ROK SOLID

Are We Not All Beggars

2014-10-18T11:06:00.001-07:00

Are We Not All Beggars

My city is Salt Lake City, Utah. Each day as I walk to work I find the same lady at the same place before and after work. She is maybe five feet tall, her hair is reddish, it may have been dyed several times and her face is severely scarred. Her eyes are blue and her voice soft but raspy. She typically has a large straw hat to shade her face from the hot warm summer sun. As people approach her she always say something like, “Do have something, anything will do, a little something to help out.” Most people walk on by as though they did not see her or even worse as though she didn’t even exist. As they pass she says “God Bless”. Her voice is weak and he countenance is forlorn.

In Salt Lake City there are many panhandlers, some very aggressive with their rote story of how they are trapped here and need money for their family so they can take them home. They are very persistent and will press upon you until you give them something or rudely dismiss them. There is something about their eyes that lacks the sincerity of the little lady by Temple Square. Some are borderline oppressive and at the very least invasive. There have been times when I was actually confronted by this type of beggar and felt the force of their aggression to be more than just intrusive. It is hard to tell the difference between those in desperate need and those with much lesser need. Thus some donors simply have slips of paper with information for those in need so than find a place to get assistance.

Some street people play various kinds of instruments, from small portable pianos, harmonicas or guitars and some just sing. Some ride the bus to and from “work” in the streets. The streets are their employment. There are some who have no obvious talent and find themselves in some very dire conditions.

After having the opportunity to visit with Cindy, which is not her real name, many times over the period of a month or more I felt there was sincerity in her manner and in her conversation. One day I asked where she stayed at night, her response was, “Wherever there is somewhere safe.” She didn’t elaborate but the impression I got was it was behind buildings or somewhere outdoors in the city where she was not easy to find.

Then a couple of days later I saw her there was a bruise that covered half of her face and her cheek was quite swollen. When I asked what happen she explained that she attacked, beaten up and all her money stolen. As she explained tears were streaming down her cheek and voice cracking with emotion. It was all the money she had to help pay off a hospital bill when a man beat her up because she “wouldn’t give him what he wanted.”

Another time she had cuts on her forehead from being assaulted by a man with a beer can. Every time after telling me of these experiences she would smile and say, “It could always be worse.” Then as we parted she would always say, “Thank you for talking to me, God bless you!”

Somehow, some way, I was always better for having visited with her. On occasion I would give her a couple dollars when I had the change and tears would come to her eyes as she thanked me.

I learned, as time went by, she had children who were in grade school. She didn’t say how many children but that she would go to visitation days at their school when she could. They didn’t stay with her because it wasn’t safe; there was program for homeless single mothers to house their children from the streets so they would be safe.

While driving home one afternoon from work the very strong impression came to me that I should give her more than just a couple dollars, maybe twenty or thirty dollars. It really wasn’t that much of a sacrifice for me but it might be a great blessing for her. The thought and feeling did not wane but grew stronger each day so I took action.

Going the grocery store after purchasing a couple of item using my debit card I got an extra thirty dollars. For the next three or four day she was not at her usual post and the money remain my wallet. Finally, one as I was walking to work looking down at the ground thinking of Cindy there was a new one dollar bill crumpled on the grass close to the path where I walked. This path was in the middle of a small park where rarely anyone was ever seen. To me was like manna. It was a sweet whispering of the still small voice ratifying what was soon to happen. Taking the dollar I wrapped it around the three folded tens and put them in my pocket.

Cindy was there, we visited briefly and as I handed her the money she said, “thank you very much,” not knowing what she was really getting. It felt good give with no anticipation of reward for doing so. After than Cindy disappeared and was not at her post for a week.

During that time fears arose in my heart, what if I had offended her, or frightened her into thinking maybe I wanted something in return, or maybe she changed her place of “work”. All these things went through my mind and each day there was a new fellow there and in asking where Cindy was he simply said, “I don’t know, she not here . . .do you have some spare change, any thing would help?”

