Immense Distance

There is no way the Church can honestly describe where we must yet go and

what we must yet do without creating a sense of immense distance.

     --Elder Neal A Maxwell

          Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the distance you see between yourself and God?  At one time or another in our mortal journey, all of us will need to give, as well as receive, assistance from others.  We were never meant to make it back to the Father alone.  In fact, I believe it is impossible.  President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "Therefore our salvation and progression depends upon the salvation of our worthy dead with whom we must be joined in family ties."  In the Doctrine & Covenants we read "that they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect."

          President Joseph Fielding Smith also said, "There must be a welding, a joining together of the generations from the days of Adam to the end of time."  In other words, although individuals must personally qualify for eternal life, the quest to be saved is more than even an endeavor of an immediate family.  Rather, it is the work of the whole family of Adam.  In my opinion, to be saved means that God accepts the human family, not just individually, but also as a whole.  After all, He once said, "And if ye are not one, ye are not mine."

          Keep in mind that there is an important distinction between eternal life and exaltation as well as between the many degrees of salvation that exist.  Notwithstanding these differences, and no matter what level of progression the above quotes and scriptures refer to, it is obvious that the Lord wants us to return to him as a unit.  Do we see it that way?  Or do we believe that salvation is an "every man for himself" proposition?

          We are literally brothers and sisters.  Somehow we manage to convince ourselves that because that is true only in a spiritual sense that it doesn't really count.  And yet in the same breath we declare that our Father in Heaven is just as literally our parent as the person who gave birth to us.  The more I see those around me as siblings, the more I see ourselves as a team, a family, all fighting towards the same goal.  We are in part responsible for their spiritual welfare, just as they are in part responsible for ours.  We were meant to lean on others when we need support, even as we support them in turn.  So what if some of us struggle more than others?  Are our literal siblings less valuable because they have physical or mental limitations, even if they were caused in part by their own lack of effort?

          There is a word for a piece of humanity who accepts their spiritual familial identity.  For a people who work and love together, with each member valuing his brother's salvation as much as his own.  It is a word that describes something that the Lord requires us to build before the coming of Christ.  Something miraculous, world-changing, and utterly achievable.  That word is ZION.

          

Of Beginnings and Endings

          President Uchtdorf once said, "In light of what we know about our eternal destiny, is it any wonder that whenever we face the bitter endings of life, they seem unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings...endings are not our destiny."

          Yet so much of our mortal life is driven by what seems to us as the absolute termination of one phase of life or other.  We tend to look back longingly, somehow feeling that even if we were able to put all the pieces back just how they were, things would never again be the same.  In my experience, that is true.  The philosopher Heraclius said that “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”  But for the child of God who lives the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the second time will be better than the first.

          Next Sunday I will go to the homecoming of one of my best friends from childhood.  Because of the way our missions overlapped, I haven't seen him in three years.  Those three years have been some of the most transformative years of my life, as I am sure they have been for him.  It will be a very different person who steps into the river this second time, but it will also be a better person.  For me our friendship is not determined by the identity or circumstance of either of us, but by the series of decisions I made a long time ago to bind my heart to his.  I don't expect things to be exactly the same as they were when we were kids, but for me they don't need to be.  In my opinion, some of the best things in life are unconditional.

          Our connection with another human being can be independent of our bond with any other person.  They can be stronger or weaker, but they can also be personal and individual.  Think of the Savior.  Is His love for you in any way diminished by His love for billions of others?

          Periods of life begin.  And then they end.  But some things continue on, growing brighter and brighter until the perfect day.  In my opinion, some of the most important things in life are eternal.

          Why do we dislike endings?  We dislike them because we love.  For me, that love is worth the price of painful separation because I know that most goodbyes do not last forever.  Because to love means to live, if you just replace the "i." Because happiness is not found in a perfect scantron or a fun hobby or a successful job, but in the consecration and sometimes sacrifice of those things for the people who matter most, for in reality mortal trivialities are but the spindles around which tapestries of everlasting fabric are woven.  The great love that casteth out all fear and never faileth is the power behind the Power who ended His pre-mortal existence one night in Bethlehem many centuries ago that He might descend below all things so that the plan of our salvation might begin.  That love is the light that penetrates the dark immensity of space, giving life and home to all things.  Yes, it is true,

In my opinion, the greatest things in life never end.

