Book of Mormon – Treasure Up The Word

Leveling Up to God

Imagine you’re sitting on your couch, controller in hand, playing Super Mario Bros.

*It’s a metaphor. Stay with me.*

You want to win this game. You are determined to make it to the very end. Eight different worlds, containing four levels each, will need to be conquered.

However, you’re a novice game player. You’re not sure what the rules are, or what all of the buttons do. You are unfamiliar with the terrain and you’re not even sure what the objective is. You persist, but each time you figure out the level and move up, you’re faced with another set of problems to puzzle through.

As you work your way through the game, sometimes you can beat a level in only a couple of tries. Other levels seem to be completely unwinnable and you want to throw your controller at the TV and give up. But you know that getting to the end will be worth it, so you keep going.

Luckily this game gives you endless chances to progress. It’s not as if you have to sit down and win it all in one shot because the game will self destruct after one attempt. You’ve got time. An eternity of it, in fact.

What if one of those levels was called Telestial. And what if we were trying to win that level right now?

Have you ever considered the idea of multiple mortal probations? Perhaps this life isn’t the only chance we get to progress toward godhood. First, let me say that there’s a good chance my understanding of this subject is flawed, and it is certainly incomplete, but I hope you’ll at least join me in pondering.

Think about it for a minute. We know that God is a just God. He is no respecter of persons. He doesn’t play favorites.

1 Nephi 10:18 For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.

I have a friend who had a faith crisis several years ago. She looked around at the world where we live. She saw the way she lived—what she was taught, how she was raised—and she compared it to everyone else out there. Those who lived in squalor during the dark ages, those who have never heard the name of Christ or considered the concept of life beyond this one, those who sat at the feet of Abraham, Moses, or King Benjamin, those who saw Christ for themselves, those who live in darkness their entire lives. She thought of the disparity of all these situations and simply could not fathom a just and loving God who would put us all in such disparate circumstances and then expect us all to be able to achieve the same level of glory. Calling it unfair would be putting it mildly.

For a long time though, I didn’t realize that it could be any other way. I just figured that the Lord would figure it out and make it fair in the end, even though logically I couldn’t imagine how that was possible. It felt like we were all expected to turn on that all important game of Super Mario Bros and get every level exactly right with only one try. A few would be able to do it by sheer luck, but the rest of us would be doomed—damned even.

So what if this isn’t our only chance?

The course of the Lord is one eternal round.

What is an eternal round?

Perhaps an eternal round includes:

*A war in heaven. We are given the choice to accept Father’s plan
*The creation of man and woman on a world
*The lives and experiences of all of their children through thousands of years
*The coming of a savior to atone for all of their sins
*Multiple losses and restorations of the Lord’s gospel as truth is corrupted and then reclaimed
*The coming of the savior in judgment
*The Lord’s millennial reign
*The unleashing of Satan and a final battle to test the souls of men. We will choose God or Satan.

At the end of each eternal round/creation cycle/mortal probation, the Lord determines how much we have grown and progressed and decides whether we need another shot at this level, or whether we have learned enough to move on to the next level.

Every cycle has the same objective—to move people closer to godhood. These mortal probations provide experience, a chance to be outside of the Lord’s presence so that we can utilize our agency and show Him what we will choose.

What if we compared this chance to come down to earth (or this eternal round) with an attempt to complete a level of a video game?

It sounds so silly, I know, but what if that’s what it’s like? There are those of us here on the earth who are complete novices. We jump when we’re supposed to duck, we can’t figure out how to get the coins. We died within the first quarter of the level. At the same time, there are others who have been playing this game for a while. They’ve got a good handle on the terrain and they know where the pitfalls are. They’re going to make it farther, maybe even get to the end.

The good news is that all of us get to try again. Those who completed this level get to move on to the terrestrial level and give that a go. Those who didn’t make it here get another attempt, and this time they’ve learned a few things and will be better equipped to make it farther next time.

“The glory of God is intelligence or in other words, light and truth.” We’re here to gather glory, little by little, to gain as much light and truth as we can. It’s okay that some of us fall in the first hole we try to jump and others make it more than halfway to the end, because we’re all learning. All experience will be for our good. Some will learn faster than others, some will master mercy but not grace, others might master meekness but not love unfeigned. Some will have to overcome the pride of abundance and privilege, and others will have to overcome the gut wrenching plight of poverty and abuse. Whatever we do learn, we take with us on the next eternal round. Just keep in mind we’ll have to wait for the next creation cycle, so we really should learn as much as we can while we’ve got this body and this agency, but at least this won’t be the end of our progress. This life is not hopeless. God never has been, nor ever will be, hopeless.

