Repentance – Treasure Up The Word

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.

Quicken

For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God. (D&C 67:11)

What does it mean to be quickened?

I’ve always known that it had something to do with our bodies being changed into a better, or higher, state. But I’d never really considered the logistics of that until recently. So what if we can put it into scientific sorts of terms?

In D&C 131:7-8 There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter.

If all spirit is matter, then it should follow the known rules of matter. So, just for fun, let’s compare spirit to water.

What happens when you change the temperature of water? If you cool it down, the molecules move slower. If you heat it up, the molecules move faster, or quicker.

Say you live in the telestial world, like earth, and your spirit is at the telestial level of progression as well. A telestial spirit would be rather slow moving, perhaps like ice. The Terrestrial world and spirits would be like water, and the Celestial world and its spirits world be like vapor.

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Your spirit will always be made up of the same spiritual matter, but as we draw closer to God who lives in everlasting burnings, we have to be brought up to snuff so that we can survive the temperature (glory) where he dwells.

The Lord spoke to moses out of a burning bush. A pillar of fire was used for Him to speak with Joseph Smith. Alma the younger, when he fell asleep for three days, gave this account:

Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God. (Mosaic 27:28)

Was he truly removed from the burning? Or was the matter of his spirit quickened by his repentance and the Lord’s mercy so that he could bear the heat? I can’t say for sure, but I think the question is certainly worth asking.

Therefore, O Lord, deliver thy people from the calamity of the wicked; enable thy servants to seal up the law, and bind up the testimony, that they may be prepared against the day of burning. (D&C 109:46)

The Lord isn’t going to burn the world because he’s vengeful and mean. It’s not a punishment, it’s a natural consequence. When the Lord returns, so too will his glory. His glory is very fast-moving. Of all the quickened beings, he’s the quickenedest. 🙂 Or to use scientific terms, his temperature is the highest.

JSH 1:37 For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

The righteous will survive the day of burning and the wicked won’t. But that’s not because the Lord has laser precision aim and only strikes the wicked, it’s because the righteous will have spirits that have been quickened to the point where they are the same state of matter as those that the Lord sends to do the burning.

Now, I think that when JSH refers to “they that come shall burn them,” the “they” is likely the seraphim, which (as I understand it) is the highest level of angel. They’re also known as the fiery ones. There’s a description of the seraphim at the beginning of Isaiah 6 when Isaiah sees the Lord sitting on His thrown, with the seraphim behind him. It’s interesting what happens next.

Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. (Isaiah 6:5-8)

When he encounters this vision of God, he’s undone, horrified by his own uncleanness before the Lord and His glory. Then one of the Seraphim takes a live coal in his hand (he can hold a red-hot coal without hurting himself because he’s obtained that level of glory) and touches Isaiah’s lips with it as a sort of purifying ordinance. This is so affective that when the Lord asks “whom shall I sent?” Isaiah, who had previously been cowering before the Lord because of all his iniquity, speaks up and says, “send me.” That’s quite the turn-around, but that’s what the Lord can do if we repent and allow our spiritual matter to be purified. Often, we see examples in the scriptures of those who are quickened for a short time in order to bear the presence of the Lord. Whether or not that purification lasts, I don’t know. I would imagine it is dependent on the person and situation.

What about us? What can we do to repent of our iniquity like Isaiah, repent nigh unto death like Alma, or overcome the darkness like the one that seized Joseph when he first attempted to pray? Everyone’s answer will be different because we all have our own iniquities and unbelief to shed. We have to approach the Lord asking, “What lack I yet?” and we must be willing to act when He answers. Then perhaps our spiritual matter will be quickened just a bit.

My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word. (Psalm 119:25)

Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole

“I will tell you of the wrestle I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.” (Enos 1:2)

I was reading in Enos (short, but packed full of the pathway leading back to God), and one phrase jumped out at me. The Lord has just forgiven Enos of his sins. His guilt is lifted and he asks the Lord how it was done. In response, the Lord tells him:

“Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Enos 1:8)

Thy faith hath made thee whole. These are the exact words that Jesus uses during three separate encounters in his mortal ministry.

Mark 5, Luke 8, and Matthew 9 all tell the story of the woman who was plagued with the issue of blood. She is healed when she touches the hem of Christ’s garment, and each account agrees that the Lord 1) addressed her as “daughter” and 2) said the words “thy faith hath made thee whole.”