“No pal, sorry I don’t.” And in truth I had no change. Each day the same scenario was played out. Thoughts and concerns continued to swirl through my mind. Then one day I saw she was back and I truly felt excited to see her. She was wearing a little lipstick and she smiled as I approached. We visit for just a moment and then tears welled up in her eyes as she began thank me, her voice broke up in doing so. She explained that she was able to take her children to a nice place stay and she was able to take a bath for the first time in months. She slept on a confortable bed and her children were able to watch television which they had not done in longer than she could remember. Her sincerity touched my heart and I wanted to give more, and do more. Maybe somehow help find her a job or do something to get her and her children off the streets. That would be much in the future but her joy and gratitude reminded me of us all when we receive gifts from our Father in heaven after, sometimes, long importuning. As well, it reminded me of a scripture that has had powerful meaning in my life. It comes from the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 3:16-20

And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.

Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—

But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.

For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?. . .

And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.

This blog is not to exonerate my behavior in any way but share a life lesson I learned from the most unlikely source. We truly are all beggars and ought we not at the very least view others with compassion even when we are not able to provide them substance or material blessings. Not all are like Cindy but those who are might just be the tutor we need to see the Lord’s hand in our own lives.

2014-07-03T09:46:00.002-07:00

Life’s Journeys

It has been said that life is a journey and is not necessarily a comfortable nor an easy one. The fifteenth president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley once made the following analogy:

Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey - delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride. (Gordon B. Hinckley, CES Address, 12 June 1973)

All journeys have a beginning place and an ending place. Some are more significant than others but all serve to teach lessons that can be learned in no other way. Each journey provides its own tests, trials, challenges and a measure of joy and fulfillment. Life is not arbitrary; all things have their purpose, reward and instructive properties.

This journey we are all a part of upon this microscopic piece of cosmic dust known as earth, began in a different place than where we now reside. It began in a pre-mortal sphere where our spirits lived and awaited a time to begin this all-important journey through mortality.

The words of William Wordsworth speak of this and ring with a familiarity of their truth:

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy! (excerpt ODE: Intimations of Immortality)

In mortality we find ourselves engaged in many different kinds of journeys that are a part of this formative but necessary experience here on earth. In my own life there was one such experience. After graduating from high school at the age of seventeen, I found myself in Marine Corps boot camp at MCRD in San Diego, California. That training lasted eight weeks. It was the harshest experience I had ever encountered in my short life but I did learn that I was capable enduring much more pain, stress and opposition than I had ever imagined. There were times when we would run for three miles through loose sand with full pack and rifle and my quadriceps would be in such pain that all I could do was concentrate on one step at a time. Thinking beyond that was inconceivable. After what seemed an eternity the run ended and I had endured, somehow, without giving up or giving in, fear may have been a factor but regardless of the reason I had done something I had never conceived possible.

From there I went to Camp Pendleton, California for further infantry training for three weeks. There were long days and long nights with little sleep. Exhausting forced marches on long dusty roads that went on for more miles than I could count. Again my mind and body were subjected to circumstances and experience that were foreign to anything I had ever known and yet my survival, for me, was a testament of just how much one human body could endure and survive.

After as short leave I was flown Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for six weeks of training in Supply Administration School. What was learned here was nothing like the previous experiences. I learned how I learned. Telling me something taught me nothing but by being involved in practical applications I learned quickly and indelibly. This seemingly insignificant experience would have a life long effect on me, as a student and later as a teacher. When that training was finished I was informed I would be sent to Vietnam.

The leave I had prior to my departure allowed a brief visit home with my parents in Cheyenne, Wyoming. When it came time for me to depart for Vietnam I remember vividly, as I drove south leaving Cheyenne heading to Denver, looking in the review mirror of my father’s car and seeing the city behind me wondering if I would ever see it or my parents again. The experience was at once sobering and haunting.

After finishing Vietnamese language school and a short stay in pre-Vietnam staging battalion, I boarded a plane to Okinawa. Two days later, I was flown to the 15^th Aerial Port outside of Danang, Vietnam. It was May 26, 1967. Looking out the window there was red dirt everywhere. Men were sitting on bunkers wearing heavy soundproof headphones, flack jackets without shirts, and M-16 rifles on their laps. Upon disembarking the airplane, I was overwhelmed by the oppressive heat and humidity, the pervasive smell of rice paddies and pollutants in the air, and the distant rumble of artillery. It was completely surreal.