This concept is filled with hope and mercy. The first time I considered it, it was a light bulb moment. It fit into the cracks of my understanding and brought the picture into focus. Yes, God is just. Yes, God it loving. Yes, God is patient.

I had always wondered how Christ was able to be who He is. How could He come down to this fallen world and be sinless? How is that possible if He was just a new unexperienced spirit like the rest of us?

It’s not possible. The reason that Christ was able to be our savior is because he’s been through all the levels. He knows the terrain, he’s developed all of the essential skills to become like God. That why he was able to condescend below all things (below all of the levels of glory that he had attained) and come to this earth as a worthy savior. And if WE expect to become like God (and we do) then we have to take the same path and progress in the same way.

In Abraham 3:22-24 “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell.”

If we believe that we were all brand new little spirits before we came to this earth, then those verses make no sense. Did God arbitrarily create some spirits to be great and some not? Did he decide that some brand new spirits who had never had to utilize their agency while out of the presence of God were somehow fit to rule over others? And what about the one who stood among them “like unto God.” How in the world did that spirit manage that?

The only logical conclusion that I have been able to come up with is that we weren’t new unexperienced spirits. We had done this before—twice, ten times, a thousand—regardless of the number of attempts we’ve made, I have to believe that we have had the opportunity to live mortal lives before. That is why God can point to some and say “these are noble” and point to another and say “this one is like unto God.” Because He’s been with us through many rounds and he’s seen what we’re capable of.

In the Lectures on Faith, Joseph taught that Christ is the prototype of the saved man. “Where is the saved being? We conclude as to the answer of this question, there will be no dispute among those who believe the bible, that it is Christ: all will agree in this that he is the prototype or standard of salvation…and if he were any thing different from what he is he would not be saved; for his salvation depends on his being precisely what he is and nothing else.”

This idea of multiple mortal probations is something I’ve started jokingly referring to as “leveling up” (hence this metaphor). I really hope that in this lifetime I can level up because I don’t want to be stuck in a crappy telestial life again. This life we’re living, this level that we are at, is hard. We are so far from where God is. The good news is that the farther we are from God, the greater the chance for progression. If we seek truth and take hold of it in this life, and then DO what the Lord requires, then perhaps when it comes time for the next round, the Lord will be able to view us as noble, as one of the servants that can be trusted to help bring others to salvation.

That should be our goal: to be a trusted servant of God, to be so good at hearing and HEEDING the voice of the Lord, that he can trust us to do his will in all things.

SaveSave

Children of God or Children of Men?

“For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit. And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;” (Mosiah 27:24-25)

Are we children of God?

“I am a child of God, and he has sent me here…”

I grew up singing those words. For me, the fact that I was daughter of God was a given. It was something innate and irrefutable.

But then, why does the verse above speak of becoming His sons and daughters? Are we children of God or not?

No, we’re not. At least, not yet.

I know that feels completely contradictory to our fundamental beliefs, but I promise it’s worth considering, because becoming a child of God in this life is what it’s all about.

That’s not to say that it’s inappropriate for us to call God our father. He is the creator of our spirits and he loves us as his children, but to become a literal son or daughter of God, there is more required.

If you search the scriptures for the phrase “become a child of God” or “become a son of God,” you’ll probably be just as surprised as I was to discover how often it’s used.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12)

“And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name…” (3 Nephi 9:17)

“…our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God.” (Moses 7:1)

“…that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him.”Moroni 7:48

“Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. ” (Moses 6:68)

“…as many as would believe might become the sons of God.“(D&C 34:3)

“…that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father” (D&C 35:2)

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If not children of God, then what?

The scriptures describe those who are not children of God as children of men or children of the flesh.

“And our spirits must have become like unto him [the devil], and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.” (2 Nephi 9:9)

“Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved.” (2 Nephi 2:9)

Paul, the Apostle of the New Testament distinguishes between the children of the flesh and the children of God, in the book of Romans:

“That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” (Romans 9:8)

It goes right back to the allegory of the olive tree. When we have a covenant with God, then we become part of His family. Just as Paul said in the verse above, the children of the promise (those with a covenant) are counted for the seed (or counted as offspring) of God, while the children of men are not.

All were born to this mortal earth through mortal parents, making us children of mortality. The atonement of Christ gives us the opportunity to choose to be born again, to become children of the promise.

“Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God.” (Mosiah 27:25)

“And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.” (2 Nephi 2:26)

Christ stretched forth His arms of mercy, and if we are willing to accept Him fully, to choose to be obedient to Him and Him alone, then we can be born again as part of His Family, as a child of God.

