Heavenly Mother: Are you Really There?

February 8, 2013 in Faith | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 comments

Heavenly-MotherA couple weeks ago I wrote about women holding the priesthood.  The discussion turned from women holding the priesthood to a lively discussion on Heavenly Mother.  Some of my Evangelical pastor friends who have followed my blog for a few years were shocked and appalled to learn that Mormons were openly discussing this.  I think they kind of also felt a “bait and switch” because this is something they hadn’t heard of before in my writings, but more importantly isn’t mentioned in Mormon books they have such as: The Book of Mormon, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, Doctrine and Covenants, etc.

The reaction of my friend reminded me of a similar experience I had while I was in Germany on a Mormon mission in the mid 1990s.  As a missionary, you always are worried about what a member might say when you bring a potential convert to church with you.  There are many strange things out there that prophets have done or said over the years that some members full heartedly believe.  You invite people to visit church with the hopes that someone doesn’t say something “crazy” and scare them off.

On this particular day, it wasn’t a Mormon church member that scared our potential convert off, but a song called “O My Father“.  Part of the song discusses that there is a Mother in Heaven.  When my German friend read that verse he looked like someone had punched him in the gut as he turned and looked at me with a questioning look.  Right after the service he ran out the door and we really never saw him again after that.

With this experience in mind, and the fact that the doctrine of a Heavenly Mother isn’t official LDS doctrine, I tried to explain that to my non-Mormon friends online.

Other LDS, or Mormon, friends who follow the blog jumped in and shared quite a few recent comments made by Mormon prophets and apostles who discuss us having Heavenly Parents.  Even with all of the educating of the doctrine of having a Heavenly Mother, I have the feeling my Evangelical friends are still very uneasy with the concept.

Why Evangelicals are Shocked

I think there is an underlying reason why Evangelicals are shocked to learn of Mormons discussing having a Heavenly Mother, and that is the way Mormons view our relationship to who God is vs. how Evangelicals view our relationship to God.

In the book “How Wide the Divide?”, Stephen Robinson states the following about how Mormons view God:

Since Latter-day Saints take seriously and literally the scriptural language about becoming the children of God (Rom 8:16), it makes sense to us that the children will grow up to be like their Father.  According to Scripture, God is the Fother of spirits (Heb 12:9).  We are his offspring (Acts 17:29), and offspring grow up to be what their parents are…(How Wide the Divide, pg 80)

The Evangelical point of view of man’s relationship to God is described by Craig Blomberg  in the same book as God being the “Creator” and man being the “creatures”.  Therefore, God is like the sculptor who sculpts a statue.  Although the statue is in the image of a human, the statue does not possess the traits of a human and is a completely different creature.

I believe that Mormons who feel we are the literal offspring of God have this in mind when they discuss having a Heavenly Mother.  A very good example of this is the song I mentioned previously, “O My Father”.  A portion of the song reads:

I had learned to call the Father, Through thy Spirit from on high,

But until the key of knowledge Was restored, I knew not why.

In the heavens are parents single? No, the thought makes reason stare!

Truth is reason, truth eternal tells me I’ve a mother there.

Conclusion

Mormons take the biblical scripture literally to mean that they are the offspring of God.  With that thought in mind, many Mormons assume that it is logical that God has a wife (Heavenly Mother) who conceived our spirits.  Evangelicals view man’s relationship with God much differently in the sense that God created us and formed us in His image, but we are not literal offspring of God.

If you are not a Mormon, what are your thoughts about the concept of a Heavenly Mother?

If you are a Mormon, why do you think there isn’t much discussion surrounding having a Heavenly Mother?  Do you consider the concept of having a Heavenly Mother to be speculation, or do you consider it to be an official doctrine?

Bible, Book of Mormon, D&C, PGP, or Prophets: Which Scripture is most Important?

February 1, 2013 in Bible, Book of Mormon, Prophets, revelation, Scripture Study | 2 comments

mormon scriptureA few weeks ago, in Gospel Principles Sunday School class, I taught about the importance of scripture.

