Thinking Deeply – Weather on the Horizon

August 15, 2021August 15, 2021

What if You’re Wrong?

A question was once asked of a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with regard to his belief in the existence of a god who created and is interested in man,

“What if you’re wrong?”

This led me to consider what my answer to this important question might be. After some deep thought, here is my response:

Firstly, as a human being, in a social context, the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teach me to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ with regard to human relations. We are taught to treat others as we would have them treat us. We are taught that we are all brothers and sisters, not only in a mortal sense, but as an eternal family, children of God. We are taught to judge mercifully, to be kind, generous, and respectful of all. We are taught to choose that which edifies ourselves and others and to reject and avoid that which destroys or diminishes goodness and righteousness. Faithfully living according to these principles, in and of themselves irrespective of whether God exists, makes the world in which we live a better place.

Physically, meaning as regards the mortal body and physical well-being, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are taught to eschew that which is unhealthful to the body. We are taught to avoid taking into our bodies harmful substances such as coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, and any other harmful or addictive substance, except under the prescription of a qualified medical doctor. We are taught to exercise regularly and to avoid excesses or activities that may diminish the health of the body, such as overeating or eating unhealthy foods or any other harmful activity. We are taught that the body is “the temple” of the spirit and that a healthy body increases the possibilities of joy and productive service in this life. If there is no God and no spirit giving life to the body, there is still no downside to living according to these doctrines, counsels, and principles.

With regard to mental health, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are taught that we are not alone in this universe; there is help for us from a higher power. We are taught there may be divine purpose in our disappointments and struggles in this life. We are taught to hope in the face of hopelessness, to believe that we can overcome adversity and may even conquer impossible odds, because He who helps us has power over all things. We are taught that we may be forgiven of even our most egregious errors and become clean once again, leaving our past behind us to start again with a newness of life, going forward with the prospect of avoiding those mistakes in the future. No psychologist, medical professional, or certified counselor of any kind will deny there is healing power in hope for those who struggle with depression, loss, and many other mental health issues, regardless of whether those hopes are founded in a power that may be non-existent. It is the belief that opens the door to the healing power of hope.

Economically, we are taught to be frugal, to avoid debt as much as possible, to go forward in obtaining education, in perfecting a trade, or both. We are taught from our youth the value of self-reliance, hard work, industry, service, honesty, and perseverance. Woody Allen once said, “Eighty percent of life is just showing up.” We are taught not only to show up, but to show up well-prepared and with a worker’s mindset. Any speaker or literature proponing principles of success in career and life in general will include all of these valuable virtues, irrespective of whether God exists.

Over and above it all, however, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are taught that this mortal life, in itself, is a time of learning and progress, preparatory for an eternal life to come. There is, in fact, an overarching purpose that gives meaning to our mortal struggles and strife. We are taught that we are, in very fact, children of loving and kindly Heavenly Parents, who are eternal and who created and prepared this earth as a university, of sorts, wherein we may learn to become as they are, and so qualify for that eternal joy in that celestial world in which they exist and from which we came. They provided guidelines, counsels, and gave commandments, which, if we abide by them willingly, will lead us to the life they live. We believe they so loved us that our Heavenly Father sent His Only Begotten Son (in the flesh) to atone, or pay the eternal price, for our infractions against His commandments, whatever they may be, on conditions of repentance. We may be washed clean in the blood of Jesus Christ if we will repent of our sins and return to the path He has laid out for us to follow. If we will do so, we are promised that we may return to our Heavenly Home, to go no more out, there to live again with our Heavenly Family, sealed for eternity to our Heavenly Parents, Their son and our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the family we, ourselves, have created here in this mortal existence. We are promised that, just as our Heavenly Parents continually extend their kingdom and glory by creating worlds and children to inhabit them, worlds without end, we may also have eternal increase, worlds without end.

For God has said, “For behold, this is my work and my glory — to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39)

Now, I put the same question to you, “What if you’re wrong?”

