The power of the ressurection

            What better time is there to speak of Christ’s resurrection and his key role in The Lord’s plan than Easter.  It is extremely important for us to understand the doctrine of resurrection and why Christ played such a key role in bringing it to pass, both in the past and future.

               Jacob 4:11 states: “Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son, and ye may obtain a resurrection, according to the power of the resurrection which is in Christ…” The power of the resurrection is IN Christ. Jacob does not say that He holds the power, or oversees it, but that Christ is the physical manifestation of the resurrection. It comes in and through Christ. We know that all will be resurrected, but the specifications of the glory to which we will resurrect is in our hands.

               I believe that we can reach a better understanding of what we need to do to inherit that glorified celestial resurrected state by seeking guidance from the one who therein that very power resides, Christ. Through studying we may better understand this part of God’s plan and our role in it. We should strive every day to more fully align our will with the will and character of Christ. I know that through doing this that we will grow to appreciate his perfect life, and sacrifice. For He rose on the third day, and we too may rise with Him.

        Learning Light

            Only centuries ago, the greatest astronomers, scientists and philosophers had not the slightest idea of the vastness of the cosmos. With our human capabilities to see into the sky and peer into the expanse of God’s creations, we do not see very far. We were created with the power to see light, process that information and create knowledge within our brains of how to interpret the world and universe around us. However, the reality of our surroundings does not change from our ability to observe it. The blind man experiences the same worldly environment as him that sees. Just because ancient astronomers did not have the ability to see deep into space, did not change the reality of the universe.

            It was not until the tools necessary to gather more light from the vast corners of space were invented that man came to a real knowledge of the universe, and our place in it. Telescopes simply gather more light from a greater area than our eyes can, and allow us to process that light and understand truths that are normally out of our reach.

            Light is knowledge, and just as we deepen our understanding of the universe through searching out more physical light, we reach deeper understandings of spiritual truths through seeking out further spiritual light. This light is Christ. If we want to become more spiritually wise, we must improve our spiritual telescopes so that we can gather more of His light and see spiritual realities with finer detail. “For the Lord giveth light unto the understanding…” (2 Nephi 31:3). I pray that we may daily broaden our spiritual mirrors to gather more spiritual light. Through doing this what were once faint poorly understood concepts, will become clear and resolute. I testify that all light and knowledge comes from Christ, and as we focus on gathering His light, we will become mighty in our understanding of the Gospel. 

        Priorities

Priorities many times define our character, and determine the outcome of our actions. When our priorities are in line with those of God, everything falls into place. However, when we allow fundamental principles to fall off our list of priorities, we struggle to protect the few priorities that remain.  Moroni essentially lists the priorities of his people in chapter 46 verse 12 of Alma when he raises the title of liberty. “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children…” Notice that they are listed by importance, from first to last, meaning that each priority depends on the prior priority to be truly enjoyed. Raising children is aided by our wives, we will have a good relationship with our wives if we have peace. We may only have peace with freedom, true freedom is the result of religion, and religion is based on God. We know what happened with these people that fought to protect these rights, the were ultimately victorious.

Now let us see what happens after hundreds of years of falling into disbelief and losing the true order of priorities. In Mormon 2:23, Mormon urges his people to “fight for their wives, and their children, and their houses, and their homes.” Notice that they no longer fight for God or religion or freedom or peace. They have lost the most essential of priorities, and it is no wonder why they failed this time in defending themselves from the vengeful Lamanites.

We must today realize the importance of setting our priorities straight. We do not put God first because he is more important than our family, God Himself has commanded that we love, cherish and protect them. We put Him first for the sake of those that we love, for they will be protected from the evils of the world only when God is put first in our lives.