The conversation was interesting because there were some investigators (people considering joining the Mormon church) as well as some “seasoned” Mormons in attendance.  When I asked questions about the importance of scripture, I noticed that most of the non-Mormons revered the Bible and most of the Mormons in the class acknowledged the Bible, but didn’t hold it as high as the Book of Mormon.

Mormons’ View of Scriptures

For those of you who are not as familiar with Mormons’ view of scriptures, I’ll briefly go over each scripture along with some quotes by LDS prophets on each.

The Bible

If you ask a Mormon if they believe in the Bible the answer will always be “yes”.  However, for most Mormons there is a little asterisk next to that yes because, according to Mormon belief:

We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly (see Articles of Faith 1:8)

Mormons believe that there was an apostasy after the original apostles died and over the years, parts of the Bible were removed, therefore the Bible is not the complete book that it once was.

In fact, the Book of Mormon has scriptures that discuss the “plain and precious truths” that were taken away from the Bible, thus making the Bible an incomplete book as to containing the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Joseph Smith worked throughout his life on what he called the “inspired version” of the Bible, which includes additions to the King James Bible that he received through revelation.  Although he never was able to complete the version, Mormons have the Joseph Smith Translation included in many of their scriptures (they do not claim this to be the official Bible, but have it to offer “insight”.)

The Book of Mormon

In speaking about the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, Mormons’ founder and first prophet, declared

I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book (Book of Mormon Introduction)

Many Mormon Apostles and Prophets have voiced of the importance of the Book of Mormon and even declare blessings that will come into ones’ life when studying the Book.  The late prophet, Ezra Taft Benson said:

It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance. (see talk: The Book of Mormon: Keystone of our Religion)

Since this talk was given by Ezra Taft Benson in 1986, I feel that many Mormons have focused heavily on reading the Book of Mormon above any other scripture, which is what I witnessed in the Sunday School class.

Doctrine and Covenants

The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) are revelations that were given to Mormon prophets (mostly Joseph Smith) dealing with various doctrines and organizational structure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) that aren’t found in either the Bible or Book of Mormon in detail.

Some of the key revelations (in my opinion) include: how to receive answers to prayer, organizational structure of the Church, Priesthood defined and execution of callings within the priesthood, revelation on the Three degrees of glory (heaven), and The Word of Wisdom (no alcohol, coffee, etc.).

Other revelations that have had some controversy around them are: polygamy, temple ordinances (including eternal marriage) and baptisms for the dead

Pearl of Great Price

The Pearl of Great Price (PGP) has two books (Moses and Abraham) that Joseph Smith translated from papyri that was found.  It contains more details on the first books of Genesis in the Bible.

Joseph Smith’s history is also included here.  The history is mainly his account of his First Vision, or when God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him to reestablish Jesus’ church.

In addition to these books, the PGP has the Articles of Faith (similar to a Creed), a revelation from a later prophet declaring it illegal to practice polygamy anymore, and a revelation extending the priesthood to black members.

Modern Prophets

One of the unique aspects of Mormonism is the claim that their church leaders are prophets, or mouthpieces, for the Lord.  As such, most Mormons believe that the writings of the apostles and prophet found in Church publications such as the Ensign are to be considered scriptural.

Which Scripture is Most Important?

A case can be made for each scripture.  For example, without the Bible, there wouldn’t be any of the other scriptures because Joseph Smith was led to pray for guidance from a scripture he read from the Bible.

On the other hand, Mormon prophets have declared the Book of Mormon the most important book…but if Mormons only had the Book of Mormon, they wouldn’t know exactly how to run the church and additional components to the faith such as the Word of Wisdom, eternal marriage, etc. wouldn’t exist.

Finally, I can see how some people would feel that Modern-day Prophets’ revelations trump all of the other scriptures (such as doing away with polygamy and using water instead of wine for communion).

Just for fun, I’ll close with a poll for you to rank what you feel is the most important scripture.

