Mormon 2: 18-19

Mormon 2: 18-19

For behold, a continual sense of wickedness and abominations has been before my eyes ever since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man. and woe is me because of their wickedness, for my heart has been filled with sorrow . . .

We jump too quickly from 200 years of peace to these final chapters of the Nephite civilization. These are sad chapters - the story of man at his worst.

It is a story repeated over and over in the history of mankind. We watch it daily in the news. Man seems incapable of getting along with his neighbors.

I got caught up in the frenzy this year and found myself feeling such intense negative feelings towards others. It came to a boiling point when our political signs were stolen from our front yard. I was angry - furious - and caught myself saying unkind words towards "them."  I realized that I was caught up in the "them vs us" mentality.

I had to stop and disengage. I didn't like what I was becoming.

I'm still concerned about the election.  I still believe that the Trump administration has served our country poorly, bringing out the worst in our citizens, but I am more concerned about the intense divide among Americans and the hatred I see not just "out there" but inside me.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I have followed Him my whole life. Because of Him I must love my neighbor.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. Because of the Restored Gospel I know who we all are. We are all children of the same Heavenly Parents. We are brothers and sisters. I must treat everyone with kindness and respect.

I am me. I know in my heart that love and respect and kindness and forgiveness and relationship are at the heart of everything that matters in life.

This same Mormon who watched his society be destroyed was much like me. In the midst of all the chaos of his life, he chose to follow Jesus. 

He wrote some of the most beautiful passages of scripture ever written in a letter to his son. Moroni 7 is that letter.  Here is one of my favorite verses:

Mormon 2:13-14

This story in Mormon chapter 2 is a sad reminder that consequences do not always teach.

When I was young I mistakenly believed that when someone make a mistake, the consequences of that mistake would show them the error of their ways. But life is not that simple.

For many sins, there are just no negative consequences. That is certainly the case with young couples who live together without marrying. There is no immediate and obvious result from that choice and so they live happily together. The same maybe said for those who commit theft - the petty theft of office supplies, cheating on taxes, etc. 

But what if you did get caught? What then? Will you be sorry that you cheated or sorry that you got caught? That is the problem that we see in this chapter. The Nephites are no longer living the gospel. Their society is a whole is suffering as a result. "Wickedness did prevail upon the face of the whole land . . ." Mormon 1:15

And now they are at war with the Lamanites and there is "blood and carnage" everywhere. "Thus there began to be a mourning and lamentation in all the land . . . " Mormon 2:11

Their sorrow was real but it was not the sorrow that makes someone look at their life and change. Mormon calls that "sorrow unto repentance". What they are feeling is sorrow for their circumstances alone. Mormon calls it the "sorrow of the damned". The Apostle Paul described it as "the sorrow of the world. . ."

It's a lesson for all of us.  There are times in our lives where we find ourselves in misery.  At those times it is well to stop and self-examine. Is there something I am doing that is causing my misery? If it is caused by the actions of another, do I need to change my response or my reaction?

Sometimes it is just life treating us unkindly and we just need to grieve. Life can be sad. It can be devastating.  Sorrow has the power to change us - to transform us. It can create compassion within us like nothing else can. Compassion literally means to "suffer together".

In the magazine Psychology Today, Larry Culliford (Spiritual Wisdom for Secular Times) wrote an article entitled "Sorrow, a Valuable Emotion."

He writes, "Although nobody wants to feel sad, at a deeper level, facing loss, everyone should want the genuine experience of sadness. Because sorrow is not the endpoint! It is the gateway to healing . . . Feeling bad about it, people often seek to deny, delete or evade emotional pain somehow; but sorrow is a genuine and valuable emotion. Instead of rejecting and feeling bad about it, we are wise, in the face of loss, to embrace it. Then we can start to feel good about it and wait as our tears turn to laughter once again"

But this is sorrow for loss. How does it relate to sorrow for sin?

Sorrow for sin is a loss. It's about the loss of our own integrity. It's about looking yourself in the mirror and not liking the person you see. It's the unbearable pain of knowing that you did this to yourself. It is sorrow that you must allow yourself to feel because it has the power to transform. This sorrow is a welcome friend, a teacher.