        Alma’s Counsel

As I studied Alma chapter 38 this week, I learned many valuable things that don’t appear on the surface of the pages, but come from in depth study. It is interesting how Alma counsels each of his sons differently, and the roles that they each play. Chapter 38 is only his counsel to Shiblon, but he also counsels his other two sons Helaman and Cortianton in other chapters. The Book of Mormon Central staff has observed that Alma possibly counseled his sons during the Passover, as part of an ancient tradition where fathers answer their son’s questions and give them counsel. Interestingly enough, as it is recorded in the scriptures, these father to son counsel meetings are often between three sons, and each son takes on a specific set of attributes. One son is always wise, one wicked, and the last is uninformed. It does not take long to label Helaman as the wise son, Corianton as the wicked and Shiblon the uninformed son. I feel as if it were for this reason that Alma’s counsel to Shiblon caught my attention. Now often are we to like Shiblon? Uninformed in the ways of God and needing instruction in order to understand and fulfill his will. The scriptures are amazing, as they relate to anyone, at any time and for any trial they are currently going through. We should ask ourselves: are like Helaman? If so, study Alma’s counsel given to him. Are we like Shiblon? Study the prophetic counsel given to him. Or are we like Coranton? The wicked son straying from the paths of God. If so, we should cherish and follow the revelation that God has given through Alma and to us in the form of holy scriptures. 

        Priorities

Priorities many times define our character, and determine the outcome of our actions. When our priorities are in line with those of God, everything falls into place. However, when we allow fundamental principles to fall off our list of priorities, we struggle to protect the few priorities that remain.  Moroni essentially lists the priorities of his people in chapter 46 verse 12 of Alma when he raises the title of liberty. “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children…” Notice that they are listed by importance, from first to last, meaning that each priority depends on the prior priority to be truly enjoyed. Raising children is aided by our wives, we will have a good relationship with our wives if we have peace. We may only have peace with freedom, true freedom is the result of religion, and religion is based on God. We know what happened with these people that fought to protect these rights, the were ultimately victorious.

Now let us see what happens after hundreds of years of falling into disbelief and losing the true order of priorities. In Mormon 2:23, Mormon urges his people to “fight for their wives, and their children, and their houses, and their homes.” Notice that they no longer fight for God or religion or freedom or peace. They have lost the most essential of priorities, and it is no wonder why they failed this time in defending themselves from the vengeful Lamanites.

We must today realize the importance of setting our priorities straight. We do not put God first because he is more important than our family, God Himself has commanded that we love, cherish and protect them. We put Him first for the sake of those that we love, for they will be protected from the evils of the world only when God is put first in our lives.

        Perfect Mitsakes

All of us make mistakes, and much can be learned from the mistakes that we see even the prophets of God commit. From the enormous amount of pressure that Mormon was under during the tedious process of compiling the Book of Mormon, he too made a few mistakes in his writing. One place that one of Mormon’s “hiccups” can be seen is in the 24^th chapter of Alma, verse 19. It is easy to imagine this prophet spending yet another day scribing into the metal plates the history of his ancestors and as he is writing, his subconscious takes over and he mixes up one word which he did not intend to put in that place. It is obvious that in verse 19 he intended to say that the Lamanites had buried their weapons of war, but instead writes “…they buried their weapons of peace,” Weapons of peace? That doesn’t sound right, and Mormon knew that and realized it the moment that he had wrongly written it down. We can learn a lot from how Mormon corrects himself. Instead of starting that plate over, or scratching it out, he simply continues forward and corrects himself by saying “…or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.” Should we not also correct our own mistakes in our lives? Instead of dwelling on the wrongs that we do, we should recognize and accept them, quickly correcting them and moving on. Also, it interesting to note that no even God found it necessary to demand that this mistake be taken out of the plates, neither through him or when Joseph translated them. This shows that God does not condemn our human faults, but simply wants us to learn from them and move on. 