Mormon Women Hold the Priesthood

January 25, 2013 in Church | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 77 comments

I teach a class at our local Mormon church called Gospel Principles.  It is a course designed for people who are not familiar with the Mormon faith who are wanting to learn more, or for those who need a “refresher” course.  This week’s lesson is on the Priesthood.

According to the lesson manual, the definition of priesthood is: the eternal power and authority of God.  The lesson continues by sharing that God has a certain order and delegates this power and authority for people to act in his name.  It also goes on to share the in God’s church only those who have been ordained to the priesthood by the laying on of hands can lead God’s church.

As I read through the lesson, I became distracted by a certain phrase that kept popping up in various ways.  I’ll highlight some of them:

Our Heavenly Father delegates His priesthood power to worthy male members of the Church.

If a man does not have the priesthood, even though he may be sincere, the Lord will not recognize ordinances he performs

Men need the priesthood to preside in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

A worthy male member of the Church receives the priesthood “by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority..”

Men cannot buy and sell the power and authority of the priesthood.

When a man uses the priesthood “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned” (D&C 121:41), he can do many wonderful things for his family and others.

Men use priesthood authority to preside in the Church in such callings as branch president, bishop, quorum president, stake president, and mission president.

…every man who uses the priesthood in righteousness that he “will find his life sweetened, his discernment sharpened to decide quickly between right and wrong, his feelings tender and compassionate…”

As you can probably see, the word “man” or “men” was mentioned with almost every paragraph.  There was one mention of women in the whole lesson, which is:

Men and women who hold positions in the Church as officers and teachers work under the direction of priesthood leaders and under the guidance of the Holy Ghost.

Women Still hold the Priesthood

Mormon Heretic points out that the original intention of Priesthood (the power to act in God’s name) was that men and women have a share in the priesthood.  Priesthood has evolved into meaning hierarchical positions in the church, but that wasn’t it’s original intention.  As pointed out in the article, women received the priesthood when they received their endowment in the temple.

Today, women still receive endowments in the temple and they perform priesthood ordinances, so they have the priesthood but only use it in the temples (to my knowledge).

Is that enough?

Although technically, Mormon women have the priesthood, they do not use it to give blessings, perform ordinances, and function in leadership positions such as pastor for a congregation.

As a Mormon male, I can not speak in behalf of Mormon women.  I just know that if I were a Mormon woman, I’d have a lot of questions about why men run everything and how it evolved from leaders talking about both men and women sharing the priesthood to where it is now discussed that only men have the priesthood (although that is technically not true).  It appears that many women from the Mormon Woman Project feel that way as pointed out in a recent Salt Lake News Tribune article, in that they want to see greater equality in the church.

If you are a Mormon woman, please share your thoughts about the priesthood.  If you are fine with how things are, please explain why.  If you would like some changes, why and what would you change?

Your Favorite Church Calling

January 9, 2013 in Church, Latter-day Saints | Tags: , | 6 comments

church callingToday one of my friends, who is serving as a counselor in a bishopric for a Mormon Church, told me he couldn’t hang out this weekend because of his schedule with a church assignment.  I jokingly told him that the main reason I keep moving around is to avoid getting a “big” church calling.  I’ll explain.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) are assigned jobs, otherwise known as church callings.  The callings are assigned under the inspiration of the local minister, or bishop and his leadership team.  From my experience, callings usually last no more than 3 years and can range from working in the nursery with kids during church, being the humanitarian representative in the community or even being a Relief Society President (for women) or Bishop.

I have been an active member of the LDS church for a number of years.  Just to give those of you who are not familiar with Mormon callings an idea, I’ll list some of the callings I’ve had over the years along with a brief description of what the job entailed:

Home Teacher: Visiting an assigned group of families within the congregation once per month and sharing a spiritual message with them along with making sure their needs are met.