When we’ve spent our entire lives believing we are already children of God, it’s easy to feel abandoned and confused when we realize that we don’t yet qualify. But just the fact that the Lord has given us this opportunity to become His, is evidence of His incredible love. The Lord wants us to be like Him, and I don’t know about you, but I am far (and I mean FAR) from being like Him. I have so much to learn before I will feel as though I’ve moved even one step toward being where God is. Yet, He wants me to do it. He wants US to do it. He’s given us this opportunity for learning and growth—this opportunity to become HIS. This dark and dreary world is our school and our testing ground, because this mortal experience is the only way for us to learn godly attributes. Here, separated from His presence, we have the chance to exercise faith. Here we have the agency to choose God.

“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.” (John 3:16)

God wants us to be like Him. That is His purpose, His work, and His glory. It is God’s desperate wish that we will each rise to the occasion and come to know Him, so that we can BE HIS.

*In my next post I’ll be talking a little bit about how that is done.

SaveSave

Sweet or Bitter Fruit

Thus saith the Lord, I will liken thee, O house of Israel, like unto a tame olive tree, which a man took and nourished in his vineyard; and it grew, and waxed old, and began to decay. (Jacob 5:3)

It’s taken me a lot of years to feel like I really understand what the allegory of the olive tree is talking about. Maybe I’m slower than most, or maybe there’s just a lot there to be deciphered. So I thought I’d write down some of my understanding.

This post will only scratch the surface of what’s contained in Jacob 5, but hopefully it will be of use to someone.

A Summary

Jacob 5 tells the story of an olive tree, valued and cared for by the Lord of the vineyard and his servants.

This tame olive tree begins to wither, but because the roots are good, the Lord works to preserve the tree in any way he can. He cuts off the bad branches and grafts in new branches taken from a wild olive tree. He nourishes and prunes it, then when the tree produces new, tender branches, he takes some of those branches and plants them in different spots of ground. He takes other young branches and grafts them into the wild olive tree. Then he nourishes it more, hoping to preserve the tree and its fruit.

Time passes, and the Lord of the vineyard returns. The wild branches that were grafted into the tame tree have taken strength from the roots and brought forth good fruit. This gives the Lord joy, as he is able to lay up much fruit unto himself.

He checks on the trees that have grown from the tender branches of the tame olive tree and discovers that three have brought forth good fruit, but the one planted in the best ground only brought forth some good fruit and some bad.

A long time passes, and when they come to check on the tame tree again, it has produced all sorts of bad fruit. The Lord is grieved, knowing the roots were good, but that the bad branches have overrun the tree anyway.

The other trees he planted have also become corrupted and there is no good fruit to be found in his vineyard. He is sorely grieved, not knowing what more he could have done to preserve his trees and produce good fruit. But the trees are of no use to him, so he determines to cut them down and burn them. But his servant convinces him to spare them a little longer.

So they try again. They pluck off only the branches that produce the most bitter fruit, and the rest they nourish, returning the tame branches to the tame tree, hoping the branches and roots together will strengthen each other and produce good fruit.

He calls his servants to labor diligently one more time. The season is ending, this will be the last pruning and they must do everything in their power to nourish the trees. The servants obey, and the Lord labors with them to save the good fruit and clear away the bad.

There efforts pay off. The fruit produced is sweet, able to be laid up unto the Lord, who rejoices with his servants.

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What is the tame olive tree? The house of Israel.

When the Lord talks about the House of Israel, or about “my people,” he’s referring to those people who have received a covenant from him. Jacob was given the name “Israel” when he received a covenant from God, that by extension, was offered to all of his descendants. The blood lines of Israel are, by birthright, a covenant people.

So, imagine that tame olive tree as Jacob and all of his descendants. Jacob is at the roots. He received the covenant and both he and the Lord hope that this covenant will go forth to all the branches of the house of Israel and produce good fruit.

What is the fruit? The souls of mankind.

However, we can clearly see from the allegory that the fruit (or souls) produced by this tree are not guaranteed to be good, or to be partakers in the covenant, but some can be.

The entire purpose of the Lord laboring in the vineyard is to produce good fruit, to produce souls who can receive a covenant from the Lord and be saved. His work and His glory is the bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of men.

Good fruit=saved souls

Bad Fruit=unsaved souls

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What is the nourishment the Lord gives? The Word of the Lord.

And it came to pass that he pruned it, and digged about it, and nourished it according to his word. (Jacob 5:5)

The best way to nourish a people and produce souls worth saving is by the word of the Lord (scriptures). We need to be familiar with and understand His teachings, His expectation, and His covenants.

Having a covenant as a birthright isn’t enough. The allegory teaches us that many of the branches of the tree withered, just like there have been many children of Israel who have not been partakers of the covenant. But the Lord keeps trying. He removes the withered branches and commands his servant to:

“Go and pluck the branches from a wild olive tree…Take thou the branches of the wild olive tree, and graft them in.” (V. 7,9)

What is the wild olive tree? The gentiles.

