I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: Biking. I am an avid fan and supporter of pedal-biking, and find it very enjoyable...well, for the most part. I'm kind of a picky bike rider - there are certain types of terrain that I don't care for, i.e. hills. Anything that starts to incline upward usually starts fermenting an enormous amount of dread within me that often pools in the recesses of my heart. Hills=Yucky. No bueno. No thank you. Pass. Ext-nay on the ills-hay. Moving on. Why-am-I-still-talking-abut-them-like-this????
Once upon a time, me and my dad decided to go on a bike ride. The purpose behind the bike ride was to help me pass off a requirement for my Biking merit badge in Scouts. But both me and my dad enjoy looking at the beautiful mountains that surround my home valley, and so - in order to get credit for Scouts and also to enjoy the grand vistas that surrounded us - we decided to take the 'scenic' biking route.
Unfortunately, this particular decision would require us to bike up several hills in the area...Oh goodie.
I vividly remember one such hill. Along our route we were following a road that cut through the river bottoms. This means that we had the chance to zip down one hill and coast along the road as it leveled out, crossing the river. However, as soon as we'd passed over the river, another hill climbed upwards - and up this hill the road went on. We would have to bike up that hill in order to continue along our journey.
My heart sank.
"Um, Dad...I...uh...I..."
"C'mon; we can rest once we get to the top!" my dad insisted, pedaling even faster.
Oh boy.
My dad and I sped down the declining slope, and continued pedaling hard as the road leveled out. The incline loomed before us - I did not want to try to bike up it, but I also distinctly remembering muttering under my breath to myself: "Okay, Sam, you can do this...you can do this...it's not that high...you can do this..."
There was a wind blowing directly in our face; whenever I find myself in a situation like this my eyes automatically start to water (this is not my way of subtly saying I was crying; my eyes really do water when my face gets pummeled by the wind!). I could barely see my dad biking ahead of me, making substantial progress up the hill.
"You can do this, Sam...you can do this..."
My legs burned, and I ached from the physical exertion that was being required of me. There were brief moments when I was tempted to get off of my bike and walk it up the hill. Had I done so, though, I doubtless would have earned nothing but Dad's disapproval, which was something that I didn't want. If anything, I wanted to make him proud, but I also wanted desperately to focus on nothing but the pain that I felt. However, I decided to continue murmuring "You can do this!" to myself, in addition to focusing on the idea of how wonderful it would be to take a little rest once we reached the crest of the hill.
That was not an easy bike ride...but once we reached the top of that hill, and stopped for a quick water/granola bar break, resting in the shade of a few large trees growing near the road - well, let's just say that it was worth it, whether or not I recognized that at the time.
With that in mind, I'd like to share 3 Nephi 10:10 with you:
"And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer."
The context of the above passage needs a little explanation: We are taught by the Book of Mormon that during the time of Christ's crucifixion, whilst He suffered on the cross, tremendous storms and natural disasters in conjunction with the suffering and death of the Son of God were taking place throughout the ancient Americas. Terrifying weather and earthquakes (and, some LDS scholars suggest, at least one volcanic eruption) took place all throughout the land, deforming its features and killing hundreds and thousands.
Following the calamities that occurred, a dreadful, tangible darkness (scholars suggest that this 'darkness' could have been volcanic ash) descended over the land, obscuring the light of the sun and extinguishing any fire, flame, or candle that the people tried to light.
For three days this darkness endured, but in the morning the darkness dispersed, and, as read in the above verse, the people's "mourning was turned into joy" and "the earth did cleave together again".
I am completely unaware of the trials, struggles, and heartaches that you are going through at this time. I don't know the complexities of life that beset you, or the sorrows, fears, and doubts that harm you. I do not know if you are LDS, or of another Christian denomination, or if you are of a completely different religious orientation. I do not know if you are old or young, male or female, rich or poor.
All I know is that, many times throughout this life, it feels as if we are biking uphill. It feels like the winds of life smash against our face, blinding our eyes and making our vision cloudy; the exertion of pushing upward against life's steep inclines aches, tears our muscles, weakens our resolves, and hurts our hearts. We just can't see a way to continue onward; we are numb and tired and ready for rest.
I am no stranger to this feeling. Why, I have even felt it just previous to my writing this post! I was watching a clip of the good ole YouTube that brought back very vivid and heartwarming memories of my brother. I struggled to watch the video as I felt tears begin streaming down my face. At one point I broke down into uncontrollable sobbing for only a few seconds - but it was enough to remind me of the heartache that still permeates my life and the lives of my family members.
And yet: The truths contained within 3 Nephi 10:10 are as real and vivid as the sorrow that each and every one of us faces throughout our lives. This particular verse has become even more poignant and meaningful for me. How? It was a verse that was used in the last talk my brother gave in Church.
It was back during Thanksgiving time; our family had been asked to give talks for the meeting that day. My brother gave a beautiful talk that involved Charlie Brown analogies and 3 Nephi 10:10. In his own set of scriptures (which I now use), he has the latter half of that verse marked in bright red pencil.
My brother faced his own trials, challenges, and sorrows, and he marked that verse to help him carry on through his personal 'biking uphill' moments...but now, during a moment when I was going through one of those similar moments, this verse has brought great comfort and peace to my soul. This verse, that my brother marked with his own hand in his own scriptures, has reminded me of that adage: "The night is darkest just before the dawn."
This world is one of telestial nature - in other words, it is imperfect, flawed, corruptible, and is meant to try and test us to our very limits. Our muscles are meant to ache, our eyes are meant to water, and our road is meant to, at times, go uphill.
And yet we find, all throughout the scriptures (particularly in Christ's teachings in the Four Gospels), the command to "Be of good cheer". How? How can we when life is uphill, when we have been hurt or are hurting still? How do we remain happy when the going gets tough?
Well, what did the people who survived the natural disasters of 3 Nephi 10:10 do? They turned "their mourning...into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer."
Perhaps you are not of Christian beliefs; if not, then I invite you to continue reading. I wish to bear testimony to the fact that throughout the darkness and trials and turbulence of life I have been supported by a higher Power, by Deity. You may not know that love and light as Jesus Christ, but I invite you to come to know Him. There have been times when I have turned from Him, and there have been times when I have turned to Him. Always it has been the latter motion that has blessed and benefited my life, and helped me to continue biking uphill.
