Any act of evil can be justified given a particular frame of mind.
Thus, the greatest safeguard is not against evil itself, but against the perverted frame of mind that would allow it.
Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:36-38
36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, Holiness to the Lord. 37 And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. 38 And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
Now we hear a detail of the mitre, which was a hat or turban worn on the head. We do not hear much of the design of the mitre itself, only that it bore a golden plate with the words “Holiness to the Lord” engraved upon it.
Previously, we heard how the Israelite tribes’ names carved into stones on the priest’s shoulders and chest, now a remined of the Lord is carved upon the head. So, once again we see the role of the priest being representative and mediator for both God and the Israelites at the same time. He has both etched into him, the considerations of each are borne in the carrying out of his duties.
I think it is interesting to note the possibly symbolism of the names of the Israelite tribes being upon the shoulders and the heart, but God upon the head. Assuming that the ancient Israelites viewed the meaning these body parts somewhat similar to how we do today, then the tribes are connected to what you carry and care for, while God is what you are mindful of.
That symbolism might explain what is said in verse 38 that the plate is to cause Aaron to bear “the iniquity of the holy things.” He loves and carries the Israelites, but because his mind is on the holiness of the Lord, he cannot help but perceive the people’s imperfections and iniquity. He thinks on the Lord’s holiness and sees how far the people are from it and he is the one that is responsible to account for that gap.
Is the Old Testament God Evil? – Mind vs Heart
I have spent the past several days reviewing the common defenses that are made for God having commanded the Israelites to destroy the Canaanite nations. I found some of the arguments more compelling than others. However, even the ones that had strong points were not so convincing that I lost all discomfort for these passages. I find what remains for me is a sense that God was justified to have commanded these actions, but I still wish He wouldn’t have. The more that I delve into the details, the more I realize that the problem isn’t in the details.
I think this is a common mistake when raising and addressing issues related to God. We are dealing with a matter of spiritual unrest and are trying to resolve it in intellectual terms. We too often assume that our feelings are invalid if we cannot express it as a logical argument. Therefore, the critic will experience negative feelings towards these verses and will give logical arguments against them. The defender of these verses will respond in kind by providing logical rebuttals. Even if those rebuttals are sound, they will do nothing to convince the critic, because the logic wasn’t where the problem began. It isn’t the critic’s mind that needs to be converted, it is the heart.
Thus, my response to all of the defenses that we have covered thus far is, “yes, you have some good points, and maybe it all makes sense in my head…but I still just feel sad about it.” In my next post I will try to take a different approach to addressing these concerns. I think it is time we took the matter to a higher level of consciousness. I wish to make an appeal, not the to mind, but to the Spirit. We will see how that goes tomorrow.
You Get to Choose, Even When it Seems Impossible: Summary
Capable but Powerless)
I began this journey by considering the conundrum of the addict who hates his addiction but lives it even so. The addict possesses the physical capability to change his behavior, and sufficient desire to cease his behavior, yet finds himself falling into it again and again. The missing piece, as we have discussed, is that the addict lacks the mental willpower to translate his desires to his actions, at least when in the face of powerful temptation. His prefrontal cortex has been eroded, which is responsible for all his higher mental functions. When the need for another hit arises, all feelings and rationality are numbed into silence, leaving the addict a slave to his base impulses.
Many of us felt that we had plenty of character. There was a tremendous urge to cease forever. Yet we found it impossible. This is the baffling feature of alcoholism as we know it – this utter inability to leave it alone, no matter how great the necessity or the wish. - Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book
This conundrum has led many the addict to despair. He feels that at some point earlier in life he must have forfeited his last chance at salvation. By the time he became really serious about wanting to change, it was already too late, and now he believes that he is doomed to do the very things he despises most for the rest of his life. This demoralizes the addict, is almost certain to cause him to enter a deep depression, and can even make him suicidal.
While I would certainly never encourage any suicidal notions in any person, reaching this moment of despair does suggest that the addict has finally reached the point where he can be totally honest with himself. Because he’s right, he can’t win this battle. Only by accepting this soul-crushing defeat can he begin the path to victory.
Other Paths)
When one door closes, another opens
For most addicts, it is only the total failure of their attempts to control their lives that will finally humble them enough to hear alternative methods. Inherent in all of us is the desire to fix ourselves by ourselves, so we have to try at that for a very long time, and to absolutely ruinous results, before we will start to look outside for help. And it is in this shift outwards, though, that we can actually find the success that has eluded us for so long.
Quite probably the single method that has brought the most hopeless-case addicts to true healing has been the twelve-step program invented by the Alcoholics Anonymous organization, and this program is entirely predicated upon the notion that the addict, though powerless by himself, can find the power to overcome his addiction through the strength of God and the recovery group that he binds himself to. Relying upon others goes absolutely in the face of our desire to be autonomous and self-powerful, but, paradoxically, it is also the only thing that will ever allow us to regain out autonomy and self-power.