Everyone not of the blood lines of Israel is a gentile. That’s me, and probably you. We are likely not direct descendants of Israel, so that makes us gentiles. We’re wild, without a covenant.

So when the covenant people no longer respect that covenant, the tree withers. And when the tree withers, the Lord brings wild branches (different groups of gentiles) and grafts them into the tame tree (offers them the covenant) in the hopes that they will take nourishment from the roots of the tame tree (accept the covenant) and thus produce good fruit.

But what about the few young and tender branches produced by the tame tree?

And it came to pass that after many days it began to put forth somewhat a little, young and tender branches; but behold, the main top thereof began to perish. (Jacob 5:6)

The Lord hedges his bets and transplants some of those branches to other parts of the vineyard.

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard went his way, and hid the natural branches of the tame olive tree in the nethermost parts of the vineyard. (V.14)

What are the young and tender branches? Family lines in the house of Israel.

Like Lehi and his family. Though Lehi grew up in the traditions of the Jews, he had gone to the Lord, conversed with Him and obeyed His directions. Lehi honored and accepted the covenant with God. He was a young and tender branch who was separated from the majority of the house of Israel and transplanted to the americas with his family.

The Lord saw the iniquity and unbelief in Jerusalem and he took those few willing to hear and obey his voice, and he planted them elsewhere to give them a chance to keep the covenant. By doing so, Lehi and his family avoided the takeover of Babylon and the corruption of all their religious traditions.

But what about the dying branches?

We will pluck off those main branches which are beginning to wither away, and we will cast them into the fire that they may be burned. (V.7)

Agency. The Lord honors agency. The house of Israel was given a covenant. They had an opportunity, but it was up to each individual to accept or reject it. Will they be sweet fruit or bitter? If a group of people (or branch) is so lost in wickedness and unbelief that they cannot be recovered, then the Lord will remove them and destroy them. That branch will be burned in order to preserve the rest of the tree. This pruning will likely be offensive to the tree, but is necessary for the Lord’s purposes.

The Lord of the vineyard knows that not all the fruit will be good. God knows that not all will accept the covenant, but He gives endless opportunities for us to do so. He wants us to take strength from the roots and accept the covenant, to come to Him. He doesn’t care if the branch originated from the tame tree or the wild tree, he doesn’t care if the fruit grows from the tame tree, from the wild tree, or from one of the tender branches planted afar off.

All he cares about is what we little pieces of fruit make of ourselves.

We can’t rely on the fact that we originated from the tame tree, or that the branch we come from produced good fruit several harvests ago. That’s irrelevant to whether we’ll be sweet or bitter.

However, if branches (a person, or a group of people) spring forth, young and tender though they may be, he’s going to give them the best chance he can think of to bear good fruit. He will provide all the nourishment he can, but in the end, he cannot force a tree to bear good fruit. The Lord cannot force a people to accept the covenant he offers.

So the bad branches are cast off. The Lord of the vineyard plants the young branches elsewhere, he grafts the wild branches into the tame tree, and he nourishes. His labors pay off. Both the tame tree and the branches produce fruit worthy of preserving.

But, behold the tree. I have nourished it this long time, and it hath brought forth much fruit; therefore, gather it, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self. (V. 23)

The Lord and servant rejoice, but not all the fruit is good, and they know their labors must continue. More time passes, and when they next go to harvest, they are met with disappointment.

The Lord of the vineyard said: Behold, this long time have we nourished this tree, and I have laid up unto myself against the season much fruit. But behold, this time it hath brought forth much fruit, and there is none of it which is good. And behold, there are all kinds of bad fruit; and it profiteth me nothing, notwithstanding all our labor; and now it grieveth me that I should lose this tree. (V.31-32)

It grieves Him to think that he’ll have to give up on the tree entirely, because he cares about the fruit, every single piece. He knows the roots are good, the covenant is good. If the fruit would just takes nourishment from the roots instead of from the other branches, the fruit would be good. Yet the tree produces “all kinds of bad fruit,” and later it produces “evil fruit.”

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Let us go to and hew down the trees of the vineyard and cast them into the fire, that they shall not cumber the ground of my vineyard, for I have done all. What could I have done more for my vineyard? (V. 49)

How frustrating to be the Lord of the vineyard, to pour his everything into saving this tree, these pieces of fruit, and to have it fail time and time again. He reaches the point where he is ready to throw in the towel and burn the trees entirely.