The good news of the Savior's Gospel provides us all with hope that, even though we may now be floundering in the midnight of remorse, regret, and ruin, we will shortly come to the morning of rejoicing, repentance, renewal, and rebirth. We will be of good cheer, and we still can be through the uphills of life. The darkness need not be permanent: We can embrace that light. Yes, we have to give our best effort in biking up that hill; sometimes we will dismount and walk, sometimes we will fall or crash; but always we can bike upwards, till at last we come to rest beneath the shade of His loving arms, ready to embrace us - including ALL of our weaknesses, frailties, fears, and sorrows. We can maintain our good cheer, no matter the tribulations that flock to us.
Biking uphill and enduring the hardships and trials of this world that fill us with "mourning" and "weeping" and "wailing" and "lamentations" can and will be overcome by the JOY that God has in store for us. When we bike uphill we are forced to rip and tear what muscles we already have - but this gives them the chance to grow bigger, better, and stronger from the experience and ultimately strengthen and improve us as individuals, communities, and nations.
Biking uphill is a challenge and a hardship, but it is always worth that rest in the shade, that "mourning...turned into joy...and lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving...[of] Jesus Christ, [our] Redeemer."
Continuing biking, my friends! Things do get better! They always do! They always will! It may hurt, but press forward! Be of good cheer!
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Luke 15:11-20...Otherwise Entitled: HOME
*NOTE TO THE READER: This particular post is not a required one for my Book of Mormon class - I've decided that I kinda like blogging. So I said to myself: "Sam, you are your own man - it's your blog, you can write a post whenevs you want to." And so that's what I've decided to do. Be warned, though: Another blog will be coming later this week in conjunction with my religion class.
Don't say I didn't warn you.....
I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: The song "Wayfarin' Stranger". If you ever want a song that brings me to tears VERY quickly, start playing/singing "Wayfarin' Stranger". It is an old American folk hymn, and I absolutely love it. Two of the verses that I love especially are as follows:
"I am a poor wayfarin' stranger
While trav'lin' through this world of woe,
But there's no sickness, toil nor danger
In that bright land to which I go.
"I'm goin' there to see my father
I'm goin' there no more to roam,
I'm just a-goin' over Jordan,
I'm just a-goin' over home."
Beautiful lyrics, and a beautiful message as well. This song reminds me so much of my younger brother, who wept with me when we heard this song. Another song that he loved, another song that speaks of 'going home', was also sung at his funeral. It is appropriately named "Going Home"; there are multiple versions of it, but the one my brother loved was sung by Paul Robeson (if you get a chance, you should look it up on YouTube! You won't regret it :) A verse or two thereof:
"Going home, going home,
I'm just going home;
Quiet-like, some still day,
I'm just going home.
"Mother's there expecting me,
Father's waiting too;
Lots of folks gathered there,
All the friends I knew."
Both of these songs have the power to bring me to tears and to make me think so much of my brother. This past weekend, I've had a chance to come home - take a break from school and visit my parents and sisters - and to visit the temple and learn more truths pertaining to our going to our eternal Home.
Throughout all of it the thoughts of home, my brother, and the eternities that await us after this life have been prevalent in my mind. I find myself standing alone in my bedroom, weeping as I miss my brother; I find myself staring at the grand vista of the mountains that encircle our little community, in awe of the God who crafted them from the shell of this earth; I find myself lost in thought about my family reunited once more, never to part again.
As I recollect on these various thoughts, and as I prepare to embark on the journey back to school once again, I am reminded of a certain story found in the Gospel of Luke. Please allow me to share it with you:
"...A certain man had two sons:
"And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that felleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
"And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
"And when he had spent all, there around a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
"And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine [just a sidenote here: Swine/pigs were considered UNCLEAN in the Near Eastern culture. That just goes to show how bad this kid's situation was].
"And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat [in other words: he was so hungry he wanted to eat the unclean beasts' slop]: and no man gave unto him.
"And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
"I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
"And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
"And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (KJV Luke 15:11-20; emphasis added).
It saddens me greatly when I see or hear or read about all the sadness and sorrow of this world, all of the death and destruction that are part of our telestial existence. There are times when I get so frustrated with all the pigheadedness and pride and selfishness of the world - why can't everyone just be happy? But then I look at myself, and look at my own faults and frailties, and realized that global peace and happiness will surely be a long ways away if everyone is as proud and pigheaded as I am.
And yet, despite all of our faults, despite all of our mistakes, there is a God in Heaven who stands on the metaphorical horizon, watching for us from "a great way off". He wants us to turn around, to forsake the sorrows of this existence, and to come Home.
In Hebrew, there are multiple verbs that can be translated as 'to repent'. One of these verbs - the most prominent - can also be read as 'to return'. This is exactly right: When we repent, we return from our erring ways and come Home to our Heavenly Father.
In essence, this life is much like the college experience: We are raised in our Father's house, and then the time comes when we must leave His celestial courts on high to experience mortality. When our trials and tribulations, growth and pruning, learning and teaching, and strugglings and achievings have come to a mortal end, we return Home - I can't help but feel that our Father does exactly what the father of the parable in Luke does: When we are "a great way off", He sees us and runs and hugs us. And, if we have proved ourselves worthy in this mortal test, we are not only granted permission to live with Him again; He promises to teach us to build our own homes and establish our own families for the eternities to come.
You could say that this life is about GOING HOME. We are 'poor wayfaring strangers' in a "world of woe". We are not meant to be sad or sorrowful; we are meant to have joy. We are meant to repent and return Home. We are meant to 'come to ourselves' and we are meant to come back to our God.
I don't know the trials and the hardships in your lives, nor do I wish to; I don't pretend to comprehend the difficulties that you face each and every day, nor do I plan to. But I do know that we have the blessed opportunity to repent and come Home. Being back in my own bed, sitting on my own couch, being with my beloved family members once again - I have felt so much joy and love and hope and peace as of late, and I am reluctant to leave it behind when I must go back to school.
I am frightened to leave my earthly home behind.
And yet, as I sit here and contemplate that, I remember that although we may at times be separated from that particular home, we are always on our journey back to our eternal Home.
And we never make that journey alone.
In the Islamic faith it is held that there is always an angel on your right and left hand [this is a thought that I find very intriguing, interesting, beautiful, and thought-provoking]; in the LDS Doctrine and Covenants, Section 84, verse 88, we learn of "angels round about [us], to bear [us] up."