In the course of this study, we examined how the addict who reaches out to a fellow brother or sister when facing temptation is inviting a working rational mind to the situation. The addict who calls for help is having his mind assaulted and numbed by an active temptation, but the person that he calls probably is not. The helper can provide the calm reasoning to the distressed addict, talking them down off the ledge and back into rational ways of thinking.
We also considered how uniting together for this good purpose gives us access to Christ’s promise that “where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). Coming together as a group for a holy cause is one of the surest ways I know of to tap into the strength and willpower of the divine. And, in my experience, that strength and willpower is far more than enough to overcome every temptation that we might face. “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
We also discussed personal practices that the addict can put in place to help shore up his defenses. These are in no way an alternative to calling upon the strength of our brothers and sisters and God, but an addendum to those resources.
The practices we described included recognizing and avoiding the sequence of events that typically precede our acting out. Often there are trigger events that come before the temptation, and much of our acting out can be avoided if we simply avoid the trigger event. Usually we are able to circumvent that trigger because our mind isn’t yet fogged over by temptation.
The other personal practice we discussed was finding the areas of life where our damaged prefrontal cortex and higher reasoning weren’t being entirely steamrolled by temptation. In those areas we make a conscious effort to act deliberately and conscientiously. I pointed out how when we deliberately do little things to improve our lives, even if they seem fairly inconsequential, we are exercising the regions of our brain needed to perform higher executive functions. Bit-by-bit we are increasing our willpower, mental strength, and conviction. Eventually we will have enough power to reclaim the fields taken by our addiction.
Hopelessness isn’t Hopeless)
Sometimes it isn’t the situation that is hopeless, it is the method that we are bringing to it. Each of us needs to give up on using the wrong tool so that we can start to use the right one.
If you have a genuine addiction, powering through on your own is doomed to failure, but that doesn’t mean that you are necessarily doomed to failure. After failing countless times over it is easy to become pessimistic and assume that nothing could ever work for you.
I’m here to give you the good news that this is not the case at all, though. You are not the first person to have felt this way, and you will not be the last person to find salvation even so. Leaving behind the methods that didn’t work, now embrace the methods that do. Learn to be shrewd in how you avoid temptation, build up strength of willpower through small wins, and tap into the strength of others and God.
Do these things and your mind will heal, your impulsive behaviors will fade, and self-control will return. You will become one of those of whom it has been said, “For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:28).
I have seen it in myself and in numerous others. The brain can heal itself. Hope can be restored. The numbing forces can be numbed.
As I pointed out at the start of this post, the addict in the midst of despair can find himself entertaining thoughts of suicide. He is wrong to think he has no alternative but to end his life, however he is correct that a death of some sort must occur. That death, though, is the death of the ego. Only by denying himself, putting to death his pride and isolationism, can he be reborn through the baptism of fellowship in Christ. He must immerse himself in the brotherhood and sisterhood of fellow addicts in recovery, and when he does, he will feel Christ manifesting within himself. Then his new life truly begins.
The Virtue of Remembering- Hebrews 10:17; Alma 36:17, 19
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
COMMENTARY
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more
Thus far we have spent a great while discussing the need for constant remembrance. But here we come to a very interesting verse, one where God attests to His own selective remembrance. One of the most encouraging things that we can ever remember is that God doesn’t have to.
Of course the assumption is not that God loses a piece of His infinite knowledge, but rather that when we are willing to repent, He does not care to hold on to the offense anymore. “Remembering no more” means being able to release the guilt and condemnation of it.
While I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, I remembered also to have heard concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ
And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more
And, thankfully, this isn’t a miracle that is exclusive to God. We, too, can let go the remembrance of our own damnation. Yes, we will still remember our actions, but we do not have to live in our guilt and our shame once we have had them taken from us. The lively terror of being cast off can be surrendered forever.
Alma illustrates this beautifully in his account of how he was kept in a horrible remembrance of pain, which he was then able to replace with the remembrance of Jesus’s atonement. And just like that a bitter memory was turned into something beautiful.
The Virtue of Remembering- Exodus 13:16, Hebrews 10:16
And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.
This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
COMMENTARY
And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes
The Ancient Israelites took strips of paper, wrote scriptures upon them, and bound them to their hands and foreheads. Yes, this practice was to help them remember the words, but the exact placement chosen by the Lord was meant to suggest something further. Upon the forehead to imply seeing the will of God wherever you look. Upon the hand to imply doing the work of God in all that you do.
The Israelites were being told to not just remember the words, but by the remembering be moved by them. Remembering God’s words is meant to color every aspect of our life, not be sequestered into a single meeting at church.
I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them
In this verse we are promised that God’s law will be written into our minds, suggesting that we remember the words of it always. But as with the Israelites of old, if we stop at remembering the words only we have only received half of the promise. For also we are told that the law is to be put into our hearts as well. We need to know the law, but we need to feel it, too. We need to remember its injunctions, but also its intent. We need to consider its structure, but also its joy.
Spiritual Wanderings 