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.

          

Weakness vs. Sin

           I am convinced that a lot of the frustration we level at ourselves because of perfectionism comes from an imperfect understanding  of what it means to put forth our best effort.  Sometimes we condemn ourselves for actions that don't deserve condemnation.  Other times we try to do more than we currently have the spiritual capacity to accomplish.

          There is a significant difference between mistakes and sins.  Occasionally we all make mistakes that unintentionally harm others or are not the best use of our resources.  Sometimes the wrong words slip out, help is offered in a less-effective way than would be ideal, or we forget some important administrative detail.  We have a tendency  to be hard on ourselves when this happens, not realizing that our actions are missing the fundamental element of sin:  agency.

          That doesn't mean, of course, that we don't use our agency to make day to day decisions such as the ones mentioned above.  However, when we make a mistake, rather than a sin, we never make the inner decision to rebel against God, or anything that comes from Him.  Elder Scott has said, "The joyful news...is that the Lord sees weaknesses differently than He does rebellion. Whereas the Lord warns that unrepented rebellion will bring punishment, when the Lord speaks of weaknesses, it is always with mercy."  Selfishness and refusal to obey God is always the underlying element of sin.  In a word, it is what makes sin wrong.  That underlying decision is always deliberate.  It requires agency.  This means that when we make a completely inadvertent mistake, one made in total ignorance without the slightest desire to be rebellious or selfish, that mistake was never really a sin.

          For example, if an IRS worker, while doing everything they possibly can to be accurate and precise, makes a mistake that costs another person a lot of money, have they committed a sin?  Of course not!  They never used their agency to do wrong to another person.  In fact, they were doing everything in their power to do things the right way.  So why is it that when we are the one making the inadvertent mistakes we are so much harder on ourselves?  Such mistakes do not contradict the laws of God and will never keep a person out of heaven.

          In another way of looking at it, our mistakes or weaknesses constitute the limit of our 

capacity, while sin is the blatant misuse of our capacity.  A seasoned missionary who doesn't teach to the best of his ability because of laziness would surely be under condemnation, whereas a very new missionary who teaches at the same level because that is the best he can do would not.  What for the older missionary is a sin is merely weakness for the younger.  Even if the younger missionary unintentionally offended someone because of his lack of experience with the language, he still would not be using his agency the wrong way.

          An important corollary to this idea is the fact that no one can ever make us sin.  Even if another person could physically force us to do an action that is wrong, if we used our agency to fight back and never gave our will to them, they could never impel us to sin.  Sin is something that happens inside of us.  The actions themselves are merely outward manifestations of the real crime that occurs in a person's heart.  The Lord will never allow weakness or mistakes on our part to permanently harm the wellbeing or salvation of another. 

          As, with the Spirit, we learn to discern between our mistakes and our sins, we can learn to look down on ourselves less and concentrate on those things that are really keeping us from perfection rather than shooting at smoke.  We can learn what things to let go of and what things to repent of.  We can see ourselves in a more accurate light.  When, in our weakness, we become humble and come unto Christ through repentance, the Lord in His mercy forgives us of our sins and "make[s] weak things strong to [us]."  We can be sure that He desires to do so.