Gratitude

I'm grateful for the Savior and His Atonement.  His love is a gift.  I've done nothing to deserve it, and plenty to not, yet it's there. He gives it freely--gives Himself freely.  Most nights when I pray it's remarkable to me how much I have to be grateful for because of Him.

Tonight I met with my Stake President.  Getting that call was a little nerve-racking.  I've never before been summoned to see the Stake President.  Don't they only do that when they have a massive calling to give out?  At any rate, it was a "get to know you" visit, so I needn't have been wondering about various scenarios, and that's not the point of the post anyway.

As long as I was there, I asked him for a blessing.  The part that stood out was simply this: "I bless you to know of the Lord's gratitude for the choices you've made."  And I felt the Lord's gratitude.

What a wonderful feeling.  And so humbling.  I have everything to thank the Lord for, and here He was telling me how thankful he is for me.  What is it that I can possibly give the Lord that should return such gratitude?

Myself.  What the Lord wants most is for us to give our agency back to him in selfless service.

The point of this post isn't to brag on me.  I'm a sinner.  I'm not selfless.  I'm working on it.

Instead my point is that we can show our gratitude to the Lord for every blessing we receive by giving back to Him the one thing he wants--ourselves.  That is gift you get for someone who literally has everything.

Feeling the Lord's gratitude is a powerful manifestation of His love.  "Thank you," He says.  "I so wanted you to come back.  Welcome Home!"

Merriment and Happiness

2 Nephi 2:25--Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

2 Nephi 28:7--And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

I have been thinking recently about the difference between being "merry," as described above, and being "happy" or having "joy."  Is merry a synonym for happy?  If not, what's the difference?  Based on the above scriptures, I'd guess that merriment is more fleeting, more shallow.  Happiness and Joy seem like they're more pure.  But that's just me vamping.  So I did some more thought and some research.

The footnote on "merry" in the verse above leads you to the Topical Guide to "Worldliness."  Well that doesn't sound like a synonym for happiness at all!  Clearly being merry as Nephi uses it to describe excuses for "a little sin" is in a worldly context (rather than a celebrate Christmas context).

But what really got me thinking of this was a question the teacher asked in Sunday School recently.  Why do people feel comfortable with "a little sin" and then expect to be "saved in the Kingdom of God."

My answer was, "Because of the Atonement.  Christ suffered for all my sins, including all the ones I've yet to commit.  The Atonement is infinite."

Elder Spencer J. Condie said it this way in 1996:

Alma teaches us that “there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment” (Alma 42:22). By atoning for our sins as our Father planned, the Savior stands “betwixt” all of us sinners and the demands of justice, “having … taken upon himself [our] iniquity and [our] transgressions” (Mosiah 15:8–9). An atonement which could satisfy justice required the sacrifice of an innocent person who would vicariously suffer the punishment for the sins of others (see Alma 34:8–16). Justice demanded death, and the Redeemer died that he might become the firstfruits of the Resurrection and overcome the bonds of death. Mercy opened the way for the resurrection of all.

That sounds a lot like Nephi's writing.  "a punishment affixed"--like being beaten with a few stripes.  "Mercy opened the way for the resurrection of all"--even the "merry," who can expect to at last be saved in the Kingdom of God, right?  Sure the atonement requires repentance, but that's what the merry plan to do, as soon as they're done being merry.

So, why not be merry in this life, if we can repent at the end and be happy for eternity?  I don't know, but here's my current thought.

There are three main reasons why people follow God's commandments.  The first is fear, whether taken to mean frightened or respectful, as in "fear God."  In short, we obey God's commandments because God said to, and we either fear the consequences if we don't or have some degree of faith to act consistent with His law.  The Law of Obedience is the first law of the Gospel, and even the spiritually immature can follow it.

Second, we obey because we have faith that there's something better waiting in the future.  As we become more mature, we see the long view, and recognize that giving up some merry things now, we will qualify for greater, purer, and more lasting blessings later. Elder Russell M. Nelson has taught: “Our highest sense of sacrifice is achieved as we make ourselves more sacred or holy. This we do by our obedience to the commandments of God. Thus, the laws of obedience and sacrifice are indelibly intertwined. … As we comply with these and other commandments, something wonderful happens to us. … We become more sacred and holy—[more] like our Lord!” (“Lessons from Eve,” Ensign, Nov. 1987, 88).

Which leads to the third and best reason for doing the right thing.  A we become more sacred and holy, we become closer to God, more like Him.  As we become more like Him, we grow in love for Him, and in love like Him.  As we love God more, we come to want what He wants, for ourselves and for others, and the act of obedience becomes not a "sacrifice" but a "consecration."  That is, giving our free will back to God because we love as He does and want what He wants.

And the merry never reach that point, because they never start with obedience.  They love the merriment of the world more than they love God.  If that continues, the Atonement would still apply for them, despite their turning away from it--the Atonement is still infinite.  But that person won't accept the atonement because they still love being "merry" more than the Lord.  The person hasn't had the mighty change that we all must have if we are to be saved, because without that change we don't want to be saved; we want to be merry.

