Thought for the Day- That Which Stops Growing
For Our Own Good- Summary
There is a natural aversion to rules that we don’t understand. In our fallen world there are countless examples of laws and rules given to suppress and oppress, to maintain power for tyrants, to be followed without question, no matter how they destroyed the very people that obeyed them. Even if a rule doesn’t seem intended to harm, we still want to know the reasons why we should exert effort to follow it.
And I would say that our need to understand the rules that we follow is actually a good thing, even God-given. Yes, there is a need for following by faith alone, but also God intends for us to dig into the gospel and find answers. He gave us a hunger so that we would work to satiate it with understanding.
But even as we seek understanding, there will necessarily be a period of time before we have received it. From my study I believe there are a few principles which can help us through that intermediary time.
A Healthy View For Ignorance
One of the hardest things can be to admit that we don’t know something. Each of us has been through that unpleasant experience of being spoken to us as if we already understood, when really we did not. It might be in an education or training setting, or someone disclosing their personal feelings, or during a philosophical discussion. It isn’t that we don’t wish to understand, but that we simply don’t. In fact, many times, we don’t even know what it is that we don’t know, or how to put together the question whose answer would unlock our ability to comprehend.
And while the gospel can speak directly to our soul in such a way that no words are necessary, there are still elements of it that are difficult to fully grasp. We are divided beings, after all, one part spiritual and the other part carnal. And that carnal part just “doesn’t get” certain commandments and principles.
Instead of feeling shame for our lack of knowledge, and instead of pretending to understand more than we do, we need to be able to accept that we are ignorant, that all are ignorant in some way or another, and that this is a perfectly acceptable platform to begin our spiritual journey from. But we also need to know and accept that we can learn. Our lack of understanding is not proof that we cannot understand. Perhaps the words don’t click with us now, but one day the feelings will.
2 Nephi 28:30- For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
1 Corinthians 2:14- But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
An Environment for Learning
As mentioned above, we have both a spiritual and a carnal part to us, and the carnal (or natural, as Paul called it) cannot understand that which is spiritual. As a result, the capacity for one to understand the principles of the gospel will be directly tied to how far one dips into a spiritual lifestyle or a carnal one.
The more we surround ourselves with worldly messages, the more we indulge in carnal pleasures, the more we identify ourselves by the flesh, the harder time we are going to have perceiving and comprehending the spiritual. Our understanding will be more and more limited only to carnal understanding. On the other hand, the more we seek messages of spiritual enlightenment, the more we do the things that satiate our conscience, the more we identify ourselves by the entire soul, the more we will accumulate spiritual understanding instead.
Much of being educated is in just putting oneself in an environment of learning. If you wish to develop your sense of music, you should surround yourself with music and those that live in it. If you wish to grow more analytical, you should surround yourself with algorithms and those that solve problems by them. You find a place where you can breathe in its atmosphere, you find mentors, you look for sources that can answer your questions, and you learn by pure osmosis. It is no different with developing a fluency with the soul.
Galatians 3:24-Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Ruth 1:16- And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.
The Blessing of Learning
Finally, let us make clear that this natural ignorance and this difficulty of acquiring knowledge is not a mistake. The fact that we have to work for this understanding is by design. For while it is important for us to learn things, it is even more important for us to simply learn how to learn.
God did not send us here to know everything right from the start. He did not send us here to be perfect from the outset. Rather He sent us broken, flawed, and confused. The reason being that if we already possessed all, we would never develop the wisdom and quality of character that can only come by walking the journey. We would be stagnant, and would not develop ourselves as individuals.
God gave us the blank slate that we start off with, but also the desire to change that state. We feel in our hearts that it is better to know than to not know, and so we chase and pursue, we study and we discover, we invent and we explore. The greatest things we make and do, we make and do because God made us both flawed and self-aware of that flaw. These two qualities are both the fuel and the spark, the power and the catalyst of our great journey. They drive us into defining and becoming who we are and will be. Where they will take us we get to choose, but it will be far.
