Dont Forget to Remember

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Has anyone else noticed how life is lived in the past? Every sound we hear or light our eyes detect brings information from the past. There is not such thing as instantaneous transmission of information. Even if we feel like a command from our brain to our eyelids is instantaneous, but the chemical reactions that send the charge travel slower than the speed of light. No matter what we may do to maximize our position in the world we are living in the past. The reality that we all seek for is gone in the microseconds between the waves of light bouncing off an empty parking spot and that guy pulling into it because you forgot to dibs it with your blinker.

For us on earth time is very one-dimensional. The future is inaccessible to us. Moving foreword through our actions and consequences is impossible. Time is going as fast as possible and it only moves when we recognize what has happened. When we fail to recognize what has happened or nothing happens time seems to slow down. If there are many happenings that we choose to recognize, generally events that we enjoy, the time speeds up. Time does fly when we have fun because our minds choose to acknowledge and record more pleasant events that mark the passing of time. The movement of time is a choice that we make based on how we record or to use a more humanizing word remember. The more we want to remember the faster time flies.

It is no wonder that the word remember is so prevalent in the teaching of the gospel. Every aspect of understanding eternal truth begins with remembering. It is the first role of the Holy Ghost to bring things to our remembrance. The Holy Ghost is very limited in his ability to influence the unrighteous or unclean but the instances where he has no sway over the hearts of man are far and few in-between. As a general rule he is influencing us to do good in conjunction with the Light of Christ. If he can’t bring revelation to those that have not qualified for his gift or those that have lost it, he does the best he can with what he does. Instead of bringing truth to our minds he will stir truth from our minds that was already there.

When we go from line to line to precept to precept it is the Holy Ghost that makes that process possible. The current level of line or precept is only possible because of previous levels. It is not line to line but line upon line. The previous levels cannot go away and must be constantly accessed. They grow in importance if anything as more layers rest on those initial layers and so on and so forth. Consider a tower of janga blocks that grows higher as the game progresses. At no point does the tower float in the air as it grows. It must stay founded on the ground.

Nephi and Lehi saw a great and spacious building that floated in the air. The building with no foundation was described as the pride of the world but greater symbolism comes from the people that inhabited that structure. It was filled with individuals that partook of the fruit or reached the tree after following the iron rod but were persuaded to leave and enter the building. They had forgotten, how valuable the gifts they had, what got them through the mist and what the fruit had had tasted like. They made irrational decisions without adequate information that they once had but had lost. All they had was the people tempting them to join the party lacking the other argument to stay and eat the fruit. They tasted and forgot and made bad decisions. They must of entered the building somehow, and they did, from the entrance on the ground floor. They then built up and up and up and forgot about the foundation. There was a foundation, it was just invisible, it was ignored by its inhabitants. They rejected the Holy Ghost to the extent that he could not help them remember what they had experienced.

Several examples of these principles are all around us. The scriptures in general are a blast from the past. We don’t have any scriptures from the future. All scriptures are spiritual records of the past with the expressed purpose of reminding us or informing us of what has happened with the understanding that the same principles apply. It’s the scriptures historical nature that allows the Holy Ghost to work through its pages. The truth is testified of but the true past makes the scriptures especially potent sources of revelation.

Teachings of the scriptures mimic this pattern of remembering the foundation then building upwards. To begin the final chapter of the Book of Mormon, Moroni’s exhortations begin with these often-overlooked words. “Remember how merciful the Lord has been unto the children of men.” Before a individual prays and reads with real intent he or she must remember the storied past of God’s dealings that proves his mercy, justice and willingness to communicate with his children. With this understanding it is natural to hope that this pattern will continue and now with faith the investigator can receive revelation as he or she prays with understanding. When that individual remembers for the first time and comprehends how merciful God has been, it is his or her first decision to seek revelation regarding the Restoration. The investigator does not qualify for direct powerful revelation, so he gets help remembering.

            The most basic principles of teaching are manifested here. First truth is taught as recorded from the past that is borne witness of by the Holy Ghost. Then it is remembered or accessed again by the influence of the Holy Ghost. Then invitations are made to act on the remembered truth. That is why we always end our teaching with the actions to take and not begin or use as the middle material. The individual must use agency to remember with the Holy Ghost to act on it. It must be there to be used.

