Pay It Forward

Because of the miracle of Clean Films I watched Pay It Forward. When looking up a reference to the film, I noticed a foundation developed by the author of the book "to bring the message from her novel to classrooms across the country"

This movie came to my mind as I listened to Mosiah chapter 4 this morning. It was in this chapter that I first came to learn of the principle of pay it forward. When Jesus rescues me from the consequences of my sin he does not ask that I pay it back. He asks me to pay it forward.

"this is the man who receiveth salvation"

On my way into work I listened to Mosiah chapter 4. When I got to verse 7 my mind turned to the few men and women that I know personally that fit this description. I thought of my father and my father-in-law, then their wives. These are the caliber of my family. Are they perfect? No. Have the collective years, months and days they have on earth qualified them to meet the standard Mosiah describes. I think so. Does that exclude them from the possibility of really messing up? No, but according to the character they have demonstrated, they will not. That is the nature and stability of a saved person. Thanks and Glory be to God.

My friends and my brethren, my kindred and my people, I would again call your attention, that ye may hear and understand the remainder of my words which I shall speak unto you.

5 For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state—

6 I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—

7 I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world.

8 And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you.

Statistical Comparisons of Religious Traditions

I found this page from The Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life in this story at newsroom.lds.org.

There are some interesting statistics, maps and comparisons to other religious traditions.

God is the Gardener (Hugh B. Brown)

God is the Gardener (Hugh B. Brown)
Hugh B. Brown, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
BYU Graduation, May 1968
“Some of you, as you go forward, are going to meet with disappointments. Perhaps many disappointments. Some of them crucial. Sometimes you will wonder whether He has forgotten you. Sometimes you may even wonder if He lives and where He’s gone. But in these times when so many are saying God is dead, and when so many are denying His existence, I think I could not leave with you a better message than this: God is aware of you, individually. He knows who you are and what you are. And furthermore, He knows what you are capable of becoming.”

Download MP3 (28:53 min, 8.3MB)

The Currant Bush
Story of the currant bush, as published in the New Era.

Succession in the Presidency

I friend of mine who is a member of the LDS church asked me who was going to be the next President of the church. It will be Thomas Monson. He is the most senior apostle. The best and most current description of this process is at the LDS Newsroom, Succession in the Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. More quotes below.

Brent L. Top and Lawrence R. Flake, "'The Kingdom of God Will Roll On': Succession in the Presidency," Ensign, Aug. 1996, 22

Bruce McConkie said,

He is always the senior Apostle, the presiding Apostle, the presiding high priest, the presiding elder. He alone can give direction to all others, direction from which none is exempt.

Thus, the keys, though vested in all of the Twelve, are used by any one of them to a limited degree only, unless and until one of them attains that seniority which makes him the Lord’s anointed on earth.

Bruce R. McConkie, "The Keys of the Kingdom" Ensign, May 1983, 21

Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Joseph Smith III Document and the Keys of the Kingdom," Ensign, May 1981, 20

Gordon B Hinckley Remembered by the Press

I heard this as I drove into work on NPR. Positive reflections on Gordon B. Hinckley. You can listen to it on the site.

Mormon Leader Gordon B. Hinckley Dies at 97 by Howard Berkes

It was Hinckley's "candor," [Mike] Wallace told NPR, "his willingness to entertain any question, no matter how difficult or, perhaps embarrassing," that charmed Wallace.
"He was just absolutely open with me," Wallace said. "It became quite clear that there was a great deal in the Mormon religion that I genuinely admired."

"should he be cut off while in the thought"

A good friend of mine called me this morning. We talked about this passage,

"Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go down to hell." Moroni 8:14. The phrase, "should he be cut off while in the thought" stood out as a little different. To be condemned to hell because of the thought you had when you die.

The thought that immediately came to mind was a question. If instead of dying in the moment of that thought, what would happen if I continued to live? What happens if we continue to believe a false teaching? Perhaps Mormon had in mind someone or ones that deliberately chose against what they knew to be true. Certainly that could bring about the strong language he used. He says later in the chapter that his people were "denying the Holy Ghost".

