WILL we ever get it? (Part 3)

(CAPS, color, bold, etc. are my emphasis throughout)

“While trav’ling thru this vale of tears?”^[1]

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, WILLING to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. (Book of Mormon Mosiah 3:19)

O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish. But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God. (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 9:28-29)

Wherefore, my beloved brethren [and sisters], reconcile yourselves to the WILL of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved. (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 10:24)

And what is the will of the devil and the flesh? What does this Lucifer ask Adam and Eve in the LDS temple drama?^[4] He asks “What is it you want?” Is that not the very question the “Prosperity Gospel” asks? The very focus of the Law of Attraction? What is it YOU want? What is YOUR WILL? YOUR wish, YOUR dream, YOUR fondest desire? Wasn’t that the substance of the Three Temptations? “I can GIVE YOU anything you could possibly need or desire. … Look to me because I’m the one with the material goods. I’ll come through for you. You can have anything in this world.” A fixation on “GIVE ME”?^[5.a&b]

Yet all the while, the adversary’s goal is to captivate the shortsighted soul. Remember Jabez Stone and Daniel Webster? Remember Faust? For in the strange paradox of life, those who give their WILL to God shall be added upon^[6] (trusted with increasing powers?) while those who pursue their own worldly WILL (without repentence), will lose because they cannot be trusted even with what they have.

He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (New Testament Matthew 10:39)

And it shall come to pass, if they are not more faithful unto me, it shall be taken away, even that which they have. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 60:3)

What a subtle twist we have fallen into—preached now from too many pulpits—that God is there to do OUR WILL. Just ask Him. Get in the right frame—the right wave-length of attraction—the right flow of the universe. Then the riches of the world will flood into your life. And if they don’t, it’s your fault; you haven’t gotten in sync, yet. But don’t be discouraged. Keep at it. Buy our books and DVDs. Attend our courses and lectures. Talk to God. Talk to yourself. Talk to us. (Just don’t run this “my will” through the prism of scripture though! Don’t read too deeply about the apostles and prophets or the Son of God! Their lives don’t exactly reflect OUR more attractive reality. It’s a great mystery! That’s why we don’t mention it!)

Even if we claim, our chief motive is to give back to God, or “our neighbor”, or the universe, is it really so? Or are we an enriched version of the church at Ephesus, becoming so distracted by our second love (of riches?), we forget there was even a first love before riches?^[7] Thinking our sacrifices in service, our donations to deserving causes, our tithing of temporal blessings constitute full measure (and running o’er) of all that is required? OR are we already déjà vu Nephites?^[8]

WILL we ever get it that we are on a proving ground?^[9] That we are not wise enough, faithful, charitable, disciplined, enlightened, just, nor visionary enough to know what is best in the eternal WILL and plan of things^[10]?

WILL we ever get it that our daily plea must be:

… thy word must be fulfilled. Help thy servants to say, with thy grace assisting them: Thy WILL be done, O Lord, and not ours (Doctrine and Covenants Section 109:44)?^[11]

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[1] From the LDS Hymn book (1985), # 116 Come Follow Me (Text: John Nicholson, 1839-1909; Music Samuel McBurney, b. 1847)

[2] What is that work? “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Pearl of Great Price Moses 1:39)

[3] Notice it says, “bear much fruit”; not “be given much fruit.”

[4] While teaching some of these concepts on discipleship to a Relief Society group, this insight was brought to my attention by a perceptive class member.

[5.a] AND I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore GIVE ME thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy WILL be done, and the glory be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should GIVE unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice. (Pearl of Great Price Moses 4:1-4)

[5.b] Of course, God gives us things also, but His goal in giving gifts (and trials) is for our growth, not our obsessions. The gifts He prefers to give—even directs that we ask for—are spiritual gifts, as in 1 Corinthians 12 and Doctrine and Covenants 46 (v. 8 “… and that ye may not be deceived SEEK YE EARNESTLY the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given;”). Proverbs makes it clear: “Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired ARE NOT TO BE COMPARED TO IT. … Riches and honour are with me; yea, DURABLE RICHES and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.” (Old Testament Proverbs 8:10-11, 18-19)

[6] And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever. (Pearl of Great Price Abraham 3:26)

[7] “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” (New Testament Revelation 2:4-5)

See also: “Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you. But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.” (Book of Mormon Jacob 2:17-19)

[8] And if ye seek the riches which it is the WILL of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 38:39)

[9] And we will prove them herewith, to see if they WILL do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; (Pearl of Great Price Abraham 3:25) And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the WILL of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their parents. (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 2:21)

[10] But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 2:24)

[11] Author’s concession: Of course, some may be rich and living in perfect harmony with God’s WILL, but the margin is so slim, it should keep one awake at night, reviewing one’s day. God and his prophets don’t get much more superlative than “wo, wo, wo” as in Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 28. And from my opinionated opinion, this includes the Church of the Laissez-faire ( http://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2011/03/econ-009-church-of-laissez-faire.html )

NOTE: a very insightful article on a 3-fold test for discerning the will of God in one's life can be found in the last three paragraphs of the article "32. Jacob's Departure From Haran: Genesis 31" at http://pbministries.org/books/pink/Gleanings_Genesis/genesis_32.htm

Don’t Worry! Be Happy! (???)