But, behold, the servant said unto the Lord of the vineyard: Spare it a little longer. (V. 50)

The servant intercedes on behalf of the tree, and because the Lord of the vineyard values the tree, and the fruit, he agrees. He labors with all diligence. He tries every trick in the book. He nourishes, digs about, dungs, grafts, prunes, transplants. He takes the natural branches that he had removed and he grafts them back into the tame tree.

Yea, I will graft in unto them the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the roots also unto mine own self, that when they shall be sufficiently strong perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I may yet have glory in the fruit of my vineyard. (V. 54)

He calls more servants to labor with him. He directs them to prune and graft and nourish, clearing away the bad fruit and branches to prepare a way that perhaps the trees might bring forth good fruit.

And you know what? It works.

And there began to be the natural fruit again in the vineyard; and the natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly. (V. 73)

The Lord is able to preserve much fruit, and he has joy because of the fruit of his vineyard, and shares that joy with the servants that labored with him. The work is done, and the Lord is able to declare:

I will lay up unto mine own self of the fruit, for a long time, according to that which I have spoken. (V. 76)

What does it mean when the Lord says, “I will lay up unto mine own self of the fruit?”

When the Lord gathers fruit unto Himself, that fruit no longer belongs to the tame tree or the wild tree. That fruit belongs to Him. Those saved souls are now part of His family, and He will protect them. The Lord does this work himself. It’s not a servant who lays up the fruit, it’s the Lord of the vineyard that does the gathering into His family.

That’s the end goal—to be part of the Lord’s family, to be called by His name, to have Him give us a new identity.

We don’t want to stay on the tree. We want to be gathered up unto the Lord, because only then can we be safe from the burning.

And when the time cometh that evil fruit shall again come into my vineyard, then will I cause the good and the bad to be gathered; and the good will I preserve unto myself, and the bad will I cast away into its own place. And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire. (V. 77)

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When the season ends, it’s not just the bad branches that are going to be burned. It will be the entire vineyard—every piece of fruit left on every branch of every tree. Nothing that we have built here on this earth—no earthly family we have claim to, no organization we’re a part of—is going to be preserved.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a lot of work to do to sweeten my soul.

Believe in the Words

Did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them? And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true. And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved. (Alma 5:11-13)

The story of Alma is a profound example of the power we have to change, to come unto Christ, and to be a force for good. Alma had been ordained as a priest to the wicked Kind Noah, and was surrounded and immersed in the wicked culture of Noah’s court. So then, what was it that Alma did to turn his entire life around? How did he pull himself out? He believed the words of a prophet.

Did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi?

Can you imagine the humility that would have required? He had been taught that he and the other priests were the religious authority. What humility would it have taken to accept that some nobody prisoner had come with a genuine message from God? Yet, somehow he did. He recognized Abinadi as a prophet. But how?

Was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God?

Prophets speak the words of God. Prophets come with a message. The prophets in Jerusalem during Lehi’s life came with the message from the Lord about the fall of Jerusalem. Lehi believed them, and because he believed them—and acted on that knowledge, and sought the Lord—he himself became a prophet. It took time. It took effort. It took a pillar of fire and a vision where he wasn’t sure if he was in his body or out. But he received a commission to become the Lord’s servant.

The same thing happened with Alma. He listened, he believed, he had a mighty change of heart. Then, because of that mighty change of heart, he was able to commune with the Lord and receive a commission to go out and preach.

He preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts.

Just as Lehi heard the message, received it, communed with the Lord, and became a prophet himself, so did Alma hear the message, receive it, commune with the Lord, and become a prophet himself. He converted and baptized many. That’s the power of a mighty change of heart. A soft heart can receive truth, and God can and will utilize a soft heart. To hear and speak the words that the Lord has given you to preach is to be a prophet.

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I love the story in Numbers about the two men who prophesied in the camp. Some were offended by it, thinking that only Moses should be able to prophesy. When they ran, concerned, to tell Moses and insist that he forbid those men to prophesy, Moses’ reaction is beautiful.

Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them! (Numbers 11:29)

Moses knew that he didn’t have a monopoly on God’s word. He rejoiced when others were able to hear the Lord’s voice and prophesy themselves. He wished for it to happen more often!

This is so important to remember, because when we read about these prophets—and the people that they brought to Christ, and the visions they saw—it’s easy to think of them as inherently better than us, or on a higher level that we can’t reach. This is unfortunate, because not only do we turn them into idols (which is a no-no), but we also imagine that it’s not our place to become like them. And when we do that, we handicap ourselves. If we think that we are by default unable to ever purify ourselves enough to receive the words of the Lord, then what chance do we have of doing it? We cripple our faith when we put limits on what we believe we can become—when we decide that the prophets we read about became prophets only because they were extra special. That utterly contradicts the principles of agency, and the fact that God is no respecter of persons. We are all commanded to become perfect, and if perfection is attainable, then there is no communion with God that we cannot have.