The Star

          This week I had two particularly significant conversations with two people who are very important to me.  Both occurred when I least expected them to, and despite being so disconnected from each other, something deep down thinks that they were divinely orchestrated.  It brings to mind the following quote from Elder Neal A. Maxwell, "The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well."

          Sometimes, when I worry about the future, I fear that chance or fate or outside forces beyond my control are suddenly going to intervene and block me off from critical opportunities that are important to me.  Why do we worry about things like that?  The God who orients the movement of the universe around the appearance of a single star will not neglect even the details of His children's lives, let alone the most important events.

          It's a funny thing about stars.  Each one is just a tiny pinprick of light in the night sky, yet the one that oriented itself above the sleeping Savior changed the lives of all those who saw it and believed in its significance.  Despite being in just one place in the sky, it meant something different to each person who viewed it, and to each civilization, Nephite and Jew.

          Compared with the infinite vastness of humanity spread throughout the universe, each one of us is no more of a single speck of light.  Yet if we orient our lives on the Savior, we too will warm and light the way for individuals in this, the Telestial Kingdom of stars in a way that no other person is in position to do.

          As we so shine for each other in our times and in our seasons, in our minutes, in our hours, in our days, in our weeks, in our years, we glide upon our wings towards each other.  When we get close enough, we will see one another not as stars, but suns, Celestial bodies that blaze with beauty as deep as eternity.  What was once disguised as a tiny blip on the horizon has become the globe of fire that lights our sky every day, powered by that light which proceeds from Jehovah to the immensity of space.

          How important is it, then, that we shine?  We may only be a single star, but our movements throughout the night sky have infinite significance.  If the every star decided not to shine because they didn't think anyone would miss their light, the entire universe would be shrouded in darkness.

          So shine this Christmas season.  You never know which wise man will choose your light as the guiding influence by which they chart his personal journey to find the Babe from Bethlehem, the Mighty God, even Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.

Blessings of Spiritual Rebirth

          I don't pretend to be an expert on identifying when a person has officially dedicated their all to the Lord.  I personally believe that it is most often a single decision followed by innumerable acts of self-sacrifice.  For some people it may be a gradual event that occurs over years or decades, and for others the choice might need to be made and reaffirmed multiple times until it truly sets in.

          Regardless of how the specifics play out, there are certain blessings that seem to come along naturally with increased consecration.  Elder Richard G. Scott said, "Spirituality yields two fruits. The first is inspiration to know what to do. The second

is power, or the capacity to do it."

          Those who consecrate themselves to God tend to receive more specific and frequent inspiration from the Spirit.  Often this inspiration will lead them to be miracles in other people's lives.  God will trust them more often to fill pivotal roles at critical moments in friends' and strangers' personal plans of salvation.  Rather than place artificial divisions in their lives, they see every issue as an inherently spiritual issue, even those that seem temporal.  They seek and receive guidance about many facets of their lives, but wisely balance that guidance against their own agency so that their decisions are both their own and the Lord's.

          They also have an increased capacity to make difficult decisions and sacrifices.  They do absolutely crazy things because the Lord asks them to, even when they never know all the reasons why.  They act in confidence, trusting that God will inspire the decisions that they make, even without them realizing it.  They know that the Lord will use their imperfect efforts to bless the people that they love perfectly.  There is a distinctive power that radiates from them when they speak about the Gospel that others can't match.

          Even more than what a consecrated person says or does, the very essence of who they are reflects the decision they made to follow Christ in everything.  There is often something almost magnetic about them that draws people in closer.  They find great joy and satisfaction from their lives and feel peace and a sense of inner stability no matter what is going on around them.  The Lord blesses their efforts in every area and causes them to blossom and be more effective than they would otherwise be.  Devoting oneself to God is difficult, and elicits strong opposition from the Adversary, but it is also the vehicle for personal mighty change.

          In short, the consecrated life is the good life.  It turns everyday men and women into heroes.  It brings to a head all that is beautiful about life and makes the morning stars sing together and the sons of God shout for joy in the soul and causes the heart to burn.  With your hand in the Lord's, despite inconceivable difficulty, every minute a piece of heaven dances softly on your fingertips.

