Arphaxad's Musings

thoughts about Mormon doctrine

[arphaxadsmusings]

Three Keys

We had stake conference today and had the quite rare pleasure of having the stake, mission and temple presidents corresponding to our area on the stand.  

It occurred to me that we had a pretty good coverage of priesthood keys up there:

stake president: keys of administration of the Church, including priesthood ordinances for living church members

mission president: keys of preaching the gospel, including convert baptisms

temple president: keys pertaining to temple work, including saving ordinances for the dead and the sealing of families

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Mind and Spirit

But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right ... (D&C 9:8)

When we want guidance from Heavenly Father, there are two things we need to do:

Think about it and come up with our best solution

Ask Heavenly Father if it's right

Both ingredients are usually necessary for revelation to come.

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Forgiveness: Forgive and Forget?

Does forgiveness include forgetting?  If so, why do we say "forgive and forget"?  If forgiving included forgetting, we wouldn't need to say that.

What forgiveness is not:

I don't believe that forgiveness requires us to forget what happened.  We have a responsibility to judge righteously to help protect ourselves, our families and others.

In the Book of Mormon, when Captain Moroni fought against Zerahemnah and his army, did he "forgive and forget"?   No! He didn't!

Forgetting would have required Moroni to forget the things that Zerahemnah had done (like kill people and try to enslave the Nephites).  If he had forgotten, he should have just sent some of his soldiers unarmed to meet Zerahemnah.  When he killed them, he could "forget" again and send more unarmed soldiers to be killed...

Does that sound logical to you?  I don't think the Lord means forget when he tells us to forgive.

What forgiveness is:

So, what is forgiveness?  I think that forgiveness is when we stop hating somebody and start loving them again.  If we love someone, then we have forgiven them and obeyed the Lord's commandment.  Loving someone means wanting the best for them (see more here).  

Can we love someone and still remember what they've done?  Yes. We can.

Can we love someone and still take caution and protect ourselves?  Yes. We can.

Can we love someone and still fight them? Yes. We can.

Remember, at one point, Captain Moroni stops the battle with Zerahemnah to try to get them to surrender.  Why did he do that?  Because, I think, he loved Zerahemnah and the Lamanites, even though they were attacking his land.  He wanted the best for them (and probably prayed for them), but he also had a responsibility to defend himself, his family and his country.

The scriptures say we should forgive.  I don't think they say "forgive and forget".

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Always Remember Him: the Worth of Souls

Something to keep in mind about sharing the Gospel:

Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;… And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth! (D&C 18:10, 13, emphasis mine)

Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father love all people.  When people repent and are baptized, our Savior is very happy, just like the scripture above says. We can think of this when we see people all around us who need the Gospel in their lives. We can desire to help them because we are trying to be like our Savior, we can also desire to help them repent since this will bring joy to Him. 

When we help others around us who to hear the Gospel or need help repenting, we can always remember Him.

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Forgiveness: How to do it

In church Sunday, we talked about how to forgive others. We all know it's a commandment, but how do we actually do it -- especially if we're mad at somebody who has wronged us?

A lot of comments centered around the need to try to empathize with the person who wronged us.  M aybe they didn't mean it, or maybe they were just raised that way and really aren't bad people.  Or maybe they'll apologize.

I'm okay with that, but I don't think it gets us all the way.  We're supposed to forgive all people.  That includes people who really are bad.  People who weren't raised that way, and maybe even wronged us on purpose.  How do we forgive them?

I think the Savior Himself gave us something we can do:

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Matthew 5:44, emphasis mine)

We should pray for people who wrong us. Not only is this a commandment, but I've found it also helps us forgive people.  If we ask Heavenly Father to help them be happy, suddenly we can love and forgive them without condoning what they did. 

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New Series: Forgiveness

I'll be periodically posting thought specifically about forgiveness, including what it means, and how we can forgive others.

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Always Remember Him: Line of Authority

In the Church, each priesthood holder can trace his priesthood authority back to Jesus Christ. This line of authority states who ordained the priesthood holder, and in turn who ordained that person, and so forth.  At the root of every Melchizedek Priesthood holder’s line of authority are the apostles Peter, James, and John, who ordained Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

How did Peter, James, and John get the priesthood?  They were ordained directly by the Savior:

And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: and Simon he surnamed Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James… (Mark 3:14-17)

So, when you think about the priesthood – remember that every single priesthood holder can trace his authority back to the Savior.  This is another way of remembering that the priesthood is His authority. When we think about the priesthood, we can always remember Him.

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Always Remember Him: Communion

Another thing to think about: in some other churches, the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is called the Holy Communion.  Webster’s defines communion as “a close relationship with someone or something”.  Taking the sacrament is like communing with Jesus Christ.  Our thoughts and feelings go out to Him, and He blesses us with His Spirit.  Using this term for the sacrament comes from the Apostle Paul:

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16, emphasis mine)

We should remember to commune with the Savior when we partake of the sacrament and always remember Him.

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Music and Lyrics II

In a previous post, I talked about how music can deeply affect us, and how important it is to pay attention to song lyrics (and avoid those that don't have good messages).

When I was in high school, we had a seminary morningside that had a big impact on me.  A speaker came in and talked about music and its effect on us.  He when to the piano and played and sang a romantic song that was popular at the time.  He then demonstrated how important lyrics are by singing the same song, but this time with lyrics about the importance of brushing your teeth.  It was suddenly not very romantic anymore.

He then did the opposite.  He asked us to think about the original romantic lyrics, but then put to a crazy tune.  His point with this was that the music itself matters as well --- not just the lyrics.

The feeling of the music -- the rhythm, the beat, the melody, the tone, the instruments -- all of that has an impact on how we feel.  This is the part of the music that particularly speaks to our soul.

