A prayer for forgiveness

Solomon built a temple in Israel--the first since the Tabernacle of Moses as Israel wandered in the wilderness.

Just like we do today, Solomon said a prayer of dedication when the temple was complete.  It's a beautiful prayer for forgiveness in case of the guaranteed eventuality that Israel sins.

The pattern is repeated several times throughout the prayer (1 Kings 8:28-50).  The pattern goes like this:

1. We'll probably sin.
2. We'll suffer for sin.
3. That will lead us to repentance.
4. Please forgive us when we come back.
5. We'll probably sin again.  Repeat steps 2-5.

33 ¶When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:
34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.
35 ¶When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:
36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.
37 ¶If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:
39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

The most fantastic thing about the Atonement is that it is infinite.  No matter how often we sin, whether we repeat the same one, or go through a series of them, forgiveness is available every time we repent.

Is there anything man can do to disqualify himself from the infinite nature of the atonement?  Yes.  Stop wanting it.  Stop trying.  Stop repenting.  Those three are all the same thing.

No matter how bad you think your sin is, the Lord's most favorite thing will be to forgive you of it when you repent.  Repentance is not a single event that you do when you get to the point that you're not going to sin anymore.  That never happens.  Repentance, and therefore the Lord's forgiveness, is a daily process of trying to do better.

Keep trying.

Stones

Some weeks ago I read, on back to back nights, Ether chapter 3 and 1 Samuel 17--the stories of the brother of Jared bringing stones to light their ships and David and Goliath, respectively.

These are both stories of young men (actually, I don't know how old Jared's brother is at this point) who face impossible challenges.  There is no way that the Jaredites can cross the ocean in the dark and there's no way for David to defeat Goliath, who stands at six cubits and a span.  I mean, come on! He's six whole cubits!  And a span!  When was the last time you saw someone and said, "Wow.  That guy's got to be at least six cubits and a span!"

But with the Lord, all things are possible.  (Matt. 19:26).

So, the brother of Jared, seeing the impossibility of the task before him, comes to the Lord with an idea and faith that it will work.  "We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men" (Ether 3:5).

David, in another tremendous demonstration of faith in God's power says, "The Lord...will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine" (1 Sam 17:37).

In both cases the men brought small, smooth stones with them.  I've been thinking since I read this about the similarities between the stories and what the stones might represent.  In the scriptures, stones are used to kill people, to build buildings and altars, as a symbol for the Lord's help (including in these two instances, I think), and at least once as a name for testicles (Deut 23:1).

The nearly 500 instances of "stone" in the scriptures were a little daunting for me to fully research for purposes of a blog post.  So instead I thought and prayed about it.  Here's what I came up with.

We all face trials in our lives.  In fact we're all faced with the impossible task of being perfect and worthy to return to God while living in a fallen world. In that sense, I think the stones in both cases are fair representations of the Atonement--the sacrifice that makes it possible through repentance to overcome the fallen nature of the world and return to live with Father in Heaven.

In a more practical sense, we also face the trials of life on a daily basis.  But the Lord, who sent us to this fallen world, has also provided us the tools to face and overcome those challenges.  The examples of both men include stones (which are described in the scriptures as the Lord's help), but it's their faith in God and His power that is the key.

We can go forward into the jaws of our challenges and trials with the faith that the Lord will give us the help to overcome them if we have faith and make use of what He's made available to us.  If we ask, he will guide those stones where they need to go or touch them and make them shine.

David's tragedy

David, the future King of Israel is introduced in the scriptures like this: "The Lord chooses David of Bethlehem as king—He is anointed by Samuel—Saul chooses David as his companion and armor bearer." (1 Sam 16--Chapter Heading).  An auspicious beginning for what would be "the most brilliant [reign] of Israelitish history" (Bible Dictionary).

I'll not retell the whole stories, but David's experiences teach him and readers profound truths of the Gospel, the Atonement, God's love for His children, the blessings of righteousness, and, of course, the consequences of sin.

2 Samuel 12 is the chapter just after David has Uriah killed to hide his own sin with Uriah's wife.  That chapter is sorrowful to read.  Who, having committed any sin requiring forgiveness, can't connect with David's heart-wrenching pleas for forgiveness.

The Lord reminds David in verses 7 and 8, "I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things."  (Emphasis added.)

Oi.  Reading this helps remind me not only of the blessings that I have but of all the blessings I have yet to receive.  I can look today and see that the Lord has blessed me well beyond what justice would require, yet I have in store all the blessings pertaining to the covenants of the gospel, if I only keep them.

What a loving Father in Heaven we have.  He has chosen us for this day.  He's blessed us with what we need to serve him well.  And if that's not enough, he'll bless us more.

Late in his life, David laments in prayer, "I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly" (2 Sam 24:10). And later, "Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house" (2 Sam 24:17).