We all make mistakes; some small, some big, some horrendous. Heavenly Father knew we would make mistakes when He gave us our agency. He also provided a way for us to overcome those mistakes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Healer, and Savior. We just have to open to Him. If we close our hearts, hold on to stubborn pride, refuse to admit we erred, we still will suffer consequences as did the Nephites as they witnessed the blood and carnage. The pain will still come but there is no healing. There is only despair.

In the September 2019 New era magazine, an article called "Godly Sorrow" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf compares godly sorrow and worldly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10).  His article is beautiful and reminds us that healing always comes when we turn to the Lord.  

Godly sorrow

• Inspires change and hope through the Atonement of Jesus Christ
• Creates conversion
• Causes a change of heart
• Causes us to hate sin and love goodness
• Encourages us to stand up and walk in the light of Christ's love

Worldly sorrow

• Pulls us down
• Extinguishes hope
• Persuades us to give in to further temptation
• Causes self-loathing
• Prevents us from rising up again
• Impedes our growth

"True repentance is about transformation, not torture or torment."

4th Nephi 1

I have always loved this chapter and it's description of what can happen when a whole community chooses to live the gospel. It is the ideal - the Zion community - the Utopia men have searched for through the ages.

• No contention
• No disputations
• Everyone dealt justly with each other
• Had all things in common
• No Rich versus poor
• No bond versus free
• All were partakers of the Heavenly gift
• Peace in the land
• The love of God did dwell in the hearts of the people
• No envy, strife, tumult, theft, whoredoms, lying, murder, nor any manner of lasciviousness

Verse 16 says, "Surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God."

We know how seemingly impossible it is to create that society. It implies they were all of like mind. But it is not diversity that destroys them.

Versus 24 through 26:

. . . there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride such as the wearing of costly apparel and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world.

And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them.

And they began to be divided into classes. . .

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed."

This is not a new problem. Horace, the Roman lyric poet who lived from 65 BC to 8 BC said, "He who is greedy is always in want."

Andy Stanley, an American clergyman, puts it this way. "Greed is not a financial issue period it is a heart issue."

Isn't that what the Savior taught? "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

How Greed Outstripped Need  by Beth Azar in the magazine of the American Psychological Association in January 2009 offers some insights:

"As the world slipped into economic meltdown, the nation started talking about greed: greedy lenders, greedy Wall Street executives, greedy CEOs and greedy Americans who used credit to finance untenable lifestyles.

Greed may very well have driven much of the economic crisis, says University of Rochester social psychologist Richard Ryan, PhD. But does the blame fall on the individual, or on our increasingly materialistic culture?

"America has an economic system set up to create the kind of mess we've seen recently," says social psychologist Tim Kasser, PhD, of Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. "Our form of capitalism encourages materialistic values, and the research shows that people high on materialism ... are more likely to engage in unethical business behaviors and manipulate people for their own purposes."

In fact, American corporate capitalism—the highly competitive economic system embraced by the United States as well as England, Australia and Canada—encourages materialism more than other forms of capitalism, according to a study by Hebrew University of Jerusalem psychologist Shalom Schwartz, PhD. He compared the values held by people in countries with more competitive forms of capitalism with the values of folks in countries that have a more cooperative style of capitalism, including Austria, Germany and Norway. These countries rely more on strategic cooperation among the various players in the economy and society to solve their economic problems, such as unemployment, labor and trade issues, rather than relying mostly on free-market competition as the United States does.

As expected, citizens who live in more competitive free market systems cared more about money, power and achievement than people who live under more cooperative systems. 

Research also supports the notion that the more people care about money and power, the less they care about community and relationships. 

A study by Kasser, University of Victoria psychologist Fred Grouzet, PhD, and colleagues, for example, asked students in 15 countries about the goals they value most, including community feeling, financial success and physical health. They found they could chart those values onto a kind of pie with some values—money versus community and relationships, for example—in direct competition with each other.

"Of course we can care about community and money," Kasser. "But as money becomes important—the bigger its slice of the pie—the desire to help other people tends to become less important."

University of Minnesota psychologist Katherine Vohs, PhD, demonstrated this idea in a series of studies in which she primed participants to think about having large amounts of money. Compared with a group of students who were primed to think about neutral concepts or insufficient funds, participants with wealth on their minds were less helpful at, for example, picking up spilled pencils, and were less generous, for instance, donating less to charity. These participants were also more insular, choosing to sit farther away from a colleague or work independently rather than in a team.