Spiritual Rebirth III

          The message of the Book of Mormon is really one message:  to make the decision here and now to accept the Lord's timing and keep His commandments.  President Packer put it this way, "Most of you have been taught the gospel all your lives.  All of you know the difference between good and evil, between right and wrong.  Isn't it time then that you decide that you're going to do right?  In so doing you're making a choice.  Not just a choice, but you're making the choice.  Once you've decided that, with no fingers crossed, no counterfeiting, no reservations or hesitancy, the rest will all fall into place."

          Elder Maxwell said the same thing, but in a different way:  "I do not believe that any soul can be exalted  that does not sacrifice every choice and action to the Lord--broken heart, contrite spirit."  These two quotes sound like they're talking about somewhat different things, but they are not.  The choice that President Packer refers to is the choice to sacrifice every decision and action to the Lord.  It is the choice that I believe constitutes what it means to be born again.  The prophets through the ages have all made this decision.  Even though only a hundredth part of the Nephite history was recorded, much of what we do have documents their experiences of rebirth.  Nephi made such a choice before he decided to kill Laban.  Enos did the same through long, devoted prayer.  King Benjamin's people, who were already baptized members of the Church, made "a covenant with [their] God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments..."  Alma the Younger made such a decision when he was in the "gall of bitterness" and later proclaimed that he was born of God (Mosiah 27:28).

          Modern prophets are not exempt.  Some have shared their stories of spiritual rebirth in General Conference.  All have testified of the divinity of the Savior and have dedicated their lives to Him.  One of the best descriptions of the decision to dedicate everything to God was written by C. S. Lewis,

           "Christ says “Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked – the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.”

The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self – all your wishes and precautions – to Christ. But it is far easier than what we are all trying to do instead. For what we are trying to do is to remain what we call “ourselves,” to keep personal happiness as our great aim in life, and yet at the same time be “good.”

          For thousands of years men of God offered animal sacrifices.  We often shrug this off, saying something like "When Christ came he ended animal sacrifices.  Now all he asks of us is a broken heart and contrite spirit--having good intentions, or something like that."  Some part of us believes that the sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit is easier than animal sacrifice.  Those who think that way don't understand Christianity.  The sacrifice He asks of us today is even greater than the ones proscribed before His death.  And not only is that sacrifice important, it is mandatory for our reception into the Kingdom of God.

Spiritual Rebirth II

          Spiritual rebirth starts to have an impact on our lives in response to our own agency.  Relentless, consistent agency is the only source of true miracles, and spiritual change is the true miracle that Jesus Christ works.  He is the author of our salvation.  His atoning blood spots the ground on which we walk when we return to live with the Father.  His Atonement is the power of good in the world.  It flows from eternity to all eternity, and is the fire my which all things burn and have life.

          Jesus Christ took upon himself the burden of all creation.  We cannot understand life without understanding Him.  "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent."  He is the core and center of life.  I know that He lives and that He will stand in the latter days on the Earth.  We will be eyewitnesses to His glory.  He is our Champion and our King, and He labors among us even now.  I love Him.  My life and my light and my every action are in the process of being given to Him.  There is nothing I wouldn't change for Him. 

          The Atonement should be the power and focus of change in our lives.  Psychological therapy is baseless and shallow because it attempts to use man's wisdom to solve symptoms of deeper problems.  Only the Gospel can save the world from its own self-destruction.  Without it, single living souls will likewise perish.

          The Lord faced great uncertainties and pain during His lifetime.  There were many things He didn't know in His mortal life.  However, the power of who someone is always outshines the power of what He says or does, and that power allowed Him to perform at a level that we couldn't match.  His was the power to choose the right without perfect knowledge, in darkness and unfairness.  The power of who we are can shine forward toward the future, through the Atonement of Christ.  We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.  That belief must be the driving power behind everything we say and do.