We are extraordinarily good at limiting ourselves because of our own imagined, impenetrable barriers. The Lord is not the one to set up those barriers. With God all things are possible. By ourselves, perfection is impossible. But with Christ…

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness… 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. (Moroni 10:32)

“The Record Which I Make is True”

“And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.” (1 Nephi 1:3)

This is from 1 Nephi, so I’ve read this verse many many times, but it was just a few nights ago that I started to wonder why is was important for Nephi to point out that the record he made was “true.” Especially since he acknowledges in the same verse that it’s “according to my knowledge.” It’s from his point of view. It’s bias, even. But still, he calls it true.

truth-1123020_1920 I have always viewed the Book of Mormon as a historical record. It was only recently that I heard someone talking about how it might just all be one big metaphor. It’s not a historical account so much as a collection of stories meant to teach lessons about God.

I don’t agree with that supposition. I still believe that it is a historical account, though only a portion of what was written. Mormon combed through all of the records and picked out the events that would be most applicable in their lessons to our day. So while it is not the whole history, it is historical.

Which brings me back to Nephi’s true record. If the Lord knew that the legitimacy of the Book of Mormon as a historical record would be questioned, then it would make sense for Him to have Nephi make that claim at the very beginning.

It’s like Nephi is putting a disclaimer at the beginning: Look. This is a record. It’s true. I wrote it with my own hands. I wrote it to the best of my knowledge. Yes, it might be flawed, but these things happened.

Why is it important that we know that these things happened? Well, what kind of events do we read about in the Book of Mormon? We read about visions, angels and visits from Christ. We read about the Lord’s voice sounding from the heavens after Christ’s crucifixion. We read about missionaries who had the power of God protect them as those they had striven to teach tried to burn them alive. We read about people who heard a prophet speak, believed their words and then sought to know the truth and in doing so, came to know the Lord themselves.

Why do we need to know that these things happened? Because if they truly happened to others, then they can happen to us.

We can see visions.

We can hear the Lord’s voice.

We can receive revelation.

We can be brought to the throne of God.

There is a path that leads to a reunion with our Lord in this life. And we can walk it.

“Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.” (2 Nephi 32:6)

A Man in a White Robe

“And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me. And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him. And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste. And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies. And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field.” (1 Nephi 8:5-9)

For a long time, I thought that this man dressed in a white robe was an angel sent from God to guide Lehi in this vision. I’m not sure where I got that idea, because if I go back and read it, I realize that’s not what it says. This is what is does say:

A man, dressed in a white robe.
Bade me follow him.
As I followed him I beheld myself in a dark and dreary waste.
Traveled for the space of many hours in darkness.

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Hold up. Does it really say that this man led him into darkness where he remained for many hours? That doesn’t sound like an angel. But all this time, I thought that an angel led him to the tree of life. If that’s not the case, then who did lead him there?

“I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me…after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field.”

Ok. So God did that himself. Immediately after Lehi decided to pray and ask the Lord, he was delivered from the darkness. This shouldn’t surprise me, since the Lord is always the one who delivers us with his mercy and grace. I’m not sure why I made the assumption that it was an angel, but I love that it was the Lord himself that delivered Lehi from the darkness, as if He was just waiting to be asked.

It’s also interesting to note that Lehi (who had the vision), and Nephi (who recorded the vision), were both familiar with the glory of God and what it looked like. When they describe heavenly interactions, they don’t talk about just plain whiteness or just plain brightness. They are always described as exceedingly bright/white/fair. Or above the brightness of the sun/stars. That’s a stark difference from his description of “a man…dressed in a white robe.”

“And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day. And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.” (1 Nephi 1:9-10)

“And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.” (1 Nephi 11:13)

“And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.” (1 Nephi 13:15)

light

Theses descriptions of exceeding whiteness tie back to the pillar of fire that I wrote about last time. When mortals come in contact with—or have visions of—beings or symbols of glory, they know they are encountering the glory of God. It’s manifest in the bright whiteness that they see. It’s unmistakable.

“Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me. And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee? For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were transfigured before him. But I can look upon thee in the natural man.” (Moses 1:12-14)

Moses wasn’t fooled by Satan’s attempt to gain his worship. It was obvious that Satan did not have the same glory as the Father has because Moses had no trouble looking on him with his natural eyes. Once someone has encountered the glory of God, anything else looks dim in comparison.

