What Does it Mean to Recover?

President Nelson said, 'Rich meaning is found in study of the word atonement in the Semitic languages of Old Testament times. In Hebrew, the basic word for atonement is kaphar, a verb that means “to cover” or “to forgive.”' https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1996/10/the-atonement?lang=eng

In the book of Moses, it says "Unto Adam, and also unto his wife, did I, the Lord God, make coats of skins, and clothed them." https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/moses/4?lang=eng&id=27#p27

Jesus clothed or covered Adam and Eve. I see this as a symbol of him offering his atonement to them. 

If Atonement means to cover. What does it mean to re-cover? Perhaps it is to apply the blood of the atonement of Jesus Christ to cover us with his strength or his grace. To enable us to be born again as a new creature. One whose confidence has waxed strong in his presence. 

3 Nephi 22:4 "Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame; for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more." https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/22?lang=eng&id=4#4

"Ye Must Be Born Again", David A. Bednar, Apr 2007, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/04/ye-must-be-born-again?lang=eng

D&C 121:45 "let virtue [or strength] garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God" https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/121?lang=eng&id=45#45

Made White in the Blood of the Lamb

In Revelation 7:9, John describes "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;"

Verse 13 says, "What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?"

Verse 14 answers, "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

See Revelation 7:9, 13-14

It is good to know that if we follow God, we will have tribulation. And that our robes will be made white in the blood of the Lamb.

We have the promise that God's Spirit can be with us always as we repent, as we continue on the covenant path.

We also have good people available to us for fellowship, for friendship, for support.

Art thou a brother or brethren? I salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant, in which covenant I receive you to fellowship, in a determination that is fixed, immovable, and unchangeable, to be your friend and brother through the grace of God in the bonds of love, to walk in all the commandments of God blameless, in thanksgiving, forever and ever. Amen. (D&C 88:133)

When we are in trouble, we have the opportunity to seek out to serve others around us. As we do, God will bless us. He will make our burdens be light.

To Cleanse and Perfect

I have been listening to "A Case for the Book of Mormon" by Tad R. Callister. I recommend the whole book. There is a particular part that has stood out to me.

The power to overcome our weaknesses and perfect us

Starting near 21:41 of chapter nine, Tad Callister says that "The Savior can not only cleanse us. He can also perfect us. The doctrine that we can become Christlike because of Christ's atonement, is considered blasphemous by some Christians."

He goes on to make a persuasive case:

Suppose you were to ask one of your Christian friends if all Christians should be striving to become more like Christ? No doubt your friend would respond, 'yes'; since to say no would destroy the principle reason for the existence of Christianity.
...
To what extent can you become like Christ? [Your friend] might respond, 'to a very small degree'
...
Let's assume it is 1%. But if it is 1%, why not 5%? If 5%, why not 10%?

When we are dealing with a God with an infinite atonement, and a child willing to apply it, our weaknesses are no match. We seek His grace. His enabling power to overcome our weaknesses. We do it falteringly, inconsistently. As we try, try again. God promises us to forgive and forgive again. We only need to strive to become as God is. To "come and follow" the perfect example of Jesus of Nazareth.

What hope this brings me. My job is to remain in my covenant relationship with God. Day by day, week by week, decade by decade. I continue to strive to become what he has asked me to become.

Peter, My Brother

Peter, My Brother
SPENCER W. KIMBALL
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
July 13, 1971 • Devotional BYU

Several years ago a newspaper carried an Easter editorial written by a minister of religion. The editorial lamented the career of the apostle Peter, denouncing, among other things, his indecisiveness, lack of humility, fear of man, and failure to pray. The minister concluded his Easter appeal: “Let us as people, especially those who are Christians and claim to abide by the Word of God, not make the same mistakes and fall as Peter fell.”
This editorial came to the attention of another “Peter,” another resolute chief apostle. President Spencer W. Kimball, then acting president of the Council of the Twelve, saw this journalistic piece and shuddered.
“I had some strange emotions,” he recounted before an audience of young adults. “I was shocked, then I was chilled, then my blood changed its temperature and began to boil. I felt I was attacked viciously, for Peter was my brother, my colleague, my example, my prophet, and God’s anointed. I whispered to myself, ‘That is not true. He is maligning my brother.’”  ("The Lengthening Shadow of Peter", Jeffrey R. Holland, Ensign Sep 1975) 

Practice, Practice, Practice.