Ether 12:27-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.
Individual Trials- Question
A word that we commonly use in Christianity is “trials.” By this we mean the times that we are tested to see if we will remain faithful or not. This word typically has a negative connotation, being used to express an unpleasant, yet necessary process.
Trials are different from consequences, in that they are actively put on us by another, not because we did something wrong and are just reaping the natural result of that. Usually those that mention trials are discussing some form of illness, persecution, doubt, or even death.
But I do believe that the tests we are subjected to in Earth life are much broader than just that one category of “affliction.” Trials can take the form of inherent weaknesses and personality traits. Trials can take the form of being given a choice, where we are tempted by that which is easy but wrong. Trials can even take the form of receiving a blessing.
I would like to examine all these different ways of experiencing a trial, how each tests us in its own manner, and how each is meant to help us develop into the person we were born to be. In the meantime I am curious to hear how you have been able to gain a healthy appreciation for trials in your own life. In what ways have they reassured you that your life is following a plan? In what ways have you come to know yourself better through them?
Divided from God- Summary
My previous study was about needing to make time for God. As I was writing it though, I wanted to address the times where I have wished that that process was simpler. Because at the outset, coming to God often does not appear to be very straightforward. It is understandable to get frustrated by this perceived divide.
One of my reasons for writing this blog is to not only explore spiritual epiphanies, but also the spiritual frustrations that precede them. I think we are mistakenly afraid of being blasphemous if we admit that following God was, at times, aggravating.
But saying that something is aggravating is not the same as saying that it isn’t worth it. All relationships come with friction and frustration, but in them we also derive the greatest joy. And that includes our relationship with God. Do I wish that things were easier…a part of me wants to say yes, but a part of me knows it just couldn’t work that way.
We Are Twice Divided From God
When we are in the womb we maintain a direct connection with our nurturing mother. No effort is required for us to maintain sustenance, we acquire it freely. After birth, the mother’s body continues to provide nutrition for us, but the direct tether to her is severed. We can still be nourished, but now, and forever after, we’re going to have to work for it.
I do not believe that there is any coincidence for how well this reflects the separation from God brought about by the fall, and the effort now required of us to now reconnect with Him. It is our common lot as humankind.
But that only accounts for one of our separations. The second is that which we bring upon our own selves. Guilt and shame that have nothing to do with what Adam or Eve did, but rather what sins we, ourselves, have chosen to commit.
Romans 6:23- For the wages of sin is death
Alma 42:9- Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death.
There are Reasons and Wisdom Behind This Divide
Going back to the example of the newborn, the only way for an infant to remain tethered to its mother would be by stunting its growth forever. It could never grow to the full measure of a man or a woman while remaining so linked.
Character is defined by the things that we do when we do not feel another’s eyes peering over our shoulder. Character growth occurs when we do good things because of our own volition. In this way it is wise for God to allow enough separation for us to act and grow on our own.
Also, our separation from God ebbs and flows. Sometimes His presence is nearer and sometimes it is farther, depending on our own actions. This ingenious state of change provides an essential feedback loop for measuring our own behavior. When I sin, I feel more withdrawn from God, and that unpleasantness motivates me towards better choices. These, in turn, draw me nearer to Him.
2 Nephi 2:24- But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
Doctrine and Covenants 6:28- For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.
The Divide Can Be Closed
If we were to directly see God in our daily lives, there would surely be far greater feelings of fulfillment in our hearts and far less evil performed in the world. But also we would be stunted children, just as Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden.
God planted the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden to allow for the reality of today. It was a gift. Now we truly and independently act. We make choices, feel God’s presence grow nearer or farther, and by that steer ourselves as we see fit. And if we choose to steer ourselves back to God, then regaining His presence will really mean something. It won’t just some default state that was premortally chosen for us. It will be the destiny that we have chosen for ourselves.
Mother birds have been known to push their young out of the nest. But they do not this so that the child will never return to the trees, rather so that when it does it will do so upon magnificent wings!