The Miraculous “Revelation” of the Book of Mormon

The translation process of the Book of Mormon was nothing short of a miracle. The term “translation” can oft cause confusion among those that inquire about how Joseph did it. In actuality Joseph never said that he translated the words from the golden plates, but says that it was simply done by “the gift and power of God.” When the many first hand witnesses of the process are taken into account, we learn that Joseph rarely even looked at the plates, but actually read the words from either the seer stone, or the Urim and Thumim.  God says in 2 Nephi 27:20 about the translation of the Book of Mormon:” …I am able to do mine own work, wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.” Joseph would often pick up the translation process after a break without even reviewing where they had left off, demonstrating that the real guiding authority behind the process was God, and that Joseph simply “read the words which [were given] unto [him].” Another interesting comment from the scribes is that when encountering a word in which the spelling was unknown, and upon writing it down wrongfully, Joseph would halt, and spell the word out for them without ever seeing that it was wrongfully spelled on the script. Truly This sacred book is the marvelous and predestined work of none other than God our Eternal Father. By making it a part of our lives and living by its precepts we will experience greater joy and a deeper sense of meaning throughout our lives. 

God’s Infinite Love

               You have probably noticed a theme in my blog if you have been reading it thus far. I really enjoy connecting the scriptures with our knowledge of “reality.” As we study the universe, God’s glory becomes mightier as our miniscule place in the universe puts His majesty into perspective.  Even with the evidence that we do have, I believe that we have not even scratched the surface of God’s creations. As it says in Doctrine and Covenants section 88, “…there is no space in the which there is no kingdom; and there is no kingdom in which there is no space…” I heard an interesting explanation of God’s power. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." In essence, He created space. Space is three-dimensional, length width and height. Time is also three-dimensional, past, present and future. Another three-dimensional aspect of Gods plan is the trinity, God The Father, Jesus Christ The Son, and The Holy Ghost. With this “trinity of trinities” all of the universe is governed. However, God is not bound by time or matter, allowing him to manipulate it. Such a concept can be understood by a computer engineer. Even though he has control over his creation, the computer, he does not need to be inside the computer to govern it. It is much the same with God, the architect of the universe. For this reason, we should put our trust in him. We cannot comprehend his love, because his love is uncontained by the same dimensions that contain us. I hope that one day we may learn of the full extent of God’s many kingdoms, as infinite as his love for each of us.    

Intelligence

               The scriptures teach that the only thing that we get to take with us after this life is the intelligence that we gain. “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19).

               It is often believed that science and religion do not coexist, that either you believe in scientific ways, or in God’s way. It is a notion that science often disproves God. I do not believe that this is the case. If we look from our perspective of limited knowledge, it is all too easy to doubt the existence of God. Man-made philosophies try to grasp the notion of an omnipotent being that controls the universe, but when they can’t, doubt sets in.

               I propose that the solution to this is to flip the perspective. Instead of attempting to prove a higher intelligence from a lower intelligence, what if we instead tried it the other way around? Besides, wouldn’t a higher intelligence completely understand the lower?  While the lower hardly comprehends the higher. I have learned that while science proves God, the correct perspective would be that God proves science. The moment we begin looking with this new perspective it becomes clear that behind all the complex processes in the biological world, it would certainly be impossible for every particle to come together to create a beautifully flowing universe in which even the tiniest of particles obey predetermined laws.

The reason I bring this up is due to my new understanding of the complexity of many instantaneous, but all too crucial biological processes that I have studied in my biology course. The smallest of things has then been contrasted with the largest of things in an astronomy course that I am also taking. I have developed a sense of awe and wonder at God’s creations. Even in a fallen state, they seem so perfect, from the atoms of our mind to the galaxies that it imagines. It is difficult to imagine matter in a celestial and exalted glory as that of the Father. 

Learning Along the Way

This week I was challenged to find an answer to a specific question. As many times in our lives, the important thing I learned wasn’t necessarily the answer to the question, but the things that I learned in my search for it. Often, we search for answers that have been subconsciously predetermined in our minds according to our human desires. This bias can limit our ability to recognize the answer when it is put before us by the Holy Ghost. Therefore, humility to accept that you may be in the wrong is required to feel the full guiding effect of the spirit. If you search relentlessly and don’t find an answer, it doesn’t mean there isn’t one, but rather that you haven’t recognized it. Maybe a self-evaluative humbling process would be beneficial.

