Posted on by Abe Austin

Count Your Blessings- Genesis 37:34-35; Job 3:1-4; John 11:33, 35

And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.
And Job spake, and said,
Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.
Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
Jesus wept.

COMMENTARY

And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted
Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it
He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, Jesus wept.
Thus far we have discussed why it is important for us to remember our blessings, even when journeying through difficult trials. And while this is all true, I do not mean to be callous and suggest that there is not a time for mourning when we have suffered a loss.
After Jacob lost his son Joseph he refused to be comforted, and wept for the good thing that had seemingly been taken away. Job, too, went through a long mourning process after he lost all that he held dear. Even Jesus paused to weep when he heard of the death of his friend Lazarus.
Thus, when we also suffer a tragic loss it is perfectly appropriate for us to be devastated. Perhaps it is momentarily too painful to count one’s blessings, as that might feel like trying to sweep the pain underneath a rug. God does not ask us to say that the hurt does not matter, when it very much does. It is okay to be broken for a time.
But it is important that it is “for a time” and not “forever.” Eventually Jacob did take comfort in the family which remained to him, particularly his new son Benjamin. Job eventually turned from his bitterness and reached for God once more. Jesus dried his eyes and got back to doing his work of miracles. And we too must eventually accept God’s comfort, remember the blessings which we still have, and permit Him to live in us once more.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Count Your Blessings- Psalm 23:4, 3 Nephi 10:6

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.

COMMENTARY

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me
The Psalmist knew a great secret when it came to overcoming the fear of the world, it was his understanding that “thou art with me.” Going through hard times is hard, but going through hard times alone is unbearable. If God is not with us, then we are left to fear every evil that lurks within the valley of the shadow of death. If God is with us, though, then we have a sure confidence from all else.

How oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will return unto me
But it isn’t simply a question of God being with us. God is ever with us…if we will allow Him to be. Many people are lost in despair not because there isn’t any healing available, but because they will not permit themselves to receive it.
Counting one’s blessings is not simply to reflect on what good things there have been in the past, it is reminding oneself of what assets are still available right this very moment…if we are just willing to make use of them.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Count Your Blessings- 1 John 4:18-19

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love him, because he first loved us.

COMMENTARY

There is no fear in love; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love
It is impossible to properly love God when we are afraid. And the value of loving God is not only in rendering to Him what He is due, it is for our own benefit as well. For when people do not love God, they are not good to themselves or others. When people do not love God, and are instead afraid, they compromise their soul and make choices that they are ashamed of. Thus fear is not only unpleasant, it is one of the great destroyers of the self.

But perfect love casteth out fear
We love him, because he first loved us
Fear can be dispelled, but only by retaining a lively sense of love in our hearts. Where love is, fear cannot also be.
But how to obtain that perfect love that casteth out fear? It is not something that we have the ability to conjure up in ourselves. As we learn in the second verse from John, it is something that God gives to us first, and then we maintain it by loving Him back. Thus by regularly exchanging love with Him we keep our fears at bay and live as our best selves.
And inherent in that exchange of love is a remembering of that love. Every time we praise and give devotion to God, we signify that we recall what He has given to us.
Or, to work it backwards, those that regularly count their blessings are the ones in whom the cycle of perfect love is turning. They are constantly refreshing in their minds the reasons that they do not fear, the reasons that they know it is worthy to rely on the Lord. For He has already loved them once, and they remember it, and know that He will love them again.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Count Your Blessings- Alma 62:50, Psalm 77:11, 2 Peter 1:15

Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions, and he had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies.

I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.

Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.

COMMENTARY

They did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them
I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old
I will endeavour that ye may be able to have these things always in remembrance
There are many accounts of the virtue that is just remembering. Even aside from these three quotes there was also the time that Hilkiah discovered the book of the law in the temple, long since forgotten, which introduced a brief period of faithfulness among the Israelites. There was the time King Ahasuerus recalled that he still needed to give honor to faithful Mordecai. The entire turning point of the parable of the Prodigal Son is when the boy “comes to himself” and recalls how good things are in his father’s house. God had the Israelites bind the words of the scriptures to their arms and foreheads to keep those words ever in their periphery. When Jesus instituted the sacrament he instructed them that they “Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25).
There is a great power in remembering, because remembering is often the action that immediately precedes doing. If we do not remember our blessings, then we live as if they never occurred. When we forget what God has done for us, we lose one of our most powerful motivators to remain faithful. But even if His goodness is forgotten, it did still occur, and we are simply being remiss.
To forget, whether through the passage of time or by the crowding of present problems, is a natural effect of human life. But though it is a natural effect, it can be resisted and it must be. For those that forget become lost.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Personal Commitment: Month 0