Eternal happiness awaits every child of God, but only those that want it.  And more good news is that living to qualify for eternal happiness also brings joy in this life, but that joy is very different from being merry, which is shallow and temporary.  We should want more for ourselves than that.

It's actually true

The point of this post isn't to make the case that the Church is true, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through Joseph Smith, and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God to our day.  Instead, I'm on about what that means.  Since all of this is actually true, what does one do about it?

I read D&C 20:5-6 today, in which we learn that Joseph Smith had a divine manifestation that his sins were forgiven him, but that he was "again entangled in the vanities of the world," and that he later repented and humbled himself, receiving further heavenly visitations.

I've followed that path, though without the angels.  I've felt the forgiveness of a loving Father in Heaven, made possible by the Atonement of His Son.  Then I've gotten all entangled in vanities.  Eventually, I've repented again.  It's a source of frustration for me, that I have to keep having to relearn the same lessons.  But it's a source of great comfort that great men before me have had to relearn also, and that the Atonement works for multiple, even infinite failures.

Another source of comfort is that each time I recognize that love and forgiveness, I become more convinced of the reality of the Atonement, the Gospel, and the Book of Mormon.  They are actually true.  And because they are true, I can't ignore them.  Knowing this, becoming more convinced of this, must change how I live and view the world.

Because it's true, I want to serve the Lord.  I want to go to church.  I'll be there for six hours this Sunday in a combination of worship and service.  I want to publish this so that the world can know that I know it's true.  I want those I love to have this knowledge and feel the power of the love and forgiveness that I've felt.  I want to never become "again entangled."

And I want to call upon a loving Father and Brother when I do sin again.  Knowing that it's actually true has changed me and the way I live.  And anyone who knows me can tell you it's for the better.  And it's because the Gospel is true.

"Beware lest thou forget"

Deuteronomy is a much easier read, so far, than Leviticus and Numbers.  It's interesting, and teachers plainer doctrine, at least to me, than the two prior books.

Chapter six is Moses reminding the Children of Israel of the great blessings that the Lord has given them, starting with bringing them out of bondage from Egypt, and of blessings yet to come when they enter the Promised Land.  The Lord, though Moses, gives them commandment and a warning.

The commandment is to share the ten commandments (which were recapped in chapter five).

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

And then the warning in verse 12: "Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."

This commandment is given to God's chosen people.  They, much like the Saints today, demonstrate that while on Earth we need consistent reminders of our blessings and warnings against "forgetting."  The Book of Mormon calls this being "slow to remember" God.

And then the Lord gives three ways to ensure that we don't forget.

1. Serve the Lord (v 13-14).  I take that to mean that we go to church.  Take the Sacrament to "always remember Him."  Serve our neighbors in callings.  Volunteer for service assignments.  Serve our ancestors by serving in the temple.  We serve the Lord by serving our fellow man (1 Ne 2:17-18).
2. Diligently keep the commandments (v 17-18).  Avoid what He has said we should avoid, and do what He as said we should do.
3. Share the gospel with others (v 20-25).  Live so that others see your righteousness and happiness, and tell them where they may look for that happiness.

I think this is my favorite chapter of the Old Testament so far.

Timing

I've been reading the Old Testament.  I calculate that I'm about 20 percent through it.  It's a pretty tough slog through Leviticus and Numbers.  That latter book is well-named.  There are a lot of statistics in it.  I was thinking in parts how nice it would be if there could just be a summary chapter about all the places Israel went and what they did there.

And there is!  Numbers Chapter 33.  Israel left Egypt, then went here, then there, then this other place.  It was a nice summary, but got me thinking.  That's a lot of places, and they went all those places over a lot of years.  Israel may have thought that blessings would come quickly.  But the real promise came only after decades of wandering in the wilderness.  And the poor children of that first generation--their parents disobeyed, and so the children had to suffer for it as well.

And so it is in life.  The Lord's timetable is often frustrating different than our own.  Our lesson in Elders' Quorum on Sunday was on based on this talk from Elder Dallin H. Oaks from 2002.

The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith means trust--trust in God's will, trust in His way of doing things, and trust in His timetable. We should not try to impose our timetable on His. 

As Elder Neal A. Maxwell has said: The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing. If we can truly believe He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best? The same is true with the second coming and with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord's timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes. [Even As I Am (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1982), 93] 

More recently, during last April conference, Elder Maxwell said: "Since faith in the timing of the Lord may be tried, let us learn to say not only, 'Thy will be done,' but patiently also, 'Thy timing be done'" (CR, April 2001, 76; or "Plow in Hope," Ensign, May 2001, 59).

Extra frustrating is when out timetable looks all together, and then it changes because of the choices or actions of others.  Divorce is a good example.

Yet, "My words are sure and shall not fail," the Lord taught the early elders of this dispensation. "But," He continued, "all things must come to pass in their time" (D&C 64:31­32).