In Vietnam there was always the presence of war even though I was never in heavy combat. There were occasions, like R&R, which were a pleasant respite from the conflict and turmoil that were so much a part of the war. There were also beautiful sunrises over the South China Sea giving hope for a new day. The occasional quiet calm of a star-filled night. However, there was a pervasive consciousness of death when driving by a barracks full of soldiers destroyed by a rocket attack during the night, in seeing black body bags lined up at the airport awaiting their return home, seeing severely wounded soldiers covered with blood and in feeling the concussion of rockets hitting jets filled with napalm turning the horizon bright orange in the middle of the night. During the long days and sleepless nights of patrols and other necessities throughout the Vietcong TET offensive of 1968.

I felt the loss of good friends whose families would never see them again in this life. Dealing with the challenge of survivor’s remorse, feeling guilt for still being alive and unharmed. Not the least of the experience was seeing a gentle and sweet people subjected to a war not of their choosing.

Such events and feelings symbolically mirror our journey through this life. Sometimes there are those things that happen that seem unfair, there are people who are defenseless, some are fortunate but not without some trial during their stay on earth. As for my experience I was fortunate enough to have survived, I was unwounded physically but there were emotional wounds that would take some time to fully heal.

After serving a tour of duty all came home; some reluctantly some gladly, some wounded physically some wounded emotionally, some gratefully some angrily, some scarred and some unscathed and some left the war there and some brought it home with them. Having finished the tour of duty no one came home the same person they were before the left to go to war. When I returned to my home I was not the same eighteen year-old boy that drove the family car out of Cheyenne nearly eighteen months before. It would take time to understand and deal with that experience. That transition began in June of 1968.

After some very long flights I finally landed in the small airport in Cheyenne, Wyoming at about 10 P.M. on a warm June night. I got a cab and had him drive me to the corner of the block several houses from my boyhood home. I paid the fair and put a duffle bag on each shoulder and walked the half block to my home. It was with mixed feelings I made that walk; it was peaceful to be home but the effects of the war remained embedded in my mind and heart. It was almost unreal that in what was about seventy-six hours I was transported from a war zone to my home.

When I reached my home the porch light was not on; there was no moon. The front door was open and I could see my father sitting in his easy chair intently watching TV. He didn’t see me. I supposed mother was lying on the couch watching TV as well even though I could not see her. It was a picture that is indelibly etched into my memory. Well over a year before I was wondering if I would ever see this place again and here I was, returned to my home, to my father and to my mother!

Slowly I approached the front steps leading to the front door being careful to make no noise to interrupt this moment that was like no other experience I had ever known in my life. I put down my bags quietly and rang the doorbell. My father was slightly startled as he said, “I wonder who that could be?” Because the porch light was not on he could not see who was standing on the front porch.

When he opened the door and saw who it was he fell upon my shoulders with a bear hug that nearly took my breath away. With tears streaming down his face, he said with great emotion while holding me tightly, “Welcome home, sonny boy!” That was his pet name for me. I could not respond but in my heart I felt a peace that can only come after passing through and surviving a great crisis.

Mother came over, she was a woman not given to tears, but her joy and relief were apparent as we embraced in a way that only a loving mother and a grateful son could. Her love was as powerful as any as I had known to that point in my life. It radiated security where there was fear, doubt or uncertainty. That was, to that point in my life, the sweetest experience I had ever known. I was home! I was safe! I was loved and gave love in return!

That is a very small example of how I see our return from this mortal journey to our heavenly home and our Heavenly Parents who are as real as those we have here in this life. The experience of Vietnam taught me things I could have learned in no other way. In retrospect I saw the hand of God in conflict, I learned much about the frailty of mortality, I learned it was possible to survive emotionally as well as physically in very intense situations.

I don’t know what we knew about this life before we came here but we were anxious to come knowing, then, that it would be our path back to our eternal home. We understood the necessity of coming to mortality and learning all that could only be learned here. The joy we will feel when we complete our time here, having done all we were sent here to do, will be beyond any joy we can even begin to understand in this life. The words of a beautiful hymn called “O, My Father” come to mind.

For a wise and glorious purpose Thou hast placed me here on earth 

And withheld the recollection Of my former friends and birth;

Yet ofttimes a secret something Whispered, "You're a stranger here," 

And I felt that I had wandered From a more exalted sphere.

I had learned to call thee Father, Thru thy Spirit from on high, 

But, until the key of knowledge Was restored, I knew not why. 

In the heav'ns are parents single? No, the thought makes reason stare! 

Truth is reason; truth eternal Tells me I've a mother there.

When I leave this frail existence, When I lay this mortal by, 

Father, Mother, may I meet you In your royal courts on high? 

Then, at length, when I've completed All you sent me forth to do, 

With your mutual approbation Let me come and dwell with you.

(Eliza R. Snow, O My Father, bold added)

Because we are eternal beings in a temporal world we have forgotten our place of origin. Wordsworth’s words are applicable as we come to understand this small journey that is part of a much larger one. It is not “in entire forgetfulness” that we ponder either from whence we came or to whence we will return from this time in mortality. And truly our soul is our “life star” and will rise with us after this journey is through and our mortal body is laid to rest. But that separation, like the one from our eternal parents, will be temporary. For as our Lord and Savior had the power to raise himself from the dead in resurrection so by that same power will our body and that “life star” be reunited and then we will begin another journey that will be eternal.

The Foundation Upon Which We Build

2014-04-25T17:24:00.001-07:00

The Foundations Upon Which We Build

The choices we make throughout our life determine the foundations upon which we build our lives. Those foundations will in large part determine the outcomes throughout our mortal stay here on this earth. Constantly we have the freedom to choose between wisdom and foolishness, virtue and vice, moral and immoral, honesty and deception, to worship God or to worship the adversary (Satan), to truly follow Jesus by greater emulation or mock Him by cursing His sacred and holy name by acts of blatant denial and rebellion against His teachings.

There are many choices we make every day but we are not without direction in making those choices. Jesus taught the way to live in Matthew chapters five through seven. A prophet of God in our day made the following statement regarding this quintessential discourse:

In his Sermon on the Mount the Master has given us somewhat of a revelation of his own character, which was perfect, or what might be said to be "an autobiography, every syllable of which he had written down in deeds," and in so doing has given us a blueprint for our own lives. (Harold B. Lee, Decisions for Successful Living, p.56)

Immediately following this discourse the Savior made this statement in reference to how we receive those teachings. Matthew 7:24-27:

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

We are wise indeed when we hearken to and follow these teachings, and very unwise to pay no heed to them. It is a conscious choice we make as we read and study them. By the choices we make we build our lives either “upon a rock” or “upon the sand.”

Another latter-day apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ has given this sage counsel:

Let us remember that there is an adversary who personally seeks to disrupt the work of the Lord. . . We must choose who to follow. Our protection is as simple as deciding individually to follow the Savior, making certain that we faithfully remain on His side. (Boyd K. Packer)

Jesus came to this life not for His sake but for ours, He came to teach not only those who were present with Him but teach all who would come after Him how to live in peace and happiness. His life was one of rejection, a man of sorrows, He suffered not only His own pains, sorrows and trials but all of ours as well. He came to bear the burden of all the sins, weaknesses, infirmities, frailties, sicknesses, inadequacies and incapacities that come upon us during this mortal life. He taught us the principles by which to live that we have joy, peace and happiness in this life in spite of all the challenges we inevitably would have to face. He was not spared the grueling torture of the cruel Roman soldiers, the taunts of the apostate Jewish leaders, the rejection of most of the people He taught even one of His closest associates, an apostle, would betray Him and consent to His crucifixion. But through it all it was never about Him, it was about us, He came for our sakes not His.

Into every life come rain and wind and storms, if a life has not been built upon a solid foundation spiritually it will crumble no matter how high a societal, political, or financial position that life holds. The fall may not be public, it may not come while still living but it will come that is most assured according to the words of the Savior.

It is an incontrovertible truth that little decisions over a period time lead inevitably to major decisions that have significant impact in our lives for good or for ill. Every choice we make contributes to the foundation of life, some are more significant than others but all make their contributions.

An ancient prophet by name of Nephi said this:

Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life. (2 Nephi 10:23 BOM)

The Lord allows us our agency to choose what we desire be it for good or for ill. He will never rob us of our most priceless gift, the agency to make our own choices; He never forces us to do anything. Thus, we are free to choose as we desire but the consequences are ours also. Another Book of Mormon prophet said:

I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.

Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience.

(Alma 29:4-5, BOM)

God is a perfectly just God, He does not condemn anyone who does not know good from evil or does not comprehend His laws and commandments. Because He is Omniscient He knows better than we what we do and what we do not understand, comprehend or know.

The world in which we live finds a dubious comfort in what is determined to be legal through proper legislative edicts that do not conform to God’s eternal unchanging laws. What man may “make” legal does not change the dictates of a loving, benevolent God who desires to protect us from the foolishness of designing men. The Decalogue, ten cryptic statements, includes the profound wisdom of God and gives us direction in our lives in all areas.

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me; the Gods we worship come in many forms but none can replace the God that created us and is our Eternal Father and has the power to save within the confines of His given laws.

2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I The Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My Commandments; cars, material possessions or anything of this world has no power to save us in any condition thus God is a jealous (intolerant of rivalry). He is the God over all such things because they cannot save us and bring us back into His presence.

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain; to take something in vain is to make of it no worth or of no value. It is not just profaning the Lord’s name but to have no reverence or respect for His name.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it; worship God on this day with all your heart, might, mind and soul. Keep the day holy as is fitting and needful but some may be required to labor and they keep it holy in their hearts and be sanctified by such.

5. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee; families are intended to be made up of a loving father and mother who are worthy of that honor.

6. Thou shall not kill; to kill in this sense is an act of the heart, there are many such as soldiers, police force, those defending their family and loved one when killing may take place. When are we held accountable for killing? Killing takes place in the heart long before it becomes an act that is condemned by God. He and He alone will be the judge for He only knows fully our intentions in the action we take.

7. Thou shall not commit adultery; the Savior taught in His ministry that, “King James Version: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-30) Also we read in the Jerusalem Bible: "You have learned how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: If a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart." And in the Book of Mormon: "It is written by them of old time, that thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery already in his heart." (3 Nephi 12:27-30) The world we live in seems to be saturated with the breaking of this vital commandment in the name of lust as if it were a pardonable sin.

8. Thou shalt not steal; Theft has reached all new heights with in our technological world where our own identity is not even safe.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour; Scores are the victims of those who had witness born against them falsely and great are the miseries thereof for all so afflicted. This commandment begs the question; Who is my neighbour? Maybe the answer is; all mankind.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's; the word covet, as defined in the dictionary, means; to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others. Greed and selfishness are the parents of covetousness.

An ancient Book of Mormon prophet offered this very sage counsel:

And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.

But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not. (Mosiah 4:29-30)

When we actively build our life’s foundation upon our Savior, Jesus Christ, we cannot fall and we will always be firm in doing that which is pleasing to Him, beneficial to others and to ourselves as well.

2014-03-29T18:58:00.001-07:00

God Is Love

In his first epistle fourth chapter the apostle known as John the beloved wrote the following:

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. . .

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

There is no fear in love; but perfect clove casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

We love him, because he first loved us.

And in John’s gospel we see an oft quoted scripture, John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

A companion verse that is found in the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of scripture that is a part of the Standard Works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is the words of the Savior Himself, says:

I, the Lord God, shall say unto you, even Jesus Christ your Redeemer;

The light and the life of the world, a light which shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not;

Who so loved the world that he gave his own life, that as many as would believe might become the sons of God. (Doctrine and Covenants 34:1-2)

It has been a fascination to me how these verses all tie themselves together and help us to understand better the character of God. What does the phrase God is love really mean. We live in a world that at times seems bereft of love.

We see nation fighting against nation for power, possession, contempt and hate. We see families broken because of infidelity, betrayal and sometimes just the loss of love. We hear of those who end the life of an unborn living fetus for what seems to be selfish reasons. We see various factions of our society attacking one another in word, in deeds, in unjustified brutality and in mindless contempt. We see the abandonment of the commandments given us of God because “they are no longer necessary or relevant in this world.” We see children abandon their parents and parents abandon their children for inexplicable reasons. We see abuse of those who should be loved and cared for at all costs. It is as though we live in time when many are past feeling, they feel no love or compassion and their very natures portray the antithesis of love which comes in the cloak of selfishness, contempt, pride, lust and many other destructive behavioral garments of this time in which we live.