Deacon’s Quorum President:  As a 12 year old boy, the Deacon’s president functions under the supervision of the Deacon’s adviser  who is an adult.  He mainly organizes youth activities and makes sure the sacrament (communion) is passed out accurately each week.

Teachers Quorum President: This is very similar to a Deacon, except the boys are 14 years old.

Priest’s Quorum 1st Assistant: Same as Deacon and Teacher, except the Priest also blesses the communion during church.

Elder’s Quorum President: The Elder’s Quorum President is responsible for seeing that all the Elders (usually males in the congregation 18-50 years old) are being spiritually in line with the Lord, making sure their needs are met, assigning home teaching assignments, receiving feedback on how to help members in the congregation with various needs, working with the bishop to help new members move out or move into the “ward” (i.e. congregation).

Elder’s Quorum Instructor: Teaching a spiritual lesson in Elder’s quorum class on Sunday.

District Leader:  Leader of a group of 4-10 missionaries.  Can also be a leader of Elders in a large Elder’s quorum.

Zone Leader:  In a mission, the District Leaders report to the Zone leader.  Usually about 2-4 district leaders to each zone leader.

Substitute Primary Teacher: Primary is Sunday School for children ages 3-12.

Executive Secretary to the Bishop: Note-taker and organizer for the bishop to keep him on track with all his duties.

Ward Missionary:  Works with the full-time missionaries to teach investigators (people considering being baptized into the Mormon Church)

Gospel Principles Instructor: Teaches investigators and newly baptized members basic gospel principles each week in Sunday School.

Youth Instructor (ages 16-18): Teaches youth each week during Sunday School

Sunday School President:  Responsible for calling all Sunday School instructors and ensuring they are properly taught on how to best teach.

There are also “callings” mentioned frequently over the pulpit from our church leaders that are things assigned to us as being disciples of Christ such as being a good neighbor, parent, spouse, etc.

The culture within the Mormon church is that it is sort of taboo to turn down a calling.  I’ve heard people say that if you turn a calling down from a leader, you are turning down the Lord.  Since the leader is (ideally) receiving revelation on who should be called to what position, that may very well be the case, but my purpose in writing this article isn’t to debate turning down a calling.  I mention it, just to let those of you unfamiliar with Mormon culture in on the mind set many members of the Church have when asked to do something.

Personally, I have turned down a calling on a couple occasions, but I usually accept the calling, even if I don’t necessarily want to do it.  I have found that in most cases I learn and grow a lot from the various callings I have been given.

That being said, I will rank my favorite callings (being a father and husband are my number one callings that I thoroughly enjoy, but I am referring to callings that are formerly issued) as well as my least favorite.

Favorite Church Callings

1. Elder’s Quorum Instructor: I loved this calling because I only taught once/month and had a whole month to dive deep into the lesson plan and scriptures.  The conversations and discussions with the Elders in church were very inspirational for me and I learned a lot from them and mostly from the Holy Spirit.  Plus, I love teaching.

2. Zone Leader: I remember on my mission as a zone leader thinking if I could find a job that was like that, I would love it!  I am a Regional Manager in sales now, which is very similar to what I did as a zone leader.  The upside now is that the product I sell isn’t as hard of a sell as religion was!

3. Sunday School President: As I oversaw all the instructors in the congregation and made assignments, I felt I had the best of both worlds in teaching as well as administrative tasks.  It was an enjoyable calling.

Least Favorite Church Callings

1. Executive Secretary to the Bishop: I absolutely hated this calling.  I do not do well with organization and being the executive secretary was nothing by trying to keep the bishop organized.  I also do not do well with taking orders and this calling is nothing but taking orders from the bishop.  I will admit that I didn’t have the best attitude while I had this calling and so the experience wasn’t as good as if I had humbled myself more…or just not said I would do it.

