The Old Testament

I'm nearing the end of my (it turned out) 18-month project to read the Old Testament, which I'd never done before.

As a kid, I read Old Testament Stories, and I always new the narratives, their details, and the characters.

But there is a lot in the OT that isn't narrative.  Readers of this blog perhaps know this, but it was a surprise to me.  Many of the longest books (Ezekiel, Jeremiah) are records of prophecies that all predict the same thing (Israel's destruction), over and over.

I've heard that the god of the Old Testament is the angry one and that the god of the New Testament is the loving, forgiving one.  Since they're the same God, this didn't make sense to me, and it turns out to be untrue.

There is plenty of destruction and consequences for poor choices in the Old Testament, but there is also the same love and redemption that we find in the New Testament.

The Book of Micah is kind of a microcosm of the entire Old Testament. I enjoyed reading it because it was short--its prophecies of destruction only took five chapters instead of sixty.  Chapters six and seven of Micah are a wonderful summary of God's direction to and love for His children.

What does the Lord want of us?  Micah 6:8--"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

And what does the Lord have in store for us at the end? Micah 7:18-19

18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

So really, I've found the Old Testament, summarized nicely in Micah, to be a good allegory for life.

1. We receive commandments from a loving God.
2. We forget Him often and fail to keep those commandments
3. We suffer the spiritual and temporal consequences of disobedience
4. When we repent we are forgiven
5. When we sin again, we suffer; when we repent again we are forgiven
6. A merciful and loving Father wil again have compassion upon us and cast away our sins

Faith and desire; knowledge and power

I read the story of Ammon and the King the other day, specifically Alma 18, which is the chapter after the arm-lopping and saving of the flock.  King Lamoni wonders if Ammon, so powerful was he, is the Great Spirit.

No, Ammon says, "I am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true; And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God (v 34-35)."

What a model.  How can one get the knowledge and power to succeed in life?  By having faith in and a desire to serve God.

I'm also quite confident that, though I can do all things in the strength of the Lord, I wouldn't be nearly so successful as Ammon in smiting arms and thieves with a sword and sling.  I picture Ammon much like he's drawn here:

I'm not nearly so burly.

I get the sense that Ammon was prepared from the time he was young to be able to handle such situations, which would make him a more effective missionary.  I'd like to think that he had thoughts and desires to strengthen his body, and that the Spirit was directing him subtly to do so throughout his life.

Since I haven't had the same kind of guidance and don't have the body to carry it out even if I had,  I started thinking about what attributes I did have that I could put in the Lord's service if I spent the time to strengthen those and prayed for an increased desire to serve.

I came up with something that I won't write here.  Instead I focus on the principle of the thing.  If I have a desire to serve, and faith that the Lord will assist me as I work at it, then I know that He will give me the knowledge and power to use the talents I have to serve Him better.

Thanks, Ammon, for the example.

Living Water

I listened to this talk by Elder Bednar the other day.  He focuses on how to use a variety of techniques and patterns of scripture study to partake of the "living water" that Christ talks about in John 4:6-15.  Living Water is a symbol of Christ himself.

6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

What does it mean to "never thirst" if we drink of the Savior's living water?  In the eternal sense, Jesus is speaking about the eternal life that is promised to those that believe in Him (John 3:15-17).  That's a promise by itself that is worth looking toward.

The Gospel and Doctrine of Christ have current applications for our temporal well beings as well.  Christ's Living Water is available to us now, and is designed to support us in this life.  The water "springs up" to everlasting life, and in doing so can quench our thirst immediately.

This life is full of dry spells that result in thirst.  The trials we face do make us thirsty, which ought to lead us back to the source of living water that is constantly available and springing up for us.

We are here to learn.  The fallen nature of the world gives us plenty of opportunity to learn as we encounter wickedness, sin, folly--both our own and the choices of others.  Christ offers us the Living Water that enables us to overcome those trials, and to be happy and hopeful now in the midst of all the hardships that the world constantly offers and forces upon us.

Eternal Life is a wonderful thing to look forward to.  But I am most happy that Christ has drawn for me the water that is always available to me in a thirst-inducing world.  As I learn through trials to turn to him, that is what it means to never thirst.

