Study, Faith, and the Book of Mormon

 A quote to remember

There is a verse from the Doctrine and Covenants on a plaque in the Lee Library. It’s in the stairwell going up from the circulation desk to the fourth floor. As a student here in the sixties, I saw it several times every day; it made a deep impression on me. It admonishes us to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118). Spirit and intellect, study and faith, science and religion, testimony and academics—often we see these as opposites, but ultimately they are not. If our eye is single to God and his glory, if in our learning we are always willing to hearken unto the counsels of the Lord, if we are equally rigorous about what we think and how we reason, we shall see how all truth may be circumscribed in one great whole and, that all things shall work together for our good. ("Study, Faith, and the Book of Mormon". John W. Welch. BYU Devotional May 10, 1988.)

Seeking Steadfastly

There are so many pitfalls in life. I know that if I am to remain on solid ground; if I am to have sustainable growth, I must be rooted in the doctrine of Christ.

I have friends who have become atheists. Friends that have left the church because they feel it has lost its authority. There are those that are trapped in the despair of addiction. Those that are troubled by the history or doctrines of the church.

We can be distracted from what God wants us to do. How do we know that we are living the way God desires for us to live? I am convinced that we must live in harmony with the truth we know.

"Therefore dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for His hand to be revealed." D&C 123:17

"Come along, come along" is the call that will win

My wife reminded me last night that "Most men can be led, but few can be driv'n". (Hymn 244)  I should remember how wise she is especially when it comes to relationships.

It also reminded me of this story of Tyler Jarvis. 

When I went to graduate school many years ago, I was lucky enough to be admitted to a school with some famous faculty members. I had done pretty well in my undergraduate classes, and I thought I was pretty smart; so when it came time to choose classes and teachers, I chose some of the most famous teachers I could. 

One of them was especially impressive. He was a Fields medalist—the nearest thing in mathematics to a Nobel Prize winner. Other students spoke of him with awe, both because of his brilliance and because of his reputation for criticizing students. When I heard how he had berated a student for being both lazy and stupid, I determined that I would never give him cause to criticize me like that. I decided never to ask him for advice or help until I had exhausted every other means for solving a problem. The result was that he never criticized me, but I also never learned much from him. I spent three years in his classes and only spoke with him for a total of about forty-five minutes. 

Another of his students had no fear at all—he would go to this professor almost every day to ask questions. And he was criticized regularly, but he never seemed to care. I thought he was completely crazy, but he went back almost every day, got his questions answered, and learned a lot. 

It took me several years after graduation to realize that I had wasted the opportunity of a lifetime—this other student wasn’t so crazy after all. He got many hours of personal tutoring from one of the world’s greatest mathematical minds, and I got—well, I got through graduate school safely, without being criticized.

If I am to learn, I must be willing to ask questions and not give into the fear that I will be criticized. Maybe one of the most important things I can ask is, "How am I doing?" of my wife.

Not Getting What You Deserve

TOFW presenter Robert Millet shares his thoughts on grace, mercy, and their combined enabling power.

Hajj and Humility

As I think about taking Sam to the MTC, I was thinking about a documentary I watched recently about the pilgrimage Muslims make to Mecca. Muslims call it Hajj. It not only means the physical journey you take but your spiritual journey as well. You are not supposed to get angry while on Hajj. Hajj is about humility and meekness.

It seems like a good goal for the next week as we prepare for Sam to begin his mission.

Organic Growth

"Visible, influential Mormons aren't outliers or exceptions. They are fruit of the organic growth of their religion." (Stephen Mansfield. "The Mormonizing of America". Sep 6, 2012)
Organic growth is the only kind we need to have. We need to grow our faith like a seed. We need to grow it in our marriages and families; in our friends and our home teaching and visiting teaching families; in our love, respect and familiarity of our ancestors.

The calculus of our everyday lives comes as the dews fall from heaven.

Perfect Recipe for Addiction

Porn is the perfect recipe for addiction. Here is why.

Find out more.

How do we Preach with Great Power?

In chapter five of Helaman, we read that Nephi and Lehi "did preach with great power, insomuch that they did confound many of those dissenters who had gone over from the Nephites".

In my mind as a child, I had not thought of what that power looked like. How is such power exercised? D&C 121:36 says, "That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness."
It goes on to list the attributes of those with power from God and the qualities of those that do not have His power.

This gives me a possible picture of what kind of people Nephi and Lehi were. They were long-suffering and gentle and meek. They loved authentically and were kind and had a pure understanding of the gospel. Their interactions with others enlarged each other's souls.

This reminds me of the quote from Joseph.

Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin as to take them by the hand, and watch over them with tenderness. When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what power it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind. (Joseph Smith, Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book, p. 59, History of the Church, 5:23–24.)

It was the love of God and their fellow man that brought them so much power. Power to be able to influence the hearts of their friends and family to turn toward God.

Watch Over them with Tenderness

I have a friend who has a 16 year old son who is an atheist. Here is some of the things I thought of to help them.

I am not sure what Moroni did to "[prepare] the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God"
(Alma 47:7) As I consider it, I think of this quote from Joseph Smith,

Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin as to take them by the hand, and watch over them with tenderness. When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what power it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind. (Joseph Smith, Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book, p. 59, History of the Church, 5:23–24.)

Moroni said, "Charity never faileth". So we must all pray with all the energy of our hearts that we may be filled with this love. Pray for your son. Serve him. Ask the Lord, in what ways you might be able to touch his heart, or that others might be placed in his path so his heart might be touched. I like this modern casting of Charity never faileth, "Love Wins!"

I know the deepest and longest lasting effects in my life have come from when those close to me loved me, forgave me and served me.

And trust in the Lord. There is no need to despair when we have faith in the Lord's timeline. To me that may be one of the keys of "charity never faileth". The Lord is patient with us. He will reach out as often as we reach out to him. Your son will be blessed by your faithfulness, if you will pour out your soul to God for him.

I love the symbolism of this painting by Michelangelo. Adam is pretty casual in the way he reaches to God. God is stretching as far as he can to reach him.