2. Elders Quorum President:  This was a love/hate calling for me.  There were aspects that I completely loved about the calling.  The group of men I served had 92 elders in it.  It was a massive group.  I had 3 counselors and 1 secretary along with 5 district leaders (I divided the group in to 5 districts with nearly 20 men in each district).  I loved visiting the men in the group, teaching them, praying with them and for them, etc.  The only part I didn’t like was how draining it was on me emotionally and time consuming.  I was in graduate school at the time and working full time as well.  This calling took about 15 hours/week.  After about 2 years I asked to be released because I just couldn’t emotionally keep up with the demanding schedule and something had to give.

Conclusion

I think from my experience that I have learned that I do best in a role that gives me some flexibility to “call the shots” such as with teaching, or in some leadership roles.  My preference is that of teaching because I don’t have as many people who are reporting up to me and what I have to worry about is making sure what I am teaching is in line with what the Spirit is leading me to teach.

If you are a Mormon, what have your favorite and least favorite callings been and why?

If you are in a different faith, what is your understanding of being “called” to something and what callings have you had?

2012 in review

January 4, 2013 in Spirituality | Tags: | Leave a comment

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 88,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

God doesn’t only Listen to Organ Music: Where the (Heck) is our Band? I Want a Band in Church!

January 3, 2013 in Church, Mormon culture | Tags: , , , , | 10 comments

Brandon-Flowers_2031941cI’ve been waiting to write this for a while now, but I laughed out loud when reading a comment on this post , so I thought it was time to share my thoughts on the issue with music in the Mormon church.

When discussing the issue of Mormon church meetings lasting so long, one of the comments was:

…my friend has a full-fledged band in her Methodist church. Where the (heck)’s (he used a different expression) our band! I wanna band!

After reading this,  my thoughts went back to when I was 21 years old and just home from my LDS mission to Germany.  I had been asked to sing in church so I sang my own arrangement of the hymn “Beautiful Savior” on the acoustic guitar (playing guitar isn’t normally done in LDS churches, so I thought it would be a good thing to add variety to the worship).

I felt very moved when preparing for the song and also singing the song.  When playing the song, I didn’t go crazy on a blues scale or put a pop flare into it.  I simply did a simple picking and strumming pattern and played it softly and worshipful.    I truly felt the Holy Spirit when singing and playing the song during church.  After the meeting many people came up and mentioned how it had moved them too.  However, when the bishop approached me, he had other things to say.  He whipped out the bishop’s handbook (this is a handbook issued by the LDS church President that has guidelines and policies about how to conduct meetings in church and other issues leaders need to deal with) and was polite about telling me that I sounded good, but that sacrament meeting wasn’t a place for guitars (even though the book doesn’t explicitly state that).

I disagreed with him and I still do.

I have family members who attend various other Christian denominations including: Anglican, Foursquare, Presbyterian, and non-denominational.  I have been to their services when their band is playing songs and the congregation joins in.  The argument I have always heard against a full band in church from Mormon leadership is that guitars and drums drive away the Spirit.  However, when I have attended their church I have felt the Spirit during songs with a full band just as much as I have with the traditional organ-accompanied hymnals we hear in Mormon or traditional Christian churches.  Plus our kids pay more attention and enjoy it more as well!

The official policy from the latest Mormon Church Handbook states the following about music selection for sacrament:

Organs and pianos, or their electronic equivalents, are the standard instruments used in Church meetings. If other instruments are used, their use should be in keeping with the spirit of the meeting. Instruments with a prominent or less worshipful sound, such as most brass and percussion, are not appropriate for sacrament meeting.

I can understand not wanting percussion, although do not completely agree with them that drums are less worshipful.  I’ve been to meetings where drums are played and there is definitely a more worshipful experience with the drummer and congregation compared with what you usually see in Mormon meetings where people are half asleep as they play a slow hymn and fight kids during the song.

Where I do agree with the Mormon leaders’ philosophy on music in church is that before the Sacrament (Communion) it is appropriate to play reflective music.  This should be a very reflective time.  However, once the Sacrament has been conducted the other songs that are sung during the meeting can be upbeat with various instruments, I think.