          Spiritual rebirth is the process by which the spirit part of us bleeds through the mortal part.  It is the process by which we begin to  wield spiritual power.  It is the night at the end of the dark day that is more beautiful than anything perceive by the physical senses.  The Atonement is the great dividing link between mortal and spiritual, symbolized and epitomized by the mortal Son of God.  Thus, only through the Atonement can spirit and matter be  inseparably connected and receive an fullness of joy.  But the only way to the Atonement lies through the pathway of pain, uncertainty, and darkness, just as it did for Him.  It lies along a thorny pathway that scratches and cuts us until our hearts bleed and seems to stretch on forever, just as it did for Him.

          In a way, the path is open and obvious to everyone, but no one chooses to walk it.  We know what we should do, but we don't do it.  Not because we can't, but because we are unwilling to pay the price.  But He was.  He was because He loved us.  And because He loved us He died and personally sustained the order and progression of mankind.  May we ever worship Him and decide that another's salvation, temporal or spiritual, is worth that price.  Let us place offerings on the sacrificial alter until our heart breaks and our spirits become contrite.  There is an inner part of all of us that always sees the correct path and whether or not we are on it, but sometimes we do those things that take us in a different direction anyway.  On a single act of agency once hung the very fabric of existence.  So too does our eternal destiny, by way of the actualization of rebirth, depend on a single individual decision. 

Spiritual Rebirth I

          Think of someone who has had an incredible impact for good on your life.  She might be a parent.  He might be a missionary or a home teacher.  She might be a trusted friend or adviser.  They may have known you for years or for seconds.  Perhaps a few words was all it took.  No matter what their action was, big or small, it revolutionized your life, and put you on a path completely different than the one you would have taken otherwise.

          A sign of spiritual maturity is the desire to be that kind of hero in the lives of those with whom we associate.  In a way, the pathway to spiritual rebirth begins with an inner drive to aid the spiritual rebirth of others.

          Listen to this description of fundamental differences between those who follow God and those who do not by Joseph Smith:

          "Now, in this world, mankind are naturally selfish, ambitious and striving to excel one above another; yet some are willing to build up others as well as themselves."

          We are naturally inclined to focus on our own welfare, including our spiritual welfare.  Yet, we must put off that natural man tendency if we are to be reborn as saints.  The opportunity to change the life of a son or daughter of God forever is a very precious thing.  In my personal opinion, it is the greatest gift God can give us.  It is both essential and inherent to the role of a parent in their family.  Once we have that desire, it changes the way we see even the most fundamental duties in the church.  For example, a man who truly desires the spiritual welfare of others will never intentionally neglect his hometeaching because he knows the potential impact it may have on the families he visits.  A trip to the temple becomes more than a chance to assuage a guilty conscience as the patron feels sincere concern for the person they officiate for.

          This initial change can, in a way, be considered a rebirth of sorts.  Yet it is not refined or complete.  It constitutes merely a change in perspective that potentially leads to greater things.  The Savior Himself taught this truth in John 3: 3-5, " Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

          Joseph Smith taught that this scripture represents  two rebirths, one that is required to "see the kingdom of God," and one which is needed to "enter the kingdom." 

          The desire to bring about the salvation of others constitutes the first, preparatory rebirth.  The second rebirth, though initiated by baptism, may often not be finished or even completely understood until long after the ordinance is complete because the first rebirth has not yet taken place. Those who are transformed by the preparatory rebirth will find beauty instead of triviality in Alma 26:22, one of the greatest promises in all scripture, " Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance."

          Thus it is that, armed with the desire to transform the lives of others, we can finally see the kingdom of God for what it is:  a vehicle by which we can instigate the happiness of everyone around us according to the inspiration and wisdom of God.  And so it is that our spiritual birth begins.

Prelude to Spiritual Rebirth

          Goals are the bedrock of spiritual progress.  Elder Ballard once said:  "I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the technique of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential."

        That's a powerful statement.  It made me feel uncomfortable every time I read it until I finally got behind the concept of goal-setting and started building toward my eternal future.  If we set goals to allow the Atonement to purify us from the desire to sin, we will be able to do anything the Lord wants us to do, including obtaining eternal life.  Many people dramatically underestimate the requirements of eternal life.  Joseph Fielding Smith once said,

           "The man who does only those things in the Church which concern himself alone will never reach exaltation. For instance, the man who is willing to pray, to pay his tithes and offerings, and to attend to the ordinary duties which concern his own personal life, and nothing more, will never reach the goal of perfection."