Money and community are inherently incompatible because they tap into two fundamentally different motivational systems, says Kasser. Helping the community and forming personal relationships satisfy intrinsic psychological needs while financial success satisfies extrinsic needs of rewards and praise.

And for those motivated by rewards, America's corporate incentive system may even encourage unethical behavior, says Ryan. Investment banks, mortgage companies and other industries that fueled the economic downturn reward employees for specific outcomes—say, selling more mortgages or obtaining high quarterly profits—rather than other aspects of job performance. Research shows that the people who are offered these types of rewards take the shortest route to reach their goal, whether it's ethical or not, Ryan says.

"Rather than rewarding good practices, we've been rewarding outcomes, however they're attained," says Ryan. "And that's driven a lot of greedy behavior from folks who wouldn't normally act that way.""

3rd Nephi 27:32

But behold, it sorroweth me because of the fourth generation from this generation, for they are led away captive by him even as was the son of perdition; for they will sell me for silver and for gold, and for that which moth doth corrupt and which thieves can break through and steal. And in that day will I visit them, even in turning their own works upon their own heads.

I felt sad as I read this verse because it seems the Lord would be saying that about America right now money appears to rule Washington. If you have money and contribute to campaigns, you essentially buy the president period you can be given positions of power. You can get laws passed that favor you or your businesses. You

Ethics, character, experience, the very principles upon which we were established and have modeled for the world are thrown away. Corruption is everywhere.

I picture the Lord crying out, "O ye people of [America], how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathered her chickens, and you would not." (3rd Nephi 10:5)

Mitt Romney is trying to stand for principle. He has chastised our leaders for the vitriol and for the bad example they set. We need more leaders to stand for principle.

One man on the news was asked how he could vote for a president who constantly lies. He replied, "All politicians lie."

I fear we have come to expect that - we have seen it so much we have given up hope for any kind of ethics in our leaders. We will self-destruct if we don't change. As citizens, we must elect people of good character. Character matters. In the long run it is more important than policies and platforms. People of good character will lead well because they will be more willing to listen to the citizens and cooperate with fellow lawmakers.

We must raise our expectations and do it now or today's verse in 3rd Nephi will apply to us.

 

3rd Nephi 24: 2-3 (Malachi 3)

3rd Nephi 24: 2-3

But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers soap.

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi and purged them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord and offering in righteousness.

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Psalm 51:10 

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

I am particularly comforted by these messages because I am just tired of trying to fix myself, to be good enough, to feel like I have to repent unceasingly when I am actually "Trying To Be Like Jesus".  These two scriptures remind me that I have just to make myself available and the Lord will do His transformative work.  He know me.  He knows I want to be just like Him.

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This beautiful video reminds us of the Lord's hand in our lives.  It reminds us that we are never alone, that He will use the experiences we have to mold us and to refine us.  

"Many of us have felt the heat of the fire and the crushing blow of a sculpting hammer. We frequently question, “Why me?” We yearn to be free of the refiner’s fire. We can’t think of it as anything good.

What good can come from having health challenges or financial challenges? from the loss of a job, a loved one, or a marriage? from having responsibilities for young children, elderly parents, or ward members? from someone you know who has doubts and questions, even if that someone is you? But now our trials are seen in a new, refining light. That fire is real, as is its purpose. Elder Quentin L. Cook reassured us that the “qualities of character and righteousness that are forged in the furnace of affliction perfect and purify us and prepare us to meet God” (“The Songs They Could Not Sing,” Oct. 2011 general conference).

So what good can come for those who have felt or currently feel the fire? The answer is profound and overwhelming. We will be exactly what He wants us to be. And we will be exactly where He wants us to be. We will be His creation, in His presence."

The Refiner's Fire - Mormon Message Video

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I found this article from a newspaper called the Midland Reporter-Telegraph from Midland, Texas, a small community about half way between El Paso and Fort Worth.  The whole article is worth reading but I was mostly touched by the simple reminder that we sometimes need to change our perspective in order to see evidences of God's refining work in our lives.  I seem to need constant paradigm shifts in my efforts to draw close to my Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ.

God Uses Heat to Refine us Show His Reflection in Us.

As God changes your perspective, you will begin to see less of what is wrong and more of what evidences God's refining work in your life -- God bringing weaknesses to the surface so you ultimately will be stronger, more like him and more reflective of him. God's plan is not to make you more independent or more self-sufficient. His plan is to make you holy and dependent servants of the refiner who desires to give us lives far beyond what we ever could imagine. In the heat, we see his power displayed and we become vessels for his glory and reflectors of his image to the world -- and that is a life worth living, no matter your circumstances!