Today I start a new series in this blog, one where I commit to living the principles of the gospel more fully, and keep myself accountable by sharing the results of so trying in each succeeding entry. I do recognize the need to handle this with utmost delicacy, for I know that the cultivation of one’s soul is a very sacred, personal thing, and I do not want to tarnish it through over-exposure.

As such, these commitments are not going to be expressed as crude checklists, or detailed out in every degree. Some parts of my spiritual cultivation I simply will not discuss at all.

Still, I believe that if one handles such matters with thoughtfulness, a great deal of good can come about by having a bit more vulnerability to one another. Being able to honestly talk about where we are at with our own conscience, and to admit that there are things we are still working on, can help us reach for our better natures together.

I’d like to start the ball rolling by stating that I am a millennial, and I am over-saturated in media. Hardly surprising, I know! But just because a trend is common or understandable does not mean it should be condoned. I have felt for a while like I need to take a stance against my own over-consumption of the digital world, and I would rather that this part of my life be a pleasant seasoning, and not the main course.

Of course, excessive media use is never explicitly called out in the scriptures as a sin. And yet, my conscience tells me that it is an idol that at times I have placed before God. To check-in with my conscience now, I would say that I feel like I use media as a crutch to get through times of boredom and stress. I have noted how even after I turn off the screen, I can remain in a dazed state, unable to fully engage with the other aspects of my life. I do not feel that this is how I was meant to live.

Thus I have set some expectations for myself in how I would like to limit the role of media in my life. Some things are being sworn off entirely, others are being limited to specific times and situations. But more than all that, I just intend to follow my conscience, more than my “need” to look up that article or video. One month from now I will share how I have progressed in that journey, and what the effects of it have been. If anything particularly notable happens along the way, I will make note of it at the time.

Thank you.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Worthy Vessels- Exodus 4:10-12, Ether 12:27

And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?
Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

COMMENTARY

Who hath made man’s mouth? have not I the Lord?
Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth.
We have considered how being the Lord’s vessel requires us to not be proud, and to not take our own counsel over His. But we can also take things too far the other way. We must not let our doubt of self prevent us from doing His work either.
God was the one that made Moses’s mouth weak in the first place, so surely he could also make it strong when the time called for it. It is a hard thing for clay to change its own shape, but effortless for the potter to mold it into what it needs to be.

I give unto men weakness that they may be humble
If they humble themselves, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong
And Moses having been fashioned first with a slow mouth was probably not a coincidence. God wants us to learn that He makes the man, not that the man makes himself. And to teach us this lesson He often holds something back, something which He is willing to give if we come to Him in humility and ask for it.
So never mind the fact that you have a weakness, go to the source of strength and boldly commit to be His vessel, even in the things you feel inadequate to do. That means taking a leap of faith, and it is unquestionably a scary thing to do!…But only then, while still mid-flight, do you get to feel the touch of the Master’s hand. It is remaking you.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Worthy Vessels- Isaiah 45:9 (NIV), Jacob 4:9-10

Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’?

For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?
Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.

COMMENTARY

Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’?
It is against our nature to be commanded by another. We seek to be independent, to do all things according to our own choosing. This is inherently a good thing, as God expects us to take the initiative for many things in our lives.
Yet at times this attitude can be taken into our relationship with Him, which is never appropriate. It is well for us to have and act upon our own ideas, but when God says He has another path in mind, we must remember who is still the master here.

If God being able speak and man was created, then why not able to command the workmanship of his hands?
Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand.
Because in the end, we already are His vessels, and no matter of gaining power and capability will ever change that fact. The greatest men and women that ever lived are still raw clay that He breathed life into. Thus we do not need to become His creations, we only need to become His obedient creations. God has given us our independence, but if we are living right, we are using it to submit back to Him.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Worthy Vessels- Question

At the end of my last study I considered how our role in life is to be a worthy vessel, one through which God can pour out His goodness. The image of a vessel is used many times in the scripture, and many times it is to reinforce this image of our relationship to God’s goodness.