As we consider the phrase “God is love” it seems the word most critical in that phrase appears to be “is.” The word “is” appropriately has been defined as “to be” or what someone does or says by their very nature, that which requires no reasoning but happens by natural response. As we apply this definition to the Savior it may help us better understand His atonement which was performed on every living soul's behalf and as we strive to apply those character traits to ourselves it may be instructive in helping us make needful changes in our own lives.

The question I have asked many times has come after considering His treatment by the Roman soldiers. After His night in Gethsemane, being shuffled through the city of Jerusalem which comprised walking several miles, these soldiers mocked Him, scourged Him to a point that a lesser man would have perished, pressed the crown of thorns on His head causing even more bleeding as if the scourging wasn’t enough. They then made Him carry His own cross up the hill to Golgotha. He arrived at His place of crucifixion and the soldiers pounded nails in His hands and also into His wrist because the weight of His body would rip the flesh of His hands. After being raised up to cross which would have brought more agonizing pain to His already ravaged body they pounded the large nails into His feet. And after all that His first utterance from the cross was to the Roman soldiers saying; “Father forgive; for they know not what they do.”

How could He do that for those who had just so brutally tortured Him if it was not His very nature to love them and see them not as torturers but as men who knew not who they were putting to death and were no part of the devilish conspiracy to kill the Son of God. How could He have endured the agonies of Gethsemane even for those who would bear responsibility for His torture and crucifixion? His love was given to all regardless of their station or condition in this life, there were no souls left out of His infinite and eternal atonement, even those who would completely reject Him and deny Him would fall under the power of His love. Every living soul who comes to this earth will receive the ultimate blessing of His atonement through His resurrection they too one day will be resurrected unto immortality.

An apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, Russell M. Nelson said this about the atonement of the Savior:

In preparatory times of the Old Testament, the practice of atonement was finite—meaning it had an end. It was a symbolic forecast of the definitive Atonement of Jesus the Christ. His Atonement is infinite—without an end.It was also infinite in that all humankind would be saved from never-ending death. It was infinite in terms of His immense suffering. It was infinite in time, putting an end to the preceding prototype of animal sacrifice. It was infinite in scope—it was to be done once for all.And the mercy of the Atonement extends not only to an infinite number of people, but also to an infinite number of worlds created by Him.It was infinite beyond any human scale of measurement or mortal comprehension.

Jesus was the only one who could offer such an infinite atonement, since He was born of a mortal mother and an immortal Father. Because of that unique birthright, Jesus was an infinite Being. . . . He took upon Himself the weight of the sins of all mankind, bearing its massive load that caused Him to bleed from every pore. (see: NT: And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Luke 22:44

BOM: And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary. Mosiah 3:7-8

Doctrine and Covenants: For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. D&C 19:16-19

It has been, to me, an astounding part of the Savior’s character that He could do all that He did do, not for Himself, but for all creation. How He could be spit upon, slapped in the face, subjected to the most humiliating circumstances and being God with Godly powers allowed those things to happen, He allowed it or in other words He suffered it to be so. A verse of scripture from the Book of Mormon expresses this very well:

And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men. (1 Nephi 19:9)

God brought the flood in Noah’s time, in part, because the world was filled with corruption and violence.

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (Genesis 6:11-13, KJV).

The time in which we live is certainly a time with its fair share of both of those things. We see acts of violence in many forms and in variety of circumstances. We see corruption at all levels of our world society, those who strive to follow the teaching of our Savior receive at times various forms of persecution which may come in form of violence. And there are acts of violence perpetrated upon some who live or believe differently from others.

This seems to be a time, that as citizens of the planet earth, we would do well to hearken unto the words of an ancient prophet who left the following admonition not long before his mortal ministry came to an end.

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.