Overcoming obstacles

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are mostly about the efforts of the Jews to rebuild a temple and build a wall around the city.  It takes decades, and many people conspire to stop their progress.  Check out these chapter headings:

Ezra 1: King Cyrus of Persia lets the Jews go back to Jerusalem to build the temple—Cyrus returns the vessels of the house of the Lord taken by Nebuchadnezzar. Ezra 2: Faithful people contribute to the building of the temple. Ezra 3: The altar is rebuilt—Regular sacrifices are reinstituted—The foundations of the temple are laid amid great rejoicing. Ezra 4: The Samaritans offer help, then hinder the work—The building of the temple and of the walls of Jerusalem ceases. Ezra 5: Zerubbabel renews the building of the temple—The Samaritans challenge the Jews’ right to continue their building work. Ezra 6: Darius renews the decree of Cyrus to build the temple—It is finished and dedicated, and sacrifices and feasts commence again. Nehemiah 2: Artaxerxes sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem—Sanballat and others oppose Nehemiah in rebuilding the walls and gates of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 4: The Jews’ enemies seek to prevent them from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem—Nehemiah arms the laborers and keeps the work progressing. Nehemiah 6: Sanballat engages in intrigue against Nehemiah and the building of the wall—The Jews finish the construction of the wall.

According to this lesson plan, the period of these two books spans 100 years.

The lesson that I take from this is that the Lord does prepare ways to accomplish his commandments, even in the face of tremendous difficulty and seeming impossibility.  Yet with patience and faith, if we persevere, we will discover what the Lord's ways are, and according to His schedule, we can overcome all obstacles and fulfill His commandments.

Over and over again

I read 1 Nephi chapter 16 today.  Here's what I learned.

There is a lot of murmuring and repenting going on in this chapter.  It starts out with Laman and Lemuel complaining that Nephi is being too hard on them (v 1).  Nephi knows this, but it's because they are self-conscious because of their own guilt, and they should be more diligent in keeping the commandments (v 3-4).  In verse 5, they repent.

This is a cycle seen in earlier chapters, and it is repeated here a few more times.  Well, the families all marry each other and get blessed exceedingly and honeymoon in fertile parts of the wilderness.  They get the Liahona and all goes well for a few days, and then Nephi's bow breaks.

So, more murmuring (v 20) because they get hungry.  Lehi joins in complaining against the Lord also.  Nephi again calls them to repentance (v 22), and then goes and makes a new bow and gets everyone some dinner.  The family appreciates this, and humbly repent again (v 24 and 32).

Doesn't last long, though, because Ishmael dies, and people murmur anew, this time going so far to plot the murder of their father and brother (v 36-37).  But, the Lord calls them to repentance again (v 38), and they repent again (v 39).

But was it really repentance?  This chapter makes it pretty clear that they aren't forsaking their sins, even if they confess and are called out for them.  The Lord probably sees this pattern, knows that they are likely to murmur again, and will surely just brush this hard-time repentance off as so much background noise.

Nope.  The Lord blessed them again (v 39).

That's what the Lord does.  My Stake President says that Jesus's favorite thing to do is forgive people.  And Laman and Lemuel and their followers aren't much different from us, in that they sin all the time.  And that their sins are often manifestations of the same weaknesses that they've exhibited before.

Yet, the Lord frankly forgives them, even though their pattern is obvious, and their repentance is caused by chastisement from others.

That's what we experience in our lives as well.  No wonder Jesus loves us so much.  We give him the opportunity to do his favorite thing over and over.

Stumbling Blocks

And it shall come to pass, that if the ^aGentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in ^bpower, in very deed, unto the^ctaking away of their ^dstumbling blocks.

That's 1 Ne 14:1. This verse is spoken by the Angel that shows Nephi the vision of the Tree of Life, the Savior, and the future of his posterity.  What are stumbling blocks?  I looked up the footnote.

Isa. 57:14; Ezek. 7:19; 1 Cor. 1:23; 1 Ne. 13:34 (29, 34); 2 Ne. 26:20.


