Posted on by Abe Austin

That They Might Have Joy- Psalm 149:5, 1 Peter 1:7-8

Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

That the trial of your faith might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
In whom ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

COMMENTARY

Let the saints be joyful in glory
Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory
As I tried to identify what exactly the “joy” promised in the gospels is, I noticed a subtle association between that word and “glory.” In fact in these two examples joy is being associated with “glory” in both of its forms: first as a verb, meaning to take pleasure in, and then as a noun, meaning to have achieved honor or renown.
In each case “joy” and “glory” seem to be describing a state of deep spiritual gladness and contentment, an exuberant celebration of that which is good. Another word that comes to mind is “rapture.”
And just what goodness is it that we live in rapture of? And joy in? And derive glory from?
First and foremost the goodness of God. We are children who take immense pleasure when our Father reveals Himself in our lives. We just feel more right when we sense His presence and feel His blessings.
Secondly we glory and joy Christ, Jesus. He is our elder brother and our conduit to God. He did all that we wish we could, and he promises us that one day we can live in full harmony with our consciences, just as he did.
Which leads us to our third source of joy: ourselves. We rejoice when we feel ourselves reciprocating the goodness of God and Jesus. There is deep contentment and joy just in having a clean conscience, in doing what we know we should, in being better than we were the day before, in being more like them. This is life eternal.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Justice and Mercy- Galatians 3:11, Romans 3:23, 2 Nephi 2:5

But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become miserable forever.

COMMENTARY

But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God
And by the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off
I mentioned yesterday that the gospel is given as God’s highest law, one for which the promised blessing is salvation, the greatest of all His gifts. But given the facts that this law demands perfection and that we are all incapable of perfection, the only logical conclusion is that one would be better off avoiding this gift entirely! Who cares what the reward is if you have a 0% chance of obtaining it? Better that you don’t make any promises to God and therefore never break them. Right?
But even those that reject this higher law still are culpable for their inability to keep even the basic law of their own conscience, a law which is inescapable. As the above scriptures make abundantly clear: if salvation is the reward for obeying the laws, then damnation must be the punishment for breaking them. And we have all broken them, and so we are all damned.

Now obviously I am pausing for dramatic effect. You know and I know that this isn’t the end of the story. Each of these doom-and-gloom verses are immediately followed by declarations of hope. Tomorrow we’ll examine how mercy enters the scene, and does so in a way that still preserves the sanctity of justice. Before we do that, though, I think it is worthwhile to pause and consider the sober realities of what life without a Savior would be like.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Justice and Mercy- Deuteronomy 30:19, Doctrine and Covenants 82:3-4

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.
Ye call upon my name for revelations, and I give them unto you; and inasmuch as ye keep not my sayings, which I give unto you, ye become transgressors; and justice and judgment are the penalty which is affixed unto my law.

COMMENTARY

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death
Ye call upon my name for revelations, and I give them unto you
Yesterday we observed that all people have a basic law written in their hearts, that which we call a conscience. This basic guide leads us towards the “just” life, which has its own natural rewards.
However there are higher laws as well. To each of us God offers the opportunity to follow His personal principles, and by so doing achieve spiritual enlightenment and fulfillment. Whereas the conscience is given to all at birth, this higher way is given out only as we choose to receive it. The more we choose to receive, the greater blessings we can enjoy.

Life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live
For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation… justice and judgment are the penalty which is affixed unto my law
If one receives a law and then breaks it, though, the promised blessing instead becomes a curse. The pattern of justice is that every law carries both a blessing and a curse.
Consider the example of communication. This ability is a great blessing, as it allows us to collaborate and share information. But then we also have the option to misuse that blessing and twist our words into lies. For this we suffer the consequences (curses) of hurt feelings and anxiety.
What is more, the greater the promised blessings are, the greater the curses are as well. Going back to our example, some have a greater range of communication than others. Those with a larger following have more power and influence in their words. They have a greater potential to accomplish good with what they say…or to cause damage.
Therefore one needs to approach God’s laws with proper respect for the weight of justice that is inseparably attached to them. They are given to us as an act of love, but one should not subscribe to these laws unless they intend not to break them.
The problem is…we have all broken them.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Justice and Mercy- John 1:9, Romans 2:14-15, Alma 42:17-18

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness.

Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?
Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man.

COMMENTARY

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world
The law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness
To each of us is given a light, or in other words a conscience. When any of us do something that is wrong it pricks at our conscience.
Though we vary in some of our moral beliefs, it is universal to feel bad about stealing, lying, and killing. By our very nature we also know that it is wrong to make someone else feel bad, to make a vow and then break it. It feels wrong even to silently think ill of another, or to speak poorly of them behind their back. Mistreatment of our own selves feels wrong as well.
In short all of us have at least one “law written in [our] hearts,” a law of nature. It guides us from harm and leads towards fulfillment, and is therefore a wonderful blessing to us. And it is a blessing that is given freely to us all.

Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man
However the blessing of the law only applies so long as we adhere to its principles. If not, then justice demands that we suffer the consequences of our transgression. The very first of these consequences is a “remorse of conscience,” and other penalties may follow depending on the severity of the crime. Thus even those that have not received the higher law of the gospel are still responsible for how well they adhere to the law of their own conscience, and the demands of justice are felt by us all.