Finally, I am a member of a band in our local Stake.  We play songs that relate to pioneers, Jesus, scriptures, missionaries, and the gospel in general.  The songs we play the range from very slow to very upbeat.  I feel a closeness to God as I express my praise through music and many other people have expressed how close they feel to God when listening to us as well.  We use a full band and I think there wouldn’t be a problem playing our stuff in sacrament meeting with most of the songs we perform.  Although they are more upbeat than hymns, they are worshipful.

I do not believe that God only listens to organ music.  Heaven wouldn’t be Heaven if that’s all we heard up there!

So in conclusion, I share the same sentiment to a certain extent with the comment on the other blog:

Where the Heck is our band?  I want a band in church!!!

A Christmas Song that will make Athiests Believers…

December 20, 2012 in Christmas | Tags: , , , | 2 comments

Until I read the recent article about The Piano Guys partnering with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) on a new Christmas project, I had never heard of them.  I was blown away by how soothing and spiritual their sound is.  It was one of those moments that carries you away as you listen.  When I watched it, I read through some of the comments and an athiest even commented on how moved he was.  I rank it as the best song I’ve heard this year.  If you haven’t had a chance to see the video yet, here it is:

Other Christmas songs that move me during the Christmas Season are by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  The first time I really paid attention to the songs, “For Unto Us a Child is Born” and “Hallelujah” was as a young Mormon missionary in Germany in the mid-’90s.  I purchased Handel’s “Messiah” and would listen to that cd over and over again.  Every time I hear both of these songs, not only do I feel the Lord’s presence, but my mind goes back to my mission and how each day was dedicated to serving the people of Germany and lifting them up through Christ’s message.

Versions of each song are included below:

There are so many great versions of Christmas Songs out there.  Please share in the comments your favorites and links to them so we can all enjoy.

In conclusion, I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas.  I pray that we all enjoy spending time with our friends and family and also spend time serving those who may need a little of the Lord’s hope in their lives.  I also pray blessings on each of you during this Christmas season and always.

Church Meetings Should Keep up with the Times in Technology

December 13, 2012 in Church | 5 comments

It was like a good old boys club as each of us sat around joking and telling stories.  I was having a good time surrounded by friends and colleagues, but I noticed the only lady in the group sitting on the side trying to stay calm as her face turned various shades of red.  She was not amused.

After the meeting, she approached me and expressed her frustration with the direction the meetings were going.  She felt that we rarely stayed on topic and that there wasn’t a purpose to the meeting.  Furthermore, she wondered why we were wasting time meeting anyways when we could be doing more important things like visiting people who needed our help.

She was the Relief Society President and I was the Elders President in a local singles congregation.  I was primarily responsible for over 90 young men (Elders) and she was responsible for primarily the young ladies and we also collaborated to help each other.  The meeting was a leadership meeting that was held each Sunday with our Bishop (Pastor) and the purpose was to keep him informed of the needs of the young people in the congregation.

While the intentions were good and important, some, including our Relief Society President thought the meetings were a waste of time in that we could be using that time more effectively.

Mormons are notorious for having meetings, as referred to in this blog I read today.  We have 3 hour meetings on Sundays and if we are in a leadership position that can be as much as 6-8 hours in meetings on Sundays.  It can be exhausting (believe me, I know from personal experience)!

Using Technology to Address the Issue

I think that meetings are an important part of building unity between the various groups and also keeping the lead pastor (bishop) informed on what each auxiliary is doing.  However, I don’t think we need to physically meet for every meeting.

For example, much of what is discussed between auxiliaries could be handled in emails that with each leader receiving a copy.  Meetings could also be held via Skype or teleconference.

Additionally, for Mormons who find it hard to attend their church meetings, perhaps there could be a live stream or recording of sacrament meeting so they can view it from home.

Conclusion

I think there are many resources that we aren’t using and as a result some members are getting frustrated.  Implmenting some additional technology into our mix could only help the situation.

What are your thoughts?

 

What is your Favorite Legacy Left by Joseph Smith?