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This is a favorite.  What more could we want than to return to the presence of God and see that we are more like Him than when we left His presence; that our time on earth had done exactly what He had planned for us!  I suspect that this goes way beyond what we even imagine.  Every experience is helping us to learn and to grow in ways unimaginable.  We are absorbing information and experiences that we cannot even recall that will open to us when we pass through the veil.  We are always being molded whether we know it or not.  

Moroni 7:48

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray under the Father with all the energy of heart that you may be filled with this love, which He hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of His Son, Jesus Christ; that you may become the sons of God; that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as He is pure. Amen

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Elder Cook here reinforces the concept that the Lord is working in our lives to perfect and purify us.  That thought makes me so happy!

Elder Quentin L. Cook October 2011 - Song They Could Not Sing

The refiner’s fire is real, and qualities of character and righteousness that are forged in the furnace of affliction perfect and purify us and prepare us to meet God.

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I was humbled by this thought from President Faust's talk in 1979.  We talk about how adversity helps us to grow.  But he is likening our adversity to what the Savior suffered and suggesting that one thing the Savior does for all of us is to comfort us in our sorrows because He knows what we are going through.  If we want to be like the Savior, do we not want to suffer also and be able to be someone else's source of sympathy and consolation.  I don't know why this touched me so much as I read it this morning.  My eyes filled with tears instantly as I read his words.  Yes, I want to be filled with compassion and understanding.  I just never thought about how we become that kind of a person.

James E Faust April 1979 - The Refiner's Fire

Elder Orson F. Whitney asked and answered this question: “To whom do we look, in days of grief and disaster, for help and consolation? … They are men and women who have suffered, and out of their experience in suffering they bring forth the riches of their sympathy and condolences as a blessing to those now in need. Could they do this had they not suffered themselves?

“… Is not this God’s purpose in causing his children to suffer? He wants them to become more like himself. God has suffered far more than man ever did or ever will, and is therefore the great source of sympathy and consolation.” (Improvement Era, Nov. 1918, p. 7.)

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1 Peter 1:7

 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and Glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ

3rd Nephi 24 (Malachi 3)

And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger, and fear not me, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Once again it seems so clear to me that our priority of seeking wealth is so very wrong.  Pope Francis just created a TED talk in which he talked about the failure of market capitalism. We no longer care for each other.  We are too focused on accumulating wealth.  That phrase, "those that oppress the hireling in his wages" hits the nail on the head.

Too many are working 2 and 3 jobs to get enough money for just pay the basics.  And this while CEOs become millionaires and billionaires. And they become our role models!!

I find it interesting that this chapter soon transitions to the law of tithing.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delight-some land, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Tithing demands that we develop a generous heart, a sense of communal responsibility.  Tithing is straight and simple - no loopholes or write-offs.  Each gives 10% toward the welfare of the whole.  None excluded.

So if you look at the totality of what is said here in chapter 24:

1. Pay the hireling an adequate wage (living wage?)
2. Care for the widow and the fatherless (some will always need assistance)
3. Don't turn side the stranger (immigration)
4. Give to the good of the whole. No if, ands or buts!

It's the Lord's way.  It has worked so well for the church that it has allowed the church to develop its many humanitarian programs.  As societies we would be wise to do the same.

3rd Nephi 22: 10 & 13

For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

God's Covenant of Peace

Patricia T. Holland

I heard Pat Holland give this address at a BYU Women's Conference in 1999.  It resonated deeply with me.  I was needing to hear her words that day.  As I read it again this morning here are some favorite quotes she used.

"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." (Helaman 5:12).

Psalm 107 reads: "They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven" (v. 26–30).

But remember what our Savior tells us; Be of good comfort, I have overcome the world. See his goodness, he hath conquered our enemies before hand, and by Faith in him, we shall assuredly prevail over them all. Therefore my sweet wife, raise up thy heart, and be not dismayed at the crosses thou meetest with in family affairs, or otherwise, but still fly to him, who will take up thy burden for thee, go thou on cheerfully in obedience to his holy will, in the course he hath set thee, peace shall come, thou shalt rest as in thy bed and in the mean time he will not fail nor forsake thee" John Winthrop (Winthrop Papers, 6 vols. [Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1929], 2:84).

