, as we learn from Paul, who wrote to the Corinthians saying that Israel "drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." (I Cor. 10:4).

To further strengthen this point, when Jacob rose in the morning, he built an altar with the rocks "and poured oil upon the top of it." (Gen. 28:18). The Hebrew word for "poured oil" is meshiach, or messiah, which means anointed, with Christos being the Greek form and the root for the English word Christ. Therefore, the rock which was the source of revelation was Anointed, becoming the Messiah or Christ.

To confirm this, the place where the Rock was raised to become an altar was called Beth-el, Hebrew word composed of two distinct words, with Beth meaning house and el meaning God. This place was literally called The House of God.

Interesting as well that it was dark, and the Sun was set, and Jacob was tired, when he leaned on the Rock for rest and revelation, and after having received guidance and comfort it was morning, the Sun was already up and light shone again upon Jacob, when he recognized the Messiah and worshiped Him at the altar of the Lord's House.

Idioms in the Scriptures

2010-11-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

For those who speak a foreign language idioms are probably the most exciting thing to learn. Knowing the different idioms of a specific language is probably the ultimate test of true proficiency and fluency. Yesterday, around our diner table, we were discussing idioms and how funny it is when you try to interpret one literally, and one of our guests asked, “So… what is an idiom, exactly?”

Here’s a definition, straight from Wikipedia:

“An idiom (Latin: idioma, “special property”, f. Greek: ἰδίωμα — idiōma, “special feature, special phrasing”, f. Greek: ἴδιος — idios, “one’s own”) is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made. There are estimated to be at least 25,000 idiomatic expressions in American English.”

Let me give you a few examples. When someone dies, there is an expression you may have heard, “He kicked the bucket.” If you are not a native speaker of the English language, this may have you wonder why this person was kicking a bucket, and more so why was is everyone so upset about it! This is an idiom (and the person wondering is not necessarily an idiot!). In Portugal, where I am originally from, the following expression, “Ele enforcou-se!” is usually heard during or after a wedding. When translated directly to English it means “He hanged himself!”, but if you know the idiom you know it really refers to someone who got married.

As we read the scriptures we often come across idioms that were part of the Hebrew language and culture, and a proper understanding of these idioms will greatly enhance our comprehension of the sacred story and will often give a whole new meaning to many stories we may have wondered about. Again, let me give you a few examples and explain some of the consequences of reading the idiom and interpreting it correctly.

Forty

Have you ever noticed how often the number forty is mentioned in the scriptures? During the flood, it rained during forty days and forty nights. The waters of the flood were up for forty days. Moses started his ministry to the Hebrews when he was forty years of age. He fled the Egyptians and went to Midian, and after forty years he was visited by an angel. Israel wondered in the desert for forty years. Moses went up to the mountain of the Lord and stayed there for forty days and forty nights. Joshua was forty years old when Moses called him to go to Canaan. Jesus Christ fasted for forty days. A group of Nephites searched for the land of Lehi-Nephi, and wondered in the desert for forty days. And so on, and so forth.

Is it just a coincidence or is there a sacred meaning to this number? I believe neither is the answer.

You see, the number forty is part of a Hebrew idiom that means many, and so when we read that it rained for forty days and forty nights the author was really saying that it rained for a long time, or for many days, which could perfectly be less than forty or even more than forty days. In the same way, when the Gospel tells us the story of Jesus fasting for forty days, it really means that he fasted for may days, not necessarily that exact number of days. Interesting enough, even the Book of Mormon follows this pattern, with the Nephites being of Hebrew origin, of course.

Milk and Honey

Another common theme in the Old Testament is the land “flowing with milk and honey.” This too is an idiom, in which “flowing with milk and honey” means fertile. Canaan was presented to the Hebrews as a land “flowing with milk and honey” because this was a fertile land.

Here are a few other examples:

Hide your face – refuse to answer
Number days – use time wisely
Good eye – generous
Lamp will go out – die
City great to God – very large city
Lift up my soul – pray
Sons of the groom – guests of the bridegroom
Kick against the pricks – getting hurt by actively resisting
Hear heavily with the ears – to be slow to understand
From faith to faith – from start to finish
To heap coals of fire on one’s head – to be very kind to someone

Try reading the scriptures with these meanings in mind, and you may find new meanings and insights.