And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen. (Moroni 10:32-34; BOM)

So we have come full circle, He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

It was the Savior’s very nature to love, it was what He did automatically without even thinking about it, He did it naturally. Never did He think “Why me?” It was a foreign thought to Him because of who He was. For He was perfectly and wholly selfless, whatever He said, whatever he did was motivated by love. The definitions given of charity in the New Testament and the Book of Mormon may well provide a blueprint of those character traits we would need to acquire in order to become more like Him, within the capacity we personally have to do so.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity denvieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. (1 Corinthian 13:1-8)

And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen. (Moroni 7:45-48)

The Times in Which We Live

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Each one of us live in our reality composed of our surrounding, our perception of those surroundings which is informed by the experiences we have had throughout our life. In the world where we live today there is heard the continual cry for tolerance by those whose agendas eschew legal and moral standards of the day. As they speak of tolerance they really are asking everyone to tolerate their aberrant behavior. The difference between tolerance and tolerate is distinctive. The definition of tolerance from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing or conflicting with one's own. Whereas the definition of tolerate from the same source is: 1) to allow (something that is bad, unpleasant, etc.) to exist, happen or be done. 2) To allow to be or be done without prohibition, hinderance, or contradiction.

Russell M. Nelson, and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, has said: An erroneous assumption could be made that if a little of something is good, a lot must be better. Not so! Overdoses of needed medication can be toxic. Boundless mercy could oppose justice. So tolerance, without limit, could lead to spineless permissiveness.

Also in the words of Jesus Christ as found the book of scripture called the Doctrine and Covenants we read: For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.

(Doctrine and Covenants 1:31)

Tolerance is a two-way street; it goes both ways for those who believe in and practice it and are sympathetic to that which may be contradictory to their personal beliefs. However tolerate is a one-way street where one cannot countenance something bad or unpleasant in their eyes or permit themselves any indulgences therein. An example may be a piece of legislation that is morally in opposition to what someone believes. They may have no ill feelings for those who support it but they would never vote for it or support anything like unto it their society.

We live in a time when these two concepts are so confused they have been wrapped into one package called tolerance but are defined tolerate. Four hundred years B. C. there was a prophet of God who lived upon this continent, his name was Moroni he was the son of the prophet Mormon who had abridged a sacred record that covered a thousand years. Moroni was given charge of the record after his father's death. In his custody he added some of his prophetic utterances which I will include below. He saw our time when our beloved Jesus Christ showed the last days to him in a vision. This is, in part, what he recorded about the time when the Book of Mormon would come forth which is in our season of history:

Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands;

And there shall also be heard of wars, rumors of wars, and earthquakes in divers places.

Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity. . . .

Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you.

Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing. (Book of Mormon, Mormon 8:32-36)

Maybe a few headlines from a recent newspaper may illustrate this point:

"Disgusting" case puts focus on scams targeting the elderly

Michigan gay ban struck down

4 die in New Jersey shore fire

Russia formally annexes Crimea, E.U. pulls nation closer to separate deals

And again from the Book of Mormon:

And the words which I have spoken . . . are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law.

And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out. (2 Nephi 25:28-29)

And another prophet from the Book of Mormon said this:

And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.

Each of these speak to the condition of the world in which we live.

And also this comment from an editorial in the local newspaper:

For the past decade, I have seen some of our policy makers appear to lose their moral sense--our caring for each other, and the love-thy-nieghbor thing. Now, we see lawmakers more concerned about material things, instead of how we live and care for each other. They say one thing and do another, especially when it comes to health and welfare of our people. They take great pride in the growth of our economy and how they are able to subsidize building hotels and attract business to our state. They tout our healthy and growing economy, our natural resources and their beauty, but what about

the health and well-being of our people?

Any foundation we build upon other than Jesus Christ will crumble and falter in time. The Savior could have no allowance or tolerance for sin because that is the way we can return to Him. However, the Savior does have tolerance for the sinner, it is through that tolerance that He affords us the repentance process which brings us closer to Him. The world may be a very unsettled place but we need not be unsettled in it when we exercise our Faith in He who created this world and Whose hand is recognizable in all things. Therefore, it is His words found in all holy writ that teach the right way to live as spoken by the prophet king Benjamin in the Book of Mormon when he said:

And another prophet from the Book of Mormon said this:

Thus in a world where lines between morality and immorality are fading into obscurity, there are voices crying for tolerance and are telling us we must tolerate that which is offensive to God. However we have a more clear voice inviting us to come unto Christ and to fear nothing of this world for did He not say to His apostles "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

He has given us a supernal gift, "Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life." (2 Nephi 10:23)