As I go through any hard or difficult or depressing times in my life, I find great comfort in applying this principle to my own life. I especially like to imagine the Savior walking beside me on one hand...and my younger brother walking beside me on my other, their arms wrapped around my shoulders, 'bearing me up'. Perhaps it is a childish notion, but it has certainly brought a great deal of peace and strength to my mind when my soul was the "sickness, toil [and] danger" of "Wayfarin' Stranger".
There are two forces at work in this world: a group of physical and spiritual entities, ideas, corporations, and groups that would destroy our souls and our chances of going Home; and a power of physical and spiritual beings, places, and literature that would help us to repent and return Home.
My prayer, as I depart my earthly home once again to go back to college, is that we shall all be able to recognize those on both this side and the other of the veil that would have us come Home again, and that we act upon their promptings and encouragements and forsake our own carnal desires for something of a brighter, more spiritual nature. My prayer is that I will be worthy and able enough to come Home and reunite with my family - with my sweet sisters, whose laughs are like those of the angels on high; with my parents, whose wisdom and counsel have buoyed me up in times of despair and trial; and with my brother, whose face I long to see again in this life, whose laugh I long to hear again, whose handshake I long to feel again. But for now, this is not my lot: For now I must live in a way that I will be reunited with all of them again; I must live in such a way as to meet my brother on the other side and hug him tightly, brothers never to be parted again.
And then...then I will hug my Elder Brother, He who died so that I might have this joyous reunion, He who suffered so that I might come Home to live with my earthly and my heavenly Family once again, He who is the foundation for my eternal Home.
And you too shall have this great joy and opportunity.
May we all repent and return. May we all recognize the good in this world and see the "angels round about [us]".
May we all come Home.
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Friday, February 15, 2013
Helaman 13:2-4...Otherwise Entitled: Arbor Vitae
I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: Anatomy. For those who know me uber-well, you will recognize the fact that I have a love-hate relationship with this particular subject. I really and truly do enjoy learning about the amazing human body...but memorization and countless hours of studying for harsh midterms is something that I really and truly do not enjoy. Oh well.
Lately in Anatomy we've started discussing the nervous system. At the particular college I attend, the entire Anatomy class is split into two parts: Lecture, and Lab. In Lecture we've started learning about basic nervous system terminology and functions; in Lab we've been able to identify the various structures and parts of the human nervous system.
There's one part of the nervous system that I'd like to focus on for now. It is known as the cerebellum; it is the bulbous-looking part of the brain that is found on the posterior (back) part of the brain, below the main body of the brain (the cerebrum). When a sagittal cut (in other words, a cut that parts the cerebellum into left and right halves) is made on the cerebellum, we are able to see what it looks like inside. In all actuality, it looks pretty cool! The white and gray matter of the brain are formed in such a way as to make the inside of the cerebellum look like a tree - in fact, the anatomical name for this particular area of the cerebellum is the arbor vitae (Latin for 'tree of life').
The arbor vitae and the cerebellum are both responsible for movement in the body, amongst other functions - without the proper functioning of the arbor vitae we would not be able to walk properly, learn correctly, or function to the fullest.
With this knowledge in mind, I'd like to refocus your attention to Helaman 13:2-4, the scripture referenced in the title:
"And it came to pass that in this year there was one Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land...and began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and they did cast him out, and he was about to return to his own land.
"But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart.
"And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart."
[For those unfamiliar with the Book of Mormon, the Lamanites were a certain tribe of peoples who were often categorized by their unbelief and hatred of God and those who worshipped Him; however, during Samuel the Lamanite's day, the tables were turned: the Lamanites were, for the most part, those who faithfully served God, while those once of the true faith and correct beliefs had become wicked and persecuted any who still believed in the God of their forefathers]
My religion professor made a very interesting point regarding Samuel the Lamanite. Throughout the entirety of the Book of Mormon, we have a record of only Samuel's teachings and incredible prophecies, which accurately predicted the events surrounding both the birth and death of Jesus Christ - we have no knowledge about Samuel himself. We know much about Samuel the prophet, but we know very little about Samuel the man.
In other words, Samuel was just an ordinary person who was called of God to preach the Gospel to those who once believed but needed to be brought back. He felt the same regular emotions that you and I feel; he experienced anger, sorrow, love, fear, and weakness. He was not exempt from the hardships or trials of this world - a fact that is evidenced when this prophet was cast out of the midst of the people and was barred from entering into their city so that he might return to fulfill God's command to preach the word.
At the point when Samuel was expelled from the city and was returning to his own home, at the moment when the voice of the Lord spoke to him and told him to return and preach whatever happened to come into his heart at that time, Samuel had a choice. He didn't have to do anything; he didn't have to obey the voice from heaven. He didn't have to return to that city and face more failure and defeat. He didn't have to go back and be ridiculed, cast out, and possibly even stoned or killed for his beliefs.
He didn't have to.
Samuel had a choice - a choice to turn around and return to the city, or to keep on the path he was walking down.
This gift of choice, this gift of agency, is something that has been a right and privilege of mankind since Adam. It is most eloquently described by the warrior-prophet Joshua, successor of Moses, in the 24th chapter of the book bearing his name:
"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (KJV Joshua 24:15).
Samuel had this same choice just as his Israelite forebears did before him. And what did he do? Allow me to reread for you the fourth verse of Helaman 13 again:
"And it came to pass that [the people] would not suffer that [Samuel] should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart." (emphasis added)
Samuel chose to follow his God. This regular human being chose to move forward in faith.
Remember that arbor vitae we discussed earlier, the portion of the brain that influences movement? We all know and acknowledge the fact that we have a physical arbor vitae within our skulls, helping us to walk, talk, run, jump, and swim.
Is it possible, then, for us also to have a spiritual arbor vitae, some sort of driving force that would propel us forward to do as Samuel and the ancient prophet Joshua did - that is, choose to serve the Lord? Of course there is! And what is another name for this spiritual arbor vitae of ours?
"...[T]he Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him...Wherefore, let us be faithful to him" (1 Nephi 7:12).
In other words, we could call our spiritual arbor vitae - that part within us that, if we choose and will it to, will move us to follow our God's command - FAITH. We receive an excellent definition of faith in Alma 32:21 - "And now as I said concerning faith - faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."
[For further reading discussing faith, how to grow it, continue to strengthen and nourish it, and how to come closer to our Savior, I wholeheartedly invite you to read the entirety of Alma 32 :)
The interesting thing about faith (spiritual arbor vitae) is that it leads us to the ultimate arbor vitae, the greatest Tree of Life - the Savior Jesus Christ.