One consequence is the darkening or blurring of the mind. An angel told Nephi that the temptations of the devil, "blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men." 1 Nephi 12:17. C.S.Lewis said:

the right direction leads not only to peace but to knowledge. When a man is getting better he understands more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is alright. This is common sense, really. You understand sleep when you are awake, not while you are sleeping. You can see mistakes in arithmetic when your mind is working properly: while you are making them you cannot see them. You can understand the nature of drunkenness when you are sober, not when you are drunk. Good people know about both good and evil: bad people do not know about either. (Mere Christianity. p88. Found at lightplanet.com)

This blindness keeps us from blessings God wants us to have. "To be damned is to be stopped or held back from blessings we might have received...When we sin, we prevent our own progress." ("Lesson 8: The Three Kingdoms of Glory". Preparing for Exaltation: Teacher’s Manual.) Perhaps the consequence of holding onto false teachings is the same whether you remain in this life or the next. The vital difference is that this life affords us a better chance for change.

We are taught that we will be judged by our thoughts 1, 2, 3 . Proverbs 23 says, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he". Charles A. Hall provided me a memorable way to link my thoughts with my ultimate destination: "We sow our thoughts, and we reap our actions; we sow our actions, and we reap our habits; we sow our habits, and we reap our characters; we sow our characters, and we reap our destiny" (The Home Book of Quotations, sel. Burton Stevenson [1934], 845.) (Found in "Our Actions Determine Our Character". Wayne S. Peterson. Ensign. Nov 2001.)

My wife once related to me something she had learned. There is a strain in western thought to want to assign _the_ explanation, the one interpretation. Those from the middle and far east seem to be more open to many meanings. That does not mean that there all interpretations are equally true. It does mean that there can be more than one true interpretation. I find this especially to be true when applying scripture to my own life. As I work out "what does this mean for my life today, this week." What I have gathered here may be one correct interpretation.

The Value of Self-Esteem

I was delighted to hear "The Value of Self-Esteem" by James E Faust. He gave it at the May 6 2007 CES Fireside for Young Adults. It is one of the last addresses he gave. It is an example one of the pleasures I have by having a long commute. I have so much available to me because of my connection to the Internet, my MP3 player and the free services provided by LDS.org and LDSVoices.com.

Unlike many other church MP3 publications, this one was the complete broadcast including the songs and President Faust's introduction. It was like I was at the broadcast.

Pres. Faust related 6 keys for a healthy self esteem. As he spoke, two people came to my mind, my dad and my wife. They both have these qualities and more importantly work to develop them.

1. Keep Your Agency
2. Humility
3. Honesty
4. Love of Work
5. Ability to Love
6. Love of God

One story he tells about the love of work,

The most gifted athlete at our university excelled in every sport. He played football and ran the hurdles—in fact, he held the conference record in the low hurdles. Our coach, Ike Armstrong, required that the sprinters run once a week with the quarter-milers for 300 yards to increase the stamina of the sprinters and increase the speed of the quarter-milers. My friend—this great athlete—would lead all of the runners for about 275 yards, but as soon as the first quarter-miler passed him, he would quit and wouldn’t even finish. His natural talent and ability was such that he never had to extend himself to excel. He married, but the marriage failed. He went on into professional football and was something of a star until he got into the drug scene and died from the debilitating effects of drugs and alcohol. Others with much less talent have achieved far more.

I love the humor he uses. It can be lost in the reading but I found it as I listened to it. There are so many other great stories he tells to illustrate each of these keys. This is one I will keep and listen to another time.

Countering Korihor’s Philosophy

This morning Laura Ingraham broadcast a "best of" episode. She had on an atheist. An evangelical preacher who had "rejected" his faith. It reminded me of Korihor the Anti-Christ. For those not familiar with the story, read Alma 30:6-60.

I also found an article from the July 1992 Ensign, "Countering Korihor’s Philosophy". It relates the teachings of Korihor to modern philosophies such as empiricism: knowledge is gathered primarily through the senses—through what one sees, touches, hears, smells, and tastes. It also shows the best ways to combat these false concepts.