"Only God is able. It is faith in him that we must rediscover. With this faith we can transform bleak and desolate valleys into sunlit paths of joy and bring new light into the dark caverns of pessimism. Is someone here moving toward the twilight of life and fearful of that which we call death? Why be afraid? God is able. Is someone here on the brink of despair because of the death of a loved one, the breaking of a marriage, or the waywardness of a child? Why despair? God is able to give you the power to endure that which cannot be changed. Is someone here anxious because of bad health? Why be anxious? Come what may, God is able" (Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love [Cleveland, Ohio: Collins, 1963], 112)

And lastly, a couple quotes from Sister Holland:

What we too often fail to realize is that at the same time we covenant with God, he is covenanting with us—promising blessings, privileges, and pleasures our eyes have not yet seen and our ears have not yet heard. Though we may see our part in the matter of faithfulness going by fits and starts, by bumps and bursts here and there, God's part is sure and steady and supreme. We may stumble, but he never does. We may falter, but he never will. We may feel out of control, but he never is. The reason the keeping of covenants is so important to us is at least partly because it makes the contract so binding to God. Covenants forge a link between our telestial, mortal struggles and God's celestial, immortal powers.

I stand as a witness that my most precious blessings, miracles, and the realization of God's covenantal promises have come after my fears have been aroused, my faith has been tried, and my heart truly broken in humility and supplication.

I have always been extra fond of this whole chapter of scripture ever since I heard Sister Holland give this address.  Verse 13 has been critical for me.  

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

Unfortunately, before I learned this verse and studied this chapter of 3rd Nephi, I had already learned verse 25 of D&C section 68:

And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion or in any of her stakes which are organized that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents.

For too many years this particular scripture haunted me with nightmares that I did not do enough, that my children's choices were my fault.  Even though I could be rational and admit that we don't control another's actions, I would read this and read it again and know for a fact that even though I taught my kids the gospel, I had failed in making sure they "understood" it.  Guilty - condemned - haunted.

So can you imagine how I felt when I heard Sister Holland using this passage in her talk.  Can you imagine how I felt when I realized that this chapter in 3rd Nephi was a repeat of Isaiah 54.  It was so important that the Lord gave it to us twice.

Those words are the greatest comfort - "and thy children shall be taught of the Lord."  It makes me so happy to read them.  

I think of my children and picture them in my mind as I read Psalm 121:

PSALM 121

1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

My children are in capable hands.  I trust their Keeper.  My job, as it says in "Healing Through Christ", is to step trying to manipulate things and let the Lord do His work!

(p. 9 The act of controlling our . . . loved ones can be deceptive.  We control in the name of love.  We do it because we're only trying to help. We do it because we're right ad they're wrong . . . [unfortunately and unsuccessfully]. We do it to stop the pain.  Our perception of this unhealthy behavior begins to clear when we understand that controlling and manipulating also places us in the position of interfering with Heavenly Father's plan to help our loved ones . . . We can trust that God is already trying to help them and surely He can do what we are not capable of doing.")

3rd Nephi 21:1

And verily I say unto you, I give unto you a sign, that you may know the time when these things shall be about to take place - that I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O House of Israel, and shall establish again, among them, my Zion.

The church's role in gathering Israel was established early. They sent missionaries out all over the world. We still send our young men and women on missions all over the world. They know that the gathering is taking place.

But who is Israel? How do we find them?

Israel has been described in many different ways over the course of my life. Here are the two dominant thoughts.

First, I was taught that they are literally Israel-the DNA of the tribe of Israel is in their blood. That lineage is revealed in patriarchal blessings. When I first joined the church I was led to believe that this was indeed literal. Israel was long ago scattered and dispersed throughout the world. We were to find them. And patriarchal blessings revealed their true DNA and what tribe of Israel they belong to.

That evolved into a more reasonable theory. We become Israel by being adopted into the house of Israel and assigned a tribe.

It is interesting that there is little emphasis on this anymore. Perhaps that is because we realize more fully that God wants all His children to come home to Him.

As that theory weakened, another arose. Israel became the "honest in heart who accepted the gospel". This was perhaps the more destructive of the two theories because young missionaries weaponized it. They loved to share the stories of wiping the dust off their feet as a rebuke of any who did not accept their message. It led to a holier than thou attitude most un-befitting a follower of Christ.