         Think about Abraham.  In order to gain exaltation, he was required to sacrifice his only son.  Would it be just for God to give us the same eternal reward as him if we were not eventually willing to pay a similar price?  D&C 101:4-5 even states:

Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son.  For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified.

          There are two principles that, if properly understood, will completely evaporate any discouragement caused by the last two examples.  The first is that God is omnipotent.  When He says he can do anything, he means anything.  He can turn the sky green, reverse gravity, and take away a weakness from you without any effort on your part.  It's natural to think:  "Overcoming weakness takes incredible effort!  The Lord can only step in after we do our part.  Faith without works is dead."  Actually, works without faith is dead too.  Works qualify us to be changed by God, but works themselves won't change us in any lasting way.  Ever.  They do point our agency in the right direction and build our faith.  Then God responds to our faith by changing us, eventually to the point of exaltation.

          Do you have faith that God can change you to love your enemies, to kick your bad habits, or develop patience?  Repent, follow both the commandments and the promptings of the Spirit to the highest extent of your abilities, and pray to God with faith, and He will bless you in the way you request.  It may be that the change comes through further obedience to promptings of the Spirit after the prayer, but it inevitably comes, often far sooner than expected.   In order to keep the change we must exercise the spiritual gift God has just given us.  For example, if God blesses us with the gift to see opportunities to serve others, we can keep that change by serving every time we see someone in need.  Through those works we obtain the approval of  God and develop faith sufficient to qualify for future blessings.

        The second principle is that God loves us.  He wants us to have spiritual blessings far more than we want to receive them.  He will never withhold a righteous desire from us unless we lack faith or the desire is not truly righteous.  Those that understand this principle see that the sky is the limit.  Why not ask for the gift to work miracles on others' behalf?  Or the gift to be the means of bringing thousands of our brothers and sisters into the Celestial Kingdom?  Or the gift to lose all of our desires to sin?  There is a name for that last gift.  It is called being born again.  

          Mosiah 5:2 explains,  "[T]he Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent...has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually."  As well as Mosiah 27:25:  "[A]ll mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness"  At first glance this sounds like baptism, but think about it.  How many baptized members of the Church do you know that whose actions can only be described as "carnal and fallen?"  Compare those people to your stake patriarch or mission president.  Which of the two groups would you say have put off the natural man and become saints?  Which are more likely to do the same things Abraham did and inherit the same reward?  Spiritual rebirth in a deeper, more complete sense than simply receiving the Holy Ghost is a requirement for exaltation.  President David O. McKay related the following vision, which he received off the coast of Samoa:

“In the distance I beheld a beautiful white city. Though far away, yet I seemed to realize that trees with luscious fruit, shrubbery with gorgeously tinted leaves, and flowers in perfect bloom abounded everywhere. The clear sky above seemed to reflect these beautiful shades of color. I then saw a great concourse of people approaching the city. Each one wore a white flowing robe, and a white headdress. Instantly my attention seemed centered upon their Leader, and though I could see only the profile of his features and body, I recognized him at once as my Savior! The tint and radiance of his countenance were glorious to behold! There was a peace about him which seemed sublime—it was divine!

“The city, I understood, was his. It was the City Eternal; and the people following him were to abide there in peace and eternal happiness.

“But who were they?

“As if the Savior read my thoughts, he answered by pointing to a semicircle that then appeared above them, and on which were written in gold the words:

“These Are They Who Have Overcome The World—Who Have Truly Been Born Again!”

(Cherished Experiences, comp. by Clare Middlemiss, Deseret Book Co., 1955, p. 102.)

Man's Work and Glory

And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

                                                                                      -- 1 Corinthians 15:49

          One of the most often-quoted verses in the LDS standard works is the words of God found in Moses 1:39, "For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

          This is God's purpose, the focus and reason for absolutely everything that He does.  It defines him as a Being; it is the most essential element of the inner workings of the universe.

          What is your work and glory?  Do you know?

          Your knee-jerk response is probably to be exalted the Celestial Kingdom, but what does that mean for your day-to-day actions?  Are you preparing yourself to be an exalted person?