I was assigned to speak in Sacrament Meeting today. I was told to speak on the scripture where Jesus told John the Beloved, "Behold Thy Mother".

I searched the phrase and found a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland "Behold Thy Mother" from the Oct 2015 GC.

Today I declare from this pulpit what has been said here before: that no love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child.

Elder Holland then tells a story.

[A] young man who entered the mission field worthily but by his own choice returned home early due to same-sex attraction and some trauma he experienced in that regard. He was still worthy, but his faith was at crisis level, his emotional burden grew ever heavier, and his spiritual pain was more and more profound. He was by turns hurt, confused, angry, and desolate.

  

His mission president, his stake president, his bishop spent countless hours searching and weeping and blessing him as they held on to him, but much of his wound was so personal that he kept at least parts of it beyond their reach. The beloved father in this story poured his entire soul into helping this child, but his very demanding employment circumstance meant that often the long, dark nights of the soul were faced by just this boy and his mother. Day and night, first for weeks, then for months that turned into years, they sought healing together. Through periods of bitterness (mostly his but sometimes hers) and unending fear (mostly hers but sometimes his), she bore—there’s that beautiful, burdensome word again—she bore to her son her testimony of God’s power, of His Church, but especially of His love for this child. In the same breath she testified of her own uncompromised, undying love for him as well. To bring together those two absolutely crucial, essential pillars of her very existence—the gospel of Jesus Christ and her family—she poured out her soul in prayer endlessly. She fasted and wept, she wept and fasted, and then she listened and listened as this son repeatedly told her of how his heart was breaking. Thus she carried him—again—only this time it was not for nine months. This time she thought that laboring through the battered landscape of his despair would take forever.

 

But with the grace of God, her own tenacity, and the help of scores of Church leaders, friends, family members, and professionals, this importuning mother has seen her son come home to the promised land. Sadly we acknowledge that such a blessing does not, or at least has not yet, come to all parents who anguish over a wide variety of their children’s circumstances, but here there was hope. And, I must say, this son’s sexual orientation did not somehow miraculously change—no one assumed it would. But little by little, his heart changed.

 

He started back to church. He chose to partake of the sacrament willingly and worthily. He again obtained a temple recommend and accepted a call to serve as an early-morning seminary teacher, where he was wonderfully successful. And now, after five years, he has, at his own request and with the Church’s considerable assistance, reentered the mission field to complete his service to the Lord. I have wept over the courage, integrity, and determination of this young man and his family to work things out and to help him keep his faith. He knows he owes much to many, but he knows he owes the most to two messianic figures in his life, two who bore him and carried him, labored with him and delivered him—his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and his determined, redemptive, absolutely saintly mother.

I know that many mothers strongly dislike mother's day. They feel like they do not measure up. I thought that comparing mothers to Jesus might do this even more.  So I shared this story from Brad Wilcox's BYU Devotional in July 2011, "His Grace Is Sufficient"

A BYU student once came to me and asked if we could talk. I said, “Of course. How can I help you? 

 

She said, “I just don’t get grace.”

 

I responded, “What is it that you don’t understand?”

 

She said, “I know I need to do my best and then Jesus does the rest, but I can’t even do my best.”

 

She then went on to tell me all the things she should be doing because she’s a Mormon that she wasn’t doing.

 

She continued, “I know that I have to do my part and then Jesus makes up the difference and fills the gap that stands between my part and perfection. But who fills the gap that stands between where I am now and my part?”

