5/20/2017 - Section 29:30-50

May 20, 2017

Section 29:30-50

The Lord’s Way, Mortal View Not the Lord’s View, Agency, Final Judgment, The Lord’s Ways are Not Our Ways, Understanding the Lord, Faith, Laws of God are All Spiritual, Progression, Little Children are Saved in Christ, Temptation & Satan’s Influence, Prayer, Holy Ghost, I Stand At the Door,

In v 30 Christ is explaining the events following the second coming and the final judgment that we will all experience and the various places we might find ourselves in after this, our mortal testing. In His explanation of that future time, He says: “But remember that all my judgments are not given unto men…” There are simply times when faith must over-ride all else. It reminds me of the verse in Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). There are certainly things in the gospel and things that have been prophesied but not yet occurred that I don’t understand, but as I pray in faith I find my anxiousness is settled. I know enough to be able to return to my Father. I know enough to feel His love and guidance. That is enough for me.

Paul seems to have felt the same way: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Cor 13:12)  While I was googling to find this particular scripture, I also found this person’s thoughts on this verse: “At some point in time, I came across the explanation of the words taking into account an ancient context. The reference to glass is most likely a mirror (a looking glass if you will). Ancient mirrors were a hand polished piece of metal. If you have ever looked at your reflection in a piece of metal, like the doors to an elevator for example, you can sort of make out that the reflection is a person but the reason that you know it is actually you is because the reflection is following your movements, in other words, even harder to see clearly. Also, elsewhere in the Bible, the word for darkly is used not to mean an absence of light like we use it now, but rather an enigma or a puzzle. So, in addition to Paul saying that we see a really poor image of things, he is also telling us that we are looking at a puzzle and may not see how all of the pieces fit together yet.     Recently, my thoughts on this scripture have begun to change yet again and I wonder if Paul was really telling us that we have no idea what things really look like "on the other side of the veil" (to use the church phrase)? Maybe he wasn't telling us that we can only glimpse a partial view of heaven. Maybe he was telling us that what we know of heaven is simply a reflection of us on this side. We are all finite creatures trying to describe the infinite and we simply can't convey the infinite in our capacities here. So, every time we try to describe the infinite, we put some sort of limitation upon it through our language and thus turn it into a reflection of ourselves in the finite realm. Because of these failings, we won't truly have the answers to the questions until after we move on from this finite existence.”

And finally p 62 “Man in his mortal condition, with very limited understanding and imperfect character, is in no position to fully understand the judgments of God, who is perfect and omniscient (D&C 38:2). God does not reveal all of His judgments and the reasons for His actions. It is certain, however, that all God’s judgments are just and right.”

In v’s 34-35 the Lord tells us that there is no commandment that is temporal—that all commandments are spiritual. Tithing seems very temporal, and yet it involves giving (unselfishness) and helping (compassion) and doing so with no hesitation (charity). And we have the law of tithing because we had such trouble living the law of consecration. Tithing is allowing us to grow stronger in spiritual ways. And the neat thing is that whatever law the Lord gives to us, we can be assured that blessings are attached for each of us if we simply live up to that law.

V 35: the Lord’s laws show us the way and at the same time allow us our agency. “Behold, I gave unto him (man) that he should be an agent unto himself and I gave unto him commandment,  but no temporal commandment give I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural not temporal, neither carnal nor sensual.”

The Lord continues His explanation in v 39 “And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet.” When speaking of Adam & Eve being tempted of the devil and following the temptations the devil offered them, that is when “he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation.” (v40)  This is the same way we make ourselves vulnerable to Satan’s influence.

This section of the second coming, of judgment, of agency, of laws—and our attention to those laws—that will affect our eternal progression, ends with the truth and love found in v 46 that children, as well as all those who either are unable to understand the law or who do not have God’s law, “are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten.”  The Lord stands always at the door that has no handle on our side. But He is at the ready to open that door the moment we knock, the moment we ask, the moment we seek. And for those who do not know enough to knock or ask or seek, that door is wide open for them. The Lord’s ways are eternally fair. All He has asked us to do is to do our best to follow Him. If we do just that—our very best—then no matter what our lacking is, His atonement will make up the difference. This life is not a race against other people; it is simply our own individual progression. Elder Eyring spoke in last month’s general conference saying that “Heavenly Father’s goal is for us to inch forward in perfection” and that the “Holy Ghost gives us hints every single day.” I can grow in this sweet environment! Especially when I check in with my Heavenly Father every morning and every night.

3/24/2021 – D&C 29:30-39

 In v 30 the Lord promises that all of His words will be fulfilled. In v 33 He assures us that there is no end, neither beginning—that makes me think that our joys should grow along with us as we progress. So, if there is no end (for leaving this earth is a change, but certainly not an end), and if our growth increases our joy, why am I not more conscious and excited about progressing in living and loving and truly rejoicing in the Lord’s commandments? In v 34 He tells us that “all things unto me are spiritual”.  He lets us know that we are in charge of our own growth and development: “Behold, I gave unto him [man] that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandments, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual.” (v 35) We have only one direction to go—that is forward, which is also upward.  The Lord loves us and waits for us—my every day should be centered around Him and moving always closer to Him in my thoughts, my actions, my desires, and my efforts. I may be living in a temporal place, but my purpose here is to grow into a more spiritual being. There is nothing that will stop my progress in that cause, except myself.

In the spirit world Lucifer was one of us—one of the best of us. But he turned all his thoughts and efforts toward himself: he fought to have us follow him—not that we would be the better for it, but that he could be more powerful. (v 36) The Lord works with each of us individually, to help us to grow—and our growth comes when we find our concerns focused not so completely on ourselves—but also on those around us. 

In v 39 the Lord tells us that our journey on earth is not meant to be easy. In a physical sense, when we try to make our body stronger—we do the physical exercises that are a bit difficult for our bodies and in time those exercises become easier—which means we can now begin new exercises that are a little more difficult than the ones that are now so easy for us. Our spiritual growth is just the same. If earth life was always easy for us, there would be no spiritual growth. It’s when we are able to spend more time thinking of how we can assist others, that we grow…which means we can do more, we enlarge the sphere of our love, and in doing that we find greater happiness. We always have the right to make our own choices, and those choices determine the direction of our growth. If we only had good choices placed before us, how could we grow in strength. Saying “no” to Lucifer’s temptations (and he always presents those temptations to us in a way that makes them look almost good to us) increases not only our strength, but also our spiritual vision. 

Every decision of my day should be for the best choice, the kindest choice, the most loving choice. I need to be more attuned to Him. And I can do this one sweet step at a time. That is using my time on earth the way it should be used. Even as I grow weaker in physical ways, I can grow stronger in spiritual ways –for that brings even greater happiness to me.

3/25/2021 – D&C 29:40-50

I looked up the word ‘transgress’ and found that it means to “infringe or go beyond the bounds of a moral principle or other established standard of behavior”. We knew, before we came to earth, that this earth life was to help us beyond obtaining a body….it was also a great college for us in which to grow our faith in the Lord –and I think –also in ourselves. We knew that Satan and his host were cast out of heaven because they went beyond the bounds of the Lord’s principles. We knew that one of our reasons for going to earth was to become stronger in faith and in our ability to stay within the Lord’s Heavenly Laws. V 40 tells us that “the devil temped Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation.” When we step outside the Lord’s commandments, we put ourselves in a situation in which we are more vulnerable to Satan’s influence. We make life harder for ourselves.

But fortunately, God’s plan made room for us to make mistakes, and hopefully learn from our mistakes. “I, the Lord God, gave unto Adam and unto his seed that they should not die as to the temporal death, until I, the Lord God, should send forth angels to declare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mine Only Begotten Son. And thus did I…” v 42. 

He gave us the gift of repentance—and thus redemption, but it’s up to us to do the accepting of that gift. It’s like someone bringing me a huge, beautifully wrapped present and putting it on my table. I can see it, and I can see that it is truly beautiful, and I can guess that it’s probably filled with wonderful things, for I know the kind and loving person who brought it to me. I can say thank you for that present. But if I then simply walk out of the room and never return to open that package, then it’s as if I never got it. We choose. The Lord warns us “they receive their wages of whom they list to obey.” (V 45)

It is a tender law that is fair to all. The Lord describes that v 50: “…he that hath no understanding, (that’s little children, or any others who have physical problems that impede their ability to understand, “they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to temp little children, until they begin to become accountable before me” (v47). 

And the Lord assures us that they “are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten.”  He makes His law clear to us, and leaves it up to us whether we choose to follow that law or not. But the truth I have found—and have proven to myself many times---His gift is that when I follow His law my life is brighter and fuller, and I feel the glorious progress of coming closer to Him. 

That is joy! That is comfort!