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.