            Remembering is one of the primary forces behind ordinances. Think of Baptism for example. It is hard to forget the day and the moments where a whole bunch of people came to watch you get dunked in water wearing a white jump suit. That is memorable. Consider the sacrament and its wide expanse of sensory input. All the possible inputs to be precise; tasting the bread, seeing the white cloth, hearing the prayers feeling the water go down the throat. That is memorable. The remembering of the covenants renews our commitment to them. Everyone remembers his or her baptism, his or her first priesthood ordinance, first time through the temple. Those physical actions that correspond to the inward decisions will serve as a memory molder that we cannot forget. The motions combined with decisions to change our lives and the feelings we receive from the Holy Ghost are unforgettable.

These ordinances must be done exactly right to create the desired effect. When the processes are corrupted then they cannot be remembered. Consider the gross sin it is to baptize young children. They cannot remember it. No matter how hard they try they cannot remember what they did or why they did it. At an age of accountability we have the capacity to recall later in life the event. Indeed they made no decision and they cannot remember anything.

Thankfully we have been given tremendous recourses to remember what we have been taught. However, the most powerful influence on our remembrance is God’s inability to forget. I always wondered why a resurrected Savior would keep the scars from the atonement. If his body was perfect why would he keep them? They can serve as symbols for what he has done, but I think it would be more symbolic to have them washed away, leaving a perfect form. The answer comes in the writings of Isaiah.

14 But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.

 15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.

This is powerful imagery. Can the Lord forget his own creation? Can he forget something that he built and sculpted and designed?

 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

            I don’t think that the perfect God can possibly forget us in any way shape or form. I do think that those scars on his hands feet and side are a powerful reminder to us that he has not forgotten. We are engraved on his hands, both the front and back, the souls of his feet and his side. We may forget him but he will never forget us. A tattoo is a twisted form of these sacred symbols, as is any mutilation of the body. Not only are memories recorded in the brain as a pattern of chemical images but as blemishes continually before the eyes. Instead of permanent good memories we have permanent bad ones.

           

            In summary our conversion to the Gospel is determined by our ability to remember what we have learned. If we did everything we said we would do all the time that would be perfection. In times of distress and loss we fail to remember, and we mess up.

            May we remember to do what we learned all the time.

           

Real Leadership

            When looking for examples of supreme leadership I look to the Savior not as he led the masses but as he built individuals from what they were to what they could be. The scriptures clearly describe the process that goes into making leaders. Perfect examples include Moses who was turned from a jabbering disgraced prince of Egypt chasing sheep in the wilderness to a man that would truly lead Israel. See Exodus 3:15-20. Another example is Nephi and Lehi in the Book of Mormon. Consider how Nephi was all but giving up crying and yelling and altogether being miserable on his garden town where everyone could hear. Then the Lord teaches him a valuable lesson as he reveals the murderer of the chief judge and his power over all things. Then Nephi and Lehi convert the Lamanites and Nephite dissenters by the tens of thousands and change an entire nation. Some thing changed in-between his garden prayer and those miracles. A switch flipped.  See the book of Helaman.

            Consider Nephi, The youngest son that goes around bossing everyone including his father and mother to the point where his brothers are so ticked off that they try to kill him. Then the Lord rescues him…and he does it again…and he is rescued…and he ticks everyone off again…and the Lord rescues him. His brothers are estranged and his father dead. His family is split because he had completely failed to connect in a meaningfully way to his brothers. Then something changes and he starts writing differently. In the 4^th chapter of 2 Nephi something clicks. He starts talking about “my God,” “the Lord my God,” “my Savior.” He stops writing about his annoying brothers and how they always forgot what he was talking about. He stops wring history and how the Lord helped him. From then on he only writes about the Savior of Israel. In his awe for the scriptures he quotes Isaiah for chapters and chapters. Then he prophesies of the Savior coming, apostasy and restoration. His final words describe the Doctrine of Christ in intricate detail and feeling. He stops telling his story and starts teaching THE message.

            Peter the fisherman that sank in the water, cut off ears, failed to understand the priesthood, denied the Savior 3 times, tried to send people away when they had no food, doubted the Savior had been resurrected and went back to fishing after he met the resurrected Lord. But a late night encounter on the beach changed him and he became something through the true Leadership of the Savior. Something that nobody saw coming. Something that 1billion Catholics base their faith on. Something that rocked the world.