December 5, 2012 in Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith | Tags: , , | 10 comments

Jeff Lindsay thinks Joseph Smith’s greatest legacy is the Book of Mormon.  I agree with him and personally feel that the Book of Mormon is probably his greatest legacy for me personally because reading it has literally changed my life.

However, there are many more things that Joseph Smith accomplished in his lifetime that I thought it would be worth highlighting some of them since this month is his birthday.  In fact, John Taylor (the Church’s 3rd president) went so far to say that “Joseph Smith has done more save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.“

Some things off the top of my head that I can think of that Joseph Smith left behind include: temples, translation of the Bible, Doctrine and Covenants, eternal marriage, and the organization of the Church.  I’m sure there are tons more that I’m not thinking of, so that’s where you come in!

Below is a poll that includes a list of the major good things Joseph Smith accomplished.  Take the poll and leave a comment on your favorite legacy left by Joseph Smith.

Life is Like a Triathlon…

November 29, 2012 in Christianity, Jesus | 6 comments

Wind hit me and rain pelted down on my frozen skin like a pellet.  Shivering and shaking like a leaf on a tree, I looked up and watched as all of the
people in my heat of the race continued on without me.  My dream of finishing a triathlon seemed to diminish with every gust of wind and drop of rain.  Minutes before, I had made the decision to swim to the side of the shore.  The three foot waves may as well been a tsunami because with every breath I tried to breathe, I swallowed in more water.  As I sat shaking on the rock I pondered 3 questions:

Who am I to think I could finish a triathlon, especially under these circumstances?

I could easily just climb up from the rock and walk back over to my car.  Why am I still sitting here, and why am I even here in the first place?

Finally, questions such as where am I even going and why is it important to me?  Lingered in my mind.

Six months prior to the race, I was a recent college graduate working a part-time job.  I had an extra 20 hours per week on my hands and had started reading about triathlons.  The event seemed like such a monstrous challenge, especially since I had never had swimming lessons and was a very poor swimmer.  Furthermore, I hadn’t really pushed myself to the limits necessary to physically and mentally endure such a race.  The more I read about it, the more I wanted to do it, so I set forth a game plan.

First, I purchased “The Triathletes Training Bible” and studied it religiously.  I learned how to track my work-outs and eating.  Part of this included getting rid of foods that were bad for me and wouldn’t give me proper energy like fatty and sugary foods.  I cleared my house of bad foods and started keeping close watch over what I ate.  I learned from expert athletes about how to mentally and physically prepare for the race.  I put up charts to track my progress and stay focused and every day as I read, I would focus on my vision during each stage of the race.  I could see myself confidently swimming gracefully through the water, churning 20 mph on the bike and running like the wind.  Over time, I gained complete confidence that I could not only finish, but do well in the race.

Next, I assessed my weaknesses.  I noticed an obvious flaw in my swimming and cycling abilities.  I had participated in running races previously, and saw some slight areas of improvement there as well.  After analyzing my weaknesses, I decided that I needed more hands-on guidance in swimming and cycling.  I turned to two experts in each area: a girl in my church who was on the BYU swim team, and my roommate, who was on the BYU cycling team.  As I approached them asking for help, they graciously obliged to coach me.

A few times each week, I would meet with my coaches and they would help me with technique and encourage me.  Over time, I became much more efficient in both swimming and cycling.  For example, when I first started swimming, I couldn’t even go for ½ a lap.  By the end, I was swimming laps for 45 minutes without stopping.

Finally, I turned to other experts such as people at the pro-shops who were seasoned racers.  I would ask them questions about the proper equipment, techniques, and strategies.  I learned about how to properly eat before, during and after the race, what swimming, biking, and running gear are essential, and how to mentally prepare.  One word of wisdom that I wished I would have heeded was that I should purchase a wetsuit for the race.  The athlete who told me this strategy said it was helpful for a number of reasons: first, to provide buoyancy, and second to keep me warm in case of inclement weather.