The notion of only being a conduit for good is in direct contradiction to a part of our nature. Each one of us wants to be inventors, artists, performers, athletes…someone who creates something and does it all on their own and receives all the credit for it. We desire fame and recognition, and wish for other people to call us good.

Yet even Jesus refused to be recognized as such (Mark 10:18). If the only perfect man that ever lived testified that even he was merely a conduit for the goodness of God, then perhaps we ought to start recognizing the great honor that is in that calling.

As I explore this topic more I would be curious to hear what it means to you to be a worthy vessel? How do you live a life of accomplishment, but still give the glory to God? How do you remain humble, without trying to debase yourself?

Posted on by Abe Austin

What Chance Do I Have?- Summary

There was a part of me that wondered if I ought to conduct this study at all. I wish to be cautious about ever introducing a new doubt to a mind that has never considered it before. What if there is a reader who never questioned their ability to hold firm, but now that I have given them the idea they can’t get rid of it?

But then I ask myself, who is there among us that has never questioned our ability to hold firm? Perhaps the way that self-doubt has chosen to phrase itself in my heart is different from how it has for you. I asked myself “if other spiritual giants could fall, what chance do I have?” but you might have asked yourself the same question in a different way.

Either way, though, the matter of self-doubt is universal, and so I felt I did not need to be shy of addressing it. The message of the gospel is one of hope and triumph, because it is able to directly answer these questions of despair and defeat. I will share what ways I have found that it does so in this study.

Our Fears Come From Our Weakness

Back when I was dating the woman who would become my wife, we had a conversation about her nephews and nieces. They were young children then, and she spoke of how much she loved them, and how she was delighted by the boundless confidence that they showed. They had a certainty that they were important and powerful. She observed that such feelings tend to fade in children, though, and she wondered why, and she wished it could be prevented.
I, too, wish that the innocence of children could forever remain unshattered…but I think that that is impossible. Each one of us, even the most innocent and brilliant of children, is flawed in our own way. And in a fallen world every flaw is eventually exploited in a way that crushes our hearts. We will fail, and we will know that that failure came about because of our weakness.
Where it was once effortless to believe in ourselves, our default state becomes far more cynical after being beaten down by the harsh realities of life enough times. Pessimism starts to sound synonymous with wisdom, our bright future is splashed with bleak colors, and it becomes supremely difficult to believe in ourselves for anything lasting and good.
Judges 16:17- He told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
Moses 1:10- And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.

Our Weakness Make Us Humble

Despair is a natural result of defeat, but it is not the only possible result. There is, also, the possibility for humility. To be humble is not to put oneself down, but rather to see oneself as one really is. And what one really is is flawed…but still good.
Where youthful innocence might be totally aware of one’s goodness, but oblivious to the fact of also being flawed, despair goes to the other extreme of totally seeing one’s flaws and becoming oblivious to the fact that one is also still good. Humility strikes the correct balance between the two, still able to appreciate the inherent worth in every soul, but acknowledging that that worth is currently limited from its full expression.
The appreciation of one’s goodness gives us hope, while the appreciation of one’s limits makes us open to receiving help. Both of these elements are necessary for one to be teachable. If one feels they are already perfect they will not be open to receiving the Lord’s help, and if they have no hope they will not either.
Moroni 10:22- And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.
James 4:6- But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Our Humility Leads Us to the True Strength

And finally, if one is humble, then they can be receptive to God’s grace lifting them back to where they were before. Even lifting them beyond it.
To recognize the inherent flaws of mortality and to doubt the strength of men, even to doubt the strength of oneself, is not amiss. But that should never make one doubt the strength of God coupled with a willing soul. The only time that man has ever failed was when he tried to stand alone. He fails if he tries to stand alone from the beginning, he fails if he tries to stand alone after having walked with God for a time. One must ever remember that they are good and capable of doing good, but also that they will forever need help along the way.
Men and women can take sincere pride in knowing that they have the capacity to become a worthy vessel. They can show joy at being one that is pure and refined. But they should remain humbled by the knowledge that they are still only the vessel. They might be utilized as a conduit for good, but they are not the good that pours forth. So long as they keep that distinction in their mind, they can walk with God and never fall.
Mark 10:18- And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Alma 26:12- Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Individual Trials- Summary