 

She then went on to tell me all the things that she shouldn’t be doing because she’s a Mormon, but she was doing them anyway.

 

Finally I said, “Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.”

 

Seeing that she was still confused, I took a piece of paper and drew two dots—one at the top representing God and one at the bottom representing us. I then said, “Go ahead. Draw the line. How much is our part? How much is Christ’s part?”

 

She went right to the center of the page and began to draw a line. Then, considering what we had been speaking about, she went to the bottom of the page and drew a line just above the bottom dot.

 

I said, “Wrong.”

 

She said, “I knew it was higher. I should have just drawn it, because I knew it.”

 

I said, “No. The truth is, there is no line. Jesus filled the whole space. He paid our debt in full. He didn’t pay it all except for a few coins. He paid it all. It is finished.”

 

She said, “Right! Like I don’t have to do anything?”

 

“Oh no,” I said, “you have plenty to do, but it is not to fill that gap. We will all be resurrected. We will all go back to God’s presence. What is left to be determined by our obedience is what kind of body we plan on being resurrected with and how comfortable we plan to be in God’s presence and how long we plan to stay there.”

 

Christ asks us to show faith in Him, repent, make and keep covenants, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. By complying, we are not paying the demands of justice—not even the smallest part. Instead, we are showing appreciation for what Jesus Christ did by using it to live a life like His. Justice requires immediate perfection or a punishment when we fall short. Because Jesus took that punishment, He can offer us the chance for ultimate perfection (see Matthew 5:48, 3 Nephi 12:48) and help us reach that goal. He can forgive what justice never could, and He can turn to us now with His own set of requirements (see 2 Nephi 2:7; 3 Nephi 9:20).

 

“So what’s the difference?” the girl asked. “Whether our efforts are required by justice or by Jesus, they are still required.”

 

“True,” I said, “but they are required for a different purpose. Fulfilling Christ’s requirements is like paying a mortgage instead of rent or like making deposits in a savings account instead of paying off debt. You still have to hand it over every month, but it is for a totally different reason.”

I was very emotional sharing my talk. I often feel like I am lacking before the Lord. I did not share it, but this same Brad Wilcox talk has what I call the parable of the piano practice. All I have to do is practice, practice, practice. 

Misplaced Faith

There are many things I disagree with Kirby about. I agree with this statement,

"If someone else’s vile behavior causes you to question your core beliefs, it’s only a sign that you had your faith misplaced to begin with." ("Kirby: When a church leader falls, it shouldn’t shake your faith unless you had your faith misplaced to begin with", 8 Apr 2018, The Salt Lake Tribune)

This is a very important topic. It is important to place our faith where it cannot be shaken. That is in the rock, Jesus Christ.

The tricky part is that we learn of Jesus initially from only fallible sources, people, books, even scripture. The trick is to connect to the Holy Spirit. And that is tricky. What is emotion? What is only a desire to believe. We have to look to the results. The fruit.

Over time, I need to learn to trust my interactions with God. After 45 years, I am still working on that. I hope. I trust, to a degree.

It is vital to separate worship of God from any thing else. It is vital to teach these principles to those around us.

Some questions I am asking my friends:

What do you do to help those around you and yourself center your faith in Christ?

What are some examples of placing faith in something other than God?


My job is to introduce you to the Divine and help you begin to see the divine in you. To ask you to join me to awaken and encourage the same in others.

Light a fire of exploration in others about Jesus and how He can transform our lives.

--

Some might place faith in the fact that they are paying their tithing and fulfilling their calling. That they have bound that Lord to prevent bad from happening in their lives.

If something bad does occur, this can fracture our faith.

