A Curious Instrument

Here is the scene. The family is in the small front room of the house. The mess of opening the Christmas presents is still evident and the kids have already settled down contentedly to various electronic gifts and their parents are on the couch, watching some holiday programming on the television.  In every way, this is a typical Christmas evening aftermath in many working-class American homes. Suddenly, the front door bursts off its hinges with a forceful kick and a black-garbed man steps over the threshold, pulling a shotgun into the front room with a motion that pumps the weapon for use. Everything becomes a blur and it is as if time slows down. There is swift movement regardless, a bit of a scuffle at the wreck of where the door once stood, and bodies slam into a wall with a cracking sound that might be breaking drywall.  There is a blast from the shotgun. Time snaps back into place and everyone's ears are ringing and there is the distinct smell of gunpowder.  One man...

As I read in the Book of Mormon , I see many prophetic parallels to our day, just as many as can be found in the Old and New Testaments. I know many people, even professed Christians, summarily reject the Book of Mormon in spite of fulfilled prophecies unfolding right in front of us, which I see addressed in these verses:   4 Nephi 1 24 And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride, such as the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world. 25 And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them. Pride is always the gateway to evil that you never thought could happen.  Righteous things that have been before are cast away in favor of things that are more selfish than Christ-like. 26 And they began to be divided into classes; and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain, and began to deny the true church of Ch...

Churches are something of a community.  Many are communities of affinity, a gathering of people who see the world and devotion in a similar way.  They can also be very fluid communities, adding and removing members when such religious/cultural affinity or proximity shifts, either individually or collectively. This is likely an undercurrent of the current ecumenism among many Christians. There is an interesting formation of this on the outskirts of my own "faith tradition":  The Community of Christ .  This is a group of disaffected followers of Joseph Smith that collected in the decades after his death and ultimately morphed into a feel-good, easy-going faith community centered around peace. Its "community" moniker has become central to its existence and is a good example of putting the concept of community before almost anything else. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints  (LDS) also built communities, especially in its Pioneer era, that are still very...

This isn't the first or second  or third blog post about prosperity here, but it comes up in the Book of Mormon on a regular basis, including instructions on how to obtain it .  In this blog post, we investigate some actions that can be taken to lose the prosperity that righteousness merits. First, just a recap of what "prosperity in Christ" looks like:  4 Nephi 1 23 And now I, Mormon, would that ye should know that the people had multiplied, insomuch that they were spread upon all the face of the land, and that they had become exceedingly rich, because of their prosperity in Christ. There is something here that makes social scientists jump:  The entire idea that people multiplying happened at the same time as people getting rich.  It works the exact opposite way in our time - when people become rich, they have less children.  This is a rock-hard doctrine of our times, but apparently not a feature among the righteous followers of Jesus Christ. What was t...

I have gotten to a wondrous period in the Book of Mormon record in my slow reading. Christ had recently come to establish his gospel and his church and all the people have converted to discipleship to the Lord and the disciples he chose and ordained to lead his church are already about their assigned work.  The condition that Mormon describes most during this blessed time is that there was "no contention" in the land. Christ had made the point often that there should be "no disputations" among the people on points of the Lord's doctrine and ordinances. The people seem to have taken this to heart and the conditions at the time was described as "continual peace". Wouldn't all of us enjoy such a state? Sadly, in our times, there are evil forces at work which breed many disputations and much contention, leaving no room for peace. If one word could describe this day, it would be "compulsion" to my eyes. This is easy enough to see in political...

In my continuing study of scripture, I have found that my understanding of Jesus Christ has been altered and that I have worked to share that new-found understanding with others. As an example, I have re-examined the incident with the loaves and fishes in the life of Jesus and additional insights that can be found in it. Mark 6 41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42 And they did all eat, and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. All of us acknowledge the miracle that Jesus performed in feeding the five thousand.  As I have pondered what more we can take from this miracle and apply to our own experience, I see that the multiplying of loaves and fishes is a metaphor for the multiplicativ...

It sounds like it might have been hard for the record-keeper at this point to write what the Lord Jesus Christ told them to say.  It certainly isn't politically correct and paints an entire section of the human family with a very broad brush of defamation. I can't think of many modern people who would defend these words for fear of being shunned. This is the entire contents of a chapter of the Book of Mormon and the closing statement on the record of Christ's visit to the western hemisphere.  It is both damning and hopeful, which typifies the tenor of the root message that Jesus has always given.   3 Nephi 30 1 Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak concerning you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write, saying: 2 Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your s...

I hope I have made it more than obvious over the years that the disobedient should fear God. The scriptures we have are replete with warnings of the destruction that will come to those who choose not to reconcile themselves to Christ and his commandments, who broadcast behavior against publishing gratitude for their personal blessings from the Lord and his merciful kindness toward us. All of the quotes in this post come from the  3rd Book of Nephi, chapter 29  and were written by an ancient Western hemisphere prophet named Mormon living three hundred years after the coming of Christ to the Americas, following his resurrection. This comes to us through the larger Book of Mormon .  1 And now behold, I say unto you that when the Lord shall see fit, in his wisdom, that these sayings shall come unto the Gentiles according to his word, then ye may know that the covenant which the Father hath made with the children of Israel, concerning their restoration to the lands of their in...