David's entire life is full of more righteousness than wickedness, but his wickedness was of the gravest kind, for the most selfish reasons.  David's great tragedy is that he traded his love of God for the immediate gratification of lust, and then covered that up with murder, losing his exaltation.  That's a high price to pay, and makes David the most tragic figure of the Old Testament.

Relying on the Lord

In my life I've maybe been too dependent on others for my happiness and satisfaction.  I don't know for sure that I'm too dependent, but I am sure that making your happiness conditional on the approval, love, or agency of another person will always lead to disappointment.  We are all fallen, and that state means we will do things that cause pain to ourselves and to others.

The atonement makes up for all this.  As I've been studying more about the Atonement recently, and through my own experiences making use of it's power, I've learned some things.

1. The Atonement removes the consequences of sin.
2. The Atonement eases and heals pain.
3. The Atonement fills the void left by the harmful actions of others.
4. The Atonement creates a desire and ability to forgive.

After relying on others who, because of the fall, hurt us, the Lord can heal that pain and fill the gap in support left by the abandonment of others.  No matter what anyone else does that may harm you, you can always rely on the Lord and His matchless power to overcome that pain.

And when you have that burden lifted, the ability to forgive others is so much easier, because you aren't carrying the cross.  Christ suffered all things, that we might not suffer, if we would repent.  When we receive the forgiveness for our own sins, release the pain we feel whether caused by ourselves, by others, or by bad luck, forgiveness becomes a given.

Seen in the proper way, there's nothing to forgive, because the Savior suffered for that person's sins, too, and takes those sins upon Himself.  And it's easy to forgive the Savior for that, after all you recognize he's done for you.

The text for Mayan culture and symbolism

Here in Cancun, we visited some ancient Mayan ruins with an LDS tour guide named Helaman.  His overall thesis was that archaeologists and scholars have discovered much about the Mayans, but that without The Book of Mormon as a starting point and context, their conclusions are sometimes wrong and they assume as unknown things that are clearly explained in the text.

Helaman showed us the Mayan buildings, carvings, paintings, and other aspects of their culture unearthed by archaeologists in recent years, then took us to the scriptures.  While scholars have trouble understanding the Mayan calendar, Helaman pointed us to Levitucus and the Book of Mormon, showing that Mayan ancestors had access to the books of Moses and how the calendar they used was very similar to the one outlined for the Israelites in the Old Testament.

While scholars know that the Mayans were successful at using plants and herbs to fight off disease, it's often a wonder how such a primitive culture was able to fight off malaria that killed many of their invaders.  The Book of Mormon explains how.

The design of the Mayan temples is also described in the Old Testament--many of the design elements of the Mayan buildings have symbolic similarities to those in Old Testament times, including the number of rooms, washing pools outside the temples, and the symbolism carved in the buildings.  

This temple at Chichen Itza shares design principles with the Tabernacle of the Children of Israel and of Solomon's temple.

Helaman drew connections between the Mayan gods and religious practices with the sources and explanations that can be found in the Book of Mormon.  The Book of Mormon describes how the descendants of Lehi and Mulek used herbs and plants to fight off seasonal diseases, which archaeologists have found to be true.

The symbols and gods on temples are consistent with the history in the Book of Mormon, including an instance at Tulum with carvings of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.

After centuries without prophetic guidance after the Nephites were destroyed, the need for a "broken heart" was perverted to include actual human sacrifice.

The big sport was called Pok Ta Pok.  Teams would play, and after the game someone (I have heard both winners and losers) would be sacrificed.  In later cultures this game would evolve into quidditch, but it was really a bummer for the sacrificed Mayans.

Helaman has given away many Books of Mormon to other tour guides to encourage them to read it to inform them of the context of many of the things they explain to tourists on their excursions.  Only a few have.  Without this missing piece, archaeology becomes just educated guesses.  Having the actual history of the ancestors of the Mayans fills in a lot of the holes in the archaeological record.

Church in Mexico

I'm in Cancun with a group of friends.

We went to church on Sunday, and held a little fireside in our hotel room that evening.

I love attending church in different countries, but this is the first time I've done so in a non-English speaking one.  I can pick up a few Spanish words here and there to know the gist of what someone is saying if I know the context, but I really had no idea what anyone was saying until they got to "Amen."

But afterwards, I heard that the lesson in priesthood was a pretty good spiritual lashing of the elders in the ward for their lack of commitment to service.  Though I didn't understand it at the time, the lesson was so harsh that the bishop, who didn't teach it but kind of took it over, apologized to the visitors.

In Sunday School the lesson was on the early chapters of Mosiah.  Part of that bok explains why the Lamanites were so upset at the Nephites.  They felt slighted hundreds of years earlier that Nephi stole their fathers' rightful place in leadership over their younger brothers' decendants.  The Sunday School teacher thought this lesson applied especially to Latin America because the traditions in that part of the world sometimes stand in the way of the spreading of the gospel.

But the church is growing fast here.  Playa del Carmen is getting a new stake and a new stake center.  Cancun has seen its attendance jump so that now three wards meet in most buildings.