In the opening pages of the Book of Mormon, the ancient prophet Lehi received a vision of the tree of life, bearing precious, white fruit that is symbolic of eternal life (if you are interested in reading this beautiful vision, I invite you to read 1 Nephi 8 :) . His son, Nephi, first record-keeper of the Book of Mormon, had such great faith and such earnest desires to see the same things his father saw, that an angel of the Lord revealed this vision unto him as well. He was, in fact, shown some things that his father Lehi never mentioned, things that the vision of the tree of life allegorically depicted but never came outright and stated. Why, Nephi even saw the birth of the Savior:
"And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
"And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! [Now do you know] the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
"And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.
"And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul" (1 Nephi 11:20-23).
Just as we will our physical arbor vitae to move us to walk or dance, so, I pray, may we choose to utilize that spiritual arbor vitae of faith. Samuel, an ordinary man blessed with extraordinary knowledge of restored truths, had the exact same opportunity that we do now. May we make the same choice that he did, the choice that will bring us closer to the Tree of Life Himself, the God of the Old Testament, the Savior of the New Testament, and the Redeemer of mankind: Jesus the Christ.
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Lately in Anatomy we've started discussing the nervous system. At the particular college I attend, the entire Anatomy class is split into two parts: Lecture, and Lab. In Lecture we've started learning about basic nervous system terminology and functions; in Lab we've been able to identify the various structures and parts of the human nervous system.
There's one part of the nervous system that I'd like to focus on for now. It is known as the cerebellum; it is the bulbous-looking part of the brain that is found on the posterior (back) part of the brain, below the main body of the brain (the cerebrum). When a sagittal cut (in other words, a cut that parts the cerebellum into left and right halves) is made on the cerebellum, we are able to see what it looks like inside. In all actuality, it looks pretty cool! The white and gray matter of the brain are formed in such a way as to make the inside of the cerebellum look like a tree - in fact, the anatomical name for this particular area of the cerebellum is the arbor vitae (Latin for 'tree of life').
The arbor vitae and the cerebellum are both responsible for movement in the body, amongst other functions - without the proper functioning of the arbor vitae we would not be able to walk properly, learn correctly, or function to the fullest.
With this knowledge in mind, I'd like to refocus your attention to Helaman 13:2-4, the scripture referenced in the title:
"And it came to pass that in this year there was one Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land...and began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and they did cast him out, and he was about to return to his own land.
"But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart.
"And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart."
[For those unfamiliar with the Book of Mormon, the Lamanites were a certain tribe of peoples who were often categorized by their unbelief and hatred of God and those who worshipped Him; however, during Samuel the Lamanite's day, the tables were turned: the Lamanites were, for the most part, those who faithfully served God, while those once of the true faith and correct beliefs had become wicked and persecuted any who still believed in the God of their forefathers]
My religion professor made a very interesting point regarding Samuel the Lamanite. Throughout the entirety of the Book of Mormon, we have a record of only Samuel's teachings and incredible prophecies, which accurately predicted the events surrounding both the birth and death of Jesus Christ - we have no knowledge about Samuel himself. We know much about Samuel the prophet, but we know very little about Samuel the man.
In other words, Samuel was just an ordinary person who was called of God to preach the Gospel to those who once believed but needed to be brought back. He felt the same regular emotions that you and I feel; he experienced anger, sorrow, love, fear, and weakness. He was not exempt from the hardships or trials of this world - a fact that is evidenced when this prophet was cast out of the midst of the people and was barred from entering into their city so that he might return to fulfill God's command to preach the word.
At the point when Samuel was expelled from the city and was returning to his own home, at the moment when the voice of the Lord spoke to him and told him to return and preach whatever happened to come into his heart at that time, Samuel had a choice. He didn't have to do anything; he didn't have to obey the voice from heaven. He didn't have to return to that city and face more failure and defeat. He didn't have to go back and be ridiculed, cast out, and possibly even stoned or killed for his beliefs.
He didn't have to.
Samuel had a choice - a choice to turn around and return to the city, or to keep on the path he was walking down.
This gift of choice, this gift of agency, is something that has been a right and privilege of mankind since Adam. It is most eloquently described by the warrior-prophet Joshua, successor of Moses, in the 24th chapter of the book bearing his name:
"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (KJV Joshua 24:15).
Samuel had this same choice just as his Israelite forebears did before him. And what did he do? Allow me to reread for you the fourth verse of Helaman 13 again:
"And it came to pass that [the people] would not suffer that [Samuel] should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart." (emphasis added)
Samuel chose to follow his God. This regular human being chose to move forward in faith.
Remember that arbor vitae we discussed earlier, the portion of the brain that influences movement? We all know and acknowledge the fact that we have a physical arbor vitae within our skulls, helping us to walk, talk, run, jump, and swim.
Is it possible, then, for us also to have a spiritual arbor vitae, some sort of driving force that would propel us forward to do as Samuel and the ancient prophet Joshua did - that is, choose to serve the Lord? Of course there is! And what is another name for this spiritual arbor vitae of ours?
"...[T]he Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him...Wherefore, let us be faithful to him" (1 Nephi 7:12).
In other words, we could call our spiritual arbor vitae - that part within us that, if we choose and will it to, will move us to follow our God's command - FAITH. We receive an excellent definition of faith in Alma 32:21 - "And now as I said concerning faith - faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."
[For further reading discussing faith, how to grow it, continue to strengthen and nourish it, and how to come closer to our Savior, I wholeheartedly invite you to read the entirety of Alma 32 :)
The interesting thing about faith (spiritual arbor vitae) is that it leads us to the ultimate arbor vitae, the greatest Tree of Life - the Savior Jesus Christ.
In the opening pages of the Book of Mormon, the ancient prophet Lehi received a vision of the tree of life, bearing precious, white fruit that is symbolic of eternal life (if you are interested in reading this beautiful vision, I invite you to read 1 Nephi 8 :) . His son, Nephi, first record-keeper of the Book of Mormon, had such great faith and such earnest desires to see the same things his father saw, that an angel of the Lord revealed this vision unto him as well. He was, in fact, shown some things that his father Lehi never mentioned, things that the vision of the tree of life allegorically depicted but never came outright and stated. Why, Nephi even saw the birth of the Savior:
"And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
"And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! [Now do you know] the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
"And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.
"And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul" (1 Nephi 11:20-23).