As I sat shivering on the rock with my swim goggles pulled up over my head, watching as countless athletes swam past me with their wetsuits, I realized that I had made a serious mistake.  However, I thought about all of the time and effort I had put into preparing as well as the time and effort my coaches had put into me.  They believed in me, and I also believed in myself.  I also envisioned how dejected I would feel by quitting without reaching my goal of finishing the race.

I realized that over the course of 6 months of training, I had become an athlete as well.  I was in the best shape of my life and I was there to prove to myself and others that I could overcome a challenge and meet a goal I had set for myself.

A picture came to my mind that I had seen nearly every day for 6 months as I had trained.  It was a picture of a strong athlete finishing the race with hands held high in triumph.  As my mind caught hold of the vision of finishing the race, I pulled my goggles back down over my eyes and jumped back into the frigid water.  I didn’t want to let myself down.

When I stumbled out of the water, I had only one focus and that was to get to my bike.  However, I was very, very cold and shivering almost uncontrollably.  My friend, who was waiting for me instantly ran over to me and helped warm me up, gave me some food for energy, and helped me get my shoes on and onto my bike.  He gave me some words of encouragement and a big pat on the back as I started to ride.

I was so far behind that the next heat of racers was already getting onto their bikes.  I was the very last one in my heat.  Competition started to kick in and I pedaled as fast as I could.  Within a few minutes, the blood was circulating and I was thinking clearly.  I could clearly picture in my mind me running across the finish line.  However, that event was another hour or so down the road.  I realized that I needed to focus on a shorter goal.  What I chose was targeting the racer right in front of me and trying to catch up and pass him.  This strategy worked because I ended up gaining ground and finishing about in the middle of the pack once I ran across the finish line.

The Race of Life

When the huge and cold waves of the lake washed over me and I was overcome in the triathlon, I took time to swim over to a rock and re-focus on who I was and why I wanted to finish.

President Monson has said:

In this fast-paced life, do we ever pause for moments of meditation—even thoughts of timeless truths?… when sickness enters the house of good health, when life’s candle dims and darkness threatens. Our thoughts become focused, and we are easily able to determine what is really important and what is merely trivial…In our times of deepest reflection or greatest need, the soul of man reaches heavenward, seeking a divine response to life’s greatest questions…

One of the main purposes for our life, if not the main purpose in life is to develop charity, or Christ-like love for ourselves and each other.  In the Book of Mormon Moroni wrote:

And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

Clearly developing the gift of love is one of the greatest purposes we have in this life.

Whatever our situation in life is, if we pause to pray and reflect on how we can love more deeply, we will be blessed with a closer relationship with God and our fellow men.  Like a triathlon, it takes patience and preparation and daily focus.  As we read our scriptures, pray, and surround ourselves with things that will bring us closer to God, it is important to realize that we can not endure the journey to the end without the help of Jesus.

Because Jesus Finished, We Can Finish

One thing to keep in mind as we do everything we can to develop the gift of Charity and endure to the end of our “race” is that were it not for Jesus there wouldn’t even be a race for us to run.  If Jesus hadn’t already won the race by suffering for our sins and dying on the cross, we would be hopeless and unable to obtain eternal life.

Not only has Jesus provided us hope through the Atonement, but He is also there to help us in our daily walk with God.  We need to realize that, like me stumbling out of the water, weak and exhausted and needing help to be lifted up onto my bike, we cannot move forward and be lifted up without Jesus.  Daily, we need to call on him and He will provide us with the strength we need to continue on.

Whatever trial we are facing, I hope we can find the energy to reach within ourselves and get back into the race by calling out to our Father in Heaven for help.  I know that if we do this, God will provide us support and strength to continue on and it is my hope that if we do this, we will eventually enter into His presence.

Cleanse your Soul with Grace for Grace “Spiritual SOAP”

Grace for Grace

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 598 other followers

GraceforGrace Community

Blog Stats

  • 290,111 hits
Religion blogs
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 598 other followers