Ezekiel 7:19 expands a bit and calls them the "stumblingblock of their iniquity."  1 Cor 1:23 is about how the lack of faith being a stumbling block, whether one replaces his own wisdom ahead of faith (Greeks) or insists on a sign in order to believe (Jews).  The Book of Mormon references are about how the fallen church creates stumbling blocks for people by removing the "plain and precious" truths from the Bible.


But in reading 1 Ne 14:1, I thought of stumbling blocks as temptation, because I'm likening the scriptures to me and those I know.  And I like that interpretation best.  That if I do a better job of listening to and following the Lord, and I will have His word and power more, to the point that temptation is less of and eventually an overcome block that no longer causes me to stumble.


Wouldn't that be awesome?

Promptings or random thoughts

I hadn't realized it has been so long since I've posted.  It's because of baseball.  I announce for a minor league team, and since their season started a few weeks ago I've been working most Sundays with them and many other nights.  That and a social life has kept me away during my regular writing times.

Also, I've been reading the books of Chronicles in the Old Testament, which is a lot of repeated information from the books of Samuel and Kings, and hasn't struck me with things that I've felt to write, except for what I wrote the first time I read them, in the previous books.

So, today I'm thinking about prayers and promptings.  I've spent a lot of time praying for understanding and knowledge about what to do and say in several situations, including work, romance, missionary efforts, and family.

I'm trying to take the advice of my wonderful Stake President.  When I asked him how he could always feel so confident that the Spirit was prompting him what to say, he replied, "I try to live so that I have the companionship of the Spirit, and then I assume every thought I have the Spirit put there."

Further, he says sometimes he's wrong, but when that happens the Spirit stops him pretty strongly. So, that's where I'm going, just assuming that there's no need to try and differentiate between my own thoughts and spiritual promptings.  Just assume they are all guidance and I'll get stopped if I'm wrong.

Desire and capacity

There may be more, but I found two references in the Book of Mormon referencing the incredible change that took place as people became converted to Christ:

Mosiah 5, when King Benjamin completed his sermon (emphasis added)
1 And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had thus spoken to his people, he sent among them, desiring to know of his people if they believed the words which he had spoken unto them.

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.

Alma 19, when Ammon's service and boldness had converted the people of Lamoni (emphasis added)
33 And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered unto them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all declare unto the people the selfsame thing—that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil.

Wouldn't that be nice?  To have no more disposition or desire to do evil?  I used to pray for that, that the Lord would take away any desire I had to ever sin again.  Not realistic in this life.

This life is designed to have us learn.  We learn by making mistakes.  Temptation will never be removed from us on Earth, because that's the primary way we make mistakes and learn from them.  I'm sure that Nephi also had no disposition to do evil, yet he was "easily beset" by temptations (2 Ne 4:18).  Paul certainly had a mighty change on the way to Damascus, and he still did the evil that he didn't want to do (Romans 7:19).  And though it's not specifically listed in the scriptures, I'm certain that every one of the people of King Benjamin and every citizen of Lamoni's kingdom sinned again at some point.
The Savior's sacrifice saves us from our sins, if that's what we desire.  The Atonement's power can overcome any and all of our sins, but not our agency, if what we desire is not Eternal Life.

The Mighty Change that we can experience in this life really can change our desires, but cannot, while on Earth, remove the sinful nature of the world we live in, nor of our need to learn to do good by sometimes doing evil.

We can want to do good continually, but we will always lack the capacity to do so. It gets frustrating, doesn't it?  To be able to want something and not have the ability to achieve it.  The Atonement gives us that ability, or rather, makes up for the fact that we lack it.

Repentance is the key.  In the end we'll be judged on our works and our desires.  And we'll probably have works that make it look like our desires weren't good.  By repenting daily for "the evil that I do" (Rom 7:19) I demonstrate that my desire is to do good, even if my actions don't always show it.

Alma 41 (emphasis added)3 And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.
4 And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other—
5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.

You're probably doing better than you think

After my last post that quoted Nephi's lament about his own inadequacies, I read Falling to Heaven, by James L. Ferrell, who also wrote the wonderful The Peacegiver.  Ferrell points out that several other prophets make similar, er, confessions in the scriptures.  He quotes Alma laying out his past sins to his sons, Amulek's confession to his neighbors that he knew but ignored the hand of the Lord in his own life, and Joseph Smith for his.