Preach My Gospel now teaches that the missionaries purpose is to "invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end."

"You are surrounded by people. You pass them on the street, visit them in their homes, and travel among them. They are all children of God, your brothers and sisters. God loves them just as He loves you. Many of these people are searching 

for purpose in life."

How true. How honest. How inclusive.

In this October's general conference we were given a new definition of who Israel is. President Nelson shared that in his study of Israel he learned that one of the Hebraic meanings of the word Israel is 'let God prevail.' "Thus the very name of Israel refers to a person who is willing to let God prevail in his or her life."

That is a nice way to think of the term Israel.It reminds me of Joshua's famous words, "Choose you this day home he will serve... But as for me in my house, we will serve the Lord."

There are people all over this world who let God prevail in their life. This definition allows us to be inclusive in our thinking. In a world that is increasingly divisive, we need that kind of unity and inclusion.

Elder Quinton L. Cook in his address, Hearts Knit in Righteousness and Unity (October conference 2020) reminded us of the people described in 4th Nephi where it reads "There was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people."

He then says, "With our all-inclusive doctrine, we can be an oasis unity and celebrate diversity. Unity and diversity are not opposites. We can achieve greater unity as we foster an atmosphere of inclusion and respect for diversity."

As we then learn to embrace, respect and love all people, as we extend our circle to include those of all faiths and even those of no faith, we fulfill our destiny as the Lord's church. For all men and women are His children and He loves them all. How could we do less?

3rd Nephi 20:8

And he said unto them: he that eateth this bread eateth of my body TO HIS SOUL; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood TO HIS SOUL; and HIS SOUL shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled.

Mother Teresa said, "The greatest disease in the west today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the west is a different kind of poverty - it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God." (Mother Teresa, A Simple Path)

One need only look at the news here in the United States to realize that there is a famine of the soul. The people are hungry, impoverished but don't know it. They have forgotten they are sons and daughters of God made in his image. and it's impossible to feed a man who doesn't know he is hungry.

I think of Jesus who pleads, "Come unto me all ye who weary and our heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Human beings have a need to feed and care for our souls - that eternal part of us that connects to beauty wherever it is found. Some find it in art or music or nature. It seeks light and loveliness. It thrives when there is kindness and respect. It responds to the deep reserve of peace and quiet that you feel as you walk into a cathedral, a temple, a mosque, a forest. It seeks truth and righteousness.

But it can also starve and shrivel amidst the harshness and cruelty of life. It shrinks amidst predators who use and abuse. It cowers in the presence of hate and scorn. It cries in the night when violence stalks the streets; when there is no safety to be found. Wars of nations and the daily wars between men and women slowly drain the life from our souls.

We hunger and we thirst.

The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to change the world. We know who we are. We know why we are here on Earth. We know what we may yet become.

But that cannot happen if each of us are not transformed into messengers of His love and grace. If we cannot walk through life's paths sharing kindness for all, in a way that we are seen and recognized by others as Christlike - not just in word but indeed, then we fail.

Our hearts must beat in tune with His, filled with love of all His children. Our hands, like His, must have the healers touch. Our words must echo His; words of hope, peace, and encouragement.

We must exit our homes and our chapels and our temples and go out into the streets, into the darkness where our light is needed. We must share in hovels and byways the Bread and Water that feeds men's souls.

We must learn that, until we are willing to care for their bodies, we cannot reach their souls. It is our administering to those very basic needs, that our kindness allows our spirits to touch another spirit.

I was an hungered and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick and ye visited me, I was in prison and ye came unto me.

3rd Nephi 18-28-29

And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that you shall not suffer anyone knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when you shall minister it.

For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation; therefore if you know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and body he shall forbid him.

Oh dear, I am having an emotional response to this one! Really? We have to get ourselves worthy and then we can have the Atonement apply to us? Then we can take the sacrament?  

I would rather defer to the words of Hymn #193  I Stand All Amazed (Vocal Point Arrangement)

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me

Confused at the grace that's so fully He proffers me

I tremble to know that for me He was crucified

That for me a sinner, He suffered, He bled and died.

I marvel that He would descend from His throne divine

To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine.

That He should extend His great love unto such as I,

Sufficient to own, to redeem and to justify.