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Being happy, cheerful, positive (as we are often counseled) is all well and good—to a point. And what is that point? Perhaps to the point of awareness of the tragedies, misery, pain, and grief that fills the lives of so many of our fellow human beings (and other creations). Awareness too, that much of the sorrow need not be—if we really loved our neighbor and lived the Golden Rule. Of course, there is much happiness and joy (which we should celebrate), but does it not seem significant that a chief description of our divine mentor is “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” ^[1] How many of our scriptural prophets might also be described with the same appellation.

There surely is a balance somewhere,^[2] yet the following story might give us pause in these latter days as we get caught up in the personal pursuit of happiness (too often defined as prosperity).

4 And the LORD said unto him [the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side], Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 5 ¶ And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. 7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city. 8 ¶ And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? 9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. 10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head. 11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me. (Old Testament Ezekiel 9:4–11; emphasis added)

Perhaps we need a little more sighing and crying; awareness thereof in others (in both rich and poor); and commitment to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”^[3]

Consider the déjà vu from circa 83 BC:

12 Yea, he [Alma] saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted. Now this was a great cause for lamentations among the people, while others were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ's sake, who should come according to the spirit of prophecy; (Book of Mormon Alma 4:12-13)

How do we individually measure up to New Testament Romans 12? And do we find any companionship in these latter days with "the men that sigh and that cry" from Ezekiel 9:4?

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[1] Old Testament Isaiah 53:3; Book of Mormon Mosiah 14:3
[2] The Lord himself counsels: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (New Testament John 16:33). A seeming contrary perhaps—that in the midst of tribulation, we can find peace and good cheer—the working out of opposites and opposition?
[3] Doctrine and Covenants Section 81:5

To the sick and the afflicted

(which includes most of us, in some way or other)

Do we attract our sicknesses? Do we unconsciously choose our afflictions?

I have begun to hear intonations of such even in gospel discussion—how everything bad (as well as good) that happens to us, we have brought on ourselves—the bad, being a sort of shadow side of the Law of Attraction. But to me this sounds oddly déjà vu: as in “cause (i.e., thought and/or action) equals effect (i.e., consequence)”—a tidy formula of blame and responsibility. In times past (and even now, for some) the alleged cause was personal sin that brought God’s punishment.

AND as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? (New Testament John 9:1-2)

Today, we don’t openly question, “Who did sin?” Rather, our philosophies intone, “Your pain, suffering, poverty, illness, trauma, etc. is a manifestation of personal choice/thought/action (conscious or unconscious) that brought those things into your life. (Déjà vu, the friends of Biblical Job?!)

But I suggest we run this idea of meritocracy (of the bad and of the good) through the full gospel prism. Jesus’ reply to the above query was

… Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. (New Testament John 9:3)

And what is the work of God?

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Pearl of Great Price Moses 1:39)

And how does He intend to do it?

…We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; 25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them (Pearl of Great Price Abraham 3:24-25, emphasis added);

... I will try you and prove you herewith. ... for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy (Doctrine and Covenants Section 98:12, 14, emphasis added).

And how does He prove us? Through tests and trials. Tests and trials that He determines as best suited to our personal needs.

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam,and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father (Bk of Mormon Mosiah 3:19, emphasis added).

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (New Testament Hebrews 12:5-11)

By descending into this world of testing, trial, and tribulation, we are subject to things we never desired, thought, expected, or deserved.* Warnings abound in scripture of the ubiquity of tribulation:

▪ These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (N.T. John 16:33, emphasis added).
▪ Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. (New Testament Acts 14:22)
▪ For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. (New Testament 1 Thessalonians 3:4)
▪ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (New Testament Revelation 7:13-14)

There are warnings too, that not all promises will arrive during mortality:

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (New Testament Hebrews 11:13)

So, to the sick and the afflicted, perhaps:

1. We should not judge ourselves or others as necessarily meriting these so-called cursings, failings, sorrows, traumas, etc., or as bringing them upon ourselves. As I have written before, we shall be tested in the three necessities of faith, hope, and charity; and many of those tests will break our hearts:

Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered. (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 2:7; see also Doctrine and Covenants Section 59:8; Section 97:8)

2. We should consider the company we hope to keep and all their trials and tribulations. Consider Adam & Eve, Noah & Naamah, Moses & Zipporah, Abraham, Sarah, & Hagar, Job & wife, Mary & Joseph, Jesus the Christ, Apostles Peter & Paul, Roger & Mary Barnard Williams, Joseph & Emma Hale Smith, and Mother Teresa, to name a few, plus countless other good and great people throughout history. How do we reconcile their desires to love and serve God with ALL the trials they endured if the notion of meritocracy governs all?

3. We might ask this question: “What are the works of God that He would have manifest in my life as I endure provings, trials, and tribulations?”

*Now a final note of caution. This criticism of meritocracy does not deny the law of the harvest, or that justice must have its due, or that our thoughts and actions reap consequences. God has warned us that they will and do—and that in His final judgment, there are irrevocable laws and consequences (tempered only when repentance or incapacity triggers mercy). Often we know when we have deserved disagreeable consequence. By the same token, we also know when justice seems turned upside down. Rather, this criticism of “meritocracy” is aimed at the pre-judgments we make about seeming blessings and cursings before the final judgment; and at our tendency to ignore what God and His witnesses have said about this life and the process by which man is refined and perfected. Man’s trials may not always be “merited” (as in being a direct consequence of thought or behavior), but they are often necessary for the exercise of moral agency, for growth and perfection.

Once again, we are faced with allowing divergent views—sufferings through consequence and sufferings through appointment. In my view, the monocle of meritocracy distorts the nature of tribulation and places blame in cases where there should be only understanding, compassion, comfort, and generosity.