We in wisdom may choose to have tolerance but that does not suggest nor imply we must tolerate that which is offensive to us or to our God. In fact we must stand against that which is offensive and morally reprehensible without condemning the individuals supporting such things but strive to be like the Savior for, "Jesus saw sin as wrong but also was able to see sin as springing from deep and unmet needs on the part of the sinner. This permitted Him to condemn the sin without condemning the individual." (Spencer W. Kimball)

In Times of Challenge

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In times of challenge and testing:

In this mortal sphere we have the opportunity to have some very wonderful moments of joy and happiness, moments of success and acceptance, moments of aloneness and despair and moments of what sometimes seems like long periods of challenge and testing. All trials bring balance but not all are equally appreciated especially by yours truly. It has been my experience that true learning experiences which are critical to emotional, psychological and spiritual growth are, at the time, least enjoyable but most productive.

Sometimes the relief from such experiences may come soon and sometimes it may not come for a very long time. There are a few examples from scripture that stand out in my mind that illustrate the workings of the Lord, there are many examples but these few seem to fit the purpose of this post.

First: In Genesis 18 we find Abraham and Sarah who “were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.” Sarah in her old age had wanted children for a long time and had never been blessed with any. She is now past the age where she could have children. It would be reasonable to assume she would anticipate having no children in this life. However, the messengers of the Lord have just spoken to Abraham and Sarah saying “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Even to making a womb that had been fallow for ninety years fertile! Sarah did conceive and did give birth to a baby boy, Isaac, who would be a man of God like unto his father, Abraham.

Many centuries later just prior to the birth of the Savior another devout and righteous woman was well stricken in years and childless as was Sarah. This woman, know as Elisabeth, was told she too would give birth to a baby boy and as reassurance the angel speaking her said, "For with God nothing shall be impossible." So it was then and so it is in our day, as well.

Sometimes we have to wait upon the Lord when His timing is different from our own, but the blessings that eventually come, in time are then, to us, far greater and much more appreciated than if they had come early on in our trail.

Second: In Judges 7 Gideon was called of the Lord to defeat the great Midianite and Amalekite armies that were like “grasshoppers for the multitude”. However the Lord told Gideon his army of 22,000 was too great because if they were victorious they would think they were saved by there own hand and not by God’s hand. So the Lord reduced the army to 300. Following the Lord’s directions an army of 300 scattered the armies that was so great they looked like a field of grasshoppers. In time Gideon and his army destroyed those enemies who sought to destroy them.

When we face what seems to be insurmountable trials or challenges if we will turn to the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul and with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ fully depending upon Him and doing what He asks of us then in His way and in His time we will be victorious.

The third example comes from the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The first chapter of the first book called the First Book of Nephi we find a statement that helps us understand in part the great blessings that come to all who have faith in Him. The verse, in part, reads as follows:

But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. (1 Nephi 1:20)

Nephi and his family were required to do many difficult things one of them was to leave their home and all of their treasured belonging in 600 B.C. prior to the Babylonian captivity of the residents of Jerusalem which occurred in 587 B.C. They traveled for 8 years in the Arabian wilderness enduring many privations, hunger, thirst and the danger of robbers. Albeit hard for us to imagine in our present day just how much they suffered, in retrospect Nephi gives this testimonial;

And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth. And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our women did bear children in the wilderness.

And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.

And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness. (1 Nephi 17:1-3, underline added)

And so it is in this life we may be called upon to do very hard things, we may be required to travel in our own figurative wilderness for a period of time. But if so, we may be assured no matter how difficult that journey is if we do keep the commandments of God we will be sustained and we will be able to say “so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us. . .” seeing more clearly in hindsight what may not have been fully visible during the journey.

It is my belief and my testimony that God the Father is in fact our Eternal Father, we are His spirit children and He never leaves us alone even when we choose to leave Him. His love for us is incomprehensible, it never wanes, we are His children and He wants us to return to His presence thus He never ceases to grant us blessings without taking away our ability to choose for ourselves if we want to accept those blessings under all conditions. And further it is my Testimony that Jesus Christ is our Savior who was the only born son of God in the flesh in this mortal sphere and that He has borne the burden of our sufferings as it says in the Book of Mormon:

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. (Alma 7:10-12)

May His peace rest upon you and in your heart that your burdens may be made light and that your eyes may see His eternal grace when you are feeling the heavy trials that may come upon you during this mortal journey in which we are all engaged.