          Elder Melvin J. Ballard taught, "There is a passage in our Scriptures which the Latter-day Saints accept as divine: 'This is the glory of God--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.'  Likewise we could say that this is the glory of men and women--to bring to pass the mortality of the sons and daughters of God."

          In other words, bringing to pass a successful mortal experience in the lives of others, especially our families, is our reason for living.  This being the case, does it make sense for us to focus our decision-making on any other objective?  To me it doesn't.  I am a literal believer of President Harold B. Lee's prophetic statement:  "The most important of the Lord’s work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes.”  This means that  to base our education, career, and marriage decisions on anything else is a fallacy.  It means that self-fulfillment by itself is not a good enough reason to choose a career path.  It means that we should sacrifice our day-to-day lives in behalf of our spiritual brothers and sisters, especially those within our own family. 

          When we call God our Heavenly Father, we recognize His divine nature.  Any other role in His life, whether it be teacher, administrator, judge, or logistics coordinator, is secondary.  Similarly, our calling to be earthly parents is the closest we can get in this life to being called to be gods and goddesses.  Does it make sense to sacrifice a god's life, which is like God's life, which is Eternal Life, to be a banker or statistician or therapist?  In other words, is it worth sacrificing being a Celestial Being to be a Terrestrial or Telestial one?  To one who understands the doctrine, these latter roles should only exist to the degree to which they support and make possible the greater, overarching identity of parenthood.  To have priorities higher than family is to not worship God to the greatest extent possible because, as Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained, " Perfect worship is emulation. We honor those whom we imitate."  And if the single-most essential part of God's identity is not the single-most essential part of our own, our emulation of Him is lacking.

          The creation of a family is so important because it is the beginning of the salvation of more souls than anyone involved can then imagine, worlds without end.  God promised Abraham, the great father, or patriarch, "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore" (Genesis 22:17).  The promise of eternal increase is the opportunity to extend to spirit children the same love and blessings that God gives to us.  Therefore, the success of a single family unit in mortality will result in the happiness of more people than presently live on the entire planet in eternity. No matter how great a philanthropist's humanitarian contribution is to the world, it can never match the potential impact of the most ordinary of human parents.  There is beauty and glory in that doctrine.  It reflects in a solitary piece of humanity the splendor of the whole spectrum of creation.

Sometimes the simplest things in life are the most beautiful.  

Repentance and Self-Deception

          Have you ever wondered why a person with serious behavioral problems is often the last one to notice them?  Have you ever considered why people who once had strong testimonies fall away from the Church?  Do you ever feel like you're doing well spiritually, only to realize in a moment of clarity that you have slowly been drifting away from what you knew was important?

          All of these are questions that almost every active latter-day saint has considered at one time or another.  The answers to these questions are fundamental to understand in order to lay hold on the all-important principle of enduring to the end.

          In order to illustrate what I think the answers to these questions are, I draw from the Biblical account of the fall of Cain.  An important point that we often miss when reading the story is how righteous Cain was initially.  That should be shocking to anyone who is familiar with the story, but let me explain.  In Genesis 4 we read of two instances when the Lord talked to Cain.  Regardless of how the communication occurred, it could not have happened without some initial degree of righteousness on his part. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, confirmed:  “Cain’s great sin was not committed in ignorance. We have every reason to believe that he had the privilege of standing in the presence of messengers from heaven. In fact the scriptures infer that he was blessed by communication with the Father and was instructed by messengers from his presence. No doubt he held the Priesthood; otherwise his sin could not make of him Perdition. He sinned against the light."

          If Cain had such a great knowledge of God, why did he make such a terrible choice?  I submit that he fell simply because he "loved Satan more than God."  Think about this.  Do you think that you could ever love God with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, and not get something significant out of your scripture study?  Do you think you could ever love Him like that and not repent as soon as you found out that you were doing something wrong?  Do you think you could love Him like that and not always remember Him?

          Loving God is the miracle cure for going through the motions.  Which means that if we have started going through the motions, there is something in our lives that we love, at least for the moment, more than Him.