After learning this, I was eventually able to find an answer to my original question, but give more value to the lesson I learned than to the answer that I found. This principle holds true to how God’s plan for us was designed. From the beginning to the end, the purpose of God’s plan isn’t to get somewhere or something, but who we become throughout that journey. What would be the point of putting an unpolished diamond on a ring? Similarly God doesn’t intend to put his unpolished children in the Celestial Kingdom. Many examples of this can be seen in the scriptures. How often has God sent his chosen prophets to the wilderness? The reason behind this isn’t because there’s something hidden in the wilderness that they need to find, but because the wilderness is a new, wild place, where his children can learn and grow. It is clear that in our lives God often takes us out of our comfort zone not to punish us, but because he knows where we need to be to become polished. 

Perfectly Dealing with The Father's Will

     Undeniably the most important doctrine, event and act of love that we could possibly talk of is the Atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Being such a sacred topic, not many words are required to get a glimpse of God’s eternal love for us. In fact, words could not possibly teach us anything worthwhile of Christ’s atonement, for it is truly the spirit that conveys the sacred teachings of this important doctrine.

     I was truly struck and humbled by the spirit this week as I studied Jacob’s words in 2 Nephi 9, and studied the powerful touch of the spirit. Never had I reached so great an understanding of the suffering that occurred in our behalf. Try listing out all the pains, sorrows, temptations and trials that you have ever gone through. Even though Christ felt all of this, it amounts to an infinitesimally small and insignificant part of what He experienced. Never had I understood so clearly Mathew’s account of Jesus “[falling] on his face, and [praying], saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me…” The Son of God, falling on his face, overwhelmed with agony, being crushed under a symbolic oil press of sorrow, in this moment pleaded for mercy. There was no other way. As Christ came to this realization, he subjected himself not to his own understandable desires, but to his Father’s perfect will.

     Imagine an eternity in which there was no redemption? As Jacob puts it, “…this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death… is hell.” How grateful I am for a savior that ultimately carried out the greatest challenge to ever arise in the eternities, the redemption of man. We will never reach a full understanding of the Atonement in this life, for our finite intellects could not possibly comprehend its eternal effects. Christ is The Son of God, sent in the flesh to die, and rise on the third day, so that we, may follow his divinely set path.  

Drawing Near to the Sun of God

            As our knowledge of the universe expands, so does our understanding of scriptural doctrines. Even though we are only beginning to understand how vast the cosmos are in a scientific way, we have had much knowledge about the universe for thousands of years, even before the age of astronomy. This free knowledge was revealed to us through divine revelation in the form of scripture. Scriptural truths are supported by man-made observations of the universe, and this serves as a vital testimony builder to the truthfulness of divinely taught doctrines, and the omniscience of God.

            In order to further investigate this intriguing connection between modern-day knowledge and ancient scripture we may make comparisons between the two, thus proving one and the other. An interesting and well-known reference to astronomy from the scriptures is the connection of degrees of glory with celestial bodies. These degrees of glory are not only put into context by their apparent luminosity, but also by their physical position in the universe. As the apostle Paul declared, “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”[1] Upon initial contemplation, the meaning of this scripture becomes clear. It is obvious that there exist three distinct states, each varying in their respective glory, with the sun being the brightest, the moon being the median, and the stars as the least bright. An astrophysicist is not needed to make these simple heavenly observations. This is probably the reason for Paul’s simple and relatable teaching since there were no astrophysicists at these times, and much of the audience had little to no knowledge of the cosmos. In our days, the same holds true, a simple observation of the sky will reveal the “glory” (luminosity) of these celestial bodies and no advanced knowledge is needed.