Recent messages from general conferences remind us of the imminent second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to prepare ourselves and to warn our neighbors of this prophesied future event. A common theme is the absolute necessity for all to better hear and feel the Spirit of God and act on its promptings. We are counseled to turn more purposefully toward Christ and to follow the Savior far more stridently and be more dedicated as his disciples. Doing the will of Christ for each of us in the last days is a personalized endeavor that you and I only learn through direct inspiration from the Spirit. One of my purposes in this talk is to persuade more of us to open ourselves to the influence of the Lord and the Spirit so we can be led to the situations we are meant to be in and so we can become the people we are meant to be. This has been referred to with the phrase Let God prevail , because he loves us, knows what is best for us, and we need to better learn to put our trust in him ....

Have you ever wondered what makes Jesus happy? Through all his service to others, one might think it might be staying busy in healing and teaching. Yet again, the Book of Mormon records a tidbit of insight into the key to the joy of the Savior.. 3 Nephi 27 30 And now, behold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all the holy angels, because of you and this generation; for none of them are lost. 31 Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who are now alive of this generation; and none of them are lost; and in them I have fulness of joy. In asking the question to my wonderful wife, she offered several thing in relation to our obedience to Christ's commandments and remembering him.  When I said that Jesus himself encapsulated all that she had said into a simple statement, she of course wanted to know this statement. This is what he said, not just once but twice in two verses: ...

I wrote this bit of an essay some years ago.  It came to mind several times since and I shared the concept of "the Utah cultural center" with others recently and there was general agreement that it rang true with their experience in LDS-dominated places.  "Utah" here can mean an LDS-dominated place (like the State of Utah) or the attitude of only associating in a significant way with certain Latter-Day Saints of the same background. Many people think that where they live and the occupation that they pursue are the basic manifestations of themselves. Can I redirect you into a different way of thinking? Over the years, I have become convinced that it is who we are (our background), who we are striving to become (our attitudes and activities), and (perhaps most importantly) the people that we touch which should be the attributes that define us the most and steer our future plans. Each of us need an ultimate goal to attain, a goal that defines our lives and give purpose...

The verse before  was a simple statement of the "good news" of Christ found in the Book of Mormon , framed in the cleanliness needed to be with God in the hereafter.  Now, Christ commands us in what needs to be done to be cleansed by the Savior: 3 Nephi 27 20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day. The fourth Article of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a statement of belief around these principles and ordinances: “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.” There has already been much said of faith and repentance previously in the blog, but the concept of the Holy Gho...

Jesus continues to spiral into a very short and direct statement of the gospel itself.  I'll follow suit. 3 Nephi 27 19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. I know there are many ideas of what "salvation" is.  Christ puts it in a very stark light - salvation is to be clean and in God's kingdom. So much for disputations on what salvation is. Then, we are told that we are only saved through being clean through Jesus' blood or his atonement for us.  He cleans us and makes us fit for God's kingdom.  He does it "because" of faith in Christ, "repentance of all their sins", and faithfulness until death.  Christ has specific qualifications for the cleansing he can do and they are all actions or works that must be done. Doing these things d...

I continue to slowly move along the Savior's great spiral, adding more and more information and focus on his gospel from a seemingly innocuous question.  3 Nephi 27 13 Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me. 14 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil— 15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works. Christ came into the world to be the Messiah, which was the mission that God the Father assigned to him. Jesus was completely focused on his role in ...

I am still looking at the "spiral" nature of the Savior's answers to questions, building and expanding on what he has said before.  This chapter begins with a rather simple question from the disciples on what the name of the Church should be.  Christ has already addressed that there should be no contention at all, much less about such things; gives reasons and logic about how the church should be named; and now provides what might be considered threats to those who would steer the Church via any doctrine other than his own: 3 Nephi 27 10 And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it. 11 But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return. 12 For their works do follow them, for it is beca...

A young man spoke to us at a conference today, mentioning the best answers to questions are ones that expand beyond the original query.  For instance, the question "should I get married?" gets answered and beyond in the response "Young men should prepare to be good husbands and fathers."  You see the expansion? Beyond marriage, you should look forward to doing a good job for your wife and kids! I just read an example of this from the Lord.  The disciple leaders of the Church in the Book of Mormon pray for the Savior to help them with a problem.  Christ himself comes and they ask him how the Church should be called and how there was some contention over this.  Here was his response. 3 Nephi 27 4 And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing? 5 Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be ...

  This is yet another stab at resetting people's expectations of Jesus Christ. When Christ came to the people in America, he commanded that some scripture be put into their records that had been written by prophets in the "old world". I have been reading through parts of the book of Malachi previously and I am still working through this.  I am also noticing a pattern. It is the "fear of the Lord". A lot of modern Christians don't equate Jesus with fear, but they should.  It is far too easy to think that Christ will simply forgive bad behavior purely out of a sense of love, of which I have seen no evidence in my scripture study. Information in Malachi chapters 3 and 4 is clear about Christ's punishments for the wicked (and he has an expansive view of who is wicked) and that our basic attitude toward the coming Christ should be fear. I don't know about you, but I am worried about my status in relation to the Messiah - how he sees me. Although a few peo...

I might get the reputation of highlighting the hard Christ, the one who promises punishments for disobedience.  I do this because of the constant stream of platitudes from many, many popular sources that "God loves you the way you are" and the rejection of commandments and essential ordinances and repentance in favor of a supposed Christ's overarching desire to put aside everything he ever said and taught in favor of being oh-so-loving to everyone. If I were your only source for information on the Messiah, you might see him as a pretty hard taskmaster - I just feel this deep need to provide the better-documented (in scripture) counterpoint! Here is a wonderful snippet to help you know that you don't have to be in the "hard" Savior's "doghouse" forever:  3 Nephi 24 and Malachi 3 7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts....