Week 14: Revelation 16-22

Revelation 20:3-6 reads, "...Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said [...] I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." Needless to say with the events that occurred early today at the Boston Marathon, my heart is aching for those who are suffering, emotionally or physically or both. Life is so fragile. It is so important to treasure each moment we are given on this earth, for when we live on a planet where every man has been granted agency, our lives are often subject to the consequences of others' choices. This scripture is a blanket of comfort in a time of fear and doubt. The Almighty God and our Heavenly Mother look down on their children and know each by name. They know the fears, the anxieties, the insecurities, and stresses of life that plague each child. And because the Savior came and suffered all, we have a friend who can wipe away our tears and say, "I know what you're feeling." On top of that, we know that after this mortal existence, there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. This is doctrine. When each of us reaches our time to enter into God's rest, it truly will be a state of comfort and relief from worldly burdens and limitations. The eternal perspective these verses of scripture provide are a needed balm for the wounds inflicted by the events of our day, and I am so, so thankful for them.

Week 12: Hebrews 8-13 & the Epistle of James

     Paul is my favorite. In this class, I have learned more than I ever knew was possible in regards to the depth of the Savior's role in performing the Atonement. I thought I knew enough to be satisfied with my awareness of the purpose of the Atonement, but each and every lecture deepens my understanding, sparks new questions in my head, but most of all completely humbles and subdues me with the power, reality, and intimacy of the sacrifice performed. I've most appreciated this while we've been in the epistles of Paul. No one has helped me more in comprehending the complete beauty of the sacrifice Christ performed to satisfy justice on our behalf.

     In the epistle to the Hebrews, Paul mentions the law of sacrifice often. This is not a surprise, since such laws were preparatory for and symbolic of Heavenly Father's pending sacrifice of his Only Begotten for us. In many of his epistles, Paul is trying to convince his audience that such laws are now obsolete and have been replaced by the sacrifice for which they were first established - the sacrifice of the Savior's life. Brother Griffin made sure to explain in detail the process that was required with animal sacrifice so that we could understand each verse connecting it with Christ's Atonement. Here's something I did not know: before the sacrificial animal was killed, the performer of the sacrifice laid his hands on its head, transferring his own sins "into" the animal, and therefore ridding himself of blemish when the now sinful animal was killed. This fact stunned me. What an incredibly real parallel to Christ's purpose in performing the Atonement, for he literally took our sins onto himself and was slain, thus satisfying the laws of justice, or the requirement that a sinner must suffer and be punished eternally for his sins. Because of Christ, that suffering is no longer required of us; it has already been suffered. What we do have to do is have faith that the suffering has already been paid, and ask for the forgiveness for that sin. The literalness of the parallel between animal sacrifice and the Atonement was so humbling to me. My little human mind cannot wrap around the love the Savior showed for me personally when he suffered for each of my sins. The Atonement is the most beautiful thing. I don't think I'll ever find the words to express how thankful I am for it, for I still can't completely understand it. What I do know is that my salvation and ability to live with my Father again is completely dependent on it and on He who performed it. 

Week 10: I & II Timothy and Titus

     After today's lecture, my thoughts have been stuck on a single word from our reading - more specifically, a single letter. One little 's' on the end of a word in verse 1 of chapter 4 of I Timothy. Says Paul to Timothy, his "son in the faith" and faithful mission companion, "the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils." It's that verse's last three words that Brother Gryffin pointed out to us. 'Doctrines of devils.' Not 'doctrine,' but 'doctrines.' Plural. More than one doctrine. Many different doctrines derived from the devil. That alliteration was completely unintentional, but I'm not changing it. Anyways, Brother Gryffin told us that the only other use of this phrase in canonized scripture was in D&C 46, where Christ warns the saints to stay close to Him and practice righteous habits in order to withstand being "seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils" (super similar to the verse we read in I Timothy! Pretty awesome...). Both of these instances make it clear that there are more than one doctrine belonging to the devil, and therefore adverse to Christ's, with both using the word 'doctrines' instead of 'doctrine.' On the other hand, when talking of Christ's doctrine, the phrase 'doctrines of Christ' is never used - it is always 'the doctrine of Christ.' Singular. Interesting, right?
     After dwelling on this all day, when I got back home in my apartment I did a little experiment on my own. On the LDS homepage I searched all scripture for the phrase "doctrines of devils." Like Brother Gryffin said, there were only two instances: one in I Timothy and one in D&C 46. I then searched "doctrine of the devil," the singular form. No results in any of the scriptures. I next searched "the doctrines of Christ," plural. No results for this phrase. Finally, the singular "doctrine of Christ." Seven results - five in the Book of Mormon, and two in the New Testament.

     How interesting that the scriptures referring to these two doctrines are worded this way, without fail, throughout all scripture. Truly the ways and wiles of the devil are countless, constantly diverting, and ever-contentious, no matter where they started or what the intentions originally were. Dishonesty, immorality, lust, theft, hypocrisy, idleness - the list goes on. The awesome and insightful C.S. Lewis, in his amazingly clever Screwtape Letters put it, "It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into Nothing. ...Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one -- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts" (The Screwtape Letters, New York: Macmillan, 1962, p. 56). Woah. That's an eye-opener, huh?

     On the other hand, the doctrine of Christ is simple, singular, and straightforward - faith in Him, baptism by immersion, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end through a life of continued faith, obedience, and righteous works, pursued in hopes of being worthy to receive eternal life in the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom. Of course there are many separate doctrines within the doctrine of Christ - the ordinance of the sacrament, the concept of missionary work, the proxy work performed in the temple, and so on - but the actual doctrine of Christ would cease to be His doctrine if it were plural.
     Granted, the simple difference in wording between these phrases is not the foundation for the doctrinal substance that's occupied my mind and that I've discussed here, but rather supports a pre-existing doctrine. Christ himself states in the book of Matthew, "For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, [... and] strait [i.e. narrow] is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life," teaching us that there are countless ways that Satan can deceive us and lead us astray, but only one, simple, happy way that Christ can lead us to eternal life. The confusion and deceit of the doctrines of the devil differ so strongly from the straightforward restored gospel of Jesus Christ, which we are so blessed to have here on earth. With the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we can discern and avoid Satan's many methods and improve our sensitivity to our Lord's will, for strait, narrow, and simple is the gate to eternal happiness.

Week 9: Acts 27-28 & Ephesians 1-6

     One of the most applicable stories I've read so far in the New Testament happens in Acts 27. Paul is one of several prisoners on a ship bound from Jerusalem to Rome. In verse 8, the ship has harbored in a place called "the fair havens." Paul is inspired to tell the captain that to leave the fair havens would endanger the ship and lives of all passengers. "I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading [cargo] and ship, but also of our lives," he warns. But those in charge refuse to listen for two reasons: first, because the owner of the ship disagrees with Paul, and second because the fair havens is "not commodious to winter in" (verse 12). They leave their mooring in the fair havens and as they set sail the south wind is blowing softly, making Paul's warning seem ridiculous. But in verses 14 and 15, a "tempestuous wind" kicks up and the ship is driven by a deadly storm, eventually leaving them shipwrecked after two long weeks in the storm.
     This story is so applicable to the real-life situation of making a wrong choice. It starts off with the Spirit warning us that what we are about to do is wrong, just as Paul warned those who oversaw the ship, but we often ignore the promptings because 1) the world disagrees with the reasons the Spirit gives, or 2) because it's more comfortable or pleasing to follow through with this wrong decision (such as when staying at a party where an inappropriate movie is being watched is less embarrassing than getting up and leaving). This directly parallels the ship captain's decision to listen to the ship owner/leave the fair havens because it wasn't as convenient to stay there. When we have ended up making the wrong choice, sometimes the immediate result isn't punishing at all - maybe it's even gratifying. We scoff at the warnings we received from the Holy Ghost about the wrongdoing we were contemplating. However, whether it's in the near future or far in the future when we are eventually judged by God, we receive what we deserve for sinning and are spiritually "shipwrecked" for disobeying.

Week 7: II Cor. 1-13, Gal. 1-6

     The whole epistle to the church members in Galatia is Paul's effort to get them to see that the Law of Moses no longer holds any significance now that Christ has come. Anytime "the law" is mentioned, it is referring to the law given to the Jews because of their transgression while in the wilderness - a framework of very literal, checkmark-oriented guidelines for their actions and lifestyles. This law was an outwardly measured way to become closer to Christ. What the Jews did not understand, however, was that when Christ came, the higher law was established and the Law of Moses was obsolete. The purpose for which it was introduced was fulfilled. This for some reason was SO HARD for the Jews to accept. In Galatia, there were Judaizers, or church members who were of the opinion that one must first become a member of Judaism and live the Law of Moses, and then convert to Christianity when sufficiently ready.
     In class we discussed situations that occur today in the church itself or in "Mormon culture" that parallel this one. An example was given of the situation that often come up in Sunday school or any church lesson when a discussion is started about something in the gospel that we really don't know anything about. One that always makes me chuckle would be the location/significance of Kolob: not important whatsoever to our salvation or earthly existence, and yet many spend their time postulating and theorizing about it, whether in their personal time or during lessons. Another could be the unnecessary focus some put on the current administrative organization of the Church, or perhaps a particular member of the bishopric or Relief Society presidency in one's ward. Sometimes the issues one has with such situations or persons can lead to personal doubt in the validity of the gospel, which is as pointless as declaring math to be wrong merely because a person solved a problem inaccurately using the methods. The Church is the vehicle by which gospel is spread - the people within it are not perfect. A final example could be treating church membership and "righteousness" as a checklist. Visiting teaching - check. Morning and nightly prayers - check. Going to church - check. This example is particularly parallel to the issues the Galatians were having. As was the Law of Moses in comparison to Christ's higher law, in having a checklist-oriented mindset about the gospel we lose the passion and spirit of living as a true person of faith. There is no righteous desire or true obedience, only faithless action. This simple reality is often lost on people who choose to dwell on a trivial component of the Church.
     The issues that the Galatian members had with letting go of the Law of Moses is a lesson we can apply to current times as members of the church. Treating membership like a checklist defeats the pure purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it is a habit that anyone can get sucked into. I am consistently blown away with how applicable ancient scripture is to our day. The weaknesses and proclivities of man really haven't changed a bit over these 2000 years since the events within these books transpired, and that's why the scriptures are so AWESOME and so useful!

Week 6: 1 Cor. 8-16

     I absolutely loved the most recent lecture about charity. I had a hard time remembering to take notes because I was too absorbed in what Brother Griffin was saying - I didn't want to miss anything.
     We as members of the church often glaze over when it comes to the subject of charity. So many Sunday school lessons start with the instructor asking the question "What is charity?" and we spit out the definition "Charity is the pure love of Christ." But do we really stop to think what those words mean? The pure love of Christ.
'The' denotes that the subject of the sentence is singular, and whatever it is, there's only one of them.
Pure love. D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner, in their book New Testament Apostles Testify of Christ, point out that charity is a selfless concern for others that is not evoked by any love on the part of the other. The fact that this love it totally independent from how the person on the other side of the relationship feels is what makes it completely pure. No matter what the other person does, this love will still exist. It is unconditional. Totally and perfectly pure. Who gave the perfect example of this love? Only one person ever has. Keep reading.
Of Christ. This is something many of us don't comprehend even as we regurgitate the definition often. This love being spoken of is Christ's love. It comes from Christ. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "The greatest definition of 'the pure love of Christ,' however, is not what we as Christians try but largely fail to demonstrate toward others, but rather what Christ totally succeeded in demonstration toward us." True charity was only demonstrated on earth one time - during the years of his life and ministry. We cannot give true charity because it can only come from Christ. Christ is charity. And at this point in the lesson, Brother Griffin had us read 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 with this alteration: take out every use of 'charity' and replace it with Christ's name.

Christ suffereth long, and is kind; Christ envieth not; Christ vaunteth not himself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave himself unseemingly, seeketh not his own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Christ never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

SO AWESOME, RIGHT?!?! I'm not sure what the deal was, but reading that just made me feel like my heart was going to explode. Here, right here, is the most straightforward description of what it means to be Christlike. And it's so, so beautiful.

     Then we get to the part where you go 'Wait, if Christ is the only one who can give his love, then what's the point of all the lessons on it?' We're told to "have" the pure love of Christ toward others. "Be full" of the pure love of Christ. How can we do that with this certain type love that we can't produce on our own? There's a two-step answer. First, we need to live our lives in a way that allows us to receive Christ's love. "Truly, those found possessed of the blessing of [Christ's] love at the last day - the Atonement, the Resurrection, eternal life, eternal promise - surely it shall be well with them," said Jeffrey R. Holland. So there we go. It's something we need to receive first. And of course, every person on the face of the earth has Christ's love, since it's unconditional, but with a righteous life our relationship with him grows more. We can truly say we have a relationship of love from Him and of Him - it's two-way.
     The second step of this is to reflect the love of Christ that we have received. As stated earlier, charity does is not conditional on the way the other person feels. It is dependent only upon our choice to give it. In order to give freely of this love and remain in the mindset that allows it to most fully radiate from us, we follow the recipe given in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. This lecture gave me the opportunity to more deeply absorb what each and every one of the given characteristics of charity meant. I encourage anyone reading this to do the same. By the way, tangent time: as a sidenote, Brother Griffin asked us to keep in mind that at the beginning of this verse, "suffer long" and "kind" are in the same phrase. Maybe it's just a matter of punctuation and phrasing, but maybe it's actually more? It is so important to remain kind even when we are in pain, under stress, or unhappy. The Savior was the perfect example of this, particularly after suffering the Atonement. When Judas arrived with those desiring to kill Christ, the Savior was not angry. In fact, he immediately healed the ear of the man who Peter wounded out of anger. And while I was sitting there in class, I realized something I had never thought of before - Christ has just felt the pain of that wounded man, only minutes before. Literally only minutes. Truly the Savior was the most perfect person to ever walk the Earth. If I can always have such a mindset of instant forgiveness, humility, and pure love, I'll be a happy girl. This lecture helped me seriously evaluate what charity means and how I can further improve both on being as worthy of Christ's love as possible and on reflecting it towards the people I interact with daily, whether personally or generally.

Week 5: Acts 19-21 & 1st Corinthians 1-7

"All that is ungodly within us must be put to death."

     I don't remember where I heard this quote, but I always think of it when I'm on a hard run and am struggling a little bit. I want so badly to stop, or at least slow down. Just for a little bit. But then my little running shoulder angel pops up and I'm reminded: If I slack off now, I'm robbing myself of progress that I'll have to make up later. If I don't do my absolute best and give my all, I'm putting myself farther from my goal. And that quote up there comes to my head. I tell myself that all that is weak within my body must be broken down so that I can build stronger walls in their place. And then I keep running. 

     In chapter 19 of the book of Acts, Paul is in Ephesus, teaching in the synagogues. At one point, he performs a miracle that convinces several in the audience, so that "many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds" (verse 18). Following this, "many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men." While I was reading and came to this point, I thought of my running quote. It obviously was originally supposed to be applied to more spiritual things, and the events in Acts 19:19 are a real-life example of what it means to put all that is ungodly within you to death. 

     It's part of the natural man to, when a personal fault is found, make a quick fix and move on without metaphorically ripping it out, which can be extremely uncomfortable and difficult, and replacing it slowly with more godlike habits. These quick fixes not only build an unstable and ineffective foundation for one's character, but also facilitate an attitude of laziness and superficiality in one's personal life. Is that godlike? No. True repentance requires a complete abandonment of the sin and a commitment to never repeat the sin again. That's kind of REALLY hard, but a quick fix with little commitment to the needed repairs is far from even trying. These people could have just put their books of "curious arts" somewhere out of sight so that they weren't tempted to return to old habits. But instead, they burned them, and not only that, but in front of all men. They were openly putting to death that which was ungodly about themselves, which was probably hard and maybe a little embarrassing. But the discomfort of ripping out this part of themselves would open the door for the most complete overhaul possible, which is the next step on the path that leads to the best and most godlike level of themselves. 

Week 3: Acts 13-15

"...{T}hat we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Acts 14:22

Some synonyms to tribulation {which I think do much more than the definition can}: difficulty, problem, worry, anxiety, ordeal, tragedy, setback, pain, hassle. 

     I had this verse marked in bright orange from a previous class or personal reading. I don't remember specifically why I marked it, but I know it was for a different reason than this time around. I love that about the scriptures! Depending on what's occupying my mind at the time - how my day went that day; what things I know the people I care about are struggling with; things I'm praying for; and the like, my spin on the concepts I read about are always different. And not only that, but the Spirit teaches me differently each time as well, sometimes not even about the concepts I'm reading about. The interpretation of the words I read is a result of those two things - the Spirit and my own thoughts and issues.
     This week when I read this verse, my mind jumped to something my financing professor told us on the first day of class. He was introducing the idea of financial stewardship and the things we learn simply from the management of money, a thing that is more or less limited in most peoples' case. What he said went something along the lines of this: "We cannot become the best we can be when the going is smooth and easy. Think about the virtues we would miss out on if financial resources were unlimited. There would be no need for patience, generosity, discipline, self control, stewardship, sacrifice, or giving up something in the present for the purpose of getting something better far in the future." I thought about his point all day. All of the virtues he listed were obviously important in becoming a successful and overall happy person, and there would be no way to develop or even know what these traits were without the initial struggles that come with dealing with a limited asset. The worrying, penny-pinching, budgeting, etc. is often stressful to say the least, on top of the labor one must perform to earn the money in the first place, but once a person has solidified his budget or finally payed off that home loan or saved up enough to buy a new car, all the saving and sacrificing becomes worth it. And now that person has both the financial experience and a set of skills they can use for the rest of their life.
     Such is similar with becoming the best we can be through not only experiencing trials that completely overhaul our personality and perspective, but by choosing to put ourselves outside of our comfort zone - in a way subjecting ourselves to self-inflicted trials that will teach us about what we're made of and refine our characteristics. Just like I'm keeping track of my budget for the next two months as an assignment in financing, which can be irritating and tedious, and sometimes prevent me from spending money on a really cool pen or a ticket to a concert, I've also been going to the temple every week of school since August 28th of last year, which sometimes makes me have to rearrange my schedule, miss fun things I'd like to go to, and maybe get up a little earlier than I'd like to some days.    
     Simply put, sometimes we think living the gospel should be easy. It's Christ's church, and Christ wants us to be happy! Shouldn't that mean that living it should seamlessly fit into our lives and be easy and blissful all the time? False! It isn't. And I think that's one of my most favorite things about it. I get uneasy when things are too undemanding; when I'm being pushed and challenged, I'm happiest. And through uncomfortable and seemingly confining things, not the easy-sailing, we become the most patient, humble, Christlike people we can be. Our Savior knows this and expects this of us.

Week 2: Acts 7-12

     First off, I LOVE PAUL. He is one of my most favorite people in any book of scripture ever. I'm so happy we've gotten to the part of Acts where he comes into the story.
     Chapter 9 gives the account of Saul/Paul's conversion. After Jesus Christ appears to him during his journey from Jerusalem to Damascus, Paul is in Damascus waiting for further direction from the Lord. While Paul is waiting, struck blind and staying in the house of Judas {verse 11}, Christ appears to a man named Ananias in a vision, telling him to "go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight." Now this is something we didn't talk about in class, but I was struck by it when I was reading - Paul had prayed. Not only had he prayed {past tense} but he prayeth {present tense}. Constantly, ever praying and soul-searching since his vision of the Savior. This man, who had spent his whole adult life persecuting members of the Christian faith, arresting them and often sentencing them to death, was most likely laying in bed, having refused food and drink for three days {verse 9} and probably experiencing something very similar to Alma the Younger's torment described in Mosiah 27. He obviously now knew that what he had been doing was against the church of the Son of God himself, and was most likely pouring out his whole soul during every hour of these three days, praying for and searching for solace. We know from verse 12 that Paul was sent a comforting vision of the man mentioned in the above verses, named Ananias, coming to him and healing him. I can just imagine what a relief that must have been, and how much Paul must have been longing for, and praying for, and hoping for this to come to pass in real life! What an amazing change from the man he used to be. He was now penitent and ready to be shaped by God's hands. And what an amazing instrument he became! Said Christ of Paul to Ananias in verse 15: "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." Just foreshadowing to the amazing things this man would do. Paul's words are some of the most absolutely beautiful and inspiring words in the Bible, and some of my most favorite scriptures are coming up in his epistles. I'm so stoked to learn more about them.
   

Week 1: Acts 1-6

     In Thursday’s lecture we covered the restoration of companionship of the Holy Ghost to mankind. Only days after Christ’s ascension, on the day of Pentecost, the apostles were “all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). This marked an extremely important event in the spread of Christ’s church, since the companionship of the Holy Ghost and the authority to bestow it had been taken from the earth previously, and had been absent from it for a long time. After reading Acts 2, and participating in Professor Griffin’s lecture, I couldn’t help but ponder the significance of the Holy Ghost to me for the remainder of the day. 

     I have always felt a unique closeness to the Spirit. For some reason I feel like I’ve been blessed with the undoubting assurance that the Holy Ghost is not just a feeling, but an actual being who is my friend. It's a pretty cool realization, which I didn't fully make until I was a teenager. I remember back to when I used have my horse; We kept her a ways down the dirt road we live on, and the bike ride really only took about 3 minutes. However, during the winter when it got dark early, those bike rides on the narrow road through the dark forest were absolutely terrifying for a girl who is scared of the dark. {Yes, I was a like 15 and still terrified of the dark. Judge me all you want.} I remember pedaling as fast as I could from the barn, willing myself to ignore any sounds I heard or self-created movements in the woods I saw on either side of me, finally to get to the edge of our long driveway where I could see the warm, lit house through the trees and feel safe. After awhile I started looking for ways I could spare myself the unneeded adrenaline rush, and one day came across a line in my Patriarchal blessing that hadn't been so significant to me until this particular issue. This particular line blessed me with the ability to know that the Holy Ghost was "a special treasure," and also with the assurance that he would always be with me. It struck me that Patriarch Brownell didn't refer to the Holy Ghost as 'it' but rather 'he.' I looked up more about the Holy Ghost and refreshed my memory on what we know about him. He is a personage of spirit, and therefore an individual just like me, only without a body. It was then that I came to know him as my friend, and not just this shapeless cloud of stuff that can make a person "feel good." Maybe it's a little immature, but since that day I always pictured him beside me when I was scared. Especially during those dark bike rides coming home from the barn!

     After that day I really have never felt alone or deserted. Only when I've done something that's rendered me unworthy of his companionship do I feel emptiness. His presence is something I hold precious. I know that he helps me make wise decisions, leads me into situations where I can help another or receive help for myself, guides me out of situations that would be negative for me, and offers personal revelation to me to help me grow closer to my Savior. He is the conduit between us and our loving Father in Heaven, and one of my truest, most dependable friends. The Holy Ghost is most definitely a special treasure to me.