I think this is an example of misplacing faith.
--

"Do not... put your trust in man though he be a Bishop, an Apostle or a President; if you do, they will fail you at some time or place; they will do wrong or seem to, and your support be gone; but if we lean on God, He never will fail us. When men and women depend on God alone and trust in Him alone, their faith will not be shaken if the highest in the Church should step aside. ... Perhaps it is His own design that faults and weaknesses should appear in high places in order that His Saints may learn to trust in Him and not in any man or woman."
(George Q. Cannon, Millennial Star 53:658-659, 673-675.)
https://publications.mi.byu.edu/publications/review/16/2/S00017-5176ad2f5804e17Bitton.pdf

Being an Agent to Act

I find so much power in this video. Agency, Faith, Patience and a toddler learning to walk.
That is what we are. Babies of God, taking our first steps. As we trust in Him, we act. We step into the unknown and we receive power to do all He asks us to do. 

https://youtu.be/4WIuG9VqG4M

I transcribed it because I felt like I could not capture the power of the words that was coming to my heart.

If we did not have moral agency, we would simply be puppets manipulated by the strings of fate. 

In my understanding, the great purpose of mortality is to learn in ways we could not have learned in pre-mortality. And we learn in mortality, lessons that prepare us for eternity. 

The natural man and the natural woman says, "There is no way I'm taking this step. There's no way I'm moving into the darkness, until the light moves and I can see where I'm going."The requirement is that we take the step anticipating that when our foot hits the ground, the light will move. Now the first time we do that, it's not doubt, but there's a little bit of uncertainty, even a little bit of apprehension, which is quite normal. 

It works almost like a helix, where we take that first step based on "the substance of things hoped for", there comes "the evidence of things not seen". (Heb 11:1) It's not a perfect cycle that's never interrupted, or that is totally smooth. But, line upon line, that increase is incremental and gradual. 

Now the other thing, I don't want to talk about faith in the Savior as if it is a trait, and there is a formula and if I just follow the elements of the formula, then I'm automatically going to get more. It's a spiritual gift, but we have to be doing our part, to be able to be in a position where we can receive the gift. And it always requires that we act first and then the power comes. 

Most of the time we'd like to think, "Well give me the power and then I'll act." But the Savior's gospel teaches that first that first we act then the power comes. We don't know where to go. We don't know what to do. But my trust in Him enables me to act. He blesses me with His power. That confidence increases. We then can, ultimately, navigate the most difficult circumstances in life knowing that we will never be alone and we will always have His help. 

One of the things that is required is that "we wait upon the Lord". That's another scriptural phrase that I'm drawn to all the time. The depth of the lesson is often only realized line upon line, precept upon precept over an extended period of time. 

The greatest gift the Father gave to us was His Son. And the gift that comes to us through the Savior's Atonement is agency. So agency is essential to the Father's plan and it is the capacity to act and learn from our own experiences. That is the very essence and purpose of being here in mortality.

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"For Those Who Feel Overwhelmed at Church"

https://youtu.be/NnqvAHyRtv0

"BYU professor, and author of the new book "The Atoning One," shares this touching story of a woman who admitted to being overwhelmed by Church and how he responded as her ecclesiastical leader." From a FB Post of LDS Living.

Because We See Through a Glass Darkly...

See https://youtu.be/hXiGaV8tY5M

What is truth, and how can we know it? President Dieter F. Uchtdorf explained: “The ‘truths’ we cling to shape the quality of our societies as well as our individual characters. All too often these ‘truths’ are based on incomplete and inaccurate evidence. … The thing about truth is that it exists beyond belief. It is true even if nobody believes it” (“What Is Truth?” [Brigham Young University devotional, Jan. 13, 2013], speeches.byu.edu).

It is good to accept the fact that we simply don’t know all things. We can’t see everything, but our Heavenly Father can. We have been given the promise that if we will search for the truth, study it out in our minds, and ask with a sincere heart, it will be confirmed to us (see D&C 9:8; Moroni 10:3–5).

Heavenly Father is pleased with us when we seek to discover truths. He loves teaching us line upon line, precept on precept. As we strive to learn and have faith in Him, He will bless us to see things as they really are.