Just as we will our physical arbor vitae to move us to walk or dance, so, I pray, may we choose to utilize that spiritual arbor vitae of faith. Samuel, an ordinary man blessed with extraordinary knowledge of restored truths, had the exact same opportunity that we do now. May we make the same choice that he did, the choice that will bring us closer to the Tree of Life Himself, the God of the Old Testament, the Savior of the New Testament, and the Redeemer of mankind: Jesus the Christ.
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Friday, February 8, 2013
Helaman 6:5...Otherwise Entitled: Car Alarms, Deer, and Nice Men
*NOTE TO THE READER: This particular post is not a required one for my Book of Mormon class - I've decided that I kinda like blogging. So I said to myself: "Sam, you are your own man - it's your blog, you can write a post whenevs you want to." And so that's what I've decided to do. Be warned, though: Another blog will be coming later this week in conjunction with my religion class.
Don't say I didn't warn you.....
I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: Letters from my sisters. I must be quite frank: They're both super funny! Using a prolific amount of movie quotes and funny stories, I can always count on a letter from my sisters to cheer me up. Ever since my brother's passing, I feel that I've grown closer to my sisters - much closer. And that is a wonderful feeling! It is compounded tenfold every single time I receive in the mail a letter postmarked from home - it's a feeling that I hope all of you get to experience every now and then.
These letters are simple, sweet reminders of my life beyond school and homework - a life filled with family vacations, teasings, temper tantrums, late night dance parties in the kitchen, Wii games, snowball fights, long walks down dirt roads, and so much more. These letters remind me of who I am - and they help me focus on what I need to do in order to make my younger sisters proud that I'm their older brother.
Likewise, I believe that God gives us 'letters' as well - although we would probably refer to them as 'tender mercies', 'miracles', 'blessings', or (in the case of actual, physical writing) 'scriptures'. I hope that you're okay if I share with you one of these letters/tender mercies that God has given me tonight (whether or not you're okay with it probably won't stop me from writing it...so there :)
I was walking up to the temple (a holy building wherein are performed sacred ordinances), and had entered a parking lot when I noticed something: A car alarm was consistently going off every twenty seconds or so. Confused, I glanced around and saw the car that was making the problem. There it went again! Four staccato beeps of the horn, and then the car alarm, and then silence. I noticed a tall guy was getting in and getting out of the car; from what I could tell he was putting the key in the ignition, and then the beep-alarm extravaganza would sound off.
I walked past, trying hard not to laugh a little every time the car alarm went off (I must admit, I found it supremely funny). But I kept feeling like I should go see if I could help. Now, you may or may not know me very well, but if you do have any form of familiarity with me, you probably know this (and if you didn't know this before, then you know it now): I am no good with cars. I am mechanically illiterate.
With this realization in mind, I kept telling myself that there was nothing I could do. But, eventually, the nagging in my mind finally getting to me, I turned around and asked the guy if something was the matter. He blushed and replied that his car did this sometimes, and that it would take a few more tries with the ignition before the car actually started. Following this explanation, he climbed back into the driver's seat and turned the key - and the car started! No beeping horn, no alarm sounding! Just the chugging of a battered motor.
I bid him farewell and continued walking up the sidewalk towards the temple.
[Quick side note, folks: I noticed that there were four deer nuzzling the snow just up the hill, searching for grass hidden beneath the freshly fallen powder. I couldn't help but think, in that still, crisp, wintery air, that here was another testament of God on earth. Everything attests of the Divine! Be still, and know that He is God. :) Right, that's the side note, and that's the reasoning behind the 'Deer' part of the title. On to the rest of the post! :)
I was on my way to do baptisms for the dead (an ordinance that people twelve years of age and up can participate in, once they have achieved certain worthiness requirements and received a temple recommend; baptisms for the dead mean just that - you are baptized as proxy for someone who has died, thereby giving them a chance to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ beyond the veil); as I was showing my recommend to a temple worker at the receptionist desk, he commented that I was far too good-looking to be here (a statement that is all too true, I know :) [I hope that everyone realized that I was being mildly sarcastic just then...Just so you know] I laughed in response, and proceeded onward, hanging my coat, getting appropriately attired, and sitting in the waiting room. As I did so, I noticed that an older temple worker - who, coincidentally, looked, acted, and talked almost exactly like a former employer of mine (shout out to the good ole Lawn and Yard Care!) - who was giving everyone he met compliments. He commented on how pretty the young women looked, and how grateful he was that those he encountered had taken the opportunity to come and participate in the temple tonight. I could hear him telling a group of people some tale or another - he was just a genuinely friendly sort of guy.
I thought about these two experiences - encountering the man with his less-than-reliable car, and interacting with the two temple workers - and then I connected them to a third experience I've had: One from over a month ago.
My younger brother had just recently passed away. We as a family were emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally shocked. Trying to come to grips with the fact that my brother was gone was incredibly painful, and I often experience this pain even to this day. For the first few days following his passing, our house was flooded with friends, neighbors, and family. Oftentimes we greeted them cordially, and were glad to have the company there during our time of grieving.
But that was not always the case...at least with me.
There were many times when visitors would come, and I would feel an ire rise in my soul. My grief still runs very deep to this day, but at that time it was still bitterly fresh. There would be times when I wanted them all to go away, when I wanted them to just leave us alone and let us mourn by ourselves. I would remain silent and quiet as they would come, hoping that my rudeness would drive them away - Just let us be! Why can't they just let us grieve in peace!?
They would say words of consolation and friendship, and I truly appreciated the things that they shared; but my foolish, prideful, and hurting heart would often murmur: They don't even know what this feels like! They don't know what to say! Just leave!
They didn't know what to say, yes, but the fact that they were there...well, they were doing something that I can now understand. In Helaman 6:5 we read:
"Yea, and many did preach with exceedingly great power and authority, unto the bringing down many of them into the depths of humility, to be the humble followers of God and the Lamb."
In conjunction with this verse, I'd like to share two additional gems of thought; one is another scripture, but this first is a quote generally attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words."
And, in Mosiah 18:8-9, we read:
"...[A]nd now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light;
"Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in..."
You are probably asking yourself: What do these scriptures, a quote, and those stories have to do with each other? Allow me to elaborate.
Those people who came to our home and who were our friends during the darkest hour our family has ever faced were being true examples and followers of Christ! They were "willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that [stood] in need of comfort"! They weren't preaching some sort of sermon - they were simply living their religion. In all honesty, I believe that what they were doing epitomizes what most religions of the world today advocate: Brotherly love, charity, kindness. They were preaching the Gospel, and didn't need to use words.