I first thought of this series during my study on Free Will vs God’s Control. At the time I wanted to explore trials as a simple curiosity, not because of an abundance of trials in my life. Then, while in the process of actually doing this study many trials began to stack up on me. They came on the global level with COVID-19, the local level with a flurry of earthquakes, and on the personal level with guilt and doubt.

Conducting a gospel study is useful for educating oneself and better understanding the workings of God. But it is also useful in how it allows God to seed preparation for what He knows will soon befall you. If we let Him, He will steer our focus not only to what we need to know for today, but also what we will need to know for tomorrow.

The principles that shone most brightly through this study are also the principles I have needed to implement in the trials that came my way. Eventually my hardships will pass me by, no matter what I choose to do in the midst of them. The only question is whether I will emerge better or worse for the experience.

Trials Can Come in Any Form

A trial can be thought of as any an event or situation that shows us who we are and where we stand. It is a test of some specific aspect of our character. We have trials of our faith, of our resolve, of our loyalty, and of every other virtue we hope to obtain in this life.
Anything that is put upon us to strain these virtues is therefore a trial. We feel a tension, one that seeks either to pull us down or lift us up, and the question is whether we break, move, or remain stationary. As the amount of tension is increased, the option to remain stationary is lost. At certain forces we must either break or move.
The trial might come in a single moment of intensity, it might endure as a constant weight for a very, very long time. It might weigh us down with pain, it might tug upwards with blessings. It might pull at us in both directions at the same time with a difficult choice. It might be external, or it might be pushing and prodding at us from within.
What a trial is not, though, is an equal and opposite reaction caused by us bashing ourselves into a wall. That is a consequence.
Abraham 3:24-25- And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
1 Corinthians 3:13- Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Trials LEAD US TO BECOME OUR TRUE SELVES

A trial is not some final exam to prove what strength we have already obtained. A trial is the process by which that strength is discovered. It is not the moment when a blacksmith strikes his finished weapon to verify its resilience, it is earlier when the blacksmith melts the ore in its crucible.
Let me back up with that analogy. For a long time the ancient world knew that there were processes by which iron could be refined into something stronger. Specifically they were looking into ways to have it bind with carbon, which if it done perfectly would result in an entirely new type of metal, one many times stronger than the original iron. But how to perform that binding was a mystery that took centuries to solve. Eventually Indian metalworkers learned that the iron and carbon must be placed within crucibles, heated to astronomical temperatures, and then they would melt and bond together into that entirely new metal: steel.
The crucible is not just a test of force, and steel is not just stronger iron. The crucible is the process of transforming something old into something new, and steel is the result of permanent change. Our trials are the crucible by which we are broken down, until at last we are able to bond with God into an all-new alloy.
Peter 1:7- That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Jeremiah 9:7- Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?

Defining Trials EXCEED US

It is true that we can increase our moral resolve by constantly exercising it, like the gradual buildup of a muscle. We can achieve a greater strength by our own efforts, and be able to endure things that we could not endure before. This is a good thing, but there are limits to how far it can take us. Eventually there are things that we simply cannot endure, and it isn’t a question of needing more “spiritual exercise” to get there. At some point spiritual exercise needs to be joined by spiritual transformation.
You might remove as many impurities as you can from iron, and improve its strength by so doing, but eventually it will reach the limit that is inherent in the material. Eventually iron can only get so far. As I mentioned before, iron becomes steel only by being bonded with something else. It isn’t enough to just be near to the something else either. You cannot merely stack the iron on the wood and have the same strength as if you burned both down and fused them as one.
Our greatest, defining trials do not ask us to prove our own strength, and they do not ask to us to stand against that which we cannot withstand. They ask us, rather, to melt…into God. We have to bow, or else we will be broken. But if we lean into the Almighty, then we are transformed. And after the transformation we will rise again, resurrected as something new.
Alma 26:12- Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
2 Corinthians 5:17- Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.