-

Sometimes untrue claims or information are presented in such a way that they appear quite credible. However, when you are confronted with information that is in conflict with the revealed word of God, remember that the blind men in the parable of the elephant would never be able to accurately describe the full truth.

We simply don’t know all things—we can’t see everything. What may seem contradictory now may be perfectly understandable as we search for and receive more trustworthy information. Because we see through a glass darkly, we have to trust the Lord, who sees all things clearly. 

Yes, our world is full of confusion. But eventually all of our questions will be answered. All of our doubts will be replaced by certainty. And that is because there is one source of truth that is complete, correct, and incorruptible. That source is our infinitely wise and all-knowing Heavenly Father. He knows truth as it was, as it is, and as it yet will be. “He comprehendeth all things, … and he is above all things, … and all things are by him, and of him.” (“What Is Truth?” [Brigham Young University devotional, Jan. 13, 2013], speeches.byu.edu)

Godlessness of the Gaps?

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At what point does confidence that life can arise from inanimate matter via undirected natural causes become a kind of faith — a faith not all that different from religious belief or an ideological commitment?  At what point might we plausibly begin to speak of a “godlessness of the gaps”?  Will it ever be appropriate, here or with regard to analogous questions, to consider at least the possibility of an intelligent agent?  If so, when will that time come?  When might we be able to say — and, mind you, I’m not necessarily saying it now, with regard to abiogenesis — that scientific openness has become ideological rigidity?
Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2017/08/godlessness-of-the-gaps.html#cGK5f1fwwA05EsEe.99

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No Service Which is Vile Can be Done to Me

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I think there are many in the world who have experienced significant happiness in their lives even if they do not believe in Christ. Some of the best people I have ever known come from different religious traditions and belief structures, some of which do not include any concept of a Savior. But they love their families. They love their neighbors. They are honest and hardworking and humble. They are willing to see their faults and not to frantically ignore or gloss over them. They are humbly “down” as we have been discussing. And, when they are, I would suggest that they are humbly down before Christ even if they don’t know that they are. 

A passage in one of C. S. Lewis’s books is instructive here. In the final book of the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Last Battle, there is an exchange between the Christ-figure, who is the lion Aslan, and a man who for all his life had been the devoted follower of a wicked and false god known as Tash. When he realized that he had been serving the wrong master, the man fell before Aslan, expecting to be destroyed. But Aslan—the “Glorious One”—“bent down his golden head and touched [the man’s] forehead with his tongue” and said:

Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me. . . . I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him.

I believe that the Lord’s grace is immense enough that he blesses people with his Spirit even if they know nothing about it. The world over, there are those who are, in effect, kneeling before him even though they don’t know who he is. But he knows who they are. He knows them, and he knows their hearts. And when they or we bow in humble recognition of our faults, we bow before him and are blessed of him. ("Falling to Heaven: The Surprising Path to Happiness", James L. Ferrell p.27)

I love you and I don't want you to go

These words struck me as I imagined Jesus saying them to me.

"Take my words, read 'em every day, keep 'em close by, don't you let 'em fade away,
So you'll remember what I forgot to say, write this down.
Oh I love you and I don't want you to go"


Then I thought of this,

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. (Isaiah 49:16)

And this,

Knowing Christ’s character, I believe that if anyone is going to be begging on that occasion, it would probably be Jesus begging the unrepentant sinner, “Please, choose to stay. Please, use my Atonement—not just to be cleansed but to be changed so that you want to stay.” ("His Grace Is Sufficient", Brad Wilcox, 12 Jul 2011)