I think of His hands, pierced and bleeding to pay the debt.

Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?

No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat

Until at the glorified throne I kneel at His feet

Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me

Enough to die for me

Oh, it is wonderful.

Wonderful to me.

I come to Jesus, broken, a sinner. I recognize my need for Him - to help me overcome my sins, my weaknesses, my brokenness.

I am beset with human frailties. I am 76 and still struggle with faults and failings. I am a disciple of Christ who knows how great is the chasm between what I am and what He is. My need of Him only grows more and more as I travel through this mortal experience.

Hymn #165 Sing We Now at Parting

Praise Him for His Mercy

Praise Him for His love

For a numbered blessings 

Praise the Lord above

Let our happy voices

Still the notes prolong

One alone is Worthy

Of our sweetest song.

One alone is worthy!

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.  Revelations 5:12

In our trying so hard to perfect ourselves and become like Jesus, I fear we begin to think of ourselves as 'worthy of His grace." But only one is worthy!

And because we ARE NOT worthy, we kneel before Him as humble sinners in need of mercy and grace. It is because we are sinners we partake of the emblems of His flesh and blood which were shed for us.

It is when we acknowledge and feel the pain of our own brokenness and realize how difficult it really is to follow Him - then it is that we appreciate that simple act of partaking the emblems of His sacrifice.

We sing hymn #174 and I don't think we even think about what we are saying:

While of these emblems we partake

In Jesus name and for his sake

Let us remember and be sure

Our hearts and hands are clean and pure.

If my heart and my hands were clean and pure I would not need to take the sacrament. I would not need Jesus' grace and mercy. And if I come to the sacrament in an attitude that I am clean and pure, I will not appreciate that sacred ordinance.

Of course, if there is someone who is committing some terrible sin, who has no desire to change and no intention of ever changing, then it would be a sacrilege, a mockery for them to take the sacrament. But those people don't usually show up at church. And they don't usually go to see their bishop or clergyman. We take that step at the point we are ready and willing to make a change.

I would hope that anyone who is struggling with any sin, addiction, weakness of any kind would be welcomed at the table of the Lord's supper. I would hope they would be taught to come there, acknowledging their need of Him and know that His grace and mercy are available through the emblems of the Sacrament. I hope they would be promised that He will enable them to fight their battles and overcome. I would hope they would feel His love for them. Oh, it is wonderful! 

This Celtic hymn has always been one of my favorites since I learned it at a BYU music workshop.  (Couldn't find the melody I know except in this instrumental version)

Come, Ye Sinners

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,

Weak and wounded, sick and sore.

Jesus ready, stands to save you,

Full of pity, love and power.

Come, ye thirsty, come and welcome.

God's free bounty glorify.

True belief and true repentance

Every grace that brings you nigh

Come, ye weary, heavy laden,

Lost and ruined by the Fall.

If you tarry 'til you're better

You will never come at all.

It is in our weakness that we need Jesus. We come to the mercy seat as sinners, unworthy, in need of a Savior. This is why we partake of the Sacrament each Sunday. We need forgiveness for the week gone by and we need strength for the coming week.  His love is the enabling power we earnestly seek as we remember Him. We neither deserve or earn that love. It is His gift of grace freely given for each of us.  

Come unto me, all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.  2nd Nephi 26:25

"My beloved brothers in Christ, the God of Creation, who breathed life into the universe, surely has the power to breathe life into you. Surely He can make of you the genuine, spiritual being of light and truth you desire to be.

God’s promises are sure and certain. We can be forgiven of our sins and cleansed from all unrighteousness.  And if we continue to embrace and live true principles in our personal circumstances and in our families, we will ultimately arrive at a point where we “hunger no more, neither thirst any more. … For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed [us], and shall lead [us] unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from [our] eyes.”  But this cannot happen if we hide behind personal, dogmatic, or organizational facades. Such artificial discipleship not only keeps us from seeing ourselves as who we really are, but it also prevents us from truly changing through the miracle of the Savior’s Atonement.

The Church is not an automobile showroom—a place to put ourselves on display so that others can admire our spirituality, capacity, or prosperity. It is more like a service center, where vehicles in need of repair come for maintenance and rehabilitation.

And are we not, all of us, in need of repair, maintenance, and rehabilitation?

We come to church not to hide our problems but to heal them."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, On Being Genuine, Ensign Magazine, May 2015