“And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace and be whole of thy plague.” (Mark 5:34)

The second instance of this phrase being used is in Mark 10. A blind beggar hears that Christ is near and calls out to Him. People try to shush him, but he persists. Christ asks what he would have Him do, and when the man asks that his sight be restored, Christ answers:

“Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.” (Mark 10:52)

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The third is in Luke 17. Ten lepers ask to be cleansed. The Lord tells them to go show themselves to the priests. On their way, they are all healed, but only one returns to thank Christ. Christ responds:

“Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Luke 17:19)

What does it mean to be made whole? On the surface, when looking at the examples from the bible, it seems to refer to being physically whole. So then why use the same words in Enos?

While the healing of the leper, the blind man, and the woman were wonderful example of mercy and the miracles that Christ can perform, I don’t think that’s the most important part. The nine lepers who were healed but did not return were made just as physically fit as the one who did return. So then, what is the significance of the Lord’s words to that one leper?

What is the significance of the woman being called ‘daughter?’

What is the significance of the blind man using his sight to follow Jesus in the way?

The faith of these people didn’t just allow their infirmities to be healed. Their faith resulted in purification, because they saw beyond what Christ could do for them physically, and saw the value of following in his path.

They didn’t wait for Christ to come and offer them a miracle. They cried out to Him, touched His garment, thanked Him. Just as Enos cried out to the Lord in mighty prayer and received forgiveness, these others took action. They acted in faith.

It’s one thing to say we have faith, but acting on our faith brings power.

I believe the Lord recognized the sincerity of their faith. He knew their hearts, and in telling them that their faith had made them whole, he was forgiving their sins, offering purification, and pointing them in the direction they needed to go.

Our Lord is always there, eager to forgive us, to teach us, to bless us. But it will be a struggle. Enos tells us of the ‘wrestle’ he has before receiving a remission of his sins. In verse 11, he “prayed unto Him with many long strugglings.” The woman, the blind man, and the leper all struggled with serious physical ailments. What is your struggle? And how will you use it to cry out to the Lord in mighty prayer so that he can help you overcome it?

May our souls hunger, and may we cry out to Him who can save us so that we will one day be called blessed and be able to say, like Enos, “I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest.”

Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear

There is No Fear in Love

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18 )

We all wish to be perfect in love, but we cannot do that if we fear, and unfortunately, we can be afraid of anything. As a teenager, I started making a list of everything that I feared. Drugs, alcohol, being unloved, being unwanted, messing up, needles, spiders, etc…

After filling a couple pages, I realized that the exercise could go on forever. There is no limit to the things we can fear. We can be afraid of everything. Satan knows that better than anyone. Fear hath torment. No one leverages that better than Satan. If he can cripple us with fear, he has won.

So how do we get rid of fear? Love. More love. More love for God and more love for those around us, because we can’t love God if we don’t love our brothers and sisters here.

“We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” (1 John 4:19-21)

Do We Choose to Love Our Brother?

We cannot truthfully claim a deep love of God if we hold on to hate for those around us. Many years ago, I met a girl who proudly ticked off on her fingers all the people that she hated, including her mom, her brother and one of her step-parents. I remember at the time wondering if she realized what she was saying. She seemed so proud of it. As if hating them made her powerful. Did she mean what she said? Did she really hate them?

Words are a powerful thing. We mortals like to abuse words. We like to say we hate something, when often what we really mean is that we don’t understand it, or that we were hurt, or confused, or offended, or that we just don’t agree. But the more we claim that hate, the more we’ll believe it’s true. Let us choose to set aside hate. Misunderstandings can be cleared up. Hurt can be healed, offense can be overcome, but the only way to get rid of hate is to choose to set it aside, to choose love instead.

Fear and hate do not make us powerful, they make us weak.

2 timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Fear is not Godly. Power does not come from fear.

In Helaman 5, Nephi and Lehi are imprisoned for their preaching and converting. After they are encircled about by fire and a voice is heard from the heavens, those who witnessed the miracle went about telling of their experience and converting even more souls. The result of this conversion was this:

Helaman 5:51 “And as many as were convinced did lay down their weapons of war, and also their hatred and the tradition of their fathers.”

