The Lord's University 2 (Part 1): "When... ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves..."

I think I will make my thoughts in the temple a regular series of posts, as I enjoyed the first one, and I anticipate enjoying this one also.

While I attended the temple, I wanted to learn more of how to draw closer to God. So, I turned to one of my favorite verses on the subject in Deuteronomy 4:29, which reads,

But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

I pondered on it for a time, and I received enlightment on how to develop my relationship with Him. But then, I continued to read that passage, as I could not recall the context:

 29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

 30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

 31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

 32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?

 33 Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?

 34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

 35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.

 36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.

 37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;

 38 To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.

 39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

 40 Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.

At this point, I was a little caught off-guard. This all spoke directly to me! I then went to check if the verses prior to verse 29 were likewise valuable:

25 When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger:

 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

 27 And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.

 28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

After all this, I was quite excited. What I previously took to be a feel-good verse about our access to God changed into a discourse on living in Zion when born in Babylon.

To give a little more background, this is Moses teaching the Israelites how they are to live. He prophesies that they will eventually turn to the sinful ways of the World, but he impresses on them that God will always lead His children if they will but reach for Him.

The United States of America is a special country. We were given America as a land to worship God in freedom. Our Founding Fathers fought for our liberties and started the United States of America. The Constitution was designed by men under the inspiration of God for this exact purpose; that we may all fulfill the Plan that God has given to each of us while we are here on this earth. It is a choice land, a promised land much like Israel. The Book of Mormon continuously discusses how this is a land above all others, so long as they follow their God (Ether 2:12 is one example).

But, alas, this will not always be. Verses 25-28 describe the less-than-ideal state of the children of God within the World today as well as in times past.The United States as we know it has been around for over 230 years. It has been quite some time since George Washington.

When thou shalt beget children, and children's children...

Now, America is home to roughly 300 million citizens; many have ancestry that goes into the Pilgrim times, where many others are new immigrants. Due to the natural course of events, many ideas have been introduced, most of which are contrary to the original foundation America enjoyed.

Ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves...

With the introduction of vile practices such as abortion, homosexuality, and imposing on the freedoms of the American, our government  is "do[ing] evil in the sight of the Lord... to provoke him to anger..." But the government cannot take all the blame; the government, after all, is composed of a bunch of individuals like you and me. We voted them in! We are just as responsible! We are at risk of being "utterly... destroyed"!

In verse 28, it continues on with the many "gods" that we will serve. Back then, they were idols that could be served with little-to-no sacrifice; maybe a token payment here and there, but no commitment or consecration was demanded. What are the gods of today? Money, entertainment, power, atheism, secularism, apathy, even the very Devil. Satan leads the battle against Christianity and their liberties; look around! The Devil's servants actively oppose open worship, much like the days of Daniel; we are quickly being forced to serve their "god", which is no god. Atheists and those that have been deceived into their ploy of "fairness" and "separation of church and state" are in open rebellion against God and His commandments. The world is quickly devolving into a world of cheap thrills, entertainments that do not outlast the night, and an utter ignorance of our Creator.

Now, don't get too comfortable. Before you say, "Well, that's them, I am an active member of my church!", remember Moses' primary audience: not the heathen Canaanites, but the children of Israel. So, not only can this apply to us, but it is completely directed to us! We are guilty for allowing the world to reach this pitiful state, and it's only getting worse. When it describes the "children's children" that were beget by the Israelites, it is talking about us. We were born in the World, and unfortunately, even if we were raised in active families, most of us were raised with much of the World's influence over our lives.

But, not all is lost! God is faithful; He has provided a way for us to overcome the World and return to His presence, even in this life!

This leads us into the original verse I had found. God wants us to succeed. Even though we will be raised with the taint of Babylon, we can be cleansed. "But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord, thou shalt find him!" God is waiting for us; in spite of our faulty vision, we are blessed with powerful testimonies, and with those testimonies we can remove our taints and seek the Lord; but, it must be "with all [our] heart and with all [our] soul." It cannot be a casual thing; if we expect to be the Lord's, we must become the Lord's, and this requires complete commitment.

This is a good stopping point. I think I will continue tomorrow. Upcoming in verses 30-40: what we can do to more fully "seek the Lord"!

Thoughts in the Lord's University

This is the first time that I attended the temple at night on a personal basis (although I have been multiple times with friends or church groups). Usually, I attend in the morning before the day gets too crazy, but I usually end up being too tired to focus well; besides, I still have the rest of the day ahead of me, so what I do gain, I usually lose a good chunk because I am simply distracted. However, tonight was different, as I had nothing significant after the session in the temple, so I could easily reflect on what I pondered there, and I will retain a good bit of what I gained as I will go to sleep with it fresh in my mind.

As a result of attending in the evening, I had a lot to think about that I am usually too tired to dwell on in the morning. Tonight was one of the most significant trips I have ever had to this holy place. The temple is a powerful bridge to Heaven; revelation and insights from my Father in Heaven easily come in a way unlike any other environment. I was able to think of many of the big things in my life.