The same can be said for those temple workers - Their kindness and happiness not only lifted my own spirit, but showed to me the conviction they had to their religion. This conviction has even more proved to me the fact that my beloved faith is not merely a 'Sunday church' - it is a wonderful way of life.
As I realized these truths, I then can't help but think back to my encounter with the man and his...um, interesting car. He very well could have thought those words that my heart murmured during the dark days of my despair: This kid doesn't even know what this feels like! He doesn't even know what to say or do! Just leave!
But he didn't.
Instead, he was gracious, and was willing to carry on a brief but polite and friendly conversation with me. Indeed, all of these wonderful people have been able to "preach with exceedingly great power and authority [even though they didn't use words of sermon-making or pulpit-pounding], unto the bringing down [a simple-minded, rather foolish young man] into the depths of humility". I'm nowhere near perfect - nor will I ever be in this life - yet I know that those people, all of them whom I have discussed, were unwittingly performing for me a service.
I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for these multiple experiences, and I pray that I can take the lessons I've learned and apply them to my daily life and habits. I also pray that some of the words that I've shared with you will be of benefit, and either help you to see the good you've brought into someone's life by truly living and preaching the truths you hold dear (without any words, either), or help to recognize that there are many chances in the future for you to do so.
In the words of the Savior:
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (KJV Matthew 5:16).
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Helaman 5:12...Otherwise Entitled: How Firm A Foundation
I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: Primary. For those who are unfamiliar with the Mormon faith: On Sundays, while the adults are in Gospel Doctrine and Sunday School classes, and the teenagers are in Young Men's/Young Women's, the children under the age of 12 are gathered together for Primary. Often there is a lesson taught (referred to as Sharing Time); additionally there is a Singing Time (you can guess what you do during Singing Time). It's this particular part of Primary that I'd like to talk about for a moment.
Back in the day, I was one of the loudest singers in the entire Primary. I could belt out those tunes with about the same grace and pitch as a sick whale. Despite the fact that my singing was horribly off-key, I still enjoyed Singing Time. As I grew older, though, I started to become a rebel in Singing Time. That's right: Once I was eleven, I didn't sing most of the songs. Nope - instead I mouthed them. Pretty rebellious, huh?
There were a few songs that I did consistently sing and not mouth, though; one such song was 'The Wise Man and the Foolish Man' (based upon Matthew 7:24-28). As I think on the words of that song (and try to remember all of the cool little hand motions that go with it), I am also reminded of a scripture that my religion class studied recently: Helaman 5:12. It is one of the oft-quoted and beloved scriptural gems of the LDS people:
"And now, my sons, remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
The beautiful, seemingly poetic imagery of this scripture is punctuated with numerous applications, life lessons, and spiritual warnings and whisperings (One such gem is what I would call a multilingual wordplay: The Hebrew word tsur means rock, or foundation; it sounds somewhat similar to the word 'sure' in English. Cool, huh!).
My religion professor went on to point out one of these life lessons from Helaman 5:12. He pointed out that the word 'when' occurs twice in this verse - both times in conjunction to the storms of temptation and the devil. The word 'if' can be found just once - "[A] sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall" (emphasis added).
Ultimately it is our choice whether or not we build upon the Rock of our Redeemer - even Jesus Christ, God the Son, the Savior of the World. Ultimately it is our choice to choose to accept His words and teachings of love, repentance, forgiveness, brotherhood, and hard work - or to be like unto the foolish man of both the Savior's teachings in Matthew and the Primary song that I would sing.
In the parable from Matthew, we read the Savior's words:
"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock" (KJV Matthew 7:24-25).
Notice that there are two different words used to describe what should be build upon the rock: house and foundation. A foundation obviously precedes a house - but once you have laid this foundation, it is only natural that you would build a house on top of that sure, solid foundation (in this case, a foundation of faith).
Said Isaiah:
"Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste" (KJV Isaiah 28:16).
And then we read the words of Solomon, son of David:
"Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great" (KJV 2 Chronicles 2:9).
What house was Solomon building? The same house that you and I are building spiritually. Later in that same chapter we read:
"...Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the Lord, and an house for his kingdom" (2 Chronicles 2:12; emphasis added).
Says 2 Corinthians 6:16:
"[F]or ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
We are striving to become like our Savior is - we are striving to build within ourselves a spiritual temple of holiness, founded on faith in God, and built with the timbers of His teachings. This seems like a daunting task, but as I was reading through these scriptures I remembered something of great importance: Our Savior is a carpenter. He was born and raised in Nazareth, and taught the woodworking art by his foster father, Joseph. Not only was He a Master of carpentry in mortality, but in our very lives and in our very souls He can play this role as well. And once our house, once our temple unto our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, is built, we can then go forth and serve and share!
I enjoy thinking of some sort of community that lived along a rocky coastal shoreline. There was surely once a man who dwelt in this community, who built his house upon one of these solid rocks - and when a winter storm blown in by the sea-winds came, his house stood firm, unshaken, immovable. He was delighted, overjoyed, and ecstatic about this revelation, and continued to fortify, strengthen, and expand his house, until it was nigh unto a mansion. The storms came, and his house withstood; there were minor cracks and leaks in the walls and roof, but he busied himself patching those up.
And then one day he looked out. His neighbors and friends didn't know how to build their houses upon rocks - perhaps they weren't even aware it could be done. So, for the longest time, they had been building their houses upon the sand some miles away from the rocky cliffs. The storms came, and battered and buffered these individuals and their homes. When such epic and ferocious winds blew, there was no hope for their sand-founded houses - they blew away, or were washed off in the floods of the billowing tides.
The man who'd built his house upon a rock knew that he could help these others. He left his home for a time and journeyed amongst the people living in the sand dunes, inviting them to come back with him to the rocks. "Danger? Oh yes, there is danger; there are always typhoons, hurricanes, and gales, whether you live on the cliffs or in the dunes. But where I go, there you will find safety from these storms. Let me teach you," he said to the multitudes gathered roundabout him.
He taught them how to build solid foundations on the rock itself, and then to build a house on top of those foundations. The storms would then come and expose whatever flaws or cracks that they might have initially missed during the original construction; easy would these be to patch up once they were discovered.
And so this coastal community moved to the cliffs and built their houses on rocks, leaving behind the thankless, merciless, and ever-changing sands of yesterday.