They laid down their hatred. They didn’t demand retribution, or even an apology, they just laid it down. That is our choice. We can choose to lay down our hatred, our anger, our hurt, and all our broken pieces. We can choose to lay them down at the Lord’s feet.

We have agency and we must use it well. That means not only choosing good and taking responsibility for our choices, but it means respecting the agency of others. Even if you are completely right about something, that does not give you license to force your view on someone else. It’s ok to disagree. It’s ok to walk different paths. It’s not ok to use force or unrighteous dominion. It is not ok to compel. Choose truth. Teach truth, and let others make their choice.

2 Nephi 10:23 “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.”

Do We Choose God?

How else can we love God? How else can we choose God?

Moses 7:33 “And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood.”

To love one another and to choose God go hand in hand. We are commanded to do both. No matter how diligently we seek the face of God, if we hold on to our hate, we are not choosing God.

Being commanded to love is one thing, actually doing it is another. But how do we love those who have hurt us? Or rejected us?

Overcoming Hurt with Love

We have all suffered offense and hurt. And in the midst of that hurt, it’s easy to lose sight of our relationship with the Lord if those who should be loving us unconditionally have decided to set us aside. So while we seek God’s love in order to forgive, we must also remember that despite the choices of whatever group we identify with, nothing can stand in the way of our relationship with Father and with Christ. If you feel you have been cast out—by your friends, or your family, or your church—do not let that come between you and the Lord.

Remember your agency. You are free to choose.

Alma 33:2 “And Alma said unto them: Behold, ye have said that ye could not worship your God because ye are cast out of your synagogues. But behold, I say unto you, if ye suppose that ye cannot worship God, ye do greatly err, and ye ought to search the scriptures; if ye suppose that they have taught you this, ye do not understand them.”

The lord does not require a synagogue for us to worship in. What the lord has asked of us is a broken heart and a contrite spirit. He’s asked us to believe in him and be baptized.

3 Nephi 11:33 “And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

The only person who can keep us from God is ourselves. That’s the beauty of Joseph Smith’s legacy. When we lack, we go to God. When we hurt, we go to God. When we anger, we go to God. When we are confused, we go to God. We have to stand at the door and knock. No one else can do it for us. We can’t send a messenger. We can’t ask a priest to do it for us. We have to stand at that door and ask for entrance.

Knocking

2 Nephi 9:42 “And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches–yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them.”

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We want the Lord to open the door for us. But he cannot if we are puffed up. What are we puffed up in? Because we’re all puffed up in something. Is it our knowledge? Do we think we know it all? Is it the image we project to those around us? Are we striving to LOOK righteous instead of BE righteous? Are we puffed up in our money, or a special talent we possess? Whatever it is, we have been told to cast it away. Because if we show up, knocking at the door, still clinging to our pride, he cannot open the door.

It can be frightening to give those things up. They make us feel secure and in control in this uncertain world. It’s the same way with our unbelief.

And what is unbelief? I used to think that unbelief was the same as non-belief, but that’s not the case. Unbelief is false belief. It’s a belief in something that simply isn’t true. And no matter how passionate we are about defending our beliefs, if they aren’t true, they’re not going to help us. That goes right back to Helaman 5:51 and laying down the traditions of our fathers. We all inherit traditions, but it’s our responsibility to determine whether or not they are true. It can be a frightening thing, but the Lord has asked us to seek the truth anyway.

2 nephi 9:40 “O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.”

We should not fear truth. We all like to be right—we hope to be right. It’s just another part of our mortal nature. But in order to learn truth from God, we have to stop being afraid of discovering that we were wrong. We have to practice letting go of falsehoods. Take satisfaction in identifying truth and letting those truths replace your unbelief. Reviling against the truth isn’t going to make it false. The Lord speaks against all uncleanness. We can cling to our unbelief as tight as we want, but truth will still condemn us. So instead of being mad that our uncleanness is being condemned, let us strive to be rid of it. Choose to let it go. Lay it at the Lord’s feet.

God is a God of truth, and if we fear truth, then we will fear Him. And we know that fear hath torment.

2 nephi 27:25 “Forasmuch as this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men—”

It is the precepts of men that teach us to fear God. It is the teachings of men that tell us we cannot go to the Lord ourselves. Men convince us to praise God with our words but hide our hearts from Him out of fear. The truth is that we should continue to honor the Lord with our words, but ultimately what the Lord really wants is our hearts. He wants us to come to a point where we can declare like Moroni, “I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear.” (Moroni 8:16)

Fear God?