2 Timothy 4:7- I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.
Philippians 4:13- I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Trial Before Blessing, Pleasure Before Anguish- Romans 5:3-4; James 1:2-4, 12; Hebrews 5:8
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope.
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.
COMMENTARY
Knowing that tribulation worketh patience
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire
Yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered
There is no lazy path to perfection. If, in your efforts to follow God you find yourself struggling at every step, then good job! You are right where you should be.
I don’t know exactly why, but apparently our nature is such that real change requires the refiner’s fire. As a friend and mentor once told me: “There is a sacredness in suffering.” Never forget that he who suffered all things was also the only one to have risen above them, too.
Waiting on blessings is probably the most universal trial we face, and it is while persevering through this delay that we nurture essential characteristics like patience, experience, hope, and faith.
Trial Before Blessing, Pleasure Before Anguish- Galatians 6:7, 9; Hosea 10:12
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
COMMENTARY
Let us not be weary in well doing: in due season we shall reap
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy
There are many, many scripture passages that make reference to growing one’s crops. We read about sowing and reaping, about a “time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted”, periods of rain and periods of drought.
Indeed a farmer knows firsthand about the long, hard work that happens before any benefit is received. They know that the reaping only comes after an entire season of putting in effort every day.
Honestly I sometimes wonder if our faith hasn’t lost something by no longer being such an agricultural society. But if these scriptures make anything clear it is that we are all farmers whether we grow crops or not, farmers of the soul. We are all have a spirit to cultivate, a goodness to grow, a divine identity to bring to blossom.
It isn’t easy, these crops aren’t going to make it if we only care for them on “good days” or “when we feel like it.” They are needy and require constant attention. And even after all we do to nurture our field we still depend on God bring the rain and keep back the locusts. No, it certainly is not easy, but the promise still remains to the faithful: “we shall reap.”
The Resurrecting and Enabling Power of Jesus- Luke 13:11-13; Mark 10:47-49, 51-52; Mark 5:25, 27-29, 34
And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
COMMENTARY
And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him
He began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me
When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment
It immediately stood out to me that in all three of these examples the method for instigating the healing was different. In the first Jesus approaches the woman unbidden to give her healing, in the second the man calls to gain Jesus’s attention and then makes his request, in the third the woman performs the sole action of touching the hem of Jesus’s cloak.
Certainly I have been the recipient of healing I did not look for, other times I have had to cry out and ask, and other times I have performed some effort of my own to meet the Savior part-way. These records make clear that Jesus is a willing healer, one that wants to answer our pleas no matter what form they come in.
And immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
Go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
In each of these cases the healing was followed by good acts. The first woman glorified God, the man became a follow of Jesus, the third woman was command to be at peace. It is hard to do our best work when we are bent over in pain. It is hard to worry about cultivating one’s soul when survival itself is a struggle.
So much of people becoming their best selves is just in having their burdens taken off and then being able to let the natural Son or Daughter of God inside shine forth!
The Resurrecting and Enabling Power of Jesus- Question
One of the key elements of Jesus Christ’s mission was to obtain the power of resurrection. By allowing himself to die and then rise on the third day he was able to give the promise of new life to all of mankind.
But of course the resurrection of the dead is only one type of rejuvenation that Christ provides. His mission is to revitalize every aspect of us: our bodies, our minds, and our souls. We all get broken in one way or another throughout life, and we are all dependent upon the resurrecting power of Jesus to ever be whole again.
Beyond that, though, we also have a need to grow and develop. Even when we aren’t broken we still must improve and advance ourselves. Here again the enabling power of Jesus comes into play, lifting us to become our very best selves.
I’d like to take a closer look at how that process works. In what ways does Jesus resurrect and empower us? What is our part in accessing these blessings? I’ll start my research tomorrow by focusing on the ways Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead.
In the meantime, what are ways that you have felt yourself refreshed and invigorated by Jesus? What was your part in obtaining that grace?
Spiritual Wanderings 