January 10, 2021April 4, 2021

Tight Like Unto a Dish

I love the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon. It is an appendage to the Book of Mormon, transcribed by Moroni from 24 gold plates discovered by the people of Limhi while they were seeking in the wilderness for the people of Nephi, from whom they descended. The record was first translated by King Mosiah, but the information was not released to the people until after their visitation by Jesus Christ after His resurrection, because they were so commanded.

Moroni included this record, which contains much of the history of a people we know as Jaredites, who inhabited an area believed to be in North America nearly 1000 years before the arrival of the family of Lehi to the American continents, as an appendage to the record of his father, Mormon. Moroni indicates in his writings that he had not supposed that he would live to be able to continue the record long after the death of his father, but we know from Moroni’s writings, calculations made by various scriptorians and historians, and statements made by the prophet Joseph Smith, that Moroni lived and wandered alone for more than 20 years after his father’s death, before he buried the record he completed, which we have today as the Book of Mormon.

I have often heard the question asked, “Why was the record of Ether included in the Book of Mormon?” Most of the Book of Ether is filled with description of corruption and terrible wars and destruction, until, finally, the entire Jaredite civilization, which lasted for 1000 years, was entirely destroyed, save one sole survivor, Coriantumr. What message is there in that for our day?

Let me tell you why I believe the Book of Ether is among the most important books of holy writ we have at our disposal in this time of social and moral upheaval in our world. I believe it is a message of hope and faith especially prepared for our day and time.

The people of Jared came forth from the Tower of Babel at the time when the Lord God confounded the language of the people, to disperse them. Jared and his faithful brother, sought the favor of the Lord and asked that the language of them and their family and friends not be confounded. The Lord granted their desire and promised to lead them to a land for their inheritance. He said “I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth. There I will bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation.” (Ether 1:42-43)

The Lord led them to the shores of the ocean, but here the people became satisfied and settled and no longer sought the guidance of the Lord. They were content where they were and stopped listening for that “still small voice (1 Kings 19:11)” that would guide them on. They had no conception that this happy place was not the choice land the Lord had promised them. After four years on that quiet, comfortable beach, the Lord with great power and sternness “did…talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord. (Ether 2:14)”

The people repented of their slothfulness and the Lord instructed them, warning that His “Spirit will not always strive with man” when they forget to diligently seek His will, to build eight barges in which he would take them across the oceans to this new, undiscovered and choice land. He commanded, “Go to work and build…”

The manner after which the people were to build their barges was described as follows:

“They were small and they were light upon the water, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water.”

“They were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water, like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish.” (Ether 2:16-17)

The brother of Jared (as he was known in the record), directed this work and the people accomplished it just as they were commanded. The brother of Jared then went to the Lord for some clarification on some of the details of the construction, which the Lord detailed for him. He then discovered a problem that greatly concerned him: There was no light in the boats for them to live by when the doors were closed. The brother of Jared asked for guidance on how to deal with this problem. He asked, “Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we should cross this great water in darkness?”

The Lord’s answer was gentle, but instructive:

“What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire.

For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore, what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?” (Ether 2:23-25)

The brother of Jared went into the mountains and “molten out of a rock” sixteen small, clear, glass-like, stones, which he then carried before the Lord. He asked the Lord to “touch these stones with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness…” that they might produce light for their journey. For his diligence, the brother of Jared was rewarded with one of the greatest spiritual manifestations and revelations the world has ever known (see Ether 3) in which the Lord answered his prayer and touched each stone with His finger.

“And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness.”

Therefore, the people of Jared and his brother prepared for their journey, taking into their vessels all the provisions they could carry, and they went forth upon the waters in faith.

“And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.

And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.

And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish…therefore when they were encompassed about by the many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.

And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land…”

“And thus they were driven forth: and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them, and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.” (Ether 6: 5-10)

The record continues:

“And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.” (Ether 6:12)

What could be more instructive for us in our day, in this tumultuous time of societal upheaval, corruption, natural disasters, illness, disease, lasciviousness, godlessness, and shattered hopes? What could bring more hope to mankind than the understanding that the Lord has prepared each of us to cross “this great deep” and that the furious winds and the tempests and floods of change and tremendous difficulty are the waves, and floods, and winds sent forth out of His mouth and that they “never cease to blow towards the promised land.”