In the temple, we learn of the Creation of the Earth, develop our relationship with God and make covenants with Him. Considering that we rely on faith and spiritual feelings to draw close to Him and not sight or any physical sensation, I am always eager to feel His presence; His presence is not on demand in the same way that, say, your best friend is. Granted, we can feel Him through prayer and other spiritual channels, but with everything that goes on in our lives, sometimes the Spirit is blurred along the way.

I really got to enjoy contemplating what it means to be God's son. What is my place? What has God done for me? What is the point of all this? I am enthralled by the Plan of Salvation that Heavenly Father has prepared for us and the enormous future ahead of us! "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2:9-10). I struggle to comprehend this on a regular basis, but in the temple I always get a glimpse of those things which God has prepared for me. Especially so tonight.

In the temple, you may end up in what is called the "Celestial Room". It is a room of utmost peace, tranquility, and contemplation. It is the closest to Heaven I have ever been. It is mostly white, and beautiful chandeliers hang from the ceiling. There are also two very large mirrors reflecting each other in there, representing eternity. It is a most stunning sight. In this room, I sat and just smiled. I read from a copy of the Bible they had in there, and God shared with me many things He wanted me to know personally. But, there was another odd sensation, one I hadn't ever felt: I greatly anticipated sitting in that very room of divine holiness with my bride-to-be.

I do not normally like to dwell on the romantic portion of my life; first, there isn't much, and second, I feel it is a silly thing to do if I am not in a relationship to daydream about what it'll be like. But tonight was a little different. A few moments ago, I thought of my own future, but now I thought on my future with my wife. I haven't dated much; I've been on one date since I've been home from my mission, and it was with a very fine young woman, but from that date I determined, to my disappointment, I'm not quite ready for a serious relationship yet, much less marriage, so why bother? I guess that's why I was caught off-guard; I was thinking about something I felt I shouldn't deal with yet. It was a beautiful feeling, nonetheless. My two greatest desires in the world, bar none, is to be a husband and a father; many daydreams have gone on before. I cannot wait for the time that I, with my wife, can start my own family. Families are eternal in the Lord's plan, and nothing compares in significance.

Additionally, in the temple, as you make promises with God, you can also help those that have passed on to make these same promises if they were not able to in their lifetime. It is a wonderful thought; if one is not baptized because he lived in Asia in a time where Christianity was not permitted, for instance, is he damned? No; God is merciful. In a later post, I will describe in more detail exactly how we help them. At any rate, after the session, I had the feeling that somebody was waiting for me to help them. It was past 8 p.m. at that point, but I knew I should work more at the temple. I did for another 45 minutes or so, and while I did not identify who it was that wanted me specifically, I suppose all of them benefited nonetheless. It was sobering and wonderful. God really does love each of His children, definitely including the ones that no longer live on this Earth. He has a way prepared, no matter the circumstances.

The temple is the House of the Lord. While the most sacred experiences I cannot share, I will begin to regularly write at least some of what I feel each time I attend. The temple is the link God has given us between Heaven and Earth. It is a powerful place of instruction, a sanctuary of peace, a place to build and enlarge family relationships; those we love most. What a blessing God has given to us. I apologize if this post seemed scatter-brained, but I really gained so much from tonight's visit, I was not sure exactly how to sort it. But I hope you saw a glimpse of the joy and enlightenment I felt tonight.

God bless y'all!
Patrick

The Impersonal Art of Labeling

At my new job, I work for a man that sells toys through Amazon.com. My job consists of gathering orders together, labeling each toy, and boxing it up to be shipped where needed.

There are about 3-4 working at a time, and we strive to send off around 1000 toys per day. In that time, I may label up to 100 of the same product (in fact, with a pin that we sell, in the 4 hours I worked this morning, I labeled around 70). To label is pretty straightforward; I look at the object, identify it, and slap on a mass-produced label. Simple.

There are around 7 billion people on the Earth now I believe. That is far more than any pin that has ever been produced. There may be areas where there are as few as 100 people for miles, and there are other places such as New York City that has millions in those same miles. Over 100 billion have gone on before us as well!

Because people sometimes appear similar, we classify those around us and put them into groups: jock, nerd, rich man, hobo, and klutz, just to name a few. Not only are the connotations negative, but they are easily applied: as I spent not even 5 seconds to label a toy, when we label others, it is usually in a very short amount of time and almost entirely without interacting with the victim.

While we may label others in a manner wholly as impersonal as many do with their products, that is not the way things should be. Think of the person you are closest to. Now, describe them in 1 word. You must describe their entire personality, history, appearance, function, and so forth. 1 word not enough? Fine, 1 sentence. If 1 sentence is not enough, I extend the challenge to 1 page! Still cannot do it? Of course not; it is impossible. The relationship you have is built off of the depth of the souls interacting with each other; with each moment your relationship grows, your knowledge of the other enlarges.