When Lehi encountered the pillar of fire that dwelt on the rock, he saw and heard much. He was taught by the spirit, and the encounter was so intense that it left him exhausted (much like Joseph Smith after being taught by the angel Moroni throughout the night). However, when Lehi encounters this man in the white robe, there is no knowledge taught, and nothing miraculous is shown. He simply wanders in darkness for many hours. So it’s no wonder that Lehi describes him as merely a man in a white robe. In contrast, when the Lord delivers Lehi to the spacious field and he encounters the tree of life, and the fruit:

“…I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.” (1 Nephi 8:11)

If Lehi had never encountered the glory of the Father as he did in 1 Nephi 1:8, or seen the vision of the fruit which was exceedingly white—if he didn’t have anything to compare it to, he probably would have made the same assumption that I made, that the man in the white robe was an angel, a heavenly messenger or guide. It’s another reminder that no matter how much I think I know, there is always more truth and light to be sought.

Fire Dwelt on a Rock

“And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly.” (1 Nephi 1:6)

There came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him.

Why did it dwell on a rock before Lehi? Why mention the rock, instead of just saying “the ground,” or simply, “it dwelt before him?”

I think the answer rests in the action that preceded the fire.

He prayed unto the Lord.

Lehi lived in a time when the Law of Moses was in full affect. We know from 1 Nephi 2:7 (And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God.) that Lehi was in the habit of either building altars or finding other suitable places to make sacrifice and call on the Lord. So we can guess that this rock that the fire dwelt on was an altar. Lehi prayed and offered sacrifice, and the Lord answered his prayer in a miraculous way.

Pillar of fire.

What do we know about pillars of fire? Or pillars of light? In Joseph Smith’s first vision, we know that a pillar of light brought Joseph in contact with Father and Jesus. Pillars of fire in scripture are often conduits that bring mortals in contact with heavenly beings (Moses 1:17, 3 Nephi 17:24). So it stands to reason that a heavenly being was included in the pillar of light that Lehi saw. This makes sense considering what happened.

He saw and heard much.

Much. I love imagining what that little word encompasses. If he was in conversation with an angel from the Lord, what sorts of things do you suppose are included in that tiny description of “much?” Whatever it was, it exhausted him to the point that when he went home, he fell on his bed and from there ended up being carried away in a vision and having his throne room theophany.

“And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.” (1 Nephi 1:7-8)

Apparently once he pierced the veil, a veritable flood of godly information came to him, first through the messenger and then through the vision. When the Lord finds someone who is willing to do the work required to pierce the veil, He doesn’t skimp on answering their questions.

So what was it that made this prayer so powerful? I’d wager there were a lot of reasons, but I think one of the main reasons that this prayer elicited a flood of spiritual knowledge to fall on Lehi is because it was an intercessory prayer.

In Behalf of His People

“Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.” (1 Nephi 1:5)

Lehi had heard the warnings from the other prophets of the time about the coming destruction of the jews (Verse 4). And because he cared about the people of Jerusalem, he was filled with such compassion that he poured out his soul in mighty prayer on behalf of his people. That is a Christlike response. He saw the danger his people were in and so he pleaded with the Lord on their behalf. He made intercession. There is great power in praying for others, and it’s something we should all do more of.

There is a myriad of lessons to be learned from these records. I love that these early verses introduce us to one of the great themes that repeats throughout the Book of Mormon. Eight verses into 1 Nephi and we already have an account of Lehi piercing the veil and entering the Lord’s presence. There is tremendous hope in that.

Faith of a Mustard Seed

And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. (Luke 17: 6)

“…Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matthew 17:20)

I’ve always been a little confused by the idea that having faith like a grain of a mustard seed can pluck up trees or move mountains. I’ve never felt like I had the ability to ask something so profound of God’s creation and for them to obey me. And yet, I’ve always thought that I had faith, certainly enough to compare to the size of a mustard seed, right? I mean, mustard seeds are tiny. When they are described as grains of mustard seeds, that’s very accurate. They are barely bigger than a grain of salt or a grain of sand. That’s tiny. Surely I have at least that amount of faith. So then, where is my ability to tell a mountain to move and have it be done?

Then I realized something. These verses don’t talk about having faith the size of a mustard seed. They talk of having faith as a mustard seed. Wait, seeds have faith? That took some pondering. So, let’s think it through.

What does a seed want to do? It wants to sprout.

What are the conditions in which it needs to sprout? It is buried in the wet earth, in the dark.

How long can a sprout survive without sunlight? Not long.

So, if you are a seed—not just a seed, but a tiny mustard seed—and you are planted in the ground, with only a finite amount of energy inside of you, would it be intimidating to sprout? How much faith would it take to break out of your shell (essentially destroying yourself), knowing that you would be surrounded by darkness. How much faith would be required for you to reach upwards in the hopes that the tiny amount of energy contained inside of you would allow you to break through the surface and find sunlight? Because if you run out of energy and stop growing before you reach the surface, you will perish. It is imperative that you reach the light.