            Moroni complained that he wasn’t a good enough writer to complete the record. Joseph Smith lost ¼ of the Book of Mormon. Alma served wicked king Noah. Alma the younger sought to destroy the church. Enos did not believe his father. Lehi murmured. Job doubted. Moses struck a rock unnecessarily. Joseph bragged to his brothers and got himself sold to Egypt. Jonah got eaten by a fish after he ran from the Lord by trying to take a boat. Seriously how stupid was he? Did he really think he could hide from God by taking a boat in the opposite direction? Did he really think that would work? What a terrible idea. Compare the second chapter of Jonah and the 4^th chapter of 2 Nephi.

            Long story short we can read the scriptures and see what others have done wrong. That is in there. If it looks like that was a bad idea that probably means it was. What we must read in the scriptures is not watching perfect people doing great things. No, we must watch the Lord do marvelous things to make individuals true leaders. Being is not a prevalent theme in the scriptures but becoming is. This is a becoming gospel. From what we were to where we can go and what we can do for others when we have grown.

            I believe true leadership is not clearly demonstrated by prophets of old. They did marvelous things and organized great numbers of people. Fought battles and taught the gospel. That was all wonderful and necessary but the only true leadership was demonstrated as they grew under the tutelage of Christ. The scriptures don’t teach us how to lead, they teach us how to make leaders.

            Most of the time these leaders to be knew better than what they did. Heavens we know better than to go around telling everybody that “I had a dream where everyone bowed to me...” as Joseph of Egypt did. What made them leaders is acting courageously on what they were taught. True leadership is not getting people to do things that they need to do. It is not management. Management has bosses and schedules and stuff to do and people to call to repentance. Leadership cleanses us from our sins and enables others to do the same. Leadership enables the Plan of Salvation. Management would remove our agency and force us, even if it was for a good reason.

Pure in life

Of all the admonitions in the scriptures purity is one of the most heavily emphasized.

Some of my favorite references include.

Moroni7: 48 

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true ^followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye 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.

Matthew 5:8

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Helaman 3:35

35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.

If feel that that all too often we assume purity to be connected with the law of chastity. Keeping oneself pure and virtuous is just equated with that commandment. Then again we see pure as without sin. Clean and perfect through the atonement. I do believe that is true but only in a wider context in the scriptures. We must actually understand what the word pure is and then start throwing it around with understanding.

The dictionary puts it as “not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material:”

The dictionary uses that word adulterated which means to add a substance of lesser quality. In reality a pure substance is, what it is meant to be. The creator of this substance has a specific design and use for it and when contaminants enter it then is its purity compromised. If we were to take, raisin bran for example. Raisin bran straight out of the box is pure raisin bran. Never the less it is a very distinct mixture of two items. Raisin and bran. But the creation is pure because it is what it was meant to be. If we add rice kipsies then it is not pure raisin bran because it is changed. Even pure raisin bran is not without variety. Pure raisin bran is a mixture.

          

           If we take this to our gospel perspective then pure does not mean a perfect lump of goo without blemish for we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and God knows that and tells us not to worry about it. As we go through the process of purifying ourselves let us not attempt to perfect ourselves. That is the Savior’s job.

Let us take what we have been given and make it what it was meant to be. We have talents; lets magnify them to benefit others. We have been given trails and difficulties. Let us learn form them. We have been scriptures, let us read them. We have a Father in Heaven. Let us talk to him. We have a Savior, let us follow him. Let us take what we have been given and use them the way they are designed to be used.

            

         We are no exception. What were we meant to do? What is our purpose? The purpose of life is recited in every lesson and sacrament-meeting talk so lets actually fulfill the purpose. Lets do what we are supposed to do and not mix in anything more or less. “Lift where you stand” as president Uctdorf would say. “Way to be” as president Hinckley wrote. “Find the joy in the journey” as President Monson has asked. The Saviors purity was not primarily manifest through his sinless life. It was demonstrated as he perfectly executed his duty that had been assigned to him. He was assigned to be perfect but only within the wider theme of completion was his purity completely demonstrated.