My favorite that Ferrell brought up was the Apostle Paul.  I hadn't remembered this from him in his epistle to the Romans, chapter 7:

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

Oh, how many times have I thought that?!  I know what's good, but I can't figure out how to do it. What I know I should and want to do, I don't do, but that which I know I shouldn't do, I do anyway.


And so does everybody else.  So did Paul.  So did Nephi, and Alma, and Joseph Smith, and our prophets and apostles today.  And you.


And even when we can temper our guilt with the fact that "no one need suppose me guilty of any malignant sins" (Joseph Smith—History 1:28), we still know that we fall utterly short of what we want and what God requires.


But I think it's a mistake of arrogance to allow our sinful nature to make us feel unworthy of blessings or goodness.  True humility would realize that we cannot do what is required of us, so we rely wholly on the power of the Atonement to make up the difference.  It isn't humble to compare ourselves to perfection, which is unattainable.

So our own laments should sound an awful lot like those of the prophets above, maybe even sounding very hard on ourselves, as we groan at our own wretchedness.  Then we rejoice in the goodness of the Lord who covers whatever gap we have.

What's the proper attitude to sin?

I'm not sure I have the title of this post right.  This dates from my trip to Mexico, when my travelling companions and I had a little fireside in our hotel room reading Believing Christ, by Stephen E. Robinson.  And even that was from a Sunday School lesson earlier in the year that included 2 Nephi 28.

In church I made the comment that people could use the Atonement as an excuse to sin.  "Christ has already suffered for all my sins, including every sin I've yet to commit."  I worry a little about the danger of having confidence in, but not love of, the Atonement. Essentially believing that no matter what you do, God will save you anyway, so might as well, "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."

So that's obviously not right.  Nephi provides what I figure I must consider the proper response to one's own sinful nature in 2 Nephi 4:

17 Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.

18 I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me.

19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.

20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

21 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.

... 

26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?

27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?

28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the benemy of my soul.

29 Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation. 

There's more, and it's all good.


So I asked the question above, and Nephi's answer is the right one.  But how to apply that in my own life I'm still not sure.  How does one feel "wretched" like Nephi does while still rejoicing in one's heart for the Lord's condescension and mercy.


I worry that in practice one might end up feeling wretched and guilty to the point of despair, or feel so hopeful in ultimate salvation that the groaning for sins is simply skipped.


Nephi figured that out by the end of his life.  I'm still working on it.

Ignore the prophet when he says you're doing wrong

Making my way through the Old Testament, I laughed out loud at these verses in 1 Kings 22.

7 And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might enquire of him?
8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.

And later on in the chapter, in fact Micaiah does prophesy that Ahab, the King of Israel, will die.  Ahab Dies.

Even when prophets say hard things, we should listen.

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.

The commandment to get blessings

Ether Chapter 3 is becoming one of my favorite chapters in scripture.  I cited it in a previous post on another topic.  Today, I was struck by verses two and three.

2 O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.
3 Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been merciful unto us. O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these things which I have molten out of the rock.

I think these two verses are almost universally applicable to almost any situation we face in life.

In this life we are bound to go through trials (floods).  Like the Jaredites were commanded to take their ships across an unknown sea to an unknown land, so are we commanded to take our bodies into this unknown world that is full of strife and temptation.  In the world we will be weak.  Our nature is, well, natural--evil continually, as BOJ puts it.

Yet in that situation, we are commanded to pray for blessings.  The Lord wants to bless us, and commands us to "call upon" so we can receive the blessings he has in store for us.  Even as we suffer for iniquity, the Lord is with us, ready to ensure that we "shall not go forth across this raging deep in darkness."

We may feel unworthy at times to ask for the Lord's help and blessings because of our "weakness" and "iniquity."  But Jesus's favorite thing to do is forgive people.

I have gone through my hardest trials (so far) in the last year and was encompassed about by floods.  I felt to drown.  I prayed as BOJ does in these verses.  "O Lord, look upon me in pity and turn away thin anger."