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Makes a little more sense, doesn’t it? Having faith the size of a mustard seed isn’t going to endow us with the power to move mountains. What we need is faith like a mustard seed—the faith that if we do everything within our power to reach upwards toward the light, that we will be received into that light and empowered by it.

“And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” ( Alma 32:21 )

When a seed sprouts, it must have a hope that the sunlight required to nourish it is there, even though it cannot see it, because the truth is that it is there. We have been planted here on this earth, separated from the light of God. We have been given the tools that we need to sprout and reach upwards to reconnect with God, but it will take everything within us.

“Let us here observe that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” (Lectures on Faith. Lecture Fifth, paragraph 6)

We can’t stay safe and warm inside our shell if we hope to return to our Lord. We must have the faith to seek God’s face. Even if we have to give up everything—our time, our talents, our job, our social standing, our good name—and give our will over to the Lord.

If we are willing to do that, then the Lord will embrace us in light and glory. And that is worth everything.

Arms of Mercy

Let’s talk about mercy. Beautiful, beautiful mercy.

“Having gone according to their own carnal wills and desires; having never called upon the Lord while the arms of mercy were extended towards them; for the arms of mercy were extended towards them, and they would not; they being warned of their iniquities and yet they would not depart from them; and they were commanded to repent and yet they would not repent.” (Mosiah 16:12)

The Lord stretched out his arm of mercy, but they would not call on him. They were warned of their iniquities, but they would not depart from them. They were commanded to repent and would not.

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Mercy can’t be sprinkled over us like fairy dust. It’s something that we have to take hold of. It’s always there. The Lord is always stretching out his hand of mercy, hoping we will take hold of it, but if we refuse, then justice is there to take over.

So then, how do we take hold of mercy? We repent.

“Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state… And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.” (Alma 42:13-14)

For the record. None of us want justice for ourselves. What we deserve in this fallen realm is not something anyone would aspire to, because what we deserve is to be cut off from the Lord’s presence. The Lord knows that and he wants to prevent it. He does not delight in doling out punishments. He’s not sitting around, waiting for us to mess up so that he can slap us with a fine, send us on a guilt trip, or thrust us down to hell. He doesn’t want us to suffer, which is why he warns, then he warns again, and again. He stretches out his merciful hand, hoping that we will take hold. He cannot snatch us away from justice—that would deprive us of our agency. So then, we must be the one to choose Him. Repentance is required for mercy to take effect.

What is repentance? It’s a change of mind. It’s turning our hearts to God. When we realize that our actions are contrary to God’s will and we make the decision to change—that is repentance, and it can happen in an instant.

When King Benjamin preached to the people, the result was immediate. The people ended up with such a consciousness of their own guilt that they fell to the ground and begged forgiveness.

“He cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them…And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins…after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience.” (Mosaic 4:1-3)

How long did it take the Lord to forgive them? It was immediate. They finished speaking, the spirit came upon them and they received a remission of their sins.

How long does it take for the Lord to forgive us? It’s instantaneous. He’s forgiven us before we even ask. He is ready, waiting and eager to forgive us. In John 8, when the woman taken in adultery was brought before the Savior, what did He do?

Keep in mind—this wasn’t a false accusation. She was guilty, having been caught “in the very act.” Justice demanded punishment, and the people brought her to Christ to see what he would do. In order to convict her, there needed to be two accusers. So Christ invited any there that were without sin to cast that first stone—to condemn her.

They all went away, and no accusers were left.

It’s interesting to note that this woman didn’t come asking for Christ’s mercy or forgiveness. But he forgives her, even without her asking.

Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?

No man, Lord.

Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

He’s showing her the way. He’s stretching out his merciful hand and saying, “Look! My forgiveness is here for the taking. All you have to do is make the decision to sin no more.”

There were no lashes with a whip, no stones thrown. There wasn’t even a rebuke or wagging finger. He found a way to get around the law of the land by pricking the hearts of those who wanted to accuse her. He went out of his way to be merciful in order to prevent justice from claiming the woman’s life.

We don’t have a record to show us if this woman accepted the opportunity to repent. We don’t know how her life proceeded from that point. But we know that it was her choice. He laid his mercy at her feet and she had to decide whether or not to pick it up.

That’s us. That’s our situation every day. Christ has laid his love, grace, and mercy at our feet and invited us to pick it up. Repent, turn to Him, and take hold of His mighty forgiveness, His mercy, His power to save. The savior can offer that gift because he atoned for our sins.

“And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.” (Alma 42:15)