How wonderful it is to me to know that the Lord has touched some of those among us (“for…God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” – Matthew 3:9 ) with His finger and prepared “stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness.”

How blessed I feel to know that if I will “cry unto the Lord,” with all my heart, He will bring me up again out of my depths upon the top of the waters and that there is nothing in this world that He cannot defeat.

Therefore, let us be diligent and build our vessels “tight, like unto a dish,” as His servants have taught, that we may be light upon the waters and impenetrable to those destructive elements that will continually assault us while crossing “this great deep.”

And may we always know that these furious winds “never cease to blow towards the promised land.”

TH 01/10/21

(All italics added)

April 16, 2017

Thinking About Life and Things on This Easter Sunday

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to visit Israel. I was privileged to walk the streets of Old Jerusalem and see many of the sites held by much of the world to be holy places.

Ancient olive trees, dating back to about the time of Christ

Among those sites were the remains of what is believed to have been the Garden of Gethsemane, where our Lord suffered and bled from every pore, the hall where He was judged of the world and condemned to die, and the hill that is believed to be Golgotha.

I also visited the Garden Tomb, where we believe the mortal body of our Lord, Jesus Christ was laid to rest after the crucifixion. It was a beautiful restful place and I was blessed to have arrived late, after the tours had left, and spent about a half hour alone there, contemplating the scriptures.

The door to the Garden Tomb is open. All who desire, may enter therein and look upon the place where our Lord and Savior once lay, and contemplate the words of the angel, “He is not here. He is risen!”

I also visited the place where the Tetrarch Herod was laid to rest, outside the walls of Old Jerusalem. His tomb is built below ground level. While there is a huge round stone rolled to the side, which once sealed the entrance to the tomb, the doorway remains sealed by an iron door. The surrounding grounds lay in ruins.

I thought how like our lives are these two tombs. Christ broke the bands of death and thereby all mankind will be resurrected from death and will become immortal. The stone has been irrevocably rolled away. However, only through faith in Jesus Christ and repentance of our sins will the tomb truly be opened that we may inherit the Eternal Life He offers. Those whose hearts are lost in the vanity of the world will remain locked behind the iron door, their eternal salvation estopped forever.

The Savior rolled away the stone. The iron door is ours to open or leave shut. We have the key. He gave it to us.

May we all enjoy peace and rest on this Easter Morning.

September 27, 2013March 4, 2017

Me in the Universe

When I look at a photograph like this one of the Sombrero Galaxy, and recognize that it really is a photograph, not a computer-generated image, or a painting, or something merely imagined in an artist’s mind, it amazes me and makes me feel very small.

The Sombrero Galaxy is aproximately 29.3 million light years from earth and about 50,000 light years in diameter. It’s center is estimated to be 1 billion times as dense as our sun. Our earth, in comparison, would not be as large as the finest possible needle prick on this image. The light we see here in this image left the Sombrero Galaxy more than 29 million ago. We are looking more than 29 million years into the past.

As I look upon images of the vastness of space, and consider the glorious heavenly bodies therein and the measures of distance and time that are beyond my comprehension, it seems to me incomprehensible that life itself should not be eternal. I am led to ask, as did the psalmist:

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. ” (Psalms 8:3-5)

Where was I when the light in this image first departed the Sombrero Galaxy? What was I doing? Where will I be when today’s light from our earth reaches 29.3 mega-light years into space? What will I be doing? What will life be like then? How those thoughts bring into focus the infinitely short duration and eternal significance of my time here on earth.

When I look at such images, the statement of Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, takes on greater meaning for me:

“…while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, “What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?” God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind. In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters.

This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it.”

It is “God’s great desire” to help us return to Him, to inherit all He has created for us. As the psalmist said, we are “children of the most High.” (Psalm 82:6). How comforting that is in my smallness in the universe.