"I don't deserve what I'm asking for.  I've been weak and unworthy.  But please do not suffer that I shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness."

The Lord stands ready to take whatever things we have and touch them to make them shine (v 4) and guide us through the trials we face.  The Lord wants to give us those blessings, and in fact has commanded us to pray for them and receive them.

Let's get to praying.

Like a child

When I was a teacher I taught the system of the body as part of science, and one part of that chapter was about the effects of chemicals and substances (drugs, alcohol) on the body's systems.  This was fourth grade, so the students all readily agreed that smoking, drinking, and drugs were very silly things to do, since they can really cause damage to your body, and who in the world would want to do that to themselves?

"You will," I told them.  "There will be a time, when you're teenagers, that the opinion of your friends is more important to you than what damage you might do to your body.  I just hope that when you're older and you have different people telling you to do different things, that you'll remember and pay more attention to those that really love you, like your parents and your teacher."  The kids all thought I was silly for thinking that they could be so easily swayed.

But they were, of course. The discovery by our own experience of what leads to sorrow and what leads to happiness is why we're here. We learn a lot by passing through sorrow, and teenage years are a time of vast, er, experience and learning.

Reading 3 Nephi 9 today, I saw two verses that stuck out.  "wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people" (v 2); and "Whoso arepenteth and cometh unto me bas a clittle child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God" (v 22).

I thought back to my teaching days.  As a little child (say, fourth grade) we are shocked at the idea that we'd make obviously wrong choices for the sake of popularity with those that don't have our own best interests at heart.  We'd be offended if the devil laughed in joy at our foolishness, and turn from such behavior back to the safety and security of our family.

That shock goes away as we get older, and the trick is to get it back.  To regain the attitude of a little child, one of offense at Satan's laughter at us, and returning to the safety and security of Him who loves us unconditionally.  Many people don't try to get it back, thinking that their own "independence" or something means they shouldn't listen to those they listened to as children.  Instead, they listen to and follow new influences, even when those people laugh and rejoice at our folly and failures.

Seen that way, being like a little child is actually much wiser.  We never give up our independence by following the advice of those that love us most, namely the Savior.  Rather, we're using that independence (agency) to get lasting happiness.

Judges, Nephites, weaknesses, and changes

The book of Judges reminds me of the parts (and aren't there just a ton of them?) of the Book of Mormon when the Nephites cycle through generations of righteousness and prosperity followed by pride, wickedness, and bondage.  The beginning chapters of Judges, especially, are tales of Israel worshiping false gods, falling into bondage, being rescued by those the Lord raised up for the purpose, praising God, and then repeating the cycle.

The cycle that spans generations for the Children of Israel and for the Nephites also plays out in the generations of our own church and more frequently in our own lives.  Our prophet and leaders consistently call us to repentance, warn us against the same sins over and over.  Much like Alma and other prophets of the Book of Mormon did in their day.

It got me to thinking.  God gives men weakness that they may be humble, through which humility weak things are made strong (Ether 12:27).  But a side effect of having such weaknesses is that men are, um, weak.  Sort of a natural consequence.  We are subject to the same sins over and over because we each have weaknesses that beset us, and while on the way to perfection through the atonement will regularly deal with temptation and frailty that is a necessary part of God's plan to humble us and qualify us for the blessings of the Atonement.

Alma calls the people of the Nephite cities and villages--members of the church--to "remembrance" in Alma 5. "And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?" (v 6).

We have these scriptures so that we can "remember" the captivity of others and be driven to avoid the captivity of the devil in our own lives.  But isn't the case that in addition to fail to remember the lessons they learned, that we also fail to remember the consequences of our own weakness?  We suffer for our sins and rejoice in repentance, yet still make choices that lead to suffering.

It makes me very grateful for the Atonement and the entire Plan of Salvation.  I know that in order to be more like my Father I have to learn from my own experience.  I know that having weakness is part of that experience.  I also know that if I, over time, (too much time, I frustratingly think sometimes) can learn to be humble and overcome those weaknesses, that experience will be a great strength to me for the rest of my Eternal Life.