            There is no evidence that ancient astronomers had a notion of the vast size of the universe[2], or idea of astronomical distances. For example, from naked-eye observation, it appears as though the Sun, moon and stars all seem to be relatively close to each other, bodies of varying sizes revolving within the same plane. However, we now know that this is not true, and that most stars we see are immensely distant from our solar system, thousands if not millions of light-years away. Due to the unimaginable distances in our universe, astronomers have had to create an extragalactic distance scale[3], just to be able to describe these distances. The brightness of stars is not dimmed due to a lower output of light, but from the distance that the light travels before it gets to our eyes.

With this in mind, we may now delve deeper into the doctrine to reach a greater understanding and testimony of its truthfulness. Dallin H. Oaks has described the inhabitants of the Telestial Kingdom as “…those who receive not the gospel neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets [yet] even this degree has a glory that surpasses all understanding.”[4] He continues, “…the Terrestrial excels in all things the glory of the Telestial… its most distinguishing feature is that those who qualify for terrestrial glory receive of the presence of the sun. Concepts familiar to all Christians might liken this higher kingdom to heaven, because it has the presence of the sun” He then describes the Celestial Kingdom as “the abode of those whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God.” The cosmic positions of these scripturally referenced celestial beings play a large role in our full understanding of this doctrine. As Oaks said, the Celestial Kingdom is for those whose glory is that of the sun, or God. The Terrestrial Kingdom is made the glory it is, because of its proximity to the sun (Celestial Kingdom) and also the Telestial in a likewise manner. No amount of personal accomplishment can make up for the importance of drawing nearer to Christ. This is demonstrated by comparing the body of terrestrial glory to that of the Telestial.

Even though the moon (terrestrial body) is millions of times smaller than other distant stars (telestial bodies), its glory is still superior to theirs because of its proximity to the source of light that truly matters, the Sun.

The glory of our being therefore, is not determined by our personally acquired attributes, but rather by our proximity to God. All light comes from Christ. If we wish to obtain a higher glory, we need not seek to create our own light, but draw closer to that light which gloriously and eternally radiates from our Savior. It is interesting that the brightest most massive stars are in fact, the dimmest in the night sky, not because of what they are, but where they are. This holds true to gospel doctrine as well. It does not matter our size, how brightly we may shine, or who we are, if we are not centered on and close to the source of all light, Christ, our true and final glory will merely resemble that of a distant nebula, dimmed in comparison to the glory of our Sun. My hope is that we may draw closer to the true source of light, and let his glory shine forth from us, the true sun of the universe, the Son of God.

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[1] 1 Corinthians 15:41

[2] To explore or “get an idea” of the size of the universe, this website provides a great interactive resource: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120312.html

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_distance_ladder

[4] Dallin H. Oaks “Three Degrees of Glory” https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-09-9030-three-degrees-of-glory?lang=eng

The Prophetic Pattern

                As I begin my reading anew from the Book of Mormon, I have yet again been astonished by the temporal and spiritual lessons that lie within its pages. The greatest thing that I have learned in this past week is of the authenticity of the coming about of this sacred book of scripture. There is no way, it is too elaborate, too perfect, too tied together for anyone to have ever imagined a scheme of this scale. But, we all know that the “magic” of this book lies not within the physical proof of its veracity, but in the spiritual lessons and convictions gained through its imploration.

                 In my studying this week I came across 1 Nephi 2:16 “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young,… and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God,…did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.”

                God seems to choose and prepare his greatest servants at a young age, or “in their youth.” This holds true for many known prophets, including Samuel from The Old Testament, and Joseph Smith. Why should God call such important humanity-altering men at such a young age. We can learn that from a young age, we all have righteous desires, however our actions in regards to those desires are what define us. Foreordination also plays a role in the calling of holy prophets. From a young age they are tested, and proven.

                God’s eternal design for us really does start in our youth. Though not all are predestined to lead nations, all are ordained to accept and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this life. As we are molded in our youth, we must remember that God has always known us even “before [we came] forth out of the womb.” (Jer. 1:7) I pray that we may recognize the great talents and righteous desires that abide within us, and consecrate them to the Lord.