          The other day I was talking to a friend who told me that following his mission he frequently attended the temple in order to receive revelation from God about something very important.  After awhile he realized that the thing he was trying to receive revelation about had become the focus of his worship.  It had become his god.  That conversation made me look at my own life more closely.  I identified several "false gods" of this more subtle variety.  They include things like helping others, maintaining the guidance of the Spirit, and planning for the future.  Don't get me wrong, all of these things are necessary.  They just aren't the object of our worship.  In fact, if we love God with all our hearts, all of these things, not to mention many of the less noble false gods, will naturally increase in our lives, but in the periphery.

          There is a natural connection between not loving God and lying.  If we lie, we love falsehood more than we love the Truth, and He will not be able to set us free.  I believe that lying became such a great part of Cain's character that he often lied to himself.  Such an event is not without precedent. 

"But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel...And I have taught his words; and I taught them because they were pleasing unto the carnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed that they were true;" (Alma 30: 53)

          I believe that whenever we see spiritual wickedness in high places, this kind of lying to oneself can be found.  It starts subtly, almost imperceptibly, with a refusal to repent.  The moment that we tell ourselves that we are justified in breaking the commandments of God in our particular situation we have lied to ourselves.  Those who can't see their own guilt are victims of self-deception.  Those who fall away from the Church do so because they first lose the love of the Lord in their hearts, then become caught up with false gods, and ultimately wrap their worship in Satan's lies.  We do the same thing on a smaller scale whenever we decide not to change some small thing that pricks at our conscience and take a step or two towards the great and spacious building.

          If any of you within reach of this blog feel yourselves drifting spiritually, repent and come back.  The Savior will ever be there to receive you, to heal, you, and to lead you back into the Divine Presence.

Thoughts From My Year Mark

            October 9, 2013.  The first time I'd seen mountains in two years.  I remember looking out the window of the plane high above the craggy north Utah landscape and realizing I was home.  In just a few minutes I would officially be an RM. 

            I had no idea what to expect.  I thought coming home would be a real letdown, not mentally or emotionally, but spiritually.  I worried that I would forever be struggling to live up to the ideal I had lived on my mission for the rest of my life.

            Roughly six months ago I started this blog with my thoughts on what I had learned since my mission.  Although I haven't mentioned my mission much directly since then, in a way all of my posts have carried that same hidden theme.  My posts are a paper trail of bits of doctrine and principle that the Lord has steadily taught me from then until now.  I feel that if I was called again to serve as a full-time missionary today I would be a far better one than I was a year ago.

            The difference between my life before and after my mission is striking.  It was if before my mission I had been huddled up near the surface of life, but now I'm diving deep under the skin, seeing the same sunset from a higher altitude.  

           We are never so strong or so righteous but that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can change us fundamentally for the better.  We are never so kind or so humble or so selfless but that we can be a little bit purer.  The breathtaking vistas that God paints on the walls of the mind that lets Him in are far more spectacular a sight then the mountains surrounding the Salt Lake Valley were to me on my final approach of the runway.  The greatest miracles happen not in the desert of Sinai or by the Pool of Bethesda or on the waters or Galilee but in human hearts.  In one way of thinking about it, that is the only place in which they ever do.

           Since my mission I have had to learn that I am not nearly as good as I think I am.  For others, the lesson they need to learn is just the opposite:  that they are powerful beyond their wildest imagination.  Since my mission I have had to learn to see the god or goddess inside each person.  I have had to learn to let go of what I had thought was firm at a moment's notice and hold fast to unclear objectives through mental wind and storm.  Since my mission I have learned to teach from the same side of the table as the investigator and to find the focus of my life in building Zion, one spiritual brick at a time.  For the first time I've begun to make real progress toward the goal of valuing each calling equally, regardless of position.

            Since my mission I learned that the Lord's work is far more important that schoolwork.  I learned that the sacrament has power both to heal and to change.  I learned that we should always act in faith but never try to control what is only God's to determine.

            Through all these lessons I have felt the Atonement of Christ lift me from one spiritual stepping stone to another.  Looking behind me, I almost can't believe how blind and unfocused I seemed before.  I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that He is personally involved in every one of our lives.  While none of us are out of danger of falling, His love is always sufficient to overcome all obstacles, to bring us safely home.