It is so important to pay attention to whether the Holy Ghost is with us while we listen to music.  If it leaves, because of the crassness of the music, or because of the message of its lyrics, it's a sign that we need to leave that music as well -- no matter how much we enjoy listening to it.

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The Iron Rod

I think it's really unfortunately that in English the word strait is used to describe the "strait and narrow path".  Why?  Because the path is strait (narrow), but nowhere does it say the path is straight!

In the picture above, you see the people on the path walking into the mist of darkness.  If the path were really straight, it would make things a lot easier.  But, in my mind, the path is not straight.

This makes it all the more important to hold on to the iron rod. There will always be patches of darkness in life, where even the strongest start to doubt and get confused.  The only  way to get through safely is to hold onto the rod daily and keep following it.

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Never Give Up!

My father always told us that there is only one way to *not* be saved: to give up.

Put another way, as long as we keep trying and keep repenting, we will be saved.

So, Never. Give. Up.

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Always Remember Him: Zeezrom and Forgiveness

“...Now Zeezrom was a man who was expert in the devices of the devil, that he might destroy that which was good;...” (Alma 11:21)

Wow! Expert in devices of the devil? Zeezrom was not a good guy.  In fact, he riled up the people of Ammonihah so much that they ended up kicking out the believers and burning their wives and kids at the stake.  Zeezrom didn't actually kill anyone, but his questioning of Alma and Amulek definitely helped contribute.

So what became of evil Zeezrom?  He repented.  And even though he had done many bad things, he was completely forgiven, and later even served a mission with the prophet Alma the Younger (who also had repented of many sins before he was called as a prophet).

When we think of Zeezrom, we can remember that all sins, no matter how big, can be forgiven and washed away through the Savior's blood, and we can always remember Him.

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Always Remember Him: the Sacrament

The full name of the sacrament is actually a very good reminder of what it really is, and how sacred it really is.  The word “sacrament” really just means any religious ceremony.  You might have heard other churches talk about the “sacrament of baptism”, or the “sacrament of marriage”.  For us, the sacrament is really just a nickname.  The full name of this ordinance is the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

When you hear this, it makes sense, doesn't it?  It’s actually a pretty awe-inspiring name. We all know that the first sacrament was when Jesus met with His apostles right before the Atonement and He Himself broke and blessed the bread and the wine and gave it to them.  We call this the Last Supper, since this was the last time the Savior ate while He was still mortal.  In another sense, this can be called the Lord’s Supper, since it was instituted by Jesus Christ and because we are supposed to think about Him.

“it is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus.” (D&C 20:75, emphasis mine) 

By remembering the full name of the sacrament, we can always remember Him.

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Sabbath and Work

Why do we sometimes use Sunday to do all sorts of church-related service, like church meetings, hometeaching, firesides, and visiting the sick, when it is supposed to be a day of rest?

Well, it turns out it's just not any day of rest:

For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors... (D&C 59:10, emphasis mine)

Notice the "your labors" there?  We should rest from our labors, but not Heavenly Father's

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Music and Lyrics

Ever noticed how a good song can completely change your mood?  Feeling down -- nothing like a pick-you-up tune to get you feeling good again.  Want to feel sappy? Put on a romantic song and you'll start feeling it.  Music can change your mood and feelings.  This can be used for good or bad, depending on the music.

If you know music can change you, why do so many people also argue it doesn't affect them when it comes to questionable music with lyrics that go against our values?

Even if you don't listen closely to the lyrics -- you are still hearing them.  It can affect you.  Unfortunately, if it is, there is some music that, even though you love it, it's better to throw out rather than let it affect you.

For a pretty mild example, take what I thought was a good song by Michael Bublé: It's a Beautiful Day.   For a while, I'd here it and it sounds like a really upbeat song.  It's a beautiful day ...  But then, one day I started listening closer to the lyrics.  It turns out, this is a sarcastic song that is thumbing its nose at a girlfriend who broke up with the singer.  Some choice lyrics:

If you ever change your mind, don't hold your breath ... When you said goodbye, my whole world shined

Once I knew what the song was really about, it kind of ruined it for me.  It's not about having a really great day -- it's about being rude to somebody.  Like I said, this is a really small example -- there are songs out there that I really like, but because of the lyrics and their message, I have had to take them off my playlists.

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Lehi's Other Dream

Before the dream he's famous for, Lehi had another vision.  In it, he sees God, Jesus, and twelve others.  One of the twelve gives Lehi a book to read.  He's his first reaction when he reads:

And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon.” (1 Nephi 1:13)

Sounds like a pretty depressing read, doesn’t it?  Imagine reading that your country was about to be destroyed!  I’m sure it was hard for Lehi to read.  But if you look at the very next verse, it's really confusing to see his next reaction:

And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!” (1 Nephi 1:14, emphasis mine)

Lehi was praising God.  Why? Well, the key word for me there is mercy.  The other things he read and saw must have included the Plan of Salvation.  He knew that Jerusalem would be destroyed, but he was also given hope about the Lord’s mercy to those that come unto Him.  That gave him hope.

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Boats, Families and Temples

And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship....And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things. (1 Nephi 18:1,3)

It hit me tonight that Nephi building a boat can be compared to us raising a family.  From time to time, if we listen, the Lord will give us instructions on how to do it.  

Also note that, during this time, Nephi went "into the mount oft" to pray.  Why? Couldn't he just as easily pray in his tent without wasting all the time climbing up the mountain to do it?  Wouldn't that time have been better spent on building that ship?

The "mount" in the scriptures is usually a symbol of the temple.  While we are raising families, we should go to the temple often, like Nephi, to make sure we're seeing all the "great things" the Lord has to show us to help our families.