Now there’s a little quandary, because many writers in the Book of Mormon state that they DO fear God. Or they preach that others SHOULD fear God.

“Work out your salvation with fear before God.” (Alma 34)

“The Nephites did not fear them; but they did fear their God.” (3 Nephi 4)

“I do not fear your power nor your authority, but it is my God whom I fear;” (Alma 60)

How do we reconcile that? We’re not supposed to fear, but these men of God are admitting fear and sometimes encouraging fear.

Fear of God may be used as a tool in some cases, but before I talk about that, I want to point out that if we are motivated by fear of anything but God, we’re going to get ourselves into trouble. Fear of man leads either to worshipping them as idols, or allowing ourselves to be manipulated by them, or both. It strips us of our agency and enslaves us to this world. Fear of men will lead us away from God, not toward Him. Fear of men puts man between us and God and acts as a barrier.

So then how can fear of God be a good thing? How can it be recommended by prophets throughout the scriptures? Enos used fear of the Lord to motivate his people to not completely destroy themselves.

Enos 1:23 “And there was nothing save it was exceeding harshness, preaching and prophesying of wars, and contentions, and destructions, and continually reminding them of death, and the duration of eternity, and the judgments and the power of God, and all these things—stirring them up continually to keep them in the fear of the Lord. I say there was nothing short of these things, and exceedingly great plainness of speech, would keep them from going down speedily to destruction.”

When a society has fallen into wickedness and chaos, sometimes it’s necessary for a prophet of the Lord to pound the fear of God into them. And even then, the only thing this accomplished was to prevent their utter destruction. It did not lead to salvation or raise them to a higher plain, it only restored a little order.

Fear of God cannot exalt us, and it will not bring us into the presence of the Lord. In order to rise up to meet our Savior, we must get rid of our fear.

And the way that we do that is to replace it with love. Perfect love casteth out fear.

Let me ask: who is perfect love?

Christ is perfect love.

When we invite Christ into our lives, when we do His will, when we fill ourselves with the light of Christ, our fear will be cast out.

He will cast out our fear. And when that fear is gone and we are made whole in Him, then we will have no more reason to fear God because—like King Benjamin’s people—we will have no more disposition to do evil.

Mosiah 5:2 “And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.”

We must allow the Spirit of the Lord to cause a mighty change in us. We must continually seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, allowing the light of Christ to work within us.

And THEN we can be filled with perfect love, with love unfeigned.

Loving Like a Little Child

The Lord has good reason for commanding us to be as little children.

3 Nephi 11:37-38 “And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things. And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.”

Little children love without limits, they forgive easily and they are very often fearless. Little children have perfect love because it comes without judgement and without reserve.

We have a story in my family from before I was born and my parents only had two kids. They were driving on I-15, along a long stretch of desert road when a biker gang came up behind them. My dad could see in the rear view mirror that they were Hells Angels and that they were passing the other cars very aggressively, almost like they were picking a fight. This made him more than a little nervous and he told my mom that they needed to just look straight ahead, don’t make eye contact. He didn’t want any trouble. But as this big group of bikers came up behind them and started passing, he noticed that most of them were waving. He and my mom were utterly flummoxed, but they didn’t dare wave back.

Finally after all the bikers has passed, my oldest sister, who was about 3-years-old at the time, says, “Daddy, those were nice mens! I was waving at them and they waved back!”

She wasn’t afraid of them. She didn’t know that men who rode motorcycles were supposed to be tough and dangerous. She didn’t judge them for their leather jackets or tats. They were just people, and she treated them with the loving enthusiasm of a child.

1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

Love others. Don’t just act like you love them. Don’t love them only when you are in direct communication, but love them always—even if they post something dumb on Facebook, even if they refuse to understand you—strive to have loving thoughts about them. Love them even when they aren’t affected by it. Love them when you speak of them to others. Love them when you disagree. Love them when they make huge mistakes. Love them when you are ashamed of your own mistakes.

2 Nephi 9:41 “O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.”

1 John 4:11 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

Let Christ into your heart. Let his perfect love cast out your fear.

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)