James 4:8  

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Charity 3/3

The final installment regards charity, the greatest of all. I was never satisfied with the answer that charity is "the pure love of Christ," or perfect love or any of those answers. I wanted to know exactly what and how it works. What is so special about it and where does it come form? I believe I found answers. 

Moroni 7

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

I really like the breakdown of Moroni's logic here. You are nothing if you do not have charity. Or in other words if you have charity you are something. And why is charity the only substance that brings value? Because it is the only thing that does not fail. There are other concepts that do not fail but Mornoni believes that it all comes back to charity's flawless nature. Everything and Anything that ever exists will crumble through the eternities and relentless test of infinite time. Except the flawless charity that cannot fail for it is perfect. In a way, charity has beaten time itself. There is a fascinating tangent that just occurred to me but I will address it at a later time.

 47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

Throughout this speech Mormon refers to charity as an it. One who has it one who seeks it those that doe not have it? Whatever it is, it endures forever and is the "pure love of Christ." Whatever the pure love of Christ is.

 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye 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.

This scripture is incredibly complex. I need to take it down backwards. 

To be pure as the Savior, we will have "this Hope" because we have "seen him as he is" for we are like him when we become "the son's of God" as we are "true followers" of Jesus Christ and have prayed "with all energy of heart" for charity. Phew. Lets put it forwards.

 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love…

A basic concept here to pray for charity that we may receive that love. Notice how it is not filled with love or filled with the love but filled with THIS love. Indicating that there are many forms of love and charity is only one of them.

…which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God;

THIS love is bestowed upon all the true followers of Christ by the Father, with the result of becoming a Son of God. A Son of God is an interesting term. All I could dig up is this scripture. Romans 8:14

 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

It works for me.

…that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is;

At the second coming the Son’s of God will be like him and will see him as he really is. Those that are not Sons of God will not see him as he is. Perhaps because their eyes will be burned out? JK I don’t know. In any event because our purity is like the Saviors we will be able to see him in his true form when he comes.

…that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

The semicolon is very important and I will work from the assumption that it is properly placed according to the wishes of Moroni. The first phrase is defined by the second. Reversing it and removing the semicolon helps.

We may be purified even as he is pure, we may have this hope

At the climax of charity is the hope that we can be as spotless as the Savior eventually.

I truly believe that just loving people is not the zenith of charity. There is something deeper and more personal. Do we have faith enough to make covenants? Do we believe that we can be as pure as the Savior? Do we really see that inside of ourselves? We need to see what it looks like in the first place to apply it. Our fallen state has forever banished us to death but the atonement solves that for us as a free gift. 

What is not free is the character we develop by our own choices. Our character is not a gift and therefore we can take credit for its development. Christ did not make me honest or humble, I did and Christ forgives mistakes because of my imperfection. Christ’s atonement covers our errors but he leaves our weaknesses for us to overcome.

 It is my agency and mine alone that decided to follow Christ. Do I believe that I can continue until I am as pure as the Savior? Not as clean as the Savior. His Grace and Mercy can make me as clean as him but can I become as perfect? I think that is the ultimate charity question. In the words of Neil A. Maxwell, "the true measure of our discipleship is weather we are willing to patiently turn our weaknesses."  

Hope 2/3

Hope is the next step on the latter we must discuss. in my mind the word home comes with uncertainties. I hope I can win, I home I can get a good grade; I hope I can afford this and so on and so forth. We use the word to express a desire with an uncertain outcome in the future. However, the scriptures use the word differently in gospel context.

We will remain in Moroni 7 for this discussion.

 40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?

The interconnected nature of faith and hope is our first clue. Remember how faith is defined?

 41 And what is it that ye shall hope for...? 

We are to hope for something. Something in the future that we desire but are not certain. 

Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal

Working this phrase backwards gives the best results. We are to hope for eternal life, which makes sense. We want it, but it is no automatic process. Mormon qualifies hope through the Atonement and the Resurrection. We cannot hope for eternal life any other way. Only through the physical and spiritual cleansing provided by the Savior. 

The prepositions are key, on the first line we hope FOR, then on the second we hope THROUGH. Two types of hopes, hoping for something and then hoping in a process will allow one to make the second hope a reality. Our hope for something causes us to hope in something. We hope to get eternal life with our hope in the Savior. 