So it is with us, my friends. We can choose the Rock of our Redeemer, or an unsteady foundation that will likely blow away in the next storm that life will throw at us.
It's our choice; and once we make it, we're never alone in building that house, that temple, on that rock, within ourselves. We have an expert to guide us, help us, chasten us, love us, teach us, perfect us, and patch up any cracks in our walls.
We have a Master Carpenter standing right beside us.
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Back in the day, I was one of the loudest singers in the entire Primary. I could belt out those tunes with about the same grace and pitch as a sick whale. Despite the fact that my singing was horribly off-key, I still enjoyed Singing Time. As I grew older, though, I started to become a rebel in Singing Time. That's right: Once I was eleven, I didn't sing most of the songs. Nope - instead I mouthed them. Pretty rebellious, huh?
There were a few songs that I did consistently sing and not mouth, though; one such song was 'The Wise Man and the Foolish Man' (based upon Matthew 7:24-28). As I think on the words of that song (and try to remember all of the cool little hand motions that go with it), I am also reminded of a scripture that my religion class studied recently: Helaman 5:12. It is one of the oft-quoted and beloved scriptural gems of the LDS people:
"And now, my sons, remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
The beautiful, seemingly poetic imagery of this scripture is punctuated with numerous applications, life lessons, and spiritual warnings and whisperings (One such gem is what I would call a multilingual wordplay: The Hebrew word tsur means rock, or foundation; it sounds somewhat similar to the word 'sure' in English. Cool, huh!).
My religion professor went on to point out one of these life lessons from Helaman 5:12. He pointed out that the word 'when' occurs twice in this verse - both times in conjunction to the storms of temptation and the devil. The word 'if' can be found just once - "[A] sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall" (emphasis added).
Ultimately it is our choice whether or not we build upon the Rock of our Redeemer - even Jesus Christ, God the Son, the Savior of the World. Ultimately it is our choice to choose to accept His words and teachings of love, repentance, forgiveness, brotherhood, and hard work - or to be like unto the foolish man of both the Savior's teachings in Matthew and the Primary song that I would sing.
In the parable from Matthew, we read the Savior's words:
"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock" (KJV Matthew 7:24-25).
Notice that there are two different words used to describe what should be build upon the rock: house and foundation. A foundation obviously precedes a house - but once you have laid this foundation, it is only natural that you would build a house on top of that sure, solid foundation (in this case, a foundation of faith).
Said Isaiah:
"Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste" (KJV Isaiah 28:16).
And then we read the words of Solomon, son of David:
"Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great" (KJV 2 Chronicles 2:9).
What house was Solomon building? The same house that you and I are building spiritually. Later in that same chapter we read:
"...Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the Lord, and an house for his kingdom" (2 Chronicles 2:12; emphasis added).
Says 2 Corinthians 6:16:
"[F]or ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
We are striving to become like our Savior is - we are striving to build within ourselves a spiritual temple of holiness, founded on faith in God, and built with the timbers of His teachings. This seems like a daunting task, but as I was reading through these scriptures I remembered something of great importance: Our Savior is a carpenter. He was born and raised in Nazareth, and taught the woodworking art by his foster father, Joseph. Not only was He a Master of carpentry in mortality, but in our very lives and in our very souls He can play this role as well. And once our house, once our temple unto our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, is built, we can then go forth and serve and share!
I enjoy thinking of some sort of community that lived along a rocky coastal shoreline. There was surely once a man who dwelt in this community, who built his house upon one of these solid rocks - and when a winter storm blown in by the sea-winds came, his house stood firm, unshaken, immovable. He was delighted, overjoyed, and ecstatic about this revelation, and continued to fortify, strengthen, and expand his house, until it was nigh unto a mansion. The storms came, and his house withstood; there were minor cracks and leaks in the walls and roof, but he busied himself patching those up.
And then one day he looked out. His neighbors and friends didn't know how to build their houses upon rocks - perhaps they weren't even aware it could be done. So, for the longest time, they had been building their houses upon the sand some miles away from the rocky cliffs. The storms came, and battered and buffered these individuals and their homes. When such epic and ferocious winds blew, there was no hope for their sand-founded houses - they blew away, or were washed off in the floods of the billowing tides.
The man who'd built his house upon a rock knew that he could help these others. He left his home for a time and journeyed amongst the people living in the sand dunes, inviting them to come back with him to the rocks. "Danger? Oh yes, there is danger; there are always typhoons, hurricanes, and gales, whether you live on the cliffs or in the dunes. But where I go, there you will find safety from these storms. Let me teach you," he said to the multitudes gathered roundabout him.
He taught them how to build solid foundations on the rock itself, and then to build a house on top of those foundations. The storms would then come and expose whatever flaws or cracks that they might have initially missed during the original construction; easy would these be to patch up once they were discovered.
And so this coastal community moved to the cliffs and built their houses on rocks, leaving behind the thankless, merciless, and ever-changing sands of yesterday.
So it is with us, my friends. We can choose the Rock of our Redeemer, or an unsteady foundation that will likely blow away in the next storm that life will throw at us.
It's our choice; and once we make it, we're never alone in building that house, that temple, on that rock, within ourselves. We have an expert to guide us, help us, chasten us, love us, teach us, perfect us, and patch up any cracks in our walls.
We have a Master Carpenter standing right beside us.
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Monday, February 4, 2013
Helaman 3:37...Otherwise Entitled: The Huppatoo Principle
I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: Huppatoo. Don't know what huppatoo is? Makes sense - only a member of the Mitchell household (and, even more specifically, of the Mitchell children) would have any idea what huppatoo is. Wanna know? Alrighty then.
Once, during my younger days (I was still the dashing, debonair, and ruggedly gorgeous individual back then that I am today, just FYI :), my brother, sisters, and I were listening to the radio. One of us (I think it was my brother) had their blanket spread out on the floor; I was carefully walking along the edges of the blanket, following the course of its four straight edges with near-absolute perfection. For some reason the radio got turned off, but I continued walking. My younger siblings decided to do the same, and eventually (I honestly can't remember how this evolved into what it did - just further proof that there really is such thing as a weirdness gene, and it is highly dominant in the Mitchell household) we created a chant. We stomped around the edges of the blanket, and, in sing-song voices, cried out: "Huppatoo! Huppatoo! Huppa-too-too-huppatoo!" :)
Pretty much the greatest thing ever.