God knows each of us perfectly. While we are human and may dismiss others into quick-fix categories, God will not. No two of His children have been, are now, or ever will be identical. We are all born to unique parents in unique locations with unique environments and unique experiences. But most importantly, we each have individual souls. Long ago, Paul taught, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16), and as any good parent knows, no two children are alike. That is why what works with one will not always work with another.

Behind each face is a very long story of how they became who they are now. There is so much to each person! Enjoy that in yourself; you are a unique child of God with a bright future! You are not part of the sea of humanity, but you are one-of-a-kind. In addition to feeling good about yourself and celebrating your own personality, take time to ponder on whom you don't know very well and dismiss due to their "label". Is there a nerd that you refuse to associate with? What about a jock that couldn't know 2+2? Or that jerk that has a heart of rock and could never understand you? Remember that he is a person too, and he has emotions and thoughts just as you.

So, while I may go back to marking and packaging hundreds of products that I could not tell #1 from #2 on a daily basis, I am going to praise my God that He sees me infinitely more than a mere label.

God bless y'all!
Patrick

A Plain Understanding of the Gospel

This post will be fairly short: I just wanted to record some thoughts I had tonight.

Every Sunday my church has what you could call a devotional where we gather and discuss a verse of scripture or a spiritual thought that was prepared beforehand. Tonight, it was found in 2 Nephi 33:6, with a focus on plainness:

I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.

Truth be told, I felt a twinge of annoyance at the subject. Right now, I am at a confusing stage in my life, and it could be described as anything but "plain" or simple. I am not really sure where I am going or what God wants me to do; I am just pressing forward until I do know.

I am confident God will eventually show me what steps I need to take. He has in the past. But even with that knowledge, it is not really fun to walk in darkness, scrambling for the light.

I suppose my prayer is similar to the hymn, "Lead, Kindly Light":

"Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me."

It is not in line with the principle of faith that we should see the whole picture. Rather, we are to rely on God as He reveals His plan one degree at a time.

God bless y'all!
Patrick

"Six days shalt thou labour..."

This past week, my life just got a whole lot better; I finally found a job!

Up until just a few days ago, I did not have a whole lot going for me. I don't go to school until January, I was unemployed, and my social life is, eh, in need of improvement. Needless to say, I was not having fun. I was actually having quite a difficult time; I had gone from serving my God and my fellow man all-day everyday on my mission to literally nothing once I came home. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Well, while I am still looking forward to school and dealing with my lackluster social status, I managed to fill a gaping hole in my life and schedule with employment! A wonderful member of the church I attend set me up with it, and I am in love! While the work itself is rather menial, I enjoy my days again. I feel productive and useful, even if only in a small way. I feel good about myself!

Work is an interesting principle. Work probably has the biggest disparity between the gospel view and the worldly view. In the eyes of the world, work is a necessary evil, something you avoid as much as possible while still scraping through life. To the world, the ultimate lifestyle is that of the billionaire with no end to his money or time. However, Heavenly Father has an entirely different take on the matter, and for those that have seen both sides of the issue, we can agree that God has it right.

In the beginning, God created the world. Along with everything else, He placed Adam and Eve in a garden, the Garden of Eden, to care for the Earth. But due to transgression, it was not best for Adam and Eve to remain there. God sent them out, with many seemingly harsh curses, but upon closer examination we see that they were not intended to be curses at all but blessings instead. God said, "for thy sake" (Gen. 3:17, emphasis added) the ground would be cursed, Eve would labor in pregnancy, with sweat they shall earn their bread, and many other tasks of hardship.

How did Adam and Eve respond? Later, after learning more of their role in the world and God's Plan of Salvation for them, Adam responded, "Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God", and Eve "heard all these things and was glad" (Moses 5:10-11, emphasis added)! Joy was not something to enjoy on the beach-chairs of Heaven's Beach, but to be had here by drawing closer to God through concert effort!

Leisure is appropriate as a way to unwind from the stresses of life, but life is built not from waning into idleness and slothfulness, but it is built by our own hands! When I look back on my life, the times I enjoy are not the times I vegged out in front of the TV or lying in bed all day, but the times I enjoy most are when I do things, especially accomplishing very difficult tasks. When I returned from my mission, I was very happy (amongst other emotions) not because I hated my mission but because I did something more difficult than I had ever done in my life.

We are sent here to do and become something, not just enjoy whatever is thrown our way. Not only is it our duty, but it is the key to happiness. I don't wonder at all when Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, "By work we sustain and enrich life. It enables us to survive the disappointments and tragedies of the mortal experience. Hard-earned achievement brings a sense of self-worth. Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires" ("Reflections on a Consecrated Life"). I can tell you that that is completely true; I was miserable when I did nothing, but now that I am working, I am so much happier.

This life was designed to be something we continuously worked at. “Life offers you two precious gifts—one is time, the other freedom of choice, the freedom to buy with your time what you will" (Elder Richard L. Evans), and I can promise you, with what God has given to us, our life can reach amazing heights.

God bless y'all!
Patrick

Credit to Gregory Frank Harris