 And this because of your faith in him according to the promise.

All because of faith "according to the promise" that we have received through revelation in the form of covenants. 

 42 Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; 

Hope is a prerequisite of faith.

for without faith there cannot be any hope.

And faith is a prerequisite of hope. 

When we rephrase the word hope in conjunction with the atonement. Do we think "I hope that the atonement works," or "I hope that the Savior will save me," or "I hope that I can be saved," or "I hope what I have done is enough?" I don’t think that there is any degree of uncertainty with the atonement. It is real it does work. We don’t fear that side of the bridge falling. It is perfect it is infallible. What is fallible is ourselves. Do we believe in ourselves? Do we say, "I hope I can make it" or "I will make It.”? I believe that hope in the atonement is our confidence in using and relying on its infinite power. We don’t hope we can be saved, we expect ourselves to qualify for grace. The atonement is a good thing for us to grab with our faith. And that gives us hope. 

Takeaways

Hope is faith in the Atonement

Do not hope that the Savor can save us, know that he can and have hope in yourself

Faith and Hope are inseparable

   

Bottom of Form

Faith 1/3

I was pondering on the word charity and exactly what it is. I’ve heard so many different definitions and ways of thinking about it and I just wanted to figure it out. In the end there was no circumventing the values of faith and hope and their relation to charity and discovering the end of the matter must be understood from the beginning.

Faith is like a little seed, yaw yaw we know all about faith, or do we? The first thought that jumps to the mind are undoubtedly something along the lines of believing without seeing or knowing or acting without seeing. Some sort of agency exercised without proof of the decision made. But in regards to charity and hope faith has a totally different meaning.

Our good friend Moroni provides his father's definition of faith. He starts by describing the light of Christ and the opposing forces in the world. 

Moroni 7

13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.


A wonderful note on following the spirit. Whatever pushes us to serve God is good.

14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.


Judging the two is easy. Choosing the right is another story.

16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God...

19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.

An interesting preposition on the first line. Search IN the light of Christ. Not with or by or near or throughout but in. Inside within or bounded. Search IN the light of Christ. Whatever that means. 

20 And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?

An excellent question by any standard. How are we to find that which is of God and good and obtain them? We can discern by the Light of Christ what that is good but we need things to grab onto somehow. We need a rod, a substance, and a source to exercise judgment. We need every good thing in front of us if we have any hope to grab them. Where do they come from? 

21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing.

Perfect. He can answer my question. 

22 For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing.


So angels tell us...

23 And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come.


And prophets...

24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them.

The answer is startlingly simple. Revelation by its diverse means and possibilities bring all things that are good. And he does not use the word "all" loosely. Every single thing ever from the beginning to the end to the 2/3rd mark that is considered good came from revelation. Everything. There is nothing good that was not revealed someway somehow. Could we think of the Creation as revelation? I don't see what not. 

25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.

I like the last verse. It is by faith that we lay hold upon every good thing. Flipping it around we lay hold on good things by faith or we need faith to hold on good things or when we have faith we lay hold on good things or without faith we cannot hold good things or if we have good things then we have faith or if we do not have good things we do not have faith. We could go on and on but I will spare you. To summarize faith is acting on revelation. 

What does revelation bring that we must grab with our faith? 

32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.


This verse lays out the steps. Faith in Christ then Holy Ghost then covenants. Covenants are the top and the culmination of what has been revealed. 

I often make the mistake of reading 33 and then ignore the next one. 

33 And Christ hath said: if ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.

34 And he hath said: repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved.

If we have faith we will have power to do anything that we are command to do, and what has he told us to do? He has said "be baptized." I always thought that it meant that I could do anything that was good and righteous. Something along the go and do train of thought. 

Faith is acting without a sure knowledge. Or knowing things that cannot be seen. Choosing to believe. All these are true statements concerning faith. But unless our faith leads us to covenants it is failing. Covenants are the good things that have been revealed and we must grab onto them. Our faith helps us find and recognize covenants for us to grab. Our choice to grab nonetheless but it is our faith that gets us there. 

Takeaways 

The only good things that have ever entered into the world come by revelation.

Covenant are the zenith of revealed truth and what we could call The Best Thing.

Real faith leads us to make real covenants.