The Faith to Reap

I love this quote on the relationship of hope to faith

if you ever find yourselves without enough hope to reach your dreams, don't focus on increasing your hope. Focus on increasing your faith in Christ, and hope will follow automatically.  When we are discouraged, we tend to focus on hope.  Like the high school football coach at halftime, the world would give you a pep talk.  "You can do it." we're told.  "Positive mental attitude." we're told.  "Get out there and go, go, go." But that kind of hope evaporates as soon as we meet with significant challenges.  The hope that comes from faith in Christ is different.  One who has faith in Christ recognizes that even if she or he can't do it, the Savior can.  And from this faith springs the hope that never gives up until the dream comes true.  This is the faith to reap. ("The Faith to Reap" a BYU-Idaho devotional from March 17, 2005 by Elder Wilford W. Andersen)

Giving Up Worry

I was at the missionary prep class for our stake this morning. I stopped to talk with some friends I made when we were in the same ward. I told them how much I enjoyed attending. I felt privileged to attend. I saw the power and sincerity and earnestness of those there. Both young and old. I felt like it is where I belong.

I asked them about their brother Randy. Randy is a friend of mine that left the Mormon church after discovering things that were disturbing to him. (Click here for more on that). I told them about my friend Sam Meacham who died earlier this year. Sam also left the Mormon church. I said that I had given up worrying about Sam and worrying about Randy. Worrying about their souls.

These are both good men. Who love their wives and are good fathers. They both chose that Mormonism didn't work for them. They are honest of heart and chose to see the ridiculous in the LDS faith. They both experienced the pain that can come from believing wholeheartedly and then having that belief come unraveled.

I believe in a patient God. I believe in a God that will wait for his children to choose to come to Him. I recognize that this is a story I told myself. I choose to believe it because I choose to believe it.

God either exists or does not. God is either like the LDS leader teaches He is or he is not. What matters most to me right now is that I live in a wholehearted manner. That I live with authenticity. I get to decide what is important to me. I can chose being powerful in causing transformation in the world.

I am becoming more and more aware of the amazing people that exist all around me. They are the people I meet each day. I was blind to them because I was so caught up in looking good and avoiding looking bad. I haven't stopped trying. What is making the difference to me is that I am aware that I still try to look good and avoid looking bad.

These amazing people are my wife , my children, my neighbors on my block. The scouts in our deacon's quorum. They are accountants and Buddhists and atheists and electricians. They are the humans I talk with.

I am caught in the paradox of the urgency of the salvation of souls with the patience of God. The paradox of sucking out the marrow of life and the peace of meditation.

I love my life and I give up worrying about my friends who are not Mormon. Or who have given up Mormonism. God is patient. If I have somehow found myself in the Cosmic truth we all are to accept to realize our highest potential, so be it. I recognize the absurdity that 90% of other truth seekers think that their truth is the way.

I belong where I belong because, from nothing, I say it is so. Love and grace and peace will come to the world because I say so. I willingly join arm in arm with all humans everywhere who also want peace and power and transformation of every woman, man and child on the planet.

I give up worry and I choose the urgency of transforming of the world, now.

It will all work out

“Latter-day Counsel,” Gordon Hinckley, Ensign, Oct. 2000, 73. see also "Put Your Trust in God" Ensign Feb 2006, From the funeral program for Marjorie Pay Hinckley, April 10, 2004;

The Parable of the Piano Practice

Following is the Parable of the Piano Practice as told by Brad Wilcox. I like it better than the Parable of the Bicycle in Believing Christ. Both have served to instruct me on the true roles of faith, works and grace in my personal salvation.

This is three parts of the talk put together so as to keep the parable concise. I recommend the whole talk in context. ("His Grace is Sufficient", BYU Devotional, Jul 12, 2011, Brad Wilcox, Ensign Sep 2013, Youtube  )

(starting at 7:25)

Christ’s Grace Is Sufficient to Transform Us

Christ’s arrangement with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. How many know what I am talking about? Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used—seeing her child improve. And so she continues to call for practice, practice, practice. 