I'm very proud to say that The Huppatoo became something of a tradition in our home; for some reason it really annoyed our parents when we would do it in excess...hmmm, funny how things work like that...
Anywho, the years fled by, and I, remaining as dashing, debonair, and ruggedly gorgeous as ever, passed on the torch of The Huppatoo leadership to my brother, who guided our sisters through it for some time. (You know, I feel like I'm making this whole Huppatoo thing sound a lot like some sort of secret rite or ritual - folks, it was a dance routine I made up when I was quite young, I promise :) Just thought I'd clarify)
In Helaman 3:37, we read:
"...And it came to pass that he did fill the judgment-seat with justice and equity; yea, he did keep the commandments of God, and did walk in the ways of his father."
What does this scripture have to do with The Huppatoo?
Well, technically nothing...but technically everything as well.
I created a path, a dance, a certain routine, that my younger siblings followed; together we would be crazy/dance/sing the nights away. Eventually, though, maturity hit me like a bad case of the plague, and my brother became the next and new leader of The Huppatoo. He changed nothing of the pattern that we'd originally developed all those years ago; he would sing in the right tone and timing, and would dance around the blanket in the right rhythm and step.
Perhaps that doesn't quite make sense; allow me to elaborate. In my religion class the professor added a bit of commentary to this verse. In essence, he said something along the lines of: "The world's best leaders were first the world's best followers."
We all go through this life learning and being taught, following in the footsteps of those who've gone before, essentially dancing The Huppatoos that others have created. Eventually, though, there comes a time when, after we have learned that dance and been taught the lessons we need to be taught, we transform from being followers to being leaders.
In whose path do we follow? In whose Huppatoo do we dance? (I hope that's not too irreverent a term to use here)
Let's read the tail-end of that verse one more time:
"...[Y]ea, he did keep the commandments of God, and did walk in the ways of his father" (emphasis added).
Now, this verse discusses a man who walked after the ways of his earthly father - but, as with all scripture, there is a sense of dualism, a sense of another meaning, that can be gleaned from those words. God is the Father of our spirits; we are to keep His commandments and to walk in His ways. Love God above all; love our neighbors as ourselves; do good to those who spite us; abstain from immorality, violence, and/or pride.
The path is not always easy - trust me, it's not always easy. But oh! How truly worth it will be our sacrifice if we just stick to our moral compasses, if we remain true to whatever faith we hold dear, if we see others not as enemies but as children of an all-knowing, all-encompassing, and, most importantly, all-loving Father in Heaven.
We must be teachable; we must be humble; we must be followers. But then, after we pass this test of life (and, quite likely, as we pass certain tests within our mortal experience), God will quietly say: "Now it's your turn."
I pray that we all may be able to see that, throughout the struggles of this life, we are merely undertaking the grand apprenticeship that will one day result in becoming Masters ourselves. Keep calm and Huppatoo on! :)
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
Once, during my younger days (I was still the dashing, debonair, and ruggedly gorgeous individual back then that I am today, just FYI :), my brother, sisters, and I were listening to the radio. One of us (I think it was my brother) had their blanket spread out on the floor; I was carefully walking along the edges of the blanket, following the course of its four straight edges with near-absolute perfection. For some reason the radio got turned off, but I continued walking. My younger siblings decided to do the same, and eventually (I honestly can't remember how this evolved into what it did - just further proof that there really is such thing as a weirdness gene, and it is highly dominant in the Mitchell household) we created a chant. We stomped around the edges of the blanket, and, in sing-song voices, cried out: "Huppatoo! Huppatoo! Huppa-too-too-huppatoo!" :)
Pretty much the greatest thing ever.
I'm very proud to say that The Huppatoo became something of a tradition in our home; for some reason it really annoyed our parents when we would do it in excess...hmmm, funny how things work like that...
Anywho, the years fled by, and I, remaining as dashing, debonair, and ruggedly gorgeous as ever, passed on the torch of The Huppatoo leadership to my brother, who guided our sisters through it for some time. (You know, I feel like I'm making this whole Huppatoo thing sound a lot like some sort of secret rite or ritual - folks, it was a dance routine I made up when I was quite young, I promise :) Just thought I'd clarify)
In Helaman 3:37, we read:
"...And it came to pass that he did fill the judgment-seat with justice and equity; yea, he did keep the commandments of God, and did walk in the ways of his father."
What does this scripture have to do with The Huppatoo?
Well, technically nothing...but technically everything as well.
I created a path, a dance, a certain routine, that my younger siblings followed; together we would be crazy/dance/sing the nights away. Eventually, though, maturity hit me like a bad case of the plague, and my brother became the next and new leader of The Huppatoo. He changed nothing of the pattern that we'd originally developed all those years ago; he would sing in the right tone and timing, and would dance around the blanket in the right rhythm and step.
Perhaps that doesn't quite make sense; allow me to elaborate. In my religion class the professor added a bit of commentary to this verse. In essence, he said something along the lines of: "The world's best leaders were first the world's best followers."
We all go through this life learning and being taught, following in the footsteps of those who've gone before, essentially dancing The Huppatoos that others have created. Eventually, though, there comes a time when, after we have learned that dance and been taught the lessons we need to be taught, we transform from being followers to being leaders.
In whose path do we follow? In whose Huppatoo do we dance? (I hope that's not too irreverent a term to use here)
Let's read the tail-end of that verse one more time:
"...[Y]ea, he did keep the commandments of God, and did walk in the ways of his father" (emphasis added).
Now, this verse discusses a man who walked after the ways of his earthly father - but, as with all scripture, there is a sense of dualism, a sense of another meaning, that can be gleaned from those words. God is the Father of our spirits; we are to keep His commandments and to walk in His ways. Love God above all; love our neighbors as ourselves; do good to those who spite us; abstain from immorality, violence, and/or pride.
The path is not always easy - trust me, it's not always easy. But oh! How truly worth it will be our sacrifice if we just stick to our moral compasses, if we remain true to whatever faith we hold dear, if we see others not as enemies but as children of an all-knowing, all-encompassing, and, most importantly, all-loving Father in Heaven.
We must be teachable; we must be humble; we must be followers. But then, after we pass this test of life (and, quite likely, as we pass certain tests within our mortal experience), God will quietly say: "Now it's your turn."
I pray that we all may be able to see that, throughout the struggles of this life, we are merely undertaking the grand apprenticeship that will one day result in becoming Masters ourselves. Keep calm and Huppatoo on! :)
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
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