If the child sees Mom’s requirement of practice as being too overbearing (“Gosh, Mom, why do I need to practice? None of the other kids have to practice! I’m just going to be a professional baseball player anyway!”), perhaps it is because he doesn’t yet see with mom’s eyes. He doesn’t see how much better his life could be if he would choose to live on a higher plane. 

In the same way, because Jesus has paid justice, He can now turn to us and say, “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19), “Keep my commandments” (John 14:15). If we see His requirements as being way too much to ask (“Gosh! None of the other Christians have to pay tithing! None of the other Christians have to go on missions, serve in callings, and do temple work!”), maybe it is because we do not yet see through Christ’s eyes. We have not yet comprehended what He is trying to make of us. 

Elder Bruce C. Hafen has written, “The great Mediator asks for our repentance not because we must ‘repay’ him in exchange for his paying our debt to justice, but because repentance initiates a developmental process that, with the Savior’s help, leads us along the path to a saintly character” (The Broken Heart [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989], 149; emphasis in original). 

Elder Dallin H. Oaks has said, referring to President Spencer W. Kimball’s explanation, “The repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change” (The Lord’s Way [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1991], 223; emphasis in original). Let’s put that in terms of our analogy: The child must practice the piano, but this practice has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change.

(ends 10:32) ... (starting 16:19)

The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there. If Christ did not require faith and repentance, then there would be no desire to change. Think of your friends and family members who have chosen to live without faith and without repentance. They don’t want to change. They are not trying to abandon sin and become comfortable with God. Rather, they are trying to abandon God and become comfortable with sin. If Jesus did not require covenants and bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost, then there would be no way to change. We would be left forever with only willpower, with no access to His power. If Jesus did not require endurance to the end, then there would be no internalization of those changes over time. They would forever be surface and cosmetic rather than sinking inside us and becoming part of us—part of who we are. Put simply, if Jesus didn’t require practice, then we would never become pianists. 

Christ’s Grace Is Sufficient to Help Us

“But Brother Wilcox, don’t you realize how hard it is to practice? I’m just not very good at the piano. I hit a lot of wrong notes. It takes me forever to get it right.” Now wait. Isn’t that all part of the learning process? When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don’t say he is not worthy to keep practicing. We don’t expect him to be flawless. We just expect him to keep trying. Perfection may be his ultimate goal, but for now we can be content with progress in the right direction. Why is this perspective so easy to see in the context of learning piano but so hard to see in the context of learning heaven? 

Too many are giving up on the Church because they are tired of constantly feeling like they are falling short. They have tried in the past, but they always feel like they are just not good enough. They don’t understand grace.

(ends 19:10) ... (starting 22:31)

  When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “continue in patience until [we] are perfected” (D&C 67:13).

(ends 22:31)

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We cannot earn our way into Heaven

"We cannot earn our way into Heaven"

"Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience. It is purchased by the blood of the Son of God."

"For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." (2 Nephi 25:23) 

However, I wonder if sometimes we misinterpret the phrase, "after all we can do". We must understand that after does not equal because. We are not saved because of all that we can do.

Have any of us done all that we can do? Does God wait until we have expended every effort before he will intervene in our lives with his saving grace? 

(General Conference Apr 2015, Dieter F. Uchtdorf)

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I like President Uchtdorf’s comments on grace in combination with Elder Wilford Anderson’s comments about hearing the music versus merely learning the dance steps. The two talks together nicely articulate why those of us who have felt the spirit (and continue to feel the spirit) do obey and rejoice in obeying. It is not because we feel we can purchase salvation by our works, but because the spirit moves us to obey because we trust God and love Him. (Comment at Millennialstar.org, Meg Stout, Apr 6, 2015)

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FB thread discussing what our church has done to give a correct understanding of grace and works.

This fits perfectly with the parable of the piano practice as told by Brad Wilcox.

Come, Flounder With Us

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Since then my experience as a church member, or as a father and a husband, has been much the same. Never an unmixed success. Never a performance that I could feel I hadn’t unnecessarily tainted with sins of commission and omission. I am a shabby Mormon. These failures are better than successes elsewhere. I have found more joy making a hash of things in the gospel path than would be possible on any other path pursued however flawlessly. I mean that. 

“Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
C.S. Lewis, in Screwtape, showed us that the fear of death was harder to endure than death.
“A man’s reach should exceed his grasp or what’s a heaven for.” 

One of the themes of this blog is that failure is always an option. I would almost say that it is the only option. Come, flounder with us. ("Being a Mormon is Hard", Junior Ganymede, Nov, 4, 2013 )

My experience is the same as Junior Ganymede. I don't think highly of my experience on my mission. I attribute nearly all of my success since to my wonderful wife who has inspired, and and times, prodded me in the way I knew was healthiest for me to go.

The last paragraph above contains a point that should not be missed. I think this life is designed for us to fail. I think that is the primary test for each of us. In the infinite variety of strengths and weaknesses were are all gifted with, the greatest is the opportunity to act in relation to our failure.

Will we, like my deepest tendency is, attempt to hide until we have fully overcome our most shameful attributes? Or instead, will we forge ahead and decide that we cannot be what we want to be, what the Lord has said we can be, without his hand.

Like Peter faltered so do we all. It is only through the hand of the Lord and the loving word of chastisement that we both receive his grace and recognize our failings and can therefore begin our work to overcome them, hand in hand with the Lord.

We must be willing to dare greatly and be the (wo)man in the arena. Not waiting until we are bullet-proof. Letting others see us, and hopefully join with us in a heavenly quest of evolving, growing, becoming like God.

I Do not Give Up

“Sometimes I say to God—as I strive for perfection—…’Father, don’t give up on me. I’m trying. Don’t let me fail. Please don’t get discouraged.’ I’m always directed by the Spirit to the words of Isaiah when he wrote, ‘[God] shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth’ (Isaiah 42:4). Then I hear the Lord say, ‘Michael, if I’m not going to be discouraged until the whole world is a place of righteousness and judgment, do you think I’m going to be discouraged with you, when you want so badly to please me and to conquer yourself? I don’t get discouraged, Discouragement is not part of my character, I am not impatient. I am never anxious. I do not give up. Keep trying.'” (Walking on Water, Michael Wilcox, quoted in "It’s Not Wise to Think of Heavenly Father as a Mortal, Fallen Man, Like We Are")

The Balance of Nothing and Everything

My friend Randy brought up a good point in our discussion of faith and works in our online discussion. 

It would not be good to have such great feelings of self-loathing that our only worth comes from a sense of “grace.” Such feelings could easily enslave us to the whims of others. In contrast if we claim we are without defect and never in need of understanding and forgiveness we might eventually find ourselves rather lonely. While whatever we call “faith” could embrace some forms of ritual that may give us a sense of structure and comfort – it probably is better if our faith prompts us to practical works that help others.

I agree that we need to avoid self-loathing as well as the claim that we have some sort of special privilege that whatever we do is OK. I like the balance King Benjamin describes in his last address to his people coupled with the promises God has made us.

  22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.
 23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.
 24 And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?
 25 And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you.
 26 And I, even I, whom ye call your king, am no better than ye yourselves are; for I am also of the dust. And ye behold that I am old, and am about to yield up this mortal frame to its mother earth. (Mosiah 2:22-26)

Why are we less than the dust? Because the dust will always yield to the will of God. We are always going to be indebted to God because of the reasons King Benjamin outlines. In spite of this, God promises to give us all that he has.

 35 And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;
 36 For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;
 37 And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;
 38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. (D&C 84:33-40)

What is required to receive such an infinite gift? The same as what is offered, all that we have, all that we will ever receive.

From a humanistic or atheistic point of view, we can recognize that everything we have comes from those before us. That we have inherited the results of eons of evolution. We are the result of someone caring for us when we were an infant and child. How do you repay such a gift? By paying it forward.